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Author: Steve Adams

Royals Sign Daniel Mengden To Minor League Deal

By | at March 31, 2023 11:19am CDT

The Royals announced their Triple-A Omaha roster this morning, which includes veteran right-hander Daniel Mengden. He spent the 2022 campaign in the organization but elected minor league free agency at season’s end after being removed from the 40-man roster. He’s now back on a new minor league pact, which was just agreed upon two days ago, per the Royals’ transaction log at MLB.com.

Mengden, 30, pitched in five games for Kansas City last year, allowing four earned runs on ten hits and one walk with eight strikeouts in seven innings overall. That was his first big league work since 2020, as he spent the 2021 campaign pitching for the Kia Tigers of the Korea Baseball Organization.

From 2016-20, Mengden was a regular on the Athletics’ pitching staff, tallying 302 2/3 frames of 4.64 ERA ball between 49 starts and 26 relief appearances. He’s punched out a below-average 17.5% of his opponents in 309 2/3 career innings but also boasts a solid 7.8% walk rate. Mengden generally sits just over 92 mph with his four-seamer and complements the pitch with a cutter, curveball and changeup. He posted a 5.20 ERA in 109 innings with Kansas City’s Triple-A affiliate in 2022 but has a career 3.79 ERA at that level and was effective in his lone KBO season in ’21 (3.60 ERA, 20.7% strikeout rate, 7% walk rate in 120 innings).

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Offseason In Review: Minnesota Twins

By | at March 31, 2023 9:48am CDT

In conjunction with this post, MLBTR will be hosting a Twins-centric chat at 2pm CT this afternoon. Click here to submit a question in advance, and be sure to check back to participate live!

A whirlwind offseason saw the Twins give out the largest contract in franchise history in order to retain their shortstop amid a series of other moves aimed at improving the defense and bolstering the depth up and down the roster.

Major League Signings

2023 spend: $56.33MM
Total spend: $243MM

Option Decisions

Trades and Waiver Claims

Notable Minor League Signings

Notable Losses

Following a quartet of straightforward option decisions — Sonny Gray’s $12.5MM option was an easy call to pick up, while options on Miguel Sano, Dylan Bundy and Chris Archer were easy in the other direction — the Twins set out to remake their roster, with stockpiling depth at the forefront of most of their dealings. The desire to re-sign Carlos Correa loomed large and would hang over their offseason until his wild free-agent saga drew to a close, but the Twins had other business to attend to in the meantime.

That started with a pair of trades in the run-up to the tender deadline. As they’ve been willing to do in the past, the Twins moved one year of control over a quality player — Gio Urshela — in exchange for some prospect depth and financial flexibility. With Jose Miranda‘s arrival on the scene in 2022 and several other options at first base, moving Urshela both shed a sizable arbitration salary and cleared a path for Miranda to slide from first base back over to the hot corner.

The trade of Urshela was followed just hours later by a new acquisition — unsurprisingly, one with multiple years of club control. Kyle Farmer came to Minnesota with two seasons of control and recent experience as the everyday shortstop in Cincinnati. That gave the Twins a safety net in the event that Correa signed elsewhere and a versatile utilityman in the event that they succeeded in either retaining Correa or signing one of the market’s other top shortstops.

Farmer’s career .288/.345/.492 slash against left-handed pitching surely appealed to a Twins front office that saw its club post a collective .240/.310/.392 slash against lefties in 2022 — a middle-of-the-pack output in MLB. Farmer cost the Twins a pitching prospect of comparable value to the one acquired in the Urshela swap and came with a salary roughly half that of Urshela, making the effective swap of infielders generally sensible, even if many Twins fans were understandably upset to see a solid player like Urshela shipped out.

The Twins’ focus thereafter shifted to courting Correa and simultaneously looking to upgrade behind the plate. Minnesota showed some interest in Oakland’s Sean Murphy but presumably found the asking price too steep for their liking, as the decision was instead made to sign the free-agent market’s No. 2 catcher, Christian Vazquez. The Twins reportedly showed minimal interest in top free-agent backstop Willson Contreras, likely preferring a blend of Vazquez’s superior defense and more affordable price tag.

Vazquez’s three-year, $30MM deal fell generally in line with expectations, and he’ll give Minnesota an upgrade over outgoing Gary Sanchez, who somewhat surprisingly remains unsigned. The 32-year-old Vazquez has long graded as a quality receiver and shown a strong arm behind the plate. He’ll slot into a timeshare with incumbent Ryan Jeffers, and while both hit right-handed, Jeffers is a prototypical lefty masher with grisly numbers against right-handers, whereas Vazquez handles same-side opponents reasonably well. It won’t be a conventional platoon setup, but the Twins can maximize matchups against particularly tough opponents and feel good about the gloves behind the plate, as Jeffers is a strong defender himself.

Shortly after the deal with Vazquez, the front office received the news it had been dreading since Correa exercised the opt-out provision in his three-year, $105.1MM deal: a big-market club had put forth a historic offer that Minnesota couldn’t bring itself to match. The Twins reportedly had an offer in the neighborhood of 10 years and $285MM on the table to keep Correa when the Giants, fresh off being spurned by Aaron Judge, came in with a 13-year, $350MM offer that trounced what the Twins had been willing to commit.

