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Archives for January 2025

Pedro Avila Elects Free Agency

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January 30: Avila has declined the assignment in favor of free agency, the team announced.

January 29: The Guardians have sent reliever Pedro Avila outright to Triple-A Columbus, according to the transaction log at MLB.com. Cleveland had designated him for assignment a week ago when they signed Paul Sewald. Avila has been outrighted once before in his career, which gives him the right to elect minor league free agency.

Avila, 28, was a bullpen workhorse this year. He took the ball 54 times and tossed 82 2/3 relief innings between the Padres and Guardians, fourth in the majors behind Ryan Yarbrough, Derek Law and Luke Weaver. While most of Avila’s work came in low-leverage relief, he managed solid results. Avila turned in a 3.81 earned run average with a decent 23.2% strikeout percentage and 45% grounder rate. The righty had a slightly higher than average 10.2% walk rate, but he was generally an effective bullpen piece for skipper Stephen Vogt. He added four scoreless innings during the postseason.

That was Avila’s second straight decent year. He provided San Diego 50 1/3 innings of 3.22 ERA ball while striking out nearly a quarter of opponents in 2023. That makes it somewhat surprising that he didn’t attract any interest on the waiver wire. Avila is out of minor league options, though, so any team that claimed him would’ve needed to keep him in the MLB bullpen or designate him themselves. Apparently no team was willing to commit him a roster spot.

As mentioned, Avila now decides whether to stick with the Guardians or test the market. That he went unclaimed on waivers suggests he’d probably be looking at a minor league deal with a non-roster Spring Training invite if he elects free agency.

Athletics Acquire Jhonny Pereda, Designate Kyle McCann

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The Athletics announced the acquisition of catcher Jhonny Pereda from the Marlins in exchange for cash considerations. Miami had designated the 28-year-old for assignment on Tuesday as the corresponding move for the Connor Gillispie waiver claim. The A’s designated catcher Kyle McCann for assignment to open a 40-man roster spot.

Pereda has played professionally for 11 seasons. He earned his long-awaited major league call last spring. Pereda held his spot on Miami’s 40-man roster all year, though he spent the majority of the season on optional assignment to Triple-A Jacksonville. He made 20 major league appearances, hitting .231/.250/.231 across 40 trips to the plate. The right-handed hitter ran a more impressive .297/.405/.424 slash over 195 plate appearances with Jacksonville.

Over parts of four Triple-A seasons, Pereda carries a strong .293/.385/.408 batting line in nearly 800 plate appearances. He spent time in the Cubs, Red Sox, Giants and Reds organizations before getting his major league look in Miami. Pereda joins Shea Langeliers as the only catchers on the 40-man roster. That makes him the favorite for the backup job right now, though it’s possible the A’s look for a more experienced veteran in the coming weeks. Tyler Soderstrom came up as a catcher but only spent four MLB innings behind the plate last season. He’s probably ticketed for everyday run at first base. Pereda still has a couple minor league options and could go back to Triple-A if the A’s add another catcher.

McCann was the A’s fourth-round pick in 2019. The Georgia Tech product made his big league debut last year. He got into 54 games and slashed .236/.318/.371 through 157 plate appearances. McCann had also fared well at Triple-A Las Vegas two seasons ago. He connected on 17 homers with a .270/.351/.474 batting line over 388 plate appearances, albeit in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.

The lefty-swinging McCann has had a solid offensive reputation dating back his time in college. He has hit for power and taken plenty of walks during his minor league career, though he also strikes out much too often. He fanned at a 37.6% clip during his MLB time and struck out in 32.2% of his plate appearances with Las Vegas. Scouting reports have long questioned his receiving skills. Statcast indeed graded him as a below-average pitch framer for his 324 major league innings. He posted slightly below-average pop times and ran a middling 19% caught stealing rate.

The A’s will trade McCann or place him on waivers within the next few days. His offensive promise could get him a look from another club that is willing to live with some of the defensive tradeoffs. McCann still has a full slate of options and could be freely sent to Triple-A if a team is willing to carry him on the 40-man roster.

Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase first reported that the A’s were acquiring Pereda.

