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Diamondbacks Designate Rene Pinto, Select Shelby Miller

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The Diamondbacks announced that catcher Rene Pinto was designated for assignment.  The move opens up a 40-man roster spot for Shelby Miller, as the team confirmed reports from over the weekend that the right-hander’s contract was being selected to the active roster.  Arizona also officially announced its one-year deal with Jalen Beeks, and placed Jordan Montgomery (who is undergoing Tommy John surgery) to the 60-day injured list in the corresponding roster move.

The Pinto move was expected, as Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic wrote on Sunday that the catcher was “saying his goodbyes in the clubhouse” to teammates after not making the Diamondbacks’ Opening Day roster.  The D’Backs now have seven days to work out a trade for Pinto during the DFA period, or another team in need of catching depth could simply claim Pinto off waivers.  Pinto has already changed teams twice via the waiver wire in the last five months — after the Orioles claimed the backstop from the Rays in early November, the D’Backs claimed Pinto in January after Baltimore had DFA’ed him to make roster space for Charlie Morton.

A veteran of three big league seasons, Pinto has spent his entire MLB tenure with the Rays, hitting .231/.263/.404 over 237 career plate appearances in the Show.  As part of the ongoing revolving door that is the Rays’ catching position, Pinto was actually Tampa Bay’s Opening Day backstop last year, but he didn’t hit enough to earn much more regular playing time.  The D’Backs brought Pinto aboard to compete for the backup catching job, but Arizona will instead go with Jose Herrera as the secondary option behind starter Gabriel Moreno.

Pinto is out of minor league options, so the Diamondbacks had to first expose him to the waiver wire in order to move him down to Triple-A.  This out-of-options status could mean Pinto has more trips through the DFA process in his future, if teams continually see him as the proverbial last man on the roster, and just as a pure depth piece.

Jordan Montgomery To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

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Diamondbacks left-hander Jordan Montgomery says he will be having Tommy John surgery next week, per Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. He will therefore miss the 2025 season and likely a notable chunk of 2026 as well.

The out-of-nowhere news is a brutal development for the lefty. The past year-plus have already been a challenging time for him and now he’s slated for another year-plus of rehab before he can improve his trajectory.

The southpaw already had Tommy John surgery once, in June of 2018. He missed the latter half of that season and most of 2019. He then had a subpar showing in 2020. He stabilized things for a three-year stretch after that. From 2021 to 2023, he made 94 starts and logged 524 1/3 innings. He had a 3.48 earned run average, 22.5% strikeout rate, 6.2% walk rate and 44.5% ground ball rate. FanGraphs considered him to be worth 10.3 wins above replacement for that span. He was a key part of the 2023 Rangers team that won the World Series, tossing 31 innings that postseason with a 2.90 ERA.

He hit free agency after getting that ring and seemed poised for a strong nine-figure contract, but that didn’t come to pass. The 2023-24 offseason was rough for most free agent, with the so-called “Boras Four” becoming the poster children for the chilly winter. Scott Boras clients Montgomery, Blake Snell, Matt Chapman and Cody Bellinger all lingered unsigned into the spring. Each eventually signed a short-term deal that fell well below initial expectations.

In Montgomery’s case, he agreed with the Diamondbacks late in March. It was a one-year, $25MM guarantee, though with an easy path to extra earning power. He could vest a $20MM player option with just ten starts and bump the value to $22.5MM with 18 starts and $25MM with 23 starts.

After missing the start of the season due to his late signing, he never got on track and eventually got bumped to the bullpen. He made 21 starts and four relief appearances, finishing the year with a 6.23 ERA in 117 innings.The club finished 89-73, tied with the Mets and Braves, but those two clubs took the final Wild Card spots via tiebreakers.

In early October, fresh off the sting of just barely missing the playoffs, club owner Ken Kendrick publicly expressed frustration with the Montgomery signing. “Looking back, in hindsight, a horrible decision to have invested that money in a guy that performed as poorly as he did,” Kendrick said. “It’s our biggest mistake this season from a talent standpoint. And I’m the perpetrator of that.” While he pointed the finger at himself for suggesting the front office pursue him, it was nonetheless surprising to see an owner publicly roast one of his own players in such a manner.

Despite that apparent tension, Montgomery wasn’t going to walk away from $22.5MM after the season he had. He exercised his player option for the 2025 campaign. That led to a full winter of trade speculation. The Diamondbacks didn’t need him in the rotation, especially after Arizona native Corbin Burnes agreed to sign there. That gave them a projected starting group of Burnes, Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Eduardo Rodríguez, Brandon Pfaadt and Ryne Nelson.

But Montgomery stayed with Arizona throughout the offseason. Just in the past week, there were some reports of ongoing trade talks. The lefty just pitched a spring game on March 19, less than a week ago. Given the injuries to other pitchers around the league, there seemed to be at least some chance to a club swinging a deal for Montgomery just before Opening Day. That’s obviously off the table now.

For Montgomery, he was surely hoping to engineer a bounceback season in 2025 before returning to the open market. His last foray into free agency didn’t go as planned, enough that he changed his representation and later accused Boras of having “butchered” his case. But he’ll instead go into the 2025-26 offseason still recovering from this surgery. At that point, he’ll likely be looking for a one-year “prove it” deal or perhaps a backloaded two-year pact covering the 2026-27 seasons. He’ll turn 33 years old this December.