Correa accepted what was then slated to be the second-largest free-agent deal in history, and the Twins were left reeling. There’d been interest in Xander Bogaerts as a fallback to Correa, but he shattered expectations by agreeing to an 11-year, $280MM deal with the Padres before Correa even agreed to terms with the Giants. Trea Turner had started the shortstop spending spree with a $300MM deal in Philadelphia. Dansby Swanson agreed to a seven-year deal with the Cubs not long after Correa agreed with San Francisco, and it looked for all intents and purposes like the Twins would head into the 2023 season with Farmer starting at shortstop.

As we all know now, Correa’s deal with San Francisco was only the first in a series of bizarre stops on a stunning path back to Minneapolis. The Giants called off Correa’s introductory press conference just hours before it was scheduled to take place. It eventually came to light that the team had medical concerns — specifically regarding a nearly 10-year old injury that Correa suffered as a 19-year-old in A-ball, when he fractured his tibia on a slide into third base. Surgeons placed a plate in his leg to stabilize the injury, which remains to this day. Both the Giants’ medical staff and a third-party expert voiced concern as to how Correa’s leg would hold up over such a lengthy term.

While Correa has never missed time in the Majors with a leg/ankle injury, he did have a scare late in the 2022 season, telling reporters after a play at second base that he’d been hit “in his plate” and experienced brief numbness and tingling. He walked off the field under his own power and enjoyed a strong finish to the ’22 campaign, however.

As the Giants debated how to proceed, Correa remained unsigned and available to negotiate with other clubs. Mets owner Steve Cohen, who’d previously lamented getting into the Correa market too late, swooped in and made a 12-year, $315MM offer that was also accepted — until the Mets raised similar concerns. A near two-week limbo period followed — partly due to the holiday season — where Correa’s fate remained wholly unclear. The Mets tried to restructure the deal, reportedly aiming to guarantee only half the proposed 12-year guarantee and then subject Correa to a series of conditional options based on the health of his leg.

At this point, the Twins had circled back, showing more confidence in Correa’s health over a six-year term than the Mets were willing to bet on. Minnesota handily topped the Mets’ reported annual salary of $26.25MM, offering Correa $33.33MM per year over a six-year term and including four club/vesting options that Correa can automatically trigger simply by hitting a predetermined number of plate appearances. Those four option years can tack on another $70MM, bringing the new contract to a potential $270MM over ten years and giving Correa a possible $305.1MM maximum over 11 years in Minnesota (including last year’s $35.1MM).

Unlike the scenarios that played out with the Giants and Mets, Correa’s physical was already largely concluded by the time word of his new deal with the Twins had begun to leak out. A day after he reportedly came to terms with the Twins, his new pact was announced, and the Twins improbably had the star shortstop they’d twice almost lost locked in on a contract that was more expensive annually than Correa’s shortstop peers but came with less long-term risk.

At the outset of free agency, a six-year term for Correa seemed implausibly light; there’s more risk to that six-year term than might’ve been expected, but the Twins have a generally clean financial outlook and have ramped payroll up into the $150-160MM range in recent seasons. They can afford the year-to-year gamble, and they’re more familiar with Correa’s recent medicals than any other team. For the second straight offseason, a bizarre series of twists effectively dropped Correa into their laps, and the Twins have to be thrilled to control him for as long as a decade but with “only” six of those seasons guaranteed.

The Correa deal undoubtedly changed the trajectory of the Twins’ offseason. Upon missing out on him, they’d signed Joey Gallo to a one-year upside deal and otherwise remained largely quiet as they regrouped. Were it not for the sudden turn of fortune, it might not have been a surprise to see the Twins retool, focus on development and make a few more value adds with an eye toward 2024 and beyond. Instead, the front office turned its sights to the top remaining need: the starting rotation.

Emboldened by the Correa reunion, the Twins bit the bullet and traded fan favorite infielder Luis Arraez to the Marlins in a deal that netted them two years of control over right-hander Pablo Lopez, plus top shortstop prospect Jose Salas and teenage outfield prospect Byron Chourio. It was a headline-grabbing move due in large part to the fact that Arraez had just won a batting title, albeit only by the slimmest of margins over AL MVP Aaron Judge.

Arraez may have the best best-to-ball skills in baseball, having fanned in just 7.1% of his plate appearances last year while batting .316/.375/.420 in a career-high 603 plate appearances. He’s an undeniably talented pure hitter, but the Twins had concerns about a growing history of leg injuries that have hampered Arraez before he even turned 26 years old. He’s also limited in terms of power and defensive value, with Minnesota shifting him to first base in 2022 even as second baseman Jorge Polanco missed time due to back and knee injuries. Arraez played a strong first base, by measure of most defensive metrics, but the Twins likely saw this as an opportunity to improve the defense and pitching staff simultaneously while also netting a touted shortstop prospect in Salas.

There’s certainly risk, as the Twins surrendered three years of Arraez for just two of Lopez, who is no stranger to injuries himself. Lopez made 32 starts and pitched 180 very strong innings in 2022, but he missed time in each of the 2018, 2019 and 2021 seasons due to shoulder troubles. A healthy Lopez is the Twins’ best starter and one of the better right-handers in the league, but the 2022 season was his first with more than 21 starts or 111 innings pitched.

