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White Sox Announce 60-Man Additions

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The White Sox announced the addition of 16 players to their 60-man player pool Tuesday. They’ll all head to the team’s alternate camp site in Schaumberg, Ill. Today’s additions include (* = non-roster invitee):

Right-Handed Pitchers

Left-Handed Pitchers

Catchers

Outfielders

As Opening Day draws nearer, the White Sox will option additional players to their alternate camp site. There are currently 43 players in big league Summer Camp with the South Siders, and they’ll need to trim that number to 30 by the time the opener rolls around.

Today’s list of additions contains several notable names, including 2020 first-round pick Garrett Crochet, whom the Sox selected 13th overall out of the University of Tennessee. Farm director Chris Getz isn’t ruling out the possibility of Crochet making his MLB debut sometime this year, Bruce Levine of 670 The Score tweets.

Getz also spoke about another recent White Sox first-round pick in Zack Burdi, whom they took 26th in 2016, saying (via Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times): ’We hope to build off how he finished major league camp. It’s the best we’ve seen him in a while. His last couple outings were very encouraging. It’s a special arm.”

Significant injuries have prevented the hard-throwing Burdi from realizing his potential or even reaching the bigs since the White Sox drafted him. He underwent Tommy John surgery in 2017, barely pitched the following year as a result, and then succumbed to a ligament tear in his patella last season. Burdi’s still a well-regarded relief prospect, though, and may have a chance to factor into Chicago’s bullpen this season.

White Sox Sign Bryan Mitchell To Minors Deal

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The White Sox have signed right-hander Bryan Mitchell to a minor league contract, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter link).

Mitchell spent 2019 in the minors, after seeing at least a bit of MLB action in each of the previous five seasons.  Even with the caveat that 2019 was the most hitter-friendly season in the history of Triple-A baseball, Mitchell’s results weren’t good, as he posted a 9.41 ERA, 7.0 K/9, and 5.7 BB/9 over 44 innings for the Padres’ Triple-A affiliate in El Paso.

Chicago represents a fresh start for Mitchell, who has shown flashes of promise of his short big league career but has yet to deliver consistent results over his time with the Padres and Yankees.  San Diego acquired Mitchell in the 2017-18 offseason, as part of a trade that saw the Padres agree to absorb the remainder of Chase Headley’s contract as the price for getting a controllable young arm in Mitchell.  The gambit didn’t work out for the Padres, as Mitchell had a 5.42 ERA over 73 frames (starting 11 of 16 games) for the club in 2018.

Pitchers Recently Electing Free Agency

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Since the conclusion of the regular season, a number of players have elected free agency. That right accrues to certain players who are outrighted off of a 40-man roster during or after the season — namely, those that have at least three years of MLB service and/or have previously been outrighted. Such players that accepted outright assignments during the season have the right to elect free agency instead at season’s end, provided they aren’t added back to the 40-man in the meantime.

We already rounded up the position players. Now, here are the pitchers that have recently taken to the open market, along with their now-former teams (via the International League and PCL transactions pages):

Padres Outright Bryan Mitchell

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The Padres announced today that righty Bryan Mitchell was outrighted to Triple-A. He cleared waivers after being designated for assignment recently.

Since he’ll remain in the organization, Mitchell could yet provide the Friars with a return on the investment they made in acquiring him in December of 2017. To gain the rights to Mitchell, the San Diego organization took on a reported $13.5MM in obligations to Chase Headley (his 2018 salary and half of a $1MM assignment bonus), who ended up being dropped early in the season.

Mitchell hadn’t found MLB success when the San Diego organization picked up him up from the Yankees, but he had demonstrated some intriguing skills. The Pads hoped that his mid-to-upper -nineties heater, in combination with a cutter and curve, would allow him to become a quality big-league starter. Mitchell impressed at Triple-A in 2017, recording a 66:13 K/BB ratio and 55.4% groundball rate while allowing only one home run in 63 2/3 innings over 13 starts and one relief appearance.

But the struggles in the majors have continued unabated. In total, Mitchell owns a 5.15 ERA with 102 strikeouts and 87 walks in his 171 1/3 total frames at the game’s highest level. Now closing in on his 28th birthday, he’ll need to reestablish himself to earn his way back onto the 40-man roster.

