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Archives for November 2021

Braves Non-Tender Richard Rodriguez

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The Braves have non-tendered right-handed pitcher Richard Rodriguez, reports MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. Acquired in a mid-season deal with Pittsburgh, Rodriguez pitched to fine bottom-line results in Atlanta but carried worrying peripherals and faded down the stretch. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected the former closer to make $3.1MM in his upcoming trip through arbitration.

A non-tender is an unceremonious end to the year for a player who was a mainstay out of the Pirates bullpen for years. Still, Rodriguez was long thought to be a risky investment owing to a 2-pitch arsenal that leaned on a 93mph fastball most of the time. This approach led to excellent control (4% walk-rate in 2021) and ample pop-ups, but also left Rodriguez with a rather volatile strikeout ability (36.6% strikeout rate in 2020; 16.7% rate in 2021) and at heightened risk for home runs. As a player who has found ample success with his skillset, it won’t be a surprise to see Rodriguez get swooped up by a team for a similar price tag the Braves passed on.

Also being non-tendered by the club are infielder Johan Camargo and right-handed pitcher Jasseel De La Cruz. The soon-to-be 28-year-old Camargo had a 3.2 bWAR showing for the Braves back in 2018 but has seen his offense and playing time slide in recent years. A hitless 15-game stint with the Braves this year coupled with the recent extension of Orlando Arcia gives Atlanta reason to move on, though other clubs will surely be intrigued by Camargo’s versatility and continued Triple-A dominance. De La Cruz meanwhile has scattered strong results as a starter throughout his minor league career but struggled to a 7.19 ERA in 56 Triple-A innings. His non-tender frees up a spot on the Atlanta 40-man roster, bringing it down to 38 players.

Brewers Non-Tender Daniel Vogelbach

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The Brewers announced this evening that they have non-tendered both first baseman Daniel Vogelbach and right-handed pitcher John Curtiss. The power-swinging Vogelbach was projected to receive a $2MM salary through arbitration (by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz), which the team likely viewed as redundant with a fellow lefty bat on hand in Rowdy Tellez.

Claimed off waivers from Toronto during the 2020 season, Vogelbach’s bat erupted for a 161 OPS+ during a 19-game stint with the Brewers last season. His .219/.349/.381 slash line this year, however, registered slightly below the league average (97 OPS+). The 28-year-old continued to hit the ball with authority this year and even cut his strikeout rate to a personal best 22.1%, but his defensive limitations and middling offensive performance were enough for the budget-conscious Brewers to move on. The lefty slugger can be controlled through 2025 via arbitration if he latches on with another Major League team this winter.

The right-handed Curtiss came over to Milwaukee in a last-minute deal with the Marlins this past July. The deal proved ill-fated for both the Brewers and Curtiss after just six appearances out of the bullpen, as the reliever yielded six runs and headed to the injured list with a torn UCL. The 28-year-old underwent Tommy John surgery in September and is unlikely to see action on a Major League roster until 2023, at the earliest. Dating back to 2020 Curtiss carries a 2.86 ERA across 69 innings and will remain a high-upside reliever play for teams if his recovery goes as planned. The Brewers now have 36 players on their 40-man roster.

Tigers Non-Tender Matthew Boyd

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The Tigers announced Tuesday that they will not tender a contract to left-hander Matthew Boyd, immediately making him a free agent. Boyd, 30, pitched just eight innings after June 14 this season due to a pair of forearm injuries, ultimately leading to flexor tendon surgery in late September. He’d been projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $7.3MM in what would have been his final season of arbitration eligibility.

A specific timeline for Boyd’s return to the mound was never provided, with the team stating only it was “hopeful” he’d be able to pitch at some point in the 2022 season. Tigers GM Al Avila briefly discussed Boyd in his end-of-year press conference and acknowledged that a non-tender was a possibility. At the very least, it’s reasonable to expect Boyd to miss a notable portion of the 2022 campaign; were the Tigers expecting him to be ready early in the season, they’d surely have tendered him a contract, given his track record and lengthy tenure with the club.

