In conjunction with the Marlins offseason in review post, we held the Marlins-related live chat tonight. Click here to read the transcript.
Bryan Shaw, Nick Avila Won’t Make White Sox Opening Day Roster
March 28: The Giants informed reporters, including Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area, that Avila has been returned to them from the White Sox.
March 26: The White Sox have informed right-handers Bryan Shaw and Nick Avila that they won’t be part of the team’s Opening Day roster, James Fegan of The Athletic reports (Twitter link). The two pitchers are at opposite ends of the experience spectrum, as Shaw is a 12-year MLB veteran in camp on a minor league contract, while Avila has yet to pitch beyond the Double-A level but was Chicago’s pick in the Rule 5 Draft.
Avila’s R5 status creates an immediate obstacle, since the Sox are required to keep him on their active roster for the entire 2023 season in order to fully obtain his rights. (Or, at least 90 days on the active roster and the rest of the time on the injured list, in the event of an injury.) If the White Sox don’t meet this criteria for Avila, they have to offer him back to the Giants, his original team, for $50K. Fegan writes that the Sox might still look for ways to keep Avila around, though outside of a proper trade agreement with the Giants or a suddenly injury to Avila, Chicago’s options are fairly limited.
The 25-year-old Avila had a stunning 1.14 ERA over 55 1/3 combined innings at the high-A and Double-A levels in 2022. It was the righty’s first full season as a reliever and he clearly took to the new role, also posting good strikeout and walk rates in addition to his minuscule ERA. MLB Pipeline ranks Avila as the 20th best prospect in Chicago’s farm system, giving his fastball and cutter both 60-grades and noting how Avila’s five-pitch arsenal gives him “a more diverse repertoire than most relievers.”
Avila couldn’t keep the production up in Spring Training, however, posting a 7.20 ERA over 10 innings of work even though his underlying metrics were still good. By contrast, Shaw had a 1.08 ERA in 8 1/3 Spring Training innings, but it wasn’t enough to land the 35-year-old a spot on the active roster.
Shaw isn’t an Article XX(B) free agent and thus didn’t have an automatic opt-out decision on March 25, though it is quite possible his minor league deal included some kind of different opt-out language. His impressive spring numbers might certainly convince another team to take a look at Shaw if he does end up leaving the White Sox organization (either by opt-out or release), and a reunion with the Guardians can’t be ruled out considering his longstanding ties to Cleveland.
Shaw spent the last two seasons (and seven of his 12 MLB seasons overall) in Cleveland, though he struggled to a 5.40 ERA over 58 1/3 innings out of the Guardians bullpen in 2022. Apart from a solid 2021 campaign, Shaw hasn’t been very reliable for most of the last five seasons, as he has a 5.23 ERA over 268 1/3 innings since the start of the 2018 campaign.
With Avila and Shaw out of the running, Gregory Santos and Keynan Middleton appear to be the favorites to land the final spot in the otherwise set Chicago bullpen. Santos also came to the White Sox out of San Francisco’s farm system, and after being acquired from the Giants in a December trade, the righty has yet to allow a run over 8 1/3 spring innings. Middleton is in camp on a minor league deal, and has a rockier 6.00 ERA in nine frames of Cactus League work.
White Sox To Select Contracts Of Oscar Colas, Hanser Alberto; Leury Garcia Won’t Make Opening Day Roster
3:27 PM: According to James Fegan of The Athletic, Hanser Alberto is expected to make the Opening Day roster with Garcia not making the team.
2:57 PM: The White Sox continue to shape their roster in advance of Opening Day, and according to reporter Francys Romero (Twitter link), outfielder Oscar Colas has been told by the team that he will break camp. In a more surprising development, Leury Garcia will not be part of the 26-man roster, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports (via Twitter).
Garcia was initially acquired from the Rangers in an August 2013 trade, and has since become a longstanding roster staple. Used mostly as a bench player over his 10 seasons with the White Sox, Garcia’s ability to play all over the diamond has made him a solid backup and fill-in option, as he has logged many games at all three outfield positions, shortstop, third base, and second base. This versatility has helped offset Garcia’s lack of offense, as he has only a .253/.293/.350 career slash line over 2402 plate appearances.
