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Hiroshima Carp Could Post Outfielder Seiya Suzuki For MLB Clubs

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The Hiroshima Carp of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball could make top outfielder Seiya Suzuki available to Major League teams via the posting system this winter, according to a report from Yahoo Japan. The Carp have begun taking some of the necessary steps, per the report, conducting a recent MRI for updated medical records and beginning to put together the requisite paperwork.

There’s still no guarantee that Suzuki will ultimately be made available this winter, but the outfielder himself acknowledged his desire to eventually test his skills against Major League pitching during an August interview with Dylan Hernandez of the the L.A. Times. “I think everyone feels they want to play at the highest stage if they can get the chance,” Suzuki told Hernandez.

While reports of well-regarded NPB and KBO players potentially being made available to MLB clubs are common around this time of every year, Suzuki is a bit of a different case. Having recently turned 27 years old, he’s much younger than most players who are made available through the posting system or wait until accruing nine full years of service time to reach unrestricted international free agency. He’s also widely regarded as one of the best players in NPB.

Hernandez quotes a big league scout calling Suzuki a “five-tool guy” and “the best player in Japan the last few years.” Sung Min Kim, who’s written for both FanGraphs and The Athletic, tweets that several MLB Pacific Rim scouts have considered Suzuki the top NPB or KBO player with a realistic chance of being posted in recent years. Longtime Orioles center fielder Adam Jones, who’s spent the past two seasons playing against him in Japan, tweets that Suzuki is an MLB-caliber talent. Ted Baarda of Sports Info Solutions wrote last October that Suzuki fits the strong-armed, power-hitting profile of a prototypical right fielder.

While there’s a gap in terms of the quality of pitching he’d face, everything Suzuki has done in NPB indicates that he’s indeed one of the most talented hitters in that league. He made his NPB debut at just 18 years of age in 2013, and while it was only an 11-game cup of coffee, he’d cemented himself as a regular for the Carp by his age-20 season. Suzuki posted a .731 OPS that year (2015), and that was the last time he’s had an OPS south of .936 in any given season.

Dating back to 2018, the right-handed-hitting Suzuki has put together a combined .319/.435/.592 batting line with 121 home runs, 115 doubles, four triples and 44 stolen bases (albeit in 72 attempts) through 2167 plate appearances. That includes 38 home runs and 26 doubles in just 526 plate appearances this season. Since 2018, Suzuki has walked at a huge 16 percent clip that is almost a mirror image of his 16.4 percent strikeout rate. He broke into NPB as an infielder, but he moved to right field in 2016 and has gone on to win four Gold Gloves for his work there.

The recent track record of outfielders making the move from NPB to MLB hasn’t been great, as neither Shogo Akiyama nor Yoshi Tsutsugo has lived up to expectations with their respective contracts (three years, $21MM from the Reds to Akiyama; two years, $12MM from the Rays to Tsutsugo). That said, Suzuki’s case looks quite a bit more compelling. Akiyama was posted in advance of his age-32 season and had never matched Suzuki’s power. Tsutsugo had more comparable power, but he also had significant strikeout issues in NPB and was not considered a good defender.

If Suzuki is indeed posted for big league clubs this winter, he’ll be the youngest and one of the most intriguing options on the corner outfield market. Alternatives, at present, include Kyle Schwarber, Michael Conforto, Joc Pederson, Eddie Rosario, Tommy Pham, Jorge Soler and (depending on where you’d play him) Kris Bryant. Nick Castellanos is widely expected to opt out of the final two years of his deal with the Reds, and Avisail Garcia seems likely to decline his half of a $12MM mutual option in favor of a $2MM buyout and a return to the free-agent market. Castellanos and Conforto will likely be tagged with qualifying offers, and it’s at least feasible (though less likely) that Milwaukee would consider the same for Garcia.

Suzuki wouldn’t come with the draft pick compensation as free agents who reject that QO, but as a posted player, he’d cost his new team more than just the base value of his contract. Under the latest iteration of the NPB-MLB posting system, all 30 clubs would be able to negotiate freely with Suzuki. The team with which he eventually signs would then owe a release fee to Suzuki’s former team, the Carp. That fee correlates directly with the size of the contract. Any team that signed Suzuki would pay a sum of 20 percent of a contract’s first $25MM to the Carp. The fee also includes 17.5 percent of the next $25MM and 15 percent of any dollars spent thereafter.

The release fee would be on top of the actual contract for Suzuki. For example (and not to say this is the type of contract Suzuki will command), a $50MM contract would cost a big league team a total of $59.375MM — $50MM to the player and $9.375MM to the former NPB club. Option years and incentives/bonuses are also factored in if they are eventually unlocked (e.g. a $10MM club option tacked on top of that theoretical $50MM deal would require the MLB club to pay $1.5MM to the NPB team once it is picked up — 15 percent of the guarantee beyond $50MM).

