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Phillies Sign Koyo Aoyagi To Minor League Deal

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The Phillies have signed former NPB pitcher Koyo Aoyagi to a minor league contract with a non-roster invitation to MLB camp, the team announced. The Hanshin Tigers made him available via the posting system on December 4.

Aoyagi’s posting window would have closed this evening. Had he not signed with a major league team, he would’ve returned to the Tigers. Aoyagi preferred a non-roster invite over staying with the NPB club. It’s unclear what his salary would be if he makes the major league roster. The Phils would owe a 20% posting fee to the Tigers on whatever salary or bonuses Aoyagi unlocks.

The 31-year-old righty projects as a depth arm. While he worked as a starting pitcher for the Tigers, Aoyagi throws from a sidearm slot that’s more commonly found in the bullpen. He’s coming off a pedestrian season which he split almost evenly between the Tigers and their minor league affiliate. Aoyagi made 12 starts at Japan’s top level and pitched 11 times in the minors.

During his work at the highest level, he turned in a 3.69 ERA across 61 innings. His 13% strikeout rate would be nearly 10 percentage points below the MLB average. He showed decent but not exceptional control, walking 7.8% of batters faced. His career track record is a bit more impressive. He owns a 3.08 ERA with a 17.1% strikeout percentage across nine NPB campaigns. This was his second consecutive middling season, though. Aoyagi was tagged for a 4.57 ERA across 100 1/3 innings for the Tigers in 2023.

The 5’11” hurler pitched for Japan at the 2020 Olympics (held in Tokyo a year late as a result of the pandemic). Japan went 5-0 and won the gold medal, though Aoyagi was tagged for five runs in 1 2/3 innings across two appearances. He did not make the nation’s World Baseball Classic roster two years later.

Dodgers Trade Dylan Campbell To Phillies

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The Dodgers announced that they’ve traded minor league outfielder Dylan Campbell to the Phillies for international signing bonus space. Los Angeles will reportedly receive either $750K or $1MM in pool allotments. Teams must trade the allotments in increments of $250K.

Los Angeles is adding to its bonus pool for the impending Roki Sasaki signing. The Dodgers reportedly agreed to a $6.5MM bonus with the Japanese star pitcher. The Dodgers had just $5.1462MM in their pool allotment at the beginning of the signing period. They were tied with the Giants for the lowest opening pool. That’s a reflection of their status as luxury tax payors and the fact that they surrendered $1MM in pool space to sign Shohei Ohtani after he’d rejected a qualifying offer last offseason.

It seems that the Campbell trade is the first of what’ll be multiple moves on the Dodgers’ part to add to their pool allotment. Even if they receive $1MM from Philadelphia, they’d be at $6.1462MM overall. They’ll need to make at least one more move to get to their agreed upon bonus with Sasaki. Presumably, another deal is already in the works and will be finalized in the coming days. Sasaki has until the closing of his 45-day posting window on January 23 to officially sign his contract.

Philadelphia never had a chance to get Sasaki. They’ll leverage some unused pool space to add to their farm system. Campbell, a right-handed hitter, was the Dodgers’ fourth-round pick out of the University of Texas in 2023. He played his entire first full professional season at High-A Great Lakes. Campbell hit .251/.331/.372 with 10 homers and 42 stolen bases in a pitcher-friendly setting in the Midwest League. He can play all three outfield positions but spent most of his time in right field.

Kiley McDaniel of ESPN first reported the Dodgers were trading Campbell to Philadelphia for pool space. Francys Romero reported the $750K to $1MM allotment.

Nationals, Andrew Knizner Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Nationals are in agreement with catcher Andrew Knizner on a minor league contract, reports Andrew Golden of The Washington Post. The CAA client will get a non-roster invitation to MLB Spring Training.

Knizner, 30 next month, was drafted by the Cardinals in 2016. He’d converted to catching during his college days at North Carolina State. The right-handed hitter has produced offensively in the minors but hasn’t made much of an impact over parts of six big league campaigns. Knizner hit just .216/.290/.331 in nearly 800 trips to the plate with the Cardinals. St. Louis cut him loose last offseason.

The Rangers inked Knizner to a $1.825MM free agent deal last winter. He spent most of the year as Jonah Heim’s backup, but he didn’t perform especially well. Knizner hit .167/.183/.211 over 35 games. Texas acquired Carson Kelly at the deadline and designated Knizner for assignment not long after. He landed with the Diamondbacks via waiver claim. His time in Arizona consisted of 22 Triple-A games. The Snakes outrighted him off their 40-man roster without getting him into a big league contest. Knizner qualified for minor league free agency at the end of the season.