For the Diamondbacks, they were also hoping for Montgomery to get things back on track, if only for the cost savings. Per recent reporting, they asked at least one club to take on $13MM of the $22.5MM still owed to the lefty. That was a tall ask but perhaps a strong early-season performance from the lefty could have increased his appeal around the league. Now the club will have no chance of moving any of that money.

The one silver lining is that this clarifies some roster things. Montgomery will be put on the 60-day injured list, giving them an extra 40-man spot to work with. It also crystallizes their rotation plans a bit, since they can just wipe Montgomery off the board. Even without him, they still have six guys for five rotation spots, which perhaps leaves Nelson to work a long relief role until a spot opens up for him.

Photo courtesy of Rob Schumacher, Imagn Images.

Diamondbacks To Sign Jalen Beeks

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The Diamondbacks and left-handed reliever Jalen Beeks are in agreement on a one-year deal, reports Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. Beeks, a Frontline client, will earn $1.25MM on the new contract. He opted out of a minor league deal with Houston and was granted his release this weekend. The agreement is pending the completion of a physical.

Beeks, 31, is a veteran of six big league seasons. He split the 2024 campaign between the Rockies and Pirates, logging a combined 4.50 ERA with a 17.6% strikeout rate, an 8.7% walk rate, a 45.1% grounder rate and an average of 0.77 homers per nine innings pitched. His best work came with the 2022 Rays, when he pitched 61 frames of 2.80 ERA ball and punched out 28% of his opponents. He’s since moved away from a pure four-seam/changeup pairing to incorporate more cutters, but the results haven’t been as favorable.

Overall, Beeks has pitched 347 2/3 innings in the big leagues. He carries a 4.40 earned run average in that time. Both his strikeout and walk rates are a bit worse than league-average overall, but he keeps the ball on the ground and avoids homers at better-than-average clips.

Arizona has incurred some injuries in the bullpen recently, which likely helped pave the way for Beeks to join the team. Righty Kevin Ginkel, one of the team’s top late-inning arms, will open the season on the injured list due to shoulder inflammation. Kendall Graveman is IL-bound due to some back discomfort that’s hobbled him in camp. Veteran southpaw Jordan Montgomery, who was likely looking at a long relief role, will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the entire season.

Beeks gives manager Torey Lovullo a third lefty to deploy. Fellow southpaw A.J. Puk will be in the closer’s mix with Justin Martinez, however, which had previously left Joe Mantiply as the only southpaw option in the middle innings or setup corps. Beeks now presents an alternative, allowing Lovullo to more freely play matchup in the middle stages of a game if needed.

Poll: Who Will Win The NL West?

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With Opening Day just over the horizon, teams all around the league are gearing up for another pennant chase in hopes of being crowned this year’s World Series champion. Of course, there’s still another seven months to go before someone raises the Commissioner’s Trophy. And until the playoffs begin, teams will be focused on a smaller goal: winning their division. We’ll be conducting a series of polls to gauge who MLBTR readers believe is the favorite in each division, and that series begins today with the NL West. Teams are listed in order of their 2024 record.

Los Angeles Dodgers (98-64)

The Dodgers have already notched two wins over the Cubs in the Tokyo Series for 2025, and they did so coming off a season where they finished the year with the best record in baseball and went on to win the World Series over the Yankees in five games. The club’s core of MVP-caliber talent remains in place with Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman all set to once again anchor the lineup this year. Meanwhile, a pitching staff that already included Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, and Clayton Kershaw has been bulked out further not just by Ohtani’s impending return to the mound but also the additions of Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki.

In the bullpen, the team’s solid late-inning mix of Blake Treinen, Alex Vesia, Michael Kopech, and Evan Phillips got a pair of major additions in the form of Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates, while the lineup is largely unchanged from last season with Hyeseong Kim set to replace Gavin Lux eventually and Michael Conforto stepping into the outfield in place of Jason Heyward. There are few clear places to nitpick a team that appears to be a clear juggernaut on paper, although the combination of Betts and Max Muncy on the left side of the infield figures to be below average defensively and the club’s strategy of stacking talented, oft-injured rotation arms always runs the risk of health problems.

San Diego Padres (93-69)

While many view besting the Dodgers as a mountain that’s near impossible to climb, it’s worth remembering that San Diego came within just one game of toppling them during the NLDS back in October. The Padres were restricted in their offseason activities by financial limitations, but the core of the 2024 club remains largely in place with Manny Machado, Jackson Merrill, and Fernando Tatis Jr. poised to anchor the lineup, Xander Bogaerts and Luis Arraez providing support and a front-of-the-rotation duo of Dylan Cease and Michael King who will be motivated to build on their excellent 2024 campaigns ahead of free agency this winter.

That’s not to say the club made no additions this winter, of course. The Padres waited out the market to sign talented right-hander Nick Pivetta to anchor the middle of their rotation alongside Yu Darvish, allowing them to make a splash on a tight budget. Other additions were less flashy, but could still prove valuable. While a supporting cast of Jason Heyward, Connor Joe, Jose Iglesias, and Yuli Gurriel may not look like much on paper, no one expected Jurickson Profar, David Peralta, and Donovan Solano to be as impactful for the club as they were last year. If the Padres are to win an NL West that got even more loaded this winter, they’ll need to hit on those dice rolls once again.

Arizona Diamondbacks (89-73)

While the Diamondbacks missed the playoffs by a hair in 2024 when they finished tied with the Mets and Braves for the final two NL Wild Card spots, the 2023 NL champions put together an excellent team in 2024. The Diamondbacks led the majors in runs scored last year, and many core pieces like Ketel Marte and Corbin Carroll are back for more this year alongside supporting veterans Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Eugenio Suarez. The losses of Christian Walker and Joc Pederson will certainly sting, but Josh Naylor should help to make up for some of that lost production and it wouldn’t be a shock to see longtime top prospect Jordan Lawlar break into the majors this year, either.