Padres Re-Sign Elias Díaz

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The Padres officially announced that they’ve re-signed catcher Elias Díaz to a one-year deal with a mutual option for the 2026 season. The ACES client is reportedly guaranteed $3.5MM — taking the form of a $1.5MM base salary for the upcoming season and a $2MM buyout on the $7MM option. San Diego had multiple openings on the 40-man roster and didn’t need to make a corresponding move.

Díaz, 34, finished the 2024 season with the Padres. After being released by the Rockies, he landed a minors pact with the Friars and was added to the roster just before the calendar flipped from August to September. He joined Kyle Higashioka and Luis Campusano on the roster, though Campusano would be optioned a little more than a week later. Díaz hit .190/.292/.429 in 24 plate appearances. For the postseason, the Friars carried Higashioka and Díaz on the roster over Campusano, though Higashioka took the bulk of the work as Díaz received only one plate appearance.

Both Díaz and Higashioka became free agents at the end of the season, leaving the Friars with a clear hole behind the plate. Higashioka signed with the Rangers. Campusano, who is still on the roster, seemed to have a breakout season in 2023 when he hit .319/.356/.491, but his line had a steep drop last year, finishing at .227/.281/.361. Since his defensive metrics were also poor, he was considered to be below replacement level on the year.

That made the position a clear target area for the Friars this offseason. However, the club has been remarkably quiet this winter. Once completed, this will be their first free agent signing. Their only trade so far was acquiring right-hander Ron Marinaccio after he was designated for assignment by the White Sox.

That’s surely related to the club’s uncertain payroll situation. The Padres spent aggressively while Peter Seidler was owning the club but it turned out to not be sustainable. In September of 2023, it was reported that the club was “out of compliance with MLB regulations regarding their debt service ratio.” Seidler died in November of that year. The 2023-24 offseason saw the Padres look to cut their payroll, which led to Juan Soto getting traded to the Yankees.

This winter, it once seemed that the club would have to dial back projected spending some more, which led to plenty of rumors involving players like Dylan Cease, Luis Arráez, Michael King, Robert Suarez and others. Reporting in recent days has suggested the situation isn’t quite so dire, with the Friars not necessarily having to cut spending. However, with holes in left field, at catcher, in the rotation and perhaps at shortstop, trading one of those players might still be necessary in order to free up money and then add elsewhere.

Regardless of the specifics, it’s clear that the budget crunch has made president of baseball operations A.J. Preller far less active than in other offseasons. It has also limited the club in addressing their catching situation. They signed Martín Maldonado to a minor league deal and have now made a modest investment with this deal.

Díaz generally gets better marks for his glovework than for his bat. For his career, he has hit .251/.304/.388 for a wRC+ of 78, indicating he’s been 22% below the league average hitter. Catchers generally come in about 10% below the league-wide mean, though Díaz will still come in below that lower bar. Between the Rockies and Padres last year, he hit .265/.313/.382 for a wRC+ of 81.

Behind the plate, outlets like FanGraphs, Baseball Prospectus and Statcast have generally ranked him as a poor framer but close to average in terms of blocking and strong when it comes to controlling the running game.

Díaz and Campusano now project as the club’s catching duo. Campusano still has an option and could be pushed to Triple-A, though the only other backstop on the 40-man roster is Brett Sullivan, who is about to turn 31 years old and has a .206/.243/.299 line in just 103 big league appearances.

Ideally, Campusano would regain his 2023 form and run with the job. He has less than three years of service time and therefore has the potential to be a cheap solution for his four remaining years of club control. But if he can’t rebound from his rough 2024, the Padres now at least have a competent veteran on-hand. Maldonado also gives them some seasoned non-roster depth and it’s also possible the club makes further moves to address the catching situation.

RosterResource now projects the Friars for a competitive balance tax number of $245MM. That’s just a bit above this year’s $241MM base threshold, though as mentioned, it’s possible that they change their financial situation via trades of players making notable salaries.

Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase first reported that Díaz had agreed to a one-year deal that guaranteed $3.5MM and included a mutual option. Álvarez-Montes also reported the specific salary breakdown and the option value.

Reds Designate Casey Legumina For Assignment

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The Reds announced that right-hander Casey Legumina has been designated for assignment. That’s the corresponding move to open a roster spot for outfielder Austin Hays, whose one-year deal is now official.

