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Brandon Belt, Johnny Cueto Not On Giants’ NLDS Roster

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The Giants announced their National League Division Series roster this morning, with first baseman Brandon Belt and right-hander Johnny Cueto representing the most notable omissions. Belt’s absence was entirely expected, as he sustained a fracture in his thumb less than two weeks ago — an injury that initially came with a roughly four-week recovery period. He’s hoping to be able to return if the Giants advance to the NLCS, though there’s no certainty he’ll be able to do so. Cueto’s omission is not injury-related, but he wasn’t slated to make a start in a best-of-five series so the Giants will instead opt for 14 position players and 12 pitchers.

Here’s the roster they’ll carry into their date with their archrival Dodgers…

Right-Handed Pitchers

Left-Handed Pitchers

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

There’s no sugar-coating what a tough loss it is for the Giants to be without Belt, who has not only enjoyed a resurgence but has produced at previously unforeseen levels during his age-33 and age-34 seasons. Dating back to Opening Day 2020, Belt has been the third-best hitter in all of baseball, by measure of wRC+ (163), trailing only Juan Soto and Bryce Harper in that time (min. 500 plate appearances). In his past 560 trips to the plate, Belt has turned in an outrageous .285/.393/.595 batting line and connected on 38 home runs and 27 doubles. Each of Flores, Ruf and Wade has seen time at first base for the Giants this season, and Bryant is certainly capable of slotting in at the position as well.

It’s possible that Cueto could be added back to the NLCS roster — a best-of-seven set that could include games on three consecutive days and thus increase the importance of adding some length to the pitching staff. While it hasn’t been one of Cueto’s best seasons, the 35-year-old posted solid results in 22 appearances (21 of them starts). The two-time All-Star and former Cy Young runner-up tallied 114 2/3 innings of 4.08 ERA ball with an even 20 percent strikeout rate and a very strong 6.1 percent walk rate. He’s in the final season of a six-year, $130MM contract that contains a $22MM club option with a $5MM buyout.

Richard Rodriguez, Chris Martin Not On Braves’ NLDS Roster

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The Braves announced their 26-man roster for a National League Division Series faceoff with the Brewers, notably omitting right-handers Richard Rodriguez and Chris Martin from the group. They’ll carry some extra speed in the form of Terrance Gore, and rookie left-hander Dylan Lee is a somewhat surprising choice for an southpaw in the bullpen. Here’s how the roster breaks down…

Right-Handed Pitchers

Left-Handed Pitchers

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Rodriguez was one of the Braves’ most notable acquisitions prior to the trade deadline, and he posted a strong 3.12 ERA in 26 innings with Atlanta. However, he’s also surrendered five home runs in his past 10 appearances and, more concerning, has seen his strikeout rate absolutely crater with the Braves. Rodriguez had a 22.8 percent strikeout rate and 10.7 percent swinging-strike rate in Pittsburgh, but he’s fanned just 8.5 percent of his opponents and posted a diminished 8.2 percent swinging-strike rate since the trade. He’s still managed a solid ERA due to a .200 average on balls in play and a 97.1 percent strand rate, but neither of those is sustainable in the long run and the Braves apparently didn’t want to chance it in a short postseason series.

Martin, 35, is in the second season of a two-year, $14MM contract, making his omission something of a surprise as well. He’s pitched to a 3.95 ERA in 43 1/3 innings, but the right-hander has also seen his strikeout rate fall from 30.1 percent in 2019-20 to 18.2 percent this season. Martin has done well to keep runs off the board despite becoming more hittable, but he’s yielded a .312/.347/.447 batting line since June 1.

The 27-year-old Lee only made his Major League debut a week ago, but he’ll now be penciled in as a part of manager Brian Snitker’s relief corps for at least this round of play. Lee allowed a pair of runs in two innings at the end of the regular season, but he dominated in 46 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level in 2021: 1.54 ERA, 30.9 percent strikeout rate, 3.4 percent walk rate. The Braves signed Lee to a minor league contract after he was released by the Marlins late in Spring Training, and his rapid ascension to the Majors with a division-rival undoubtedly stings for Miami. Fellow rookie Spencer Strider was surely considered for a spot as well, but the Braves ultimately opted for an additional lefty.

