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Cubs, Orioles Exploring Rotation Additions

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There are still several starting pitchers available in free agency and it’s possible that mounting injuries could help create new opportunities for them. Ken Rosenthal and Patrick Mooney of The Athletic report that the Cubs and Orioles are two clubs exploring rotation additions. The Cubs reportedly had some talks with Andrew Heaney before he signed with the Pirates and are currently keeping tabs on Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn.

The Cubs don’t have a major health concern in their rotation at the moment. Javier Assad has been slowed by some oblique soreness and is trending towards starting the season on the injured list, but it doesn’t seem like he’ll be out for an especially long time. The club’s projected top four of Justin Steele, Shota Imanaga, Matthew Boyd and Jameson Taillon are healthy. With Assad out, Colin Rea could perhaps take the fifth spot for a while. Or if he’s in a long relief role, guys like Ben Brown, Jordan Wicks, Caleb Kilian or Cody Poteet could step up, though all the guys in that group have options and could also be in the Triple-A rotation.

However, Rosenthal notes that the Cubs are facing an unusual spring. They have been ramping up a bit earlier than usual in anticipation of going to Japan soon. As part of the Tokyo Series, they will play a couple of exhibition games against Japanese clubs on March 15th and 16th, before playing regular season games against the Dodgers on March 18th and 19th. The Cubs are seemingly aware that some hiccups could arise with the unique schedule and are keeping the phone lines open.

At this part of the calendar, the market isn’t especially kind to players. The aforementioned Heaney signed with the Pirates a few weeks ago, a one-year deal with a guarantee of just $5.25MM. About a week ago, Jose Quintana signed with the Brewers for a $4.25MM guarantee. Coming into the winter, MLBTR predicted Heaney and Quintana to get two-year deals worth $24MM and $20MM respectively. Many pitchers outearned expectations earlier in the offseason but the market has clearly fallen off more recently.

A few months ago, Gibson and Lynn seemed like possibilities for eight-figure guarantees on one-year deals. But the fact that they have lingered unsigned while the market has softened means they are likely going to have to adjust their expectations if they want to sign. Rosenthal reports that unsigned pitchers are being asked to sign advanced consent forms, which allow clubs to terminate a contract within 45 days for any reason except injury and only have to pay the player for the time he spent on the roster. That’s obviously not ideal from a player’s perspective and it would only be signed if such a player had very little leverage.

Lynn, 38 in May, has a lengthy track record but isn’t riding a high tide of momentum at the moment. He posted a 5.73 earned run average in 2023, the worst of his career. He still was able to a secure a one-year, $11MM deal from the Cardinals and bounced back somewhat with a 3.84 ERA in 2024, but there were also some flags. He twice went on the injured list due to inflammation in his right knee, the same knee that had required surgical repair in 2022. Those IL stints limited him to 117 1/3 innings last year. While the ERA bounced back, his strikeout rate and velocity dropped.

Gibson, 37, is one of the steadiest pitchers in the league but lacks upside. He has logged at least 147 1/3 innings in each of the past ten major league seasons. However, he only posted an ERA below 4.20 in three of those. His 4.24 ERA last year was his best of the past three seasons.

Perhaps neither are as exciting as the aforementioned optionable pitchers that the Cubs have on hand, but they certainly have more experience. Between Brown, Wicks, Kilian and Poteet, there’s no one with even 85 big league innings.

For the Orioles, Rosenthal doesn’t specifically connect them to Gibson or Lynn, but it’s understandable that they would be keeping tabs on the market generally. Grayson Rodriguez has some elbow inflammation and is still getting some testing done but will start the season on the IL regardless. That leaves the O’s with a projected rotation of Zach Eflin, Charlie Morton, Tomoyuki Sugano and Dean Kremer. Manager Brandon Hyde has suggested the final spot is likely down to Albert Suárez or Cade Povich.

Suárez is a journeyman who spent many years in Asia before returning to North American ball last year. He pitched in a swing role for the O’s in 2024 and logged a 3.70 ERA. Povich went into 2024 as a notable prospect but had a 5.20 ERA in his first 16 big league starts. Adding a veteran starter could allow the club to keep Suárez in a long relief role and bump Povich to the Triple-A rotation, while also adding depth to hedge against future injuries.

