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Rob Manfred Discusses RSN Situation, Expansion Timeline

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Commissioner Rob Manfred covered a wide range of topics in yesterday’s press conference from the owners’ meetings. Along with comments on the Orioles’ sale agreement and the A’s ballpark plans in Las Vegas, he spoke of a desire to create an in-market streaming bundle as soon as next year.

“Realistically, my target to having a digital package I can take to market would be for the ’25 season,” the commissioner told reporters (link via Evan Drellich of the Athletic). The hope is to include at least 14 teams in a streaming bundle they can market directly to consumers without blackout restrictions.

MLB already makes out-of-market streaming for all 30 teams available via its MLB.TV platform. Most fans are unable to stream in-market games on MLB.TV because of restrictions in teams’ regional broadcasting contracts. With the RSN model on shaky ground for a number of clubs, MLB could be able to work around blackout issues for a number of organizations in the relatively near future.

The Diamond Sports Group bankruptcy provides the clearest avenue. Diamond has already dropped its deals with the Padres and Diamondbacks, putting the onus on MLB to handle those broadcasts. Meanwhile, AT&T abandoned its contracts with the Rockies, Astros, Pirates and Mariners this offseason. MLB is handling Colorado broadcasts this year. The Mariners, Astros and Pirates have all taken those responsibilities on their own, with the Astros and Pirates partnering with teams from other leagues in their respective cities as part of a new broadcasting arrangement.

Diamond is going to carry broadcasts for its remaining 12 teams in 2024. It is honoring its contracts in full with nine teams* and reached deals at slightly reduced rights fees to handle Rangers, Guardians and Twins broadcasts for another season. Drellich tweeted this morning that the bankruptcy court approved those contracts, as expected.

Whether Diamond will be able to maintain its operations beyond this year remains to be seen. The conglomerate is hopeful that it can stay in business after agreeing to sell whatever MLB, NHL and NBA streaming rights it possessed to Amazon in a deal that’ll bring in a short-term cash influx of $450MM. MLB officials have expressed some skepticism about that being enough to keep Diamond afloat for the long haul.

If Diamond were to collapse after next season, that’d revert the broadcasting rights for those 12 teams back to MLB. In addition to the three it already possesses and the potential to negotiate with Seattle, Houston, and Pittsburgh, the league could shop around two-thirds of its teams on an in-market streaming bundle by next year. MLB would likely have a harder time negotiating in-market streaming rights back from franchises like the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers and Cubs that are on stabler footing and handle distribution of their games on RSNs owned at least in part by the team.

Once there’s more clarity on the broadcasting situation, it seems the league will start laying the groundwork for a potential expansion process. “We’re going to have to get our footing on local media a little bit better. In times of uncertainty, it’s hard to talk about additional change,” Manfred said when asked about expansion (link via Jesse Rogers of ESPN). “Having said that, I have five years left. Those teams won’t be playing by the time I’m done but I would like the process along and [cities] selected.”

As Manfred indicated, his contract runs for another five seasons. The owners voted last July to extend his tenure until January 2029. While there’s little doubt they’d approve another extension if Manfred wanted to continue into the 2030s, his comments seem to suggest he could step away after this term.

That’d put the 2025-28 seasons as a loose timeline for the league to seriously evaluate options for moving from 30 to 32 teams. Manfred has previously made clear that there’d be no expansion consideration until the A’s and Rays stadium situations were sorted out. With those moving closer to resolution, albeit with plenty of controversy in the A’s case, expansion should be a more serious topic by the second half of the decade.

*Angels, Braves, Brewers, Cardinals, Marlins, Rays, Reds, Royals, and Tigers

Manfred On A’s Stadium

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In the wake of renewed criticism of the A’s plans to construct their new ballpark on the Vegas strip, Rob Manfred restated his hope the team will stay on schedule. The franchise has indicated they expect to begin construction on the park next year and will have the field ready for the start of the 2028 season.

