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Cardinals Sign Ryan Vilade To Minor League Deal

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The Cardinals announced that they have signed infielder/outfielder Ryan Vilade to a minor league contract. The Icon Sports Management client also receives a non-roster invite to major league spring training.

Vilade, 26 in February, has some slivers of major league experience. He got into three games for the 2021 Rockies and then 17 games for the 2024 Tigers. He has a .157/.200/.216 batting line in 56 plate appearances in the big leagues. He was outrighted by Detroit at the end of the season and elected free agency.

Those numbers are obviously not impressive, but it’s also a tiny sample size and the Cards are surely looking more at his minor league track record. He got into 108 Triple-A games in 2024, slashing .278/.346/.449 for a 105 wRC+ in his 442 plate appearances at that level. He also stole 20 bases while lining up defensively at all three outfield spots and the three non-shortstop infield positions.

Vilade also has a bit of prospect pedigree, as he was a second-round pick of the Rockies in 2017. He hit well in the lower levels of the minors in the early stages of his professional career, getting ranked by Baseball America as one of Colorado’s top ten prospects from 2018 to 2022. But he didn’t hit much at the Triple-A level in 2021 or 2022, so the Rockies put him on waivers. The Pirates put in a claim and ran him through waivers, with Vilade then going on to have another lackluster Triple-A season in 2023.

He was able to elect free agency going into 2024 and signed a minor league deal with the Tigers. As mentioned, he didn’t do much in his brief major league time but got back on track a bit at the Triple-A level, enough to intrigue the Cardinals.

St. Louis is planning for 2025 to be a reset year, where they will be more focused on upgrading their player development pipeline than on short-term contention. As such, it’s possible that they could consider trades of players with limited long-term value. Nolan Arenado seems like he could be on the move since he is turning 34 and wants to play for a contender. Brendan Donovan and Lars Nootbaar have three years of club control left and are plausible candidates to be available. Nolan Gorman still has four years of club control remaining but seems to have fallen out of favor with the Cards, making him a change of scenery candidate. Paul Goldschmidt is already gone via free agency.

Vilade’s ability to play multiple positions means that he could take up some of the playing time that might shake loose as the club shuffles the roster. If he gets a roster spot at any point, he still has one option year remaining and only has a few days of service time, meaning he can potentially be cheaply retained into the future.

Rays’ Jeffrey Springs, Pete Fairbanks Drawing Trade Interest

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There’s never an offseason where the Rays don’t have multiple players circulating the rumor mill, and this winter is no exception. Tampa Bay already flipped center fielder Jose Siri to the Mets last month, and there’s been plenty of speculation about the possibility of trades of some of their veteran players earning notable salaries. Yandy Diaz has often been the focus, but he’s one of several players who could draw interest. MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reports that closer Pete Fairbanks and left-hander Jeffrey Springs are among the Rays who’ve been popular in trade talks recently.

It’s not a huge surprise to see either player’s name pop up in trade rumblings. Fairbanks featured prominently on MLBTR’s list of top offseason trade candidates back in early November. Springs is the most expensive of at least six healthy rotation options for the Rays. Both players are signed for multiple seasons.

Springs, 32, has two years and $21MM remaining on a four-year, $31MM extension he signed prior to the 2023 season. The contract contains a $15MM club option for the 2027 season ($750K buyout). To this point, that contract hasn’t panned out as hoped, though not necessarily through any real fault of Springs. The journeyman southpaw broke out with the Rays in 2022, posting a sparkling 2.46 ERA with a strong 26.2% strikeout rate and terrific 5.6% walk rate in 135 2/3 innings. He looked like another late-blooming diamond in the rough unearthed by a Rays front office with a knack for just that type of discovery.

Unfortunately, Springs hasn’t been healthy since. He made three dominant starts to open the 2023 season (16 innings, one run allowed, 24-to-4 K/BB ratio) and then suffered a UCL tear that required Tommy John surgery. He missed the remainder of the ’23 campaign and made it back to the mound for seven big league starts and 33 innings late last year. The results were good in that limited sample. Springs posted a sharp 3.27 earned run average, fanned 26.1% of opponents and held his walks to a 7.7% rate. His average four-seamer was down from 91.4 mph in 2022 to 89.8 mph in 2024, however, and he saw similar velocity drops on his slider and changeup. Springs’ 12.9% swinging-strike rate was still strong, but it’s down from the 14.2% clip he displayed in 2021-23.