The posting process for Suzuki wouldn’t begin until after the conclusion of this year’s NPB season. Posting windows last for 30 days, and the fact that negotiations with Suzuki would coincide with ongoing collective bargaining negotiations between MLB and the MLB Players Association could complicate matters. If the Carp decide against posting Suzuki, or if he is posted and does not agree to a deal with a Major League team, Suzuki would return to the Carp for his age-27 campaign next year. He’s still two years from unrestricted free agency, so if he doesn’t come to MLB via the posting system this winter, it’s possible yet that the Carp could post him a second time next winter.

Phillies Notes: Galvis, Bohm, Arbitration

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Infielder Freddy Galvis makes no secret about his desire to return to the Phillies in an interview with Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer. As Breen explores, Galvis had an immediate impact on the clubhouse and team morale and was generally beloved and viewed as a veteran leader — both by teammates who’d played with him during his original run with the club and by newcomers who knew little of Galvis before the Phils acquired him from the Orioles this past July. Fellow utilityman Brad Miller tells Breen he was caught by surprise to see the clubhouse excitement after the trade was announced, but he quickly understood why. “It’s the epitome of being a pro,” Miller said. “Like we say it all the time, ‘That guys a pro’ or ‘He’s a good teammate’ or ‘He’s a winner.’ All these little terms. That’s what it comes down to when you’re a major-league baseball player is having those traits. He’s prepared for everything.”

Galvis wouldn’t be a candidate to start for the Phillies, but he could serve as a versatile infield piece and perhaps a bridge to prospect Bryson Stott — if the Phillies don’t pursue one of the higher-profile names on the free-agent market this winter. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski plainly acknowledged the need to improve at shortstop after the season and said veteran Didi Gregorius is not assured the starting job in 2022.

More out of Philly…

  • Newly hired hitting coach Kevin Long is already headed to the Phillies’ spring training complex in Clearwater, Fla., where he’ll get an early start on working with Alec Bohm, writes Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philly. Bohm, 25, looked well on his way to cementing himself as a mainstay in the heart of the Phillies’ order in 2020 when he hit .338/.400/.481 in 180 plate appearances as a rookie. He mustered only a .247/.305/.342 slash in 417 trips to the plate this season, however, and eventually found himself optioned to Triple-A. Long, previously the hitting coach for the Yankees, Mets and Nationals, notes that young players are “really, really important to big-market teams,” as they can offset the cost of high-priced free agents and arbitration-eligible players. Long calls Bohm “one of the best hitters in the league in 2020” and suggests that Bohm “is a big part of the Philadelphia Phillies and us winning a championship.” Dombrowski acknowledged at season’s end that Bohm probably won’t win any Gold Gloves at the hot corner (link via 97.3 ESPN) but can be a bat-first option for the team moving forward. “His key is he has to hit. If he hits well enough, you’ll live with the defensive aspect of it,” said Dombrowski.
  • Corey Seidman of NBC Sports Philadelphia took a look at the Phils’ upcoming arbitration class earlier this week, opining that Odúbel Herrera, Ronald Torreyes, Travis Jankowski, Roman Quinn and Andrew Knapp might all be cut loose this winter. None of Torreyes, Jankowski, Quinn or Knapp would cost much to bring back, but everyone in that group comes with performance and/or durability question marks. The Phils hold an $11.5MM club option on Herrera’s services for next season that comes with a $2.5MM buyout. Even if they decline the option, the Phillies could retain Herrera via arbitration, but his projected $11.6MM arb salary isn’t any more affordable (projections via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz). That indeed seems like a steep price for a player who hit a fine but unspectacular .260/.310/.416 over 492 plate appearances this past season. Herrera underperformed early in the 2019 season, then was suspended for the remainder of that year after violating MLB’s domestic violence policy. He didn’t play in 2020, but the Phillies brought him back to the majors in late April this year.

Previewing The 2021-22 Free Agent Class: Left-Handed Relief

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We’ve gone position by position to cover the upcoming free agent class at MLBTR over the past few weeks. We’ve already gone around the diamond and covered the starting pitching market, leaving just the relievers remaining.

Today, we’ll look at the southpaws. It’s a rather sparse class at the top, meaning teams may be left to scour the non-tender or trade markets in their search for relief targets. It’s also possible teams look into some of the free agent starters available with an eye towards identifying a candidate who could be particularly well-suited for a bullpen conversion.

