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Guardians’ Tanner Bibee Scratched From Opening Day Start Due To Illness

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The Guardians announced Thursday that right-hander Tanner Bibee has been scratched from his scheduled Opening Day start due to acute gastroenteritis (or, the stomach flu). Cleveland will give the nod to fellow right-hander Ben Lively in his place.

It’s an unfortunate development for the recently extended Bibee, who is just days removed from signing a five-year, $48MM contract extension. It’s unlikely he’ll miss significant time with the illness, but Opening Day starts are a cherished occasion for pitchers. Bibee figures to have opportunities in the future, but this would’ve been his first Opening Day nod. Shane Bieber started for Cleveland in each of the past two seasons — Bibee’s only two years in the majors.

On the flip side, it’s an unexpected chance for Lively to also get his first career Opening Day nod. The notion of Bibee as an Opening Day starter would’ve been beyond far-fetched just a few short years ago. The now-33-year-old righty pitched only one big league inning in 2019 and didn’t pitch in the majors at all from 2020-22. Lively spent the 2020-21 season with the Samsung Lions of the Korea Baseball Organization, returned to North America on a minor league deal with the Reds, and didn’t make it back to the majors until 2023. He pitched 88 2/3 innings for Cincinnati that year and logged a 5.38 ERA.

The Guardians still brought Lively in on a major league contract last year, guaranteeing him a $750K salary. He crushed any and all expectations, rattling off 151 innings with a 3.81 earned run average, an 18.7% strikeout rate, a 7.2% walk rate and a 41.9% ground-ball rate. Lively misses bats at a well below-average level, but he has sharp command and managed to strand runners at a much higher rate than average (78.4% compared to league-average 72.1%). He and the Guardians settled on a one-year, $2.25MM contract this offseason to avoid an arbitration hearing.

Bibee and Lively will be joined in Cleveland’s rotation by righties Luis Ortiz and Gavin Williams, as well as southpaw Logan Allen. The bullpen will have several long relief options, including veteran swingman Jakob Junis, prospect Joey Cantillo and former standout righty Triston McKenzie, who’s looking to bounce back after a dismal 2023-24 run and rocky spring training. McKenzie suffered a UCL strain back in 2023 and avoided surgery but has not pitched anywhere close to the same level since sustaining that elbow injury.

Rays Select Coco Montes

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The Rays announced Thursday that they’ve selected infielder Coco Montes to the 40-man roster and immediately optioned him to Triple-A. It’s likely that Montes had an out clause or upward mobility clause in his deal. The Rays, keen on keeping him around, will dedicate their open spot to him for the time being. The 40-man roster is now at capacity. Per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, he did indeed have an upward mobility clause and interest from other clubs.

Additionally, Tampa Bay announced that righty Alex Faedo (shoulder inflammation) was placed on the 15-day injured list and infielder Ha-Seong Kim (recovery from shoulder surgery) was placed on the 10-day injured list.

Montes, 28, was a prospect with the Rockies who worked his way up to make his major league debut in 2023. He hit just .184/.244/.316 in 41 plate appearances and was outrighted off the roster before the end of that season. Midway through 2024, he went overseas to join the Yomiuri Giants of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. He hit .272/.308/.391 in 46 games for that club.

The Rays then signed him to a minor league deal. They were presumably intrigued by that better showing in Japan, or perhaps Montes’s minor league numbers.  He slashed .323/.405/.551 in Triple-A over 2023 and 2024. Even in the inflated offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League, that was 32% better than average. Defensively, he has played the three infield positions to the left of first base as well as some left field.

Tampa didn’t have a spot on the Opening Day roster for him but didn’t want him to get away, so they’ve slotted him onto the 40-man. They had an open spot after relinquishing Rule 5 pick Mike Vasil a few days ago. Montes will give the club a bit of extra depth at multiple positions.

