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Giants Sell 10% Ownership Stake To Private Equity Firm

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The Giants sold a 10% ownership stake in the franchise to the private equity firm Sixth Street this week, as first reported by Ken Belson and Lauren Hirsch of The New York Times. The team did not confirm the specific share that it sold but announced what it called a “strategic partnership” with the firm on Tuesday.

Financial terms remain unreported. Team president/CEO Larry Baer said in a statement that the deal “allows (the Giants) to further strengthen our franchise on the field and in the community.” The New York Times writes that the Giants intend to use the money for improvements to Oracle Park and the Mission Rock mixed-use development surrounding the stadium, as well as the team’s Spring Training complex in Scottsdale.

Baer downplayed the possibility that the sale would have an impact on the team’s player payroll. “This is not about a stockpile for the next Aaron Judge (a former free agent target),” Baer told The New York Times. “This is about improvements to the ballpark, making big bets on San Francisco and the community around us, and having the firepower to take us into the next generation.“

Dodgers Select Matt Sauer

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The Dodgers announced they’ve selected reliever Matt Sauer onto the big league roster before Wednesday’s matchup with the Cubs at the Tokyo Dome. They optioned left-hander Justin Wrobleski in a corresponding move. Clayton Kershaw was transferred from the 15-day to the 60-day injured list to open a spot on the 40-man roster.

Sauer returns to the majors after signing a minor league deal over the winter. A former second-round pick by the Yankees, he never pitched in the big leagues with New York. The Royals grabbed him in the 2023-24 Rule 5 draft. They carried him on the big league roster for the first couple months. Sauer had a tough time in his first look at major league hitters. He gave up 14 runs across 16 1/3 innings, issuing 11 walks while recording nine strikeouts.

As Kansas City cemented themselves as surprise playoff contenders, they decided they could no longer devote a bullpen spot to a developmental flier. They offered Sauer back to the Yankees in May. New York initially assigned him to Triple-A, but he was blitzed for 15 runs over just 8 1/3 innings in 10 appearances. He found his footing after being demoted to Double-A in July. Sauer closed the year with 24 frames of 2.63 ERA ball before reaching minor league free agency.

The 26-year-old righty took the ball four times this spring. He allowed seven runs over 7 2/3 innings. Sauer recorded eight strikeouts while issuing one walk in that limited sample. His stuff impressed the Dodgers enough that they brought him to Tokyo as part of their travel roster and will carry him on the MLB team for the time being.

Kershaw is rehabbing from surgery to remove a bone spur on his left big toe. He said at the beginning of camp that he would go on the 60-day IL once the Dodgers needed to create a roster spot. He’ll be out through at least the end of May.

Brewers To Keep Turang At Second Base, Play Ortiz At Shortstop

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The Brewers have settled on their middle infield alignment. Manager Pat Murphy told reporters (including Adam McCalvy of MLB.com) that the Brewers will keep Brice Turang at second base while moving Joey Ortiz to shortstop.

It’s a change from where the team was leaning late last week. Murphy said a few days ago that they were strongly considering bumping Turang up the defensive spectrum while playing Ortiz at second. Turang subsequently reported minor shoulder soreness. The Brewers sent him for an MRI, which came back clean. It’s not expected to impact his readiness for Opening Day, but the club understandably doesn’t want to push things by having him take the longer throws from the left side of the diamond.

“I think Joey’s more than capable, and we were really splitting hairs when we flipped (to Turang at shortstop),” Murphy explained. It had seemed back-and-forth throughout camp. That’s the luxury of having two top-tier defensive infielders even after Willy Adames’ free agent departure. Turang is coming off a Gold Glove and Platinum Glove winning season at second base. Ortiz tied Matt Chapman for the league lead in Outs Above Average at third base. Both players were viewed as potential plus shortstops while coming through the minor leagues.

The Ortiz-Turang pairing should remain one of the best defensive middle infield duos in the majors. They’ll need someone to step up at third base with Ortiz moving over. Oliver Dunn, who hit .221/.282/.316 in his first 41 MLB games last season, has had an excellent spring and will probably get the first look. He has dramatically outplayed Caleb Durbin and Tyler Black in camp. The out-of-options Vinny Capra has had a fantastic Spring Training. That gives him a strong chance to stick on the active roster — especially if Milwaukee options Durbin and/or Black — but Capra’s minor league numbers suggest he’s better suited in a utility role.

Orioles Option Coby Mayo To Minor League Camp

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The Orioles announced this afternoon that they’ve optioned top infield prospect Coby Mayo to minor league camp. He’ll open the season at Triple-A Norfolk. Baltimore also reassigned non-roster invitees Samuel Basallo, Daz Cameron, Nick Gordon, Corbin Martin, Levi Stoudt and Thaddeus Ward to minor league camp.

Mayo, 23, has played parts of two seasons in Triple-A. He’s a .279/.376/.543 hitter in 151 career games at that level. He expressed some disappointment with the move. “It obviously sucks because you feel like you’ve proven everything you’ve needed to (in the minors),” he told reporters (including Andy Kostka of The Baltimore Banner). “Sometimes it doesn’t feel like it’s quite enough. Obviously, you go back there and if you have success, it’s ’oh he’s supposed to have success because he’s already proven it,’ and if he doesn’t have success, it’s ’well obviously he’s fallen off.’ It’s kind of a lose-lose going to Norfolk.”

