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Offseason Outlook: Seattle Mariners

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The Mariners finally ended their postseason drought, and took a step further in October with a dramatic sweep of the Blue Jays in the AL Wild Card Series before falling to the Astros in the ALDS.  Now, the Mariners are looking to shed their other ignominious label as the only one of the 30 MLB teams that has never reached the World Series.

Guaranteed Contracts

  • Julio Rodriguez, OF: $195MM through 2034 (based on multiple club and player options, deal could be worth up to $455MM through the 2039 season)
  • Luis Castillo, SP: $101MM through 2027 (conditional option for 2028, either a $25MM vesting option for Castillo or a $5MM club option for the Mariners)
  • Robbie Ray, SP: $94MM through 2026 (Ray can opt out after 2024 season)
  • J.P. Crawford, SS: $41MM through 2026
  • Eugenio Suarez, 3B: $24MM through 2024 (includes $2MM buyout of $15MM club option for 2025)
  • Evan White, 1B: $20MM through 2025 (includes $2MM buyout of $10MM club option for 2026; Mariners also hold $11MM club option for 2027 with $1MM buyout, and $12.5MM club option for 2028 with $1MM buyout)
  • Marco Gonzales, SP: $18.5MM through 2024 (no buyout on $15MM club option for 2025)
  • Jesse Winker, OF: $8.25MM through 2023
  • Chris Flexen, SP/RP: $8MM through 2023
  • Andres Munoz, RP: $6MM through 2025 (Mariners hold club options worth $6MM in 2026, $8MM in 2027, $10MM in 2028)

Arbitration-Eligible Players (projected 2023 salaries via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)

Other Financial Commitments

Total 2023 commitments: $96.125MM
Total future commitments: $536.07MM

Free Agents

The Mariners got a jump on some offseason business in August and September when Julio Rodriguez and Luis Castillo were both signed to contract extensions.  Since 2022 was only Rodriguez’s rookie season, there was less urgency to lock up the burgeoning superstar immediately, and yet the complex and potentially record-setting deal (that could span most of the next two decades) underlined the Mariners’ commitment to Rodriguez as the new face of Seattle baseball.

Castillo would’ve been a free agent after the 2023 season, and in signing him through at least the 2027 season, Seattle doubled down on its commitment to the right-hander after already paying a big prospect price to acquire him from the Reds at the trade deadline.  Extending Castillo also represents the Mariners’ latest investment in their starting rotation, which now consists of two high-paid stars (Castillo and Robbie Ray), two homegrown talents in their pre-arbitration years (George Kirby and Logan Gilbert), and two veterans on reasonable contracts (Marco Gonzales, Chris Flexen).

Of course, Flexen wasn’t a starter for much of the second half, as he was moved to the bullpen once Castillo came aboard.  He still amassed enough innings to hit a vesting threshold in his initial two-year, $4.75MM deal with the Mariners, thus assuring Flexen of an $8MM salary in 2023.  Flexen and Gonzales have pretty similar profiles as low-strikeout, pitch-to-contact hurlers, though Gonzales has a much more established track record of limiting hard contact, as well as just a longer track record as an established Major League starter.

With six starting candidates for five rotation spots, it can be assumed that Castillo, Ray, Gilbert, and Kirby aren’t going anywhere.  That leaves Gonzales and Flexen as possible trade candidates if the M’s did want to deal from this apparent surplus, and Flexen already reportedly received some interest from other teams prior to the deadline.  Flexen is the younger and less expensive of the two, and had a 3.73 ERA/5.00 SIERA and 0.7 fWAR over 137 2/3 innings in 2022, while Gonzales had a 4.13 ERA/4.99 SIERA and only 0.1 fWAR in 183 frames.  Those numbers slightly favor Flexen, but as his SIERA implies, the advanced metrics weren’t impressed with his work last year.

Emerson Hancock, Taylor Dollard, and Bryce Miller represent Seattle’s next wave of young pitchers, with all three expected to make their Triple-A debuts to start off the 2023 season.  If all goes well, at least one of those prospects could be ready to jump to the majors later in 2023, perhaps becoming a new sixth starter/swingman type in their first taste of the big leagues.  Or, the Mariners could possibly acquire a veteran for such a role in the offseason, if one of Gonzales or Flexen was traded.