Padres Designate Bryan Mitchell, Expected To Promote Nick Margevicius

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10:59am: The Friars have a surprising plan in place for one aspect of their early-season roster maneuvering. They’ll promote young lefty Nick Margevicius to start Saturday’s game, per Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune (via Twitter).

Margevicius, a 2017 seventh-round draft pick, has not pitched above the High-A level.

10:37am: As expected, the Padres announced today that they have selected the contract of top prospect Fernando Tatis Jr. To open roster space, the club designated righty Bryan Mitchell for assignment.

While the Tatis promotion was already known, the decision to drop Mitchell is rather fascinating. The righty had seemed in line for a rotation spot despite an ugly spring showing. Instead, the Friars will carry six outfielders on their initial roster after claiming Socrates Brito yesterday.

Clearly, something has to give. It seems that the organization is opening with an unbalanced roster alignment in order to hang onto resources. Some early-season transactions seem all but inevitable; whether that’ll involve an outside acquisition or internal promotion remains to be seen.

It seems likely that Mitchell will end up clearing waivers and remaining in the organization, so this may not be the end of the line for him. But the move still represents an acknowledgement that things haven’t worked out as hoped. The San Diego organization effectively purchased his rights in a swap last winter from the Yankees, but Mitchell coughed up 44 earned runs and carried a brutal 38:43 K/BB ratio in 73 MLB frames in 2018.

Players Avoiding Arbitration Prior To Non-Tender Deadline

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Tonight marks the deadline for MLB clubs to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players. As such, there’ll be a slew of pre-tender agreements announced today — particularly for arbitration-eligible players who might have otherwise been non-tender candidates. As we saw yesterday (and frequently in previous seasons), players agreeing to terms before the tender deadline will often sign for less than they’re projected, as the alternative in some cases may simply be to be cut loose into a crowded free-agent market.

We’ll track today’s pre-tender agreements here, with all referenced projections coming courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz…

  • Giants infielder Joe Panik settled at a $3.8MM price tag, per Heyman (via Twitter). That’ll represent a savings as against the $4.2MM projected salary. Many had wondered whether the new San Francisco front office would move on from Panik, who has one more year of arb eligibility remaining. Meanwhile, Heyman tweets that reliever Sam Dyson has agreed to a $5MM pact. That also comes in $400K below his projection.
  • The Padres settled with righty Bryan Mitchell for $900K, Heyman tweets. Mitchell had been a non-tender candidate at a projected $1.2MM sum.
  • Newly acquired first baseman C.J. Cron has agreed to a $4.8MM contract, the Twins announced. He projected to a $5.2MM salary; this becomes the latest of many indications of the unstable market position of defensively limited slugger types.
  • The Indians have settled with righty Danny Salazar for $4.5MM, Jon Heyman of Fancred tweets. He was projected at $5MM, with some wondering whether the Cleveland organization might non-tender him. The talented hurler missed the entire 2018 season. Meanwhile, righty Nick Goody is slated to earn $675K, Heyman tweets.
  • Southpaw Jonny Venters avoided arb with the Braves, David O’Brien of The Athletic tweets. It’s a $2.25MM deal, sitting well over the $1.5MM projection, though certainly his unusual career path could have led to some additional arguments for a stronger raise.
  • The Cardinals announced an agreement with lefty Chasen Shreve. Terms aren’t yet known. The 28-year-old had projected to take home $1.2MM for the 2019 campaign, but will settle at $900K per Heyman (via Twitter).
  • Pirates righty Michael Feliz has avoided arbitration with the club, Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic was among those to report on Twitter. Feliz projected at a $900K salary and will get $850K, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports tweets. It’s a split agreement that promises $375K in the minors, per Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (via Twitter).
  • Infielder Tyler Saladino has agreed to a $887,500 salary with the Brewers, Jon Heyman of Fancred tweets. That comes in below the $1MM he projected to earn.
  • The Athletics settled at $2.15MM with Liam Hendriks, per Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter), all of which is guaranteed. That’s just where he projected ($2.1MM) on the heels of a fascinating 2018 season. Hendriks was dropped from the MLB roster in the middle of the season but returned late in the year in dominant fashion as the A’s “opener.”
  • Lefty Sammy Solis agreed to terms with the Nationals to avoid arbitration, the club announced. He profiled as a potential non-tender candidate, so it seems likely the organization pushed to get something done before the deadline. Solis, who has an intriguing power arsenal but struggled through a homer-prone 2018, projected at $900K. He’ll earn $850K, per Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post (Twitter link).
  • The Athletics announced that they’ve agreed to a one-year deal with righty Ryan Dull in advance of tonight’s deadline. He’ll get $860K, Fancred’s Jon Heyman tweets, which checks in pretty closely with his $900K projection. Dull, 29, posted a 4.26 ERA with 21 strikeouts and seven walks in 25 1/3 innings of relief in 2018.
  • Heyman also tweets that the Padres and Greg Garcia, whom they claimed off waivers earlier this offseason, settled on a one-year deal worth $910K that aligns with his $900K projection. Garcia hit .221/.309/.304 in 208 plate appearances with St. Louis last season and is a career .248/.356/.339 hitter in 860 plate appearances.

