Orioles Hire Adam Jones As Special Advisor, Community Ambassador
The Orioles announced Monday that they’ve hired five-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glove winner Adam Jones as a special advisor to general manager Mike Elias and a community ambassador for the team. Jones will advise Elias on various aspects of baseball operations and be a resource for the rest of the baseball ops staff. He’ll also be a guest coach in spring training and participate in/advocate for various Orioles community initiatives (e.g. the team’s adopt-a-school program and Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities program). During his playing career, Jones was a three-time nominee for MLB’s Roberto Clemente Award, recognizing his extensive community efforts in Baltimore.
“I am grateful for the Orioles relationships I have formed since my retirement, which have led us to this exciting partnership,” Jones said in a statement within today’s press release. “Having the opportunity to be around the game that I love, while also learning the operations side of baseball from one of the best general managers is truly an honor. I am happy to be a resource for the Orioles organization and will offer everything I’ve learned from past experience to help the team succeed. Baltimore has always meant so much to me, and this unique role will allow me to continue giving back to the community I love. This is a special opportunity and I’m eager to embrace it fully.”
Jones, 39, spent 11 seasons in an Orioles uniform after coming to Baltimore in a lopsided trade that shipped lefty Erik Bedard to Seattle. The former top-50 draft choice and top prospect wasted little time establishing himself in the Orioles’ lineup and quickly cemented himself as one of the most popular and productive players of an entire generation of Orioles baseball.
From 2008-18, Jones batted .279/.319/.459 with 263 home runs, 305 doubles, 27 triples and 90 stolen bases as the Orioles’ everyday center fielder. The 2012-14 seasons marked a personal peak for Jones and a rebirth for Orioles baseball, which Jones helped to fuel. Jones slashed a combined .284/.321/.489 and made three straight All-Star teams in that time, missing only three total games over that stretch of three seasons. He garnered MVP votes in each of the three seasons.
Simultaneously, the Orioles shook off four straight last-place finishes to surge into perennial postseason contention. The 2012 O’s won 93 games, finished second in the AL East and made a run to that year’s ALCS. The O’s had a winning record in ’13 but fell shy of the playoffs before winning the division with a 96-win season in 2014. As they did in 2012, Baltimore advanced to the ALCS. The 2016 Orioles returned to the playoffs yet again, with the ultra-durable Jones again playing a key role. From 2012-16, no American League team won more games than the Orioles, and Jones was arguably the face of the club along the way.
Jones finished out his playing career with a 2019 stint in Arizona and a 2020-21 run with NPB’s Orix Buffaloes over in Japan. He’ll now return to his longtime MLB home in a new role that continues to build his legacy with the organization.
“Adam was a tremendous representative of the Orioles on and off the field while he was a player,” Elias said within today’s press release. “We are excited to formally welcome him back to our team, and we look forward to utilizing his experience, expertise, and perspective to help the franchise achieve sustained excellence.”
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Marlins Sign Albert Almora Jr. To Minor League Deal
The Marlins announced a slate of non-roster invitees to major league spring training Monday morning, and in doing so revealed that they’ve inked outfielder Albert Almora Jr. to a minor league contract.
Now 30 years old, Almora was once one of the top prospects in the game during his rise through the Cubs’ system. The No. 6 overall pick back in 2012, Almora spent the better part of a half decade dotting top-100 lists around the industry due to his combination of standout tools in high school and excellent grades for makeup, leadership and other intangible elements of the game. He tore through the lower minors and reached the big leagues as a 22-year-old for a 2016 Cubs team that went on to win the World Series. Almora was a bench player during that postseason run and didn’t collect a hit, but he still got into nine games as a late-inning defensive replacement thanks to his prowess in the outfield.
In 2016-17, Almora indeed looked ticketed for a prominent role in the Cubs’ future. He didn’t immediately break out as a star but posted a better-than-average .292/.330/.448 slash in the majors over 440 plate appearances between those two seasons — his age-22 and age-23 campaigns. Even in 2018, when his offense (namely, his power output) took a step back, Almora hit .286/.323/.378 and drew flat-out elite defensive grades in center field (12 Defensive Runs Saved and 12 Outs Above Average alike). His bat tanked in 2019, however, and he hasn’t returned to even a semi-regular MLB role since.