The other option, naturally, is for the M’s to just stand pat with what is already a strong rotation mix.  The Mariners got an unusual amount of good fortune with the health of their starting pitchers in 2022, and they might just want to keep both Gonzales and Flexen in the fold as additional depth, considering how rare it is for a team to dodge the injury bug for two straight years.

Then again, it’s also pretty rare for a team to post consecutive years of dominance in one-run games.  The Mariners followed up their 33-19 mark in one-run games in 2021 with a 34-22 record last season, defying the conventional wisdom that teams “should” generally finish around .500 in such close contests.  Seattle again beat those odds thanks in large part to an outstanding bullpen that should return mostly intact.

The unpredictable nature of relief pitching means that probably not all of Paul Sewald, Andres Munoz, Erik Swanson, Diego Castillo, Penn Murfee, and Matt Brash will continue to pitch as well as they did in 2022, yet that is still quite a core group to have in place as the Mariners look for a few more reinforcements.  Trading from that group is also a possibility, as just like with the rotation, the Mariners’ pitching depth gives them some leverage in exploring deals.  As noted, any of the top prospect starters could also break into the majors as relievers, adding more depth to the pen.

In terms of big-league additions, the M’s already made a move by claiming Luke Weaver off waivers from Kansas City.  Weaver’s first full season as a relief pitcher resulted in a 6.56 ERA over 35 2/3 innings with the Royals and Diamondbacks, but his advanced metrics indicate that Weaver was quite unlucky to post such an ugly ERA.  There isn’t much left-handed depth in the relief corps, though the M’s could at least tender Ryan Borucki a contract and keep him around.  Seattle is also likely to explore re-signing Matt Boyd after he delivered some solid late-season work, but Boyd might prefer a clearer path to a starting job now that he is further removed from his September 2021 flexor tendon surgery.

While the Mariners have one of the more stable pitching situations of any team in baseball, their lineup has several question marks.  Improving the position-player mix will surely be the priority for president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto this winter, and given Dipoto’s signature aggressiveness, nothing can be ruled out.  Signing a major free agent, trading pitching for hitting, trading a younger position player for a more established bat — all of these options and more could be on the table.

There should be a good amount of payroll space to work with, as Roster Resource projects the M’s around $131.5MM in 2023 player payroll (including arbitration estimates), with probably a few million to be shaved off that total via non-tenders.  This leaves Dipoto with plenty of spending capacity before he even reaches the Mariners’ team-record $158MM payroll from 2018, and it also seems quite possible ownership might provide some more funds to help keep the playoff revenues rolling.  Swapping Gonzales or Flexen would be a way of reallocating some money that is already on the books, and the Mariners could perhaps take a flier on another undesirable contract by trading Evan White, who no longer seems to be in the team’s long-term plans.

For a 90-win team, Seattle doesn’t have a ton of positions settled heading into 2023.  Rodriguez will play center field, J.P. Crawford will ostensibly play shortstop (more on that later), Ty France is slated for first base, Eugenio Suarez for third base, and Cal Raleigh slugged his way into establishing himself as the starting catcher once Tom Murphy’s season was cut short by shoulder surgery.  Either Murphy or Luis Torrens could be non-tender candidates, as neither can be optioned back to the minor leagues.

Jesse Winker will receive at least a share of everyday duty in left field, though he will be trying to re-establish himself after an underwhelming first season in Seattle.  Winker hit only .219/.344/.344 over 547 plate appearances, with a reversal of his career-long splits; he struggled badly against right-handed pitching in 2022, while actually posting decent numbers against southpaws.  If Winker can regain his old form next season, that would alone help the Mariners add some more pop to the batting order, though his struggles were somewhat mitigated by Suarez (also acquired from the Reds in basically a salary dump as part of the Winker trade) rediscovering his hitting stroke once joining the M’s.

