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Gold Glove Winners Announced

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Major League Baseball announced the Gold Glove winners tonight, as selected by a group of managers, coaches, and statistical analysis.  Twenty-five percent of the selection total was determined by SABR’s Defensive Index metrics, while the other 75 percent was determined by votes from all 30 managers and up to six coaches from each team.  The utility Gold Glove was determined in a separate fashion, via a defensive formula calculated by SABR and Rawlings.

National League winners….

American League winners….

Nationals Decline Their Side Of Joey Gallo’s Mutual Option

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The Nationals announced that they declined their end of Joey Gallo’s $8MM mutual option for the 2025 season.  Gallo will instead receive a $2.5MM buyout as he heads into free agency for the third consecutive winter.  Last offseason, Gallo signed a one-year deal with Washington worth $5MM in guaranteed money, broken down as a $2.5MM salary and then at least $2.5MM via the buyout.

The rebuilding Nats have made a habit of signing veterans to short-term deals and then looking to flip them at the trade deadline, though multiple injuries and Gallo’s overall struggles scuttled any trade value.  Gallo hit only .161/.277/.336 with 10 home runs over 260 plate appearances, translating to a 76 wRC+ and a below-replacement value of -0.2 fWAR.

Gallo’s 12.3% walk rate and 13.1% barrel rate were still solid in comparison to the rest of the league, if well below his career averages (14.6BB%, 19.6% barrel rate).  His 39.2% strikeout rate was slightly higher than his career average, yet the third aspect of Gallo’s “three true outcomes” approach failed him greatly.  Gallo’s .175 Isolated Power number was his lowest in any full season.

On the health front, Gallo missed about three weeks due to an AC sprain in his left shoulder, and then over two months due to a hamstring strain.  It might be fair to chalk up Gallo’s shaky production to these injuries, though his overall performance has been very up-and-down over the last five seasons, evening out to almost a perfectly average 99 wRC+ in his last 1844 plate appearances.

This inconsistency has led to Gallo playing for five different teams in the last four years, going from the Rangers to the Yankees to the Dodgers in trades, and then to free agent deals with the Twins and Nationals.  He might have to settle for a minor league contract in the wake of his rough 2024 campaign, though Gallo should still draw some attention based on his past track record.  Gallo is a veteran of 10 MLB seasons but is still only just a few weeks away from his 31st birthday.

Gallo primarily served as the left-handed side of the Nationals’ first base platoon, with a few appearances in both corner outfield slots and at DH.  It was no surprise that Washington would be passing on Gallo’s mutual option, as it is widely assume that the Nats will be looking for a big upgrade at first base this winter.  This could manifest itself as a full-time regular, or perhaps another left-handed bat to split time with Juan Yepez.

Yankees Decline Club Option On Lou Trivino

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The Yankees announced that they declined their $5MM club option on Lou Trivino’s services for the 2025 season.  No buyout was attached to the option, and the 33-year-old reliever will now head to the open market.

Trivino hasn’t pitched in the majors since Game 3 of the 2022 ALCS, as he suffered an elbow sprain during the following Spring Training and then underwent a Tommy John surgery in May 2023.  He returned to the mound to toss 11 minor league innings in New York’s organization this season, though he dealt with elbow inflammation that delayed the start of his rehab work, and then some shoulder soreness brought an early end to his 2024 season.

The Yankees non-tendered Trivino last offseason and then re-signed the righty to a $1.5MM guaranteed contract with the $5MM option for 2025.  These types of contracts for pitchers recovering from major arm surgeries have become fairly common around the league, as the Bombers were betting that Trivino would get healthy and show enough to put himself into the club’s plans for next season.  However, Trivino’s continued health concerns made it a pretty easy call for New York to move on.  Another contract with the Yankees wouldn’t be a surprise, if the team still has interest in Trivino but simply at a lower price point than $5MM.

