Injured List Activations: Davies, Whitlock
Updates on some prominent players returning from the injured list…
- The Diamondbacks reinstated Zach Davies from the 15-day IL, while also calling up Drey Jameson from Triple-A and optioning right-handers Brandon Pfaadt and Luis Frias. Davies made just two starts and threw 9 1/3 innings before going on the IL in early April due to a strained left oblique, but he’ll now return to Arizona’s rotation, beginning with tonight’s game against the Red Sox. Between Davies’ injury and Madison Bumgarner‘s release, the D’Backs have turned to several of their younger pitchers to try and stabilize the rotation, but none of Ryne Nelson, Tommy Henry, Pfaadt, or Jameson have done particularly well in starting duty.
- Garrett Whitlock will be the opposing starter against Davies tonight, as the Red Sox have activated the right-hander from the 15-day IL. The corresponding move took place yesterday, as Boston optioned left-hander Brennan Bernardino to Triple-A following Friday’s 7-2 win over the D’Backs. Whitlock has missed a month due to ulnar neuritis, or essentially inflammation of the funny bone near his right elbow. Whitlock has a 6.19 ERA over three starts and 16 innings this season, and while his results as a starter have been middling over the last two seasons, the Red Sox will continue to give Whitlock looks in the rotation. Struggling veteran Corey Kluber will be moved to the bullpen to accommodate Whitlock’s return to the starting five.
NL West Notes: Kim, Doyle, Cessa, McCarthy, Fletcher
X-rays were negative on Ha-Seong Kim‘s left knee, Padres manager Bob Melvin told reporters (including Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune) after Kim had to be helped off the field during today’s game. In the second inning of the Padres’ 8-6 win over the Nationals, Kim fouled a pitch off his knee, knocking him to the ground in obvious pain. Despite the relatively good news from the imaging, Kim isn’t expected to play on Friday and might end up on the 10-day injured list unless the swelling and discomfort subsides quickly.
Now in his third season with the Padres, Kim is hitting a modest .237/.316/.382 over 172 plate appearances, which works out to a 97 wRC+. Even this slightly below-average number might be generous considering that Kim’s 22.3% hard-hit ball rate is among the lowest in the league, though he has provided a lot of defensive value to San Diego as a second baseman and, more recently, as a third baseman in place of the injured Manny Machado. The Padres’ depth would take another hit if both Machado and Kim are out, and Rougned Odor (whose bat has been on fire as of late) would be the likeliest candidate for regular time at third base. Odor and Brandon Dixon could split time between second and third, Jake Cronenworth could also play second base, and Matt Carpenter could see more time as a first baseman.
More from around the NL West…
- Rockies outfielder Brenton Doyle left today’s game on a cart after colliding with the outfield wall in pursuit of a Jorge Soler home run. Doyle told MLB.com’s Thomas Harding and other reporters that his right knee “probably took the most impact, and it was pretty excruciating pain at the time,” but “I feel like I could have walked off.” Doyle will undergo tests to determine the nature and extent of his injury, but Harding reports that the Rockies are already likely to call Nolan Jones up from Triple-A as at least a precautionary replacement. Making his MLB debut this season, Doyle has hit .240/.288/.467 over 80 PA, but has also gone 7-for-7 in stolen base attempts and displayed some impressive glovework in center field.
- In another injury concern for the Rockies, Harding tweets that Luis Cessa was removed for precautionary reasons from his Triple-A start after taking a line drive off his right leg. Cessa was able to face two more batters before leaving the game and he left the field under his own power. Colorado has already had to deal with several pitching injuries this season, which is part of the reason why Cessa was just signed to a minor league contract earlier this week to provide some additional depth.
- The Diamondbacks optioned outfielder Dominic Fletcher to Triple-A Reno today, and Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports that the Snakes are calling Jake McCarthy back up to the majors. It was exactly a month ago that the D’Backs optioned McCarthy to Triple-A after a very slow start to the season, but McCarthy has started to find himself in the minors, hitting .333/.419/.533 over 105 PA (albeit in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League). With both McCarthy and Alek Thomas sent to the minors, Fletcher was one of the players the D’Backs called upon to pick up the slack in the outfield, and Fletcher delivered a very solid .308/.349/.474 in his first 85 career PA in the big leagues. It stands to reason that Fletcher will be back with the Diamondbacks sooner or later, unless McCarthy really gets on track at the plate.
MLB Trade Rumors Podcast: Mets’ Catching Conundrum, Mariners, Diamondbacks
Episode 8 of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.
This week, host Simon Hampton is joined by Will Sammon of The Athletic to discuss:
- The Mets’ start to the season (1:44)
- What they’ll do with Francisco Alvarez and Gary Sanchez once Tomas Nido and Omar Narvaez return from the IL (5:31)
- Where they could look to improve at the trade deadline (10:18)
- The mood in their clubhouse as they overcome a slow start to the season (14:24)
Then, Simon is joined by Darragh McDonald of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss:
- What’s going on with the Mariners lineup, and could they move on from Kolten Wong and AJ Pollock? (19:41)
- Can the Marlins maintain their solid start to the season, and would they consider buying at the deadline? (24:54)
- What makes the Diamondbacks such a strong team this year? (29:25)
Check out our past episodes!
