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Marlins Giving Jesus Sanchez Center Field Reps In Camp

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The Marlins will get Jesús Sánchez reps in center field this spring, manager Clayton McCullough said this morning (relayed by Isaac Azout of Fish on First). The 27-year-old still projects as Miami’s right fielder on most days but could see some action in center if he shows well in camp.

“We think he’s more than athletic enough, he’s done it in the past and he’s graded out well as an outfielder. To us, there’s no downside to do this in Spring Training,” McCullough said. The first-year skipper noted that he expects Dane Myers and Derek Hill to combine for the majority of playing time up the middle, though Sánchez could seemingly also factor in there.

Sánchez started nearly half of Miami’s games in center field back in 2022. He has moved almost exclusively to the corner outfield since then. He logged 58 innings in center two seasons ago and didn’t play there at all last year. Sánchez has primarily played right field while picking up a handful of starts in left.

The defensive grades have been solid, if unexceptional. Sánchez has graded as a league average defender by Statcast’s metrics in every season of his career. Defensive Runs Saved has been slightly more bullish on his corner outfield work, typically rating him a little better than average. DRS has graded him nine runs above average in over 3100 career innings. Both metrics felt his 2022 center field work was close to neutral.

Sánchez has average speed with good arm strength. He’s better suited for right field but probably athletic enough to play center on a part-time basis. Myers and Hill are each faster and better all-around athletes. They should provide better defense up the middle, but neither has much of an MLB track record. Myers, 29 next month, has a decent .265/.315/.407 slash over 66 career games. He has struck out in more than 30% of his plate appearances with a middling 5.6% walk rate. The 29-year-old Hill has hit .233/.276/.353 over parts of five MLB seasons.

Somewhat remarkably, the 27-year-old Sánchez is the most experienced hitter on Miami’s roster. He’s the only Marlins position player with over three years of service time. The former top prospect has settled in as a capable regular in right field. He has hit between 13 and 18 home runs in each of the last four seasons. He’s coming off a .252/.313/.417 showing that more or less aligns with his league average .240/.308/.428 career batting line.

The Marlins will have Sánchez in the everyday lineup somewhere in the outfield, most frequently in right. He could find himself on the move at the deadline. His $4.5MM arbitration salary makes him the second-highest paid player on the team behind Sandy Alcantara (not including the $17MM still owed to released outfielder Avisaíl García). He’s under club control for three seasons but could wind up as a non-tender candidate in a year or two as his projected salaries continue to climb. It stands to reason that the Marlins would be comfortable moving him if they find decent interest over the summer. Sánchez would be a slightly more valuable trade piece if he shows he’s an adequate center fielder, as that’d position him for a potential fourth outfield role on a contender.

D-Backs, Geraldo Perdomo Agree To Four-Year Extension

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February 18: The Diamondbacks have officially announced Perdomo’s extension. The shortstop will address the media today, along with general manager Mike Hazen.

February 17: The Diamondbacks have reportedly reached agreement with shortstop Geraldo Perdomo on a four-year extension that’ll cover the 2026-29 seasons. There’s also a fifth-year club option. Perdomo, a client of Republik Sports, is guaranteed $45MM. The deal buys out his final two arbitration seasons and at least two would-be free agent years, with the option covering a third free agent season.

Perdomo has a little over three years of major league service. He’d already agreed to a $2.55MM salary to cover his first season of arbitration. That is unchanged. He’ll collect a $5MM signing bonus and will earn $5MM in 2026, $8MM in ’27, $11MM in ’28, and $13MM in ’29. The option is valued at $15MM and comes with a $3MM buyout. His 2028-30 salaries could escalate if he finishes in the top 10 in MVP balloting. Perdomo had been on track to hit free agency in advance of his age-28 season. If the D-Backs exercise their option, he’d get to the market at age 31.

The switch-hitting Perdomo has established himself as Arizona’s shortstop behind a solid glove and strong plate approach. He debuted in 2021 but didn’t get a real opportunity until the following season. He provided very little offensively as a rookie, but he has been a league average hitter over the last two years.

Perdomo had an excellent first half in 2023. He earned an All-Star nod behind a .271/.378/.408 showing. The offense cratered coming out of the All-Star Break, as he managed only a .214/.322/.297 line in the second half. Nevertheless, manager Torey Lovullo declared early in last year’s Spring Training that he remained committed to Perdomo as the everyday shortstop.