Earlier Agreements

  • The Brewers and Hernan Perez avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year deal worth $2.5MM, as first reported by Heyman. He’ll check in a bit shy of his $2.7MM projection but remain on hand as a versatile utility option in Milwaukee.
  • Left-hander Tony Cingrani and the Dodgers avoided arb with a one-year deal worth $2.65MM. That checks in just south of the lefty’s $2.7MM projection. Cingrani turned in a brilliant 36-to-6 K/BB ratio in 22 1/3 innings but was also tagged for a considerably less palatable 4.76 earned run average.
  • The Red Sox announced that they’ve agreed to terms on a one-year contract for the 2019 season with right-hander Tyler Thornburg. They’ve also tendered contracts to the remainder of their arbitration-eligible players, though the terms of those deals will be negotiated in the coming weeks. Evan Drellich of NBC Sports Boston tweets that Thornburg will earn $1.75MM i 2019 and can earn another $400K via incentives. I’m told that includes $100K for reaching each of 45, 50, 55 and 60 appearances. Thornburg, 30, was roughed up to the tune of a 5.63 ERA in 24 innings for the Sox this season — his first action for Boston since being acquired prior to the 2017 season. His Boston tenure has been utterly derailed by thoracic outlet syndrome and the ensuing surgery. Thornburg was excellent for the 2016 Brewers, and Boston parted with Travis Shaw in order to acquire him, so the Sox will surely hope that a regular offseason of rest and further removing himself from TOS surgery will get the righty back on track. This will be Thornburg’s final season of club control. He’d been projected to earn $2.3MM.

Padres Move Bryan Mitchell To Bullpen, Option Kazuhisa Makita

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The Padres will shift righty Bryan Mitchell to the bullpen, as Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. Recent signee Kazuhisa Makita, meanwhile, has been optioned to Triple-A.

To account for the decision on Mitchell, the club has moved fellow righty Jordan Lyles into the rotation for at least one start, veteran Padres writer Bill Center tweets. Meanwhile, lefty Matt Strahm was activated from the DL to step in for Makita.

These moves reflect the disappointing initial showings of two of the Padres’ most significant offseason pitching additions. Mitchell was the key piece acquired in a trade in which the Friars agreed to take over the remaining $13MM owed to Chase Headley, while Makita signed for $3.8MM over two years (plus a $500K posting fee).

In the case of Mitchell, who is out of options, the results have been awful thus far. He’s carrying a 6.47 ERA with 4.5 K/9 against 7.3 BB/9 in 32 frames over seven starts. His swinging-strike rate, which has never been very compelling in the majors, is down to just 5.0%.

Though Acee writes that the organization still believes in Mitchell and even thinks he could yet be a big-league starter, he’ll need to show something to earn another opportunity. For now, it’ll be Lyles who gets another crack at working from the rotation, though it’s unclear whether he’ll receive an extended shot. He’s still just 27 years of age and broke into the majors as a starter, but has not yet shown that he can hold down a job working every fifth day.

As for the 33-year-old Makita, a veteran of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball but a MLB rookie, he’s shown both some good and bad to open the year. He’s sporting a healthy 15.4% swinging-strike rate and 9.6 K/9 against 3.9 BB/9 over his 16 innings. While a 6.75 ERA is never a good sign, in this case the damage is mostly isolated to a pair of rough outing and is surely a reflection in some part of a 58.5% strand rate that likely will go down. Makita needs to pare back the long balls (1.69 HR/9, 20.0% HR/FB) as well, but generally his unique, soft-tossing pitch mix has shown a fair bit of promise of playing in the majors.

