Mark Polishuk | MLB Trade Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors Podcast: Mariners To Spend? Tigers To Contend? And Managerial Vacancies

By Mark Polishuk | October 4, 2023 at 9:54am CDT

The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Mark Polishuk is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

The start of the playoffs, with Mark and Anthony making their World Series predictions (1:20)
The Mariners fell just shy of the postseason, so how will the team reload in the winter to address several problem areas on the roster? And, could the M’s splurge on the biggest marquee signing of all in Shohei Ohtani? (3:18)
Eduardo Rodriguez’s opt-out clause is the biggest question mark facing the Tigers as their offseason begins, but could Detroit be relatively close to getting back into contention next year? (7:18)

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

How will the Dodgers address their pitching needs this offseason, and is J.D. Martinez a candidate to be re-signed after his strong year in Los Angeles? (14:05)
How does a manager impact a team’s ability to lure free agents, plus a broader look at the four current managerial vacancies with the Angels, Giants, Guardians, and Mets (22:12)

Check out our past episodes!

Free Agent Pitching Dark Horses, Padres To Cut Payroll, and If The Angels Should Rebuild — listen here
Front Office Changes in Boston and New York, and the New Rays Stadium Agreement — listen here
Free Agent Class Preview: Catcher and First Base, Germán Márquez Extension and the Dodgers’ Rotation — listen here

The Opener: Playoffs, Game 2 Starters, Padres

By Mark Polishuk | October 4, 2023 at 7:51am CDT

Three headlines from the baseball world, as the first round of the postseason could potentially end today…

1. AL Wild Card Series matchups

The Rays will turn to starter Zach Eflin to keep their season alive when Tampa Bay hosts the Rangers in Game 2 this afternoon. Signed to a three-year, $40MM deal this past offseason, Eflin delivered a very strong season, becoming a rock of stability within an injury-riddled Rays rotation. Texas will try to clinch the series with Nathan Eovaldi (a former Ray) on the mound, and Eovaldi will be looking to add to an impressive postseason resume. The winner of a World Series ring with the Red Sox in 2018, Eovaldi has a 3.14 ERA over 43 innings in 11 career playoff games.

In the other ALWC series, Jose Berrios and Sonny Gray are the starting pitchers for the Blue Jays and Twins. Berrios is a longtime former Twin who came to Toronto in a deal at the 2021 trade deadline, and he is now tasked with beating his ex-club in an elimination game. The Blue Jays’ inconsistent offense again surfaced in Game 1’s 3-1 loss, and things won’t get much easier for Toronto against Gray, who enjoyed arguably the best season of his 11-year career in 2023.

2. NL Wild Card Series matchups

The Diamondbacks can complete the upset over the Brewers with a victory in Game 2, with ace Zac Gallen taking the mound for his first career postseason game. Gallen and Merrill Kelly (scheduled to start a Game 3, if necessary) have carried an otherwise shaky D’Backs rotation throughout the season, and Milwaukee will now have to try to make the comeback against Arizona’s two best pitchers. The Brewers will counter with a big arm of their own in Freddy Peralta, but the lineup also needs to be better after stranding 11 baserunners in a 6-3 loss in Game 1.

Speaking of shaky offenses, the Marlins were one of the lower-scoring teams in baseball this season, and the bats weren’t there in a 4-1 loss to the Phillies in Game 1. Braxton Garrett will make his first career playoff start, looking to continue his good form after posting a 2.56 ERA over his last 11 regular-season starts (59 2/3 innings). Aaron Nola starts for the Phillies, and while Nola’s upcoming free agency will be one of the primary storylines of Philadelphia’s offseason, the Phils obviously hope their offseason is still a ways off.

3. Status quo in San Diego?

In the wake of a disappointing Padres season, there has been much speculation that either manager Bob Melvin or president of baseball operations A.J. Preller could be losing their jobs. However, team chairman Peter Seidler gave both men a vote of confidence on Monday, and Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that a “productive” meeting took place Monday between Melvin and Preller. There has yet to be a formal announcement from the team on either man’s status for 2024, and it is possible there might not be one if both Melvin and Preller are indeed staying. Acee writes that for now, it seems like both will be keeping their jobs.

