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Anthony DeSclafani

Diamondbacks Designate Anthony DeSclafani For Assignment

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The Diamondbacks announced that veteran righty Anthony DeSclafani has been designated for assignment. His spot in the bullpen goes to hard-throwing righty Juan Morillo, who has been recalled from Triple-A Reno. Arizona’s 40-man roster count drops to 39.

DeSclafani was pitching in Triple-A with the Yankees when Arizona signed him to a big league contract in the middle of June. He initially worked out of long relief and was promoted to the rotation when the Snakes traded Merrill Kelly at the deadline. That lasted only three starts, as DeSclafani suffered a thumb injury in the middle of August and was sent to the injured list. He missed a month and has been pushed back to the bullpen since returning. Nabil Crismatt has stepped into the fifth starter job.

The 35-year-old DeSclafani has pitched twice since coming back from injury. He has given up five home runs (six runs overall) in 5 2/3 frames over those two outings. He carries a 5.12 ERA across 38 2/3 innings on the season overall. While his strikeout and walk numbers are serviceable, the recent home run barrage led the Snakes to make a change. DeSclafani will very likely be released this week.

Morillo also represents a fresher arm for Torey Lovullo’s bullpen. He hasn’t pitched since Thursday. DeSclafani tossed 2 2/3 frames and threw 59 pitches yesterday. He would not have been available for at least the first two games of what is probably a must-win series if Arizona is to snag a surprise playoff berth. The D-Backs host the Giants for a three-game set. They’re half a game behind San Francisco and two games back of the reeling Mets for the National League’s last Wild Card spot.

Rangers Acquire Merrill Kelly

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The Rangers announced the acquisition of starting pitcher Merrill Kelly from the Diamondbacks for pitching prospects Mitch Bratt, Kohl Drake and David Hagaman. Texas designated first baseman Blaine Crim for assignment to open a spot on the 40-man roster.

Kelly is the most significant of three deadline pickups for the Rangers. They also deepened their bullpen by adding Phil Maton and Danny Coulombe. The Rangers leaned even harder into their identity as a pitching and defense team after evidently being dissatisfied with the asking prices on top hitters.

The 36-year-old Kelly was arguably the best rental starter who changed hands. He has turned in a 3.22 earned run average through 128 2/3 innings. That comes with a solid 23.5% strikeout percentage and a league average 7.4% walk rate. Kelly doesn’t have massive swing-and-miss stuff, but he’s a plus command artist with a long track record of mid-rotation performance. This will his third sub-4.00 ERA season within the past four years. Last year’s 4.03 earned runs per nine is his worst mark since 2021.

That’s rock solid production that’ll make Kelly a high-end #3 starter in Texas. He’d slot behind Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi as the expected playoff rotation if the Rangers qualify. They have plenty of work to do in that regard — they’re currently tied with Seattle for the final AL Wild Card position — but opponents would have a very tough time scoring against them in October. Patrick Corbin and Jack Leiter figure to round out the starting five for the time being. That could push Kumar Rocker back to Triple-A.

Kelly is playing on a $7MM salary. It’s the final year of what turned out to be a very team-friendly extension that he signed with the Snakes early in the ’22 season. Texas is taking on roughly $2.22MM for the stretch run. They also added around $950K on Coulombe’s deal and picked up roughly $634K on Maton. The Rangers have wanted to stay underneath the $241MM base luxury tax threshold. RosterResource unofficially estimates them around $236M. The actual number is likely to be above that by season’s end as players trigger incentives, but it seems the Rangers at least stayed on the border of the threshold while making a trio of acquisitions on the pitching staff.

Arizona had already dealt Eugenio Suárez and Josh Naylor as they sold off most of their impending free agents. The biggest question on deadline day was whether they’d trade both Kelly and Zac Gallen. Ultimately, they only found what they considered a satisfactory offer on Kelly. Gallen will finish the season in the desert and quite likely receive and reject a qualifying offer. The D-Backs valued the compensatory draft pick they’d receive in that scenario more than whatever teams were willing to trade for Gallen, who has underperformed this season.

Kelly’s superior year allowed the Snakes to get a trio of minor league arms. They focused their trade returns on upper level young pitching. Drake, a 6’5″ left-hander, is the highest regarded of their new prospects. He placed fifth in the Texas system at MLB Pipeline and ninth at Baseball America. BA feels the former 11th-round pick projects as a multi-inning reliever, while Pipeline projects him as a back-end starter.

Drake has struggled over four Triple-A starts but turned in a 2.44 ERA through 12 appearances in Double-A. He sits around 93 MPH and has a four-pitch mix with advanced command. He’s 24 years old and will need to be added to the 40-man roster this offseason to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. He should debut at some point next year at the latest.

Bratt, 22, is a 6’1″ lefty who was selected out of high school in the 2021 draft. The Canadian southpaw has spent the whole season at Double-A Frisco. He has pitched to a 3.18 ERA with a plus 28.5% strikeout percentage and minuscule 4.3% walk rate in 18 appearances. Bratt placed ninth in the system at Pipeline and 14th at Baseball America. He’s a good athlete with above-average to plus command but fringe stuff that could make him a fifth starter. He’ll also need to go on the 40-man roster this offseason.