“I would be disappointed if we didn’t open that stadium, Opening Day, 2028,” the commissioner told reporters from this week’s owners’ meetings in Orlando (relayed by Jesse Rogers of ESPN). “In terms of an interim home, I’m comfortable with where they are in the process.”

The A’s lease at the Oakland Coliseum expires at the end of this year. They’ve recently been exploring possibilities for the 2025-27 seasons, something Manfred said needs to be finalized in the relatively near future. “We need to, in the next few months, know,” the commissioner said of the team’s plans for the intervening three years (via Evan Drellich of the Athletic). “It’s hard, even scheduling — although it’s clearly going to be someplace in the West — you know, there’s a difference between some places in the West and other places in the West.”

Among the interim hosting options: Sacramento, Salt Lake City, Reno, sharing San Francisco’s Oracle Park with the Giants, and playing at the organization’s Triple-A field in Las Vegas. A’s officials have publicly floated the possibility of a short-term lease extension at the Coliseum, but that has never seemed likely given the acrimony between the franchise and Oakland.

Unsurprisingly, it doesn’t seem there’s any momentum behind the scenes for the A’s to stay in Oakland through 2027. Henry Gardner, executive director of the agency in charge of the Coliseum, tells John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle he hasn’t heard from team personnel about the possibility of a three-year lease extension. “We are proceeding like they’re gone at the end of the year,” Gardner tells Shea.

Complicating the search is the A’s local broadcasting contract with NBC Sports California. That deal lapses once the A’s leave the Bay Area, putting one of the franchise’s major revenue streams in jeopardy. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported last month that the A’s will receive around $70MM under the terms of that deal in 2024.

Sacramento does not fall within the contracted limits of the Bay Area. Departing Oakland or San Francisco could scuttle the deal entirely. At the very least, it’d likely force the A’s back to the negotiating table to accept a lower rights fee if they want to keep their in-market broadcasting on NBC Sports. The organization is comfortable abandoning that contract entirely in 2028, but they’d preserve that revenue in the shorter term if they reached an agreement to stay in the Bay Area until the Vegas stadium is ready.

The stadium plan has come under fire in recent days. On Monday, a political action committee filed a suit against Nevada and its governor to try to overturn the law that approved $380MM in public funding for construction. (The plaintiffs claim the voting process didn’t meet the procedural requirements of the state’s constitution.)

Las Vegas mayor Carolyn Goodman made more headlines on Tuesday when she cast doubt on the stadium arrangement in a conversation with Front Office Sports. Goodman subsequently walked those comments back somewhat (on X), although she reiterated in her clarifying statement that “it is (her) belief that in their perfect world the ownership of the A’s would like to have a new ballpark on the water in Oakland and that the ownership and government there should listen to their great fans and try to make that dream come true.”

Neither of those developments are necessarily anything more than public relations quibbles for team officials. The lawsuit’s chances of succeeding are uncertain at most. Goodman’s office, meanwhile, doesn’t have jurisdiction over the proposed construction site on the Vegas strip. That falls under the purview of Clark County, which has been generally supportive of the stadium plan.

Oakland mayor Sheng Thao nevertheless reiterated that the A’s longtime home city is willing to reopen discussions in a chat with Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic this evening. There’s little chance of that happening. Thao indicated she hasn’t spoken with owner John Fisher since the team announced it was turning its attention to Las Vegas last April. Thao nevertheless took the opportunity to throw a swipe at team leadership, particularly Fisher.

“There was a thought that this plan he had in the beginning was viable,” Thao told Rosenthal. “And now we’re seeing that actually, maybe the plan isn’t viable. The question becomes, are the plans not viable or is it that the ownership’s not viable?” Fisher has made clear he has no designs on selling the franchise, so the mayor’s comments are likely to amount to little more than rhetoric.