Almora hit just .236/.271/.381 during 2019, which is even more anemic when considering that was the year of a clearly juiced MLB ball. By measure of wRC+, he was 38% worse than an average hitter that season. From 2019-22, Almora has posted a .219/.265/.344 slash in 686 trips to the plate at the MLB level.
Almora didn’t play at all during the 2023 season but spent the 2024 campaign with the Diamondbacks’ Triple-A affiliate, slashing .292/.349/.438 (97 wRC+) with nine homers and 20 steals in 576 plate appearances. His 7.3% walk rate was below average, but his 14.1% strikeout rate demonstrated that his consistently excellent contact skills remain intact.
Miami has next to no certainty in its outfield mix, where Jesus Sanchez, Kyle Stowers, Derek Hill, Griffin Conine, Dane Myers and Victor Mesa Jr. are the only outfielders on the 40-man roster. Sanchez is the only one who’s established himself at all in the majors, but he’s a corner bat with roughly average offense. Almora will have to play his way into a roster spot, but given the dearth of center field options on the 40-man roster, he’ll garner some consideration if he shows well in spring or in Jacksonville early in the season.
Angels Still Seeking Multiple Relievers
The Angels are positioned as well as any team to make some late-winter additions as free agents linger on the market — arguably even better-positioned than most. They’ve primarily been adding depth on minor league deals over the past couple weeks, but they’re still looking to improve the big league roster. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that they’ve told “at least one agent” that they have two or even three bullpen spots they’d still like to fill.
A look at the current composition of manager Ron Washington’s relief corps underlines that area of opportunity. Presumptive closer Ben Joyce is the game’s hardest-throwing pitcher by a wide margin, averaging 102.1 mph on his four-seamer. He enjoyed a breakout showing with a 2.08 ERA in 34 2/3 innings this past season and is all but assured a spot, barring injury. Veteran lefties Brock Burke, Jose Quijada and Jose Suarez are all out of minor league options and were all tendered contracts in arbitration. Health permitting, they’ll be on the Opening Day roster as well.
Beyond that quartet, there’s basically no certainty. Righty Chase Silseth, with 1.071 years of MLB service, is next up in terms of “experience.” The aforementioned trio of lefties are the only relievers on the Halos’ roster with even two years of MLB service time. Right-hander Robert Stephenson, signed to a three-year deal last winter, will of course take over one spot once he’s healthy, but he had Tommy John surgery on April 30. He could miss most or all of the season’s first half.
The Halos have their share of interesting candidates for relief spots. Righty Ryan Zeferjahn, acquired from the Red Sox in exchange for Luis Garcia, looked outstanding … in a sample of 17 big league innings. He’s had substantial command problems in the minors, however. Sam Bachman is a former top-10 pick with a sinker that sat nearly 97 mph in relief in 2023, but the Angels have continued to work him as a starter in the minors (to mixed results). Rule 5 pick Garrett McDaniels posted gaudy minor league numbers with the Dodgers last year but topped out in Double-A (where he only pitched three innings).
Suffice it to say, there’s room for multiple veterans to supplement the group — or at the very least for one more veteran arm. The Angels are nowhere close to the luxury tax barrier at the moment, sitting a bit under $206MM in CBT obligations, per RosterResource. That gives them more than $35MM, assuming the luxury tax is some form of hard barrier that owner Arte Moreno would prefer not to cross. The Angels have only paid the luxury tax once under Moreno’s ownership, which came way back in 2004 and saw the team pay out under $1MM in total penalties. The Angels were close to the tax threshold in 2023 but narrowly ducked under the line thanks to a massive late-August waiver purge after a failed deadline push for contention.
