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Jake McGee Retires

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Longtime MLB reliever Jake McGee is retiring, he tells Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The 36-year-old said he’ll return to Tropicana Field at some point next season to celebrate his time with the Rays’ organization.

“I feel like it’s kind of the right time,” McGee said. “I’d rather be at home with my family. I played 13 years. I won a World Series in ‘20. It’s about time to stop. I don’t want to grind it out and keep bouncing around and stuff like that.” He tells Topkin that a combination of ongoing knee issues and a desire to spend more time with his wife and their daughter contributed to his decision to step away at this point.

McGee entered the professional ranks nearly two decades ago. Drafted by the then-Devil Rays in the fifth round in 2004 out of a Nevada high school, he spent a few seasons climbing the minor league ladder as a starting pitcher. He thrice appeared among Baseball America’s top 100 prospect list, peaking at 15th heading into the 2008 season. While initial reports of a potential future as a top-of-the-rotation starter didn’t materialize — perhaps in part due to a 2008 Tommy John procedure — McGee took off upon moving to the bullpen in 2010.

The southpaw made his big league debut as a September call-up that year, not long after his 24th birthday. He bounced on and off the MLB roster the following season and carved out a permanent bullpen role by 2012. McGee posted a sparkling 1.95 ERA with a massive 34.4% strikeout rate across 55 1/3 innings, kicking off a few seasons as one of the game’s best relief weapons.

Over a three-year stretch from 2012-14, McGee avoided the injured list and soaked up 189 1/3 frames of 2.61 ERA ball. His 31.9% strikeout percentage over that run ranked 13th among relievers with 100+ innings and only seven relievers had a larger gap between their strikeout and walk rates. While he never made an All-Star team, he was clearly among the sport’s top high-leverage arms.

The 2015 season was McGee’s final with the Rays. It proved a challenge, as he was delayed to start the year by offseason elbow surgery and tore the meniscus in his left knee late in the season. When healthy enough to take the mound, he had another excellent showing. McGee twirled 37 1/3 innings with a 2.41 ERA and 32.7% strikeout percentage.

With Tampa Bay coming off an 80-82 record and McGee two seasons from free agency, he became one of the following offseason’s more intriguing trade chips. The Rays eventually packaged him with then-prospect Germán Márquez to the Rockies for outfielder Corey Dickerson and minor league infielder Kevin Padlo. The deal paid particular dividends for Colorado with Márquez’s emergence into staff ace, but McGee himself had a solid run early in his time there.

After a disappointing 4.73 ERA showing during his first season as a Rockie, he bounced back to the tune of a 3.61 mark across 57 1/3 innings in 2017 — helping the team to a Wild Card berth. That’s no small feat in the sport’s most hitter-friendly home venue, and the Rox kept him around via free agency. He signed a three-year, $27MM deal over the 2017-18 offseason, part of a bullpen spending spree that also saw Colorado bring in Bryan Shaw and Wade Davis.

That didn’t pan out as the organization hoped. Each of Shaw, McGee and Davis struggled to varying degrees. Home runs became a particular issues in McGee’s case, as his heavy reliance on four-seam fastballs up in the strike zone lost effectiveness when his velocity dipped a couple ticks during the 2018-19 seasons. The Rockies released McGee two seasons into the contract, but he promptly kicked off a late-career renaissance with a pair of division rivals.

Signing with the Dodgers for the shortened 2020 campaign, McGee ranked fifth among qualified relievers with a 41.8% strikeout rate over 24 outings. He saw some action in both the Championship Series and the World Series, getting into one game during a Fall Classic against his original organization. The Dodgers defeated the Rays in six games to win the only championship of McGee’s career, though he was part of another very successful club in San Francisco the next season.

He inked a two-year, $7MM deal with the Giants. During the first season, he picked up mostly where he’d left off in L.A. McGee’s strikeouts fell back to 24.3%, but he was among the game’s stingiest at avoiding walks and posted a 2.72 ERA through 59 2/3 innings. He assumed the closing role for a good chunk of the year, saving 31 of San Francisco’s 107 wins. The Giants edged out the Dodgers in a tight NL West race but saw L.A. get their revenge in a five-game Division Series that October.