In addition to Springs, the Rays have Drew Rasmussen, Ryan Pepiot, Zack Littell, Taj Bradley, Shane Baz and a returning Shane McClanahan (2022 Tommy John surgery) all in the mix for starts next year. That’s in addition to yet-to-debut prospects like Joe Rock and Ian Seymour, who both excelled in the upper minors last year. Springs has looked the part of a high-end starter in the past but only for a fleeting span of about 150 innings across 2022-23. The Rays would be selling a bit low, but his $10.5MM salary is steep for them under normal circumstances — let alone at a time when the club is facing likely revenue losses following Hurricane Milton’s decimation of Tropicana Field’s roof and the club’s subsequent agreement to play at Tampa’s Steinbrenner Field — the spring training and Class-A home of the Yankees.

Fairbanks, 30, has been terrific when healthy in five seasons with the Rays. “When healthy” is an unfortunately crucial caveat, however, as the flamethrowing 6’6″ righty has never reached 50 appearances or topped 45 1/3 innings in a big league season. Dating back to 2020, Fairbanks touts a 2.89 ERA. He fanned nearly 35% of his opponents from 2020-23 but saw that number slip to a roughly average 23.7% this past season. Fairbanks didn’t have a huge loss of velocity on his heater, but it dipped from an average of 98 mph from ’20-’23 to 97.3 mph in 2024. His slider saw a larger drop, going from an average of 86.4 mph to 85 mph over those same periods.

The Rays signed Fairbanks to a three-year, $12MM contract that bought out all three arbitration years (2023-25) and guaranteed them control over his first free-agent season in the form of a 2026 club option. He’s owed $3.666MM this season with a $7MM option ($1MM buyout) on his ’26 campaign. Even for a partial season of a reliever with Fairbanks’ upside, it’s a pretty modest price to pay. As such, there’s no inherent urgency for the Rays to move him. They might feel a bit more motivated to move Springs and his weightier salary, but to this point it’s not clear the Rays are necessarily shopping either — just that they’ve drawn interest.

The Rays’ lot in life, of course, is to constantly listen on all of their players as they progress through their arbitration years or the latter stages of any contract extensions. This year’s stadium troubles and the uncertainty surrounding their home in 2026 and beyond only add to that.

At the same time, Tampa Bay already significantly culled payroll with their series of deadline trades and via the departures of some arb-eligible players (via trade and non-tender). RosterResource projects a bit less than $79MM in payroll for the Rays this coming season — already a drop of more than $10MM from their 2024 levels. Trading Springs, Fairbanks or other veterans like the aforementioned Diaz or Brandon Lowe could further reduce spending and free up the Rays to take on some money in other trades. With regard to free agency, they’re in a similar spot to the A’s in that they’ll have to persuade players to sign on for at least one year (and likely more) playing their home games in a minor league facility.

Royals Planning To Move Kris Bubic Back To Rotation

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The Royals intend to use Kris Bubic as a starting pitcher in 2025, write Will Sammon, Katie Woo and Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic. The southpaw pitched out of the bullpen this past season after a 14-month layoff rehabbing Tommy John surgery.

Kansas City presumably always intended for Bubic’s relief role to be a short-term measure to avoid placing too much stress on his arm shortly after surgery. The southpaw’s excellent performance in short stints could’ve at least made it tempting to keep him there. Bubic was dominant over 27 relief outings, turning in a 2.67 earned run average across 30 1/3 innings. He struck out 32.2% of opponents against a minuscule 4.1% walk rate. Bubic got whiffs on nearly 15% of his offerings, well above the 11.6% league average for relievers.