Between Winker, Kyle Lewis, Taylor Trammell, Jarred Kelenic, Sam Haggerty, and utilityman Dylan Moore, the Mariners may have plenty of options for the corner outfield positions….or none, at least for a team that hopes to contend.  Lewis is still working his way back from a torn meniscus in 2021, and while he hit well in Triple-A last year, he struggled over 62 PA in the majors.  Trammell is only 25 years old and is a former top-100 prospect, and he did manage roughly league-average offense in a part-time role last season, but it remains to be seen if he still grow into being a lineup regular or if he might be a fourth-outfielder type.  Haggerty might have hit his own fourth-outfielder ceiling, though he did play quite well in part-time duty in 2022.  Kelenic is a former consensus top-10 prospect, but he has looked totally overmatched at the plate in 558 PA at the big league level.

There is enough potential in this group that the M’s could just roll the dice and hope at least one player breaks out as a reliable everyday option to slot alongside Rodriguez.  As such, Dipoto might wait until closer to the trade deadline to see if any upgrades are necessary to the outfield or DH spot.  Carlos Santana might not be re-signed after posting middling numbers in 2022, and Seattle could just cycle several players into DH duty unless a more consistent bat is needed.

Trading from this outfield group is another possibility, if the Mariners perhaps tried to package one or two of the controllable outfielders to a rebuilding team with an established veteran available.  Such a deal could conceivably happen with or without Mitch Haniger re-signing, though a reunion with Haniger could be the smoothest answer.

Haniger carries plenty of injury baggage.  He missed most of 2019 and all of 2020 recovering from a ruptured testicle, core muscle surgery and back surgery.  He was then limited to only 57 games in 2022 due to a high ankle sprain (which required a 60-day injured list stint) as well as a two-week absence recovering from COVID-19.  With this recent history in mind, Haniger could be a candidate to accept a qualifying offer, except the Mariners may not want to offer $19.65MM on a one-year deal.  Not issuing a QO, of course, would mean the Mariners wouldn’t get any compensation if he signed elsewhere, and any number of teams will surely have interest in adding Haniger to their rosters.

Seattle might also explore other free agent outfielders beyond Haniger, in search of a player who could provide somewhat comparable offense on a less-expensive one-year deal than the cost of a qualifying offer.  On paper, the M’s have the need and the payroll flexibility to be part of the Aaron Judge conversation, and it’s probably safe to assume the team will check in with Judge’s representatives.  But, there’s a reason Dipoto is known as “Trader Jerry” as opposed to “Signer Jerry” — the executive generally turns to the trade market to make his biggest moves, rather than any huge splashes in the free agent pool.

Then again, Ray was signed for $115MM last winter, which already signals a change in Dipoto’s preferred player-acquisition strategy as the Mariners move into win-now mode.  Dipoto has already indicated he plans to explore the shortstop market this winter, with such notables as Carlos Correa, Trea Turner, Xander Bogaerts, and Dansby Swanson headlining a deep class.

The catch is the M’s might not necessarily be viewing any of these shortstops as shortstops, since Dipoto’s stated “great preference” is to keep Crawford at shortstop and use any new infielder as a second baseman.  This seems to close the door on the chances of Adam Frazier being re-signed, which isn’t surprising since the former All-Star struggled through a rough 2022 season.  It also reaffirms the Mariners’ commitment to Crawford, who was already signed a contract extension back in April.

Dipoto was also adamant last winter that Crawford was Seattle’s everyday shortstop, which seemed to somewhat limit the Mariners’ involvement in last offseason’s deep shortstop class, even though the M’s did have interest in such players as Trevor Story and Marcus Semien.  It is worth noting that Dipoto’s most recent statements seemed at least a touch less committed to Crawford as a shortstop, saying “we’re not going to close the door to anything in that regard,” and that Crawford “does a very good job in anything that we asked him to do.”

Moving Crawford to second base could be the more logical move.  MLBTR’s Darragh McDonald explored this subject in greater detail back in August, as Crawford’s glovework declined sharply in the view of public defensive metrics (-11 Outs Above Average, -3 Defensive Runs Saved, -0.9 UZR/150).  Crawford was dealing with some knee problems last year and therefore might perform closer to his 2020 Gold Glove form when healthy, but a shift over to second base would also help him from a defensive perspective.