Last season got off to a rough start. The middle infielder suffered a meniscus tear in his right knee within the first two weeks of the season. He underwent surgery that shelved him until early June. Perdomo played well upon returning, hitting .274/.345/.380 with 20 doubles and a pair of homers across 361 plate appearances. He carries a .258/.349/.366 slash in nearly 900 trips to the plate over the last two seasons.

Perdomo has a throwback offensive approach. He has drawn walks at a strong 11.3% clip while keeping his strikeout rate to a modest 16.3% since the start of 2023. He has 41 doubles and six triples with only nine home runs over that stretch. He ranks near the bottom of the league in hard contact rate and average exit velocity, but he rarely chases stuff off the plate or gets beat within the strike zone. Only Luis Arraez and Steven Kwan have a lower swinging strike rate among hitters with at least 500 plate appearances over the last two seasons.

The small-ball game even extends to bunting. Perdomo led the majors in sacrifices in both 2022 and ’23. He finished tied for sixth in that category last year despite the injury absence. While he doesn’t have great top-line speed, Perdomo has been an efficient basestealer and rates as a solid overall baserunner.

Public metrics have painted a varying picture of the defense. Statcast has graded him as a league average shortstop in each of his three full seasons. Reviews from Defensive Runs Saved have bounced around. DRS had Perdomo a few runs below average in both 2022 and ’23 but credited him at +10 runs last year, which tied for fifth-best at the position.

Arizona likes Perdomo’s game enough to commit to him at shortstop despite the presence of top infield prospect Jordan Lawlar. The 22-year-old ranks as Arizona’s best prospect and in the top 15 overall on Baseball America’s Top 100 list. Lawlar had a cup of coffee late in the ’23 season and would likely have gotten his first significant MLB opportunity last year had he not gotten injured. He’s likely to open this year in Triple-A but should be a factor at some point midseason. His long-term future is probably at third base with Eugenio Suárez hitting free agency next offseason. The Diamondbacks have Perdomo and Ketel Marte signed for multiple years beyond this one.

The D-Backs have pushed payroll to franchise-record heights this offseason. They’re going into the season with a player payroll north of $195MM, according to RosterResource. That’s well ahead of last year’s $163MM Opening Day mark, which was itself an organizational high. They have nearly $90MM coming off the books next winter. Suárez, Jordan Montgomery, Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly and Josh Naylor are all hitting free agency. They’ll have a lot of work to do, especially on the pitching staff, but there’s enough future flexibility to make an extended commitment to Perdomo.

Mike Rodriguez first reported that the D-Backs were signing Perdomo to an extension. ESPN’s Jeff Passan had the four-year, $45MM guarantee beginning in 2026 with the fifth-year option. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com was first to report that the option could push the contract to $57MM, while escalators could add another $15MM. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic had the full salary breakdown, while Jon Heyman of The New York Post reported the MVP bonuses.

Image courtesy of Imagn.

Rhett Lowder, Andrew Abbott Slightly Behind In Camp

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A pair of Reds starters are slightly behind in the early portion of camp. The Reds revealed last week that rookie right-hander Rhett Lowder was delayed in January by minor elbow soreness that arose during his offseason work (relayed by Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer). Meanwhile, lefty Andrew Abbott tells Mark Sheldon of MLB.com that he has taken things slowly after his ’24 season was cut short by a shoulder strain.

While any kind of elbow/shoulder soreness for a pitcher raises some alarm, the Reds don’t seem especially concerned by either injury. Lowder began a throwing program this morning (as noted by Charlie Goldsmith of the Cincinnati Enquirer). Abbott has thrown a couple bullpen sessions in the lead-up to Spring Training. He tells Sheldon that he’s likely to throw another bullpen session or two before facing hitters in a simulated game or batting practice.

The southpaw indicated that he still believes he’s on track for Opening Day. Terry Francona was less committal, largely out of an abundance of caution. “I don’t even think about that just because I think that’s where you make mistakes, when you put an artificial deadline,” Cincinnati’s manager told Sheldon. “We’re going to do what’s right for every player. If somebody isn’t ready, whether it’s him or somebody else, we’ll figure out a way to make it work until they’re ready.”

