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Zack Britton Held Recent Throwing Session For Teams

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Free agent reliever Zack Britton held a throwing session for interested teams last week, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The veteran southpaw is looking to rebound after a mostly lost final season with the Yankees.

Britton was one of the sport’s best late-game weapons during his peak with the Orioles and Yankees. His 2016 season with Baltimore — 67 innings with a 0.54 ERA and an 80% ground-ball percentage — was among the best ever by a reliever. While Britton unsurprisingly never replicated that kind of historic pace, he remained a dominant force through 2020. Between moving to the bullpen full-time in 2014 and the end of the shortened season, he worked to a 1.84 ERA with an eye-popping 76.2% grounder rate over a seven-year stretch.

Things began to go downhill in 2021, however. Britton battled injuries and was limited to 18 1/3 innings across 22 appearances. He managed a career-worst 5.89 ERA with nearly as many walks as strikeouts. That September, Britton went for surgery to remove bone chips from his throwing elbow. While he was under the knife, doctors examined his UCL and determined the ligament also needed repair. That was a far more consequential development, with Tommy John surgery keeping him out for almost all of the 2022 campaign.

Britton did manage to return to the mound at the tail end of last season. He was clearly not back in form. He walked six of the nine batters he faced while recording just two outs in three games. His trademark sinker averaged 92.6 MPH, well below its 94-95 MPH range from 2018-20. The Yankees promptly shut him back down for the season, calling the issue shoulder fatigue.

Needless to say, that wasn’t the kind of platform year the 35-year-old had in mind. A signing team would be rolling the dice on a bounceback, hopeful of installing an elite grounder specialist into high-leverage work. Britton’s recent injury issues put him behind the market’s top group of free agent left-handed relievers like Andrew Chafin, Matt Moore and Will Smith — all of whom somewhat surprisingly remain unsigned.

The Mets are the only team that has been publicly tied to Britton thus far in the offseason. New York skipper Buck Showalter is obviously plenty familiar with the veteran hurler from their time in Baltimore. Heyman again notes the Mets are involved in the market for Britton in their search for a left-handed bullpen arm, one that also has Chafin on their radar.

Marlins Notes: Meyer, Eder, Sanchez

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The Marlins’ rotation has been a common point of discussion this offseason, with Miami considering ways to deal veteran pitching as a means of addressing the offense. The main impetus for the front office is their stockpile of arms, a group that includes a few talented young pitchers working back from serious injuries.

Former third overall pick Max Meyer cemented himself as one of the sport’s top prospects before his call-up last July. The organization’s excitement for that debut turned quickly, as the 23-year-old blew out his elbow during his second big league start. He required Tommy John surgery a couple weeks later.

As he nears the six-month mark in his recovery, Meyer updated Kyle Sielaff of the Hot Stove Show on his progress. The right-hander indicated he’s built up arm strength and hopes to be able to start throwing next month. “I think early February — even February 1 — is when I’m going to start throwing,” Meyer told Sielaff. “Been starting to get the elbow moving a little bit. … When Spring Training rolls around, I’ll be throwing with all those guys — I don’t know with the team or not — but I’ll be throwing. It’s coming up here pretty soon.”

The young starter will surely take things slowly, with Christina De Nicola of MLB.com writing that he’s expected to begin with a long toss program once he’s again able to throw. De Nicola adds that general manager Kim Ng indicated last month Meyer was likely to miss the entire 2023 season rehabbing from the procedure, which often comes with a recovery time pushing or exceeding 14 months. There’s no indication that timeline has changed — he’ll certainly need multiple months to gradually build back into game shape from the first time he can pick up a ball — but it’s encouraging he seems to be progressing well thus far.

Meyer isn’t Miami’s only touted young pitcher working back from Tommy John. Left-hander Jake Eder had broken out as one of the more interesting arms in the minors through 15 excellent Double-A starts early in the 2021 campaign. The Vanderbilt product blew out and underwent TJS at the end of August that year; he missed all of last season recovering. De Nicola writes that Eder, who first began throwing roughly 10 months after the operation, is expected to be at full strength for Spring Training.

