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Dodgers Add Roki Sasaki To 40-Man Roster

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The Dodgers have finalized their roster in advance of their Opening Day tilt with the Cubs. Los Angeles officially added Roki Sasaki to their 40-man roster. They also selected the contract of veteran reliever Luis García, who had been in camp as a non-roster invitee.

Brusdar Graterol and Michael Grove were placed on the 60-day injured list to create the necessary 40-man openings. Grove underwent season-ending shoulder surgery last week. Graterol is recovering from a labrum procedure in his own shoulder and will not be back until the second half of the season at the earliest.

Los Angeles placed an additional seven pitchers on the 15-day IL: Tony Gonsolin (back tightness), Edgardo Henriquez (left foot fracture), Kyle Hurt (rehabbing Tommy John surgery),  Clayton Kershaw (rehabbing toe surgery), Michael Kopech (shoulder impingement), Evan Phillips (rehabbing rotator cuff strain), and Emmet Sheehan (rehabbing Tommy John surgery). With Gavin Stone and River Ryan landing on the 60-day IL during Spring Training, the Dodgers have 11 pitchers beginning the season on the injured list. Each of Kershaw, Sheehan, Hurt and potentially Henriquez figure to land on the 60-day IL eventually.

By and large, these are procedural moves. The only real decision is their call to carry García in the bullpen. The hard-throwing righty inked a minor league deal that came with a $1.5MM base salary if he made the team. He didn’t have a great camp, allowing three runs with a trio of strikeouts across 5 1/3 innings. The Dodgers were nevertheless encouraged enough by his stuff to add him to Dave Roberts’ middle relief group.

García divided his 2024 season between the Angels and Red Sox. The 38-year-old pitched reasonably well for the Halos, working to a 3.71 earned run average through 43 2/3 innings. He posted roughly average strikeout (22%) and walk (7.7%) rates with a strong 51.2% ground-ball percentage. Things went sharply downhill in Boston. García missed a couple weeks late in the season with elbow inflammation. He was tagged for 15 runs across 15 1/3 innings in a Sox uniform. That pushed his season ERA to an unimpressive 4.88 mark through 59 frames.

Sasaki was not previously on the 40-man roster as a quirk of the international amateur system. The same age restriction that capped his signing bonus to a modest $6.5MM also limited him to signing a minor league contract. The Dodgers were never going to send him to Triple-A, of course, but he was technically in Spring Training as a non-roster invitee. Sasaki took the ball twice in exhibition play. He fired seven scoreless innings with seven strikeouts and three walks.

The touted 23-year-old righty will make his major league debut on Wednesday night in his home country (3:10 a.m. Pacific in the U.S.). He’ll go opposite Justin Steele in the second game of the season. It’ll be a matchup of Japanese-born starters Tuesday night at the Tokyo Dome, with Yoshinobu Yamamoto taking the ball against Shota Imanaga.

Angels Acquire Angel Perdomo, Designate Scott Kingery For Assignment

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The Angels announced they’ve acquired lefty reliever Angel Perdomo from the Braves for cash or a player to be named later. The Halos designated infielder Scott Kingery for assignment to open a 40-man roster spot. Perdomo had not previously been DFA, so this drops Atlanta’s roster count to 39.

Perdomo spent more than a year with Atlanta but never threw a regular season pitch for them. The 6’8″ southpaw was a member of the Pirates when he underwent Tommy John surgery late in the 2023 season. Pittsburgh waived him at the end of that year. Atlanta claimed him, non-tendered him, then brought him back on a fresh major league deal. They kept him on the 60-day injured list for all of last season to see whether he warranted a spot in their bullpen once he returned to health.

The 30-year-old Perdomo has gotten back on the mound this spring. He has made seven appearances, working 7 1/3 frames of two-run ball. Perdomo has issued four walks while recording six strikeouts. The Braves evidently didn’t see enough in that small sample to carry him as a third left-hander behind Aaron Bummer and Dylan Lee. Perdomo is out of minor league options, so the Braves couldn’t send him to Triple-A without running him through waivers.

