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Braves Release Charlie Culberson

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The Braves have released Charlie Culberson, as per the team’s official MLB.com transactions log.  Culberson rejoined the Braves on a minor league deal back in January, and was attempting to transition to pitching after 17 pro seasons (including 11 in the majors) as a utilityman.

This doesn’t appear to be the end of the line for Culberson’s career, as he told Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he will continue to seek out more playing opportunities.  Culberson turns 35 next month, though he indicated in another interview with Toscano last month that he wasn’t yet leaning towards retirement.

Culberson has a .248/.294/.386 slash line over 1312 career plate appearances, and he has played for five different teams at the MLB level since making his debut with the Giants back in 2012.  This includes 231 games over what is technically six different stints with the Braves, since Culberson has signed four separate minor league contracts with Atlanta over the last year.  The Braves twice designated Culberson for assignment and he chose free agency rather than an outright assignment, though Culberson quickly rejoined the organization on a new contract.

The transactional shuffles were part of an odd year overall for Culberson, who played in only 27 games with Triple-A Gwinnett and in exactly one game at the Major League level.  Atlanta’s tendency to rarely rest its star players meant that Culberson simply didn’t have much opportunity to get playing time, despite several months on the Braves’ active roster.  This made 2023 a “tough” season for Culberson, as he told Toscano, and it partially inspired his decision to try pitching as a different way of providing value to a big league roster.

Culberson has made eight mop-up appearances (totaling 7 1/3 innings) as a pitcher over the years, in addition to his much lengthier resume at all four infield positions, as a left fielder, and a handful of games in right field.  He has topped 100 plate appearances in only six of his 12 Major League seasons, though Culberson did get 271 PA and 90 appearances as recently as 2021 when he playing for a rebuilding Rangers team.

Over three Spring Training appearances this year, Culberson made three appearances on the mound and was charged with six earned runs over two innings of work.  Obviously there were going to be some bumps in the road for Culberson as he pursued his new position, and it remains to be seen if he’ll continue to experiment with a pitching career or if he might return to his familiar utility role if another team needs some position-player depth.  While another contract with the Braves wouldn’t be a surprise if the Georgia native wants to stay close to home, Culberson’s desire to actually play seems to be clashing with Atlanta’s loaded roster.

Offseason In Review: Tampa Bay Rays

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The Rays typically make at least one significant trade that sends out a veteran player to reduce spending and acquire controllable talent. Tampa Bay did that again in a major deal with the Dodgers, but it was otherwise a relatively quiet winter at the Trop.

Major League Signings

2024 spending: $8.75MM
Total spending: $9.1MM

Option Decisions

  • None

Trades and Claims

Notable Minor League Signings

Extensions

  • Signed LHP Shane McClanahan to two-year, $7.2MM deal to avoid arbitration (remains eligible for arbitration through 2027)

Notable Losses

It’s a near annual tradition that the Rays face two big questions going into each offseason. How will they keep their spending in check, and will they lose anyone from a key leadership position on the coaching staff or in the front office?

This winter, the seemingly inevitable front office departure came first. General manager Peter Bendix, who had worked as Erik Neander’s top lieutenant in baseball operations, left the organization to serve as president of baseball ops for the Marlins. The Rays didn’t immediately name a new #2 executive, instead divvying up Bendix’s former responsibilities among assistant GMs Will Cousins, Chanda Lawdermilk, Carlos Rodriguez and Kevin Ibach (the latter of whom was promoted to that role in January).

While the Rays lost Bendix, they’ve solidified their main leadership duo of Neander and manager Kevin Cash. Each signed contract extensions in February that run at least beyond the 2028 season. Terry Francona’s retirement means Cash is now the longest-tenured manager in MLB as he enters his tenth year at the helm. Neander has been at or near the top of baseball operations for even longer, as he’d taken on a lead role in the front office around Andrew Friedman’s departure in October 2014.

Neander and his staff entered the winter with a slate of payroll commitments that seemed lofty by organizational standards. They had just shy of $77MM in guaranteed contracts and an arbitration class projected for upwards of $45MM. A few obvious cuts (e.g. Raimel Tapia, Jalen Beeks, Josh Fleming, Cole Sulser and Christian Bethancourt) reduced the arbitration outlay, but it seemed as if the Rays would again need to turn to the trade market to cut spending. Tampa Bay had opened the 2023 season with around $73MM in player commitments. Even with that number going up, ownership was never going to be comfortable matching the payroll projection from the beginning of the offseason.

Tyler Glasnow was set for a $25MM salary that would’ve been the largest in franchise history, thus making him the most apparent trade candidate. Yet, that was complicated by Glasnow’s strong relationship with Rays’ higher-ups and, more meaningfully, an uncharacteristically thin rotation mix. Tampa Bay lost Shane McClanahan and Jeffrey Springs to Tommy John surgeries last season. Drew Rasmussen underwent a flexor repair and will miss a good portion of 2024.