Eder is not yet on the 40-man roster and will surely begin the upcoming season at an upper minor league affiliate. Those 15 Double-A starts are the 24-year-old’s only professional experience, and the organization has the MLB pitching depth to not rush Eder to the big leagues. If his stuff returns at pre-surgery levels and he again thrives in the upper minors, it seems possible he could put himself on the radar for a call-up later in the season.

Sixto Sánchez, meanwhile, has now lost two consecutive seasons to shoulder issues. Still just 24, the former top prospect and centerpiece of the J.T. Realmuto trade has fallen down the Miami depth chart in the wake of those injuries. Sánchez underwent arthroscopic surgery on the shoulder last October, with the club announcing at the time he was expected back for Spring Training. Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald provides a reasonably promising update, writing that Sánchez has been throwing bullpen sessions of late. Backstop Nick Fortes, who recently caught one of Sánchez’s workouts, expressed optimism about the young pitcher’s form heading into exhibition play.

Astros’ Prospect Pedro Leon Undergoes Sports Hernia Surgery

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The Astros informed reporters this afternoon that prospect Pedro León will not be ready for the start of Spring Training after undergoing sports hernia surgery earlier this week (relayed by Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle). The procedure comes with a six-to-eight week recovery timetable, so León still looks to be in position to start the regular season on time.

León, 24, was a high-profile international signee for Houston over the 2020-21 offseason. A native of Cuba, he didn’t reach the amateur free agent market until he was headed into his age-23 campaign. He was nevertheless regarded as one of the more talented players in that signing class and his experience meant he was far more advanced than the typical signee, most of whom join clubs as teenagers. He was assigned to Double-A during his first professional campaign and made it to Triple-A Sugar Land later in the season.

The right-handed hitter spent all of last season with the Space Cowboys. Through 504 plate appearances, he hit .228/.365/.431, connecting on 17 home runs and stealing 38 bases. Promising as his combination of speed, plate discipline and power potential is, León also showed some areas of concern. He was caught stealing on 18 occasions and struck out in nearly 29% of his trips to the dish. Baseball America named him the #6 prospect in the Houston organization this offseason, praising his physical abilities but raising questions about his contact skills.

Initially signed as a shortstop, León mostly moved to the outfield last year. He made 52 starts in center field and 33 more in right while playing 23 games in the middle infield (all but three at second base). Given his upper level experience, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him factor into the MLB outfield during the upcoming season. Chas McCormick, Mauricio Dubón and Jake Meyers are each on the 40-man roster and ahead of León on the depth chart for now, though the young player could find himself in the mix midseason. He has not yet been added to the 40-man.

Cubs Outright Mark Leiter Jr.

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Cubs right-hander Mark Leiter Jr. has gone unclaimed on outright waivers, tweets Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune. He’d been designated for assignment last week once Chicago finalized their one-year deal with Eric Hosmer.

Leiter, 32 in March, signed a minor league contract with Chicago last offseason. He cracked the big league roster by the second week of the season. Leiter held his spot on the 40-man all year and bounced a few times between Wrigleyville and Triple-A Iowa. Working primarily as a long relief option in the majors, he tossed 67 2/3 frames through 35 outings (including four starts). Leiter put together a decent 3.99 ERA with better than average strikeout and ground-ball marks (25.9% and 48.9%, respectively).

Despite that generally solid work, he was squeezed off the roster this winter. That’s presumably a result of some skepticism around the league that Leiter could maintain his 2022 form, as he carried a 5.53 ERA in 114 career major league innings headed into last year. He didn’t appear at the highest level at all between 2019-21 thanks to an intervening Tommy John surgery.

Leiter was previously outrighted by the Blue Jays back during the 2018-19 offseason. Clearing waivers a second time in his career gives him the right to elect minor league free agency instead of accepting an assignment to Iowa. The Cubs haven’t yet announced whether he’ll do so.

Tigers’ Uncertain Outfield Offers Chance For Young Players To Carve Out A Role

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The Tigers have had a fairly quiet offseason. First-year baseball operations leader Scott Harris has shied away from long-term additions on the heels of the team’s “Murphy’s law” 2022 campaign. The club took a couple upside dice rolls on Matt Boyd and Michael Lorenzen for the rotation, likely with an eye towards a possible deadline deal if they get off to strong starts. They’ve shipped out Gregory Soto and Joe Jiménez and could consider further subtractions from the bullpen.