Astros Designate Cooper Hummel For Assignment

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The Astros have designated catcher/infielder/outfielder Cooper Hummel for assignment and placed righty J.P. France on the 60-day injured list as he recovers from last summer’s shoulder surgery. That pair of moves opens two additional spots on a 40-man roster that already had two vacancies. The four openings will go to righty Rafael Montero, lefty Steven Okert, second baseman Brendan Rodgers and top prospect Cam Smith, all of whom have been selected to the 40-man roster and are on the Opening Day club.

Houston also placed outfielders Pedro Leon and Taylor Trammell on the 10-day injured list due to a knee strain and calf strain, respectively. Right-handers Shawn Dubin, Luis Garcia, Cristian Javier, Lance McCullers Jr., Kaleb Ort and Forrest Whitley have all been placed on the 15-day IL.

The Astros had telegraphed all these moves. They’d already announced that Montero, Okert, Smith and Rodgers were making the team. Houston had previously informed Hummel that he would not break camp. Since he’s out of options, that made a DFA or waiver placement inevitable. France, who’ll be out into at least July rehabbing last year’s shoulder procedure, was an obvious 60-day IL candidate to open the final roster spot.

Houston claimed Hummel off waivers from the Giants last spring. They outrighted him off the 40-man roster a couple weeks later but reselected his contract in June when they released José Abreu. He spent most of the season in Triple-A, exhausting his final option season in the process. Hummel went 0-8 with a pair of strikeouts in his big league work. He had a solid year in Triple-A, hitting .277/.419/.454 with a massive 17.9% walk rate through 442 plate appearances.

The Astros will have five days to trade Hummel or place him on waivers. He’s not viewed as a regular behind the plate, but he can catch on occasion while playing first base or the corner outfield. His patient plate approach has translated to a .285/.419/.480 career slash in Triple-A. He owns just a .159/.255/.275 line with a 31.9% strikeout rate over 82 major league games.

Trammell, Whitley, Ort and Dubin are all out of options themselves. Their Spring Training injuries delay the Astros’ need to make a decision on any of them, as they’ll begin the year on the major league IL. Ort has the best chance of holding a roster spot once he returns after pitching to a 2.55 ERA with a 28% strikeout rate last season.

Cubs Designate Cody Poteet For Assignment

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The Cubs announced Thursday that they’ve designated right-hander Cody Poteet for assignment. His spot on the roster will go to righty Brad Keller, who has now formally been selected to the roster. The Cubs also placed righties Tyson Miller (left hip impingement), righty Ryan Brasier (groin strain) and infielder/outfielder Vidal Brujan (elbow sprain) on the injured list and recalled righty Eli Morgan from Triple-A Iowa.

Poteet, 30, was the lone player the Cubs received in the trade sending Cody Bellinger to the Yankees. That swap was always more about dumping Bellinger’s salary than adding to the system, and today’s DFA only further underscores that reality.

A fourth-rounder by the Marlins in 2015, Poteet has pitched in parts of three big league seasons between Miami and New York. He posted a 2.22 ERA in 24 1/3 frames for the Yanks last year and carries an overall 3.80 mark in 83 MLB innings. He was sharp in 53 minor league innings last year as well, recording a 3.40 ERA. Poteet isn’t a flamethrower, sitting 93.8 mph with his four-seamer and 92.6 mph with his sinker. He complements those fastballs with a slider, curveball and changeup, rounding out a five-pitch arsenal.

Poteet has punched out 20.2% of his big league opponents against a 10.2% walk rate. Both are worse than average, though not necessarily by wide margins. In parts of five Triple-A campaigns, he’s logged a 4.47 ERA with a 21.7% strikeout rate and 8.1% walk rate. Poteet still has a pair of minor league options remaining, so if a team acquires him in a trade or claims him off waivers, he can be optioned directly to Triple-A. That could make him an appealing target for clubs seeking affordable rotation depth.

The Cubs owed Bellinger $52.5MM over the next two seasons, though he can opt out of the contract this year and trim $20MM off that guarantee if he feels there are greener pastures in free agency. Chicago paid $5MM of that sum to help facilitate the swap but saved $47.5MM overall. Bellinger was seen as a poor fit on the roster, with Ian Happ, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Kyle Tucker and Seiya Suzuki in the outfield mix and Michael Busch at first base. Time will tell whether the club is better off for it, but for the moment the only thing they have to show for the trade is salary relief and about $25MM of breathing room between the current payroll and the luxury tax threshold.

