Jacob Nottingham Undergoes Thumb Procedure
Brewers backstop Jacob Nottingham has undergone surgery on the radial collateral ligament of his left thumb, MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy tweets. The procedure is said to have gone as anticipated.
Nottingham, who was injured during the postseason, will have just over two months to heal up before camp opens. The hope is that he’ll be a full go at or near the start of Spring Training.
This malady likely won’t have a big impact on the Brewers’ plans, particularly given the promising prognosis. If anything, it could nudge the organization to gather up a bit more catching depth.
Nottingham, 25, hit for enough power (.458 slugging percentage) to make up for a miserly .278 OBP in a twenty-game stretch with the Milwaukee organization in 2020. He stepped into the MLB fold after Manny Pina went down with an injury.
The Brewers ultimately elected to tender Pina a contract, making him the odds-on favorite to serve as the #2 backstop. Presumptive starter Omar Narvaez scuffled with the bat in his first season with the club, but seems sure to get a chance to redeem himself.
That leaves the out-of-options Nottingham with a need to make an impression in camp. If he shows well enough, and/or there are cracks in the Narvaez/Pina pairing, the Brewers could carry three backstops. If not, Nottingham may end up being dangled in trade or placed on the waiver wire.
Latest On Jason Castro
Free agent Jason Castro was recently rumored to be holding serious talks with the Astros, but a week has passed without a reported deal. It now seems that a Houston reunion is just one of several possibilities for the veteran backstop.
It remains possible that Castro will sign on for a seventh season with the ‘Stros, Robert Murray of Fansided reports on Twitter. But the re-connection “isn’t as certain as once thought,” per the tweet, with other suitors evidently circling.
Even in a slow-moving marketplace, situations can change quickly. The Cubs now have use for a part-time, left-handed-hitting receiver after dealing away Victor Caratini (with more turnover behind the dish still quite possible). And indeed the Chicago organization has “shown interest” in Castro, according to Patrick Mooney of The Athletic.
It isn’t known whether any other clubs are targeting Castro at the moment, though it’s not hard to imagine wider interest. He’s obviously not the top target on the catching market, but is a solid defensive performer who’d theoretically fit in a lot of places as a platoon piece.
While Castro has turned in middling hitting performances in two of the past three seasons, he was limited in both cases to less than a hundred plate appearances (due to injury in 2018 and pandemic in 2020). In his last full campaign, in 2019, Castro turned in a sturdy .232/.332/.435 batting output in 275 plate appearances. He’s a lifetime .242/.328/.421 producer against right-handed pitching.
Zaidi On Giants’ Pitching Plans
While they’ve already done a fair bit of heavy lifting in the pitching arena, the Giants may not be done yet. President of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi told reporters, including Alex Pavlovic of NBC News Bay Area (Twitter link) and Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic (via Twitter), that the team is still looking for arms.
The rotation just picked up a new piece when the club inked Anthony DeSclafani to a single-season pact. He’ll join Kevin Gausman, who made good on his own one-year deal with the Giants and ultimately elected to accept the qualifying offer extended by the club.
Despite those additions, Zaidi says the Giants still “have room to add another guy” to the starting staff. That’s not exactly surprising, as the rest of the unit comes with questions. Diminished veteran Johnny Cueto will take one spot, while Connor Menez, Logan Webb, and Shaun Anderson are the current 40-man options to fill out the staff. Tyler Beede could challenge for a role, but he’ll first need to polish off his Tommy John rehab.
It’s certainly possible that the Giants could still pursue a significant player to buttress the rotation. The organization is said to have kicked around the idea of pursuing top available free agent Trevor Bauer. The market still contains a variety of hurlers with differing profiles and there are some interesting trade possibilities as well.
In the bullpen, it seems there’s less reason to wonder about a big strike — at least on the right-handed side. Having already plugged in one piece with Matt Wisler, Zaidi suggests the Giants will primarily be looking for value opportunities. The right-handed relief market is “probably an area where we seek to be more creative and out of the box,” he says.
Royals To Re-Sign Jeison Guzman
The Royals have agreed to terms on a minor-league deal with infielder Jeison Guzman, per MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez (Twitter link). He had recently been non-tendered but will re-join the Kansas City organization.
Guzman only recently reached his 22nd birthday and hasn’t yet appeared above the Class A level. He was originally added to the 40-man roster in advance of the 2019 Rule 5 draft.
