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Offseason In Review: Seattle Mariners

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The Mariners signed the reigning AL Cy Young winner and acquired a pair of 2021 All-Stars via trade. That it still felt like a bit of an underwhelming offseason speaks to the manner in which expectations have increased for the AL West up-and-comers.

Major League Contracts

2022 spending: $23MM
Total spending: $117MM

Trades and Claims

Extensions

Notable Minor League Signings

Notable Losses

Buoyed by an exciting young core and a surprisingly strong bullpen, the 2021 Mariners were in contention until the very last weekend of the season. After an accelerated rebuilding effort that left the club with one of the game’s top-ranked farm systems — the best system, according to some outlets — last year’s 90-win showing cemented the Mariners’ status as a win-now club.

With that shift to a win-now mindset came heightened offseason expectations. The Mariners entered the winter known to be looking for a right-handed bat, ideally an infielder, and reinforcements for a rotation that is awaiting the arrival of several top prospects but had at least one, if not two short-term vacancies.

First and foremost, however, the Mariners had a decision to make on Kyle Seager, the longtime heart and soul of the franchise. After an emotional sendoff at season’s end and some controversy surrounding the communication from the team — or lack thereof — regarding his future, Seager’s $20MM club option was declined. He was paid a $3MM buyout and ventured out into the free-agent market on the heels of a 30-homer season. But rather than search for a new team and a fresh start, Seager instead somewhat surprisingly called it a career at just 34 of age.

The decision to decline Seager’s option was seen as something of a foregone conclusion, but it still stung for Mariners fans and the clubhouse. Seager had been one of two contracts of note on the books, however, and in the end, the team’s most costly players both departed. The other, Yusei Kikuchi, appeared as though he might stick around for one more season after the Mariners declined a quartet of club options on him, triggering a $13MM player option for the 2022 season. Instead, Kikuchi declined the option and eventually cashed in on a three-year deal with a Blue Jays team that appeared unfazed by his struggles down the stretch in 2021.

With Seager and Kikuchi off the books, there was seemingly no limit to what the Mariners could do in the offseason. Between the departure of that pair and the rebuilding effort that had cleared out the long-term payroll, the stage appeared set for the Mariners to spend at the top of the free-agent market and/or take on ample salary in a trade.

That led to natural speculation about the historic crop of free-agent shortstops, but president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto made clear early in the winter the organization had communicated to incumbent J.P. Crawford they were committed to him at the position. Rather than move Crawford from his position, Dipoto voiced interest in versatile free agents— “adaptable,” as he put it — and even took the unorthodox step of name-checking the likes of Javier Baez and Marcus Semien when making those comments. Seattle was also quickly connected to Kris Bryant, who has increasingly bounced around the diamond in recent years, and Trevor Story, whom they coveted as a potential second baseman.

Semien and Baez, however, came off the board early, with Semien inking a surprising seven-year deal to join the division-rival Rangers and Baez landing six years and $140MM (plus an opt-out) in Detroit. Seattle, meanwhile, indeed landed some adaptability and kept its options open while making its first acquisition of the year. Adam Frazier, acquired in a trade that sent reliever Ray Kerr and 2021 twelfth-round pick Corey Rosier to San Diego, is a viable option at either second base or in left field.

Long a steady producer at the plate, Frazier hit at career-best levels with the Pirates before being traded to the Padres and regressing to well below his career norms. He was an odd fit for a Padres team that didn’t have a need clear at second base or in left field in the first place, and the .267/.327/.335 batting line he posted in 57 games with the Friars proved underwhelming. The Padres, needing to jettison payroll, traded Frazier for a good bit less than they’d surrendered to acquire him — and the Mariners stood to benefit.

Even including last year’s rough 211 plate appearances in San Diego, Frazier carries a .281/.343/.416 batting line in 1829 plate appearances from 2018-21. For a Mariners club that posted the fourth-highest team strikeout percentage in baseball last year (24.8%), adding a contact-oriented bat like Frazier, who’s fanned in only 12.9% of his career plate appearances, was a sensible move. He’ll help to remedy some of the swing-and-miss issues that so often plagued Seattle in 2021. He’s only controlled through the 2022 season, but Frazier should give the M’s a solid bat to go along with excellent defense at second base.

The Frazier acquisition came just five days before Major League Baseball locked out the players and halted transactions for 99 days, but Dipoto and his staff still had time for one notable acquisition — a signing that proved to be the team’s largest strike of the offseason. Just 48 hours before commissioner Rob Manfred announced the lockout, the Mariners announced they’d ponied up on a five-year, $115MM contract bringing reigning AL Cy Young winner Robbie Ray to Seattle. The deal, which allows Ray to opt out after the third season, is the largest contract the organization has ever given to a free-agent pitcher.

It marked the culmination of an astonishing turnaround for Ray, who looked like a potential $100MM arm heading into the 2020 campaign before a lost season pushed him to take a one-year pillow contract. That proved to be perhaps the best $8MM the Blue Jays ever spent, as Ray not only rebounded to previous levels but broke out with far and away the lowest walk rate of his career. Ray paired that newfound command with his second-best strikeout rate — a 32.1% mark that was backed by career-high swinging-strike and chase rates (15.5% and 34.1%, respectively).

The Mariners are clearly sold on Ray’s transformation, and while they can’t love the slight dip in fastball velocity and major drop in strikeout rate he’s displayed through his first four starts of the season, Ray has tossed a quality start on three occasions already. That he’s now in a pitcher-friendly home park for the first time in his career bodes well for the lefty; Ray yielded an average of 1.54 homers per nine frames last year even during a Cy Young-winning season, but his new surroundings in the Pacific Northwest could help him to keep the ball in the yard with greater frequency.