The 2020 season was brutal for Boyd, who was knocked around for a 6.71 ERA, but he’s otherwise been a solid starter in Detroit — at times looking like an intriguing mid-rotation option. Boyd has shown the ability to miss bats in droves in the past, though he traded some punchouts for efficiency in 2021 when he attacked the strike zone at a career-best rate and accordingly dropped his walk rate to 6.8% — the second best mark of his career.

Even with that woeful 2020 showing, Boyd carries a 4.66 ERA, a 24.9% strikeout rate and a 6.9% walk rate over his past 494 2/3 innings at the MLB level. He’s often been homer-prone in the past, but Boyd has also gone through stretches where he looks on the cusp of taking his game to a new level. He pitched to a 3.44 ERA and 3.75 FIP through 13 starts this past season before landing on the injured list, for instance, and Boyd looked dominant for a good chunk of the 2019 season as well before a dismal second-half swoon. Whenever he’s healthy, Boyd will surely be viewed by teams around the league as an upside play who, with a few tweaks, could potentially sustain some of those flashes of success he’s shown in the past.

For the time being, with the looming lockout and uncertainty surrounding Boyd’s arm, it’s likely he’ll remain a free agent until the expiration of the collective bargaining agreement and instead field offers from other clubs once the forthcoming transaction freeze is lifted.

Yankees Tender Contract To Gary Sanchez

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The Yankees announced Tuesday that they will tender a contract to all of their arbitration-eligible players, including catcher Gary Sanchez. Sanchez has come up as a possible non-tender candidate in each of the past two offseasons but he’ll be offered a contract and remain with the club for the time being. He’s projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $7.9MM in 2022 — his final season of arbitration eligibility.

Sanchez, 29 this week, has become a polarizing player among Yankee fans given his near-unparalleled power at the catcher position but also his low batting averages, high strikeout rates and shaky defensive skills. The former top prospect looked like a star in the making from 2016-17 but has since ridden a roller coaster of productivity to a composite .201/.299/.444 slash with a 28.1% strikeout rate.

Poor batting average notwithstanding, Sanchez’s ability to draw a walk and immense power clearly are valued by the Yankees (and likely would be by other clubs as well). Metrics like wRC+ and OPS+ (both at 99 from 2018-21) suggest that the walks and power are enough to bring Sanchez right up to the cusp of league-average production, though the path he takes to get there is a rather unpopular one among fans. Still, when Sanchez is on a hot streak, his bat can carry a team. Those frequent but brief flashes of potential serve as a reminder of the overall upside and the reason that the Yankees have stuck with him despite the ups and downs.

That said, it’s not as though New York chose not to explore the market for alternatives. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets that the Yankees explored the free-agent and trade markets for catching help in recent days before opting to simply stick with Sanchez. It’s a thin free-agent market for catching options, however, with Yan Gomes standing out as the lone starting-caliber option behind the dish. The trade market, meanwhile had a few potential options, but GM Brian Cashman was ostensibly either nonplused with the available names themselves or the asking prices attached. New York was at least speculatively linked to 2021 Gold Glove winner Jacob Stallings, but he was traded from Pittsburgh to Miami yesterday in exchange for a three-player package.

All that said, while Sanchez is at least in line to serve as the team’s primary backstop in 2022, it’s more written in pencil than etched in stone. Arbitration contracts are only partially guaranteed, as teams can cut a player on an arb contract and owe them only 30 days’ termination pay (i.e. prorated salary) so long as the move is made prior to the halfway point in Spring Training. Cutting a player in the second half of camp boosts that number to 45 days’ prorated salary, and the contract becomes fully guaranteed on Opening Day.

