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Archives for April 2022

Athletics Select Five Players, Designate Sam Selman

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The A’s announced their Opening Day roster this afternoon, and five non-roster invitees were selected to make the big league club. Pitchers Justin Grimm, Dany Jiménez, Zach Jackson and Jake Lemoine were all added to the MLB roster, as was corner outfielder Billy McKinney.

Grimm, Jiménez and McKinney each have previous big league experience. All three were signed from other organizations this offseason. Grimm is up for his ninth MLB season, his first since a four-game stint with the Brewers in 2020. The right-hander had a nice showing in the middle of the last decade with the Cubs, posting a 3.36 ERA in 171 1/3 innings between 2014-16. He hasn’t found much major league success in the past five years, but he punched out an excellent 33.6% of opponents with the Mariners Triple-A affiliate last season.

Jiménez’s big league time consists of two appearances with the Giants in 2020. The righty has been of interest to the Oakland front office for some time, as they selected him in the Rule 5 draft at the end of that season. He didn’t stick on the active roster, though, and the 28-year-old spent last season at Triple-A in the Blue Jays system. Jiménez pitched to a 2.22 ERA with an incredible 39% strikeout rate there, although he also walked 13.4% of batters faced.

McKinney is a former A’s first-rounder. Traded to the Cubs before he made his MLB debut, he’s suited up with five different teams over the past four years. The left-handed hitting outfielder owns a .215/.286/.404 line in a bit more than 700 plate appearances. McKinney has flashed some power potential, but he’s punched out in 26% of his trips to the dish. The 27-year-old joins Stephen Piscotty, Seth Brown and Chad Pinder in the corner outfield mix for skipper Mark Kotsay.

Jackson, 27, was a third-round pick by the Blue Jays out of the University of Arkansas in 2016. The 6’4″ righty — who has worked exclusively out of the bullpen as a pro — was selected by the A’s in the minor league phase of the 2020 Rule 5 draft. He split last season between Double-A Midland and Triple-A Las Vegas, working 28 innings of 2.57 ERA ball across the two levels. The Tulsa native remarkably fanned 41.2% of opponents, albeit with an 11.4% walk rate.

Lemoine was a fourth-round pick of the Rangers in 2015 out of the University of Houston. The right-hander has also worked solely in relief as a pro, pitching his way up to Triple-A in the Texas system. Lemoine hit minor league free agency at the end of the season and signed with the A’s. He owns a 4.81 ERA with an underwhelming 18.9% strikeout percentage in that time, but Lemoine has induced grounders on over the half the balls in play against him in each of his Triple-A seasons.

To create 40-man roster space, the A’s needed to free three spots. They’ve designated southpaw Sam Selman for assignment, tweets Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle. The other two spots, according to the club’s transactions tracker at MLB.com, were freed by placing pitchers Deolis Guerra and Brent Honeywell Jr. on the 60-day injured list.

Selman just landed in Oakland last month when he was claimed off waivers from the Angels. The 31-year-old southpaw has pitched with the Giants and Anaheim over the past three seasons, combining for a 4.77 ERA in 54 2/3 frames. Selman doesn’t have particularly strong strikeout, walk or ground-ball numbers, but he’s been a nightmare for left-handed hitters. Same-handed batters have just a .171/.307/.329 line in 102 plate appearances against Selman. He has a minor league option remaining.

Guerra’s and Honeywell’s absences were expected. The former recently underwent surgery after experiencing forearm tightness this spring. The latter was shut down from throwing indefinitely after suffering an olecranon stress reaction in his elbow.

Nationals Select Strange-Gordon, Franco, Arano; Place Harris, Strasburg On IL

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The Nationals have finalized their Opening Day roster, announcing this morning that non-roster invitees Dee Strange-Gordon, Maikel Franco and Víctor Arano all made the big league club. Yesterday’s designation of reliever Gabe Klobosits freed up one roster spot, while the other two 40-man vacancies were created by placing Seth Romero and Will Harris on the 60-day injured list.

