Giants Option Marco Luciano, Select Nick Ahmed, Release Pablo Sandoval
The Giants announced a huge slate of transactions Thursday as they set their Opening Day roster. Shortstop prospect Marco Luciano and outfield prospect Luis Matos were optioned to Triple-A Sacramento to begin the season. San Francisco selected the contract of veteran shortstop Nick Ahmed and right-hander Landen Roupp, who’ll both make the Opening Day roster. The Giants also recalled lefty Erik Miller from Triple-A, placed righties Sean Hjelle and Alex Cobb on the 15-day IL (as expected), designated catcher/outfielder Cooper Hummel for assignment, placed lefty Ethan Small on the 60-day injured list and released infielder Pablo Sandoval. Out of options catcher Joey Bart made the roster.
Luciano, 22, is widely considered to be among the game’s top 100 prospects. He made a brief MLB debut last year and was in competition for the Opening Day roster nod throughout the entirety of camp, but the Giants will defer to the veteran Ahmed as their Opening Day shortstop.
Luciano heated up toward the end of camp, perhaps making the decision a bit tougher, but he finished with a .227/.364/.432 slash and a 34.5% strikeout rate in 55 plate appearances. Those strikeout troubles have been an issue for some time; Luciano fanned in 29.8% of his Double-A plate appearances last year and 35.9% of his Triple-A plate appearances. He’ll head back to the upper minors to continue to work on that area of his game.
In his place, the Giants will turn to longtime division foe Ahmed, who’s spent his entire 10-year career with the Diamondbacks. Ahmed, who’s won a pair of Gold Gloves in his career, has always been a defensive-minded shortstop. He’s long ranked as one of the premium defenders in the game, regardless of position. However, his already modest offensive production has taken a stark downturn over the past two seasons due to a shoulder injury that eventually required surgery.
Ahmed has looked sharp this spring, however, turning in a .355/.459/.645 slash with a pair of homers in a small sample of 37 plate appearances. The Giants bid adieu to their own longtime premier defensive shortstop, Brandon Crawford, this offseason. (Were it not for Crawford, Ahmed may have a few more Gold Gloves on his mantle.) Ahmed will bring a similar skill set to the table, though he’s three years younger. And, since he doesn’t have such a storied history with the franchise, it’ll be easier to cut him loose or significantly reduce his playing time if he struggles and/or if Luciano forces the issue with a big Triple-A performance.
Roupp, 25, was San Francisco’s 12th-round pick in the 2021 draft. He posted a 1.74 ERA and fanned more than a third of his opponents in 31 Double-A frames last season and will jump straight from that level to the big leagues. He earned that promotion with a huge spring showing, holding opponents to a pair of runs on two hits and four walks with 13 punchouts in eight innings.
Hummel, 29, is a career .166/.264/.286 hitter in 227 plate appearances at the big league level. He carries a far more impressive Triple-A track record, including a .262/.409/.435 batting line and a massive 18% walk rate there last year. He bounced from the Mariners, to the Mets, to the Giants via the DFA circuit this winter. Hummel still has a minor league option remaining, and the Giants will have a week to trade him or attempt to pass him through outright waivers.
Sandoval, 37, singled in his final at-bat of Giants spring training earlier this week. That game was played at Oracle Park, giving “Kung Fu Panda” the opportunity to suit up (at least) one more time in front of the Giants fans who revered him for his peak run as a middle-of-the-order slugger for the Giants even-year dynasty that saw them bring home World Series titles in 2010, 2012 and 2014. An emotional Sandoval said after the game what a special experience it was to take the field and be embraced by the San Francisco faithful one more time. Whether he continues his playing career remains to be seen, but if not, it was a fitting sendoff to a beloved member of the franchise who’ll long be remembered as a fan favorite.
Astros Select Tayler Scott
Right-hander Tayler Scott has made the Astros’ Opening Day roster, reports Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle. He’d been in camp as a non-roster invitee but will be selected to the 40-man roster, with lefty Bennett Sousa heading to the 15-day IL and righty Lance McCullers Jr. heading to the 60-day IL to create roster space for him. McCullers is recovering from forearm surgery and was already known to be out for the early portion of the season. Sousa is dealing with shoulder inflammation.