Top Tier

Aaron Loup (34 next April): A longtime member of the Blue Jays’ relief corps, Loup has bounced around the league a bit in journeyman fashion over the past couple seasons. He’s coming off an utterly dominant showing with the Mets, though, posting a 0.95 ERA over 56 2/3 innings. Loup punched out 26.1% of opposing hitters while walking just 7.3% and racked up grounders on over half the balls in play against him while allowing just six extra-base hits all year.

No one could reasonably expect Loup to continue to be that unhittable. He doesn’t throw hard, and he’s been more consistently good than overpowering throughout his career. Loup rarely walks batters, though, and he’s always done well to keep the ball in the yard and avoid especially damaging contact. Going back two seasons, he’s also held right-handed hitters to a .205/.276/.311 line with similarly strong strikeout and walk numbers. Despite being a low-slot lefty, Loup doesn’t need to only be deployed situationally. He’d be a valuable addition to any bullpen and stands a good chance of landing a multi-year deal this winter.

Brooks Raley (33): Unlike Loup, Raley didn’t have an especially impressive ERA (4.78). That belies swing-and-miss stuff that’s arguably the best in the class. Raley punched out 31.7% of opposing hitters while generating whiffs on 14.5% of his offerings, a mark that ranked 40th among the 255 relievers with 30+ innings pitched. Teams are always looking for strikeout stuff in the middle to late innings, and Raley has that despite lacking huge velocity.

Raley also has back-to-back seasons ranking as the best pitcher in the league at suppressing average exit velocity and hard contact. That’s probably not a coincidence, although there’s a rather notable discrepancy based on the opposing hitter’s handedness. Raley has been utterly dominant against lefties (.195/.262/.221), but right-handed hitters tagged him for six homers and a .259/.333/.463 slash line. With the three-batter minimum rule in place, teams could see those drastic platoon splits as a red flag, but Raley’s complete control of left-handed hitters could still land him a multi-year deal.

Andrew Chafin (31): Chafin has been a reliable bullpen workhorse for a while, and he’s coming off a career-best showing between the Cubs and A’s. He posted a 1.83 ERA over 68 2/3 frames, walking a personal-low 7.1% of batters faced. Chafin’s strikeout and ground-ball rates are only around league average, but his slider befuddled hitters from both sides of the plate, and a signing team could have him turn to that wipeout offering a bit more often in hopes of racking up a few more whiffs.

Chafin was leveraged situationally quite a bit early in his career, but he’s adapted to the three-batter minimum era with ease. Right-handed hitters have just a .205/.262/.331 line against him going back to the start of 2020, while he’s held southpaws to a .190/.266/.267 mark in that time. As with Loup and Raley, Chafin has a good shot at a two-year contract.

Tony Watson (36): Watson’s a quietly reliable middle relief option. He’s not overpowering, but he throws strikes and generally induces a fair amount of grounders. Watson posted a 3.92 ERA in 57 1/3 innings this year split between the Angels and Giants, his tenth sub-4.00 showing in eleven big league seasons. At his age, Watson looks less likely than the others in this tier to land a second guaranteed year, but he’s one of the better bets around to offer solid production year in and year out.

Former All-Stars Looking To Bounce Back

Brad Hand (32): Hand was one of the game’s best relievers from 2016-20. His velocity showed a worrisome dip last season and resulted in Cleveland declining his club option, but Hand signed with the Nationals and continued to perform fairly well through this season’s first half. He tossed 42 2/3 innings of 3.59 ERA ball with Washington, albeit with a concerning drop in strikeouts despite his velocity bouncing back.

Traded to the Blue Jays at the deadline, Hand had a terrible month in Toronto and was designated for assignment. He had a fine final month after being claimed off waivers by the Mets, but his swing-and-miss stuff was never present at any of his three stops. Hand has an accomplished track record, and his bottom line numbers with Washington and New York were fine. But the huge drop-off in swinging strikes is going to be a red flag for teams.

Sean Doolittle (35): Doolittle was a dominant closer for a good chunk of the last decade, but he missed most of last season with injury and was designated for assignment by the Reds midway through this year. Doolittle’s four-seam fastball heavy approach has always led to high fly-ball rates, but his profile has become more extreme with age. That might make him an imperfect fit in hitter-friendly home ballparks, but Doolittle still has some selling points.

He continues to run one of the higher rates of infield fly balls in the league, racking up plenty of harmless pop-ups. And while his strikeout rate and swinging strike rate have dipped from peak levels, they remain right around the league average overall. Doolittle might not be an ideal high-leverage option at this point in his career, but he could still be a solid middle innings piece in the right environment.