The pitching side of things is where Arizona figures to improve the most over last year. Zac Gallen is now complemented at the top of the Diamondbacks rotation by a co-ace in Corbin Burnes, and Merrill Kelly and Eduardo Rodriguez should be able to offer far steadier mid-rotation production than they did in injury-marred 2024 campaigns. The club also enjoys a deep group of back-of-the-rotation options, with Brandon Pfaadt set to get the first crack at starting. Should injuries once again complicate matters, Ryne Nelson is one of the best sixth starters in the league and there’s nowhere for Jordan Montgomery to go but up after last year’s disastrous campaign.

San Francisco Giants (80-82)

The Giants enjoyed a reasonably strong offseason during Buster Posey’s first winter at the helm, but after finishing with a middling record for the third consecutive season it would take a lot of things going right for the club to make significant gains in the standings. The addition of a star-caliber shortstop in Willy Adames alongside Matt Chapman should make for one of the stronger left sides of the infield in the sport this year, but it would take a renaissance from Justin Verlander to even match Blake Snell’s production down the stretch last year. Meanwhile, the club has no established talent at DH and faces questions about the productivity of its outfield after Jung Hoo Lee’s debut season was sidetracked by injuries.

That’s not to say 2025 is a season without hope for fans in San Francisco, however. Verlander and Robbie Ray are both former Cy Young winners, and vintage performances from the duo in conjunction with Logan Webb’s ever-steady production could make an impressive front-end of the rotation. Young players like Heliot Ramos, Tyler Fitzgerald, and Patrick Bailey could build on solid 2024 campaigns and take further steps forward. And if they do so while the rotation plays up to its potential, it’s possible to see the Giants surprising this year.

Colorado Rockies (61-101)

While the division’s other four teams all have reasonable paths to contention this year, the Rockies would need to move heaven and earth just to get to .500 after a season where they finished 37 games back in the NL West and made no significant additions during the offseason. The club has a few potentially exciting pieces in place, with center fielder Brenton Doyle and shortstop Ezequiel Tovar creating an exciting up-the-middle duo, but the supporting cast leaves much to be desired.

The club traded its highest-ceiling offensive player, left fielder Nolan Jones, for utility man Tyler Freeman over the weekend. And exciting top prospects like Zac Veen and Chase Dollander remain in the minor leagues. Even a return to form from $182MM man Kris Bryant wouldn’t be enough to return playoff baseball to Colorado this year unless it was paired with strong performances from those aforementioned prospects in addition to veteran arms like German Marquez and Kyle Freeland turning back the clock to 2018.

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With four of the division’s five teams making an effort to get back to the playoffs this year, which club do you expect to come out on top? Will the Dodgers remain the league’s dominant force, or will they be overcome by a big season from one of their rivals like San Diego or Arizona? Have your say in the poll below:

Latest On Jordan Montgomery

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Diamondbacks left-hander Jordan Montgomery has been a logical trade candidate for a while but remains on the club with Opening Day just around the corner. It was reported last week that talks were still ongoing, perhaps make a late spring deal seem possible. However, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports today that the Snakes have asked at least one team to take on $13MM of the lefty’s salary this year.

Perhaps that is just an aggressive bargaining position, but if that’s what the Diamondbacks are looking to unload, they are unlikely to line something up. The starting pitching market was quite aggressive early in the winter but has cooled off in recent weeks. Since the middle of February, Andrew Heaney, Jose Quintana and Kyle Gibson have all signed one-year deals with guarantees between $4.25 and $5.25MM.

Montgomery theoretically has a higher ceiling than anyone in that group. From 2021 to 2023, he made 94 starts and logged 524 1/3 innings. He had a 3.48 earned run average, 22.5% strikeout rate, 6.2% walk rate and 44.5% ground ball rate. FanGraphs considered him to be worth 10.3 wins above replacement for that span. He was a key part of the 2023 Rangers team that won the World Series.

Quintana had some stretches like that earlier in his career but has been more of a back-end guy in recent years. Heaney has shown some occasional flashes but never been at that level for long. Gibson has been a back-end type for most of his career.

But the reason Montgomery is available is because his 2024 season was so awful. He lingered unsigned until very late and never really got into a good groove. His results were poor enough that he eventually got bumped to the bullpen. He finished the year with a 6.23 ERA in 117 innings. Owner Ken Kendrick publicly slammed the signing, pointing the finger at himself since he encouraged the front office to pursue Montgomery.

The one-year, $25MM agreement came with a vesting player option for 2025. If the southpaw made just ten starts last year, he would unlock a $20MM player option and could bump the value to $22.5MM at 18 starts, which he did. After his rough season, he made the obvious choice to trigger the player option.

There are several clubs around the league with pitching needs after some recent injuries but it would be a shock to see any club take on $13MM of the deal. Most teams are low on remaining payroll space at this point and that $13MM figure would be more than double the Heaney/Gibson/Quintana guarantees.

As mentioned, that could have just been an opening bid and maybe the Diamondbacks are willing to budge, but it also seems possible Montgomery will start the season in long relief. They have a rotation of Zac Gallen, Corbin Burnes, Merrill Kelly, Eduardo Rodríguez and Brandon Pfaadt. An injury could open up an opportunity for Montgomery but Ryne Nelson will also be in the mix after he posted a 3.23 ERA in the second half of last year. That will make it hard for Montgomery to get back into the rotation and in a good swing of things, which will subsequently make it difficult for him to build value as a trade candidate this summer or as a free agent this coming winter.