Internal options like Moore, Abraham Toro, or even Haggerty and France could help out at second base in a pinch, yet the keystone definitely seems like the Mariners’ top need on the diamond.  If the M’s don’t move Crawford or can’t convince one of the big free agent shortstops to change positions, another route would be to just sign a proper second baseman.  Brandon Drury and former Mariner Jean Segura (if the Phillies decline their club option on Segura) could be targeted, or Seattle could gauge trade possibilities with middle-infield heavy teams like the Guardians, Reds, or Cardinals.

For a team that thrived on its success in tight games, there is some irony in the fact that the Mariners lost all three ALDS games to Houston by a combined total of four runs.  The M’s are hoping the narrow nature of that series is an omen of how they’re starting to close the gap with the Astros for AL West supremacy, and the 2022-23 offseason could be one of the most important in franchise history as Seattle might be a few finishing touches away from a championship contender.

White Sox Have Interviewed Carlos Mendoza

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8:10pm: Mendoza actually interviewed with the White Sox nearly two weeks ago, Bruce Levine of 670 The Score reports (via Twitter). He has not had a second interview, although there’s no indication to this point that he’s squarely out of the running.

9:27am: The White Sox have gotten permission to interview Yankees bench coach Carlos Mendoza in their managerial search, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post (Twitter link). It isn’t clear whether Mendoza has already sat down with Chicago brass or is planning to over the coming days, but he marks a new entrant into the mix.

Mendoza, 42, has spent more than a decade in the coaching ranks. A Venezuela native, he began his career as a player in the Giants system back in 1997. He played professionally for 12 years in the San Francisco and Yankees organizations, briefly topping out at Triple-A. After the 2009 campaign, he transitioned into coaching in the New York farm system. He spent the 2011-12 seasons managing at the lower levels of the organization, and he worked his way onto the MLB coaching staff by 2018.

Over the past five seasons, Mendoza has worked on manager Aaron Boone’s staff. He broke in as an infield instructor and was bumped up to bench coach going into the 2020 campaign. A year later, he got looks from the Tigers and Red Sox in their managerial searches. Those respective positions ultimately went to A.J. Hinch and Alex Cora, but Mendoza was reportedly among the final five under consideration for the Boston job.

The White Sox are the only team without a manager currently in place. Tony La Russa held the position for the past two years, but he stepped away from the team late in the season due to health concerns and subsequently announced he wouldn’t return to the role in 2023.

Thus far, Chicago is known to have interviewed bench coach Miguel Cairo (who served as interim manager for the stretch run while La Russa was out), Royals bench coach Pedro Grifol, Astros bench coach Joe Espada and former Chicago bench boss Ozzie Guillén. They’ve also been tied to Braves third base coach Ron Washington, although it isn’t known if the sides officially sat down at any point.

It seems they’ve started to narrow down their list of potential candidates. Over the weekend, MLB.com’s Scott Merkin reported that Espada was no longer in consideration. Heyman adds that Washington and Guillén are also unlikely to land the position at this point.

Albert Pujols Officially Files For Retirement

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Future Hall of Fame slugger Albert Pujols has officially signed his retirement papers today, ending his glittering 22-year career, per Mark Feisand of MLB.com. Pujols had already announced 2022 would be his final season, but after a resurgent final year for the Cardinals this news confirms he won’t be back.

Pujols will go down as one of the sport’s greatest sluggers, having mashed 703 home runs over his career, which included three MVP awards and eleven trips to the All Star game. The 42-year-old enjoyed a stunning final season in St Louis, the city he spent much of his career, hitting .270/.345/.550 with 24 home runs, enough to become just the fourth player in history to join the 700-club.

Pujols was drafted in the 13th round of the 1999 draft by the Cardinals, and made his debut in 2001. He began mashing immediately, hitting .329/.403/.610 with 37 home runs on the way to a Rookie of the Year award and a fourth place finish in NL MVP voting. That would set the tone for one of the great slugging careers, as Pujols continued to terrorize National League pitchers over the next decade in St Louis. Between 2001-10, Pujols never finished a season with a batting average under .300 or a home run total under 30, and only had one sub-.400 OBP season. Over his first eleven seasons with the Cardinals, he amassed a staggering 86.6 bWAR, and firmly entrenched himself as a St Louis legend and a great of the sport.

