Mark Polishuk | MLB Trade Rumors

Padres Prospect Eguy Rosario Suffers Broken Ankle

By Mark Polishuk | February 3, 2023 at 12:33pm CDT

Padres infield prospect Eguy Rosario suffered a broken ankle during winter ball workouts, Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. Rosario now faces a lengthy recovery process, as Sanders writes that the infielder won’t be back in action until “midsummer.”

It’s a tough setback for the 23-year-old Rosario, who made his Major League debut with a seven-game cup of coffee last season. Rosario only had six plate appearances in his first trip to the Show, but as Sanders notes, Rosario was expected to contend for a backup infield job this spring. The versatile infielder has played extensively at shortstop, second base, and third base over his minor league career, and also has a handful of games as a first baseman on his resume.

Rosario was an international signing in 2015, and his batting numbers have steadily improved as he has made his way up San Diego’s minor league ladder. While the canceled 2020 minor league season took him off the field entirely, Rosario hit .281/.360/.455 with 12 homers over 480 Double-A plate appearances in 2021, and he then took another step forward with a .288/.368/.508 slash line and 22 home runs over 564 PA at the Triple-A level last year. Rosario also brings speed to his offensive profile, with 72 steals (out of 103 attempts) over his last three minor league campaigns.

MLB Pipeline ranks Rosario fifth on its list of the Padres’ top 30 prospects, while Baseball America has Rosario slotted ninth. BA’s scouting report views Rosario as a utility infield type at the MLB level, with a strong throwing arm helping make up for some defensive miscues (though Rosario is ultimately better suited for second or third base, rather than shortstop). Playing in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League provided at least some inflation to Rosario’s Triple-A numbers, but BA’s report notes that Rosario also worked to add strength to his modest frame of 5’9″ and 150 pounds.

Unfortunately for Rosario, he’ll now have to wait a while longer to resume his playing career, and hope that the ankle injury doesn’t impact his baserunning or mobility in the field. The Padres already have a good amount of infield depth given their signing of Xander Bogaerts and the eventual return of Fernando Tatis Jr. from suspension, but with Rosario out, Brandon Dixon, Matthew Batten, or minor league signing Max Schrock might have a clearer path to a bench job.

Jesus Luzardo Wins Arbitration Hearing Against Marlins

By Mark Polishuk | February 3, 2023 at 10:36am CDT

Left-hander Jesus Luzardo has won his arbitration hearing against the Marlins, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reports (Twitter link). The arbiter’s ruling means that Luzardo will earn his desired $2.45MM salary in 2023, rather than the Marlins’ submitted figure of $2.1MM.

Luzardo becomes the second Miami player (and the second MVP Sports Group client) to win an arb hearing in as many days, after Luis Arraez was victorious Thursday in his bid to earn a larger salary. Jon Berti is also slated for a hearing in the coming days, unless he and the Marlins agree ahead of time on a contract to avoid arbitration.

This is the first of four trips through the arb process for Luzardo, as a Super Two player. The extra year of arbitration eligibility makes this hearing decision a particularly nice result for Luzardo, since the $2.45MM provides a higher starting platform for his future earnings. Both figures from Luzardo and the Marlins were above the $2MM projection of Matt Swartz’s arbitration model.

One of baseball’s best pitching prospects during his time in the Athletics’ farm system, Luzardo made his MLB debut in 2019, and then finished eighth in AL Rookie Of The Year voting in 2020 when he posted a 4.12 ERA over 59 innings in the shortened season. Just when it seemed like Luzardo was going to be Oakland’s next building block, however, he struggled badly at both the Major League and Triple-A levels in 2021, and also missed time with a fractured pinkie finger.

With the A’s vying for a playoff berth (and facing an imminent fire sale that offseason), Luzardo was dealt to the Marlins in a one-for-one trade for Starling Marte at the deadline. As well as Marte played in his brief time in Oakland, it wasn’t enough to get the Athletics into the postseason, while the Marlins picked up a controllable and talented arm who already looks to have benefited from the change of scenery.

Luzardo didn’t pitch well for Miami during the remainder of the 2021 campaign, but then posted a 3.32 ERA and a strong 30% strikeout rate over 100 1/3 innings in his first full season as a Marlin. The southpaw’s 2022 performance wasn’t without some hiccups, however, as his 8.8% walk rate was below average and he spent over two months on the 60-day injured list due to a forearm strain. Fortunately, Luzardo returned from that worrisome injury in good form, posting a 3.03 ERA over his final 12 starts and 71 1/3 innings of the season.

