Orioles Reportedly Discussing John Means In Trade Talks
As the Orioles prepare to enter what will be the fourth season of a full-scale rebuild, ESPN’s Buster Olney reports that they’re “dangling” lefty John Means in trades in talks with other clubs (Twitter link).
Means, 28, is the lone established starter on the Orioles’ roster. Over the past three seasons, he’s pitched to a 3.73 ERA through 345 1/3 innings out of the Baltimore rotation. Means is the only pitcher who’s started more than 31 games for the O’s over the past three seasons (63), and of the 18 pitchers to make at least seven starts in that time he’s one of just three with an ERA south of 5.00. (Andrew Cashner and Dylan Bundy, no longer with the club, are the only others.)
Dating back to 2019, Means’ 5.1% walk rate is the sixth-lowest among all pitchers with at least 300 innings. His strikeout rate sat at 19% in 2019 but has jumped to 23% in 2020-21, bringing that roughly in line with the big league average. Home runs have been an issue for Means, who has yielded 1.69 big flies per nine frames. Being an extreme fly-ball pitcher at the homer-friendly Camden Yards can’t help the matter, but Means has struggled with the long ball on the road as well.
The 2021 season looked to be something of a breakout showing for Means early on, before a shoulder injury sidelined him for a portion of the year. The lefty pitched to a 2.05 ERA through his first 11 starts, headlined by a 12-strikeout no-hitter (and near perfect game) against the Mariners on May 5. Means faced just five hitters in his 12th start of the season before departing with a shoulder strain that would sideline him for more than six weeks.
There was no appreciable change in Means’ velocity upon returning from that IL stint — 92.9 mph average fastball pre-injury; 92.8 mph post-injury — but the southpaw yielded a 4.88 ERA with a diminished strikeout rate in 14 starts to close out the season, finishing out the year with a seven-run drubbing at the hands of the Blue Jays.
With three-plus years of service time now under his belt, Means is arbitration-eligible for the first time this winter. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects a $3.1MM salary for Means in his first trip through the arb process. He’d be eligible for further raises upon that salary in each of the next two offseasons before reaching free agency following the 2024 season.
Means’ first notable salary increase of his career surely plays a role in any willingness to trade him, but it should be noted that there’s no reason that salary should cause payroll issues in Baltimore. The Orioles don’t have a single guaranteed contract on their 2022 roster, with the lone set cost coming via the dead money they owe to Chris Davis following his retirement. Even with that sum, Roster Resource’s Jason Martinez projects a payroll around $56MM, which would rank among the lowest in baseball. Potential trades of Means, Trey Mancini (projected $7.9MM salary), Anthony Santander ($3.7MM), etc. would further drop that figure.
With three years of affordable club control remaining, Means ought to command a strong return even with this past season’s shoulder injury and subsequent scuffles. That said, if the Orioles actually make the leap and trade their lone rotation lock, the 2022 staff could look quite grisly — at least early on. Top pitching prospects Grayson Rodriguez and DL Hall are nearing big league readiness, but the immediate rotation options behind Means have yet to find much in the way of MLB success. Jorge Lopez, Bruce Zimmermann, Keegan Akin, Zac Lowther, Dean Kremer and Spenser Watkins have all started big league games, but Zimmermann’s 5.30 ERA is the best of the group.
The Orioles could, of course, bring in a veteran or two on a low-cost deal in free agency, but they haven’t been willing to spend on veteran starters since their rebuild began. They’ve handed out a few minor league deals for veteran arms (Matt Harvey, Tommy Milone, Wade LeBlanc, Felix Hernandez), but the only pitcher given a guaranteed contract under GM Mike Elias was an $800K deal to Nate Karns in Feb. 2019.
Braves Acquire Jay Jackson, Designate Yoan Lopez
The Giants have traded right-handed reliever Jay Jackson to the Braves in exchange for cash or a player to be named later, per a pair of team announcements. San Francisco designated Jackson for assignment on Friday while setting their 40-man roster prior to the Rule 5 protection deadline. Fellow right-hander Yoan Lopez was designated for assignment in a corresponding move, per the Braves.
