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White Sox Outright Charlie Tilson

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12:24pm: Tilson has elected free agency, James Fegan of The Athletic tweets.

8:11am: White Sox outfielder Charlie Tilson was outrighted off the team’s 40-man roster yesterday, per the transactions log at MLB.com. Tilson has previously been outrighted, so he’ll have the option to declare free agency and see what the market holds for him this winter.

The writing was likely on the wall for Tilson when he didn’t receive a September call-up despite a healthy finish to the season in Triple-A. Tilson appeared in 54 games with the ChiSox in 2019, hitting .229/.293/.285 with a homer and five doubles in 157 plate appearances, but he spent most of the year with Triple-A Charlotte, where he batted .288/.345/.398 in 257 trips to the plate.

At the time of his acquisition from the Cardinals — Chicago traded Zach Duke to St. Louis for him back in 2016 — Tilson was viewed as an elite runner and a potential top-of-the-order. But Tilson tore his hamstring in his MLB debut just days after being acquired by the White Sox and missed the rest of the season after undergoing surgery. He then missed the entire 2017 campaign with a stress reaction in his foot that kept him in a walking boot for a notable portion of the season.

Since that pair of leg injuries, Tilson, who swiped 46 bases as a 22-year-old in Double-A in 2015, has tallied just 20 steals (in 28 attempts) across 223 games between Triple-A and the Majors. And in 278 Major League plate appearances since returning, he’s mustered a tepid .244/.309/.288 slash line. He still drew above-average defensive marks in a tiny sample of work in center field this season, though those same metrics panned his work in right field (again, in a minuscule sample). If and when Tilson does become a free agent, he’ll likely land a minor league deal and compete for a roster spot in Spring Training with a club next season.

Chris Young Out As Phillies’ Pitching Coach

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Phillies pitching coach Chris Young will not return to the organization in that capacity next season, MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki reports. He’s been offered a different position within the organization. Phillies fans have anxiously been awaiting word on the fate of manager Gabe Kapler, but Zolecki adds that no decision is expected on that front until next week. The Phils will, however, be in the market for a new hitting coach, as franchise legend Charlie Manuel only stepped in as interim hitting coach as a favor late in the year and isn’t expected to return in that role next year.

The ousting of Young is the first domino to fall in what could be a series of substantial changes in the Philadelphia dugout, depending on the fate of Kapler. It’s typical for organizations that hire new managers to give the incoming replacement some say over his coaching staff, so a managerial change could be accompanied by other new faces.

Young, not to be confused with the former big league pitcher of the same name (or the former big league outfielder, for that matter), spent just one season as the pitching coach with the Phillies. Matt Gelb and Meghan Montemurro of The Athletic recently chronicled some of the ups and downs in Young’s first year on the job (subscription required). Furthermore, as Gelb and Montemurro explored at great length in a fascinating read for Phils fans, fear of losing Young led to the dismissal of former pitching coach Rick Kranitz. Young had served as Kranitz’s assistant pitching coach in ’18, but when other clubs called about interviewing him last winter, the Phillies parted ways with Kranitz and promoted Young to ensure they could retain him, per that Athletic report.

The 2019 Phillies pitching staff saw its strikeout and walk percentages, ERA, FIP and xFIP all go the wrong direction, although that can’t be pinned on Young alone. The Phils sent an entire Major League bullpen’s worth of quality relievers — David Robertson, Seranthony Dominguez, Pat Neshek, Tommy Hunter, Edubray Ramos, Victor Arano and Adam Morgan, among others — to the injured list for significant periods of time. The lack of depth in the ’pen led to questionable relievers being deployed with greater frequency and didn’t do the Phillies any favors when trying to squeeze extra innings out of the rotation to compensate. That said, Young also has to shoulder some blame for steps back from several of the team’s starters, some of which stemmed from philosophical changes that didn’t prove fruitful.

As is the case with managers throughout the league, there’ll be no shortage of competition for the Phillies in their quest for a new pitching coach. We’ve already seen the Pirates, Diamondbacks, Mariners and Angels part ways with their respective pitching coaches, and the Mets will likely be on the lookout for a new pitching coach to step in for interim coach Phil Regan. (Dave Eiland was fired in June.) Given the high rate of dugout turnover throughout the league already, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see additional pitching coach vacancies arrive in the coming weeks.

