Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

NL West Notes: Graveman, Seidler, Murphy

By | at

Diamondbacks right-hander Kendall Graveman has been battling some back tightness in camp and still hasn’t appeared in a Spring Training game. Manager Torey Lovullo tells Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports that the issue cropped up again yesterday after throwing live batting practice. Weiner relays that Graveman appears to be questionable for Opening Day.

The Snakes signed Graveman to a one-year, $1.35MM deal less than a month ago. The modest price is a reflection of the fact that Graveman missed the 2024 season recovering from shoulder surgery. The D’Backs have made a modest bet that he could bounce back to his pre-surgery form. From 2021 to 2023, he tossed 187 1/3 relief innings with a 2.74 earned run average, 24.5% strikeout rate, 10.4% walk rate and 48.9% ground ball rate.

If healthy, Graveman would be one of the club’s key leverage relievers, alongside guys like A.J. Puk, Kevin Ginkel and Justin Martínez. This back issue doesn’t seem to be a major concern but isn’t the ideal way for him to start down the comeback trail. Opening Day is still two weeks away, which gives him some time, but it will be a situation to watch for the Diamondbacks and their fans.

More notes from around the National League West…

  • John Seidler is now officially the control person of the Padres, reports Dennis Lin of The Athletic. The brother of the later Peter Seidler, John was approved by the league as control person over a month ago. Despite the league approval, it was noted at that time that the transfer would not become official until all the paperwork was complete on John becoming the trustee of Peter’s trust. Lin relays that the process with the trust is now complete, making John the official control person. After Peter’s death, the duties of control person were handled by his previous business partner Eric Kutsenda on an interim basis. There is an ongoing legal dispute over control of the club in the wake of Peter’s passing, with his widow Sheel filing suit against his brothers.
  • Giants catcher Tom Murphy continues to be on the shelf. The club informed reporters, including Justice delos Santos of The Mercury News, that Murphy would require another epidural injection this week. He’ll be doing rehab only for the next two weeks, meaning no baseball activities. That makes him a lock for the injured list to start the season. That’s not a shock, since it was reported in late February that he has a herniated disc in his mid-back area and would be getting an epidural injection that would sideline him for weeks. He’s now getting a second shot and is still not close. Murphy has flashed a potent bat in his career but injuries have often stood in the way. He has nine MLB seasons but only appeared in 50 or more games in two of those. The Giants have Patrick Bailey as their primary catcher. With Murphy out, the backup job could fall to Sam Huff. Non-roster options in camp include Logan Porter and Max Stassi.

AL Notes: Meadows, Pérez, Mateo, Estévez

By | at

The Tigers are facing a few injuries in their outfield mix, with each of Matt Vierling, Parker Meadows and Wenceel Pérez battling health issues. Vierling has already been ruled out for Opening Day due to a rotator cuff strain and Meadows might not make it for the opener either.

Meadows has been experiencing a nerve issue in his upper right arm. He tells Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press that the issue is with the musculocutaneous nerve specifically, which isn’t progressing much. Meadows still hasn’t been cleared to throw, which obviously means he can’t play, though he has been doing some other activities that don’t involve throwing.

“He’s not full go,” manager A.J. Hinch said today. “He’s just making incremental steps, whatever that means. And he’s not ready for games. He’s not close to games right now, but that can change as soon as soon as we shake this nerve up, wake it up. Things are better than they were, but still not full go.” Meadows still thinks he can be ready by Opening Day but that will obviously be dependent on things improving in the next week or two.

Pérez has some back tightness and was supposed to return to the lineup today but that has not come to pass and he might be held out of tomorrow’s game as well. With Vierling and Meadows hurt, Pérez would have been a logical candidate to jump into the outfield but his back issues make that a bit iffy. Hinch downplayed the concern, saying that the club is just being “uber cautious”, but it’s yet another question mark for the club.

Riley Greene will be in one outfield spot and could perhaps be joined by Meadows and/or Pérez. If not, Kerry Carpenter could take some time out there, letting Spencer Torkelson get some time as the designated hitter. Justyn-Henry Malloy is also on the 40-man and the Tigers also have utility players Andy Ibáñez and Zach McKinstry as potential contributors.

