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Yankees Interested In Tim Hill

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Starters Max Fried and Carlos Rodon are the only left-handed pitchers on the Yankees’ 40-man roster, leaving the Bronx Bombers in clear need of some southpaw depth for the bullpen.  Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that the team is considering a few left-handed relief options, including a possible reunion with Tim Hill.

After posting a 5.87 ERA in 23 innings with the White Sox, Hill was released by Chicago in June and quickly scooped up by the Yankees on a new contract.  The change of scenery worked wonders for Hill in terms of bottom-line results, as he posted a 2.05 ERA in 44 frames with New York during the regular season and then a tiny 1.08 ERA over 10 appearances and 8 1/3 innings in the playoffs.

Hill’s status as an extreme groundball pitcher can lead to such big swings in performance, as one often needs to look behind just the ERA to fully gauge the veteran lefty’s effectiveness.  Hill had an enormous .436 BABIP with the White Sox and then a .238 BABIP with the Yankees, perhaps explaining why the gap in SIERA (3.33 with New York, 4.04 with Chicago) isn’t quite as large as Hill’s ERAs would suggest.  The biggest change was improved control, as Hill had an 8.5% walk rate with the Sox and then only a 5.2% walk rate in the Bronx.

Now entering his age-35 season, Hill has a 3.99 ERA over 322 1/3 career innings across seven MLB seasons, with a 61.8% grounder rate helping overcome only a 17.3% career strikeout rate.  Those numbers naturally include a lot of success against left-handed batters, as Hill has held same-sided hitters to a .614 OPS (while right-handed hitters have a .788 OPS).  The home run ball has been an issue for Hill in the past, though he allowed just two homers over his 75 1/3 total frames in the regular season and postseason in 2024.

It was almost exactly a year ago that Hill signed a one-year, $1.8MM contract with the White Sox, on the heels of being non-tendered by the Padres.  His late-season success in the Yankees very likely means that Hill will land another guaranteed deal this winter, though his age and somewhat inconsistent track record will limit him to a one-year pact.  This limited price tag is surely a plus for a Yankees team already projected to be over the highest level of luxury tax penalization.  From Hill’s perspective, one would imagine he would also have interest in returning to the Yankees given his post-trade success, and getting another crack at winning a World Series ring.

Red Sox Discussed Jared Jones Trade With Pirates During Winter Meetings

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Starting pitching has been a priority for the Red Sox this winter, and the club has actively addressed that need by trading for Garrett Crochet and signing both Walker Buehler and Patrick Sandoval.  Several other starters have been on Boston’s radar throughout the offseason, including some talks with the Pirates about right-hander Jared Jones during the Winter Meetings, according to the Boston Globe’s Alex Speier.

The depth of the negotiations aren’t known, or whether Boston’s interest was perhaps anything more than a due-diligence check-in just in case the Crochet trade didn’t come together.  In an example of how teams are constantly following multiple paths at once during an offseason, Speier notes that the Red Sox were also showing interest in the Mariners’ Luis Castillo as a trade target along with Jones and Crochet, and also speaking with such free agents as Buehler, Nathan Eovaldi, and Nick Pivetta.

Despite their rotation additions to date, it can probably be assumed that the Red Sox would still be interested in acquiring Jones, simply because every team would love to have a controllable, 23-year-old pitcher coming off an impressive rookie season.  Reports from earlier this month indicated that Pittsburgh was (somewhat surprisingly) open to the idea of at least hearing offers for Jones, though that was before the Pirates dealt from their rotation depth by moving Luis Ortiz to the Guardians for Spencer Horwitz.

Heading into the winter, it was widely assumed that the Pirates would swing such a pitching-for-hitting trade, given the team’s need for offense and its number of available pitchers.  Even with Ortiz now in Cleveland, the Buccos still have a projected rotation of Jones, Paul Skenes, Mitch Keller, Bailey Falter, and Johan Oviedo, plus several highly-touted prospects in the minors who are knocking on the door for their MLB debuts.

Whether or not the Pirates would be willing to further deal from the pitching ranks remains to be seen, and in Jones’ case, it would assuredly take a massive offer for Pittsburgh to even consider moving the right-hander.  As it relates to the Red Sox in particular, the Pirates would be justified in asking for any of Jarren Duran, Triston Casas, or at least one of Boston’s “big three” prospects (Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer, Kristian Campbell) in return for Jones.

