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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.

Blue Jays Grant Eduardo Escobar His Release

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The Blue Jays granted veteran infielder Eduardo Escobar his release today, manager John Schneider tells Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. Escobar had been in camp on a minor league contract, but the team informed him this morning he wouldn’t make the club. He’s a free agent once again.

Escobar, 35, was facing long odds of cracking the Toronto roster. The club doesn’t have a clear everyday option at second base or third base but does have plenty of options for both positions. Cavan Biggio is perhaps the most likely player to get playing time at the keystone, but Davis Schneider will also be in the mix there. Isiah Kiner-Falefa could be the favorite for the hot corner after signing a two-year deal this winter, though Justin Turner can also play there on occasion when he’s not the designated hitter.

Ernie Clement seemed to win the backup infield job this spring, which pushed the Jays to flip Santiago Espinal to the Reds. They could have optioned Espinal to keep him as depth but they also have Orelvis Martinez, Addison Barger and Leo Jimenez on the roster. Joey Votto and Daniel Vogelbach are also in camp as non-roster options for bench bat role.

Escobar would have been trying to force his way past that group but he hit just .122/.143/.268 this spring. Since he hit .226/.269/.344 for the Mets and Angels last year, he wasn’t carrying a lot of momentum towards a roster spot and will now return to free agency.

He has been very inconsistent in his career but can market himself to clubs based on the fact that was in good form as recently as the 2021 and 2022 seasons. He hit 28 home runs in the first of those campaigns and 20 in the second. His .247/.305/.452 slash line over that time translates to a wRC+ of 106. He’s not a strong defender but his ability to the play the three non-shortstop positions and his switch-hitting ability give him plenty of flexibility.

Dominic Smith To Opt Out Of Minors Deal With Cubs

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First baseman Dominic Smith is opting out of his minor league deal with the Cubs, reports Jesse Rogers of ESPN.

Smith, 29 in June, is primarily a first baseman. The Mets moved him to left field for a while since Pete Alonso took hold of the first base job, but Smith graded poorly out there and eventually moved back to first base with the Nationals last year.

The Cubs are likely going to give a lot of run to Michael Busch at first base this year, after acquiring him from the Dodgers in an offseason trade. They also re-signed Cody Bellinger after Smith signed his minor league pact, further crowding the path to playing time. Bellinger will likely be in the outfield but it’s possible that he winds up at first if Busch falters or if Pete Crow-Armstrong forces his way into the center field job.

Given that situation, it makes sense that Smith would look for opportunities elsewhere. He’s been in great form this spring, having hit .346/.370/.538 thus far, which could perhaps help him market himself to other clubs.

He’s coming off an uninspiring season, his first outside of Queens. He hit just .254/.326/.366 for the Nationals, leading to a wRC+ of 90, his third straight subpar campaign. Interested clubs will be hoping that he can get back to his 2019-20 form, when he hit .299/.366/.571 for a wRC+ of 150.

There is plenty of roster churn going on around baseball today, with several cuts being made and veterans opting out. A game of musical chairs will play out in the coming days as guys look for new clubs and Smith will see if he can wind up somewhere with a decent path to playing time.

White Sox Sign Robbie Grossman To Minor League Deal

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The White Sox announced Friday that they’ve signed free agent outfielder Robbie Grossman to a minor league deal. He’ll be invited to the remainder of big league camp.

Grossman, 34, spent the 2023 season with the World Series champion Rangers but will head into the 2024 season with a rebuilding ChiSox club. He hit .238/.340/.394 with Texas last season and has been an average or better hitter in six of the past eight seasons. Grossman has tallied 3552 plate appearances in that span and delivered a composite .245/.350/.387 batting line during that time. The switch-hitter is a career .282/.381/.426 slash against left-handed pitching (126 wRC+). He’s been below-average, albeit not egregiously so, against right-handed pitching.