Trivino has a 3.86 ERA over 284 2/3 MLB innings, with 263 of those innings coming with the Athletics from 2018-21.  The A’s dealt Trivino and Frankie Montas to the Yankees in a prominent deal at the 2022 trade deadline, and Trivino had a 1.66 ERA in his first 21 2/3 frames in the pinstripes, as well as 3 2/3 scoreless innings in the 2022 playoffs.

12 Players Elect Free Agency

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As the offseason nears, a number of players elect minor league free agency each week. These players are separate from six-year MLB free agents, who’ll reach the open market five days after the conclusion of the World Series. Eligible minor leaguers can begin electing free agency as soon as the regular season wraps up. These players were all outrighted off a team’s 40-man roster during the year and have the requisite service time and/or multiple career outrights necessary to reach free agency since they weren’t added back to teams’ rosters.

Electing free agency is the anticipated outcome for these players. There’ll surely be more to test the market in the coming weeks. We’ll offer periodic updates at MLBTR. These transactions are all reflected on the MiLB.com or MLB.com logs unless otherwise stated.

Infielders

Pitchers

* Chris Cotillo of MassLive reported that Dalbec, Westbrook, and Keller have elected free agency. Francys Romero reported that Barrero has elected free agency.

Cody Bellinger Exercises Player Option With Cubs For 2025 Season

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Cody Bellinger has exercised his $27.5MM player option for the 2025 season, according to ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel and Jeff Passan (X link).  Bellinger’s three-year, $80MM deal with the Cubs last winter included opt-outs after both the 2024 and 2025 seasons, but Bellinger will pass on the first opt-out (and $2.5MM buyout) in order to remain in Chicago for at least one more year.

Bellinger also earned $27.5MM in the first year of his contract, so he’ll have a $25MM decision waiting for him with next year’s opt-out.  With $5MM attached to that opt-out, Bellinger has now guaranteed himself $60MM of that initial $80MM payday, and could potentially be in line for another long-term contract if he delivers a big 2025 season.

Of course, Bellinger thought that his big 2023 season might’ve set him up for a lucrative long-term contract last winter, yet he ended up rejoining the Cubs for that three-year pact.  Similar option-heavy shorter-term deals were also in the cards for other notable Scott Boras clients like Blake Snell, Matt Chapman, and Jordan Montgomery, leading the quartet to be known as the “Boras Four” as their trips through free agency dragged deep into Spring Training.

Bellinger signed near the end of February so he still had the benefit of most of spring camp, though injuries were probably the bigger reason why the former NL MVP’s performance dropped off from 2023.  A fractured right rib and a fractured left middle finger resulted in a couple of relatively brief trips to the injured list, though Bellinger hit a modest .266/.325/.426 with 18 home runs over 569 plate appearances.

While his 109 wRC+ was still above the league average, it also wasn’t the kind of standout platform year that would’ve made Bellinger a lock to top the remaining salary on his Cubs contract.  As a result, Bellinger was still reportedly unclear about his opt-out decision as late as September 20, and he has now chosen perhaps the slightly more cautious move of just sticking in Wrigleyville for another season.

There’s plenty of logic in Bellinger’s decision, beyond the obvious appeal of a $27.5MM payday.  After being a free agent in each of the last two offseasons, a quiet winter with his 2025 destination already established surely had some appeal for Bellinger.  He has also been vocal about how much he has enjoyed playing for the Cubs, so he’ll now stay in a familiar and welcome environment of the Friendly Confines.

From the Cubs’ perspective, they now have a pretty big salary on their books for 2025.  Of course, a one-year outlay for a player with Bellinger’s upside isn’t exactly a bad outcome, and obviously it was an outcome the front office has planned for given the three-year contract.  With Pete Crow-Armstrong now establishing himself in center field, Bellinger will probably be the Cubs’ primary right fielder next season, with Seiya Suzuki perhaps getting the bulk of DH duty.  Bellinger’s ability to also play center field and first base adds to his versatility, and gives manager Craig Counsell some flexibility in figuring out his daily lineups.

