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Rangers Sign Jared Walsh, Matt Duffy, Blake Taylor To Minor League Deals

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The Rangers announced that they have signed first baseman Jared Walsh, infielder Matt Duffy and left-hander Blake Taylor to minor league deals. All three deals come with invites to major league Spring Training. Walsh and Taylor are repped by ISE Baseball, Duffy by TWC Sports.

Walsh, 30, once looked like a mainstay of the lineup for the Angels. He hit nine home runs in the shortened 2020 season and then added another 29 the year after. His .280/.338/.531 batting line in that time translated to a wRC+ of 130, indicating he was 30% better than the league average hitter. He wasn’t considered a strong defender but the bat was clearly enticing.

Unfortunately, he hasn’t been anywhere near that level since, with injuries holding him back. He hit .215/.269/.374 in 2022, with that season ultimately ended by thoracic outlet syndrome surgery. He returned in 2023 but battled neurological issues, including insomnia and headaches, something he discussed with Sam Blum of The Athletic in May. He hit just .125/.216/.279 in 39 major league games last year, getting passed through waivers twice. The second such instance was in October and he elected free agency afterwards.

For the Rangers, they have Nathaniel Lowe at first base but don’t have a strict designated hitter. If Walsh were able to get over his recent health issues and return to that strong form he showed a few years ago, he would be a candidate to take over the bulk of the DH at-bats, while also providing depth for a possible Lowe injury. If he were to get back in form and earn himself a roster spot, he could be retained for future seasons via arbitration, though he is out of options.

Duffy, 33, is a veteran utility guy. He spent 2023 with the Royals and hit .251/.306/.325 in his 209 plate appearances for a wRC+ of 72. That offense is obviously subpar, but he provided the club with defensive versatility. He spent some time at all four infield positions and even tossed two innings of mop-up duty on the mound. He’s also played a bit of left field in previous seasons.

The Rangers have Lowe at first, with the rest of the infield set to be filled out by Corey Seager, Marcus Semien and Josh Jung. They also have infielders like Ezequiel Durán, Jonathan Ornelas, Josh H. Smith and Justin Foscue on the roster, but Duffy will add a bit of veteran non-roster depth.

Taylor, 28, pitched in 92 major league games for the Astros over the 2020 to 2022 seasons. He allowed just 3.06 earned runs per nine frames over 79 1/3 innings combined, but a bit of luck may have been involved. His 19.1% strikeout rate and 12.6% walk rate were both a few ticks worse than average, while his .249 batting average on balls in play and 79.3% strand rate were both on the fortunate side. His 4.65 FIP and 4.94 SIERA each suggest he may have deserved worse results than the ERA might indicate.

In 2023, he began the year on the injured list due to a left elbow strain. He was activated a couple of weeks later and optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land. He made 35 appearances for the Space Cowboys with a 5.15 ERA, 14.9% strikeout rate and 13.1% walk rate. He was released in August.

The Rangers lost lefties Aroldis Chapman and Will Smith to free agency and then non-tendered Brett Martin. Their southpaw relief contingent now consists of Brock Burke, Jake Latz and Antoine Kelly. They could also have Cody Bradford back there if he’s not working out of the rotation. Taylor will give them some non-roster depth with a bit of major league experience under his belt. If he is able to earn his way back to the majors, he does have one option year remaining.

Orioles Have Shown Interest In Michael Lorenzen

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The Orioles have been connected to various starting pitching targets all winter and that search is ongoing. General manager Mike Elias said so himself today, telling reporters such as Andy Kostka of The Baltimore Banner. Elias hasn’t ruled out a free agent addition but says the club’s farm system makes a trade more likely. In terms of free agent pursuits, Jon Morosi of MLB.com lists Michael Lorenzen as one they have shown interest in.

Pitching is a clear target area of the club’s roster. They are loaded with position players but the rotation is lacking in certainty. Kyle Gibson and Jack Flaherty each became free agents after last season and have since signed elsewhere.

