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Braves Agree To Minor League Deals With Adeiny Hechavarria, Magneuris Sierra

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The Braves recently agreed to minor league contracts with a number of players, according to an announcement from Double-A broadcaster Chris Harris (Twitter link). Among those joining the organization: infielder Adeiny Hechavarria, outfielders Magneuris Sierra and Forrest Wall, and reliever Brian Moran. All four players will get non-roster invitations to Spring Training. Kiley McDaniel of ESPN first reported Wall’s signing yesterday.

Hechavarria, 33, has the most MLB experience of the group. An everyday shortstop early in his career with the Marlins, he settled into a utility role after being traded to the Rays midway through the 2017 campaign. He played for five different clubs between 2018-20, including 51 games for Atlanta over the latter two seasons that marked his most recent big league action.

The Cuban-born infielder has decent bat-to-ball skills but has primarily been a bottom-of-the-lineup hitter due to modest power and below-average walk rates. He’s compiled a .253/.291/.351 line in just under 3300 big league plate appearances over parts of nine seasons. Hechavarria posted plus defensive grades at shortstop during his time with the Fish but saw those marks drop off by 2019, when he started to see increased work at second and third base.

Hechavarria signed with the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball during the 2020-21 offseason. He limped to a .213/.238/.307 line in 473 combined plate appearances at Japan’s highest level over two seasons. He split his NPB defensive work between shortstop and third base and offers some additional infield depth in Braves’ camp.

Atlanta has Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley cemented at second and third base, respectively, while Vaughn Grissom and Orlando Arcia are set to battle for the shortstop job. Arcia would assume a utility role if Grissom wins that job as most outside observers anticipate, while Braden Shewmake is also on the 40-man roster as a depth option. Hoy Park, Ehire Adrianza and Joe Dunand also figure to get non-roster camp invites.

Sierra, 26, has appeared at the MLB level in each of the last six years. The lefty-swinging outfielder was a highly-regarded prospect thanks to his speed and defensive acumen and was part of the package the Marlins received from the Cardinals in the Marcell Ozuna trade. He played parts of four years with the Fish but never hit enough to cement himself as a regular. A complete lack of power has kept Sierra from making an offensive impact, as he still has yet to collect a big league home run in 636 plate appearances.

Last season, Sierra got into 45 contests for the Angels as a depth outfielder. He hit .165/.200/.242 through 96 trips to the dish but had posted a roughly league average .297/.358/.437 showing in 76 games with their Triple-A affiliate in Salt Lake. Sierra’s just a .228/.273/.272 hitter as a big leaguer. He’s swiped 29 bases in 38 MLB attempts while playing above-average defense in center field.

Rookie of the Year Michael Harris II is obviously locked into center field on an everyday basis for Atlanta. Sierra joins fellow non-roster invitee Kevin Pillar in offering some upper level depth to compete for reps in Spring Training and potentially with Triple-A Gwinnett.

The 27-year-old Wall also steps into that mix, though he has yet to reach the highest level. Selected by the Rockies as a supplemental first-rounder in the 2014 draft, he drew some prospect attention for his contact skills and speed. Wall hit well through his first few minor league campaigns and was dealt to the Blue Jays in 2018 for reliever Seunghwan Oh. After a quality 2019 season in Double-A, the lefty-swinging outfielder saw his bat stall out at the top minor league level.

Wall played the 2022 season with the Mariners as a minor league free agent. He mustered just a .255/.333/.354 line with six home runs over 467 plate appearances in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. That wasn’t enough to earn him a big league look, although he continued to demonstrate the athleticism that had made him an interesting prospect. Wall led all Triple-A players with 52 stolen bases, though he was also thrown out 12 times (the third-highest total at the level). He played mostly center field last year but could be a better fit in left thanks to a below-average throwing arm.