Strange-Gordon returns to the majors after splitting the 2021 season between three Triple-A teams. It’ll be his 11th MLB season, and his first in Washington. Strange-Gordon is a three-time stolen base king and former batting champ, but his production has dipped in recent years. He hit just .266/.293/.343 with the Mariners between 2018-20, still putting the ball in play but rarely walking or hitting for power.

Despite turning 34 next month, Strange-Gordon still brings plenty of speed and athleticism. He’ll presumably back up starting second baseman César Hernández and could also see some time in the outfield. Strange-Gordon never took well to a center field experiment with the M’s, but he rated as a plus defender at second base during his peak with the Marlins.

Franco is readying for his eighth MLB season. A top prospect during his days in the Phillies farm system, he showcased some bat-to-ball skills and power but never drew many walks and struggled defensively. Franco never emerged as the middle-of-the-order bat the Phils envisioned, and he’s spent the past couple seasons on low-salary deals with the Royals and Orioles, respectively.

The 29-year-old had a decent showing with K.C. during the shortened 2020 season, but he managed just a .210/.253/.355 line in a bit more than 400 plate appearances with Baltimore last year. He’ll get the Opening Day nod at third base, though, as the Nats are down both Carter Kieboom and Ehire Adrianza. Kieboom was placed on the 60-day injured list with a UCL sprain last month, while Adrianza landed on the 10-day IL today due to a left quad strain.

Arano, like Strange-Gordon and Franco, has spent the bulk of his career in the NL East. He worked to a 2.65 ERA in 74 2/3 innings with the Phillies between 2017-19, striking out a solid 26.3% of opponents with an impressive 7.6% walk rate. The right-hander missed almost all of the 2019 campaign because of elbow inflammation, and he spent 2020 at the alternate training site.

The 27-year-old Arano spent last season in the Braves organization, where he landed via waivers. Despite posting a 2.50 ERA in 36 frames with Triple-A Gwinnett, he never got a big league call and was outrighted off the 40-man roster. Arano’s typically steady production made him a solid minor league signee for a Washington team with a thin bullpen, and he’ll earn his first MLB look in three years.

Harris was expected to be a noteworthy part of that bullpen, but he’s been hit hard by injuries of late. The veteran righty missed most of last season after undergoing thoracic outlet syndrome surgery in May. He recently underwent a clean-up procedure to remove scar tissue and won’t throw for three to four weeks, tweets Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com. Harris won’t return to an MLB mound until at least early June.

Romero is dealing with a left calf strain, per the team. The former first-round pick has only three MLB appearances to his name — all in 2020 — but he’ll accrue big league service and pay while on the IL. Romero posted a 5.31 ERA in six Double-A appearances last season but struck out a fantastic 37% of opponents.

Washington also placed Stephen Strasburg on the 10-day injured list. That had been an inevitability for some time, as Strasburg has been dealing with lingering effects of a 2021 TOS surgery of his own. Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said on 106.7 The Fan this week that Strasburg could return by the start of May but didn’t want to specify a timeline at this point (h/t to Matt Weyrich of NBC Sports Washington).

Rafael Devers, Xander Bogaerts Unlikely To Sign Extensions With Red Sox Before Opening Day

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APRIL 7: In a press conference this afternoon, Bogaerts made clear that negotiations on a contract extension have stalled and that he doesn’t intend to sign a new deal before tomorrow’s opener in New York (first reported by Chris Cotillo of MassLive; Twitter link). Asked whether he would agree to an extension, he replied simply: “No.” Asked subsequently whether an offer was made, he responded, “Yeah. But it didn’t work out, and we’ll see how it goes from there.”

The shortstop also appeared to rule out the possibility of in-season negotiation, adding, “I can’t do nothing about it right now. I’ve got a season coming up in front of me and I don’t want to put any of our teammates in that type of distraction. They don’t deserve it. We had time to get something done. It didn’t work out.”

As noted below, Bogaerts can opt out of the three years and $60MM that remain on his contract at the end of the 2022 season. He’d be entering a potentially crowded shortstop market that will likely include Trea Turner, Dansby Swanson, Elvis Andrus, and Didi Gregorius, as well as Carlos Correa should he (as expected) opt out of the final two years of his deal with the Twins. He’d nonetheless be a near-certainty to top his remaining guarantee so long as he remains healthy and maintains his recent production.