Submit Your Questions For This Week’s MLB Trade Rumors Podcast!

By Mark Polishuk | October 2, 2023 at 9:44pm CDT

On the MLB Trade Rumors podcast, we’ll frequently answer questions from by our readers and listeners. With the next episode set for Wednesday, we’re looking for MLBTR’s audience to submit their questions and we’ll pick a few to answer.

Whether it’s a question about the postseason, discussing a past transaction, or a forward-looking question to the offseason trade and free agent markets — we’d love to hear from you! You can send your questions to mlbtrpod@gmail.com.

Also, if you want to hear your voice on the podcast, send us your question in audio form and we might play it. iPhone users can find instructions on how to do so here.

In the meantime, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Ehire Adrianza Elects Free Agency

By Mark Polishuk | October 2, 2023 at 5:39pm CDT

TODAY: Adrianza has elected free agency, reports Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

OCTOBER 1: Adrianza cleared waivers and was outrighted off the 40-man roster, according to Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (X link). There isn’t yet any word on whether or not Adrianza has accepted the assignment.

SEPTEMBER 25: The Braves have reinstated Ehire Adrianza from the 60-day injured list and designated the infielder for assignment. Adrianza was initially placed on the 10-day IL due to elbow inflammation at the start of May, but then suffered a shoulder strain that has elongated his stay on the IL to almost the entire 2023 campaign.

Adrianza has only appeared in five MLB games during this lost season, though even that small amount of time on Atlanta’s active roster locked in a $1MM salary, as per the terms of the minor league contract he signed with the Braves last winter. Adrianza had previously been a part of the Braves’ championship team in 2021, and after signing a big league free agent deal with the Nationals during the 2021-22 offseason, was subsequently dealt back to Atlanta at the 2022 trade deadline.

After recovering from his injury, Adrianza returned to the field to play in 11 minor league rehab games in September, and thus the Braves had to a make decision about his roster status. Today’s transaction indicates that Atlanta feels good about its 40-man roster as the playoffs loom, leaving Adrianza as the odd man out in DFA limbo. Chances are that Adrianza clears waivers and he has more than enough MLB service time to elect free agency in the event of an outright assignment. This means he might opt to get an early jump on the free agent market, or Adrianza could potentially also re-sign with the Braves on a new minor league deal, staying in the organization as an emergency option for a postseason roster spot in the event of injuries.

Known for his multi-positional versatility, Adrianza has appeared in each of the last 11 Major League seasons, playing 616 games with the Twins, Giants, Nationals, and Braves. The switch-hitter has mostly been a bench or part-time option throughout his career, with a slash line of .238/.308/.352 over 1550 plate appearances.

Erasmo Ramirez Clears Waivers

By Mark Polishuk | October 2, 2023 at 4:35pm CDT

TODAY: Erasmo Ramirez has cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment, the Rays announced. He will report to the team’s alternate training site in Sarasota, where he will be available in case he’s needed as an injury replacement for the postseason.

SATURDAY: The Rays announced that right-hander Erasmo Ramirez has been designated for assignment. Right-hander Cooper Criswell was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding transaction.

After first pitching for the Rays during the 2015-17 seasons, Ramirez made his return to Tampa when he signed a minor league deal with the club back in June. He has been on the MLB roster since the end of July, and has a 6.48 ERA over 33 1/3 innings and 15 appearances in a Rays uniform this season. This includes a tough outing yesterday, when Ramirez allowed six runs (four earned) over three innings in a long relief effort in the Rays’ 11-4 loss to the Blue Jays.

Ramirez’s numbers with the Rays aren’t much different than the 6.33 ERA he posted in 27 innings with the Nationals to begin the season, before Washington DFA’ed and then released the 33-year-old in June. It was just last year that Ramirez seemingly resurrected his career with a 2.92 ERA over 86 1/3 innings for the Nats, but the veteran now finds himself once more looking to turn a new page.

Ramirez will surely clear waivers and might end up being released again, since it didn’t seem like he was going to be part of Tampa Bay’s postseason roster plans. In the event that Ramirez clears waivers and is then outrighted off the 40-man roster, he has more than enough service time to reject a Triple-A assignment and choose free agency anyway, so it could be that he’ll be getting a jump on the rest of the free agent market.