Moran, a sidearming left-hander, joined Sierra in the Angel organization in 2022. Like Hechavarria and Sierra, he’s also a former Marlin. The 34-year-old has pitched in 18 big league games over parts of three seasons, allowing ten runs with 17 strikeouts but nine walks in 11 1/3 innings. He made one MLB outing for the Halos last April, surrendering a couple runs while recording one out against the Rangers.

He had a solid season for Salt Lake, logging 48 2/3 innings of 4.07 ERA ball in the PCL. Moran punched out 24.6% of batters faced against a tiny 6.6% walk percentage. The UNC product was surprisingly hit hard by left-handed batters but limited righties to a putrid .286 on-base percentage in Triple-A. He’ll add some depth behind A.J. Minter, Dylan Lee and Lucas Luetge.

Reds, Chad Pinder Agree To Minor League Contract

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The Reds are signing utilityman Chad Pinder to a minor league deal, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. The Ballengee Group client will be in big league camp as a non-roster invitee once the deal is finalized, tweets Mark Sheldon of MLB.com.

Pinder, 31 in March, joins the Reds after parts of seven seasons with the Athletics. A Competitive Balance Round B draftee in 2013, the Virginia Tech product got to the big leagues for the first time three years later. Pinder’s first couple seasons were productive, as he hit .248/.313/.447 with 28 home runs in 193 games as a part-time player between 2017-18.

The 2019 season saw him connect on 13 more homers in 370 trips to the plate, but his on-base percentage fell to .290. It has hovered in that range for the past few years, with the right-handed hitter only reaching the .300 OBP mark once in the past four seasons (exactly .300 in 2021). In a little more than 1000 plate appearances since 2019 began, he’s compiled a .239/.283/.402 line — offense that checks in 10 percentage points below league average by wRC+ after accounting for Oakland’s cavernous park.

Pinder narrowly set a career high in plate appearances last season, getting to the plate 379 times. He struggled to a .235/.269/.385 clip, striking out a career-worst 31.1% of the time while walking in only 3.7% of his trips. While he managed another 12 homers, he had the seventh-worst OBP among the 246 hitters with 350+ plate appearances.

It certainly wasn’t the kind of platform year Pinder was envisioning. Nevertheless, he’ll add some defensive flexibility and a potential platoon bat to David Bell’s bench in Cincinnati if he can crack the MLB roster. Pinder spent most of his 2022 innings in the corner outfield, but he has a fair bit of experience at each of second base, third base and shortstop. Public defensive metrics haven’t rated his infield work highly, though he’s gotten strong reviews for his corner outfield play.

He also has a solid offensive track record when holding the platoon advantage. Pinder has hit 31 homers in 756 career plate appearances against left-handed pitching, compiling a .264/.322/.456 line against southpaws overall. Even as his production has dipped over the past few years, he’s remained a solid power threat against left-handed arms. That would likely be magnified in Cincinnati’s Great American Ball Park, one of the sport’s most favorable venues for hitters.

With a career .225/.272/.388 mark in a bit less than 1000 plate appearances against righty pitching, Pinder is best deployed in a matchup capacity. He’d make for a potential platoon partner for lefty swingers like TJ Friedl, Jake Fraley and Joey Votto in the corner outfield/first base mix if he can reach the MLB roster. Cincinnati brought in Wil Myers via free agency and Nick Solak through trade to potentially play into that group as well. Catcher Tyler Stephenson seems likely to shoulder plenty of the designated hitter reps, with Pinder perhaps also offering some cover on the left side of the infield for presumptive starters Kevin Newman and Spencer Steer.

Orioles Sign Curtis Terry To Minor League Contract

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The Orioles announced this morning they’ve added first baseman Curtis Terry on a minor league deal. The team did not indicate he’s receiving an invitation to big league camp.

Terry, 26, has 13 games of MLB experience under his belt. That came with the Rangers two seasons ago, when the right-handed hitter posted an .089/.146/.133 line through his first 48 plate appearances. It wasn’t a strong MLB debut but came on the heels of a .275/.349/.533 showing with 22 longballs through 99 games with their top affiliate in Round Rock.