After acquiring Lopez, the Twins remained active on the trade front, shipping a pair of relief prospects to the Royals for the final year of Michael A. Taylor’s contract. In Taylor, the Twins acquired one of the only outfielders in baseball who can rival Byron Buxton‘s defensive wizardry. That’s particularly key early in the season, as the Twins will use Buxton primarily as a designated hitter while he eases back from a knee procedure. Once Buxton is up to full strength, the Twins can boast perhaps the game’s best contingent of outfield defenders; Gallo, who started the opener at first base but will see plenty of time on the grass, has a pair of Gold Gloves in the outfield. Max Kepler, who for much of the offseason looked as though he’d be traded, wound up staying put and has been one of the game’s strongest right fielders for years by measure of metrics like Defensive Runs Saved and Outs Above Average.

The Twins saved one final acquisition for the late stages of the offseason. After showing some interest in Yuli Gurriel, Minnesota instead added a more versatile right-handed bat in Donovan Solano. The 35-year-old Solano, like Farmer and (to a lesser extent) Taylor, has a track record of producing against lefties and can handle multiple positions. He gives the Twins a right-handed complement to first baseman Alex Kirilloff (once he’s back from a wrist injury) and can fill in at second base or third base as well. Solano is a contact-oriented hitter who’ll join a deep bench consisting of Farmer, Taylor (once Buxton is back to regular center field work) and utilityman Nick Gordon. That group gives manager Rocco Baldelli a series of quality defenders who can play multiple positions.

Minnesota left the bullpen largely untouched, retaining Emilio Pagan even after last year’s struggles. It’s a bet on the right-hander’s tantalizing raw stuff, but if he goes through similar bouts of homer susceptibility and blown leads, it’ll be rightly questioned. Then again, with last year’s deadline pickup of Jorge Lopez, the return of hard-throwing youngster Jorge Alcala, breakouts from Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax, and the late-2022 emergence of southpaw Jovani Moran, Pagan now looks more like a middle reliever than a late-inning, high-leverage arm. If Lopez rebounds closer to his Baltimore form than his shakier second-half self, the Twins have the potential for a strong bullpen overall.

The rotation, too, looks quite deep. Each of Lopez, Gray, Joe Ryan, Tyler Mahle and Kenta Maeda is at least a solid mid-rotation starter when healthy. The Twins may lack a prototypical ace, but they also don’t have a fungible “No. 5” starter in the mix. All of their top five starters fall somewhere between the “No. 2” and “No. 4” range — though numerical designations of pitchers is inherently subjective — and even sixth starter Bailey Ober makes for an unusually strong top depth option. He’d likely be locked into a rotation spot with many teams throughout the league but instead opens the season in Triple-A.

The Twins might not head into the 2023 season as the on-paper favorite in the AL Central, but this is the deepest roster and probably the best defense they’ve had under the current iteration of the front office. That’ll be extra beneficial if the injury bug again rears its ugly head for a Twins club that had more cumulative injured list days than any team in the American League in 2022. They’ll obviously be hoping for better fortune on that front this season, and if it plays out that way, the Twins will be right in the division mix with the reigning champion Guardians and a White Sox club also hoping for fewer injuries in 2023.

How would you grade the Twins’ offseason?

How would you grade the Twins' offseason?

  • B 45% (719)
  • A 37% (586)
  • C 12% (198)
  • F 3% (47)
  • D 2% (38)

Total votes: 1,588

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2022-23 Offseason In Review MLBTR Originals Minnesota Twins

Offseason In Review: San Francisco Giants

By | at March 30, 2023 8:54pm CDT

In conjunction with this post, MLBTR will be hosting a Giants-focused chat on March 31 at noon CT. Click here to submit a question in advance. 

Unable to replicate their stunning 107-win campaign of the prior season in 2022, Giants brass went back to the drawing board this past offseason with a goal improving both the lineup and the defense by getting younger and more athletic. They might’ve accomplished that, to an extent, but despite deepening the roster, they missed out on multiple top targets and left many fans feeling underwhelmed.

Major League Signings

Total spend: $193.15MM
2023 spend: $85.65MM

Option Decisions

Trades and Waiver Claims

Notable Minor League Signings

Notable Losses

The Giants’ first bit of offseason business was wrapped up by the time the free-agent market officially began. Joc Pederson parlayed his career-best .274/.353/.521 batting line into a one-year, $19.65MM qualifying offer from the Giants. Rather than turn that down and head into the open market in search of a multi-year deal, Pederson became one of just two players to accept the QO this past offseason — Martin Perez was the other — thereby officially punching his ticket to return to Oracle Park for a second season.

Though he spent the bulk of his time in the outfield in 2022, Pederson seems likely to log more reps as the Giants’ designated hitter this coming season. It’s a steep price to pay for one year, but the Giants are a deep-pocketed club that isn’t particularly close to the luxury tax threshold at the moment, so they can afford to bet on Pederson approximating his outstanding 2022 production.

Pederson’s eventual shift into more of a DH role coincides with the Giants’ goals of improving defensively. They entered the 2022-23 offseason with the stated goal of getting younger and more athletic. President of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi plainly indicated as much last September, and just a few weeks later he added that “everything” was on the table in the offseason, including aggressive pursuits at the top end of the free-agent market.