Some other notes from around the American League…

  • Orioles utility player Jorge Mateo is recovering from last year’s elbow surgery. A month ago, general manager Mike Elias stated that Mateo was unlikely to be ready by Opening Day, but the player himself is now feeling a bit more optimistic. “I think we’re going to make it,” he said this week to Jacob Calvin Meyer of The Baltimore Sun. That could be a key development for the O’s since shortstop Gunnar Henderson is battling an intercostal strain and it’s unclear if he’ll be ready for Opening Day himself. Even if Henderson is good to go, having Mateo on the roster next to him would give the club a bit more cover at the position.
  • Royals right-hander Carlos Estévez signed a two-year, $22MM deal with the Royals about six weeks ago but still hasn’t made his spring training debut with his new club. The reliever has been battling some back tightness which has put him a bit behind schedule. Manager Matt Quatraro today provided a positive update to Anne Rogers of MLB.com, saying that Estévez threw live batting practice yesterday, which went “really well.” That puts him in line to make his Cactus League debut on Friday. With about two weeks until Opening Day, Estévez should be able to avoid the injured list if he doesn’t hit any setbacks between now and then.

Reds Return Rule 5 Selection Cooper Bowman To Athletics

By | at

The Reds have returned Rule 5 draft selection Cooper Bowman to the Athletics, per announcements from both clubs. Cincinnati’s 40-man roster count drops to 39. Bowman does not need to go onto the 40-man roster with the A’s.

Bowman, 25, was initially drafted by the Yankees but was one of four players who came to the A’s via the August 2022 trade that sent Frankie Montas and Lou Trivino to the Bronx. After that deal, he posted some decent Double-A numbers but struggled in his first taste of Triple-A.

He appeared in 152 minor league games from the start of 2023 through July 28 of 2024, mostly at Double-A but with four Complex League games in there as well. In his 705 plate appearances during that stretch, he walked at an 11.8% clip and kept his strikeouts down to a decent 20.9% pace. His combined .272/.369/.450 batting line led to a 125 wRC+. He also stole 73 bases in 81 tries and lined up defensively mostly at second base but with stints at third base, shortstop and center field.

He was promoted to Triple-A for the final few weeks of the 2024 season and struggled, hitting just .218/.284/.308 in a 38-game sample. But with the speed, defensive versatility and the decent offense at Double-A, the Reds perhaps saw enough for Bowman to carve out a utility role at the big league level, so they nabbed him in the Rule 5 draft.

That gave him a chance to break camp and make his major league debut but Bowman hit .120/.267/.120 in his 30 plate appearances this spring. That’s a small sample size but was apparently enough for the Reds to change course. Per Rule 5 regulations, the Reds would have had to keep Bowman on the big league roster all year or else put him on waivers. Any claiming club would have been bound by the same rules as the Reds, so it appears no other club was willing to give him a 40-man spot. Bowman will instead return to the A’s and give them some extra non-roster depth.

Blue Jays Re-Sign Dillon Tate

By | at

March 12: The Jays officially announced their signing of Tate today. Bastardo was transferred to the 60-day IL as the corresponding move. Shi Davidi and Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet report report that Tate’s deal is a split contract that pays him at a $1.4MM rate in the majors and includes bonuses of $50K for reaching 45 and 50 games pitched.

Since Tate is on a split deal and has a minor league option remaining, he can be sent to Triple-A Buffalo without first needing to clear waivers — at least for the time being. He’s at 4.144 years of major league service, placing him just 28 days away from the five-year mark. Once players reach five years of MLB service time, they can’t be optioned without their consent.

March 10: The Blue Jays and right-hander Dillon Tate have agreed to a major league deal, pending a physical, reports Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet. The details of the deal for the CAA Sports client have not yet been publicly reported. The Jays will have to open a 40-man roster spot but could easily do so by moving Alek Manoah or Angel Bastardo, who both had Tommy John surgery last June, to the 60-day injured list.

Tate, 31 in May, was with Toronto briefly at the end of last year. The Jays claimed him off waivers from the Orioles on the first day of September. They optioned him to Triple-A, recalling him to the majors on September 18. He made four appearances with the big league club as the season was winding down. The Jays could have retained him via arbitration, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting a $1.9MM salary, but the club non-tendered him instead.