Even with time running out before the lockout, the ever-active Dipoto still felt like a threat to make one more splash after signing Ray. The Mariners indeed took a big swing, reportedly making an offer to Story before transactions were frozen. (Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported last week that Seattle had offered in the realm of $125MM). Story, however, was still eyeing a concrete opportunity to remain at shortstop at that point. He eventually took a six-year deal with the Red Sox, agreeing to play second base for the 2022 season. Incumbent shortstop Xander Bogaerts has an opt-out clause at the end of this season, setting the stage for Story to slide over to shortstop in 2023 if (or when) Bogaerts opts out. Story, along with fellow rumored Mariners targets like Baez (Tigers), Semien (Rangers) and Kris Bryant (Rockies) eventually landed a contract of six years or more in length with another team.

Even with the swing-and-a-miss on Story, the Mariners weren’t quite done making pre-lockout deals. Just 13 hours before the lockout, the team announced a four-year, $7.5MM contract extension with flamethrowing reliever Andres Munoz. It was a surprising deal and a risk-averse one by Munoz, who’ll be surrendering three free-agent years. However, for a then-22-year-old reliever — he turned 23 in January — who’d only just recovered from Tommy John surgery and was still a full year from reaching arbitration, it’s understandable if the allure of a life-changing guarantee was too hard to pass up. Munoz can still become a free agent heading into his age-30 season, even if all three options are exercised, but it’s hard not to love the deal for the Mariners.

Munoz, acquired alongside Ty France, Taylor Trammell and Luis Torrens in the deal that sent Austin Nola and Austin Adams to San Diego, is averaging 100.7 mph on his heater so far in 2022 and has fanned 14 of the 27 batters he’s faced. He’s struggled with command at times, but he has some of the best raw stuff of any reliever in the American League. In terms of total guarantee, the Mariners are only risking about what it’d have cost them to sign a fifth starter (e.g. Jordan Lyles), so the upside on this contract is outstanding.

About 2400 hours later, after an excruciating 99 days of strategic leaks, finger pointing and generally unbecoming quarrelling between MLB and the MLBPA, the transaction freeze was lifted. Dipoto greeted a baseball fan base that was ravenous for some Hot Stove activity with what’ll go down as one of his all-time lines, saying in a March 11 radio appearance: “I woke up this morning ready to transact.”

He might’ve had to wait three days, but transact Dipoto did. On March 14, the Mariners landed outfielder Jesse Winker in a trade with the Reds, doing so for a prospect package that was a bit lighter than most would’ve expected because they agreed to take on the entirety of Eugenio Suarez’s remaining three years and $35MM. The trade cost the M’s pitching prospect Brandon Williamson, outfielder Jake Fraley, righty Justin Dunn and a PTBNL — later announced as righty Connor Phillips, their second-round pick from the 2020 draft.

In Winker, the Mariners acquired a 2021 All-Star who has emerged as one of the best hitters in baseball against right-handed pitching. Winker will draw his walks against lefties but is generally punchless against same-handed opponents. When holding the platoon advantage from 2020-21, however, Winker boasted a Herculean 169 wRC+ that trailed only Juan Soto and Bryce Harper. During that 2020-21 breakout, Winker hit .321/.417/.619 against righties and .292/.392/.552 overall. He’s controlled through 2023, and even though he’s had a slow start in 2022, Winker has the ninth-largest gap in Statcast’s expected weighted on-base average (.405) and his actual wOBA (.265). He’s upped his walk rate, cut back on his strikeouts and seems due to begin producing sooner than later.

Taking on Suarez surely wasn’t what Mariners fans had in mind amid the early talks of adding a big bat — not after he combined to hit just .199/.293/.440 from 2020-21. Suarez led the NL with 49 homers in 2019, but the ensuing rise in strikeouts looked to have tanked his overall offensive output. He somewhat quietly slashed a much better .238/.335/.524 in 215 post-All-Star-break plate appearances last year, though, and at least early on, he’s been a boon to the Seattle lineup (.271/.377/.525). If Suarez indeed rounds back into form — and remember he’s only 30 — what already looked like a solid get for the Mariners will be all the more strong.

Curiously, however, that trade marked the end of Seattle’s major dealings. Righty Sergio Romo was brought in on a one-year, $2MM contract — but only after fellow right-hander Casey Sadler underwent season-ending shoulder surgery. Dipoto & Co. brought in a slate of recognizable veterans on minor league deals, but none of Billy Hamilton, Steven Souza Jr., Ryan Buchter or Tommy Milone are going to grab too many headlines at this stage in their careers. It was a nice series of depth adds, but as far as impact moves, there’s a sizable gap between Dipoto name-dropping Baez/Semien and eating Suarez’s contract in a salary dump designed to get Winker into the lineup.

Then again, perhaps the front office doesn’t mind if onlookers felt the offseason fell shy of expectations. As previously noted, Suarez is mashing to begin the season, and Ty France has been one of the game’s best hitters. The Mariners’ offense has been one of MLB’s most-productive through nearly three weeks, and that doesn’t even include much in the way of help from top prospects Julio Rodriguez and Jarred Kelenic. If one or both of them gets going at the plate, the lineup could be deadly even without one of those marquee free agents.

Seattle’s final move of note might’ve come after Opening Day, but the groundwork for the deal surely was laid during Spring Training. Doubling down on the notion that Crawford is the Mariners’ shortstop of both the present and the future, the team signed the 27-year-old to a five-year, $51MM contract. That figure includes Crawford’s preexisting 2022 salary but tacks on an additional four years and more than $46MM in guaranteed money. Whether he’s thriving based on that peace of mind or would’ve taken his game to new heights regardless can be debated, but Crawford has posted a mammoth .356/.466/.559 slash with a career-best 13.7% walk rate and just a 5.5% strikeout rate so far. He’ll surely regress to some extent, but the arrow on the former first-round pick and top prospect’s bat has been pointing up for the past couple seasons.