Texas outrighted the former 13th-round pick off their roster at the end of the 2021 campaign. Terry signed a minor league deal with the Twins and spent the entire 2022 season at Triple-A St. Paul. He had a solid if unspectacular showing, posting a .250/.348/.429 line with 10 homers in 342 plate appearances. He walked in 11.7% of those trips while only striking out 16.4% of the time. That wasn’t enough to get an MLB look from the Twins and he returned to minor league free agency this offseason.

Baltimore has made an effort to stockpile first base depth. They acquired Ryan O’Hearn from the Royals to promptly run him through outright waivers. The O’s also succeeded on their second attempt to pass Lewin Díaz through the wire unclaimed. Both players figure to have priority over Terry on the first base/designated hitter organizational depth chart given their lengthier MLB résumés and left-handed bats that better complement righty-swinging starter Ryan Mountcastle. Terry figures to open the season with either Triple-A Norfolk or Double-A Bowie as upper minors depth.

Trio Of Free Agent Pitchers Work Out For Clubs

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A handful of free agent hurlers threw for scouts this afternoon in Arlington, tweets Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Cole Hamels, Derek Holland and Kyle Crick each worked out for clubs in search of an opportunity.

Hamels, who turned 39 last month, is obviously the highest-profile of the bunch. One of the top pitchers in the game during his peak with the Phillies, Hamels is a four-time All-Star and former World Series MVP. He was an exemplar of durability throughout his peak, starting 30+ games each season from 2008-16. Hamels missed a bit of time with the 2017 Rangers and 2019 Cubs but still topped 140 innings in both years, with a 32-start showing sandwiched in between.

Unfortunately, the veteran southpaw has had virtually nothing go his way the past few seasons. Signed to a one-year deal by the Braves in 2020, Hamels was limited to just one appearance by shoulder issues. He lingered in free agency until August of the following season, when he caught on with the Dodgers on a $1MM contract. Hamels’ first comeback attempt was derailed within weeks by renewed shoulder discomfort, and he returned to the open market over the 2021-22 offseason.

The 15-year MLB veteran required surgery on his shoulder and didn’t sign for 2022. While initial reports last offseason suggested he could factor into the mix by the end of the summer, he eventually turned his attention to the upcoming season. Throughout the process, Hamels has maintained interest in a comeback, even as he told the Associated Press last month he’s also undergone operations on his right knee and left foot. It seems he’s now healthy enough to get back on a mound, where clubs will evaluate whether his current form warrants a minor league contract.

Holland also has over a decade of MLB experience. The 36-year-old has played for six different clubs over a 13-year big league career. He had some success as a starter early on with the Rangers and committed to a full-time bullpen role in 2019. The southpaw soaked up plenty of innings out of the ’pen for the Giants, Cubs, Pirates and Tigers from 2019-21 but allowed nearly six earned runs per nine altogether in that stretch. He spent last season in Triple-A in the Red Sox and Blue Jays organizations, combining for a 5.77 ERA with a 22.8% strikeout rate in 39 innings at the top minor league level. Released by Toronto around the All-Star Break, he didn’t pitch during the season’s second half.

Crick has the most recent big league experience of the group. The 30-year-old righty has pitched in the majors in each of the last six seasons, including 14 outings with the White Sox last year. His final outing came in mid-June, though, as he was placed on the injured list with inflammation in his throwing elbow. He hit minor league free agency at season’s end once Chicago ran through waivers. Crick had a couple excellent seasons to start his career with the Giants and Pirates in 2017-18; he owns a 4.47 ERA in exactly 100 big league outings since the beginning of the 2019 campaign.

Brewers Sign Skye Bolt, Colin Rea To Minor League Contracts

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The Brewers have signed outfielder Skye Bolt and right-hander Colin Rea to minor league deals, tweets Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. Both players will get non-roster looks in major league camp.