Marlins, Kent Emanuel Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Marlins are in agreement with left-hander Kent Emanuel on a minor league contract, reports Craig Mish of SportsGrid (on X). He receives a non-roster invitation to MLB Spring Training.

A North Carolina product, Emanuel has 10 big league games on his résumé. Those came back during the 2021 campaign, when he logged 17 2/3 innings of 2.55 ERA ball with the Astros. That year was cut short in June by a UCL injury that required surgical repair. Emanuel hasn’t appeared in the big leagues since then, largely because of injuries.

Houston waived him at the end of the ’21 campaign. He landed in Philadelphia via claim but opened the next year on the injured list as he worked back from the elbow procedure. Emanuel suffered a shoulder injury late in 2022 while pitching in the minors. Philadelphia let him go at the end of the year without getting him into a major league game.

The 31-year-old signed a minor league deal with the Pirates a year ago. He started 13 of 20 appearances for their top affiliate in Indianapolis. Emanuel posted a lackluster 6.19 ERA over 84 1/3 innings, running a slightly below-average 20.1% strikeout rate in the process. Pittsburgh released him in August.

Miami could give Emanuel a look as rotation or long relief depth in camp. He’s likely to start the season with Triple-A Jacksonville. He still has a minor league option remaining, so the Fish could move him between Miami and Jacksonville if he pitches well enough to earn a 40-man roster spot.

The Guardians’ Shortstop Competition

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The Guardians are set to turn shortstop to a young infielder who hasn’t established himself at the MLB level. Last year’s Opening Day starter, Amed Rosario, was shipped off at the deadline. While he’s available in free agency, Cleveland isn’t likely to bring him back. They should have a competition between at least two fairly well-regarded young infielders in camp and during the early part of the upcoming season.

Let’s take a look at the possibilities:

Among returnees, no one played shortstop more frequently last season. He worked as the primary starter after Rosario was traded. Arias picked up 46 starts and logged 402 innings at the position overall. Defensive Runs Saved graded him as a neutral defender, while Statcast felt he was slightly better than average. Arias had a strong reputation as a defender during his time as a prospect, showcasing plus arm strength with the hands and lateral agility to stick at the position.

Arias would be a clear defensive upgrade on Rosario. The question is how much of an offensive impact he’d make. He hit just .210/.275/.352 over 345 plate appearances last season. MLB pitching exploited longstanding questions about his strike zone feel. Arias struck out nearly a third of the time. He chased pitches off the plate with regularity and swung through 19.5% of the offerings he saw. Of the 293 hitters who logged at least 300 plate appearances, only four swung and missed more frequently.

Despite the middling offensive output, Arias enters camp as the presumptive favorite. In a reader mailbag this week, MLB.com’s Mandy Bell suggested the Guardians were likely to give him the first opportunity to seize the job. Arias’ 2023 season was cut short by a non-displaced fracture in his right wrist when he was hit by a pitch in the final week of September. There’s no indication that he won’t be fully healthy for his age-24 season. Arias still has a minor league option, so the Guardians can send him to Triple-A, but it’d be a surprise if he isn’t on the Opening Day roster.

Rocchio, a switch-hitter, has been on the prospect radar for some time. Baseball America has included him among their Top 100 minor league talents four years running. Having recently turned 23, he seems likely to exhaust his rookie eligibility this year.

Cleveland gave Rocchio a brief MLB look last season. He was first promoted in April and bounced on and off the club on five separate occasions. Rocchio didn’t much make of an impact in his first 86 plate appearances. He didn’t hit a home run and limped to a .247/.279/.321 batting line. It wasn’t the most impressive showing, but it’s also probably not worth making a judgment off a limited sample spread across scattered views at big league pitching.