That the Angels jumped the line via trade suggests Perdomo would not have cleared waivers. The Halos will also need to carry him in the MLB bullpen or make him available to other teams. They’ll very likely move on from one or two left-handers by Opening Day. The Angels now have five lefty relievers whom they can’t send to the minors.

Brock Burke, José Quijada, José Suarez and Perdomo are all out of options. Rule 5 pick Garrett McDaniels needs to stick on the roster or be waived and offered back to the Dodgers. Burke will make the team and McDaniels is pitching fairly well this spring. Suárez and Quijada seemed like bubble candidates to stick on the roster all offseason. Neither has pitched well this spring. Quijada has been blitzed for nine runs in 3 2/3 innings. Suárez has surrendered a trio of homers across 7 2/3 frames.

Perdomo has pitched in parts of three big league seasons. His best work came with Pittsburgh two years ago. He turned in a 3.72 ERA while striking out almost 38% of opposing hitters in 29 innings. His fastball averaged 94 MPH before the Tommy John procedure. Perdomo is playing on a pre-arbitration salary and is under club control for four seasons. He’d be an affordable bullpen piece if he sticks on the roster.

Kingery, a one-time top prospect with the Phillies, has played one major league game in the last three years. Philadelphia had kept him in Triple-A after outrighting him off their 40-man roster. They traded him to the Angels at the start of the offseason. The Halos added him to the roster to prevent him from reaching minor league free agency. Kingery was coming off a .268/.316/.488 showing in Triple-A that led the Angels to get a look at him in camp.

The 30-year-old needed a strong showing in Spring Training to secure a spot on Ron Washington’s bench. He’s hitting .138 with 11 strikeouts in 36 plate appearances this spring. That pushed him off the roster and is likely to land him on waivers in the next few days. If he goes unclaimed, Kingery would have the right to elect free agency because he has more than three years of service time. Doing that would mean forfeiting his $770K arbitration salary, so there’s a decent chance he’d accept an outright assignment and head back to Triple-A.

A’s To Carry Rule 5 Pick Noah Murdock On Opening Day Roster

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The A’s have informed Rule 5 pick Noah Murdock that he made the roster, manager Mark Kotsay told Martín Gallegos of MLB.com. The 6’8″ righty will get the opportunity to make his MLB debut.

Murdock was the fourth player selected in December’s Rule 5 draft. (The A’s had the fifth pick, but Colorado passed at #2.) The A’s took the reliever out of the Kansas City farm system. Murdock divided his 2024 season between Double-A Northwest Arkansas and Triple-A Omaha. He worked to a 2.22 earned run average over 24 1/3 innings at the former level. Murdock posted a 3.76 ERA through 38 1/3 frames in Triple-A. He combined for a 27% strikeout rate and a huge 59.7% ground-ball percentage, though that came with an alarming 15.4% walk rate.

The control was presumably the main reason that Kansas City decided not to add Murdock to their 40-man roster. It’s common for pitchers as tall as he is to struggle to consistently line up their mechanics. The A’s were clearly intrigued by his combination of plus whiff and grounder rates. Murdock has managed seven strikeouts with five walks over 7 2/3 innings of three-run ball this spring. He has gotten grounders on three-quarters of the batted balls he’s allowed.

Teams need to carry their Rule 5 picks on the MLB roster or injured list for the entire season to retain their contractual rights. They’d otherwise need to place the player on waivers and, if he clears, offer him back to his original organization. Murdock will likely begin the season in a low-leverage relief role. With Michel Otañez beginning the season on the injured list, the A’s have José Leclerc and T.J. McFarland lined up as their top setup options in front of star closer Mason Miller.

Jon Gray Suffers Wrist Fracture

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TODAY: A clear recovery timetable hasn’t yet been determined for Gray, but president of baseball operations Chris Young told Kennedi Landry and other media that Gray will indeed be out for an “extended time.”  It will be at least six weeks before Gray is even cleared to start throwing, so it seems like Texas will be placing him on the 60-day IL at some point before Opening Day.