Detroit hasn’t added any slam-dunk regulars on the position player side over the past few months. They brought in a couple upper level players in the Soto deal who could factor into the mix. No one acquired this offseason should be guaranteed an everyday job, and the lineup-wide underperformance last year means there’s plenty of uncertainty around the diamond. That’s particularly true in the outfield, where Detroit has a handful of options who could vie for a spot in A.J. Hinch’s lineup early in the year.

Lineup Locks

Greene’s a lock for the center field job if healthy. The former fifth overall pick has raked throughout his minor league career and entered 2022 as one of the top handful of prospects in the game. He looked to be trending towards an MLB job out of camp last year but a Spring Training foot fracture kept him on the injured list and required some ramp-up time at Triple-A Toledo.

The Tigers promoted the left-handed hitter in the middle of June. He was the club’s center fielder from then forward, starting 93 games. Greene hit .253/.321/.362 with five home runs through his first 418 MLB plate appearances. While it wasn’t the eye-popping debut enjoyed by some other rookies in the class, hitting at a roughly league level in the majors as a 21-year-old is no small feat. He hit a few too many grounders but posted above-average exit velocities and solid contact skills. It’s a strong offensive foundation and he’s arguably the most important player in the organization. Some prospect evaluators have suggested he might eventually be a better fit for left field than center, but there’s no real reason for Detroit to move him to a corner in what’s going to be an evaluative year anyhow.

Like Greene, Meadows will also be an everyday player if healthy. Unfortunately, he’s coming off an almost totally lost season. Acquired from the Rays during Spring Training, he only appeared in 36 games with Detroit during his first year as a Tiger. He battled vertigo-like symptoms early in the year, then lost time after contracting COVID-19. While attempting to ramp back up, he suffered strains in both Achilles tendons. Towards the end of the season, he and the club agreed to shut down his rehab so he could focus on his mental health.

Getting Meadows right both physically and mentally is obviously the top priority and a prerequisite to him rediscovering his past success. He’s shown the ability to be an impact left-handed power bat at his best, twice topping 25 home runs during his time in Tampa Bay. Meadows is limited to the corner outfield or designated hitter and should get extended run somewhere, assuming he’s ready to return to the diamond. With two remaining seasons of arbitration control, he could be a deadline trade candidate if he gets back on track.

Immediate MLB Mix

Baddoo looked like a great find for Detroit’s scouting staff in 2021. A Rule 5 draftee from the Minnesota system, he stuck on the roster and played in 124 games as a rookie. Despite making the jump directly from High-A, the left-handed hitter put up a solid .259/.330/.436 line with 13 homers and 18 stolen bases over his first 461 plate appearances in the big leagues. It’d have been a strong showing for any player but was particularly impressive for a Rule 5 selection.

The Tigers secured his long-term contractual rights and opened last season with Baddoo in center field. His second year against big league arms was a significant struggle. He stumbled to a .204/.289/.269 line across 225 trips to the plate, seeing his power production and hard contact rate decline. The Tigers optioned him to Toledo in early May. He responded to the demotion extremely well, hitting .300/.405/.500 in 30 games during his first real upper minors action. Detroit recalled him around the All-Star Break but he again hit at a below-average level down the stretch.

Baddoo is still just 24. He’s shown a patient plate approach at the MLB level and plays plus defense in the corner outfield (though he’s stretched in center field). His strong Triple-A performance means 2022 wasn’t a complete lost year, though he’ll need to make more of an offensive impact against MLB pitching to establish himself. He still has two minor league options remaining, so the Tigers can keep him in Detroit or Toledo depending on his performance.

A former 19th-round draftee, Carpenter wasn’t regarded by most evaluators as more than an organizational depth player heading into last season. He altered that perception with a breakout showing in the upper minors. Between Double-A Erie and Toledo, Carpenter connected on 30 home runs with a massive .313/.380/.645 line over 400 plate appearances. He earned his first MLB call in August and hit another six longballs with a .252/.310/.485 slash over 31 games.