Both Kyle Bradish and Grayson Rodriguez finished the year strong, but the former has less than two years of big league experience and the latter less than one. John Means will be in the mix but he hasn’t pitched much over the past two years due to Tommy John surgery. Dean Kremer should be in the back end somewhere after posting a 4.12 earned run average last year. Cole Irvin could be a factor but he struggled last year, getting moved to the bullpen and the minors throughout the year. Guys like Tyler Wells, Bruce Zimmermann or Cade Povich could factor in as well. Elias also said that DL Hall is still viewed as a starter in the long term, per Kostka, but may remain in the bullpen for the short term.

For a club that just won 101 games and is looking to compete again this year, there’s clearly room for upgrades there. They should have the ability to make any kind of move they want, due to their payroll and organizational situations. MLBTR’s Contract Tracker shows that they haven’t given a free agent a multi-year deal since signing Alex Cobb in 2018. That means their future ledger is wide open and their 2024 payroll is only at $81MM, per Roster Resource. That’s a jump from last year’s Opening Day figure but still bottom three in the league for this year, ahead of only the Athletics and Pirates.

They also have a stacked farm system, considered by many to be the strongest in the league. With that combination of an elite farm system and a clean payroll slate, the options are theoretically endless. Throughout the winter, they have been connected to all sorts of arms. That includes one of the top free agents in Aaron Nola, though he subsequently re-signed with the Phillies. It also includes the lower tiers of free agency, with guys like James Paxton and Domingo Germán having been connected to the O’s, though Paxton is now reportedly in agreement with the Dodgers. The Orioles have also been interested in trade candidates like Dylan Cease and Corbin Burnes.

Despite all of that interest, they have yet to pull the trigger on any move to address their rotation, with pitchers and catchers set to report to Spring Training in less than three weeks. Elias continues to insist that a trade is a likely path forward, though it remains to be seen if they can get anything done. The asking price on Cease is reportedly very high, with the White Sox asking for multiple top prospects. The possibility of the Brewers trading Burnes has seemingly faded as the offseason has progressed.

On the free agent side of things, Lorenzen is apparently another name they have considered. The 32-year-old spent much of his career as a reliever with the Reds but has been pursuing a return to starting work since reaching free agency. He signed with the Angels in 2022 and was able to make 18 starts and log 97 2/3 innings. His 4.24 ERA was passable in that time. His 20.7% strikeout rate and 10.7% walk rate were a bit worse than average, but his 50.2% ground ball rate was strong.

That wasn’t astounding production but a step in the right director in terms of workload. In 2023, he seemed to take another step forward after signing with the Tigers. Through midseason, he had already made 18 starts and thrown 105 2/3 innings. He had dropped his ERA to 3.58 and lowered his walk rate to 6.5%. He was traded to the Phillies and kept the good times rolling for a while. He allowed two earned runs over eight innings in his first start as a Phillie and then threw a no-hitter in his second.

From that point, things went off the rails. Lorenzen was shelled for 27 earned runs in his final 30 1/3 innings, getting bumped to the bullpen in the process. It’s fair to wonder if he simply ran out of gas. After years of working out of the bullpen, he pushed himself to almost 100 innings in 2022. After the no-hitter, which took him 124 pitches, he was at 122 2/3 innings in 2023 with a 3.23 ERA. The rough finish added almost a full run to his ERA, pushing it to 4.18 for the year overall.

Arguably, another year of pushing himself in terms of innings could lessen the late-season drop-off. At the start of the offseason, MLBTR predicted Lorenzen for a two-year, $22MM deal. His market has been fairly quiet this winter but he reportedly held a showcase for interested clubs earlier this week.

Elsewhere in Oriole news, manager Brandon Hyde says that righty Dillon Tate is healthy and looked “unbelievable” recently, per Kostka. Tate didn’t pitch in the majors in 2023, as he was diagnosed with a forearm/flexor strain in November of 2022 and wasn’t able to get healthy last year. He went on multiple rehab assignments but was never returned to the big leagues. When he was last healthy, he threw 73 2/3 innings for the O’s in 2022 with a 3.05 ERA, 20.5% strikeout rate, 5.5% walk rate and 57.4% ground ball rate. If he is back in good form, it could be a boon for the bullpen.