While Knizner hasn’t hit much at the MLB level, he owns a solid .271/.351/.424 slash over 454 career Triple-A plate appearances. There isn’t a huge bar to clear offensively for a backup catcher. Most backup catchers are well-regarded defensively. Knizner has struggled behind the plate, at least in the view of public metrics. Statcast has graded him as a below-average pitch framer. He also ranked in the bottom 10 among qualified catchers in average pop time (time to throw to second on a stolen base attempt).

There’s no risk for the Nationals in giving Knizner a non-roster look in camp. Keibert Ruiz has the starting job secure despite a difficult 2024 season. Riley Adams is the favorite for the backup job, a role he has held for the past three seasons. He is out of options and can’t be sent to the minors without going on waivers. Drew Millas is the only other catcher on the 40-man roster. Knizner is out of options himself, so if the Nats call him up at any point, they’d need to keep him in the big leagues or risk losing him to another team.

Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript

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MLBTR’s Anthony Franco held a live chat today, exclusively for Front Office subscribers! Anthony took questions on Roki Sasaki, the Orioles' pitching staff, roles for players like Vaughn Grissom and Jacob Wilson, Kirby Yates' market, trading international bonus pool space, whether Ha-Seong Kim should sign for one year, Marlins' trade options, the remainder of the Padres' offseason, and much more.

 

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Rays, Andrew Wantz Agree To Minor League Contract

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Jan. 17: It’s a two-year minor league contract for Wantz, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The two-year term of the contract — and the lack of a 2025 spring invite — are due to the fact that Wantz is recovering from that elbow procedure and won’t be ready to pitch this spring anyhow.

Jan. 16: The Rays have signed righty Andrew Wantz to a minor league deal, according to the MLB.com transaction log. A client of Beverly Hills Sports Council, Wantz elected minor league free agency at the beginning of the offseason.

Wantz has pitched in parts of four seasons out of the Angels bullpen. He got a decent amount of run in middle relief between 2021-23. Wantz topped 20 appearances and threw at least 25 innings in each of those seasons. He combined for a 3.85 earned run average while striking out more than a quarter of batters faced across 117 frames.

The 29-year-old righty didn’t get much work last year. He only made one big league appearance, tossing 1 1/3 innings of one-run ball. Wantz worked as a starter for six of his seven outings at Triple-A Salt Lake, his biggest stretch out of the rotation since he was in Double-A in 2019. He allowed a 6.17 ERA over 23 1/3 frames. Wantz punched out an excellent 31.8% of opponents but issued walks to an untenable 14% of batters faced.

An elbow injury ended his season in June. Wantz underwent some form of season-ending surgery, though it was not a full Tommy John procedure. The Halos opted not to carry him on the 40-man roster after that injury and waived him at the end of the season. Once he returns to health, Wantz can compete for a spot in Kevin Cash’s middle relief group or stretch back out as rotation depth on a Tampa Bay team that is frequently willing to convert relievers to starting pitchers.

Latest On Blue Jays, Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

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After agreeing to a $28.5MM salary to avoid arbitration last week, the Blue Jays and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. can turn their focus to a long-term deal. The four-time All-Star said last month that the Jays had offered him around $340MM, which he said was well below his asking price. That offer reportedly predated Juan Soto’s $765MM agreement with the Mets that shattered prior contractual precedents.

Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic report that the Jays have not had any extension talks with Guerrero’s camp since before Christmas. That indicates there was little to no discussion about a long-term deal in the talks to avoid exchanging arbitration filing figures. However, Rosenthal and Sammon write that extension talks are expected to pick back up before the beginning of Spring Training.

Guerrero said last month that he would cut off negotiations as soon as Spring Training begins. It’s common for players to publicly impose deadlines — many prefer not to discuss contracts once the regular season gets underway — but some players will ultimately continue talks beyond those “cutoffs” if they feel negotiations are making progress. If both team and player are amenable, extension discussions can take place at any point.

While Guerrero isn’t going to get Soto money, he’s clearly looking well beyond the $313.5MM extension that Rafael Devers received from the Red Sox over the 2022-23 offseason. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale wrote last week that Guerrero’s asking price was believed to be at or above $450MM. Jon Heyman of The New York Post suggests similarly, reporting that the former MVP runner-up is looking to top $400MM and could aim for a deal closer to the half-billion dollar mark.