If healthy, Lowder and Abbott will vie for roles at the back of Francona’s starting staff. Hunter Greene will be at the top of the rotation. Trade pickup Brady Singer is locked into a spot. Nick Martinez has the flexibility to move between starting and long relief, though he seems likely to begin the year in the rotation after accepting a $21.05MM qualifying offer. That’d leave two jobs for the group comprising Lowder, Abbott, Nick Lodolo and perhaps Carson Spiers or Graham Ashcraft. The latter two could find themselves in the bullpen.

Lowder, the seventh overall pick in 2023, made a case for a rotation spot late last season. Cincinnati called him up in August. He took the ball six times and turned in a 1.17 earned run average across 30 2/3 innings. His strikeout and walk profile was nowhere near as impressive as the ERA, but that’s not especially surprising for a 22-year-old attacking MLB hitters for the first time. Lowder had excellent peripherals across 22 starts for Triple-A Louisville, where he turned in 3.64 ERA through 108 2/3 frames. He fanned more than a quarter of opponents against a 5.4% walk rate while getting ground-balls at a strong 51.7% clip.

Abbott has posted a 3.78 ERA in 46 starts over the last two seasons. While he put up a sub-4.00 ERA in each year, his underlying marks went in the wrong direction last season. Abbott’s strikeout rate fell by nearly seven points from his strong 26.1% mark as a rookie. He missed fewer bats on a per-pitch basis and became more susceptible to the home run ball. The Virginia product landed on the IL with the shoulder injury in the middle of August.

Cubs, Chris Flexen Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Cubs are in agreement with veteran righty Chris Flexen on a minor league contract, report Sahadev Sharma and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The signing is pending a physical. Once finalized, it’ll presumably include a non-roster invite to big league camp for the O’Connell Sports Management client.

Flexen spent last season on the other side of Chicago. He inked a one-year, $1.75MM free agent deal with the White Sox. Flexen provided the Sox with a reliable source of innings. He led the team with 160 frames across 33 appearances. He turned in a 4.95 earned run average with a below-average 17.4% strikeout percentage and an 8.9% walk rate. While it wasn’t the most exciting rate production, there was value in taking the ball every fifth day on an otherwise inexperienced pitching staff. That was particularly true in the second half, as Chicago had traded Erick Fedde and was limiting Garrett Crochet to short starts to avoid overworking him.

The 30-year-old Flexen has topped 100 innings in all four seasons since returning to affiliated ball after a stint in Korea. He posted a sub-4.00 ERA in consecutive years for the Mariners in 2021-22. The numbers took a turn for the worse in ’23, as opponents tagged him for nearly seven earned runs per nine across 102 1/3 frames between Seattle and the Rockies.

Flexen has an uphill battle to securing a spot in the Cubs rotation. Justin Steele, Shota Imanaga, Jameson Taillon and Matthew Boyd have the top four spots secured. Javier Assad seems the frontrunner for the final rotation job, though he’ll face competition from Ben Brown, Jordan Wicks and potentially swingman Colin Rea. If Rea ends up in long relief, there’s limited flexibility amidst a bullpen that features a number of pitchers who cannot be optioned (e.g. Ryan Pressly, Ryan Brasier, Tyson Miller, Julian Merryweather, Caleb Thielbar, Keegan Thompson).

The Cubs could view Flexen as rotation depth for Triple-A Iowa. However, he’ll have the right to retest free agency if he doesn’t break camp. Under the collective bargaining agreement, MLB free agents who sign minor league deals more than 10 days before Opening Day have three guaranteed opt-out opportunities: five days before Opening Day, May 1, and June 1. Flexen qualifies after finishing last season on the Sox’s MLB roster.

Padres, Yuli Gurriel Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Padres are in agreement with veteran first baseman Yuli Gurriel on a minor league deal. Francys Romero first reported that the sides were making progress on a contract. Jon Heyman of The New York Post reports that the Mato Sports Management client gets a non-roster invite to MLB camp and would secure a $1.25MM base salary if he cracks the big league roster. There’s an additional $1MM in performance bonuses.

It’s a solid landing spot for the former batting champ, who is going into his age-41 season. The Friars have an opening at designated hitter. Skipper Mike Shildt said last week that he intended to use Luis Arraez as his primary first baseman while keeping Jake Cronenworth at second base. That more or less leaves DH up for grabs. 24-year-old outfielder Tirso Ornelas would probably be the choice if San Diego opts for a player who is already on the 40-man roster.