Strahm, meanwhile, will look to make good on his long-observed talent. He was part of the interesting swap swung last year between the Padres and Royals. Strahm, who did not debut with the San Diego organization until 2018, has impressed in 14 1/3 innings this year at Double-A, allowing four earned runs while running a 22:4 K/BB ratio. Though he was knocked around in his debut outing last night, he figures to get a real chance to stick in the bigs.

NL Notes: Dodgers, Mets, Braves, Padres, Giants

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Dodgers right fielder Yasiel Puig is slated to go on a rehab assignment Monday and come off the disabled list Wednesday, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com tweets. It has been a short stay on the DL for Puig, who suffered a hip pointer and a bruised foot on April 28. Meanwhile, third baseman Justin Turner took batting practice Sunday for the first time since suffering a broken left wrist on March 20, Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register was among those to report. Both the Puig and Turner updates are much-needed positive news for the Dodgers, who have been victimized by key injuries all year. Ace Clayton Kershaw became their latest cornerstone player to hit the DL on Sunday.

More from the National League…

  • Mets left fielder Yoenis Cespedes exited the team’s game Sunday with a right quad issue, Tim Britton of The Athletic tweets. Cespedes has dealt with right quad problems in the past, but he’s optimistic this isn’t a serious issue. The 32-year-old said after the game that he might play the Mets’ series opener in Cincinnati on Monday.
  • Braves third base prospect Austin Riley is getting closer to the majors. The Braves promoted the 21-year-old from Double-A to Triple-A on Sunday, according to David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Riley, whom multiple outlets ranks as a top 100 prospect, slashed an incredible .333/.394/.677 (193 wRC+) with six home runs in 109 plate appearances at Double-A this year. He might push for the Braves’ starting third base job as early as next season, per O’Brien.
  • Padres righty Bryan Mitchell could lose his starting job before he’s scheduled to take the hill again on Thursday, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com relays. “Going forward, we’ll sit down and talk about it,” Padres manager Andy Green said Saturday after Mitchell allowed three earned runs on five hits and three walks in 2 1/3 innings against the Dodgers. Although Mitchell’s ERA is now up to 6.47 across 32 frames, during which he has logged 4.5 K/9 against 7.31 BB/9, it doesn’t seem as if those struggles will cost him his roster spot. Rather, the Padres would move the out-of-options 27-year-old to the bullpen, Cassavell suggests. Mitchell’s output this year clearly isn’t what San Diego had in mind when it acquired him and third baseman Chase Headley (and $12.5MM of his $13MM salary) from the Yankees for outfielder Jabari Blash over the winter.
  • Giants outfielder Mac Williamson’s return from the seven-day concussion DL isn’t imminent, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle suggests. Williamson, who suffered the injury April 24, will likely need a rehab assignment even when he’s healthy enough to play again, Schulman notes. As such, he might not suit up again for the Giants until mid-May or later.

NL West Notes: Towers, Kershaw, Tribe, Shaw, Young, Mitchell

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The late Kevin Towers was memorialized at a “Celebration Of Life” ceremony today at Petco Park, with scores of Towers’ friends and colleagues from around baseball in attendance.  The Associated Press’ Jay Paris and the Padres’ Bill Center each have details on some of the memorials from the 22 speakers who shared their experiences and fond memories of Towers, whose 35 years in baseball included stints as the general manager of the Padres and the Diamondbacks.  “He was one of the guys that always brought all the GMs together,” said former Reds and Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty.  “Kevin loved life and lived it to the fullest.  He suffered a lot in the last two years but he always stayed positive and fought a brave fight.  There will never be another KT.”

