Mets Sign Cam Robinson To Minor League Deal
The Mets announced Thursday that they’ve signed righty reliever Cam Robinson to a minor league deal and invited him to big league camp this spring. The team also confirmed its previously reported signing of outfielder Trayce Thompson to a similar non-roster deal with a spring training invite.
The fit with Robinson and the Mets is a natural one, as he’s spent his entire career to date with the Brewers. Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns was running baseball ops in Milwaukee when Robinson was drafted in the 23rd round of the 2017 draft, and Robinson ranked as high as 24th among Brewers prospects earlier this season, per Baseball America.
Robinson soared through three minor league levels in 2022, finishing that season with a 2.49 ERA, 25 saves, a 31.6% strikeout rate and a less palatable 11.8% walk rate in 65 innings between High-A, Double-A and Triple-A. Things didn’t go nearly as well in 2023, when Robinson was tagged for a 5.33 earned run average in 50 2/3 frames between the Brewers’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates. Robinson’s strikeout rate plummeted to 23%, while his already problematic walk rate climbed to an even more troubling 15.4%.
Lackluster ’23 output notwithstanding, Robinson posted strong run-prevention and strikeout numbers from 2021-22. Baseball America’s scouting report on him notes that his heater typically sits 93-95mph range, topping out at 97 mph. He pairs that with a high-spin curveball and occasional slider. Command troubles have long been an issue for Robinson, but solid velocity, a plus curveball and a track record of missing bats make him a decent depth flier on a minor league contract.
Mariners “Rebuffed” Red Sox’ Interest In Young Starting Pitchers
The Red Sox’ offseason search for starting pitching hasn’t yet produced any results, although that’s in large part due to the holdup that Yoshinobu Yamamoto is placing on the market. Alex Speier of the Boston Globe breaks down the Sox’ interest in Yamamoto and the manner in which said interest has thus far prevented them from making offers elsewhere on the market (e.g. Aaron Nola, Sonny Gray, Eduardo Rodriguez). With Boston hoping to lure Yamamoto to Fenway Park, it’s at least understandable if the team doesn’t feel comfortable putting forth offers in the vicinity that those other pitchers signed — ranging from $75MM to $172MM — while simultaneously keeping enough powder dry to put forth the type of massive offer Yamamoto will command.
The Yamamoto interest hasn’t been as much of a detriment on a trade market that has largely remained idle, however. Speier reports that the Sox approached the Mariners about their cadre of controllable starting pitchers but were generally rebuffed. Whether that was due to the quality of their offer (or lack thereof), or simply due to the Mariners being unwilling to move someone from the George Kirby, Logan Gilbert, Bryce Miller, Bryan Woo quartet isn’t clear.
However, Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto suggested at last week’s Winter Meetings that a trade of one of their young big league starters doesn’t seem likely (link via Adam Jude of the Seattle Times). Dipoto acknowledged “constant” inquiries regarding his young rotation before casting doubt on whether he’d actually make a move involving anyone from the bunch.
“We’ll see what the market bears,” said Dipoto, who’s entering his ninth season as the leader of Mariners baseball operations. “We are going to lean into the thing we do well, and if opportunity presents itself, we have to listen. But by and large, we pitch it; we catch it. We’re very good at developing young players, and we’re going to continue to focus on those things.”
On the one hand, the Mariners and Red Sox seem like natural trade partners. The Mariners are deep controllable young pitchers who’ve had MLB experience. The Red Sox have several promising, controllable hitters who’ve made their big league debuts already (e.g. Triston Casas, Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela) and, in some cases, had a good bit of success.
The price to acquire controllable young pitching is always steep, however — particularly when talking about players who’ve already had as much success as Kirby and Gilbert or those with six full seasons of control, like Miller and Woo. The Mariners could well prefer more established hitters. Similarly, the Sox might be loath to part with much in the way of immediate MLB production in the lineup, as the free-agent market isn’t exactly deep in bats to replace any outgoing hitters.
