Royals, Mariners Have Shown Trade Interest In Tyler O’Neill
The Cardinals have been exploring trade scenarios involving outfielder Tyler O’Neill — president of baseball operations John Mozeliak acknowledged as much at this week’s Winter Meetings — and Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post Dispatch reports that the Royals and Mariners are two of the several teams who’ve spoken to the Cards about the 28-year-old O’Neill.
A two-time Gold Glove winner in left field, O’Neill had a monster 2021 season that netted him an eighth-place finish in National League MVP voting but has battled injuries throughout his career. He slashed .286/.352/.560 with 34 home runs. He walked at a below-average 7.1% clip and fanned at a lofty 31.3% rate, but it was an undeniably excellent campaign all around. The two seasons since have been decidedly less than that.
From 2022-23, O’Neill has appeared in just 168 games and totaled 649 plate appearances with a .229/.310/.397 slash. Along the way, he’s dealt with shoulder, hamstring, foot and back injuries. Staying on the field has been a problem throughout his big league tenure; since making his MLB debut back in 2018, O’Neill has been placed on the injured list on 12 different occasions, owing to a wide variety of ailments. He’s controlled for just one more year before becoming a free agent, and MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects O’Neill to earn a reasonable $5.5MM salary this coming season.
The Cardinals have been seeking bullpen help on the trade market, and it stands to reason that even one year of O’Neill could land them that. Goold notes that they’re also open to packaging him in a larger deal to acquire a front-end rotation upgrade, though such a deal would be far harder to orchestrate. Excellent as O’Neill was in 2021, that was two years ago, and he’s now a one-year bounceback rental. He wouldn’t be a prominent factor in any package for a high-end starter.
As for the two reported suitors, both make some degree of sense. The Mariners could use a right-handed bat to replace free agent Teoscar Hernandez and Eugenio Suarez, whom they traded to the Diamondbacks earlier in the offseason. Whether O’Neill fits the Mariners’ stated preference of adding more contact to the lineup, however, is an open question. He fanned at 25.2% clip last year — far lower than the 30%-plus marks posted by both Suarez and Hernandez. However, O’Neill whiffed in more than 31% of his plate appearances in his best season and has a career 30% mark.
That said, Seattle’s interest is only natural, considering the Mariners are the team that selected him in the third round of the 2013 draft. That predates president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto’s time with the team — and it was Dipoto who traded O’Neill to St. Louis in exchange for Marco Gonzales — but there are some longtime holdovers who surely still view O’Neill in a favorable light.
In reporting on the Mariners’ interest in Jorge Soler this morning, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic suggested that the M’s might want to spread their remaining financial resources out among multiple targets. O’Neill would allow them to do that more than Soler, who’ll likely command a salary two to three times as large as O’Neill in free agency. Then again, it’s also possible the M’s could sign Soler to DH and acquire O’Neill to play left field in place of Jarred Kelenic, who was traded to the Braves earlier in the week. The Mariners’ payroll projection right now checks in under $120MM, and Dipoto has spoken on record about how payroll can increase over last year’s $140MM mark.
As for the Royals, they’re lacking in the way of any established big league outfielders. Royals outfielders combined for a lowly .228/.294/.393 batting line in 2023, with the resulting 84 wRC+ ranking 29th in the Majors. O’Neill fits the Royals’ longstanding preference for premium defensive players, and the upside of his 2021 season at the plate is the type of production that the budget-conscious Royals typically can’t afford to pursue in free agency.
At present, the Royals’ outfield mix consists of MJ Melendez, Drew Waters, Kyle Isbel, Edward Olivares and Nelson Velazquez. The latter of that quintet surely earned a full look in 2024 with a huge power showing following his acquisition from the Cubs at last year’s deadline, and Melendez has long been one of the organization’s top prospects. None from that bunch has had any sustained MLB success, however, and Melendez — also a catcher — grades out quite poorly from a defensive standpoint.
The Royals are known to be in the market for rotation help, but general manager J.J. Picollo also said earlier in the offseason that a bat who could hit somewhere from third to sixth in the middle of his order would be nice to add. A healthy O’Neill is absolutely that type of bat, and his projected salary fits comfortably within the $30MM+ that Picollo acknowledged he has to spend this winter.