While the switch-hitting middle-infielder hasn’t yet conquered low-minors pitching, he’s considered a slick fielder and did get a chance to develop at the Royals’ alternate training site during the 2020 campaign. Despite a brief call-up to the active roster in August, he did not see any big-league action.
Guzman joins several other players in returning to the Royals after being dropped from the big league roster.
Brewers To Sign Luis Perdomo
The Brewers have a deal in place with righty Luis Perdomo, according to MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez (via Twitter). It’s a minor-league arrangement.
The 27-year-old Perdomo had been cut loose recently by the Padres. He’s expected to miss all of the upcoming campaign while recovering from Tommy John surgery.
It isn’t clear just yet whether the accord has any special provisions (such as an option) for future seasons. If nothing else, Perdomo will be eligible for arbitration once again at season’s end, so the Brewers could decide to add him to their 40-man roster and tender him a contract if his rehab progresses well.
If he can fully recover from his elbow woes, Perdomo will be looking for a chance to prove that he can deliver consistent results at the MLB level. He has a standout, mid-nineties sinker that reliably produces gaudy groundball numbers, but owns only a 5.19 ERA in his 444 1/3 career frames at the game’s highest level.
East Notes: Mets, Jays, O’s, Nats
The Mets are interested in righty reliever Liam Hendriks, arguably the No. 1 bullpen arm available on the open market, per Andy Martino of SNY. He’d be the second major relief addition this offseason for the Mets, who signed Trevor May to a two-year, $15.5MM guarantee last week. Hendriks, previously with the Athletics, was perhaps the most dominant reliever in baseball during the previous two seasons. In that 108 1/3-inning stretch, the 31-year-old logged a matching 1.66 ERA/FIP, notched 13.21 K/9 against 1.83 BB/9, and recorded 39 saves in 47 opportunities. While the New York club has some level of interest in cross-town star D.J. LeMahieu, David Lennon of Newsday writes, it’s more on the “periphery” in that pursuit at the moment.
More from the eastern divisions:
- The aforementioned Hendriks and fellow free-agent reliever Brad Hand “are believed to be” on the Blue Jays’ radar, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet writes (their interest in Hand was previously reported). Either pitcher would further strengthen a Toronto bullpen that finished 24th in the majors in ERA and 28th in K/BB ratio last season. It seems the Toronto organization is still casting rather a wide net in its free agent search. Gregor Chisholm of the Toronto Star recently linked the team to a number of big names at a variety of positions.
- Orioles general manager Mike Elias said Tuesday that the team is unlikely to give out any multiyear contracts in free agency (Twitter links via Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com and Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun). However, Elias acknowledged the Orioles are hunting for a new shortstop after trading Jose Iglesias to the Angels last week. Elsewhere, Elias said the Orioles plan to keep righty Alex Cobb, who has one year and $15MM left on his contract. Cobb had a decent year in 2020 (4.30 ERA/4.87 FIP in 52 1/3 innings), though he may be a tough sell at his current salary.
- Sticking with the Orioles, beleaguered first baseman Chris Davis revealed Wednesday (via Melo) that he has no plans to hang up his cleats at this point. “I don’t want it to end the way that things have gone the last few years for me. I think there’s more of a story to be told but as far as my contract is concerned, it is what it is,” said Davis. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m not giving up. I’m not throwing in the towel. I understand the club is in a position right now to where they’re trying to cut payroll, and I’m the one big lump that they’re kind of stuck with. But they knew what they were signing up for when they took the job.” Davis’s seven-year, $161MM contract has been an unmitigated disaster for the Orioles, but he’s certainly not obligated to walk away from the remaining two seasons even if the club would prefer it. The 34-year-old is coming off a third-straight woeful season. Davis took just 55 plate appearances, failed to hit a home run and posted a brutal minus-14 wRC+.
- Moving south on 95, the Nationals have a need for just the sort of player Davis once was. The D.C. organization put in an effort to lure Carlos Santana before he latched on with the Royals, Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post reports on Twitter. Missing on the veteran slugger makes it likelier that the Nats will end up putting together some kind of timeshare at first, as there isn’t a clear everyday alternative available in free agency. It also keeps the door open to a return for Nationals stalwart Ryan Zimmerman, whose intentions remain unknown.
Latest On Cardinals’ Talks With Molina, Wainwright
It feels odd even to contemplate different uniforms for longtime Cardinals Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright, but it’s far from certain either or both will remain in St. Louis. Mark Saxon of The Athletic provides an update on the state of ongoing talks between the club and these grizzled veterans.