Prior to that brief stint with the Jays, Tate’s journey had many ups and downs. One of the top names going into the 2015 draft, the Rangers took him with the fourth overall pick. Initially a top prospect, his stock wobbled a bit with some health woes. The Rangers flipped him to the Yankees in the August 2016 trade that sent Carlos Beltrán to Texas. He posted some decent numbers in the Yankees’ system but also missed time with shoulder troubles. He was then traded to the Orioles as part of the July 2018 trade that sent Zack Britton to the Yankees.

Tate was with the Orioles for the six-plus years from that Britton trade to being claimed off waivers by the Jays. Though he had been a starting pitching prospect, the O’s moved him to a relief role, perhaps in response to the injuries he had already been battling. Since then, he has occasionally shown flashes of potential as a reliever but the health woes have continued to get in the way.

From 2019 to 2022, Tate logged 179 innings out of the Baltimore bullpen. His 19.4% strikeout rate in that time was subpar but he limited walks to a 7.2% rate and also got ground balls at an excellent 58.1% clip. Among pitchers with at least 170 innings in that time frame, only Clay Holmes, Framber Valdez, Richard Bleier and Josh Fleming kept the ball on the ground at a better rate.

However, a forearm/flexor strain kept Tate on the IL for the entire 2023 season. He returned to the mound last season with his results backing up a bit. He tossed 36 2/3 innings between the orange and blue birds, with a 4.66 ERA. His strikeout rate and ground ball rate fell to 16.5% and 49.6% respectively. His fastball velocity, which averaged as high as 95.5 miles per hour in 2021, was down to just 92.6 mph last year.

Amid those struggles, both the Orioles and Jays sent him to the minors at times. He had better results down there, tossing 21 2/3 Triple-A innings with a 2.08 ERA, 23% strikeout rate and 4.6% walk rate, though his 41.4% ground ball rate still wasn’t up to his usual standards.

For the Jays, it’s a fairly low-risk deal. The cost hasn’t yet been reported but is likely something barely above the league minimum and might even be a split deal of some kind. Tate still has an option remaining, so he can be kept in Triple-A as bullpen depth, at least for a little while. His service time count is at four years and 144 days. That puts him 28 days shy of the five-year mark, at which point he would have the right to refuse an optional assignment.

The Toronto bullpen may be taking a hit this spring, with Erik Swanson getting tested for some elbow discomfort. Assuming Swanson starts the season on the IL, the Jays project to have a bullpen core of Jeff Hoffman, Yimi García, Chad Green and Nick Sandlin, leaving four spots potentially available. It’s possible that Yariel Rodríguez could end up in a relief role if Bowden Francis takes the final rotation spot. The Jays likely want a lefty in there, which could be Brendon Little, Josh Walker or Easton Lucas. Guys like Tommy Nance, Zach Pop and Ryan Burr are out of options, though Burr has been delayed by a shoulder injury.

Nick Robertson is also on the 40-man but has options. Adding Tate to the roster gives the Jays another optionable righty for the time being. His past prospect pedigree and strong big league results from 2019-22 give him a bit more intrigue than many optionable depth arms. If Tate can stick on the roster all year, he will be shy of six years of service, meaning the Jays could then retain him for 2026 via arbitration.

Dodgers Sign Dave Roberts To Four-Year Extension

By | at

The Dodgers announced the signing of manager Dave Roberts to a four-year extension that covers the 2026-29 seasons. The team did not confirm salary figures, but Roberts will reportedly be paid $32.4MM — an average annual value of $8.1MM. That surpasses the $8MM AAV on Craig Counsell’s five-year, $40MM deal with the Cubs.

The news doesn’t come as a shock. Clubs generally don’t like to have skippers in “lame duck” position, that is, managing on a deal that is about to expire. Reporting throughout the winter has suggested the Dodgers and Roberts were likely to work out a new deal prior to the start of the 2025 season. It was reported on Thursday that the two sides were making progress on a deal that would see Roberts surpass Counsell’s AAV. On Friday, Roberts referred to the talks as being on “the one-yard line”, per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic.

Roberts has been at the helm for the Dodgers since November of 2015. The club was already in good overall position at that time, having just won three straight division titles under manager Don Mattingly, but with three straight deflating postseason losses. They lost the NLCS to the Cardinals in 2013 and then suffered quick NLDS defeats in the next two seasons.