He inked an extension with the Cardinals in 2004 for $111MM which proved extremely good business for the team, and delayed his free agency until after the 2011 season. Once on the open market, it was the Angels who secured his coveted signature, landing him on a ten-year, $240MM deal after the Cardinals topped out at a nine-year deal. At the time, it was the third largest contract in MLB history. While Pujols had a few years of strong production which earned him down ballot MVP votes, the deal was mostly a disappointment for the Halos and he was never the offensive juggernaut he was in St Louis. Pujols hit just .256/.311/.447 across ten years in Anaheim and was worth just 12.8 bWAR there.

The Angels finally cut ties with him in early in the 2021 season, and he landed with the Dodgers for the remainder of the year. There was speculation he’d retire after the 2021 campaign, but the Cardinals opted to bring him back for a $2.5MM farewell season, and he didn’t disappoint. He’ll be a favorite for NL Comeback Player of the Year and along with the pending retirement of fellow Cardinals’ legend Yadier Molina made 2022 a memorable season in St Louis.

His resurgent final season helped the Cardinals make the playoffs in 2022, but his career came to a close in a series loss at the hands of the Phillies in the wildcard round. Pujols didn’t hit much in that short series, but he was a dominant force in playoff fixtures over his career. In 88 post-season matches, he hit 19 home runs amid a .319/.422/.572 slashline. That included a combined four World Series home runs during the Cardinals’ championship years of 2006 and 2011.

While the formal confirmation of Pujols’ retirement is not a surprise, it does draw to a close the career of one of the sport’s great players. He’ll assuredly wind up in Cooperstown, but in the meantime, everyone at MLB Trade Rumors congratulates Pujols on his memorable career and wish him the best in retirement.

Kyle Hendricks Hasn’t Started Throwing; Still On Track For Spring Training

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Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks has still not begun throwing in his recovery from a mid-season capsular tear in his shoulder, per Gordon Wittenmyer of NBC Sports. While the delay in his recovery is enough to cause some concern, Wittenmyer notes that there’s not yet reason to think that Hendricks won’t be ready for spring training. Hendricks was originally due to resume playing catch at the end of the season, but the plan is now to start that in November.

Hendricks posted a 4.80 ERA across 16 starts this season before going down with injury. Hendricks’ HardHit% soared in 2022, standing at 38.8%, well above his second highest mark of 33%, which occurred last season. As one would expect, that translated into a higher home run rate and Hendricks gave up almost one per start this season. It’s the second straight season that’s been the case, as Hendricks suffered from a lift in home runs on the way to a 4.77 ERA across 32 starts in 2021. Prior to that, Hendricks was an incredibly reliable arm for the Cubs, regularly hitting 30 starts and posting ERAs in the mid-to-lower threes.

While Hendricks has experienced some decline in recent years, he’s still a much-needed workhorse for the Cubs rotation. They’ll have veteran Marcus Stroman back next year as well as the impressive Justin Steele. Beyond that, Keegan Thompson, Adrian Sampson and Hayden Wesneski all showed varying degrees of promise to suggest they’ll feature in the rotation next season, but none can be reasonably pencilled in to make 30 starts. Steele, too, is no sure thing workload-wise having pitched a career high 119 innings in 2022, though the promise he showed in pitching to a 3.18 ERA with the peripherals to match suggest the Cubs will certainly be looking to get big innings out of him.

The uncertainty over Hendricks’ immediate future could provide further motivation for the Cubs to be active in the starting pitcher market this winter. A competitive Cubs team in 2023 probably already needed an arm or two in the rotation, and if Hendricks’ recovery is set back any further that need will only increase. Hendricks is owed $14MM in 2023, and has a $16MM team option for 2024 with a $1.5MM buyout.

The Dodgers’ Looming Decision On Justin Turner

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Since 2014, Justin Turner’s provided the Dodgers lineup with an elite bat and sound defense at the hot corner. Yet after a season that saw his output decline the veteran’s future in LA is up in the air. The Dodgers hold a $16MM team option for 2023 with a $2MM buyout, and according to Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic, haven’t informed the 2022 winner of the Roberto Clemente Award of their decision yet.

