Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Red Sox Sign Chase Anderson

By | at

March 24, 1:13pm: MassLive’s Christopher Smith reports that Anderson’s deal with the Red Sox guarantees him $1.25MM and comes with an additional $500k in potential performance bonuses.

March 24, 9:38am: The Red Sox have made their deal with Anderson official, per a club announcement. Right-hander Lucas Giolito was transferred to the 60-day injured list in the corresponding move. Giolito’s placement on the IL is hardly a surprise, given he’s expected to miss the entire 2024 season after undergoing an internal brace procedure on his right elbow.

March 23: The Red Sox have signed right-hander Chase Anderson to a Major League deal, according to MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo (X link).  It was a very short stint in free agency for Anderson, who was only officially released from his minors deal with the Pirates earlier today.

Yesterday was the deadline for Anderson and other Article XX(B) free agents to decide whether or not to exercise the opt-out clauses in their minor league contracts, unless their teams had already agreed to include them on the 26-man active roster.  Since it seems like the Pirates preferred other options for their starting rotation, Anderson was prepared to opt out, and then quickly landed with Boston after he returned to the open market.

Assuming Anderson appears in a big league game, the Red Sox will be the eighth different team Anderson has pitched for during his 10 MLB seasons.  The right-hander posted some solid numbers with the Diamondbacks and Brewers from 2014-19, but he has struggled mightily ever since, with a 6.19 ERA over 192 innings since the start of the 2020 season.

Anderson has subsequently bounced around to seven different teams (including two stints with the Rays) in the last four-plus years, seeing action at the big league level with the Blue Jays, Phillies, Reds, Rays, and Rockies.  Anderson had a 5.75 ERA over 17 starts and 81 1/3 innings last season for a Rockies team that was desperate to fill innings within an injury-riddled rotation.  Boston’s pitching situation isn’t in quite such a dire state, though there is some definite uncertainty within the projected starting five of Brayan Bello, Nick Pivetta, Kutter Crawford, Garrett Whitlock, and Tanner Houck.

Lucas Giolito’s season-ending elbow surgery thinned out a rotation that was already lacking in depth, so Anderson can now fill a swingman role who can step in for a spot start if necessary.  The fact that Anderson landed a guaranteed big league deal might speak to how urgently the Red Sox wanted to add pitching help prior to Opening Day, though it is safe to assume that Anderson’s deal isn’t overly pricey.

Orioles Owner Peter Angelos Passes Away

By | at

Peter Angelos passed away today at age 94, as per an official statement from the Orioles and the Angelos family.  Angelos had been battling illness for the last few years and had left the public eye, and his son John took over as the Orioles’ chairman and control person in regards to official league business in 2020.

A Baltimore native, Angelos built his fortune through a renowned legal career, most notably a landmark consolidated action case in 1992 representing thousands of workers in various fields who had been exposed to asbestos over the course of their jobs.  Angelos led a group of investors that purchased the Orioles in 1993 for $173MM, and quickly established himself as something of a maverick within baseball’s ownership circles during the 1994-95 players’ strike.  Though the strike was settled before replacement players took the field for the 1995 season, Angelos’ refusal to use such players (who he viewed as scabs) drew some animosity from his fellow owners and respect from the MLBPA.

On the field, the Orioles went through plenty of ups and downs during Angelos’ tenure as owner.  There was little doubt about Angelos’ desire to win, as he immediately increased the team’s payroll and brought several big-name free agents into the fold, helping Baltimore reach the ALCS in both 1996 and 1997.  After that last ALCS appearance, however, the Orioles didn’t have another winning season until 2012, as Angelos was often accused of taking a heavy hand in baseball operations.  This manifested itself in a revolving door of managers and general managers, until things began to stabilize under Buck Showalter and executive VP of baseball operations Dan Duquette.  The Orioles had five seasons of .500 or better ball from 2012-16, including three postseason appearances and another trip to the ALCS in 2014.

The Orioles’ payrolls tended to fluctuate based on the team’s competitive level, and Baltimore ranked within the top ten of league spending as recently as the 2017 season.  Angelos had particular concerns about certain types of baseball-related investments, perhaps most notably a wariness about any kind of long-term guarantee to pitchers (especially pitchers with any sort of injury history).  Angelos was also famously critical of baseball’s international signing system, which resulted in the Orioles essentially sitting out for the international amateur market for several years.

John Angelos’ stewardship of the team brought about some changes to the Orioles’ business, as GM Mike Elias was given broad leeway to modernize and revamp the baseball operations department as part of a near-total rebuild.  The O’s posted losing records from 2017-21 (the latter three under Elias) before winning 83 games in 2022, and then bursting out to win 101 games and the AL East crown last season.  With an incredible core of young talent in place, the Orioles now look like World Series contenders both this season and perhaps for many years to come.