To be clear, there’s no indication the two parties can’t or won’t revisit talks — just as there’s no indication the Mariners will staunchly turn away any and all inquiries on their excellent rotation. To the contrary, Dipoto acknowledged to Jude that for the “right player” with another club, the Mariners “will consider just about anything.”
It’s been a generally quiet offseason for both teams in terms of notable additions. Boston has picked up Tyler O’Neill in a trade with the Cardinals, but the offseasons of Boston and particularly Seattle thus far have drawn more headlines for their subtractions than their new acquisitions. The Sox traded Alex Verdugo to the archrival Yankees, while the M’s have traded away Eugenio Suarez, Jarred Kelenic and Marco Gonzales. In doing so, they’ve substantially reduced the team strikeout rate and freed up some resources to perhaps bring in some offense via the free-agent and/or trade market. Seattle has been connected to free agents Jorge Soler and J.D. Martinez over the past week, while rumored trade interest has included the likes of Randy Arozarena, Isaac Paredes, Josh Naylor and (before he was traded to Boston) O’Neill. The Red Sox, meanwhile, continue to search for ways to upgrade their starting staff.
Ohtani Contract Contains Conditional Opt-Out Clause Based On Ownership, Front Office
Shohei Ohtani‘s landmark contract with the Dodgers has prompted endless discussion, debate and criticism due to the unprecedented scope of the deferrals it contains, but that’s far from the only fascinating wrinkle of the 10-year deal.
Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci reports that the contract contains language “that assures the club will make good on its promise to use the savings he created to build a competitive team around him.” Ohtani’s agent, Nez Balelo of CAA Sports, tells Verducci that Ohtani asked him early in the free-agent process about whether it was possible to defer the majority or entirety of his salary in order to give his club more present-day payroll flexibility.
As far as we at MLBTR can tell, that’s the first clause of its nature in any player contract. Further specifics of the clause and the manner in which it will be enforced remain unclear. The Dodgers’ reported pursuits of a trade involving Tyler Glasnow and Manuel Margot, plus their recent meeting with Yoshinobu Yamamoto, seem to signal that the team is indeed taking steps to satisfy that condition, though.
The luxury-tax hit associated with Ohtani’s contract is $46.06MM, according to Verducci, which sits roughly in line with expectations at the outset of his free agency. But, the manner in which the contract was announced has created substantial criticism. It’s fair to wonder if, had the contract been announced as 10 years and $460MM deferred with interest, it would have invited the same backlash as the initial announcement of a $700MM deal … which was later reported to be 97% deferred.
The initial $700MM figure looks good in a recruiting pitch for future CAA clients, but the league’s approximate $460MM valuation of the net present value is a different story entirely. The MLBPA’s valuations are a bit lower yet; Jon Heyman of the New York Post tweets that the union values the contract at $437,830,563, but the luxury-tax hit will be based upon the league’s calculations.
There’s been plenty of talk about the contract as a means of gaming the luxury tax system, although the $46.06MM CBT hit is in line with the league’s valuation of the deal. If anything, the contract is less about circumventing the luxury tax and more about artificially tamping down the team’s actual, bottom-line payrolls from 2024-33.
Unprecedented contractual language doesn’t stop with the competitive team clause. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that the contract states the following: “If specific change in Dodger personnel, player may opt out of contract at end of season the change occurs.”
The conditional opt-out is applicable to controlling owner Mark Walter and president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, per a report from Beth Harris and Ronald Blum of the Associated Press. If either Walter or Friedman leave the organization, Ohtani would gain the opt-out possibility. Alden González of ESPN tweets that would go into effect at the end of any season in which Walter or Friedman departed, so there’s no possibility of Ohtani opting out midseason.
