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Marlins Acquire Tanner Scott, Cole Sulser From Orioles

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8:56PM: Both teams have officially announced the trade.  To clear 40-man roster space for Scott and Sulser, the Marlins have designated left-hander Nick Neidert for assignment and placed lefty Sean Guenther on the 60-day injured list.  MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola reported Friday that Guenther was dealing with an arm injury that may require surgery.

5:52PM: The Marlins have acquired left-hander Tanner Scott and right-hander Cole Sulser from the Orioles.  MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reported (Twitter links) Scott’s inclusion in the deal, while The Miami Herald’s Craig Mish reported that Sulser had also been dealt.  Feinsand reports that the Orioles will receive prospects Antonio Velez and Kevin Guerrero, a player to be named later, and the Marlins’ pick in Competitive Balance Round B of this summer’s amateur draft.

The bullpen was known to be a target area for Miami, and the Fish have now bolstered their relief core with a pair of experienced arms.  In Sulser, the Marlins have also found a new closer candidate, as Sulser saved eight games with Baltimore last season.  While the Marlins aren’t expected to have a full-time closer, there is a vacancy for the ninth inning, as Dylan Floro is expected to start the season on the injured list.

Sulser is a late bloomer who didn’t make his MLB debut until he was 29, so he is still controlled through the 2025 season even though he only recently celebrated his 32nd birthday.  Injuries played a factor in Sulser’s late start, as he underwent two Tommy John surgeries (one in college, and the other in 2015 when he was pitching in Cleveland’s farm system).  He finally surfaced in the majors with the Rays in 2019, and then came to Baltimore on a waiver claim at the end of the 2019 season.

After posting a 5.56 ERA over 22 2/3 innings in 2020, Sulser broke out with a 2.70 ERA over 63 1/3 relief innings for Baltimore last season.  Though his 8.9% walk rate ranked only in the 40th percentile of all pitchers (as per Statcast), Sulser’s 28.4% strikeout rate was well above average, and fit in the high strikeout totals he has posted during his minor league career.

Scott also hasn’t had much trouble missing bats, but the southpaw’s control issues have resulted in some inconsistent numbers over 156 Major League innings.  Scott has an ungainly 13.6% walk rate during his MLB career, which is a big reason why he has posted only a 4.73 ERA with the Orioles despite a 50.1% grounder rate and a 29.4% strikeout rate.

Between those numbers, Scott’s mid-90s fastball, and his three remaining years of arbitration control (Scott is set to earn $1.05MM this season after avoiding arbitration with the O’s), it is easy to see why Scott has drawn his share of trade buzz over the years.  As well, Sulser’s name also surfaced in trade rumors earlier this year, as the rebuilding Orioles continue to be open for business on pretty much everyone on the roster.

In fact, the Marlins themselves swung another notable bullpen trade with the O’s back in August 2020, picking up Richard Bleier.  Sulser and Bleier will now join Anthony Bass and Anthony Bender as Miami’s top save candidates, with Floro joining the mix when he returns to action.  It is quite possible more names might end up emerging as closer possibilities for manager Don Mattingly, or one of those relievers might pitch well enough to firmly establish themselves as the top choice for the ninth inning.

From Baltimore’s perspective, the CBR-B draft pick may be the biggest score of the trade return.  The Competitive Balance Rounds are two separate draft rounds that respectively take place after the first round and second round of the draft, with 15 teams (all falling within the bottom 10 of market or revenue size) getting a bonus pick in one of the two rounds.  For the 2022 draft, the Marlins were selected into CBR-B and had the first pick of that round.  As it so happens, Baltimore will now be picking first in both Competitive Balance Rounds, as the O’s also have the first selection of CBR-A.  The Competitive Balance picks are the only draft selections that are allowed to be traded.

Baseball America ranked Guerrero 29th and Velez 34th on their most recent list of the Marlins’ top 40 prospects.  Guerrero is a 17-year-old outfielder who was part of the 2020-21 international signing class, and he hit .260/.373/.298 in 159 PA this past summer with the Marlins’ Dominican Summer League squad.  BA’s scouting report describes him as something of a work in progress, as his “future will be based around the way his body develops,” given that Guerrero is already 6’3″ but only 165 pounds.