That indeed proved to be the case, as the first portion of the Giants’ winter was dominated by their pursuit of Aaron Judge. The Linden, Calif. native was the Giants’ clear top target, and Zaidi & Co. made a spirited run at him. For the majority of the offseason, the Giants appeared the only real threat to pry Judge away from the Bronx. San Francisco offered the reigning AL MVP a reported nine-year, $360MM deal that matched the eventual terms he agreed to in his return to the Yankees. The division-rival Padres made a late push for Judge, but once the Yankees were willing to push their offer to nine years, Judge’s mind was made up. The newly crowned American League home run king spurned the nine-year offer that would’ve sent him back to his Bay Area roots and instead returned to the Bronx.

The Giants knew entering the offseason that luring Judge away from the Yankees was going to be a long shot, and true to Zaidi’s “everything is on the table” form, they pivoted to one of the top names on the market: Carlos Correa. Again embroiled in a bidding war with the incumbent team, the Giants eventually blew the Twins’ 10-year offer out of the water, putting forth a stunning 13-year, $350MM offer that would have given Correa the second-largest free-agent deal in MLB history, trailing only the contract Judge had just signed.

With that offer topping the Twins’ reported offer by three years and roughly $60MM, Correa accepted and the Giants appeared to have the superstar acquisition they coveted all but finalized. A press conference to introduce Correa was set for Dec. 20, as was a radio appearance on KNBR. Correa was going to be the Giants’ starting shortstop — until he wasn’t.

On the morning of that scheduled press conference, the Giants announced that Correa’s introduction would be postponed. No reason was given. His subsequent media appearances in the Bay Area were also postponed. It eventually came to light that the Giants and a third-party medical expert had voiced concerns about how Correa’s right ankle/leg would hold up over the course of a more than decade-long deal. Correa has never missed time in the Majors with an ankle/leg injury but fractured his tibia as a 19-year-old in the minor leagues and had a plate implanted into his leg to stabilize the injury.

While the Giants continued gathering information and soliciting opinions, Correa remained unsigned, and the Mets swooped in just a day later with a 12-year, $315MM offer that he accepted. Similar concerns arose from the Mets — unsurprising, given that they reportedly consulted the same third party — and that deal was also scuttled. Correa eventually returned to the Twins on a much shorter but much higher-AAV contract: six years and $200MM, with a quartet of vesting options that could take the contract to $270MM and bring his potential 11-year stint with Minnesota to a total value of $305.1MM.

That a second team expressed the same concerns and that Correa wound up taking a guarantee of less than half the length of the Giants’ original offer surely validated the front office’s trepidation in the eyes of some onlookers, but the simple fact remained: the Giants entered the offseason intent on getting younger, more athletic, and ideally acquiring a superstar around which to build their franchise — and that possibility no longer presented itself.

By the time the team’s deal with Correa had fallen through, Judge and all the other star shortstops (Trea Turner, Xander Bogaerts, Dansby Swanson) had new contracts in place. Outgoing ace Carlos Rodon was also gone, having joined Judge on a six-year deal with the Yankees. The market’s other two aces, Justin Verlander and Jacob deGrom, were among the earliest marquee free agents to find new homes.

Of course, the Giants hadn’t merely been sitting on their hands prior to their failed Judge and Correa overtures. The team inked Mitch Haniger to a three-year contract in early December and just days later brokered identical two-year pacts with righty Ross Stripling and lefty Sean Manaea.

Haniger’s deal added some needed punch to the middle of the Giants’ lineup but also came with a good deal of health risk. Stripling and Manaea deepened the starting staff, giving an organization known for maximizing pitcher performance a pair of veteran arms. San Francisco has routinely avoided long-term commitments to pitchers, making a Rodon reunion look unlikely from the jump. Both Stripling and Manaea have had big league success but came with some question marks; Stripling hasn’t worked a full season as a starter, while Manaea had a poor finish to the season thanks largely to a pair of catastrophically bad outings at Dodger Stadium. The price the Giants paid for both players is sensible, and both will have a chance to return to the market next offseason if they perform well.

With both Stripling and Manaea aboard, the Giants’ rotation was at least six-deep. That pair joined Logan Webb, Alex Cobb, Alex Wood and Anthony DeSclafani, with swingman Jakob Junis and top prospect Kyle Harrison both serving as depth options. Harrison, one of baseball’s premier pitching prospects, should debut at some point in 2023. It’s a deep and talented group, and given the team’s spacious home park and nearly unparalleled track record of recent success with maximizing pitcher performance, there’s a good chance the Giants can again boast one of the league’s better rotations.

Upgrades were also made in the bullpen, where the Giants looked past Taylor Rogers’ poor finish to the 2022 season and bet heavily on his still-excellent strikeout and walk rates. The former Twins closer and 2021 All-Star might well have been a candidate for a four-year contract had he enjoyed a season more in line with his 2018-21 form (2.91 ERA, 2.66 SIERA, 31.2% strikeout rate, 4.9% walk rate), but the Giants still paid up in the form of a $33MM guarantee over three years. It’s a big bet that Rogers’ inflated ERA was more attributable to poor luck on balls in play, a spike in home-run rate that’ll prove fluky, and a diminished strand rate.