White Sox Designate Jake Eder, Dominic Fletcher For Assignment

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The White Sox announced this morning that they’ve designated left-hander Jake Eder and outfielder Dominic Fletcher for assignment. They’ve also placed righty Drew Thorpe on the 60-day injured list while he recovers from Tommy John surgery. That trio of moves clears the way for righty Mike Clevinger, infielder Nick Maton and outfielder Travis Jankowski to be selected to the big league roster. (Maton and Jankowski were already known to have made the club.) All three had been non-roster invitees in camp this spring.

Eder, 26, was a fourth-round pick by the Marlins out of Vanderbilt back in 2020. He was considered one of the best prospects in Miami’s system when the Sox acquired him in a straight-up swap for slugger Jake Burger back at the 2023 trade deadline. Prior to Eder requiring Tommy John surgery late in the 2021 season, he’d even begun to garner some attention on midseason iterations of top-100 prospect rankings at Baseball America (No. 68) and MLB.com (No. 81).

At the time of the trade, Eder was just making his way back from that UCL repair. He’d pitched 39 1/3 innings in the Marlins’ minor league system and showed well. He was rocked in five starts with the White Sox’ Double-A club following the swap, but for a then-24-year-old just returning from major surgery, it wasn’t necessarily a shock to see him fade down the stretch.

Eder’s 2024 struggles, however, were more concerning. The left-hander split last season between Double-A and Triple-A, working to a combined 6.61 earned run average with glaring command troubles. Eder fanned a quality 24.4% of his opponents but also walked 11.6% of the batters he faced — including a sky-high 16.1% of his opponents in nine Triple-A starts. He also plunked five hitters and was charged with 10 wild pitches. His spring work wasn’t any better; Eder faced 13 hitters in 2 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on a pair of hits and three walks with four strikeouts.

Fletcher, 27, came over from the D-backs last offseason in a one-for-one swap that sent pitching prospect Cristian Mena to Arizona. He got a decent look in the South Siders’ outfield but turned in only a .206/.252/.256 slash in 241 trips to the plate. He’d been coming off a strong 2023 showing that saw him hit .291/.399/.500 in Triple-A and .301/.350/.441 in 102 plate appearances during his MLB debut.

Fletcher not only struggled in the majors, however, but also hit poorly in the minors. He clearly fell out of favor, as the Sox instead signed both Mike Tauchman and Michael A. Taylor to big league deals, pushing Fletcher down the depth chart. Even with Tauchman opening the season on the injured list due to a right hamstring strain, Fletcher didn’t make the cut and now is off the 40-man roster entirely.

The Sox will have the next five days to trade Eder and/or Fletcher. If no deal is reached by then, the pair would be placed on waivers, which is another 48-hour process. Either could be waived before that point, but the maximum length of their DFA window will seven days. Eder still has two minor league option years remaining. Fletcher has one.

As for Clevinger, he’ll return for a third stint with the ChiSox, this time in a bullpen role. The 34-year-old fired six shutout innings as a reliever during camp, fanning eight of 21 opponents (38.1%) against just one walk (4.8%). He’s far and away the most experienced pitcher in Chicago’s bullpen and could find his way to late-inning work early on, given the youth of the Sox’ bullpen. Clevinger, Bryse Wilson and Penn Murfee are the only Sox relievers with even a year of major league service (and much of Murfee’s MLB service has been spent on the 60-day IL).

Phillies Designate Buddy Kennedy For Assignment

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The Phillies announced this morning that they’ve designated infielder Buddy Kennedy for assignment. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski had already signaled earlier in the week that Kennedy, who’s out of minor league options, wouldn’t make the team’s Opening Day roster. He’s been discussing potential trades of the infielder already. Today’s DFA doesn’t change that. He can still be traded for the next five days, though if no deal is reached by that point, he’ll be placed on outright waivers and made available to the other 29 teams.