Casas’ name was already floated in talks with the Mariners about Seattle’s cadre of young starters, while Anthony, Mayer, and Campbell are thought to be all but untouchable in trade discussions.  Speier writes that none of that minor league trio was ever offered to the White Sox for Crochet, and “the White Sox understood the Red Sox weren’t going to discuss” those players.  However, it should be noted that the Big Three was initially a Big Four, but Kyle Teel ended up being the prospect sent to Chicago as the headliner of the Crochet trade package.

A blockbuster swap of young talent between the Pirates and Red Sox shouldn’t be ruled out entirely, given how a deal would neatly address the twin needs of both clubs.  That being said, even if Skenes might be the only entirely untouchable Pirates pitcher in trade talks, it can be assumed that Pittsburgh would explore moving any of its other arms before looking to deal Jones.  If the Pirates were considering a trade from closer to the top of their rotation, moving Keller and the $69.5MM remaining on his contract over the next four seasons would seem like the preferred option for the ever budget-conscious Bucs.

Giants Re-Sign Raymond Burgos To Minors Contract

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The Giants signed Raymond Burgos to a new minor league contract earlier this month, as per the left-hander’s MLB.com profile page.  Burgos elected minor league free agency after the season, but he’ll now return for what will be his third season in San Francisco’s organization.

An 18th-round pick for Cleveland in the 2016 draft, Burgos didn’t make his pro debut until 2018 due to Tommy John surgery.  He entered minor league free agency after the 2022 campaign and caught on with the Giants for the first time that winter.  The Giants parted ways with the southpaw last fall and Burgos caught on with a Mexican League team, only to rejoin the Giants on a new minors deal last April.

This reunion led to Burgos’ first and only appearance at the big league level.  The 26-year-old left-hander allowed a run on three hits in his lone inning of relief work in San Francisco’s 5-4 win over the Cubs.  Soon after that debut appearance, the Giants designated Burgos for assignment and then outrighted him off their 40-man roster.

Working mostly as a reliever during his career in the minors, Burgos has posted solid numbers, including a 3.38 ERA, 22% strikeout rate, 7.5% walk rate in 48 Triple-A innings.  Burgos’ lack of standout strikeout ability could be hampering his path to the bigs, but he has been consistently effective at retiring same-sided batters.  Taylor Rogers and Erik Miller are slated to be the top left-handers out of the Giants’ bullpen, and it makes sense that the team would add to this depth (for at least the Triple-A level) with a known quantity in Burgos.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Sets Spring Training Deadline For Extension Talks With Blue Jays

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Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is eligible for free agency after the 2025 season, and his future is undoubtedly the biggest looming question hanging over the Blue Jays as they prepare for what might be their final year of control over the All-Star first baseman.  GM Ross Atkins said at season’s end that the Jays would be looking to start extension talks this winter, and Guerrero himself confirmed these negotiations were taking place in a recent interview with Abriendo Sports (hat tip to Z101’s Hector Gomez and Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith).

Guerrero reiterated that he has interest in staying in Toronto, and is “ready to go” in signing an extension if the Jays meet his asking price.  However, “what they offered me is not even close to what I’m looking for,” Guerrero said, noting that Toronto’s most recent offer was worth around $340MM.  Notably, this offer came after Juan Soto signed his 15-year, $765MM deal with the Mets, and completely reset the market for superstar players.

Only limited time may be available to close the gap that exists between the two sides, as Guerrero said that he has let the front office know that he will cease negotiations after the first full day of the Jays’ Spring Training camp.   It is a bit of an unusual self-imposed deadline date, as most players set Opening Day as their unofficial endpoint for reaching an extension.  Obviously an extension can happen at any point before a player enters free agency, yet players generally prefer to keep focused only on baseball once the season begins, and thus contract talks are usually limited to the offseason.