Signing at this part of the season does come with some perceived risk, however. As noted by Rosenthal, both Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery signed late last winter and the initial results were poor with both. Snell signed with the Giants in mid-March, then had a couple of IL stints in the first half. He eventually finished strong but was sitting on a 9.51 ERA when he returned from his second IL stint in July. Montgomery didn’t officially sign with the Diamondback until late March and never got on track, finishing the year with a 6.23 ERA over 117 innings.

The Cubs and Orioles are surely not the only clubs sniffing around the available starting pitchers. The Yankees will be without Luis Gil for months due to a lat strain and are facing the possibility of Gerrit Cole requiring Tommy John surgery. The Mariners are going to put George Kirby on the IL to start the year due to some shoulder inflammation. Other injuries will inevitably arise and lengthen that list.

For clubs looking to free agency, they will have to consider whether its worth the money to sign one of these vets and quickly ramp them up, as opposed to going with in-house options. Rosenthal notes that both Gibson and Lynn have been throwing in an attempt to be somewhat ready, though they would surely still need some game action somewhere to truly get in form. Other free agents of note include Patrick Corbin and Spencer Turnbull. Guys like Jordan Montgomery or Taijuan Walker may be available on the trade market.

Latest On Alex Verdugo

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With fewer than three weeks until Opening Day, Alex Verdugo remains unsigned. The former Dodgers, Red Sox and Yankees outfielder stands as one of the higher-profile names who’s yet to come to terms on a deal with a team for the upcoming season. He’s been tied to each of the Astros, Pirates and Angels over the course of the offseason, although the former two clubs have since signed different corner outfielders. Pittsburgh inked Tommy Pham on a one-year, $4.25MM deal. Houston brought Ben Gamel back on a one-year, $1.2MM deal (though reportedly, only Gamel’s $200K signing bonus is guaranteed on that deal).

It’s not fully clear what type of situation Verdugo has been seeking. The 29-year-old is presumably looking for a big league deal, even on the heels of a down year and in the waning stages of the offseason, but preferences regarding asking price, location, etc. remain unclear. Jon Heyman of the New York Post offers some context, however, reporting that prior to signing Pham, the Pirates “floated” the idea of signing Verdugo for  “around $8MM.”

It bears emphasizing that there’s no indication an $8MM offer was ever formally presented to Verdugo. Heyman’s report also doesn’t specify the timing of that “floated” proposal. If it was early enough in the offseason, perhaps Verdugo felt he had sufficient interest to eclipse that mark or at least other clubs showing interest at a similar rate.

It seems clear now that the opportunity in Pittsburgh has passed, with Pham in the fold there. The Bucs have Pham, Oneil Cruz and Bryan Reynolds lined up for outfield work. Pham could always be pushed to a bench role, but he suggested early in camp that one of the reasons he chose to sign with the Pirates over other suitors was a greater opportunity for at-bats. It seems as though the Pirates communicated to Pham that he’d have the chance for plenty of playing time. Plus, with Pittsburgh’s payroll at $88MM — a bottom-of-the-barrel mark relative to the rest of the league but right in line with last year’s level for the Buccos — ownership may not be comfortable putting any more dollars into the team.

At this point in the offseason, it’s difficult to imagine Verdugo securing $8MM. There aren’t many teams with a clear need for a corner outfielder, and many of the potential suitors have minimal budget space. One of the reasons the Astros signed Gamel is that owner Jim Crane is loath to exceed the luxury tax for a second straight season. Gamel came at a bargain rate. Houston is less than $5MM from the CBT threshold, per RosterResource. The Royals have been seeking outfield additional bats, but their projected $132MM Opening Day payroll is the second-highest in franchise history and is already nearly $20MM north of last year’s mark.

At this point, it might take a spring injury to an established big league outfielder to spur a team to make a compelling offer to Verdugo. The Guardians (top prospect Chase DeLauter) and Tigers (Parker Meadows, Matt Vierling) both have injuries in their outfield mix, but there’s no indication either would consider a run at Verdugo. The Yankees increasingly seem unlikely to have Giancarlo Stanton for the early portion of the season, but they still have a full outfield (Jasson Dominguez, Cody Bellinger, Aaron Judge, Trent Grisham) and seem to be near owner Hal Steinbrenner’s spending limit. The Rangers have had some injuries (Wyatt Langford, Adolis Garcia), but they’re short-term in nature and Texas is in a similar position to Houston with regard to the luxury tax.