The signing of Rogers pairs him with his twin brother Tyler, making for a fun story at the back of the ‘pen, but it also gives the Giants another high-upside arm to pair with flamethrowing closer Camilo Doval. That group will eventually be joined by righty Luke Jackson, who inked a two-year pact but will miss the early portion of the season wrapping up his rehab from Tommy John surgery. Jackson was a vital member of the Braves’ 2021 World Series team, but his signing marks another relatively risky addition in the bullpen alongside the newly signed Rogers brother.

Perhaps the Giants’ highest-profile signing came in the form of former Mets All-Star Michael Conforto, who inked a two-year deal after missing the entire 2022 season due to shoulder surgery stemming from an offseason injury. As with many of their other signings, the investment in Conforto is laden with both risk and upside. Beyond the fact that he didn’t play a single inning at any level in 2022, Conforto’s 2021 season was decidedly pedestrian. After slashing a combined .265/.369/.495 (133 wRC+) from 2017-20, Conforto batted just .232/.344/.384 (106 wRC+) in 125 games during his platform season for free agency.

The bet on Conforto isn’t simply one that his shoulder is now healthy — it’s one that his 2021 season can be looked past. The Giants are paying Conforto $18MM annually, and in the event that he is indeed healthy and productive, he’ll be able to opt out of his contract next offseason. That right kicks in once Conforto reaches 350 plate appearances. In essence, the Giants are making a $36MM bet that Conforto can again be a star player; if they’re right, they’ll likley only have to pay out half that sum but could lose Conforto after one year without the option of making a qualifying offer. (Players can only receive one in their career.) If they’re wrong, it’ll go down as a costly misstep that’ll impact the books through the 2024 season.

There’s been a lot of talk about “risk” to this point, but that’s largely unavoidable given the nature of San Francisco’s offseason. The Giants loaded up on short-term risk, signing several players coming off injury-shortened or even injury-ruined seasons (Conforto, Jackson, Haniger) and others coming off poor showings that don’t align with their prior standards (Rogers, Manaea).

Given that the Giants’ pursuit of Correa was called off for perceived injury risk on a long-term deal, it’s somewhat peculiar that the rest of the team’s offseason wound up punctuated by substantial health risks. Of course, there’s a difference between taking an injury risk for two or at most three years versus a 13-year term — and the extra trepidation on the lengthier commitment is plenty justifiable. But for the short-term, the Giants are even more at the mercy of good fortune in the health department than they’d have been had they found a way to make the Correa deal work out.

The rest of the offseason generally consisted of tinkering on the edges of the 40-man roster. Newly acquired relievers Kade McClure and Erik Miller aren’t on the 40-man roster but could conceivably be brought up at some point this year. Rule 5 catcher/outfielder Blake Sabol made the Opening Day roster, and infielder Brett Wisely gives the Giants some 40-man depth in Triple-A. That group cost the Giants a pair of fringe relievers (Gregory Santos, Yunior Marte), a Class-A pitcher (Jake Wong) and an outfield prospect who only had a brief stop in the organization after being acquired from the Brewers at the ’22 deadline (Tristan Peters).

The 2023 Giants will look wildly different than the 2022 Giants, but it’s still an open question as to whether this group is actually better. If they strike gold on most of their injury gambles, that seems likely to be the case. Odds of that happening are long, to say the least. Haniger is already starting the season on the injured list, and that surely won’t be the only injury of note from their newly acquired swath of veterans.

The Giants still have major question marks behind the plate, where Joey Bart has yet to seize the role. He’ll be backed up by defensive specialist Roberto Perez and perhaps the previously mentioned Sabol. In the infield, they’ll hope David Villar can step up at the hot corner while LaMonte Wade Jr. — no stranger to the injured list himself — can stay healthy and hold down first base. J.D. Davis and Wilmer Flores provide some nice depth at both corners, but there’s an enormous amount of uncertainty at multiple spots on the diamond.

The good news is that much of that risk, again, is short-term in nature. The 2024 payroll could, in fact, be almost pristine. Each of Brandon Crawford, Wood and Pederson will be a free agent. Cobb’s contract has a $10MM club option. Conforto, Manaea and Stripling all have opt-outs. It may not be likely that all three will perform well enough to take those out clauses, but it’s probable that at least one will. The Giants have $102MM in guaranteed money on the 2024 roster, which is about $90MM shy of their current level. The trio of Conforto ($18MM), Stripling ($12.5MM) and Manaea ($12.5MM) could subtract as much as $43MM from that sum.

That leaves ample flexibility, be it for a Logan Webb extension or for aggressive pursuits in next year’s crop of free agents. That group will be headlined by Shohei Ohtani but will also feature names like Julio Urias, Aaron Nola and NPB ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Extensions for Manny Machado and Rafael Devers undeniably sapped some star power from the group, but the Giants are set up for a mulligan and will be well equipped to add salary via free agency or trade.

For now, the focus is on keeping this group healthy and hoping the 2023 season looks more like 2021 than ’22. With the ultra-aggressive Padres and ever-dangerous Dodgers looming atop the division and an up-and-coming D-backs club gaining traction, the Giants aren’t division favorites and aren’t generally considered strong playoff contenders. They should have a deep pitching staff, however, and this group is plenty familiar with defying expectations. They’ll look to do so again in ’23, and if it doesn’t pan out, they have the financial firepower to make sweeping changes again next winter.

How would you grade the Giants’ offseason?