Jackson, 34, has found new life in the big leagues after a strong four-year run with the Hiroshima Carp in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. He’s been with the Brewers and the Giants since returning, most recently pitching to a 3.74 ERA with an impressive 31.3% strikeout rate in 21 1/3 innings for San Francisco last season. Jackson also averaged 94.8 mph on his heater, pairing that with a sizable 13.3% swinging-strike rate. Those numbers are impressive, to be sure, but Jackson has also struggled with his command at times, walking 13.5% of his opponents since his return from NPB.
Command issues notwithstanding, Jackson makes for a solid, low-cost pickup for the reigning World Series champs. In addition to a good run with the Giants’ big league club last year, he also posted a 1.29 ERA with a gaudy 24-to-1 K/BB ratio in 14 Triple-A frames in 2021. And, despite the fact that he’s 34 years old, Jackson still has a minor league option remaining, so he can give the Braves a good bit of flexibility in the bullpen.
The 28-year-old Lopez was traded from Arizona to Atlanta in a late-May deal that sent minor league outfielder Deivi Estrada to Arizona. Lopez had a solid run in Triple-A Gwinnett, tallying 32 2/3 innings of 3.03 ERA ball with a 26.7% strikeout rate and an 8.4% walk rate in that time.
Once a high-profile international signing by the D-backs, Lopez has only tallied 101 2/3 innings in the big leagues to this point. He carries a 4.25 ERA with a solid 7.7% walk rate but a below-average 19.1% strikeout rate. The Braves will have a week to trade Lopez, place him on outright waivers or release him.
Cubs Acquire Harold Ramirez From Guardians
The Cubs have acquired outfielder Harold Ramirez from the Guardians in exchange for cash, per a club announcement out of Chicago. Ramirez was one of seven players designated for assignment in Cleveland last Friday. The Cubs now have 38 players on their 40-man roster.
Ramirez, 27, made his big league debut with the Marlins in 2019 and earned quickly made himself into a Miami fan favorite with a mammoth first season in the Majors. In May 2019, Ramirez slashed .368/.419/.474 — understandably endearing himself to those who follow the Fish.
It’s been a steady decline since that point, however, as Ramirez has posted just .264/.299/.400 (86 wRC+). Ramirez has solid bat-to-ball skills but rarely walks and chases outside the zone far too often. Since 2019, Ramirez’s 43.6% chase rate on pitches off the plate is the ninth-highest mark among 340 players with at least 500 plate appearances. His .134 isolated power (slugging minus batting average) during that time ranks 281st in the same subset, placing him well shy of the league-average — particularly relative to his corner outfield peers.
Ramirez joins Michael Hermosillo as a right-handed-hitting bench option for the Cubs, though he doesn’t have the typical platoon splits one might expect. His numbers against lefties (.275/.315/.400, 92 wRC+) and righties (.270/.306/.408, 90 wRC+) are nearly identical. Defensively, Ramirez has appeared at all three outfield spots but is best-suited for work in either left field or right field.
Ramirez is out of minor league options, so the Cubs will either need to break camp with him on the Opening Day roster next year or else expose him to waivers. He’ll compete for a bench spot in Spring Training, but it also stands to reason that Chicago could be in the market for outfield upgrades this winter, which could complicate Ramirez’s path to a roster spot.
Guardians Trade J.C. Mejia To Brewers
1:33pm: Mejia was actually granted a fourth minor league option, president of baseball operations David Stearns tells Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (Twitter link). That’s quite notable for his outlook, as he can now head to Triple-A Nashville and continue to develop as a starter and serve as some upper-level depth.
1:03pm: The Brewers have acquired right-hander J.C. Mejia from the Guardians in exchange for a player to be named later or cash, the teams announced. Mejia was one of seven players designated for assignment in Cleveland last Friday as the Guardians set their roster in advance of the Rule 5 protection deadline.
Mejia, 25, made his big league debut this past season for a Cleveland club that was rocked by injuries in the starting rotation. It wasn’t a great showing, evidenced by gruesome 8.25 ERA and 2.2 HR/9 marks through his first 52 1/3 Major League innings. His struggles weren’t confined to the Majors, either, as Mejia was roughed up for a 6.75 ERA in 39 Triple-A frames — also his debut at that level.
