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Cubs Interested In Jesus Luzardo

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Dec. 16: Bruce Levine of 670 The Score said in an appearance on the Mully & Haugh show this morning that the Cubs and Marlins have been working on a potential Luzardo deal for some time now (audio link, Luzardo talk at 7:37am mark). Levine adds that a trade for Luzardo is something the Cubs “would really like to get done … in the next few days.”

That, of course, doesn’t necessarily indicate that a trade is close at the moment, but it’s nevertheless notable that the two parties are in ongoing discussions and that the Cubs feel strongly about trying to push something across the finish line.

Dec. 14: The Cubs already added Matthew Boyd to their rotation this winter but remain interested in adding another prominent name (if not someone at the top of the free agent market) to a starter group that already includes Shota Imanaga, Justin Steele, and Jameson Taillon as the top three.  Such trade and free agent targets as Luis Castillo and Walker Buehler have been linked to Chicago already, and USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports that the Cubs have also shown interest in Marlins left-hander Jesus Luzardo.

Reports surfaced during the Winter Meetings about some teams checking in on Luzardo’s services, as it could be that teams were investigating a buy-low possibility.  Luzardo has been mentioned as a potential trade candidate even before the Marlins entered their latest teardown, and had he been healthy in 2024, it is quite possible he would’ve already been shipped off to a different team prior to the last trade deadline.  Unfortunately for Luzardo and the Marlins, he was limited to 12 starts and 66 2/3 innings due to elbow problems and repeated back problems, including as a stress reaction in his lower back.

Injuries have essentially been the story of Luzardo’s career over his six Major League seasons with the A’s and Marlins.  He has 512 innings pitched across parts of those six seasons, with 178 2/3 of those frames coming in 2023.  Luzardo’s career 4.29 ERA includes a lot of peaks and valleys, with struggles in 2021 and 2024 undermining his otherwise above-average numbers.

The inconsistency resulted in lowering Luzardo’s price tag as he entered his arbitration years, and MLBTR projects him to earn $6MM this winter in his second of three arb-eligible seasons.  If he can replicate his 2023 form, his 2025-26 salaries will be a significant bargain for the Marlins or whatever team Luzardo is pitching for, and he is only entering his age-27 season.

The upside here is obvious, except the obvious concern for any interested teams is that they don’t know what version of Luzardo will show up in 2025.  This could make it hard for Miami to land on an acceptable trade package with the Cubs or any other team, simply because the Marlins naturally want to get as much as they can in return for one of their top trade chips.  Waiting until the deadline might be the wiser tack for Peter Bendix’s front office, as while Luzardo runs the risk of getting hurt again, a healthy and effective first half would restore his trade value.

670 The Score’s Bruce Levine reports that Miami is looking for a “young controllable bat back” in a Luzardo deal, and suggests that the Cubs would have to give up a top prospect like Owen Caissie or James Triantos.  Considering those two are both within the top 55 of MLB Pipeline’s rankings of the top minor leaguers in all of baseball, it would be bold on Chicago’s part to move Caissie or Triantos for an injury-prone pitcher coming off a 5.00 ERA season.

Then again, the Marlins scored a nice trade package for another oft-injured, inconsistent pitcher at the last deadline when they got Connor Norby and Kyle Stowers from the Orioles for Trevor Rogers.  While the deal raised eyebrows at the time, it underscored the value that teams put on controllable pitching.  Of course, the fact that Rogers heavily struggled after the trade to Baltimore also highlights the risk involved in such trades.  The Cubs have already shown their aggression this winter by trading for Kyle Tucker, and might be willing to dip into their deep farm system again in order to make a potentially huge rotation upgrade.  Assuming that the likes of Caissie or Triandos are even on the table in potential trades, Chicago might prefer to opt to move those kinds of prospects only for a more reliable pitcher.