The 25-year-old has put himself firmly in the mix for playing time. There’s still some skepticism about his viability as a long-term regular, though. He’s limited to the corners and regarded as a below-average defender there, raising the possibility he’s best suited for DH work. He has big power but an aggressive offensive approach that could limit his on-base marks. Baseball America named him the #8 prospect in the Detroit system last month, calling him a possible low-end regular or lefty platoon bat. While that would still be a great outcome for a 19th-round pick, Carpenter should get a chance to see if he can outperform that projection this year. He still has all three options remaining.

Acquired from the Phillies in the Soto deal, the 26-year-old Vierling steps right into the outfield equation. He’s appeared in 151 games with Philadelphia over the past two seasons, hitting .260/.309/.374 through 434 plate appearances. After accounting for the Phils’ hitter-friendly ballpark, that checked in 12 percentage points below league average, as measured by wRC+. He hasn’t hit for a ton of power and has walked at just a 6.2% clip, tamping down his on-base numbers.

While Vierling hasn’t established himself against big league pitching, he’s shown some interesting traits. He’s made hard contact at an excellent 48.2% clip while demonstrating strong bat-to-ball skills. A right-handed hitter, he’s posted solid numbers against lefties (.307/.343/.423) while struggling with same-handed pitchers (.227/.285/.339). Vierling bounced around the diamond in Philadelphia, playing all three outfield spots with occasional looks on the infield dirt.

Public defensive metrics haven’t liked his work in center field. He’s probably better suited for a corner while covering center field and second or third base in a pinch. It’s at least easy to see him carving out a multi-positional role against southpaws with the potential to take on more responsibility if he can translate his promising underlying offensive indicators into more consistent production. He has one remaining option season.

Multi-Positional Options

Also part of the Soto deal with Philadelphia, Maton’s a left-handed hitting utilityman. He’s mostly an infielder but could see some time in the corner outfield if the Tigers are looking for ways to get him in the lineup. He owns a .254/.330/.434 line in 87 career MLB games and posted a strong .261/.368/.436 showing in 250 Triple-A plate appearances last year.

It’s essentially the same story with Kreidler, whom BA ranked as Detroit’s #9 prospect. He has spent virtually his entire career as an infielder, playing mostly shortstop in the minor leagues. Kreidler’s professional outfield experience consists of two MLB innings of center field work last season, so it’s possible Detroit doesn’t consider him a real option for the outfield. It’s not uncommon to see multi-positional infielders eventually branch out into corner outfield work, though, as expanded defensive flexibility increases their utility off the bench. Kreidler’s a good enough athlete it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Tigers experiment with him in the outfield at some point. The more straightforward path to playing time for both Maton and Kreidler is at second/third base, though.

Haase has some left field experience in his MLB career. He’s primarily a bat-first catcher who has spent the bulk of his time behind the plate. As things stand, he looks like Detroit’s primary catcher. If a player like Donny Sands, Jake Rogers or non-roster invitee Andrew Knapp seizes the bulk of the catching time, Haase could factor into the corner outfield mix more frequently.

Late-Season Possibilities

Detroit also has a pair of notable outfield prospects who could factor into the mix in 2023. Former second-round pick Parker Meadows had a .275/.354/.466 line with 16 longballs and 17 stolen bases in 113 games for Erie last year. He walked at a strong 10.6% clip while cutting his strikeout rate to a career-low 18.4%. He just turned 23 and is already on the 40-man roster.

Justyn-Henry Malloy, 23 next month, came over from the Braves in the Jiménez trade. The right-handed hitter traversed three minor league levels in 2022, briefly reaching Triple-A after strong showings in both High-A and Double-A. Malloy walked at a massive 18.1% clip en route to a .268/.403/.421 line over 54 Double-A contests. He’s not yet on the 40-man.

Both Meadows and Malloy figure to start the upcoming season with Toledo. There’s no need for Detroit to push either player to the majors before the front office is convinced they’re ready. With another strong upper minors performance, either could put themselves on the map for a midseason promotion. In the interim, the Tigers figure to get looks at players like Baddoo, Carpenter and Vierling to sort out where that group fits in the long-term picture.