This new era of Orioles baseball will take place somewhat outside of the Angelos family, as it was announced in February that the team had been sold for $1.725 billion to a new ownership group led by David Rubenstein.  (John Angelos is still an investor in the Orioles.). The news of the sale followed years of speculation and drama about the future of the franchise, as legal and personal issues within the Angelos family and the Orioles’ expiring lease at Camden Yards in 2023 led to some concerns that the O’s could be sold or moved to another city.  As it turned out, the Orioles arranged a new lease to remain at Camden Yards for at least the next 15 years, and Rubenstein’s full purchase of the organization is expected to be approved by the league within a few weeks’ time.  Rubenstein was initially slated to take over 40 percent of the team, but now will take full ownership of the club as a result of the elder Angelos’ passing.

We at MLB Trade Rumors send our condolences to Angelos’ family, friends, and loved ones.

Latest On Rays’ Roster Plans

By | at

6:15pm: Topkin adds that each of Uwasawa, Brantly, and Smith have upward mobility clauses in their contracts rather than traditional opt outs, meaning that each can request to be made available to the other 29 clubs, at which point if a club agrees to give a given player an active roster spot the Rays will have the choice between adding the player to their 40-man roster or trading him to the interested team. Per Topkin, Brantly, Uwasawa and Smith have all told the Rays that they wish to use their assignment clauses.

10:57am: The Rays reassigned right-handers Naoyuki Uwasawa, Burch Smith, and Joe Record, catchers Francisco Mejia and Rob Brantly, and outfielder Jake Mangum to their minor league camp on Friday.  Manager Kevin Cash told reporters (including Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times) that while none of the six players would be making the Opening Day roster, the Rays were hoping the entire group would remain as minor league depth.

Uwasawa, Smith, and Brantly have some say in their futures, as each of the trio can opt out of their minor league contracts if they aren’t included on the big league roster.  Erasmo Ramirez is another veteran in camp on a minors deal, yet Topkin reports that Ramirez will report to Triple-A and pass on exercising his opt-out clause.

Uwasawa is perhaps the most interesting name in the group, as the 30-year-old is making the jump to MLB after nine seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters.  The righty signed a split contract with the Rays that will pay him $2.5MM in the majors and $225K for his time in the minors, as well as a $25K signing bonus and $1MM worth of incentive clauses that would start to kick in if Uwasawa pitched at least 70 big league innings this season.

Though Uwasawa was offered guaranteed contracts by other MLB teams, he chose Tampa Bay “because the success and the rich history of pitching development really intrigued me,” as the right-hander said in a statement at the time of his signing.  It isn’t yet clear if Uwasawa will now stay with the Rays, as he told Topkin (X link) that he would be speaking with his agent to weigh options, including opting out if another team is willing to give him a clearer shot at pitching in the bigs.

Uwasawa didn’t help his case for a roster spot by posting a 13.03 ERA over four appearances and 9 2/3 innings in Spring Training, though he looked a lot sharper in his most recent Grapefruit League outing — he held the Orioles to one run on four hits and a walk over four innings on March 15.  As both Topkin and Cash noted, some adjustment time was inevitable for Uwasawa in his first exposure to the North American style of baseball.

With Brantly and Mejia now cut, it essentially finalizes Alex Jackson’s expected role as the Rays’ backup catcher behind Rene Pinto.  The catching position has long been both a revolving door and a question mark for the Rays, and Topkin feels another backstop might still be added if the Rays like another name who might become available as rival teams also shed players from their spring rosters.

Miguel Andujar To Undergo Meniscus Surgery; Sean Newcomb To Begin Season On A’s Injured List

By | at

Miguel Andujar will undergo surgery to repair a torn right meniscus and will miss least 4-6 weeks in recovery, A’s manager Mark Kotsay told MLB.com’s Martin Gallegos and other reporters.  The Athletics will also lose another player to the season-opening injured list, as Sean Newcomb will miss time due to irritation in his surgically-repaired left knee.

Andujar’s surgery is set for Wednesday, and Kotsay said a further timeline will be established once doctors actually “get in there [to see] what the repair has to be….We could be looking at a longer timeframe.”  This will mark the second major surgery for Andujar, following a shoulder procedure in 2019 that cost him most of that season and serves as a turning point in his career.