The 2022 season, which’ll prove to be McGee’s last, was a struggle. He was hit hard through 24 contests in San Francisco, leading to his release in July. The veteran caught on briefly with the Brewers and Nationals at points during the second half but didn’t find much success at either stop. His final outing came in early September before Washington released him.

While he didn’t punctuate things with a great season, McGee steps away with a very strong body of work. He pitched for six different clubs over a 13-year MLB career, posting a cumulative 3.71 ERA through 572 1/3 innings. He struck out 613 of the 2359 batters he faced, a strong 26% clip. McGee finished 182 contests and collected 79 saves while holding 141 more leads and was credited with 32 wins. He had five separate seasons with a sub-3.00 ERA and four years in which he fanned upwards of 30% of opponents. According to Baseball Reference, he collected more than $37MM in earnings along the way.

MLBTR congratulates McGee on an excellent run and wishes him the best in his post-playing days.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Latest On Yuli Gurriel’s Free Agency

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Yuli Gurriel is one of the more accomplished free agent hitters still available, though he’s seeking a bounceback opportunity after a rough 2022 campaign. It seemed things were moving towards a resolution a couple weeks ago when reports suggested his camp was making progress in talks with the Marlins. However, Miami eventually pulled back that pursuit.

That has left the 38-year-old without a publicly defined market. The only other teams tied to Gurriel this offseason are the Twins and the incumbent Astros, with whom the Cuban infielder spent his first seven big league seasons. Jon Heyman of the New York Post wrote yesterday Gurriel had sought a guarantee in the $3MM range at one point this offseason. Whether that’s still his goal is unclear, though the Post reports he declined multiple contract offers that were apparently below his asking price.

Heyman adds Houston manager Dusty Baker would like for Gurriel to return, though it’s not clear if there’s a fit on the roster given the team’s early-offseason pickup of José Abreu. Houston has Yordan Alvarez and Michael Brantley to split time between designated hitter and left field. Any path to playing time on the Astros roster would be as a right-handed bench bat. Houston already has a pair of right-handed infielders — Mauricio Dubón and David Hensley — who could crack the roster while offering more defensive flexibility.

Gurriel has some previous MLB experience at second and third base but has played almost exclusively first base since the start of the 2020 campaign. That’s at least in part because Houston has Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman entrenched at those other infield spots. Gurriel garnered solid marks from public defensive metrics for his intermittent third base work between 2016-19 and was a Gold Glove winning first baseman as recently as 2021. His defensive marks at first base cratered last season, though, which could give teams pause about his ability to handle any more demanding positions as he enters his age-39 season.

His offense is something of a question mark as well. Gurriel is coming off a .242/.288/.360 line with just eight home runs through 584 regular season plate appearances. He finished the year with an excellent 12-game playoff run (.347/.360/.490) before a World Series-ending MCL sprain in his right knee. On the one hand, it was Gurriel’s second well below-average offensive showing in the past three years, as he managed just a .232/.274/.384 showing during the shortened 2020 schedule. Yet his intervening season was brilliant, as he posted a .319/.383/.462 mark in 143 games in 2021, securing an American League batting title.

Gurriel still has excellent bat-to-ball skills. Last year’s 12.5% strikeout rate was a personal high but checked in roughly ten percentage points below the league average. Even with a below-average slash line, he collected 40 doubles for the third time in his career. Still, the 2022 season also represented the first time he failed to reach double-digit homers in a full season, and his on-base percentage was fifth-lowest among 36 first basemen with 400+ plate appearances.

There are a few remaining rebound targets available at the position in free agency. Longtime Twin slugger Miguel Sanó will hold a showcase for scouts next week, while 2020 home run leader Luke Voit is unsigned after being non-tendered by the Nationals. Gurriel brings a far different approach than those high-strikeout sluggers, though Sanó and Voit are far younger.

Dodgers Sign Luke Williams, Yusniel Diaz, Robbie Erlin To Minor League Deals

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The Dodgers announced a number of non-roster invitees to Spring Training this afternoon. While the bulk of the group had been previously reported, Los Angeles has brought back a trio of players who have prior experience with the organization: utilityman Luke Williams, outfielder Yusniel Díaz and left-hander Robbie Erlin.