It seems unlikely that New York would simply release Sanchez, of course, but the Yanks could conceivably reinvestigate the catching market to see if there are new trade possibilities — both in terms of players to acquire and teams with interest in Sanchez — in the days following the likely lockout. The smart money is on Sanchez reprising his role as the Yankees’ primary catcher next season, of course, but it remains possible that an unexpected opportunity will prompt the Yanks to pivot.

Backing up Sanchez will quite likely be Kyle Higashioka, who bore some similarities to Sanchez in 2021 — at least offensively. While Higashioka is a better defender, his .181/.246/.389 slash struck a familiar chord: plenty of pop and a respectable number of walks but low average/on-base marks fueled by a lofty strikeout rate. Higashioka is out of minor league options, so if the Yankees wanted to find a different skill set to back up Sanchez, they’d likely need to expose the 31-year-old Higashioka to waivers, as it’s unlikely they’d carry three catchers on the roster.

Jack Curry of the YES Network first reported that Sanchez would be tendered a contract.

Mets Sign Starling Marte

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The Mets have landed the market’s top center fielder, announcing agreement with Starling Marte on a four-year, $78MM deal. The star outfielder will lock in a $14.5MM salary in 2022 to go with a $5MM signing bonus, then receive $19.5MM salaries from 2023-25. Marte is represented by Rep 1 Baseball.

It’s the culmination of a shocking evening for the Mets, who have also agreed to terms with Eduardo Escobar and Mark Canha within the past few days. Marte was the prize of this offseason’s free agent center field class, easily the top option in an otherwise thin market. A 2016 All-Star and two-time Gold Glove award winner, he’s coming off perhaps the best season of his ten-year big league career. Marte split the 2021 campaign between the Marlins and A’s, posting a .310/.383/.458 line with 12 home runs and an MLB-best 47 stolen bases in just 120 games.

A rib fracture cost Marte more than a month of action between April and May, but he was as productive as ever upon returning. After adjusting for the pitcher-friendly home parks in which he played, Marte’s hitting alone was 34 percentage points better than league average, by measure of wRC+. That’s the best mark of his career, and the speedy outfielder added significantly more offensive value on top of that with incredible baserunning. Not only was he the game’s most prolific base-stealer, he was successful on 90.4% of his attempts — an incredible rate considering opposing pitchers were well aware of the threat he posed every time he reached base.

While Marte might be coming off his best season, he’s been a consistently above-average player for the bulk of his career. His 2021 campaign was the most extreme version of a generally steady skillset: plenty of balls in play, high-end baserunning, and an all-fields approach that makes him difficult to defend. Marte’s .372 batting average on balls in play this past season was one of the league’s higher rates, but he’s consistently had a knack for turning batted balls into hits. So while that BABIP may take a bit of a step back in 2022, it’s likelier he’ll regress closer to his career .344 mark as opposed to the .292 league average.

Marte’s an aggressive hitter, and he’s never had a season with an above-average walk rate. His 8.2% walk percentage in 2021 was a personal best, and his patience tailed off significantly after he was traded from Miami to Oakland midseason. His free-swinging ways also keep his strikeouts down, though, as the Dominican Republic native hasn’t punched out in more than 20% of his plate appearances in a season since 2014. So while Marte doesn’t take many free passes, he nevertheless typically manages solid on-base numbers based on batting averages that regularly push (or, in 2021’s case, exceed) .300.

Defensively, Marte broke in as a left fielder with the Pirates in deference to Andrew McCutchen. One of the game’s top corner outfield defenders, he kicked over to center field in 2018 after Pittsburgh traded McCutchen away. He’s spent the past four seasons playing almost exclusively up the middle, drawing mixed reviews. Defensive Runs Saved has pegged Marte as a bit below-average over each of the past three seasons. Statcast’s Outs Above Average typically rates him a bit above par with the glove.

However one falls on Marte’s glovework, it seems the Mets view him as a defensive upgrade over incumbent center fielder Brandon Nimmo. Signing Marte will allow New York to kick Nimmo into right field, where he’ll replace free agent Michael Conforto (who almost certainly will wind up elsewhere after today’s transactions). They’ll be joined in the regular outfield by Canha, the culmination of a drastic shakeup on the grass that unfolded within the span of a few hours.