A spectacular 2018 season with the Yankees saw Andujar finish second in AL Rookie of the Year voting, though he has since played in only 144 Major League games.  The Yankees seemed to move on from Andujar after his lost 2019 campaign, and gave him only sporadic looks on the big league roster amidst several call-ups and demotions back and forth from Triple-A.  The Pirates claimed Andujar off waivers from New York in September 2022, but this fresh start didn’t result in much more MLB playing time, as Andujar appeared in only 30 games for Pittsburgh in 2023.

Oakland acquired Andujar on another waiver claim back in November, and avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $1.7MM salary for 2024.  Andujar has been on fire at the plate during Spring Training, yet he’ll now face yet another frustrating setback with this knee injury.  More will be known once the surgery takes place, yet the hope is obviously for a best-case scenario that would see Andujar make his official A’s debut some time in May.

Newcomb had a lateral meniscus repair of his own on his left knee in September, and then an arthroscopic procedure on his right knee in December.  It certainly isn’t promising that Newcomb’s knee is still giving him problems, though the characterization of the issue as just “irritation” is perhaps a hint that there isn’t any further structural damage.  The Athletics will give Newcomb an extra 15 days on the IL at the start of the year to hopefully work through his soreness, and then complete any ramp-up work necessary to get him ready for his season debut.

Newcomb has seen action in each of the last seven Major League seasons, pitching mostly with the Braves before a trade to the Cubs in April 2022.  He spent most of the 2023 season in the Giants’ minor league system before being traded to the A’s and given a look on the active roster, and Newcomb then delivered a 3.00 ERA over 15 innings.  Small sample size notwithstanding, it was still a big improvement over the 7.45 ERA that the southpaw posted in 73 2/3 MLB innings over the 2020-22 seasons.  Those struggles were tied to rather extreme difficulties in limiting walks and home runs, and Newcomb still issued nine free passes in his 15 innings with Oakland.

Between Trevor Gott’s Tommy John surgery, Scott Alexander’s stress reaction in his left ribs, and now Newcomb’s knee issue, the Athletics have suddenly lost the three most experienced members of their bullpen to the IL (and, in Gott’s case, for the whole season).  Kyle Muller is now also the only left-hander remaining in the relief corps with Alexander and Newcomb sidelined, so the A’s might be on the lookout for southpaws in particular if they turn to the open market for any veteran relievers who might be available after the last rounds of Spring Training cuts.

As for Andujar, he was seemingly penciled into the regular outfield mix, but the A’s will now have to adjust to his IL stint.  Utilityman Hoy Park might now have a better chance of breaking camp, and Park has helped his case with some very impressive numbers in Cactus League play.  Park and Lawrence Butler could be backup outfield options behind the provisional starting trio of Seth Brown, JJ Bleday, and Esteury Ruiz.

Trey Mancini Opts Out Of Marlins Contract; Curt Casali Won’t Make Roster

By | at

Veteran first baseman/outfielder Trey Mancini has opted out of his minor league deal with the Marlins, manager Skip Schumaker told the Miami Herald’s Jordan McPherson and other reporters.  Catcher Curt Casali has also been told that he isn’t making the Opening Day roster, but Casali has yet to decide on whether or not to exercise his own standard opt-out clause as an Article XX(B) free agent.

Mancini joined the Cubs on a two-year, $14MM free agent contract last offseason, and since the Cubs waived him last August, any team that uses Mancini on a big league roster is only obligated to pay him a minimum salary (with Chicago still on the hook for the rest of his $7MM salary for 2024).  This made Mancini even more of a flier than your standard minor league signing, though the Marlins didn’t see enough in Mancini’s Spring Training performance to give him a roster spot.  Mancini hit an unspectacular .257/.333/.371 over 39 plate appearances this spring.

After missing the 2020 season due to a battle with colon cancer, Mancini made a triumphant return in 2021 and won Comeback Player Of The Year honors while batting .255/.326/.432 over 616 PA with the Orioles.  His longtime tenure in Baltimore ended when the O’s dealt Mancini to the Astros at the 2022 trade deadline, and while Mancini earned a World Series ring with Houston, he didn’t contribute much at the plate during the regular season or in the playoffs.  The struggles continued with the Cubs in 2023, as Mancini hit only .234/.299/.336 over 263 PA.

Mancini just celebrated his 32nd birthday earlier this week, and now again finds himself at something of a crossroads in his career.  His track record and reputation as a clubhouse leader should land him another minor league deal in another organization, though Mancini’s most recent results aren’t particularly encouraging.

Casali was another minor league signing for the Marlins this offseason, brought in as catching depth behind Miami’s planned tandem of Christian Bethancourt and Nick Fortes.  Since that isn’t exactly a proven set of backstops, Casali might well choose to pass on his opt-out decision and stay at Triple-A in the hopes of receiving a call-up at some point.  That said, any number of teams could have catching vacancies opening up due to injuries or end-of-spring cuts, so Casali find be able to find a more preferable opportunity elsewhere.