Williams, 26, has played for the Phillies, Giants and Marlins over the past two seasons. He’s gotten into 137 MLB games, tallying 244 plate appearances of .240/.299/.316 hitting. He’s picked up just two home runs while striking out at a 27.5% clip against big league pitching. The former third-round pick swiped 11 bases in only 79 games last season, though, and he’s played every position on the diamond aside from pitcher and catcher.

Los Angeles nabbed Williams off waivers from Miami at the start of the offseason. They opted not to tender him a contract just ten days later, sending him to free agency. That’s not an uncommon path with players whom teams hope to keep in the organization without dedicating a 40-man roster spot. The non-tender meant the Dodgers didn’t have to place Williams on waivers themselves. While he was free to shop for other opportunities as a free agent, the Dodgers circled back to add him on a non-roster pact.

Díaz, also 26, entered pro ball as a high-profile signee by the Dodgers out of Cuba back in 2015. At that point, teams weren’t strictly limited by hard-capped bonus pools for international amateur free agents. Los Angeles gave Díaz a hefty $15.5MM signing bonus (and paid a matching amount in taxes) back when he was 18 years old. He spent the next couple seasons as one of the more highly-regarded players in the system before being traded to Baltimore in 2018 as the headlining piece of a package for Manny Machado.

The following offseason, Díaz appeared among Baseball America’s top 50 overall prospects. Initially praised for his offensive polish and a patient plate approach, his productivity stalled out over the next few seasons. Díaz spent three years in the upper minors with Baltimore, managing only a .210/.295/.313 line through 495 plate appearances for their top affiliate in Norfolk. Fringy athleticism also pushed him primarily to the corner outfield after some early-career work in center. Díaz wound up playing in just one big league contest for the Orioles, striking out in his only MLB plate appearance to date.

At the end of last season, the O’s outrighted him off their 40-man roster. He qualified for minor league free agency and heads back to his original organization in search of a rebound. He joins Jason Heyward, Bradley Zimmer and Steven Duggar among non-roster outfield options who’ll be in Dodgers’ camp. Díaz is likely to start the upcoming season with Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Erlin is the only member of this trio who has appeared in an MLB game for the Dodgers. He came out of the bullpen twice last year, allowing two runs in as many innings. The 32-year-old southpaw was on the roster for less than a week before being designated for assignment in early May. He spent the majority of the season in OKC, where he worked 77 innings across 21 outings (including 14 starts).

The hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League gave Erlin trouble, as he allowed just over seven earned runs per nine innings. He struck out 19.1% of opposing hitters against a 9.7% walk percentage. Despite the middling results, the longtime Padre caught the L.A. front office’s attention enough for a return showing as a depth starter. Erlin has pitched in parts of eight big league campaigns, posting a 4.87 ERA over 341 2/3 innings.

Mariners Outright J.B. Bukauskas

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The Mariners announced that reliever J.B. Bukauskas has gone unclaimed on waivers. He’s been sent outright to Triple-A Tacoma and will be in big league camp as a non-roster Spring Training invitee.

Bukauskas didn’t have a particularly long stay on the Seattle 40-man roster. Claimed off waivers from the Diamondbacks on January 17, he lost his spot earlier this week when the M’s grabbed Tayler Saucedo from the Mets. Seattle quickly ran Bukauskas through waivers and will now be able to retain a former first-round draftee and highly-regarded prospect without allocating a 40-man spot.

The 26-year-old was the 15th overall pick in the 2017 draft by the Astros. Houston flipped the UNC product to Arizona two summers later as part of a four-player package for Zack Greinke. A starter early in his minor league days, Bukauskas has come with questions about his ability to hold up in a rotation because of inconsistent command dating back to college. Those concerns have borne out over the past two seasons, as the Snakes moved him to relief after adding him to the roster over the 2020-21 offseason.

Bukauskas made his MLB debut in April ’21, eventually getting into 21 contests. He was hit hard for 19 runs through his first 17 1/3 big league innings despite averaging 94.5 MPH on his fastball and generating plenty of whiffs on his mid-80s slider. An elbow strain cost him a chunk of that season, and a lat injury suffered in Spring Training sidelined him for the first half of last year.