Some more trade rumors swirled around Luzardo this winter, as the Marlins were openly looking to move one of their starters (except Sandy Alcantara or top prospect Eury Perez) in exchange for a hitting upgrade. Luzardo was reportedly floated to the Mets in a possible offer involving Brett Baty, though ultimately, Pablo Lopez ended up being the starter on the move, as Miami sent Lopez to the Twins as part of the four-player trade that brought Arraez onto the roster. With Lopez now gone, the Marlins are counting on Luzardo to take another step forward, and perhaps even establish himself as the rotation’s number two pitcher.

Royals Designate Anthony Misiewicz For Assignment

By Mark Polishuk | February 3, 2023 at 9:17am CDT

The Royals announced that left-hander Anthony Misiewicz has been designated for assignment. The move creates roster space for Zack Greinke, whose one-year deal with Kansas City was officially announced today.

A veteran of three MLB seasons, Misiewicz was acquired from the Mariners in a pre-deadline trade last August, after Seattle had also DFA’ed the southpaw. Misiewicz posted a 4.61 ERA and only a 14% strikeout rate over 13 2/3 frames with the Mariners last year, but at least got on track on the strikeout front by delivering a 4.11 ERA and 29.7 K% in his first 15 1/3 innings in Kansas City.

It was a promising return to form for Misiewicz, who had a 4.05 ERA and 30.1% strikeout rate over 20 innings in his 2020 rookie season with the Mariners, but both his ERA (4.61) and his ability to miss bats both declined during 54 2/3 frames of work in 2021. Misiewicz posted respectable but not eye-opening strikeout totals during his minor league career, though naturally some uptick in K’s was to be expected after he moved to relief pitching. The left-hander was almost exclusively a starter from 2015-19, but shifted into a full-time bullpen role upon making his debut in the big leagues.

Misiewicz isn’t a particularly hard thrower for a relief pitcher, though he does have some good spin on his pitches, particularly his curveball. Between this skillset, his decent numbers at the MLB level, and the general need for left-handed pitching around the sport, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see another club pluck Misiewicz off the DFA wire. Misiewicz is also controllable through the 2026 season, providing another benefit for any interested teams. The Royals have Amir Garrett and new acquisitions Aroldis Chapman and Josh Taylor all lined up as the top left-handed options in their bullpen, so while Misiewicz became expendable from the team’s perspective, K.C. would probably prefer that he sneaks through the waiver wire so he can be retained as minor league depth.

Rays Extend Yandy Diaz

By Mark Polishuk | January 31, 2023 at 1:48pm CDT

Jan. 31: The Rays have formally announced their extension with Diaz. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets that Diaz will be paid $6MM in 2023, $8MM in 2024 and $10MM in 2025. There’s a $12MM option for a fourth season, which does not contain a buyout.

Jan. 28: The Rays and infielder Yandy Diaz are close to finalizing a contract extension, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reports (Twitter link). The deal is a three-year, $24MM pact that contains a club option for the 2026, according to Feinsand and his MLB.com colleague Juan Toribio (via Twitter). Diaz is represented by ACES.

The extension would cover Diaz’s final two years of arbitration control and at least one of his free agent-eligible seasons. Diaz and the Rays were slated for an arbitration hearing to determine his 2023 salary after not reaching an agreement by the filing deadline — Diaz was looking for $6.3MM and the club countered with $5.5MM.

Instead, it now looks like Diaz will be the third hearing-bound Tampa Bay player to sign an extension this week. Jeffrey Springs signed a four-year, $31MM extension on Wednesday, while Pete Fairbanks agreed to a deal worth $12MM over three guaranteed years on Friday. An arb hearing is usually the result when the two sides don’t agree on a one-year salary prior to the figure-exchange deadline, yet clubs often try to pursue multi-year deals as something of a loophole around the self-imposed “file and trial” strategy deployed by most of the league.

Diaz, Springs, and Fairbanks were three of seven Rays players that didn’t agree to terms by the deadline, and even the remaining group of four (Harold Ramirez, Colin Poche, Ryan Thompson, Jason Adam) still represents an unusually large number of players to be headed for hearings. It certainly wouldn’t be surprising to see the Rays work out at least one more extension before hearings start taking place in the coming weeks.