Under Roberts, the regular season success has continued and the postseason record improved. They made it to the NLCS in the first season and the World Series in his second and third campaigns. The club lost the 2017 World Series to the Astros and the 2018 series to the Red Sox, both asterisk-marked campaigns for those winning clubs. The Dodgers suffered a quick NLDS exit in 2019 but hoisted the trophy in the shortened 2020 season. The next three seasons saw the club eliminated before the World Series, but they won it all again in 2024, getting Roberts his second ring in five years.

Roberts currently sports a managerial record of 851-506 in the regular season and 56-44 in the postseason, with the Dodgers getting to the playoffs in each season with him at the helm. Roberts has had some loaded rosters to work with but appears to be well-liked by players and other Dodger personnel.

Counsell left the Brewers after the 2023 season with the reported goal of improving the earning power of managers. Joe Torre had been able to secure an $8MM salary in his days with the Yankees but skipper salaries had seemingly stalled. Reportedly, Terry Francona was the highest-paid manager in 2023 with a $4.5MM salary. Counsell managed to get a five-year, $40MM deal from the Cubs, an AAV of $8MM. That seemingly set a baseline foundation, with Roberts able to negotiate his way just over that line. Earlier in the winter, Roberts said he was hopeful of getting a new deal done but wanted “to feel (his) value.”

Jon Heyman of The New York Post first reported that Roberts and the Dodgers had agreed to a new four-year deal worth slightly more than $8MM annually. Bob Nightengale of USA Today first reported that the deal would start in 2026. Joel Sherman of The New York Post reported the $32.4MM total.

2025 Trade Deadline To Be On July 31

By | at

The 2025 trade deadline will be on Thursday, July 31st at 6pm Eastern/5pm Central. Joel Sherman of The New York Post was among those to relay the decision. That’s a slight change from last year’s deadline, which was July 30.

Traditionally, the trade deadline had always been on July 31. Under the current collective bargaining agreement, the commissioner can choose a date between July 28 and August 3 for the deadline. This is mostly so that the league can avoid having the deadline occur when games are going on and players have to be removed in a “hug watch” scenario. If the deadline were to fall on a weekend, when there are many games all throughout the day, the chances of a player being dealt during an ongoing game would be higher.

The league has usually opted for a weekday with a lighter schedule. It was on August 1st in 2023 and July 30 last year, both of those dates being Tuesdays. This year, as mentioned, July 31st is a Thursday. There are only three games on the schedule for that date.

Matt Shaw Makes Cubs’ Tokyo Travel Roster

By | at

Cubs manager Craig Counsell informed reporters, including Patrick Mooney of The Athletic, that infielder Matt Shaw will be on the club’s travel roster for next week’s Tokyo Series. That doesn’t necessarily mean that he will be making his major league debut in Japan but it means the possibility remains on the table. The club won’t make its final roster decisions until closer to the games, which take place on March 18th and 19th.

Throughout the winter, it has seemed like a distinct possibility for the 23-year-old Shaw to nab the Cubs’ third base job, even though he’s not on the 40-man roster and has no major league experience. He was just drafted in the summer of 2023 but has hit .303/.384/.522 in his 693 minor league plate appearances thus far. He spent most of last year in Double-A but finished his season with 35 Triple-A contests, hitting .298/.395/.534 in those.

The Cubs opened up a path to playing time for him by trading Isaac Paredes to the Astros in the Kyle Tucker deal, leaving the club without an obvious solution at the hot corner. Shaw has played the three infield positions to the left of first base but more at third than second or short.

More recently, there’s been an argument for pumping the brakes a bit. Shaw was slowed at the start of camp by an oblique issue and has been a bit behind schedule. He is in the lineup for today’s Cactus League game, which will be just his sixth spring contest.

The Cubs could have opted to leave Shaw behind for more reps, as opposed to undergoing the travel and time zone adjustments necessary to participate in the Tokyo Series. That’s the plan for second baseman Nico Hoerner, who is working his way back from flexor tendon surgery. Rather than travel all the way to Tokyo for a couple of exhibition games and the two games against the Dodgers, he plans to stay in camp and get regular reps, with his focus on being ready for domestic Opening Day.