MARCH 14: Rangers starter Jon Gray sustained a broken right wrist during this evening’s Spring Training appearance, manager Bruce Bochy tells Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News and other reporters. Gray was struck by a Michael Toglia line drive that had a 106.4 MPH exit velocity (video provided by Kennedi Landry of MLB.com).

Bochy didn’t provide specifics on a return timeline. Gray is obviously going to begin the season on the injured list and will probably be down for a while. It’s the worst of a handful of pitching injuries for Texas this spring. They announced just yesterday that presumptive fifth starter Cody Bradford was going to begin the season on the injured list after experiencing elbow soreness. An MRI came back clean, but the team is going to be cautious with any level of elbow pain.

Tyler Mahle was scratched from his start earlier this week with forearm soreness. Imaging didn’t reveal any problems and he’ll begin throwing in the coming days. Still, that may require a season-opening IL stint — especially since Mahle just returned from Tommy John surgery midway through 2024.

That placed a lot of emphasis on Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi and Gray to stay healthy. The season-opening rotation now likely comprises deGrom, Eovaldi, Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter. Mahle would round out the group if he can avoid the IL. They otherwise could push expected long reliever Dane Dunning back into the rotation or turn to veteran ground-ball specialist Adrian Houser, who is in camp on a minor league deal. Houser has tossed eight innings of two-run ball with three strikeouts and walks apiece this spring. He allowed a near-6.00 ERA over 69 1/3 innings for the Mets last season.

The rotation’s durability is arguably the biggest question for Texas. deGrom and Eovaldi are 36 and 35, respectively. deGrom has made 35 starts over the last four years. Eovaldi has mostly been durable recently, but he has twice undergone Tommy John surgery in his career. Rocker underwent the same procedure in May 2023. He pitched fewer than 50 innings between the minors and his three-start MLB debut late last season.

Texas will probably look to add minor league rotation depth as veterans opt out of contracts with other teams in the coming weeks. It’s less likely that they’ll make an MLB signing. The Rangers were clear all offseason that they wanted to keep their luxury tax payroll below the $241MM base threshold. RosterResource projects them around $236MM at the moment. Salary acquired in-season via waivers or trade would add to that on a prorated basis. It’d be a surprise if ownership approves going beyond the tax line to sign a free agent starter like Spencer Turnbull or old friends Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn. With less than two weeks until Opening Day, none of those pitchers are likely to be game ready for the start of the regular season.

No Extension Talks Thus Far Between A’s, Mason Miller

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The A’s have handed out two of the largest extensions in franchise history in recent months. They inked DH Brent Rooker to a five-year, $60MM guarantee in January. Earlier this week, they finalized a seven-year deal with outfielder Lawrence Butler that guarantees $65.5MM.

It’s possible that the Butler deal is the first of multiple A’s extensions in Spring Training. General manager David Forst told Evan Drellich of The Athletic a couple weeks ago that the team had opened talks with a few players. With Butler signed, closer Mason Miller should arguably be the team’s top extension candidate.

Miller told Foul Territory’s A.J. Pierzynski on Friday afternoon that he’s open to talks but hasn’t heard from the team about the possibility. The A’s control the hard-throwing reliever for another five seasons. Miller will qualify for early arbitration as a Super Two player next winter. He’d go through that process four times unless he signs an extension.

The A’s may not be eager to commit to a reliever, even one as dominant as Miller, whom they already have under control for a half-decade. There’s downside associated with the general volatility of relief pitching. Miller’s stuff is so exceptional that he’s a safer bet than almost any reliever to remain effective, but there’s more of a risk from a health perspective. He battled shoulder and elbow injuries and pitched fewer than 40 innings in the minor leagues.

[Related Front Office Post: Who Else Could The A’s Look To Extend?]

Forearm tightness wiped out most of his ’23 season and was the main reason the A’s moved him out of the rotation during the 2023-24 offseason. Miller stayed healthy last year aside from an incident where he fractured the pinkie on his left (non-throwing) hand, which reportedly occurred when he hit a training table in frustration after a poor outing. That’s presumably not a concern moving forward, but as baseball’s hardest thrower, he certainly puts a lot of stress on his elbow and shoulder.