Aside from Glasnow, the Rays were down to Zach Eflin and ’23 deadline pickup Aaron Civale as their only healthy, proven big league starters. Taj Bradley is a recent top prospect but struggled to a 5.59 ERA over 23 appearances as a rookie. Zack Littell had shown signs of becoming the Rays’ next successful reliever-to-starter conversion, yet that only really kicked into gear in the final two months of last season. Shane Baz would face workload restrictions in his first season back from a 2022 Tommy John procedure. Eflin and Civale, while currently healthy, have had injury concerns in the past.

That presumably made a Glasnow trade difficult even for a front office accustomed to making those kinds of tough decisions. Ultimately, it proved the clearest way for Tampa Bay to get their payroll closer to a typical level while bringing back two controllable MLB players. The Rays and Dodgers agreed to a deal sending Glasnow and veteran outfielder Manuel Margot (who was set for a $10MM salary in the final year of his contract) to L.A. for righty Ryan Pepiot and outfielder Jonny DeLuca.

Neither Pepiot nor DeLuca have reached arbitration. Pepiot is under club control for five seasons, while the Rays control DeLuca for six years. Tampa Bay kicked in $2MM on Margot’s salary and agreed to pay the $2MM buyout on his 2025 mutual option. The deal saved them around $33MM this year. Glasnow agreed to a four-year extension with the Dodgers as a condition of the trade. (Los Angeles later flipped Margot to the Twins in February.)

Pepiot won’t match Glasnow’s ace-level ceiling, but he’ll step directly into the rotation. The Butler product owns a 2.76 ERA over 17 MLB appearances. He’s regarded as a potential mid-rotation arm thanks to a mid-90s fastball and excellent changeup. Pepiot may well have established himself as a key piece of the Dodger rotation last year had he not suffered a significant oblique strain at the end of Spring Training. That kept him under 65 innings between the majors and Triple-A in 2023. The Rays may need to keep an eye on Pepiot’s workload, but he slots in behind Eflin and Civale in the starting staff.

DeLuca, meanwhile, is a replacement for Margot. They’re each right-handed hitting outfielders with good contact skills and the ability to play all three outfield positions. DeLuca only has 24 games of major league experience but is coming off a .294/.390/.566 line in the upper minors. He was on track for a fourth outfield spot before breaking his hand this spring, so he’ll likely be on the injured list until the early part of the summer.

Glasnow and Margot turned out to be the highest-profile players whom the Rays would move. There were a few rumors about other stars who are into their arbitration years, namely Randy Arozarena and Isaac Paredes.  There’s nothing to indicate the Rays ever got close to trading either.

It’s a bit surprising they didn’t deal righty-hitting DH/corner bat Harold Ramírez, who is making just under $4MM and is down to two seasons of club control. Ramírez, a good but not elite hitter with defensive limitations, is the kind of player whom the Rays typically shop as their arbitration prices climb. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported in January that Tampa Bay had floated him on the trade market, but they apparently didn’t find an offer to their liking. Barring a surprise move in the next five days, he’ll open the season as their top option at DH.

While they didn’t trade Ramírez, the Rays did flip one player from their corner outfield mix. Tampa Bay sent Luke Raley to the Mariners in a one-for-one swap to bring in versatile infielder José Caballero. Raley has yet to reach arbitration so this deal didn’t have anything to do with the payroll, but Tampa Bay added some roster balance in swapping offense for a more valuable defensive player.

Caballero appeared in 104 games for Seattle as a rookie. While he hit a modest .221/.343/.320 over 280 plate appearances, he stole 26 bases and rated as a plus defender at second base. Seattle didn’t have much shortstop time to offer him thanks to the presence of J.P. Crawford. The Rays have already declared Caballero their expected starter at short, forming a middle infield tandem with Brandon Lowe. Defensive stalwart Taylor Walls will begin the year on the IL as he works back from last fall’s hip surgery.

(The Rays still haven’t provided any update on Wander Franco. MLB and the team are awaiting results of a criminal investigation in the Dominican Republic after multiple minors accused Franco of sexual abuse. He remains on the roster but will very likely be placed back on administrative leave once the regular season begins.)

On the same day as the Caballero trade, the Rays partially back-filled the outfield depth lost by dealing Raley when the team Bay acquired lefty-hitting Richie Palacios from the Cardinals for reliever Andrew Kittredge. Palacios was available in a DFA trade as recently as last June but turned some heads with a .258/.307/.516 showing in 32 games for St. Louis late last year. His major league track record is limited, but Palacios has posted an excellent strikeout and walk profile in the upper minors. He has hit well this spring and could break camp, although a remaining minor league option affords the front office roster flexibility. Neither Caballero nor Palacios has reached a full year of service time. They’re both controllable for at least six seasons.

The rest of Tampa Bay’s trades were relatively minor, as they moved on from a pair of former top prospects who haven’t clicked. The Rays shipped Vidal Bruján alongside reliever Calvin Faucher to the Marlins for a trio of minor leaguers in November. They made a similar move just yesterday, sending speedster Greg Jones to the Rockies for non-roster southpaw Joe Rock. Tampa Bay also dealt Blake Hunt and Michael Mercado (to the Mariners and Phillies, respectively) after determining they weren’t going to add them to the 40-man roster to prevent them from reaching minor league free agency.