Yankees, Luis Torrens Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Yankees have agreed to a minor league contract with catcher Luis Torrens, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. Presumably, he’ll be in camp as a non-roster invitee this spring.

Torrens, 27, has spent time in the big leagues in each of the past five seasons, suiting up for the Mariners, Padres and Cubs in that time. He had a solid run with the ’21 Mariners, popping 15 home runs and hitting .243/.299/.431 over a career-high 378 plate appearances, but he’s generally struggled at the plate since. In 196 trips to the plate over the past two MLB seasons, Torrens carries just a .229/.286/.307 slash.

The Yankees are plenty familiar with Torrens, as they’re the organization that originally signed him as an amateur free agent out of Venezuela back in 2012. The Padres plucked Torrens out of the Yankees’ system in the 2016 Rule 5 Draft even though he’d never played above A-ball. A then-rebuilding San Diego club succeeded on keeping Torrens on its Major League roster all season, thus acquiring his long-term rights. He spent nearly all of the 2018-19 seasons in the minors, hitting quite in well in Double-A, but was traded to the Mariners alongside Ty France, Andres Munoz and Taylor Trammell in the 2020 swap that sent Austin Nola and Dan Altavilla to the Padres.

Overall, Torrens is a career .227/.289/.354 hitter in the bigs and a .246/.311/.486 hitter in Triple-A. He has at times shown the ability to be an above-average hitter relative to his position, and at his best he draws interesting ratings from Statcast in terms of his batted-ball profile. From 2020-22, Torrens averaged a hearty 91 mph off the bat and saw a sizable 45.7% of his batted balls travel at velocities of 95 mph or greater. But he’s also been too strikeout prone, sports a below-average walk rate and puts the ball on the ground far too often (49.9%) for someone who’s ranked in the 26th percentile of MLB players in terms of sprint speed (per Statcast). Defensively, Torrens has some encouraging traits and also some red flags. He’s thwarted a huge 37% of stolen base attempts against him in his professional career but also consistently delivered negative marks for framing.

It’s not a surprise to see the Yankees add some more catching depth. New York traded backup catcher Kyle Higashioka to the Padres as part of their deal to acquire Juan Soto, and they’ll face a decision on Ben Rortvedt this spring given that he’s out of minor league options. With prospect Austin Wells and veteran Jose Trevino already on the 40-man and likelier to make the roster, Rortvedt could be squeezed out, and Torrens adds some depth in the event that he’s claimed by another club. If not, he can join Rortvedt and Carlos Narvaez as catching options in Triple-A Scranton, where he could also see occasional action at first base — a position where Torrens has tallied 482 innings between the majors and minors.

Royals Exploring Trade Market For High-Leverage Relievers

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The Royals have been one of the game’s most active teams this winter but don’t appear done with their offseason just yet. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that Kansas City still hopes to add a closer to its bullpen and is currently looking at the trade market now that free agency has been largely picked over.

While a handful of names have popped up on the trade market this offseason, Kansas City may be just as hard-pressed to find a closer via trade as in free agency. The Guardians listened to offers on closer Emmanuel Clase at the Winter Meetings in December, but he’s signed for another five years. That’d point to a massive asking price in return, and the price for a division-rival club might be even steeper.

More recently, Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen has surfaced in rumors, but the Royals’ projected $112MM payroll is already going to be the team’s highest since 2018. Adding Jansen’s $16MM salary would give the Royals their third-highest payroll ever, trailing only the 2016-17 seasons that immediately followed their consecutive World Series appearances (and 2015 World Series victory).

Any mention of a team trading for a closer figures to reignite yearslong speculation about Pirates star David Bednar, but a move involving the Pittsburgh native seems overwhelmingly unlikely. Bednar remains highly affordable and is controllable for another three seasons. The Pirates’ offseason has been focused on adding pieces rather than subtracting them, and owner Bob Nutting recently commented at length about his desire to contend in 2024. A trade of Bednar would register as a legitimate surprise at this point.