Red Sox, Raimel Tapia Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Red Sox are in agreement with Raimel Tapia, as the free agent outfielder himself first indicated on Instagram. It’s a minor league deal for Tapia, tweets Jon Heyman of the New York Post. He’ll be invited to the major league side of Sox camp and can make $2 million with some additional performance bonuses if he cracks the MLB roster, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. Tapia is repped by Dream One Sports Group.

Tapia, 29 next month, joins the third organization of his professional career. The speedster first signed with the Rockies as an amateur from the Dominican Republic over the 2010-11 international period. A few years later, Tapia emerged as one of the sport’s more promising prospects. Evaluators praised his athleticism and bat-to-ball skills and suggested he could develop into a prototypical top-of-the-lineup sparkplug for Colorado.

The left-handed hitter got to the majors in 2016 but saw sporadic action for his first three seasons. He finally landed everyday playing time during the 2019 campaign and was a lineup regular for the next three years. Tapia indeed showed quality contact skills and speed at the MLB level, though he never consistently produced offensively. He owns a very aggressive approach and doesn’t have significant power, leading to an overall profile that’s heavily reliant on singles falling into play.

Tapia hit .280/.325/.395 in a little more than 1400 trips to the plate through the end of the 2021 season. Last spring, Colorado dealt Tapia to the Blue Jays for Randal Grichuk. The move balanced each club’s respective lineup, but neither player performed at a high level in 2022. Tapia posted a .265/.292/.380 line with seven home runs through 433 plate appearances, keeping his strikeouts at a modest 18.7% clip but drawing free passes less than 4% of the time he came to the plate. At season’s end, the Jays non-tendered him rather than retain him via arbitration on a salary that was projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz at $5.2MM.

Over the course of his career, Tapia has suited up at all three outfield positions. The vast majority of his work has come in left field, where public metrics have pegged him as a roughly average defender. Tapia has rated reasonably well in a little over 400 career innings in center but never got much run there in deference to Charlie Blackmon and George Springer, respectively.

The Red Sox have looked to stockpile up-the-middle options in the wake of Xander Bogaerts’ free agent departure and Trevor Story’s injury. The free agent center field market is extremely thin at this stage of the offseason, leaving teams to sort through imperfect defensive fits or glove-first depth players. Boston agreed to a one-year deal with Adam Duvall yesterday, adding a right-handed bat to the mix. Tapia joins Jarren Duran as a left-handed option in the center field mix, though he’ll need to earn his way onto the roster with a strong spring showing.

A’s Reportedly Not Pursuing Ramon Laureano Trade

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Over the past 18 months, the A’s have traded away most of the core players on the roster as a means of stripping down payroll. While much of that teardown was orchestrated either last offseason or at the summer deadline, it continued with the three-team deal that sent Sean Murphy to Atlanta last month.

Given Oakland’s recent activity, it stands to reason virtually anyone on the roster with an MLB track record could be a viable trade candidate. Outfielder Ramón Laureano is one of the team’s more established remaining players and could be the subject of attention from other clubs. However, Dan Hayes of the Athletic reports the A’s didn’t show much interest in dealing Laureano after the Twins inquired on his availability.

It’d be a surprise if the A’s had anyone firmly off the table, perhaps aside from pre-arbitration players they hope will be building blocks of their next contender like Shea Langeliers and Esteury Ruiz. Nevertheless, there’s good reason for general manager David Forst and his front office to be reluctant to pursue a Laureano deal over the offseason. The 28-year-old outfielder is coming off the worst season of his career, putting his value at a low ebb.

Laureano had an impressive debut with Oakland late in the 2018 campaign. He backed that up the following season with 24 home runs in 123 games. His offensive numbers dipped during the shortened 2020 schedule but bounced back through the first few months of ’21. Laureano was sitting on a .246/.317/.443 line over his first 378 plate appearances. That’s not an eye-catching slash at first glance but marked offensive production 13 points above the league average as measured by wRC+ given Oakland’s pitcher-friendly home park.