Crawford joins France, Rodriguez, Kelenic, Marco Gonzales, budding rotation star Logan Gilbert, impressive rookie Matt Brash, former Rookie of the Year Kyle Lewis and a series of yet-to-debut prospects (George Kirby, Noelvi Marte, Emerson Hancock) as holdovers in a core that’ll now be bolstered by veteran additions of Ray, Winker, Frazier and Suarez. It may not have been the cannonball into the deep-end of the free-agent pool for which Mariners fans had pined, but the future in Seattle is unequivocally bright, and the team still has both a deep farm system and considerable payroll capacity to make deadline acquisitions as needed. The end of a 20-year playoff drought finally looks to be in sight.

Diamondbacks Select Tyler Holton

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The D-Backs announced they’ve selected left-hander Tyler Holton onto the major league roster. Arizona placed reliever J.B. Wendelken on the injured list without a designation, recalled Luis Frias and optioned Tyler Gilbert to Triple-A Reno. The team also announced that veteran southpaw Oliver Pérez, who was designated for assignment earlier this week, has been released.

Arizona selected Holton in the ninth round of the 2018 draft out of Florida State. The Tallahassee native was one of the top pitchers in Division I ball in 2017, but he suffered a UCL tear that required Tommy John surgery early the next year. That kept him out of action until July 2019. Holton made 13 appearances between rookie and short-season ball that year, then didn’t pitch in games due to the canceled 2020 minor league season.

The D-Backs pushed Holton to Double-A to open 2021. He posted a 6.33 ERA in 48 1/3 innings but had above-average strikeout (26.2%), walk (6.1%) and ground-ball (53.3%) marks. He earned a late-season bump to Reno last year, and he’s made five appearances with the Aces thus far in 2022. Over eight innings, he’s allowed six runs on 12 hits (including a pair of homers) and five walks, but he’s punched out ten. Holton has never appeared on an organizational prospects list at Baseball America; Brendan Gawlowski and Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs included him as an honorable mention in their write-up of the Arizona farm this past offseason, noting that he throws an 88-90 MPH fastball and has a promising changeup.

Holton will join Joe Mantiply and Kyle Nelson as left-handed relief options for skipper Torey Lovullo. Pérez had been in that mix to open the year, but the D-Backs removed him from the roster on Monday. He’ll have the option to explore offers from all 30 teams now that he’s a free agent if he wants to continue playing in affiliated ball. Pérez had been set to play the 2022 campaign — which he’s already announced will be his last — with the Toros de Tijuana of the Mexican League before he landed with the D-Backs.

Mariners Select Penn Murfee

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Prior to this afternoon’s game against the Rays, the Mariners selected reliever Penn Murfee onto the major league roster. Catcher Cal Raleigh was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma, while first baseman Evan White was transferred from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list in corresponding moves.

Murfee was selected as a COVID substitute last week when Paul Sewald went on the injured list. He stayed on the active roster for seven days but was returned to Tacoma yesterday without making an appearance. Because he’d been designated as a substitute, Murfee could be taken off the 40-man roster without being designated for assignment.

That won’t be the case this time around, as Seattle brought him back to the big league club quickly. He figures to get an opportunity to make his MLB debut this time around, although the M’s are still free to option him back to Tacoma if they’d like. Taking him off the 40-man roster again would require exposing him to waivers, though. Seattle likely wouldn’t have selected Murfee back up if they had plans on doing that, so it seems he’ll hold his 40-man spot for longer than his previous stint.

Murfee, 28 next month, has made five appearances out of the Rainier bullpen thus far in 2022. The Santa Clara product hasn’t allowed a run in eight innings, and he’s surrendered just four baserunners (two hits, a walk and a hit batter) while striking out ten. The righty punched out an impressive 28.2% of batters faced in 78 2/3 innings between Double-A Arkansas and Tacoma last season, although that came with an elevated 10.2% walk rate.

Raleigh has been part of a three-person catching group in Seattle thus far. His eight starts behind the dish lead the team, but he’d been more or less alternating games with Tom Murphy in the early going. Raleigh had reached base in just six of his first 28 plate appearances. Murphy, on the other hand, is off to a blistering 10-24 start with six walks and eight strikeouts.

Neither Murphy nor Luis Torrens, who returned from a stint on the COVID list this week, can be optioned to the minor leagues. Particularly with active rosters set to shrink from 28 to 26 next Monday, carrying three catchers could’ve been challenging over the long haul. Rather than expose either of Torrens or Murphy to waivers, it seems the M’s will turn to that duo behind the dish while getting Raleigh some more work in the minors.

The switch-hitting Raleigh has been one of Seattle’s more highly-regarded prospects in recent years. He’s yet to produce in 176 MLB plate appearances, hitting .166/.222/.294 with a sky-high 34.7% strikeout rate. The 25-year-old had a much more impressive .324/.377/.608 mark while fanning in just 12.6% of his 199 trips to the plate in Triple-A last season, though. Between his high minors performance and a general belief among prospect evaluators he’s an adequate defensive catcher, Raleigh figures to get another opportunity before too long. For now, however, his slow start and three remaining option years make him the odd man out.

White underwent sports hernia surgery during the final week in March. The team didn’t provide a timetable on his return, and he’ll now be out of action until at least the first week of June. It’s yet another setback for White, who missed most of the 2021 campaign after undergoing left hip surgery. Even when he returns to health, he figures to be optioned to Tacoma, as he’s been surpassed by the hot-hitting Ty France on the depth chart at first base.

Astros Release Pedro Baez

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The Astros informed reporters (including Jake Kaplan of the Athletic) this afternoon that reliever Pedro Báez has cleared waivers and been unconditionally released. This was the anticipated outcome after the team designated the right-hander for assignment on Tuesday.

Báez’s tenure in Houston comes to a disappointing end. Signed to a two-year, $12.5MM guarantee in January 2021, he wound up making just seven appearances in an Astros uniform. His tenure was set back by an early positive COVID-19 diagnosis, which delayed his season debut. During his attempt to ramp-up after recovering, Báez came down with shoulder soreness that necessitated a lengthy stay on the injured list. Houston didn’t activate him for his team debut until the second week of August.