Scott, 31, has appeared in parts of three MLB seasons, spending time with the Mariners, Orioles, Padres, Dodgers, Red Sox and A’s. He’s only pitched 46 big league innings, but Houston will still remarkably be his seventh team.
The first South African-born player in MLB history, Scott signed a minor league deal over the winter and had an excellent spring showing. In 11 innings, he notched a tidy 2.45 ERA with 10 punchouts against four walks while keeping the ball on the ground at a huge 55.2% clip.
Scott has yielded 46 runs in his 46 MLB innings, but teams have been continually drawn to his strong minor league track record and the high-end spin rate on his slider. Scott has a solid 3.83 ERA in 206 2/3 Triple-A frames, having punched out nearly 27% of his opponents against a 9.1% walk rate at that level.
Guardians Acquire Peter Strzelecki From D-backs, Zak Kent From Rangers
The Guardians announced this morning that they’ve completed a pair of trades for pitching depth. Cleveland acquired right-hander Peter Strzelecki from the Diamondbacks in exchange for cash and acquired righty Zak Kent from the Rangers in exchange for international bonus pool space. Arizona designated Strzelecki for assignment earlier in the week. Both pitchers will be added to the Guardians’ 40-man roster, which had two vacant spots but is now at capacity.
Now 29 years old, Strzelecki broke into the majors as an unheralded 27-year-old rookie with the 2022 Brewers and quickly became a vital part of their bullpen that season. The undrafted righty made 30 appearances out of the ‘pen and tossed 35 innings with a 2.83 ERA, 27% strikeout rate and 10.1% walk rate in 35 innings. As an extreme fly-ball pitcher (31.1% ground-ball rate) in a hitter-friendly park who’d had some good fortune in terms of home runs (0.51 HR/9, 5.3% homer-to-flyball rate) there was always some potential for regression, but Strzelecki stumbled in 2023 for what appeared to be different reasons.
While Strzelecki managed to continue yielding home runs at a much lower rate than the average pitcher, he also lost more than a mile per hour off his fastball and saw his strikeout rate drop notable, from 27% to 22.7%. He offset some of that drop in whiffs with more grounders (38.1%) and fewer walks (7.4%), but his earned run average still jumped to 4.38 in last year’s 37 frames. Metrics like FIP (2.94 in 2022, 3.93 in 2023) and SIERA (3.47 in ’22, 3.93 in ’23) felt his jump in ERA was deserved, though perhaps not quite to the extent it actually increased.
The Brewers sent Strzelecki to the D-backs in a deadline swap that brought veteran lefty Andrew Chafin back to Milwaukee. Arizona only gave him 1 1/3 innings in the big leagues following that trade, and Strzelecki was designated for assignment earlier this week when a spot on the 40-man roster was needed for backup catcher Tucker Barnhart. The right-hander still has a minor league option remaining and is controllable for five more seasons if he can get back on track in his new surroundings.
Kent, 26, was the Rangers’ ninth-round pick back in 2019 but climbed into the middle tiers of the Rangers’ top 30 prospects and was selected to the 40-man roster following the 2022 season. At the time, the move was made to protect Kent from being selected in that year’s Rule 5 Draft — which seemed quite likely to happen had he gone unprotected. Kent had just wrapped up a 2022 season that was split between Double-A and Triple-A, wherein he pitched a combined 109 2/3 innings of 3.94 ERA ball with roughly average strikeout and walk rates. Baseball America credited him with a plus heater and slider in addition to a solid-average curveball but below-average command.
Kent missed time in 2022 with back, hip and oblique injuries, and health troubles (oblique and shoulder issues) hindered his 2023 season even further. He pitched just 40 2/3 frames last year — plus another 16 2/3 in the Arizona Fall League. He showed slightly improved strikeout and walk rates when healthy, though he was still hit hard during AFL play. Kent appeared in three spring games for the Rangers but was tagged for five earned runs with more walks (three) than strikeouts (two) in 3 2/3 innings. He still has a pair of minor league option years remaining.
The Guards are opening the season with righty Gavin Williams on the injured list and will be without frequently injured pitching prospect Daniel Espino for the entire season. They also lost setup man Trevor Stephan to Tommy John surgery, while relievers James Karinchak (elbow) and Sam Hentges (finger) are on the injured list as well. Strzelecki and Kent aren’t likely to step right onto the active roster, but they’ll give Cleveland some additional depth to help navigate that slew of injuries to begin the season.