When Garcia entered the free agent market last winter, the Sox re-signed him to a three-year, $16.5MM deal that stood out as relatively steep for a 30-year-old career backup. The decision to retain Garcia became even more questionable when his offense declined even further in 2022, as he hit a meager .210/.233/.267 over 315 PA. Garcia’s 39 wRC+ was the lowest of any player in baseball last season with at least 300 plate appearances, and he was a sub-replacement -1.1 fWAR player overall.
In terms of other utility options, minor league signing Hanser Alberto has had a strong camp, and Romy Gonzalez is something of a utilityman-of-the-future down at Triple-A (plus, Gonzalez has already had a taste of the big leagues). Since veteran shortstop Elvis Andrus is returning to the White Sox as their new second baseman, manager Pedro Grifol hinted yesterday to reporters (including The Athletic’s James Fegan) that Andrus’ presence made Garcia somewhat redundant.
“Our backup shortstop plays second base for us every day,” Grifol said. “So, it’s not really a pressing need to have a utility player on our bench that is a shortstop. We are not pressed to do that. Would it be of value? Yeah, maybe. Not of great value, but of some value.“
It remains to be seen if Garcia would accept an assignment to the minor leagues, or if his omission from the roster is the beginning of the end of his time in the organization altogether. The Sox would be eating the remaining $11MM on Garcia’s contract in the event of a release, and a trade or a waiver claim seems pretty unlikely since teams won’t want to absorb that salary.
As for Colas, there was little doubt that he would be heading north to the Windy City, and the 24-year-old now seems set to make his MLB debut on Opening Day. Colas signed with Chicago for a $2.7MM bonus when the 2022 international signing period opened, and he hit a combined .314/.371/.524 with 23 homers over 526 combined PA at the high-A, Double-A, and Triple-A levels in 2022.
While Colas has only had okay numbers throughout Spring Training, his minor league dominance and his past track record in the Cuban National Series has indicated that he is ready for MLB competition. Colas is expected to get the majority of work in right field, with Eloy Jimenez (when he isn’t at DH) and Gavin Sheets also in the mix. Between the debuting Colas and the newly-signed Andrew Benintendi, Chicago’s outfield will have a new look, with Luis Robert returning as the incumbent in center field.
Athletics Sign Jeurys Familia
TODAY: The Athletics officially announced Familia’s signing. To create 40-man roster space, left-hander Kirby Snead was placed on the 60-day injured list due to a strained throwing shoulder. Snead hasn’t thrown for over a month since first suffering the strain in Spring Training action.
MARCH 25: The A’s have signed right-hander Jeurys Familia to a Major League contract, according to FanSided’s Robert Murray (Twitter link). MLB.com’s Martin Gallegos reported earlier today that Familia was present in the Athletics’ clubhouse. Familia is represented by ACES.
It was a pretty quick trip through free agency for Familia, as he was only released yesterday from his previous minor league deal with the Diamondbacks. Since Familia could’ve opted out of that minors deal today if Arizona hadn’t included him on its Opening Day roster, the D’Backs chose to release Familia and give him a bit of a jump on the rest of the Article XX(B) market.
That head start has now paid off in a guaranteed MLB contract for the 33-year-old reliever, as well as a familiar landing spot. Familia previously pitched for the A’s in 2018, joining the team after a trade deadline swap with the Mets. Over his previous 31 1/3 innings in the green-and-gold, Familia posted a 3.45 ERA, helping Oakland reach the AL wild card game.
Since that 2018 season, Familia’s performance has been quite inconsistent, with a couple of okay seasons in 2020-21 (at least in terms of bottom-line results) sandwiched in between rough years in both 2019 and 2022. Last season, Familia struggled to a 6.09 ERA over 44 1/3 combined innings with the Phillies and Red Sox, with below-average walk and strikeout rates as well as some of the most hard contact allowed of any pitcher in baseball.