Grossman has played a bit of center field in his career, but the vast majority of that experience came back in 2013. He’s primarily a corner outfielder and designated hitter, with the bulk of his outfield work coming in left field. He played 553 innings on the grass for Texas last season but turned in well below-average defensive marks.

The White Sox figure to enter the season with left-handed-hitting Dominic Fletcher as their primary right fielder and lefty-swinging Andrew Benintendi in left. Grossman’s excellence from the right side of the plate would make him a viable platoon partner for either player. They currently have Kevin Pillar in camp as a fellow non-roster veteran who could offer a righty complement to those lefty-hitting corner outfielders, but Pillar has an out clause in his minor league contract today, which could come into play.

Eduardo Rodríguez Shut Down With Lat Strain

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Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo told the club’s beat that left-hander Eduardo Rodríguez has been shut down from throwing due to a left lat strain, with Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic among those to relay the news. The lefty will open the season on the injured list but his timeline is unclear apart from that.

Lovullo says Rodríguez will be shut down until he’s asymptomatic, but he doesn’t seem to have an idea of how long that will take, with video courtesy of Alex Weiner of AZ Sports. “I know you guys want to know lengths of time, all the common questions that I want to know,” he said. “But we don’t know that. It’s going to depend on how he progresses and how he’s feeling day by day. We’re going to assess it daily and then build it out from there. The return will be determined by the length of time that he’s down. And I can tell you that he’s been feeling better day by day.”

Rodríguez departed his start on Tuesday after just one inning with some lat discomfort and it now seems a strain has been found. If he remains out of action for a notable amount of time, he may then need to effectively start his Spring Training ramp-up period from scratch.

It’s obviously unwelcome news for the Diamondbacks, as Rodríguez was their big offseason splash to upgrade the rotation. The Snakes managed to get all the way to the World Series last year despite a starting mix so weak that they were doing bullpen games in the playoffs.

They signed Rodríguez to a four-year, $80MM deal this winter with the hope of him stabilizing the rotation behind Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly. That may come to pass eventually, but he’ll begin the season on the IL and will have a questionable timeline until more information comes to light.

In the meantime, the Diamondbacks will have to fill out the rotation with fairly unproven hurlers. Brandon Pfaadt, Ryne Nelson and Tommy Henry are the most likely pitchers to fill in behind Gallen and Kelly. Between those three, Nelson has the most regular season experience, with just 162 1/3 innings. Henry’s 4.57 ERA is the lowest of three. Pfaadt finished last year with a strong showing in the postseason but he’s allowed seven earned runs in 5 2/3 innings this spring.

Despite being the reigning National League champions, the Snakes are likely facing a tough battle this year. The Dodgers are loaded with superstars while the Giants recently had Blake Snell and Matt Chapman fall into their laps. The Padres have battled a budget crunch this winter but still have lots of talent on the roster. For the Diamondbacks, their rotation is now back to the wobbly state it was in at the start of the offseason, so they will naturally be hoping for a quick return from Rodríguez.

Nationals Release Zach Davies, Reassign Several Top Prospects To Minor League Camp

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The Nationals announced Friday that they’ve released veteran right-hander Zach Davies, who’d been in camp on a minor league contract. Washington also reassigned veteran lefty Richard Bleier, first baseman Juan Yepez, and top prospects James Wood, Brady House, Dylan Crews and Robert Hassell III to minor league camp. Bleier and Yepez, like Davies, were in camp on non-roster deals with spring invites.

Davies, 31, was signed to provide some depth to a thin rotation but was rocked for 14 runs in 14 innings this spring. Opposing hitters connected on 20 hits, including a pair of homers, and Davies issued seven free passes while plunking another batter. To his credit, he fanned 17 of his 69 opponents — a 24.6% clip that’s far north of his career average — but it wasn’t a strong all around impression. He’ll look to latch on with another club in need of some depth.