Bolt joins the third organization of his professional career. He’s spent most of the last eight years with the A’s, joining the pro ranks as a fourth-round draftee in 2015. Bolt debuted with Oakland briefly in 2019, getting into five games. He didn’t appear in the big leagues in 2020, then split the 2021 campaign between Oakland and the Giants. Returning to the A’s late in that season via waiver claim, he held his 40-man roster spot until last September.

The 29-year-old has played in 81 major league games in his career. More than half came last season, as he tallied 116 plate appearances over 42 contests with Oakland. After missing the first couple months of the season thanks to an oblique strain, he got some run as the A’s primary center fielder. The switch-hitter managed only a .198/.259/.330 line with four homers and a slightly elevated 25.9% strikeout rate before being outrighted off the 40-man roster.

Bolt hasn’t hit well in limited MLB time thus far. The UNC product owns a .313/.399/.526 line through parts of three Triple-A campaigns, and while that’s no doubt aided by the Pacific Coast League’s favorable hitting environment, that’s still above-average production at the top minor league level. Bolt’s a quality runner who can play all three outfield positions, so he doesn’t need to make a huge offensive impact to carve out a depth role.

Milwaukee has Christian Yelich locked into left field, while top prospect Garrett Mitchell is the favorite for center field run. Tyrone Taylor is the top right fielder, with recent signee Brian Anderson set to bounce between third base and right field. Jesse Winker is the primary designated hitter but could see some corner outfield action, while Blake Perkins secured a major league contract this offseason despite having no prior MLB experience. Top prospect Sal Frelick doesn’t seem far off MLB readiness after reaching Triple-A last season, though he’s not yet on the 40-man roster.

Bolt will try to crack the group in exhibition play but could open next season with Triple-A Nashville as a depth option. He’s out of minor league option years, so the Brewers would have to keep him in the big leagues or designate him for assignment if he earns a promotion at any point.

Rea has some familiarity with the Milwaukee organization. His most recent big league appearance was a six inning relief outing for the Brew Crew in 2021. The 32-year-old has pitched for four different clubs over parts of four big league campaigns. His most extended work came in a 2016 season divided between the Padres and Marlins, where he pitched to a 4.82 ERA through 102 2/3 innings.

An Indiana State graduate, Rea has just 20 big league frames since the conclusion of that 2016 season. He made seven starts in Nashville during the 2021 campaign, posting a 2.27 ERA over 35 2/3 innings. Last year, Rea pitched for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in Japan, logging an even 100 innings through 23 outings. He allowed just fewer than four earned runs per nine with a fairly modest 19.6% strikeout rate but a solid 7.8% walk percentage. He’ll offer some rotation or multi-inning relief depth in camp.

Rangers Sign Danny Duffy, Clint Frazier, Travis Jankowski To Minor League Contracts

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The Rangers announced this evening that left-hander Danny Duffy and outfielders Clint Frazier* and Travis Jankowski have signed minor league deals with non-roster invitations to big league camp. Texas also confirmed previously-reported minor league deals for Reyes Moronta and Ian Kennedy.

Duffy is the most notable addition as a 12-year MLB veteran. A longtime starter with the Royals, he was a key part of Kansas City’s pennant-winning clubs in 2014-15 (put together by former Royals GM and current Texas special advisor Dayton Moore). Duffy was at his best during the first of those two seasons, when he provided Kansas City 149 1/3 innings of 2.53 ERA ball over 31 outings.

The veteran hurler posted mid-rotation production through 2017 before a trio of 4.00-plus ERA showings in 2018-20. He looked on his way to a bounceback in 2021, working to a personal-best 2.51 mark in 61 innings during the season’s first half. Duffy unfortunately then hit the injured list with a flexor strain in his forearm. The Dodgers acquired him at that summer’s deadline while he was on the shelf with an eye towards a late-season return. Duffy had a setback and didn’t pitch for Los Angeles before hitting free agency.

Over the offseason, Duffy underwent surgery that was expected to sideline him into June. The Dodgers nevertheless rolled the dice again, signing him to a $3MM deal with a 2023 club option. The hope was he would return as a reliever for the second half while building back to a starter’s workload for the following season. Yet again, those plans were dashed by a summer setback that ended his season. The Dodgers declined his option and sent him back to the open market.