It was a tale of two halves in 2022 for Turner. The buyout looked to be the heavy favorite at the All-Star break, as the 37-year-old posted just a .256/.331/.403 line with five home runs. It was vintage Turner after the break though, as he hit .319/.386/.503 with eight home runs to finish the season with 13 home runs and a .278/.350/.438 line. That still amounted to Turner’s worst offensive production since joining the Dodgers, but the strength of his second half has made the decision a tough one for the Dodgers’ front office. On the other side of the ball, Turner saw his defensive numbers decline, as he posted -2 Outs Above Average and -2.1 UZR. As a result, around half his appearances this season were at DH.

Turner’s option decision is, in fact, just one element of a complicated off-season for the left side of the Dodgers infield. The team will lose shortstop Trea Turner to free agency, while Max Muncy, who made 84 appearances at the hot corner, is under contract at $13.5MM. Muncy also scuffled at the plate in 2022, hitting .196/.329/.384 with 21 home runs but graded out better defensively with seven Defensive Runs Saved in 84 games at third base, and is also capable of manning second base.

The Dodgers may be hesitant commit $29MM to two players coming off of down years, particularly if they’re looking to make a serious bid to either re-sign their star shortstop or go after someone like Carlos Correa. Per RosterResource, the Dodgers’ luxury tax payroll projects at around $176MM in 2023, though that’s before factoring in arbitration-eligible players. That leaves them with a fair bit of space to maneuver in before reaching this year’s mark, but the Dodgers do need to spend at the aforementioned shortstop position, solidify their rotation and they’ve been rumored to be in the market for Aaron Judge.

With that being said, it’s hard to imagine Turner in a different team’s uniform, and the Dodgers may well value his leadership and veteran presence enough that they bring him back, either via the team option or on a new, restructured contract. Plus, while Turner may be starting to decline, he’s still a productive player that was worth 2.4 fWAR in 2022. The Dodgers have until five days after the World Series to decide on Turner’s option, and while there’s a solid argument to be made either way, it still seems a good chance he’s back in Dodger blue in 2023.

Editor’s note: This post originally indicated Muncy’s option had yet to be exercised. The team preemptively exercised it in August when signing Muncy for an additional year.

Cardinals Notes: Arenado, Holliday, Coaching Staff

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Perhaps the biggest offseason question facing the Cardinals was resolved over the weekend when Nolan Arenado informed the team he would bypass his chance to test the free agent market. He’ll play out the final five years and $144MM on his deal with St. Louis, staying with the Cards through 2027.

The star third baseman would almost certainly have found a stronger financial offer if he hit the open market. He’s likely to be an NL MVP finalist after arguably the best season of his career, a .293/.358/.533 showing paired with his typical elite defense. Even heading into his age-32 campaign, he had a strong case for a six-year deal that bested the $28.8MM average annual value remaining on his contract.

Arenado has maintained on a few occasions that he’s happy in St. Louis, however. He reiterated that sentiment in speaking with Derrick Goold of the Post-Dispatch about his decision over the weekend. “For me, to get traded to St. Louis was a very complicated deal and it wasn’t easy to get here,” Arenado told Goold. “There was a lot of time and effort put into it. It meant a lot to me they went that far beyond for me. I really appreciate their effort they took to get me here and I want to hold up my end of the bargain. Everything has been, for me since I’ve been here, better than I thought it would be.”

St. Louis made the postseason in each of Arenado’s first two seasons with the club, including an NL Central-winning team this year. Colorado reached the playoffs twice during his eight years on the roster, both times as a Wild Card entrant. Arenado spoke publicly about how meaningful he found it to be part of a division-winning roster in the immediate aftermath of St. Louis clinching the Central, and Goold writes he expressed that again during a sit-down with president of baseball operations John Mozeliak last week.

While the Cardinals have had plenty of regular season success over the last two years, they’ve gone 0-3 in the postseason and been dispatched from the playoffs quickly (first in the 2021 Wild Card game, then in the newly-implemented Wild Card series). Mozeliak and his staff will look to bolster the roster again this winter in hopes of positioning the team for a deeper postseason run. The Cards’ front office head told reporters last week that ownership had signed off on a payroll increase and highlighted catcher as an area the team would look to address over the coming months.

They’ll also work with manager Oliver Marmol about building a coaching staff that saw a trio of notable departures. Neither hitting coach Jeff Albert nor pitching coach Mike Maddux are returning in 2023, and bench coach Skip Schumaker departed to become the Marlins manager. That leaves St. Louis to fill three key voids, and they could look to a marquee name for one of those spots.