MLB Places Wander Franco On Administrative Leave
Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association have reached an agreement to place Rays shortstop Wander Franco on administrative leave through at least June 1, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. He also spent the final six weeks of the 2023 season on administrative leave after allegations of a sexual relationship with a minor surfaced and began being investigated by law enforcement in Franco’s native Dominican Republic. Since the initial allegations surfaced, a second formal complaint against Franco was also levied.
Placing a player on administrative leave is standard protocol in MLB when a player is being investigated under the league’s joint domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy. It is not considered punitive in nature, and the leave is paid — though any accrued payments can be rescinded depending on the outcome of both criminal proceedings and potential discipline (i.e. suspension) following the league’s own investigation of the matter in question.
Prosecutors in the Dominican Republic initially brought charges of commercial sexual exploitation and money laundering against Franco, with the laundering charges stemming from alleged payments that Franco made to the purported victim’s mother. Those charges were eventually lessened to an extent, with the latest reporting out of the Dominican Republic indicating that Franco is facing charges of sexual and psychological abuse of a minor. He’s been released on bond but as of early January was still being ordered to report to court on a monthly basis.
While on administrative leave, Franco will not count against Tampa Bay’s 40-man roster. Major League Baseball’s own investigation into the matter presumably will not be conducted/completed until the criminal proceedings against Franco have played out. If that hasn’t happened by June 1, the league and the union can agree to extend the leave until some form of resolution has been reached.
Back in November of 2021, the Rays signed Franco to an 11-year, $182MM contract covering the 2022-32 seasons. It’s not at all clear at this time whether Franco will ever return to Major League Baseball. If Franco ultimately faces criminal charges or a lengthy ban resulting from MLB’s own investigation, he would not collect his salary for time missed (including retroactive forfeiture of any payments made while on administrative leave).
Twins Select Daniel Duarte, Place Anthony DeSclafani On 60-Day Injured List
The Twins announced this morning that they’ve selected the contract of right-handed reliever Daniel Duarte from Triple-A St. Paul. He’ll make the team’s Opening Day roster. Right-hander Anthony DeSclafani, who’s dealing with a season-jeopardizing elbow strain, has been placed on the 60-day injured list to open a spot on the 40-man roster. Minnesota also placed righty Josh Staumont on the 15-day IL due to a strained left calf. He’ll join a host of Twins hurlers who were already previously reported to be opening on the injured list, including DeSclafani, Jhoan Duran (oblique strain), Justin Topa (patellar tendinitis), Caleb Thielbar (hamstring strain) and Zack Weiss (shoulder strain).
Minnesota claimed the 27-year-old Duarte off waivers from the Rangers over the winter. He’d bounced from Cincinnati to Texas via waivers already, and the Twins succeeded in claiming him then quickly passing him through waivers themselves, allowing them to retain the right-hander without dedicating a 40-man roster spot to him (until today’s return to the 40-man).
Duarte made his MLB debut with the Reds in 2022 but only tossed 2 2/3 innings. He picked up 31 2/3 frames with Cincinnati in ’23, logging a 3.69 ERA that masked a much more concerning 16.9% strikeout rate and 14.7% walk rate. The K-BB profile is ugly, but Duarte averages nearly 96 mph on his heater and has a good slider, in addition to a track record of missing bats in the upper minors (26.8% strikeout rate in Triple-A). His performance in spring training was particularly encouraging: in 12 1/3 innings, he allowed just four runs (2.92 ERA) on ten hits and no walks with a dozen strikeouts and an above-average 47.1% ground-ball rate.
Duarte has a minor league option remaining, so now that he’s been added back to the 40-man, he can be shuttled between Triple-A and the big leagues as the Twins see fit this season. For now, with key relievers like Duran, Thielbar and Topa on the injured list, he’ll have the opportunity to make the roster and look to work his way into a more prominent role with the club.
As for DeSclafani, the Twins have yet to announce a timetable for his return. Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune wrote last week that DeSclafani’s elbow flared up in his final four to five pitches of a recent game in spring training, and surgery is now a possibility. DeSclafani himself acknowledged as much at the time as he prepared for a consultation with renowned surgeon Dr. Keith Meister.
