Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Archives for February 2024

Rays Sign Phil Maton

By | at

The Rays bulked up their bullpen Wednesday, finalizing their previously reported one-year contract with free agent righty Phil Maton.  The Paragon Sports International client is reportedly guaranteed $6.5MM, which takes the form of a $6.25MM salary and a $250K buyout on a $7.75MM club option for the 2025 season.  Tampa Bay transferred left-hander Shane McClanahan, who’s recovering from Tommy John surgery, to the 60-day IL to open a spot for Maton on the 40-man roster.

The Cardinals, Phillies, and Yankees have been linked to Maton’s market this winter, but the reliever will now head to Tampa Bay as he enters his age-31 season.  Maton has seven years of MLB experience, breaking into the big leagues with San Diego in 2017 and then landing in Cleveland and Houston.  Maton had a 4.76 ERA over 215 1/3 innings in the 2017-21 seasons, but a 3.68 ERA in that same span and excellent spin rates and soft-contact numbers indicated that the ceiling was higher on the righty’s performance.

The results began to show over Maton’s last two seasons, both with the Astros.  He delivered a 3.84 ERA in 65 2/3 innings in 2022 and then followed up even more strongly with a 3.00 ERA over 66 frames this past year.  As per Statcast, Maton had the second-best hard-hit ball rate of any qualified pitcher in baseball in 2023, and the spin rates on his curveball and fastball were both in at least the 98th percentile of all pitchers.

Walks have been an issue for Maton, and his above-average but not standout barrel rates indicate that batters can hit for power on the rare occasions when they actually make solid contact on Maton’s offerings.  Still, between his ability to generate soft contact and his above-average strikeout rates, Maton has rather quietly been one of the more effective relievers in baseball over the last two seasons.  This success has also extended into the postseason, as while injuries forced Maton to miss the Astros’ 2022 World Series run, he has a sparking 0.83 ERA over 21 2/3 career playoff innings.

Given the Rays’ success at helping pitchers achieve higher levels of performance, it wouldn’t be at all surprising to see Maton at least continue or even improve on his strong numbers from 2022-23.  Maton figures to essentially act as the replacement for Robert Stephenson, a reclamation project-turned-high leverage reliever after joining the Rays last summer.

Stephenson parlayed his spectacular four-month run in Tampa into a three-year, $33MM free agent deal with the Angels.  Jake Diekman also signed with the Mets, Andrew Kittredge was traded to the Cardinals, and Jalen Beeks and Josh Fleming were both let go at the start of free agency, leaving the Rays with some holes to fill in the relief corps.  Pete Fairbanks figures to be the team’s primary closer again, and though the Rays are traditionally pretty flexible with their bullpen roles, Maton will likely stick to set-up duty since he has only one career save.

According to Roster Resource, Tampa Bay has a projected $93.3MM payroll, which would already be the highest payroll in Rays franchise history even before Maton’s deal is added to the tally.  President of baseball operations Erik Neander said in October that the club was open to spending at a (comparatively) higher level to help keep their core in place and to make a deeper playoff run, though the Rays did move Tyler Glasnow and his $25MM salary to the Dodgers in a trade.

MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand first reported the two sides were nearing a deal (via X). Robert Murray of FanSided reported (on X) the terms of the deal, while Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 reported the specific year-to-year breakdown (X link).

Justin Verlander, J.P. France Behind Schedule Due To Shoulder Issues

By | at

Astros right-hander Justin Verlander is a few weeks behind his normal Spring Training schedule due to a shoulder issue. He spoke to members of the media about it today, with Brian McTaggart of MLB.com relaying video on X of the veteran discussing the situation. General manager Dana Brown also relayed that righty J.P. France is dealing with shoulder inflammation, though Brown isn’t especially worried since both pitchers are playing catch. “If they were shut down, it would be more concerning,” Brown said, per Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle.

“I’m a little bit behind schedule right now, had a little hiccup early on that’s resolved itself but I have to be really cautious with how I’m building up,” Verlander said. “I guess my body doesn’t respond the same at 40 as it does at 25. So, you know, I’m a couple weeks behind.” When asked to elaborate on the hiccup, he continued: “When I first started playing catch, I usually shut it down for a while. This time, when I shut it down and picked the ball back up, my shoulder didn’t feel so great, so kind of had to take a step back and kind of just really be diligent about my buildup.” When asked about Opening Day, he said it would depend on how things go in the next few weeks.