While most of the Rays’ roster maneuvering always comes via trade, they did make a trio of low-cost free agent pickups. The Rays brought back swingman Chris Devenski on a $1.1MM deal with a club option early in the offseason. That was their only major league free agent acquisition until February, when they jumped on a pair of players whose prices came in south of expectations.

Reliever Phil Maton inked a one-year, $6.5MM pact that includes a team option for 2025. He generates plenty of whiffs and soft contact behind a high-spin curveball that enables his 89 MPH fastball to play beyond its velocity as his “secondary” pitch. Maton doesn’t have the traditional power arsenal that gets relievers paid in free agency, yet he’s coming off a career-low 3.00 ERA and has run above-average strikeout rates in four straight years. The Rays’ preference for building a bullpen comprising pitchers with varying arm angles and repertoires has been well-chronicled in recent seasons. More often than not, it works.

While it was a little surprising that Maton couldn’t secure a two-year pact, the Rays’ other February free agent signing was very unexpected. Amed Rosario isn’t coming off a good season, but few would’ve anticipated he’d settle for a $1.5MM guarantee. He’d been a durable and roughly league average performer for Cleveland in 2021-22 before his defensive grades tumbled last year.

Rosario reportedly turned down a $4MM offer from the Yankees because the Rays presented a clearer path to everyday reps at shortstop. That might be the case throughout the season given Caballero’s inexperience, although Cash stated after the Rosario signing that the latter would begin the year in a multi-positional role off the bench.

That rounds out the MLB position player mix for now, although there’s at least one move coming before Opening Day. After placing Bethancourt on waivers, the Rays dropped to one catcher on the 40-man roster. They’ve stuck with that arrangement throughout the offseason. René Pinto is their clear #1 option after hitting six homers in 39 games. The Rays will obviously need to make another move to add a backup.

For now, it seems that minor league signee Alex Jackson, who has played all of five MLB games in the last two seasons, is the favorite to grab that job. That’s despite a .143/.194/.179 batting line this spring. Jackson’s longstanding strikeout troubles at least open the door for old friend Francisco Mejía, who returned on a non-roster pact after being released from a minor league deal with the Angels. There’s clear room for an upgrade from outside the organization. The Rays should evaluate the catching market as veterans opt out of minor league deals over the next few days. Former top prospect Joey Bart has long stood as a speculative trade possibility, as he’s out of options and has been kicked down the depth chart with the Giants.

Caballero, Lowe and Rosario should see the bulk of the work in the middle infield. Paredes is back at third base, while Yandy Díaz is in line for the majority of the first base reps. Curtis Mead could play a bat-first role throughout the infield. That would’ve also been the case for Jonathan Aranda, but he broke his finger this week and is headed to the IL. Top third base prospect Junior Caminero looms in the upper minors but will begin the season in Triple-A.

Arozarena is back as one of the game’s best left fielders. Jose Siri will get the bulk of the playing time in center field. Josh Lowe should be the starter in right field when healthy, but he’s also going to begin the year on the shelf rehabbing an oblique issue. That could open right field reps for Ramírez or Palacios. The DeLuca injury could create a bench spot for Jake Mangum, who has impressed this spring. A college standout at Mississippi State, the 28-year-old Mangum was the third piece in the return from the Marlins for Bruján and Faucher. He’s a potential fifth outfielder.

There’s a fair bit of position player talent, as is customary for an organization that annually runs a strong prospect pipeline. The aforementioned lack of rotation depth is probably the biggest question mark. A pectoral strain is sending Bradley to the IL. There’s an opening for the #5 starter behind Eflin, Civale, Pepiot and Littell. The Rays are stretching Devenski and waiver claim Tyler Alexander out as multi-inning options who could contribute as abbreviated starters. They brought back Jake Odorizzi and added former NPB righty Naoyuki Uwasawa on minor league deals.

Any of Devenski, Alexander or even Odorizzi could also find themselves in the bullpen. Minor league signee Jacob Waguespack has already earned a 40-man roster spot, putting him in a good spot to secure a middle relief role. They’ll need a few other arms to bridge the gap between the rotation and the likes of Maton, Pete Fairbanks and Jason Adam in the late innings.

Cot’s Baseball Contracts projects the Rays to enter the season with a $98.4MM player payroll. That’s both easily a franchise high and firmly in the bottom third of the league. They face their ever-present challenge of going against bigger spenders in the Yankees, Blue Jays and Red Sox, as well as a Baltimore team awash in young talent that chased the Rays down to win the AL East a year ago. The division is always an uphill battle, but the Rays typically find ways to overcome it.

How would you grade the Rays' offseason?
C 44.76% (542 votes)
B 28.32% (343 votes)
D 16.10% (195 votes)
F 6.28% (76 votes)
A 4.54% (55 votes)
Total Votes: 1,211

Orioles Reassign Jackson Holliday, Option Heston Kjerstad And Kyle Stowers

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The Orioles announced that they have optioned outfielders Heston Kjerstad and Kyle Stowers while catcher David Bañuelos, infielders Jackson Holliday and Coby Mayo, infielder/outfielder Connor Norby and right-hander Albert Suárez have been reassigned to minor league camp.