The Twins acquired the veteran DeSclafani as one of four players in return for Jorge Polanco. The Mariners and Giants are covering all but $4MM of this year’s $12MM salary, so DeSclafani was effectively included in the deal as a low-cost depth option in the rotation — someone to compete with Louie Varland for the fifth spot on the staff. Topa (controllable for another three years), top outfield prospect Gabriel Gonzalez and minor league righty Darren Bowen all have far more long-term value to the organization. Nevertheless, the DeSclafani injury is quite unfortunate for a Twins club whose offseason was punctuated by ownership’s desire to scale back payroll amid uncertainty regarding the team’s television broadcast outlook.
Blue Jays Expect To Place Manoah, Swanson, Romano On Injured List
The Blue Jays will place closer Jordan Romano and setup man Erik Swanson on the injured list to begin the season, manager John Schneider announced to reporters Wednesday (X thread via Shi Davidi of Sportsnet). Right-hander Alek Manoah is also likely headed to the 15-day IL, the manager added, though it seems that’ll just be to allow him some extra time to continue building up after he was slowed by shoulder trouble earlier in camp. Manoah tossed 34 pitches in a simulated game today and will continue to build from there. Righties Nate Pearson and Wes Parsons will open the season on the big league roster in place of Romano and Swanson.
Both Romano and Swanson recently underwent MRIs after experiencing some discomfort, neither of which revealed structural damage. Romano has some inflammation in his elbow, while Swanson is dealing with some tightness in his forearm. Neither is expected to miss significant time, but it’s nonetheless a blow to the Jays’ bullpen in the early stages of the season.
Romano, 31 next month, has become a powerhouse at the back of the Toronto ‘pen. Over the past four seasons, he’s pitched to a 2.29 ERA (3.13 FIP, 3.14 SIERA) with a gaudy 30.8% strikeout rate against a 9.2% walk rate. Last year’s K-BB% wasn’t quite as dominant as in the prior three seasons, but Romano’s 17.1% swinging-strike rate was a flat-out elite mark that hints at a potential “rebound” in strikeout rate (as much as anyone needs to “rebound” from a generally excellent 29% mark in that regard). The right-hander also tied a career-high with 36 saves.
The 30-year-old Swanson, acquired from the Mariners in last offseason’s Teoscar Hernandez trade, would’ve been the favorite to step into closing duties for Romano were he healthy. He posted a 2.97 ERA in his first season with the Jays and carries a terrific 2.60 earned run average (3.04 FIP, 3.07 SIERA) over the past three seasons. During that time, Swanson has punched out 29.4% of his opponents against a very strong 6.7% walk rate.
With Romano and Swanson shelved to begin the year, closing duties will presumably fall to veteran Yimi Garcia. Setup options include Chad Green, the aforementioned Pearson, lefty Tim Mayza and fellow southpaw Genesis Cabrera. The Jays still have a decent group of relievers, but any team’s bullpen is going to look a little dicey when subtracting its two clear best relievers, as is the case in Toronto.
As for the rotation, Manoah is slotted into the No. 5 spot as he looks to rebound from last year’s nightmarish season. The Jays were concerned for a bit that staff ace Kevin Gausman would also require an IL stint, but it seems he’s progressed enough to avoid that fate. They’ll still open the season with Jose Berrios, Chris Bassitt and Yusei Kikuchi starting the first three games, but Gausman will be in line for the fourth or fifth game. He just pitched in a final spring tune-up outing Monday and thus won’t be sufficiently rested for an Opening Day nod.
With Manoah out, righty Bowden Francis will get the rotation nod to begin the season. He’s already been confirmed for the roster — his first career Opening Day roster spot — and will look to build on last year’s impressive rookie showing. The 27-year-old tossed 36 1/3 frames of 1.73 ERA ball with plus strikeout and walk rates (25.7% and 5.9%, respectively) over the life of 20 relief appearances. Francis has typically been a starter in the minors, so an early rotation role will be plenty familiar for him. He could be the first man up in the rotation throughout the early portion of the season if the Jays incur injuries on the staff, though top prospect Ricky Tiedemann will also likely make his big league debut at some point this season.