The 22-year-old Hagaman is a little further off. He was a fourth-round pick out of West Virginia last summer. He underwent Tommy John surgery last year and has been limited to eight professional appearances. Both BA and Pipeline ranked him in the middle third of the Rangers’ top 30 prospects. The 6’4″ righty has an impressive three-pitch arsenal but struggled with command in college. He could be a long-term reliever but will get a chance to develop as a starter.

Arizona’s player development staff now has a lot of young pitching talent with which to work. Most of those players could be on the MLB radar by next season. In the meantime, veteran righty Anthony DeSclafani will stretch out from long relief to take Kelly’s rotation spot (relayed by Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports). He has a 3.86 ERA in 23 1/3 frames and should be a serviceable innings source so the D-Backs don’t need to press their younger arms into early action.

As for Crim, he’ll be placed on waivers in the next few days. The 28-year-old first baseman got a brief look earlier in the season when the Rangers optioned Jake Burger to Triple-A. He went 1-11 with a walk. Crim has a career .283/.374/.487 batting line in more than 1600 plate appearances at the top minor league level.

John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.5 first reported the Rangers were nearing a Kelly deal. ESPN’s Jeff Passan confirmed there was an agreement in place. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported that Arizona was acquiring three prospects, including Drake and Hagaman. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic was first on Bratt’s inclusion. Image courtesy of Charles Leclaire, Imagn Images.

Diamondbacks Sign Anthony DeSclafani To Major League Contract

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TODAY: The D’Backs announced that DeSclafani signed a big league deal, and he has been added to the active roster.  To create roster space, right-hander Bryce Jarvis was optioned to Triple-A and Justin Martinez (who will miss the rest of the season due to UCL surgery) was shifted from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL.

JUNE 12: Right-hander Anthony DeSclafani has opted out of his minor league deal with the Yankees and is joining the Diamondbacks, reports Joel Sherman of The New York Post. It’s unclear if he’ll be signing a major or minor league deal with Arizona.

DeSclafani, 35, signed a minor league deal with the Yankees about a month ago. He has since made five starts at the Triple-A level, allowing 4.50 earned runs per nine in his 20 innings. He struck out 22.2% of batters faced while giving out walks at a 10% clip and getting grounders on 42.4% of balls in play. All those rates are fairly close to typical big league averages.

It’s a small sample of work but DeSclafani has a lengthy major league track record. The larger question in recent years has been health, or the lack thereof. From 2015 to 2021, he posted a 3.97 ERA over 791 major league innings. That was enough to get him a three-year, $36MM deal from the Giants going into 2022.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to provide much return on that investment. Right ankle inflammation hobbled him throughout 2022, limiting him to five starts with a 6.63 ERA. In 2023, he logged 99 2/3 innings with a 4.88 ERA but didn’t pitch after July due to a right elbow flexor strain. He was traded to the Mariners and then the Twins ahead of the 2024 season but required season-ending flexor tendon surgery in March.

DeSclafani is now almost two years removed from his most recent major league game but appears to be healthy now. He has averaged 92.5 miles per hour on his fastball so far this year. That’s a bit down from a few years ago, as he averaged between 93 and 95 mph during his best years, but he might still be ramping up after a lengthy layoff.

Unsurprisingly, the Yankees didn’t have a fit for him at the big league level. Despite several injuries, their rotation is in decent shape. They have Max Fried, Carlos Rodón, Clarke Schmidt, Will Warren and Ryan Yarbrough. They could get Marcus Stroman and JT Brubaker back soon, as both are on rehab assignments. Luis Gil is tossing bullpens and could be on his own rehab assignment in the coming weeks.

The Diamondbacks have a shakier rotation. They recently lost Corbin Burnes to Tommy John surgery. Jordan Montgomery has been out all year due to that same procedure. That leaves them with Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Brandon Pfaadt, Eduardo Rodríguez and Ryne Nelson. Kelly has been good but he’s the exception. Each of Gallen, Pfaadt and Rodríguez has an ERA north of 5.00. Rodríguez also just returned from an IL stint for shoulder inflammation. Nelson’s ERA is at 4.60 but he’s largely been in a long relief role this year. He just returned to the rotation in the wake of the Burnes injury but allowed seven runs in three innings against the Reds on Saturday. Potential replacements like Cristian Mena and Blake Walston are also on the shelf.

In short, DeSclafani has a far better chance to returning to the big leagues with the Snakes than with the Yanks, so this is a sensible move for him. If he is jumping right into the big leagues, the Diamondbacks would need to make corresponding moves to get him onto the active and 40-man rosters. If it’s a minor league deal, he’ll presumably report to Triple-A Reno to continue ramping up there.

Photo courtesy of D. Ross Cameron, Imagn Images.

Yankees Sign Anthony DeSclafani To Minor League Deal

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The Yankees signed veteran righty Anthony DeSclafani to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The RailRiders announced the news to Conor Foley of The Yes Network.

DeSclafani’s debut appearance with Scranton will be his first game action in almost two years. He suffered a flexor strain while pitching for the Giants in July 2023. DeSclafani missed the entire second half but attempted to rehab without surgery. He was traded twice over the following offseason, largely as a salary offset. The Giants shipped him to Seattle alongside Mitch Haniger for Robbie Ray. The Mariners flipped him to the Twins as part of the Jorge Polanco return less than a month later.