Kennedy, 26, has played 54 big league games with three teams — D-backs, Tigers, Phillies — across the past three seasons. He’s a career .203/.295/.313 hitter in a small sample of 149 major league plate appearances. Kennedy hasn’t gotten any real extended shot at playing time in the big leagues, however, despite a strong Triple-A track record. He’s played in parts of three seasons at the top minor league level and turned in a .281/.392/.435 batting line. He’s walked in a massive 14.4% of his plate appearances against an 18.2% strikeout rate that’s significantly lower than league average.

A fifth-round pick out of the same Millville High School that produced Mike Trout, Kennedy is a right-handed hitter who’s played all four infield positions and left field in his professional career. The vast majority of his time has been spent at third base (3470 innings) and second base (1285 innings), but he’s played 110 innings at first base, 93 innings in left field and 10 innings at shortstop. Kennedy had no platoon splits at the plate in 2024 and has been productive against both lefties and righties in each of the past three seasons (2023-24 in particular).

Cora: Devers Will Be Red Sox’ Primary Designated Hitter

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Red Sox manager Alex Cora confirmed today in an appearance on WEEI radio what has looked increasingly likely as spring training has progressed: Rafael Devers will serve as the Red Sox’ primary designated hitter in 2025, while newly signed Alex Bregman will take over at the hot corner (link via WEEI’s Ken Laird). “Alex is going to play third,” said Cora. “Raffy’s going to DH. We all are in the winning business. He understands that.”

It’s not a shock given recent developments but still notable to get a firm declaration on what will be a surprising pivot for the club. Devers has been Boston’s third baseman for a long time and seemed likely to stay there well into the future. The club signed him to a massive extension ahead of the 2023 season, locking him up through 2033. His defense was never well regarded but it seemed that he would get a chance to stick at the hot corner for a while based on his status within the organization.

Even once Bregman was signed, it seemed possible that Devers would stay at third. Bregman’s reps had maintained throughout the winter that he was willing to move to second base as a way to keep his market as open as possible. The Sox came into 2025 with some notable middle infield prospects but didn’t have a clear everyday guy at second in 2024.

But as alluded to, the plans became more clear as time went on. Bregman was only playing third base in camp. Devers wasn’t playing many official spring games and was only serving as the DH when he was in there. It was suggested that perhaps this was due to some shoulder problems he dealt with last year but it has become abundantly clear that the club just wants him to DH this year. Prospect Kristian Campbell will crack the Opening Day roster and seemingly be the regular second baseman.

The move makes sense from a competitive standpoint. Devers has been credited with -62 Defensive Runs Saved and -29 Outs Above Average in his career. Bregman’s tallies in those categories are +27 DRS and +22 OAA.

That’s an obvious choice in a vacuum but it’s unclear if there will be intangible effects in terms of clubhouse morale. Devers was initially adamant that he wouldn’t be moving off third, saying that he was promised that he could be there for the long haul. That promise was made while Chaim Bloom was still the chief baseball officer but he was later replaced by Craig Breslow. The new regime seems uninterested in honoring the promise of the previous one.

There are other questions left to be answered as well. Bregman’s three-year deal comes with opt-outs after each season. If he departs after 2025, will Devers get a chance to retake the spot next year? What if Bregman suffers a significant injury during the 2025 season?

Then there’s also the Masataka Yoshida factor. He made his major league debut in 2023 with a solid .289/.338/.445 line and 110 wRC+, but with bad defensive metrics in the outfield. Last year, he logged just a single inning in the field, limited to DH duty. His offense was similar to the year before, with a .280/.349/.415 line and 115 wRC+, but he apparently wasn’t thrilled with the arrangement.

He required shoulder surgery in October and is going to start the season on the injured list. He was healthy enough to hit during the spring but still needs to fully ramp up his throwing abilities in the wake of that surgery. With Devers in the DH spot, he will have to jog out onto the grass into order to get into the lineup. The Sox project to have Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu in three outfield spots, with Rob Refsnyder on the bench. Prospect Roman Anthony will also be pushing for a major league debut soon.