Yankees Acquire Jon Berti From Marlins, Trade Ben Rortvedt To Rays In Three-Team Deal
The Yankees, Marlins and Rays have come together on a three-team swap just 24 hours before the season is set to commence. Miami is trading infielder Jon Berti to the Yankees, who are sending catcher Ben Rortvedt to the Rays. The Marlins will pick up a pair of outfield prospects in the deal, one from each team: New York’s John Cruz and Tampa Bay’s Shane Sasaki. All three clubs have officially announced the deal.
Berti will give the Yankees an option to open the season at third base, with DJ LeMahieu (bone bruise in foot) and Oswald Peraza (shoulder strain) slated to hit the injured list, and he can back up nearly any spot on the diamond once LeMahieu returns. He’s fresh off a strong .294/.344/.405 batting line (103 wRC+) with seven homers and 16 stolen bases in a career-high 424 plate appearances with the Fish in 2023.
While Berti doesn’t bring any power to the table — last season’s seven homers were a career-high — he’s been a roughly league-average performer at the plate throughout his career thanks to an above-average walk rate, lower-than-average strikeout rate and plus speed that helps him leg out his share of infield hits (and stretch some would-be singles into doubles). Overall, Berti is a career .258/.337/.368 hitter — about 4% worse than league-average (by measure of wRC+) when weighting for the Marlins’ quite pitcher-friendly home environs.
Berti swiped 41 bags in just 102 games back in 2022, and while he ran less often in 2023, that didn’t have anything to do with a drop-off in speed. Statcast ranked Berti in the 95th percentile of MLB players with an average sprint speed of 29.3 feet per second last season.
Defensively, Berti has played every position other than catcher or first base. He’s spent more time at third base than any other position (1050 innings), but he’s also logged 792 innings at second base, 764 innings at shortstop and 577 frames in the outfield (281 in left, 231 in center and 65 in right). Both Defensive Runs Saved and Outs Above Average agree that he’s been a plus defender at each of third base, shortstop and left field.
Given Berti’s experience at the hot corner and the injuries to both LeMahieu and Peraza, there’s a strong chance that the Yankees’ newest acquisition will start tomorrow’s season opener at third base. He’ll likely be the team’s primary third baseman in the short term, and the versatility that both Berti and LeMahieu bring to the table will give manager Aaron Boone plenty of lineup options once the bone bruise in LeMahieu’s foot mends.
From a financial standpoint, Berti’s contract surely held plenty of appeal to a Yankees club that is a third-time luxury payor who’s in the top tier of penalization. They’re taking a 110% tax on any dollars added to the payroll at this point. Berti is earning $3.6MM in 2024 — the second season of what became a two-year, $5.725MM deal when the Marlins exercised a club option on him for this year. The 2022-26 CBA stipulates that only the remainder of a traded player’s contract is counted for luxury tax purposes, however, so the Yankees will pay the tax on this year’s $3.6MM salary rather than the contract’s $2.86MM AAV. That means Berti will come with $3.96MM worth of taxes, bringing his total expenditure to $7.56MM.
The Rays will get the only other player with big league experience in this three-team swap, though Rortvedt is rather limited in that regard. Formerly a second-round pick of the Twins, Rortvedt is a defensive-minded backstop who landed in the Bronx by way of the 2022 trade that sent him and Josh Donaldson to the Yankees in exchange for Gio Urshela and Gary Sanchez.
Rortvedt only appeared in 32 games with the Yankees over his two-year stint with the club, thanks to a series of injuries. An oblique strain limited him during spring training in 2022, and Rortvedt underwent knee surgery that May after beginning the season in the minors. Last spring, he underwent surgery to address an aneurysm in his shoulder that had been contributing to pain and numbness in his hand.
In all, Rortvedt only has 177 big league plate appearances between the Twins and Yankees, and he’s posted a dismal .146/.234/.255 batting line in that time. He hit well in 124 Triple-A plate appearances last year (.286/.395/.505), but Rortvedt is surely being acquired by the Rays because of their belief in his defensive chops.