Legumina, 28 in June, has had a limited role with the Reds over the past two seasons. He logged a combined 22 innings over the 2023 and 2024 campaigns, allowing 17 earned runs. His 16.7% strikeout rate and 10.2% walk rate were both subpar marks but he did get ground balls on 56.4% of balls in play. As one would expect, his minor league work in that same timeframe has been better. He tossed 91 frames on the farm over the past two years with a 3.76 ERA. His 25.1% strikeout rate and 8% walk rate were both quite strong.

Despite the solid minor league numbers, the lack of results in the big leagues has seemingly cost Legumina his roster spot. The Reds will have one week of DFA limbo to figure out his fate, whether that’s a trade or something on the waiver wire. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so any trade talks would need to come together in the next five days.

Legumina still has one option year and less than a full season of service time. If a club is intrigued by his minor league results and acquires him somehow, he could give them some cheap depth with roster flexibility.

Mets Designate Dylan Covey For Assignment

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The Mets made their signing of right-hander Ryne Stanek official today. Per Will Sammon of The Athletic, right-hander Dylan Covey has been designated for assignment as the corresponding move.

Covey, 33, has never pitched for the Mets. He was with the Phillies in 2024 but was outrighted off their roster in August. He elected free agency at season’s end and the Mets signed him to a big league deal at the end of October.

The righty has been a starter for most of his career but converted to relief work more recently. He tossed 39 innings out of the Philly bullpen in 2023 with a 3.69 earned run average. His 15.6% strikeout rate wasn’t strong but he did manage to get ground balls on 54% of balls in play.

He wasn’t really able to follow that up in 2024. He started the season on the injured list due to a right shoulder strain, eventually getting transferred to the 60-day IL. He wasn’t able to start a rehab assignment until late July. Once he was healthy, the Phils ran him through waivers instead of adding him back to the roster. Before the offseason came, he managed to toss 15 Triple-A innings with a 1.20 ERA, 27.6% strikeout rate, 12.1% walk rate and 71.4% ground ball rate.

Covey has always been a ground ball guy, so perhaps the Mets were intrigued but that uptick in strikeouts to end the season. Per the Associated Press, his deal pays him an $850K salary while in the majors and $350K while in the minors.

That minor league salary is relatively large, which is probably by design. Per the minor league collective bargaining agreement that was worked out a couple of years ago, the Triple-A minimum salary is just under $36K, so Covey’s is almost ten times that.

If he were to clear waivers, he would have the right to elect free agency since he has more than three years of big league service time. But since he has less than five years of service, heading to the open market would mean forfeiting what’s left of his deal. If he clears waivers, that means no club is willing to give him a big league roster spot, meaning he would likely be limited to minor league offers on the open market. That means he should probably just keep his current minor league deal. It’s possible that all comes to pass in the next few days. If it does, the Mets will get to keep Covey as some bullpen depth but without him taking up a roster spot.

Reds Sign Austin Hays

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The Reds announced the signing of outfielder Austin Hays to a one-year deal. The MAS+ client is reportedly guaranteed $5MM. That takes the form of a $4MM salary for the upcoming season and a $1MM buyout on a $12MM mutual option for 2026. Hays can earn an additional $1MM via incentives. Right-hander Casey Legumina was designated for assignment as the corresponding move.

Hays, 29, gives the Reds the right-handed-hitting complement they’ve been seeking for the lefty-swinging outfield group of TJ Friedl, Jake Fraley and Will Benson. He’s a career .277/.331/.469 hitter against left-handed pitching and has experience playing all three outfield spots — though he’s generally better suited for corner work than center field.

As recently as 2023, Hays was an All-Star in Baltimore. He had a down showing in the second half after a monster .314/.355/.498 first half of that season but still finished out the year with a hearty .275/.325/.444 batting line in 566 plate appearances.

The 2024 season, however, was an abject nightmare for Hays. He struggled immensely on the field, due to a pair of leg injuries (hamstring strain, calf strain) and, far more concerning, a kidney infection. As Rosenthal detailed earlier in the offseason, Hays described that kidney infection as “the hardest thing I’ve ever gone through.” Upon discovering it, doctors told him he’d likely been suffering from the ill effects of that infection for weeks prior.

Hays told Rosenthal that his symptoms included nausea, lightheadedness, lower back pain, sluggish legs and even a “brain fog” that would at times cause him to lose focus and forget what he was talking about mid-conversation. Hays initially chalked some of the exhaustion, leg fatigue and back pain up to the rigors of a full season and the prior hamstring/calf strains still impacting him. As time wore on and his symptoms increased, it became clear something else was at play.