Holliday not making the club registers as a surprise, despite his youth. He just turned 20 in December but has seemed to be on a beeline for the majors. Last year, he went through Single-A, High-A, Double-A and Triple-A, succeeding at every stop. He came into this year as the consensus top prospect in the league and was invited to big league camp. He could hardly have done much more to earn a spot, as he slashed .311/.354/.600 here in the spring, but it seems that wasn’t enough for the Orioles to add him to their major league roster.

Instead, he’ll go to Triple-A and await his debut. The move could have repercussions for his path to free agency and arbitration, depending on how long it takes him to get the call. A major league season lasts 187 days but it takes 172 for a player to earn a full year of service time. That means Holliday could still get to the one-year mark if he’s called up in the first couple of weeks of the season, though the O’s may be motivated to not let that happen. If he can’t get to one year in 2024, then he won’t be on track to get to six years and free agency by the end of 2029.

The latest collective bargaining agreement contains measures to incentivize teams to add top prospects to their roster and discourage service time manipulation. A player can still earn a full year of service time, even if not called up early enough, if he finishes in the top two in Rookie of the Year voting. Additionally, teams that carry a prospect on the roster long enough to get a traditional full year of service time can net themselves an extra draft pick if the player wins Rookie of the Year or finishes top three in the voting for Most Valuable Player or Cy Young during their pre-arbitration seasons. To qualify for these measures, a player has to be on at least two of the top 100 prospect lists at MLB.com, ESPN or Baseball America.

As mentioned, Holliday is the consensus number one prospect in the league and all of that is therefore in play. The Orioles already saw this play out in 2022 when Adley Rutschman was injured for the start of the year and was slated to come up shy of one year of service, but finished second in ROY voting and earned that full year anyway.

It seems neither the incentives nor the disincentives swayed the Orioles much and they will keep Holliday in the minors for now. That seemingly leaves Gunnar Henderson as the everyday shortstop while Jordan Westburg and Ramón Urías handle second and third base. That could perhaps leave a bench spot open for Kolten Wong, who triggered his opt-out today, giving the O’s 48 hours to decide about him.

It’s also somewhat surprising that Kjerstad and Stowers got sent down, but perhaps less so. The O’s have a full outfield consisting of Cedric Mullins, Austin Hays and Anthony Santander, with Ryan Mountcastle and Ryan O’Hearn sharing first base and the designated hitter spot. Colton Cowser is also around and should be in the mix.

Stowers has hit just .207/.267/.331 in the majors but has much better numbers in the minors and is having a great spring. He has seven homers in Grapefruit League play and a line of .256/.267/.744, but he’ll have to serve as depth for the time being. Kjerstad didn’t show as much this spring, hitting just .265/.294/.286, but he made a nice debut in the bigs late last year. Regardless, he will also have to wait for his next major league opportunity.

The Orioles figure to have one of the most talented Triple-A teams this year, at least to begin the season. As injuries crop up throughout the year, as they do for all clubs, they are the one best positioned to find suitable replacements waiting in the wings.

Rangers To Select Wyatt Langford

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Rangers manager Bruce Bochy informed the club’s beat that outfielder Wyatt Langford has made the team, with Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News among those to pass it along. He will need to have his contract selected but the club has several players who could be added to the 60-day injured list in order to open a roster spot.

The ascent of Langford, 22, is truly remarkable. He was just drafted last summer, going fourth overall to the Rangers after hitting .363/.471/.746 in college ball. After his draft, the Rangers put him to work right away and he tore through minor league pitching. He played three Complex League games, 24 in High-A, 12 in Double-A and five in Triple-A. He took a combined 200 plate appearances over those levels and walked more than he struck out, 36 free passes to 34 punchouts. He hit 10 home runs and slashed .360/.480/677 for a wRC+ of 199, stealing 12 bases along the way.

He was invited to major league camp, despite having just a few months of professional experience. He just kept on mashing, with six home runs in 56 plate appearances and a batting line of .388/.446/.796. After that non-stop onslaught of offense, he’ll get to break camp with the defending World Series champions.

If there’s a question about Langford, it’s his defense, which will make it interesting to see how the Rangers utilize him. The club has Leody Taveras as their everyday center fielder with Adolis García and Evan Carter the top options for the corners. That could leave Langford primed to see plenty of time as the designated hitter, which wouldn’t be ideal for his development, but perhaps he can rotate through the corners as well with Carter and García taking turning DHing.

The latest collective bargaining agreement contains incentives for clubs to carry top prospects on their Opening Day rosters, which are in play if a player is on two of the top 100 lists at MLB.com, ESPN or Baseball America. A qualified player can earn his club an extra draft pick by winning Rookie of the Year or by finishing in the top three in voting for MVP or Cy Young.

Langford is in the top six for each of those aforementioned prospect lists, making him easily qualified. If he meets any of those awards criteria, he’ll net the Rangers an extra draft pick just after the first round in the future.

This promotion will also put him on track for free agency one year earlier than if he had debuted midway through the season. If he isn’t optioned to the minors for a significant stretch of time at some point, he’ll get to six years of major league service time after the 2029 season, going into his age-28 campaign.

Pirates Option Liover Peguero

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The Pirates announced Friday evening that they’ve optioned infielder Liover Peguero and lefty reliever José Hernández to Triple-A Indianapolis. After the Bucs optioned Nick Gonzales last night, that seemingly leaves Jared Triolo as the starting second baseman to begin the year.