It’s nevertheless a noteworthy inclusion, particularly in the case of Friedman. While the front office leader isn’t in any immediate jeopardy based on the team’s excellence over the course of his decade-long run, tying his contractual status to that of the team’s best player for the next 10 years is a bold move by ownership. Friedman signed an extension of undisclosed length in November 2019. It isn’t clear if he has signed any subsequent deals, though it’s hard to envision him departing the organization any time soon.
Given the massive slate of deferred money — Ohtani will be paid just $2MM annually from 2024-33, with the remaining $680MM paid out from 2034-43 — it’s difficult to see Ohtani opting out at any juncture, unless there’s language that allows a portion of those deferrals to be paid out in conjunction with the opt-out.
It’s technically feasible that if Ohtani is able to return to the mound in 2025, he could reestablish himself as a viable top-of-the-rotation starter and have even greater earning power than the ~$460MM net present value of his current contract. However, if he’s only been paid out around 1-2% of the overall guarantee at the time of a theoretical opt-out opportunity, it’d still be difficult to walk away from the deal.
Then again, Ohtani showed with his original move to MLB (and to a lesser extent with the eye-popping nature of his current deferrals) that money is not necessarily his top priority in any contract. He’s also reportedly earning as much as $50MM annually in terms of endorsements and other marketing opportunities, so the notion that he’d leave a staggering portion of his record contract on the table in order to pursue a return to free agency isn’t as far-fetched as it would be for many other players.
News of the (as we know it) unprecedented out clause in Ohtani’s contract will invite ample speculation. Fans on social media have already wondered about ownership changes, front office changes, managerial changes or perhaps even trades of star teammates like Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman. With the contract itself not plainly spelling out the nature of the change, there’s no way of knowing the specific nature of personnel change that would trigger this right for Ohtani, however. The clause is further proof of the lengths to which the Dodgers — and presumably other teams — were willing to go in order to secure the two-way star’s generational talents.
Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi has already indicated that the terms of Ohtani’s contract with the Dodgers were proposed by Ohtani and his agents, and that the Giants were comfortable effectively matching them. Presumably if Ohtani’s camp included the stipulations about investing the present-day savings and the conditional out clause in the terms with the Dodgers, those factors were also present in discussions with the Giants, Blue Jays and other finalists for his services.
One other note from the AP: while the Dodgers have already announced the contract, it has not yet gone to MLB for official approval. As of Wednesday evening, the deal still takes the form of a letter of agreement between Ohtani and the Dodgers.
Nationals Plan To Use Nick Senzel As Primary Third Baseman
The Nationals made their one-year deal with former No. 2 overall draft pick Nick Senzel official yesterday, and the club is envisioning a prominent role for the 28-year-old. Senzel himself tells reporters that manager Dave Martinez told him the expectation is that he’ll play third base every day in 2024 (link via Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com).
At the time he agreed to his one-year, $2MM pact with Washington, it was reasonable enough to expect that Senzel might bounce around the diamond, as he’d done throughout his time in Cincinnati. The Reds began Senzel’s development as a third baseman but began playing him at other positions before long. Eugenio Suarez was locked in as the Reds’ third baseman, and after he turned in a 34-homer, All-Star campaign in 2018, Senzel wound up serving as Cincinnati’s primary center fielder in 2019. Overall, Senzel played all three outfield spots, second base and third base in the big leagues during his time as a Red (plus some briefer looks at shortstop in the minors).
It seems the Nationals plan to give Senzel an opportunity he never fully received in Cincinnati: everyday reps at the hot corner. Part of that lack of opportunity in Cincinnati was due to the presence of other veterans (e.g. Suarez, Mike Moustakas). Part was due to a litany of injuries that derailed Senzel’s development. He missed time due to finger surgery (to repair a torn tendon), elbow surgery (to remove bone spurs), shoulder surgery (torn labrum), injuries to both knees (one of which required arthroscopic surgery) and an ankle sprain. If he can finally remain healthy and things go well, the Nats can control him through the 2025 season via arbitration.