Latest On Yankees’ First Base Search

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The Yankees have been linked to such free-agent first baseman as Christian Walker and Pete Alonso this winter, and talks seemingly remain ongoing in some form with the Cubs about Cody Bellinger’s availability.  Recent reports suggest that the Yankees and Cubs are upwards of $10MM apart in deciding how much of Bellinger’s salary will be covered by Chicago, and the New York Post’s Jon Heyman writes today that not much has changed in the stalemate between the two clubs.  As Heyman puts it, “it’s a matter of ’who blinks first,’ if ever.”

If none of these targets end up being a fit, the Yankees are “also considering” several other backup plans.  According to Heyman, these options include signing free agent Carlos Santana, or exploring a trade for the Guardians’ Josh Naylor or the Rangers’ Nathaniel Lowe.  Given how Yankees GM Brian Cashman usually casts a wide berth in checking in on numerous players every offseason, it’s probably safe to guess that more than just these aforementioned first basemen have drawn some level of interest from New York.

Signing Santana would be the most straight-forward and cost-effective move of the bunch, as Santana will almost surely require just a one-year guarantee because he is entering his age-39 season.  Despite his age, Santana rebounded from a few middling seasons to post a .238/.328/.420 slash line and 23 home runs for the Twins over 594 plate appearances in 2024, while also winning the AL Gold Glove at first base.  The combination of offense and defense translated to 3.0 fWAR for Santana, the third-highest of his 15 Major League seasons.

This production will merit Santana a raise on the $5.25MM he received in his one-year deal with Minnesota last winter, but concerns over his age and possible regression will probably limit his salary.  Signing Santana would also be a relatively low-upside play, whereas trading for Naylor or Lowe represents a higher ceiling for production.

Trading for Lowe would also mean more than just a one-year commitment, as the first baseman is arbitration-controlled through the 2026 season.  Projected for a $10.7MM salary this year, Lowe is coming off another solid season that saw him hit .265/.361/.401 with 16 homers over 565 PA, and Lowe also delivered quality defense as a Gold Glove finalist behind Santana.

There was a little buzz about Lowe’s possible availability heading into the trade deadline last summer, but nothing in the way of concrete reports that Texas was seriously considering moving the 29-year-old.  In re-signing Nathan Eovaldi and trading for Jake Burger, the Rangers are certainly aiming to return to contention in 2025, but moving Lowe to address another need on the active roster is a plausible tactic.  Since the Rangers are known to be looking for left-handed hitting, however, however, dealing such a lefty swinger in Lowe would only serve to tilt the lineup further to the right.

Trading Naylor would also be an imperfect move for a Guardians team that needs offensive help, but Cleveland has typically looked maximize its return on notable players by trading them before they reach free agency.  Naylor is therefore a more clear-cut trade candidate than Lowe, and Naylor’s projected $12MM arbitration salary won’t break the bank.  While Lowe or the switch-hitting Santana would also be good fits hitting at Yankee Stadium, the short porch in right field seems taylor-made for Naylor’s left-handed power bat, and it is easy to imagine Naylor topping his career-best total of 31 homers (set in 2024) over a full season in the Bronx.

Kyle Manzardo and Jhonkensy Noel are the likeliest candidates to step in at first base for the Guardians if Naylor is traded, though that is putting extra pressure on a pair of inexperienced players, plus the Guards would also need some extra first base/DH depth in that scenario.  Cleveland is also in need of outfield help, though the Yankees might not be a fit in that sense since they’re looking for outfielders themselves in the wake of Juan Soto’s departure.

Rays Notes: Boyle, Springs Trade, Shortstop, Soto

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The Rays swung a prominent trade with the Athletics yesterday, bringing in three players and a Competitive Balance Round draft pick in exchange for left-handers Jeffrey Springs and Jacob Lopez.  Tampa president of baseball operations Erik Neander told MLB.com’s Adam Berry and other reporters that the decision to move Springs was “really, really difficult,” and that the trade was “a situation where the A’s really stepped forward and really wanted Jeffrey.”