Manager Brandon Hyde said the move is a testament to Baltimore’s infield depth. “Good teams option players that they like,” Hyde said (via Jacob Calvin Meyer of The Baltimore Banner). “More reps at Triple-A, we feel like that’s what he needs right now.”

While it’s understandable that Mayo feels he doesn’t have much more to show against minor league pitching, the Orioles weren’t likely to carry him on the Opening Day roster. He appeared in 17 major league games last season, hitting .098 while striking out 22 times in 46 plate appearances. He had a similarly poor camp, batting .190 with 13 strikeouts and no homers over 46 trips to the dish.

Mayo drilled 22 homers in 89 Triple-A contests last year. He has huge power and draws plenty of walks. There’ll be a lot of strikeouts, but Mayo has a shot to hit in the middle of the lineup at his peak. The O’s aren’t going to want him sitting on the MLB bench. Ramón Urías and (once healthy) Jorge Mateo are better fits for utility roles. Mayo isn’t going to play over Jordan Westburg at third base. The O’s have Ryan Mountcastle, Ryan O’Hearn and backup catcher Gary Sánchez lined up for the majority of reps between first base and designated hitter. Mayo could theoretically push Mountcastle for playing time at first base, but the latter is an established above-average hitter who is having a monster spring.

The infield depth has made Mayo the subject of some trade speculation, but it’s rare for teams to deal away prospects of that caliber. He still has two option years remaining (including this one), so there’s no pressing roster consideration. O’Hearn and Sánchez will be free agents next offseason. Mountcastle has two seasons of arbitration control remaining. There should be a clearer path for Mayo (and Basallo) to break camp in 2026. For now, it’ll probably require injuries to players above him on the depth chart to get everyday reps in the big leagues.

Offseason In Review: Los Angeles Angels

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The Angels were the most active team in the first few weeks of the offseason. They added a mid-rotation starter and a new designated hitter to upgrade the middle third of the lineup. They went oddly quiet after that, leaving them to enter the season with a roster that again seems too thin to hang in the race all year.

Major League Signings

2025 spending: $47.25MM
Total spending: $95.25MM

Option Decisions

  • None

Trades and Claims

Notable Minor League Signings

Extensions

  • None

Notable Losses

The Angels finished 63-99 under first-year manager Ron Washington, narrowly avoiding what would have been their first 100-loss campaign. Only the White Sox, Rockies and Marlins had a worse run differential. They have the longest active playoff drought in MLB at 10 years.

Shortly after the season ended, owner Arte Moreno told Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register that he expected to compete for a playoff spot in 2025. "(General manager Perry Minasian's) marching orders are we need to build a team that can compete for a playoff spot. When you get to playoffs, anything can happen," Moreno said. The owner indicated he was prepared to raise payroll to make that happen. The Angels had cut spending by more than $40MM over the 2023-24 offseason.

Expecting to add 20+ wins within one offseason, even with a payroll spike, is unrealistic. Still, the Angels began the winter with a sense of urgency that reflected a real desire to improve in the short term. They pulled off the first major trade of the offseason within hours of the World Series concluding. The Angels took the remaining two years and $26MM on Jorge Soler's contract off the Braves' hands. Los Angeles sent Griffin Canning, whom they were presumably planning to non-tender, the other way. Atlanta subsequently cut Canning themselves, confirming that was purely a salary dump on their part.

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Braves, James McCann Agree To Minor League Deal

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March 18: McCann’s deal would pay him a $1MM base in the majors, reports ESPN’s Buster Olney.

March 17: The Braves are in agreement with veteran catcher James McCann on a minor league contract, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. Atlanta released Curt Casali from his minor league deal and reassigned Sandy León to minor league camp this afternoon. McCann is represented by the Ballengee Group.

McCann, 34, provides veteran insurance with Sean Murphy ticketed for the injured list to begin the season. Murphy and expected backup Chadwick Tromp are the only catchers on Atlanta’s 40-man roster. They’ll need to add someone else by the start of the regular season. Removing Casali and León from the mix made it seem inevitable that top prospect Drake Baldwin would get the Opening Day assignment. That still seems highly likely. McCann hasn’t had any game reps and Spring Training ends in one week. Mark Bowman of MLB.com writes that the plan is for the veteran to begin the season at Triple-A Gwinnett.

The righty-swinging McCann has spent the last two seasons backing up Adley Rutschman in Baltimore. He hit .228/.274/.382 in a combined 134 games. He has a bit of power but isn’t going to provide much from an on-base perspective. McCann is highly respected for his leadership and work with pitching staffs. He ranks in the middle of the pack in terms of arm strength and throwing out attempted basestealers. He has never graded well by public pitch framing metrics, while Statcast has graded him a little below average at blocking balls in the dirt.