Verdugo took to Instagram earlier this week to post a highlight reel with the caption “in due time” — a fitting descriptor of where things seem to stand. An opportunity will present itself eventually, but for now, it seems the 28-year-old (29 in May) will have to wait things out.

MLBTR Podcast: Jose Quintana, Luis Gil’s Injury, The Nats’ TV Situation, Salary Floor Talk, And More!

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • With MASN now solved and stadium naming rights and jersey patches on the way do you see the Nationals making the leap into big spenders sooner than later? (12:30)
  • Do you see the MLBPA pushing for a salary floor? (22:05)
  • Will the White Sox trade Luis Robert Jr. before the start of the regular season? (25:20)
  • While neither is particularly likely, is it more probable that the Pirates extend Paul Skenes or the Reds extend Elly De La Cruz? (27:40)
  • What is your opinion of the White Sox upper management and will they lose 100 games this year? (30:45)
  • The Mets are loaded with infield prospects. Do they trade Jeff McNeil to make room? (37:30)
  • With the Tigers’ outfield injuries, do they go get a right-handed bat? And who is available? (42:00)
  • With the Mariners bringing back most of their position players, what are the chances they get better production from them in 2025? (44:30)
  • Does David Bote have a legitimate shot to make the Dodgers’ roster? (50:35)
  • Why doesn’t MLB expand to 36 teams instead of just 32? (51:35)

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Johan Oviedo Facing Lengthy Absence Due To Lat Injury

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March 5: Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk provided an update on Oviedo to the team’s beat this morning (link via Andrew Destin of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). The right-hander is currently shut down from throwing, and it seems he won’t pick up a ball anytime soon. The Pirates and Dr. Keith Meister (who performed Oviedo’s Tommy John surgery) will reconvene for a fresh round of imaging on Oviedo’s lat and elbow in one month. After that MRI, they’ll establish a timetable for him to resume throwing.

That strongly implies that Oviedo will be shut down from throwing for a good bit more than a month, shedding further light on the team’s decision to place him on the 60-day IL.

March 3: The Pirates placed right-hander Johan Oviedo on the 60-day injured list. That opens a 40-man roster spot for fellow righty Justin Lawrence, whose previously-reported waiver claim from the Rockies is now official.

The news comes as something of a surprise. Oviedo had undergone Tommy John surgery in November of 2023. He missed the entire 2024 season but it seemed fair to expect him to be healthy coming into 2025 and there hadn’t been any reporting to suggest otherwise. Manager Derek Shelton tells Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that a “lat issue” has surfaced during a recent bullpen session.

This move now means Oviedo will be on the injured list for at least the first two months of the season. IL placements can be backdated to three days before Opening Day but the 60-day count doesn’t start until then, meaning Oviedo can’t be reinstated until late May at the earliest.

Prior to this IL placement, Oviedo projected to be in the mix for a back-end rotation spot, though that will no longer be the case. The Bucs have a front three in their rotation consisting of Paul Skenes, Jared Jones and Mitch Keller. They recently signed Andrew Heaney to take a spot. Oviedo and Bailey Falter were perhaps the most logical candidates for the final spot.

Perhaps this news on Oviedo will give Falter a smooth path to a season-opening rotation gig, though the Bucs have some intention of stretching out relievers Carmen Mlodzinski and Caleb Ferguson to see how they handle longer outings. The Pirates also have Braxton Ashcraft and Mike Burrows on the 40-man roster while prospects like Bubba Chandler and Thomas Harrington are in camp as non-roster invitees.

Pirates Claim Justin Lawrence

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The Pirates have claimed right-hander Justin Lawrence off waivers from the Rockies, reports Thomas Harding of MLB.com. Colorado placed Lawrence on waivers over the weekend. The Bucs haven’t formally announced the claim and will need to make a 40-man roster move to accommodate Lawrence once the transaction becomes official.

Lawrence, 30, agreed to a $975K salary earlier this offseason when he avoided arbitration. The Pirates will take on that salary and hope to coax a rebound effort out of the right-hander. Lawrence was roughed up for a brutal 6.49 earned run average in 2024 but was a quality late-inning arm for the Rox in 2023, saving 11 games and picking up 11 holds en route to a 3.72 ERA.