Some more items from around the NL West…

  • Dodgers GM Farhan Zaidi stated earlier this week that the team is keeping an “open dialogue” with Clayton Kershaw about a potential contract extension.  The ace southpaw seemingly agreed with that statement today, telling reporters (including MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick) that Zaidi’s description of the relationship is “a good way to put it.”  Kershaw also said that he is “on the same page” with Dodgers management.  Kershaw is signed through the 2020 season, though he can walk away from the final two seasons (and $55MM) on his contract if he exercises an opt-out clause after the coming season.  He turns 30 in March and injuries have limited Kershaw to only 324 innings over the last two seasons, though he has still performed to his usual elite level when healthy.  An extension would remove Kershaw from the 2018-19 free agent class, a group that is heavy on big names overall but potentially rather slim on the pitching side should Kershaw remain in Los Angeles.
  • Bryan Shaw’s decision to join the Rockies was helped by an endorsement from his former Indians manager Terry Francona, Shaw tells Fangraphs’ David Laurila.  “I talked to Tito a little bit about the teams that had interest in me.  I got his opinion of the organizations — the managers and others with roles within those organizations.  He had nothing but good things to say about Bud Black and the guys who are here,” Shaw said.  Cleveland’s front office also offered help with any questions Shaw might’ve had about other teams, a further sign of the good relationship between the right-hander and his former team.  Shaw said that he and the Tribe had talks about a possible contract extension midway through last season, “but from a numbers standpoint it never got there.”  In December, Shaw signed a three-year deal with Colorado worth $27MM in guaranteed money, plus a potential vesting option for the 2021 season that would pay him $7MM in additional salary.
  • Also from Laurila’s piece, he hears from right-hander Chris Young that multiple teams contacted the veteran about potential front office positions this winter.  The 38-year-old isn’t quite ready to retire, and in fact hopes to play two more seasons, though he is realistic that his on-field future could be decided within the next few weeks.  “This spring is going to determine that.  I’m either going to show that I’m back to being myself, or that my stuff isn’t playing.  If my stuff isn’t there and I can’t get outs, the time will have come to move on from the playing side,” Young said.  The Padres signed Young to a minor league deal this winter to see if he can rebound from a very rough pair of seasons; Young posted a 6.52 ERA over 118 2/3 innings with the Royals in 2016-17, allowing a whopping 35 home runs in that stretch.
  • After three years of shuttling between Triple-A and the Yankees’ big league roster, Bryan Mitchell is relieved to finally have a stable place in the Padres’ rotation, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes.  “It’s awesome….To know that now, I can set all my focus on Opening Day and working toward that.  I don’t have to put pressure on myself or worry about that,” Mitchell said.  “It’s just less stress, to be honest — to know that’s how they [the Padres] feel and I have that waiting on me.  I can just set my goals on that first start and have everything ready versus have everything ready and not knowing.  It eliminates the unknown factor.”  The Padres felt strongly enough about Mitchell’s potential that they were willing to take on the $13MM remaining on Chase Headley’s contract in order to acquire the right-hander from New York.

NL Notes: Darvish, Marlins, Padres, Foltynewicz

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With the Cubs introducing righty Yu Darvish yesterday, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times covers the key takeaways. Other teams dangled six-year offers of similar value, per Wittenmyer, though it seems that interest at a higher price point simply did not develop. Whether that means the Cubs secured a relative bargain or simply reflects the league’s valuation of an excellent but hardly flawless pitcher, the bottom line is that Darvish represents a major addition to one of the game’s best rosters. Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein says the team was pleasantly surprised to be able to land Darvish at a rate that still kept the overall payroll under the luxury tax line. He also noted that the team will now have limited capacity for taking on salary during the course of the season. While Epstein framed the matter as one of managing the team’s short and long-term spending ability, those comments seemingly indicate that the luxury line is functioning as a soft ceiling this year for yet another top MLB organization.

More from the National League:

  • The Marlins have settled on an executive to lead their drive to improve on the revenue side. As MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro reports, the club has hired Chip Bowers as its new president of business operations. CEO Derek Jeter will oversee Bowers, who comes over from a stint as the chief marketing officer of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors. Elsewhere in Fish Land, Dave Hyde of the Sun Sentinel writes that Jeter ought still be given some room to operate before observers reach conclusions about his tenure atop the team’s operational hierarchy.
  • Padres skipper Andy Green struck an optimistic tone in an interesting and wide-ranging discussion entering camp, as Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes. Those who’d like to get a sense of where the organization stands will want to read the entire chat. Of particular note, Green says the stance entering camp is that Clayton Richard and Bryan Mitchell already have rotation spots, with Dinelson Lamet and Luis Perdomo in the lead but not assured of a starting role. Otherwise, there’s a lengthy list of potential competitors. Likewise, second base and the outfield figure to be open battlegrounds over the coming weeks.
  • It’s often said that arbitration hearings can lead to some tension between players and teams, and it seems that’s just what has happened with righty Mike Foltynewicz and the Braves. As David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes, Foltynewicz left the hearing with some frustrations about how things were handled by the organization. The team ended up winning a case that was held over a spread of just $100K. That said, the 26-year-old indicates that the experience won’t change his approach, telling O’Brien that he’s ready to “go to work and try to make this team better.”
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