For Diaz, the new contract locks in some long-term security and the first major payday for a player who turned 31 last August. Beginning his career in his native Cuba, Diaz was twice arrested before finally defecting on his third attempt, and then signed with Cleveland for a $300K bonus. Diaz didn’t make his MLB debut until 2017, when he was already 25 years old.

Back in December 2018, a headline-grabbing three-team trade between the Rays, Indians, and Mariners saw Diaz head from Cleveland to Tampa as part of the five-player swap. The Rays had interest in Diaz’s ability to make contact and draw walks, and those skills have certainly translated as Diaz’s career has progressed. Since the start of the 2020 season, Diaz ranks sixth among all qualified hitters in walk rate (13.7%) and ninth in strikeout rate (13.1%).

Diaz hit .266/.359/.418 over his first three seasons with the Rays, good for a solid 117 wRC+ over 1026 plate appearances. However, Diaz took the production up a level last season, posting a 146 wRC+ while hitting .296/.401/.423 with nine home runs over 558 PA, and finishing with elite percentiles in several major Statcast categories. For a right-handed batter, Diaz’s career numbers against left-handed pitchers had been relatively modest heading into 2022, but last year he crushed southpaws to the tune of an .892 OPS over 145 PA.

One flaw in Diaz’s performance was a lack of glovework, as public defensive metrics have indicated that he has been well below average over 1282 1/3 innings as a third baseman over the last two seasons. This stands out even more on a defense-conscious club like Tampa Bay, though the Rays might ideally look to use Diaz more often as a first baseman in 2023 or over the course of the longer-term deal.

In the big picture, locking up Diaz seems like a shrewd move for Tampa. While a 146 wRC+ is a high-water mark for Diaz, there wasn’t much (apart from a spike in hard-hit ball rate) to suggest that his 2022 numbers were a departure from his prior career numbers, so it’s reasonable for the Rays to expect roughly similar production going forward over the life of Diaz’s deal.

Perhaps the most intriguing element is that the Rays have now extended a 31-year-old player, as it is fairly common for the team to shop players as they get increasingly expensive. There hadn’t been any real trade buzz surrounding Diaz, however, and thus the Rays have now locked up three members of their infield (Diaz, Wander Franco, and Brandon Lowe) though possibly the 2026 season, depending on the status of club options for Diaz and Lowe. Of course, the Rays could still end up shopping Diaz, Lowe, or conceivably even Franco down the road, especially if the club continues to generate quality infield prospects from its minor league pipeline.

Between the yet-unknown specifics of Diaz’s contract numbers and the unresolved arbitration cases, the Rays are likely to match or exceed their previous franchise high for payroll, even if their overall spending is still quite modest by league-wide standards. Tampa Bay’s Opening Day payroll last season was approximately $83.86MM, and Roster Resource currently (without a Diaz extension involved) projects the Rays for around $76.86MM on the books in 2023.

Angels Interested In Zack Britton

By Mark Polishuk | January 29, 2023 at 9:41pm CDT

The Angels are known to be in the market for left-handed bullpen help, and USA Today’s Bob Nightengale specifies that the Halos “have strong interest” in Zack Britton’s services. The two sides have yet to line up on a contract, as Nightengale writes that the Angels’ interest may only hinge on getting Britton at a lower amount than his asking price of roughly $9MM.

It is easy to understand the team’s hesitation, given that Britton has barely pitched (19 total innings) over the last two seasons due to injury. Bone chips in Britton’s elbow hampered his 2021 performance, and a Tommy John surgery then sidelined the reliever for virtually all of the 2022 campaign. Though Britton recently held a showcase to display his health for scouts, there’s naturally a good amount of uncertainty over what can be expected from the southpaw as he heads into his age-35 season.

From Britton’s perspective, a $9MM guarantee is a reasonable ask for a pitcher who was arguably baseball’s best reliever from 2014-20, posting elite numbers with the Orioles and Yankees. As noted by The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, Matt Strahm’s two-year, $15MM deal with the Phillies seemed to throw off the market for left-handed relievers, to the point that Britton and fellow free agent southpaws Andrew Chafin and Matt Moore might still be unsigned because they feel they deserve to top Strahm in either total value, average annual value, or both. (Nightengale writes that Chafin and Moore are also looking for around $9MM, though it isn’t clear if that translates to multi-year deal worth $9MM per season, or if either is open to a one-year commitment.)

