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Qualifying Offer Value To Land Around $20.5MM

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The qualifying offer for the upcoming offseason will be in the $20.5MM range, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The specific number may not be known until shortly after the conclusion of the regular season.

It’ll be the highest QO value in league history. The offer price is calculated by averaging the salaries of the 125 highest-paid players in the majors. That figure generally increases year over year as overall spending rises.

The annual progression of the QO value since its implementation during the 2012-13 offseason:

  • 2012-13: $13.3MM
  • 2013-14: $14.4MM
  • 2014-15: $15.3MM
  • 2015-16: $15.8MM
  • 2016-17: $17.2MM
  • 2017-18: $17.4MM
  • 2018-19: $17.9MM
  • 2019-20: $17.8MM
  • 2020-21: $18.9MM
  • 2021-22: $18.4MM
  • 2022-23: $19.65MM
  • 2023-24: roughly $20.5MM

Teams can make the qualifying offer to an impending free agent who has a) never previously received a QO in their career and b) spent the entire 2023 season on their roster. It’d be a one-year offer valued at that approximate $20.5MM price point. Players tagged with the QO have five days to decide whether to accept that lofty one-year salary or decline in search of a free agent contract. Signing a player who rejects a qualifying offer from another team requires forfeiture of a draft choice and potentially international signing bonus space, depending upon the signing club’s revenue sharing status. A team receives compensation for the loss of a player who turned down a QO and signed elsewhere.

14 players received qualifying offers last offseason. Joc Pederson and Martín Pérez accepted. The other 12 players declined, though Aaron Judge, Anthony Rizzo and Brandon Nimmo subsequently ended up re-signing with their previous team.

Shohei Ohtani, Cody Bellinger, Blake Snell, Matt Chapman, Aaron Nola, Sonny Gray and Josh Hader are among the players who are near locks to receive and reject the QO this winter. Jordan Montgomery and Lucas Giolito were taken out of QO consideration by midseason trades, while Eduardo Rodriguez and Marcus Stroman are ineligible as previous recipients.

Riley Greene Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

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September 20: Greene required Tommy John surgery, manager A.J. Hinch informed reporters (including Chris McCosky of the Detroit News). The Tigers nevertheless anticipate he’ll be ready for Spring Training. Notably, Greene is a left-handed thrower, so the procedure was on his non-throwing arm.

September 19: Outfielder Riley Greene will undergo what the Tigers described as a “surgical intervention” on his ailing right elbow tomorrow, according to a team announcement.  Greene has been on the 10-day injured list due to elbow inflammation since September 2, though today’s announcement referred to the injury as a sprain.

The exact nature of the procedure isn’t known, as while it will surely bring Greene’s 2023 season to an official end, it isn’t yet known if he’ll be ready for the start of Spring Training.  As noted by multiple Tigers beat writers, the surgery appears to be somewhat exploratory in nature, so Greene’s status won’t be known until doctors have had a chance to access and repair whatever damage exists.

Between the elbow problem and a stress reaction in his left fibula earlier this season, Greene has been limited to 99 games and 416 plate appearances in his second MLB season.  When healthy, however, Greene showed some of the form that made him the fifth overall pick of the 2019 draft.  Greene hit .288/.349/.447 with 11 home runs and 51 runs scored, as well as seven stolen bases in as many attempts.  A .384 BABIP surely contributed to this production, but Greene also made plenty of hard contact, and his .344 wOBA was notably lower than his .363 xwOBA.  His public defensive metrics in center field were below average, and while better health might improve Greene’s glovework wherever he plays in 2024, his eventual destination might be a corner outfield spot.

The hope is obviously that Greene’s elbow problem isn’t overly serious, and that the recovery process won’t eat up much of his regular offseason work and preparation for next year.  While the Tigers are headed for another losing season, things have somewhat turned around in Motown after their thoroughly dismal 2022 campaign.  Many of the team’s young pitchers have returned from the injuries that marred the 2022 season, and Greene, Spencer Torkelson, and Kerry Carpenter have provided some spark to a lineup that still figures to be an offseason focus for improvement.