In 537 plate appearances for Triple-A Columbus, Rocchio turned in a solid .280/.367/.421 showing. He walked nearly as often as he struck out. Rocchio took free passes at an 11.2% clip while punching out just 12.3% of the time. The Guardians prioritize bat-to-ball skills, perhaps more than any other team. It’s fair to question how much power upside he possesses in a slight frame — he hit just seven homers in Triple-A — but he’s more of a prototypical Cleveland hitter than Arias is.

Baseball America remains bullish on his chances of carving out a productive career. He ranked as the #2 prospect in the Cleveland system and in the back half of their overall Top 100 this offseason. The outlet credits his advanced feel for hitting from both sides of the plate and gap power. He’s regarded as a solid defender with excellent baseball instincts. Rocchio has one option remaining.

Freeman also falls into the archetypal “Guardians hitter” mold. He makes a ton of contact with minimal power. The right-handed hitter appeared in 64 big league contests last season, posting a modest .242/.295/.366 batting line. He was far better in a 24-game look in Triple-A, where he hit .319/.457/.462 with almost as many walks (12.9%) as strikeouts (13.8%).

While he has a broadly similar offensive profile to Rocchio, he’s not as highly-regarded defensively. The Guardians used him more frequently at third base than shortstop last season, but he doesn’t have a path to consistent playing time at the hot corner unless José Ramírez suffers an injury. Freeman turns 25 in May and is entering his final option year, so this could be something of a make-or-break year for him to establish himself as a long-term piece in Cleveland.

It’d be a surprise if Tena’s in the mix for everyday shortstop work, at least early in the year. The left-handed hitter could play a multi-positional role off the bench and rotate through the position at times. Tena was called to the big leagues for the first time in early August. He only received 34 MLB plate appearances and struggled in that minuscule sample (.226/.294/.290). The 22-year-old (23 in March) spent most of last season at Double-A Akron. He posted a .260/.353/.370 line over 362 trips to the plate. Tena walked at a strong 11.3% clip but struck out in an alarming 28.7% of his plate appearances. He still has an option remaining and will probably start the year in Columbus.

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Cleveland also has a pair of upper minors middle infield prospects on the 40-man roster. Juan Brito, whom they acquired from Colorado in last year’s Nolan Jones trade, briefly reached Triple-A after posting an impressive .276/.373/.444 slash over 87 Double-A contests. Switch-hitting Angel Martínez combined for a .251/.321/.394 line between the top two minor league levels as a 21-year-old.

Brito and Martínez are probably each better suited for second base. It’s unlikely either breaks camp with Cleveland, but they’re both in close enough proximity to potentially factor into the middle infield competition during the ’24 season. If either plays his way to the second base job, the Guardians could consider sliding Andrés Giménez back to shortstop. Giménez played exclusively at the keystone last year but posted solid defensive metrics in his early-career work on the left side of the diamond.

Nationals, Luis Perdomo Agree To Minor League Contract

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The Nationals are in agreement with Luis Perdomo on a minor league deal with a Spring Training invite, reports Robert Murray of FanSided (X link). The right-hander returns to the affiliated ranks after spending the 2023 season in Japan.

Perdomo, 30, has appeared in parts of six big league campaigns. The bulk of that experience came with the Padres, who carried him as a Rule 5 pick in 2016. Perdomo got a decent amount of run as a starter with San Diego early in his career. He moved to the bullpen by 2019 and turned in the best year of his career, working to an even 4.00 ERA through 72 innings.

An elbow injury necessitated Tommy John surgery late in 2020. That marked the end of his time in San Diego, as the Friars released him that offseason. He spent the following year rehabbing before returning to the majors with the Brewers. Perdomo pitched in 14 contests with Milwaukee in 2022, allowing 3.80 earned runs per nine, before signing with NPB’s Chiba Lotte Marines last winter.

While Perdomo’s time in Japan was relatively brief, he had a strong season. He made 53 appearances with the Marines and worked to an excellent 2.13 ERA. That was in spite of a modest 19.6% strikeout rate. Perdomo never missed many bats at the MLB level, instead relying on a mid-90s sinker to keep the ball on the ground at a lofty 57.6% clip.