It isn’t uncommon for some deals, of course, to be announced a few days or weeks into April, if talks are on the proverbial five-yard line by Opening Day and just a few final details needed to be confirmed.  Likewise, Guerrero probably isn’t going to end all talks in late February if he and the Jays have worked out most aspects of a very lucrative (and therefore rather complex) extension.  That said, reducing the remaining negotiation window to roughly two months is a pretty public way of increasing the pressure on Toronto’s front office.

This is purely speculation on my part, but the earlier “deadline” could also be Guerrero’s way of leaving the door open for a trade.  If an extension can’t be worked out before Spring Training properly begins and the Blue Jays feel Guerrero won’t re-sign next winter, the Jays could pivot and try to trade Guerrero for some longer-term assets prior to Opening Day.  To be clear, if Toronto spends the rest of its offseason adding talent to take another run at contention in 2025, it would seem far more likely that the Jays just keep Guerrero to keep their roster as strong as possible in what might be something of a final run for the Guerrero/Bo Bichette core.

The length of the $340MM offer wasn’t specified, but a ten-year, $340MM pact produces “only” an average annual value of $34MM per season, which ranks tied for the 15th-highest AAV in baseball history.  Nine years and $340MM is a $37.77MM AAV that ranks as the seventh-highest all-time, topped only by the most recent deals signed by Soto, Shohei Ohtani, Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Zack Wheeler, and Aaron Judge.  An eight-year, $340MM pact equals $42.5MM in AAV, putting Guerrero behind only Soto, Ohtani, Scherzer, and Verlander.

Guerrero doesn’t turn 26 until March, however, so an eight-year deal only runs through his age-33 season.  Even a ten-year deal brings Guerrero through just his age-35 campaign, and a longer-term deal in the $340MM range only lowers the AAV to an even greater extent.  It isn’t necessarily clear what Guerrero is looking for in terms of contract length, but in terms of pure dollars, it is easy to see why he would balk at an offer worth slightly more than half of what Soto (who is also entering his age-26 season) received from New York.

From the Blue Jays’ perspective, the gap in production between Soto and Guerrero would justify a gap in earnings, though it isn’t quite as large a divide as one might imagine.  Soto’s huge 2024 campaign with the Yankees boosted his asking price through the ceiling, but looking just at his first six MLB seasons, Soto hit .284/.421/.524 with 160 home runs in 3375 plate appearances, with a 154 wRC+ and 28.2 fWAR.

Through his first six MLB seasons, Guerrero has hit .288/.363/.500 in 3540 PA, with the exact same total of 160 homers, and a 137 wRC+ and 17 fWAR.  For both players, their value is largely derived from their bat, as public defensive and baserunning metrics paint Guerrero and Soto as well below average in both departments.

The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal recently discussed what it might take to extend Guerrero, and floated the idea of a contract of somewhere between $500MM-$600MM.  Assuming no deferred money would be involved, this would make Guerrero the second-highest paid player in baseball history, behind only Soto.  “Excessive as it might sound to the average fan…keep in mind, the Jays would need to pay a premium for preventing Guerrero from testing the market.  And if they lose him, their already disgruntled fan base might revolt,” Rosenthal writes.

The latter point is another over-arching element of the Guerrero talks, as perhaps no executives in baseball are on as much of a hot seat as Atkins and team president Mark Shapiro.  While the Blue Jays came out of a rebuild to reach the playoffs in 2020, 2022, 2023, the club didn’t win even a single game during those trips to the postseason, and Toronto’s nosedive to a 74-88 record in 2024 could be a sign that the Jays’ competitive window could already be closed.

Toronto’s ardent pursuits of both Ohtani last offseason and Soto this winter indicated that ownership was prepared to go the distance in bidding on top-flight talent, though it remains to be seen if the Jays view Guerrero quite in the same tier those other two superstars.  It was just a year ago that Guerrero was coming off an underwhelming 118 wRC+ in 2023, and there were questions about whether Guerrero was even worth any kind of long-term investment.  For comparison’s sake, Soto’s “worst” full season as calculated by wRC+ was his 2019 campaign, when he posted a 143 wRC+ in 659 PA while also catching fire in the postseason to help the Nationals win the World Series.