How long Marte will be capable of manning center field remains to be seen. He signed an early-career extension with the Pirates that delayed his first trip to the free agent market by a few seasons. Marte turned 33 years old last month, and it’s possible he’ll need to move to a corner spot at some point over the course of this deal. He’s not yet shown an appreciable drop-off in sprint speed, according to Statcast, and the Mets are counting on his speed and defense holding up for at least the next couple seasons.

A four-year guarantee for a player at this age whose game is so reliant on athleticism isn’t without risk. Between Marte’s great platform season and the lack of obvious center field alternatives, that always seemed likely to be the price a team would have to pay to bring him aboard, though. Entering the offseason, MLBTR projected a four-year, $80MM guarantee and ranked Marte this winter’s #13 free agent.

Marte is the highest-ranked player of this winter’s class to sign to date, and he’s also secured the largest guarantee of any player so far (edging out Eduardo Rodríguez’s deal with the Tigers by $1MM). In the span of a day, the Mets have become the offseason’s most active club — the kind of spending spree fans in Queens envisioned when Steve Cohen purchased the franchise from the Wilpon family last offseason.

The club opened Cohen’s first season as owner with a payroll in the $195MM range, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts. It’s clear they’re prepared to shatter that mark in year two, as Jason Martinez of Roster Resource estimates that spreading the Escobar, Canha and Marte deals evenly would push the Mets’ 2022 commitments to $225MM. The organization’s estimated luxury tax bill, meanwhile, now sits above $229MM.

That’s including projections for arbitration-eligible players, some of whom will be non-tendered or traded. Speculatively speaking, Dominic Smith, J.D. Davis and/or Jeff McNeil could be flipped elsewhere, as today’s series of acquisitions could inhibit the path to everyday reps for that trio (particularly Smith and Davis). Yet it’s also apparent that Cohen is giving general manager Billy Eppler wide leeway to bolster the roster in hopes of snapping a five-year playoff drought, and further moves could be on the horizon. All three of today’s additions are position player pickups, and Eppler is already on record about the team’s desire for rotation help.

While the Mets’ roster is the main story of today’s transactional barrage, their agreement with Marte has trickle-down reverberations for the rest of the league. As the only clear everyday center fielder available in free agency, he’d drawn wide interest over the offseason’s first couple weeks. Teams like the division-rival Phillies, crosstown Yankees, Marlins, Giants, Astros and Rangers had all been rumored to have interest in his services. Having missed out on Marte, a few of those clubs might now have to pivot to the trade market.

Arizona’s Ketel Marte, Pittsburgh’s Bryan Reynolds and Baltimore’s Cedric Mullins stand out as the top potential targets, but it remains to be seen how attainable any of those players may be. The D-Backs have been resistant to moving any of their core controllable stars; the Pirates were reportedly disinclined to consider deals involving Reynolds at the trade deadline, viewing him as a long-term building block. The O’s are at least willing to field offers on Mullins, but it’s not clear that’s anything more than due diligence at this point.

Jon Heyman of the MLB Network first reported the Mets had agreed to terms on a four-year, $78MM guarantee with Marte. MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo of MLB.com first reported the salary breakdown of Marte’s contract.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Mets Sign Mark Canha

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The Mets continue to bolster their position player mix, announcing agreement Tuesday with free agent outfielder Mark Canha. It’s reportedly a two-year, $26.5MM guarantee for the CAA Sports client. The deal also contains a 2024 club option. A Bay Area native, Canha had previously spent his entire big league career with the A’s.

Canha’s contract will see him collect $12MM in 2022 along with a $2MM signing bonus and then $10.5MM in 2023. The 2024 club option is valued at $11.5MM and has a $2MM buyout attached.