Triolo, 26, appeared in 54 games as a rookie last season. The Houston product ran a .298/.388/.398 line with a trio of homers over his first 209 plate appearances. It’d be hard for him to maintain those results without making contact more consistently, though. Triolo punched out at a 30.1% clip, so it took an unsustainable .440 average on balls in play to keep his on-base percentage up.

It has been more of the same this spring. He has knocked a pair of homers, while 10 of the other 20 batted balls have dropped for hits. He has walked five times and struck out on 12 occasions over 39 plate appearances. The overall batting line — .353/.436/.559 — has been excellent. Even if Triolo’s batted ball results eventually take a turn, he could be a solid all-around contributor. He draws plenty of walks and should be a quality defender. Scouting reports credited him with a potential plus glove at his natural third base position. While Ke’Bryan Hayes will keep him from playing there frequently, his hands and athleticism could translate to the right side of the infield.

Peguero had a solid exhibition showing himself. The right-handed hitter turned in a .269/.345/.423 mark while striking out in just four of his 29 plate appearances. He’s a few years younger than Triolo and only appeared in seven Triple-A games before being called to the big leagues last season. Peguero struggled against MLB pitching in the second half, fanning at a 31.5% rate en route to a .237/.280/.374 slash. The Bucs evidently prefer to get him more run against Triple-A arms to start the year. Defensive specialist Alika Williams remains in camp and could secure a bench spot behind Triolo and Oneil Cruz up the middle.

Offseason In Review: San Francisco Giants

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It was a bit of a slow burn, but the Giants ended up being the main beneficiary of the tepid offseason, as they were able to sign three star players after February had already begun. Since they had also signed a significant deal with a Korean superstar and traded for a former Cy Young winner, it added up to the most significant winter the club has had in years.

Major League Signings

2024 spending: $73.755MM (not including Lee’s posting fee or Snell’s 2026 signing bonus)
Total spending: $324.005MM (not including Lee’s posting fee)

Option Decisions

Trades and Claims

Notable Minor League Signings

Extensions

  • None

Notable Losses

Many recent offseasons for the Giants have been defined by who they didn’t acquire. They were in the mix for superstars like Bryce Harper and Aaron Judge but ultimately didn’t get those deals across the finish line. They had an agreement in place with Carlos Correa before the team got scared off by his physical and walked away.

The result has been that the clubs of the Farhan Zaidi era have mostly been middling, sputtering by while cobbling together some decent role players, compiling some passable platoon pairings and oscillating almost every pitcher between the rotation and bullpen. Since Zaidi took over as president of baseball operations in November of 2018, the Giants have mostly hovered below .500, apart from a 107-win campaign in 2021 that now looks like a clear outlier.

Gabe Kapler won manager of the year for that surge, but the club fell to 81-81 in 2022 and then 79-83 last year. Before last year’s campaign was even finished, the club decided to move on from Kapler, as he was shown the door at the end of September.

Thankfully, a solution to their managerial vacancy fell from the sky, which was perhaps an omen of how the rest of their offseason would play out. Across the division and the state of California, rumors started to percolate out of San Diego about discord within the Padres organization. That club’s manager Bob Melvin had reportedly been clashing with president of baseball operations A.J. Preller. They initially planned to put their differences aside and continue working together, but the Giants came calling and asked to talk to Melvin, which the Padres agreed to.

Melvin was the manager of the Athletics when Zaidi was working in that front office, prior to joining the Giants. Presumably, the two were at least passingly familiar with each other from then and Melvin decided to skipper his ship up the coast to the Bay Area. Melvin’s contract with the Padres ran through 2024, as did Zaidi’s with the Giants. But the Giants decided to give the two some extra job security by extending both through 2026.

With the decisions made about the decision makers, the focus could turn to the roster. Starting pitching was a clear target after a season in which the club was quite nonchalant about moving guys between the rotation and the bullpen. Logan Webb, Alex Cobb and rookie Kyle Harrison were the only pitchers to work exclusively as starters, as Sean Manaea, Anthony DeSclafani, Alex Wood, Ross Stripling, Jakob Junis and others were oscillated between starting and relieving gigs, with Wood later expressing some frustration with that inconsistency.

That hodgepodge rotation got even thinner this offseason, with Manaea opting out of his deal and returning to the open market. Wood and Junis also became free agents while Cobb required hip surgery at the end of October, with a recovery timeline that would keep him out of action into the 2024 season.

Zaidi acknowledged early on that starting pitching would be a priority, as well as outfield defense. At shortstop, Zaidi said in October that rookie Marco Luciano would have the chance to be the everyday guy, though the club’s commitment to that plan would later prove to be weak.

At first, the club set its sights high, seemingly looking for the superstar it had failed to land in previous offseasons. All eyes were on Shohei Ohtani in the early parts of the offseason and the Giants stayed involved in that market the whole way through. They were apparently willing to offer Ohtani the same heavily-deferred contract that he eventually signed with the Dodgers, but it nonetheless went down as another miss.