While he didn’t return to the mound until July, Bukauskas closed out the 2022 season with a nice run at Triple-A Reno. Pitching in an extraordinarily hitter-friendly park, he posted a 2.66 ERA with a solid 23.8% strikeout percentage and an excellent 5% walk rate. Nevertheless, he never got another MLB opportunity in a below-average Arizona bullpen and has found himself squeezed off two clubs’ rosters in a matter of weeks.

Bukauskas will try to pitch his way back onto the radar in spring camp and, if necessary, with Tacoma to open next season. The M’s already have a strong bullpen, with Andrés Muñoz, Paul Sewald, Diego Castillo, Matt Brash, Trevor Gott and likely Penn Murfee penciled into jobs. Matt Festa is out of minor league option years and has a strong case to hold onto a roster spot, while whomever of Marco Gonzales and Chris Flexen doesn’t win the #5 starter role could be in the bullpen. The M’s would also have to carry Rule 5 draftee Chris Clarke on the active roster or waive him and, if he clears, send him back to the Cubs. Bukauskas joins Taylor Williams, Casey Sadler, Riley O’Brien and Kyle Tyler among the non-roster depth options in the organization.

Twins’ VP Of Player Personnel Mike Radcliff Passes Away

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Twins vice president of player personnel Mike Radcliff passed away today following a three-plus year battle with cancer, the organization announced. He was 66 years old.

“The Minnesota Twins today mourn the loss of Mike Radcliff,” the franchise said in a statement. “Mike was the heart and soul of our scouting department for over 30 years, a man who was beloved and respected by staff, players, fellow scouts, agents and his peers alike. One of baseball’s most revered talent evaluators, his character, work ethic, kindness and sense of humor set the tone for our player development and evaluation processes.

His baseball legacy lives on in the number of Twins Hall of Famers, All-Stars and great teams that bear his fingerprints, while his impact as a person will be forever felt by those that knew him. In the words of his trade, Mike was the epitome of a five-tool player, and he will be greatly missed across Twins Territory. Our deepest sympathies are with his wife Sherry, son Brett, daughter Erin and the entire Radcliff family during this difficult time.”

Radcliff spent the better part of four decades with Minnesota. First hired as an area scout in 1987, he’d worked his way to scouting director within six years. During his tenure as scouting director, the Twins selected numerous players who logged key roles on the Minnesota teams of the 2000’s — including Justin Morneau, Torii Hunter and recent Twins’ Hall of Fame inductee Joe Mauer.

In 2007, the organization gave Radcliff the title of vice president of player personnel — a role he would hold for the rest of his career. He remained involved in the scouting department and played a part in the franchise’s drafting and/or signing of players like Byron Buxton, Max Kepler and Jorge Polanco.

The 2011 recipient of the Midwest Scout of the Year Award from Major League Baseball, he was inducted into the Professional Scouts Hall of Fame a few years ago. Radcliff’s passing has resulted in a flood of tributes from colleagues, peers and media personnel. MLBTR joins countless others around the game in sending our condolences to Radcliff’s family, friends, colleagues and the number of players whose careers he impacted.

Padres Promote Ryan Christenson To Associate Manager

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The Padres announced their coaching staff for the 2023 season this afternoon. There are a few shakeups for Bob Melvin’s second season leading the San Diego dugout.

Ryan Christenson has been given the title of associate manager. The 48-year-old joined Melvin in making the jump from the A’s to the Padres last offseason. Christenson had been Melvin’s bench coach in Oakland from 2018-21 and took on that same role for his first season in San Diego. He now earns a bump in title to associate manager, though his position as Melvin’s top lieutenant seems unchanged.

Filling the role of bench coach is Ryan Flaherty, who’s going into year four on the San Diego staff. He also gets the title of offensive coordinator, essentially taking on the hitting coach duties vacated when Michael Brdar was poached by the Tigers at the start of the offseason. San Diego will go without anyone assuming the traditional “hitting coach” title.