His 2021 season was brought to an abrupt end in August after he tested positive for the performance-enhancing drug Nandrolone. That resulted in an 80-game suspension that carried over into the start of last season. Laureano returned in April but saw his production crater. He hit .211/.287/.376 over 94 games, with the batting average and on-base percentage each representing career worsts. Only in 2020 did he have a lesser slugging mark.

The residual effects of the suspension aren’t the sole possible explanation for Laureano’s down year. He carried a .223/.300/.395 line into mid-August, production that was below his previous career standards but still marginally above average after adjusting for the ballpark. He suffered a left oblique strain on August 15 and landed on the injured list. Upon returning three weeks later, he limped to a .108/.175/.216 mark in 40 trips to the dish before suffering a hamstring strain that ended his season.

Coming off that year, it’s certainly not an ideal time for Oakland to move him. Laureano’s suspension kept him from surpassing four years of service time last season — players don’t accrue service while on the restricted list — and extended Oakland’s window of arbitration control by another season. He’s eligible for arbitration through the end of 2025 and making $3.55MM for the coming season. That’s affordable even for a team that runs one of the league’s lowest payrolls. That all leaves open the potential for Oakland to hold Laureano into the coming season and reevaluate offers at the deadline after a hopeful better first half from the right-handed hitter.

Another club making a very strong offer in the coming weeks could change the calculus for Oakland, of course. It’s hard to imagine they’d steadfastly refuse to entertain any trade discussions on Laureano. Yet it’s also understandable the club doesn’t seem particularly eager to shop him with his stock at its current point. Assuming he stays in Oakland, he’ll join the likes of Ruiz, Seth Brown (if he’s not dealt himself), Cristian Pache, Conner Capel and Brent Rooker in the outfield mix.

Details On 2022 Team Payrolls

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The Mets had the sport’s highest competitive balance tax payroll in 2022, reports Ronald Blum of the Associated Press. For CBT purposes, New York’s final tally checked in at $299.8MM. According to the report, that was around $2MM higher than the 2015 Dodgers’ $297.9MM mark that had stood as the previous spending record.

New York is responsible for a $30.8MM tax bill, the second-largest tally in the majors, after paying the tax for the first time in franchise history. The Dodgers will foot the highest tax payment at $32.4MM, Blum writes. While Los Angeles’ $293.3MM CBT payroll trailed that of the Mets, the Dodgers were subject to higher penalties as a payor for a second consecutive season.

The Mets are sure to shatter their own record this coming season, as they’re currently projected for a tax number north of $368MM. The Dodgers have trimmed spending, reportedly in hopes of resetting their tax status this year in preparation for a more active offseason next winter. They’re narrowly above the lowest CBT threshold at the moment. Roster Resource forecasts the Dodgers at approximately $238MM, around $5MM north of this year’s $233MM base threshold.

As the Associated Press first reported last September, six teams went over the CBT mark in 2022. Blum reports today the specifics of the payments owed by the Yankees ($9.7MM), Phillies ($2.9MM), Padres ($1.5MM as a second-time payor) and Red Sox ($1.2MM). The final three figures, in particular, are very modest expenditures relative to club payrolls. Nevertheless, the decision to narrowly surpass the threshold is significant in that it raises penalties for payments in future seasons and alters teams’ compensation for signing or losing qualified free agents. The Padres and Phillies surely don’t have regrets after each posted one of the best years in recent franchise history, but the decision didn’t translate to success in the Red Sox’s case. Blum writes that the tax money will be paid to MLB by the end of this week.

A team’s CBT number is determined by the average annual value of a club’s commitments plus player benefits and their contributions to the new bonus pool for pre-arbitration players. The CBT figure isn’t a match for an organization’s actual player payroll in a given season. Blum reports each club’s final raw payroll figure as well, with the Mets again fronting the pack at roughly $274.9MM. The Dodgers, Yankees, Phillies, Padres, Red Sox, White Sox, Braves, Astros and Blue Jays filled out the top ten.

On the other side, the A’s had the lowest payroll at approximately $49MM. The bottom 10 was rounded out by the Orioles, Pirates, Guardians, Marlins, Royals, Rays, D-Backs, Reds and Mariners. Full team data is available at the AP link.