They’ll probably go with a non-roster invitee, though, considering Ornelas has yet to reach the majors. Gurriel joins former White Sox first baseman Gavin Sheets in camp. Outfielder Oscar Gonzalez and utility infielder Mike Brosseau also landed camp invites from San Diego. Gurriel is the most accomplished of the group, though his production has dropped sharply over the past three seasons. He’s a two-time World Series champion from his seven-year run in Houston. Gurriel won a Gold Glove and the aforementioned batting title in 2021, which stands as his most recent productive season.

Gurriel stumbled to a .242/.288/.360 slash during his final year with the Astros. He posted similar production over 329 plate appearances for the Marlins in 2023. Gurriel barely played in the majors last year. He spent the bulk of the season in Triple-A with Atlanta before catching on with the Royals as a September call-up. The righty hitter turned in a .241/.338/.296 showing across 18 games with Kansas City. He appeared six more times in the playoffs, hitting .190 in 21 at-bats.

While Gurriel hasn’t produced against major league pitching in a decent amount of time, he had a strong year in Triple-A. He slashed .292/.378/.485 with nearly as many walks as strikeouts across 75 games for Atlanta’s top affiliate. He still has excellent pure contact skills.

Under the collective bargaining agreement, MLB free agents who sign minor league deals more than 10 days before Opening Day have three guaranteed opt-out opportunities: five days before Opening Day, May 1, and June 1. Gurriel qualifies, since he has six-plus years of MLB service time and finished last season on K.C.’s big league roster. He can head back to the open market at the end of camp if the Padres decide not to carry him on the Opening Day roster.

Joc Pederson Taking First Base Reps In Rangers Camp

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The Rangers intend to get Joc Pederson work at first base this spring, manager Bruce Bochy said (link via Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News). While the Rangers still plan to use him primarily as a designated hitter, they could get him occasional first base work over the course of the season.

Pederson was a full-time DH with the Diamondbacks last season. He’s never been a good defender, but that was the first time in which a team kept him off the field entirely. Pederson had played regularly in the outfield before that. He broke in as a center fielder with the Dodgers but had moved more or less to a corner role by 2019.

Bochy downplayed the chance of using Pederson in the outfield at Globe Life Field. “I would imagine he could go out there, but I think the focus is more at first base right now, to help out a little bit. I don’t envision needing more depth in the outfield,” the veteran skipper told Grant and other reporters. “He hasn’t been over there very much, so I imagine he’s got a little rust on him. But he’s taken some ground balls already and we’ll make a call later. We think it’s going to work.”

Pederson has played 154 major league innings at first base. He made a pair of late-game appearances there for the Giants two seasons ago. His only 19 career starts as a first baseman came with Los Angeles back in 2019. He committed six errors in 149 innings, leading to very poor defensive metrics in that tiny sample. It’s an unfamiliar position, but it’s not uncommon for corner outfielders to log occasional first base action.

Texas should have a strong defensive outfield. They’re lined up with Wyatt Langford, Evan Carter and Adolis García as their starting trio. Leody Taveras is on hand as a quality fourth outfielder who can step into everyday center field work if Carter has any kind of recurrence of last year’s injury issues.

First base is a little less established. The Rangers traded Nathaniel Lowe to Washington for reliever Robert Garcia. That came on the heels of acquiring corner infielder Jake Burger from Miami. He’s lined up for the majority of playing time at first base. Burger doesn’t have great on-base skills but brings a lot of right-handed pop. He has respectively hit 34 and 29 homers over the past two years. While he divided his playing time equally between the corner infield spots for the Fish, he’s unlikely to play much third base on a team that has Josh Jung and Josh Smith.

Pederson will work primarily as a designated hitter against right-handed pitching. Burger has had neutral platoon splits for his career. He’ll play frequently against righties, but there’s little harm in testing if Pederson can adequately step in on occasion. That’d also give Bochy some flexibility to get García or Langford off their feet at times, potentially drawing Taveras into the lineup on days when Texas wants a stronger defensive outfield.

Devers: “My Position Is Third Base”

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The Red Sox finalized their three-year deal with Alex Bregman over the weekend. While it’s generally expected that Bregman will move to second base in his new home, skipper Alex Cora was noncommittal about their infield on Saturday.