His return lasted just two weeks. Báez’s results were fine, but his fastball velocity — which had been in the 94-96 MPH range during his two prior seasons with the Dodgers — had plummeted south of 91 MPH. Báez went back on the IL in late August with more shoulder soreness and didn’t return last year. He returned to the mound to open the 2022 campaign, but he averaged just north of 90 MPH on his heater through three outings. Báez was tagged for six runs (three earned) on five hits and three walks in 2 1/3 innings.

Paired with his diminished arsenal, those subpar results convinced the front office to pull the plug. At the time of his designation, Houston general manager James Click praised Báez’s work ethic and attempts to rediscover his velocity but conceded the team hadn’t gotten “the progress we had hoped to see to get him back to the form he was in when we signed him” (via Brian McTaggart of MLB.com).

The Astros will remain on the hook for the approximate $4.9MM still due to Báez for the rest of this season. They’ll also owe him a $2MM buyout on a 2023 club option. Any other team can now take a look on a low-cost deal. A team that signs Báez would owe him only the prorated portion of the $700K league minimum salary, which would be subtracted from Houston’s expenditures, for any time he spends in the majors.

Red Sox Claim Jaylin Davis Off Waivers From Giants

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The Red Sox have claimed outfielder Jaylin Davis off waivers from the Giants, according to announcements from both clubs. San Francisco had designated him for assignment last week. Boston had a temporary vacancy on their 40-man roster, but they’ll need to make room once Tanner Houck and Kutter Crawford are activated from the restricted list and Jonathan Araúz returns from the COVID IL. (Returning John Schreiber and Rob Refsnyder, who were selected as COVID substitutes, would clear two of three necessary openings). Davis has been optioned to Triple-A Worcester.

Davis, 27, is a righty-hitting outfielder with 26 games of big league experience. He suited up briefly at the major league level in each season from 2019-21, with 47 of his 68 plate appearances to date coming during his debut campaign. Davis only owns a .159/.221/.270 line in that limited time, but he’s been a prospect of some regard for the past few years.

Drafted by the Twins out of Appalachian State in 2015, Davis moved fairly slowly through the minors, in part owing to a shoulder injury that cost him the entirety of his post-draft summer. He reached Double-A by the end of the 2018 season and got off to an excellent start at the minors’ top two levels the following year. Minnesota dealt him to San Francisco at the 2019 deadline, and he made his MLB debut as a September call-up.

Baseball America slotted him as the #16 prospect in the Giants’ organization entering the 2020 season, praising his athleticism, arm strength and raw power. BA noted some questions about his hit tool, though, a concern also echoed by Kevin Goldstein and Tess Taruskin at FanGraphs this February. Davis has struck out in 27.9% of his plate appearances in the minor leagues, and he owns a subpar 62.6% contact rate thus far in the majors.

That said, Davis has overcome his swing-and-miss issues to post massive numbers at Triple-A. Over parts of three seasons, he’s a .293/.371/.612 hitter at the level. The Triple-A hitting environment has been very favorable in recent years, which no doubt helps, but Davis’ 38 homers in 523 plate appearances are eye-catching even in a supercharged offensive league. He’s in his final option year, so the Sox can keep him at Worcester as outfield depth for the rest of this season if he sticks on the 40-man roster.

Offseason In Review: San Diego Padres

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Payroll limitations hung over the Padres’ offseason a bit, impacting their ability to make the kind of splash for which president of baseball operations A.J. Preller has become known. Still, the Friars managed to shuffle their pitching staff with a pair of rotation pickups and the acquisition of an All-Star closer.

Major League Signings

2022 spending: $15.25MM
Total spending: $43.5MM

Option Decisions

Trades and Claims

Extensions

None

Notable Minor League Signings

Notable Losses

The Padres entered the 2021 season as one of the league’s most talented and exciting teams. For a few months, they looked like a bona fide World Series contender, battling with the Dodgers and surprising Giants at the top of the NL West. No team had a more disappointing second half, though, and the Friars were out of playoff contention by the middle of September. Reports of clubhouse discord mounted alongside the losses, and it was obvious there’d be change afoot for a San Diego club that’s not afraid of making big moves.

Even before the regular season officially wrapped, reports trickled out the Padres would dismiss manager Jayce Tingler. They announced that decision in the early days of the postseason, with the managerial search being the Friars’ first big call of the offseason. After their hiring of a first-time skipper, Tingler, didn’t pan out as hoped, it was expected they’d search for a more experienced hand. San Diego was tied to Ron Washington, Buck Showalter, Luis Rojas, Mike Shildt and Ozzie Guillén, but their ultimate hire proved a shock. The Friars signed Bob Melvin away from the A’s on a reported three-year, $12MM deal, landing one of the league’s most highly-regarded managers in the process.

There was little indication Melvin was even under consideration before his hiring was reported, but Oakland allowed him to get out from under the final year of his contract to head south. Melvin would bring along Ryan Christenson as his bench coach, and San Diego went outside the organization to bring in positional coaches Michael Brdar (as hitting coach) and Ruben Niebla (as pitching coach).

Given the reports of behind-the-scenes discontent, a leadership overhaul seemed necessary. Still, it wouldn’t be fair to pin the blame for the team’s second-half collapse entirely on Tingler and his staff, and the Friars entered the winter needing some upgrades on the roster. Injuries to starting pitchers exposed the team’s depth last season, and San Diego’s biggest acquisitions on both the free agent and trade markets would prove to be in the rotation.

The free agent starter San Diego landed was right-hander Nick Martínez, who returned stateside after an excellent three-year run in Japan. That the former Ranger signed with the Padres — where Preller has brought in a ton of familiar faces from his Texas days — shouldn’t have been much of a surprise. Yet the terms of the deal were certainly eyebrow-raising.