The relief market has been the slowest corner of free agency this winter, although it’s picked up steam in recent weeks with Tanner Scott, Jeff Hoffman, A.J. Minter, Jose Leclerc, Andrew Kittredge, Paul Sewald and Chris Martin (among others) all coming off the board since Jan. 10. Kirby Yates and the Dodgers have reportedly been working to finalize their own deal, though as of yet nothing has been formally announced.
The remaining collection of free agents still features several notable names, headlined by Carlos Estevez, David Robertson, Kenley Jansen, Kyle Finnegan, Tommy Kahnle, Phil Maton, Andrew Chafin and Tim Hill, among many others. As shown in MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, the Angels took a similar bulk approach to rounding out the bullpen last offseason, signing six relievers to big league deals — three of which came in mid-January or later. That didn’t work out as hoped, but it nonetheless seems they’ll take another run at using the late stages of the market to build out the bullpen this winter.
Where Can The Rangers Find A Closer?
The Rangers watched four key relievers hit the open market to begin the 2024-25 offseason. Closer Kirby Yates, who proved a bargain pickup on a one-year $4.5MM deal, reached free agency alongside David Robertson, Jose Leclerc and Andrew Chafin (who had a club option declined). Those four were the Rangers' top four late-inning options in the season's second half.
Beyond the difficulty of retaining any group of coveted free agents and/or rebuilding an entire relief corps, Texas faced financial difficulties. Re-signing Nathan Eovaldi and improving a lineup that struggled badly against fastballs were both priorities. Eovaldi cost more than most would've anticipated entering the offseason, benefitting from the hyper-aggressive free agent market for starters to the tune of a three-year, $75MM deal. Slugger Joc Pederson similarly commanded a stout $18.5MM-per-season annual value on his two-year deal. As with Eovaldi, that topped expectations.
Texas did trim some payroll and replace a bullpen arm in one fell swoop, trading the final two years of club control over first baseman Nathaniel Lowe to the Nationals in exchange for five seasons of control over lefty Robert Garcia. The 28-year-old's 4.22 ERA last season isn't particularly exciting, but a big 29.9% strikeout rate and sharp 6.4% walk rate portend improvements in the ERA department moving forward.
The rest of the Rangers' bullpen dealings have been cost-efficient in nature. Texas brought old friend Chris Martin back on a one-year, $5.5MM deal earlier this month. They had the advantage of being Martin's hometown club, which held appeal to him in the final season of his career; he's announced he expects to retire after the 2025 season and reportedly turned down more money elsewhere to pitch his final year close to home. Free agents Hoby Milner (another Fort Worth area native), Shawn Armstrong and Jacob Webb signed for $2.5MM, $1.25MM and $1.25MM, respectively.
Meanwhile, the free agents who've bid farewell to the Rangers seem to be in demand. Leclerc commanded a $10MM guarantee on a one-year deal with the A's. Yates has reached a tentative agreement with the Dodgers, though financial terms are not yet clear and he's not yet taken his physical. The aggressive market for late-inning arms figures to allow Robertson to cash in on an eight-figure salary. Chafin has garnered interest from the Yankees and Cubs at varying points this winter and is surely talking to other teams as the market for relievers heats up. In the past week alone, we've seen Tanner Scott, Yates, Paul Sewald and A.J. Minter reach free agent agreements. The markets for Carlos Estevez and Kyle Finnegan are picking up. The Cubs are talking to the Astros about Ryan Pressly.
Yates' agreement with the Dodgers rankled many Rangers fans who'd hoped they could bring the 37-year-old back as a finishing piece to the bullpen revamp. Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young, however, has indicated that while the door is still cracked for another acquisition, the bulk of the team's heavy lifting has likely been completed.
Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reported Wednesday that the Rangers never made a formal offer to Yates, recognizing where his market was headed while they faced payroll constrictions from ownership. Per Grant, if the Rangers add to the 'pen, it'd likely have to come via the trade market. They're about $6MM shy of the luxury-tax threshold, per Roster Resource, and staying under that $241MM cutoff is said to be a priority for the Rangers.