The Mariners paid down $8MM of DeSclafani’s $12MM salary. The Twins hoped he’d provide affordable back-of-the-rotation output. That wasn’t to be, as he suffered a setback that was later diagnosed as an elbow strain. He underwent flexor tendon surgery at the end of March and spent the entire season on the injured list. DeSclafani qualified for free agency at the end of the year and never threw a pitch with the Twins.

Nearly 14 months since that procedure, he’s evidently healthy enough to get back on the mound. The 35-year-old owns a roughly league average 4.20 earned run average in parts of nine major league seasons. His production has been quite volatile. He’s turned in a pair of seasons with an ERA south of 3.30, but he has also allowed at least 4.88 earned runs per nine on five separate occasions. DeScalafani had arguably the best year of his career in 2021, when he turned in a 3.17 mark with a solid 22.5% strikeout rate over 31 starts for San Francisco.

The Giants re-signed him to a three-year, $36MM free agent deal during the ensuing offseason. That didn’t work out. He allowed a 5.16 ERA while throwing just 118 2/3 innings over the course of that contract. His strikeout rate dropped into the 18-19% range during that time, though he continued his career-long track record of very rarely issuing walks. There’s not much downside for the Yanks in seeing how his stuff plays after surgery. Jake Woodford, Brandon Leibrandt and the recently outrighted Carlos Carrasco are their most experienced depth starters at Triple-A.

Anthony DeSclafani Undergoes Season-Ending Flexor Tendon Surgery

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Twins right-hander Anthony DeSclafani will miss the entire 2024 season and at least some of the 2025 season after undergoing a flexor tendon surgery, chief baseball officer Derek Falvey told The Athletic’s Dan Hayes (X link) and other reporters.  The surgery comes with an estimated recovery timeline of 13 months.

DeSclafani developed a forearm strain in Spring Training, and a long-term absence of some kind was expected after the Twins placed him on the 60-day injured list to begin the season.  While this flexor tendon procedure technically represents a better-case scenario than the 13-15 month timeline associated with recovery from a Tommy John surgery, that is probably very small consolation to DeSclafani as he enters into yet another extended injury absence.

Another right flexor strain already ended DeSclafani’s 2023 campaign last July, and he only pitched 19 innings in 2022 due to ankle surgery.  The righty also didn’t pitch at all in 2017 due to a UCL strain, though he was able to avoid surgery in that case.

All of these health woes have marred what has been a pretty solid career for DeSclafani when he has been able to actually pitch.  He has a 4.20 ERA over 942 2/3 career innings with the Marlins, Reds, and Giants over parts of nine Major League seasons, relying on strong control and a plus slider to achieve success.  A 3.17 ERA over 167 2/3 innings for the 2021 Giants represents DeSclafani’s best performance over a full season, and that nice year paid off in the form of a three-year, $36MM free agent deal to return to San Francisco.

Unfortunately, DeSclafani will end up tossing only 118 1/3 innings over the life of that contract.  The Giants moved DeSclafani and Mitch Haniger to the Mariners this offseason for Robbie Ray, and DeSclafani was then flipped again from Seattle to Minnesota as part of the Jorge Polanco trade.  The latter transaction also included $8MM in cash considerations from the Mariners in order to help cover the majority of the $12MM owed to DeSclafani in 2024.

Trading Polanco allowed the Twins to get the second baseman’s $10.5MM salary off the books, and bring two interesting prospects in Gabriel Gonzalez and Darren Bowen into the organization.  Unfortunately for Minnesota, both of the big league-ready elements of the trade package are now hurt — Justin Topa is on the 15-day IL dealing with left knee tendinitis, and DeSclafani’s time with the Twins could potentially end before he throws an official pitch for the team.  Given the circumstances, the Twins could explore signing DeSclafani to a low-cost guaranteed deal or even a minor league contract for 2025, though the club will first monitor his recovery before making any decisions.

In the more immediate term, losing DeSclafani will deprive Minnesota of some veteran rotation depth.  DeSclafani was expected to compete for the fifth starter’s job, or work as a swingman or long reliever if Louie Varland had won the final rotation job in camp.  The Twins might well seek out a seasoned starter to provide some depth amidst their more inexperienced first layer of Triple-A starters, and such a pitcher might also be used in the bullpen, as Topa is just one of several relievers beginning the year on the injured list.

Twins Select Daniel Duarte, Place Anthony DeSclafani On 60-Day Injured List

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The Twins announced this morning that they’ve selected the contract of right-handed reliever Daniel Duarte from Triple-A St. Paul. He’ll make the team’s Opening Day roster. Right-hander Anthony DeSclafani, who’s dealing with a season-jeopardizing elbow strain, has been placed on the 60-day injured list to open a spot on the 40-man roster. Minnesota also placed righty Josh Staumont on the 15-day IL due to a strained left calf. He’ll join a host of Twins hurlers who were already previously reported to be opening on the injured list, including DeSclafani, Jhoan Duran (oblique strain), Justin Topa (patellar tendinitis), Caleb Thielbar (hamstring strain) and Zack Weiss (shoulder strain).

Minnesota claimed the 27-year-old Duarte off waivers from the Rangers over the winter. He’d bounced from Cincinnati to Texas via waivers already, and the Twins succeeded in claiming him then quickly passing him through waivers themselves, allowing them to retain the right-hander without dedicating a 40-man roster spot to him (until today’s return to the 40-man).