Martínez commanded a four-year, $25.5MM guarantee that gives him an opt-out possibility after each of the first three seasons. There’s not a ton of upside to the deal for San Diego, then. If Martínez carries over his mid-rotation production to MLB, he’ll likely hit the open market again next winter; if he scuffles, the Friars would be on the hook for multiple years. San Diego wanted to fortify the back of the rotation for this season, though. If Martínez pitches as well as Preller and company evidently anticipate, he’d be an immediate upgrade in a win-now campaign, and San Diego could reevaluate whether they want to keep him around if/when he opts out.

Also coming over from Japan was reliever Robert Suárez, a star closer in NPB who had never pitched in the majors. Like Martínez, he signed a multi-year deal that afforded him a post-2022 opt-out, although Suárez’s two-year, $11MM commitment isn’t as significant as the Martínez contract. Suárez has averaged 98 MPH on his fastball during his first few weeks in the majors, but he might not even be the Friars’ hardest-throwing bullpen pickup of the winter. San Diego also signed Luis García, owner an upper-90s sinker, to a two-year deal after he had a stellar second-half run with the Cardinals.

Each of Martínez, Suárez and García agreed to terms on December 1, as San Diego got three free agent deals in just before the lockout. (Martínez’s deal was technically finalized after the work stoppage but agreed upon beforehand). Little did anyone know at the time, that trio of signings would be it for the Friars in free agency. The rest of the team’s heavy lifting would be accomplished by trade.

Preller hasn’t been afraid to make notable moves on the trade market. Yet his pre-lockout deals didn’t bring in a ton of impact MLB help. Second baseman Adam Frazier was dealt to the Mariners in advance of the non-tender deadline. San Diego’s big acquisition last summer, Frazier had a rough second half and was a bit superfluous on a roster that already had a fair bit of infield depth. The deal brought back a big league ready southpaw reliever in Ray Kerr, but the payroll ramifications might’ve been the bigger motivation for not keeping Frazier and his projected $7MM+ arbitration salary around (more on that in a bit).

The Marlins found themselves in a similar position with catcher Jorge Alfaro as the Padres had with Frazier. After Alfaro had disappointed as Miami’s starting backstop, the Fish acquired Gold Glover Jacob Stallings shortly before the non-tender date. Alfaro was a virtual lock to be cut loose by Miami, but the Padres jumped in and acquired him for cash or a player to be named later. In so doing, San Diego prevented Alfaro — another former Rangers prospect — from shopping his services around the market. They instead signed him to a $2.725MM deal to avoid arbitration.

San Diego went into the lockout having landed a few players of interest, but they still faced some notable question marks. The corner outfield situation was up in the air, particularly with left fielder Tommy Pham hitting free agency. Eric Hosmer’s eight-year free agent contract hasn’t panned out as hoped, leaving first base as a real issue. The new collective bargaining agreement also added the designated hitter to the National League.

Lineup depth issues loomed all the more large when the team discovered that star shortstop Fernando Tatís Jr. — who had been involved in a seemingly minor motorcycle accident during the work stoppage — had suffered a small fracture in his left wrist. The team hadn’t been allowed to communicate with Tatís during the lockout, but it quickly became apparent once he’d reported to camp that he required surgery. That’ll keep him out of action for the season’s first few months.

The Padres looked as if they could make another notable free agent splash, particularly with both the corner outfield positions and first base having myriad available free agent options. However, the front office evidently didn’t have a ton of financial maneuverability with which to work. The Padres shattered their franchise-record payroll last year, eclipsing the luxury tax for the first time in the process. San Diego went just narrowly above the $210MM base marker, with their final ledger checking in at $216.5MM. That ownership was willing to push spending forward as the team entered its contention window is commendable, but the decision to so marginally exceed the CBT ended up leaving the Friars in an unsuccessful middle-ground. It wasn’t enough to get last season’s team into the playoffs, while it set San Diego up for escalating penalties as a repeat payor in 2022 if they go past this year’s new $230MM base level.

That, seemingly, is something ownership isn’t prepared to do this time around. Throughout the offseason, reports emerged that San Diego was looking to find a taker for the remaining four years and $59MM on Hosmer’s deal and/or Wil Myers’ $21MM commitment this year (including a $1MM buyout on a 2023 option). Mark Feinsand of MLB.com tweeted shortly after the lockout the Padres were “aggressively shopping” Hosmer and Myers. Ultimately, they didn’t find a taker for either player. San Diego and the Mets reportedly made progress on a deal that might’ve seen Hosmer packaged with starter Chris Paddack and reliever Emilio Pagán for first baseman Dominic Smith, but talks ended up falling through. (Jon Heyman of the New York Post wrote last week that Mets owner Steve Cohen killed the idea).

With Hosmer and Myers still on the books, San Diego didn’t wind up with enough payroll flexibility to make another impact free agent pickup. Reports linked them with various levels of interest in Freddie Freeman, Seiya Suzuki, Nick Castellanos, Nelson Cruz and Jorge Soler, but they ultimately turned to the trade market to at least partially address some of the concerns on the roster.

San Diego’s first move was to bring in Luke Voit from the Yankees, sending pitching prospect Justin Lange in exchange. Voit looked like an odd man out in the Bronx after the Yankees re-signed Anthony Rizzo, and San Diego took a bounceback flier on a potential middle-of-the-order bat at first base/DH. Voit dealt with various injuries during a disappointing 2021 season, but he led MLB in home runs in 2020 and has generally been an excellent hitter over the past few years. Shortly after the Voit trade, San Diego picked up bat-first utilityman Matt Beaty in a deal with the division-rival Dodgers. Beaty had been designated for assignment by L.A., but he’s been a solid hitter during his MLB tenure and can bounce between the infield and corner outfield.