It remains to be seen whether the Jays have the appetite for that kind of investment. They made bigger offers to Shohei Ohtani and Soto, suggesting they’re amenable to a huge expenditure for certain players. Ohtani and Soto presented opportunities to add superstars from outside the organization. Extending Guerrero would be a major boost to a fanbase frustrated by a series of near-misses in free agency over the last two winters. It could also be necessary to keep the team from going into a rebuild after next season. Toronto already faces an uphill path to contention in the AL East. Competing in 2026 if Guerrero and Bo Bichette walk may not be feasible.

In any case, the focus seems squarely on an extension. Rosenthal and Sammon write that the team much prefers to keep Guerrero rather than trade him. They suggest that, in order to even consider a trade, the Jays would need to receive a haul that tops what the Yankees sent to the Padres for one year of Soto’s services last winter.

New York sent two seasons of Michael King — who had proven himself as a multi-inning relief weapon and flashed significant upside in a limited look as a starter — as the headliner. The Yankees included highly-regarded pitching prospect Drew Thorpe (whom San Diego flipped as the centerpiece of the Dylan Cease deal), controllable depth starters Jhony Brito and Randy Vásquez, and backup catcher Kyle Higashioka to the Padres. The Yanks also got Trent Grisham in the deal.

That’s a massive haul for one year of any player, which reflects the Jays’ preference for holding onto Guerrero. Perhaps that’d change if extension talks don’t progress, though it’d be a major surprise if they dealt him before Opening Day. Toronto hopes to compete for a playoff spot this season. They could still add one of the top unsigned hitters (e.g. Anthony Santander, Alex Bregman, Pete Alonso). Even if the Jays don’t succeed in extending Guerrero, they’d presumably prefer to see how things play out in the season’s first half before deciding whether to make him available.

Cubs Pursuing Bullpen, Bench Acquisitions

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Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer recently appeared with David Kaplan and Gordon Wittenmyer on the Cubs REKAP Podcast. Asked about the team’s goals over the remainder of the offseason, the baseball ops leader pointed to two specific areas.

“Mostly focused right now on bench and bullpen, just trying to supplement the roster as much as we can. I feel good about our team but there’s obviously ways to improve,” Hoyer said. He later added that the “bullpen’s been probably the area we’ve been focused on most in free agency. I feel like we’re trying to make sure we upgrade our bench. Adding a veteran presence to our bench would be good.”

The Cubs have made a pair of low-cost bullpen pickups this winter. Chicago acquired righty Eli Morgan from the Guardians and added left-hander Caleb Thielbar on a $2.75MM free agent contract. Porter Hodge, Tyson Miller and Nate Pearson have all earned spots in the relief corps. Julian Merryweather and Keegan Thompson are out of options, so they’ll need to be on the MLB roster or be offered to other teams via trade or waivers. That’s also true of Matt Festa and Rob Zastryzny, though they’ve been recent depth acquisitions who could have an uphill path to cracking the roster. Swingman Colin Rea could open the season in long relief.

Chicago probably wouldn’t benefit from another middle innings arm. The priority should be finding an established late-game veteran. Hoyer famously has shied away from significant investments in the bullpen since the Cubs’ three-year deal with Craig Kimbrel. Chicago hasn’t signed a reliever to a multi-year contract or an eight-figure guarantee since that June 2019 acquisition.

That’d make it a big surprise if the Cubs jump in on Tanner Scott, who could land three or four years at something between $15MM and $20MM annually. Chicago could also be reluctant to meet the ask on Carlos Estévez, but this offseason presents a few opportunities for clubs to add a veteran closer on a short-term contract.

Kirby Yates, David Robertson and Kenley Jansen are all coming off productive seasons. Yates, who turned in a 1.17 earned run average while striking out 36% of opponents over 61 1/3 innings for the Rangers, was arguably a top three reliever in the league. Each of those players will be limited to one- or two-year deals. Robertson, who pitched well for the Cubs early in 2022, will almost certainly be limited to one year as he enters his age-40 season.

On the position player side, there’s a clear need for a depth infielder. Vidal Bruján, Rule 5 pick Gage Workman, and Luis Vazquez are the top options to back up the expected starting infield of Michael Busch, Nico Hoerner, Dansby Swanson and prospect Matt Shaw. A multi-positional player who can provide some cover at third base in case Shaw struggles makes sense. Yoán Moncada, Jon Berti, Enrique Hernández and Paul DeJong are potential options.