Photo courtesy of Rob Schumacher, Imagn Images

Diamondbacks Expected To Select Shelby Miller

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Shelby Miller has exercised an upward mobility clause in his minor league contract with the Diamondbacks, though the right-hander doesn’t appear to be going anywhere, as Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports that the D’Backs are expected to select his contract to the active roster.  Miller inked his minors deal just at the start of Spring Training camp, and he’ll now officially return for a second stint in a Diamondbacks uniform.

That first stint is something of a painful memory for both Miller and Arizona fans, as he posted a 6.35 ERA over 139 innings with the club from 2016-18.  Miller was acquired a part of a blockbuster five-player trade with the Braves in December 2015 that most prominently saw Dansby Swanson head to Atlanta, and Miller was viewed as an up-and-coming new fixture for the Diamondbacks’ rotation.  However, injuries plagued Miller’s tenure in the desert, as a Tommy John surgery cost him the majority of the 2017-18 campaigns.

Miller has yet to recapture his early-career form in the intervening seasons, despite stops with multiple teams and a move to relief pitching.  He had a very solid year in the Dodgers’ bullpen in 2023, but followed up his 1.71 ERA over 42 innings that year with an underwhelming 4.53 ERA in 55 2/3 frames out of the Tigers’ bullpen last season.

In Cactus League play this spring, however, Miller has a 2.70 ERA over 6 2/3 innings for the D’Backs.  He has also struck out 11 out of his 25 batters faced, with zero walks against that impressive number of whiffs.  Obviously time will tell if this performance can translate at all into the regular season, but it was enough to win Miller a spot in Arizona’s bullpen.  Kendall Graveman has battled back problems this spring and may start the season on the injured list, which could’ve opened the door for Miller to make the team.

A 40-man roster spot for Miller could be opened up if and when Rene Pinto is designated for assignment, as Piecoro writes (multiple links) that Pinto was “saying his goodbyes in the clubhouse” earlier today.  Pinto was claimed off waivers from the Orioles in January to add some depth to Arizona’s catching ranks, but it looks like Jose Herrera will indeed head to Opening Day as Gabriel Moreno’s backup.  Piecoro suggests that the D’Backs could look to trade Pinto as part of the DFA process, if he isn’t claimed away by a team in need of catching help.

In other Diamondbacks roster news, Piecoro reports that minor league signing Ildemaro Vargas won’t be making the team.  Vargas has the ability to opt out of his minor league deal and will first explore his options, though he’ll play with Triple-A Reno if another roster spot can’t be found in another organization.  The veteran utilityman is in his third stint with the D’Backs over his eight MLB seasons, but Garrett Hampson was selected to Arizona’s roster today, giving Hampson the win over Vargas in the competition for a bench job.

Diamondbacks Select Garrett Hampson

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TODAY: The Diamondbacks announced that they have selected Hampson’s contract, keeping him in the organization and essentially assuring him of a spot on their Opening Day roster. Walston was transferred to the 60-day injured list in order to make room for Hampson on the 40-man roster.

March 21: Infielder/outfielder Garrett Hampson plans to exercise the upcoming opt-out in his minor league deal with the Diamondbacks, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. The opt-out date is tomorrow and the Diamondbacks will then have 48 hours to decide whether to add Hampson to the roster or let him return to free agency.

Hampson is an Article XX(b) free agent, which is any player with at least six years of service who finished the previous season on a major league roster or injured list. Such players have guaranteed opt-out dates on minor league deals signed at least ten days prior to Opening Day. The first of those opt-out dates is five days prior to Opening Day, which will be tomorrow. The others are May 1 and June 1. When a player triggers an opt-out, the club has 48 hours to decide how to respond.

A veteran of seven big league seasons, Hampson has previously suited up for the Rockies, Marlins and Royals. He has generally served as a light-hitting utility player who provides some speed and versatility. His career batting line of .240/.301/.362 translates to a wRC+ of 69, indicating he’s been 31% below average overall. But he’s stolen 64 bases in 79 tries while playing every position except catcher.

He signed a minor league pact with the Snakes in January, a deal which will reportedly pay him $1.5MM if he cracks the big league roster. He’s had a decent showing in camp. His career walk rate is just 7.7% but he’s taken free passes at an 11.4% clip this spring. It’s a small sample of 44 plate appearances but his .289/.386/.368 line is solid, translating to a 107 wRC+.

The Diamondbacks likely need a multi-positional guy like Hampson. Of their four bench spots, one will be taken by a backup catcher, likely José Herrera. Another spot will go to outfielder Randal Grichuk. Of the two remaining bench spots, they will want at least one infielder, ideally one who can cover multiple spots.

On the 40-man roster at present, they have Jordan Lawlar, Blaze Alexander, Tim Tawa and Grae Kessinger. Alexander is out with an oblique strain. Lawlar is one of the top prospects in the league and missed a lot of 2024 due to injuries. The Diamondbacks surely want him playing regularly in Triple-A and optioned him earlier this week. Tawa and Kessinger have also been optioned to Triple-A already. The club could always recall them but it seems they have tipped their hand a bit.