That’s a relatively small sample, but Bubic was arguably K.C.’s best setup option in front of closer Lucas Erceg. The bullpen remains a concern. Chris Stratton struggled in the first season of his two-year free agent deal, while deadline pickup Hunter Harvey barely pitched for K.C. because of back issues. John Schreiber and Sam Long had solid seasons, but neither profiles as a lockdown setup man. Former top prospect Daniel Lynch IV could be well-suited to a bullpen move. He pitched well in 13 relief outings, though he spent the majority of the season as rotation depth at Triple-A Omaha.

Kansas City’s rotation is more established. Cole Ragans, Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha form an excellent front three. After trading Brady Singer for Jonathan India, Kansas City has some combination of Bubic, Alec Marsh and Kyle Wright (who is returning after losing the ’24 season to shoulder surgery) to fill out the back of the staff. All three still have a minor league option. Bubic should be on the MLB roster in some capacity, seemingly as a starter, but either of Marsh or Wright could begin the year in Omaha if everyone is healthy coming out of camp.

While Bubic was excellent in relief, his track record as a starter is less impressive. The Stanford product has a career 4.99 ERA with a middling 20.1% strikeout rate over 297 2/3 innings out of the rotation. It’s possible he was about to turn a corner before the surgery. Bubic made a trio of starts in April 2023. He struck out 16 batters in as many innings while working to a 3.94 ERA. He had a 14.7% swinging strike rate — essentially matching this past season’s relief work — in those three appearances. If that was the sign of an impending breakout, it was put on hold when Bubic’s elbow blew out.

He’ll get another opportunity to see if he can maintain that newfound swing-and-miss as a starter. The Athletic writes that the Royals could limit his innings count to 140-150 next season to avoid overworking him. That’s not far below the workload expected of most modern starters, especially those who occupy mid-rotation roles, so it doesn’t seem as if he’ll be too restricted. Sammon, Woo and Rosenthal suggest that K.C. could look to add a swingman to strengthen their depth, though that’s not as pressing as their goal of adding an impact hitter on the trade market.

Royals Reach Deal With Diamond Sports Group

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The Royals announced today that have signed a new deal with Diamond Sports Group, owner of the FanDuel Sports Network, formerly known as Bally’s. That company will continue to broadcast the club’s games in 2025.

Coming into today, the Royals were one of the few clubs with their broadcast situation still up in the air. Diamond Sports Group was the broadcaster for almost half the league as of a few years ago, but cord cutting put a dent in the regional sports network (RSN) model. They filed for bankruptcy in March of 2023 and their profile has been decreasing since then.

As part of the bankruptcy process, Diamond dropped its deals with the Padres and Diamondbacks, leaving Major League Baseball to take over those broadcasts for the 2024 season. That still left Diamond with 12 clubs in 2024 but they revealed in court two months ago that they were only planning to keep one of those clubs for 2025, which was Atlanta.

Of the other 11, four of them followed the Padres and Diamondbacks in having MLB handle the broadcasts: the Brewers, Twins, Guardians and Reds. Six worked out new deals with Diamond, reportedly or presumedly with lower fees than their previous deals: the Marlins, Cardinals, Angels, Rays, Tigers and now the Royals. That leaves the Rangers as the final team in limbo. They reportedly aren’t going to return to Diamond but are looking into creating their own RSN, though it’s still unknown if they will be able to get that off the ground for the new season.

Diamond emerged from bankruptcy last month but it’s still unclear what the long-term relationship with Major League Baseball will be. It has been reported that none of the new Diamond deals go beyond 2028, with the league considering various plans for future broadcast deals. Per Anne Rogers of MLB.com, the Royals will have the chance to re-evaluate their Diamond deal after 2025, so it seems it’s only a one-year pact or perhaps has some kind of opt-out language.

Like the other clubs who re-upped with Diamond, the Royals are going to be receiving less revenue from this new pact than they did previously. As recently as 2022, they reportedly received $45MM for their annual rights fees but president of business operations Brooks Sherman confirmed today that the revenue will be lower in this new deal without providing specific, per Rogers.

How that impacts the club’s offseason remains to be seen. They were quite aggressive last winter, signing players like Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo, as well as giving a huge extension to Bobby Witt Jr. That aggression paid off, with the Royals going from 56 wins in 2023 to 86 in 2024, good enough for a Wild Card spot. RosterResource currently projects the Royals for a $116MM payroll next year, very close to where they were in 2024. The club recently added Jonathan India via trade and is reportedly looking for another lineup addition with a preference for the trade market over free agency.