Familia did look quite a bit sharper this spring in Arizona’s camp, with a 1.35 ERA over 6 2/3 frames of work. It wasn’t enough to win him a job in the Diamondbacks bullpen, but Familia will now bring some veteran knowhow to an Athletics relief corps that is short on MLB experience. There is enough uncertainty in Oakland’s bullpen that it might not be a surprise if Familia ends up earning some save chances at some point, and given how the A’s are still in rebuild mode, Familia certainly looks like a potential trade chip this summer if he is pitching well.
Guardians, Amed Rosario Have Discussed Contract Extension
Amed Rosario is scheduled to hit free agency after the 2023 season, but the Guardians have some interest in retaining his services over a longer term, as Rosario told The Athletic’s Zack Meisel (Twitter link) and other reporters that the club has touched base with his agents at Octagon about a possible contract extension. Rosario isn’t considering Opening Day as a deadline for talks, but he isn’t sure if a deal will be reached.
While the Guardians have commonly pursued and reached extensions over the years, the team has generally pursued multi-year deals with younger players who are either early in their arbitration eligibility or are still in the pre-arb phase of their careers. Recent examples include the extensions Cleveland reached with Emmanuel Clase and Myles Straw just under a year ago, as both deals saw the Guards gain cost-certainty over the players’ arbitration years and also gain control over free agent years, whether via guaranteed years or via club options. Of course, the Guardians also signed the biggest contract in team history with their extension with Jose Ramirez last spring, but that deal is something of an outlier considering both Ramirez’s superstar status, his specific desire to remain in Cleveland, and his willingness to take a below-market price.
In short, it would represent a departure from Cleveland’s usual tactics if they locked up a player like Rosario, who is a little older (though he’ll only be 28 on Opening Day 2024) than their normal extension targets, and is also on the verge of free agency. Rosario and his camp are surely also weighing the Guardians’ offers against the wider market as a whole, since if Rosario can even just replicate his 2022 numbers, he’ll be one of the better options available in a free agent class that isn’t terribly deep in position players.
Once one of baseball’s top prospects during his days in the Mets farm system, Rosario hasn’t yet risen to those lofty expectations, yet he has become a solid everyday player over his two seasons in Cleveland. Rosario’s inconsistency in New York led the Mets to move him as part of the blockbuster trade that brought Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco to Queens, while also giving Cleveland some major payroll savings and two new middle-infield building blocks in Rosario and Andres Gimenez.
It is a deal that has worked out very nicely for the Guardians, considering how Gimenez broke out with one of the best all-around seasons of any player in 2022. Rosario’s contributions have also been quite respectable, as he has produced 2.4 fWAR in each of his two seasons in Cleveland, hitting .282/.316/.406 over 1258 plate appearances for a 101 wRC+. His glovework at shortstop is more of a mixed bag depending on your defensive metric of choice, but at least in the view of Defensive Runs Saved and UZR/150, his fielding was strongly above-average in 2022. Rosario also has some experience as a left fielder and center fielder, though his defense has been mediocre over his small sample size of 171 1/3 innings on the grass.
Given the Guardians’ penchant for trading players as they become too expensive, Rosario has been the subject of trade rumors almost since the moment he joined the organization, as there was even speculation Cleveland might flip him soon after the Mets deal. However, even with Rosario’s rising price tag and the number of promising young middle infield prospects in the Guards farm system, the front office has held off on a trade, and now might revert course entirely by extending Rosario beyond 2023. A midseason trade might still be possible if the Guardians were to fall out of the postseason race, or if the team becomes confident enough in its young depth options that it moves Rosario while also acting as deadline buyers in pursuit of another deep playoff run.
The ripple effects of a Rosario extension could include an increased willingness by the Guardians to move one or two of those prospects to address other needs, if the club is indeed eyeing Rosario and Gimenez as the long-term answer up the middle. Gimenez is under team control through the 2026 season and might be an extension candidate himself, so it doesn’t seem likely that the Guards would pivot to exploring a Gimenez trade if they locked up Rosario.