Word of an everyday role for Senzel isn’t without impact elsewhere on Washington’s roster. The Nats have their own former top prospect whom they selected in the first round of the 2016 draft, just 24 picks after Senzel, in Carter Kieboom. The 26-year-old has appeared in parts of four big league seasons with the Nats but mustered only a .199/.297/.301 slash in 508 trips to the plate. Kieboom is now out of minor league options, so he’ll need to either make the Opening Day roster or else be traded or exposed to waivers before he can be sent down to the minors.
That puts Kieboom in an unenviable spot. Like Senzel, he’s been plagued by myriad injuries throughout his still relatively young career. Most notable is the infielder’s 2022 Tommy John surgery, but Kieboom has also missed time with a shoulder impingement and a wrist injury. That shoulder issue wiped out much of his 2023 season. Kieboom had surely hoped that a return to health would give him the opportunity to at last cement himself in the big leagues. In order to have the best chance at doing so, he’d need regular playing time that now does not appear to be in the cards. If he sticks with the Nats to open the season, he’ll face the tough task of trying to produce and earn a long-term spot through sporadic at-bats — likely being scattered between third base, designated hitter and perhaps at second base.
It’s also fair to question whether Kieboom is on the verge of running out of opportunities in D.C. altogether, though. His trade value isn’t anywhere near what it once was, but it’s still plausible that another club could take a look at him as a third base flier in a small trade or via a waiver claim. He still has four years of club control remaining.
Pirates, Penguins Agree To Joint Ownership Of SportsNet Pittsburgh
The Pirates announced Wednesday that they’ve entered into an agreement with the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins for joint ownership of the SportsNet Pittsburgh network. Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette first reported the agreement. With the new partnership, SportsNet Pittsburgh will continue to carry all regionally broadcasted Pirates games and expand the network’s pregame and postgame coverage of the team.
“Above all else, this was the right thing to do for our fans,” Pirates president Travis Williams said in a press release announcing the agreement. “From the outset of this process, the most important thing to us was to ensure that our fans have the same level of access to Pirates game telecasts and the same high-quality production that they enjoy today. This agreement accomplishes that and more as we enable Pittsburgh sports fans to continue to enjoy a two-team, 24/7 sports channel.”
Mackey reports in a full column on the news that it’s expected to be a multi-year but still short-term agreement, giving Pirates fans some stability in knowing how to watch their team’s games while also leaving the team with the flexibility to pursue alternatives that may arise in the not-too-distant future. Pirates fans will want to check out the column in full, as Mackey chatted with Williams for a one-on-one interview regarding the new partnership.
The deal creates some eyebrow-raising partnerships due to the fact that daily operations of the network are handled by the New England Sports Network (NESN), which is owned by Fenway Sports Group. FSG owns the Penguins and holds an 80% stake in SportsNet Pittsburgh, per Mackey. That means that Red Sox owners John Henry and Tom Werner, the founders of FSG, will directly profit from the Pirates’ television broadcasts moving forward. Williams emphasized to Mackey that MLB has not deemed that to be a conflict of interest — FSG’s operations are a separate business venture from the Red Sox — and he added that the existing relationship between Henry, Werner and Pirates owner Bob Nutting actually helped to facilitate the arrangement.
Notably, Williams indicated that both the Pirates and Penguins are hoping to be able to offer a direct-to-consumer streaming option “as soon as possible,” adding that such a feature is currently at the works at NESN. Financial terms of the short-term arrangement and any potential down-the-road streaming options remain unclear, but Williams claimed the broadcast situation will not change the team’s payroll outlook.
“I don’t think payroll is a product of our television deal,” Williams told Mackey. “Payroll is a product of many different things in terms of where we are in building a team. As I’ve mentioned before, the revenue that comes from these types of deals, whether it’s this or a sponsorship or a jersey patch, any of those topics, that’s part of the overall revenues that we use to invest in the organization, areas where we’re going to make a difference.”