Even as the Padres explored dealing from their rotation to continue upgrading the offense, San Diego seized on the opportunity to land one of the trade market’s top available arms. In what proved arguably the Friars’ biggest addition of the offseason, they acquired Sean Manaea from the A’s in exchange for depth starter Adrian Martinez and infield prospect Euribiel Angeles. That was a lighter than expected return even for just one season of Manaea, who posted a 3.91 ERA/3.68 SIERA during his final year in Oakland.

The A’s were known to be moving many of their most notable players as part of a huge cost-cutting effort, though, reducing their leverage to extract peak value in any return. At a $9.75MM arbitration salary, Manaea struck an ideal balance for the Padres from a cost perspective. That tab was pricy enough the A’s were inclined to move him, but it’s still well shy of the going rate for a mid-rotation starter on the free agent market. San Diego could afford to take that on while keeping just below the CBT threshold.

Manaea steps into a rotation that also includes Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove, Blake Snell and Martínez. Mike Clevinger is soon to rejoin that mix after recovering from 2020 Tommy John surgery, and one-time top pitching prospect MacKenzie Gore has reached the majors and looked quite sharp through his first few starts. San Diego will still be without lefty Adrián Morejón for much of the season after he underwent Tommy John surgery last April, but players like Ryan Weathers and Reiss Knehr are a little further down the depth chart.

Between the addition of Martínez, Clevinger’s return and Gore moving back in the right direction after battling mechanical troubles in 2020-21, the Friars felt comfortable that last season’s rotation depth problems won’t be prevalent again. Even after the proposed Paddack/Pagán/Hosmer framework with the Mets fell-through, they pivoted back to trying to find a trade partner for the two right-handers before the start of the season.

That proved to be the Twins, who were on the hunt for another controllable starter. San Diego shipped Paddack, Pagán and a pitching prospect to Minnesota for star reliever Taylor Rogers and affordable corner outfielder/first baseman Brent Rooker. The deal was an instance of two win-now teams having needs and roster surpluses that mostly lined up. The Padres were content to relinquish three years of control over Paddack and two seasons of Pagán — both coming off a difficult 2021 campaign — to bolster the late-game mix this season.

Rogers has been one of the game’s best relievers over the past four seasons. The 6’3″ southpaw missed the second half of last year because of a hand injury, but he’d returned to health by Opening Day. San Diego saw closer Mark Melancon depart via free agency, making it all the more appealing to land an elite arm for the final few innings. Rogers joins García, Suárez, former starter Dinelson Lamet, veteran Craig Stammen and the since-injured Pierce Johnson among the core of what could be one of the game’s better bullpens.

Making $7.3MM in his final year of arbitration control, Rogers was set to push the Padres across the luxury tax line. To facilitate the deal, Minnesota agreed to pay his salary down to the league minimum. That allowed San Diego to enter the season with a CBT number of around $229MM, in the estimation of Jason Martinez of Roster Resource. They may not have virtually any room for in-season acquisitions of notable cost, but the Padres again head into the year with a star-studded roster that’ll be expected to compete for a division title.

The pitching staff is one of the higher-ceiling units around the league, and that’s also true (albeit to a lesser extent) on the position player side. Austin Nola, Luis Campusano and Alfaro — who had a monster Spring Training — are on hand as the catchers. San Diego felt comfortable enough with that group to deal Víctor Caratini to the Brewers on the eve of Opening Day for minor leaguers Brett Sullivan and Korry Howell.

Around the infield, San Diego has a Hosmer/Voit pairing at first base and DH and stars at second base (Jake Cronenworth) and third base (Manny Machado). Tatís will join them at shortstop midseason, but the Friars called up their top prospect, C.J. Abrams, to open the year there. It was an aggressive assignment for a player with just 42 games of experience above A-ball, and Abrams has gotten off to a rough start. How long they’re willing to stick with the 21-year-old as he experiences growing pains is to be seen, but the Padres could turn to Ha-Seong Kim as a stopgap until Tatís returns if they send Abrams to Triple-A at any point.

San Diego took a few low-cost shots on the corner outfield, adding Beaty and Rooker to incumbent Jurickson Profar in left field. Myers, whom they never dealt, is back in right field (though he hit the injured list this morning). Trent Grisham holds down the center field job he’s had for the past two seasons.

The corner outfield is perhaps the area of the roster most affected by payroll constraints, as they forewent an impressive free agent class. The Padres also came up empty in bigger swings on the trade market, where they reportedly made runs at the Pirates’ Bryan Reynolds and the Yankees’ Joey Gallo during Spring Training. Perhaps they could try for a midseason pursuit of Reynolds, Gallo or another outfielder if their in-house options scuffle, but both of those arbitration-eligible stars would push their payroll above the $230MM CBT number. If the luxury tax line is the organization’s cutoff — as the Twins’ paying down the Rogers trade suggests it might be — the current roster may be more or less what the Padres carry for the full 162 games. They’ll probably continue trying to deal Hosmer or Myers to clear space, but it’s even harder to imagine a trade like that coming together midseason than it was over the winter, Hosmer’s hot start notwithstanding.

Have the Friars done enough to overcome Tatís’ injury and hang with the Dodgers and Giants for six months? That’s to be determined, and some of the Padres’ past missteps on long-term deals for Hosmer, Myers and arguably Kim hampered their ability to make any earth-shattering moves over the offseason. Yet the talented core that had so many people excited entering 2021 is still intact. The pickups of Manaea and Martínez, as well as Gore’s emergence, help guard against the rotation injuries that forced the team to trot out the likes of Jake Arrieta and Vince Velasquez down the stretch last year. Coupled with a change in the manager’s chair, the Friars will hope that superior depth can carry them back to the postseason.