Duarte made his MLB debut with the Reds in 2022 but only tossed 2 2/3 innings. He picked up 31 2/3 frames with Cincinnati in ’23, logging a 3.69 ERA that masked a much more concerning 16.9% strikeout rate and 14.7% walk rate. The K-BB profile is ugly, but Duarte averages nearly 96 mph on his heater and has a good slider, in addition to a track record of missing bats in the upper minors (26.8% strikeout rate in Triple-A). His performance in spring training was particularly encouraging: in 12 1/3 innings, he allowed just four runs (2.92 ERA) on ten hits and no walks with a dozen strikeouts and an above-average 47.1% ground-ball rate.

Duarte has a minor league option remaining, so now that he’s been added back to the 40-man, he can be shuttled between Triple-A and the big leagues as the Twins see fit this season. For now, with key relievers like Duran, Thielbar and Topa on the injured list, he’ll have the opportunity to make the roster and look to work his way into a more prominent role with the club.

As for DeSclafani, the Twins have yet to announce a timetable for his return. Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune wrote last week that DeSclafani’s elbow flared up in his final four to five pitches of a recent game in spring training, and surgery is now a possibility. DeSclafani himself acknowledged as much at the time as he prepared for a consultation with renowned surgeon Dr. Keith Meister.

The Twins acquired the veteran DeSclafani as one of four players in return for Jorge Polanco. The Mariners and Giants are covering all but $4MM of this year’s $12MM salary, so DeSclafani was effectively included in the deal as a low-cost depth option in the rotation — someone to compete with Louie Varland for the fifth spot on the staff. Topa (controllable for another three years), top outfield prospect Gabriel Gonzalez and minor league righty Darren Bowen all have far more long-term value to the organization. Nevertheless, the DeSclafani injury is quite unfortunate for a Twins club whose offseason was punctuated by ownership’s desire to scale back payroll amid uncertainty regarding the team’s television broadcast outlook.

Jhoan Duran, Caleb Thielbar, Anthony DeSclafani To Begin Season On Injured List

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1:39pm: There’s concern that DeSclafani could require season-ending surgery, president of baseball operations Derek Falvey tells Nightengale and others.

1:00pm: Twins closer Jhoan Duran, lefty reliever Caleb Thielbar, and rotation hopeful Anthony DeSclafani will open the season on the 15-day injured list, tweets Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Duran is dealing with a “moderate” oblique strain, while Thielbar will head to the IL with a strained hamstring. DeSclafani has a more ominous forearm strain and is slated to meet with Dr. Keith Meister for further evaluation.

Beyond that trio of surefire big leaguers, the Twins will also see prospect Matt Canterino and roster hopeful Zack Weiss start on the injured list, tweets Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Canterino, long one of the organization’s most promising arms, will be on the Triple-A injured list after suffering a subscapular strain in his shoulder. Weiss, a waiver claim out of the Red Sox organization, has been rehabbing a teres major strain and will be on the major league injured list.

Losing Duran even for a short spell is painful for the Twins, given the flamethrower’s emergence as one of MLB’s premier relievers. Since making his big league debut on Opening Day 2022, Duran has pitched 130 innings of 2.15 ERA ball with 35 saves, 19 holds, a 33.2% strikeout rate, a 7.9% walk rate and a massive 63.4% ground-ball rate. He averaged a ludicrous 101.8 mph on his heater last season and 98.4 mph with his splitter/sinker hybrid (“splinker”). The good news for the Twins is that a moderate strain shouldn’t result in excessively lengthy absence, but even Grade 1 strains have been known to sideline players for upwards of a month. The team hasn’t formally announced a timetable for Duran’s expected return just yet.

Wit Duran sidelined, it’ll likely fall to Griffin Jax and Brock Stewart to handle save situations early in the season. Jax has become one of Duran’s top setup men in recent years and offers an above-average strikeout rate and strong command of a slider-heavy arsenal. Stewart returned from a yearslong MLB absence and multiple arm surgeries brandishing an upper-90s cutter that helped him punch out nearly 36% of his opponents while pitching to a 0.65 ERA in 27 2/3 innings for the Twins last saeson.

The 37-year-old Thielbar has flown under the radar since returning to affiliated ball following a five-year absence in 2020, but he’s quietly been one of the team’s most important relievers in that time. Over the past four seasons, the Minnesota native has given his hometown club 174 innings of 3.21 ERA ball, piling up 45 holds while punching out 30.2% of his opponents against a 7.4% walk rate. He struggled against right-handers last season, yielding a .258/.319/.621 batting line, but Thielbar didn’t have glaring struggles against righties from 2020-22. As with Duran, they’ll hope for a relatively brief absence, but the team hasn’t given any specifics on how long he’s expected to miss just yet.

Word of DeSclafani’s injury is the most concerning of the three. Acquired from the Mariners (who’d picked him up from the Giants previously) as part of the trade sending Jorge Polanco to Seattle, DeSclafani had been in the running to open the season as the Twins’ fifth starter. He was slowed early in camp by some discomfort and is now headed for evaluation with one of the sport’s more notable surgeons.

