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Tigers Claim Tyler Holton, Place Casey Mize On 60-Day Injured List

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The Tigers announced Friday that they’ve claimed lefty Tyler Holton off waivers from the Diamondbacks, who’d designated him for assignment earlier in the week. In order to open a spot on the 40-man roster, Detroit transferred right-hander Casey Mize to the 60-day injured list. Mize underwent Tommy John surgery and back surgery last year and wasn’t expected to be ready within the season’s first two months anyhow, so his eventual placement on the 60-day IL was a foregone conclusion.

The 26-year-old Holton made his MLB debut in 2022, pitching nine innings and allowing three runs on right hits and a pair of walks with six strikeouts during that brief cup of coffee. The rest of his season was spent in Triple-A Reno, where he logged a 4.43 ERA in 44 2/3 innings, fanning 23.5% of his opponents against a 9.3% walk rate.

It was a rebound effort for Holton, who’d previously limped to a 6.72 ERA between Double-A and Triple-A in 2021. Even amid those struggles, he notched a strong 26.5% strikeout rate, however, and his 6.5% walk rate was similarly encouraging. Solid strikeout, walk and ground-ball rates have been the norm for Holton since being selected in the ninth round of the 2018 draft. He doesn’t throw hard and has never ranked among the D-backs’ best prospects, but his track record of performance, MLB readiness and pair of remaining minor league option years all surely held appeal to the Tigers.

Prior to claiming Holton, the only left-handed bullpen option on the 40-man roster had been Tyler Alexander (assuming the club wants to keep Joey Wentz in a starting role). Non-roster veterans Chasen Shreve, Jace Fry and Miguel Del Pozo will all be in camp competing for a job as well. Holton will have a chance to land an Opening Day roster spot, though the Tigers can freely option him to Triple-A Toledo if one of the non-roster options outperforms him (or, if the team simply opts to carry one left-hander to begin the season). Wherever he starts the year, Holton figures to log some action in the big league bullpen in 2023, given the lack of certainty that permeates the Detroit bullpen following offseason trades of Gregory Soto and Joe Jimenez.

As for Mize, he underwent Tommy John surgery last June, so he’s unlikely to be an option until the season’s second half. The Tigers only recently revealed that Mize also underwent back surgery around that same time, however. Mize told reporters about the procedure earlier this week, explaining that his back issues have been slowly escalating over the past several years. Knowing he’d be off the mound for a year-plus anyhow, he opted for surgery aimed at alleviating the issue so he could truly be at full strength once he returns to the mound later this year.

D-backs Win Arbitration Hearing Against Josh Rojas

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The Diamondbacks won their arbitration hearing against infielder Josh Rojas, tweets Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. He’ll earn the $2.575MM salary submitted by the team, rather than the $2.9MM sum at which his camp filed.

Rojas, 28, has solidified himself as both a versatile and valuable player for Arizona over the past two seasons, batting a combined .267/.345/.401 with 20 long balls, 57 doubles, four triples and 32 steals in 1060 plate appearances.

Originally acquired from the Astros as part of a four-player return for Zack Greinke, Rojas has gone from a jack-of-all-trades utilityman to the team’s primary third baseman, logging 740 innings at the hot corner in 2022. He’s logged at least 296 innings in both outfield corners and at every infield position other than first base, with defensive metrics generally agreeing that he’s a quality outfielder but a below-average glove on the infield (particularly at shortstop, where he didn’t log an inning in 2022).

With Nick Ahmed healthy again, former top prospect Geraldo Perdomo perhaps vying for a bench spot and top prospect Jordan Lawlar ascending the minor league ladder, Rojas’ days at shortstop are likely all but finished anyhow. He can still play there in a pinch, but as far as 2023 is concerned, he’ll likely split time at third base with veteran Evan Longoria and perhaps shift into the outfield corners and spell any of Corbin Carroll, Alek Thomas or Jake McCarthy from time to time. Because all three of those Carroll, Thomas and McCarthy can handle center, manager Torey Lovullo can slide Rojas into a corner whenever one of those outfielders needs a breather.

This was Rojas’ first trip through the arbitration process. As a Super Two player, he’ll still be eligible for arbitration in each of the next three offseasons. He can’t become a free agent until the completion of the 2026 season.