For fans, it seems little will change. The games will still be on television as before and those who streamed via the Bally Sports app will just have to switch to the FanDuel Sports Network app. There’s also now the added option of streaming via an add-on to Amazon Prime, which is the case with all clubs who have deals with Diamond.

Blake Snell’s Deal With Dodgers Includes Conditional Club Option

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Left-hander Blake Snell and the Dodgers reportedly agreed to a deal a week ago and the club officially announced it on the weekend, but the finer details of the pact are still trickling out. Per Jon Heyman of The New York Post (X link), the $182MM guarantee breaks down as a $52MM signing bonus followed by $26MM salaries in each of the five years of the deal, though with $13.2MM deferred annually without interest. There’s a $5MM assignment bonus if Snell is traded. Additionally, there’s a $10MM club option for 2030 under certain conditions: if Snell hasn’t been assigned to another club and has 90 or more days in a row on the injured list due to specific injury.

Many of these details came out in the initial reporting, including the guarantee, the signing bonus, the assignment bonus and that there were significant deferrals. However, the deferrals are slightly higher than initially thought. The numbers reported last week were $13MM in annual deferrals for a total of $65MM, but we now know that it’s slightly higher than that, with the $13.2MM annual figure actually getting the total number of deferrals to $66MM. Per Bob Nightengale of USA Today (X link), the MLBPA calculates the net present value of the deal at $150.336MM.

But the conditional option is the most significant new development today, as there was no prior reporting about Snell’s contract extending into the 2030 season in any way. Now it’s known that the Dodgers could potentially hold onto Snell for a sixth year, though only under certain circumstances.

Given the conditions, it seems it gives the Dodgers a bit of an insurance policy in the event Snell ends up with a significant injury over the course of the deal. Presumably, the specific injury would involve something related to his pitching elbow, whether that’s Tommy John surgery or some internal brace alternative. Such surgeries have become increasingly common in baseball in recent decades but still require pitchers to spend upwards of a year recovering.

Assuming that is the specific injury covered in the contract, the Dodgers would have the choice of keeping Snell around for an extra year, compensating them in a way for the lost year. Snell will be 37 years old by the time 2030 rolls around, so it’s anyone’s guess what kind of form he will be in at that point, especially if there’s a notable injury along the way. But $10MM is already not a lot of money for a starting pitcher.

Last winter, veteran back-end guys like Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn got $13MM and $11MM guarantees on one-year deals, respectively. Wade Miley and Alex Wood were not far behind at $8.5MM. Inflation generally pushes salaries up over time, so those kinds of deals might creep up a bit between now and 2030.

It’s also possible Snell’s future talent level is above where those guys are now, given that he’s a two-time Cy Young winner and has had a more impressive peak than anyone in that group. Not all pitchers can maintain that kind of performance into their late 30s, but those who do are handsomely rewarded. Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander and Zack Wheeler were each recently able to secure salaries of $42MM or higher for deals that covered their late 30s or early 40s, so Snell at $10MM could be a massive bargain if he continues to pitch well over the course of the deal.

The fact that the option is also conditional on Snell not being assigned to another club is also interesting, as it could reduce the chances of Snell being traded while hurt. Robbie Ray underwent Tommy John surgery while with the Mariners and found himself traded to the Giants before he recovered from that procedure. If Snell ends up missing some time and unlocking that option for the Dodgers, they might be more inclined to keep him and take advantage of that option. All of this is moot for now, but it could become relevant down the line, depending on how things play out in the next five years.

Mariners Looking At Corner Infield Upgrades More Than Second Base

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The Mariners are known to be looking for upgrades at multiple infield positions this offseason, with shortstop J.P. Crawford standing as their only locked-in starter. The M’s have strong interest in bringing back either Justin Turner or Carlos Santana for a second go with the organization at first base, and they’ve reportedly been exploring their options at both second base and third base. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic now writes that Seattle’s focus is more on third base options than at second base. The M’s currently have in-house options like Ryan Bliss, Dylan Moore and top prospect Cole Young at second base.