Mariners, Diamondbacks Showing Interest In Jorge Soler
The Mariners and Diamondbacks are among the clubs with interest in free agent slugger Jorge Soler, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Soler opted out of the final year and $13MM on his three-year contract with the Marlins at the beginning of the offseason.
That decision came as little surprise when looking at Soler’s production this past season. The 31-year-old (32 in February) popped 36 home runs while slashing .250/.341/.512 in 580 plate appearances with Miami. His 11.4% walk rate was the second-highest of his career and best since 2016, while his 24.3% strikeout rate was the lowest of his career. Soler averaged a hefty 91.3 mph off the bat and ranked in the 91st percentile of all MLB hitters in terms of “barreled” ball rate, as defined by Statcast. In a market largely devoid of power bats, Soler has clear middle-of-the-order upside, and his recent K/BB improvements are particularly encouraging.
The Marlins are said to have some interest in a reunion, but both Seattle and Arizona are obvious fits for a hitter of this skill set. The Mariners opted not to make Teoscar Hernandez a qualifying offer and let him walk in free agency, removing one of their top power bats in the process. They later traded Eugenio Suarez and his $12MM salary to the D-backs, receiving backup catcher Seby Zavala and high-upside reliever Carlos Vargas in the process. The M’s also engineered a salary-motivated deal sending Marco Gonzales and Evan White to the Braves alongside Jarred Kelenic, netting righties Jackson Kowar and Cole Phillips in the process.
Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said earlier this offseason that he hoped to lower the team’s strikeout rate, and moving on from both Hernandez (31.1%) and Suarez (30.8%) work toward that end. Soler has long had strikeout issues of his own, but he’s at 25.1% over the past three seasons. That’s a notable decrease from both Hernandez and Suarez, and Soler has more power than either player. Dipoto has also spoken this winter about how he’d be comfortable deploying a full-time designated hitter. Soler, of course, would fit that billing. He can still play right or left field in a pinch, but his defensive deficiencies are well known.
The trades of Suarez, Gonzales and White have left the M’s with a projected payroll under $120MM. Dipoto, meanwhile, has suggested that despite the cost-cutting measures so far this winter, the overall payroll could still rise higher than last year’s $140MM mark. There’s room to add Soler and still pursue other offensive upgrades (particularly if the Soler deal is backloaded). Soler is also quite familiar with new Mariners hitting coach Brant Brown, who held the same role in Miami last year.
Down in Arizona, the D-backs have significantly boosted payroll by acquiring Suarez and agreeing with Eduardo Rodriguez on a four-year, $80MM contract. Their projected $133MM payroll is a tick higher than the franchise-record mark of $131.5MM, but the Snakes are also coming off an unexpected deep postseason run that saw them advance all the way to the World Series. Presumably, there’s some extra resources in their supply as a result of that increase in revenue. And, the surge into the Fall Classic’s spotlight in many ways shows that the core of this group has arrived, and the time to supplement it is now.
Rosenthal reports that the Diamondbacks’ preference would be for a right-handed bat that can slot into the middle of the lineup. Again, Soler fits that description aptly. The D-backs have an all left-handed outfield (Corbin Carroll, Alek Thomas, Jake McCarthy, Dominic Fletcher), so adding Soler for some occasional corner work and plenty of designated hitter plate appearances would help to balance out the lineup.
There’ll surely be competition for Soler’s services, and the question of asking price is paramount for a pair of suitors who are likely working with limited financial maneuverability, to varying extents. Rosenthal suggests both Arizona and Seattle would prefer to spread out their remaining resources over multiple hitters. Without knowing exactly how high D-backs owner Ken Kendrick is willing to take payroll, it’s hard to say whether there’d be room to add Soler and look for further supplements (at least via free agency). With regard to the Mariners, it seems plenty feasible to sign Soler to a multi-year deal — MLBTR predicted a three-year, $45MM deal, for what it’s worth — and still have room to make some further additions if the payroll indeed can increase over last year’s roughly $140MM threshold.
Yankees Re-Sign Billy McKinney, Anthony Misiewicz To Minor League Deals
The Yankees have re-signed outfielder Billy McKinney and lefty reliever Anthony Misiewicz to minor league contracts, reports Jack Curry of the YES Network. Both players figure to be in big league camp next spring.