Gore finds himself in a familiar role as a postseason pinch-running/defensive specialist. He won’t find himself in the starting lineup for any of the upcoming games, but he’ll give Snitker and the Braves one of the game’s fastest baserunners if they need some speed later in a game. Some fans may have preferred to see longtime top prospect Cristian Pache in this role, but Gore was more prolific and more efficient in terms of stolen bases this season.

Both Arcia and Johan Camargo had big seasons in Triple-A this year, but it’ll be Arcia who gets the nod for the Division Series as a versatile infield option off the bench. That seemed like the more probable outcome after Arcia received a September call-up, while Camargo remained in Gwinnett. Arcia, acquired from the Brewers early in the season, only received three starts in September but will provide some insurance at shortstop, second base and third base. The Braves also gave him a look in left field down the stretch.

Brewers Announce NLDS Roster; Brent Suter Out With Oblique Injury

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The Brewers announced the 26-man roster they’ll carry for an NLDS showdown against the Braves this morning. Left-hander Brent Suter at first appeared to be a surprising omission, but the Brewers announced that Suter is out for at least this series due to a “minor” right oblique strain. Rather than swap Suter out for another lefty, such as Hoby Milner or deadline acquisition Daniel Norris, they’ll instead go with three catchers. Here’s how the roster breaks down…

Right-Handed Pitchers

Left-Handed Pitchers

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

The loss of Suter is a notable one. While he’s far from the household name that teammate Josh Hader is, Suter has quietly been brilliant for the Brewers since his 2019 return from Tommy John surgery. In 123 1/3 innings since being reinstated from the injured list that season, Suter carries a 2.70 ERA with a 24.1 percent strikeout rate, an outstanding 5.9 percent walk rate and a similarly strong 52.2 percent grounder rate. He’s no stranger to working multiple innings, and he has no discernible platoon splits of which to speak. Since 2019, lefties have batted .227/.280/.393 against Suter, while righties have slashed .241/.288/.365. That the team specified the injury as “minor” in nature gives some hope that he could return for a potential NLCS or World Series run, but no timetable for his recovery has been formally announced.

Milwaukee surely had higher hopes for Norris when acquiring him from the Tigers just prior to the trade deadline. Looking past the 5.54 ERA he posted in Detroit this season, Norris had posted strong strikeout, ground-ball, home-run and swinging-strike rates prior to the swap. Every one of those rates trended in the wrong direction following his acquisition, however, and his walk rate jumped by nearly seven percent: from 9.6 to 16.5.

Jackie Bradley Jr.’s inclusion on the roster serves as a testament to his brilliant glovework, which could factor late into any close games for the Brew Crew. After hitting just .163/.236/.261 in his first season with Milwaukee, there was certainly a case to make different use of that roster spot, but Bradley still posted nine Defensive Runs Saved, six Outs Above Average and a 7.1 Ultimate Zone Rating in 722 innings in center field.

Twins Outright Six Players

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The Twins have outrighted six players off their 40-man roster after they went unclaimed on waivers, as first noted on the transactions page at MLB.com. Right-handers Kyle Barraclough, Nick Vincent, Ian Gibaut and Luke Farrell were all removed from the roster, as were lefty Andrew Albers and infielder Drew Maggi.

All of the players dropped from the roster today will be eligible to become free agents. The 30-year-old Farrell spent more time in the big leagues than any of the bunch this season, tossing 24 2/3 innings with a 4.74 ERA, a 22.1 percent strikeout rate and an 11.5 percent walk rate. It was the fifth straight season with some Major League action for Farrell, although the Twins are already his fifth big league team as well. In 87 2/3 innings at the MLB level, Farrell carries a 4.93 ERA.