Velez is a Miami native who wasn’t drafted coming out of Florida State, owing to the shortened nature of the 2020 draft.  Baseball America credited Velez as having the best changeup and best control of any pitcher in the Marlins’ farm system, which is no small achievement given all of the high-profile young arms in Miami’s minor league ranks.  In addition to that quality changeup, Velez’s “low-90s fastball is amplified by vertical break that borders on double-plus.”

While the Orioles continue to bolster their minor league ranks, today’s trade marks yet another move that depletes the MLB roster.  Sulser was tentatively set to act as Baltimore’s closer, and since Scott was also in the mix for save chances, it is now an open question as to who will end up getting ninth-inning duties.  Paul Fry, Jorge Lopez, and Dillon Tate look like the next men up on the depth chart, though any number of pitchers could be cycled through depending on performance, shifting roles, injuries, and perhaps more trades.

Padres Notes: Clevinger, Abrams, Paddack, Weathers

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Mike Clevinger is battling soreness in his right knee and is expected to begin the season on the 10-day injured list, Padres manager Bob Melvin told reporters (including Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune).  Clevinger has made only one appearance this spring, and lasted only 1 2/3 innings.

The IL placement “allows us to kind of smooth things out and slow it down some,” Melvin said.  “We don’t feel like it’s a significant thing, but it actually might be a little bit of a blessing because it did feel like we were kind of rushing him a little bit.”

It has already been a lengthy absence from a big league mound for Clevinger, who underwent Tommy John surgery in November 2020 and subsequently missed all of last season.  The Padres were already planning to ease him back into action on limited innings, pairing Clevinger with another pitcher in piggyback fashion.  It seems likely that the team might still pursue this strategy when Clevinger does return, though the extra recovery time could allow Clevinger to start a bit deeper into games.

San Diego has enough of a pitching surplus to withstand Clevinger’s absence, particularly after Sean Manaea was acquired from the A’s earlier today.  However, rumors continue to swirl about the possibility that the Friars could trade from their pitching depth to facilitate another deal, and the Padres reportedly came close on a four-player swap with the Mets yesterday that would’ve seen Eric Hosmer, Chris Paddack, and Emilio Pagan all sent to New York for Dominic Smith.

That trade would’ve been largely about getting luxury tax relief from Hosmer’s contract, though the Padres have also pursued other big-ticket moves to add talent.  San Diego has long been rumored to have interest in the Pirates’ Bryan Reynolds, and USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports that the Padres offered two arms in Paddack and Ryan Weathers in exchange for the All-Star outfielder.  That wasn’t enough for the Pirates, as talks were scuttled when Pittsburgh additionally wanted top prospect C.J. Abrams added to the trade package.

While Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller has been willing to deal notable prospects in the past, he has mostly resisted trading any of the true upper-tier names from his farm system.  As a consensus top-15 prospect in baseball, Abrams fits that billing, even coming off an injury-shortened 2021 season.  The Pirates are known to be seeking a major return in exchange for Reynolds, so while Abrams is a justifiable ask for a player of Reynolds’ proven ability, it remains to be seen if the Padres (or any team) would be willing to trade away a blue-chip minor league talent.

In fact, the door remains open on Abrams contributing to the Padres’ own big league roster as early as Opening Day.  Abrams has been hitting well this spring, and with Fernando Tatis Jr. set to miss as much as the first three months of the season, there is a vacancy at Abrams’ natural shortstop position.  Abrams has also been playing at second base, and Melvin has suggested that he could get some reps in the outfield as well, acting as some center field depth behind Trent Grisham.

It would be an aggressive promotion considering that Abrams has only played 42 games of Double-A ball, and has never played at Triple-A.  That said, the Padres didn’t shy away from putting Tatis on their Opening Day roster in 2019, and that was even before the new Collective Bargaining Agreement introduced the “Prospect Promotion Incentive,” which allows teams to potentially gain an extra draft pick if a top prospect spends an entire season on the active roster and has a high finish in awards balloting.