Braves Outright David Fletcher
The Braves announced Wednesday that infielder David Fletcher, who they acquired from the Angels last week, has cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A Gwinnett. The move amounts to a formality, as Atlanta was surely aware that another team wouldn’t claim Fletcher and the $14MM still guaranteed to him on his current contract. The Angels outrighted Fletcher twice during the 2023 season. At 4.168 years of MLB service time, he’s four days shy of being able to reject an outright assignment while still remaining the entirety of that sum.
David O’Brien of The Athletic tweets that Braves brass still “fully expects” Fletcher to be their primary utility infielder next season. For the time being, however, passing him through waivers creates some extra flexibility by opening a spot on the 40-man roster. The Braves can always select Fletcher back to the 40-man roster prior to Opening Day. Once he’s accrued even four more days of service time, they’ll lose the ability to shuffle him around in this nature, as Fletcher could elect free agency and retain his salary, leaving Atlanta on the hook for that money.
It’s still a modest surprise to see Fletcher outrighted at the moment, given that the Braves already had five open spots on the 40-man roster. Timing aside, the outcome was always going to be the same when he was placed on waivers though, so making the move now versus making the move in February changes nothing. It sounds quite likely that Fletcher will be added back to the 40-man before long — if not prior to Opening Day then early in the 2024 campaign.
Fletcher, 29, came to the Braves as part of a convoluted series of trades that have added a considerable amount of money to Atlanta’s luxury tax ledger but haven’t left the roster with much in the way of clear upgrades. The Braves acquired Jarred Kelenic, Evan White and Marco Gonzales for Jackson Kowar, prospect Cole Phillips and cash — then immediately flipped Gonzales and cash to the Pirates for a player to be named later. White was traded to the Angels alongside minor league reliever Tyler Thomas to acquire catcher Max Stassi and Fletcher. Atlanta quickly sent Stassi and cash to the White Sox for another PTBNL.
Ultimately, they were left on the hook for the remaining $14MM on Fletcher’s deal, nearly three quarters of Gonzales’ $12.25MM salary, and the associated luxury taxes they’ll pay on each player. It’s a steep price to pay to effectively buy low on Kelenic and install Fletcher as a utility infielder — particularly when the Braves already had a very similar utility option in Nicky Lopez, who was traded to the ChiSox as part of the Aaron Bummer trade. Perhaps the PTBNLs acquired for Gonzales and Stassi will be of some significance, but it’s hard to imagine a team in the Pirates’ or White Sox’ positions giving up substantial prospect talent for short-term stopgaps — even at positions of need and with paid-down salaries.
Fletcher signed a five-year, $26MM extension with the Angels on the heels of a .298/.356/.395 showing from 2019-20 — a productive stretch at the plate during which he fanned at a tiny 10.1% clip and played superb defense between three infield spots (second base, third base, shortstop). He’s since floundered at the dish, however, batting just .259/.296/.327 in 990 plate appearances. Fletcher’s bat-to-ball skills have actually improved (8.6% strikeout rate), but his quality of contact has plummeted and rendered him an unimpactful player in the batter’s box. He’s still a versatile and talented defender, and the Braves will likely lean on him as a glove-first utility option this coming season.
KBO’s NC Dinos Sign Daniel Castano
The NC Dinos of the Korea Baseball Organization have signed former Marlins lefty Daniel Castano to a one-year contract, the team announced (English-language link via Jee-ho Yoo of South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency). He’ll earn $650K in guaranteed money between his salary and signing bonus, and he can take home another $200K via incentives.
Castano, 29, came to the Marlins alongside future stars Sandy Alcantara and Zac Gallen (later flipped to Arizona for Jazz Chisholm Jr.) in the trade that sent Marcell Ozuna to St. Louis. He’s appeared in each of the past four seasons with Miami, logging a total of 88 2/3 innings. Along the way, the former 19th-round pick has posted a 4.47 earned run average with a 12.4% strikeout rate that’s roughly half the league average and a solid 7.9% walk rate.