Rays Announce ALDS Roster

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The Rays announced their 25-man roster for their best-of-five ALDS showdown against the Astros, which will begin this afternoon when Tyler Glasnow takes the mound against Cy Young candidate Justin Verlander. Tampa Bay has made a handful of changes from the roster they used to win the American League Wild Card Game. Here’s how their revised roster shakes out:

Right-handed pitchers

Left-handed pitchers

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

The Rays have a few substitutions from Wednesday’s Wild Card roster, swapping out first baseman Jesus Aguilar, infielder/outfielder Daniel Robertson and infielder Mike Brosseau in favor of left-hander/first baseman McKay, infielder Sogard and the right-handed Chirinos. The Astros are stacked with right-handed pitchers and, in fact, are only carrying one lefty (Wade Miley) on their ALDS roster at all, so the Rays have swapped out some right-handed bats for lefties (McKay, Sogard) and additional pitching depth (McKay, Chirinos).

For those unfamiliar, yes, McKay is both a first baseman/DH and a left-handed pitcher. While he hasn’t quite ascended to Shohei Ohtani levels of infamy, the No. 4 overall pick from the 2017 draft enjoyed a remarkable season in the minors this year. In a combined 73 2/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A, McKay pitched to a 1.10 ERA with 12.5 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9. On the other side of the ball, he struggled in Double-A before hitting .239/.346/.493 with five homers and a pair of doubles in 78 Triple-A plate appearances. The 23-year-old was primarily a pitcher in the big leagues and had his share of hardships, as evidenced by a 5.14 ERA in 49 innings. But McKay notched a 56-to-16 K/BB ratio and, in 11 plate appearances, went 2-for-10 with a home run and a walk. He’ll give manager Kevin Cash plenty of chances to be creative.

As was the case with their Wild Card roster, the Rays’ ALDS roster is rife with the fruits of their frequent trades. Sixteen of these 25 players were acquired via trade, while Garcia and Morton, who dominated the Athletics in Wednesday’s Wild Card win, were signed as free agents. Anderson, who struck out nearly 42 percent of the hitters he faced this season (including a video-game-esque 52.6 percent with the Rays following a trade over from Miami), is among the game’s most quietly dominant bullpen weapons.

They’ll have a tall order against a ridiculous 1-2-3 combination of Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole and Zack Greinke in the Houston rotation, but the Rays did take four of seven games from the Astros during the regular season (albeit with three wins coming before Houston acquired Greinke).

Yankees Announce ALDS Roster

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The Yankees have finalized their 25-man roster for their ALDS showdown against the AL Central-champion Twins. We learned yesterday that CC Sabathia would not make the roster due to health reasons but Edwin Encarnacion would be ready. Here’s the full breakdown:

Right-handed pitchers

Left-handed pitchers

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Despite his late struggles in a return from a sports hernia, Voit will get the call over the much hotter-hitting Mike Ford, who batted .274/.333/.619 with 11 home runs in 123 plate appearances between August and September. Voit, of course, has been generally excellent at the plate since debuting with the Yankees following a July 2018 trade with the Cardinals, and they’ll go with that track record over Ford’s hot streak.

Looking up and down the roster, the toll that the injury bug has taken on the Yankees is readily apparent. Absent are Dellin Betances (Achilles tear), CC Sabathia (shoulder), Aaron Hicks (flexor strain), Miguel Andujar (shoulder surgery) and Greg Bird (plantar fasciitis). Even Mike Tauchman, an out-of-the-blue breakout who only got an opportunity due to other injuries, went down with a season-ending calf strain of his own. The injury to Betances is particularly costly with the heightened importance of bullpen usage in the postseason, although the Yankees’ relief corps is still unquestionably impressive even without one of its best arms.

With four left-handed relievers at his disposal, including Happ (who could potentially work the bulk of innings in a Game 4 setting, if needed), manager Aaron Boone will have plenty of options when looking to play matchups in high-leverage settings. The Yankees opted for a fourth bench player, the versatile Wade, rather than carry a 13th pitcher, but several of their arms are capable of going multiple innings.