While both players are pushing forty, each has clear appeal on the market. Molina is considered a master of his craft behind the dish and remains a palatable hitter, even if he’s unlikely to turn in any more average-or-better seasons with the bat. And Wainwright has racked up 237 1/3 innings of 3.91 ERA pitching dating back to the start of the 2019 season. Both players rank among MLBTR’s top 50 free agents.
It’s no surprise that the Cards maintain strong interest in retaining both players, neither of whom has donned the threads of another MLB franchise. But it’s equally predictable to learn that, per Saxon, the club is letting the market develop rather than rushing to re-ink Molina and Wainwright.
The Cardinals’ payroll predicament left it unlikely to jump to meet the demands of Molina, who’s said to be hoping for a multi-year deal while “seeking at least a one-year, $10 million deal with a 2022 option.” That’d eat up a big chunk of the available spending for the club, though president of baseball operations John Mozeliak did make clear that he’d pursue an alternative backstop if Yadi heads elsewhere.
In the case of Molina, Saxon writes that early talks didn’t gain much traction. Molina’s camp viewed an initial offer from the Cards as an attempt to lowball the veteran.
Wainwright doesn’t seem to have held many substantial discussions at all, with the Cardinals or other organizations. He says that he has yet to receive any firm numbers from suitors. Wainwright’s contract situation is at least more straightforward than that of Molina, as he could slot into just about any rotation and is said to be seeking only a single-season contract.
NC Dinos Post Sung-Bum Na
The NC Dinos have officially posted slugger Sung-Bum Na, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets. Thus begins a thirty-day period during which big league teams can attempt to work out an agreement with the Korean star.
Na’s posting was already well-publicized, but it took a week for everything to be finalized. He is represented by super-agent Scott Boras. Any club that inks Na will also owe a transfer fee to the Dinos.
It remains to be seen just how interested MLB clubs will be in obtaining Na’s services. There’s little doubt he’s a monster in Korea’s top league, but questions remain whether he can thrive at the plate against the best pitching in the world.
Na, 31, would surely have been a more appealing target had he not suffered a catastrophic knee injury in 2019. That not only prevented him from attempting the transition one season sooner, but left him with a somewhat less compelling defensive and baserunning skill profile.
Domingo Santana To Sign With Japan’s Yakult Swallows
Slugger Domingo Santana is crossing the Pacific for the 2021 season, according to a report from MLB.com’s Jon Morosi (via Twitter). The veteran outfielder is said to have agreed to a contract with Japan’s Yakult Swallows, the details of which remain unknown at this time.
Santana, 28, returned to the open market recently when the Indians declined a club option. He’ll now hope for a resurgence in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top level of play outside of North America.
While he has generally been a productive hitter in the majors, Santana hasn’t always done quite enough damage to make up for his defensive limitations. At his best — in 2017 with the Brewers — he swatted thirty long balls and turned in a full season of 126 wRC+ hitting, making it easy to overlook the questionable work in the outfield grass. At his work — in 2020 with the Indians — a rough offensive stretch left Santana a below-replacement-level performer.
It’s not difficult to imagine a prodigious offensive output from Santana in Japan. He’s still rather young and has typically reached base at a solid enough clip to tamp down any worries with his usually hefty strikeout tally.
Angels Non-Tender Hansel Robles, 4 Others
The Angels have elected not to tender contracts to five players, as Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reported on Twitter and the club has since announced. Former closer Hansel Robles is the biggest name of the bunch.
Beyond Robles, the Halos dropped a bevy of other hurlers. Southpaw Hoby Milner joins righties Justin Anderson, Matt Andriese, and Keynan Middleton on their way out the door. (Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times had the first word on Middleton.)
The 30-year-old Robles had provided the Angels with a lot of good innings since arriving in the middle of the 2019 season, but things fell apart in 2020. In his 18 appearances, Robles surrendered 19 earned runs while carrying a 20:10 K/BB ratio and coughing up four long balls.
Middleton, 27, also closed out some games for the Angels earlier in his career. He once seemed like a potential bullpen stalwart, but injuries limited him quite a bit in recent seasons. In the just-completed campaign, he showed that he still has the physical capability of throwing a high-velo, high-spin heater but gave up seven earned runs in a dozen innings of work.
Both Milner and Andriese had their share of opportunities this past season, but didn’t deliver the desired results. The former has still not reached arbitration eligibility, while the latter had projected to earn a reasonably substantial salary. Anderson underwent Tommy John surgery in the middle of the 2020 campaign, so this move came as little surprise.