It bears mentioning that trading for “a closer” is a somewhat nebulous description. Players like Clase and Jansen are clear, set-in-stone closers with their respective clubs, but many teams take a committee approach to the ninth inning. Others are content to plug in a less-experienced arm and hope for solid results, as the Nationals did last year with Kyle Finnegan, for instance. The 32-year-old Finnegan was available at the trade deadline but didn’t change hands. He paced the Nats with 28 saves, bringing his career total to 50. That certainly qualifies him as a “closer,” but it’d be a stretch to think that makes him more preferable to the Royals than, say, a younger high-end setup man with more club control and superior rate stats but fewer saves.

However the Royals want to define their targets, the implication is clear: they’re looking for a leverage arm to pitch meaningful innings in what they hope will be a much-improved 2024 season. Kansas City has already signed Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, Hunter Renfroe, Will Smith, Chris Stratton and Garrett Hampson to big league deals totaling $105MM in value. They acquired righty Nick Anderson from the Braves, and in a separate deal with Atlanta picked up injured starter Kyle Wright, who’ll likely miss the ’24 season following shoulder surgery but is controllable via arbitration through 2026.

As things stand, the veteran Smith and righty James McArthur are probably the front-runners to close games in Kansas City. Smith has 113 career saves and signed a one-year, $5MM deal to return to the organization with which he made his MLB debut back in 2012. McArthur was a speculative pickup after being cut loose by the Phillies, and after a slow start he finished out the season with 16 1/3 shutout innings, 19 strikeouts and no walks in his final 12 appearances. Stratton and Anderson give the Royals a pair of experienced setup options — health permitting, in Anderson’s case — and they’ll likely be joined by flamethrowing righty Carlos Hernandez.

It’s somewhat interesting to note that the Royals are only a few months removed from trading prior closer Scott Barlow, who went to the Padres at last summer’s trade deadline (and has since been shipped to Cleveland). That swap arguably came a few months too late, as Barlow’s rocky first half in 2023 surely caused his stock to dip from where it’d been after he notched a 2.62 ERA, 28.7% strikeout rate and 8.2% walk rate with 42 saves from 2020-22.

The Royals’ wide-reaching slate of acquisitions to this point have undoubtedly bettered the roster, but Kansas City would need to improve by a magnitude of around 30 games to have a real postseason chance after going 56-106 last year. Extensive as their acquisitions from outside the organization have been, that’s not likely to become a reality without some meaningful improvements from young players already in house. Adding another quality bullpen arm to the late-inning mix can only help, but it’s a steep road back to contention after losing a combined 203 games over the past two seasons.

Blue Jays, Orioles Have Shown Interest In Domingo German

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The Orioles and Blue Jays are among six teams that have shown interest in free agent starter Domingo Germán, reports Mark W. Sanchez of the New York Post. Sanchez adds that the Mets have also checked in but casts doubt on the chance of the right-hander heading to Queens.

Germán has spent his entire MLB career with the Yankees, who acquired him as a prospect in a 2014 trade with the Marlins. At times, he looked like a key mid-rotation arm in the Bronx, yet his tenure was marred by off-field issues. After working as a depth arm between 2017-18, he tallied a career-high 143 innings over 27 appearances (24 starts) in 2019. Germán was having a productive season, working to a 4.03 ERA with a near-26% strikeout rate.

That September, MLB placed Germán on administrative leave after he reportedly assaulted his girlfriend at a charity event. MLB finished its investigation that offseason and suspended him for the first 81 games of the 2020 season. That year wound up being shortened by the pandemic, so MLB reinstated him after he missed the entire 60-game schedule.

Germán returned to the Yankees in 2021. He missed parts of the next two seasons battling shoulder issues, combining for a 4.17 ERA over 170 2/3 innings. He held a spot in the New York rotation for the early portion of last year. Germán’s start to the year was middling and he was suspended for 10 games in mid-May after failing a foreign substance inspection.

He carried a 5.10 ERA through his first 14 appearances into a late-June start in Oakland. Germán turned in a legendary performance at the Coliseum that night, throwing MLB’s 24th perfect game, the first since Félix Hernández’s outing in 2012. Germán followed that up with a 4.61 ERA over five starts in July.