If everyone’s healthy, it will be tough for Yoshida to work his way in there. He still has three years and $54MM left on his deal. Given his modest production thus far, no other club will want to take all of that on. Rebuilding trade value will be tough if he can’t get in there fore regular playing time. Moving to first base isn’t an option for Devers or Yoshida with Triston Casas in that spot and under club control through 2028.

It’s a complicated puzzle and one that will probably continue to be talked about throughout the year. Cora’s declaration today gives confirmation to what was already obvious. The unanswered questions remain.

Mets Announce Several Roster Decisions

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5:14PM: Acuna will also make the team, according to Daniel Alvarez-Montes of El Extra Base.

2:22PM: The Mets will break camp with infielder Brett Baty, catcher Hayden Senger and righties Max Kranick and Huascar Brazoban on the roster, president of baseball operations David Stearns announced to the team’s beat this afternoon (links via Newsday’s Tim Healey). A decision on infielder Luisangel Acuña has not yet been reached. The Mets could still bring an infielder in from outside the organization, per Healey. Senger is not on the 40-man roster, but the Mets currently have one opening.

On top of that, Stearns revealed that righty Paul Blackburn will begin the season on the injured list due to inflammation in his right knee. He won’t throw for the next seven to ten days, but the team expects that Blackburn will return at some point in April.

Injuries to Jeff McNeil, Nick Madrigal and Ronny Mauricio (still rehabbing from last year’s ACL tear) opened the door for Baty or Acuña to break camp with the Mets in 2025. Early on, Acuña seemed like the more natural fit, given his ability to back up Francisco Lindor at shortstop. However, some struggles from Acuña and an absolute monster performance from Baty during Grapefruit League play has given Baty the nod, even if he’s not a viable shortstop option and has limited experience at second base, where he’ll play to begin the season.

In 59 spring plate appearances, Baty launched four homers, six doubles and a triple — all while walking more often (13.6%) than he struck out (10.2%). He finished the spring with a Herculean .353/.441/.745 batting line and will now see regular time at second base while McNeil is on the shelf. If Baty continues to hit, the Mets will be hard-pressed to send him back down, though that’s putting the cart before the horse.

Baty, a 2019 first-rounder and longtime top prospect, has seen action in parts of three MLB seasons but has yet to put it together in the majors. He’s .215/.282/.325 hitter in 602 big league plate appearances. He also only just turned 25 this offseason, however, and Baty boasts a terrific track record in Triple-A. He’s played parts of three seasons at the top minor league level and turned in a hearty .273/.368/.531 in 94 games there. That .899 OPS is a near-mirror image of the .900 mark he logged in 129 Double-A games and the .911 mark he recorded in 51 High-A games.

Senger, 27, was the Mets’ 24th-round pick back in 2018. He’s slowly climbed the minor league ladder for several years, splitting time the past three seasons between New York’s Double-A and Triple-A affiliates. In 2024, he turned in a combined .234/.302/.363 slash between the two levels. He ranked as highly as 23rd in the Mets’ system back in 2022, with Baseball America calling him a likely backup who has better-than-average blocking and throwing skills. He’s thwarted 31% and 37% of stolen base attempts against him over the past two seasons, even as limits on throws to first base and slightly larger bases have resulted in far greater success for runners on the basepaths.

Were it not for an injury to Francisco Alvarez, Senger likely wouldn’t have been in position to earn a roster spot. Alvarez fractured the hamate bone in his left wrist during batting practice earlier in camp, however, which required surgery. He’ll miss at least a month of the season. Journeyman Luis Torrens will break camp as the Mets’ starting catcher.

The Mets acquired Blackburn from the A’s last summer, but he’s scarcely been able to pitch for the team. The 31-year-old righty (30 at the time of the swap) pitched in only five games before a comeback liner struck his right hand and sent him to the injured list. He avoided any fractures, but Blackburn required some down time due to swelling and a lack of mobility. While on the mend, he suffered a spinal fluid leak in his back. He didn’t return in 2024 and underwent surgery in October.