Vincent, 35, is the most experienced of the group, having accrued more than seven full years of Major League service time across the past 10 seasons. He held opponents to just one run in 12 2/3 innings, albeit with a tepid 19.1 percent strikeout rate, a higher-than-average 10.6 percent walk rate and a fastball that averaged just 89.3 mph. Vincent was set to become a free agent anyway, based purely on service time, so his outright is largely a formality.

The 31-year-old Barraclough worked in a setup role for the Marlins from 2015-18, logging 218 2/3 innings of 3.21 ERA ball with a hefty 29.8 percent strikeout rate but also a bloated 14.3 percent walk rate. He’s bounced around the league a good bit since that time, and in 13 frames with Minnesota this season allowed eight runs on 12 hits and eight walks with 18 strikeouts — a 5.54 ERA on the whole.

Albers, 36, returned for a third stint with the Twins and was tagged for 16 runs in 19 innings (7.58 ERA) in a late-season call back to the big leagues. He had a solid year in the rotation for the Twins’ Triple-A affiliate, logging a 3.88 ERA in 102 innings. Albers had spent the three prior seasons pitching with the Orix Buffaloes in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, logging a 4.02 ERA in 266 1/3 innings.

Gibaut, 27, only pitched 6 2/3 big league innings with the Twins. He held opponents to a pair of runs in that time but spent the bulk of the year in Triple-A St. Paul, where he posted an unsightly 6.80 ERA with a solid 26 percent strikeout rate against a 10.1 percent walk rate. He’s now seen MLB time with the Rays, Rangers and Twins but only managed a 5.40 ERA in 33 1/3 innings.

Maggi, 32, had his contract selected to the Majors late in the season, but the Twins somewhat surprisingly didn’t get the veteran minor leaguer into what would’ve been the first big league game of his career. He’s spent two seasons in their system and turned in a .252/.354/.456 batting line with a career-best 16 home runs and a dozen stolen bases while playing shortstop, second base, third base and left field in Triple-A this year.

Today’s slate of subtractions will help to open roster space for a Twins club that finished the year with eight players needing to be reinstated from the 60-day injured list. They’ll still need to open a couple more spots to accommodate a 60-day IL group that includes Kenta Maeda, Taylor Rogers, Alex Kirilloff, Cody Stashak, Devin Smeltzer, Randy Dobnak, Kyle Garlick and Lewis Thorpe.

Players Recently Electing Free Agency

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With the regular season over, a series of players are closing in on free agency. The highest-profile will be available as major league free agents, those with six-plus years of MLB service time not under contract with a team. But there will be dozens of players in the coming weeks who qualify for minor league free agency and more quietly reach the open market as well.

Players can qualify for minor league free agency in a few ways. The most notable of these include: players with 3+ years of MLB service time who have been outrighted off their teams’ 40-man rosters this season, players who have been outrighted off a 40-man roster multiple times in their careers, and unsigned players not on a 40-man roster who have spent parts of at least seven seasons on a minor league roster or injured list.

Many of these players won’t officially reach free agency until the start of the offseason, but some were let go by their teams a few weeks early once the regular season concluded. Each of the following players has elected minor league free agency within the past week, according to the MLB.com and Triple-A transactions trackers:

Blue Jays Tried To Acquire Jose Ramirez, Robbie Grossman At Deadline

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In an article about the Blue Jays’ upcoming offseason, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet says that the club tried to acquire Cleveland infielder Jose Ramirez and Detroit outfielder Robbie Grossman at the trade deadline.

This comment came within the context of a discussion he had with general manager Ross Atkins about the lack of diversity in the Blue Jays’ lineup this season. Atkins stated that the righty-heavy lineup was better when left-handed hitters Cavan Biggio and Corey Dickerson were present. “It’s not just that they’re left-handed, but how we are attacked and potentially the pitchers that are used is different,” Atkins said. “Secondarily, we feel it’s important to have balance and not just the same type of hitters up and down your lineup. So some players that are more batting average driven and some players that are more on-base driven with plate discipline. Having both is exceptionally powerful.”