On August 2, the Yankees announced they were placing Germán on the restricted list so he could report to an inpatient treatment facility for alcohol abuse. Lindsey Adler of the Wall Street Journal subsequently reported that an apparently intoxicated Germán had argued with teammates and coaches in the New York clubhouse and flipped a couch amidst those confrontations.

That ended Germán’s tenure with the Yankees. He spent the rest of the season on the restricted list. At year’s end, New York placed him on outright waivers. Once he went unclaimed, he elected free agency.

Sanchez writes that Germán has completed the requirements of his inpatient treatment and is seeking a return to the majors in 2024. According to Sanchez, his camp has received two formal contract offers (although it isn’t clear if those proposals have come from Baltimore and Toronto specifically). If he lands a major league deal, it’d surely be a cheap one-year pact.

Of the two AL East teams known to have shown interest, Baltimore has the greater need for rotation help. Aside from depth righty Jonathan Heasley, the O’s have yet to add a starting pitcher this offseason. They’re slated to begin the year with Grayson Rodriguez, Kyle Bradish, John Means and likely Dean Kremer in the top four spots. Cole Irvin and Tyler Wells (each of whom worked out of the bullpen at points last year) would be the best options for the #5 job at present. The starting staff is the weakest point on an otherwise loaded roster coming off a 101-win season.

It’s unlikely Baltimore will come away from the offseason completely empty-handed. Yet they’ve thus far resisted dealing from the top of their vaunted farm system to add starting pitching via trade. While they seemed a candidate to at least play in the middle tiers of the free agent rotation market, the organization again hasn’t shown that kind of appetite for spending.

The O’s signed Craig Kimbrel to a $13MM guarantee to take the ninth inning after losing Félix Bautista to Tommy John surgery. They’ve otherwise sat out MLB free agency this winter. Roster Resource projects their 2024 spending around $81MM. That’s well above last year’s approximate $61MM Opening Day figure but puts them in the league’s bottom five in terms of estimated payroll.

Toronto took some early swings at the top of the free agent market. They’ve pivoted to the middle tiers in recent weeks, including a rotation acquisition. The Jays agreed to terms with Cuban right-hander Yariel Rodríguez on a four-year, $32MM deal last week. He’ll likely compete for the final spot with Alek Manoah, who is trying to bounce back from a dismal 2023 season. With Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt, José Berríos and Yusei Kikuchi occupying the top four positions, it’s unlikely they’d give Germán a look in the season-opening rotation. If Rodríguez doesn’t take them out of the market for Germán entirely, they’d probably view him as a long relief option.

Rockies Sign John Curtiss To Minor League Deal

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The Rockies have signed veteran righty reliever John Curtiss to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training, MLBTR has learned. He’ll compete for a job in manager Bud Black’s bullpen this spring.

Curtiss, 30, has pitched in parts of six big league seasons but didn’t break out until a terrific 2020 showing with the Rays (1.80 ERA, 25.3% strikeout rate, 3% walk rate in 25 innings). Tampa Bay traded him to the Marlins the following offseason, and Miami flipped him to the Brewers after a strong start to his 2021 campaign. Unfortunately for both Curtiss and the Brewers, the right-hander suffered a torn ligament in his elbow just two weeks after being acquired and wound up undergoing Tommy John surgery.

The Mets signed Curtis after the Brewers non-tendered him, knowing he’d miss his first season with the team. That pact included a club option that the Mets exercised, and Curtiss returned to pitch 19 2/3 frames for New York this past season. His 4.58 ERA, 19.8% strikeout rate and 9.9% walk rate were all down relative to his 2020-21 seasons, however, and Curtiss wound up hitting the injured list with discomfort in his surgically repaired elbow. His ligament remained intact, but the right-hander still required surgery to remove loose bodies from the elbow. The Mets announced at the time of the procedure that he was expected to be ready for spring training.

Despite that favorable timeline, the Mets removed Curtiss from the 40-man roster following the season. He elected free agency, as is his right as a player with more than three years of MLB service.