Viewing Guerrero in relation to Soto specifically is a comp that Guerrero’s reps at the Prime Agency would likely welcome, as it keeps Guerrero even subconsciously linked to Soto’s elite salary tier.  Rafael Devers’ ten-year, $313.5MM extension with the Red Sox is also frequently mentioned as a Guerrero comp, as Devers was also entering his age-26 season.  Guerrero has some statistical edge (Devers had a 123 wRC+ in his first six seasons prior to his extension) and thus an argument to earn more than Devers got from Boston, but perhaps the Blue Jays’ $340MM-ish number reflects the idea of Guerrero as only slightly better than Devers.

It could also be, of course, that the Jays are willing to pay well above $340MM, but offered that figure as an early gauge on Guerrero’s asking price in the wake of Soto’s contract.  Plenty of time still exists for the two sides to eventually match up on an acceptable extension, and it could be that Guerrero backs off his early-spring deadline if some progress has been made, even if a new deal isn’t exactly imminent.

Tigers Sign Jordan Balazovic To Minors Contract

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The Tigers have signed right-hander Jordan Balazovic to a minor league deal, according to Just Baseball Media’s Aram Leighton.  Balazovic returns to North American baseball after a brief stint with the Doosan Bears of the KBO League, as Balazovic signed with the Bears after he was released by the Twins last July.

A fifth-round pick for Minnesota in the 2016 draft, Balazovic earned some looks at the back of top-100 prospect lists during his climb up the ladder of the Twins’ farm system.  However, most of his success happened in the lower rungs of the ladder, as Balazovic has a 6.35 ERA in 151 2/3 career innings of Triple-A ball.  Despite those struggles, the Twins gave him a look at the big league level in 2023, and Balazovic posted a 4.44 ERA, 15.7% strikeout rate, and 11.1% walk rate across his first 24 1/3 innings in the Show.

The Twins opted to designate Balazovic for assignment last February and then released him, though he was quickly re-signed to another minor league contract.  More struggles at Triple-A led to Balazovic being released again so he could pursue his opportunity in South Korea, and Balazovic had a 4.26 ERA and a strong 27.6% strikeout rate in 57 innings with the Bears, starting 11 of his 12 games.

Balazovic still had an 11.2% walk rate with the Bears, which is a bit higher than his 9.01% career walk rate in the minors.  His control worsened as Balazovic faced higher levels of competition in the minors, while his strikeout and grounder rates were generally pretty solid, albeit with some variance within the small sample sizes of bouncing to different minor league levels.

Balazovic is only 26, so there’s logic in the Tigers taking a flier on a former notable prospect to see if another change of scenery helps the right-hander unlock any potential.  Detroit has also signed the likes of Matt Gage, Brendan White, and Ryan Miller to minors deals in recent days, as the Tigers are lining up some depth arms to evaluate in spring camp.  These types of signings are common practice for any team, of course, and won’t preclude Detroit from taking a run at bigger-name bullpen options like reported target Kirby Yates.

Nationals Acquire Nathaniel Lowe

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The Nationals and Rangers have swung a one-for-one trade that will see first baseman Nathaniel Lowe head to Washington in exchange for left-hander Robert Garcia.  ESPN’s Jeff Passan (multiple links) was the first to report the deal, which has now been officially announced by both teams.

Lowe will change teams via trade for the second time in his career, as it was just over four years ago that Lowe was dealt from the Rays to the Rangers as part of a six-player swap.  The Rays’ first base depth had left Lowe struggling for playing time in his first two MLB seasons, but he immediately found a regular job once Texas installed him as its everyday first baseman.  Lowe has played in 615 of a possible 648 regular-season games in his four seasons with the Rangers, while hitting .274/.359/.432 with 78 homers in 2576 plate appearances.

Between his 123 wRC+ over those four seasons and increasingly strong defensive metrics, Lowe has been worth 10.6 fWAR during his Rangers tenure.  It isn’t superstar production and the left-handed hitting Lowe has naturally been more consistent against right-handed pitching, but he has at worst been a steady regular, with hints of a higher ceiling of production.  Lowe hit .302/.358/.492 with 27 homers over 645 PA in 2022, though a .363 BABIP may have helped contribute to that career year.