There have been a handful of extensions for relief pitchers in the 1-2 year service bucket. Miller would almost certainly look to set a new standard for that class if the A’s were interested in an extension. Emmanuel Clase’s five-year, $20MM guarantee is the current record. That deal, which was signed in April 2022, included a pair of $10MM club options to extend Cleveland’s control window by two seasons. Clase was coming off an outstanding first full season, turning in a 1.29 ERA with 24 saves and 74 strikeouts in 69 2/3 innings. Miller struck out 104 hitters with a 2.49 earned run average over 65 frames last season. He went 28-31 in save chances.

Clase’s deal is a three-year old precedent that has turned into an extremely team-friendly contract. Clase also wasn’t on track to reach Super Two status, which meant he was two years from arbitration and had a much lower earning power through that process. Arbitration salaries escalate annually, and Super Two qualification sets a higher baseline for future raises. Clase didn’t have Miller’s injury history, but the Cleveland closer had served a performance-enhancing drug suspension in 2020 that added a different risk to his profile.

Sean Burke To Open Season In White Sox’s Rotation

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White Sox manager Will Venable informed the beat this afternoon that rookie righty Sean Burke will be in the season-opening rotation (relayed by Scott Merkin of MLB.com). The former third-round pick joins Martín Pérez, Davis Martin and Jonathan Cannon as locks for the Opening Day starting staff.

Chicago optioned lefty Jared Shuster, who had entered camp as a candidate for a rotation spot. The former first-round pick worked mostly in long relief last season but was building back up as a starter this spring. Venable suggested Shuster may move back to the bullpen in Triple-A (link via Daryl Van Schouwen of The Chicago Sun-Times). The Wake Forest product allowed nine runs in seven innings.

Pérez, who signed a $5MM free agent deal, has by far the most experience of anyone in Chicago’s rotation. Cannon, who worked to a 4.49 ERA over 124 1/3 frames, is the only returning pitcher who reached even 75 MLB innings last season. Martin returned from Tommy John surgery in the second half. He allowed 4.32 earned runs per nine over 50 innings down the stretch.

That trio entered camp with rotation spots solidified. It was more in question whether Burke would break camp. The Sox called him up midway through September. He impressed over four appearances, working to a 1.42 ERA with 22 strikeouts in 19 innings. The Maryland product has tossed five innings of three-run ball with three strikeouts and walks apiece this spring. Burke fanned 31% of batters faced over 16 Triple-A starts last season. He also walked 13% of opponents, raising questions about whether he’ll have the necessary command to stick as a starter, but the Sox will see how his stuff plays against MLB hitters.

Venable hasn’t committed to a fifth starter. With Shuster out of consideration, that job will probably fall to one of Bryse Wilson or Shane Smith. Wilson is out of options and has plenty of experience working in long relief. He turned in a 4.04 ERA over 103 2/3 frames for Milwaukee last season; Chicago signed him to a $1.05MM deal after the Brewers non-tendered him. Smith is a Rule 5 pick out of the Milwaukee system. The 6’4″ righty started 16 of 27 Double-A appearances. He allowed 3.08 earned runs per nine with a near-30% strikeout rate over 87 2/3 innings.

Smith has had a decent start to camp. He has fanned nine hitters over 6 2/3 frames, allowing four runs. Chicago shouldn’t have an issue keeping him on the MLB roster to gain his long-term contractual rights. Most Rule 5 pitchers work in low-leverage relief, at least to begin the season. An Opening Day rotation assignment would be rare, but that’s a reflection of the Sox’s lack of starting pitching depth. Non-roster invitee Justin Dunn could also be an option. He has managed eight innings of one-run ball this spring, but he only has two strikeouts against four walks.

Rays Have Pitched Major Renovations/10-Year Lease Extension At Tropicana Field

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The Rays’ long-term home is in doubt after the team pulled out of plans for a $1.3 billion new stadium in St. Petersburg. The future is unclear, as St. Petersburg and Pinellas County officials have expressed frustration with Rays owner Stuart Sternberg.