The Rays tend to prioritize defense over offense at the catching position, and over the years Rortvedt has turned himself into a plus defender behind the dish. Baseball America named him the best defensive catcher in the Twins’ system from 2018-20, and the 26-year-old boasts an outstanding 34% caught-stealing rate in his career — including a 39% mark in his limited MLB action. Baseball Prospectus credits him with plus framing marks throughout his time in the minors, and he’s graded well there in the big leagues as well.
Because of all his time on the injured list, Rortvedt has more than two years of big league service time in spite of his minimal playing time. He’s out of minor league options, so he’ll have to stick on Tampa Bay’s roster this season. That means he’s all but certain to open the season splitting time with Rene Pinto behind the dish. Non-roster invitee Alex Jackson, who’d previously been the favorite for the backup job, will instead head to Triple-A Durham. If Rortvedt lasts the whole year, he’ll be eligible for arbitration for the first time in the 2024-25 offseason. The Rays can control him through the 2027 season via that process.
Turning the Marlins’ return for Berti, they’ll acquire a pair of outfield prospects — a position that’s regularly been a weakness for them in recent years. Sasaki, 23, was limited by injury to 68 games last season and hasn’t played above High-A. He went unselected in this past December’s Rule 5 Draft. Baseball America still tabbed him 21st in the Rays’ system, touting his 65-grade speed (on the 20-80 scale) and ability to play plus defense in center field or left. He’s a hit-over-power prospect who turned in a strong .301/.375/.465 batting line with seven homers and a dozen steals in 293 plate appearances at High-A last year.
Given his success in High-A last year, Sasaki seems likely to open the 2024 season in Double-A with his new organization. With a strong showing early in the year, a bump to Triple-A or perhaps even to the big leagues could be well within reach. Miami has been looking for a long-term center fielder for years now. Sasaki’s lack of power means he’ll need to continue to draw walks and hit for average in order to profile as a regular, but he at least gives Miami someone with a reasonable chance to become that everyday center fielder they’ve sought — albeit with a perhaps greater chance he settles in as more of a fourth outfielder.
As for Cruz, he’s a much further-off value add to the Marlins organization. The 18-year-old ranked 25th among Yankees prospects at Baseball America and 28th at MLB.com. He’s yet to advance to full-season ball, having spent the 2022 campaign in the Dominican Summer League and the 2023 season with the Yankees Rookie-level complex league affiliate. He’s hit well at both stops, posting a combined .260/.394/.465 batting line with 15 home runs, 19 steals, a huge 16.4% walk rate and a 24.9% strikeout rate.
Scouting reports credit the 6’3″ Cruz with above-average power and speed but raise some questions about swing mechanics and pitch selection at the plate. He’s played primarily center field to this point but could wind up moving to a corner as he continues to fill out his frame. He’s a yearslong project but one with a fair bit of ceiling — as well as a good bit of risk.
Ultimately, it’s a needs-based trade for all teams involved (rather than the more standard swap of a veteran for the best prospects available, regardless of position). The Yankees acquired an affordable and versatile infielder who checks multiple needs: everyday third base option in the short term and backup shortstop option in the long term. The Rays added some needed catching depth and defense without increasing an already franchise-record payroll. The Marlins, who didn’t have regular at-bats for Berti after signing Tim Anderson and acquiring Jake Burger, Nick Gordon and Vidal Brujan via trade over the past several months, moved him and his salary in exchange for a pair of outfield prospects who provide organizational depth and upside at a position of need. Sasaki’s relative proximity to the majors at least creates the possibility that all three clubs will see some MLB benefit from the trade before season’s end.
Craig Mish of SportsGrid and the Miami Herald first reported that Berti had been traded to the Yankees. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported Cruz’s inclusion in the deal. Christina De Nicola of MLB.com broke the news that it was a three-team deal with the Rays and that Sasaki was headed to the Marlins as well.
MLB Owners Approve Sale Of Orioles To Group Led By David Rubenstein
March 27: As expected, the Angelos family’s sale of the Orioles to Rubenstein’s group has been approved by the league’s other owners, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred announced in a press release. The approval was unanimous.
“I congratulate David Rubenstein on receiving approval from the Major League Clubs as the new control person of the Orioles,” Manfred said in a statement within today’s release. “As a Baltimore native and a lifelong fan of the team, David is uniquely suited to lead the Orioles moving forward. We welcome David and his partners as the new stewards of the franchise.”