While the 2021 season wasn’t a strong one in terms of results, Mejia had a sharp track record prior to this rocky campaign. Even with this year’s poor Triple-A numbers, he sports a career 3.12 ERA in the minors — a mark accompanied by solid strikeout and walk rates (23.4% and 7.1%, respectively). Mejia also had a 48% ground-ball rate in the big leagues and has regularly posted grounder percentages north of 55% in the minors.
Starting pitching isn’t a major need in Milwaukee, where the Brewers have a star-studded rotation headlined by Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff and Freddy Peralta. Righty Adrian Houser and lefty Eric Lauer round out the mix, and the Brewers also have some homegrown alternative options in the form of Aaron Ashby and Ethan Small — the former of whom could open the 2021 season in the Milwaukee bullpen.
Given that solid group of options, Mejia seems likely to open the year in the bullpen — if he survives the winter on the 40-man roster. Mejia is out of minor league options, so he’ll need to break camp with the club or else be exposed to waivers. With a ~93mph four-seamer and sinker working as a starter, it’s possible his velocity could jump into the mid-90s working in shorter stints. For now, he’ll likely head to camp in hopes of winning a long-relief spot.
Guardians Sign Sandy Leon To Minor League Deal
The Guardians have added some extra depth at catcher, signing veteran backstop Sandy Leon to a minor league contract with an invitation to Major League Spring Training, per a club announcement. It’ll be the second stint in Cleveland for Leon, who is represented by the MAS+ Agency.
Leon, 32, spent the 2021 season with the Marlins, appearing in 83 games and batting .183/.237/.267 with four homers and five doubles in 220 plate appearances. That marked the tenth consecutive season in which Leon has logged at least brief Major League action.
While the switch-hitting veteran posted a strong .310/.369/.476 slash back in 2016, that sample of 283 plate appearances now looks like a clear outlier. In five seasons since that time, Leon has batted just .192/.257/.298 through nearly 1100 plate appearances. It’s not a strong offensive profile, but Leon regularly posts strong framing and blocking numbers. His caught-stealing rates have dipped in recent seasons, but last year’s 27% mark was still a bit better than the leaguewide average of 25%.
Roberto Perez and Austin Hedges combined to handle the bulk of catching duties in Cleveland this past season, but Perez’s 2021 club option was declined at season’s end after a second straight year of struggles at the plate. Hedges currently projects as the starter, but there’s a clear opportunity for a veteran — be it Leon or someone else — to come in and win at least a backup job. Prospect Bryan Lavastida was added to the 40-man roster last Friday, but he’s only played seven Triple-A games to this point in his career and likely needs some more development.
Giants In Discussions With Alex Cobb
The Giants are in talks with free-agent righty Alex Cobb and appear to be making a “strong push” to sign the veteran righty, tweets Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link). Cobb is represented by the Beverly Hills Sports Council.
If a deal is indeed finalized, Cobb would fill one of four rotation vacancies for a San Francisco club that saw each of Kevin Gausman, Alex Wood, Anthony DeSclafani and Johnny Cueto reach free agency at season’s end.
The 34-year-old Cobb had something of a resurgence with the Angels last season after being acquired in an offseason deal that sent minor league infielder Jahmai Jones to Baltimore. Injuries still hampered Cobb — as has oft been the case in his career — with a wrist issue and blisters combining to limit him to 93 1/3 frames. However, when healthy, Cobb was the best he’s been in years, pitching to a 3.76 ERA with a 24.9% strikeout rate, an 8.4% walk rate and a huge 53.3% ground-ball rate.
In fact, in some regards, the 2021 season was Cobb’s best as a big leaguer. While the workload wasn’t as large as he or the Angels would’ve liked, Cobb posted career-best marks in strikeout percentage, swinging-strike rate (11.2%) and opponents’ chase rate (34.6%).
That 2021 output marked a stark turnaround for Cobb, who pitched just 217 total innings during three years with the Orioles after signing a four-year, $57MM contract in advance of the 2018 campaign — the final major acquisition from Baltimore before the eventual housecleaning and rebuild process got underway that summer. Given that Cobb’s last run through free agency lingered until Spring Training was well underway, it makes sense that he’d push for an earlier deal a second time around. Both Cobb and the Angels had publicly expressed interest in a reunion, but that looks decidedly unlikely now.