As per RosterResource, the Cubs’ projected payroll for next year up to roughly $183.5MM, factoring in Bellinger staying and Drew Smyly leaving after Chicago declined their end of the veteran pitcher’s mutual option.  This leaves the Cubs with plenty of spending space before they get up to the $241MM luxury tax threshold, provided the threshold is any sort of real barrier for ownership.  The Cubs didn’t pay the tax in any of the 2021-23 seasons but may have just barely crossed the threshold this season, depending on the league’s final calculations.

GM David Forst: A’s Focused On Trades, Upgrading MLB Roster

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While the Athletics’ rebuild isn’t over, it does appear that the club has moved out of purely a selling phase as the 2024-25 offseason begins (and the team’s temporary tenure in Sacramento begins).  A’s general manager David Forst told The San Francisco Chronicle’s John Shea that his front office has already at least touched base with every team except the Dodgers and Yankees, and that “any trade activity we’re discussing is about improving the major league team in 2025, not about trading major league players for prospects.”

This isn’t exactly a new stance, as Forst said in July prior to the trade deadline that the A’s were somewhat putting the brakes on moving any established trade chips.  While this could have been construed as some gamesmanship to get rival suitors to up their bids, the Athletics ended up keeping such notables as Brent Rooker, Mason Miller, and JJ Bleday, despite significant interest from other teams.  The A’s did trade Paul Blackburn (arbitration-controlled through 2025) to the Mets and a longer-term asset in Lucas Erceg to the Royals, though Erceg’s team control through the 2029 season is somewhat undermined by the fact that he is already 29 years old.

While the Athletics had a 69-93 record in 2024, things seemingly started to click for the team’s young core as the season developed.  After a brutal 37-61 record in the first half, the A’s had an even 32-32 mark after the All-Star break, and even delivered a 29-21 mark over the months of July and August.  Rooker was one of the better hitters in the entire league, and Bleday, Lawrence Butler, and Shea Langeliers all showed some intriguing potential elsewhere in the lineup.

The weak links were pretty obvious, as Shea writes that the Athletics’ offseason wish list includes upgrading a porous defense, a starting pitching staff that was one of the worst in baseball, and some help at third base.  A whopping 10 players suited up at the hot corner for the A’s over the course over the 2024 season, but this revolving door combined for a sub-replacement -0.6 bWAR (ranking 28th of 30 teams in third-base production).

As always, Forst will be limited in what he can spend on any new players, though how much the A’s might spend on free agents in general is still up in the air due to the uncertainty surrounding their relocation.  “We have to be active in the trade market until we get a clear sense of how free agents are going to view the possibility of coming to Sacramento.  That’s been the impetus for our reaching out to clubs ahead of free agency starting,” Forst said.

With this in mind, the A’s might well be one of the more aggressive teams in the early stages of free agency, with Forst and company perhaps being keen on acquiring any non-tender candidates or unwelcome contracts that other teams have on their books.  The Athletics have roughly $35.5MM on the books for 2025 (according to RosterResource) though none of that money is actually guaranteed, so some trades or non-tenders of their own could reduce that number.  This gives the A’s some relative flexibility in terms of payroll space, as Forst has said the club is prepared to spend beyond its $63.1MM payroll from 2024.

Brewers Decline Mutual Option On Gary Sanchez

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The Brewers declined their end of Gary Sanchez’s $11MM mutual option for the 2025 season, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports (X link).  Sanchez will now take a $4MM buyout and return to free agency for the fourth time in the last two years.

Initially a one-year, $7MM deal contract, Sanchez’s deal with the Brewers ended up being a one-year, $3MM guarantee with a mutual option worth $11MM.  The size of the buyout was conditional based on whether or not Sanchez missed time due to a wrist-related injury, but that didn’t prove to be an issue, so he unlocked the maximum $4MM on the buyout, allowing him to land that $7MM in salary after all.