McKinney, 29, returns for a third stint with the Yanks. A 2013 first-round pick by the A’s, McKinney found himself traded from Oakland to Chicago in the 2014 Jeff Samardzija trade and from Chicago to New York in 2016’s Aroldis Chapman swap. He debuted in the Bronx in 2018 but was quickly traded a third time, going from New York to Toronto in 2018’s J.A. Happ deal.
While McKinney was clearly a prospect of note — hence the first-round selection and three organizations targeting him in returns for notable veterans — he hasn’t yet solidified himself in the big leagues. He’s tallied 915 plate appearances but posted a .209/.284/.390 output in that time. That includes a 2023 season spent back with the Yankees after signing a minor league deal; he slashed .227/.320/.406 in 147 plate appearances this past season. In parts of six Triple-A seasons, McKinney is a .271/.354/.511 hitter.
Misiewicz, also 29, has been on five teams in the past calendar year. In the 2022-23 offseason he went from the Royals to the Cardinals in exchange for cash before being traded from St. Louis to Arizona in another cash swap just prior to Opening Day. The Tigers and lastly the Yankees both picked him on subsequent in-season waiver claims. The Yankees non-tendered him last month.
Since making his MLB debut in 2020, Misiewicz has pitched 114 2/3 innings of 4.71 ERA ball over the course of 130 relief appearances. He’s punched out a roughly average 22.8% of his opponents against a strong 7.5% walk rate, but he’s become increasingly susceptible to hard contact over the past three seasons and subsequently been more homer-prone.
The Yankees’ recent trade-market flurry has filled the outfield, with Juan Soto and Alex Verdugo coming to the Bronx to flank Aaron Judge in center field. McKinney has some experience at first base as well, but that’s spoken for by Anthony Rizzo. It’s possible he could earn a bench spot, but if not he’ll open the year in Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Similarly, Misiewicz could be ticketed for Scranton to begin the year, although at least at the moment, he has a clearer path to winning a spot on the roster. Nick Ramirez and Matt Krook are the only lefty relievers on the Yankees’ 40-man roster, but that could be addressed with subsequent free agent and/or trade acquisitions now that they’ve overhauled their outfield and lineup.
Shohei Ohtani Decision Reportedly “Imminent”
Shohei Ohtani‘s cloak-and-dagger free agent saga has held up the top end of the free-agent and trade markets alike through the offseason’s first several weeks, but a decision from the two-time AL MVP is “imminent” and could be announced at some point today, per MLB.com’s Jon Morosi. In a segment on MLB Network (video link), Morosi adds that the Blue Jays have improved their standing in the Ohtani derby this week and are a finalist alongside the Dodgers, at the very least.
At last check, the Jays, Dodgers, Giants, Angels and Cubs were all involved in the bidding. The possibility of a dark-horse suitor that’s flown under the radar to this point can’t be ruled out, given the secretive nature of Ohtani’s free agency. Anecdotally, it’s of note that Friday marks six years, to the day, since Ohtani made his last free-agent decision, when he signed with the Angels.
Ohtani and the Blue Jays are believed to have met at the team’s spring training complex in Florida this week. Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts acknowledged during the Winter Meetings that his club had met with Ohtani and considered him their “top priority,” prompting some hand-wringing among Dodger fans that even such a basic acknowledgment of the obvious might work to their detriment. The Giants are reported to have met with Ohtani last weekend at Oracle Park. The incumbent Angels, of course, are already a known and familiar commodity for Ohtani. The Cubs’ status in the bidding remains least certain, though president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer publicly denied reports this week suggesting that his team’s optimism regarding Ohtani had waned.
Bidding on Ohtani was widely expected to eclipse $500MM, even after the slugger/ace underwent elbow surgery following the 2023 season. He’s not expected to pitch in 2024 but is on track to be ready to be in his next team’s Opening Day lineup as a designated hitter. There’s been some speculation this week that the bidding could push closer to a staggering $600MM. It’s heavily speculative at this juncture, given the by-design quiet nature of Ohtani’s foray into the open market.