How would you grade the Giants' offseason?

  • C 41% (725)
  • B 23% (399)
  • D 22% (396)
  • F 12% (216)
  • A 2% (37)

Total votes: 1,773

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2022-23 Offseason In Review MLBTR Originals San Francisco Giants

Guardians, Trevor Stephan Agree To Four-Year Extension

By | at March 30, 2023 1:15pm CDT

MARCH 30, 1:15pm: Zach Meisel of The Athletic provides the full breakdown. Stephen will make $1.35MM this year, $1.6MM next year, $2.3MM in 2025 and $3.5MM in 2026. There’s a $1.25MM buyout on the 2027 option.

MARCH 30, 7:08am: Robert Murray of FanSided reports that Stephan’s extension is worth $10MM, with a $7.25MM club option in 2027 and a $7.5MM club option in 2028.

MARCH 29: Cleveland and Stephan have agreed to a four-year guarantee with a pair of club options, reports Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com. Finances remain unreported.

MARCH 28: The Guardians have already agreed to one extension today, and they’re making progress on a deal with right-handed reliever Trevor Stephan as well, reports Tom Withers of the Associated Press. Cleveland currently controls the 27-year-old Stephan for another four seasons. He’s not scheduled to reach arbitration until next offseason. The Athletic’s Zack Meisel reported earlier today that Cleveland was in “advanced” extension talks with multiple players.

One of the most successful Rule 5 picks in recent memory, Stephan emerged for the Guardians as a high-caliber setup option this past season when he tossed 63 2/3 innings of 2.69 ERA ball. That mark was backed up by a 2.19 FIP and 2.55 SIERA. The former Yankees farmhand punched out a hefty 30.7% of his opponents against a tidy 6.7% walk rate and induced grounders at an above-average 48.1% clip.

Drilling down even further, there’s far more to like about Stephan. His 16.2% swinging-strike rate was the 14th-best mark among the 273 pitchers who tossed at least 60 innings in 2022 (starters and relievers alike). He was also better than average in terms of opponents’ exit velocity (87.5 mph average) and hard-hit rate (34.4%), and his 3.1% opponents’ barrel rate was among the very best in all of baseball (98th percentile).

Stephan averaged just under 97 mph with his heater, missed bats, limited walks and hard contact and kept the ball both in the park (0.42 HR/9) and on the ground last year. Along the way, he picked up 19 holds and three saves. He’s now expected to be among the top setup options for All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase, and Stephan would perhaps be first in line for ninth-inning work in the event of an injury to Clase.

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Cleveland Guardians Newsstand

Pirates Designate Ryan Vilade For Assignment

By | at March 30, 2023 12:44pm CDT

The Pirates announced Thursday that they’ve designated outfielder Ryan Vilade for assignment and selected the contracts of left-hander Rob Zastryzny and catcher Jason Delay, both of whom were in spring training as non-roster invitees. Lefty Jarlin Garcia (nerve injury) was placed on the 60-day injured list to open a second spot on the 40-man roster. Righties JT Brubaker (right elbow discomfort) and Robert Stephenson (right elbow inflammation) have both been placed on the 15-day injured list as well.

Vilade, 24, was claimed off waivers from the Rockies back in November. He ranked among Colorado’s best prospects just one year ago but struggled in his second go through the Triple-A level, slashing a tepid .249/.345/.352 with five homers and ten steals through 99 games in that hitter-friendly setting. Originally drafted as a shortstop, Vilade has moved down the defensive spectrum, first shifting to third base before a move to the outfield corners. He went just 3-for-18 without an extra-base hit this spring, finishing with a .167/.211/.167 line in 19 trips to the plate. The Pirates will have a week to trade Vilade, release him or pass him through outright waivers.

Zastryzny, 31, returned to the Majors in 2022 after a three-year layoff and tossed four innings between the Mets and Angels. He’s making the first Opening Day roster of his 10-year professional career, Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic points out (Twitter link). Zastryzny earned it this spring, punching out 10 of his 29 opponents against one walk while firing 7 1/3 innings without allowing an earned run.

In parts of four big league seasons, mostly with the Cubs, Zastryzny has a 4.66 ERA and a 34-to-17 K/BB ratio in 38 2/3 innings of work. His Triple-A numbers across six seasons are generally similar, albeit with slightly better strikeout and walk rates. Zastryzny will give manager Derek Shelton a second lefty in the ‘pen, joining Rule 5 pick Jose Hernandez.

Delay, 28, made his big league debut with the Bucs in 2022 but was removed from the 40-man roster and re-signed to a minor league deal. He had a rough showing in camp, going just 3-for-20 with three walks, but he’s a strong defensive backstop and likely landed the backup gig by virtue of his glove. Delay posted plus framing marks last season, has a career 31% caught-stealing rate in the minors and was credited with two Defensive Runs Saved in 436 innings behind the dish last year. He beat out fellow non-roster invitees Kevin Plawecki and Tyler Heineman and will open the season as the backup to defensive standout Austin Hedges.

Garcia’s placement on the 60-day IL comes as little surprise. The team announced he’d be shut down midway through camp, and after a ten days of not throwing, they further announced that he was dealing with a nerve injury in his biceps and would continue to be shut down for as many as four to five weeks. He’ll need to completely build back up after that delay. Stephenson pitched just two innings this spring and was slowed by elbow discomfort, and Shelton acknowledged last week that an IL stint was likely.