In terms of available payroll space, the Guardians don’t have much in the way of future commitments, but the team’s traditionally limited spending is itself an obstacle. Prior to Ramirez’s extension, Cleveland had never spent more than $60MM (Edwin Encarnacion) on a player, and it would seem like the team would have to spend well in excess of that number to cover multiple free agent years of a shortstop entering his age-28 season. Rosario told Meisel and company that he likes playing for the Guardians, though it isn’t known if he would be open to taking anything close to the relative hometown discount that Ramirez gave the team in his extension.
Injury Notes: Nevin, Severino, Houser, Suarez, Suzuki
As expected, the Tigers will place Tyler Nevin on the 10-day injured list to begin the season. Nevin suffered a Grade 1 oblique strain a little less than three weeks ago, making it doubtful that the 25-year-old would be fully recovered in time for Opening Day. However, it is possible Nevin won’t miss much time, as Tigers manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (including Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press) that Nevin is on pace to start a rehab assignment this week.
Even a brief IL stint isn’t an ideal way for Nevin to begin his tenure with his new team, as he was only acquired by the Tigers in a swap with the Orioles back in December. Nevin’s ability to play both corner infield and outfield positions makes him an interesting commodity on Detroit’s roster, as this versatility and Nevin’s right-handed bat made him a natural platoon partner or complement to such left-handed batters as Austin Meadows, Akil Baddoo, Nick Maton, or Kerry Carpenter.
More on other injury situations around baseball…
- Luis Severino is another player headed for a season-opening IL stint, as the Yankees right-hander has suffered a lat strain. This particular injury is a concern given that Severino missed over two months of the 2022 season with another lat strain, but the pitcher told reporters (including Greg Joyce of the New York Post) that this strain in lower in his back than last year’s problem and doesn’t seem as serious. Severino suggested that he could miss “three or four starts,” but a more specific timeline isn’t known, since “I’m going to be a little bit cautious, but I think the Yankees are going to be more cautious than me.” Last summer, Severino expressed both surprise and public displeasure with the Yankees’ decision to shift him from the 15-day to the 60-day IL, as he expecting a quicker return to action.
- Brewers right-hander Adrian Houser left his spring outing yesterday due to groin tightness, and the club will further examine his status today. The same injury bothered Houser both earlier in Spring Training and at the end of last season, resulting in an IL stint. Considering the recurring nature of the groin problem and the close proximity to Opening Day, it certainly seems possible the Milwaukee could start Houser on the IL once more. As the odd man out of a deep Brewers rotation, Houser had been tabbed for a relief role to begin the season, with the understanding that he is also the team’s unofficial sixth starter in the event of an injury.
- Ranger Suarez played catch on Friday and Saturday, telling Alex Coffey of the Philadelphia Inquirer that his left arm still had some tightness but no pain. In general, Suarez felt “nothing too bad” and his forearm was doing “better.” Despite this fairly positive update, it still seems unlikely that Suarez will be able to avoid an IL trip given how the Phillies will probably be cautious with a case of elbow inflammation. The left-hander was projected to be either the third or fourth starter in Philadelphia’s rotation this season, but with his likely absence for part of April, Bailey Falter will step into that vacancy in the starting five. Matt Strahm or Michael Plassmeyer could take the fifth starter job, as top prospect Andrew Painter, Cristopher Sanchez, and Nick Nelson are also battling injuries.
- The Cubs haven’t yet decided how they’ll replace Seiya Suzuki on their season-opening roster, as Suzuki will need a 10-day IL stint after missing the last month of Spring Training due to an oblique strain. Suzuki is making such steady development in his rehab work that even though he’ll miss some time during the regular season, it may not be all that much time. “Whether you are trying to put somebody on the [40-man] roster that’s not on it or trying to fill a gap for 10 days is a big deal,” Cubs manager David Ross told Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times and other reporters. “And it’s a big decision. We have so much talent and a lot of depth here. We would like to keep as much as we possibly can because of the long journey we’re about to start.”