Blackburn is a late bloomer who clearly has the ability to pitch in a big league rotation but has repeatedly been set back by uncommon injuries. On top of the spinal issue last year, he’s also missed significant time due to a stress reaction in his right foot and a torn pulley tendon in his right middle finger. Dating back to 2022, Blackburn has a 4.43 ERA, 20.2% strikeout rate and 7.5% walk rate in 290 1/3 MLB frames.

It’s been a tough spring for the Mets’ rotation. Frankie Montas was diagnosed with a lat strain shortly after camp opened, leading to a full shutdown of six to eight weeks. Sean Manaea suffered an oblique strain not long after that. Prospect Christian Scott is still recovering from last summer’s Tommy John surgery.

The Mets will open the season with a rotation that includes Opening Day starter Clay Holmes, lefty David Peterson and righties Kodai Senga, Tylor Megill and Griffin Canning.

Marlins Designate Seth Martinez For Assignment

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The Marlins announced Wednesday that right-hander Seth Martinez has been designated for assignment. His spot on the 40-man roster goes to righty Tyler Phillips, whom Miami acquired from the Phillies in exchange for cash today.

It’s another DFA in a whirlwind season for Martinez, who spent the 2021-24 seasons with the Astros organization but has now changed hands four times this offseason alone — and potentially now a fifth. The D-backs claimed Martinez off waivers back in November, and he’s since bounced to Miami, Seattle and back to Miami via waiver claims. The Marlins will have five days to trade Martinez or place him on outright waivers. If placed on waivers, that’d be another 48-hour process. His DFA will be resolved within a week’s time.

Martinez is a soft-tossing righty with a decent, if unspectacular track record as a multi-inning reliever. Over the past three seasons, he’s worked to a combined 3.68 ERA in 134 1/3 innings. The path to that cumulative earned run average was a bit uneven, as Martinez logged a 2.08 mark in 2022 but a 5.23 and a 3.29 in the two subsequent seasons. Collectively, Martinez has posted a 20.8% strikeout rate, 8.9% walk rate and 39.8% grounder rate while averaging 90-91 mph on his sinker and four-seamer during that time.

On top of the solid big league work, Martinez carries a 2.66 ERA in 105 frames across parts of four Triple-A seasons. He’s fanned more than 31% of his opponents in Triple-A over the years. That strong minor league track record, coupled with his recent major league work, could earn him a look from another team. However, Martinez is also out of minor league options, so any team claiming him or acquiring him via trade would need to plug him directly into its big league bullpen.

Padres Outright Brett Sullivan

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Catcher Brett Sullivan went unclaimed on outright waivers after being designated for assignment on Sunday, the Padres announced. He’s been assigned outright to Triple-A El Paso to begin the season, meaning he’ll stick with the organization as a depth option but won’t occupy a spot on the 40-man roster. Sullivan has neither the requisite service time nor the prior outright needed to reject today’s assignment in favor of free agency.

Sullivan, 31, has appeared in 40 games and taken 103 plate appearances with San Diego over the past two seasons. He’s a .206/.243/.299 hitter with a pair of homers, a 22.3% strikeout rate and a 4.9% walk rate in that time. He’s delivered solid offense in Triple-A, however, hitting .287/.367/.497 with 24 homers, 47 doubles and nearly as many walks (11.1%) as strikeouts (11.9%) over the course of 732 plate appearances there.

Defensively, Sullivan has received shaky grades for both his framing and throwing. He’s shown some defensive versatility though, logging 723 career innings in left field, 694 at third base and 35 at first base in the minors (all in addition to 4547 innings behind the plate).

Now that Sullivan has cleared waivers, he’ll be in El Paso alongside the recently optioned Luis Campusano. They’ll be first up in the event of injuries or changes to the big league catching tandem of Elias Diaz and Martin Maldonado.

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