John Romano and Colleen Wright of The Tampa Bay Times report that the Rays, within the past month, have floated the idea of renovating Tropicana Field beyond the roof repair. Under that plan, the team, city and county would contribute an equal sum — reportedly $200MM each — for large-scale renovations of their longtime home park. According to the report, the Rays would have agreed to a 10-year lease extension to remain at the Trop through 2038 in that scenario.

The city and county were not immediately keen on the idea. The Rays’ lease at Tropicana Field runs through 2028. It had initially been scheduled to expire in ’27, but it was extended by a year after hurricane damage left the stadium unplayable this season. The city, as lessor, is responsible for fixing the Trop after the hurricane ripped off its roof. The Rays are hopeful those repairs will be complete in time for the 2026 season. The city estimated the repair costs at $55.7MM.

Clearly, a $600MM renovation would go far beyond that. It makes little sense for anyone involved to make that commitment for three years, so it’d necessarily be paired with a lease extension. St. Petersburg mayor Ken Welch said yesterday that he “(has) no interest in working with this ownership group” after their decision to pull out of the stadium deal. Regarding the idea of a lease extension, he told The Tampa Bay Times that the city is “looking at a number of options but I don’t want to talk about, at this point, this notion of a 10- or 15-year extension at the Trop.”

Welch left the door open for reconsidering that idea in the future, saying he’d “talk with the council and with the community about the paths forward” once the Rays officially decline the current stadium deal. While the team has already made clear it’ll do so, the Rays need to sign an official termination letter on that project or wait for the bond approval to expire on March 31 (the date for the team to hit construction benchmarks to keep the public funding alive).

Rays team president Matt Silverman reiterated yesterday that the team is not for sale. He said they could reopen discussions with the City of Tampa and Hillsborough County after March 31. Silverman told Romano and Wright today that a lease extension at the Trop was also “one of many possibilities that has been discussed with the city and the county since the hurricanes.” The Rays have played at Tropicana Field since their founding in 1998. They will play this season at Tampa’s George M. Steinbrenner Field.

Rockies’ Prospect Charlie Condon Sustains Non-Displaced Wrist Fracture

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Rockies prospect Charlie Condon suffered a non-displaced fracture in his left wrist, reports Manny Randhawa of MLB.com. He’ll be in a splint for a month and will not resume baseball activities for six weeks. Condon will not require surgery, but this will delay his season debut until at least May.

Colorado drafted Condon third overall last summer. The righty-hitting outfielder/third baseman was a candidate to go at #1 after a monster junior season at Georgia. Condon slugged 37 homers with a .433/.556/1.009 line against SEC pitching. Baseball America, ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel and Keith Law of The Athletic all ranked Condon as the top prospect in the class leading up to the draft. It registered as a slight surprise that he even got to the Rox at three. Cleveland took hit-first second baseman Travis Bazzana first, while the Reds went with righty Chase Burns with the #2 pick.

Condon’s professional career hasn’t begun as hoped. The Rockies assigned him to High-A Spokane. Condon hit .180 with 34 strikeouts and four walks in 25 games. He managed only one home run in 109 plate appearances. GM Bill Schmidt said last month that Condon was playing through a thumb injury. It’s a small enough sample that it’s not cause for too much concern, though the Rockies clearly anticipated he’d perform better after he obliterated the top college pitching in the country. Condon still ranks among the sport’s top 50 overall prospects at Baseball America, The Athletic, ESPN and MLB Pipeline.

The wrist injury gets his first full minor league season off to a tough start. Thomas Harding of MLB.com writes that the injury occurred when he dove for a fly ball in a minor league Spring Training contest on Tuesday.

Marlins Notes: Hill, Cabrera, Morlando

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Derek Hill has seemingly pulled ahead of Dane Myers for the Marlins starting center field job, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Both players have put up solid numbers this spring, and Jackson suggests they’re each likely to begin the year on the active roster.

Hill, 29, is out of options and cannot be sent down without going on waivers. The former first-round pick has bounced around the waiver wire for the past couple seasons. Miami claimed the speedster last August. Hill hit .234/.259/.402 with four homers through 114 plate appearances. He showed decent pop but struck out 39 times while drawing only two walks. Hill’s plate discipline has been an issue throughout his career. He’s a .233/.276/.353 hitter with a 30% strikeout rate in 476 big league plate appearances.