Ohtani, 29, will be a transformative presence in any lineup he joins. A career .274/.366/.556 hitter, he’s stepped up his offensive game in recent seasons. He’s not quite on the same level as Aaron Judge or longtime teammate Mike Trout in terms of per-game production, but Ohtani has also been in the lineup more than both players over the past three seasons, even after missing the final several weeks of the ’23 campaign due to that elbow injury and an oblique strain. Since 2021, only Judge, Kyle Schwarber and Matt Olson have hit more than Ohtani’s 124 home runs. Only Judge, Trout and Yordan Alvarez have topped Ohtani’s massive 157 wRC+ (indicating that he’s been 57% better than a league average hitter after weighting for home park and league run-scoring environment). In that time, Ohtani carries a .277/.379/.585 batting line.
That’s only half the story with Ohtani, who finished fourth in 2022 American League Cy Young voting and has emerged as a legitimate top-of-the-rotation starter — when healthy. That’s a massive caveat in light of an earlier Tommy John surgery and now a second elbow procedure (details of which remain nebulous to public onlookers). But over the past three seasons, Ohtani has pitched 428 1/3 innings 2.84 ERA ball with an elite 31.4% strikeout rate and an 8.3% walk rate.
If Ohtani is able to return to those heights following a second elbow surgery, there’s a very feasible path to him simultaneously winning a league MVP and Cy Young Award. His ability to regain that form, of course, is the single largest question mark surrounding him. There’s no doubt that Ohtani will pitch again in some capacity, but his expected level of success will remain a talking point until he actually takes the mound. At this point, he’s proven that it’s foolish to bet against him — but even if Ohtani can’t recapture that ace form, there’s plenty of value in him beyond that of a pure designated hitter. If he could pitch even as a capable mid-rotation starter or perhaps effective reliever, that’d be immensely valuable in and of itself.
And, even if Ohtani is simply never able to regain his form as a viable MLB pitcher, there’s no reason to think he’d “only” be a designated hitter. He’s played in the outfield both in Japan and (far more briefly) with the Angels. Ohtani still possesses above-average sprint speed, per Statcast, and there’s some reason to think he could improve upon last year’s 63rd-percentile ranking if he were focusing only on hitting and playing the outfield. He’s swiped 86 bases in his career, including a 20-for-26 showing this past season. The arm strength is clearly there, as is the raw athleticism needed to handle the position. At that point, Ohtani could be viewed in a somewhat comparable light to that of Judge, who signed a nine-year, $360MM contract when he was two years older than Ohtani is at present.
The off-field value associated with Ohtani can’t be discounted, either. Any team signing him will be tapping into a global fanbase that’ll boost merchandise sales, ticket sales, television ratings and more. Ohtani’s broad-reaching brand won’t pay for his salary on its own, but it’s a clear factor that any interested club will be weighing and attempting to contextualize/value when putting forth its best offer.
With a decision looming on Ohtani, let’s open it up for MLBTR readers with a poll:
Who will sign Shohei Ohtani?
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Dodgers 32% (9,119)
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Blue Jays 31% (8,872)
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Mystery Team!! (Specify in comments) 15% (4,257)
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Giants 9% (2,710)
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Angels 7% (1,997)
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Cubs 6% (1,856)
Total votes: 28,811
Orioles Sign Craig Kimbrel
December 7: Kimbrel can increase the value of the buyout based on game and games finished in 2024, per Jon Heyman of The New York Post. It will be an extra $100K for pitching in 35, 40, 45, 50 and 55 games, as well as another $100K for finishing the same amounts. If Kimbrel were to max out all of those, the buyout would jump to $2MM.
December 6: The Orioles announced the signing of closer Craig Kimbrel to a one-year deal with a club option for the 2025 season. It’s a reported $13M guarantee for the SportsMeter client. Kimbrel will make $12MM in 2024 with a $1MM buyout on a $13MM option for ’25.
Baltimore has been looking to fortify the back of their bullpen this winter, with Félix Bautista set to miss the 2024 campaign recovering from Tommy John surgery. In that search, they have been connected in rumors to just about every notable reliever, including Josh Hader, Robert Stephenson and Jordan Hicks, though those guys are set for multi-year deals.
Details of this deal between the O’s and Kimbrel aren’t known but it’s possible it’s a one-year deal, since he settled for a one-year pact last offseason and is now going into his age-36 campaign. In that case, Kimbrel could act as a bridge, covering the closing role in Baltimore for one season and then relinquishing it to Bautista for 2025.