DeSclafani has struggled to stay healthy throughout his career. He missed the entire 2017 season with a UCL sprain that never required surgery, pitched a mostly healthy year in 2018 and enjoyed one of the best seasons of his career with the Reds in 2019. A teres major strain hobbled him in 2020 and limited him to 33 2/3 innings of 7.22 ERA ball, however. DeSclafani bounced back with a bit 2021 season in San Francisco, working 167 2/3 frames of 3.17 ERA ball over a mostly full slate of 31 starts.

DeSclafani re-signed in San Francisco on a three-year, $36MM deal that hasn’t at all gone according to plan. An ankle injury that eventually required surgery limited him to 19 frames in 2022. Shoulder fatigue and a pair of flexor strains capped him at 99 2/3 frames in 2023. He’ll now be slowed to begin the 2024 season, though a timeline won’t be known until that appointment with Dr. Meister has taken place.

The Twins are only the hook for $4MM of DeSclafani’s $12MM salary. The Giants sent $6MM to the Mariners in their original trade involving DeSclafani, and the M’s sent that plus another $2MM to Minnesota in the Polanco swap. With DeSclafani headed to the injured list, right-hander Louie Varland should have the fifth spot in the rotation all but locked up. He’ll follow Pablo Lopez, Joe Ryan, Chris Paddack and Bailey Ober in what should be a solid Twins staff if everyone can remain healthy. However, the Twins will undoubtedly feel the losses of Sonny Gray and Kenta Maeda, particularly now with their top depth option shelved. In the event of additional pitching injuries, Minnesota would likely turn to one of Simeon Woods Richardson, Brent Headrick or yet-to-debut top prospect David Festa.

As for the others, Canterino is still working his way back from 2022 Tommy John surgery. Injuries have regularly slowed him since being selected in the second round of the 2019 draft. Between shaky health and the scrapped 2020 minor league season, he’s still pitched only 85 professional innings. They’ve been excellent — 1.48 ERA, 39.2% strikeout rate, 10.5% walk rate — but his persistent injury troubles have undercut his considerable upside. As for Weiss, he’s pitched just 27 1/3 MLB frames but has a history of strong strikeout totals in the minors. He could be a bullpen option for the Twins at some point, but for now he’ll collect MLB service and pay while rehabbing. For a 32-year-old with just 91 days of big league service to this point in his career, that’s not insignificant.

It seems unlikely that the Twins will go outside the organization to boost their depth — at least in term of significant salary additions. Owner Joe Pohlad all but declared his team out on top names like Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery earlier in camp when stating that his team was not going to “go out and spend $30MM on a player right now.” The Twins shocked baseball with a pair of Carlos Correa signings that came together under similar circumstances, but it doesn’t seem there’s another splash of that magnitude up their sleeves. Minnesota was reportedly interested in Michael Lorenzen earlier in the offseason, so it’s possible they could still circle back on that front. More likely is that they’ll just ride things out with internal options, perhaps adding a veteran on a minor league deal. A particularly lengthy absence for DeSclafani could create some extra urgency, so the results of his evaluation are worth tracking with a close eye for Twins fans.

Mariners Acquire Jorge Polanco

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The Mariners and Twins have lined up on one of the bigger trades of the offseason. Seattle announced the acquisition of second baseman Jorge Polanco for four players: reliever Justin Topa, starter Anthony DeSclafani and prospects Gabriel Gonzalez and Darren Bowen, as well as cash considerations. The Mariners are reportedly including $8MM to cover two-thirds of DeSclafani’s $12MM salary for the upcoming campaign.

Seattle and Minnesota have long seemed an on-paper fit for this kind of move. The M’s didn’t get much out of their second basemen last season. Opening Day starter Kolten Wong was released midway through the year. Landing Josh Rojas in the deadline deal that sent Paul Sewald to the D-Backs helped to an extent, but the position still seemed a weakness entering the offseason.

The M’s further thinned the infield with a trade sending third baseman Eugenio Suárez to Arizona. Seattle brought in non-tender candidate Luis Urías in a deal with the Red Sox to add a contact-oriented hitter to the mix. While Rojas and Urías could split time between second and third base, it’d have been risky to count on both players as regulars.

As a result, Seattle lands one of the top offensive middle infielders on the trade market. The switch-hitting Polanco has posted above-average numbers at the plate in four of the past five seasons. Since the start of the 2019 campaign, he owns a .267/.337/.458 slash in nearly 2400 plate appearances. Knee and hamstring issues bothered him early last season, but he hit at a typically solid level when healthy. Polanco connected on 14 homers over 80 games, running a .255/.335/.454 line through 343 trips to the dish.

That steady production made it an easy call for the Twins to exercise a $10.5MM option on his contract. That’s a below-market price for a quality regular. Yet even with Minnesota triggering the option, there was a general belief that he could find himself on the move this offseason. The Twins have an enviable collection of infield talent that already threatened to bump the 30-year-old Polanco from his natural position.

While Polanco was on the injured list, 24-year-old Edouard Julien mashed his way to the second base job. He hit .263/.381/.459 as a rookie to secure a spot atop Rocco Baldelli’s lineup. The Twins gave Polanco 103 innings at third base once he returned, his first action at the hot corner since 2016. With former first overall pick Royce Lewis emerging as a star down the stretch and into the postseason, that wouldn’t have been an avenue to regular playing time moving forward.