Returning to the pitching rumor mill, Paddack drew some attention from New York’s other team last month, when the Yankees and Padres were discussing Luke Voit in trade talks.  SNY’s Andy Martino reports that the Yankees initially wanted Paddack in return for Voit, before finally settling on a less-experienced hurler in prospect Justin Lange.

Nationals Avoid Arbitration With Victor Robles

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7:26PM: Robles and the Nationals agreed to a one-year, $1.65MM deal, according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman.

3:21PM: The Nationals agreed to a 2022 contract with outfielder Victor Robles, The Washington Post’s Jesse Dougherty reports (Twitter link).  The deal allows both sides to avoid an arbitration hearing, as an agreement wasn’t reached prior to the deadline for submitting arb figures.  Robles was seeking a $2.1MM salary, while the Nats countered with a $1.6MM offer.  MLBTR’s Matt Swartz projected Robles for a $1.7MM deal.

This is Robles’ first time through the arbitration process, and he is on pace to hit free agency following the 2024 season.  In the near term, however, 2022 looms as a critical year for Robles to re-establish himself as a key part of Washington’s future plans.  Since emerging as an everyday member of the Nats’ 2019 World Series club, Robles has hit only .209/.304/.302 in 558 plate appearances in 2020-21.

Once considered one of the elite prospects in all of baseball, Robles now has only a somewhat tenuous hold on a starting job.  Robles is still penciled into the center field job, though some defensive metrics have painted a sour picture of his glovework following his all-world defensive numbers in 2019.

With Robles’ deal now settled, the Nationals have worked out contracts with every member of their 2021-22 arbitration class.  For more on settled and still-pending arbitration situations, check out MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker.

Lance Lynn To Undergo Knee Surgery, Will Be Shut Down For Four Weeks

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White Sox ace Lance Lynn will undergo surgery this week to repair a small tear in his right knee tendon, Sox GM Rick Hahn told reporters (including MLB.com’s Scott Merkin).  Lynn will be sidelined for approximately four weeks before he can throw off a mound again, so the right-hander might not be back until roughly late May, given the recovery period and then a ramp-up period.

The injury seemingly took place last night, when Lynn was in visible pain after throwing a pitch during his final Cactus League start.  Lynn immediately left the game and was moving gingerly on his right leg.

There’s no easy way to replace a pitcher of Lynn’s caliber, though the White Sox have Reynaldo Lopez and Vince Velasquez as swingmen in their bullpen, plus Jimmy Lambert and non-roster invite Wes Benjamin in the minors.  For now, it seems like Velasquez or Lopez will join Lucas Giolito, Dallas Keuchel, Dylan Cease, and Michael Kopech in Chicago’s rotation.

Given Keuchel’s struggles last season and Kopech’s lack of starting experience, there were already question marks about the amount of starting pitching depth the White Sox had on hand even prior to Lynn’s injury.  The Sox focused much of their offseason shopping on upgrading the bullpen as a way of improving the pitching staff overall, yet even the relief corps has been shortened in recent days, as Craig Kimbrel was traded to the Dodgers and Garrett Crochet (also a potential candidate to move into the rotation at some point this year) was lost for the season due to Tommy John surgery.  Carlos Rodon was a big part of the White Sox staff last season, of course, but the southpaw left in free agency to sign with the Giants.

With this in mind, Hahn told ESPN’s Jesse Rogers and other media that “we may need to add at some point” from outside the organization.  More will be known once Lynn’s timeline becomes a bit clearer, though Hahn is optimistic that Lynn will be fully recovered when he does return to action.  Hahn said that Lynn’s injury was similar to Yasmani Grandal’s tendon tear in his left knee, which cost the catcher close to two months of the 2021 season before he was able to get back into the field.

Lynn posted a 2.69 ERA, 27.5% strikeout rate, and 7.0% walk rate over 157 innings last season, his first in Chicago after the White Sox acquired him in an offseason trade from the Rangers.  Lynn finished third in AL Cy Young voting, marking the third consecutive year that the veteran righty has finished in the top six of Cy Young balloting.