It seems like the concern is fairly minor at this point, though it’s less than ideal for the club that a couple members of its rotation mix are already dealing with issues just as camp is opening. The Astros are already set to open the season with Lance McCullers Jr. and Luis García on the injured list, with both of those pitchers having undergone significant surgeries last year. Brown told MLB Network Radio earlier this week that those two guys are on track for returns in the second half, per Jon Morosi of MLB.com.

Without McCullers or García, Houston’s rotation mix would project to be Verlander, Framber Valdez, Cristian Javier and Hunter Brown, with one spot available for someone like France, José Urquidy or Brandon Bielak. If Verlander and/or France end up requiring a stint on the injured list to start the year, everyone would be moved up a peg or two on the chart.

Verlander, who turns 41 next week, also dealt with a shoulder issue last spring while with the Mets. At the end of March, he was placed on the IL with a teres major strain and didn’t make his season debut until May. He was ultimately able to make 27 starts on the year between the Mets and Astros after a midseason trade, but with diminished stuff from his 2022 Cy Young-winning year. His ERA went from 1.75 to 3.22 and his strikeout rate dropped from 27.8% to 21.5% with the velo on all his pitches slightly lower as well. He did seem to get better as the season went along, however, with a 3.60 ERA and 19.7% strikeout rate in the first half compared to a 2.92 ERA and 23% strikeout rate in the second.

France, 29 in April, tossed 136 1/3 innings last year with a 3.83 ERA, 17.4% strikeout rate, 8.1% walk rate and 42.8% ground ball rate. He’s obviously less essential to the club’s rotation than Verlander, not even guaranteed a roster spot since he has options. But every club has to deal with injuries and reach into their depth at some point during the year. He would have been a candidate to step up if Verlander needed to miss time but that could be in jeopardy if France is himself delayed.

Brown has frequently stated that he’s always looking to add pitching and made similar comments today, with video relayed by McTaggart. “I’m always in the business of trying to add starter depth. I think the season, like I said before, it’s 162 games. If you get a situation where you can trade for a starter or if you can sign a starter, I think you should do it if it makes sense budget wise and all that. But at the end of the day, I’m always in the market for pitching. I’ve said that since day one. I don’t think you can have enough pitching in 162 games.”

The Astros are in unprecedented territory in terms of their payroll. Per Cot’s Baseball Contracts, their highest Opening Day payroll was $188MM in 2021. Roster Resource pegs them at $240MM for this year and also has their competitive balance tax figure at $255MM. They have never paid the tax before, as they only time they went over was in 2020, when the payments were waived in the shortened season. This year’s line is $237MM, so they’re already well over.

If the club decides they need reinforcements, there are plenty of names still available in free agency. That includes marquee guys like Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery but also more affordable names like Michael Lorenzen, Hyun Jin Ryu and many more. Given the club’s payroll and the minor nature of the injuries, it doesn’t seem likely that the club will suddenly go out and splurge, but it will be a situation worth monitoring if another pitcher suffers an injury or a setback is suffered by Verlander or France. Despite Brown’s assertion that he’s always looking for starting depth, they haven’t signed any veterans to minor league deals so could perhaps look to add some non-roster guys in the coming days.

Angels Sign Drew Pomeranz To Minor League Deal

By | at

Feb. 14: The Angels announced their minor league deal with Pomeranz this morning. He’s in camp as a non-roster invitee.

Feb. 13: The Angels are nearing a minor league deal with left-hander Drew Pomeranz, reports Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. The southpaw would be invited to major league camp if the deal becomes official.

Pomeranz, 35, spent many years as a quality starting pitcher in the major leagues. As his results started fading, he transitioned to the bullpen and seemed to be sliding into a nice second act as an elite reliever. But he has lost the past two seasons due to injuries and it’s unknown how much he can provide going forward.