Despite Lowe’s very solid play, there had been some whispers that the Rangers could be looking to clear some room at first base.  The recently-acquired Jake Burger figures to get a good chunk of the first base at-bats now that Lowe is off the roster, with Josh Smith, Justin Foscue, or Ezequiel Duran also in the running for playing time depending on how the Rangers opt to arrange their infield.  Josh Jung is slated to be the regular third baseman but Burger, Smith, or Duran could also be used at the hot corner based on matchups.

Lowe’s increasing arbitration price tag was also surely a factor in the Rangers’ decision.  Now entering his second arb-eligible year, Lowe was projected to earn $10.7MM for the 2025 season.  It is hardly an ungainly sum for a Gold Glove-winning first baseman with Lowe’s offensive production, but since Lowe turns 30 in July, Texas might’ve been considering the longer-term question of whether or not Lowe was a candidate for a contract extension.

Today’s trade answers that question, and gaining more flexibility at a premium position allows the Rangers to both see what they have in internal options, or to potentially keep first base open for a bigger free agent or trade target down the road.  Or, such a bat could still come this offseason, as Texas now has an even greater need for left-handed hitting depth after dealing Lowe.

It was no secret that the Nationals were looking to upgrade at first base this winter, as such free agents as Christian Walker and Paul Goldschmidt were on Washington’s radar.  Walker signed with the Astros and Goldschmidt joined the Yankees just within the last week, which quite possibly prompted the Nats to complete this trade as the first-base market continues to quickly thin out.

The Lowe deal is the clearest sign yet that the Nationals are ready to end their rebuild after five straight losing seasons.  The Nats’ youth movement has led to CJ Abrams, James Wood, Dylan Crews, and Luis Garcia Jr. becoming parts of the everyday lineup, but plenty more offensive help was still required for a team that finished near the back of the pack in several major offensive categories.

In adding Lowe, the Nationals now have a player still in his prime who can bring a veteran voice and championship experience to the clubhouse, in addition to what Lowe can provide on the field.  There is even a slightly hometown-hero aspect to the trade, as Lowe was born a few hours’ down the road from D.C. in Norfolk, Virginia.

The Nats have plenty of payroll space available, so Lowe’s salaries aren’t any kind of concern for the team.  Addressing first base by trading for Lowe instead of, say, spending much more in salary and draft capital to sign a Walker or a Pete Alonso allows president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo to still keep his financial powder dry for other big moves this winter or (perhaps more likely) next offseason or potentially at the trade deadline.  Rizzo and team ownership might prefer to give it one more season to see what they really have in their young core before really putting the pedal down in a full-fledged run towards contention.  In this scenario, Lowe is already under control if 2026 is really the Nationals “go for it” kind of year.

Garcia’s role in the deal shouldn’t be overlooked, as the Nationals now have an even greater need for relief pitching after dealing away a southpaw who showed plenty of promise in his first two Major League seasons.  Washington claimed Garcia off waivers from the Marlins in August 2023, and the lefty has a 4.03 ERA, 28.6% strikeout rate, 46.6% grounder rate, and 7.4% walk rate over 91 2/3 career relief innings.

Fifty-nine and two-thirds of those frames came last season, as Garcia posted a misleading 4.22 ERA that was inflated by some bad luck.  Garcia had a .329 BABIP and a very low 57.2% strand rate, and his 2.71 SIERA is perhaps a better reflection of just how solid Garcia’s performance was in 2024.  The left-hander doesn’t bring much in the way of velocity, but his fastball is used primarily to set up his excellent changeup, which was quietly one of the more effective changeups thrown by any pitcher in baseball.

With a swath of above-average Statcast metrics, Garcia will provide a huge boost to the Texas bullpen if he can replicate those numbers on his new club.  Garcia joins Jacob Webb and Hoby Milner as recent new additions to a relief corps that was destined to undergo an overhaul with Kirby Yates, Jose Leclerc, and David Robertson all entering free agency.  Since this trio is still unsigned, the Rangers could seek out reunions with any of their own free agents, but naturally it makes sense to fortify the pen with other longer-term arms like Garcia.  The left-hander turns 29 in June but is arb-controlled through the 2029 season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Red Sox Sign Austin Adams To Minors Contract

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The Red Sox have signed right-hander Austin Adams to a minor league deal, KPRC’s Ari Alexander reports.  Adams will receive an invite to Boston’s big league spring camp, and his contract contains over $1.5MM in bonuses based on appearances at the MLB level.