Rosenthal’s report also cited the Angels as only one of 10 teams who were still looking at adding a left-handed reliever, so with this many potential suitors, Britton — and Chafin and Moore — might feel there’s enough interest that at least one club will eventually pay up. Speculatively, each of the three free agents also might be in some sense waiting to see which of the group signs first, as that deal could also reset the market.

The Angels already made one notable bullpen signing this winter in landing Carlos Estevez on a two-year, $13.5MM contract. The flame-throwing Estevez will factor into a closer mix that also includes Jimmy Herget and Ryan Tepera, but elsewhere in the Halos’ bullpen, Aaron Loup, Jose Quijada, and perhaps Tucker Davidson are the left-handed options. Since Loup and Quijada were each only okay in 2022, there’s certainly room for the Angels to add more help from the left side, and Britton’s past experience as a closer might also add to the list of ninth-inning candidates.

Signing Britton, Moore, or Chafin would add another noteworthy salary to an Angels payroll that is already projected by Roster Resource to sit at approximately $220.2MM. Though the Angels haven’t surpassed the luxury tax threshold since 2004, GM Perry Minasian said earlier this winter that owner Arte Moreno had no mandate against staying under the tax line. As such, there wouldn’t appear to be any obstacle to the Halos topping the $233MM threshold by signing Britton and perhaps another player or two, though naturally the front office might balk if they simply don’t value at a $9MM price point.

One player who isn’t on Anaheim’s radar is Gary Sanchez, Nightengale reports. Rookie prospect Logan O’Hoppe (acquired from the Phillies in the Brandon Marsh deal last summer) and veteran Max Stassi comprise the Angels’ current catching tandem, with Chad Wallach and Jose Godoy providing more depth in the minors. The Halos did have interest in Willson Contreras before Contreras signed with the Cardinals, but it isn’t clear if Los Angeles was looking at a catching upgrade in general, or Contreras was just a specific target as the top catcher on the free agent market.

Regardless, it doesn’t appear that Sanchez is under consideration. The former two-time All-Star has hit only .195/.287/.394 with 49 homers over 1089 plate appearances since the start of the 2020 season, translating to a 90 wRC+. Between that decline at the plate and Sanchez’s inconsistent defense, the Twins were willing to move on from Sanchez after the season (signing Christian Vazquez instead), and the Giants’ interest in Sanchez may have dried up since San Francisco inked Roberto Perez to a contract earlier today.

MLBTR Chat Transcript

By Mark Polishuk | January 29, 2023 at 8:20pm CDT

Click here to read the transcript of tonight’s live baseball chat

NL Notes: Schuerholz, Braves, Astros, Mets, Dodgers

By Mark Polishuk and Drew Silva | January 29, 2023 at 5:50pm CDT

Before the Astros hired Dana Brown as their new general manager, the team also interviewed one of Brown’s co-workers from the Braves front office in special assistant of scouting operations Jonathan Schuerholz, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports. Schuerholz played six seasons in Atlanta’s minor league system (from 2002-07) before moving into a minor league instructor role for the next seven seasons, and then in front office since October 2014 in assistant director roles in the player development and scouting departments.

Houston’s search involved candidates with several differing levels of experience, ranging from at least one former MLB general manager in Bobby Evans to a former manager in Brad Ausmus, who has mostly worked in on-field roles apart from brief stints as a special assistant in the front office with the Angels and Padres. (Brown was the Braves’ VP of scouting, a role that won’t be filled since Nightengale writes that the team specifically tailored the job to Brown himself.) Schuerholz was one of the younger known candidates at age 42, though he comes from a noteworthy lineage — Schuerholz’s father John is a Hall-of-Fame executive known for his success in building World Series winners in Atlanta and Kansas City. The younger Schuerholz could well be a name to watch in future years as teams look to fill GM/president of baseball operations vacancies.

Guardians Promote JT Maguire To Coaching Staff

By Mark Polishuk | January 28, 2023 at 2:16pm CDT

The Guardians have named JT Maguire as their new outfield coach, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. Maguire has been working in Cleveland’s organization for the last five years, and this will be his first official role with the big league team.