In other Tigers injury news, Alex Faedo was placed on the 15-day IL due to a blister on his right middle finger.  Faedo might be able to pitch again this season since his placement is retroactive to September 16, but it seems likelier that the righty might be done for 2023.  Faedo has a 4.45 ERA over 64 2/3 innings this season, starting 12 of his 15 games and moving into a multi-inning inning relief role in September.

Tigers Select Brenan Hanifee

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7:03pm: Detroit officially selected Hanifee onto the big league roster. Brendan White was optioned to Triple-A in a corresponding move. To create a 40-man roster spot, the Tigers transferred Riley Greene — who underwent elbow surgery — to the 60-day injured list.

7:40am: The Tigers are on the verge of selecting the contract of right-hander Brenan Hanifee, according to Cody Elliot of the Daily News Record. Elliot reports that Hanifee has joined the club in LA and is expected to make his big league debut in tonight’s game against the Dodgers.

Hanifee, 25, was a fourth-round selection by the Orioles in the 2016 draft. Hanifee’s career got off to a strong start in 2017, as the then-19-year-old posted a sterling 2.75 ERA in 68 2/3 innings of work at the Low-A level that year. He followed that up with a similarly solid performance in 2018 at Single-A. Across 23 starts (132 innings), Hanifee posted a 2.86 ERA with a strikeout rate of just 16% but a minuscule 4.2% walk rate. Unfortunately for Hanifee, he battled control problems at High-A in 2019 as his walk rate spiked to 10.1% while his strikeout rate dipped slightly, resulting in a lackluster 4.60 ERA in 129 innings of work.

Between the cancelled minor league season in 2020 and injury woes the following year, Hanifee didn’t return to a professional mound until the summer of 2022. He ultimately made it into just 43 2/3 innings of work last year, with 38 of them coming at the Double-A level to decent results (4.03 ERA, 7.6% walk rate). Hanifee then elected minor league free agency following the 2022 campaign, and caught on with Detroit on a minor league deal back in December.

He’s pitched exclusively at the Triple-A level for the Tigers this year, posting a 4.38 ERA in 90 1/3 innings across 25 games (13 starts). While those run prevention numbers don’t jump off the page, Hanifee is posting a career-best strikeout rate of 20.6% while keeping his walk rate limited to 7.5%. At the big league level, Hanifee figures to provide the Tigers with a long relief or piggyback option out of the bullpen in the season’s final weeks.

Jasson Dominguez Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

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Yankees rookie outfielder Jasson Domínguez underwent successful surgery to repair the UCL in his right elbow this morning, the team announced. New York announced the procedure as both a Tommy John surgery and an internal brace repair.

The club announced last week that Domínguez would go under the knife, though the extent of the procedure wasn’t entirely clear until the operation began. The Yankees indicated last week that Domínguez was expected to miss 9-10 months in either event. They repeated that timeline in today’s announcement.

It’s likely the 20-year-old will be back around next summer’s All-Star Break. Domínguez will surely open next season on the 60-day injured list, where he’ll be paid at the MLB minimum rate and collect big league service time. Whether he’ll remain on the major league roster once he is activated remains to be seen.

Domínguez was attempting to stake a claim to an Opening Day outfield spot this month. The top prospect got into eight games, collecting eight hits (including four homers) in 33 trips to the plate. It was a strong first foot forward that was unfortunately cut short when he was diagnosed with the UCL tear on September 10.

The Yankees could look for two starting outfielders this winter. Aaron Judge is obviously locked into one spot, likely right field. 22-year-old Everson Pereira has started slowly since being called up for the first time at the start of the month. Current left fielder Oswaldo Cabrera has hit just .216/.285/.314 across 285 trips to the dish. Isiah Kiner-Falefa will be a free agent. Estevan Florial has gotten the bulk of the center field playing time since Domínguez’s injury, but the out-of-options former top prospect isn’t a lock to hold his 40-man roster spot all offseason.