The Cubs could have taken a similar tack with Shaw but it appears they will chart a different course. Shaw seems to be a bit ahead of Hoerner in terms of game readiness. Hoerner has been doing some batting practice and other such activities but hasn’t officially taken part in a game yet.

Travelling with the club to Tokyo doesn’t guarantee that Shaw will be added to the 40-man or active roster, as the Cubs and Dodgers will be travelling with 31 players each. Only 26 of those will be on the active roster, but it allows each club to have a bit of insurance in case an injury pops up while overseas. The club has Jon Berti, Justin Turner, Gage Workman and Vidal Bruján on the roster, with some combination of those guys capable of covering second and third for a couple of games without Hoerner or Shaw.

Still, the Cubs wouldn’t drag Shaw to Tokyo if there wasn’t a real chance of him getting to play. If he is to be added, the club would need to make space on the 40-man. If Shaw is added and spends enough time in the majors to earn a full service year in 2025, the Cubs would be in position to potentially earn an extra draft pick. Shaw is a consensus top 100 prospect and would therefore be eligible for the prospect promotion incentive if he is able to earn that full service year. He would then net the Cubs an extra pick if he wins Rookie of the Year or finishes top three in MVP voting before qualifying for arbitration.

Cashman: Yankees Not Likely To Make External Rotation Addition

By | at

The Yankees have been hit hard by the injury bug this spring, particularly in the rotation. But general manager Brian Cashman downplayed the possibility of the club going outside the organization to get help, per Erik Boland of Newsday and Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. Cashman said that “very little” is available on the pitching market at this time of year and that the Yanks will “rely on what we have.” While he did say they would explore other options, he admitted that tax penalties make it “less likely” they go with an external addition.

At this point, the rotation challenges are well known. The club lost their ace for the entire season and perhaps some of next year, with Gerrit Cole undergoing Tommy John surgery today. Luis Gil, last year’s Rookie of the Year, has a lat strain that could keep him out for roughly three months. Even deeper down the depth chart, JT Brubaker is out with broken ribs while prospect Chase Hampton also required Tommy John surgery.

That leaves the Yanks with a rotation of Max Fried, Carlos Rodón, Clarke Schmidt and Marcus Stroman. Candidates for a fifth spot include Will Warren, Yoendrys Gómez and Brent Headrick, as well as non-roster invitees like Carlos Carrasco and Allan Winans. That could still be a solid rotation but it’s obviously less imposing without Cole or Gil. Cashman admits that the club “can’t afford to take too many more” injury hits.

That has led to speculation about how the club will respond. Free agency still features guys like Kyle Gibson, Lance Lynn, Spencer Turnbull and others. Guys like Dylan Cease, Jordan Montgomery, Taijuan Walker or Sandy Alcántara might be attainable via trade.

Cashman’s comments suggest he isn’t going to make a move just for the sake of doing one. It’s possible these comments were made for posturing purposes, as he wouldn’t be helping his bargaining position by admitting he’s desperate to bring in another arm.

However, it does seem as though the Yankees hit their spending limit. They were an on-paper fit for adding an infielder and were connected to guys like Jorge Polanco and Brendan Rodgers. Polanco landed with the Mariners on a modest $7.75MM guarantee while Rodgers settled for a minor league deal with the Astros. The Yankees were connected to various relievers this winter but invested very little in their bullpen. They added Devin Williams in a fairly cash-neutral deal that sent Nestor Cortes to the Brewers. They sent Jose Trevino to the Reds for Fernando Cruz, a deal that saved them money. They made modest one-year investments in Jonathan Loáisiga and Tim Hill.

RosterResource has the club’s payroll at $285MM and their competitive balance tax figure at $305MM. They finished 2024 at $303MM and $313MM in those categories respectively, but likely want to save some wiggle room for in-season additions. As Cashman alluded to, the club faces a high tax bill. As third-time payors above the $301MM top threshold of the CBT, they face a 110% tax on anything they add.

The pitching market has softened from earlier in the winter. Guys like Andrew Heaney and Jose Quintana have recently signed deals in the $4-6MM range, well below the expectations from the start of the offseason. But for the Yankees, giving someone like Gibson a hypothetical $5MM deal would actually cost them more than $10MM, when factoring in the taxes.