APRIL 6: Red Sox star third baseman Rafael Devers recently rejected an extension offer from the team, reports Héctor Gómez of Z101 (Twitter link). Gómez adds that Boston’s offer to Devers topped the $124MM deal José Ramírez signed with the Guardians. Further specifics of the offer aren’t known, but Chris Cotillo of MassLive characterizes the sides as being “very far” apart.

Both Gómez and Cotillo suggest it’s unlikely there’ll be any more discussions before the Red Sox open the season on Friday against the Yankees. Devers has previously suggested he won’t entertain an extension in-season. That seemingly sets him up to play out this season on an $11.2MM salary, to which he and the Sox agreed last month to avoid an arbitration hearing.

It stands to reason the Boston front office will take a crack at extending Devers next winter, at the very least. He’s controllable via arbitration for another season beyond this one. By next offseason, the reigning AL Silver Slugger at third base will have banked over $16MM in career earnings. Barring a significant injury, he’ll be in line for a rather notable raise on this season’s salary during his final arbitration year before hitting free agency in advance of his age-27 campaign.

That’s all to say Devers has little pressure to accept a significant discount. The Red Sox certainly won’t put forth a market-value offer two years in advance of free agency, but keeping him in the fold long-term would require one of the biggest investments in the history of that service bucket. The Braves signed first baseman Matt Olson — who also has four-plus service years — to an eight-year, $168MM extension last month. Only Joey Votto (ten years, $225MM) and Giancarlo Stanton (13 years, $325MM) have topped Olson’s deal among players with between four and five years of service.

Olson was projected for a $12MM arbitration salary before signing his extension, not too dissimilar from Devers’ current mark. He and Devers have family similar numbers going back three seasons. Olson owns a .257/.354/.522 line since the start of 2019; Devers is a .290/.350/.537 hitter in that time. The latter hits for a better average, while Olson draws significantly more walks. Olson has been 34 percentage points above average by measure of wRC+, while Devers checks in 29 points above par.

Obviously, Olson and Devers don’t make for an apples-to-apples comparison. Devers plays a more demanding position, but he rates as one of the league’s worst defensive third basemen. Olson plays at the position furthest down the defensive spectrum, but he’s perhaps the game’s best gloveman at first base. One could argue that Olson’s the more valuable all-around player, but Devers is two and a half years younger. Devers’ camp at Rep 1 Baseball may argue for a deal that exceeds Olson’s in length and overall guarantee, making it unsurprising that “merely” topping the $124MM guaranteed to Ramírez wouldn’t be sufficient. (To be clear, it’s unknown how close the Red Sox’s offer to Devers was to Ramírez’s number).

Regardless of whether Boston and Devers eventually work something out long-term, he’ll be around for the next two seasons. That’s not necessarily the case for shortstop Xander Bogaerts, who can opt out of the remaining three years and $60MM on his deal after this season. Alex Speier of the Boston Globe spoke with Boagerts on Monday. The star shortstop told Speier he and the club have had talks this spring but said he didn’t anticipate an extension being hammered out in the coming days. Like Devers, Bogaerts suggested he was uninterested in continuing negotiations once the season was underway.

Bogaerts would hit the open market in advance of his age-30 season and seems likely to handily top $60MM barring an unexpected downturn in performance or injury. The Sox added an All-Star potential alternative last month when they signed Trevor Story to a six-year, $140MM deal. The longtime Rockie agreed to play second base this season in deference to Boagerts. Boston could keep him at the keystone if they get a long-term deal with Bogaerts done, but Story could also kick back to his old position in 2023 if the Sox’s incumbent shortstop heads elsewhere.

Marlins Select Shawn Armstrong

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The Marlins announced this morning that reliever Shawn Armstrong has made the Opening Day roster. Miami cleared a 40-man roster spot with yesterday’s trade of Alex Jackson to the Brewers. The Fish also placed reliever Dylan Floro and infielder Jose Devers on the 10-day injured list and recalled outfielder Bryan De La Cruz from Triple-A Jacksonville.