Brewers Place Elvis Peguero On Injured List

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The Brewers announced that they have recalled right-hander J.B. Bukauskas and reinstated righty Julio Teheran from the 15-day injured list. In corresponding moves, righty Colin Rea was optioned while righty Elvis Peguero was placed on the 15-day IL, retroactive to September 17, with right elbow effusion. Adam McCalvy of MLB.com relayed the news prior to the official announcement.

Peguero, 26, got some brief major league looks with the Angels in 2021 and 2022 before coming to the Brewers in the offseason trade that sent outfielder Hunter Renfroe to the Halos. Peguero was optioned to the minors at the start of the year but was recalled a couple of weeks into the campaign and has emerged as a key piece of the Milwaukee bullpen.

Over 59 appearances this year, he’s logged 61 1/3 innings with a 3.38 earned run average. Neither his 21.4% strikeout rate nor his 10.3% walk rate are especially strong, but he’s gotten grounders on 56% of balls in play. His strong results have allowed him to move into a higher-leverage role, earning 21 holds and one save this year.

He won’t be eligible to return during the regular season, even with the move being backdated, since there’s only 11 days left after today. But the Brewers are a virtual lock for the postseason, currently holding a six-game lead over the Cubs in the Central. That perhaps give Peguero a window to return in October, though that’s only if his health cooperates. Manager Craig Counsell tells McCalvy that they anticipate Peguero being ready for the Wild Card series, which suggests he could be in line for a minimum stint on the IL.

Even if he’s unable to return this year, he seems to have set himself up for a role on next year’s club. He surpassed one year of major league service here in 2023 and can potentially be retained by the Brewers for five more seasons before qualifying for free agency.

Brewers’ J.C. Mejía Given 162-Game Suspension After Positive PED Test

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Major League Baseball announced that right-hander J.C. Mejía of the Brewers has been given a suspension of 162 games following a positive test for Stanozolol, a performance-enhancing substance, in violation of Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. The suspension goes into effect immediately. Mejía was given an 80-game suspension last year, also due to a positive test for Stanozolol.

Brewers general manager Matt Arnold issued a statement on the matter, per Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “The Milwaukee Brewers fully support MLB’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program and share in the goal of eliminating performance-enhancing substances from our game.”

Mejía, now 27, was acquired from Cleveland after the 2021 campaign. He made two appearances for the Brewers last year before getting his 80-game suspension in May. After serving that suspension, he was outrighted off the club’s roster in August. He was selected back to the big league club this July and made nine appearances before landing on the injured list in August due to right shoulder inflammation. He was transferred to the 60-day injured list last week when the club selected Josh Donaldson.

It already seemed like Mejía’s 2023 was over but he’s now slated to miss effectively all of 2024 as well. He’ll be placed on the restricted list and won’t be paid or accrue service time as long as he is on there. That won’t immediately open up a roster spot for the Brewers since Mejía was already on the 60-day IL, but he won’t need to be added back to the roster over the winter like other players on the IL.

Cardinals Place Alec Burleson On Injured List With Thumb Fracture

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Cardinals outfielder Alec Burleson left yesterday’s game with a left thumb fracture, per John Denton of MLB.com. He jammed it into the third base bag on a head-first slide and initially stayed in the game but subsequently headed for an X-ray which revealed the fracture. The club today placed Burleson on the 10-day injured list, recalling catcher Ivan Herrera in a corresponding move.

The details on his expected absence haven’t been announced, but Denton reports that Burleson is likely done for the year, which is hardly surprising given the nature of the injury and the short amount of time left in the season. The Cardinals are buried in the standings with just over a week left to play, giving them little incentive to rush an injured player back out onto the field.

If his season is indeed done, Burleson will finish the year with eight home runs in 347 plate appearances. He only walked in 6.6% of those trips to the plate but his 13% strikeout rate is well below league average. The overall batting line of .244/.300/.390 amounts to a wRC+ of 89, indicating his production was 11% below league average.