The Diamondbacks also have Ildemaro Vargas in camp as a non-roster invitee. Whether it’s Hampson or Vargas getting a roster spot, the Snakes will need to make room. Blake Walston is out with Tommy John surgery and could be moved to the 60-day injured list to open one spot. If the club wants add both Hampson and Vargas, or perhaps an NRI pitcher like Shelby Miller, they would have to find a way to open another.

Photo courtesy Rob Schumacher, Imagn Images

Diamondbacks, Justin Martínez Agree To Extension

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TODAY: The Diamondbacks officially announced the deal, which per the club’s announcement also includes a conditional club option for the 2032 season. According to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic, the conditional option is worth $3MM and triggers if Martinez has elbow surgery at any point in the deal or spends a certain number of days on the injured list.

March 21: Right-hander Justin Martínez and the Diamondbacks have reportedly agreed to a contract extension, pending a physical. The deal will pay him $18MM over five years, with a couple of club options as well. He’ll get a $2MM signing bonus and a $1.5MM salary this year. He’ll then make salaries of $2MM, $3MM, $4MM and $5.5MM in the remaining guaranteed years. The 2030 club option is valued at $7MM followed by a $9MM option for 2031. It can max out at $39MM via escalators and those options. The guaranteed portion of the deal covers his remaining pre-arbitration and arbitration seasons, while the options give the Diamondbacks two potential extra years of control.

Martínez, 23, has a limited major league track record but has impressed in that time. He had a rough debut in 2023, allowing 14 earned runs in a small sample of ten innings. But he firmly established himself last year. He tossed 72 2/3 innings over 64 appearances for the D’Backs, allowing just 2.48 earned runs per nine innings. His 11.7% walk rate was definitely on the high side but he struck out 29.5% of batters faced and got grounders on 58.9% of balls in play.

He accomplished all that with an impressive arsenal, turning his Statcast page into a sea of red. His four-seam fastball and sinker both averaged over 100 miles per hour with Martínez also mixing in a splitter and a slider. He earned seven holds and eight saves last year, cementing himself as a key leverage arm for the Snakes.

Given that eye-popping performance, it’s understandable that the Snakes would look to lock him up. It’s also easy to see why Martínez might prefer to lock up some life-changing money now. He had just converted from the outfield to the mound in 2018 prior to being signed as an amateur out of the Dominican Republic. He got a $50K bonus, relatively modest compared to some of the multi-million-dollar bonuses high-profile prospects get. He has struggled with control problems throughout his minor league career and also had Tommy John surgery in 2021.

While Martínez is surely confident in his obvious talents, his trajectory has been more rocky than many other young players. That perhaps made him less likely to bet on himself than a player who already had millions in the bank and a smooth ride to the majors.

The deal is roughly in line with previous pacts for pre-arbitration relievers, as shown on MLBTR’s Contract Tracker. Emmanuel Clase got $20MM over five years from the Guardians going into the 2022 season. Clase then had between one and two years of service time, as Martínez does now. In both cases, the player locked up guaranteed money for their pre-arb and arb years, while giving up two free agent seasons via options. The Clase deal is tops for a reliever in this service bracket with Martínez coming in just below him.

Clase is an apt comparison for Martínez and a good illustration of what the Diamondbacks are hoping for. Clase was clearly a talented pitcher but had some uncertainty after missing the 2020 season due to a PED suspension. He pitched his first full season in 2021 and posted a 1.29 ERA over 71 appearances. The Guardians banked on Clase repeating that kind of performance going forward, a bet that has paid off. Clase has emerged as one of the best closers in baseball with a 1.72 ERA over the first three years of that deal.

The bar doesn’t need to be that high for Martínez. Even by the end of the deal, his salary stays fairly modest. Decent setup pitchers like Paul Sewald, Yimi García and Tommy Kahnle signed deals with salaries in the $7-8MM range this winter. That means Martínez will be a bargain even if he’s producing in the realm of those guys. But clearly, the ceiling is quite high and the Diamondbacks are hoping Martínez is a key part of the bullpen for years to come.

What remains to be seen is how Martínez will be utilized in the short term. Manager Torey Lovullo said this week, in video relayed by Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports, that he would likely not name a strict closer. He has two key lefties in A.J. Puk and Joe Mantiply, as well as righties Martínez and Kevin Ginkel. Based on Lovullo’s comments, he seems likely to put his pitchers in optimal platoon settings, at least until a more clear hierarchy emerges.

Moises Fabian of Mega 97.9 in New York first reported the details in Spanish, relaying the $18MM guarantee over five years and the club options valued at $7MM and $9MM. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic later reported the same details in English. Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 reported the specific annual salaries.

Photos courtesy of Rob Schumacher, Imagn Images.

36 Veteran Players With Looming Opt-Out Dates

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The 2022-26 collective bargaining agreement implemented a new series of uniform opt-out dates for players who qualified as free agents under Article XX(b) of said agreement and sign a minor league deal in free agency. More specifically, that designation falls on players with six-plus years of MLB service time who finished the preceding season on a major league roster or injured list. Some contracts for players coming over from a foreign professional league like Nippon Professional Baseball or the Korea Baseball Organization will also have language written into their contracts allowing them to qualify as an XX(b) free agent despite a lack of six years of service.

The three uniform opt-out dates on those contracts land five days before Opening Day, on May 1 and on June 1. With the regular season set to kick off next week, any Article XX(b) free agents who are in camp on minor league contracts will have the opportunity to opt out on Saturday, March 22. A player triggering one of these out clauses gives his current club 48 hours to either add him to the 40-man roster or let him become a free agent.