There’s also the question of what kind of performance can be expected out of a guy signing this late. Both Montgomery and Blake Snell signed well into spring last year and both struggled out of the gate. Snell got back on track in the second half but Montgomery never did, finishing the year with a 6.23 earned run average. Trading for a pitcher who is stretched out in some other club’s camp wouldn’t come with that concern but each of Cease, Montgomery, Walker and Alcántara have eight-figure salaries for the upcoming year, meaning the CBT hit would be even greater than the available free agent options.

It all makes for a tricky situation as the Yankees approach the start of the season. The rotation has clearly been hit and isn’t in an ideal place. Upgrades are justifiable on paper but Cashman can’t do much if ownership won’t extend his budget.

Nick Senzel Signs With Mexican League’s Tecolotes De Los Dos Laredos

By | at

Infielder/outfielder Nick Senzel has signed with the Tecolotes De Los Dos Laredos of the Mexican League, reports Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase. Senzel is represented by the Boras Corporation.

Senzel, 30 in June, was once a notable prospect but he wasn’t able to take advantage of his major league opportunities. The Reds selected him with the second overall pick in the 2016 draft and he posted huge numbers in the minors, slashing .314/.390/.513 over the 2016-18 seasons. Baseball America ranked him as Cincinnati’s top prospect and one of the ten best league-wide from 2017 to 2019.

That got him plenty of big league chances, which he never was able to capitalize on. The Reds gave him fairly regular playing time from 2019 through 2023. Injuries limited him to just 23 games in 2020 and 36 in 2021 but he got into at least 104 contests in the other three seasons of that stretch.

By the end of the 2023 campaign, he had 1,366 big league plate appearances but just 33 home runs, a 7.6% walk rate and a .239/.302/.369 slash line. His 76 wRC+ in that span indicates he was 24% worse than league average on the whole. An infielder as a prospect, the Reds had moved him around and given him some outfield time to improve his versatility, but it didn’t matter much with that lackluster offensive performance and he didn’t get strong defensive grades anywhere either.

Going into 2024, the Reds moved on. They declined to tender him a contract for that season, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting a $3MM salary, sending Senzel to free agency instead. He signed a $2MM deal with the Nationals with the plan of Senzel taking over as the everyday third baseman in Washington.

Unfortunately, he broke his thumb prior to the game on Opening Day and missed the first couple of weeks. He returned in mid-April and then slashed .209/.303/.359 in 64 games as a Nat. He was designated for assignment in early July. He then signed with the White Sox but hit just .100/.129/.133 in ten games for them. He was designated for assignment and back in free agency before the end of August. He remained unsigned until now.

It seems as though Senzel didn’t get a major league offer from any club, which isn’t surprising based on his numbers. He’ll instead head to Mexico to join the Tecolotes and see if he can turn things around. Based on his past prospect pedigree, teams will surely keep an eye on him to see if his results improve. If that comes to pass, perhaps he could return to affiliated ball down the line.

Cubs, Orioles Exploring Rotation Additions

By | at

There are still several starting pitchers available in free agency and it’s possible that mounting injuries could help create new opportunities for them. Ken Rosenthal and Patrick Mooney of The Athletic report that the Cubs and Orioles are two clubs exploring rotation additions. The Cubs reportedly had some talks with Andrew Heaney before he signed with the Pirates and are currently keeping tabs on Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn.

The Cubs don’t have a major health concern in their rotation at the moment. Javier Assad has been slowed by some oblique soreness and is trending towards starting the season on the injured list, but it doesn’t seem like he’ll be out for an especially long time. The club’s projected top four of Justin Steele, Shota Imanaga, Matthew Boyd and Jameson Taillon are healthy. With Assad out, Colin Rea could perhaps take the fifth spot for a while. Or if he’s in a long relief role, guys like Ben Brown, Jordan Wicks, Caleb Kilian or Cody Poteet could step up, though all the guys in that group have options and could also be in the Triple-A rotation.

However, Rosenthal notes that the Cubs are facing an unusual spring. They have been ramping up a bit earlier than usual in anticipation of going to Japan soon. As part of the Tokyo Series, they will play a couple of exhibition games against Japanese clubs on March 15th and 16th, before playing regular season games against the Dodgers on March 18th and 19th. The Cubs are seemingly aware that some hiccups could arise with the unique schedule and are keeping the phone lines open.