While he spent a year and a half with the L.A. organization, Duffy has never thrown an MLB pitch for a team other than the Royals. He and the Rangers will look to change that in 2023, though he’ll first have to earn his way back onto an MLB roster. Duffy hasn’t appeared in an MLB game since July 2021 and has just 117 1/3 innings over the last three seasons thanks to the abbreviated 2020 schedule and his recent injuries. That raises an obvious question about how large a workload he can shoulder, with a relief or hybrid starter role perhaps under consideration. Regardless of the specific goal the organization has in mind, there’s obvious appeal in bringing in a respected veteran with a career 3.95 ERA in 234 MLB outings to gauge his form in Spring Training.

Frazier, now 28, was the fifth overall pick of the 2013 draft by Cleveland. Lauded for his electric bat speed and significant power potential, the right-handed hitter was traded to the Yankees as a prospect. He appeared among Baseball America’s list of the 50 most talented minor leaguers in 2014, ’16 and ’17. Frazier got off to a solid start, albeit in sporadic playing time, over his first four years with the Yankees.

Between his MLB debut late in 2017 and the end of the shortened season, he tallied 589 plate appearances across 160 games. In the rough equivalent of one full season, Frazier hit 32 doubles and 24 home runs with a .258/.331/.475 line. Despite some defensive miscues and a higher than average propensity for strikeouts, he looked like a potential regular right fielder thanks to his power and plate discipline.

Things have gone downhill over the past two campaigns though. Frazier limped to a .186/.317/.317 line across 218 plate appearances for the Yankees in 2021. He walked at a massive 14.7% clip but only connected on five home runs. More concerning than his on-field struggles, Frazier battled symptoms of vertigo and missed the season’s second half. The Yankees released him at the end of that year.

Frazier inked a $1.5MM contract with the Cubs at the start of last offseason. He only got into 19 MLB games, missing some time with appendicitis. The Cubs designated him for assignment in mid-June. Frazier went unclaimed on waivers and spent the rest of the year at Triple-A Iowa on an outright assignment. He had a disastrous .190/.283/.302 showing with an untenable 34.7% strikeout percentage in 66 games there before hitting minor league free agency.

Texas will hope that a change of scenery can help him rediscover some of his early-career success. Frazier still has a minor league option year remaining, meaning the Rangers could send him back to Triple-A Round Rock even if he lands a 40-man roster spot at some point.

Jankowski, 31, has played for five different clubs while suiting up at the major league level in each of the past eight seasons. A left-handed hitter, he’s walked at a quality 10.4% clip against an average 22.6% strikeout rate in his career. Jankowski’s solid strike zone awareness has been negated by a lack of power, as he’s connected on just nine homers in a little more than 1200 plate appearances.

The Stony Brooks product has gotten a decent amount of run as a speed and defense oriented depth outfielder despite lacking much offensive punch. He played in 44 games last season (all but one of those as a member of the Mets), primarily as a defensive substitute and pinch runner. Jankowski has stolen 72 bases in 470 career games and can play all three outfield spots. Public defensive metrics have graded him positively at all three positions, making him a potential center field depth option behind Leody Taveras in Arlington.

* While Frazier played the 2022 season under the name Jackson Frazier, the Rangers announced his signing as Clint Frazier in their press release.

Braves Extend Manager Brian Snitker Through 2025

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The Braves announced Friday they’ve signed manager Brian Snitker to an extension through the 2025 season. He’d been headed into the final guaranteed year of his contract, which also contained an option for 2024. Atlanta has preemptively triggered that option and tacked on an additional season for the Illinois native.

It’s familiar territory for Snitker, who has signed a handful of short-term extensions since taking over the dugout midway through the 2016 season. An organizational lifer who has spent more than four decades with the franchise, he stepped into almost immediate success as skipper. Snitker won the NL’s Manager of the Year award by his second full season at the helm after overseeing an 18-win improvement between 2017-18.