Mariners Return Rule 5 Pick Chris Clarke To Cubs
Right-hander Chris Clarke is officially once again part of the Cubs organization, as the Mariners returned the Rule 5 Draft selection to Chicago. (Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune was among those to report the news.)
The Mariners took Clarke with the 22nd pick of last December’s R5, taking the opportunity to get a closer look at the 24-year-old in action. Clarke was a fourth-round draft choice for the Cubs in 2019, and the 6’7″ USC product had posted some solid strikeout rates and very impressive walk rates over 196 2/3 career innings in the minors.
Those numbers came with a modest 4.26 ERA, however, though some bad batted-ball luck was partially to blame. Clarke is more of a grounder specialist, and thus his 58% groundball rate in 96 2/3 Double-A innings last season would’ve likely led to better results had Clarke not been hampered by a large .375 BABIP.
As per the regulations of the Rule 5 Draft, Clarke would’ve had to remain on Seattle’s active roster for the entire season in order for the team to fully assume his rights from the Cubs. Even with Clarke’s potential, it seemed unlikely that he would’ve made the jump from Double-A to the majors and won a job in a pretty loaded Mariners relief corps. Seattle had one of baseball’s better bullpens in 2022, leaving Clarke will little margin for error just in breaking camp with the team, let alone sticking with the M’s throughout the year.
Kyle Wright To Begin Season On 15-Day IL; Braves To Use Jared Shuster, Dylan Dodd In Rotation
10:51AM: In related Braves roster news, right-handers Nick Anderson and Michael Tonkin will both be in the team’s Opening Day bullpen. (Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution was among those to report the news.) Anderson and Tonkin will take over the roster spots created with Wright and Raisel Iglesias slated to start the year on the IL.
8:59AM: The battle to decide the Braves’ fifth starter has ended in something of a draw, as now both Jared Shuster and Dylan Dodd will be making early turns in the rotation. According to MLB.com’s Mark Bowman (Twitter links), Kyle Wright is getting some “extra time” to fully prep for the season in the wake of some shoulder soreness, thus creating an opportunity for both Shuster and Dylan to make starts. Wright will go onto the 15-day injured list, The Athletic’s David O’Brien notes, but it seems possible that Wright will leave the IL when first eligible.
Wright’s usual offseason routine was interrupted in January when he received a cortisone shot in his right shoulder. That delayed Wright’s normal plan by roughly three weeks, and he didn’t make his first Spring Training start until last Monday. The Braves intend to give Wright an outing in minor league spring camp, and then a Triple-A start before bringing him onto the active roster. Counting the three days of IL backdating, Wright is seemingly in line to make his 2023 debut during the Braves’ series with the Reds from April 10-12.
Atlanta opens its season on March 30, has an off-day on March 31, and then has a game every day until April 13. This busy early schedule creates an early need for a full rotation, though Bowman writes that Dodd may not officially break camp, as the Braves will wait to call him up until his planned start on April 4 in St. Louis. That will give Atlanta a little more time in figuring out its 40-man roster maneuverings, as neither Dodd or Shuster are currently on the 40-man. (Other non-roster invitees like Jesse Chavez, Ehire Adrianza, and Kevin Pillar also look like solid bets to make the team, creating more need for extra space.)
Shuster seemingly has the slight edge over Dodd in the race to stick in the rotation, but now both southpaws will get a further opportunity to audition on the big league stage. It is a somewhat surprising outcome that didn’t appear to be on the radar when Atlanta started Spring Training, given that Ian Anderson, Bryce Elder, and Michael Soroka were the likeliest contenders to be the fifth starter. However, Shuster and Dodd both pitched so well that the Braves narrowed the field down to the two rookies, who will each be making their Major League debuts.