It’s possible there’s a bit of bad luck in there, given his .261 batting average on balls in play and 60th percentile average exit velocity. But his barrel rate was only 5.9% this year, which is in the 24th percentile of qualified hitters, indicating he hasn’t been squaring the ball up with enough frequency. Given that he’s not a strong defender, he’ll have to produce better offensive results going forward, but he’s still just 24 years old and could still have room to grow.

The club is facing an interesting winter, as they are hoping to add three starting pitchers for next year’s rotation. Some of that work may be done via free agency, but they will also have to consider trading someone from their crowded position player mix. Burleson is part of an outfield mix picture could include Lars Nootbaar, Jordan Walker, Tyler O’Neill, Tommy Edman, Dylan Carlson, Brendan Donovan, Richie Palacios and Juan Yepez. Some of those players can also play the infield, but the Cards have Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt at the corners as Masyn Winn and Nolan Gorman are also options for the middle infield.

That’s more players than jobs, which should push the front office to have many discussions in the coming months about which of these guys can be exchanged for pitching. Burleson drew some interest from other clubs at the deadline but ultimately stayed with the Cardinals. Perhaps those talks will pick up again but Burleson also still has a full slate of options, meaning the club could consider keeping him around as depth.

In other Cardinals’ news, manager Oli Marmol says Adam Wainwright won’t start during this weekend’s series in San Diego, per Denton. The 42-year-old righty recorded his 200th career win on Monday and would have been on schedule to pitch this weekend but Marmol said, if Wainwright makes another start, it will be in front of the home crowd. “We’re going to sit down. … We’ve started that conversation and we’ve decided that he will not take the start in San Diego,” Marmol said. “We’ll walk through what it looks like to finish the season, but we’ve yet to make the decision.”

Wainwright is retiring at season’s end and the club is playing out the string on a lost season. Since he’s also finished his personal mission of getting that 200th victory, it’s possible he’ll start winding down with that special night on Monday as his final game, but he may also make one more appearance in St. Louis. After the series in San Diego this weekend, the Cards head to Milwaukee before wrapping up the season at home against the Reds.

Blue Jays Select Cam Eden, Designate Mason McCoy For Assignment

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The Blue Jays announced that they have selected the contract of outfielder Cam Eden. Infielder Ernie Clement has been optioned in a corresponding active roster move with infielder Mason McCoy designated for assignment to open a 40-man spot.

Eden, 25, was a sixth-round selection of the Jays back in 2019 and has been working his way up the minor league ladder since then. He’s spent all of this year in Triple-A, hitting .257/.354/.333 in 460 plate appearances. That only amounts to a wRC+ of 81 but the Jays are likely interested in Eden as a speed-and-defense option off the bench, as he has stolen 53 bases in 57 attempts this year. He’s lined up at all three outfield spots but primarily in center field.

At the end of August, the Jays recalled Clement and selected McCoy as shortstop Bo Bichette went on the injured list with a quad strain. Bichette returned a couple of weeks ago, which bumped McCoy back to the minors and Clement to the bench. With Bichette back in the lineup on a regular basis and Santiago Espinal able to serve as a backup infielder, it seems the Jays decided Clement’s spot would be better utilized by having Eden on hand for his wheels.

As mentioned, the 28-year-old McCoy was brought up to cover for Bichette’s injury. He’s considered a glove-first infielder and was put into six games by the Jays but only was allowed one plate appearance, in which he struck out. He was acquired from the Mariners in a July trade that sent right-hander Trent Thornton the other way. In between the two organizations, McCoy has hit .221/.321/.372 in the minors this year for a wRC+ of 69 while playing second base, third base, shortstop and even a bit of left field.

The Jays will place him on waivers in the coming days. He still has a full slate of options and just a few days of service time, meaning he could be of interest for a club looking for some versatile depth, though he wouldn’t be postseason eligible on any club that puts in a claim since it’s after September 1. If he clears waivers, he will stick with the Jays as non-roster depth but would qualify for minor league free agency at season’s end.