That Encarnacion was able to make it back to the roster will be no small detail in this series. The veteran slugger has been out since Sept. 12 due to an oblique strain and was a question mark as recently as Wednesday of this week. He’ll join Sanchez and Torres as 30-homer bats on a team that also includes Gardner (28 home runs), Judge (27 in an injury-shortened season) and LeMahieu (26) in what should be an explosive ALDS between baseball’s two most powerful offenses.

Twins Announce ALDS Roster

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The Twins on Friday morning announced their 25-man roster for their American League Division Series date with the Yankees, which is slated to begin tonight when right-hander Jose Berrios faces off with Yankees lefty James Paxton in New York. Here’s the full roster for what figures to be a slugfest between the top two home-run-hitting clubs in MLB history:

Right-handed pitchers

Left-handed pitchers

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Designated Hitter

It’s notable that each of Arraez, Adrianza and Gonzalez and Kepler is active. All four dealt with late injuries, with Arraez in particular emerging as a question mark following an ankle sprain on the penultimate day of the regular season. The rookie is far from a household name, but he hit .334/.399/.439 with more walks (36) than strikeouts (29) in 366 plate appearances this season and should see plenty of at-bats this series if he’s 100 percent.

The Twins somewhat quietly boasted a formidable bullpen down the stretch. Duffey allowed only two runs after the trade deadline (in his final outing of the year), cementing himself as the top setup option to Rogers. May enjoyed a strong finish to the year, as did the veteran Romo, acquired in a deadline swap. Littell, a former Yankees prospect, posted a 0.88 ERA in his final 30 2/3 innings following a June recall to the big leagues. He’ll be joined by rookies Stashak, Smeltzer and Graterol, the latter of whom is the organization’s top pitching prospect.

While carrying four rookie relievers may surprise some, it’s Dobnak’s inclusion that is perhaps the unlikeliest development. The 24-year-old signed out of independent ball as an undrafted free agent two years ago and skyrocketed through Minnesota’s system, posting a 1.59 ERA in 28 1/3 innings following his MLB debut in 2019. He not only claimed a roster spot but has emerged as a likely starting option alongside Berrios and Odorizzi. That’s both a testament to his ascension and a reminder that Michael Pineda is serving a 60-game suspension.

The most notable absence for the Twins is left-hander Martin Perez, who made 29 starts and three relief appearances for the Twins this season after signing as a free agent. His omission from the roster doesn’t necessarily mean that the Twins plan to decline his $7.5MM option for the 2020 season, but it’s also not a ringing vote of confidence in the veteran southpaw.

Astros Announce ALDS Roster

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The Astros have set their roster for the 2019 American League Division Series against the Wild Card-winning Rays. Former MVP and Cy Young winner Justin Verlander will take the ball in Game 1 and square off against righty Tyler Glasnow. Here’s who they’ll carry for the forthcoming best-of-five series:

Right-handed pitchers

Left-handed pitchers

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Among the team’s notable omissions are right-handers Brad Peacock, Chris Devenski and Bryan Abreu, although Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle tweets that the organization felt Peacock would’ve needed at least one more rehab outing to sufficiently ramp up. He’d be an option, presumably, should the Astros advance to the ALCS.

The 22-year-old Abreu allowed just one run in a small sample of 8 2/3 innings down the stretch, pushing for a postseason roster spot in the process. However, Rondon allowed just six runs over his final 21 innings to close out the season and landed himself a roster spot despite a previously underwhelming season. Devenski, meanwhile, was one of the Astros’ best bullpen weapons in 2016-17 but has struggled through a pair of down seasons after dominating in his first two years as a big leaguer.

You won’t find many playoff teams that carry just one left-handed pitcher, but the Astros marched to the American League’s best record despite a lack of left-handed bullpen depth throughout the season. While either Framber Valdez or Cionel Perez could’ve given the club another option, they’ll instead load up on right-handed relief arms against a Rays club that is a bit deeper in right-handed bats than left-handed threats. Beyond that, the Astros are rich in right-handed relievers who are dominant against left-handed opponents. Pressly (.124/.165/.196), Osuna (.150/.214/.258), Harris (.207/.226/.264) and the young Urquidy (.179/.210/.321) each overwhelmed left-handed batters in 2019.