And it wasn’t the only big whiff of the winter, as the club was also connected to targets like Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Juan Soto, Cody Bellinger and others, but none of that group would be coming to San Francisco either.

In mid-December, they did make one notable strike. Jung Hoo Lee, a star in Korea, agreed to join the Giants on a six-year, $113MM deal. The 25-year-old outfielder is not a star in North America, at least not yet, but it was easily the biggest free agent deal of the Zaidi era. Previously, that was the $44MM over two years given to Carlos Rodón, who ended up opting out after just one year. It’s a bit of a gamble since there’s some uncertainty about whether Lee’s approach will translate to the majors, but his youth and athleticism could allow him to serve as a solid everyday center fielder and leadoff-hitting type.

As for the rotation, the club’s signing of Jordan Hicks sat as the most notable addition for a long time. In mid-January, he and the club agreed to a four-year, $44MM pact. That contract was roughly in line with expectations for Hicks as a reliever but it was a surprise to hear that the Giants were going to plug him into the rotation.

Hicks has youth on his side, still just 27 years old, but counting on him to provide bulk innings is no guarantee. He was a starter as a prospect but never logged more than 105 innings, which came back in 2017. Since reaching the majors, the Cardinals have mostly kept him in relief. They gave him a chance to try starting again in 2022 but he suffered a flexor strain in May and the club moved him back to the bullpen once he was healthy.

He has triple-digit heat but has been more passable than dominant, with a career ERA of 3.85 thus far. His 28.4% strikeout rate last year was strong but he still walked 11.2% of batters he faced. He compensates for those free passes with heaps of ground balls but it remains to be seen whether he can do that for multiple innings and for an extended stretch of time.

There was another significant rotation move that came in January, though one that wouldn’t be able to help in the short term. The Giants sent Mitch Haniger and Anthony DeSclafani to the Mariners in exchange for lefty Robbie Ray. The signing of Lee had given the Giants a bit of an outfield surplus, as Mike Yastrzemski would be pushed into the corner mix with Michael Conforto, Luis Matos and others. DeSclafani, meanwhile, had likely fallen out of the club’s plans as he had been injured for much of the previous two seasons and the younger Giants pitchers neared the majors.

Getting a former Cy Young winner for a couple of spare parts is a nice coup, in theory, but there are some asterisks. Ray underwent Tommy John and flexor tendon surgery in May of last year and won’t be available to them until the All-Star break, even in a best-case scenario. It’s also possible the Giants will remain on the hook for his contract, which runs through 2026. Ray can opt out after 2024 but he won’t be able to log many innings before making that decision, so he would likely have to be in great form for him to consider walking away from two years and $50MM.

In addition to the DeSclafani trade, the Giants further thinned out their rotation by sending Ross Stripling to the Athletics in early February. They got outfielder Jonah Cox in that deal but it was mostly a salary dump, as it saved them $9.25MM.

Just as Spring Training was about to begin, the Giants made a strong move to upgrade their lineup. Joc Pederson had been their primary designated hitter last year but he hit free agency and moved across the division to the Diamondbacks. The Giants replaced him by signing Jorge Soler to a three-year, $42MM deal. Soler is a streaky hitter but is one of the best power bats in the league when at his best.

He hit 48 home runs with the Royals back in 2019. That was the “juiced ball” season but that number led the American League and Kauffman Stadium is one of the hardest ballparks to hit it out of. He hit another 36 for the Marlins last year and opted out, eventually signing with the Giants. Oracle Park is also a tough venue for the long ball and no Giant has had a 30-homer season since Barry Bonds in 2004, a pretty stunning statistic. If Soler stays healthy and has one of his good years, he has a solid chance to break that streak.

As Spring Training ramped up, the Giants still hadn’t addressed their shortstop position. Though Zaidi initially said Luciano would get a chance to be the everyday guy there, the club was rumored to be looking around for other options throughout the winter. Franchise icon Brandon Crawford was out there in free agency but it seemed the Giants were ready to move on. In the last week of February, the Giants added Nick Ahmed on a minor league deal and Crawford joined the Cardinals.

He and Zaidi later spoke of the parting of ways, with Crawford expressing frustration at not coming back. A Bay Area native who grew up a Giants fan, Crawford has been synonymous with the franchise for his entire career. But Zaidi believed having such an iconic player on the bench wouldn’t be comfortable for the other players, so the club will proceed without Crawford for the first time since he was drafted in 2008.

Around the baseball world, a key storyline of the spring revolved around how many notable free agents remained unsigned in what turned out to be an incredibly slow offseason. The Giants were able to take advantage by signing third baseman Matt Chapman, who was pegged for a nine-figure deal at the start of the winter, for just three years and $54MM with opt-outs.

The Giants had J.D. Davis at the hot corner, but Chapman is a far superior defender and roughly comparable hitter. With an uncertain shortstop situation, it was a sensible swap for the club, especially at such a bargain rate.

The club then tried to shop Davis and his $6.9MM salary but found no takers. The free agent market had collapsed to such a point that solid infielders Gio Urshela and Amed Rosario each signed deals for just $1.5MM, which gave Davis little appeal at his price point. Arbitration salaries are not guaranteed if the sides go to a hearing, which Davis and the Giants had done, the player coming out victorious. But since it wasn’t guaranteed, the club was able to release him while only paying 30 days’ termination pay, which amounted to about $1.1MM.