In the end, the Blue Jays only added pitching at the deadline, with Jose Berrios being the headline move. In the season’s final months, the club finished strong and ended up 91-71, just one game away behind the eventual Wild Card participants, the Red Sox and Yankees.

Ramirez and Grossman are both excellent hitters, making it hardly surprising that Toronto, or any club, would be interested in their services. Both certainly would have helped with the righty-heavy situation, as they are both switch hitters. Grossman is usually better as a righty but still above-average from the left side. For his career, his slash line as a righty is .273/.367/.409, wRC+ of 116, whereas the lefty line is .241/.346/.378, wRC+ of 102. This year, his production as a lefty was slightly better, coming in at 105 in terms of wRC+. But his production as a righty was significantly better, coming in at 135 by the same measure. Ramirez, however, is equally excellent from both sides. His career line as a righty is .292/.351/.500 for a wRC+ of 125. As a lefty in his career, he’s hit .272/.356/.502 for a wRC+ of 127. This year, his wRC+ was 139 as a lefty and 135 as a righty.

It is perhaps worth nothing that both players are still controlled by their respective clubs, making it possible that whatever trade scenarios were discussed could be revisited in the offseason, especially considering that the Jays are losing the aforementioned Dickerson to free agency, weakening their already-thin pool of lefty bats. Grossman and the Tigers agreed to a two-year deal before this season, leaving one year remaining at a salary of $5MM. The Tigers have been rebuilding in recent years, making it somewhat logical that they would consider parting with a veteran player who is approaching free agency. But on the other hand, after an awful showing in April, they went 69-66 over the season’s final months and could be looking to add rather than subtract this offseason. And the Jays aren’t especially desperate for outfield help, given they have George Springer, Teoscar Hernandez, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Randal Grichuk on hand.

Ramirez, for his part, is controlled through for two more seasons via a pair of club options as part of the extension he signed prior to the 2017 season. The $11MM and $13MM salaries for 2022 and 2023 are both absolute bargains for a player of his caliber, meaning they’re guaranteed to be picked up. However, that also means it will be difficult to pry him loose from Cleveland, even if it’s unclear how aggressive the team plans to be this winter. They finished the season with a lackluster 80-82 record, meaning there could be an argument for selling. But on the other hand, they suffered a large number of injuries to key players, especially in their rotation, and could expect better results in 2022. According to Cot’s Baseball Contracts, they also had an opening day payroll of under $50MM this season, lower than it’s been in a decade, meaning there shouldn’t be too much desire to strip it down even further. As much as he would slot nicely into a Toronto lineup that has Cavan Biggio and Santiago Espinal as its best third base options, it should take a tremendous trade package to make it happen.

The Blue Jays, for their part, should be able to take on some salary. When asked if the payroll could increase from this year’s $140MM range, Atkins tells Davidi, “That is our desire and that is our understanding.” That wouldn’t be unprecedented for the Toronto club, as their budget was over $160MM in both 2017 and 2018, before dipping as their recent rebuild picked up steam. Now that they’ve returned to contention over the past two seasons, it stands to reason that they would return to that level, if not surpass it. They only have about $65MM committed to next year, according to Jason Martinez of Roster Resource, though that’s before accounting for arbitration raises for players like Berrios, Hernández and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Atkins tells Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet that the Jays are looking to add to the infield and rotation, which makes sense given they are losing Robbie Ray and Marcus Semien to free agency in a few weeks. As to whether they have the cash to pull it off, Atkins told Davidi that the Jays could give out a “very significant deal with a lot of term to it, maybe more than one,” but also tried to tamp down expectations by saying that teams “need to have that five- and six-year understanding for what that means for the team and the organization.”

Jerry Dipoto Discusses Mariners’ Upcoming Offseason

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In a chat with reporters today, including Corey Brock of The Athletic, Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said that he has the blessing of club chairman John Stanton increase spending this winter. Dipoto stopped short of committing to anything, however, making sure to keep his words vague.