Diamondbacks Sign Andrew Chafin

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Feb. 15, 2:40pm: Jon Heyman of the New York Post provides details on the bonuses. Chafin will receive $250K by appearing in 55, 60, 65 and 70 games. There’s also a one-time $250K bonus for getting traded.

Feb. 15, 11:40am:  Chafin has passed his physical, and the Diamondbacks have formally announced his signing.

Feb. 11: The Diamondbacks have agreed to a reunion with Andrew Chafin, as the veteran left-hander will rejoin his original team on a one-year deal with a club option for the 2024 season.  Chafin will earn a $5.5MM salary in 2023, and Arizona’s club option is worth $7.25MM (with a $750K buyout).  Up to $1MM in bonus money is also available for Chafin if he makes at least 55 appearances in 2023.  Chafin is represented by Meister Sports Management.

Chafin was drafted 43rd overall by the D’Backs in 2011 and he spent his first seven MLB seasons in an Arizona uniform before being dealt to Chicago in a 2020 deadline swap.  That initial stint with the Diamondbacks led to mostly positive numbers, as Chafin logged a 3.68 ERA over 271 2/3 innings in his first go-around with Arizona, though he was struggling (albeit in the small sample size of the abbreviated 2020 season) at the time of his trade to the Cubs.

In the two full seasons since that trade, Chafin has taken things to another level while pitching for the Cubs, A’s and Tigers.  Over 126 innings since the start of the 2021 campaign, Chafin has a 2.29 ERA, 47.9% grounder rate, 7.5% walk rate, and 25.7% strikeout rate.  That above-average K% is further bolstered by very strong chase rates in the last two seasons and an 87th-percentile 31.4% whiff rate in 2022.  Chafin has also done a very good job of inducing soft contact.

On the basis of a good platform year with the Tigers in 2022, Chafin declined a $6.5MM player option for 2023 in order to seek out a longer-term contract in free agency.  Even though Chafin was one of the better relievers on the marker this winter, he couldn’t find a multi-year pact, and will now end up receiving slightly less (in guaranteed money) than the amount he rejected on his player option.  The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal recently wrote that Matt Strahm’s two-year, $15MM deal with the Phillies seemed to throw off the market for left-handed relievers, to the extent that Chafin, Matt Moore, and Zack Britton were all still looking for new deals despite quite a bit of interest from multiple clubs.

It puts some added pressure on Chafin to continue his good form as he enters his age-33 season, yet he’ll get to pitch in a comfortable and familiar environment in Arizona.  The deal becomes a two-year, $12.75MM pact if the Diamondbacks do exercise their club option, which still unexpectedly puts Chafin behind Strahm in total value.

From the Diamondbacks’ perspective, landing Chafin at a relative discount price is a very nice outcome for a team in sore need of bullpen help.  After the relief corps was a weak link in 2022, the D’Backs have responded by signing Miguel Castro and Scott McGough to MLB contracts, and brought in a wide array of experienced arms (including Jeurys Familia, Austin Brice, Zach McAlister, Jandel Gustave, Sam Clay, and several others) to camp on minor league deals.

Arizona heads into Spring Training with plenty of competition for bullpen jobs, so Chafin will be one of relatively few Diamondback pitchers that are assured of spots on the Opening Day roster.  With an unsettled closer’s position also up for grabs, Chafin could even be a candidate to make some saves, even though he has mostly worked as a setup man throughout his career.

MLBTR ranked Chafin 39th on our list of the offseason’s top 50 free agents, and projected the left-hander for a two-year, $18MM deal.  Jurickson Profar and Michael Wacha are the final two players still unsigned from that 50-player list.

The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link) was the first to report the signing, and the general financial parameters.  Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (Twitter links) had the specific financial breakdown, and reported that the D’Backs held a club option.

Diamondbacks Designate Tyler Holton For Assignment

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The D-backs announced Wednesday that they’ve designated lefty Tyler Holton for assignment in order to open a spot on the roster for fellow southpaw Andrew Chafin, whose one-year deal to return to Arizona has now become official.

Holton, 26, made his big league debut with the Snakes in 2022, yielding three runs on eight hits and a pair of walks with six strikeouts in nine innings of work. The 2018 ninth-rounder spent the remainder of the season in Triple-A Reno, where he worked to a 4.43 ERA with a 23.5% strikeout rate against a 9.3% walk rate in 44 2/3 innings (22 relief appearances, two starts).