Now in his 12th MLB season, Ramirez has mostly worked in a swingman capacity, able to both step into a rotation on occasion or just soak up innings as a long reliever. Ramirez has pitched with six different teams at the Major League level, mostly with the Rays (356 2/3 innings) and the Mariners (314 1/3).

Brewers Release Brian Anderson

By Mark Polishuk | October 2, 2023 at 12:58pm CDT

October 2: The Brewers released Anderson today, per MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy. The move officially rules out Anderson for the club’s postseason roster, though it was already unlikely the club would have added him back to the 40-man roster to make him eligible for the postseason. Anderson heads into the offseason early, where he’ll look to catch on with a new club as he attempts to return to the form he demonstrated from 2018-2020.

September 28: The Brewers announced that outfielder Garrett Mitchell has been activated from the 60-day injured list. In the corresponding move, third baseman/outfielder Brian Anderson was designated for assignment.

Mitchell’s official return to the active roster has been expected for a couple of days, after he rejoined the Brewers upon the completion of the Triple-A season. The outfielder played in only 16 games in April before undergoing shoulder surgery, leaving some doubt to whether or not Mitchell would even make it back before the end of the 2023 campaign. Fortunately, Mitchell was able to start a Triple-A rehab assignment earlier this month, and played in eight games in the minors.

The 25-year-old figures to get a bit more time to ramp up over the Brewers’ last few games of the regular season, as Milwaukee has locked up the NL Central title and the third seed in the NL bracket. This gives the Brew Crew some extra time to rest some regulars and figures out who might make the cut for the playoff roster before the start of the Wild Card Series on October 3.

The 20th overall pick of the 2020 draft, Mitchell made his MLB debut last season and was expected to see regular action this year, even beginning 2023 as Milwaukee’s Opening Day center fielder. Mitchell naturally still figures into the Brewers’ future plans, and what might’ve been an entirely lost season for the younger can be salvaged if he can play a role in any postseason success. Mitchell likely won’t be line for regular duty ahead of Blake Perkins or Sal Frelick in center field, but he could contribute off the bench as defensive or pinch-running depth. With Mitchell as an additional outfield option, the Brewers could use then use Mark Canha more regularly at first base or DH rather than in the outfield corners.

While Anderson’s DFA doesn’t technically rule him out of contention for the postseason roster if he clears waivers and is then eventually re-added to the 40-man roster, the writing has seemed to be on the wall that Anderson isn’t in the Brewers’ plans. His start in yesterday’s game marked his first time in the lineup since August 22, and he has played in only 11 games total since returning from a 10-day IL stint on August 3.

The Marlins non-tendered Anderson last offseason after a pair of injury-riddled down years, and the Brewers signed him to a one-year, $3.5MM deal in the hopes of a bounce-back. The experiment seemed to be working great in the first few weeks of the season, but Anderson quickly faded after that hot start, and he has a .226/.310/.368 slash line and nine home runs over 361 plate appearances while seeing a lot of action at third base and in right field.

Andruw Monasterio essentially took over the starting third base job after the All-Star break, though his own struggles led the Brewers to make the low-cost signing of Josh Donaldson on a minor league deal. Donaldson hasn’t been overly impressive since joining the active roster, though his .191/.296/.447 slash line in 54 PA in a Brewers uniform is at least better than the .659 OPS he posted in 120 PA with the Yankees. With Anderson now likely out of the picture, the Brewers look to be using Donaldson as their chief third base option for the postseason, with Monasterio perhaps acting as a utility infielder backing up Donaldson, shortstop Willy Adames, and second baseman Brice Turang. Canha, Carlos Santana, and Rowdy Tellez are the first base/DH options.

Tim Anderson Willing To Move To Second Base

By Mark Polishuk | October 1, 2023 at 10:44pm CDT

Not much went right on the South Side this year, including a miserable season for longtime shortstop Tim Anderson. No qualified player in baseball finished with a lower wRC+ than Anderson’s total of 60, as he hit only .245/.286/.296 over 524 plate appearances — a stunning dropoff from player who’d posted a 123 wRC+ from 2019-22.