Canha becomes the second big addition of the day for the Mets, who also agreed to terms with infielder Eduardo Escobar on a two-year guarantee this afternoon. Canha will step into the club’s outfield mix, with the bulk of that time presumably coming in the corners. While he has experience in all three outfield spots, he’s never rated highly as a center fielder and has logged the plurality of his career innings in left field.

Public metrics like Statcast’s Outs Above Average and Defensive Runs Saved have been mixed on Canha’s corner outfield work over the past few seasons. There’s little question about his bat, though, as Canha has been an above-average hitter in each of the past four years by measure of wRC+.

Since the start of the 2019 season, the Berkeley product owns a .249/.377/.438 line over 1365 plate appearances. While he doesn’t have an eye-catching batting average, the right-handed hitter has walked in a fantastic 13.3% of his trips to the dish. That’s the 14th-highest rate among the 159 players with 1000+ plate appearances in that time. As a result, Canha’s on-base percentage is nearly sixty points higher than the league-wide mark over that span.

That ability to reach base may be Canha’s only standout skill, but it’s a highly valuable one for a Mets’ club that ranked sixteenth with a .321 mark this past season (excluding pitchers). And while Canha may not be elite at anything else, he’s a generally solid all-around player. His strikeout rates over the past few years have typically been a bit lower than the league marks. He owns a .189 ISO (slugging percentage minus batting average) since the start of 2019, which is slightly above par. Canha has done all that in one of the game’s more pitcher-friendly home environments, and his overall offense over the past three seasons checks in 29 percentage points above league average after accounting for park effects.

Canha was off to an especially promising start in 2021. In 325 plate appearances through June 25, he hit .255/.375/.450 with 11 homers. He suffered a left hip strain that landed him on the injured list at that point, an injury from which he didn’t seem to fully recover. While Canha returned in mid-July, he slumped to a .206/.340/.319 line over his final 300 plate appearances. A glance at his batted ball metrics seems to support that narrative. Canha’s average exit velocity before his IL stint sat at a solid 89 MPH; over his final few months, that mark dropped to 85.5 MPH.

The Mets are clearly of the belief that Canha’s power and overall offensive output will return to peak levels after an offseason to recover. His reported $13.25MM average annual value comes in a touch higher than MLBTR’s two-year, $24MM projected guarantee. Still, it’s a reasonable price for a player of Canha’s caliber and the Mets aren’t taking on much long-term risk. Canha turns 33 years old in February, capping the length of offers teams were willing to put forth.

Canha joins Brandon Nimmo as locks for regular playing time in the New York outfield next season. The Mets have various others who could play their way into the mix. Jeff McNeil and J.D. Davis could get bumped from a crowded infield mix into outfield work, while Dominic Smith, Khalil Lee and recent big league signee Nick Plummer could also see action. Still, there are enough moving parts that new GM Billy Eppler and his staff could continue to look for upgrades. Jon Heyman of the MLB Network tweets that New York still isn’t ruling themselves out of the market for free agent center fielder Starling Marte, for instance.

The specific breakdown of Canha’s deal has yet to be reported, but it’s likely to be another fairly significant addition to the Mets’ 2022 books. If both the Escobar and Canha deals were paid out evenly over the next two seasons, New York’s 2022 payroll would be pushing $207MM in the estimation of Jason Martinez of Roster Resource. The Mets’ estimated luxury tax commitments, meanwhile, are now up around $210MM (both figures including projected salaries for arbitration-eligible players).

It’s not entirely clear how far owner Steve Cohen is willing to push payroll, but it seem very likely they’ll at least be above this past season’s $195MM mark. Both Cohen and Eppler have talked about having ample financial flexibility, and the Mets remain on the hunt for additions to a rotation that has already lost Noah Syndergaard and could see Marcus Stroman depart. It’s already been an active first few days for Eppler in Queens, and it seems likely the Mets will continue to be busy as they try to snap a five-year playoff drought.