The 2022 season as a whole represented a sizable turnaround for Holton, who split the 2021 campaign between Double-A and Triple-A, combining for a 6.72 ERA in that time. There was some promise under the hood even amid those ugly bottom-line results, however, as Holton fanned 26.5% of his opponents against a solid 6.5% walk rate.

Holton has regularly posted strong strikeout and walk rates and a solid 45.2% ground-ball rate in parts of three minor league seasons. He’s also generally avoided the long ball, even when pitching in hitter-friendly settings like Reno. Since he was just selected to the MLB roster last year, he has a pair of minor league options remaining. All of that could hold appeal to other clubs either on waivers or via a small trade, but Holton has never been considered among the D-backs’ very best prospects and doesn’t have the type of power arsenal teams so frequently covet, averaging just 90.5 mph on his heater in this past season’s brief MLB debut.

The D-backs will have a week to trade Holton, attempt to pass him through outright waivers or release him.

Each MLB Team’s Players On WBC Rosters

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The World Baseball Classic is returning this year, the first time since 2017. The quadrennial event was supposed to take place in 2021 but was scuttled by the pandemic, now returning after a six-year absence. Rosters for the tournament were announced today and those can be found at this link. Here is a breakdown of which players from each MLB team are set to take participate. Quick caveat that this list is fluid and might be changed as more information becomes available.

Without further ado…

Angels

Astros

Athletics

Blue Jays

Braves

Brewers

Cardinals

Cubs

Diamondbacks

Dodgers

Giants

Guardians

Marlins

Mariners

Mets

Nationals

Orioles

Padres

Phillies

Pirates

Rangers

Rays

Red Sox

Reds

Rockies

Royals

Tigers

Twins

White Sox

Yankees

Diamondbacks Sign Yairo Munoz To Minor League Contract

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The Diamondbacks have signed utilityman Yairo Munoz to a minor league deal, as indicated on the team’s list of non-roster invitees to Spring Training.  Munoz elected free agency after being outrighted off the Phillies’ 40-man roster following the season.

Munoz signed a minors deal with Philadelphia last winter and ended up appearing in 29 games for the NL champions, hitting .211/.250/.404 with three homers over 60 plate appearances.  His time on the active roster mostly coincided with Jean Segura’s stint on the 60-day injured list, as Munoz saw a lot of action at second base while Segura was recovering from a broken finger.  Most of Munoz’s other playing time came as pinch-hitter, pinch-runner, or late-game defensive sub.

Beginning his career as a shortstop, Munoz has settled into a role as a versatile fill-in at second or third base, or either corner outfield spot in a pinch.  Josh Rojas has a similar role in more of an everyday capacity with the D’Backs, and might be bounced around the diamond a bit more in 2023 now that Evan Longoria could handle some third base action when not DH’ing.  Emmanuel Rivera, Geraldo Perdomo, Diego Castillo, and other non-roster invites Jake Hager and Phillip Evans are among the names who will be competing with Munoz to win a job on Arizona’s bench.

Munoz has appeared in each of the last five Major League seasons, with 108 of his 242 career games coming in his 2018 rookie season with the Cardinals.  After an impressive .273/.350/.413 performance over 329 PA in that first season, Munoz has since struggled to recapture that form, and left the Cardinals under rather controversial circumstances during Spring Training in 2020.  Munoz then caught on with the Red Sox, appearing in only 17 MLB games with Boston in 2020-21.

Read The Transcript Of Our Chat Hosted By Diamondbacks Shortstop Nick Ahmed

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Nick Ahmed was drafted by the Braves in the second round of the 2011 draft out of the University of Connecticut after playing alongside George Springer and Matt Barnes.  After his first season of minor league ball, evaluators started recognizing his excellent shortstop defense, but Nick had the misfortune of being in an organization that employed Andrelton Simmons at the big league level.

In January 2013, the Braves traded Ahmed to the Diamondbacks as part of the seven-player Justin Upton deal.  The D’Backs used Didi Gregorius at shortstop primarily in 2013 and ’14, but then traded him in another big three-team deal in December of 2014.  Finally, the path was clear for the defensively-gifted Ahmed to compete for the club’s starting shortstop job.