The 6’3″ Lawrence has shown the ability to miss bats and generate grounders in the past, though command has long been an issue. He fanned 24% of his opponents and posted a 48.5% ground-ball rate for Colorado during that strong 2023 season while sitting 95.4 mph on his sinker and 83.8 mph on his slider. Both pitches lost 0.8 mph in 2024, however, and Lawrence saw his strikeout rate plummet to 16.1% while his already problematic 11% walk rate crept up to 11.8%.

Lawrence did post a career-high 53.1% ground-ball rate, and he was far better on the road than at Coors Field, as most would expect. He was tagged for a disastrous 8.49 ERA in Denver compared to a more palatable 4.50 mark on the road. He had pronounced home-road splits in 2023 as well: 5.40 at Coors Field and 1.62 when the Rockies were away. Over the past two seasons, Lawrence has a 6.69 ERA at Coors Field and a 2.98 mark on the road.

The Pirates won’t be able to send Lawrence to Triple-A. He’s out of minor league options. As such, he’s now a virtual lock to make the Opening Day bullpen, barring an injury. With last year’s poor results and several other arms ahead of him on the bullpen pecking order, Lawrence probably won’t jump right into high-leverage work. He could certainly pitch his way into that role, as he did in ’23, but Pittsburgh will likely hope for a David Bednar rebound in the ninth inning with Colin Holderman, Dennis Santana and Carmen Mlodzinski all setting up. Lefties Caleb Ferguson and Tim Mayza, both signed as free agents, give skipper Derek Shelton at least two southpaw options. Joey Wentz, Kyle Nicolas, Chase Shugart and Peter Strzelecki are all on the 40-man roster as well. Wentz and Strzelecki are out of options. Notable non-roster invitees to camp include Ryan Borucki, Tanner Rainey, Burch Smith and Hunter Stratton.

Marlins Claim Brett de Geus, Desigate Seth Martinez For Assignment

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The Marlins announced that they have claimed right-hander Brett de Geus off waivers from the Pirates. The latter club designated him for assignment last week. In a corresponding move, the Marlins designated fellow right-hander Seth Martinez for assignment.

de Geus, 27, has never pitched for the Pirates. They acquired him from the Blue Jays in a cash deal last month. Though when they were able to sign Andrew Heaney last week, de Geus was the roster casualty.

He has bounced around the league quite a bit, pitching for the Mariners, Marlins and Jays last year. His major league work to this point hasn’t been great, as he has a 7.48 earned run average in 61 1/3 innings. His 16.6% strikeout rate and 10% walk rate are both poor marks, but he has generated ground balls on 52.5% of balls in play.

Those grounders are likely why he keeps garnering interest from so many clubs, despite the poor run prevention. He also tossed 39 Triple-A innings last year with a 5.31 ERA, getting grounders at a 56.6% clip.

The raw stuff is also intriguing. de Geus averaged 96.4 miles per hour on his sinker last year and 98 mph on his four-seamer, in addition to throwing a knuckle curve, cutter and splitter. He didn’t translate that arsenal into good results last year but clubs clearly think it’s possible, including the Marlins, as they claimed him off waivers in August. They bumped him off the roster a month later, with de Geus claimed by the Jays, but the Fish have now taken the chance to bring him back into the fold again.

He still has options and therefore won’t need to be guaranteed a roster spot. He also has just a bit more than a year of service time, meaning he can theoretically be affordably controlled for years to come if things click for him.

Martinez, 30, was himself just claimed off waivers a week ago. He is out of options and therefore has less roster flexibility than de Geus. With the quick claim and DFA, it’s possible the Marlins claimed Martinez with the plan to put him right back on waivers in short order. He has less than three years of service time and no previous career outright, so he would stick with the Marlins as non-roster depth if he can be passed through waivers unclaimed.

The righty tossed 137 1/3 innings for the Astros over the past four years with a 3.93 ERA, 20.7% strikeout rate and 9.2% walk rate. Over that same timespan, he also threw 105 innings in the minors with a 2.66 ERA, 31.5% strikeout rate and 10% walk rate. He got put on waivers at the end of last season, getting claimed by the Diamondbacks, though the Snakes put him back on waivers when they signed Kendall Graveman.

The Fish will now have one week of DFA limbo to figure out what’s next for Martinez, whether that’s a trade or another trip to the waiver wire. The waiver process can take as long as 48 hours, so any trade interest would have to be explored in the next five days.