This was obviously an unpleasant outcome for Davis, who eventually signed with the A’s for a guarantee of just $2.5MM. The unfair nature of the proceedings has seemingly been an inciting incident for the MLBPA, with players understandably upset by how things played out.

Despite all this activity surrounding the Giants, they arrived at the middle of March with the major target area of the rotation relatively unanswered. Cobb and Ray would be starting the season on the injured list, leaving the club with little certainty beyond ace Logan Webb. They had the converted reliever Hicks and then unproven young guys like Harrison, Triston Beck, Keaton Winn and Sean Hjelle. As Spring Training opened, Beck, Winn and Hjelle all battled injuries of varying degrees, highlighting the flimsiness of the group.

But they were able to take advantage of the weak free agent market once again, as they signed Blake Snell to a two-year, $62MM deal with an opt-out after the first season. Snell is the reigning National League Cy Young winner and was surely hoping for a massive nine-figure deal but was never able to land it.

There’s still plenty of uncertainty in the rotation picture but Snell makes it much stronger in the short term. And in the long term, it’s possible to imagine the season finishing with a San Francisco rotation consisting of Webb, Snell, Ray and Cobb, with one spot available for Hicks, Harrison or someone else. A lot has to go right for that to happen, but it’s wonderful to dream on for now.

In the end, the offseason could hardly have played out much better for Zaidi and the Giants. As mentioned, they have been incredibly averse to long-term free agent deals. Though they have made significant offers to players like Judge, Correa, Ohtani and others, they came into this winter having never given out more than the two-year, $44MM deal for Rodon. But they were able to add two Cy Young winners, one of the game’s best defenders, one of its best sluggers and a Korean star. And they did all of that without really breaking the bank in the present or in the future. The only guys who got more than three years, Lee and Hicks, are 25 and 27 years old, respectively. They are set to pay the competitive balance tax for the first time since 2017, but they are not far over the line and will face modest penalties as a “first-time” payor.

They still have some questions on the pitching staff and it seems as though the light-hitting Ahmed might end up as their everyday shortstop, but a lot of talent has been added to the roster this winter. They’re in for a battle since they share a division with the juggernaut Dodgers, the reigning N.L. champion Diamondbacks and the pesky Padres, but there’s more to be excited about than there was last year or even a six weeks ago.

How would you grade the Giants' offseason?
A 58.04% (1,675 votes)
B 33.06% (954 votes)
C 6.44% (186 votes)
F 1.46% (42 votes)
D 1.00% (29 votes)
Total Votes: 2,886

Cubs To Select Garrett Cooper

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First baseman Garrett Cooper has made the Opening Day roster with the Cubs, reports Craig Mish of SportsGrid (X link). He’s not on the 40-man roster, so Chicago will need to select his contract in the next few days.

Cooper somewhat surprisingly settled for a minor league deal after camp had begun. He was among 31 players who had the automatic ability to opt out of that contract today. Article XX(B) free agents — typically those with over six years of major league service who finish the previous season on an MLB roster — who sign a minor league deal over the offseason have the ability to opt out five days before Opening Day.

Whether Cooper did so or the Cubs expected he would is immaterial. In either case, he’ll get back to the majors as a righty-hitting complement to Michael Busch at first base and designated hitter. Cooper had a limited ramp-up period in Spring Training. He only appeared in 10 games but hit a pair of homers and a double over 30 trips to the plate. The 33-year-old has a .231/.333/.500 batting line in exhibition play.

Cooper spent the majority of his career with the Marlins. He was a quietly effective hitter when healthy, running a .269/.338/.436 slash for the Fish. That production dipped last season, as he was sitting on a .256/.296/.426 line in 82 games before Miami traded him to the Padres. Cooper’s finish in San Diego (.239/.323/.402) wasn’t much better and he hit the open market coming off his worst offensive season since he established himself as a major leaguer in 2019.

Calling Cooper up makes it seem unlikely that Chicago will have room for Dominic Smith. The lefty-swinging Smith opted out of his own minor league pact this afternoon. The Cubs have until Sunday to decide whether to add him to the MLB roster, but it’d be a surprise if they carried both players.

White Sox Release Kevin Pillar, Mike Moustakas

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The White Sox have released infielder Mike Moustakas and outfielder Kevin Pillar, the team announced. Both players had been in camp on minor league contracts.

Moustakas and Pillar were among 31 players who had automatic opt-out rights today, under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement. That typically applies to players with more than six years of major league service who finished last season on an MLB roster but settled for a minor league pact over the winter. It’s not clear whether Pillar and Moustakas officially triggered their opt-outs or if Chicago preemptively released them with the expectation they’d do so.

The end result is that both players will head back to the open market. Moustakas had a tough spring, struggling to a .195/.283/.317 batting line in 46 plate appearances. The three-time All-Star split last season between the Rockies and Angels. While he’d started the year reasonably well in Colorado, his bat wilted down the stretch. He concluded the year with a .247/.293/.392 slash through 386 plate appearances.