Armstrong, 31, has pitched in the big leagues in each of the past seven seasons. He owns a career 4.63 ERA in 167 innings, striking out and walking batters at roughly average respective clips. Last year, the right-hander split the season between the Orioles and Rays and posted a 6.75 ERA in spite of a capable 26.7% strikeout rate. Outrighted off the Tampa Bay roster at the end of the year, he latched on with Miami on a minor league contract.

Home runs were a real issue for Armstrong, as he served up ten longballs in just 36 innings. The Miami front office is certainly hopeful that’ll even out in a more pitcher-friendly home environment. He’s out of minor league option years, so the Marlins will have to carry Armstrong on the active roster moving forward or else make him available to other teams.

Rays Claim Ralph Garza, Select Chris Mazza

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The Rays have claimed reliever Ralph Garza off waivers from the Red Sox, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. They’ve also selected reliever Chris Mazza onto the Opening Day roster. To create 40-man roster space, Brendan McKay and Pete Fairbanks have been placed on the 60-day injured list.

Boston claimed Garza off waivers themselves a couple weeks ago, but their subsequent attempt to pass him through waivers came up empty. The 28-year-old made his big league debut last season, splitting the year between the Astros and Twins. He tossed 30 1/3 innings over 27 outings, pitching to a 3.56 ERA despite slightly worse than average strikeout and walk rates (22.8% and 11%, respectively).

Garza still has a pair of minor league option years remaining, and the Rays have already sent him to Triple-A Durham. He’ll serve as a depth option for a bullpen that now includes Mazza. The 32-year-old pitched in 14 games for Tampa Bay last season, posting a 4.61 ERA. He only punched out 18.8% of opponents, but he dished out walks at just a 6.3% clip. The Rays outrighted Mazza but brought him back on a minor league deal this winter, and he’ll again crack the big league roster.

McKay has been plagued by injuries for the past few years. He’s made just seven minor league appearances since 2019, as he required shoulder surgery in 2020 and suffered a forearm strain last year. McKay underwent thoracic outlet surgery last November. That wasn’t expected to affect his readiness for this season, but he’s apparently not recovered and will be out of action until at least early June again. Fairbanks has a partially torn lat and might not pitch until after the All-Star Break.

Jon Heyman of the MLB Network reported Mazza’s forthcoming promotion this morning.

Astros Select Ronel Blanco, Designate Tyler Ivey For Assignment

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The Astros set their Opening Day roster Thursday, announcing that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Ronel Blanco and designated righty Tyler Ivey for assignment in order to open a spot on the 40-man roster. Houston also placed Lance McCullers Jr. (forearm strain), Jake Meyers (recovering from shoulder surgery) and Taylor Jones (lower back injury) on the 10-day injured list.

Once he appears in a game, Blanco will make his MLB debut at the age of 28.  He spent all of last year at Triple-A, punching out 31.7% of hitters while walking 8.9% with a 40.4% groundball rate.  According to Chandler Rome of Baseball America, Blanco would have been a “virtual lock” to be selected in the Rule 5 draft, had that event not been canceled.  Rome notes that Blanco, who was signed out of the Dominican Republic six years ago for $5,000, surprisingly beat out several pitchers with MLB experience to make the Astros’ opening day bullpen.  Houston’s 10-man crew also includes Ryan Pressly, Ryne Stanek, Hector Neris, Phil Maton, Blake Taylor, Pedro Baez, Rafael Montero, Bryan Abreu, and Cristian Javier.

Ivey, 26 next month, made his MLB debut with the Astros last May in a spot start against the Rangers.  A few weeks afterward, his season ended due to a nerve issue in his elbow.  At that time, Ivey admitted in an illuminating story by Rome for the Houston Chronicle that he’d been pitching through pain since 2019, concealing it from the team to maintain his shot at reaching the Majors.  The injury turned out to be thoracic outlet syndrome, which the righty dealt with via rehab rather than surgery.