David Phelps Announces Retirement

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Right-hander David Phelps is retiring, he announced this evening through his agents at Wasserman (Twitter link). Phelps thanked his former teammates, coaches, medical staff, agency and family as well as all the organizations for which he played in a lengthy statement.

A Notre Dame product, Phelps cracked the professional ranks a 14th-round selection of the Yankees in 2008. A few seasons of strong minor league performance garnered him some prospect attention as a potential back-end starter. He reached the big leagues for the first time in April 2012, kicking off a rookie season in which he’d post a 3.34 ERA through 99 2/3 innings. Phelps also pitched three times for New York that postseason, logging 3 1/3 innings in what would prove his only career playoff action.

Phelps started 11 of 33 outings for New York that year and held a similar swing role for the next couple seasons. For the first three seasons of his career, he’d toss 299 1/3 innings with the Yankees over 87 appearances (40 starts). He posted a cumulative 4.21 ERA while holding opponents to a .251/.330/.399 slash. Over the 2014-15 offseason, New York dealt Phelps and infielder Martín Prado to the Marlins for Nathan Eovaldi, Garrett Jones and then Low-A pitcher Domingo Germán, who’s still a Yankee more than eight years later.

During his first season with the Fish, Phelps remained primarily a rotation member. He started 19 of 23 outings, working to a 4.50 ERA. By his second season in South Florida, he’d moved almost exclusively to relief. That kicked off a second act as a generally reliable bullpen arm. Phelps posted a 2.28 ERA with a 32.4% strikeout percentage over 86 2/3 innings in 2016. After throwing another 47 frames with a 3.45 ERA in the next season’s first half, he changed organizations for a second time.

The Mariners acquired Phelps in a deadline deal that sent four prospects to Miami. Three of those players never reached the big leagues, but the Marlins’ acquisition of then High-A righty Pablo López turned out exceptionally well. The trade wasn’t especially successful for the Mariners, as Phelps pitched just 10 times before suffering an injury to his throwing elbow. He first underwent surgery to remove bone chips from the joint, then unfortunately required a Tommy John reconstruction that cost him the entire 2018 campaign.

Phelps hit free agency for the first time that offseason, landing with the Blue Jays on a buy-low $2.5MM pact. Once he returned to health, he proved a single middle-innings option for Toronto. Phelps performed well in 17 appearances before being traded to the Cubs at the deadline for Tom Hatch. He had a fine second half before again hitting free agency when Chicago declined a club option for 2020.

The past three seasons have seen the Missouri native continue to bounce around the league. He signed a one-year guarantee with Milwaukee going into 2020 and was dealt to the Phillies for a trio of minor league pitchers at the deadline. Phelps was hit hard in his limited time with Philadelphia, leading the club to decline an option. He returned to Toronto on a one-year deal over the offseason and got off to a brilliant start through mid-May.

Injuries again intervened, though, as Phelps suffered a rupture of his right lat. That required season-ending surgery, one which Phelps acknowledged he initially believed would end his career. He was fortunately able to rehab and got another shot on a minor league deal with Toronto last offseason. He cracked the MLB roster out of camp for what’d be his third season as a Blue Jay.

Phelps would conclude his career with a flourish. He stayed healthy all year, a significant accomplishment in its own right given the injury he’d suffered the season before. Phelps posted his best numbers since his Miami days, providing the Jays 63 2/3 innings of 2.83 ERA ball through 65 appearances. That’d quite likely have earned him another MLB contract this winter if he wanted to return for an 11th season. Phelps indicated he’d known by the end of last season he was finished playing, however.

He spent a decade and a half in the professional ranks, including the past 10 years at the MLB level. Over 682 2/3 career frames, he posted a 3.80 ERA while striking out 22.9% of opposing hitters. In addition to his 67 starts, he finished out 45 games (including seven saves). Phelps held 78 leads as a middle reliever or setup option, suiting up for seven organizations. Baseball Reference calculated his career earnings a hair above $15MM. MLBTR congratulates Phelps on a long and accomplished career and wishes him all the best in his post-playing days.

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