As for Canha’s former club, the A’s never seemed especially likely to make a strong run at bringing him back. Oakland is expected to conduct a significant roster overhaul this winter, with ownership seemingly mandating a drastic reduction in payroll. The A’s didn’t make Canha an $18.4MM qualifying offer, and shelling out a multi-year deal at an eight-figure annual salary would’ve registered as a major surprise.

Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported the Mets and Canha were nearing an agreement. Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported a two-year, $26.5MM guarantee had been agreed upon. Sherman also reported the presence of a 2024 option, which Jon Heyman of the MLB Network specified was a club option. MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo reported the salary breakdown of Canha’s contract.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Angels Sign Michael Lorenzen

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The Angels announced the signing of right-hander Michael Lorenzen to a one-year contract on Tuesday. It’s reportedly a $6.75MM pact for the CAA Sports client.

After already signing Noah Syndergaard, the Angels will add another notable pitcher to their rotation on a one-year contract, as Lorenzen will reportedly function as a starting pitcher.  Lorenzen went into free agency hoping to get an opportunity to again work as a starter, following six years of almost exclusively being used as a reliever out of the Reds bullpen.  Cincinnati was open to stretching Lorenzen out last spring, before Lorenzen was sidelined with a shoulder strain that put him on the injured list for the entire first half of the season.

Lorenzen (who turns 30 in January) indicated that he was open to signing a shorter-term contract in order to prove himself in a rotation, and thus set himself up for a more lucrative free agent deal next winter when he can market himself as a full-fledged starting pitcher.  For an Angels team that needs starting pitching and is generally wary of long-term commitments to starters, Lorenzen represented a solid fit, and since Lorenzen is also an Anaheim native, he’ll now get to start this new chapter of his career in his hometown.

Anaheim is also a particularly interesting landing spot for considering the presence of Shohei Ohtani, and Lorenzen’s own status as a two-way player.  In addition to working out of the Reds’ bullpen, Lorenzen also appeared in 34 games as an outfielder, with most (29) of those appearances coming during the 2019 season.  Lorezen has hit .233/.282/.429 over his 147 career plate appearances, which is well above average for a pitcher, if unspectacular for a position player.

It is easy to imagine a scenario where Lorenzen continues to get regular work in the rotation and in the outfield, since the Angels know better than any team now to manage a two-way player.  The Halos have already adjusted their rotation to a six-man unit to accommodate Ohtani, and that rotation now consists of Ohtani, Lorenzen, Syndergaard, Jose Suarez, Patrick Sandoval, and one of Reid Detmers or Jaime Barria.

Considering how the Angels have been linked to so many notables on the free agent and trade markets, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see another pitcher acquired, in order to add even more depth to this group.  It remains to be seen, of course, whether Lorenzen can actually thrive as a starter, and Syndergaard is only returning to regular action after Tommy John surgery caused him to miss miss virtually all of the 2020-21 seasons.

If Lorenzen doesn’t work out as a starting pitcher, he can always fall back on relief pitching, which would also provide a boost for the Angels.  There is a big hole at the back of the bullpen since closer Raisel Iglesias may depart in free agency, which is a little ironic considering how Lorenzen spent much of his time in Cincinnati working as Iglesias’ setup man.  Lorenzen posted a 3.48 ERA over 331 innings from 2016-2020, also delivering a 5.59 ERA over 29 frames in 2021, though that performance is hard to gauge given all of Lorenzen’s injury problems.

Lorenzen didn’t fit the usual profile for a reliever, as he delivered below-average strikeout rates and middling walk rates but relied on a lot of soft contact and strong grounder rates to get outs.  Between this skillset and a very good spin rate on his fastball, there is some sense that Lorenzen can translate well to rotation work.  If the experiment doesn’t pan out, Lorenzen can pick up where he left off in the pen, and might well still score a solid multi-year contract next winter if he pitches to his usual standard as a reliever.