The Cubs already signed Carson Kelly to back up Miguel Amaya behind the dish. They have Ian Happ, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Kyle Tucker and Seiya Suzuki lined up for outfield/designated hitter work. Alexander Canario is out of options, so he probably has a leg up on the fourth outfield role. Canario doesn’t play center field, though, so the Cubs could look for a glove-first veteran (potentially on a minor league deal) to back up Crow-Armstrong. Highly-regarded prospect Kevin Alcántara can play up the middle, but Hoyer indicated he preferred for the organization’s top young talents to play everyday in the majors or in Triple-A.

As far as a potential bigger addition goes, Hoyer was asked about the recent report from Bruce Levine of 670 The Score that the Cubs had “casual” dialogue with Alex Bregman regarding a short-term deal. Hoyer declined to comment on that report itself — team personnel are prohibited from publicly commenting on whether they’re pursuing specific free agents — but reiterated generally that the front office was “looking to supplement the roster” (implying they were less likely to make a huge splash). Bregman’s agent Scott Boras said this morning that the All-Star third baseman was still focused on landing a long-term contract anyhow.

Fans, especially those of the Cubs, are encouraged to watch the hour-long interview. Hoyer speaks about transactions from previous seasons and provides some insight into the process for finalizing free agent deals and trades. He also fields questions on whether MLB will ever see a $1 billion free agent, handling fan expectations as a baseball operations leader, weathering the ups and downs of a 162-game season, and Sammy Sosa’s anticipated return at this weekend’s Cubs Convention.

Pete Alonso Declined Three-Year Offer From Mets

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It appears the Pete Alonso era in Queens is coming to an end. Andy Martino of SNY reported this afternoon that the Mets expect Alonso to sign elsewhere and have begun to turn their attention to other pursuits.

After initially facing a gap on contract length, the sides recently turned their attention to a shorter-term arrangement. Will Sammon of The Athletic wrote this afternoon that Alonso and his representatives at the Boras Corporation pitched the Mets a three-year deal with a high annual salary and one or more opt-out chances. Sammon reports that the team countered with a three-year proposal at a lesser salary which Alonso declined.

Joel Sherman and Dan Martin of The New York Post provide some specifics, reporting that the team’s offer came with an overall guarantee in the $68-70MM range and included opt-outs. Sammon writes that the Mets were open to pushing that guarantee slightly higher, though it seems there was still a significant enough gap compared to Alonso’s asking price (which is not known) for the team to turn its attention elsewhere.

The Mets’ proposal was clearly not to Alonso’s liking, which isn’t all that surprising. It’s less than the frontloaded $80MM guarantee which Cody Bellinger landed when he returned to the Cubs on an opt-out laden deal last winter. It now seems as if Alonso will be moving on, though the Mets haven’t pushed all their chips in to an alternative target yet. New York agreed to bring back Jesse Winker on a $7.5MM deal. He’ll slot in at designated hitter and/or as a left-handed bench bat. If Alonso indeed walks, New York will probably move Mark Vientos to first base and allow Brett Baty, Ronny Mauricio and Luisangel Acuña battle for reps at third base.

The Post’s Jon Heyman writes that the Mets are now “heavily focused” on adding to the bullpen. Sammon tied them to top free agent reliever Tanner Scott last week. Adding a high-leverage arm in front of star closer Edwin Díaz makes sense. A left-hander would be an obvious fit considering Danny Young is the only southpaw in the bullpen at the moment. Scott is far more than a situational matchup option, but he has certainly shown himself capable of attacking the best left-handed hitters in the sport.

The Athletic reported this morning that the Blue Jays were among the teams still engaged with Alonso’s camp. It’s not clear whether those discussions also involve a short-term deal. Jim Duquette of MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM first reported last week that Alonso’s camp was offering the three-year term with opt-outs to the Mets alone in an effort to stay in Queens. He may still be seeking a longer-term contract from other teams, though it’s not clear whether that kind of proposal will be on the table anywhere.

Orioles Claim Jacob Amaya, Designate Roansy Contreras For Assignment

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The Orioles announced they’ve claimed infielder Jacob Amaya off waivers from the White Sox. Chicago had designated him for assignment last week when they finalized their signing of Josh Rojas to a one-year free agent deal. Baltimore designated righty reliever Roansy Contreras for assignment to open a spot on the 40-man roster.