It's always possible they could strike gold on another Yates-sized reclamation project; Kendall Graveman and Scott Barlow are among the buy-low candidates with some track record as a successful late-inning reliever. Generally speaking, however, if the Rangers want to add a solid closing option, they're not going to find one for under $6MM in free agency.
With that in mind, let's run through some possible options for Young, GM Ross Fenstermaker and their staff as they peruse the market in hopes of adding one more high-leverage option.
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Latest On Ryan Pressly
12:40pm: Per a report from Chandler Rome, Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney of The Athletic, the Tigers are also in the Pressly talks but it “may be unlikely” for the righty to approve a trade to Detroit.
9:19am: The Astros have been shopping right-hander Ryan Pressly throughout the winter, but those efforts didn’t gain much traction until recently. That’s understandable in the sense that the free-agent market for relievers was largely frozen until the past couple of weeks. Now, with free agent bullpen arms flying off the board, interest in Pressly has seemingly picked up. The Cubs, Blue Jays and one yet-unknown club out west have all shown serious interest in Pressly over the past 24 hours.
Pressly, however, has full no-trade protection by virtue of his 10-and-5 rights (ten years of major league service, five-plus years with his current team). He can nix any trade to a location he doesn’t want. That’s of extra note for Pressly as a Texas native who’s playing his home games a bit more than 200 miles south of Dallas, where he was born and raised. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports this morning that Pressly has informed the Astros that he’s disinclined to approve a trade that’d send him too far east or west.
That would seemingly rule out both the Jays and any club on or near the west coast. It’s not yet clear which club out west is eyeing Pressly, though the D-backs have been vocal about their desire to add a closer. The A’s, Giants and Angels aren’t necessarily in the market for an experienced ninth-inning arm specifically, but all three could use another high-leverage arm in general.
All of that could be moot, however, if Pressly is wary of straying toward either coast and prefers to remain in Texas or somewhere in the country’s heartland. That could potentially bode well for the Cubs, though Heyman adds that Pressly has not yet made a decision one way or another on whether he’d approve a move to Wrigley Field. One swaying factor, speculatively speaking, could be that the Cubs would almost certainly use Pressly as their closer. That’s a role he filled — and filled quite well — in Houston from 2020-23, when he saved 102 games and pitched to a 2.99 ERA with a huge 31.5% strikeout rate in 198 2/3 innings. He was bumped to a setup role in 2024 after the Astros’ signing of Josh Hader on a five-year, $95MM contract.
Pressly’s 2024 season was solid all around but not quite up to his (lofty) prior standards. He logged a 3.49 earned run average over 56 2/3 innings and posted a 23.8% strikeout rate that stood as his lowest mark since the 2016 season. His 7.4% walk rate was comfortably better than league average but was still his highest mark in four years. His average fastball sat at 93.8 mph, per Statcast, marking his lowest number in more than a decade. Still, the right-hander’s broader track record is excellent. And, with the Astros potentially reengaging with Alex Bregman, there could be extra motivation for Houston to shed some payroll.
It’s hard to envision any scenario where the Astros re-sign Bregman and also dip beneath the luxury tax threshold, but shedding Pressly’s $14MM salary would lessen the sting of exceeding the tax line for what would be a second straight season. Per RosterResource’s projections, Houston is currently about $3MM north of the $241MM threshold.
White Sox Trade Ron Marinaccio To Padres
The Padres have acquired right-handed reliever Ron Marinaccio from the White Sox in exchange for cash, per announcements from both clubs. Chicago designated Marinaccio for assignment earlier in the week. San Diego’s 40-man roster is now up to 35 players.
Marinaccio, 29, has appeared in each of the past three big league seasons, with all his MLB time coming as a member of the Yankees. He’s posted a sub-4.00 ERA in all three of those individual seasons, working to a composite 3.22 mark with a strong 28.2% strikeout rate but an ugly 12.6% walk rate. Marinaccio averaged 93.6 mph on his heater this past season and paired that offering with a changeup and slider, both of which reside in the low 80s.