A healthy Hays could well be a boon to the Cincinnati outfield, particularly if he’s in line to face a large slate of left-handed pitching. The move from Baltimore to Cincinnati should favor him considerably, too. Camden Yards has become a wasteland for right-handed power hitters in recent years, following the team’s decision to alter the dimensions in left field. Since 2022, when the O’s initially altered their park and installed a towering wall in left field (often referred to as “Mount Wall-timore”), their stadium has been the third-worst in MLB for right-handed home runs, per Statcast, leading only Cleveland’s Progressive Field and Pittsburgh’s PNC Park. Cincinnati’s Great American Ball Park, meanwhile, ranks as the third most-favorable park in MLB for right-handed home runs, by those same park factors.

Hays’ presence in Cincinnati could open up some more infield and/or DH at-bats for fellow righty Spencer Steer, who played primarily in the outfield last year. Steer is an infielder by trade, but his versatility was leveraged when the Reds’ infield became increasingly crowded.

The trade of Jonathan India and overwhelming struggles of Noelvi Marte last year have perhaps lent some extra clarity to the infield, however. There’s still some playing time to sort out this spring, but Steer could see time at the corners and DH alongside Jeimer Candelario, who also struggled in an injury-marred 2024 season, and Christian Encarnacion-Strand, who missed most of the year due to wrist surgery. Matt McLain (who missed most of the season due to shoulder surgery) and Elly De La Cruz are in line to serve as the primary second baseman and shortstop, respectively. Trade acquisition Gavin Lux could also see time at second base and in left field. Broadly speaking, the Reds’ lineup will feature quite a few moving parts for new skipper Terry Francona to juggle based on matchups, health and workload management.

Hays’ $5MM guarantee will push the Reds’ payroll just north of $110MM, marking an increase of about $10MM over their 2024 budget. Even an increase of that level looked questionable just weeks ago, but the team’s surprise agreement with Main Street Sports/FanDuel Sports Network (the rebranded Diamond Sports/Bally RSN provider) afforded president of baseball operations Nick Krall some additional resources to further build out the 2025 club. The Reds have also been tied to relief upgrades, Carlos Estevez most notably, but it’s not clear whether ownership’s budgetary preferences can accommodate both Hays and another bullpen arm — particularly one of Estevez’s caliber and likely asking price.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported that Hays and the Reds had agreed to a one-year, $5MM deal with $1MM in incentives. Jon Heyman of The New York Post had the salary breakdown and the mutual option.

Mets Re-Sign Ryne Stanek

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January 30: The Mets now have made it official. Right-hander Dylan Covey has been designated for assignment as the corresponding move.

January 29: The Mets are bringing back right-handed reliever Ryne Stanek. New York is reportedly in agreement with the MVP Sports Group client on a one-year, $4.5MM guarantee with an additional $500K available in incentives. The Mets will pay a 95% luxury tax on the contract, pushing their investment to $8.775MM. The team has yet to announce the signing, which is still pending a physical.

Stanek, 33, played the 2024 season on a one-year, $4MM deal originally signed with the Mariners. Seattle flipped him to the Mets over the summer in a deal netting them minor league outfielder Rhylan Thomas. Stanek had a pair of very rough outings early in his Mets tenure but finished out the regular season on a hot streak (2.92 ERA, 18-to-4 K/BB ratio in 12 1/3 innings) before playing a key role in the Mets’ postseason run. The big 6’4″ righty held opponents to three runs on five hits and three walks with eight strikeouts in eight frames during the playoffs. He got the final out in three Mets victories during the postseason (all of them non-save situations): Game 1 of the Wild Card Series and Games 1 and 3 of the NLDS.

Since establishing himself as a big leaguer back in 2018, Stanek has been consistently successful in short stints. He’s pitched 382 1/3 innings and logged a 3.53 ERA, fanning a very strong 27.6% of opponents against a less palatable 11.6% walk rate (about three percentage points north of average). Stanek has technically “started” 56 games in his career, though those were all working as an opener in Tampa Bay.