Washington has taken a few fliers on non-roster relievers lately. Luke Farrell, Adonis Medina, Stephen Nogosek, Richard Bleier and Robert Gsellman have also inked minor league pacts within the last 10 days.

Angels Release Austin Warren

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The Angels have placed reliever Austin Warren on release waivers, according to the transaction log at MLB.com. If he goes unclaimed, he’ll be a free agent. Los Angeles had designated Warren for assignment yesterday when they acquired Guillermo Zuñiga in a minor trade with the Cardinals.

Warren is still rehabbing from the Tommy John surgery that he underwent last May. Injured players cannot be placed on outright waivers. Once the Halos DFA the right-hander, they had to either trade or release him. Given the unlikelihood of finding a trade partner, they moved quickly to put him on release waivers.

A sixth-round pick in 2018, Warren has spent his entire career in the Angels system. He pitched his way to the majors in 2021 and worked to a 1.77 ERA over 20 1/3 innings as a rookie. That dipped to a 5.63 mark through 16 innings in 2022, when he shuttled between Angel Stadium and Triple-A Salt Lake. Warren only made two big league appearances last year before suffering the injury that required surgery.

When teams release a player who are injured and can’t be outrighted, it’s fairly common for them to try to bring him back on a minor league deal if he clears waivers. If he gets to free agency, Warren could instead seek out opportunities with other organizations for the first time. It’s also possible a team places a claim and stashes him on the 60-day injured list with that avenue reopening in the next few days.

White Sox Outright Lane Ramsey

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The White Sox have sent reliever Lane Ramsey outright to Triple-A Charlotte after he cleared waivers, the team announced (relayed by Daryl Van Shouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times). This is Ramsey’s first career outright assignment. Since he also has less than three years of major league service time, he does not have the ability to test free agency.

Ramsey remains in the organization that drafted him in the 23rd round in 2018 out of Oklahoma. He spent parts of five seasons in the minors before reaching the big leagues last August. Skipper Pedro Grifol called upon him 21 times in low-leverage relief. The 6’9″ righty pitched to a 5.85 ERA with a below-average 19.6% strikeout rate over 20 innings.

The 27-year-old missed more bats in the minor leagues. Ramsey punched out an impressive 28.6% of batters faced in 36 innings with Triple-A Charlotte last year. That didn’t translate to particularly strong results, though, as he surrendered 5.50 earned runs per nine. As has been the case throughout his minor league career, throwing strikes was a major problem. He walked more than 16% of opposing hitters for the Knights and has handed out free passes at a 10.6% clip in his minor league tenure.

That squeezed him off the roster last weekend. Chicago acquired Prelander Berroa and Zach DeLoach — each of whom are on the 40-man roster — from Seattle for closer Gregory Santos. Ramsey was designated for assignment as the corresponding transaction. He’ll likely get a non-roster invitation to MLB camp as he tries to reclaim a spot in a wide open Sox bullpen.

Orioles Notes: Holliday, Mateo, Hays, Ownership

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Jackson Holliday is among the non-roster players who received an invitation to big league Spring Training with the Orioles. There was never any doubt the sport’s top prospect would be in MLB camp as he tries to lock down a spot on the Opening Day roster. Baltimore will take advantage of exhibition play to get the 2022 #1 pick experience at both middle infield spots.

General manager Mike Elias told 105.7 The Fan (X link) on Tuesday that the O’s will get Holliday “a lot” of work at second base in camp. The 20-year-old has started 25 games at the keystone in his minor league career. Holliday has made 110 starts at his primary shortstop spot. While the O’s certainly aren’t moving him off the infield’s most demanding position, there’s no harm in building his experience on either side of the second base bag.