If Curtiss is back at full strength, he’ll likely have a good chance to break a thin Rockies bullpen. The righty’s track record is fairly limited, but from 2020-23 he pitched 89 innings of 3.24 ERA ball with a combined 23.2% strikeout rate, 6.3% walk rate and 40.8% ground-ball rate. Curtiss’ 94.5 mph average fastball with the Mets in 2023 was right in line with his pre-surgery levels from 2020-21. There’s some unknown now that he’s undergone a second elbow operation, of course, but it’s encouraging that he’d regained his velocity following the Tommy John procedure.

As things stand, the Rockies’ bullpen is practically wide open. Right-hander Justin Lawrence is the favorite to close games after notching 11 saves and logging a 3.72 ERA in 75 innings out of the ’pen last year. Jake Bird should have a spot locked down after recording a team-high 84 1/3 innings with a respectable 4.27 ERA. Beyond that, things are murky. The Rockies let Brent Suter, their top 2023 performer, depart in free agency. He signed a one-year, $3MM deal with the Reds. Veterans Pierce Johnson and Brad Hand were traded at last year’s deadline.

Right-hander Daniel Bard is still under contract for another season, but he followed his All-Star 2022 campaign with a tough 2023 season that saw him return to the injured list owing to a long-running battle with anxiety that has at multiple points led to the yips. Bard eventually pitched 49 1/3 innings with a 4.56 ERA but did so with nearly a walk per inning and with more total walks issued than strikeouts recorded. Tyler Kinley posted a 6.06 ERA in his return from elbow surgery, albeit in a sample of just 16 1/3 innings. The Rox picked up veteran lefty Jalen Beeks in November after the Rays placed him on waivers, and he’ll look to bounce back after a down showing in 2023.

Other options in the Colorado ’pen include Nick Mears, Gavin Hollowell and Rule 5 pickup Anthony Molina. Curtiss will compete with that group as well as a slate of non-roster veterans including Ty Blach, Matt Koch and Chance Adams. If Curtiss makes the club and finds success in that harsh pitching environment, he can be controlled through the 2026 season via arbitration.

The Top Unsigned Catchers

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Pitchers and catchers will be reporting to Spring Training in about three weeks but a slow offseason means there are still plenty of free agents out there. MLBTR already took a look at the center fielders still available and will now take a look at some notable catchers.

  • Gary Sánchez: Sánchez has always had big power in his bat, having launched 173 home runs already in his career. But he’s often paired that with low batting average/on-base numbers, strikeouts and questionable defense. He wasn’t able to secure a major league deal last offseason, signing a minor league pact with the Giants and then opting out and signing another with the Mets. The latter club added him to their roster but quickly put him on waivers, with the Padres putting in a claim. From there, he went on to have a terrific season. He hit 19 home runs in just 75 games, keeping his strikeouts to a palatable 25.1% clip before a wrist fracture ended his season in September. His glovework has also improved lately, relative to earlier in his career. His joining the Padres coincided with Blake Snell completely turning his season around and eventually winning a second Cy Young. Snell spoke positively of his relationship with Sánchez during the year, as relayed by Dennis Lin of The Athletic, perhaps suggesting his game-calling could be viewed as a plus. There are warts on his profile but he’s clearly a strong player and should be able to find a better deal than he did a year ago. He’s going into his age-31 season.
  • Yasmani Grandal: Grandal has long been a strong backstop on both sides of the ball, but he has tapered off lately. He hit .240/.355/.451 from 2012 to 2021, combining power with a keen eye at the plate, but that batting line has dropped to .219/.305/.306 over the past two seasons. He’s still a strong framer and was good against lefty pitchers as recently as 2022. The switch-hitter slashed .257/.409/.365 against southpaws that year but just .186/.265/.241 against righties, though that split evened out last year. Now 35 years old, he may not be able to get a job as a club’s primary catcher, but his defense, framing and switch-hitting ability should make him a fit somewhere.
  • Curt Casali: Casali has never been more than a part-time player, but he’s been a solid one. He’s appeared in each of the past 10 MLB seasons, though never in more than 84 games in any individual campaign. He has popped 47 home runs in 1,454 plate appearances while walking at a 10.7% rate, leading to a .220/.314/.380 batting line. His 89 wRC+ is below average overall but pretty close to par for a catcher. He’s generally considered a capable defender as well. He’s coming off a disappointing season wherein he hit poorly in 40 games for the Reds before landing on the injured list in July due to a foot contusion and not returning. He’s now going into his age-35 season.
  • Manny Piña: Similar to Casali, Piña has long been a serviceable part-time catcher. He has appeared in 10 MLB seasons, only twice playing more than 76 games. He’s hit 43 home runs in his 1,255 plate appearances and slashed .243/.312/.410 for a wRC+ of 91. He’s only played nine big league games over the past two years, primarily due to wrist issues. He underwent surgery in May of 2022 while with Atlanta, then was flipped to the A’s going into 2023 as part of the Sean Murphy deal. The wrist issues lingered into last year and he was released in August. He’s now going into his age-37 season.
  • Mike Zunino: As recently as 2021, Zunino showed off his huge power at the plate, launching 33 home runs for the Rays. But the year after, he required thoracic outlet surgery and wasn’t able to bounce back. The Guardians gave him a one-year, $6MM deal for 2023 but he was nowhere near his previous self. Strikeouts have always been a problem for him even when he was at his best, as evidenced by his career rate of 35.1%. However, that rate was all the way up to 43.6% last year as he hit just .177/.271/.306. Zunino was released in June and didn’t sign with anyone else after that. His defense is considered strong, so he could be a useful player if his offense improved with a bit more remove from his surgery. He’ll be 33 in March.