Kimbrel has a lengthy track record of having been one of the most dominant relievers in the game, having racked up 417 saves since debuting with Atlanta back in 2010. Recent years have been a bit more rocky but he’s coming off a generally solid season.
Over 2019 and 2020 with the Cubs, Kimbrel had an earned run average of 6.00 in 36 innings, a noticeable slide since his previous nine seasons only once resulted in an ERA over 2.74. He got back on track in 2021 with an ERA of 2.26 between the Cubs and White Sox, though he was far better before being traded than after. His ERA was a ridiculous 0.49 before the deal but 5.09 after. He was traded to the Dodgers for the 2022 season and posted a respectable 3.75 ERA, but he was shaky enough that year to get removed from the closer’s role in September and then left off that club’s playoff roster.
Kimbrel signed with the Phillies for 2023, a one-year deal with a $10MM guarantee. He tossed 69 innings for the Phils over 71 appearances this year, finishing with a 3.26 ERA, 33.8% strikeout rate and 10.1% walk rate. He earned 23 saves and seven holds in the process. He didn’t fare so well in the postseason, allowing four earned runs in six innings, but that’s a tiny sample of work relative to the season overall.
That won’t quite live up to Bautista’s recent performance, but there are few pitchers in the world who could. His first two seasons in the big leagues resulted in a 1.85 ERA and 40.4% strikeout rate. Only Edwin Díaz, who missed 2023 due to knee surgery, had a higher strikeout percentage in that time. But Kimbrel will nonetheless strengthen the bullpen relative to where it was a few days ago, joining other high-leverage relievers such as Yennier Cano and Danny Coulombe.
Assuming Kimbrel is in the closer’s role, he will have a chance to continue climbing the all-time saves leaderboard. Kenley Jansen currently sits seventh on that list with 420 while Kimbrel is eighth with 417. Both of those closers will have a chance to jump three more spots in 2024. Billy Wagner is currently sixth with 422, John Franco is fifth with 424 and Francisco Rodríguez is fourth with 437. That means each of Jansen and Kimbrel could be in the top five by the end of next year.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported that the O’s and Kimbrel were in serious discussions. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal first reported the sides were nearing and then in agreement on a deal. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported the financial terms.
Braves Sign Angel Perdomo, Outright Evan White
The Braves announced Thursday that they’ve signed left-hander Angel Perdomo to a one-year, split Major League contract. Atlanta also passed recently acquired first baseman Evan White through waivers and assigned him outright to Triple-A Gwinnett. The Braves claimed Perdomo off waivers from the Pirates in early November but non-tendered him later in the month. He’ll now return to their 40-man roster.
White’s outright comes as little surprise; the Braves’ acquisition of him was always a financial mechanism to facilitate their trade for Jarred Kelenic, and it was obvious that no team would place a claim on White, given the remaining $17MM he’s owed under his previously signed contract extension with the Mariners. White technically has enough service time (three-plus years) to reject the assignment but not enough to do so while retaining the remainder of his salary (which requires five years). As such, he’ll surely accept the assignment and head to Triple-A Gwinnett to begin the 2024 campaign.
Perdomo, 29, posted a 3.72 ERA in 29 innings for the Pirates in 2023 and did so with a gaudy 37.6% strikeout rate against a 9.4% walk rate. Had he been healthy, the Pirates surely would’ve hung onto him, but Perdomo hit the injured list with an elbow injury in August. He ultimately required Tommy John surgery and is slated to miss the 2024 campaign as a result. Even if he spends the entire season on the 60-day injured list, he’d still finish out the 2024 season with two-plus years of service time, meaning Atlanta could potentially control a healthy Perdomo from 2025-28, if all goes well.
White, 27, was the Mariners’ first-round pick back in 2017 and was widely considered one of the sport’s best prospects. Touted as an elite defender at first base with a solid hit tool and above-average power, White looked the part of a future fixture in the Seattle lineup during his prospect days. His 2019 campaign in Double-A saw White turn in a .293/.350/.488 batting line with 18 home runs in 400 plate appearances. The Mariners signed White to a six-year, $24MM contract that November with the idea that he’d be their Opening Day first baseman in 2020. White, however, stumbled to a .165/.235/.308 batting line in 306 plate appearances from 2020-21 and was eventually overtaken by Ty France on the team’s depth chart.