Rafael Devers’ camp has made clear all offseason that the Sox’s longtime third baseman has no interest in a position change. Devers forcefully stated as much when speaking to the Boston beat this morning. “No. I play third,” he said through an interpreter when asked about his willingness to move off the position (link via Chris Cotillo of MassLive). “It’s my decision … My position is third base. Whatever it is they want to do is what they want to do. But my position is third base.”

Cora again reiterated that the Red Sox haven’t made any decisions. “He’s going to work out as the third baseman. And we’re going to make decisions accordingly. Here, it’s not about Bregman or Devers or Cora,” the manager said. “It’s for the Boston Red Sox. Whatever decision we make is going to be for the benefit of the team.”

Interestingly, Cora acknowledged that the Red Sox promised Devers that he’d be their long-term third baseman at the time the sides agreed on a 10-year extension in January 2023. That agreement came under a previous front office regime, as then-chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom was fired eight months later. Craig Breslow is now running baseball operations. Cora downplayed the significance of that promise as a result, saying it was under “different leadership. That was under Chaim” (relayed by Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic). Of course, Cora was the manager at the time of the extension, so there hasn’t been a leadership change in the clubhouse.

Devers was asked whether he’d seek a trade if the Red Sox forced him to move off third base. He didn’t rule that out but said it hasn’t been a focus. “That’s a tough answer to give. I haven’t given it much thought. I’ve been here my entire career,” he said (via McCaffrey). “I haven’t asked myself that question. I’m open to listening. I’m not close to those conversations.”

The most straightforward solution is still to keep Devers at third base and move Bregman to second. That’d block the clearest path to playing time for top prospect Kristian Campbell, who combined for a .330/.439/.558 slash in an incredible first full minor league season. Campbell had a roughly even share of playing time at each of second base, shortstop and in center field. He also picked up a few starts at third base.

While Boston could have Campbell open the season in Triple-A Worcester, they should be able to find ways to get him into the lineup if they feel he’s ready for an MLB call. If the Sox preferred to keep him at one position as a rookie, second base was the obvious choice before the Bregman signing. Unless they force Devers’ hand by pushing him to DH, they’d need to use Campbell in more of a utility role (at least until someone gets injured).

Campbell is versatile enough to bounce around while still playing regularly. He could spell Trevor Story at shortstop while rotating through the outfield. He’s unlikely to be as good a defensive center fielder as Ceddanne Rafaela, but he’d bring a higher offensive ceiling. Campbell’s right-handed bat could complement the lefty-swinging corner outfield tandem of Jarren Duran and Wilyer Abreu, as well as lefty-hitting DH Masataka Yoshida. Duran will play almost every day regardless of the opposing pitchers’ handedness. The Sox could use Abreu and/or Yoshida in more of a platoon capacity.

There’d be a defensive tradeoff. Devers has graded as a below-average defender in essentially every season of his career. Defensive Runs Saved had him nine runs below par last year, while Statcast graded him at five runs below average. Bregman rated 5-6 runs above average by those metrics and is coming off his first Gold Glove win. Bregman shouldn’t have much issue moving to second base. He’s a good athlete who likely would have spent most of his career in the middle infield had he not broken into an Astros team that had Carlos Correa and Jose Altuve. Still, there’d be a stronger defensive alignment with Bregman at third and one of Campbell or David Hamilton at second base.

For the Sox, the question is whether that’s worth alienating a player they’ve viewed as one of the faces of the franchise. Devers is signed through age 36. His defensive grades aren’t likely to improve as he approaches his 30s. At some point, the Sox are likely to push him off the position. Story and Bregman are each signed for three more seasons. They can both opt out after this year, though that seems unlikely for Story and at least debatable for Bregman (who’d be leaving a $40MM average annual value on the table).

Even if they’re comfortable using Campbell in a utility role for a season, they’ll probably want an everyday infield position available for him and top shortstop prospect Marcelo Mayer by next year. This should be workable in the short term but could pose some interesting questions before long.

Padres Sign Nick Pivetta

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Feb. 17: Pivetta passed his physical and has reported to Padres camp. The team has formally announced his four-year contract.

Feb. 12: The Padres are reportedly in agreement with Nick Pivetta on a backloaded four-year, $55MM deal. The CAA client receives a $3MM signing bonus and a $1MM salary for the upcoming season. He’s guaranteed $19MM, $14MM, and $18MM salaries over the following three seasons and can opt out after the contract after the second and third years. While the salary structure helps the Padres navigate short-term payroll constraints, the $13.75MM average annual value counts evenly against the team’s luxury tax calculation. The deal is pending a physical and has not been officially announced by the Padres, who have two openings on their 40-man roster.