The Opener: Neris, Pirates, Votto

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With less than three weeks until pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. Neris up next?

There’s been a run on relief arms throughout the week, with top free agents Josh Hader and Robert Stephenson both landing multi-year deals from the Astros and Angels, respectively. Aroldis Chapman ($10.5MM) and Matt Moore ($9MM) landed respective one-year pacts with the Pirates and Angels. The run on relief arms leaves right-hander Hector Neris as arguably the top reliever left in free agency, though the market also features established veterans like David Robertson, Adam Ottavino, Phil Maton, Wandy Peralta, and Ryne Stanek.

The 34-year-old Neris has gotten plenty of buzz recently. He’s been connected to the Yankees and Mets in recent days but is a sensible addition for any team still hoping to add a leverage reliever. The Cubs, Cardinals, Mariners and Rangers are among those still on the hunt for bullpen arms. Texas has previously been described as a potential “frontrunner” for Neris’ services.

2. What’s next for the Pirates?

The Pirates made a somewhat surprising splash on the free agent market by agreeing with Chapman to that aforementioned one-year, $10.5MM deal earlier in the week. The deal helps to back up recent remarks from owner Bob Nutting, who indicated that the goal for the Pirates this year is to remain in contention “throughout the season.” Even after adding Chapman, however, the Pirates still have a ways to go before they catch up to the other clubs in the division; they finished fourth with an 86-loss season in 2023 and have largely stood pat this winter while their division rivals have made multi-year plays for significant players such as Sonny Gray, Shota Imanaga, Jeimer Candelario, and Rhys Hoskins. It appears that adding a veteran arm to a young and unproven rotation could be the next step Pittsburgh looks to take, and the club has already been connected to the likes of Noah Syndergaard and Michael Lorenzen in recent days.

3. Votto’s market:

Veteran first baseman Joey Votto has a secure legacy as one of his generation’s best hitters and a potential Hall of Famer. That hasn’t stopped him from looking to add to that resume by continuing his playing career, however. Previous reporting this winter has indicated that at least three teams (including the Blue Jays) have interest in the 40-year-old’s services for the 2024 season, and a pair of reports helped to further clarify Votto’s market yesterday. It appears that Toronto is joined by the Angels in the hunt for Votto’s services, where he could act as a veteran mentor to up-and-coming first baseman Nolan Schanuel, who made his big league debut last year just weeks after being selected in the first round of the 2023 draft.