A veteran of 10 MLB seasons, Casali has hit .220/.314/.380 in 1454 PA.  Casali has been a few impressive years at the plate as a part-timer with the Reds and Rays, but the 35-year-old hasn’t hit much in the last three seasons and is generally known more for his defense and game-calling prowess.

Phillies Acquire Zac Houston From Rays

By | at

The Phillies have acquired right-hander Zac Houston from the Rays in exchange for cash considerations, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports (X link).  Topkin describes the trade as a side effect of the Rays’ crowded Triple-A pitching staff, as Houston was apparently squeezed out by the team’s desire to give more innings to younger pitchers.

The 29-year-old Houston is a career minor leaguer, beginning his pro career as an 11th-round pick of the Tigers in the 2016 draft.  (Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski had already parted ways with the Tigers almost a year before Houston’s draft date.). Working almost exclusively as a reliever, Houston has a 3.18 ERA over 305 2/3 career innings in the minors, though he has only a 4.81 ERA over 101 frames of Triple-A action.

Houston has a whopping 35.46% strikeout rate, but an equally large 12.86% walk rate across his minor league career.  The righty’s control problems have existed since the start of his pro career, and his walk problems have ticked upwards as Houston has moved up the minor league ladder.  The obvious strikeout ability makes him an interesting project for the Phillies’ pitching development staff, as Houston could be a very useful bullpen weapon if he can pair his knack for missing bats with even average control.

White Sox Release Jesse Chavez

By | at

The White Sox announced that veteran reliever Jesse Chavez has been released.  Chavez inked a minor league deal last month, but as per his status as an XX(B) free agent, the White Sox had until yesterday to add Chavez to the Opening Day roster or else the right-hander could opt out.

Kevin Pillar and Mike Moustakas were in similar situations prior to being released yesterday, and as with Chavez, it isn’t clear if any of these players actually triggered their opt-outs or if the White Sox simply released them since none were slated for the 26-man roster.  The result is effectively the same, as Chavez now re-enters the free agent market as he looks to extend his career into a 17th Major League season.

Chavez is still pitching well beyond his 40th birthday, as he posted a 1.56 ERA over 34 2/3 innings with the Braves in 2023.  The righty’s 51.7% grounder rate combined with some good batted-ball luck (.273 BABIP) to help deliver that outstanding ERA, yet Chavez’s 27.1% strikeout rate and 33.3% hard-hit ball rate were also above average.  It wasn’t all positive for Chavez, however, as he spent over three months on the injured list after he was hit in the leg with a comebacker.

Chavez said in an interview last month that 2024 is “probably” going to be his last season as a player, as he will then look to stay in the game in a coaching capacity.  Given how well Chavez has pitched in each of the last three seasons, it seems almost a lock that another team will sign him to another minor league deal, and another return to the Braves would certainly seem like a possibility.  Chavez has already had four separate stints with Atlanta, including three in the last three years alone and a World Series ring as part of the Braves’ 2021 championship team.

Nationals Release Luis Perdomo

By | at

The Nationals released right-hander Luis Perdomo earlier this week, as indicated on the team’s official MLB.com transactions page.  Perdomo was in Washington’s camp on a minor league contract.

Things seemed to be going swimmingly for Perdomo in his first four spring outings, as he allowed only two hits over four scoreless innings of work.  Unfortunately, Perdomo’s fortunes then turned for the worse, as he was charged with six earned runs over his next three appearances and innings pitched, resulting in an overall 7.71 ERA in seven innings.  Since the Nationals are in full cut-down mode as they decide their Opening Day roster, Perdomo didn’t make much of a case for himself to crack the 26-man.

Perdomo has a 5.12 ERA over 468 career innings, with all but 23 2/3 of those frames coming with the Padres from 2016-20 when he worked as a starter, reliever, and a mix of both roles as a swingman on the San Diego pitching staff.  The groundball specialist missed all of 2021 recovering from Tommy John surgery, and Perdomo then had a 3.80 ERA over 23 2/3 innings with the Brewers in 2022.  Milwaukee opted to non-tender Perdomo after the season, and he left MLB entirely to pitch in Japan with the Chiba Lotte Marines in 2023.

Perdomo had an impressive 2.13 ERA over 50 2/3 innings in NPB, which helped pave the way for his return to North American baseball even if he had to settle for a minors deal.  He could continue to look for minor league contracts with another team (or even a reunion with the Nats), or Perdomo might again consider a move to an international league.