Minnesota could have used Polanco at second base while deploying Julien at designated hitter. That would have limited their flexibility to cycle other players through the DH spot while potentially pigeon-holing one of Minnesota’s more talented young hitters to a bat-only role. Polanco had some experience at shortstop early in his career, but he moved off the position because of defensive shortcomings and clearly wasn’t going to start over Carlos Correa. Minnesota also tendered arbitration contracts to utility infielders Kyle Farmer and Nick Gordon. José Miranda remains on hand as an option at the corners, while former #8 overall pick Brooks Lee could make his MLB debut in 2024.

It surely wasn’t an easy call for the front office to move on from one of their longest-tenured players. Polanco had been in the organization since signing as a 16-year-old back in 2009. He reached the big leagues before his 21st birthday and established himself as a regular by 2016. Polanco earned an All-Star nod and down-ballot MVP votes in ’19 and played a key role on four playoff teams.

The amount of infield depth nevertheless made a trade a distinct possibility. Minnesota’s pitching staff took a hit with free agent departures of Sonny Gray, Kenta Maeda and Tyler Mahle. The Twins had done very little to balance the roster, citing payroll constraints related to their expiring local broadcasting contract. Minnesota was willing to field offers on their infield surplus, although president of baseball operations Derek Falvey made clear they’d seek MLB help as part of that return.

Seattle was open to parting with both a pair of big league arms and at least one of their top minor league talents to get the deal done. Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times writes that the M’s plan to use Polanco as their primary second baseman. That could leave the lefty-hitting Rojas and the right-handed swinging Urías to share time at third base. The M’s could keep Polanco at the keystone for two years. They’ll take on this year’s $10.5MM salary and hold a $12MM option for 2025 that comes with a $750K buyout. If Polanco performs at the level the Mariners envision, they’d likely exercise that option.

The Mariners relinquish some of their pitching depth to make that happen. Topa has less name value of the two MLB players headed to Minneapolis, but he’s the more appealing trade asset. The right-hander was a key part of another excellent Seattle bullpen a year ago. Acquired from the Brewers for a minor league pitcher in what seemed an insignificant trade last winter, the righty put together a career year.

Topa, who had 17 career MLB appearances going into the season, pitched 75 times for the M’s a year ago. He worked to a 2.61 ERA across 69 innings. Topa’s 21.9% strikeout rate was a little below average, but he did an excellent job keeping the ball on the ground. Working with a 95 MPH sinker and a pair of breaking pitches in his cutter and slider, he induced worm-burners at a very strong 56.7% clip. His production increasingly earned the trust of manager Scott Servais. By year’s end, he’d picked up 23 holds and a trio of saves.

If Topa can maintain that kind of production, he’d be an asset for the Minnesota relief corps. There’s a fair bit of risk with the 6’4″ hurler. Topa will turn 33 before Opening Day and has a lengthy injury history. He had undergone two Tommy John procedures and a flexor tendon surgery during his time in Milwaukee, a major reason he hadn’t logged extended MLB action until last year.

He accrued a decent chunk of service time while on the injured list and surpassed the three-year mark a year ago. Seattle and Topa agreed to a $1.25MM salary to avoid arbitration. He’ll go through that process twice more and won’t reach free agency until after the 2026 campaign. Topa still has a pair of minor league options, so the Twins could send him to Triple-A if he struggles unexpectedly.

DeSclafani spent less than a month as a member of the Mariners. Seattle acquired the righty alongside Mitch Haniger in the trade sending Robbie Ray to the Giants just after the New Year. His inclusion in both trades is motivated in large part by finances.

The 33-year-old (34 in April) is set to make $12MM in the final season of a three-year free agent deal he inked with San Francisco. The Giants are paying half of that, sending $6MM to Seattle as part of the Ray trade. Seattle is moving that $6MM to Minnesota and including an additional $2MM. The Twins are responsible for the final $4MM on the deal.

It has been a tough couple years for DeScalfani, who was limited to five starts in 2022 before undergoing season-ending ankle surgery. Injures were again an issue last year. This time, a flexor strain in his throwing elbow ended his season in late July.

Before the arm injury, he had pitched 19 times and logged 99 2/3 innings. The nine-year veteran worked to a 4.88 ERA with a below-average 18.9% strikeout percentage. He walked fewer than 5% of opponents but he’s lost a few points off his strikeout and ground-ball numbers since his excellent 2021 campaign, when he posted a 3.17 ERA over 31 starts.

The Mariners were set to use DeSclafani in a long relief capacity. Minnesota could afford him a chance to battle for the #5 spot in the season-opening rotation. The Twins have Pablo López, Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober and Chris Paddack in the top four spots. DeSclafani and right-hander Louie Varland are the top options for the final rotation job. Whichever of those two starts the season in long relief could move into the rotation as injuries necessitate.

Gonzalez, who turned 20 this month, isn’t going to contribute at the MLB level anytime soon. He’s nevertheless arguably the headliner of the deal from Minnesota’s perspective. The right-handed hitting outfielder signed with Seattle for $1.3MM out of Venezuela during the 2021-22 international period. Baseball America recently ranked him the #5 prospect in the M’s system, while MLB Pipeline has him as the game’s #79 overall minor league talent.