Pillar also had a middling performance this spring, although he seemed to have a better path to the roster. The veteran outfielder turned in a .250/.306/.386 mark in 49 trips to the dish. Pillar had been trying to snag a job as a righty-hitting complement to the lefty-swinging corner outfield tandem of Andrew Benintendi and Dominic Fletcher.

Sonny Gray, Lars Nootbaar To Begin Season On Injured List

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Cardinals manager Oli Marmol informed the club’s beat today, including Lynn Worthy of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, that right-hander Sonny Gray will start the season on the 15-day injured list. Outfielder Lars Nootbaar will start the year on the 10-day IL. Left-hander Zack Thompson will get a rotation job to start the season with fellow lefty Matthew Liberatore will be in the bullpen.

Gray was diagnosed with a right hamstring strain a couple of weeks ago and has been working his way back to health since then. Gray says he’s been healthy for about 10 to 12 days, per John Denton of MLB.com, but hasn’t had enough game action to be ready for the start of the season. Gray tells Denton that he thinks he’ll be able to return about 10 or 11 games into the season, since Opening Day IL stints can be backdated by three days. The Cards have a scheduled off-day after their eighth game on the docket.

While it’s not ideal for a club’s ace and key offseason signee to begin the year on the shelf, it seems Gray is planning on a minimal stay that will only involve missing a couple of turns through the rotation. Gray posted a 2.79 earned run average for the Twins last year, finishing second to Gerrit Cole in American League Cy Young voting.

As the Cards were looking to remake their rotation on the heels of a disaster season, Gray was the centerpiece of their offseason. While Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson were signed to serve as veteran innings eaters, Gray was given a three-year, $75MM deal to be at the front of the rotation for the foreseeable future.

Gray’s temporary absence will open a rotation spot for a little while behind Miles Mikolas, Steven Matz, Lynn and Gibson, with Thompson stepping into it. He has a 3.65 ERA in 101 career innings to this point in his career. His 23.4% strikeout rate, 9.2% walk rate and 47.3% ground ball rate are all fairly close to league average. This spring, he has a 2.81 ERA in 16 innings.

He has an option year remaining and could perhaps be sent to Triple-A when Gray is healthy, but Liberatore has an option as well. That could perhaps leave Thompson in a long relief role while Liberatore is the one to go to Triple-A, depending on how the Cards want to play it.

As for Nootbaar, he injured himself making a catch a couple of weeks back and was diagnosed with two nondisplaced fractures in his ribs. Since Tommy Edman is also going to start the season on the shelf, the Cards will be without two thirds of their planned starting outfield. Edman has still been experiencing pain in his surgically repaired right wrist.

Until Nootbaar and/or Edman are able to return, the Cards will likely roll with an outfield of Dylan Carlson in center while Jordan Walker and Alec Burleson take the corners. Utility player Brendan Donovan will be rotating through multiple infield and outfield positions. Prospect Victor Scott is still in camp but the club could prefer for him to have regular playing time in the minors as opposed to a big league bench job, which could lead to Michael Siani making the roster. There are also plenty of guys shaking loose from other clubs as roster cuts are made and veterans opt out of minor league deals.

MLB Opens Investigation Into Allegations Involving Shohei Ohtani, Ippei Mizuhara

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Major League Baseball issued a statement today, which reads as follows: “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhari [sic] from the news media. Earlier today, our Department of Investigations (DOI) began their formal process investigating the matter.”

Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and friend, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday. Reports had emerged which connected Mizuhara to an illegal gambling operation in California, where sports betting is not legal. Per those reports, over $4.5MM was wired from an account in Ohtani’s name to the gambling ring. Mizuhara and a spokesperson for Ohtani initially told ESPN that the debts were Mizuhara’s and Ohtani sent the money to help his friend pay them off. But attorneys representing Ohtani later claimed that the player had been “the victim of a massive theft.”

The league opening an investigation was inevitable. Even if Mizuhara was the only one involved, there would be serious grounds for concern. All MLB players and employees are prohibited from betting on baseball, given their access to information that may not be public. They can bet on sports other than baseball and Mizuhara insists that he never did bet on baseball, but the connection to an illegal operation under federal investigation makes it a different matter.

The fact that the sport’s biggest star is involved only gives the league further grounds to look into it. To this point, there’s been nothing to suggest that Ohtani himself did any betting. Per the initial reporting from earlier this week, multiple sources asserted that Ohtani does not gamble. But multiple wire transfers in his name to an illegal operation under federal investigation was clearly going to be grounds for the league to take a look. As recently pointed out by Craig Calcaterra at Cup of Coffee, Ohtani may have violated federal laws and/or league rules just by wiring the money, even if he did no gambling whatsoever.

Per T.J. Quinn of ESPN, the league is expected to request interviews with all parties, including both Ohtani and Mizuhara, though “officials will have no way to compel Mizuhara’s cooperation since he no longer works for baseball.” Quinn adds that Ohtani will have a right to refuse as a member of the MLBPA.

In terms of organizations outside the league, Quinn adds that neither the California Bureau of Investigation nor the FBI are investigating. Stephen Wade, Tong-Hyung Kim and Stefanie Dazio of The Associated Press reported earlier today that Mizuhara is being criminally investigated by the IRS.

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