As alluded to above, Cobb would be just one of many pieces needed to complete a wide-open starting pitching puzzle at Oracle Park. In addition to the quartet of open spots behind homegrown star Logan Webb, Cobb has reached 100 innings in just two of the past seven seasons. While any team signing Cobb would surely hope for better health, it’s not something that can be banked upon given a laundry list of physical ailments that have piled up in recent years.
From a payroll vantage point, the Giants ought to have little issue adding Cobb into the fold. Roster Resource’s Jason Martinez projects a $97MM payroll at present, and Cobb should command a good bit less than the $14.25MM annual salary he received on that last contract with the Orioles. MLBTR ranked Cobb 39th on our Top 50 Free Agent list, pegging for a two-year, $16MM contract.
Angels Acquire Tyler Wade, Designate Kean Wong
The Yankees announced Monday that they’ve traded infielder/outfielder Tyler Wade to the Angels in exchange for cash or a player to be named later. Wade was designated for assignment Friday amid a series of moves as the Yankees set their roster in advance of the Rule 5 protection deadline. The Angels announced that they have designated utilityman Kean Wong for assignment in a corresponding move.
Wade, 27 tomorrow, has spent parts of the past five seasons on the Yankees’ bench, serving as an oft-used utility option while being frequently shuttled between the big leagues and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Last year’s 145 plate appearances were a career-high (though they were spread across 103 games), and Wade’s .268/.354/.323 slash during that small sample was the most productive of MLB stretch of his career. In all, he’s a .212/.298/.307 hitter in 491 plate appearances for the Yankees.
Of course, Wade was always more of a defensive option than a player expected to make meaningful contributions with the bat. During his half-decade run with the Yankees, he saw time at every position other than first base, catcher and pitcher. The bulk of that workload came at second base (546 innings) and shortstop (331 innings), but Wade has 33 appearances at the hot corner and 57 in the outfield.
Wong, the younger brother of Brewers second baseman Kolten Wong, was a fourth-round pick by the Rays back in 2013 but has yet to find his footing in the big leagues. The 26-year-old has seen MLB times both with Tampa Bay and the Halos but managed only a .167/.188/.218 output in an admittedly small sample of 84 plate appearances. The younger Wong is a career .293/.355/.421 hitter in more than 1600 Triple-A plate appearances, however, and he also still has a pair of minor league option years remaining.
Another club in need of some infield depth could conceivably take a chance on Wong, who’ll either be traded, placed on outright waivers or released in the next seven days. Even if Wong goes unclaimed on waivers and is outrighted to Triple-A Salt Lake, he’ll have the opportunity to reject that assignment and become a free agent, given that it would be the second time in his career that he’s been outrighted.
Red Sox Exercise 2023-24 Club Option On Alex Cora
The Red Sox announced Monday morning that they’ve exercised a club option on manager Alex Cora that covers both the 2023 and 2024 seasons.
“I am beyond grateful for this opportunity to manage the Red Sox,” Cora said in a statement within this morning’s press release. “We experienced so many special moments as a team and as a city in 2021, but we still have unfinished business to take care of. I am excited about the current state of our organization and eager to continue my work with our front office, coaches, players, and everyone who makes this such a special place.”
Cora returned to the Red Sox dugout after a one-year absence that came about after he was banned from the game for a year after commissioner Rob Manfred’s investigation into the Astros’ 2017 sign-stealing scandal. Cora, the bench coach in Houston that season, was determined to have played an integral role in putting together the team’s trash-can scheme. The 2018 Red Sox, managed by Cora, were also investigated by Manfred for improper usage of the video review room. That investigation stripped the Red Sox of a draft pick, but replay coordinator J.T. Watkins was the only employee punished; Manfred’s announcement of Cora’s punishment stated that the one-year ban was due solely to his role in the 2017 Astros scandal.
The Sox temporarily elevated Ron Roenicke to manage to club in 2020 and conducted a “search” for a new manager last offseason that seemed largely for show. The Red Sox conducted a handful of other interviews, but Cora was seen as the favorite from the outset and was ultimately returned to his prior post as soon as he was eligible.
Regardless of one’s thoughts on Cora’s history, the success he’s had as Boston’s skipper is reflected in an outstanding 284-202 record. Managers are evaluated based upon far more than wins and losses in today’s game, but a .584 winning percentage and a World Series title in his first year on the job in 2018 are both surely driving factors in today’s decision. The 2021 Red Sox, in particular, weren’t expected to be World Series contenders, but they nevertheless won 92 games and made a deep postseason run, culminating in a 4-2 ALCS loss to the Astros.