There’s more concern with regard to Brubaker. Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tweeted this morning that Brubaker’s elbow injury is “not minor” and the Pirates fear there’s a chance he could be lost for the season. The team hasn’t provided a formal diagnosis or update beyond today’s placement on the injured list, but additional news on Brubaker will likely follow in the near future. The 29-year-old Brubaker made 28 starts last season and pitched to a 4.69 ERA but with much more encouraging marks in FIP (3.92) and SIERA (3.97).

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Astros Designate J.J. Matijevic, Bligh Madris For Assignment

By | at March 30, 2023 11:23am CDT

The Astros announced Thursday that they’ve designated first baseman J.J. Matijevic and outfielder Bligh Madris for assignment. Their spots on the 40-man roster will go to third baseman/outfielder Corey Julks and catcher/first baseman Cesar Salazar, whose previously reported selections to the 40-man roster are now official.

Matijevic, 27, was Houston’s second-round pick back in 2017. He made his big league debut in 2022 but received only 71 plate appearances, during which he posted a dreary .209/.254/.328 slash with a pair of home runs but a 35.2% strikeout rate. Matijevic’s Triple-A track record is far more impressive. He’s totaled 599 plate appearances there across parts of two seasons, batting .263/.347/.530 with 32 home runs, 35 doubles, five triples, 14 steals (in 16 tries) and an 11% walk rate — albeit against a more concerning 27.7% strikeout rate.

Scouting reports on Matijevic praise his power and an improved approach in recent seasons, but there are questions remaining about his hit tool and lack of defensive upside. He’s played first base and left field in the minors, but he’s not a great defender at either position. He does have a pair of minor league options remaining, so a team looking for a lefty bat and perhaps some depth at first and/or in left field could take a look.

Madris, 27, made his big league debut in 2022, splitting the season between the Pirates and Rays. He didn’t appear in the Majors with Tampa Bay following a mid-September waiver claim but did log 39 games with the Pirates, struggling to a .177/.244/.265 batting line through his first 123 Major League plate appearances.

The lefty-swinging Madris, however, has been far better in Triple-A Indianapolis, where he notched a combined .297/.366/.510 batting line with 11 homers, 22 doubles and four triples. He has two option years remaining. Madris handled right-handed pitching particularly well in 2022, batting .272/.345/.492 between the big leagues and Triple-A. He’s played primarily right field but does have some experience in the other two outfield slots and at first base. Madris had a solid spring, batting .273/.385/.333 in 39 plate appearances with the Astros.

Houston will have a week to trade both players or else attempt to pass them through outright waivers.

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Tigers Designate Edwin Uceta For Assignment

By | at March 30, 2023 10:21am CDT

The Tigers announced Thursday that they’ve designated right-hander Edwin Uceta for assignment. That move, coupled with yesterday’s outright of Rony Garcia, will open the two roster spots necessary to select the contracts of lefty Chasen Shreve and righty Trey Wingenter. Both relievers are now formally on Detroit’s Opening Day roster.

Additionally, the Tigers optioned lefty Tyler Holton to Triple-A Toledo and placed three players on the injured list. Infielder Tyler Nevin is headed to the 10-day IL with an oblique strain, while righties Beau Brieske (right upper arm discomfort) and Michael Lorenzen (left groin strain) have been placed on the 15-day IL.

The 25-year-old Uceta was a waiver claim out of the Diamondbacks organization back in January. He’s seen big league work in each of the past two seasons, first throwing 20 1/3 frames with the Dodgers in 20221 before logging 17 frames with the D-backs in 2022. Uceta’s results have been poor, as he’s served up a 6.27 ERA with a 23% strikeout rate and an elevated 11.5% walk rate. He’s struggled to limit the damage with men on base, but Uceta has solid spin and velocity on his four-seamer and a 30% strikeout rate in Triple-A.

Uceta appeared in eight spring games with the Tigers. He yielded six earned runs on 13 hits and four walks through 11 frames (4.91 ERA) but also fanned 14 of his 48 opponents (29.2%). The Tigers will have a week to trade him or attempt to pass him through outright waivers. Uceta does have a minor league option remaining, which could add to his appeal.

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Boone: Yankees Working On “Potential Deal” To Add Pitcher

By | at March 30, 2023 10:13am CDT

The Yankees are working on a “potential” deal to add a pitcher to the staff, manager Aaron Boone told reporters prior to today’s season opener (Twitter link, with video, via SNY). Boone didn’t futher tip his hand as to whether the Yankees are talking to a free agent or discussing a possible trade. However, they’re opening the season with 14 position players and 12 pitchers on their roster, reflective of both a potentially incoming arm and an off-day on the schedule Friday.

“We’re going with just seven guys in the ‘pen, obviously with an off-day tomorrow, where we have a potential deal going that’ll probably change that moving forward in the next day or two,” said Boone. “…A pitcher could be in play for us, that we add or not. Whether or not we do, we’d be in a position to pull from the minor leagues, too.”