On paper, it was widely assumed that the Rays would be dealing from their rotation depth this winter, with Springs and Zack Littell viewed as the likeliest trade candidates since they were the two highest-paid of the rotation candidates.  The surplus is still technically in place since they still have six starters (Shane McClanahan, Shane Baz, Ryan Pepiot, Taj Bradley, Drew Rasmussen, and Littell) on the roster, plus now Joe Boyle acquired in the Springs trade.  Berry writes that that despite all these available arms, the Rays aren’t expected to trade any more starting pitching.

“Right now, we’re looking at more starters than we have rotation spots and kind of navigating the different ways to resolve that while also knowing you can never have enough,” Neander said.

Boyle has big league experience in the form of 63 2/3 innings with the A’s over the last two seasons, but of the seven potential starters, he seems like the clearest candidate to begin the season in Triple-A.  The hard-throwing Boyle has battled his control in both the major and minors, and Neander suggested that the Rays view him as a bit of a work in progress, with plenty of potential.

“Joe Boyle is somebody that has the physicality and the stuff to fit at the front of the rotation,” Neander said.  “I think there’s signs of progress on the strike-throwing, and he doesn’t need to be a sharpshooter to be really effective….The upside, I think, is something that warrants great patience when it comes to his development.”

Trading from the rotation depth was one of the top checkpoints on Tampa’s offseason to-do list, and it remains to be seen what else Neander has in store to upgrade the roster ahead of what will be an unconventional season at George M. Steinbrenner Field rather than Tropicana Field.  In terms of lineup help, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times feels the Rays will mostly look within their organization, but they could add outfield depth and the team is “at least open to a more offensive-oriented shortstop.”

Since Wander Franco’s time with the Rays is almost surely over, Taylor Walls is penciled in as the starting shortstop, and Walls is still looking for a breakout at the plate.  Over parts of four MLB seasons, Walls has hit only .188/.288/.293 over 1243 plate appearances — Walls’ 71 wRC+ is the fourth-lowest of any player with at least 1000 PA since Opening Day 2021.

What Walls brings to the table is glovework, though public defensive metrics aren’t unanimous in their approval of Walls’ work at shortstop.  The Outs Above Average metrics has given him negative grades in each of the last three seasons and he drew negative UZR/150 scores in 2022 and 2023 before a huge +15.3 UZR/150 last season.  The Defensive Runs Saved metric, meanwhile, has given Walls +35 DRS over his 1983 2/3 career innings at shortstop.

The Rays seem to lean more towards the DRS view, as Topkin notes that the club has a “fervid appreciation” for Walls’ glovework.  As such, a trade offer or free agent opportunity would have to pass “a high bar” to inspire Tampa Bay to reduce Walls’ playing time.  Any kind of acquisition at shortstop would also be a short-term add anyway, since top prospect Carson Williams could be in line to make his MLB debut at some point later in the 2025 season.

Still, Neander and his front office can never be ruled out for making a creative move.  We saw evidence of this in early November when reports indicated that the Rays were one of the many teams who had been in contact with Juan Soto at the opening of the free agent market.  The check-in was perhaps largely but due diligence, but Topkin reports that “the Rays pitched a short-term deal…supposedly with opt-outs after each season.”

It is probably safe to assume that this offer didn’t gain much traction within Soto’s camp, but there was no harm in floating a unique offer Soto’s way to see if there was any interest.  It was just last season that several other Scott Boras clients signed shorter-term, player option-heavy contracts after not finding the long-term deals they were hoping to land in free agency, though there was much less chance that Soto would come up short in his bid for a record-setting contract.

Pirates Acquire Enmanuel Valdez

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The Pirates and Red Sox announced a trade that will see infielder Enmanuel Valdez head to Pittsburgh in exchange for right-hander Joe Vogatsky.  Valdez was designated for assignment by Boston earlier this week.