Should Adams indeed cash in on those bonuses, it should bring his salary fairly close to the $1.7MM that MLBTR projected as his arbitration salary in 2025, though the Athletics outrighted him at season’s end in what was essentially an early non-tender.  Though $1.7MM isn’t a big sum even for the A’s, Adams’ 12% walk rate was on the high side, even though he had a 3.92 ERA and 27.7% strikeout rate over 41 1/3 innings out of the Athletics’ bullpen.

These numbers are pretty close to a match to the 4.10 ERA, 31.6% strikeout rate, and 13.9% walk rate Adams has posted in his 155 2/3 innings in the Show.  His control problems also manifested themselves in a league-leading 24 batters hit by pitches in 2021.

Adams has appeared in each of the last eight Major League seasons, ranging from cups of coffee (two appearances in each of the 2018 and 2022) to larger workloads, like this past season in Oakland or his career high of 52 2/3 innings with the 2021 Padres.  Adams has seen action with five different teams at the big league level, including a three-year stint in San Diego from 2020-22 that was shortened by a flexor tendon surgery that cost him almost all of the 2022 campaign.

The Sox will become the latest team to see if they can fix the 33-year-old’s control and get his slider-heavy arsenal to deliver more consistent results at the big league level.  Adams’ strikeout potential is clearly evident, and even beyond the hidden-gem potential, he can bring some value to Boston’s bullpen even if he only replicates his overall decent 2024 results.  At the cost of just a minor league contract, there’s no risk for the Red Sox in letting Adams compete for a job in spring camp.

Wil Myers Ends Playing Career

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Wil Myers has decided to call it a career after 11 big league seasons, the longtime Padres first baseman/outfielder told MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell.  While Myers stressed that he wouldn’t ever “officially” retire, he made his decision in June 2023 after he’d been released by the Reds and was dealing with some shoulder problems.

“I had a great career.  I loved what I did.  I made a lot of great friends.  I have no regrets,” Myers said.  “If you had told me the day I was drafted that this would be your career, I would’ve taken it in a heartbeat.  I loved what I did, and now it’s just kind of onto the next chapter of life.”

Myers, who just recently turned 34, will hang up his glove after an even 1100 career games with the Rays, Padres, and Reds from 2013-23.  Myers hit .252/.326/.437 with 156 home runs over 4290 plate appearances, good for a 107 wRC+ during his time in the Show.  He spent the majority of his time in the field as a first baseman and right fielder, but also with a big chunk of time at the other two outfield positions and some time at third base (primarily in 2018, when the Padres had several first base/outfield types they were trying to fit into the lineup).

A third-round pick for the Royals in the 2009 draft, Myers quickly became one of baseball’s most highly-touted prospects, and made headlines before his MLB career even began due to his involvement in a blockbuster trade.  In December 2012, the Royals sent Myers, Jake Odorizzi, Mike Montgomery, and third-base prospect Patrick Leonard to Tampa Bay in exchange for James Shields, Wade Davis, and Elliot Johnson.  Kansas City’s farm system was viewed as deep enough that it could afford to move even a top prospect like Myers in exchange for win-now help, and the decision paid off — K.C. won the AL pennant in both 2014 and 2015, and Davis was one of the relief aces of the Royals’ 2015 World Series title team.

For the Rays, the deal paid some immediate dividends, as Myers won AL Rookie of the Year honors in 2013 on the strength of 13 homers and a .293/.354/.478 slash line over 373 plate appearances.  However, Myers then battled wrist injuries and the sophomore slump in 2014, leading to his involvement in an even bigger trade.  The Rays, Padres, and Nationals combined on a mammoth three-team, 11-player deal that is perhaps best remembered today as the swap that brought Trea Turner to Washington (and thus setting the table for the Nats’ 2019 World Series championship).

From Myers’ perspective, the deal kicked off an eight-year run in San Diego that was overall a success, albeit with plenty of ups and downs.  Much of his time with the Padres is viewed through the lens of the six-year, $83MM extension he signed prior to the 2017 season, which at the time was the largest contract in San Diego franchise history.  The big salary inevitably led to higher expectations that Myers didn’t entirely fulfill, as injuries and a propensity for strikeouts limited Myers’ production.