In both 2016 and 2017, he tossed over 170 innings with matching ERAs of 3.32 in those seasons. But he got lit up in 2018, with his ERA finishing at 6.08 just as he was about to hit the open market for the first time. He settled for a modest one-year, $1.5MM deal with the Giants and had a 5.68 ERA as he was flipped to the Brewers at the 2019 deadline.

Milwaukee moved him to the bullpen which seemed to be a revelation for the lefty. He tossed 26 1/3 innings after the deal with a 2.39 ERA. He struck out an incredible 45% of batters faced while walking just 8% and kept 46.8% of balls in play on the ground.

The Padres believed in that mini breakout enough to give Pomeranz a four-year, $34MM guarantee going into 2020. That gamble seemed to be paying off for a while, as Pomeranz made 20 relief appearances in 2020 with a 1.45 ERA and another 27 in 2021 with a 1.75 ERA. He struck out 33.7% of batters faced over those two years and had a 45.8% ground ball rate. The 11.4% walk rate was on the high side but he was nonetheless one of the most dominant relievers in the league for a time.

But in August of 2021, he underwent surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon and hasn’t appeared in the big leagues since. At various times throughout 2022 and 2023, there were reports of him ramping up throwing, but each time saw him deal with some renewed soreness or inflammation that stopped his progression. He underwent “a cleanup surgery in his elbow” in May of last year and went out on a rehab assignment in August and September before being shut down again.

It’s hard to expect much after a couple of years completely lost to arm complications, but there’s no real risk for the Angels. They aren’t guaranteeing him a roster spot so they can bring him into camp and see how he looks. If he’s healthy and in good form, it’s a nice find, with no real downside if it doesn’t pan out.

The Halos have been very focused on their bullpen this offseason, signing Robert Stephenson, Matt Moore, Luis García, Adam Cimber and José Cisnero to major league deals. Pomeranz will come in as a non-roster wild card who could provide them with another boost if his arm allows.

Orioles, Ryan O’Hearn Avoid Arbitration

By | at

9:05am: The 2025 option is valued at $7.5MM and does not contain a buyout, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports. The value of that option would jump $500K if O’Hearn appears in 120 games and another $500K for appearing in 150 games.

8:30am: O’Hearn is guaranteed $3.5MM, Andy Koska of the Baltimore Banner reports.

7:54am: The Orioles announced this morning that the club agreed to a one-year contract with first baseman Ryan O’Hearn to avoid arbitration. The terms of the deal are not yet clear, though the pact does include a club option for the 2025 season. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected O’Hearn for a $3MM salary in 2024 back in October. Both sides submitted figures slightly higher than that projection back in January, as O’Hearn requested a $3.8MM salary while the Orioles countered at $3.2MM.

The 30-year-old O’Hearn, acquired from the Royals last offseason in exchange for cash, has the best season of his big league career with Baltimore in 2023. The former eighth-round pick slashed .289/.322/.480 with career-highs in plate appearances (368), home runs (14), doubles (22).

That O’Hearn agreed to a club option for the 2025 season is an unexpected benefit for the Orioles. The lefty-swinging slugger had been slated to reach open market following the 2024 campaign, but Baltimore now gains control over what would’ve been his first free-agent season.

O’Hearn tallied only 29 plate appearances against left-handed pitchers in 2023, and he’ll likely reprise that platoon first base/designated role in 2024. He’ll be joined by right-handed-hitting Ryan Mountcastle in that mix, but both players will have plenty of young talent pushing for playing time as the season wears on. Corner infielder Coby Mayo and outfielders Colton Cowser and Heston Kjerstad could all push onto the big league roster and into prominent roles at some point in 2024. (Cowser and Kjerstad have already made their MLB debuts.)

If and when that happens, right fielder Anthony Santander could be pushed into more time at designated hitter, crowding the mix. It’s a good “problem” for the Orioles to have, and one that could of course be alleviated by injuries that a team inevitably incurs over the course of the year. At $3.5MM, O’Hearn is a reasonably priced power bat off the bench, even if the Orioles’ burgeoning youth movement pushes him into a reserve role.

The Orioles exchanged arbitration figures with an MLB-high five players, O’Hearn among them. The team avoided hearings with O’Hearn and left-handed relievers Danny Coulombe and Cionel Perez by agreeing to one-year deals with club options for the 2025 season. Outfielder Austin Hays and right-handed reliever Jacob Webb both won hearings over the team.