Ahmed took hold of the Diamondbacks’ shortstop position in 2015, but endured hip surgery in 2016 and then suffered a fracture in his hand and wrist separately in 2017.

Known for his defense and leadership, Ahmed once again took hold of Arizona’s starting shortstop job in 2018, and he hasn’t let go since.  Ahmed broke out with 3.7 WAR in 2018, winning the Gold Glove award.  He nearly replicated the performance in ’19, picking up another Gold Glove while hitting a career-high 19 home runs.

In February 2020, Ahmed signed a four-year extension with the Diamondbacks, which runs through the upcoming season.

In each individual season from 2018 to 2021, Nick led the Diamondbacks in innings at the shortstop position.  That string was broken in 2022, as a nagging shoulder injury led to June surgery.  Last Friday, Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reported that Ahmed is at Salt River Fields, getting ready for the start of spring training.  Ahmed will celebrate his 33rd birthday in March.  According to Piecoro, “He does not expect to be limited when spring training begins.”

Ahmed’s defense remained the best in the game at shortstop in his most recent healthy season.  In the 2021 season, Ahmed ranked fifth among shortstops in the Statcast Outs Above Average metric.  And while defense is his calling card, Nick has 68 career home runs, including bombs off Max Scherzer, Jon Lester, and Stephen Strasburg.

Nick recently launched a new platform called 7 Pillar Health and Performance.  He explains, “Within this new platform I will be sharing everything I’ve learned about optimal health and peak performance on and off the field.”  You can check that out here, and follow him on Instagram and Twitter @NickAhmed13.

Nick took questions from MLBTR readers for over an hour today, talking about his faith, handling trade rumors, training to play defense, the elimination of the shift, and much more.  Read the transcript here!

If you’re a current or former MLB player, we’d love to host you for a live chat!  It’s fun and easy and you get to choose which questions to publish and answer.  Click here to contact us.

D-backs, Jandel Gustave Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Diamondbacks have agreed to a minor league contract with right-hander Jandel Gustave, tweets Robert Murray of FanSided. He’ll be invited to big league camp this spring.

The 30-year-old Gustave has spent the past two seasons with the Brewers, turning in solid bottom-line results despite some shakier secondary marks. Gustave carries a 3.69 ERA in 46 1/3 innings over 41 games with Milwaukee dating back to 2021, and he’s averaged a hearty 96.7 mph on his heater during that time. Fielding-independent marks are a bit more skeptical of his efforts, albeit not overwhelmingly so (4.52 FIP, 3.94 SIERA).

Despite his strong velocity, Gustave owns a sub-par 20.1% strikeout rate since 2021. His 8% walk rate during that time is a bit better than average. It’s worth noting that he did up his strikeout rate in 2022 (22.5%), but that was accompanied by an uptick in walks as well (9.2%). Gustave wasn’t particularly homer-prone with the Brewers (1.17 HR/9), and his overall 48.2% ground-ball rate (50% in ’22) is also comfortably ahead of the 42.9% league average.

Injuries played a part in Gustave’s departure from the Brewers. A strained right hamstring cost him more than a month in the first half of the 2022 season, and he was placed on the injured list on Aug. 2 with a forearm injury that wound up ending his season. Gustave never wound up requiring surgery, but his final pitch of the 2022 season nonetheless came on July 31. The Brewers non-tendered him back in November despite the fact that he had two years of club control remaining and a projected salary of just $900K (via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz).

Assuming he’s healthy, Gustave figures to have a decent chance to crack the D-backs’ bullpen at some point, whether it be on Opening Day or early in the season. Arizona has a generally unsettled mix of relievers, with a few exceptions. Lefty Joe Mantiply had a breakout showing in 2022, and the Snakes will hope for better results from veteran Mark Melancon in the second season of a two-year deal. Veteran Miguel Castro was signed a to a one-year deal earlier in the winter, and 28-year-old righty Kevin Ginkel (29 in March) impressed in 29 1/3 innings down the stretch after posting rough results in 2020-21. The Diamondbacks also once again tapped into the NPB/KBO market by signing former Marlins righty Scott McGough to a two-year contract on the heels of a terrific four-year run in Japan.