Valdez has appeared in 125 big league games since making his MLB debut with the Sox during the 2023 season.  A solid .266/.311/.453 slash in 149 plate appearances made a good first impression for Valdez in his rookie year, but he didn’t fare well with more playing time this past year, hitting only .214/.270/.363 in 223 plate appearances.

Of the whopping 11 players who were part of Boston’s revolving door at second base in 2024, Valdez had the most playing time, with 56 starts and 65 total appearances at the keystone.  Pittsburgh’s second-base situation is also far from settled, with Nick Gonzales penciled into a starting role for now, and Nick Yorke and Jared Triolo also fighting for at-bats.  Valdez is the only left-handed hitter among these other righty options, which could give him an opening for a platoon role.

Valdez figures to be part of this mix, though he has a smattering of MLB experience at third base, shortstop, and left field, and he has played all over the diamond in the minors.  This versatility will help Valdez’s chances of winning a job out of Spring Training, and his ability to handle third base might be particularly useful if Ke’Bryan Hayes continues to be bothered by back injuries.  Valdez has a minor league option year remaining, giving the Pirates the ability to use him as minor league depth if the 26-man roster is full.

Vogatsky (who turns 23 later this month) was a 19th-round pick for the Pirates in last summer’s amateur draft, and the right-hander has yet to begin his pro career.  A product of James Madison University, Vogatsky worked exclusively as a reliever in his last two college years, with much better results than his first two NCAA seasons.  This role change likely got Vogatsky drafted, and it seems likely that he’ll stick in the bullpen going forward.

Details On Yankees’ Pursuit Of Kyle Tucker

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Before Kyle Tucker was traded from the Astros to the Cubs, the Yankees were known to be one of the teams also vying to land the star outfielder.  Reigning AL Rookie of the Year Luis Gil was reportedly of interest to the Astros in these trade talks, but New York ultimately turned down Houston’s demand for Gil and infield prospect George Lombard Jr. in exchange for Tucker, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.

It makes for an interesting contrast to the trade package that the Astros did accept from Chicago.  Lombard and prospect Cam Smith could be viewed as essentially a match as recent first-round draft picks, though Smith is higher regarded in the view of MLB Pipeline (Smith is 73rd on their top-100 prospect list and Lombard isn’t on the list).  Gil is a controllable pitcher who has already made a name for himself at the big league level, so Isaac Paredes and Hayden Wesneski represent something of a split of those two resume points.  Wesneski is controlled through 2029 and has a solid 3.93 ERA over his 190 Major League innings, but he isn’t considered to have quite Gil’s ceiling, so making up that difference could’ve been achieved by adding a proven hitter like Paredes.

Landing three players instead of two obviously allowed the Astros to address more needs, as Paredes can help fill one of Houston’s corner infield vacancies and Wesneski brings rotation depth.  Gil would’ve been a more clear-cut installation into the Astros rotation and perhaps then necessitated another trade, since the Astros on paper have a surplus of rotation options.  However, since Luis Garcia and Lance McCullers Jr. are both returning from lengthy injury absences, the Astros might also want to see how things play out in Spring Training before dealing an arm, lest the club again get caught with a lack of depth in the rotation.

Interestingly, the Yankees did indeed trade a starting pitcher and an infield prospect for a prominent star player with one year remaining before free agency, except rather than Gil/Lombard for Tucker, it was Nestor Cortes and Caleb Durbin going to the Brewers for closer Devin Williams.  The two trade packages have some differences, of course, as Cortes is a year away from free agency, and was viewed a more expendable part of New York’s pitching mix since he was relegated to bullpen duty in the playoffs and was floated in trade rumors at the deadline.  Durbin is also over five years older than Lombard and is considered to be on the verge of his MLB debut, whereas Lombard has yet to reach even the Double-A level.