Myers has better numbers in a smaller sample. The 29-year-old has a .265/.315/.407 slash through 178 trips to the plate. That’d be difficult to sustain unless he improves upon a 30.9% strikeout rate. Myers still has an option remaining, so the Marlins could send him to Triple-A. His ability to play all three outfield positions would give him a good chance to stick as a fourth outfielder even if he loses the center field camp battle.

Hill has hit .259/.375/.481 with five walks and seven strikeouts in nine games this spring. He has connected on a pair of home runs. Myers is hitting .300/.481/.300 with seven walks and strikeouts apiece over nine contests. He doesn’t have an extra-base hit yet.

The Marlins have very little certainty in their position player group. Right fielder Jesús Sánchez and shortstop Xavier Edwards are the only two players who should have lineup spots secured even if they get out to slow starts. There’s more stability in the rotation. Sandy Alcantara, Ryan Weathers, Max Meyer, Cal Quantrill and Edward Cabrera entered camp with decent holds on starting spots.

Cabrera’s status could be in question after he left Thursday’s start with a blister on his middle finger (link via Jordan McPherson of The Miami Herald). Manager Clayton McCullough downplayed the concern, though this has been a recurring issue. A blister on the same finger sent Cabrera to the injured list in the final week of the 2021 season.

Even if he’s healthy enough to start the season, the 26-year-old righty’s performance could put his rotation spot in jeopardy. Cabrera has been rocked for 10 runs on seven hits (including three homers) with four walks and two hit batters in only 3 2/3 innings this spring. Valente Bellozo, who had a 3.67 ERA but uninspiring peripherals in 13 starts last season, would probably be the next man up. Bellozo hasn’t done himself many favors in camp either, allowing 10 runs on 14 hits (four homers) through 8 1/3 frames.

In other news out of camp, 2024 first-round pick PJ Morlando will not play in the Spring Breakout prospect series. Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports that Morlando underwent an ulnar nerve transposition on his left (non-throwing) elbow on Wednesday. He’ll be sidelined for 8-10 weeks and will begin the season on the minor league injured list. Morlando, a lefty-hitting outfielder, was the 16th pick out of high school last summer. A back injury limited him to one game after the draft. Baseball America ranks him eighth among Miami prospects, praising his offensive upside but writing that he’ll likely end up in the corner outfield or at first base.

Rays Release Jake Brentz

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The Rays announced this afternoon that they’ve released Jake Brentz. The lefty reliever was in camp as a non-roster invitee after signing a minor league deal in December.

Brentz struggled this spring. He pitched six times and allowed four runs (three earned) across 4 1/3 innings. The 30-year-old walked seven batters and uncorked a couple wild pitches. It was a continuation of Brentz’s massive control woes from last season. He walked a staggering 29.2% of opposing hitters in 30 innings with the Royals’ top two affiliates last year.

It’s impossible to have any kind of success with that many free passes. Brentz allowed more than 11 earned runs per nine innings. Kansas City outrighted him off their 40-man roster in June. He elected minor league free agency at the end of the season.

While Brentz has never been a good strike-thrower, the control problems have dramatically escalated within the past year-plus. That could be attributable to injury. Brentz underwent UCL surgery in June 2022 and only managed three minor league appearances late in ’23. Some pitchers struggle to rediscover their mechanics coming out of an extended rehab. The Rays were hopeful that Brentz would dial things back in this spring, but he clearly wasn’t pitching his way into the MLB bullpen.

Before the surgery, Brentz looked like a potential setup man in Kansas City. He had an impressive rookie season in 2021. Brentz worked to a 3.66 earned run average across 64 innings that year. He struck out 27.3% of batters faced while averaging 97 MPH on his heater. Even with a lofty 13.3% walk rate, he recorded 15 holds and two saves. Another club could offer him a minor league deal to give him an opportunity to try to find workable command in a Triple-A setting.

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