As it stands, Moore and recent DFA acquisition Austin Shenton are the most prominent options at third base. Moore and fellow infielder Leo Rivas profile better as utility options, with Moore in particular representing a potential short-side platoon option if the M’s add a left-handed bat.

Payroll stands as an obvious obstacle for the Mariners once again. Seattle ownership anticipates an increase in 2025, but likely not by a notable amount. Following the team’s non-tenders of Josh Rojas, Austin Voth, Sam Haggerty and JT Chargois, Adam Jude of the Seattle Times suggested the M’s could have somewhere in the vicinity of $16MM with which to work. There’s surely some wiggle room there, but it’s unlikely the Mariners are going to cannonball into the free agent pool with a splash for, say, Alex Bregman or Willy Adames. Even if the funds for such a move were there, president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto prefers to operate primarily on the trade market. In nine years with the Mariners, he’s only given a multi-year deal to one position-player free agent (Mitch Garver at two years and $24MM).

Trade options aren’t exactly plentiful, but there are some names known to be on the block. The Phillies have been shopping Alec Bohm around as they look to change up their offense. Bohm isn’t an elite bat and has a mixed-bag of defensive results at the hot corner, but he’s available and affordable enough, with a projected $8.1MM salary (courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz). Elsewhere in the NL East, former Mets top prospect Brett Baty stands a change of scenery candidate following the emergence of Mark Vientos. Even if the Mets allow Pete Alonso to walk in free agency and move Vientos across the diamond, they could look to bring in a higher-profile third baseman.

Nolan Arenado is also widely known to be available, but he’s owed $32MM next season (plus $27MM in 2026 and $15MM in 2027). The Rockies are paying $5MM of that in each of the next two seasons under the terms of the trade that sent Arenado from Denver to St. Louis, but that’s still a big contract for a team that ostensibly has limited budget space. Speculatively speaking, the Mariners and Twins could line up on a deal for a second straight winter. Minnesota has a crowded infield mix and could consider moving Jose Miranda with both Brooks Lee and Royce Lewis as options to flank shortstop Carlos Correa. Then again, Miranda could just move across the diamond to first base, so it’s not as though he’s lacking a clear opportunity in Minneapolis. The Marlins would probably listen on Jake Burger, but he’s the type of low-OBP, strikeout-prone slugger from whom the Mariners have been trying to move away in recent seasons.

The Mariners’ options on the trade market would surely open up if they were willing to deal from their rotation. However, at season’s end, Dipoto not only indicated that moving a controllable starter wasn’t Plan A or B for the Mariners — he likened the notion to “Plan Z” (link via MLB.com’s Daniel Kramer).

Dipoto and GM Justin Hollander have both spoken openly about their fondness for the Mariners’ excellent young rotation and both expressed reluctance to move on from the group. Still, if Seattle were to make any of Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Bryce Miller or Bryan Woo available, they’d perhaps be in position to seek similarly appealing young hitters (e.g. Baltimore’s Jordan Westburg or Coby Mayo).

One point worth considering is that the Mariners’ depth beyond the current rotation isn’t as deep as some might think. Former No. 6 overall pick Emerson Hancock’s stock is down considerably, and he’s viewed largely as a back-end starter. Righty Taylor Dollard has only pitched 8 1/3 innings over the past two seasons. Logan Evans, a 12th-rounder in 2023, significantly boosted his stock with a big 2024 but still hasn’t pitched above Double-A. It’s a similar story with 2021 third-rounder Michael Morales. The Mariners already know they’re not likely to be as fortunate with pitcher health as they were in 2024, and trading one of the current arms only further creates the potential to overexpose some of those inexperienced arms in the event of an injury in the big league rotation.

The Opener: Snell, Catching Market, MLBTR Chat

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The Hot Stove has begun to heat back up after slowing down over Thanksgiving. With more activity surely on the horizon, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today.