The Opener: Spring Training, Arraez, Red Sox

By | at

With baseball’s preseason kicking into gear, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. Baseball is back!

Pitchers and catchers are reporting to camp ahead of Spring Training for 18 of the league’s 30 clubs today. When combined with the early reporting dates for the Dodgers and Padres, that means camp will be underway for two thirds of the league by the end of the day. Even as teams begin their preparations for the coming campaign, however, four of the offseason’s top 10 free agents remain on the market and the rumor mill continues to buzz with the possibility of more preseason deals both in free agency and on the trade market.

Among the teams reporting to camp today are the Rangers, who enter the 2024 campaign looking to defend the first World Series title in franchise history; the Diamondbacks, who hope to carry over the momentum that allowed that to make a surprise run to the Fall Classic last year into the new season; and the Twins, who will look to return to the postseason in 2024 after breaking their record 18-game postseason losing streak and won a playoff series for the first time since 2003.

2. Arraez, Marlins await hearing results:

Second baseman Luis Arraez is scheduled to go to a hearing against his club today after the sides failed to come to an agreement to avoid arbitration, as noted by the Associated Press. Arraez requested a $12MM salary for the 2024 campaign, while the Marlins offered $10.6MM. Arraez won his case against Miami last year, when a panel of arbiters awarded him $6.1MM rather than the Marlins’ submitted figure of $5MM. Arraez’s hearing comes on the heels of a loss by Rays right-hander Jason Adam, who also went to arbitration against his club for the second consecutive season after winning last year’s hearing. With five cases as of yet undecided, players have won in seven hearings while teams have won in four.

3. What’s the plan for the Red Sox?

It’s been a strange offseason in Boston. After a lengthy search for the club’s next chief baseball officer which ended the club hiring Craig Breslow, the club made clear that their primary focus this winter would be on bolstering the starting rotation. Since then, the club shipped out longtime ace Chris Sale in a trade that brought second baseman Vaughn Grissom back from Atlanta while landing right-hander Lucas Giolito via free agency. That series of moves that landed the club a potential regular at a position of need but arguably left the club with a similar lack of rotation depth and a volatile top veteran starter. Since then, club officials have backtracked on previous comments indicating a “full-throttle” approach to the winter while noting that payroll would likely go down in 2024.

That conflicting messaging leaves plenty of uncertainty surrounding the Red Sox as the club’s pitchers and catchers begin to report to camp today. While the club continues to pursue additions to its outfield mix via free agency, it’s simultaneously receiving trade interest in outfielder Jarren Duran while also shopping listening to offers on key bullpen pieces such as Kenley Jansen and Chris Martin. Will the arrival of Spring Training provide more clarity on the club’s direction headed into the 2024 campaign?

Athletics To Meet With Government Officials About Coliseum Lease Extension

By | at

The Athletics have a meeting on Thursday with officials from the City of Oakland and County of Alameda to discuss a lease extension at the Coliseum, reports John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle.

The A’s are planning to move to Las Vegas for the 2028 season, a move that was already unanimously approved by all 29 other owners. But their lease at the Coliseum in Oakland is up after 2024, leaving them without a home stadium for the three intervening seasons. Various solutions for how to navigate that interim period have been considered, including playing in Sacramento, Salt Lake City, Reno, sharing San Francisco’s Oracle Park with the Giants or playing at the organization’s Triple-A field in Las Vegas.

Staying in Oakland never seemed to be a realistic option, with the relationship between the club and the city growing frosty during and after the stadium negotiations. Oakland mayor Sheng Thao has previously indicated that the city would have lofty demands in any lease discussions, such as the city retaining the rights to the name “Athletics” or a guarantee of a future expansion franchise. More recently, she indicated the city is willing to reopen talks with the club, but also relayed that she hadn’t spoken with owner John Fisher since he started focusing on the Vegas move in April.

It seems likely there’s a financial motivation for the sides to come back to the table. It was reported back in August that the club’s TV deal with NBC Sports California runs through 2033 and pays the club about $60MM per year. Jeff Passan of ESPN later reported that the club will actually receive about $70MM in 2024. But the deal lapses if the club leaves the Bay Area.