Marlins To Include Max Meyer On Opening Day Roster

By | at

Right-hander Max Meyer will be part of the Marlins’ Opening Day roster, the Miami Herald’s Craig Mish reports (via X).  Meyer “has the inside track” to win the fifth starter’s job, Mish writes, which would line the rookie up to face the Angels on April 1 in what would be Meyer’s third career MLB start.

Meyer’s first two big league outings took place in July 2022, with the second appearance ending after just two-thirds of an inning due to some elbow pain.  That discomfort was revealed to be a UCL tear, and the subsequent Tommy John surgery kept Meyer sidelined for the rest of the 2022 season and the entirety of the 2023 campaign.  Returning to the mound this spring, Meyer has looked very sharp in seven scoreless Grapefruit League innings, with only four hits and a walk allowed.

While Meyer has done well to earn his return trip to the majors, it is fair to say that this opportunity wouldn’t have been available if the Marlins weren’t dealing with a spate of injuries within their projected rotation.  Eury Perez (elbow inflammation), Edward Cabrera (shoulder impingement), and Braxton Garrett (shoulder soreness) all look to be starting the season on the injured list, and ace Sandy Alcantara was already ruled out for 2024 due to a Tommy John surgery of his own.  Manager Skip Schumaker said last week that “everyone’s on the table” in terms of potential fill-in starters, including Meyer, who had already been optioned to Miami’s minor league camp.

Bryan Hoeing seemed to be the favorite for fifth starter work considering how Meyer and other pitchers were optioned out of the big league camp, yet now it seems like the Marlins will give Meyer a look.  Jesus Luzardo, A.J. Puk, Trevor Rogers, and Ryan Weathers will seemingly act as the top four in Miami’s rotation, with Meyer slotting in as the fifth man.  It seems possible that Meyer and Hoeing could be paired up in a piggyback type of scenario, if the Marlins wanted to be cautious about limiting Meyer’s innings after such a long layoff.

Despite Meyer’s lost 2023 season, Baseball Prospectus (86th) and Baseball America (89th) still included the 25-year-old on their preseason lists of the top 100 prospects in the sport.  Meyer drew a lot of hype coming out of the University of Minnesota, and he lived up to predictions that he would ready for the majors in pretty short order.  Meyer posted a 2.77 ERA over 172 career innings in the minors, along with an impressive 28.67% strikeout rate and an 8.79% walk rate that is a little on the high side.  The right-hander also had pretty strong grounder rates over his relatively brief time in the minors.

Mets Designate Phil Bickford For Assignment

By | at

The Mets have designated right-hander Phil Bickford for assignment.  The move opens up roster space for J.D. Martinez, whose one-year contract with New York is now official.

Bickford came to Queens at last year’s trade deadline, acquired with Adam Kolarek from the Dodgers as a way of restocking a Mets bullpen thinned out by other deals.  Over 67 1/3 total innings with L.A. and New York last season, Bickford posted a 4.95 ERA and an above-average 25% strikeout rate, though he allowed a lot of hard contact and his 12.8% walk rate ranked in the bottom fifth percentile of all pitchers.

The Mets brought a ton of new relievers into camp on guaranteed and minor league contracts, making Bickford something of a borderline candidate to make the Opening Day roster.  Bickford doesn’t have any minor league options remaining, so the Mets had to go the DFA route in order to remove him from the 40-man roster and potentially send him to Triple-A (if he remains in the organization altogether).

Bickford is set to earn $900K this season after winning an arbitration hearing with New York, though the Mets would only owe 45 days’ worth of termination pay if they released Bickford prior to Opening Day.  In some echoes of the Giants’ recent release of J.D. Davis, Bickford’s salary would’ve been fully guaranteed as an arbitration-eligible player if he had reached an agreement with the Mets prior to a hearing, yet going to a hearing meant that Bickford’s salary wasn’t guaranteed unless he made the team’s big league roster.

The Davis situation created some controversy around the league, and it remains to be seen if Davis might yet attempt to file a grievance.  As per the CBA clause concerning this transactional tactic, “failure to exhibit sufficient skill or competitive ability” gives a team some leeway in releasing a player who went to an arb hearing, and the Mets might have more of an argument in Bickford’s case since the righty had a 5.79 ERA over 4 2/3 innings in Spring Training this year.

Of course, Bickford could still get his full $900K if another team simply claims him off waivers from the Mets.  Clubs might prefer to wait until Bickford clears waivers in order to lessen the financial commitment, though any number of scenarios are possible as teams finalize their rosters in advance of Opening Day.  With bullpen depth always at a premium, Bickford is bound to land somewhere on a new deal, whether a guaranteed MLB contract or a minor league pact.

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