Meanwhile, it’s becoming all the more clear that the one place Votto all but certainly is not signing on is with the Reds, the organization he spent more than two decades with after being selected in the second round of the 2002 draft. At the outset of his first foray into free agency, Votto indicated that he would pursue a role with a new team if the Reds did not decide to bring him back for the 2024 campaign. Recent comments from Cincinnati GM Nick Krall made clear that, at least as things stand, the club does not plan on pursuing a reunion with the former face of the franchise.

Brewers, Christian Arroyo Agree To Minor League Deal

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8:23am: The two parties are in agreement on a minor league contract, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. The deal contains a $1.5MM salary at the big league level, and Arroyo would have the opportunity to unlock an additional $500K via incentives. Those incentives are tied to plate appearances, a source told MLBTR while also confirming the terms of the deal. Arroyo will be in camp as a non-roster invitee when spring training opens.

8:13am: The Brewers have agreed to a deal with free agent infielder Christian Arroyo, reports Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. Terms of the arrangement are not yet known. Arroyo is represented by O’Connell Sports Management.

Arroyo, 28, has spent the past four seasons with the Red Sox but was designated for assignment and outrighted off the 40-man roster not long after the 2023 trade deadline. He elected free agency at season’s end. He’s six days shy of five years of MLB service, meaning that he can be controlled through the 2025 season via arbitration, if the Brewers choose.

The 2023 season was a rough one for Arroyo, who had a pair of IL stints due to a hamstring strain and an ankle sprain. He appeared in 66 games when healthy but scuffled with a .241/.268/.369 batting line over the course of 206 trips to the plate. Coincidentally, Boston cut him loose in August after acquiring infielder Luis Urias in a trade with the same Brewers organization that Arroyo will now join.

Prior to his 2023 struggles, Arroyo had a solid run at the plate with the Red Sox. From 2020-22, the former first-round pick (No. 25 overall by the Giants in 2013) and top prospect slashed a combined .273/.320/.427. He walked at a well below-average 4.7% clip but also showed off above-average contact skills and a 19.4% strikeout rate that was a few percentage points lower than the league average.

While he’s played all over the infield and also logged 108 innings in right field in 2022, Arroyo has played primarily second base and third base in the big leagues. Defensive metrics generally agree that he’s a sound defender at second base, where he’s tallied 12 Defensive Runs Saved and an 8.5 Ultimate Zone Rating in 1332 innings there. Statcast’s Outs Above Average considers him to be essentially average there. His grades at third base aren’t as strong, but he’s also only logged 447 innings at the hot corner in the big leagues. Beyond his work at second, third and in right field, Arroyo has 195 career innings at shortstop and another 53 frames at first base.

Arroyo’s experience around the diamond should serve him well for a Brewers club that has question marks at each of his primary positions. Former first-rounder Brice Turang will likely get the first crack at second base in Milwaukee, but he hit just .218/.285/.300 in 448 trips to the plate as a rookie. Turang was optioned multiple times in 2023 and ripped through Triple-A pitching in Nashville (.298/.365/.561), but he’s yet to find his stride in the bigs.

It’s a similar story at the hot corner, where 26-year-old Andruw Monasterio hit .271/.343/.371 to begin his MLB career but saw his production crater in the season’s final few weeks. Monasterio finished out the season with a .259/.330/.348 slash that checked in 12% below league average, by measure of wRC+. He played strong defense at the hot corner, which surely helps his cause as well, but as a career .257/.365/.370 hitter in three Triple-A seasons, he’s hardly a lock to provide enough offense to carry the position at the MLB level.

Both Turang and Monasterio have minor league options remaining, so it’s feasible that Arroyo could challenge either for a larger role in the Milwaukee infield. He could also win a bench job over current right-handed-hitting utility infielder Owen Miller, who hit .261/.303/.371 with the Brew Crew in 2023 (81 wRC+). Like Turang and Monasterio, Miller has a minor league option remaining and could thus be sent down to Nashville (without needing to pass through waivers) in the event Arroyo outplays him this spring.

MLBTR Podcast: The Broadcasting Landscape, Josh Hader and the Relief Market

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