Amaya is a defensive specialist who can play anywhere on the dirt. The majority of his experience has come up the middle. Amaya has nearly 4500 professional innings at shortstop and more than 1000 frames at second base. He has made 13 minor league appearances at third base as well, though his MLB experience has been exclusively in the middle infield.

The 26-year-old drew praise from scouts for his athleticism and plus arm strength. He ranked among the top 30 prospects in the Dodgers system at Baseball America in each season from 2019-22. Los Angeles traded him to the Marlins for veteran shortstop Miguel Rojas on the eve of the ’23 season. BA ranked Amaya as Miami’s #11 prospect (albeit in a weak farm system) as recently as last spring.

Amaya’s offensive upside is limited. He has shown a patient approach and worked plenty of walks in the minor leagues. Amaya has minimal power, though. MLB pitchers haven’t been afraid to attack him in the strike zone in his limited big league work. Amaya has hit .182 with just one extra-base hit (a double) in 81 plate appearances. He has walked only four times while striking out on 29 occasions.

The middling production at the dish has led Amaya to bounce around via waivers. He has gone from Miami to the Astros to Chicago and now to Baltimore since the start of last season. Amaya didn’t have a good season in Triple-A, combining for a .221/.308/.330 slash with five homers over 76 games between Miami’s and Houston’s affiliates.

Baltimore is one of the most active teams on the waiver wire. The Orioles frequently use waivers to churn through the back few spots on their 40-man roster. Amaya is out of minor league options and has an uphill path to cracking a Baltimore infield that could include Gunnar Henderson, Jordan Westburg, Jackson Holliday, Ryan Mountcastle, Ryan O’Hearn, Ramón Urías and Jorge Mateo. Third baseman Emmanuel Rivera is also out of options. There’s a decent chance the O’s try to sneak Amaya through waivers in the next couple months.

That’s a cycle in which Contreras has found himself. The former top prospect has been a part of five organizations since the start of the ’24 season. He opened the year with the Pirates, who traded him to the Angels in May. The out-of-options hurler stuck in Ron Washington’s bullpen for the remainder of the season. The Halos waived him at the beginning of the offseason. Contreras has subsequently gone to the Rangers, Reds and Orioles via waivers but hasn’t held a spot for more than a few weeks. Baltimore just claimed him last Friday.

Since the start of the 2023 season, Contreras owns a 5.47 earned run average over 136 2/3 innings. His 18.5% strikeout percentage and 10.5% walk rate are worse than the respective MLB averages, as is his 1.4 home runs allowed per nine. The performance and the inability to send him to the minors without putting him on waivers could lead to him continuing to bounce around the league. Contreras has intrigued a few teams as a depth arm, as he sits around 95 MPH with his four-seam fastball and throws six different pitches.

The Cardinals Are Amidst A Half-Measure Offseason

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The Cardinals have made zero trades this offseason. Two months ago, that would've been a huge surprise. President of baseball operations John Mozeliak declared at the end of the season that the team would cut MLB payroll and give consistent reps to younger players. Seven of MLBTR's Top 35 trade candidates entering the winter were Cardinals.

All of them remain Cardinals with less than a month until pitchers and catchers report. They're not all analogous situations. In at least three cases, the Cards themselves were probably taken aback. Willson Contreras told the team he had no interest in waiving his no-trade clause. Sonny Gray has also expressed an interest in staying rather than waiving his own no-trade rights. Nolan Arenado is reportedly more open to moving, though he used his no-trade clause to kill a potential trade to Houston.

Mozeliak has openly stated the organization is trying to deal Arenado. The baseball operations leader has called that the simplest way to get the team's payroll where they want it to be. That could still come together, but it has proven tougher to orchestrate than the front office seemingly envisioned. The Astros have already moved on. Other teams are reportedly balking at taking a big portion of the $64MM remaining on the third baseman's contract. Katie Woo of The Athletic wrote last week that talks on Arenado had stalled.

Those instances are beyond Mozeliak's control beyond the fact that he was willing to include no-trade clauses in Contreras' and Gray's free agent deals. (Arenado received his NTC from the Rockies when he signed his extension in 2019.) The front office probably expected those veterans would be eager to move rather than waiting out one or more transitional seasons. In that sense, the Cards are in an unenviable spot.

The most perplexing part of their offseason is that they haven't made any moves in response to those roadblocks. Their offseason has consisted of buying out Kyle Gibson, Lance Lynn and Keynan Middleton while claiming depth reliever Bailey Horn off waivers. That needs to change between now and Opening Day.

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