Baldwin has had a big Spring Training. He’s hitting .333 with six walks and two strikeouts in 13 exhibition games. The former third-round pick combined for a .270/.384/.460 batting line between the top two minor league levels last season. He clearly has more offensive upside than McCann or Tromp bring to the table. That said, plenty of top prospects struggle in their first look at major league pitching. If Baldwin’s career gets out to a tough start, McCann could step in as the starter until Murphy returns from a broken rib. McCann has far more experience as a primary catcher than Tromp does.

Cubs Promote Matt Shaw

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The Cubs announced their roster for Tuesday night’s season opener against the Dodgers at the Tokyo Dome (relayed by Taylor McGregor of Marquee Sports Network). As expected, Chicago officially promoted top third base prospect Matt Shaw. They designated reliever Keegan Thompson for assignment to clear the necessary 40-man roster spot. That move was foreshadowed when they left the out-of-options righty off their travel roster last week. Chicago also placed righty Javier Assad on the 15-day injured list with a left oblique strain.

Shaw’s promotion, while telegraphed once the Cubs announced he’d travel with the team to Tokyo, is the most significant of these transactions. The 23-year-old infielder figures to start at third base against Dodgers righty Yoshinobu Yamamoto in what’ll be his major league debut. It was a quick rise through the minors for the Maryland product. The Cubs drafted him 13th overall in 2023. Shaw hit .357 in 38 games in the low minors during his draft year. He continued to rake upon making the move to Double-A to start the ’24 campaign.

The righty-hitting infielder played in 86 games at the Double-A level. He hit .279/.373/.468 to earn a promotion to Triple-A Iowa in August. He performed even better at the top minor league level, closing the year with a .298/.395/.534 slash with seven homers across 35 contests. The Cubs cleared a path for him to take over the hot corner when they dealt Isaac Paredes to Houston as part of the Kyle Tucker blockbuster.

Chicago made a late-offseason push for Alex Bregman as a short-term deal became a legitimate possibility. Once Bregman agreed to terms with the Red Sox on a three-year contract, the hot corner became Shaw’s job to lose. While six exhibition games weren’t likely to move the needle one way or the other, he didn’t hurt his case by collecting five hits and three walks with only one strikeout in 19 Spring Training plate appearances.

Shaw is the consensus choice as the top prospect in a strong Cubs system. He ranks among the top 50 prospects in the sport at each of Baseball America, FanGraphs (Eric Longenhagen), MLB Pipeline, ESPN (Kiley McDaniel), and The Athletic (Keith Law). The various scouting reports project Shaw as a potential 25-homer bat with the ability to hit for a high average, though McDaniel and Longenhagen each express minor concern with his propensity for chasing sliders on the outer half. Shaw is regarded as a plus runner who should be capable of sticking on the infield.

A middle infielder by trade, Shaw will play mostly third base with Dansby Swanson and Nico Hoerner having the middle infield secured. Hoerner did not travel to Tokyo as he finishes his rehab from October flexor tendon surgery. The Cubs have maintained hope that Hoerner will be ready for next Thursday’s domestic Opening Day. Jon Berti seems the likeliest option to start these two games in his place.

Shaw easily qualifies for the prospect criterion (on at least two of the preseason Top 100 lists at Baseball America, MLB Pipeline, and ESPN) of the CBA’s Prospect Promotion Incentive. Assuming he sticks on the Cubs’ roster for a full service year, the team would receive an extra draft choice after the first round if Shaw either wins Rookie of the Year or finishes top three in MVP balloting within his first three seasons. Shaw will be under club control through 2030 and will qualify for arbitration during the 2027-28 offseason if he holds his active roster spot. If he struggles and the Cubs option him back to the minors, that could obviously change his free agent trajectory.

While Shaw is the higher-profile rookie, he’s not the only Cub infielder in line to make his MLB debut. Rule 5 pick Gage Workman also made the Opening Day roster. Chicago grabbed the left-handed hitter out of the Detroit system in December. A fourth-round pick out of Arizona State in 2020, Workman is coming off .280/.366/.476 slash with 18 homers and 30 stolen bases in Double-A. He has never played at the top minor league level.

Workman couldn’t have done much more in camp to force the Cubs to hang onto him. He drilled three homers, stole as many bases, and hit .424 in 15 Spring Training games. Workman has an intriguing combination of power and athleticism. He’s a capable defender on the left side of the infield. The question is whether he’ll make enough contact to stick on the MLB roster. Workman fanned at a 27.5% clip last season and has a career 32.9% strikeout rate.

Teams must keep Rule 5 draftees on the MLB roster or injured list for the entire season to retain their long-term contractual rights. They’d otherwise need to be placed on waivers and, if unclaimed, be offered back to their original organization. The Cubs have Berti, Workman, Justin Turner and the out-of-options Vidal Bruján working off the bench. They probably won’t be able to roster all four players once Hoerner is healthy, but they’re each on the team for the two-game set in Tokyo.

Image courtesy of Allan Henry, Imagn Images.

Dodgers Add Roki Sasaki To 40-Man Roster

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Angels Acquire Angel Perdomo, Designate Scott Kingery For Assignment

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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