That 2018 campaign saw the Braves win 90 games and an NL East title. It kicked off a stretch of five years (and counting) atop the division, one which has seen the club play at a 90-plus win pace in four of those seasons (including the shortened 2020 schedule). The lone exception, an 88-73 showing in 2021 that looked like a relative “down” year, was more than salvaged in October. Despite carrying the worst regular season record of any playoff team, Atlanta knocked off the Brewers and Dodgers before winning a six-game World Series over the Astros.

It was the Braves’ first World Series win since 1995. The club rewarded Snitker by exercising a 2023 option on his contract a year early. They didn’t replicate their playoff success last season but had their best regular season showing in nearly two decades. Atlanta won 101 games, topping the triple-digit mark for the first time since 2003. An otherworldly second half was capped off with a late-season sweep of the Mets to all but clinch the division, erasing a deficit that had reached as high as 10 1/2 games at the beginning of June. Unfortunately for Braves’ fans, it was the third-place Phillies who made the deepest playoff run among NL East clubs, with Philadelphia eliminating Atlanta in four games during their Division Series.

While it obviously wasn’t the manner in which the Braves envisioned their season ending, there’s no question of the success they’ve had under Snitker. The club has gone 542-451 in parts of seven seasons with him at the helm, a 54.6% win percentage. Only the Dodgers, Astros and Yankees have a longer active postseason streak than Atlanta. No other club has won its division in five straight years.

The 67-year-old Snitker has certainly had the fortune of working with extremely talented rosters. No manager is exclusively or even primarily responsible for a club’s successes and failures, and the Braves’ strong run is primarily thanks to their core of young stars. Yet Snitker has helped keep the club remarkably consistent over the past half-decade, and the front office is clearly confident in his ability to continue doing so over the next few years.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Rangers, Ian Kennedy Agree To Deal

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The Rangers are re-signing Ian Kennedy, the veteran reliever announced on Instagram this afternoon. Presumably, it’ll be a minor league deal for the Boras Corporation client.

Kennedy spent the first half of the 2021 season in Arlington. Those months were among the best of his past four seasons as a full-time reliever. After cracking the MLB roster following an offseason minors deal, Kennedy quickly pitched his way into the closer’s role. He saved 16 games through 32 appearances while posting a 2.51 ERA over 32 1/3 frames. At that summer’s deadline, the then-rebuilding Texas club packaged Kennedy with veteran starter Kyle Gibson to Philadelphia for righty Spencer Howard.

The 16-year MLB veteran fanned almost 27% of opponents with the Phils but surrendered a staggering seven homers in 24 innings. In spite of the poor finish, Kennedy landed a $4.75MM guarantee from the Diamondbacks last winter. He made 57 appearances during his second stint in the desert but struggled. Kennedy managed only a 5.36 ERA over 50 1/3 innings. He continued to battle the longball, allowing nearly two home runs per nine innings, while his strikeout percentage plummeted to a 19% clip. At season’s end, the D-Backs made the fairly easy call to buy out a mutual option on his services for 2023.

Kennedy carries a 4.30 ERA in 190 appearances since making his bullpen conversion during the 2019 campaign. He’s shown the ability to miss bats at an above-average rate while throwing a decent number of strikes at his best. The 38-year-old will look to recapture some of his early-2021 success in a second crack as a Ranger.

Yankees Have Shown Interest In David Peralta

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The Yankees have been in contact with free agent outfielder David Peralta this offseason, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. It isn’t clear whether talks are ongoing, as Heyman suggests the Yankees look likelier to roll with their in-house options in left field.

That position has been a prominent talking point among the fanbase throughout the offseason. That’s due to the two-year struggles of Aaron Hicks, who’s coming off a .216/.330/.313 showing through 453 plate appearances. That marked an improvement over his .194/.294/.333 line during an injury-riddled 2021 season but was still below average.