Pivetta, who’ll celebrate his 32rd birthday on Friday, was the best unsigned starting pitcher. He had declined a $21.05MM qualifying offer from the Red Sox at the beginning of the offseason. That was a bit of a surprising decision that presumably played a role in holding up his market into Spring Training. He finds a multi-year deal with a much greater overall guarantee than he would have received had he accepted the QO, though he’s taking a notable pay cut for the upcoming season in the process.

The 6’5″ righty debuted with the Phillies in 2017. He struggled for most of his four-year tenure in Philadelphia. A 2020 deadline trade sending him to Boston turned his career around. Pivetta has been a mid-rotation workhorse over the last four years. He ranks 23rd in MLB with 623 innings since the start of the 2021 season. He owns a cumulative 4.33 earned run average and has allowed an ERA between 4.04 and 4.56 in each season.

Pivetta was a fixture in Alex Cora’s rotation over his first two seasons in Boston. He remained in that role early in the ’23 campaign, but the Sox kicked him to the bullpen in the middle of May. Pivetta was sitting on a 6.30 ERA over his first eight starts of the season. He had a fantastic turnaround in a long relief capacity. Pivetta allowed 1.98 earned runs per nine with an exceptional 36.9% strikeout rate over his first 17 relief appearances. Boston gradually stretched him back out to a rotation workload as the season progressed, putting him back in the starting five entering last season.

A flexor strain in his elbow sent him to the injured list in early April. That was remarkably the first non-virus IL stint of his nearly seven-year MLB career. Pivetta returned no worse for wear a month later and stayed heathy from May onwards. He wound up taking the ball 27 times and worked to a 4.14 ERA across 145 2/3 innings.

Pivetta’s run prevention numbers are those of a league average starter. That alone would be a significant boost to a San Diego rotation that needs reliable back-end innings. Pivetta’s strikeout and walk profile has been more intriguing than the bottom line results. He punched out 28.9% of opposing hitters against a modest 6.1% walk rate last season. That was the third season of the past four years in which he has posted a well above-average strikeout rate.

However, the swing-and-miss ability has been somewhat undercut by longstanding issues keeping the ball in the park. Pivetta has allowed a higher than average home run rate in every season of his MLB career. He gives up a lot of hard contact. While Statcast’s park factors grade Fenway Park as one of the sport’s most hitter-friendly venues overall, it has played around neutral for home runs over the past few seasons. Petco Park has been around average for home runs as well, though it broadly plays more favorably for pitchers.

Pivetta slots fourth on Mike Shildt’s rotation depth chart for the moment. He’s behind Dylan Cease, Michael King and Yu Darvish in what had been a very top-heavy rotation. It’s a lot more balanced now, as Pivetta can provide innings that San Diego lost when Joe Musgrove underwent Tommy John surgery last fall. That’d leave one spot up for grabs among the likes of Randy Vásquez, Matt Waldron and potential reliever conversion candidates Bryan Hoeing and Stephen Kolek.

That’d only be the case if there are no other moves before Opening Day. The Padres have been hamstrung all offseason by payroll restrictions. It’s the second straight winter in which the front office has had limited financial leeway. They’ve inked a trio of cheap one-year deals to plug holes at catcher and left field. They signed Elias Díaz for $3.5MM to start behind the plate while bringing in Connor Joe and Jason Heyward for a left field platoon at a combined $2MM cost.

Pivetta won’t make much more than that in year one. The bigger ramifications are from a luxury tax perspective. The Padres snuck below the tax line in 2024. They’ve seemingly preferred to do so again this offseason. The Padres had projected narrowly above this year’s $241MM base threshold. Pivetta pushes them close to the second tax tier. RosterResource calculates their tax number around $258MM. The actual fees are relatively small. They’re taxed at a 20% rate on spending between $241MM and $261MM. They’ll pay a $2.75MM tax on the Pivetta deal and are currently lined up for about $3.4MM in taxes overall.