Andrew Miller (36): Miller has had an ERA above 4.00 in three of the last four years. His once-elite strikeout rate dipped to league average this past season, and opposing hitters are no longer chasing pitches outside the strike zone the way they used to as Miller’s average fastball velocity has fallen below 90 MPH.

Miller’s a respected clubhouse presence, and he’s continued to stifle same-handed hitters. Over the past two seasons, lefties have just a .176/.260/.259 line against him. Miller can probably still be effective in a limited situational role, but the three-batter minimum makes it impossible to entirely avoid righties, who have teed off for a .343/.446/.549 line off him since the beginning of 2020. Now 36 years old, Miller’s days of overpowering everyone he faces look to be behind him.

Starter/Relief Hybrids

Andrew Heaney (30): Heaney will get another chance in a team’s rotation next season, although he found himself working in relief with the Yankees down the stretch thanks to a poor year. Heaney posted very good strikeout and walk numbers, but he was one of the most home run prone pitchers in the league, leading to a 5.83 ERA. He’ll be a bounceback rotation candidate, but continued struggles could lead him back to the bullpen at some point.

José Quintana (33): Quintana’s a career-long starter who got pushed into the bullpen midway through this season after struggling in the rotation. He could draw interest in either capacity this winter. Quintana somewhat bizarrely struck out batters at a career-best rate in 2021, although it came with an uptick in walks and home runs. His 4.18 ERA in 28 innings of relief is middling, but Quintana’s walk percentage did come way down after he was moved into shorter stints.

Kwang-hyun Kim (33): Kim has a 2.97 ERA in 145 2/3 innings since coming over from the KBO, much of that time spent as a starter. That’s very strong bottom line production, but Kim has gotten there with underwhelming peripherals driven by extremely low strikeout totals. Kim’s weak contact, ground-ball driven profile paired perfectly with the Cardinals’ stellar infield, but it’s not clear that’d translate nearly as well with a lesser defensive team.

Wade LeBlanc (37): LeBlanc offered some stabilizing innings for the Cardinals this season while working in a swing capacity. The veteran underwent season-ending elbow surgery in early September, although he’s expected to be ready for Spring Training. LeBlanc doesn’t throw hard or miss many bats, but he’s a capable strike-thrower who could offer starting and/or multi-inning relief depth for clubs.

Matt Moore (32): Moore had a solid 2020 campaign with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball. The former All-Star’s return to the U.S. didn’t go as planned, however, as Moore struggled badly enough to lose his spot in the Phillies’ rotation midseason. He continued to struggle upon moving to the bullpen, working to a 5.40 ERA with a below-average 17.4% strikeout rate in relief. He might be limited to minor league offers this winter.

Hyeon-jong Yang (34): Yang split his season between the Rangers’ rotation and bullpen. He posted a 4.87 ERA in 20 1/3 frames of relief, striking out just 11.8% of batters faced. It has already been reported that the longtime Kia Tigers star would like to return to his native South Korea.

Depth Types

Fernando Abad (36): Abad worked 17 2/3 innings of 5.60 ERA ball late in the season for the Orioles, his first MLB action since 2019. He’ll probably be looking at minor league offers again this winter.

Luis Avilán (32): Avilán’s a generally accomplished lefty specialist. Unfortunately, he had to undergo Tommy John surgery in late April and could miss the first few months of next season.

Alberto Baldonado (29): A longtime minor leaguer, Baldonado got a look with the Nationals late in the season. He missed a decent number of bats but struggled with control and posted an 8.44 ERA.

Travis Bergen (28): Bergen had a 1.69 ERA for the Blue Jays, but it came with just six strikeouts and eight walks in 10 2/3 innings before he was outrighted off the 40-man roster.

Jesse Biddle (30): Biddle gets a lot of grounders, but his velocity dipped a bit this season and he’s had persistent issues with walks. He was outrighted off the Braves’ roster in May.

Ryan Buchter (35): Buchter posted four straight seasons of sub-3.00 ERA ball from 2016-19. He’s fallen on hard times over the past couple years, though, including a 6.61 ERA in 16 1/3 frames with the D-Backs before he was released in August.

Alex Claudio (30): Claudio has had some good seasons despite one of the league’s softest fastballs, thriving on command and grounders. His once-pristine walk rates have spiked in recent seasons, however, and the Angels cut him loose in July after he posted a 5.51 ERA across 32 2/3 innings.

Ross Detwiler (36): Almost out of nowhere, Detwiler shattered his previous career-high by striking out 27.1% of opposing hitters this past season. Despite the punchouts, his 9.6% swinging strike rate was still well below the league average, and Detwiler’s formerly elite ground-ball rates dropped off.