Castano has appeared in parts of three Triple-A seasons with the Marlins and produced generally similar run-prevention numbers, albeit with a much better strikeout rate. In 174 innings with Miami’s top affiliate in Jacksonville, he’s logged a 4.24 ERA, 20.6% strikeout rate and 7.3% walk rate. He’s expected to work as a starter with the Dinos, per general manager Sun-nam Lim.
The Marlins outrighted Castano off the 40-man roster in September, and he became a free agent following the season. He’d likely have been in line for a minor league deal were he to sign with an MLB organization, at which point he’d have earned at a prorated deal not far north of the MLB minimum for any time spent in the big leagues. The $650K guarantee alone should top what he might’ve made under that scenario, and the incentives give him further earning potential.
If things go well for Castano in the KBO, he could position himself to re-sign for a guarantee closer to seven figures next year, and with enough success he could draw interest from Japan’s NPB or even on a return to the big leagues. He only just turned 29 in September, so he’s still young enough to make his way back to North American ball in a few years, depending how he fares overseas.
Julio Urias Case Being Reviewed By Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office
Law enforcement officials have completed their investigation into the domestic violence allegations against former Dodgers left-hander Julio Urias and turned their findings over to the L.A. County District Attorney’s office to determine whether charges will be filed, per a report from Jack Harris of the L.A. Times. There’s no timeline for when a decision will be reached at this time.
The 27-year-old Urias, who became a free agent at season’s end, was suspended under MLB’s domestic violence policy back in 2019, although he was never criminally charged in that instance; his suspension came after a league investigation into his case. The report from Harris indicates that law enforcement has obtained cell phone footage of the current alleged incident involving Urias and a woman, which reportedly took place near L.A.’s BMO Stadium after an LAFC Major League Soccer match.
Urias was arrested on the night in question and released the following day on $50,000 bail. Major League Baseball placed him on paid administrative leave two days after the alleged incident, and he did not return prior to the end of the season. If Urias is ultimately suspended, any money paid out during his time on administrative leave would be rescinded.
MLB’s joint domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy grants the commissioner’s office the power to levy discipline even in the absence of criminal charges, so it’s possible that Urias could face a suspension even if the DA’s office does not bring forth charges. He would be the first player to be suspended twice under that policy since its implementation.
MLBTR Chat Transcript
Click here to read a transcript of Tuesday’s chat with MLBTR’s Steve Adams.
Brewers Sign Rob Zastryzny To Minor League Deal
The Brewers signed left-handed reliever Rob Zastryzny to a minor league deal and invited him to big league camp this spring, reports Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
Zastryzny, 31, has appeared in parts of five big league seasons but was out of MLB from 2019-21. He returned for a brief look with the Mets and Angels in 2022 before logging a more significant workload of 20 1/3 innings over 21 appearances with the Pirates this past season. Zastryzny posted a 4.79 ERA with a 15.5% strikeout rate, 13.3% walk rate and 38.8% grounder rate in that time. Overall, he carries a 4.70 earned run average, 18.4% strikeout rate and 11.2% walk rate in 59 1/3 MLB frames.
While the big league track record may not leap out, Zastryzny has been quite sharp in his past three seasons of Triple-A work, pitching to a 3.62 ERA with respective strikeout and walk rates of 28.8% and 8.1%.
Zastryzny is out of minor league options, so if he makes Milwaukee’s big league roster at any point, he’ll have to stick in the Majors or else be exposed to waivers before he can be sent back down. He’s been previously outrighted as well, so he’d have the right to elect free agency if he clears waivers at any point.
The Brewers have several lefty bullpen options, with Hoby Milner, Ethan Small, Clayton Andrews and Aaron Ashby (pending his rehab from this year’s shoulder surgery) among the options currently on the 40-man roster. Zastryzny will add a non-roster entrant to that mix, and he’ll head to Triple-A Nashville to open the season if he doesn’t crack the roster out of spring training.