The restructured deal came about after the Brewers had some concerns with the state of Sanchez’s wrist after it was fractured in September 2023.  Sanchez did miss a month due to a calf strain, and he otherwise hit .220/.307/.392 with 11 homers over 280 plate appearances and 89 games.

Sanchez’s presence allowed William Contreras to get a good dose of extra playing time at the DH spot, thus allowing him some partial rest while keeping his bat in Milwaukee’s lineup.  The Brewers are likely to explore a similar plan for the coming season, if perhaps not necessarily with Sanchez in the backup catcher role.  A reunion shouldn’t be ruled out, however, if the Brewers were generally satisfied with Sanchez’s work, or if perhaps they simply aren’t enamored with any other catching options on the open market.

From Sanchez’s perspective, this particular scenario with Milwaukee would allow him essentially the same amount of playing time as he would in a normal platoon situation elsewhere, with the bonus of playing for a perpetual contender.  Now entering his age-32 season, Sanchez should get some attention from other teams due to the ever-churning nature of the catching market, even if his heyday as an All-Star with the Yankees is now increasingly in the rearview mirror.  Sanchez did rebound to hit 19 homers in 2023 with the Padres, though brought little else to the offensive table apart from that power.

Rockies Acquire Owen Miller From Brewers

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The Rockies acquired utilityman Owen Miller from the Brewers for cash considerations, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports (X link).

Miller is a veteran of four MLB seasons, playing with Cleveland in 2021-22 and then with Milwaukee for the last two seasons.  After playing in 280 games across his first three seasons, he had only 14 games in the Show in 2024, with a .407 OPS to show from 27 plate appearances.  The Brewers designated him for assignment and then outrighted Miller off the 40-man roster back in July.

With only a .239/.287/.345 slash line to show for his 1015 career PA in the big leagues, Miller’s defensive versatility has been far more of a calling card than his bat.  Miller has made at least one appearance at every position except catcher and center field, though the large bulk of his playing time has come at first and second base.

Miller is now out of minor league options, thus limiting his usefulness to the Brewers and perhaps to the Rockies or other teams going forward as he vies to remain on a Major League roster.  There’s no risk for Colorado in acquiring a veteran depth piece who can help at multiple positions, especially if Brendan Rodgers is traded and the Rox have an increased need in the infield.

Wilmer Flores Exercises Player Option To Remain With Giants

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Wilmer Flores has exercised his $3.5MM player option for the 2025 season, the Giants announced.  Flores signed a three-year, $16.5MM extension with the Giants in September 2022 that allowed him to opt out of the 2025 season, and the club would’ve then had an $8.5MM club option to decide on if Flores did opt out.

Of course, this all became a moot point due to an injury-marred 2024 season for the veteran infielder.  Flores was bothered by knee problems all year, resulting in a pair of trips to the injured list and a season-ending Tenex procedure in early August.  Flores concluded his 12th Major League season with an ugly .206/.277/.318 slash line over 242 plate appearances, and a sub-replacement level -0.7 fWAR in 71 games.

It made Flores’ decision to exercise his option a pretty easy call, and the $3.5MM salary is low enough that it wouldn’t be a surprise if San Francisco chose to move on from the 33-year-old entirely in the form of a release.  A trade also isn’t out of the question if another team views Flores as a bounce-back candidate, or the Giants themselves might see Flores as a useful player to keep around if they feel he’ll return to form when healthy.

After all, it was just a season ago that Flores hit .284/.355/.509 with 23 homers for San Francisco during 454 PA during the 2023 campaign.  Flores’ ability to play first, second, and third base and his traditionally strong numbers against left-handed pitching made him a valuable member of the Giants’ platoon mix prior to this past season.  The Giants have been rumored to be in the mix for a bigger upgrade at first base, but if such help isn’t acquired, the team could fall back on a Flores/LaMonte Wade Jr. platoon at the cold corner.

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