Injuries have also played a notable role in White’s struggles. In the past three years alone, the University of Kentucky product has undergone a pair of surgeries on his left hip and a sports hernia surgery. He’s also dealt with a Grade 2 strain/tear in his groin. That hasn’t helped his production any, and it’s certainly possible that the faulty hip contributed to his struggles in prior stints with the M’s, as his first surgery took place midway through his second MLB campaign.
For now, White will head to Gwinnett and hope for better health and performance to create an opportunity — if not with the Braves then with another club. The aforementioned slate of injuries has limited him to just 30 minor league games since Opening Day 2022 — including only two last year. He’s owed $7MM in 2024 and $8MM in 2025. He’s also guaranteed a $2MM buyout on the first of three club options.
Latest On Corbin Burnes
Brewers ace Corbin Burnes, one year away from reaching the open market, is among the most compelling names on the trade market for starting pitchers this offseason. The Brewers haven’t actively shopped Burnes, but that hasn’t stopped other clubs from expressing interest. Jon Heyman of the New York Post tweets that executives with other clubs are of the impression that there’s a legitimate chance of Burnes ultimately being moved. Adam McCalvy of MLB.com, however, frames things differently, noting that Milwaukee GM Matt Arnold said this week that he still expects Burnes to be his Opening Day starter.
If the Brewers are shopping Burnes at all, Arnold isn’t tipping his hand on the matter either in public comments or in comments made to Burnes’ agent, Scott Boras. As McCalvy writes, Boras said at this week’s Winter Meetings that “everything I’ve heard from Milwaukee is that they’re putting together a competitive team to win the division in ’24.” Boras added that the Brewers haven’t approached him about a long-term extension, but it seems they’ve also not given any signal that Burnes could be on the move.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic once again brought up the possibility of a Burnes/Willy Adames package heading to the Dodgers, noting that Wisconsin native Gavin Lux could be of interest to a Brewers club with some infield uncertainty (which would only be exacerbated by a trade of Adames, of course). There’s no clear indication that a trade of that nature is currently being discussed, to be clear. Similarly, Rosenthal’s colleague Brendan Kuty speculated this morning that if the Yankees ultimately miss out on NPB ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto, they could turn their focus to Burnes. Again, that’s not a firm report that talks have taken place, but Burnes is a logical option both for clubs that miss out on top free agents (e.g. Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Jordan Montgomery) and for teams that have no intention of spending at the levels necessary to sign those free agents in the first place.
[Related: Looking for a Match in a Corbin Burnes trade]
Arnold openly acknowledged this week that demand for Burnes has been high (link via Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel). The GM unsurprisingly didn’t tip his hand one way or another, but speaking in more general terms did note that the Winter Meetings are often a place where groundwork on larger trades can be done. Arnold explained to Rosiak and others that much of the framework of last year’s three-team Sean Murphy/William Contreras/Esteury Ruiz trade was put into place at the Winter Meetings, but a trade didn’t come together for several more days while the Brewers, A’s and Braves worked out the complementary pieces in the swap.
Burnes, 29, pitched to a 3.39 ERA with a 25.5% strikeout rate and 8.4% walk rate in 193 2/3 innings atop Milwaukee’s rotation this past season. Over the past four years, he’s compiled a 2.86 earned run average with a 30.9% strikeout rate, 7.1% walk rate and 46.4% ground-ball rate in 622 1/3 innings. He’s been highly durable, pitching in 105 games during that time and only hitting the injured list for an oblique strain that sidelined him less than a month. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects a $15.1MM salary for Burnes in his final season of arbitration.
Franchy Cordero, Albert Abreu Sign With NPB’s Seibu Lions
First baseman/outfielder Franchy Cordero has signed with the Seibu Lions of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, his representatives at Republik Sports announced today on Instagram. He’ll be joined on the Lions roster by another former Yankee, right-hander Albert Abreu, according to FanSided’s Robert Murray, who reports that Abreu is also set to sign there. Abreu is represented by Vayner Sports.