The Astros had optioned Ivey to Triple-A on March 24th.  Baseball America assigned Ivey a 50 grade as a prospect, explaining that he’s “a potential middle-to-back-of-the-rotation starter candidate if he can stay healthy.”  Having ranked as the Astros’ seventh-best prospect, it seems likely Ivey will be claimed off waivers by another organization.

Rangers Trade Yonny Hernandez To Diamondbacks

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The Rangers have set their Opening Day roster, announcing a series of transactions that includes the trade of infielder Yonny Hernandez to the Diamondbacks in exchange for minor league outfielder Jeferson Espinal. Arizona has designated right-hander Humberto Mejia for assignment in a corresponding roster move.

Texas also designated infielder Sherten Apostel for assignment and selected the contracts of veterans Matt Bush, Charlie Culberson and Greg Holland. Right-hander Garrett Richards, meanwhile, has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a blister issue, while righty Jose Leclerc has been placed on the 60-day IL as he continues recovering from last March’s Tommy John surgery.

Hernandez, 24 next month, made his big league debut with Texas last year and batted .217/.315/.252 in 166 trips to the plate. His work in Triple-A, where he slashed .250/.424/.323 in 261 plate appearances, was far better. Hernandez walked at a gaudy 20.3% clip in Triple-A last season and has a penchant for drawing free passes and making contact, albeit rarely with any real power. He’s walked in more than 15% of his professional plate appearances and also possesses plenty of speed, evidenced by 23 steals in the minors and another 11 in the big leagues last season.

Hernandez has experience all over the infield and has all three minor league option years remaining, so he’ll give the D-backs some flexibility and versatility not only in 2022 but for the foreseeable future. He can be controlled for at least the next six seasons, and possibly more, depending on how much big league time he accrues while he has those options remaining.

Espinal, 19, batted a combined .259/.340/.357 between Rookie ball and Low-A last season, with the vast majority of his production coming at the lower of those two levels. Eric Longenhagen and Brendan Gawlowski wrote at FanGraphs back in January that Espinal has 70 speed on the 20-80 scale but a long swing and serious questions about his overall hitting profile. Espinal did swipe 16 bases in 19 tries last season, but he’ll have a ways to go before the Rangers can even hope to have him as a viable option in the outfield.

Apostel, 23, went 2-for-20 in his big league debut back in 2020 and didn’t appear in the Majors last season. He’s primarily a third baseman but has experience at first base as well. Apostel posted a lackluster .235/.321/.416 across three levels last season, topping out with a sub-par showing in Triple-A Round Rock. The Rangers will have a week to trade Apostel, place him on outright waivers or release him.

As for the D-backs, they’re in the same boat with regard to the 25-year-old Mejia. He’s tallied 32 1/3 big league innings but struggled to a 6.68 ERA in that time, and last year’s work in the minors was not decidedly more encouraging. In 103 2/3 frames between Double-A and Triple-A, Mejia pitched to a combined 5.12 ERA with a 22.1% strikeout rate and 8.2% walk rate. Another club in need of some pitching depth might take a look in a small trade or via waivers, but Mejia has not yet found too much success above A-ball.

Red Sox Select Travis Shaw, Hansel Robles; Designate Eduard Bazardo, Ralph Garza Jr. For Assignment

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The Red Sox announced a flurry of moves this morning, selecting the contracts of a pair of veterans — 32-year-old infielder Travis Shaw and 31-year-old reliever Hansel Robles — and designating right-handers Eduard Bazardo and Ralph Garza Jr. for assignment. They also optioned righty Tyler Danish to Triple-A Worcester and placed left-hander Josh Taylor on the 10-day IL with a lower back strain.

Both Shaw and Robles spent the end of last season on the Red Sox’s roster. The former arrived via waiver claim from the Brewers, returning to the place where he spent the first two years of his big league career. Shaw was a productive power bat for the Brew Crew between 2017-18, combining for 63 home runs. He hasn’t hit well lately, posting below-average numbers in each of the past three seasons as his strikeout rate has jumped. In 250 plate appearances last season, he hit .200/.286/.373 (although he did do well in a very tiny sample upon landing in Boston).