The timing of the negotiations between the Astros and Yankees was perhaps also a factor.  If the Yankees were already well down the road in talks with Milwaukee about Williams, that might’ve made the Bronx Bombers less likely to deplete their pitching and prospect depth even further by accepting the Astros’ offer for Tucker.  Some New York fans might well wonder “why not both?”, as even without Gil or Cortes, the Yankees still have a projected starting five of Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, Clarke Schmidt, Marcus Stroman, and newly-signed frontline arm Max Fried.  Acquiring both Tucker and Williams would’ve left the Yankees still in search of infield help and now a “sixth starter” type of depth arm, but those are perhaps minor question marks compared to the upside of bringing both an All-Star outfielder and All-Star closer into the mix.

Gil is a known quantity to baseball fans, but the 19-year-old Lombard was the 26th overall pick of the 2023 draft.  Baseball America and MLB Pipeline each rank Lombard as the third-best prospect in New York’s farm system, viewing him as a very solid all-around player with five-tool potential, even if he perhaps lacks a true plus-plus calling card.  Lombard has played mostly shortstop in the minors and evaluators feel he can stick at the position, but he has also seen time at second and third base.  Lombard’s approach and overall hitting potential are both considered good, though he hit only .231/.338/.334 over 497 combined plate appearances with A-level Tampa and high-A Hudson Valley in 2024.

NPB’s Chunichi Dragons Sign Kyle Muller

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The Chunichi Dragons have signed left-hander Kyle Muller, according to multiple reports out of Japan.  Muller elected free agency after he was outrighted off the Athletics’ 40-man roster at the end of the season, and he’ll now explore a new chapter of his career in Nippon Professional Baseball.

A second-round pick for the Braves in the 2016 draft, Muller was a regular on Baseball Prospectus’ top-100 prospect lists during his time in Atlanta’s farm system, though his numbers in the minors were more solid than dominant.  Muller made his MLB debut in 2021 and posted a 5.14 ERA across 12 games and 49 innings with Atlanta in 2021-22 before the Braves sent him to the A’s as part of the three-team trade in December 2022 that saw Sean Murphy wind up in Atlanta.

Given a greater opportunity to start in Oakland, Muller posted a rough 7.60 ERA in 77 innings in 2023, losing his rotation job in the wake of his struggles.  The southpaw was used only as a reliever in 2024 and posted a 4.01 ERA and five percent walk rate over 49 1/3 innings, with the improved control a big step forward given how walks had been a major issue for Muller in his previous big league work.  Never much of a strikeout pitcher, Muller’s 17.8% strikeout rate in 2024 almost exactly matched his 17.9% career mark.

Since Muller is out of minor league options, the Athletics had to designate him for assignment and then outright him a first time in August.  The lack of option years will be an obstacle for Muller going forward in terms of North American baseball, and if perhaps faced with a 2025 season spent bouncing around DFA limbo and the waiver wire, pitching for the Dragons on a guaranteed deal probably carried extra appeal.  Muller is still only 27, so there’s plenty of time for a potential return to the majors if he pitches well in NPB.

Athletics Acquire Jeffrey Springs In Multi-Player Trade With Rays

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The Athletics and Rays have announced a multi-player trade that will see left-handers Jeffrey Springs and Jacob Lopez head to West Sacramento.  In return, the Rays will receive right-hander Joe Boyle, the Athletics’ pick in Competitive Balance Round A of the 2025 draft, and two minor league players in righty Jacob Watters and first baseman/outfielder Will Simpson.

Considering how deep the Rays are in rotation options, Springs was viewed as a logical trade candidate this winter, as he was about to enter the more expensive portion of the backloaded four-year, $31MM extension he signed with Tampa in January 2023.  Springs is owed $10.5MM in each of the next two seasons, and there is a $15MM club option on his services for 2027 that can be bought out for $750K.

For the first two years and $9.25MM on that extension, the Rays only 49 innings of work from Springs, albeit with a 2.39 ERA.  A Tommy John surgery in April 2023 shelved Springs for the majority of the last two seasons, and he returned to the mound last July to post a 3.27 ERA over seven starts and 33 innings before he was shut down in early September due to fatigue in his throwing elbow.  It’s hard to gain much data from a small sample size, but Springs still had above-average strikeout and walk rate, and if anything might’ve gotten better bottom-line results if it wasn’t for a .330 BABIP.