The timing couldn’t have been much worse for Anderson to have a down year, as 2023 was the last guaranteed season of the six-year, $25MM extension he signed back in March 2017. The contract came with a pair of club option years, with the 2024 option worth $12.5MM (with a $1MM buyout). That makes for a tricky decision for the White Sox, as paying an extra $11.5MM is steep for a player coming off a sub-replacement season.

“All I can do is understand whatever process it is and live with it,” Anderson told MLB.com’s Scott Merkin. “It’s not my decision if I want to stay or leave. I just have to hang with them. I mean I would love to [stay], but I understand if I don’t fit into what they are trying to do.”

An early-season knee sprain resulted in three weeks on the injured list, and Anderson said “the body felt different each day” after he returned. This partially explains his rough season, but heading into 2024, Anderson said he plans to be fully healthy and to sharpen all aspects of his game, both on offense and defense. This might even include a new defensive position altogether, as Anderson admitted that it might be time for a move across the middle infield if necessary.

“Really, at this point, it doesn’t matter. I’m a shortstop/second baseman,” Anderson said. “It’s whatever to allow my career to keep going. I’m not going to wrestle with a team that I’m this or I’m that. It’s just an honor and a blessing to fit in any lineup as a starter considering how hard this game is. Short would be my first choice, but I also understand how older guys are viewed, now that I’m stepping into that phase, which sucks and is different. I just want to continue to keep building on what I started and get back to what I used to be.”

Public defensive metrics have been down on Anderson’s glovework for each of the last two seasons, so beyond adding positional versatility to his resume, it also might make more sense from a pure baseball perspective for Anderson to explore a move to second base. The 30-year-old had exclusively played as a shortstop at the MLB level before this season, when he made two appearances at second base in order to help manage a minor shoulder issue.

Colson Montgomery is also a shortstop, as well as Chicago’s top prospect and ranked by MLB Pipeline as the 17th-best minor leaguer in the sport. Montgomery hit well in his first taste of Double-A ball and should be in line to make his big league debut at some point in 2024, if all continues to go well for the 22nd overall pick of the 2021 draft. If Montgomery might be the shortstop of the future, Anderson moving over to second base while still working as a mentor to the rookie would seem like an interesting possible scenario for the White Sox. As well, it isn’t as if the Sox are deep in second-base options, as Chicago second baseman combined for a -0-4 bWAR in 2023.

Anderson and new White Sox GM Chris Getz spoke earlier this week, and while Anderson didn’t get into specifics about their conversation, “his ultimate goal is really trying to fix what’s going on here. And I get that.” Speaking with reporters prior to talking with Anderson this week, Getz said no decision had yet been made about the infielder’s club option, since the topic “deserves an exhaustive discussion because of what he has meant to this organization.”

Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts On Ross, Hendricks, Payroll

By Mark Polishuk | October 1, 2023 at 9:20pm CDT

After losing seasons in both 2021 and 2022, the Cubs finished 83-79 this year, representing some progress. Unfortunately for Wrigleyville, that record left the team one game behind the Diamondbacks for the last NL wild card slot, as a 5-12 slide in the Cubs’ last 17 games quickly muddied what seemed like a clear path to the playoffs a few weeks ago.

As such, team chairman Tom Ricketts was measured in his praise when speaking with reporters (including The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma and The Chicago Tribune’s Meghan Montemurro) today. While “there was a lot of excitement and the organizational health is as strong as it’s been in a long, long time,” Ricketts also said “I don’t think that we want to start calling seasons we don’t make the playoffs good seasons. That’s a consolation prize and we don’t play for consolation prizes.”

Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer recently gave manager David Ross a public vote of confidence, seemingly confirming that Ross would return for 2024 (the final guaranteed year of the skipper’s contract). The odds of Ross continuing with the team grew even stronger today when Ricketts also credited the manager’s work.