The Orioles will hold a press conference to discuss the sale tomorrow morning at 11am ET.
March 25: Major League Baseball’s other 29 owners will vote on the sale of the Orioles from the Angelos family to a purchasing group led by billionaire David Rubenstein on Wednesday, Britt Ghiroli and Evan Drellich of The Athletic report.
Back in late January, John Angelos agreed to sell the controlling stake in the Orioles — and related assets, including the team’s stake in the MASN network — to Rubenstein’s group for $1.725 billion (a figure announced by the team at the time of the agreement). That sale is still pending majority approval from the league’s 29 other owners, though no pushback on the transition has been expected. Drellich and Ghiroli call the vote “a formality,” which generally aligns with prior reporting and expectations.
As reported back in January, Rubenstein’s group will initially be purchasing a 40% stake in the team — enough to cement him as the franchise’s new control person among other owners but not the entirety of the Angelos family’s stake. At the time the two parties negotiated the sale, it was agreed that the remainder of the Angelos family’s share in the team would be transferred to Rubenstein’s group following the passing of family patriarch Peter Angelos, the former Orioles control person and majority owner who’d since taken a step back due to health concerns and ceded control of the club to his sons, John and Louis (in what became a contentious battle for control of the organization that eventually saw John emerge as control person). This contingent was designed to avoid substantial capital gains taxes for the Angelos family.
Peter Angelos passed away this past weekend at 94 years of age. That won’t accelerate the transfer of the Angelos family’s entire stake in the team to Rubenstein’s group. Drellich and Ghiroli report that Wednesday’s vote will only be on the originally agreed upon 40% stake for Rubenstein & Co.; they’ll eventually formally acquire the remainder of the Angelos family’s 70% stake in the club, but that transaction will not be completed by Opening Day.
Rubenstein, 74, is a Baltimore native and the co-founder of private equity firm the Carlyle Group. Forbes estimated his net worth at $3.7 billion. His ownership group also includes several notable investors, including Orioles icon Cal Ripken Jr., NBA Hall of Famer Grant Hill, former Baltimore mayor Kurt Schmoke, former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg and Ares Management co-founder Michael Arougheti, among others. Peter Angelos originally purchased the controlling stake in the Orioles for $173MM back in 1993.
Ronel Blanco To Begin Season In Astros’ Rotation
Right-hander Ronel Blanco will start the 2024 season in the Astros’ rotation, manager Joe Espada announced to the team’s beat writers last night (X link via Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle). Blanco got the news after celebrating the birth of his daughter Tuesday and going on to fan 10 hitters in his final start of spring training — not a bad way to close out camp.
The final couple spots in Houston’s rotation have been up in the air throughout spring training due to injuries up and down the staff. The ‘Stros entered camp knowing that Luis Garcia Jr. (Tommy John surgery) and Lance McCullers Jr. (flexor surgery) would start the year on the shelf. But since camp began, they’ve seen Justin Verlander slowed by shoulder discomfort, Jose Urquidy sustain a forearm strain and righty Shawn Dubin stalled by shoulder troubles of his own. That trio will join McCullers and Garcia on the injured list to begin the season. Right-hander J.P. France has also battled through shoulder problems, but he’s recovered to the point where he’ll now join Blanco in the rotation to begin the year.
Blanco, 30, didn’t even make his major league debut until his age-28 season in 2022 and only tossed 6 1/3 frames that year. He logged 52 innings of 4.50 ERA ball with the Astros in 2023, starting seven games and making another 10 relief appearances. Command woes (12.4% walk rate) and extreme susceptibility to home runs (2.08 HR/9) worked against Blanco in 2023, but neither has been an issue through his small sample of spring innings. Blanco was unscored upon in 15 2/3 frames during Cactus League play, striking out 32.7% of his opponents against a tidy 7.3% walk rate.
It’s a small sample that’s come against opposition that hasn’t entirely consisted of MLB hitters, but it’s nevertheless an encouraging trend. Blanco walked 12.6% of his opponents even in Triple-A last season, so any strides in that department are most welcome. He’ll need to demonstrate that his improved command is sustainable over a larger sample against more advanced competition, but there’s little denying that he’s earned this opportunity — outperforming alternative rotation options like swingman Brandon Bielak or non-roster prospect Spencer Arrighetti.