Evaluators praise Gonzalez’s natural bat-to-ball skills. Those were on display in Low-A, where he hit .348/.403/.530 with a modest 13.7% strikeout rate in 335 plate appearances last year. However, Baseball America notes that Gonzalez has an extremely aggressive offensive approach that was exposed when he was promoted to High-A midseason. He struggled to a .215/.290/.387 slash while fanning at a 21.5% clip in 200 plate appearances at that level. Gonzalez walked in fewer than 7% of his plate appearances at both stops. As a below-average athlete who projects as a corner outfielder, he’ll need to improve his plate discipline to reach his potential.

Bowen, 22, was a 13th-round draftee in the 2022 draft. A product of UNC-Pembroke, he worked to a 3.88 ERA through 55 2/3 innings at Low-A in his first pro season. The 6’3″ right-hander ranked as Seattle’s #25 prospect at BA. The outlet credits him with low-mid 90s velocity and a potential above-average breaking pitch. Bowen draws praise for his athleticism but presently has below-average control, evidenced by a 10.9% walk rate in the minors.

Taking on Polanco’s contract will push Seattle’s payroll commitments into the $135MM range, as calculated by Roster Resource, depending on how much of the DeSclafani contract they’re retaining. They opened last season around $137MM. President of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto indicated early in the winter that Seattle expected to top last season’s spending and they’re now right near that mark. Minnesota’s payroll estimate drops to roughly $119MM, leaving them some flexibility to supplement the roster over the next few weeks.

Mark Feinsand of MLB.com first reported the sides were finalizing a trade sending Polanco to Seattle. Jeff Passan of ESPN confirmed an agreement was in place. Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic reported the Twins were acquiring four players, two of whom were big leaguers. Robert Murray of FanSided reported Topa’s inclusion, while Dan Hayes of the Athletic had DeSclafani’s and Gonzalez’s involvement. ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel reported the Twins were receiving Bowen and the presence of cash considerations, which Rosenthal specified were coming from Seattle’s end. Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reported the Mariners were paying upwards of $6MM in cash considerations. Hayes and Rosenthal specified the M’s were including $8MM in cash considerations.

Images courtesy of USA Today Sports.

MLBTR Podcast: Teoscar Signs With L.A. And The Move-Making Mariners and Rays

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • Will anything stop this trend of deferred money in contracts? (23:40)
  • Will there ever be a salary floor and would that help baseball in any way? (32:20)

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Mariners Trade Robbie Ray To Giants For Mitch Haniger, Anthony DeSclafani

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The Giants and Mariners have completed a trade, per announcements from both clubs, that will send left-hander Robbie Ray to the Giants, with outfielder Mitch Haniger, right-hander Anthony DeSclafani and cash considerations going to the Mariners. It’s an out-of-nowhere trade involving significant pieces going in both directions. Per Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic, it’s approximately $6MM going to Seattle.

“As we continue to build out our team for 2024 and beyond, we feel this trade accomplishes a couple of our objectives,” said president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto in the official announcement. “In Mitch, we get a player we know well, and hold in very high regard, as another piece for our outfield, while Anthony – who can start or pitch out of the ‘pen – gives us depth in our pitching staff. And the deal allows us to put the best team possible on the field from Opening Day on.

“I do want to thank Robbie for his time in Seattle. On the field and in the clubhouse, he was a key part of taking us to the postseason in 2022 and in allowing us to remain in the race down to the final days in 2023. He provided leadership to our young pitchers that will be felt here for years to come. We wish he and his family nothing but the best in San Francisco.”

Ray, now 32, won the American League Cy Young with the Blue Jays in 2021 and parlayed that into a five-year, $115MM deal with the Mariners, with the ability to opt out after three seasons. His first year with Seattle was strong, as he made 32 starts with a 3.71 earned run average. He struck out 27.4% of batters faced while issuing walks at just an 8% clip. But in 2023, he made just one appearance before being shut down and eventually requiring elbow surgery to both repair his flexor tendon and reconstruct his ulnar collateral ligament.

As Ray sat out the rest of the 2023 season, the Seattle rotation actually managed to fare well in his absence. Luis Castillo, Logan Gilbert and George Kirby were in the front, with prospects Bryce Miller Emerson Hancock and Bryan Woo stepping up to help out. All six of those players were still under club control going into 2024, giving the Mariners something of a rotation surplus that led to some trade speculation.

They have held tight to that group so far and could have had Ray rejoin the rotation later in the year, perhaps as soon as midseason. But instead, it seems they have decided to exchange him for players that can help them throughout the entire year. Ray had a full no-trade clause for 2022 and 2023 but could be moved without his input now that the calendar has flipped to 2024.

For the Giants, their rotation was inconsistent in 2023 as they were arguably the club that was the least committed to traditional starter usage. Logan Webb and Alex Cobb were mainstays but pitchers like Ross Stripling, Alex Wood, Sean Manaea and DeSclafani were often moved to the bullpen or the injured list or both.

Looking ahead to 2024, it’s possible that the rotation will again evolve over the course of the season. Cobb underwent hip surgery and may not be ready for the beginning of the campaign, meaning he and Ray will be jumping into the mix once they are healthy. But at the start of the season, Webb currently figures to be joined by Stripling, but with plenty of uncertainty beyond that. Younger pitchers such as Kyle Harrison, Keaton Winn and Tristan Beck could be in the mix but none of that group even has a full year in the big leagues to this point. But with Cobb and Ray hopping on board along the way, the rotation could be in a much different place at the end of the season.