Marlins Release Delino DeShields

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The Marlins announced that outfielder Delino DeShields has been released from his minor league contract.  DeShields didn’t show much in limited Grapefruit League action, getting just one hit in eight plate appearances over four games.

DeShields’ strong center field glove and basestealing ability earned him a regular spot in the Rangers’ lineup in 2017-19, even if his bat was rarely dangerous.  Cleveland acquired DeShields as part of the Corey Kluber trade in the 2019-20 offseason, but he was then non-tendered the next, and bounced around to three different teams during the 2021 campaign.  The outfielder’s only MLB action last year came in a Reds uniform, as he hit .255/.375/.426 in 58 PA for Cincinnati.

In the wake of this release, DeShields will now try to catch on with another team in need of outfield depth.  The Marlins seemed to be such a club, as DeShields’ center field ability made him a good backup for a starting outfield that will feature Jesus Sanchez and Avisail Garcia sharing time in center.  However, with DeShields now gone, it seems as though the Fish will be going with another minor league signing in Roman Quinn as their top outfield bench option.

Diamondbacks’ Josh Rojas Suffers Grade 2 Oblique Strain

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The Diamondbacks will be without utilityman Josh Rojas for “weeks, not days,” manager Torey Lovullo told The Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro and other reporters, as Rojas has suffered a Grade 2 oblique strain.  It’s a rough setback for both Rojas and the team, as Rojas was projected to serve as the Diamondbacks’ starting third baseman.

One of four prospects acquired from the Astros in the 2019 Zack Greinke trade, Rojas was perhaps the least-heralded member of that quartet at the time of the deal, but has thus far had the biggest impact for the D’Backs at the big league level.  The 27-year-old hit .264/.341/.411 with 11 home runs over 550 PA with Arizona last season, good for a 102 wRC+ and a 106 OPS+.  Between this slightly above-average offense and Rojas’ ability to play all over the diamond, he was one of the few bright spots of an otherwise dismal season for the Snakes.

Rojas spent much of his time last season in right field and at both middle infield spots, also making 12 starts as a left fielder and seven starts at third base.  Though it is probably safe to assume that Rojas will still get plenty of utility time in 2022, he had been slated for regular third base duty, as Arizona is lacking in depth at the hot corner.

Unfortunately, the D’Backs already now find themselves without their intended left side of the infield, between Rojas’ injury and Nick Ahmed’s ongoing shoulder problems.  Ahmed is expected to start the season on the injured list, and while it seems like Rojas will have the longer absence of the two, the lingering nature of Ahmed’s sore shoulder has to be a concern.

Piecoro noted that Drew Ellis seems to be back in the Diamondbacks’ big league camp after previously being optioned to Triple-A, so Ellis looks to be in the mix for third base duty while Rojas is out.  Ellis joins Sergio Alcantara and non-roster invites Wilmer Difo and Matt Davidson as candidates to fill in for Rojas.  Josh VanMeter saw a good chunk of third base time for the D’Backs last season, but VanMeter was just traded to the Pirates on Thursday.

White Sox Trade Zack Collins To Blue Jays For Reese McGuire

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The White Sox and Blue Jays have agreed to a swap of catchers, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan (Twitter link).  Zack Collins is headed to Toronto, while Reese McGuire has been dealt to the Sox.

Rumors have swirled for months that the Jays were looking to move some of their catching depth, though today’s move still gives Toronto a bit more roster flexibility behind the plate while still retaining that depth.  Collins has a minor league option remaining while McGuire is out of options, so the Blue Jays can now more easily stash Collins at Triple-A.

From Chicago’s perspective, the Sox now have a more established big leaguer who can work as the backup behind Yasmani Grandal.  Since Grandal will get some time at the DH spot, McGuire and Seby Zavala (who is also out of options) can each get some action behind the plate, and the expanded 28-man rosters for April will allow the White Sox the luxury of carrying three catchers.