The 36-year-old Flaherty has spent the past two seasons as a quality control coach. He drew interest from the Mets in their bench coach search last offseason, but the Friars denied New York’s interview request. One year later, the former Orioles infielder gets both that title and the lead hitting responsibilities in San Diego.

He’ll be joined on staff by assistant hitting coaches Scott Coolbaugh and Oscar Bernard. The 56-year-old Coolbaugh joins the Friars after two years as the lead hitting instructor with the Tigers. He’d also previously served as hitting coach in Baltimore and Texas and an assistant role with the White Sox. He brings plenty of coaching experience to help Flaherty in his first crack as offensive coordinator.

Bernard, meanwhile, gets promoted to the MLB staff after seven years as San Diego’s minor league hitting coordinator. The 39-year-old spent some time as a player and instructor in the Cubs’ minor league system before joining the Friars in 2016. It’s the first big league staff job for the Dominican Republic native. Also joining the group is catching coach Brian Esposito. The 43-year-old spent last season managing the Friars’ Low-A affiliate in Fort Wayne.

The rest are holdovers from last season. Ruben Niebla is back for a second year as pitching coach, pairing with bullpen coach Ben Fritz. Matt Williams and David Macias will coach the bases and defense — Williams the infield, Macias the outfield — with Peter Summerville and Herberto Andrade as coaching assistants. Former big league managers Bryan Price and Mike Shildt will reassume the advisory roles they manned in 2022.

Mets Notes: Senga, DH, McNeil, Extensions

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One of the bigger moves of the Mets’ active offseason was the signing of starter Kodai Senga to a five-year, $75MM guarantee. The 30-year-old righty is making the jump from Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, where he posted a 2.59 ERA across 11 seasons. Senga was one of the highest-upside hurlers available in free agency, though there’s naturally some amount of performance risk until he translates his production against MLB competition.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports the Mets also expressed some concern about Senga’s medical evaluations before finalizing the contract in December. Further details aren’t clear, though Heyman notes Mets personnel have expressed confidence in Senga’s health prognosis for the upcoming season. That’s hardly surprising, as whatever concerns the organization had raised didn’t deter them from agreeing to the fourth-largest deal for a free agent pitcher this offseason. That contract also affords Senga an opportunity to opt out and retest the market after the 2025 season, though the Associated Press reports that’s contingent on the righty throwing a combined 400 innings over the next three years.

In other news out of Queens:

  • The Mets never pursued a full-time designated hitter upgrade this offseason partially out of a desire to preserve a path to at-bats for their younger hitters, writes Andy Martino of SNY. Top prospects Francicso Álvarez and Brett Baty each reached the majors late in the 2022 season. Each is a polished hitter but faces questions about their defense at catcher and third base, respectively. That’s also true of corner infielder Mark Vientos, who’s not quite the same caliber of prospect as Álvarez or Baty but earned an MLB look with a .280/.358/.519 showing at Triple-A Syracuse. Martino suggests the Mets aren’t likely to give them early-season looks at DH in hopes of each continuing to show progress defensively, though there could be a path to bat-only reps later in the year — or for veteran Eduardo Escobar to slide to DH if Baty seized the third base job at some point. Lefty-swinging veteran Daniel Vogelbach earned the larger share of a DH platoon to open the year with an excellent .261/.382/.497 showing against righties anyhow. Offseason signee Tommy Pham or last summer’s deadline pickup Darin Ruf are righty bats who could shoulder the load against southpaws. Ruf’s second-half struggles give Pham the upper hand in that regard, but Martino writes the Mets are at least likely to carry Ruf on the roster into Spring Training.
  • New York locked up one of their homegrown stars last Friday, signing Jeff McNeil to a four-year, $50MM extension to potentially buy out a trio of free agent years. General manager Billy Eppler addressed the deal earlier this week, expressing broad openness to negotiations with other important players who are early in their careers (link via Anthony DiComo of MLB.com). First baseman Pete Alonso is the most logical candidate for those kinds of talks as he enters his penultimate season of arbitration control, though neither Eppler nor Alonso’s representatives at Apex Baseball have indicated publicly whether discussions might take place over the coming weeks. Discussions with McNeil, at least, were a long time running before culminating in a deal. Will Sammon of the Athletic reports Eppler and McNeil’s camp at Paragon Sports International first opened extension talks in November 2021, just before the lockout froze communications between teams and 40-man roster players until March.