Kole Calhoun Opts Out Of Minor League Deal With Mariners
Kole Calhoun has exercised the opt-out clause in his minor league contract with the Mariners, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter link). Yesterday was the first designated opt-out deadline for Article XX(B) free agents on minor league deals, and since the Mariners weren’t planning to include Calhoun on their active roster, Calhoun instead chose free agency.
Even with Taylor Trammell and utilityman Dylan Moore projected to start the year on the injured list, there wasn’t room in Seattle’s outfield for Calhoun to win a job. The 35-year-old didn’t help his case with a lackluster .250/.314/.281 slash line over 35 plate appearances in Cactus League action.
It has been a tough couple of years for Calhoun, as he has batted only .208/.269/.343 over 606 PA since the start of the 2021 season. Injuries have factored into that lack of production, but Calhoun’s struggles cost him playing time with the Rangers in 2022 as Texas just preferred to give younger players more of a look against big-league pitching. The Rangers held a $5.5MM club option on Calhoun for 2023 that they declined last fall, leading to Calhoun’s last trip to the open market and his subsequent contract with Seattle.
Calhoun will now join the field of free agents, late-camp roster cuts, and fellow Article XX(B) opt-out players in trying to land another deal with a new team. Calhoun’s experience and pre-2021 track record figures to get him some looks from clubs looking to add outfield depth or perhaps fill a vacancy due to injury.
Orioles Notes: Givens, Tate, McCann
Mychal Givens’ status for Opening Day is uncertain, as the veteran reliever is battling knee soreness and hasn’t pitched since March 16. His readiness is perhaps even more doubtful after this morning’s throwing session, as Givens was working off a mound and throwing to batters before cutting the session short. According to reporters on the scene (including MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko), Givens threw only 10 pitches and then left the mound in visible anger, even throwing his glove to the ground.
A trip to the 15-day injured list is looking increasingly likely in the wake of today’s news, and it’s a tough setback considering that Givens seemed to be relatively close to returning. Givens played catch on flat ground on consecutive days, and told Kubatko and other reporters yesterday that “for me, just getting the reps in is what I need, even if it’s a back field game. If I can get a couple more outings just to get my feet to rhythm and body in rhythm….[I can] get back to being in game mode.”
In a relatively quiet Baltimore offseason, Givens was one of the team’s more high-profile additions, agreeing to a one-year deal worth $5MM in guaranteed money (there is also a mutual option for 2024). The 32-year-old was signed to bring some veteran experience to a pretty young Orioles bullpen, and Givens still has plenty to offer on the mound, after posting a 3.38 ERA over 61 1/3 innings with the Cubs and Mets in 2022.
Dillon Tate is another Orioles reliever facing an injury problem, as the righty is still recovering from a forearm/flexor strain suffered in November. Manager Brandon Hyde said that Tate is tentatively planned to return by the middle of May, so while Tate will begin the season on the 15-day injured list, the O’s haven’t considered placing him on the 60-day IL. It is possible that a 60-day placement might yet come if Tate hits any setbacks, but he has seemingly been making pretty steady process, including a mound session yesterday.
On the catching front, James McCann has been bothered by some soreness in his left side, and his Opening Day availability might also be in doubt. “We’ve got some big steps to overcome these next couple days to be sure,” McCann told MLB.com’s Jake Rill and other reporters, “but again, it’s one of those things, for me, better be safe than sorry.”
McCann is unfortunately no stranger to side injuries, as he missed just under a month of the 2022 due to a left oblique strain. While this current soreness is also on his left side, McCann said his current issue is in a different area, and “it’s only minor” compared to his strain.
The Orioles acquired McCann in a December trade with the Mets, as New York also included $19MM of the $24MM owed to the catcher over the 2023-24 seasons. McCann will give Baltimore some veteran catching depth behind Adley Rutschman, but the O’s will have to dig deeper down the depth chart if McCann ends up having to spend any time on the 10-day IL to fully recover. Anthony Bemboom and Mark Kolozsvary have some MLB experience and are currently slated for the Orioles’ Triple-A team, though neither backstop is on the 40-man roster.