Derek Holland (35): Holland has had an ERA above 5.00 in each of the past three seasons. His strikeout, walk and ground-ball rates were all within the realm of the league average this year and he’s capable of shouldering multiple innings out of the bullpen.

T.J. McFarland (32): McFarland is a ground-ball specialist who is best deployed against lefty hitters. He rarely strikes batters out, but he induces grounders on around two-thirds of balls in play and has held same-handed opponents to a .221/.256/.453 line going back to 2020.

Tommy Milone (35): Milone’s a depth swingman option. He throws plenty of strikes and typically earns himself some big league time every season. But he’s one of the softest throwers in the sport, leading to low strikeout totals and a tendency to give up a lot of home runs.

Sean Nolin (32): Nolin returned to the majors in a swing capacity with the Nationals this season. He made ten appearances (five out of the bullpen) and worked 26 2/3 innings of 4.39 ERA ball.

Daniel Norris (28): Norris is still relatively young and has flashed high-end talent in the past, but he’s coming off a nightmarish second half. Solid peripherals led the Brewers to take a deadline day flier on Norris despite his 5.89 ERA with the Tigers. Everything went backwards in Milwaukee, though, as his strikeouts dropped while his walk and homer rates skyrocketed.

Josh Osich (33): Osich typically posts quality ground-ball rates, but he hasn’t posted an ERA below 4.50 since his 2015 rookie campaign with the Giants. He tossed 14 1/3 innings with a 5.02 mark for the Reds this year before being outrighted in late July.

Nick Ramirez (32): Ramirez soaked up plenty of innings in long relief with the Tigers a couple years ago. He hasn’t gotten a very long look over the last couple years, tossing 31 innings of 5.87 ERA ball since the start of 2020.

Kyle Ryan (30): Ryan worked 61 frames with a 3.54 ERA for the Cubs back in 2019, but he’s struggled in limited action over the past couple seasons. Ryan generates plenty of ground-balls, but he doesn’t miss many bats and he’s had difficulty keeping runs off the board recently. Chicago passed him through outright waivers in mid-August.

Héctor Santiago (34): Santiago returned to the majors with the Mariners this year after not pitching in 2020. The veteran did some nice work as a multi-inning relief option, soaking up 26 1/3 frames of 3.42 ERA ball with solid strikeout and walk numbers over thirteen outings. He was suspended for eighty games in late July after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance. He’ll need to sit out the first three-plus weeks next season to complete that ban.

Tyler Webb (31): Webb pitched to a 2.08 ERA as recently as 2020. This past season was a disaster, though, as he walked 20.7% of opposing hitters on his way to a 13.22 ERA in 16 1/3 frames. Webb was passed through outright waivers in early June.

Players with Options

José Álvarez (32): Exercising Álvarez’s $1.5MM club option (which contains a $100K buyout) should be a very easy call for the Giants. He worked 64 2/3 frames of 2.37 ERA ball, inducing grounders on a little more than half the balls in play against him.

Jake Diekman (35): The A’s have a $4MM club option on Diekman’s services for 2022. That comes with a $750K buyout, making it a $3.25MM call for the Oakland front office. That one could seemingly go either way, as Diekman still missed plenty of bats (31.7% strikeout rate, 13.2% swinging strike percentage) but he’s always struggled with control and had uncharacteristic home run issues in 2021.

Martín Pérez (30): The Red Sox can bring Pérez back for $6MM or buy him out for $500K. The latter looks more likely after Pérez lost his rotation spot in early August. He’s been fine but hardly overwhelming since moving to relief, working to a 4.50 ERA across 14 innings. Teams could consider him as a depth option for the rotation or bullpen this winter, assuming the Sox indeed cut him loose.

Joely Rodríguez (30): The Yankees hold a $3MM club option on Rodríguez for 2022. Picked up from the Rangers at the trade deadline alongside Joey Gallo, Rodríguez pitched well down the stretch. Over 19 frames, he worked to a 2.84 ERA with a strong 50% ground-ball rate. The option looks affordable enough to be picked up.

Justin Wilson (34): Wilson has a $2.3MM player option for next season. If he declines, the Reds would hold either a $7.15MM club option or have to buy him out for $1.15MM. Cincinnati would almost certainly not exercise their end of the option, so Wilson has to decide whether to return for $2.3MM or take the buyout and hope to top the $1.15MM difference on the open market. It wasn’t a great season for the generally reliable Wilson, who posted a 5.29 ERA between the Yankees and Reds. His ERA was much better following a midseason trade to Cincinnati, but his strikeout and walk numbers at both stops were underwhelming.