Pirates Sign Andrew Heaney

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February 27: Per Ethan Hullihen, Heaney’s bonuses start at $50K for 120 innings pitched, followed by $100K for 130 innings and then $150K for 140, 150, 160 and 170. He can therefore earn an extra $750K if he unlocks all of those. When combined with his $5.25MM guarantee, he can earn as much as $6MM this year.

February 22: The Pirates officially announcing the signing.

February 20: The Pirates are reportedly in agreement with Andrew Heaney on a one-year deal that’ll guarantee $5.25MM. The deal, which is pending a physical, also includes performance bonuses for the Icon Sports Management client. Pittsburgh’s 40-man roster is at capacity, so they’ll need to make a corresponding move when the signing is finalized.

It’s a relatively low-cost addition to the back of the rotation. Heaney has been a capable fourth or fifth starter in Texas over the last two seasons. He turned in a 4.15 ERA across 147 1/3 innings two seasons ago. Last year, he pitched to a 4.28 mark while ranking second on the team with 160 innings. Heaney took the ball 66 times for the Rangers and allowed 4.22 earned runs per nine over 307 1/3 frames.

The 33-year-old southpaw had a solid if unspectacular strikeout and walk profile. Heaney has fanned around 23-24% of opposing hitters in each of the past two seasons. After running a career-high 9.4% walk rate in ’23, he cut the free passes to a personal-low 5.9% clip last year. His 12% swinging strike rate was a little better than average.

Heaney has long had the ability to miss bats. Last season’s 22.9% strikeout rate, while slightly above the 22% league average for starting pitchers, was Heaney’s lowest mark in a decade. He has never really been a flamethrower. Heaney’s fastball sat in the 92-93 MPH range during his best seasons. It was down slightly to 91.5 MPH on average last year. The pitch has always had good life that allows it to play above its velocity as a swing-and-miss offering.

Despite the impressive strikeout rates, Heaney owns a 4.45 ERA in more than 1000 career innings. As a fly-ball pitcher without huge velocity, he’s quite susceptible to home runs. Heaney has allowed 1.54 homers per nine innings in his career, while he surrendered 1.29 longballs per nine last year. The Pirates hope that their park can mitigate some of that. According to Statcast’s park factors, only Oracle Park and the Oakland Coliseum have played less favorably for home runs over the past three seasons than PNC Park. Pittsburgh’s home field has been the toughest venue for right-handed power hitters, in particular, so there aren’t many more sensible landing spots for a fly-ball lefty pitcher.

Pittsburgh has a loaded top three in their rotation: Paul Skenes, Jared Jones and Mitch Keller. Heaney projects as the fourth starter. Bailey Falter, who has a similar profile as a soft-tossing lefty, is the favorite for the fifth spot. The Bucs thinned their rotation depth when they included Luis Ortiz in the return for first baseman Spencer Horwitz. Depth options on the 40-man roster include Braxton Ashcraft, Mike Burrows and Johan Oviedo (the latter of whom will return after missing the ’24 season rehabbing Tommy John surgery). Prospects Bubba Chandler and Tom Harrington have reached Triple-A and should make their debuts at some point in 2025.

This is Pittsburgh’s sixth major league free agent pickup of the offseason. They’ve all been one-year commitments worth fewer than $6MM. They brought back Andrew McCutchen on another $5MM guarantee and added Tommy Pham ($4MM), Caleb Ferguson ($3MM), Adam Frazier ($1.5MM) and Tim Mayza ($1.15MM). Pittsburgh’s player payroll now sits around $88MM, as calculated by RosterResource. That’s essentially where they ended last season. Cot’s Baseball Contracts projects the Pirates for the fifth-lowest payroll in MLB.

Heaney was one of the few remaining free agent starters who was sure to find a big league deal. Jose Quintana and Kyle Gibson are the best unsigned options for teams looking to deepen their rotation.

Robert Murray of FanSided first reported the Pirates and Heaney were nearing a deal. Jon Heyman of The New York Post confirmed the agreement. Alden González of ESPN had it as a one-year deal at $5MM with incentives. Andrew Destin of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported the guarantee was $5.25MM. Image courtesy of Imagn.