There are other ways to secure opt-outs in contracts, of course. Many players who don’t qualify for XX(b) designation will still have opt-out opportunities negotiated into their minor league deals in free agency.

The following is a list of 36 players who are in camp as non-roster invitees and will be able to opt out this weekend. Most were XX(b) free agents, but there are a handful of names who didn’t meet that requirement but had outs negotiated into their respective deals nonetheless. This is not a comprehensive list of all players with opt-out opportunities this weekend.

All spring stats referenced are accurate through the completion of games played Wednesday, March 19.

Astros: LHP Jalen Beeks

Beeks, 31, was a relatively late sign (March 7) who’s since tossed three spring frames — including two scoreless innings just yesterday. He logged a 4.50 ERA in 70 innings between the Rockies and Pirates last season. He struggled to miss bats last year but typically runs strong strikeout rates. Dating back to 2020, Beeks carries a 4.16 ERA in 192 2/3 innings. In Josh Hader, Bryan King and Bennett Sousa, the Astros already have three lefty relievers on the 40-man. Another veteran non-roster invitee, Steven Okert, has rattled off 8 2/3 shutout spring innings with a 14-to-2 K/BB ratio. Beeks might have long odds of cracking the roster.

Blue Jays: RHP Jacob Barnes, LHP Ryan Yarbrough

The 34-year-old Barnes logged a 4.36 ERA in a career-high 66 big league innings last season. He posted an ERA north of 5.00 in each of the five preceding seasons (a total of 115 1/3 frames). He’s been tagged for four runs in 5 1/3 innings this spring.

Yarbrough, 33, had a terrific run with the Jays to close out the 2024 season. Joining Toronto in a deadline swap sending Kevin Kiermaier to the Dodgers, the veteran southpaw posted a 2.01 ERA in 31 1/3 innings. He’s a soft-tosser, sitting just 86.5 mph with his heater, but Yarbrough can pitch multiple innings in relief and has a decent track record even beyond last year’s overall 3.19 earned run average (4.21 ERA in 768 MLB innings). He’s allowed three runs with and 8-to-1 K/BB ratio in 6 2/3 innings in camp.

Braves: RHP Buck Farmer, RHP Hector Neris

Farmer was already reassigned to minor league camp on Sunday, so there’d seem to be a good chance of him taking his out. The 34-year-old turned in a terrific 3.04 ERA in 71 innings for the Reds last year but was probably hampered by his age, pedestrian velocity and subpar command in free agency. With a 3.68 ERA in 193 innings over the past three seasons in Cincinnati, he should find an opportunity somewhere — even if it’s not in Atlanta.

Neris is still in Braves camp. He signed well into camp and thus has only pitched one official inning so far, which was scoreless. (Neris is pitching today as well.) He’s looking to bounce back from a 4.10 ERA and a particularly poor performance in save opportunities last year. Prior to his nondescript 2024, Neris rattled off a 3.03 ERA in 208 innings from 2021-23 between Philly and Houston, saving 17 games and collecting 67 holds along the way.

Brewers: 1B/OF Mark Canha, OF Manuel Margot

He’s had a brutal spring, but the 36-year-old Canha has been an above-average hitter every year since 2018, by measure of wRC+. He’s just 2-for-23 in Brewers camp, but he’s slugged a homer and walked as often as he’s fanned (four times apiece). Milwaukee has Rhys Hoskins at first base, but Canha could chip in at DH and offer a right-handed complement to lefty outfielders Sal Frelick and Garrett Mitchell.

Margot hasn’t hit well in a tiny sample of 35 spring plate appearances, but he’s outproduced Canha with a .250/.314/.375 slash. He’s coming off a dismal .238/.289/.337 showing in Minnesota, however, and hasn’t been the plus defender he was prior to a major 2022 knee injury. Like Canha, he could complement Frelick and Mitchell as a righty-swinging outfielder, but Canha has been the far more productive bat in recent seasons.

Cubs: RHP Chris Flexen

The Cubs reassigned Flexen to minor league camp after just 3 2/3 innings this spring. He was hit hard on the other side of town with the White Sox in 2024, though Flexen quietly righted the ship after an awful start. He posted a 5.69 ERA through nine starts but logged a 4.62 mark over his final 21 trips to the mound, including a tidy 3.52 earned run average across 46 innings in his last eight starts. Flexen may not bounce back to his 2021-22 numbers in Seattle, but he’s a durable fifth starter if nothing else.

Diamondbacks: INF/OF Garrett Hampson, RHP Scott McGough

The D-backs don’t really have a backup shortstop while Blaze Alexander is sidelined with an oblique strain, which seems to bode well for Hampson. He’s hitting .235/.333/.324 in camp and can play three infield spots and three outfield positions. He had a bleak .230/.275/.300 performance in Kansas City last year but was a league-average hitter for the Marlins as recently as 2023.

McGough was reassigned to minor league camp yesterday after serving up six runs in 4 2/3 innings of spring work. That wasn’t the follow-up to last year’s gruesome 7.44 ERA for which the 35-year-old righty or the team had hoped.

Giants: C Max Stassi, RHP Lou Trivino

Stassi is battling Sam Huff, who’s on the 40-man, for the backup catcher’s role while Tom Murphy is injured. The 34-year-old Stassi is hitting .300/.364/.700 with a pair of homers in 22 spring plate appearances. He’s a plus defender with a scattershot track record at the plate.