Adalberto Mondesi Diagnosed With Torn ACL; Brady Singer Optioned To Triple-A

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11:19am: Royals general manager Dayton Moore announced that Mondesi has been diagnosed with a torn ACL (Twitter link via Lewis). That’ll quite likely end his season and, depending on his recovery, perhaps even his tenure with the team. Mondesi will be arbitration-eligible for the final time this winter. He’d likely command a salary similar to this year’s affordable $3MM rate, but coming off a major knee injury, it’s not a lock that he’ll be tendered a contract. The Royals will have the entire season to evaluate him and monitor his recovery before making that call. If he’s progressing well, it’s an eminently reasonable price, but only time will tell how the rehab process goes.

As for Singer, he will indeed be built back up as a starting pitcher in Omaha, Moore added. That could point to a quick turnaround and return to the Majors, assuming all goes well. Singer last pitched on April 26 and threw two innings. It’s feasible that he could make a start in the next few days.

11:15am: The Royals announced a series of roster moves Thursday, most notably optioning right-hander Brady Singer to Triple-A Omaha and placing shortstop Adalberto Mondesi on the 10-day injured list. Outfielder Kyle Isbel and infielder Emmanuel Rivera are up from Omaha in  pair of corresponding moves. Mondesi is dealing with a knee injury, and tests last night revealed some structural damage, per Alec Lewis of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Outside of a brief rehab assignment in 2021, it’ll be the first minor league stint for Singer since 2019, when he was only a year removed from being the No. 18 overall selection in the 2018 draft. Singer made the Royals’ Opening Day roster in 2020 and has been on the big league roster (or injured list) since that time. He looked like a potential fixture in the rotation after a solid rookie showing in 2020, when he pitched to a 4.06 ERA with league-average strikeout and walk rates plus an excellent 53.1% grounder rate in 64 1/3 innings.

The 2021 season didn’t go as smoothly, however. Singer had an up-and-down first half but was generally serviceable prior to the All-Star break, logging a 4.52 ERA in 85 2/3 innings. He was averaging under five innings per appearance, however, and by mid-July his velocity had dipped a bit from its early-season average. Singer was clobbered by the Orioles for seven runs in just two innings on July 17, and the Royals put him on the injured list with shoulder fatigue a couple days later. Singer returned in just under a month, but he didn’t make it through the remainder of the season, as he went back on the injured list in late September with a biceps strain.

Kansas City somewhat surprisingly moved Singer from the rotation to the bullpen this year — a new role for a pitcher who’d started all 39 of his prior big league appearances. The results so far haven’t been great; Singer yielded four runs on seven hits and a walk with six strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings. Manager Mike Matheny said at the time the Royals set their Opening Day rotation that the organization still viewed Singer as a starting pitcher in the long term. It’s possible, then, that Singer will get the opportunity to stretch back out and return to the Majors as a starting pitcher. Kansas City has gotten poor results from both Kris Bubic and Carlos Hernandez, which could open the door for Singer or some of the organization’s other young arms to seize a starting job.

Optioning Singer carries implications beyond the right-hander’s immediate role or even beyond the team’s current rotation mix, however. Because Singer broke camp with the Royals in 2020 and was on the roster all last season, he entered the year with exactly two years of MLB service time. He’d need to spend 172 days on the roster in 2022 to reach three years of service and remain on track for free agency following the 2025 season. If Singer spends more than two weeks in the minors, it’ll push that free-agent eligibility back to the 2026-27 offseason. He’d likely still qualify for arbitration as a Super Two player — barring a particularly lengthy stint in Omaha — but the amount of time he spends in the minors will nonetheless be worth monitoring closely.

As for Mondesi, the knee injury is the latest in a long line of ailments that have kept the talented but increasingly fragile infielder out of the lineup. Mondesi has missed time over the past few seasons with oblique, hamstring, groin and, most notably, shoulder injuries. The shoulder issue proved to be particularly costly, as Mondesi twice suffered a subluxation before undergoing surgery that came with a six-month recovery timeline.

Mondesi played in 59 of the Royals’ 60 games in 2020, but overall from 2019-21, he appeared in just 196 of 384 possible games (51%). There’s no clear timetable for just when Mondesi might rejoin the Royals, but the very mention of structural damage portends a potentially significant time away from the lineup.

In the interim, the Royals are deep in middle-infield options. Bobby Witt Jr. has been playing third base with Nicky Lopez at second base, but both are experienced and more than capable shortstops. Whit Merrifield has been lining up in the outfield more often than not this season but could certainly shift back to second base, with Lopez sliding over to shortstop. That setup could open the door for Isbel — an accomplished minor league hitter who’s yet to solidify himself in the big leagues — to get a larger look in the outfield.

Padres Select Trayce Thompson, Place Wil Myers On Injured List

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The Padres announced Thursday that they’ve selected the contract of outfielder Trayce Thompson from Triple-A El Paso and placed fellow outfielder Wil Myers on the 10-day IL due to a left thumb injury. Righty Austin Adams was moved from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL in order to open a 40-man roster spot for Thompson.

Thompson, 31, is a former second-round pick (White Sox, 2009) and the younger brother of Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson. He’s appeared in parts of five big league seasons, most recently logging 15 games and 35 plate appearances with the Cubs in 2021. Thompson impressed in that small sample of work, hitting .250/.400/.714 with four homers and a pair of steals — flashing the tools that once made him a lofty draft pick and a well-regarded prospect.

Of course, those tools haven’t translated into production at the big league level regularly enough. Thompson has tallied 624 plate appearances in the Majors but has just a .208/.283/.405 batting line to show for it. He’s homered 26 times and swiped 11 bags (in 13 tries) as a big leaguer, but Thompson has also been far too prone to strikeouts. He’s whiffed in 28.2% of his plate appearances, and his penchant for punchouts has worsened over the years; after posting a strong rookie season with the ChiSox back in 2015, Thompson has fanned in nearly 31% of his trips to the plate while hitting .184/.260/.370.