The Pirates selected McGuire with the 14th overall pick of the 2013 draft, and he was a regular on top-100 prospect lists during his time in Pittsburgh’s farm system.  However, despite some good numbers in limited action in 2018-19, McGuire’s potential has yet to really manifest itself at the big league level.  The 27-year-old has hit .248/.297/.390 with nine homers over an even 400 plate appearances with the Blue Jays, with McGuire often finding himself behind Danny Jansen, Alejandro Kirk, and Luke Maile on the catching depth chart.

Collins and McGuire share rather similar resumes — both are left-handed hitting catchers, they were born less than a month apart in 1995, and both are former first-round picks.  The White Sox selected Collins 10th overall in 2016, and like McGuire, Collins has also yet to offer much production in the majors.  Collins has a .195/.315/.330 slash line and seven home runs in 351 career PA, and he has struck out in 113 of those plate appearances.

Defense has been a question mark for Collins dating back to his college days at the University Of Miami, whereas McGuire is regarded as a decent defender.  (Statcast gave McGuire a solid +4 in framing runs during the 2021 season.)  This could be seen as something of a hitting-for-defense swap, if the Jays think they’ve seen something in Collins that can allow him to unlock his power potential.

With Collins able to be optioned, Jansen and Kirk now projects as Toronto’s regular catching tandem, and Kirk is also expected to get some DH time.  It isn’t out of the question that the Jays might still deal from this catching depth, as star prospect Gabriel Moreno is starting the season at Triple-A and could be making his Major League debut before 2022 is out.

Trevor Rosenthal Drawing Interest

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Trevor Rosenthal is drawing a lot of interest, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network. After serving as one of the best relievers in baseball for many years, Rosenthal suffered a major setback when he required Tommy John surgery in 2017. That wiped out the remainder of that season and also prevented him from pitching at all in 2018. When he finally made it back to the hill in 2019, he didn’t seem to resemble his former self, registering a 13.50 ERA in 15 1/3 innings that year, a showing which included an ugly 30.6% walk rate.

While many people considered him cooked, he had a tremendous return to form in 2020. After signing a minor league deal with the Royals, he eventually had his contract selected and threw 13 2/3 innings with a 3.29 ERA and excellent 37.5% strikeout rate, though the walks were still present at a rate of 12.5%. After being traded to the Padres, he pitched another 10 innings without allowing a single earned run. His strikeout rate shot up to an incredible 48.6% and his walk rate dropped down to 2.9%.

In February of last year, the Athletics quite surprisingly outbid the field and gave Rosenthal a one-year, $11MM deal, a huge sum for a typically low-spending club. Unfortunately, the gamble backfired in a big way, as shoulder inflammation sent him to the IL in April, leading to surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome. Though he was hoping for a midseason return, hip surgery in July wiped out any chance of that. In the end, he wasn’t able to make a regular season appearance at all last year.

Despite that litany of injuries, it’s not surprising that Rosenthal is garnering plenty of interest, as he’s already shown himself capable of returning from the injury wilderness. His final line on the 2020 season between the Royals and Padres was 23 2/3 innings with a 1.90 ERA with a 41.8% strikeout rate and 8.8% walk rate. While a pessimist could say that he has only had a couple of good months over the past four seasons, there’s no denying that he was elite the last time he was healthy. After missing another full season due to injuries, he surely won’t be able to land a significant commitment in either years or dollars, meaning there should be plenty of teams interested in taking a low-cost flier that he can pull off a repeat of 2020.

Mariners Avoid Arbitration With Mitch Haniger

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The Mariners have avoided going to an arbitration hearing with outfielder Mitch Haniger, per Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com relays that Haniger will earn a salary of $7.75MM this year, after he had filed at $8MM with the team filing at $6.71MM. (Twitter links)

This will be a significant raise for Haniger, effectively doubling his career earnings. After making around the league minimum for his first few seasons, like most players, he reached arbitration for the first time in 2020 and earned a salary of $3.01MM. Unfortunately, he missed all of that campaign due to the ruptured testicle he suffered in July of 2019.

Due to missing that whole season, he re-upped with the Mariners for the same salary in 2021 and had a tremendous bounceback season. In 157 games, he hit 39 home runs and posted an overall line of .253/.318/.485, good enough for a wRC+ of 120. Based on that excellent campaign, he will now bump his salary up to $7.75MM in his final arbitration year before reaching free agency this coming winter.