Beyond those names on the 40-man roster, Gustave will join Jeurys Familia as a non-roster invitee of particular note this spring. Other minor league signees with varying levels of MLB experience in the bullpen include Austin Adams, Austin Brice, Jesse Biddle, Sam Clay, Ryan Hendrix, Zach McAllister and Eric Yardley.

Diamondbacks Re-Sign Jake Hager To Minor League Deal

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The Diamondbacks have re-signed infielder Jake Hager to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training, as announced over the weekend by the Triple-A Reno Aces.

Hager spent the majority of the 2022 season with Reno and slashed .261/.342/.391 with five home runs and eight stolen bases in his 303 plate appearances at the Triple-A level. He also got into 28 games at the MLB level and batted .240/.345/.280 with zero homers and zero steals across 59 plate appearances with the D-backs.

The 29-year-old journeyman — 30 in March — has proven capable of handling every position on the infield defensively, but he will lug a rough .197 career major league batting average and a .531 career major league OPS into camp in Arizona. Hager is probably going to be viewed as organizational depth leading into the 2023 campaign, an option to step in and at least provide competent a glove should something go awry with the Diamondbacks’ projected infield starters and bench fillers.

The current Arizona roster outlook has Josh Rojas and Emmanuel Rivera platooning at third base, Nick Ahmed handling shortstop duties and Ketel Marte locked in at second. Evan Longoria is an additional candidate for playing time at the hot corner, though it sounds like the D-backs mostly want to use him as their DH. 23-year-old switch-hitter Geraldo Perdomo is a good bet for an active backup role between third, short and second. Perdomo still has two options remaining and could see more regular action at Triple-A as well after a rough rookie season at the plate.

Injury Notes: Kirilloff, Maeda, Ahmed

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Twins first baseman/outfielder Alex Kirilloff started swinging a bat earlier this month, and is currently taking 50-60 swings a day according to Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com. Kirilloff underwent season-ending wrist surgery in August last year.

Kirilloff has long battled wrist injuries, landing on the IL four times for that reason since making his big league debut in 2021. The once highly touted prospect hasn’t hit much in his time in the majors, compiling a combined .251/.295/.398 line with 11 home runs over 387 plate appearances. That’s a disappointing return for a bat-first player, although it is fair to wonder just how much these wrist issues have hampered his output even when he’s been on the active roster.

The Twins have a crowded outfield picture at the moment, particularly after acquiring Michael A. Taylor from the Royals, but the trade of Luis Arraez has seemingly opened up first base for Kirilloff. Given the injuries and output to date, there’s quite a bit of risk in relying on the 25-year-old as the primary first baseman, but there’s also significant upside too. Kirilloff was one of the top prospects in baseball before reaching the big leagues, and if he can show he’s past his wrist issues and unlock some of his potential that Twins could find themselves with a valuable middle-of-the-order bat.

Here’s some other notes from around the league:

  • Sticking with the Twins to begin with, starter Kenta Maeda is set for a normal spring training with no restrictions, according to Dan Hayes of The Athletic. Maeda missed the entire 2022 season as he recovered from Tommy John surgery. Maeda, 35 in April, is entering the final year of his contract and set to earn a modest $3MM salary. Given he underwent internal brace TJ surgery which typically requires a slightly shorter recovery time, and there had initially been hope that Maeda would be available towards the backend of last season, it’s not a huge surprise that he’s shaping up nicely for 2023. Maeda’s most recent sample of work came in 2021, when he worked to a 4.66 ERA over 21 starts.
  • As he works his way back from shoulder surgery, Diamondbacks shortstop Nick Ahmed has begun hitting and throwing, per Nick Piecoro of AZ Central. Piecoro adds that Ahmed is not expected to have any restrictions by the time spring training rolls around. Having been hampered by shoulder problems for the past few years, Ahmed underwent season-ending surgery in June last year having been restricted to just 17 games in 2022. Ahmed has never been a huge threat at the plate, but has been one of the game’s best defenders at shortstop, amassing 154 Outs Above Average since 2016, trailing only Francisco Lindor’s 161 for best in baseball in that timeframe. Ahmed, 33 in March, is entering the final year of his contract and will take home a $10.375MM payday in 2023.
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