Baltimore has plenty of infield talent even after including Joey Ortiz in the Corbin Burnes trade. Rookie of the Year Gunnar Henderson can handle either position on the left side. Jordan Westburg split his time between second and third base while posting a solid .260/.311/.404 batting line over his first 228 MLB plate appearances.

Elias said the O’s would like to have a left-handed hitter who could factor into the second base mix, where the righty-swinging Westburg is in line for the majority of the playing time. Holliday could fit that bill once he’s officially called up, occasionally taking second base reps against tough right-handed starters (with Henderson sliding from third base to shortstop in that scenario). Baltimore acquired another lefty-hitting infield option, Nick Maton, in a small trade with Detroit last night.

The glut of infield talent should push last year’s Opening Day shortstop, Jorge Mateo, out of the regular lineup. The speedster remains on the roster despite speculation he could be traded or even non-tendered. Elias told The Fan that Mateo will see a decent amount of outfield run in Spring Training as he prepares for a utility role. While Baltimore has played Mateo mostly in the middle infield over the past two seasons, he has seen action in center field during his career.

Barring injury, Mateo isn’t going to be a regular on the outfield grass. He’s a good enough athlete to cover all three spots behind the projected starting trio of Austin Hays, Cedric Mullins and Anthony Santander. Top prospects Colton Cowser and Heston Kjerstad reached the majors last year. Kyle Stowers, Ryan McKenna and Sam Hilliard are all on the 40-man roster as well.

Hays found himself in the news this week, as the righty-hitting outfielder triumphed in his arbitration case against the club. He secured a $6.3MM salary for his second of three trips through that process. Hays is on track to get to free agency after the 2025 season, but his camp seems amenable to working out a long-term deal.

Francis Marquez, Hays’ representative at the MAS+ Agency, told Danielle Allentuck and Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner that there were no hard feelings coming out of the hearing. That’s not always the case, as some players bristle at being criticized by team representatives in what is an inherently adversarial proceeding.

“It could’ve been something that would’ve derailed a lot of good faith that has been built, and it did not,” Marquez told the Baltimore Banner. “Unabashedly, Austin is an Oriole, and he feels that he is young enough and he’s good enough to be a member of the Orioles for a long time, not just the time that he has in the arbitration system. So I think in an ideal world, 100%, Austin Hays would like to be a player who just wears an Orioles uniform during his career.”

It’s unclear whether the team has any interest in retaining Hays beyond his six-year control window. Marquez told Allentuck and Kostka that there have not been any extension talks to this point. With highly-regarded prospects like Cowser, Kjerstad, Stowers and last year’s first-round selection Enrique Bradfield Jr. in the system, Baltimore could decide to wait things out on their current starting outfield.

There’s ample long-term payroll space for the O’s if they decide to begin committing to some members of the core, Hays or otherwise. Baltimore’s only obligations beyond the upcoming season are a $1MM salary for star closer Félix Bautista and option buyouts to Craig Kimbrel, Danny Coulombe and Cionel Pérez.

Baltimore fans are hopeful the incoming ownership group will sign off on the kind of long-term deals which the team hasn’t made since John Angelos became point person. The incoming group led by David Rubenstein is set to take control of 40% of the franchise, pending approval from MLB’s other owners. (He’d assume a majority stake upon the passing of Peter Angelos.) Matt Weyrich of the Baltimore Sun reported that a nine-person committee discussed the terms of the sale agreement at this week’s owners’ meeting. Weyrich suggests that MLB could move quickly to approve the sale based on their familiarity with Rubenstein, perhaps voting on it within a couple months.

Mariners Sign Casey Lawrence, Sean Poppen To Minor League Deals

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The Mariners announced their non-roster invitees to Spring Training this evening. A trio of players with MLB experience have joined the organization on deals not previously covered at MLBTR: right-handers Casey Lawrence and Sean Poppen and catcher/first baseman Michael Papierski.