Marlins Designate Chi Chi González For Assignment

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The Marlins have designated right-hander Chi Chi González for assignment, per Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase. His active roster spot will go to left-hander Matt Moore, who was claimed off waivers from the Guardians yesterday.

González, 31, signed a minor league deal with the Marlins in the offseason has been called upon a couple of times this year to help out a beleaguered bullpen. He was selected to the roster in May and was designated for assignment just over a week later after making two appearances. He cleared waivers and stayed with the organization, returning to the big leagues just a few days ago. He pitched an inning against Atlanta on Sunday, allowing two earned runs, and has now been bumped off the roster again.

Over those two stints, he has thrown 3 2/3 innings in the majors this year with a 7.36 ERA, as well as a 6.07 ERA in 121 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level. For his career, he’s tossed 288 1/3 innings in the big leagues with a 5.68 ERA, 13.5% strikeout rate, 9.4% walk rate and 42.6% ground ball rate.

The Marlins will place the righty on waivers in the coming days. Players with over three years of service or a previous career outright can elect free agency instead of accepting an outright assignment. González qualifies on both counts but may elect to stick with the Fish in the event that he clears, since that’s what he chose back in May and there’s so little time left in the season.

Sean Newcomb Undergoes Knee Surgery

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Athletics lefty Sean Newcomb underwent a left knee lateral meniscus repair earlier today, reports Martin Gallegos of MLB.com. The A’s had already placed Newcomb on the 60-day injured list earlier today, ending his season, though it wasn’t known until now that surgery was on the table for the southpaw.

The A’s acquired Newcomb from the Giants in a late-August trade that sent minor league outfielder Trenton Brooks to across the bay. Both players were eligible to be traded after the deadline by virtue of the fact that they had not appeared on a 40-man roster or Major League injured list this season.

At the time of the swap, the well-traveled Newcomb was enjoying a nice season in Triple-A Sacramento, where he’d pitched 31 1/3 innings of 3.16 ERA ball with a hefty 30.5% strikeout rate against a more problematic 15.3% walk rate. He was immediately selected to Oakland’s big league roster and went on to pitch 15 innings for manager Mark Kotsay, holding opponents to five runs (3.00 ERA) on eight hits and nine walks with 17 strikeouts. Newcomb’s final two appearances were starts, totaling a combined seven innings with four runs on six hits and five walks.

Newcomb, 30, is expected to be ready for the start of spring training next year. Of course, it remains to be seen whether the A’s will carry him on the 40-man roster all winter. While they did trade a minor leaguer to acquire him, Brooks himself was a minor league signee last offseason and would’ve been a minor league free agent at season’s end, so they didn’t exactly surrender a long-term piece in order to acquire Newcomb. That said, the A’s are desperate for arms, and Newcomb made a solid first impression on the club.

This is the seventh straight year in which Newcomb has logged big league time, although the former first-round pick and top prospect has struggled greatly since showing promise with the Braves early in his career. Atlanta acquired Newcomb and righty Chris Ellis from the Angels in the trade that sent Andrelton Simmons to Anaheim, and Newcomb posted a 3.87 ERA and 23% strikeout rate through his first 332 1/3 big league innings — splitting his appearances roughly evenly between the rotation (2017-18) and bullpen (2019).

Newcomb’s disastrous 2020 season set him back, however, as he served up 17 runs in just 13 2/3 innings across four starts. The following year, he walked 18% of his opponents while pitching 32 1/3 innings of relief, and the 2022 season saw Newcomb surrender 27 runs in 27 2/3 innings between the Cubs and Braves. Overall, Newcomb has a 4.47 ERA in 421 Major League innings, but that’s including his strong early showing with Atlanta. Since 2020, he’s pitched to a 6.70 ERA with a 23.6% strikeout rate and bloated 14.7% walk rate in 88 2/3 innings.

Newcomb will finish out the current season with four-plus years of Major League service time. The A’s can control him through the 2025 season via arbitration if they keep him on the 40-man roster.

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