Of course, there’s nothing to suggest that the club is done with their offseason moves. There’s still over a month until Spring Training and the Giants have been connected to big name free agents like Blake Snell, Jordan Montgomery and Shota Imanaga. Bob Nightengale of USA Today says the Giants are still in on Snell even after this trade. There are also plenty of other free agents still available if the Giants don’t nab any of those three.

In exchange for Ray, the Mariners will bolster their lineup with a familiar face, as Haniger was with the club from 2017 to 2022. Health was an ongoing issue, including missing the entire 2020 season, but he was a tremendous offensive asset when on the field. He hit 107 home runs in his 530 games during those seasons, slashing .263/.337/.480 for a wRC+ of 124.

After reaching free agency, he signed with the Giants on a three-year, $43.5MM deal going into 2023, with an opt-out opportunity after the second season. His first year in San Francisco didn’t go well, as he made trips to the injured list for a left oblique strain, fractured right forearm and low back strain. He only played 61 games and hit a tepid .209/.266/.365 when he was in the lineup.

The Giants recently signed Jung Hoo Lee to be their center fielder, which will nudge Mike Yastrzemski over into the corner outfield mix alongside Michael Conforto. There could have been room for Haniger in there still with the designated hitter slot, but the Giants also have Wilmer Flores as a good candidate for that spot, perhaps making Haniger more useful in Seattle than in San Francisco.

The Mariners did a lot of subtracting from their lineup in the early parts of the offseason. They didn’t make a qualifying offer to Teoscar Hernández, then traded away Eugenio Suárez and Jarred Kelenic in separate deals. That removed three potent but strikeout-prone bats from the lineup as the Mariners looked to find more contact and juggle their finances amid uncertainty around their broadcast revenue.

They have subsequently switched their focus to additions, signing Mitch Garver to serve as a backup catcher/designated hitter and now Haniger will join the corner outfield mix. Haniger won’t help too much with the strikeout issues, as he’s been punched out at a rate of 24.5% or higher in each of the past four full seasons. But his right-handed bat should pair well with lefties likes Dominic Canzone, Taylor Trammell and Cade Marlowe. Another left-handed outfielder, Luke Raley, was also acquired from the Rays today in a separate trade. Haniger doesn’t have huge platoon splits but his 129 wRC+ against lefties in his career is a few points better than his 114 versus righties.

There’s also DeSclafani heading to Seattle, adding to their pitching staff. He had some solid seasons as a mid-rotation guy with the Reds but struggled badly in the shortened 2020 season, an all-timed down year as he was heading into free agency. He then settled for a one-year pillow deal with the Giants, earning $6MM in 2021. He posted a 3.17 ERA that year over 167 2/3 innings and parlayed that into a three-year, $36MM deal to return to San Francisco.

That second deal hasn’t worked out nearly as well for the Giants, however. DeSclafani only made five starts in 2022 as he dealt with ankle issues that eventually required surgery. In 2023, he threw just under 100 innings, missing time due to right shoulder fatigue and a right elbow flexor strain, posting a 4.88 ERA in the process.

In Dipoto’s statement quoted above, he explicitly mentioned that DeSclafani can pitch out of the rotation or the bullpen. 169 out of his 180 major league games have been starts but it seems as though the Mariners won’t be guaranteeing him a rotation spot. As mentioned, they have Castillo, Kirby and Gilbert in the front three spots. Miller, Woo and Hancock all had encouraging results in 2023 but they’ve yet to pitch a full season in the big leagues. Perhaps DeSclafani’s role will be determined by his health and performance, as well as how those youngsters look. If they surpass him on the depth chart, he could be moved to the bullpen, and injuries could always open up opportunities as the season goes along. It also can’t be ruled out that the Mariners have yet another trade in the works between now and the start of the season, giving the way they typically operate.

Turning to the financials, it will be close to cash neutral in 2024 but there are many ways that it could play out down the road. Ray and Haniger each have $1MM assignment bonuses for being traded, so that’s a wash. Ray is going to make $23MM this year and is set to make $25MM in the next two campaigns, but he can opt out after the 2024 season, meaning he’ll have to decide whether or not to leave two years and $50MM on the table. If he’s healthy and effective this year, it’s easy to see him opting out and beating that on the open market, at least in terms of total guarantee. But if things don’t go smoothly in the months to come, perhaps he would take the security of the proverbial bird in the hand.

Haniger will have a $17MM salary this year and $15.5MM next year, though he can also opt out after the 2024 campaign. Another injury-marred season like he had in 2023 would likely lead to him staying put, but another bounceback from him would obviously change the calculus. DeSclafani is set to make $12MM this year, the final season of his deal. With $29MM owed to Haniger/DeSclafani this year and $23MM owed to Ray, the approximately $6MM coming from the Giants will cover the difference. But into the future, it will depend on the opt-out decisions.

The Mariners have had some payroll concerns due to their uncertain broadcast situation and had a decent chunk of their budget tied up in Ray, who wasn’t going to be able to help at all in the first half of the season. They are giving away the upside of his late-season return for a lineup upgrade and a pitcher who can hopefully be a more immediate factor for them. For the Giants, they took two players who were getting squeezed for playing time and turned them into an upside play on a potentially-elite lefty who could be a significant wild card down the stretch.

Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported the three players involved in the swap. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported that cash would be involved.

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