Robles locks in a $2.25MM base salary by making the Opening Day roster. Acquired from the Twins at the trade deadline, he settled into the mid-late innings down the stretch for Alex Cora. Robles had an ERA pushing 5.00 in Minnesota, but he managed a capable 3.60 mark in 25 innings with the Sox. Robles averages nearly 97 MPH on his heater and punched out a slightly above-average 25.6% of batters faced, albeit with spotty control.

Garza has already been claimed off waivers by the division-rival Rays. Bazardo seems likely to follow him to the waiver wire. The 26-year-old made his big league debut last season, tossing three innings over two relief appearances. The Venezuela native averaged nearly 95 MPH on his heater, but he was tagged for an 8.74 ERA in 11 Triple-A appearances. He owns a strong minor league track record up through Double-A and still has a pair of minor league options remaining.

White Sox Designate Micker Adolfo For Assignment, Outright Seby Zavala To Triple-A

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The White Sox made a series of procedural moves this morning in advance of tomorrow’s opener in Detroit, including designating outfielder Micker Adolfo for assignment and outrighting catcher Seby Zavala to Charlotte. The Southsiders will open the season with Eloy Jimenez, Luis Robert, Andrew Vaughn, and the recently acquired AJ Pollock in the outfield, with Adam Engel in reserve. Reese McGuire will open the season as Yasmani Grandal’s deputy behind the plate.

The team also announced a series of other moves this morning, including placing several players on the 10-day IL: right-handers Ryan Burr, Joe Kelly, and Lance Lynn; lefty Garrett Crochet; third baseman Yoan Moncada; and DH Yermin Mercedes. Moncada, who has a grade-1 oblique strain, is expected back within a few weeks, while Crochet will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the 2022 season, but timetables have not yet been established for others. Lynn in particular was expected to play a major role in anchoring the rotation as the Sox look to repeat in the AL Central, but he’s expected to miss at least the first month and a half of the season as he recovers from knee surgery.

Adolfo, 25, was ranked as the 18th best prospect in the White Sox organization recently, with a 45 scouting grade.  It’s the eighth year BA has ranked Adolfo as a top-25 White Sox prospect; he’s been in the organization since signing for $1.6MM out of the Dominican Republic as a 16-year-old back in 2013.  He still boasts plus-plus raw power, but with a hefty strikeout rate north of 30%.  Adolfo has a plus-plus arm as well, even with Tommy John surgery part of his lengthy injury history.  Given that Adolfo is out of minor league options, a club will have to keep him in the Majors if they want to avoid exposing him to waivers again.

Zavala, apparently, passed through waivers unclaimed and has been bumped off the 40-man roster.  He caught 19% of Chicago’s innings behind the plate in 2021, but they’ve got McGuire backing up Grandal.  The Sox will have to re-add Zavala to the MLB roster should the need for him arise in the Majors again.  The 28-year-old Zavala hasn’t posted a wRC+ above 89 at any level since Double-A in 2018.  Three years ago, Baseball America described him as “a borderline average defender who blocks well but needs to do better at smothering balls in the dirt,” describing his throwing arm as “average.”

In the case of Moncada’s oblique strain, “the White Sox say the injury is much worse than they thought,” according to Alex Shapiro of NBC Sports Chicago.  It seems Moncada will be out for a few weeks rather than the expected few days, so Jake Burger snags the Opening Day start at the hot corner tomorrow at Comerica Park.

Padres Select C.J. Abrams, Jose Azocar; Kyle Tyler Designated For Assignment

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The Padres set their Opening Day roster Thursday, announcing that top prospect C.J. Abrams and outfielder Jose Azocar have been selected to the Major League roster. The Padres placed Fernando Tatis Jr. on the 60-day injured list and designated right-hander Kyle Tyler for assignment in a pair of corresponding 40-man moves.

Abrams is a consensus top prospect, ranked among the sport’s 15 most talented minor leaguers by each of Baseball America, The Athletic, FanGraphs, ESPN and MLB Pipeline. Kiley McDaniel at ESPN is the most bullish of the group, slotting Abrams fourth among the sport’s prospects. Reports praise his top-of-the-scale speed and athleticism and excellent hit tool, although evaluators also suggest Abrams has a chance to hit for average or better power at peak.