Sharing Oracle Park with the Giants would allow the club to continue collecting that money but would come with many logistical problems. The other proposed locations are not considered to be in the Bay Area and would result in forfeiting the deal. If the A’s want to get that TV money, staying in Oakland could be their best bet.

That doesn’t necessarily mean the upcoming negotiations will be fruitful, as the city and county will now they have leverage coming into the talks. But with the club having millions of dollars on the line, perhaps they can work something out. Shea reports that the A’s pay $1.2MM annually in rent. Also per today’s report, the meeting will feature Oakland chief of staff Leigh Hanson, city council member Rebecca Kaplan, county supervisor David Haubert and A’s team president Dave Kaval.

Drew Gagnon, Eric Stout Sign With CPBL Teams

By | at

Former big league pitchers Drew Gagnon and Eric Stout have both signed on with teams in Taiwan’s Chinese Professional Baseball League. Gagnon, the reigning CPBL MVP, re-signed with the Wei Chuan Dragons, per a team announcement. It’s a two-year deal for the former Mets righty, who’s repped by GSI. The left-handed Stout, who’s previously pitched in the big leagues for the Royals, Cubs and Pirates, has signed with the CPBL’s CTBC Brothers, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes reports. The 30-year-old Stout, a client of NPG Sports, finished out the 2023 season with the Brothers as well after beginning last year with the Mariners’ Triple-A affiliate.

Gagnon, 33, has spent the past three seasons pitching with the Dragons and cemented himself as one of the top starters in the CPBL. Since debuting there in 2021, he’s pitched 451 1/3 innings of 3.07 ERA ball with a 20.5% strikeout rate and 6.4% walk rate. The 183 innings Gagnon pitched this past season were a personal-high at any level in his 13-year professional career, and he turned in a sharp 3.00 ERA with a 20.8% strikeout rate and 5.9% walk rate.

Gagnon hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since a 2018-19 run with the Mets that saw him record a 7.32 ERA in a small sample of 35 2/3 innings. He spent the 2020 season with the KBO’s Kia Tigers, pitching to a 4.34 ERA in 159 2/3 frames, and his new two-year pact — one of the most lucrative for a foreign player in CPBL history — will keep him in Taiwan for his fourth and fifth CPBL campaigns.

For a former third-rounder who’d become something of a minor league journeyman before making his first jump to the professional ball in Asia, Gagnon has carved out a nice career with better compensation and job security than he’d have had jumping from Triple-A club to Triple-A club in hopes of a perhaps brief MLB return. Present-day CPBL salaries for first-year foreign players can range from $300-400K, and with Gagnon coming off an MVP season and a strong three-year run, he’s quite likely priced himself north of those figures.

As for Stout, he’d been pitching in the bullpen with the Mariners’ Triple-A affiliate but stretched out as a starter in Taiwan, ultimately taking the ball a dozen times and pitching to a 3.28 ERA with a 27.9% strikeout rate and 4.6% walk rate in 68 2/3 frames. He’ll head back to the Brothers’ rotation for the upcoming season. It’s not uncommon for former big leaguers pitching in the CPBL to draw interest from larger Asian professional leagues as the season wears on, but even if he spends the whole year in the CPBL, Stout could parlay a strong showing there into interest from KBO, NPB and/or MLB teams.

In the majors, Stout has just 24 2/3 innings under his belt. He’s been tagged for an unsightly 7.30 ERA in that time.  In parts of six Triple-A seasons, he carries a 4.63 ERA in 286 innings, with particularly solid results over the past two years between the affiliates for the Pirates, Cubs and Mariners. Stout drew some interest from big league clubs early in the offseason, though that was presumably on minor league arrangements. He’ll instead head back to Taiwan and hope that continued success there can either lead to a multi-year deal like the one signed by Gagnon or perhaps a larger guarantee with a team in the KBO, NPB or even back in MLB at some point.

Padres Continue To Explore Outfield, Rotation Markets

By | at

Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller met with reporters on Tuesday afternoon as spring camp got underway. Pointing to a “late-developing market,” Preller made clear the team anticipated making a few more acquisitions (link via AJ Cassavell of MLB.com).