Cordero, 29, has long tantalized Major League teams with his rare blend of immense raw power and plus speed. Persistent plate discipline and strikeout issues have undercut his upside in both departments, however, as indicated by a career .217/.283/.395 batting line in 797 plate appearances between the Padres, Red Sox, Royals and Yankees. He spent the 2023 season with the latter, enjoying a hot first week before falling into a prolonged slump and ending up with a .188/.211/.478 slash in 71 plate appearances.
The allure of Cordero’s raw tools is apparent to anyone who’s seen him enjoy a productive game in the big leagues or even just in glancing at his career line in the minors. He’s a .301/.384/.538 hitter with 54 home runs, 77 doubles, 22 triples and 42 steals (in 50 tries) over the life of 306 Triple-A contests. Cordero’s hit tool (or lack thereof), free-swinging approach and generally sub-par defensive grades in the outfield have all held him back. He’ll look to improve on each in his first venture overseas. He won’t turn 30 until next September, so with a good year or two in Japan, it’s feasible that he could eventually return to North American ball and make an impact.
As for Abreu, he’ll join his former and once-again teammate in his own debut in Asia. The hard-throwing righty was long considered one of the top prospects in the Astros and Yankees organizations — Houston traded him to New York in the Brian McCann swap — but he’s yet to find sustained MLB success.
Abreu tossed 59 innings for the Yankees in 2023, logging a 4.73 ERA with a 22.8% strikeout rate and 13.1% walk rate. The Yankees non-tendered him last month rather than pay him a raise in arbitration.
Command has been a consistent issue for Abreu, who carries a career 4.58 earned run average, 22.4% strikeout rate, 12.9% walk rate and 47.4% grounder rate. He’s averaged 97.9 mph on his sinker in his career, including 97.5 mph in 2023, and generates plenty of ground-balls with that pitch. However, Abreu doesn’t miss bats at the level you’d expect from someone with that type of velocity, as evidenced by his pedestrian career strikeout rate, below-average 10.2% swinging-strike rate and a sub-par 28.3% chase rate.
Red Sox Rumors: Second Base, Rotation, Turner, Outfield
The Red Sox have a clear need at second base this winter, and as recently noted, newly installed chief baseball officer Craig Breslow indicated to reporters that he feels a trade is likelier than a free-agent signing. Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic adds some more context from Breslow’s media session, noting that he called the “ideal” acquisition a right-handed bat and plus defender.
Second base was a black hole in the Boston lineup last year. Ten different players saw time there — Christian Arroyo, Enmanuel Valdez, Luis Urias and Pablo Reyes primarily — and combined for a .240/.286/.376 slash on the whole. Urias has since been traded to the Mariners. Arroyo was outrighted and became a free agent. Reyes and Valdez remain on the roster, but the former is a career .256/.318/.367 hitter who’s best suited for a utility role, while the latter has all of 149 MLB plate appearances to his name.
Veteran Whit Merrifield headlines the free-agent crop of second basemen, though bounceback candidates like Amed Rosario and Adam Frazier hold some appeal to clubs in search of help at second base as well. The trade market offers far more intriguing possibilities. The Reds have an enviable surplus of infield talent, and 2021 Rookie of the Year Jonathan India has been an oft-rumored candidate to change hands (though Cincinnati president Nick Krall downplayed the possibility recently). The Twins have their own glut of infield talent and are open to offers on veteran Jorge Polanco as they seek to reduce payroll and bolster the pitching staff. McCaffrey suggests that San Diego’s Ha-Seong Kim would be of interest if available, although that would presumably only be the case if the Padres continue to scale back payroll — and the prospect cost to acquire Kim would hardly be insignificant.
As one would expect for a newly hired baseball operations leader who’s trying to turn around a last-place team, Breslow has plenty of balls in the air at the moment. In addition to the pursuits at second base, Boston has also been active in the rotation market. Reports this week indicated they’re among the top suitors for Seth Lugo, and McCaffrey writes that the Sox were interested in Luis Severino before he signed with the Mets. Jon Heyman of the New York Post tweets that the Sox had interest in a reunion with Eduardo Rodriguez but didn’t want to make a commitment with NPB newcomers Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shota Imanaga both still in play via free agency. The Sox have interest in both.
Beyond the pitching staff, the Sox remain engaged with Justin Turner about a potential reunion, Breslow confirmed yesterday (via Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe). Turner declined a player option with Boston after hitting .276/.345/.455 with 23 home runs in his first year with the team. That was a foregone conclusion, however, as the net $6.7MM value of that option (after factoring in the buyout he received) is well shy of what Turner can command in free agency, even at 39.