“I think Rossy did a great job. He creates a great clubhouse culture, the players love playing for him,” Ricketts said. “He keeps a steady, balanced approach game in and game out, that you need over the course of 162 games.” Specifically citing the full-season aspect in a year when the Cubs started with a 26-36 record, Ricketts noted that “when the team got down, way below .500 and it looked like the season was over, he didn’t let it go. He got the guys back and playing hard. We got to here. He was a big part of that.”

Another Wrigleyville staple also return in 2024, as Ricketts said “at this point I would see [Kyle Hendricks] coming back,” though the chairman said Hoyer would ultimately be making the decision. Chicago holds a $16MM club option ($1.5MM buyout) on Hendricks for next season, and it seemed like Hendricks was on the decline after down years in both 2021 and 2022. However, the veteran righty bounced back nicely from an injury-shortened 2022 to post a 3.74 ERA over 137 innings this year, increasingly his chances of getting that option exercised. Even if Marcus Stroman doesn’t opt out of the final year of his contract, retaining Hendricks might still make sense to bolster the rotation depth.

The rest of Chicago’s payroll picture will naturally factor into the $14.5MM decision on Hendricks. Ricketts again stated that Hoyer is calling the shots on player personnel, but with an Opening Day payroll of roughly $184.2MM last March, Ricketts said “I think we’ll stay at those levels” for 2024, and “we’ll see where that shakes out” in terms of whether or not the Cubs would be willing to boost spending closing to the $237MM luxury tax line.

The Cubs’ rebuilding efforts of the previous two seasons helped add a lot of younger talent into the system, which Ricketts cited as another (and perhaps wiser) method of improving the Major League roster. “We’ve got a lot of good young players and hopefully some will be ready to go next year so we can bring homegrown talent to supplement the guys we have out there,” Ricketts said.

“That’s the ultimate way you maintain consistency and try to stay in the playoff hunt for years to come…The key to consistency is to not build a one-year super team, but to try to get to the playoffs as often as possible. You do that by finding guys that you like, giving them extensions, solidifying your core and then trying to supplement them with guys from your system and the occasional free agent. That’s going to be our strategy going forward.”

It isn’t as if Ricketts and Hoyer have shied away from larger investments, such as signing Dansby Swanson, Seiya Suzuki, or Jameson Taillon, or in locking up Nico Hoerner and Ian Happ through 2026 on contract extensions. However, should Stroman opt out and Cody Bellinger leave in free agency, that is automatically two big holes that need to be addressed, in addition to the Cubs’ other roster needs.

At the very least, Ricketts’ comment seemingly indicates that the Cubs will make a measured effort at best to re-sign Bellinger, who figures to land one of the winter’s biggest contracts. It could be that the front office and ownership are willing to spend a bit bigger now that the Cubs have gotten over the .500 hump and back into playoff contention, though it may take a particular target (i.e. Swanson last winter) to really move the organization to make a splash.

AL East Notes: Judge, Yankees, Rays, Siri, Raley, Cora

By Mark Polishuk | October 1, 2023 at 8:03pm CDT

Aaron Judge spoke with MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch and other reporters about what the Yankees should do differently in 2024, including “some bigger picture ideas and philosophies that I think maybe need to change.” The communication of analytical information seems to be one of Judge’s sticking points, since the slugger has no issue with the use of analytics themselves. “The Yankees are top-notch in the numbers we get. I think we’re the best in the game at that,” Judge said. “I think it’s about funneling those down to the players in the right format….I think it’s just looking at the right numbers. I think maybe we might be looking at the wrong ones. We need to value some other ones that people might see as having no value.”

The reigning AL MVP also put some pressure on the clubhouse, saying “I think a level of urgency and an understanding [is needed that] just because you get to the big leagues and you get to New York, you’ve still got to improve. You’ve still got to make adjustments.” Judge gave a full endorsement of Aaron Boone as the club’s manager, though as Hoch put it, “Judge was less effusive” in speaking about GM Brian Cashman in comparison to his praise of Boone.

Poll: Who’s Going To Win The World Series?

By Mark Polishuk | October 1, 2023 at 6:57pm CDT

Both the playoff field and the first-round matchups now have been set, so we can get on with deciding who’s going to be holding the Commissioner’s Trophy by the end of the World Series. After 162 games (well, give or take a Marlins/Mets game that will now be scrapped entirely), the list of contenders has been narrowed to a dozen teams.