The ChiSox claimed Marinaccio off waivers from the Yankees on Sept. 23. He didn’t make it into a game for the South Siders, but given the general state of disarray within their roster, he seemed like he’d have a chance to factor into the 2025 bullpen mix. General manager Chris Getz ultimately felt differently, as Marinaccio was bumped from the 40-man roster this week to open space for veteran innings eater Martin Perez.
Marinaccio’s track record in Triple-A is generally supportive of his output in the big leagues, making it something of a surprise that the White Sox moved on for next to no return. He’s pitched in parts of four seasons there and logged a 3.35 ERA in 91 1/3 innings, fanning 29.9% of his opponents against an 11.3% walk rate along the way. Marinaccio still has one minor league option year remaining, and he’s controllable through the 2028 season as things currently stand (though future optional assignments could change that calculus). He won’t be eligible for arbitration until next offseason at the earliest.
Braves Notes: Profar, Kelenic, De La Cruz, Pitching Staff
The Braves finally made their first significant move of the offseason this week, coming to terms with Jurickson Profar on a three-year, $42MM contract that’ll install him as their new everyday left fielder. Atlanta president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos confirmed in chatting with the Braves beat yesterday that Profar will be ticketed for regular work in left field, with Jarred Kelenic and Bryan De La Cruz (who signed a split major league deal earlier this winter) competing for at-bats in right field (link via MLB.com’s Mark Bowman).
Profar told reporters via Zoom this morning that landing with the Braves is a near-ideal scenario. As a native of Curacao, he grew up idolizing countryman Andruw Jones and watching him with the Braves. He’ll now be united with friend and countryman Ozzie Albies with those same Braves. Profar indicated that as soon as free agency began, his top two preferences were to remain in San Diego or sign in Atlanta (via Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution). The Padres, who are dealing with a payroll crunch and ownership infighting, never came close to Atlanta’s offer at any point in free agency, per Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune.
With Profar slated for everyday work in left field and Michael Harris II in center, that leaves right field as the only place for Kelenic and De La Cruz to get playing time early in the season. Ronald Acuña Jr. will be back to man right field eventually but is expected to miss more than a month of the season as he finishes off rehabbing last year’s torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. A platoon is possible, but Anthopoulos made clear that Kelenic “will get a lot of reps in right field” this spring and “will have every opportunity to be that guy.”
Kelenic, 25, came to the Braves by way of a convoluted series of salary dump trades last year. The former No. 6 overall pick and top prospect was effectively purchased from the Mariners, with Atlanta taking on the underwater contracts of first baseman Evan White and lefty Marco Gonzales to get Kelenic to Atlanta. Gonzales was subsequently traded to the Pirates, who took on about $3MM of his $12MM salary. White was shipped to Anaheim in return for another pair of underwater contracts: David Fletcher and Max Stassi. The Braves quickly flipped Stassi to the White Sox for a player to be named later, agreeing to pay the bulk of Stassi’s salary. When factoring in the dead money they absorbed and the associated luxury tax hits, they spent around $32MM to acquire Kelenic.
Suffice it to say, year one of the gambit didn’t play out as hoped. Kelenic got out to a decent start in April, slumped in May, had a monster showing in June, and then tanked for the majority of the final three months. On the whole, he hit .231/.286/.393. His 15 homers were a new career-high, but he also fanned in almost 30% of his plate appearances while providing slightly below-average defense in the outfield and slashing only .206/.236/.279 against lefties.
That anemic performance against southpaws is where De La Cruz could come into play. The longtime Marlin and brief Pirate was non-tendered earlier this winter and quickly scooped by by Atlanta. De La Cruz makes for an odd platoon partner for Kelenic, however. His right-handed bat is very clearly more productive versus lefties than the lefty-swinging Kelenic, but De La Cruz has still been a below-average hitter against southpaws in his career: .270/.315/.390 (92 wRC+). Considering Kelenic has only been about average versus righties in his career, it’s an underwhelming platoon unless one or both players take a substantial step forward.