1. Snell introductory presser today:

The Dodgers are scheduled to hold a press conference at 2:30pm local time this afternoon where they’ll formally introduce left-hander Blake Snell after he signed a five-year deal with the club. Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and GM Brandon Gomes will both be in attendance to field questions from the media. Even after signing Snell, the club may want to make further rotation additions (a reunion with Clayton Kershaw seems inevitable, at the very least) and plenty of work still remains for the reigning champs in the lineup and bullpen as well. L.A. remains on the periphery of the Juan Soto market. They’d like to re-sign Teoscar Hernandez, but if neither hitter lands with them, they could pivot to Anthony Santander as they look for corner outfield help. Meanwhile, the club’s relief corps lost Blake Treinen and Daniel Hudson to free agency and retirement, respectively, making veteran relief help a potential priority this winter.

2. Options dwindling on the catching market:

The Rangers signed catcher Kyle Higashioka to a two-year deal yesterday in a move that took another catcher off the board fairly early in the winter. This year’s crop of free agents behind the plate was sparse to begin with, and it’s only thinned further as Higashioka joins Travis d’Arnaud, Austin Hedges, and Jacob Stallings in having found new homes already. With teams like the Rays, Orioles, Cubs, Blue Jays, and Padres all potentially in the market to add behind the plate, Danny Jansen and Carson Kelly are the top names ahead of an assortment of mid-30s veterans such as Gary Sanchez, Elias Diaz, and James McCann. The lack of quality options behind the plate could create a seller-friendly trade market for catchers, but few obvious trade candidates at the position exist. Minnesota’s Christian Vazquez stands as the most logical name available, but the $10MM he’s owed in 2025 eclipses his market value by a few million. Could the upcoming Winter Meetings involve a mad dash to lock up the remaining catchers on the market?

3. MLBTR Chat Today:

With the Winter Meetings just days away, the 2024-25 offseason has begun to ramp up with a number of noteworthy signings in recent weeks that have already taken six of MLBTR’s Top 50 free agents off the board. Whether you have questions about who your favorite team will be targeting this winter, or a trade proposal in the back of your mind, MLBTR’s Steve Adams will be here to answer your questions during a live chat scheduled for 1pm CT. You can click here to ask a question in advance, join in live once the chat begins, or read the transcript once the chat is complete.

Rangers Sign Kyle Higashioka To Two-Year Deal

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The Rangers announced the signing of catcher Kyle Higashioka to a two-year contract with a mutual option for 2027. Higashioka, a Beverly Hills Sports Council client, is reportedly guaranteed $13.5MM. He’ll make successive salaries of $5.75MM and $6.75MM over the next two seasons. He’s also guaranteed a $1MM buyout on the ’27 option, which is valued at $7MM. The Rangers now have 39 players on their 40-man roster.

Higashioka was one of the top catchers in a weak free agent class. He’d been a first-time free agent even though he’ll turn 35 in April. Drafted out of high school by the Yankees in 2008, Higashioka spent nine seasons in the minors before he got his first big league call. He bounced on and off the MLB roster for another three years. It wasn’t until he’d exhausted his minor league options that he got a permanent big league job in 2020.

New York never gave Higashioka a look as a legitimate starting catcher. He spent four-plus seasons in a backup role while working as Gerrit Cole’s personal catcher. The Yankees packaged him to the Padres in last winter’s Juan Soto blockbuster. While San Diego was looking for a veteran backup who could work behind Luis Campusano, Higashioka was generally viewed as the final piece of their five-player Soto return.

The Huntington Beach native ended up as a surprisingly key contributor to San Diego’s 93-win team. Campusano struggled on both sides of the ball and eventually played his way off the big league roster. Higashioka, on the other hand, had the best season of his career. He hit a personal-high 17 home runs over 84 games. The longball made him a decent offensive player despite terrible on-base marks. Higashioka ran a bizarre .220/.263/.476 batting line over 267 trips to the plate.

Only 21 hitters (minimum 200 plate appearances) had a lower on-base percentage. Still, Higashioka is the only player who ranked among MLB’s bottom 30 in OBP who nevertheless graded as an above-average overall hitter by measure of wRC+ — a testament to his power production. By year’s end, Higashioka had overtaken Campusano as Mike Shildt’s starting catcher. He drilled three more homers in seven postseason games.