Julio Teheran Replaces Chris Martin On Braves’ NLDS Roster

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Right-hander Julio Teheran will replace injured reliever Chris Martin on the Braves’ postseason roster, the team announced Friday morning. Mark Bowman of MLB.com tweets that with Teheran now on board, he’ll likely draw the starting nod in a theoretical Game 4, with lefty Max Fried continuing on as a relief option for the rest of the series.

Martin didn’t throw a pitch in last night’s contest, as he sustained an oblique strain when coming out of the ’pen to begin the eighth inning. At the time, Atlanta held a 3-1 lead but quickly saw things unravel when right-handers Luke Jackson and Mark Melancon combined to surrender six earned runs while recording a collective total of five outs. Despite a pair of ninth-inning homers from Ronald Acuna Jr. and Freddie Freeman, the Braves were left stunned by a 7-6 loss at the hands of the NL Central champion Cardinals.

Fried had been tentatively lined up to start Game 4, if necessary, after being available out of the ’pen in the first couple games of the series. He tossed 14 pitches and picked up two strikeouts in a flawless inning of relief yesterday, and if he’s going to be reserved for a bullpen role for the remainder of the NLDS, it stands to reason that he’ll be more available for multi-inning work now as well.

Martin’s injury, meanwhile, likely brings an end to his time with the Braves. While Atlanta could re-sign him, he’s a free agent at season’s end and will also have the opportunity to explore offers from other clubs. Acquired on July 30 in a trade that sent pitching prospect Kolby Allard to the Rangers, the 33-year-old Martin logged a 4.08 ERA and a sensational 22-to-1 K/BB ratio in 17 2/3 innings with the Braves.

The unfortunate injury also gives the 28-year-old Teheran what could be one final opportunity to pitch in a Braves uniform. While he’s controlled for the 2020 season via a $12MM club option ($1MM buyout), there’s no guarantee that the Braves opt to exercise that clause. (MLBTR readers weighed in on the subject last night and were evenly split when polled about his future.) In 174 2/3 innings this season, Teheran pitched to a 3.81 ERA with 8.4 K/9, 4.3 BB/9, 1.13 HR/9 and a 39 percent ground-ball rate. Those are solid enough numbers, but Teheran’s walk rate has risen significantly over the past two seasons while his velocity has dropped (career-low 89.7 mph average fastball in ’19).

Dick Williams On Reds’ Offseason Plans

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Reds president of baseball operations Dick Williams has made it known that the club’s front office is entering the offseason focused on building a playoff-caliber team for 2020. The Reds have failed in that regard six straight times, but the team aims to bolster its playoff chances for next season by upping its payroll. Williams explained the Reds’ approach to the upcoming offseason in an expansive Q&A with C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic (subscription required). It’s worth reading in full, but we’ll touch on a few of the highlights here.

[RELATED – Three Needs: Cincinnati Reds]

Cincinnati made almost all of its notable additions on the trade market last winter, picking up several household names (including right-hander Sonny Gray, who was superb this season). That continued into the summer with their acquisition of righty Trevor Bauer, who will join Gray, Luis Castillo and Anthony DeSclafani as locks for next year’s rotation. The Reds remain open to bettering their roster via trades now, but it seems an ideal scenario for Williams would be for him and general manager Nick Krall to make most of their hay in free agency.

Williams told Rosecrans he expects Cincy will “be aggressive in trying to get some guys in free agency.” That’s a drastic change from last offseason, when the Reds’ lone guaranteed contract went to lefty reliever Zach Duke. That $2MM signing didn’t pan out, leading the Reds to release Duke in July.

While Duke struggled as part of the Reds’ bullpen, fellow relievers Raisel Iglesias, Amir Garrett, Michael Lorenzen, Robert Stephenson and Matt Bowman each gave he club respectable or better production. All five of those hurlers are slated to return in 2020, though the Reds still “want to make sure we’re doing everything we can to improve the bullpen,” according to Williams.

Upgrading starting depth, defense and team speed are also on the Reds’ to-do list, but there probably won’t be a bigger winter priority for the team than improving its offense. The Reds ended the year 25th in the majors in both runs scored (701) and wRC+ (87), and only third baseman Eugenio Suarez and the young outfield duo of Aristides Aquino and Jesse Winker provided well-above-average numbers over a sizable sample of plate appearances.