John Denton of MLB.com reported last week that Matt Holliday is expected to garner some consideration for the hitting coach vacancy. Holliday played for St. Louis from 2009-16, a tenure which included four trips to the All-Star game and four appearances on MVP balloting. He raked at a .293/.380/.494 clip over his eight seasons with the club.

Holliday last appeared in the big leagues in 2018 and currently coaches at Oklahoma State, where his brother Josh Holliday is the head baseball coach. Reports last offseason suggested Matt Holliday would have some interest in the St. Louis managerial vacancy that eventually went to Marmol. Whether he’d be willing to assume a spot on Marmol’s staff is unclear, but the 42-year-old left open the possibility in an appearance on Hot Take Central on 590 The Fan in St. Louis this morning (Twitter link with audio). Asked about the chance to replace either Schumaker or Albert as bench coach or hitting coach, Holliday noted he’s not yet heard from Mozeliak but indicated he was open to having a conversation.

“I haven’t spoken with Mo yet,” Holliday said. “I think there’s a chance that I will have a conversation about what that might look like. I’m not going to say ’no,’ but I’m not going to say ’yes’ either. I think I probably will, at some point, have a conversation with Mo and Oli about what that could look like — being part of the organization in some capacity. I’m not quite sure, I don’t have an answer just yet for you.” That’s hardly a firm declaration Holliday will rejoin the St. Louis franchise, but it raises the possibility of the seven-time All-Star being in touch with key Cards decision-makers this winter.

Tyler Danish Elects Free Agency

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The Red Sox announced that reliever Tyler Danish has elected minor league free agency. Boston had evidently placed the right-hander on waivers in recent days, freeing up a spot on the 40-man roster.

Danish spent a year in Boston. A former second round pick of the White Sox, he signed a minor league contract with the Red Sox in Spring Training and cracked the 40-man roster before Opening Day. Boston didn’t immediately carry him on the big league club but he pitched his way to the majors by the middle of April. It marked his first big league action in four years, as he’d kicked around the upper minors without landing an MLB opportunity from 2019-21.

The 2022 campaign was by far Danish’s longest look against big league competition. Manager Alex Cora called upon him 32 times, giving him 40 1/3 innings out of the bullpen. He pitched to a 5.13 ERA, striking out only 18.5% of opponents on a modest 7.4% swinging strike rate. He did show the best control of his career, walking only 6.9% of opposing hitters, but his lack of missed bats and a higher than average seven home runs against (1.56 HR/9) push him off the roster.

Danish isn’t a particularly hard thrower, averaging just under 91 MPH on his sinker. He leaned primarily on a curveball this year, with that low-80s offering generating a fair amount of soft contact but not missing many bats. Danish was reasonably effective against right-handed batters, against whom he managed a .245/.310/.415 line. He couldn’t find much of an answer for southpaws, though, punching out just seven of the 57 lefties he faced and surrendering a .275/.351/.490 mark.

Because he’s already been outrighted in his career, Danish had the right to elect free agency as soon as he cleared waivers. He’ll head back to the open market and may be looking at minor league offers with Spring Training invitations once again.

With the offseason approaching, the Red Sox are conducting typical roster maintenance. Removing Danish from the 40-man drops their tally to 39. The Sox have five players on the 60-day injured list who’ll need to be reinstated at the start of the offseason, although they’re on track to see seven players hit free agency (including Xander Bogaerts, who’s a lock to opt out of his contract if the sides don’t agree on an extension in the next week and a half).

Marlins, Pitching Coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr. Agree To Multi-Year Extension

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The Marlins have agreed to terms with pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr. on a multi-year deal, reports Craig Mish of SportsGrid (Twitter link). Specific salary terms are unclear, but Mish adds that Stottlemyre is now among the highest-paid pitching coaches in the game.

There’d been some uncertainty as to whether the 58-year-old would return to Miami. He took the position on Don Mattingly’s staff over the 2018-19 offseason, re-signing on a one-year deal last winter. With Stottlemyre out of contract and Mattingly and the Marlins agreeing not to continue their relationship, it was in doubt whether he’d stick around.