At this part of the calendar, the market isn’t especially kind to players. The aforementioned Heaney signed with the Pirates a few weeks ago, a one-year deal with a guarantee of just $5.25MM. About a week ago, Jose Quintana signed with the Brewers for a $4.25MM guarantee. Coming into the winter, MLBTR predicted Heaney and Quintana to get two-year deals worth $24MM and $20MM respectively. Many pitchers outearned expectations earlier in the offseason but the market has clearly fallen off more recently.

A few months ago, Gibson and Lynn seemed like possibilities for eight-figure guarantees on one-year deals. But the fact that they have lingered unsigned while the market has softened means they are likely going to have to adjust their expectations if they want to sign. Rosenthal reports that unsigned pitchers are being asked to sign advanced consent forms, which allow clubs to terminate a contract within 45 days for any reason except injury and only have to pay the player for the time he spent on the roster. That’s obviously not ideal from a player’s perspective and it would only be signed if such a player had very little leverage.

Lynn, 38 in May, has a lengthy track record but isn’t riding a high tide of momentum at the moment. He posted a 5.73 earned run average in 2023, the worst of his career. He still was able to a secure a one-year, $11MM deal from the Cardinals and bounced back somewhat with a 3.84 ERA in 2024, but there were also some flags. He twice went on the injured list due to inflammation in his right knee, the same knee that had required surgical repair in 2022. Those IL stints limited him to 117 1/3 innings last year. While the ERA bounced back, his strikeout rate and velocity dropped.

Gibson, 37, is one of the steadiest pitchers in the league but lacks upside. He has logged at least 147 1/3 innings in each of the past ten major league seasons. However, he only posted an ERA below 4.20 in three of those. His 4.24 ERA last year was his best of the past three seasons.

Perhaps neither are as exciting as the aforementioned optionable pitchers that the Cubs have on hand, but they certainly have more experience. Between Brown, Wicks, Kilian and Poteet, there’s no one with even 85 big league innings.

For the Orioles, Rosenthal doesn’t specifically connect them to Gibson or Lynn, but it’s understandable that they would be keeping tabs on the market generally. Grayson Rodriguez has some elbow inflammation and is still getting some testing done but will start the season on the IL regardless. That leaves the O’s with a projected rotation of Zach Eflin, Charlie Morton, Tomoyuki Sugano and Dean Kremer. Manager Brandon Hyde has suggested the final spot is likely down to Albert Suárez or Cade Povich.

Suárez is a journeyman who spent many years in Asia before returning to North American ball last year. He pitched in a swing role for the O’s in 2024 and logged a 3.70 ERA. Povich went into 2024 as a notable prospect but had a 5.20 ERA in his first 16 big league starts. Adding a veteran starter could allow the club to keep Suárez in a long relief role and bump Povich to the Triple-A rotation, while also adding depth to hedge against future injuries.

Signing at this part of the season does come with some perceived risk, however. As noted by Rosenthal, both Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery signed late last winter and the initial results were poor with both. Snell signed with the Giants in mid-March, then had a couple of IL stints in the first half. He eventually finished strong but was sitting on a 9.51 ERA when he returned from his second IL stint in July. Montgomery didn’t officially sign with the Diamondback until late March and never got on track, finishing the year with a 6.23 ERA over 117 innings.

The Cubs and Orioles are surely not the only clubs sniffing around the available starting pitchers. The Yankees will be without Luis Gil for months due to a lat strain and are facing the possibility of Gerrit Cole requiring Tommy John surgery. The Mariners are going to put George Kirby on the IL to start the year due to some shoulder inflammation. Other injuries will inevitably arise and lengthen that list.

For clubs looking to free agency, they will have to consider whether its worth the money to sign one of these vets and quickly ramp them up, as opposed to going with in-house options. Rosenthal notes that both Gibson and Lynn have been throwing in an attempt to be somewhat ready, though they would surely still need some game action somewhere to truly get in form. Other free agents of note include Patrick Corbin and Spencer Turnbull. Guys like Jordan Montgomery or Taijuan Walker may be available on the trade market.

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top