Given the stiff competition the Yankees are facing in the AL East, one could certainly argue for general manager Brian Cashman and his staff to seek out an upgrade. They’ve been tied to an array of left field possibilities. That includes the top remaining free agent, Jurickson Profar, and trade candidates like Bryan Reynolds and Max Kepler. Pittsburgh has reportedly set a massive asking price in talks regarding Reynolds. Minnesota dealing Kepler this offseason still seems possible, though Heyman writes there isn’t any current traction between the Yankees and Twins on that front.

Peralta’s part of a veteran fallback contingent for teams looking to augment their corner outfield but unwilling to meet Profar’s asking price. The longtime Diamondback had a great 2018 season in which he connected on 30 homers, but he’s posted roughly average offensive numbers in the four years since then. The left-handed batter owns a .266/.329/.425 mark since the start of the 2019 season. That includes a .251/.316/.415 showing over 490 trips between Arizona and the Rays last year.

While the bottom line numbers for the nine-year MLB veteran didn’t much change, the shape of his production did. Peralta significantly cut back on his ground balls last season, putting the ball on the dirt 36.3% of the time after hovering around 50% in every previous season of his career. The fly-ball oriented approach looked to be resulting in better power output earlier in the season, as Peralta carried a .460 slugging mark through 87 games in Arizona. Things cratered after he was dealt to the Rays, as he didn’t collect a single longball and stumbled to a .255/.317/.335 slash over 180 plate appearances with Tampa Bay.

Peralta’s a low-cost veteran option during his first trip to free agency. Yet even a modest deal might prove too costly for the Yankees given their reported spending limit. Heyman wrote last week the club doesn’t want to surpass the $293MM luxury tax mark that’d subject them to the highest penalization level on spending. Roster Resource calculates their CBT number around $292.3MM at the moment. Virtually any acquisition would likely push the Yankees past that threshold.

If the Yankees do stick with their internal left field options, the competition would figure to come down to Hicks and youngster Oswaldo Cabrera. The latter hit .247/.312/.429 in 44 games as a rookie, outperforming Hicks in 2022. Nevertheless, Cashman suggested last weekend in an appearance on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM the veteran could have the upper hand in a camp battle (h/t to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com). While Cashman called the situation “fluid,” he noted he expects “(Hicks) will be the guy that emerges, because he’s still really talented and everything’s there.“

Brewers Release Jon Singleton

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The Brewers have released first baseman Jon Singleton, according to his transactions log at MLB.com. The move comes a few days after he was designated for assignment once Milwaukee signed Brian Anderson.

Singleton didn’t appear in an MLB game with the Brew Crew during his brief stint on the 40-man roster. He hasn’t played in the majors since 2015, his second season as a member of the Astros. A one-time top prospect and recipient of a $10MM extension before reaching the majors, Singleton struggled to a .171/.290/.331 line through 114 big league games. He connected on 14 home runs with a massive 14.3% walk percentage but struck out at an untenable 36% clip.

After spending a couple seasons in the minors, Singleton was released by Houston. That came on the heels of a suspension after failing a drug test, with the left-handed hitter later admitting he has battled marijuana addiction. Singleton was out of the sport entirely for a few seasons but embarked on a comeback in Mexico two years ago. A monster 46-game run there earned him a minor league opportunity with Milwaukee heading into 2022.

Singleton spent the year with the Brew Crew’s top affiliate in Nashville. He struck out at a near-28% clip and only hit .219, but he more than compensated with his typical blend of patience and power. Singleton walked at a 20.1% clip to reach base at a strong .375 rate and popped 24 home runs in 581 plate appearances. It didn’t get him a big league call but impressed Milwaukee’s front office enough they re-signed him to a minor league deal at the start of the offseason and quickly added him to the 40-man roster to prevent another team from taking him in the Rule 5 draft.

Unfortunately for Singleton, the Brewers’ high rate of turnover this offseason squeezed him out of the picture. Assuming he goes unclaimed on release waivers, he’ll be free to explore other opportunities as a free agent.

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