Breslow also suggested that he’d like to add a right-handed bat who can handle center field (via Abraham), though he stopped short of calling it a “need.” MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo tweets that Breslow also implied the Sox could stand pat in the outfield and head into the 2024 season with the current group of Wilyer Abreu, Jarren Duran and Ceddanne Rafaela, though that’s obviously an inexperienced group and a further addition clearly hasn’t been ruled out. Boston was linked to right-handed-hitting outfielders Michael A. Taylor and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. this week, though only the former is an option in center field (and a very good one, at that).
Yankees Interested In Jordan Hicks
The Yankees are among the mounting number of teams with interest in free-agent righty Jordan Hicks, per Chris Kirschner and Brendan Kuty of The Athletic. The Yanks will likely look to replenish their bullpen after trading four pitchers to the Padres in last night’s Juan Soto blockbuster. The flamethrowing Hicks is among the most sought-after relievers on the open market.
Just 27 years old, Hicks is an atypically young free agent. He’s also one of the game’s hardest throwers, with career averages of 100.8 mph, 100.2 mph and 91.6 mph on his four-seamer, sinker and splitter, respectively. That uncommon blend of age, velocity and strong recent performance appear to have positioned Hicks quite well in free agency.
Hicks split the 2023 season between the Cardinals, who drafted and developed him, and the Blue Jays, who acquired him at the trade deadline. In 65 2/3 innings, he pitched to a 3.29 ERA with a very strong 28.4% strikeout rate against an 11.2% walk rate that could stand to come down a ways but is actually lower than his career mark (12.8%). Hicks used that power sinker to pile up grounders at a robust 58.9% clip, which is roughly in line with his brilliant 60.4% career mark.
The 2023 season was one of the most successful of Hicks’ young career. He’s pitched just 243 1/3 big league innings since debuting back in 2018, thanks in large part due to injury. Hicks had Tommy John surgery in 2019, opted out of the shortened 2020 season while rehabbing from that procedure (and also due to his status as a Type 1 diabetic, making him a high-risk case during the Covid pandemic), and then battled elbow and flexor troubles in 2021-22.
Hicks has only twice topped even 40 appearances in a season — his 2018 rookie showing and this past season in 2023. Durability may not be a selling point, but his elite velocity and ground-ball rate, above-average strikeout rate and knack for inducing weak contact (career 86.7 mph average exit velocity, 31.3% hard-hit rate) all combine with his relative youth to create an air of upside. That’s perhaps reflected in the substantial number of clubs with reported interest. Hicks has been linked to the Astros, Angels, Rangers, Red Sox and Orioles this week alone. Back in October, Katie Woo of The Athletic reported that Hicks and the Cardinals nearly agreed to a three-year extension prior to his summer trade to Toronto. The Cardinals are known to be pursuing bullpen help, so logically speaking, it stands to reason that they’d be in the mix too.
The Yankees have shown a clear affinity for high-end ground-ball rates over the years, evidenced by their acquisitions of Clay Holmes, Zack Britton, Wandy Peralta and others. Hicks would be another acquisition in that vein, albeit a much higher-profile one than Holmes and Peralta (but perhaps less so than Britton). Even with the injury track record, interest in Hicks is robust enough that three-year deal seems to be the floor, with a strong possibility of him commanding an even lengthier pact than that.
Following last night’s Soto acquisition, the Yankees’ luxury-tax ledger checks in just shy of $289MM, per Roster Resource’s projections. The Yankees would be taxed at a 90% clip for any dollars up to $297MM and then a staggering 110% clip for any dollars spent thereafter. Signing Hicks at an annual value of $10MM, for instance, would cost the Yankees roughly $19.6MM for the 2024 season. The Yankees knew this would be the case when acquiring Soto and Trent Grisham from the Padres, however, and they’re still pursuing upgrades in the bullpen and in the rotation anyhow (most notably, Yoshinobu Yamamoto). It doesn’t seem like those taxes will be a substantial deterrent, but they’re nonetheless worth pointing out as the Yankees continue their efforts to bounce back from a disappointing 2023 campaign.