Stanek is typically good for one to two innings of high-octane relief, averaging 97.8 mph on his four-seamer in his career — including 98.1 mph over the past three seasons. His strikeout rate is strong, and his bat-missing ability is elite, evidenced by a hefty 15.1% swinging-strike rate in his career (and a mark of 15% or better in five of his seven seasons). Since Stanek debuted in 2017, only nine of the 214 pitchers with at least 400 innings pitched have a better swinging-strike rate — and that list is a veritable who’s-who of star pitchers (Josh Hader, Edwin Diaz, Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer, Raisel Iglesias, Ryan Pressly, Craig Kimbrel, Shane McClanahan). Poor command undercuts Stanek’s raw ability to generate whiffs at times, but that ability and his potent raw stuff continue to intrigue clubs.

Stanek joins A.J. Minter — who inked a two-year, $22MM deal — as a late-inning addition for president of baseball operations David Stearns this offseason. That pair will help set up for Edwin Diaz. The Mets have a deep collection of other arms to consider for the bullpen. Free agent pickup Griffin Canning seems ticketed for a long relief/swingman role, while short-relief candidates include Reed Garrett, Jose Butto, Danny Young, Sean Reid-Foley, Dedniel Nunez, Huascar Brazoban, Austin Warren, Max Kranick, Kevin Herget and Tyler Zuber. Each of Butto, Young, Reid-Foley and Dylan Covey are on the 40-man roster but out of minor league options; there’ll be some movement among this collection of depth arms between now and Opening Day.

Stanek is the third free agent addition for the Mets in the past couple weeks. They’ve also added Minter and Jesse Winker in that span — all at a time when they’re reportedly expecting longtime cornerstone Pete Alonso to sign elsewhere after he rejected a three-year offer from the team. The potential for a reunion there will continue to linger, owner Steve Cohen’s recent public comments notwithstanding, but the Mets have now added $23-24MM in 2025 salary and another $25-26MM worth of luxury taxes since Alonso turned down that offer.

Anthony DiComo of MLB.com first reported that the Mets and Stanek were in agreement on a one-year deal. SNY’s Andy Martino indicated the salary would land between $4MM and $5MM. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported the $4.5MM guarantee and the $500K in bonuses.

Posey: Giants “Feel Pretty Set” With Current Roster

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The Giants freed up some payroll space yesterday, trading left-hander Taylor Rogers to the Reds. They sent $6MM to Cincinnati in the deal but also freed up $6MM, with Rogers set to make $12MM this year. Since the Giants have been connected to some of the big names remaining in free agency, such as Pete Alonso and Jack Flaherty, some fans might have fairly wondered if the extra cash could be redirected to a new roster addition.

However, in the aftermath of the deal, president of baseball operations Buster Posey downplayed that possibility. “We’ll keep looking,” Posey said to Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic. “I will say, we feel pretty set with the roster the way it is right now.”

This is Posey’s first offseason in his current job, as he was just hired at the end of September. Unlike other baseball operations leaders, there’s no real track record to go off of, making it hard to gauge how the Giants would behave this winter. There were perhaps some clues, as Posey was apparently instrumental in the Matt Chapman negotiations, even before getting the POBO job. Then at his introductory press conference, he spoke of getting the Giants back into the “memory-making business.” He also spoke fondly of valuing runs batted in as a statistic, despite that measure falling out of favor over time.

That led to some hope that he would come in as an old-fashioned gunslinger type, though it’s been a fairly modest offseason on the whole. They did make a big strike with the Willy Adames signing, the largest contract in franchise history, but have been fairly quiet apart from that. Their most notable moves aside from Adames have been to sign Justin Verlander to a one-year deal and send out Rogers in what seems like a salary dump move.

It’s possible that this is a bluff from Posey, since it wouldn’t help with negotiations for him to come out and say he’s desperate to make further additions. But if he’s being truthful that the club is fairly content, then they will be mostly relying on internal improvements.

The Giants have finished with a win total in the 79-81 range in three straight years now. Adames is a nice boost but the Giants also lost Blake Snell, Michael Conforto and Mark Canha to free agency at the end of last year and have now taken Rogers out of the bullpen mix. Verlander could also help, but there are no guarantees of that after he posted a 5.48 earned run average last year. Injuries may have played a part in those struggles but health woes can pop up for any pitcher and Verlander is perhaps even more susceptible since he’ll turn 42 before the season starts.