The Mariners seem well positioned to deal with an absence of Haniger next year, given the number of young outfield options on the roster. Jarred Kelenic debuted last year and seems ticketed for a lengthy showing this year. Jesse Winker was just acquired from the Reds and will still be around for 2023. 2020 Rookie of the Year Kyle Lewis is still recovering from a torn meniscus but doesn’t seem too far away now. Then there’s Julio Rodriguez, widely considered one of the best prospects in baseball. He’s currently making a push to land a spot on the team’s Opening Day roster. Even if he isn’t with the club on day one, there seems to be little doubt that he’ll join the club at some point this year.

If Haniger does hit the open market after this season, he should be in high demand based on his excellent numbers at the plate. However, as something of a late bloomer, he’s scheduled to reach free agency at a relatively older age, as he’ll be turning 32 in December of this year. That could limit the length of the deals he is offered, though that could also increase the number of interested teams, as many clubs prefer to eschew long-term commitments these days.

Mets Trade Miguel Castro To Yankees For Joely Rodriguez

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The Mets have traded Miguel Castro to the Yankees for Joely Rodriguez, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post. As noted by MLBTR’s Steve Adams, Rodriguez was signed as a free agent this offseason and thus ineligible to be traded prior to June 15th without his consent. He and his agent gave that consent in exchange for a $500K assignment bonus, which will be paid by the Mets as part of this deal. (Twitter links) Rodriguez is represented by Daniel Szew of LA Sports Management.

For the Mets, they have had an extremely busy offseason, upgrading their lineup with the likes of Starling Marte, Mark Canha and Eduardo Escobar. They also added Max Scherzer and Chris Bassitt to their rotation and Adam Ottavino to their bullpen. However, the one area of the roster they hadn’t really addressed was left-handed relief. With Aaron Loup joining the Angels, the only southpaws on the roster were candidates for the starting rotation. The club gave minor league deals to veterans like Chasen Shreve and Alex Claudio, but they clearly view Rodriguez as a meaningful upgrade, based on the fact that they were willing to give up Castro to get him.

After a couple of seasons with the Phillies in 2016 and 2017, Rodriguez headed overseas for a stint with the Chunichi Dragons of Nippon Professional Baseball. After two solid seasons in Japan, Rodriguez was able to come back to North American via a two-year deal from the Rangers. In the shortened 2020 season, he put up an ERA of 2.13 over 12 2/3 innings. Things seemed to be going in the wrong direction last year, as his ERA shot up to 5.93 in July. However, the Yankees seemed to believe that was a small sample blip, as they acquired him as part of the Joey Gallo trade. He fared much better after the swap, with a 2.84 ERA in 19 innings in pinstripes. At the end of the season, the club declined their $3MM option in favor of a $500K buyout, but then quickly re-signed him to a $2MM salary, saving themselves $500K. With this trade and the assignment bonus, Rodriguez has made back that difference.

The Yanks evidently felt they had enough lefties to part with Rodriguez, given the presence Wandy Peralta and Lucas Luetge, along with closer Aroldis Chapman. For their part, they are receiving Miguel Castro, a right-handed reliever. Despite being just 27 years old, he has appeared in part of seven MLB seasons thus far in his career, spending time with the Blue Jays, Rockies, Orioles and Mets. Those first couple of seasons were a bit shaky, which is not surprising given that Castro was just 20 and 21 years old during that time. However, over the past five seasons, he’s established himself as a quality big league reliever. Since the start of the 2017 season, he’s thrown 321 innings with an ERA of 3.93. His strikeout rate was just 14.6% over 2017-2018, but has jumped up to 25.2% over the past three campaigns. Walks have been a concern, with his annual rate coming in between 10 and 15% in each of the past five seasons. He and the Mets agreed to a $2.62MM salary for this season, his final arbitration year before hitting free agency at the end of this year. He will slot into a bullpen that will be headlined by Chapman, Jonathan Loaisiga, Chad Green and Clay Holmes.

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