Prior to the injury, Springs seemed like yet another success story for Tampa Bay’s pitching development system.  A 30th-round draft pick for the Rangers in the 2015 draft, Springs showed only a few flashes of quality over his first three MLB seasons while posting a 5.42 ERA in 84 2/3 innings with Texas and Boston.  Dealt from the Red Sox to the Rays in a relatively under-the-radar trade in February 2021, Springs emerged to post a 3.43 ERA in 44 2/3 bullpen innings for Tampa during the 2021 season, and he then had even better results after transitioning into a starting role in 2022.  The breakout year saw Springs deliver a 2.46 ERA in 135 1/3 innings (as well as a 26.2% strikeout rate and 5.6% walk rate) as Springs finally seemed to avoid the home run problems that plagued most of his career.

Springs was able to cash in on his big season with a life-changing contract extension, but his long injury layoff turned him into an odd man out of the Rays’ rotation.  Shane McClanahan, Ryan Pepiot, Taj Bradley, Shane Baz, Zack Littell, and Drew Rasmussen are all lined up to get starts in 2025, not to mention whatever other young starters could emerge from Tampa’s ever-loaded farm system.  With Springs’ price tag rising, many figured that the Rays would move his salary to a pitching-needy team with payroll space to spare.

If the idea of the Athletics being a “team with payroll space to spare” is still surprising to consider, the 32-year-old Springs is now the second splurge the A’s have made on their rotation this winter, after having already signed Luis Severino to a three-year, $67MM deal.  Adding Springs’ contract brings the A’s a step closer to the minimum $105MM luxury tax figure required to continue qualifying as a revenue-sharing team, and to avoid a grievance from the players’ union.  RosterResource estimates the Athletics’ current tax number at roughly $88.55MM, assuming the trade is completed.

Ulterior motive notwithstanding, trading for Springs is also a solid baseball move for an A’s team in need of rotation help.  Severino and Springs are big upgrades to a rotation that struggled badly last season, and the newcomers now stand as the top two members of the starting five that includes JP Sears, Mitch Spence, and Joey Estes.

More pitching moves can’t be ruled out, since the Athletics still have a ways to go before hitting that $105MM figure.  Severino notwithstanding, it can’t be an easy sell for the A’s to convince free agents to pitch in a minor league ballpark in West Sacramento, so trading for players (perhaps on unwanted contracts) has long seemed like a more logical move for the Athletics to both add payroll and bolster their roster at the same time.

Lopez shouldn’t be ruled out as part of the Athletics’ pitching situation in 2025, as the southpaw has already amassed 22 2/3 MLB innings with the Rays over the last two seasons.  A 26th-round pick for the Giants in the 2018 draft, Lopez missed all of 2022 recovering from a Tommy John surgery, but he has a 2.99 ERA across 337 2/3 career minor league innings.  That includes a 3.54 ERA, 27% strikeout rate, and 12.87% walk rate in 168 innings of Triple-A ball, with Lopez starting 37 of 39 games for the Rays’ top affiliate.

Despite a lack of velocity, Lopez has been able to miss quite a few bats, though this ability hasn’t manifested itself in his brief time in the majors.  It could be that Lopez might’ve gotten more big league looks if he’d simply been on a team that didn’t have Tampa Bay’s pitching depth, and a fresh opportunity now presents itself for Lopez with this trade.  Lopez (who turns 27 in March) figures to be part of the fifth starter competition in camp but will probably begin the year at Triple-A, acting as one of the first depth options in the event of an injury to a rotation member.