The internal improvements could come from a few places. Jung Hoo Lee only got to play 37 games last year before requiring labrum surgery, so a full and productive season from him would be great. Wilmer Flores, Robbie Ray and Jordan Hicks were also held back by health issues to varying extents and could perhaps provide more in 2025 than last year. Tyler Fitzgerald and Heliot Ramos had midseason breakouts in 2024, so carrying those forward into a full season could lead to some extra wins. A bounceback from Camilo Doval after a rough 2024 would certainly be welcome. Young guys like Luis Matos and Marco Luciano could perhaps break out after their progress has lagged a bit in recent years.

If Posey’s stance is posturing, it’s possible there’s some financial wiggle room, at least relative to last year. Per Cot’s Baseball Contracts, the club started 2024 with a $208MM payroll and they eventually went on to pay the competitive balance tax. RosterResource currently projects them for just a $176MM payroll this year, $32MM south of last year. Their $217MM CBT projection is $24MM below this year’s $241MM base threshold.

It’s still possible for the club to sign someone like Flaherty or Alonso and stay under the tax and last year’s payroll. Alonso might end up making a salary near $24MM this year but the Giants could offset that somewhat by trading LaMonte Wade Jr. and the $5MM he’s owed. However, Baggarly has reported previously this winter that the Giants are planning to reduce payroll, so perhaps they have already made their most significant moves.

Athletics Designate Anthony Maldonado For Assignment

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The A’s announced that they have claimed Elvis Alvarado off waivers from the Pirates, a move that MLBTR covered earlier today. To open a 40-man roster spot, right-hander Anthony Maldonado has been designated for assignment.

Maldonado, 27 next month, was a recent waiver claimee himself. The A’s grabbed him from the Marlins in November, though he has only lasted a few months on the Athletics’ roster. He made his major league debut with the Marlins last year, tossing 19 innings over 16 appearances. He allowed 12 earned runs, leading to a 5.68 ERA in that small sample, striking out just 13.4% of batters faced.

The A’s were surely more interested in his minor league track record, which has naturally been of greater quality and quantity. Over the past four years, Maldonado threw 188 innings across various minor league levels. He had a 3.26 ERA, 32.4% strikeout rate and 9% walk rate.

That was enough to attract the interest of the A’s but he’s now been bumped off the roster in favor of Alvarado. Maldonado will now be in DFA limbo for a week at most, giving the club some time to explore trades or put him on waivers. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so any trade talks would need to come together in the next five days. Maldonado still has two option years and less than a full season of service time, which could perhaps attract other clubs looking to add some cheap bullpen depth.

Athletics Claim Elvis Alvarado

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2:40pm: The A’s have now officially announced the claim. Righty Anthony Maldonado has been designated for assignment as the corresponding move.

2:25pm: The Athletics are claiming right-hander Elvis Alvarado off waivers from the Pirates, reports Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The Bucs designated him for assignment earlier this week to sign infielder/outfielder Adam Frazier. The A’s have a full 40-man roster and will need to make a corresponding move to complete this claim.

Alvarado, 26 next month, has yet to make his major league debut. He has pitched in the minors for the Nationals, Mariners, Tigers and Marlins over the years without getting the call to the big leagues. He hit free agency and the Pirates somewhat surprisingly gave him a roster spot in December, signing him to a split deal.

The Bucs were presumably willing to give him that roster spot based on a big uptick in strikeouts in 2024, though it also came with some control issues. He tossed 48 1/3 Triple-A innings in the Marlins’ system last year, allowing 2.79 earned runs per nine. He struck out 33.2% of batters faced but also gave out free passes at a massive 17.8% rate.

That was in stark contrast to his previous track record. From 2021 to 2023, he tossed 137 2/3 innings on the farm with a 4.58 ERA, 21.8% strikeout rate and 10.3% walk rate. Per Brooks Baseball, he has been increasing his slider usage over the past two years. In 2023, that was combined with fewer four-seamers and more sinkers. He flipped that in 2024, dropping his sinker usage and getting the four-seamer back up to previous levels.

The specifics of Alvarado’s split deal weren’t reported but such deals often feature a high minor league salary, in part to dissuade other clubs from putting in a claim and/or to stop the player from electing free agency. In this case, it seems the A’s were intrigued by the same minor league numbers that interested the Pirates, so they have grabbed Alvarado to add some pitching depth.

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