Trivino hasn’t pitched since 2022 due to Tommy John surgery and a separate shoulder issue. He also hasn’t allowed a run in 8 1/3 spring innings. (9-to-4 K/BB ratio). Trivino’s scoreless Cactus League showing, his pre-injury track record and his familiarity with skipper Bob Melvin — his manager in Oakland — all seem to give him a real chance to win a spot.

Mariners: RHP Shintaro Fujinami, RHP Trevor Gott, 1B Rowdy Tellez

Fujinami’s command has never been good, and he’s walked more batters (seven) than he’s struck out (four) through 5 2/3 spring innings. He’s also plunked a pair of batters. He’s looking to bounce back from an injury-ruined 2024 season but might have to take his first steps toward doing so in Triple-A.

Tellez has had a big camp and looks like he could have a real chance to make the club in a part-time DH/first base role, as explored more yesterday. Gott is on the mend from Tommy John surgery performed last March and won’t pitch until midseason. He’s unlikely to opt out.

Mets: RHP Jose Ureña

Ureña was torched for seven runs in his first 1 1/3 spring innings after signing with the Mets on Feb. 27. He bounced back by striking out all three opponents he faced in an inning this past weekend, but he hasn’t helped himself otherwise. Ureña’s 3.80 ERA in 109 innings with Texas last year was his first sub-5.00 ERA since 2017-18 in Miami.

Padres: 1B Yuli Gurriel, INF Jose Iglesias

Both veterans have a legitimate chance to make the club. Gurriel has had a productive spring (.296/.321/.519) at nearly 41 years of age, while Iglesias is out to a 5-for-18 start since signing in mid-March. Gurriel could split time at first and DH, lessening the need to use Luis Arraez in the field. Iglesias could see frequent work at second base, shifting Jake Cronenworth to first base and pushing Arraez to DH. The Padres probably wouldn’t have put a hefty (relative to most minor league deals) $3MM base salary on Iglesias’ deal if they didn’t see a real path to him making the roster.

Pirates: LHP Ryan Borucki

Borucki was great for the Pirates in 2023 and struggled through 11 innings during an injury-marred 2024 season. The 30-year-old southpaw has allowed one run in eight spring innings. His five walks are a bit much, but he’s also fanned 11 of his 33 opponents.

Rangers: SS Nick Ahmed, RHP David Buchanan, RHP Jesse Chavez, OF Kevin Pillar, RHP Hunter Strickland

Ahmed has more homers in 28 spring plate appearances than he had in 228 plate appearances in 2024 or 210 plate appearances in 2023. He’s popped three round-trippers already and slashed .286/.310/.607. With a crowded infield and versatile backups like Josh Smith and Ezequiel Duran, Ahmed might still have a hard time cracking the roster.

None of the three pitchers listed here has performed well in limited work. Buchanan had a nice run as a starter in the KBO in the four preceding seasons, while Chavez has been a mainstay in the Atlanta bullpen for much of the past few years. Strickland had a nice 2024 in Anaheim but signed very late and retired only one of the five batters he faced during his long spring outing.

Pillar may have the best chance of the bunch to make the team. He’s hitting .273/.333/.394 in 39 plate appearances. Outfielders Wyatt Langford and Adolis Garcia have been banged up this spring, so some extra outfield depth could make sense.

Rays: DH/OF Eloy Jimenez

Jimenez homered for the second time yesterday, boosting his Grapefruit line to .263/.300/.447. He’s coming off a dreadful season in 2024, but from 2019-23 the former top prospect raked at a .275/.324/.487 pace, including a 31-homer rookie campaign (admittedly, in the juiced-ball 2019 season). Durability has been a bigger factor than productivity. If the Rays can get Jimenez to elevate the ball more, he could be a bargain; he’s still only 28.

Red Sox: LHP Matt Moore, RHP Adam Ottavino

Moore signed on Feb. 20 and has only gotten into two spring games so far, totaling two innings. Ottavino has pitched four innings but allowed five runs. He’s walked five and tossed a pair of wild pitches in that time. Both pitchers have long MLB track records, but they’re both coming off lackluster seasons.

Reds: LHP Wade Miley

Miley underwent Tommy John surgery early last season and contemplated retirement upon learning his prognosis. He wanted to return to one of his former NL Central clubs in free agency, and the Reds clearly offered a more compelling minor league deal than the Brewers. He’s not going to be a realistic option until late May, and it seems unlikely he’d opt out while his rehab is still ongoing.

Rockies: RHP Jake Woodford

Woodford isn’t an Article XX(b) free agent, but MLBTR has learned that he still has a March 22 opt-out. He made his fourth appearance of Rockies camp yesterday, tossing 2 2/3 innings with an earned run. Woodford has allowed seven runs on 11 hits and three walks with five punchouts and a nice 47.2% grounder rate in 10 2/3 frames this spring. He has experience as a starter and reliever. The righty doesn’t miss many bats but keeps the ball on the ground and has good command. He’s a fifth starter/swingman who’s out of minor league options.

Royals: C Luke Maile, RHP Ross Stripling

Maile is a glove-first backup who’s had a nice spring at the plate but has done so on a team with a healthy Salvador Perez and Freddy Fermin. His path to a roster spot doesn’t look great. Speculatively, his former Reds club, which just lost Tyler Stephenson to begin the year, would make sense if they plan to add an outside catcher. Maile’s .214/.294/.329 performance over the past three seasons is light, but he’s already familiar with the bulk of Cincinnati’s staff. He’s a fine backup or No. 3 catcher for any club, Kansas City included.