Lawrence is a familiar face for Seattle fans. The righty has logged multiple stints in the organization as a swingman. He made 34 appearances as a Mariner between 2017-18, accounting for a little over half his big league experience. The 36-year-old has also pitched for the Blue Jays and Cardinals, logging 15 appearances in St. Louis a year ago.

In 27 1/3 innings of mostly low-leverage relief for the Cards, Lawrence posted a 6.59 ERA. He struck out a below-average 16.4% of opponents while averaging 90 MPH on his fastball. Lawrence had better results working as rotation depth in Triple-A. He started 21 games at the top minor league level, allowing 4.76 earned runs per nine through 104 innings. Lawrence fanned just under 20% of opponents while limiting his walks to a 6.8% clip.

Poppen, 30 in March, is a pure reliever. He compiled a 5.08 ERA in 63 appearances divided with four teams between 2019-22. The Harvard product spent last year at Triple-A with the Padres. He struggled with the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League setting, allowing a 6.33 ERA through 58 1/3 frames. Poppen had a subpar 17.6% strikeout percentage against a slightly elevated 10.3% walk rate. He has shown better swing-and-miss potential at the MLB level, where he owns a serviceable 22.3% strikeout rate for his career.

Papierski is a right-handed hitting backstop who had a brief MLB look with the Giants and Reds two seasons ago. He played the ’23 campaign in Triple-A as a member of the Tigers. Papierski had a solid offensive performance, hitting .266/.370/.422 with eight homers in 77 contests. He walked at a strong 13.8% clip across 305 plate appearances.

Seattle also said that right-hander Darren McCaughan is in camp as a non-roster player. According to his transactions log at MLB.com, he went unclaimed on outright waivers. The M’s announced that he was designated for assignment this afternoon as the corresponding move for their waiver claim of outfielder Canaan Smith-Njigba. They’d apparently placed McCaughan on waivers before officially revealing his DFA. While the 6’1″ hurler had the right to elect free agency, it seems he decided to stick in the organization with the understanding he’d get a look in MLB camp.

Pirates, Brent Honeywell Agree To Minor League Contract

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Righty Brent Honeywell Jr. has agreed to a minor league deal with the Pirates, reports Jon Morosi of MLB.com (on X). He’ll get a non-roster invitation to big league camp and will be paid at a $1.25MM rate if he cracks the MLB roster.

A former top prospect with the Rays, Honeywell logged his first extended MLB action at age 28 last season. He inked a major league contract with the Padres over the offseason. Honeywell broke camp with San Diego and held a roster spot until the trade deadline. He logged 46 2/3 innings through 36 appearances, working to a 4.05 ERA. That came with a modest 20.6% strikeout rate and an unspectacular 9.8% walk percentage.

San Diego’s deadline pickups squeezed Honeywell off the 40-man roster. The Friars lost him via waivers to the White Sox. He pitched four times with Chicago, was tagged for seven runs in 5 2/3 innings, and was cut loose. Honeywell cleared waivers after his second designation and finished the year in Triple-A. He chose minor league free agency at season’s end.

A horrible series of injuries — a 2018 Tommy John procedure, ’19 elbow fracture, 2020 nerve decompression surgery and another elbow fracture in 2022 — sidetracked Honeywell in his climb through the minors. While he didn’t turn in great results as a rookie, there’s surely some relief that he made it through the ’23 campaign without any trips to the injured list. He’ll try to crack the middle relief group in Pittsburgh to establish himself at the MLB level.

The Bucs have David Bednar, Aroldis Chapman, Colin Holderman, Ryan Borucki, Carmen Mlodzinski, Dauri Moreta and the out-of-options Roansy Contreras as strong bets to open the season in the bullpen. There might not be a ton of room in the season-opening group, but the Bucs will want to build their minor league depth. Ben Heller, Hunter Stratton and swingman Wily Peralta are also in camp as non-roster invitees. Honeywell is out of options, meaning the Pirates would have to keep him in the majors or DFA him if he earns a big league look at any point.

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