The Braves led all of baseball with 104 wins, and their spectacular lineup tied a Major League record with 307 home runs. Leading the league almost across the board in significant offensive categories this season, Atlanta boasts MVP favorite Ronald Acuna Jr. as their top player, yet the incredible depth of the everyday lineup is a nightmare for opposing pitchers. Injuries to Max Fried and Charlie Morton have left some questions about the readiness of the staff heading into the playoffs, but if Atlanta’s games start turning into slugfests, the Braves are more than well-equipped for that type of baseball.

Despite a huge swath of injuries to their pitching staff, the Dodgers still finished 100-62 and won the NL West. It was the fifth time in the last six 162-game seasons that L.A. hit the 100-win threshold, and the Dodgers have now won 10 of the last 11 division titles. All of that success, of course, has netted “only” one World Series title (in 2020) to date, and it will be up to Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman to keep carrying the offense while the somewhat makeshift pitching staff will try to produce quality innings.

The Orioles went from 110 losses in 2021 to 101 wins this season, winning the AL East for the first time since 2014. Baltimore’s extensive rebuild led to a new wave of young talent (i.e. Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, Grayson Rodriguez) providing a quick impact, while roster holdovers and unexpected hidden gems like Ryan O’Hearn all kept producing for a well-rounded team. The rotation is either a question mark or perhaps just underrated heading into October, and the O’s want to leave no doubt that their team is for real.

The Astros went into the final series of the season not even knowing if they’d be in the playoffs at all, yet Houston ended up with a first-round bye and their sixth AL West crown in seven seasons. The defending World Series champs have weathered a lot of pitching injuries and a bit more inconsistency than usual from their lineup, yet if any team knows how to turn up the volume in the postseason, it’s the Astros.

These four teams will get first-round byes, while the other two division champions and the six wild-card teams will have to survive the best-of-three first round. The AL Central champion Twins and the sixth-seeded Blue Jays will meet in the postseason for the first time since 1991, with Toronto trying to win its first playoff game since 2016 and Minnesota trying to end an unfathomable 0-18 record in playoff games dating back to 2004. Both the Twins and Jays have relied on recipes of strong starting pitching, solid bullpen work and (especially in Toronto’s case) excellent defense, while the offense has been much more hit-and-miss for each club. A low-scoring series wouldn’t be a surprise, making things a tossup even though the Twins have the home-field advantage.

The Rays and Rangers spent a good chunk of the season looking like they’d sail to division titles, yet the two clubs will now meet in the Wild Card Series. Tampa Bay’s ever-deep farm system just kept churning out MLB-ready talent, allowing the Rays to stay steady and win 99 games despite an injury-depleted pitching staff. Texas had greater issues managing pitching injuries and a very leaky bullpen, and though the Rangers still ended up with 90 wins and a playoff berth, the Rangers’ relief corps stands out as perhaps the biggest weak link of any postseason team.

The Brewers went 92-70 to book their fifth trip to the playoffs in six seasons, with three of those trips coming via the NL Central title. With a 35-20 record since August 1, Milwaukee has been somewhat quietly marching towards the playoffs in top form, even if scoring runs is still at something of a premium for a team powered by its hurlers. The Diamondbacks have just about the opposite problem, as they’ll head into the playoffs with a -15 run differential and a season-long problem with rotation depth. But, Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly can be a problem in a short series, and NL Rookie of the Year favorite Corbin Carroll will get his first taste of the postseason spotlight.

The Phillies and Marlins meet in an all-NL East edition of the Wild Card Series, with Miami holding a 7-6 head-to-head edge in regular-season play. After falling short in last year’s World Series, the Phillies are looking to make another run through the entire bracket, setting up the dynamic of a seasoned, veteran squad against an upstart Marlins club who are in the playoffs following a full 162-game season for the first time since 2003. A huge 33-13 record in one-run games helped Miami reach the postseason despite a -56 run differential — by contrast, Philadelphia was +81.

Looking at the list of twelve, who is your pick to win it all? (poll link for app users)

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