Miami has clearly valued Stottlemyre’s work with their young arms, and he’ll return for at least a fifth season. The former Royals hurler has spent more than a decade as a pitching coach in the big leagues, previously holding that role in Arizona and Seattle. His veteran status is in contrast to Miami’s incoming manager. Skip Schumaker is taking over the dugout in South Florida, the 42-year-old’s first MLB managerial job.

The Marlins were a below-average pitching team for the first two seasons of Stottlemyre’s tenure, but they’ve been better of late. Dating back to the start of 2021, Miami ranks 13th in the majors with a 3.91 ERA. Their spacious home ballpark has certainly aided in keeping balls in the yard, but they’ve been less fortunate from a batting average on balls in play perspective. This past season, Miami pitchers ranked eighth in strikeout rate, fanning 23.7% of opponents.

Miami has seen Sandy Alcantara develop into one of the game’s top handful of arms. He’s a heavy favorite to win the NL Cy Young award this year after easily leading the league in innings pitched — his 228 2/3 frames topped those of second-place Aaron Nola by 23 2/3 — and posting a 2.28 ERA. The Fish have also seen Pablo López develop into a mid-rotation mainstay, while Braxton Garrett and Jesús Luzardo took steps forward this year. 2021 All-Star Trevor Rogers looked like another top-of-the-rotation arm in the making, but his 2022 campaign went off the rails to a disappointing 5.47 ERA.

Stottlemyre returns to try to guide Rogers back to last year’s form while steering along the development of a number of Miami’s young arms. The Fish also have have Eury Pérez and Edward Cabrera as two of the more touted young pitchers in the game, to say nothing of Max Meyer, Sixto Sánchez and Jake Eder — each of whom were very well-regarded themselves before recent injury troubles. There’s enough depth the Fish are likely to explore dealing from their rotation to add some lineup help this winter.

Brewers To Re-Sign Jon Singleton To Minor League Deal

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The Brewers are re-signing first baseman Jon Singleton to a minor league contract, reports Adam McCalvy of MLB.com (Twitter link). The 31-year-old will be in big league Spring Training as a non-roster invitee, McCalvy adds.

It’s a second straight season in the Milwaukee organization for Singleton, who hasn’t appeared in the big leagues since 2015. A member of Baseball America’s Top 100 prospects lists every year between 2011-14, the power-hitting first baseman signed a $10MM extension with the Astros in June 2014. That came in conjunction with his first big league promotion, a precursor to pre-MLB guarantees for players like Scott Kingery, Eloy Jiménez and Luis Robert. Houston’s hope was they’d found a middle-of-the-order presence for years to come, but the left-handed hitter didn’t meet the lofty expectations.

Over the next season and a half, Singleton sputtered to a .171/.290/.331 line in 114 MLB games. After playing the 2016-17 seasons in the high minors, he was released in May 2018. That came on the heels of a third career suspension following a failed test for a drug of abuse. As McCalvy chronicled in greater detail this past spring, Singleton has been open about his battle with marijuana addiction.

Singleton spent a few years out of the game but returned to professional baseball in Mexico last year. He spent the entire 2022 campaign with the Brew Crew’s top affiliate in Nashville, putting together a solid season. Through 581 plate appearances, he hit .219/.375/.434. His batting average isn’t eye-catching, but he connected on 24 home runs and drew walks in an incredible 20.1% of his trips to the dish. Even with an elevated 27.7% strikeout rate, he ranked 15th among 148 International League hitters (minimum 300 plate appearances) in on-base percentage and tied for seventh in long balls.

That wasn’t enough for Singleton to get a big league look, but it was sufficient for the Brewers to bring him back on another minor league deal. He’ll get a chance to compete for an MLB job next spring. Milwaukee can retain both of their 2022 first basemen, Rowdy Tellez and Keston Hiura. Like Singleton, Tellez is a left-handed hitter whose profile is carried by his power and plate discipline. He’s clearly above Singleton on the depth chart, although he’s projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for a $5.3MM salary in his second year of arbitration eligibility. That’s not an insignificant sum for a Brewers team with a huge arbitration class, and as MLBTR’s Maury Ahram explored earlier this month, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Milwaukee fields trade offers on Tellez this offseason.

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