Turning to the Rays’ end of the trade, the inclusion of the Comp-A pick is particularly interesting, and it might speak to the league-wide interest in Springs’ services.  The Competitive Balance Rounds are bonus rounds within the draft that award picks to 15 teams within the bottom 10 in market size and revenue, as determined by the league’s formula that factors in revenue, winning percentage and market score.  The CBR picks are the only draft selections that are eligible to be traded, and while such trades tend to be rare, we’ve seen these picks involved in some prominent trades over the years.  The Comp-A round takes place just before the start of the second round, and while the exact placement of the traded pick has yet to be determined, last year’s Comp-A picks were selections #34-39 in the 2024 draft order.

It is no small thing for a team to deal such a pick, especially when building through the draft is of particular importance to a low-spending team like the A’s.  Still, getting at least two years of control over Springs was apparently worth the cost, as with the club option, the Athletics could have Springs for the entirety of their three-year stint in Sacramento before their planned new ballpark in Las Vegas is ready for Opening Day 2028.

As for the other parts of the trade package, Boyle brings a Major League-ready arm to the Rays’ pitching mix.  Debuting with a 1.69 ERA in three starts and 16 innings in 2023, Boyle had a 6.42 ERA in 47 2/3 innings this past season, missing about a month of action with a back strain and spending the bulk of the year at Triple-A.

The 25-year-old is something of a classic case of a hard-throwing (97.7mph average fastball velocity in the majors) pitcher who can’t harness his stuff, as Boyle has posted elevated walk totals in the minors and during his 2024 stint in the Show.  Fixing these control problems will determine whether or not Boyle can stick in the big leagues as a reliever or back-end starter, and given the Rays’ history of fixing pitchers, nobody would be surprised if Boyle ends up figuring it out in Tampa just as Springs and many other hurlers have done over the years.  Boyle has two minor league options remaining, giving the Rays more flexibility in using him as a fresh arm to shuttle back and forth between Triple-A and the active roster.

Baseball America ranked Simpson 16th on their ranking of the Athletics’ top 30 prospects back in April, while MLB Pipeline has Simpson 28th in their evaluation of the team’s system.  A 15th-round pick in the 2023 draft, Simpson has crushed minor league pitching in his two pro seasons and made it to the Double-A level for 18 games in 2024.  Simpson has shown some good pop in his bat and he has a good approach at the plate — scouts like his “analytical aptitude,” as BA’s scouting report puts it, with the idea that Simpson can still unlock more as he explores more ways to upgrade his hitting.  Defensively, Pipeline is more bullish on the idea of Simpson as a serviceable first baseman or corner outfielder, while Baseball America is more down on his glovework in general.

Watters was a fourth-round pick for the A’s in the 2022 draft, and he has a 5.86 ERA, 21.9% strikeout rate, and an inflated 13.73% walk rate in 152 pro innings.  Almost all of this experience is at the high-A level, though Watters skipped Double-A to make one spot appearance in Triple-A ball last season.  Working as both a starter and reliever, Watters’ numbers have been decidedly better out of the pen, so that might be the 23-year-old’s eventual career path.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan (multiple links) reported the trade and all of the players and picks involved except for Lopez, whose involvement wasn’t revealed until the deal was officially announced. 

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Dodgers Sign David Bote To Minors Contract

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The Dodgers signed infielder David Bote to a minor league deal, according to Aram Leighton of Just Baseball Media.  As per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic, the deal includes an invite to the Dodgers’ big league Spring Training camp.

Bote became a free agent when the Cubs bought out (for $1MM) the $7MM club option on his services for the 2025 season.  The Cubs signed Bote to that five-year, $15MM extension in April 2019, after a debut season in the majors that saw Bote hit .239/.319/.408 over 210 plate appearances while seeing at least some action at five different positions.  While Bote wasn’t a notable prospect during his time in the Cubs farm system, Chicago felt it was a decent investment to lock up a player that seemed like at least a decent utility infield fit.

Bote himself initiated the talks about the extension, a decision that proved to be quite wise for his financial security considering how his production tailed off after a big 2019 season.  After hitting .257/.362/.422 with 11 homers in 356 PA in 2019, Bote hit only .200/.285/.353 in 472 total PA in 2020-21.  He rebounded to hit decently well in 2022 but the Cubs still outrighted him off their 40-man roster at season’s end.