The Astros don’t seem to be anticipating a lengthy absence for Verlander, and if he indeed is able to return before long, that’ll create an interesting decision on whether Blanco or France retains his rotation spot. France had the stronger overall showing in 2023, emerging as an unexpectedly vital contributor who tossed 136 1/3 innings of 3.83 ERA ball. But France also wilted substantially after a hot start to the season; from Aug. 1 through season’s end, he was torched for 5.84 ERA in 44 2/3 innings. Much of that damage came in a 10-run drubbing at the hands of the Red Sox, but France was increasingly prone to walks and hard contact in the season’s final two months, even when setting aside that outlier shellacking against Boston.
The Astros will send lefty Framber Valdez to the mound for tomorrow’s Opening Day start. For the time being, he’ll be followed by Cristian Javier, Hunter Brown, Blanco and France. Time will tell when or whether the Astros need to make a decision on the back end of the staff. Additional injuries could further cement Blanco and/or France among the group. In all likelihood, both France and Blanco will make their fair share of starts in 2024. Both have minor league options remaining — two for France, one for Blanco — and injuries/spot starts will necessitate utilizing far more than just five or even six starters. But at least early in the season, Blanco will get the chance to make a strong impression and show that he’s deserving of a long-term spot in a Houston rotation that has been continually dogged by injuries over the past couple years. Blanco has less than one year of big league service and can be controlled all the way through the 2029 season.
Matt McLain Undergoes Shoulder Surgery
Reds infielder Matt McLain underwent surgery to repair the labrum and some damaged cartilage in his left shoulder yesterday, president of baseball operations Nick Krall announced this morning (X link via Mark Sheldon of MLB.com). A timeline for his recovery has yet to be determined, though the Reds are hopeful he’ll be able to return to the roster at some point this season.
McLain, the 17th overall draft pick back in 2021, made his big league debut last year and instantly cemented himself as a building block in Cincinnati. He appeared in 89 games and took 403 plate appearances, turning in an outstanding .290/.357/.507 slash line (128 wRC+) with 16 home runs, 23 doubles, four triples and a 14-for-19 showing in stolen bases. McLain’s 28.5% strikeout rate and 7.7% walk rate were both worse than average, which, when coupled with a sky-high .385 average on balls in play, created some reason to forecast a bit of regression. Given how strong his overall performance was, however, even if his rate stats took a step back in ’24, McLain would still likely have been a well above-average performer.
In 2023, McLain split his time between the Reds’ middle infield spots, though that was due largely to injuries for fellow top prospect Elly De La Cruz. With De La Cruz healthy in 2024, McLain had been ticketed for everyday work at second base, pushing 2021 NL Rookie of the Year Jonathan India into more of a utility role.
India now figures to see quite a bit more time back at the keystone, although Cincinnati’s recent acquisition of infielder Santiago Espinal gives them a superior defensive option if the club still wants to get India more work at first base, at designated hitter or perhaps even in left field. The mere fact that the Reds proactively acquired Espinal seemed at the time to be a harbinger of bad news regarding McLain, and that’s unfortunately proven to be the case.
Much has been made of Cincinnati’s wealth of infield talent, but the injury to McLain and an 80-game PED suspension for Noelvi Marte have thinned things out considerably. Some pundits and onlookers questioned the wisdom of signing Jeimer Candelario to a three-year, $45MM deal with such an enviable crop of young infielders, but circumstances have changed and Candelario now looks more like a vital piece of the infield mix than an arguably superfluous luxury addition. He’ll take the primary role at the hot corner, with De La Cruz at short, Espinal/India at second and Christian Encarnacion-Strand at first base. Versatile Spencer Steer can back up at any of those four spots, but he’s expected to function as the Reds’ primary left fielder in 2024.
The 24-year-old McLain will receive big league service time and pay while rehabbing his shoulder on the injured list. He finished the 2023 season at 140 days of service, meaning he’s still controllable for six full seasons. He’ll quite likely be a Super Two player following the 2025 season, positioning him to be arbitration-eligible four times rather than three, but he’ll remain under Reds control all the way through the 2029 campaign.