“Alex’s leadership of our staff and our players was critical to all that we accomplished in 2021,” chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said in a statement of his own. “Along with the entire Red Sox front office, I am excited for many years of continued partnership as we work together to bring another World Series trophy to Fenway Park.”
D-backs Sign Matt Davidson To Minor League Deal
Infielder Matt Davidson is returning to the organization that drafted him, as the D-backs’ Triple-A affiliate announced this weekend that Davidson has signed a minor league contract with an invitation to Major League Spring Training.
Selected with the No. 36 overall pick back in 2009, Davidson has shown plenty of power in the big leagues but hasn’t solidified himself as a consistent MLB contributor despite parts of five seasons in the Majors. The MVP Sports client last appeared for the 2020 Reds, hitting .163/.234/.395 with three homers and a double in 47 plate appearances.
In a total of 1075 plate appearances from 2013-20, Davidson is a lifetime .223/.292/.433 hitter with 52 home runs but a sky-high 34.2% strikeout rate. He’s split his big league time evenly between the two infield corners, and while there was some brief consideration of making Davidson a two-way player a few years ago, he has just 7 1/3 innings on the mound in his pro career.
Davidson will add some right-handed-hitting depth to the D-backs’ infield picture, and he’s coming off a massive performance with the Dodgers’ Triple-A club in 2021. Last year, in just 356 plate appearances with Oklahoma City, Davidson slugged 28 homers and tallied 21 doubles while batting .294/.365/.629 (136 wRC+).
NPB’s Seibu Lions Sign Dietrich Enns
TODAY: Enns is heading to Japan to sign with the Seibu Lions, the team announced.
NOVEMBER 17: The Rays are in the process of finalizing an agreement to send left-hander Dietrich Enns to a team either in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, the Korea Baseball Organization or Taiwan’s Chinese Professional Baseball League, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). Enns will be placed on release waivers today and, upon clearing Friday, will be free to sign with his new club.
Moves such as this one generally benefit all parties and are, of course, made with full consent from the player in question. Whichever team held interest in Enns would first contact the Rays, who’d then gauge the player’s interest in the opportunity before proceeding to negotiate a release agreement. Tampa Bay will likely receive some financial compensation for releasing Enns, while the pitcher himself will receive a larger salary in NPB or the KBO than he’d have earned as a fringe big leaguer in 2022 — if he’d even stuck on the Rays’ 40-man roster.
Enns, 30, was quite effective in 22 1/3 frames for the Rays this past season, pitching to a 2.82 ERA with an impressive 28.4% strikeout rate against a strong 6.8% walk rate. That marked the first big league action for Enns since a brief four-inning cup of coffee with the 2017 Twins, however, and the lefty’s minor league track record generally isn’t as strong as this past season’s results. Enns did post a 2.64 ERA in 71 2/3 Triple-A frames, but he carries a career 4.26 ERA with pedestrian strikeout and walk rates in nearly 400 innings at that level.
The benefit to the arrangement for Enns could be twofold. In addition to securing a guaranteed salary of some note for the first time in an 11-year professional career, he’ll also set himself up for the opportunity to potentially return to Major League Baseball outside the constructs of the arbitration system.
Had Enns remained with the Rays, he’d have needed another three years on the roster before qualifying for arbitration eligibility as a 33-year-old (at least, as the arbitration system currently stands). However, by going to NPB, the KBO or the CPBL, Enns could impress for only a season or two and then return on a guaranteed Major League deal. Chris Flexen, Merrill Kelly, Josh Lindblom and Miles Mikolas are among the recent players to go this route, securing considerable salaries overseas before returning to the big leagues on guaranteed, multi-year contracts that typically allow them to become free agents upon completion (rather than remain under control via arbitration). It’s not a foolproof gambit, of course, but even if Enns struggles in his new environs he’d still likely come away with more than he’d have earned with a big league club in 2022.
With the removal of Enns, the Rays’ 40-man roster will have three open spots. Topkin suggests that the Rays may look to open another spot or two prior to Friday’s Rule 5 protection deadline.