Since Bote didn’t have enough service time to reject the outright assignment while retaining the rest of his salary, he remained in the Chicago organization.  Bote didn’t see any big league time in 2023 but had his contract selected again to the Cubs’ roster this past season, as he appeared in 32 games.

Over his last 175 PA at the Major League level, Bote has hit a very respectable .272/.320/.420, translating to a 110 wRC+.  He has played mostly at second and third base with a handful of games at first base, shortstop, and both corner outfield slots, so he adds the kind of versatility that the Dodgers (and among many other teams) value in potential bench pieces.  Bote’s right-handed bat has had a tendency for reverse splits, though his overall numbers in the majors are relatively even against right-handed and left-handed pitching.

Los Angeles obviously already has a very crowded infield picture, especially now that Mookie Betts is being penciled in as the team’s starting shortstop in 2025.  If Bote makes the roster, he can provide depth behind Max Muncy and Gavin Lux at third and second, with Miguel Rojas as the backup shortstop behind Betts.  Should he not break camp with this loaded roster, Bote might consider opting out of his deal to pursue a clearer path to playing time elsewhere, or he could remain in the minors since the Dodgers don’t have much in the way of MLB-experienced depth on the farm.

Twins Interested In Re-Signing Carlos Santana, Adding Right-Handed Hitting Outfielder

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The Twins’ offseason checklist includes finding a right-handed hitting outfielder and a first baseman, president of baseball operations Derek Falvey told reporters (including Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star Tribune).  In regards to the latter need, Nightengale writes that team still has interest in bringing Carlos Santana back for another stint in the Twin Cities.

Santana signed a one-year, $5.25MM free agent deal with Minnesota last winter, and at age 38 delivered one of the best all-around seasons of his 15-year career.  Santana hit .238/.320/.420 with 23 home runs in 594 plate appearances (translating to a 114 wRC+) and displayed outstanding defense at first base, earning him his very first Gold Glove.  While his hard-contact numbers remained below average for the second straight year, Santana still made a lot of contact and avoided strikeouts, while drawing his customary large share of walks.

Between these numbers and his off-the-field presence in Minnesota’s clubhouse, it is easy to see why the Twins would want him back.  Re-signing Santana for a relatively modest raise also seems feasible, as despite his production, teams are likely to zone in on Santana’s age as a reason to not commit too much money on another one-year deal.  There’s also the fact that 2024 was essentially a bounce-back for Santana after he posted a 94 wRC+ and 2.3 combined fWAR over his previous four seasons, so this last year might be viewed as an outlier.

Santana had 3.0 fWAR in 2024, a number topped by only six hitters in this winter’s free agent class.  Santana tied Christian Walker with a 3.0 fWAR and both were ahead of Pete Alonso’s 2.1 fWAR, to compare Santana to the two top first-base names.  Needless to say, Walker and Alonso will still command much larger contracts than Santana, and Santana’s market might not fully develop until the bigger free agents (and trade targets) have landed on their next teams.  The Twins’ pre-existing relationship with Santana could give them an in, but Santana has also drawn interest from the Mariners, another of his former clubs.

Turning to the Twins’ needs on the grass, Minnesota’s ideal right-handed bat would be a corner outfielder, able to complement left-handed hitters Matt Wallner and Trevor Larnach.  Nightengale suggests that Austin Hays might be a fit, as hitting coach Matt Borgschulte is familiar with Hays from their shared time together with the Orioles.

Seeking out only a platoon bat will limit the price tag on a new acquisition, which again fits for a Minnesota team that doesn’t have much available in payroll space.  Technically, the Twins might first have to move some money, as their projected $142.1MM payroll (estimate from RosterResource) is over their $129.6MM payroll from last season, and Falvey has already said that Minnesota will be spending at a similar level in 2025.

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