Previous installments in this series: catcher, first base, second base, third base, shortstop, center field, corner outfield, starting pitcher

Dodgers Designate Edwin Uceta For Assignment

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The Dodgers announced they’ve designated Edwin Uceta for assignment. The move became necessary when the club selected the contract of utilityman Andy Burns to replace injured third baseman Justin Turner ahead of tonight’s Game 5 of the NLCS.

Uceta has generally been viewed as one of the better pitching prospects in the Dodgers system over the past few seasons. The right-hander posted strong numbers up through Double-A, working primarily as a starting pitcher up until this year. Both Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs and Baseball America suggested Uceta could yet settle in as a capable back-of-the-rotation arm. While he has never thrown especially hard, public prospect evaluators have credited him with solid secondary offerings and control.

Selected to the 40-man roster last winter, Uceta split this season between Los Angeles and Triple-A Oklahoma City. He worked mostly in relief at both stops. Over 20 1/3 big league frames, Uceta pitched to a 6.64 ERA, offsetting a strong 27.2% strikeout rate with an elevated 13% walk percentage. It was a similar story with OKC, as he tossed 38 2/3 frames of 4.71 ERA ball with plenty of punchouts (29.5%) but a few too many free passes (10.1%).

The Dodgers will place Uceta on waivers over the coming days. Between his prospect pedigree, youth, and bat-missing abilities, Uceta could be an appealing flier for another club. He still has two minor league option years remaining, meaning any claiming team could shuttle Uceta back-and-forth between the majors and Triple-A through the end of the 2023 season if he sticks on their 40-man roster.

Rockies Outright Four Players

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The Rockies announced that four players — infielders Josh Fuentes and Rio Ruiz and right-handers Yency Almonte and Tommy Doyle — have cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A Albuquerque. The moves bring Colorado’s 40-man roster tally down to 35, although the Rox will have to reinstate four players from the 60-day injured list before the start of the offseason.

Fuentes has appeared in the majors in each of the last three seasons, garnering his most significant playing time in 2021. The 28-year-old tallied 284 trips to the plate this year, but he hit just .225/.257/.351 with seven homers despite playing his home games at Coors Field. Fuentes hasn’t performed well at the big league level, but he’s a career .291/.329/.489 hitter over parts of three years at Triple-A.

Ruiz, 27, was once a fairly well-regarded prospect. He’s gotten to the majors in each of the last six years but has never hit at a particularly high level. The left-handed hitter got regular run with the Orioles from 2019-21, opening this past season as Baltimore’s starting second baseman. But he managed just a .220/.292/.380 line with the O’s before being let go.

Colorado claimed Ruiz off waivers in May, and he stuck on the 40-man roster for the entire season. He only picked up 40 big league plate appearances, spending most of his time in Albuquerque. Ruiz is a .270/.337/.423 hitter in parts of five Triple-A campaigns, including a .304/.361/.496 mark with the Isotopes this past season.

Almonte, also 27, has pitched for Colorado in each of the last four years. He worked to a 2.93 ERA with a huge 56.3% ground-ball rate in 27 2/3 innings in 2020, but the wheels fell off this year. Over 47 2/3 frames, Almonte managed just a 7.55 ERA with worse than average strikeout (21.7%), walk (13.4%) and grounder (41.9%) percentages.

Doyle made his MLB debut in 2020, getting a three-game cameo. He didn’t pitch in the big leagues this past season, instead spending almost the entire year on the minor league injured list. The 25-year-old still has just 11 2/3 innings above A-ball in his professional career — 2 1/3 MLB frames in 2020 and 9 1/3 innings with Double-A Hartford in 2021.

Fuentes, Ruiz and Almonte have all appeared in seven-plus minor league seasons. They’ll all qualify for minor league free agency this winter, assuming the Rockies don’t pivot and reselect them back onto the 40-man. Doyle does not have the requisite service time to reject an outright assignment, so he’ll stick in the organization. He’ll presumably get a Spring Training invitation in 2022 and look to pitch his way back onto the roster.

Braves Activate Jorge Soler

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Outfielder Jorge Soler has been cleared by the MLB Joint Health and Safety Committee to return to the Braves active roster, the club announced. He’s active for tonight’s NLCS Game 5, with Cristian Pache removed from the active roster in a corresponding move. Soler is not in the Braves’ starting lineup but will be available off the bench.

Soler had been ineligible since Game 4 of the Braves’ NLDS matchup with the Brewers, when he was removed from the team’s starting lineup only a few hours before first pitch. He was later confirmed to have received a positive COVID test and to have entered isolation. Defensive whiz Pache replaced him on the Braves’ roster for that series and was again designated as Soler’s replacement on their NLCS roster.