Stripling notched a 3.01 ERA in 124 innings for the 2022 Blue Jays, but it’s been rough waters since. He was rocked for a 5.68 ERA across the past two seasons, spending time with both Bay Area clubs, and has been tagged for 11 runs on 14 hits — four of them homers — with just two strikeouts in six spring frames. He’ll likely need a strong Triple-A showing, be it with the Royals or another club, to pitch his way back to the majors.

Tigers: LHP Andrew Chafin

Chafin surprisingly commanded only a minor league deal this offseason and has struggled to begin his third stint with the Tigers. He’s been tagged for eight runs in four spring innings, walking six batters along the way. It’s a rough look, but the affable southpaw notched a 3.51 ERA in 56 1/3 MLB frames last year and touts a 3.12 mark across the past four seasons combined.

White Sox: RHP Mike Clevinger, INF Brandon Drury, OF Travis Jankowski

The ChiSox signed Clevinger for a third time late this spring and are trying him in the bullpen. He’s responded with four shutout innings, allowing only one hit and no walks while fanning six hitters. His 2025 White Sox reunion is out to a much better start than his 2024 reunion, wherein he was limited to only 16 innings with a 6.75 ERA thanks to elbow and neck troubles.

Drury could hardly be doing more to secure a spot with the Pale Hose. He’s decimated Cactus League pitching at a .410/.439/.821 pace, slugging three homers and seven doubles in only 41 plate appearances. He’s coming off a terrible 2024 showing with the Angels but hit .263/.313/.493 from 2021-23. It’d be a surprise if the Sox didn’t keep him.

Jankowski started the spring with the Cubs, was granted his release and signed with the Sox. The hits haven’t been dropping, but he has six walks in 25 plate appearances. The White Sox already have Michael A. Taylor in a fourth outfield role. Andrew Benintendi, who missed three-plus weeks with a fractured hand, was back in the lineup yesterday, making Jankowski something of a long shot.

Yankees: RHP Carlos Carrasco

With a nice spring showing and several injuries in the Yankees’ rotation, Carrasco looks to have a good chance at making the roster. Jack Curry of the YES Network already reported it’s “likely” Carrasco will be added this weekend. Carrasco has a 1.69 ERA with 15 strikeouts and seven walks (plus four hit batters) in 16 spring innings. He tossed five shutout frames yesterday.

D-Backs Have Received Recent Trade Interest In Jordan Montgomery

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The Diamondbacks have received recent trade interest from a couple teams in Jordan Montgomery, reports John Gambadoro of 98.7 FM in Phoenix. There’s no indication that a pre-Opening Day deal is likely, but it’s notable those conversations have continued with the regular season eight days away.

As has been the case all offseason, the contract is the big impediment. Montgomery will play this year on a $22.5MM salary. That’s a sum no team was going to take in full. It’s especially difficult to offload a significant portion of the money at this point. Most teams have neared or reached the payroll at which they’re willing to spend before the season.

That’s reflected in the comparatively low costs of free agent starting pitching. Jose Quintana and Andrew Heaney — both of whom are coming off better seasons than Montgomery just had — signed one-year deals worth less than $6MM after camp opened. Kyle Gibson, Spencer Turnbull and Lance Lynn remain unsigned and are presumably looking at even lesser guarantees. It makes a Spring Training deal difficult to pull off. Other teams would presumably want Arizona to pay Montgomery’s contract down to a few million dollars while accepting a middling return.

The Diamondbacks haven’t shown that level of desperation to deal the veteran lefty, though they’d clearly welcome an opportunity to make a move. Montgomery pitched his way out of last year’s rotation. He finished the year with a 6.23 earned run average over 117 innings. His strikeout rate fell from roughly league average to a career-worst 15.6% clip.

Things weren’t quite so bleak on a per-pitch basis. Montgomery got whiffs on 12.3% of his offerings, which is in line with his career average. He’d posted three consecutive sub-4.00 ERA showings with solid peripherals between 2021-23. Montgomery didn’t sign until Opening Day last year after a frustrating free agent sequence, presumably leading to some level of rust. The context provides hope he can at least recapture back-of-the-rotation form, but he won’t have a path to the Opening Day rotation in the desert.

Arizona added Corbin Burnes to a staff that already included Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Eduardo Rodriguez and Brandon Pfaadt. Righty Ryne Nelson might be pushed to Triple-A to begin the season. Nelson had a 3.23 ERA in the second half last season. The Snakes stuck with him in the rotation down the stretch while pushing Montgomery to the bullpen. Even if he begins the season in the minors, Nelson will probably be the first choice if any of Arizona’s top five starters suffer an injury. Montgomery has more than enough service time to refuse a minor league assignment, so he’s likely to work in long relief if he begins the season with the Diamondbacks.

The 32-year-old southpaw would presumably welcome a trade that gives him a clearer path back to rotation work. Montgomery will be a free agent next offseason. His future earning power will be greater if he pitches well as a starter rather than spending most or all of the season in low-leverage relief. Arizona owner Ken Kendrick was also publicly critical of the signing last fall, saying it was “a horrible decision to have invested that money in a guy that performed as poorly as he did.” (Kendrick directed the criticism for the move at himself rather than the front office, saying he pushed GM Mike Hazen to pursue the deal.)

Montgomery has only taken the ball twice this spring. His first start couldn’t have gone much worse. The Reds blitzed him for five runs on two hits, two walks and a hit batter. He recorded only one out. Montgomery pitched much more effectively this afternoon, working 2 2/3 scoreless frames with a couple strikeouts against the Rockies.

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