From 2022-23, Davies was in the D-backs’ rotation. He was a solid back-end arm in 2022, logging 134 1/3 frames of 4.09 ERA ball, albeit with worse-than-average strikeout and walk rates alike. He was torched for a 7.00 ERA in 82 1/3 innings last year, missing time with back and oblique injuries along the way. Davies has never had good strikeout numbers, fanning just 17.5% of his career opponents, but he’s typically had solid command (8.1% walk rate) and a slightly above-average ground-ball rate (44.9%). It’s not the flashiest skill set, but Davies has regularly dodged hard contact and managed to post a career 4.36 ERA in 1048 1/3 innings despite averaging under 90 mph on his fastball.

Also not making the cut are veterans Bleier and Yepez. Bleier, soon to turn 37, had a big spring with just two runs allowed on eight hits and no walks with nine strikeouts through 10 2/3 innings. The soft-tossing lefty is looking to bounce back from last year’s 5.28 ERA in Boston. From 2020-22, he turned in 125 1/3 innings of 3.09 ERA ball with well below-average strikeout rates but elite command and ground-ball tendencies.

The 26-year-old Yepez came to Nationals camp hoping to win a spot in the team’s first base/left field/designated hitter mix. Like Bleier, he’s performed well, hitting .387/.424/.581 with a couple homers in 33 trips to the plate. Yepez didn’t hit much in parts of two seasons with the Cardinals (.240/.286/.419, 97 wRC+) — especially considering his lack of speed and defensive value. However, he has a nice track record in Triple-A, where he’s slashed .279/.349/.515 in 948 plate appearances.

Of the top prospects optioned today, Wood had the best chance of making the roster, though even that was likely only an outside shot. The 21-year-old slugger was one of the centerpieces of Washington’s Juan Soto return from the Padres (along with Hassell) and did his best to force the issue this spring, slashing .341/.491/.707 with four homers. Despite that borderline comical offensive output, Wood has yet to play in Triple-A and only has 87 games above  A-ball. He’ll head to the upper minors for some more refinement, but he’s one of the game’s top-ranked prospects and will have a real chance to make his MLB debut in 2024.

Reds Grant Mike Ford His Release

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The Reds announced Friday that first baseman/designated hitter Mike Ford was reassigned to minor league camp, indicating he won’t make the team’s Opening Day roster. Ford, who’d signed a minor league deal with Cincinnati now granted Ford his release from the club, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. He’s once again a free agent.

Ford couldn’t have done much more with his limited time this spring to earn his way onto Cincinnati’s roster. The 31-year-old slugger appeared in 10 games and tallied 35 plate appearances, during which he posted a torrid .455/.486/.727 slash with three home runs, a pair of walks and just three punchouts. He was always something of a long shot to make the roster given the Reds’ crowded infield, but it seems that even with injuries to Matt McLain and Edwin Arroyo, plus an 80-game PED suspension for Noelvi Marte, the Reds don’t feel he’s a good fit on the 26-man roster.

In 2023, Ford posted huge power numbers with the Mariners, slashing .228/.323/.475 with 16 homers in just 251 trips to the plate. He coupled that thump with an above-average 9.6% walk rate but an unsightly 32.3% strikeout rate. The former Yankee farmhand has long had plus power and questionable contact rates, so the 2023 season wasn’t out of the norm. However, last season also represented Ford’s longest and most productive stretch in the big leagues. He’d never reached even 200 plate appearances in a major league season prior.

The left-handed-hitting Ford hasn’t been allowed to face lefties much in his career but torched them in 24 plate appearances last year and has actually fared better against fellow southpaws in his career at large. It’s only 108 plate appearances, but he’s a .268/.343/.577 hitter versus lefties compared to .200/.303/.389 against righties (in a much larger sample of 611 plate appearances).

Ford’s big spring showing and huge power output in ’23 should allow him to catch on with a club looking for some left-handed pop. There’s a chance he could even land on a big league roster, though a minor league deal on a team with a clearer path to first base/designated hitter at-bats is a bit likelier.

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