Higashioka has earned a solid defensive reputation. Statcast has looked favorably on his pitch framing skills, while he’s generally well-regarded for his ability to work with a pitching staff. Higashioka has struggled as a blocker in consecutive seasons, though. He was charged with nine passed balls across 665 2/3 innings this year. Only Francisco Alvarez (11) was charged with more. Korey Lee and Patrick Bailey tied Higashioka with nine passed balls, but they each caught 150+ more innings than he did. Statcast placed him in the bottom third of qualified catchers in average pop time, though his 20% caught stealing rate was in line with the MLB average.

The on-base deficiencies and perhaps some concern about his arm strength have kept Higashioka from getting a full-time starting job. He has never tallied 300 plate appearances in an MLB season. Teams have viewed him more as a high-quality backup than a true #1 catcher.

Texas has 2023 All-Star Jonah Heim as their primary option behind the plate. Heim had a disappointing ’24 campaign, slumping to a .220/.267/.336 line over 491 plate appearances. Heim has topped 125 games in three straight seasons. Between the regular season and playoffs, he appeared in 148 contests in 2023. Higashioka isn’t likely to supplant him as the starting catcher, but the veteran’s presence could allow manager Bruce Bochy to scale back Heim’s workload by 15-20 games.

Texas got almost nothing out of backup catcher Andrew Knizner for the first few months of the season. The Rangers acquired Carson Kelly at the deadline, but he stumbled to a .235/.291/.343 showing in 31 games. With Kelly hitting free agency, GM Chris Young and his staff targeted Higashioka to hopefully solidify the catching corps.

RosterResource now calculates the Rangers’ payroll around $185MM, while they have about $195MM in luxury tax obligations. Texas reportedly intends to stay underneath the tax threshold in 2025. They’ve got around $46MM in breathing room before they hit that mark, though it’s unclear precisely where ownership will draw the line as the Rangers try to arrange a new setup for their in-market local broadcasting.

Higashioka’s deal meets expectations. MLBTR predicted he’d receive a two-year, $15MM pact that’s marginally higher than what he actually landed. Four free agent catchers have come off the board within the first few weeks of the offseason. Higashioka joins Travis d’Arnaud as recipients of multi-year deals, while Jacob Stallings and Austin Hedges each signed for one guaranteed season. Alongside Kelly, Danny Jansen stands as the top free agent for teams looking for help behind the dish.

The Padres are one of those clubs. Higashioka’s departure leaves the Padres with an obvious need behind the plate. Campusano and Brett Sullivan are the only catchers on their 40-man roster. Neither looks like a viable starter for a team with postseason aspirations. Top prospect Ethan Salas is hopefully the long-term solution, but the teenager is unlikely to make an MLB impact by next season.

Jon Morosi of the MLB Network first reported the Rangers and Higashioka were making progress on an agreement. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News confirmed the deal was in place. Jeff Wilson of DLLS Sports reported the salary breakdown. Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Blue Jays To Add Lou Iannotti To Coaching Staff

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The Blue Jays are hiring Lou Iannotti to John Schneider’s coaching staff, reports TSN’s Scott Mitchell (X link). Mitchell suggests Iannotti is likely to take an assistant hitting coach role under first-year hitting instructor David Popkins.

Iannotti, 32, had been with the Dodgers as a minor league hitting coordinator. A collegiate catcher at Quinnipiac, he had a very brief stint as a professional player in the independent Frontier League. Iannotti quickly moved into coaching in the lowest levels of the Dodgers’ minor league system. He worked his way up to hitting coach for L.A.’s Double-A affiliate before landing the coordinator role that allowed him to oversee multiple minor league levels. This’ll be his first work on an MLB coaching staff.

The Jays already have Hunter Mense on staff as an assistant hitting coach. He’s a holdover from previous years. The Jays otherwise made changes to their offensive staff. Toronto fired previous hitting coach Guillermo Martinez at the end of the season. Don Mattingly, who’d served as offensive coordinator in addition to bench coach, will only have traditional bench coach responsibilities with Popkins coming on as hitting coach.

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