That said, Myers still had plenty of notable performances over the length of the deal.  Myers was an All-Star in 2016, hit 30 homers during the 2017 season, and was one of the best hitters in baseball during the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign.  That 2020 campaign was particularly notable since the Padres earned a wild card berth, marking San Diego’s first postseason appearance since 2006 and the official end of the team’s lengthy rebuild.  Ironically, Myers’ contract made him difficult to trade amidst the Padres’ other cost-cutting moves, and as a result, Myers ended up being “the one player on hand for the entirety of the franchise’s turnaround,” Cassavell writes.

As the 2022 season rolled along, Myers became a part-time player and was again hampered by injuries, so it was no surprise when the Padres declined their $20MM club option on Myers’ services for the 2023 season.  A free agent for the first time in his career, Myers landed in Cincinnati on a one-year deal worth $7.5MM in guaranteed money, but he hit only .189/.257/.283 in 141 PA over what will end up as his final season in the majors.

MLBTR congratulates Myers on a fine career and we wish him all the best in his post-playing endeavors.

Braves Sign Bryan De La Cruz

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December 16: De La Cruz will be paid at an $860K rate for time spent in the majors, according to The Associated Press. He’ll make $180K for his time in the minor leagues.

December 15: The Braves announced that outfielder Bryan De La Cruz has been signed to a non-guaranteed deal for the 2025 season.  De La Cruz’s deal is specifically a split contract, not a minor league deal.  The contract is an early birthday present for De La Cruz, who turns 28 years old tomorrow.

No stranger to the NL East, De La Cruz broke into the majors with the Marlins in 2021 and spent parts of the next four seasons in the Miami outfield.  A part-time role turned into essentially everyday duty by the end of the 2022 campaign, and De La Cruz hit .263/.311/.420 with 37 homers over 1200 plate appearances for the Fish during the 2021-23 seasons.

Unfortunately, the production trended downward, from a 111 wRC+ in 219 PA in De La Cruz’s rookie season to a 99 in 2022, then a 90 in 2023, and down to a 77 wRC+ in 2024.  De La Cruz hit 21 homers this past season but only with a .233/.271/.384 slash line in 622 combined PA with the Marlins and Pirates.  The bulk of the struggles came after Pittsburgh acquired De La Cruz at the trade deadline, as De La Cruz hit only .200/.220/.294 in 168 PA with his new team.

The dropoff was so drastic that the Pirates opted to non-tender De La Cruz rather than pay him a projected $4MM salary in the first of three arbitration-eligible seasons.  Given those three years of control and the fact that the Bucs gave up two prospects for De La Cruz at the deadline, it would’ve been understandable if the Pirates had kept De La Cruz around for another look, yet the $4MM price tag and his sub-replacement level play made the non-tender a justifiable call.

De La Cruz has essentially been a power-only player to this point in his career, and he has had consistently solid hard-contact numbers.  However, making contact has been a struggle since De La Cruz has a 25% career strikeout rate, and he doesn’t often take walks.  De La Cruz has experience at all three outfield positions and he has a good throwing arm but is considered a middling defender at best.

The non-guaranteed nature of the contract means that the Braves lose nothing by seeing what De La Cruz can do in Spring Training.  If he can get himself on track at the plate and more consistently translate his power into steady production, the Braves suddenly have a controllable outfielder in the fold through the 2027 season.  De La Cruz has two minor league option years remaining, adding more flexibility to Atlanta’s decision-making about whether or not to deploy him on the active roster.

The Braves’ need for outfield help is no secret.  Ronald Acuna Jr.’s recovery from a torn ACL could stretch well into May, Jarred Kelenic wasn’t particularly productive in his first season in Atlanta, and Jorge Soler (though mostly a DH) was traded to the Giants in a salary dump right at the outset of the offseason.  De La Cruz could ideally pair with Kelenic in a platoon in left field once Acuna is back, and perhaps might be viewed as a starter capable of holding the fort in right field in Acuna’s absence.  That said, De La Cruz’s contract certainly won’t preclude the Braves from continuing to seek out a more clear-cut starting outfield option in the coming months.

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