San Diego originally selected Abrams with the sixth overall pick in the 2019 draft out of a Georgia high school. He hasn’t had much professional game experience. Abrams spent the second half of his first pro season in rookie ball, with a late cameo at Low-A. The pandemic wiped out the 2020 minor league season, and the Friars pushed him to Double-A Amarillo to start the 2021 season.

Abrams handled the aggressive assignment well, hitting .296/.363/.420 with a pair of home runs and 13 stolen bases over 183 plate appearances. He showcased his advanced bat-to-ball skills with a 19.7% strikeout rate that was a few points below the league average, in spite of the fact that he was younger than virtually every arm he faced. Unfortunately, Abrams was deprived of a second half of reps after he fractured his left tibia and sprained his MCL in an on-field collision in early July.

There’s no doubt some risk for the Pads in pushing Abrams straight to the big leagues. He’s played all of 44 games above Rookie ball because of the pandemic and last season’s injury, none of that time at Triple-A. Yet there’s little question he has electric physical abilities, and the San Diego front office evidently feels he’s at least capable of keeping his head above water in the early going while continuing to develop into a core long-term piece.

Abrams has played the middle infield exclusively during his minor league tenure. Evaluators have been divided on his ability to stick at shortstop long-term, but the general consensus is that he’d be a solid defender at second base. Given his elite speed, Abrams could probably be a plus defender in the outfield as well, and he’s gotten some work on the grass this spring. He’ll presumably need more than a few weeks to become completely comfortable reading fly balls off the bat, but there’s little doubt he’s athletic enough to develop into a long-term outfield option.

It remains to be seen how first-year skipper Bob Melvin will deploy the 21-year-old in the early going. He figures to see some action at each of shortstop, second base and in the outfield. Jake Cronenworth has second base accounted for, but Tatis’ injury had thrust Ha-Seong Kim into the primary shortstop job. A well-regarded signee out of South Korea, Kim struggled during his rookie season in MLB. Melvin can give regular shortstop run to either of Abrams or Kim, and the Pads are set to rely on some combination of Jurickson Profar, Brent Rooker and Matt Beaty in left field.

The Padres aren’t wedded to keeping Abrams on the big league roster from here on out, as he’ll have all three minor league option years remaining. Yet San Diego wouldn’t have carried him out of camp if they didn’t feel he was ready for the challenge, and they’d certainly love if Abrams is in the big leagues to stay. If that’s the case, he’d be controllable through 2027 and wouldn’t reach arbitration eligibility until after the 2024 campaign. Future optional assignments, if needed, might push those trajectories back.

As a consensus top prospect, Abrams qualifies for the so-called Prospect Promotion Incentive in the new collective bargaining agreement. Based on his finishes in Rookie of the Year and MVP voting over his first three MLB seasons, the Padres could stand to collect some extra draft choices if he excels.

Azocar isn’t anywhere near the caliber of prospect Abrams is, but he’ll likewise be making his big league debut whenever he gets into a game. Signed by the Tigers as an amateur free agent from Venezuela in 2012, he spent eight seasons in the Detroit farm system and played his way to Double-A. After reaching minor league free agency, he landed with the Padres on a minors deal last winter.

The 25-year-old split last season between Amarillo and Triple-A El Paso. Over 544 plate appearances, he hit .281/.341/.438 with nine homers and 32 steals. Azocar has never hit more than 10 homers in a minor league season and has well below-average power, but evaluators have long credited him as a plus runner and solid defensive outfielder. He can play all three outfield spots and gives the team a true fourth outfield type behind Trent Grisham in center field.

Tyler just landed with San Diego on waivers a couple weeks ago. The righty has bounced from the Angels to the Red Sox to the Padres on the wire over the past month, and he figures to land back on waivers in the next few days. He made his big league debut last season, tossing 12 1/3 relief innings over five appearances with six strikeouts and walks apiece. Tyler still has all three options remaining.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

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