Still only two years removed from leading the AL with 48 home runs in 2019, Soler has experienced something of a renaissance since moving to the Braves at the trade deadline. After posting a measly .192/.288/.370 line across 94 games with the Royals, the 29-year-old regained his form with the bat, putting up a .269/.358/.524 triple-slash in 55 games as the Braves’ primary right fielder. He moved into the leadoff spot for the Braves in September and had remained there for the team’s first three games against the Brewers. Eddie Rosario and Dansby Swanson have served as the Braves’ leadoff hitter in Soler’s absence.

How Braves manager Brian Snitker plans to use Soler moving forward remains to be seen, though Snitker has described Soler as “ready to go” and as “a nice weapon off the bench” tonight (via Jeff Schultz of The Athletic). Indeed, his return clearly strengthens a bench that had been relying on light-hitting utilityman Ehire Adrianza as its top pinch-hitting option. Soler’s absence had actually solved something of a dilemma for Snitker; outfielders Rosario and Joc Pederson have both had wildly productive postseasons, and neither is considered a viable defensive alternative to Adam Duvall (the 2021 NL RBI champ) in center field.

Should the Braves advance to the World Series, Soler will likely be Snitker’s first choice at DH, his primary position in Kansas City. How the outfield would shake out for games played in Atlanta — or, indeed, for potential Games 6 and 7 against the Dodgers — remains very much an open question. Pederson had been the odd man out for the first three games of the Milwaukee series, while Rosario was left out of the starting lineup for Game 4. A glut of productive outfielders is, of course, an enviable problem for the Braves to face, but it does make Snitker’s job a bit more complicated.

Though the Braves managed to build their present 3-1 series lead over the Dodgers without him, Soler — alongside fellow mid-season additions Pederson, Rosario, and Duvall — played a major role in turning around what had appeared to be a lost season in Atlanta after losing Ronald Acuña Jr. to a torn ACL on July 10. With their fully remade outfield, the Braves went 37-20 after the deadline en route to securing their fourth consecutive NL East title.

Dodgers To Select Andy Burns, Remove Justin Turner From NLCS Roster

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The Dodgers will remove third baseman Justin Turner from the team’s roster for their ongoing NLCS against the Braves, manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Juan Toribio of MLB.com). Turner suffered a hamstring injury in last night’s contest that’ll prove to be a season-ending issue. To replace him on the postseason roster, Los Angeles will select the contract of utilityman Andy Burns.

Injured players can be removed from a playoff roster mid-series with approval from the Commissioner’s Office. There’s not yet been any formal announcement, although there’s no reason to believe the Dodgers’ request to remove Turner won’t be granted. Doing so renders the injured player ineligible to return for the remainder of the current series and the following series, should the team advance. So even if the Dodgers erase their 3-1 deficit against Atlanta to advance to the World Series, Turner cannot return this year.

Even before the injury, it was a difficult postseason for Turner, who reached base in just six of his 38 playoff plate appearances. He offered the kind of consistently strong performance we’ve come to expect from the 36-year-old in the regular season, hitting .278/.361/.471 with 27 home runs over 612 plate appearances.

Burns briefly appeared on the active roster, getting into nine games in June. The right-handed hitter posted a .232/.361/.412 line with six homers and ten stolen bases over 216 plate appearances with Triple-A Oklahoma City during the regular season. He covered each of first, second and third base as well as both corner outfield spots. Roberts could deploy Burns as a late-game defensive sub at a few different positions or use him as a pinch runner off the bench.

Marlins Outright Four Off 40-Man Roster

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The Marlins have outrighted infielders Eddy Alvarez and Deven Marrero and right-handers Preston Guilmet and Andrew Bellatti off their 40-man roster, tweets Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald. The Fish now have 36 players on the 40-man roster, but with seven players on the 60-day injured list, they’ll still need to clear three more spots to reinstate all of their injured players between now and the conclusion of the postseason. All four players will be eligible for minor league free agency.

Of the two infielders, Alvarez saw significantly more action in 2021, compiling a .188/.297/.328 line across 74 plate appearances. He also made a few headlines in both 2020 and 2021: first when he became the first Winter Olympic medalist to appear in a Major League Game (he won a silver medal in speed skating at the 2014 Sochi Games), then again when he became the third American to medal in both the Summer and Winter Olympics (he was a member of the silver-winning USA baseball squad in this summer’s Tokyo Games).

Marrero, a first-round pick of the Red Sox in 2012, put together a similar .188/.316/.375 line across just 19 PAs. He’s seen big-league action in six seasons (three with Boston, one with Arizona, and two with Miami) but has never managed to put together an extended run of production. Across a career-high 188 PAs for the BoSox in 2017, he managed only a meager .211/.259/.333 triple-slash. He hasn’t managed much more in the minors (he has a .623 OPS across 490 games in Triple-A) but remains a plus defender and could get a chance to catch on elsewhere.