Aquino, 25, started his career on an offensive rampage after an Aug. 1 promotion. He was a home run threat just about every time he stepped to the plate for a few weeks, becoming the fastest player ever to ever hit 15 (he did so in 122 PA). Aquino wound up with a prolific 19 in 225 trips to the plate, though his overall output tailed off badly over the final couple weeks of the campaign. Perhaps as a result of that, the Reds don’t want to gift him a starting spot in right field for next season.

“He’s going to have to continue to earn it and improve and build and we will take the approach in the offseason that the outfield as a whole, you know, we will be trying to add,” said Williams.

The Reds’ outfield next year could also continue to include Nick Senzel, a high-end infield prospect who transferred to center this season. Cincy was impressed with Senzel’s work in his first outfield action in the bigs, but Williams values Senzel’s flexibility and doesn’t want to commit to a 2020 position for him just yet. Whether the Reds add a starting-level second baseman or pick up a No. 1-caliber center fielder figures to influence where Senzel will primarily line up in a year. Indeed, the Reds’ middle infield “needs to be figured out,” acknowledged Williams, who revealed the Reds will “look into” re-signing pending free-agent shortstop Jose Iglesias. The light-hitting, defensively adept Iglesias proved to be a shrewd minor league signing for the club going into this season, but his ceiling isn’t particularly high. With that in mind, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Reds let him walk and pursue better options than him and the controllable talent on hand (namely Freddy Galvis and Jose Peraza).

Between Suarez at the hot corner and Joey Votto at first, the rest of the team’s starting infield appears etched in stone going into 2020. Elsewhere, while Williams regards catchers Tucker Barnhart and Curt Casali as starting-caliber backstops, he admitted that “we could look to get more offensively out of the catching.” Big-hitting catcher Yasmani Grandal, a former Reds farmhand, headlines the class of backstops who are about to reach free agency. He has already been linked to the Reds in the rumor mill this week.

Regardless of whether the Reds try to reunite with Grandal, it appears they’re shaping up to have one of the league’s most active offseasons. There’s “a strong emphasis on trying to win now,” Williams declared. “And win in the short term. We believe we will build a postseason team for 2020.”

A’s Rumors: Treinen, Profar, Pending FAs

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We’ve seen quite a bit of news on the Athletics since their season ended with Wednesday’s wild-card loss to the Rays. Here’s even more on the A’s, courtesy of Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (links here):

  • It’s “likely” the Athletics will non-tender or trade right-handed reliever Blake Treinen, according to Slusser, who also names second baseman Jurickson Profar as someone who’s in danger of winding up on the outs. Just a year ago at this time, Treinen was coming off perhaps one of the greatest seasons a reliever has ever posted. It would have unthinkable then that the A’s would be considering cutting the cord on him 12 months later, but it’s now understandable in light of his rough 2019. Injuries limited Treinen to 58 2/3 innings, and his numbers declined across the board when he was able to take the mound. Treinen recorded a 4.91 ERA/5.14 FIP with 9.05 K/9 and 5.68 BB/9 before his season ended in mid-September because of a stress reaction in his back. Although Treinen lost his job as the A’s closer this year, the saves he has amassed will help him in the arbitration process, where he’d be in line to collect a raise over the $6.4MM he earned in 2019. But the low-budget A’s could simply choose to walk away from the 31-year-old after his nightmarish campaign.
  • Profar, like Treinen, entered the season as a player the A’s were counting on to successfully fill a big role. After acquiring the switch-hitter from the Rangers last winter, Oakland gave Profar ample opportunity to build on a career-best 2018 this season. Instead, Profar stumbled to an uninspiring .218/.301/.410 batting line in 518 plate appearances and earned negative grades at the keystone (minus-10 DRS, minus-1 UZR). The 26-year-old, who made $3.6MM in ’19, has one more season of arbitration eligibility remaining.
  • The Athletics may have too many starters lined up for 2020 to justify re-signing pending free-agent left-hander Brett Anderson. The same likely goes for fellow soon-to-be FA starters Homer Bailey and Tanner Roark, Slusser suggests. The A’s acquired both righties over the summer, and the team ended up receiving surprisingly decent production from Bailey after years of struggles with multiple franchises. The 33-year-old Bailey, who told Slusser he “really enjoyed” his stint as an Athletic, pitched to a 4.30 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 across 73 1/3 innings in their uniform. Roark managed similar numbers in his 55 frames as a member of the club, with which he notched a 4.58 ERA and put up 8.2 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9.
  • Lefty reliever Jake Diekman, yet another in-season trade pickup, could also depart in the next several weeks. However, the A’s at least figure to discuss retaining him, Slusser relays. He has a $5.75MM mutual option (or a $500K buyout) for next season. Diekman struggled mightily with his control as an Athletic this year, though, as he issued 16 walks, allowed 16 hits and yielded 10 earned runs in a 20 1/3-inning sample.
  • This was a stunningly poor season for designated hitter Khris Davis, whom the team signed to a two-year, $33.5MM extension in April. At that point, Davis was coming off three consecutive 40-home run seasons and a remarkable four straight in which he batted .247. Both streaks came to an end this year, in which Davis hit .220/.293/.387 with 23 HRs in 533 trips to the plate as he dealt with injuries. But Davis “wasn’t injured at the end of the year,” said manager Bob Melvin, who expects a bounce-back performance from the slugger in 2020. Executive vice president Billy Beane shares Melvin’s optimism, saying he looks for a return to Davis’ “annual 40 homers, .247” next year.