“We do have payroll flexibility, and we’re going to use it to make the team better,” Dipoto said. He continued, “It’s incumbent on us to go add where we can add and improve where we think we can improve. That’s not lost on us. We’ll visit every avenue to do that…We’re just looking to add talent.”

Of course, it makes a lot of sense that the Mariners would be looking to open the proverbial checkbook this offseason, for a couple of reasons. For one thing, they’re coming off a surprise 90-win campaign that saw them stay in the AL Wild Card race until the final day of the season. And secondly, this year’s payroll was less than half of what it was just a few seasons ago.

According to Cot’s Baseball Contracts, the team payroll got as high a notch above $160MM in 2018. It was after that year’s 89-win campaign that Dipoto and the Mariners famously, or infamously, decided to strip down both the roster and payroll and start rebuilding again. That winter, they unloaded Robinson Cano, Edwin Diaz, James Paxton, Jean Segura and others, endured two straight losing seasons in 2019 and 2020, before opening this year’s campaign with a payroll under $75MM.

Potent bats will certainly be a primary target in the coming months. “We do want to make our lineup longer,” said Dipoto. “We would like to add offense.” In spite of their 90 wins, their 697 runs scored this season put them tied for 22nd in the majors in that category, and better than just three teams in the American League. (Royals, Orioles and Rangers.)

Kyle Seager, Dylan Moore, Jarred Kelenic and Tom Murphy all got over 300 plate appearances with Seattle this season and posted below-average offensive numbers, by measure of wRC+. Seager is likely to depart in free agency, as it seems doubtful the club wants to pick up his $20MM option. That creates one obvious area of potential improvement. Abraham Toro has been floated as Seager’s possible heir at third base, but his wRC+ of 99 since coming over from the Astros matches Seager’s number on the year. If the Mariners want to improve on the infield, they’ll have lots of options, as the market has stars like Marcus Semien and Kris Bryant, as well as solid regulars such as Chris Taylor, Eduardo Escobar, Josh Harrison or Brad Miller.

The club will also be on the hunt for pitching, as Dipoto said it is “going to be a focus for us. The likelihood for us is it’s going to come as a starter.” Seattle’s rotation certainly has room for improvement, as it was fairly pedestrian this year, ranking 19th in ERA, 23rd in strikeout rate, 13th in walk rate and 22nd in WAR. They will also be losing deadline-pickup Tyler Anderson to free agency, leaving them with a rotation of Marco Gonzales, Chris Flexen and Logan Gilbert. Yusei Kikuchi would have seemed like a lock to be in that group a few months ago, but had a terrible second half and got bumped from the rotation in September. The Mariners will likely decline their four-year option over him, but Kikuchi would still likely return in that scenario as he would then have a player option valued at $13MM. Whether they want to give him another shot or figure out another path forward remains to be seen. Prospects like Matt Brash, George Kirby and Emerson Hancock could help out eventually, but none of them have big league experience as of yet.

This year’s crop of free agent starters is loaded, with the top end featuring names like Max Scherzer, Robbie Ray, Marcus Stroman and Kevin Gausman, though they could also aim for buy-low wildcards like Chris Archer, Zack Greinke or taking a flyer on James Paxton again.

Regardless of how it plays out, it should be interesting, as it always is when “Trader Jerry” is involved. Although, it seems there’s at least a chance that this offseason is focused less on wild trades and more on straightforward additions in free agency.

Padres’ Chairman: A.J. Preller’s Job Is Safe

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Padres president of baseball operations and GM A.J. Preller received a strong vote of confidence from ownership, reports Dennis Lin of The Athletic (subscription required).  San Diego Chairman Peter Seidler told Lin that Preller’s job is “as safe as a GM’s job can be.”  Seidler added: “I one-hundred percent believe in [Preller], one-hundred percent trust him.  And that’s not because I’m blindly loyal.”