“We’ve had, honestly, trade conversations that are still ongoing. Usually at this point in the season, most teams are focused on: They have their roster, getting into Spring Training, going and playing,” Preller said. “We’ve been pretty active. … We’re always going to be looking to add and improve. The team that starts camp here in the next couple days, it’s not going to be the team that, obviously, we finish with.”

That’s self-evident given the state of the team’s outfield. The Padres have two clear openings alongside Fernando Tatis Jr. after trading Juan Soto and Trent Grisham. Light-hitting center fielder José Azocar is the only other outfielder on the 40-man roster. Jurickson Profar will join him once his one-year contract is finalized, yet he’s more of a depth option after a rough season in Colorado.

San Diego has had recent conversations with the Red Sox regarding Jarren Duran. He’s surely one of a number of possible options the front office has considered. With five years of club control, Boston figures to stick to a high asking price on the lefty-hitting outfielder. San Diego has also shown interest in Michael A. Taylor, the top unsigned free agent center fielder beyond Cody Bellinger, this offseason.

Budget constraints have been the prevailing theme of the Padres’ offseason. They allowed a number of key free agents to depart and offloaded upwards of $30MM in the Soto blockbuster. That cut their projected season-opening spending to around $160MM, as calculated by Roster Resource.

Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that the team is planning on carrying a player payroll in the $180-190MM range for the upcoming season. That’d leave $20-30MM in remaining spending room, although Acee writes that the team may prefer to keep some of that in reserve for midseason acquisitions. They should be able to bring in a couple low-cost free agents but will have to rely on some internal options to take a step forward.

In the outfield, that could be top prospect Jackson Merrill. He spent much of the offseason training as an outfielder in addition to his customary shortstop work. Merrill enters camp with what appears to be a legitimate chance to make the Opening Day roster as a 20-year-old. He has all of 44 games above A-ball, however. He finished last season with a .273/.338/.444 showing at Double-A San Antonio and hasn’t played at the top minor league level. 22-year-old Jakob Marsee only has 16 games of Double-A experience but put together an impressive .273/.413/.425 showing in High-A and impressed in the Arizona Fall League.

While the outfield is the biggest concern, San Diego could use additional rotation depth and perhaps another bench bat. Preller left open the possibility of bringing in another starter. Only Joe Musgrove, Yu Darvish and Michael King are locks for the season-opening five. Jhony Brito, Randy Vásquez, Jay Groome, Pedro Avila and prospects like Jairo Iriarte and Drew Thorpe could all vie for season-opening roles. Top prospect Robby Snelling also received an invite to big league camp but seems a long shot for the Opening Day roster, as he has made all of four starts in Double-A.

That group is very light on MLB experience. Even King, who is locked into a mid-rotation role, was a reliever for the Yankees until last August. The Athletic’s Dennis Lin reported last week that the Padres were showing some level of interest in free agent starters Michael Lorenzen, Hyun Jin Ryu, and old friend Eric Lauer. Acee recently added Noah Syndergaard to that list.

Acquiring controllable pitching in trade at this stage of the offseason would be challenging. That’s particularly true if the Padres are loath to part with the likes of Snelling and Dylan Lesko towards the top of the farm system. If they were to consider dealing from the MLB roster for help in another area, middle infielder Ha-Seong Kim has been their most valuable realistic trade chip. He’s due $10MM this year and will become a free agent when his 2025 mutual option is declined (very likely by Kim) at the beginning of next offseason.

Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets that interest in Kim from other teams remains very high. Yet Preller didn’t sound urgent to deal the Gold Glove winner, characterizing talks more as due diligence. “With the Kim situation, we were pretty consistent through the offseason. You’re never going to hang up the phone. You’re always going to listen on any player when anybody calls. But it wasn’t something we were pushing,” he told reporters (including Cassavell). “We see him as a huge part of our team. Most likely, if we’re going to play well, it’s Ha-Seong Kim in the middle of the diamond.“

Giants Acquire Otto López, Designate TJ Hopkins

By | at

9:48pm: López still has one minor league option remaining, reports Andrew Baggarly of the Athletic (on X). That affords San Francisco the freedom to send him to Triple-A without putting him on waivers.