Robert Murray of FanSided first reported the Angels were in agreement with Lorenzen on a one-year deal worth around $7MM, and reported Lorenz’s role as a starter. Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reported the guarantee was $6.75MM.

Marlins Designate Lewis Brinson For Assignment

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The Marlins have designated outfielder Lewis Brinson for assignment, per a team announcement. His spot on the 40-man roster will go to infielder Joey Wendle, whose previously reported acquisition from the Rays has now been formally announced.

Brinson, 27, was the centerpiece of Miami’s return in the blockbuster trade that sent Christian Yelich to the Brewers. Brinson joined the Marlins organization alongside, infielder Isan Diaz, outfielder Monte Harrison and right-hander Jordan Yamamoto. At the time, it was a strong-looking return given that both Brinson and Diaz were regarded as high-end prospects, with Brinson in particular being vaunted as one of the game’s most promising all-around farmhands. As most fans are well aware, however, the deal didn’t pan out for the Fish.

There was always some risk to Brinson, a toolsy first-round pick of the Rangers back in 2012 who found his way to Milwaukee by way of another prominent trade (Jonathan Lucroy). Brinson made a brief MLB debut with the Brewers in 2017, tallying 55 plate appearances and struggling quite a bit as a 23-year-old getting his feet wet in the big leagues. That rough debut didn’t dim his prospect status much at all, but he never really made many strides in parts of four seasons with the Brewers.

From 2018-21, Brinson logged 1056 plate appearances in the big leagues but mustered only a .203/.248/.376 batting line with a 28% strikeout rate against just a 4.6% walk rate. He continues to rate as one of the fastest players in MLB, per Statcast’s average sprint speed, but Brinson doesn’t rate as a premium defender in the outfield by most publicly available metrics. He’s also seen his exit velocity and hard-hit rates drop since 2017-18, and this year’s penchant for popping the ball in the air was particularly concerning; 13 of Brinson’s 75 fly-balls were pop-ups.

Brinson is out of minor league options, so any team that acquires him will have to carry him on the MLB roster next season or else attempt to pass him through waivers before sending him to Triple-A.

Rays Trade Joey Wendle To Marlins

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A busy offseason for the Marlins continued Tuesday, as Miami has announced the acquisition of infielder Joey Wendle from the Rays in exchange for outfield prospect Kameron Misner.

Joey Wendle | Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

Wendle, 31, gives the Marlins an option at any of second base, shortstop or third base both in 2022 and in 2023, as he’s controlled another two seasons via arbitration. The lefty-swinging Wendle provides quality defense at all three of those positions and will bring a largely contact-driven offensive approach to the plate for Miami. He’s spent the past four seasons with the Rays, hitting at a combined .274/.330/.414 clip — six percent better than the league average, by measure of wRC+ — with 25 home runs, 86 doubles, 14 triples and 40 stolen bases (in 55 tries) through just shy of 1500 plate appearances.

The Marlins, according to SportsGrid’s Craig Mish (Twitter link), plan to utilize Wendle as a super-utility player who’ll bounce between second, short, third and perhaps the outfield or first base. Jazz Chisholm and Miguel Rojas have second base and shortstop largely locked down (respectively), while Brian Anderson has been the team’s primary third baseman in recent years. Anderson, however, has been beset by shoulder troubles and spent considerable time on the injured list. He’s also capable of playing in the outfield corners, so it’s at least feasible he could move to the grass in order to accommodate Wendle at the hot corner at times. The advent of a designated hitter in the National League could also lead to some reps for Anderson (or Wendle) there.

The good news for Miami is that they don’t have to set anything in stone just yet. Adding Wendle unquestionably improves the roster but does so while creating enough agility for general manager Kim Ng and her staff to cast a wide net in their further offseason pursuits. The Marlins are still seeking a center field option but could also pivot to add a corner bat if there’s a chance for an opportunistic strike in left field or at third base.