That shouldn’t be a long-term issue, of course. Acuña should be back sometime in May or June. At that point, the Braves can rely on a Profar-Harris-Acuña alignment from left to right. Kelenic, whom Anthopoulos praised as an option capable of playing all three outfield spots, could then slide into more of a fourth outfield role with De La Cruz serving as a depth option in Triple-A.
With the outfield largely settled, the question of what’s next for the Braves naturally arises. Anthopoulos said last night that he has the flexibility needed to add to the rotation and/or bullpen (via David O’Brien of The Athletic). No deal in either department is close, however, and the veteran baseball ops leader emphasized that any rotation arm that’s brought in would need to be a decisive upgrade over in-house arms like Grant Holmes and Ian Anderson. Both are out of minor league options and thus very likely ticketed for roster spots to begin the season. O’Brien speculates that Atlanta will add a reliever and forgo a prominent rotation acquisition.
The Braves currently have Chris Sale, Reynaldo Lopez and Spencer Schwellenbach in the top three spots of the rotation. Spencer Strider will return at some point in the season’s first half after undergoing UCL surgery last April. Depth options in Triple-A include Davis Daniel, Bryce Elder and prospects Hurston Waldrep and AJ Smith-Shawver. Once Strider returns, that’s a lot of arms for what’s effectively one rotation spot — assuming good health for each of Sale, Lopez and Schwellenbach.
As O’Brien suggested then, a bullpen addition makes a bit more sense. The Braves will likely be without Joe Jimenez all season after the right-hander underwent knee surgery, subtracting a key piece of their late-inning relief group. With Raisel Iglesias, Aaron Bummer, Pierce Johnson and Dylan Lee all on board, there’s still a strong high-leverage foundation, but there’s plenty of room to add a reliever and still remain under the luxury tax threshold, if that’s a goal.
RosterResource currently projects the Braves for a bit more than $230MM of tax obligations, leaving them nearly $11MM from the $241MM threshold. Notable unsigned relievers who could fit into that budget include Kyle Finnegan, Phil Maton, Andrew Chafin, Danny Coulombe, Tim Hill and injury rebound candidates such as Kendall Graveman, Lou Trivino and Keynan Middleton. If the Braves are willing to cross the tax threshold for a third straight season (or engineer a trade to clear up a bit more breathing room), names like Carlos Estevez and David Robertson remain available on the market.
Red Sox, Mark Kolozsvary Agree To Minor League Deal
The Red Sox and catcher Mark Kolozsvary have agreed to a minor league contract with an invitation to major league spring training, reports Kiley McDaniel of ESPN. It’ll be his second straight season with the Red Sox organization, as he was with the club’s Triple-A affiliate in Worcester in 2024.
Kolozsvary, 29, has technically appeared in two big league seasons, though he played in only one game for the 2023 Orioles and didn’t log a plate appearance. He tallied 10 games with the 2022 Reds and came to the plate 21 times, going 4-for-20 with a homer and two doubles (.200/.238/.450).
In parts of four Triple-A seasons, Kolozsvary owns just a .176/.297/.312 batting line. He’s yet to provide much in the way of offense in his big league career, but Kolozsvary is regarded as a strong defender with quality minor league marks for framing, blocking balls in the dirt and controlling the running game. He’s thrown out 29% of runners who’ve attempted to steal against him in his minor league career.
Kolozsvary is the latest depth addition for a Red Sox club that doesn’t have much certainty behind starting catcher Connor Wong. Trade acquisitions Carlos Narvaez and Blake Sabol are both on the 40-man roster, but neither has established himself in the majors yet. Narvaez has just six big league games to his credit. Sabol is a .243/.313/.392 hitter (95 wRC+) in 382 MLB plate appearances with the Giants but has fanned in one-third of his trips to the plate and struggled defensively at catcher. Boston also brought in veteran Seby Zavala as a non-roster invitee, giving them another strong defender with a shaky track record at the plate.