Like Marrero, neither Guilmet nor Bellatti saw much time on the field for the Marlins. Guilmet covered only two innings (4.50 ERA) in two appearances, while Bellatti was roughed up (13.50 ERA) in a tiny sample of 3 1/3 IP in three trips to the mound. Guilmet’s track record is much longer, appearing with seven clubs across five big-league seasons, but he’s never seen more innings than the 10 1/3 he covered for Baltimore in 2014.

Bellatti’s brief run in 2021 was his first in the bigs since he posted a strong 2.31 ERA (albeit with a 5.23 FIP) across 23 1/3 innings for the Rays in 2015 before injuries derailed his career. He was out of baseball entirely in 2017 and ’18 before latching on with the Yankees Double-A affiliate in 2019 (after a single outing with the Atlantic League’s Sugar Land Skeeters) and ultimately getting the call from the Marlins this year.

Lance McCullers Jr. Still Not Throwing; Jake Meyers Likely Out Remainder Of ALCS

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The Astros are one win from returning to the World Series, but if they advance, it looks increasingly possible that they’ll do so without the benefit of top starter Lance McCullers Jr. Manager Dusty Baker announced to reporters today that there’s no change with McCullers, who was ruled out for the ALCS (Twitter link via USA Today’s Bob Nightengale). The right-hander has not yet resumed throwing, which does not bode well for his World Series availability.

There’s similarly pessimistic news on center fielder Jake Meyers. The Astros aren’t replacing the promising rookie outfielder on the roster, but he’s unlikely to play again this series, according to Baker (via FOX 26’s Mark Berman). He could be available as a pinch-hitting or pinch-running option, however, and removing him from the roster mid-series would rule Meyers out for a potential World Series return. (Players removed from a postseason roster are ineligible to return for one full round  of play.) Meyers has been batting a shoulder injury and recently had a setback.

Formally losing McCullers would be a tough blow for an Astros club that has rallied back from a 2-1 deficit to take a 3-2 series lead over the Red Sox in the American League Championship Series. McCullers exited after four innings in Houston’s decisive Game 4 victory over the White Sox in the American League Division Series after revealing to the team that he’d experienced forearm discomfort.

McCullers underwent an MRI after the fact, and while the team hasn’t provided a formal diagnosis, it’s said to be a muscular issue rather than a structural issue (i.e. ligament damage). While McCullers was not included on the ALCS roster, there was at least hope that he’d be able to return should Houston qualify for a World Series showdown against either the Dodgers or the Braves.

If it indeed proves that McCullers can’t return, Houston’s options in his absence include Framber Valdez, Zack Greinke, Jake Odorizzi, Cristian Javier and rookie Luis Garcia — the latter of whom will get the nod in Game 6, according to Baker.

McCullers, 28, signed a five-year, $85MM extension in Spring Training, forgoing a potential run at free agency. He responded with a career-high 28 starts and 162 1/3 innings, pitching to a 3.16 ERA with a 27% strikeout rate and 11.1% walk rate along the way.

Yankees First Base Coach Reggie Willits Steps Down, Joins University Of Oklahoma Staff

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The Yankees announced Thursday that first base coach/outfield instructor Reggie Willits has stepped down from his role to join the University of Oklahoma’s baseball program as a volunteer assistant coach.

“I want to thank Brian Cashman, Aaron Boone and the Steinbrenner family for the opportunity to work for such a world-class organization,” Willits said in a statement within this morning’s press release. “I’ve cherished my time with the Yankees and I’ve grown professionally and personally because of the bonds that have I’ve formed with so many players, coaches and staff. It’s been a challenging personal decision to make. I’m leaving a team and organization I’ve loved being a part of, but I’m returning home to be closer to my family and to work for a program I have deep ties to and great respect for.”

The departure of Willits further adds to the looming turnover on Boone’s staff. While the skipper himself signed a new three-year contract earlier this week, the Yankees have already dismissed hitting coach Marcus Thames, assistant hitting coach P.J. Pilittere and third base coach Phil Nevin. There’s no indication that Willits was on the chopping block himself, but the Oklahoma native will now have a chance to work with his alma mater and be closer to family after seven seasons with the Yankees organization.

A former big league outfielder himself, the 40-year-old Willits was hired by the Yankees as their minor league outfield and baserunning coordinator prior to the 2015 season. He held that role for three years before being promoted to Major League first base coach and outfield instructor prior to the 2018 season.

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