That Preller is likely to continue leading the team for the long term hardly qualifies as a surprise.  It was just eight months ago that the club extended Preller’s contract through the 2026 season and added the PBO designation to his title.

The Padres, of course, are looking for a new manager after firing second-year helmer Jayce Tingler yesterday.  Last year, Tingler led San Diego to their first playoff appearance since 2006 and first postseason series win since 1998.  But the club’s second-half collapse in 2021, along with reports of tensions in the clubhouse, led to his dismissal.  Tingler was offered the opportunity to remain with the team in an as-yet-undetermined capacity, and Seidler said he hopes Tingler decides to stay. He added that the rest of the coaching staff has been given permission to look for opportunities elsewhere.

Seidler also told Lin that Preller alone will decide who the club’s next manager will be.  He said that while he and Preller recognize the value of major league managing experience, that won’t be a prerequisite for the new hire. “As we did when we hired Jayce, we put a premium on people with experience,” Seidler said. “But I would rather get the right 34-year-old than the wrong 64-year-old.”

Seidler’s comment regarding a new manager not needing prior big league managing experience is sure to raise eyebrows among at least some Padres fans.  Since being hired as GM in 2014, Preller has tabbed two permanent managers, Tingler and his predecessor Andy Green.  Neither had managed an MLB club prior to joining the Padres. There’s been plenty of speculation the Padres could zero in on a more veteran skipper this time around, but it doesn’t sound as if ownership or Preller consider that an absolute necessity.

Diamondbacks Outright Three Players

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The offseason roster shuffle has begun in the desert.  The Diamondbacks announced that they’ve outrighted reliever Brandyn Sittinger, outfielder Henry Ramos and infielder Ildemaro Vargas to Triple-A Reno.  The moves leave the club with 37 players on their 40-man roster.

Sending those three down comes as no surprise, given the players’ performances so far. Sittinger joined the D-backs on a minor league deal prior to the 2020 season, and saw his first big league action last month.  He tossed 4 2/3 innings over five appearances, posting an unsightly 13.03 FIP.

Arizona signed the 29-year-old Ramos to a minor league deal on May 19 of this year.  He spent most of the season at Triple-A, and was called up September 5.  In 18 games he accumulated 55 plate appearances but only posted a meager 48 wRC+.

The well-traveled Vargas appeared in the big leagues each of the last five seasons, mostly with the Diamondbacks. He also played briefly for the Twins and Cubs last year.  In 381 total plate appearances at the MLB level, he’s put up -1.2 fWAR.

Diamondbacks To Make Coaching Staff Changes

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The Diamondbacks signed manager Torey Lovullo to a one-year contract extension last month, ensuring he’d be back for a sixth season in the dugout. There’ll be a pretty significant shakeup around the skipper, though, as Zach Buchanan of the Athletic reported upon a series of coaching staff changes this afternoon.

Only three members of Lovullo’s staff will return in their current capacity: first base coach Dave McKay, third base coach Tony Perezchica and bullpen coach Mike Fetters. Bench coach Luis Urueta has been reassigned within the organization; Matt Herges is out as pitching coach but could return to the organization in some other capacity; catching coach Robby Hammock will not be brought back.

Urueta has been on Lovullo’s staff since the end of 2017, serving as bench coach for the past couple seasons. He drew some consideration in the Red Sox’s managerial search last winter but remained in Arizona after Boston re-hired Alex Cora. Herges was hired leading up to the 2020 season, his first stint as a big league pitching coach. The former big leaguer had previously served as the Giants’ bullpen coach.

The D-Backs were already expected to search for new hitting instruction after firing hitting coaches Darnell Coles and Eric Hisnke in June. Rick Short and Drew Hedman had been promoted to serve as interim co-hitting coaches, but they won’t return in that capacity. Buchanan notes, however, that Arizona is considering some form of nontraditional hitting coaching — as evidenced by their atypical co-coach setup this summer — that could see Short and Heyman return in some other role.

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