Carmen Mlodzinski Getting Stretched Out As Starter In Camp

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Pirates right-hander Carmen Mlodzinski is getting stretched out as a starter this spring, he tells Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. That seems to be a consistent position for him, as general manager Ben Cherington tells Hiles that the righty has broached the subject before.

“I think from the time he first pitched out of the bullpen for us, literally from that day, he’s been pretty consistent in his communication with us that, ‘I’ll do whatever it takes to help the team, and I don’t want to give up on starting,’” Cherington said. “We encourage that. Open communication. He’s taken advantage of the forums he’s had to continue to express interest in that in a really professional, thoughtful way. We agreed at the beginning of last season that we heard him, and we felt like we were going to ask him to pitch in the ’pen for now.

“We see examples all over the game of guys doing that and going back to the rotation at some point in the future. So at the end of the season, we had a chance to sit down again and agreed that it made sense for him to put himself in a position this offseason, give himself a chance to be a starter. We agreed that we’d get his volume built in spring training to some point, probably at least three innings, and then we’ll assess and see where we are. Just continue that communication with him.”

Mlodzinki, now 26, was drafted in 2020. He spent 2021 and 2022 working primarily as a starter in the minors. In the second of those two seasons, he logged a 4.78 earned run average in 105 1/3 innings at the Double-A level.

Since then, he’s mostly been in a relief role, which has includes some big league success. He has 86 2/3 innings under his belt at this point with a 2.91 ERA. That includes five “starts”, though those were opener outings, none longer than two innings. His 22.2% strikeout rate and 10.2% walk rate are each a bit shy of average for a reliever, though his 46.7% ground ball rate is strong. He has one save and 16 holds.

Despite the decent bullpen results, Mlodzinski hasn’t given up on the dream of being a starter. It’s not uncommon these days for a guy with some relief success to try stretching out. It doesn’t always work but some success stories includes Garrett Crochet, Seth Lugo and Reynaldo López.

Mlodzinski has thrown six pitches in his major league career, according to Statcast: a four-seamer, slider, cutter, sweeper, changeup and sinker. He also has fairly neutral splits. Righties have hit .222/.312/.324 against him with lefties actually posting a worse line of .216/.289/.302.

His diverse arsenal and platoon-neutral results could perhaps allow him to turn a lineup over a few times, but he will have a hard time cracking a crowded Pittsburgh rotation. The Bucs have a controllable core three of Paul Skenes, Jared Jones and Mitch Keller. They signed Andrew Heaney to add a veteran back-end guy. Bailey Falter and Johan Oviedo are options for a spot, as are younger guys like Braxton Ashcraft, Mike Burrows, Bubba Chandler and Thomas Harrington. Like Mlodzinski, Caleb Ferguson is going to get stretched out in camp to see how it goes.

With all of those options, it’s likely Mlodzinski ends up in the bullpen, but it’s still notable that it’s on the table. In such situations, a pitcher sometimes needs the stars to align in order to find the right opportunity. As an example, Michael King worked mostly as a reliever for the Yankees for a while. In 2023, they fell out of contention and gave him a rotation job down the stretch. He pitched well enough that the Padres acquired him in the Juan Soto deal and gave him a starting role in San Diego, which he flourished in.

Now is the best time of year for a club to experiment with roles like this. After being stretched out, it’s fairly easy for a guy to then pivot to a relief role for the season, whereas doing the opposite in the middle of the summer is difficult. Mlodzinski and the Bucs can try it out and see what happens, even if it doesn’t immediately get him a rotation job. He also still has options, so staying stretched out in the minors is another possibility. It’s always possible that injuries or midseason trades open up some doors over a long season.

Pirates Designate Brett De Geus, Release Yerry Rodriguez

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The Pirates officially announced the Andrew Heaney signing today, as well as a pair of other roster moves.  Right-hander Brett de Geus was designated for assignment to create 40-man roster space for Heaney, and the Bucs also released right-hander Yerry Rodriguez.

This is the fourth time de Geus has been DFA’ed since the start of August, and each of those three designations saw the righty switch teams.  The Marlins claimed de Geus when the Mariners DFA’ed him in early August, the Blue Jays picked the reliever up on another waiver claim in September after Miami designated de Geus again, and Pittsburgh just picked de Geus up a little over a month ago after Toronto designated him and then traded de Geus in a cash transaction.