That said, it’s hard to argue that he hasn’t earned an opportunity with his early-season work. In his first 16 games and 65 plate appearances with the Chihuahuas, Thompson has batted .316/.385/.860 with a jaw-dropping nine home runs. He’s added four doubles and a stolen base for good measure. Those numbers overwhelmingly outpace Thompson’s career .233/.303/.447 output in parts of seven Triple-A seasons, but there’s no denying the intrigue surrounding that blistering start.

As for Myers, he’ll head to the 10-day IL after opening the season in a .218/.254/.273 funk at the plate. That sloth-like start comes on the heels of a solid 2020-21 run at the plate, and it’s fair to say the thumb injury has contributed to his struggles. Myers originally incurred the injury during an at-bat two weeks ago and has been held out of the lineup on multiple occasions in an effort to let it heal. His placement on the injured list is retroactive to yesterday, so he’ll be eligible to return a week from Saturday.

Adams, meanwhile, is dealing with a forearm strain and was recently shut down from throwing for six weeks. It’s generally unsurprising to see him now transferred to the 60-day IL. That 60-day window begins with the day he was originally placed on the IL, not with today’s transfer, meaning he’s eligible to return in 50 days’ time. The 30-year-old righty has a 3.97 ERA and a very strong 31.8% strikeout rate in 59 innings with San Diego dating back to 2020, but he’s also walked 15% of his opponents in that time.

Reds Place Nick Lodolo On Injured List

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The Reds are losing another starter to the injured list, as the team announced this morning that rookie left-hander Nick Lodolo is headed to the 10-day IL. He’s dealing with a lower back strain, per Charlie Goldsmith of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Twitter link). Infielder Mike Moustakas was reinstated from the 10-day IL in a corresponding move, and he’s back in the Reds’ lineup as the designated hitter for Thursday’s game.

Cincinnati hasn’t given any indication as to whether this will be a brief stint on the IL for Lodolo, or whether their touted young lefty could be facing a more protracted absence. Regardless, he’s joining both Luis Castillo and Mike Minor on the injured list, leaving an already floundering Reds team with a question mark in the rotation. Tyler Mahle, Hunter Greene, Vladimir Gutierrez and Reiver Sanmartin are all healthy options at the moment, although Greene’s 5.27 ERA is the best of that bunch through four turns in the rotation.

Castillo set out on a rehab assignment this past weekend and threw 48 pitches (2 1/3 innings), so he’s at least on pace to rejoin the rotation sooner than later. The Reds had been planning on giving him two more rehab appearances before activating him in perhaps the second week of May, so we’ll see if the injury to Lodolo prompts a more accelerated timetable for the team’s top starter. Cincinnati could simply go with a bullpen game or two while waiting on Castillo’s return, or it’s possible that they’ll take a look at righty Graham Ashcraft, who’s out to a strong start in Triple-A. If the preference is for a shorter-term veteran option, right-hander Zack Godley is also on the roster down in Louisville. Either would need to be selected to the 40-man roster.

Lodolo, 24, was the No. 7 overall draft pick back in 2019 and entered the season ranked among the sport’s top pitching prospects. He’s gotten out to a rough start, however, surrendering a 5.52 ERA through 14 2/3 innings over his first three big league starts. He’s punched out an impressive 27.5% of his opponents thus far, but Lodolo has yielded a whopping 18 hits — three of them home runs. He’s also walked five hitters and plunked a pair, further crowding the basepaths. Certainly, a rocky stretch of three starts to begin his career isn’t going to dramatically alter the perception of Lodolo or dampen his long-term outlook, but the struggles are magnified, given the injuries and struggles that are permeating the remainder of the Reds’ pitching staff.

As for the 33-year-old Moustakas, he wound up missing a minimal 10 days with a right biceps strain. The three-time All-Star is in dire need of a rebound at the dish, as he opened the year with a .129/.125/.129 slash and is batting just .196/.261/.336 in 238 plate appearances dating back to 2021. Moustakas is in the third season of a four-year, $64MM contract with the Reds.

Jon Jay Announces Retirement

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Veteran outfielder Jon Jay took to Twitter earlier today to announce his retirement after over a decade in the big leagues.

“As a kid I remember watching SportsCenter highlights and imitating my favorite MLB players,” Jay wrote. “It is still surreal to me that I played Major League Baseball. As I officially retire from the game that changed my life, I want to thank everyone who has played a role in getting me here.”

Jon JayJay, 37, was a second round pick of the Cardinals in 2006 and then made his MLB debut in 2010. He immediately hit the ground running with the contact-oriented approach that would be a trademark of his career. He hit .300/.359/.422, walking in 7.4% of his plate appearances and striking out just 15.5% of the time. That production amounted to a 116 wRC+, or 16% above league average. The next year, he put up a similar line of .297/.344/.424, 115 wRC+, helping the Cardinals qualify for the postseason and eventually win the 2011 World Series.

Jay stuck with the Cardinals for the next four seasons, with the team making the postseason in each of them. His production stayed largely consistent until wrist issues started hampering him in 2015. He underwent surgery prior to that season and then struggled at the plate, hitting .210/.306/.257. After that campaign, he was traded to the Padres for Jedd Gyorko.

He was able to bounce back somewhat in 2016, hitting .291/.339/.389 as a Padre, good enough for a wRC+ of 99. He signed with the Cubs for the 2017 season and had another solid season, hitting .296/.374/.375, 101 wRC+. He went into journeyman mode for the next few years, spending time with the Royals, Diamondbacks, White Sox, D-Backs again, and then the Angels last year, with none of those stints lasting more than 84 games.

In all, Jay played in 1201 games in 12 MLB seasons from 2010 to 2021. He will head into retirement with a lifetime .283/.348/.373 batting line, 37 home runs, 185 doubles, 25 triples, 1,087 total hits, 532 runs scored, 341 runs batted in and 55 stolen bases. He was a solid contributor to an excellent run of Cardinals baseball, earning a World Series ring in the process. MLBTR congratulates him on a fine career and wishes him all the best in his future endeavors.

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