New York’s pitching staff has been hit hard by injuries, evidenced by the sheer number of players who are beginning the season on the injured list. The Yankees announced today that lefty Carlos Rodon (forearm strain) and righties Luis Severino (lat strain), Lou Trivino (elbow strain), Tommy Kahnle (biceps tendinitis) and Frankie Montas (shoulder surgery) have all been placed on the 15-day injured list. Right-handers Scott Effross (2022 Tommy John surgery) and Luis Gil (2022 Tommy John surgery) both were placed on the 60-day IL. Center fielder Harrison Bader (oblique strain) and catcher Ben Rortvedt (shoulder aneurysm surgery) are both on the 10-day IL.

Also of note from Boone’s media session today, the skipper indicated that not only will Oswaldo Cabrera get the Opening Day start in left field — but he’ll open the season as the team’s primary left fielder (Twitter link via Joel Sherman of the New York Post). Aaron Hicks will still get some time against left-handed pitching, and Cabrera’s versatility means he’ll occasionally line up at other spots, but it seems the current plan is for him to be the most frequently used option in left field.

The 24-year-old Cabrera made his big league debut in 2022, slashing .247/.312/.429 in 171 plate appearances. Originally expected to be in more of a versatile infield/outfield utility role, the switch-hitting Cabrera seized a more prominent role with a monster spring showing. In 57 plate appearances, he batted .340/.386/.623 with four homers, three doubles, four walks (7%) and 10 strikeouts (17.5%).

The Yankees also confirmed some previously known/reported moves. Top prospect Anthony Volpe‘s contract has been formally selected, and he’ll open the season as the Yankees’ primary shortstop. Right-hander Jhony Brito was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and is expected to start the team’s third game of the season on Sunday. And, as was widely reported yesterday, the Yankees signed outfielder/first baseman Franchy Cordero to a Major League contract and formally added him to their Opening Day roster.

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Giants Acquire Matt Beaty From Royals, Grant Stephen Piscotty His Release

By | at March 30, 2023 9:44am CDT

The Giants set their Opening Day roster, announcing that they’ve acquired first baseman/outfielder Matt Beaty from the Royals in exchange for cash and selected him directly to 40-man roster. He’ll be with the club for Opening Day. San Francisco also selected the contract of catcher Roberto Perez and granted non-roster outfielder Stephen Piscotty his release.

Additionally, the Giants optioned righty Sean Hjelle to Triple-A and placed outfielder Luis Gonzalez (back surgery) and lefty Thomas Szapucki (left arm neuropathy) on the 60-day injured list. Outfielders Mitch Haniger (oblique strain) and Austin Slater (hamstring strain) were placed on the 10-day injured list, and righty Luke Jackson (recovering from 2022 Tommy John surgery) has been placed on the 15-day injured list.

Beaty, 30 in April, was originally drafted by the Dodgers in 2015, so he and current Giants president of baseball ops Farhan Zaidi — formerly the Dodgers’ GM — overlapped in Los Angeles. He hit fairly well in parts of three seasons with L.A., batting .262/.333/.425 in 556 plate appearances, but a 2022 trade to the Padres didn’t yield the results San Diego hoped. In just 47 plate appearances last year, Beaty went 4-for-43 and drew just two walks, resulting in a .093/.170/.163 batting line. He signed a minor league deal with the Royals and hit .343/.378/.629 in 37 plate appearances.

Perez will join Joey Bart and Rule 5 pick Blake Sabol as catching options for manager Gabe Kapler, and he’ll in fact get the start in Opening Day (with Sabol lining up in left field). The 34-year-old is a premium defender behind the plate but has never provided much with the bat, outside of a 24-homer showing during 2019’s juiced-ball season. That season accounted for 24 of Perez’s 55 career home runs, and he’s batted just .171/.269/.295 in 97 games since that time. He opened the 2022 season as the Pirates’ primary catcher but wound up being limited to 21 games after a torn hamstring required season-ending surgery in May.

Piscotty, 32, had a big showing this spring, hitting .320/.270/.440, albeit in a small sample of 27 plate appearances. The longtime A’s outfielder has seen his production drop off in recent seasons, with just a .214/.270/.352 slash over the past three seasons. Injuries have played a significant role in that downturn, as Piscotty has time with ankle, wrist and calf issues along the way. His peak season came in 2018, when he batted .267/.331/.491 with a career-high 27 home runs for Oakland. He’ll now be free to explore other opportunities in free agency.

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Royals Trade Richard Lovelady To Braves

By | at March 30, 2023 9:29am CDT

The Royals have traded left-hander Richard Lovelady to the Braves in exchange for cash, per announcements from both teams. Lovelady, who is on the 40-man roster, has been optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett.

Lovelady, 27, hasn’t pitched in the Majors since 2021 due to Tommy John surgery. He made it back to the mound for four minor league innings in 2022 and posted a 9-to-1 K/BB ratio during that time. He was terrific this spring, tossing eight shutout innings with only five hits allowed, no walks and 10 punchouts during Cactus League play.

Prior to undergoing surgery in 2021, he’d given Kansas City 20 2/3 innings of 3.48 ERA ball with a 27.4% strikeout rate, 7.1% walk rate and excellent 56.6% ground-ball rate. In 110 2/3 career innings at the Triple-A level, Lovelady has a 2.44 ERA, 26.1% strikeout rate and 7.4% walk rate. He’s in his final minor league option year and can be controlled through at least the 2027 season, as he currently has one year and 26 days of Major League service time.

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