NL Notes: Giants, Cole, Mets, Cone, Rockies

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It’s up in the air whether the Giants are in for a big-spending offseason, though it appears arguably the game’s top soon-to-be free agent would be open to playing for them. Astros right-hander Gerrit Cole has interest in the Giants, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. While Cole’s brother-in-law, shortstop Brandon Crawford, plays for the Giants, Schulman notes he’s not the source of this information. A Cole signing, which could require a commitment in the neighborhood of $200MM, would give a San Francisco team that could lose pending free agent Madison Bumgarner a much-needed ace. Considering the cost, it would also be somewhat of an out-of-character transaction for Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi. Back when Zaidi was the general manager of the ultra-rich Dodgers, they never even inked anyone to a nine-figure guarantee. However, in Zaidi’s first offseason with the Giants last winter, they did make an effort to reel in free-agent outfielder Bryce Harper. The Giants reportedly discussed a decade-long pact with Harper before he signed a 13-year, $330MM contract with the Phillies.

Here’s more on a couple other NL teams…

  • Retired right-hander and current YES Network announcer David Cone told Joel Sherman of the New York Post he’s interested in becoming a major league manager or pitching coach, though he’s not “actively campaigning” for a job. Specifically, Cone would like to take over for the fired Mickey Callaway as the manager of the Mets, with whom Cone starred from 1987-1992 and finished his playing career in 2003. “If someone asks you for an interview with the Yankees or Mets, it is simple, you say, ‘yes,’” said Cone, who did have a phone conversation with general manager Brian Cashman in regards to the Yankees’ then-vacant managerial position in 2017. That was not a formal interview, though, and the role ultimately went to Aaron Boone. Cone has since remained in the YES booth, where he regularly incorporates analytics into his work. The 56-year-old’s modern approach to the game could potentially put him on teams’ radars, though his lack of coaching and front office experience may give clubs pause. As of now, there’s no indication any team is considering Cone for one of his desired roles.
  • Rockies reliever Bryan Shaw just wrapped up his second straight disappointing season, but there was “some deadline interest” in him over the summer, Thomas Harding of MLB.com writes. Just as no trade came together then, it seems doubtful to happen going forward. For one, Shaw has logged a brutal 5.61 ERA/5.07 FIP with 7.96 K/9 and 4.05 BB/9 in his two-season, 126 2/3-inning Rockies tenure. He’s owed another $9MM in 2020 on top of it, and there’s an incentive in his deal that could turn a $9MM club option for 2021 into a guarantee. That’ll happen if Shaw appears in 40 games next year and finishes the season healthy. The 31-year-old racked up 70 appearances in 2019, so it would take a drastic fall in usage to prevent his ’21 option from vesting.

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