While ownership may simply be willing to live with that relatively small tax bill, the front office could consider payroll-clearing trades in the coming weeks. Cease, who has a $13.75MM tax number himself for his final arbitration season, has been in trade rumors all offseason. King ($7.75MM) has been the subject of lesser trade chatter, while Robert Suarez and Luis Arraez have also been speculated about. Trading Cease or King would again raise questions about the rotation’s stability, though any such deal would almost certainly include at least one affordable MLB rotation piece in the return package.

The money isn’t the only cost for San Diego. They’ll surrender their second-round pick (#64 overall) in the upcoming draft, as well as $500K from their 2026 bonus pool for international amateurs, because Pivetta had declined the qualifying offer. The Red Sox get a compensation pick in the ’25 draft, which will land 77th overall.

Pivetta winds up being the only free agent starter of this offseason to sign a four-year deal. Michael Wacha, Yusei Kikuchi, Sean Manaea, Nathan Eovaldi and Luis Severino each signed for three years but pulled higher annual values. All but Wacha landed a larger overall guarantee. Severino and Manaea had also declined qualifying offers, while Wacha would have received one had he not re-signed with Kansas City just before QO decisions were due. Pivetta will collect $23MM over the next two seasons. His opt-out decisions will come when there are two years at $32MM and (if he doesn’t take the first out) one year at $18MM remaining.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan was first to report the signing and the salary breakdown. Image courtesy of Imagn.

Guardians Sign Jakob Junis

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TODAY: The Guardians officially announced Junis’s signing today. Hentges was moved to the 60-day IL as the corresponding move.

February 13: The Guardians and Jakob Junis are in agreement on a one-year, $4.5MM deal, reports Kiley McDaniel of ESPN. The signing is pending a physical for the Wasserman client. Cleveland’s 40-man roster is at capacity, though they can create a spot by placing any of Shane Bieber, David Fry or Sam Hentges on the 60-day injured list.

Junis adds versatility to Stephen Vogt’s pitching staff. The 32-year-old righty has bounced between the rotation and the bullpen throughout his career. He has pitched mostly in multi-inning relief roles over the last two seasons. That has suited him well, as Junis has turned in solid numbers in consecutive years. He pitched to a 3.87 earned run average with a career-best 26.2% strikeout rate across 80 innings for the Giants two seasons ago.

The uptick in strikeouts earned Junis a $7MM guarantee from the Brewers last offseason. Milwaukee intended to give him a rotation opportunity, but he suffered a shoulder impingement during his first start of the season. A scary fluke injury delayed his return from the injured list. A few weeks after the shoulder injury, Junis was struck in the neck by a fly ball while he was jogging in the outfield during batting practice. That necessitated a brief hospitalization.

Fortunately, Junis escaped the incident with no long-term effects. It set him back as he rehabbed the shoulder, though, leading Milwaukee to transfer him to the 60-day IL. The Brewers used him out of the bullpen when he returned towards the end of June. They packaged him alongside outfielder Joey Wiemer to the Reds to land Frankie Montas in a deadline deal.

The Reds initially kept Junis in the bullpen themselves. They stretched him back out as a starter for the season’s final month. While the Reds were essentially out of contention by that point, Junis performed well as a starter. He allowed two or fewer runs in each of his final six appearances (five starts and one long relief outing). He built back to 5-6 inning stints to close the year.

Though the injuries limited him to 67 innings, Junis turned in a career-low 2.69 ERA between the two NL Central clubs. He didn’t sustain his ’23 uptick in whiffs, as his strikeout rate dropped to a 20.2% clip that is more in line with his overall track record. The eight-year MLB veteran has excellent command though. He kept his walks to a career-low 3.2% rate last season and has issued free passes to fewer than 6% of opposing hitters throughout his career.

Junis sits in the 91-92 MPH range with his sinker and four-seam fastball. He leans most heavily on a low-80s slider. That has given him some trouble with left-handed batters in his career, but he was effective against hitters of either handedness last season. He held lefties to a .218/.238/.406 line while stifling right-handed batters to a .193/.236/.329 slash. That could give Vogt the confidence to plug him into a season-opening rotation role.

For the second straight year, the rotation is Cleveland’s biggest question. Tanner Bibee is the staff ace, at least until Bieber returns from his Tommy John rehab. He’ll likely be followed by some combination of Ben Lively, Gavin Williams and trade pickup Luis Ortiz. Junis could compete with Triston McKenzie, Joey Cantillo, Slade Cecconi and Logan Allen for the fifth starter role. McKenzie is out of options and will likely be on the MLB team in some capacity. Each of Allen, Cantillo and Cecconi have an option remaining and can head to Triple-A Columbus if they don’t earn an Opening Day rotation spot.