2:07pm: The Giants have acquired infielder/outfielder Otto López from the Blue Jays, per announcements from both clubs. The Blue Jays, who designated López for assignment last week, receive cash considerations in return. In order to open a spot on their roster, the Giants designated outfielder TJ Hopkins for assignment.

López, 25, was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays when the team finalized its five-year deal with right-hander Yariel Rodriguez. The right-handed hitter has appeared in sparse MLB action over the past two seasons. He’s 6-for-10 during that time (all singles) but has spent the bulk of his 2022-23 seasons in Triple-A Buffalo. He had a big year at the plate with Buffalo in ’22, hitting .297/.378/.415 in 391 plate appearances, but López declined across the board this past season, slashing just .258/.313/.343 in a comparable amount of playing time.

While López has long rated among the Jays’ top 30 prospects due to a plus hit tool and above-average speed, he has bottom-of-the-scale power (seven homers in 931 Triple-A plate appearances). He’s punched out in just 15% of his Triple-A plate appearances but hasn’t walked at an especially high clip (8.3%). And for all the speed he possesses, López’s 70.8% success rate in 518 minor league games (90-for-127) is below average.

López brings some versatility to the Giants’ bench, but he also adds another right-handed bat to an infield mix that’s already crowded with such options. He’s played second base, shortstop, third base and all three outfield positions, though scouts question whether he has the arm to play on the left side of the diamond. He’ll be in the mix for playing time alongside J.D. Davis, Wilmer Flores and Thairo Estrada around the infield — if he sticks on the 40-man roster. It’s also possible the Giants simply try to pass López through waivers, which would allow them to keep him in the organization at Triple-A without dedicating a 40-man roster spot.

Hopkins, 27, made his MLB debut this past season with the Reds and went 7-for-41 (all singles) with a pair of walks and 17 strikeouts in 44 plate appearances. It was hardly an eye-catching debut, but the 2019 ninth-rounder’s production in Triple-A Louisville was far more intriguing. In his first full season at the top minor league level, Hopkins delivered a robust .308/.411/.514 batting line with a 14% walk rate, 23.9% strikeout rate, 16 home runs, 18 doubles, a triple and a pair of steals. Cincinnati designated him for assignment in December, and the Giants acquired him in exchange for cash.

Hopkins has played primarily left field in his professional career but has plenty of experience in right field and center field as well. He’s been an average or better hitter at every minor league stop and steadily improved both his walk and strikeout rates as he’s climbed the minor league ladder. He still has a pair of minor league options remaining. That could make him an intriguing fit for clubs seeking low-cost right-handed-hitting options to add to the outfield mix. The Red Sox, Twins and Padres are among the teams in that boat. San Francisco will have a week to trade Hopkins or attempt to pass him through outright waivers.

Marlins, Curt Casali Agree To Minor League Deal

By | at

The Marlins are in agreement with free agent catcher Curt Casali on a minor league contract, reports Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic (on X). The Beverly Hills Sports Council client will be in MLB camp as a non-roster invitee, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post (X link).

Casali, 35, spent last season as a member of the Reds. He signed a $3.25MM free agent deal for what proved to be his second stint in Cincinnati. Casali was penciled in as a third catcher behind Tyler Stephenson and Luke Maile. He didn’t see a ton of action, in part because of a foot injury that ended his season in mid-July. Casali took 96 plate appearances, hitting .175/.290/.200.

That marked Casali’s 10th season logging some major league action. He’s a career .220/.314/.380 hitter in just over 500 games. Casali draws a decent number of walks but pairs that with lofty strikeout totals that have generally capped his offensive ceiling. He has a solid reputation as a defender and is a familiar presence to Miami assistant GM Gabe Kapler, who managed Casali during the 2022 season in San Francisco.

The Marlins only have two catchers on the 40-man roster: Christian Bethancourt and Nick Fortes. It’s likely that Casali will open the season at Triple-A Jacksonville as the top depth player behind the dish. Fortes still has a minor league option remaining, so Miami could send him to Triple-A if Casali plays his way into the backup job during Spring Training.

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top