Wendle’s addition is the latest in an increasingly active offseason for the Marlins, who in the past week have signed Avisail Garcia to a four-year contract, acquired catcher Jacob Stallings from the Pirates, and signed rotation leader Sandy Alcantara to a five-year contract extension with a team option for a sixth season.

On the other side of the deal, Tampa Bay has reportedly been exploring the trade market for Wendle in advance of tonight’s deadline to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players. Wendle is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $4MM in 2022, and the Rays needed to open a spot on the roster to accommodate their recent one-year, $8MM agreement with veteran right-hander Corey Kluber. The Rays are also deep in terms of infield options; Brandon Lowe, Wander Franco, Yandy Diaz and prospects Taylor Walls and Vidal Brujan give them ample cover at second, third and short.

The addition of Misner, who’ll turn 24 in January, is nothing to scoff at from the Rays’ vantage point, either. The No. 35 overall draft pick back in 2019, Misner split the 2021 campaign betweenthe  Class-A Advanced and Double-A levels, hitting a combined .253/.355/.433 with a dozen homers, 29 doubles, three triples and 26 steals (in 30 tries).

Scouting reports on Misner tout the lefty hitter’s plus raw power, plus speed and solid defensive tools — which make for a tantalizing package were it not for a substandard hit tool. Misner fanned at a 29.4% clip in 462 of his minor league plate appearances this season, and while he offsets those punchouts (to an extent) with a stout 12.3% walk rate, more advanced pitchers will carry greater potential to expose holes in his swing.

The blend of power, speed and defense makes Misner a relatively high-upside name to add to an already deep stockpile of prospects. Misner ranked 10th among Marlins farmhands at FanGraphs, 15th on Baseball America’s midseason list and 21st on MLB.com’s midseason rankings. The fact that Misner briefly reached Double-A this past season at least opens the door for a potential MLB debut at some point in 2022, though it seems likelier that he’d make an impact in 2023 — assuming he continues to produce in the upper minors.

Craig Mish of SportsGrid and the Miami Herald first reported (via Twitter) that Wendle was headed to Miami. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reported that Misner was going back to Tampa Bay in return.

Photo courtesy of Imagn/USA Today Sports.

Rangers Sign Kole Calhoun

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The Rangers announced an agreement with veteran outfielder Kole Calhoun on Tuesday. It’s reportedly a one-year, $5.2MM guarantee that comes with a $5.5MM club option for 2023. The option doesn’t contain a buyout. Calhoun is represented by PSI Sports Management.

Calhoun hit the open market after the Diamondbacks declined their $9MM club option following the season, instead paying him a $2MM buyout.  Calhoun originally signed a two-year, $16MM deal with Arizona in the 2019-20 offseason and hit a strong .226/.338/.526 with 16 home runs over 228 plate appearances in 2020 before battling injuries this past year.  Calhoun underwent surgeries on both his right knee and left hamstring, with that hamstring leading to another injured list stint late in the 2021 season.  All told, Calhoun had only 182 PA in 2021, and he batted just .235/.297/.373.

The 34-year-old will now get a chance to bounce back in Arlington, returning to the AL West after playing with the Angels from 2012-19.  Calhoun has long been a very solid defensive right fielder, and since breakout star Adolis Garcia acquitted himself pretty well defensively in part-time action in center field last year, Texas might opt to give Garcia more time in center with Calhoun taking over the bulk of right field duty.

Considering how Calhoun struggled in 2021, however, the Rangers might well see Calhoun as more of a part-time or platoon option rather than an everyday regular in the outfield.  Since Texas clearly has some major spending in mind this winter (as evidenced by today’s agreement with Marcus Semien), we also shouldn’t rule out more additions to the outfield mix.  For now, at least, Calhoun will join Garcia as a starter in the 2022 outfield.

Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic was first to report the Rangers were in agreement with Calhoun. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported it was a one-year, $5.2MM guarantee and contained a 2023 club option. Levi Weaver of the Athletic reported the option was valued at $5.5MM and didn’t contain a buyout figure.

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