The 36-year-old Maguire spent six years in the college coaching ranks before making a relatively quick rise through the Guardians’ system. First hired as a bench coach for Cleveland’s rookie league club in 2019, the canceled 2020 minor league season saw Maguire coach at the Major League alternate training site before moving onto a bench coach role with Triple-A Columbus in 2021. The Guardians then shifted Maguire to a coordinator role, overseeing the organization’s outfield and baserunning efforts.

This experience made Maguire a logical choice to step into the Guards’ outfield coaching role left vacant when Kyle Hudson left the club in December to become the new Red Sox first base coach. Given the number of homegrown products in Cleveland’s outfield mix, Maguire is already quite familiar with such players as Steven Kwan, Oscar Gonzalez, Will Benson, and the next wave of prospects who might receive more MLB exposure in 2023.

AL East Notes: LeMahieu, Yankees, Orioles, Bello

By Mark Polishuk | January 28, 2023 at 1:09pm CDT

DJ LeMahieu continues to make progress in his recovery from a foot fracture, and based on the infielder’s offseason workouts, “it looks like there was never a problem,” Yankees hitting coach Dillon Lawson said. Though LeMahieu has yet to face live pitching, Lawson told the New York Post’s Dan Martin that the infielder is “able to do everything he needs to do, whether [the pitch] is inside, outside, up or down,” whereas when LeMahieu was battling his injury late last season, “sometimes when he came out there for batting practice, he’d have to come off his back side and couldn’t really rotate into the ball.”

Assuming LeMahieu is healthy and productive, the Yankees will pencil him into the lineup every day, whether at third, second, or first base. It is also possible that if the team is entirely confident LeMahieu is healthy, another infielder might be traded to make some extra space in the infield picture. Jon Heyman of the New York Post suggests that in addition to trying to trade Josh Donaldson and his hefty contract, the Yankees also at least explored trying to move Gleyber Torres or Isiah Kiner-Falefa, though obviously no deals transpired. Kiner-Falefa is expected to compete with star prospects Oswald Peraza and Anthony Volpe for everyday shortstop duty, while Torres is expected to be the starting second baseman. If Torres was dealt, New York could cover second base with some combination of LeMahieu, Peraza, Volpe, Kiner-Falefa, and Oswaldo Cabrera.

NPB’s Chiba Lotte Marines Sign Hirokazu Sawamura

By Mark Polishuk | January 28, 2023 at 10:31am CDT

The Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball have signed right-hander Hirokazu Sawamura, according to Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe (Twitter link). Sawamura pitched with the Red Sox in 2021-22 and was reportedly looking to sign on with another MLB team earlier this offseason, but he’ll now instead back to Japan.

Sawamura started his career in NPB, pitching mostly with the Yomiuri Giants from 2011-20 before being dealt to the Marines during the 2020 season. The righty’s first four seasons were spent mostly as a starter, as he delivered some quality numbers and helped the Giants win the 2012 Japan Series, though a full-time move to the bullpen in 2015 turned Sawamura into one of NPB’s best closers. While his effectiveness had a few injury-related ups and downs over the years, and Sawamura was moved to a setup role, Sawamura’s first stint in Nippon Professional Baseball resulted in an impressive 2.77 ERA, 22.1% strikeout rate and a 7.3% walk rate over 868 1/3 innings.

Exploring a move to North America after the 2020 campaign, Sawamura signed a two-year deal with the Red Sox for $3MM in guaranteed money — $1.2MM in salary in both 2021 and 2022, plus a $600K buyout of a $3MM club option for 2024. The contract also contained incentive clauses and a player option for Sawamura, though that became a moot point after he asked to be released in September in order to pursue opportunities with other teams. The Sox obliged, and Sawamura hit the open market after taking a $1MM buyout.

Though Sawamura had a 3.39 ERA and 50.9% grounder rate over his 103 2/3 Major League innings, other statistics weren’t nearly as flattering. Sawamura had a solid 26.3% strikeout rate in 2021 that plummeted to 18.1% last season, and control was consistent problem in both seasons, with a 13% total walk rate. With batters also consistently generating hard contact, Sawamura’s ability to keep the ball on the ground (and a .276 BABIP) might have saved him from more serious damage on the scoreboard. The Red Sox designated Sawamura for assignment and then outrighted him off their 40-man roster in August.

Sawamura turns 35 in April, and he’ll now make his return to NPB for what might be the final act of his baseball career. His brief time with the Marines in 2020 yielded a lot of success, as Sawamura had a 1.71 ERA over 21 1/3 innings.

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