Latest On Pirates, Bryan Reynolds

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Perhaps the biggest offseason storyline in Pittsburgh has been the saga involving center fielder Bryan Reynolds. The All-Star outfielder requested a trade after extension talks between his camp and the Bucs fizzled out in December. Reports suggested the Pirates had offered more than the $70MM they guaranteed Ke’Bryan Hayes but the specific numbers under discussion had been unclear.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post now reports Pittsburgh had put forth a six-year offer that would’ve guaranteed $76MM. Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported last month the sides had been roughly $50MM apart in negotiations, suggesting Reynolds’ camp was seeking somewhere around $126MM.

The 28-year-old Reynolds has between three and four years of big league service. He’s set to make $6.75MM for the upcoming season and will be eligible for arbitration twice more before qualifying for free agency after the 2025 campaign. Sean Murphy, who’s also 28 and in the same service bucket, inked a six-year, $73MM extension with the Braves in December. Pittsburgh’s offer was right in that range, making for an interesting comparison point.

It’s fair to debate which of Murphy or Reynolds is the better player. The Atlanta catcher is coming off a .250/.332/.426 line in a pitcher-friendly environment in Oakland. That brought his career line up to .236/.326/.429 in 1260 plate appearances, offense that’s 16 percentage points above league average as measured by wRC+. Reynolds is a better hitter, owning a career .281/.361/.481 line that rates as 26 points above average. He’s coming off a .262/.345/.461 showing in 2022.

That said, Murphy has the edge on the other side of the ball. He’s among the game’s top few defensive catchers, with two-way production at the position that’s among the best in the league. Reynolds also plays up the middle but rated as a below-average center fielder last season. He’s capable of playing center and likely would be a plus defender in the corner outfield, but that’s less valuable than elite defense behind the dish.

Given the terms of the Murphy extension, Pittsburgh’s reported offer to Reynolds is defensible. Yet Reynolds had an edge over Murphy in earning power during their arbitration seasons, with Murphy’s originally projected $3.5MM arb salary for 2023 more than $3MM below what Reynolds will make. That difference — attributable both to Reynolds’ gaudier offensive counting stats and qualification for early arbitration last offseason as a Super Two player — would’ve likely held or compounded over the next two years if both players had gone year-by-year through that process. That’s because a player’s arbitration salaries are generally designed to escalate relative to the prior year’s figure.

Freddie Freeman holds the record for the largest extension among players in the 3-4 year service bucket. The first baseman signed an eight-year, $135MM pact with the Braves nine years ago. Whether Reynolds’ camp was seeking to beat that number or merely approach it isn’t clear, though the reported gap in negotiations suggestions they were well closer to that figure than to the $76MM the Pirates had put on the table. While Reynolds’ camp could argue that’s a dated precedent, Freeman represented a safer long-term bet than Reynolds does. Freeman was nearly four years younger at the time of his deal and coming off a .319/.396/.501 showing in 2013 that rivals Reynolds’ career-best season (.302/.390/.522) from 2021.

Once Reynolds rejected the Bucs’ offer and registered his trade request, most public attention turned to the possibility of him changing teams. However, Heyman writes Pittsburgh continues to have interest in negotiating an extension. There’s no indication of any plans to reopen talks, nor is it known if Reynolds’ camp would even be open to doing so at this point, but the team’s continued desire for a long-term deal supports the numerous reports of an astronomical ask from other teams in trade discussions.

The Rangers, Marlins, Yankees, Rockies, Braves and Red Sox have all been at least loosely linked to Reynolds at points this offseason. All six of those clubs still has some level of uncertainty in its outfield. Heyman writes Miami, in particular, has been among the most aggressive suitors — the continuation of longstanding interest on the Fish’s part that dates back at least to last winter.

The Marlins are planning to move Jazz Chisholm Jr. to center field after acquiring Luis Arraez to man second base. That could diminish any desire to meet Pittsburgh’s ask, though there’s still room to upgrade a left field mix likely to consist of some combination of Jesús Sánchez, Bryan De La Cruz and JJ Bleday. A Reynolds trade this offseason still appears a long shot, however, with no indication the Pirates plan to lower their demands as the start of Spring Training approaches.