The signing pushes Cleveland’s projected payroll to roughly $100MM, according to RosterResource. That’s right in line with last year’s $98MM season-opening payroll and a few million dollars below where they ended the ’24 campaign. They could still have a few million dollars for a depth acquisition or two after winning the division and earning an ALCS berth.

Image courtesy of Imagn.

Angels Sign Yoan Moncada

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TODAY: Moncada’s deal with the Angels is now official, as is the club’s deal with Kenley Jansen. Anthony Rendon and Robert Stephenson were transferred to the 60-day injured list to make room on the 40-man roster.

FEBRUARY 11: The Angels are reportedly in agreement with third baseman Yoán Moncada on a one-year, $5MM deal. The signing is pending a physical for the Quality Control Sports client. The Angels will need to create a 40-man roster spot once it is finalized.

Moncada, 30 in May, is looking for a rebound after a disappointing end to his eight seasons with the White Sox. The former top prospect had an up-and-down tenure in Chicago. He earned down-ballot MVP support during his best year, a 2019 season in which he hit .315/.367/.548 with a career-high 25 home runs. The Sox signed Moncada to a $70MM extension the following spring, believing he’d cemented himself as a core piece coming out of their rebuild.

That is not how things have played out. Moncada slumped to a .225/.320/.385 showing in 2020. That looked like a short-season aberration the following year, as he posted a strong .263/.375/.412 slash across 144 games. Moncada’s bat hit another sharp decline thereafter. He combined for a .234/.288/.386 line in nearly 800 plate appearances over the next two seasons. His final year in Chicago was tanked by injury. Moncada suffered a significant left adductor (groin) strain two weeks into the year. He was immediately ruled out for 3-6 months. Moncada didn’t return to the active roster until the middle of September.

By that point, the White Sox were playing out the string on the worst season in modern history. It was a foregone conclusion that they’d buy Moncada out for $5MM instead of a $25MM club option. The Sox had little reason to put him back in the lineup. He only made one appearance as a pinch-runner in the final two weeks. His season ended with 12 games and 45 plate appearances.

Moncada is now three years removed from his last strong season. At his best, he has shown above-average power and speed with a patient offensive approach. Moncada took walks at an excellent 13.6% clip back in 2021. He takes a lot of called strikes as well, so he has punched out in 29.2% of his career plate appearances. He’s a .254/.331/.424 hitter in more than 3100 major league plate appearances.

After playing second base during his first two seasons, Moncada kicked to third base in 2019. He hasn’t played anywhere other than the hot corner over the past six years. That’ll very likely be his home with the Halos. General manager Perry Minasian said at the beginning of the offseason that the Angels were not committed to giving that job back to Anthony Rendon. He’s likely headed to the bench as he enters the sixth season of his seven-year free agent deal. Luis Rengifo can take the majority of the playing time at second base, while the Halos acquired Jorge Soler to serve as their primary designated hitter.

This is the Angels’ first move of consequence in months. They were the league’s most active team in the offseason’s first few weeks. They pulled off the Soler trade while signing Kyle Hendricks, Travis d’Arnaud and Yusei Kikuchi before Thanksgiving. They had not made a major league free agent pickup since finalizing the Kikuchi deal. They’ve added a few veteran infielders on minor league contracts, including Moncada’s longtime Sox teammate Tim Anderson. With Zach Neto questionable for Opening Day following postseason shoulder surgery, Anderson could compete with free agent signee Kevin Newman for the season-opening shortstop job. The Angels may have Moncada and Anderson on the left side of their infield for at least a few weeks.

Moncada was also tied to the Blue Jays, Mariners and Cubs at points this offseason. Francys Romero reports that the Cubs made a one-year offer worth around $3MM. Moncada declined and came out $2MM ahead with the Angels. (Chicago has signed Jon Berti to serve as a multi-positional infielder and is likely to turn third base over to top prospect Matt Shaw.) This pushes the Angels payroll to approximately $193MM, as calculated by RosterResource. They’re at $210MM in luxury tax commitments, a little more than $30MM below the lowest threshold.

Jon Heyman of The New York Post first reported the $5MM agreement. Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

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