All of these moves come after two other DFAs earlier in de Geus’ career, as both the Rangers and Diamondbacks looked to move him through waivers back in 2021.  Because Arizona’s designation was followed by an outright assignment, de Geus now has the ability to reject any future outright assignments in favor of free agency, should he pass through the waiver wire without being claimed or traded this time.

De Geus’ only big league experience came during those two DFA-laden seasons.  He tossed 50 innings with Texas and Arizona in 2021, then resurfaced in the Show this year to pitch 11 1/3 combined frames for Seattle, Miami, and Toronto.  De Geus has a 7.48 ERA over his 61 1/3 career innings in the majors, plus a 6.66 ERA in 50 career innings at the Triple-A level.

Despite the lack of bottom-line results, de Geus has a 52.5% grounder rate at the MLB level, and a sinking fastball that averaged 96.4 mph last season.  The righty has been such a popular figure on the waiver wire during his career that it wouldn’t be surprising if yet another team elects to acquire the 27-year-old to see if its pitching development team has the magic touch in turning de Geus’ promising stuff into an arsenal capable of handling big league hitters.

Rodriguez signed a minor league deal with the Pirates in November, but he’ll make an early exit from Pittsburgh’s camp.  Rodriguez is also a former Ranger and Blue Jay, and he has an 8.17 ERA over 36 1/3 innings with the two clubs since the start of the 2022 season.  Control has been an issue for Rodriguez in both the majors and at Triple-A, and the strikeout potential he has showed in the minors hasn’t translated within the small sample of his MLB playing time.

Quintana Declined Offer From Pirates Before Heaney Deal

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The Pirates added to the back of their rotation this evening with the $5.25MM agreement with Andrew Heaney. Robert Murray of FanSided writes that the Bucs pivoted to Heaney after first making an unsuccessful push to bring Jose Quintana back.

According to Murray, the Pirates offered Quintana a stronger guarantee than the sum which they eventually agreed to pay Heaney. Quintana declined the offer. It’s not clear what kind of contract the 36-year-old southpaw is seeking. It’s unlikely that Pittsburgh would circle back after landing Heaney. Quintana and Kyle Gibson are the top two unsigned starting pitchers.

Quintana spent the first half of the 2022 season in Pittsburgh. He’d signed a $2MM deal as a buy-low free agent with a then-rebuilding Bucs club. The Pirates hit on the common hope for rebuilding teams of turning a low-cost free agent pickup into a midseason trade chip. Quintana turned in a 3.50 ERA across 20 starts in black and gold. The Bucs flipped him to the Cardinals alongside reliever Chris Stratton for righty Johan Oviedo and minor league first baseman Malcom Nuñez. Oviedo lost last season to Tommy John surgery but could find himself at the back of Derek Shelton’s starting staff this year.

A strong finish in St. Louis positioned Quintana much more strongly for his return to the market. He landed a two-year, $26MM guarantee from the Mets over the 2022-23 offseason. It turned out to be a good investment on New York’s part. While he missed a good chunk of the ’23 season, Quintana was a key rotation piece last year. He fired 170 1/3 frames of 3.75 ERA ball. He chipped in another 14 1/3 innings of 3.14 ERA ball in the postseason — including six scoreless in a winner-take-all Game 3 against Milwaukee in the Wild Card series.

Effective as Quintana was last year, the Mets haven’t seemed eager to bring him back. The New York Post’s Mike Puma reported shortly after the Frankie Montas injury that the Mets hadn’t reciprocated the veteran lefty’s eagerness for a reunion. Francys Romero suggested yesterday that the Mets, Padres and Rangers could show interest. The Padres have already added Nick Pivetta and Kyle Hart to the back of their rotation. The Rangers seem unlikely to seriously pursue Quintana unless they first offload salary in a trade, as they’re projected within $6MM of the luxury tax threshold. The Post’s Jon Heyman wrote this evening that the Mets have “limited” interest in Quintana because of concerns about his underlying numbers.

That’s presumably mostly about his lack of swing-and-miss. Quintana posted an 18.8% strikeout rate in consecutive seasons. He generated swinging strikes on only 8.5% of his offerings last year. It’s the third consecutive year in which Quintana succeeded despite middling whiff rates. He’s a quality strike-thrower who got grounders at a solid 47.4% clip and has rattled off a trio of consecutive sub-4.00 ERA showings.

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