Jharel Cotton Signs With NPB’s Orix Buffaloes

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The Orix Buffaloes of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball announced last week they’ve signed right-hander Jharel Cotton for the 2023 season. The team also announced the previously-reported acquisition of former Cubs first baseman Frank Schwindel. Reports out of Japan first emerged in December the Buffaloes were in discussions with Cotton.

It’ll be the first overseas stint for the 31-year-old hurler. The East Carolina product has spent a decade in the affiliated ranks, initially entering pro ball as a Dodger draftee in 2012. Cotton debuted with the A’s in 2016, shortly after being acquired as part of the Rich Hill deadline deal between L.A. and Oakland. He made 29 starts over the next two seasons in green and gold but didn’t reappear in the big leagues until 2021 as a member of the Rangers.

Cotton spent the bulk of last year with the Twins. Shuttled on and off the 40-man roster as a depth reliever, he made 25 MLB appearances with Minnesota. Cotton posted a strong 2.83 ERA that was built largely on the strength of an unsustainable .183 average on balls in play against him. He posted much better peripherals through 22 games with their Triple-A affiliate in St. Paul, striking out a massive 37.1% of opponents en route to a 2.88 ERA over 25 innings of relief for the Saints.

Towards the end of the year, the Giants snagged Cotton off waivers from Minnesota. He pitched five times for San Francisco, working eight innings of seven-run ball. At season’s end, the Giants ran him through outright waivers to take him off the 40-man roster. Cotton elected minor league free agency at that point.

He’ll now make the jump to Japan’s top level. Cotton has worked solely as a reliever the past two seasons but was a starting pitcher throughout his early minor league and MLB tenure. It’s possible the Buffaloes give him a shot to stretch back out into rotation work in NPB. Regardless of whether he works as a starter or out of the bullpen, Cotton has a chance to resurface on the MLB radar a year or two down the line if he performs well against NPB hitters. Veteran reliever Scott McGough, for instance, secured a two-year deal from the Diamondbacks this offseason after a four-year stint in Japan.

Miguel Sano To Hold Workout For Interested Teams

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Free agent first baseman Miguel Sanó will host a showcase for interested clubs next Tuesday, repots Darren Wolfson of SKOR North (Twitter link). That marks the first update on the 6’4″ slugger since the Twins bought him out at the beginning of the offseason.

Sanó is searching for a new team after 12 years in the Minnesota organization. Praised as a prospect for his prodigious power potential, he’s shown middle-of-the-order upside at his best. Sanó has four 25-plus homer seasons on his résumé, including 34 longballs in just 105 games in 2019. The Twins signed him to a three-year, $30MM extension after that monster year.

That extension didn’t go as the club envisioned. Sanó’s longstanding strikeout concerns peaked in 2020, when he reached base at just a .278 clip while going down on strikes almost 44% of the time. He rebounded with a 30-homer season in 2021, albeit with a slightly below-average .312 OBP. Sanó’s last season in the Twin Cities was a disaster, as a pair of right knee injuries limited to just 20 games and 71 plate appearances of .083/.211/.133 hitting. He didn’t play after July 29.

It’s clearly not the manner in which the former All-Star envisioned testing the open market for the first time. He’s a bounceback target for teams seeking to bolster their first base depth. He’ll be limited to a low base salary on a big league deal at best and it doesn’t seem out of the question he may need to accept a minor league contract with a non-roster Spring Training invite.

Sanó turns 30 in May and has a career .234/.326/.482 line over parts of eight MLB campaigns. An extreme three-true-outcomes hitter, he’s walked at a quality 11.6% clip and struck out at a massive 36.4% rate while averaging 34 homers per 600 plate appearances (roughly the equivalent of one season of playing time).

Sanó is one of a handful of buy-low first basemen still lingering on the market. Former AL batting champ Yuli Gurriel and MLB home run king Luke Voit are also looking for bounceback opportunities after disappointing 2022 showings, while multi-positional players like Mike Moustakas and Donovan Solano also have ample first base experience.

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