- The Cardinals’ U-Turn on Willson Contreras, Mitch Keller‘s breakout, and the state of the Padres – listen here
- Willson Contreras, the Rays’ success, what’s happening with the Astros – listen here
- White Sox trade candidates, Red Sox options for improvements, managers on the hot seat – listen here
Diamondbacks Release Jandel Gustave
Right-hander Jandel Gustave has been released by the Diamondbacks, reports Chris Hilburn-Trenkle of Baseball America.
Gustave, 30, was with the Brewers last year but was non-tendered at season’s end and signed a minor league deal with the Diamondbacks in the winter. He made nine appearances with the Triple-A Reno Aces this year with an unfortunate 16.43 ERA before landing on the minor league injured list about a month ago. It’s not publicly known what his injury is, but it’s possible it contributed to his poor results this year.
Prior to this season, he’s been able to produce quality results in the big leagues. He has a 3.56 ERA in his career over 91 innings, dating back to 2016. He spent 2021 and 2022 with the Brewers, tossing 46 1/3 innings over 41 appearances with a 3.69 ERA. He struck out 20.1% of batters faced while walking 8% and got grounders at a 48.2% clip.
Gustave will now be free to sign with any club, though his unknown injury situation will undoubtedly be a factor in how much interest he draws on the open market. If he’s healthy, he should intrigue clubs based on his track record of effective big league work. Should he eventually find his way back onto a major league roster, he still has an option year remaining and a service time count of 4.027.
Diamondbacks Select Austin Adams, Place Anthony Misiewicz On 15-Day IL, Carson Kelly On 60-Day IL
Prior to today’s 4-3 win over the Pirates, the Diamondbacks selected the contract of right-hander Austin Adams from Triple-A Reno. In corresponding moves, Arizona placed southpaw Anthony Misiewicz on the 15-day injured list due to a strained right calf, and moved catcher Carson Kelly to the 60-day IL.
Adams tossed two-thirds of an inning and earned a hold in today’s game, marking his first action of the 2023 campaign and making it seven straight MLB seasons with at least one appearance. Most of Adams’ Major League resume has been pretty sporadic, as he only threw 2 1/3 innings with the Padres in 2022 due to a forearm strain and then flexor tendon surgery. San Diego outrighted Adams off their roster at the end of the season and he chose to become a free agent, basically acting as an early non-tender.
Between injuries and a lack of control, Adams has yet to live up to his potential as he enters his age-32 season. That said, the idea of Adams working with heralded pitching coach Brent Strom is intriguing, as Adams has a whopping 34.2% strikeout rate over his 97 career innings. Even his 3.90 ERA is pretty respectable considering that Adams has issued free passes to the tune of a 15.5% walk rate. Over 12 2/3 innings with Reno, the results have been encouraging, as Adams posted a 2.84 ERA over 12 2/3 innings while striking out 37% of batters and at least slightly decreasing his walks (11.1BB%).
The D’Backs acquired Misiewicz in a trade with the Cardinals at the start of the season, and he has since been shuttled back and forth a couple of times between Triple-A and the big leagues. His latest stint in the majors will unfortunately be extended in painful fashion, as the left-hander strained his calf while covering first base during Friday’s game. Misiewicz had a 2.70 ERA over 6 2/3 innings with Arizona this season, but that number rose to 5.63 after he was charged with three earned runs over 1 1/3 IP in Friday’s 13-3 loss to Pittsburgh.
Kelly has yet to play this season after his right forearm was fractured by a pitch late in Spring Training. A move to the 60-day IL seemed inevitable, since between recovery time, ramp-up time, and a minor league rehab assignment, it doesn’t like Kelly will be back any time before July.
D-Backs’ Offseason Trade Pickup Off To Excellent Start
In an offseason light on impact trade activity, the Diamondbacks and Blue Jays pulled off one of the biggest swaps. Arizona’s left-handed hitting outfield surplus and Toronto’s catching depth materialized in the deal that sent Gold Glove caliber outfielder Daulton Varsho to Toronto for rookie backstop Gabriel Moreno. That duo were the main players involved, but Arizona also added right-handed balance to the lineup with the inclusion of veteran left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
Gurriel has a longer MLB track record than either of Varsho or Moreno but was by far the tertiary player in terms of trade value. He’d been a good but not elite hitter throughout his time with the Jays. In 2022, the Cuban-born outfielder put up a .291/.343/.400 batting line with five home runs over 493 plate appearances. That offensive output checked in 14 percentage points above league average by measure of wRC+. Paired with average defensive marks in a corner outfield spot, Gurriel has been worth between one and two wins above replacement in every season of his career (although he would’ve been on a better pace in 2020 if that schedule hadn’t been truncated).
There was no question Gurriel was a viable major league player. He’d been a near average regular for the entirety of his career. Due roughly $5.4MM in his final season before free agency — a clause in the contract he signed with Toronto after defecting from Cuba allows him to reach the open market next winter even though he’ll be a little shy of six years of MLB service — he had trade value but not an overwhelming amount.
Arizona anticipated an immediate downgrade in their outfield from Varsho to Gurriel, a tradeoff they were willing to make to install Moreno behind the plate for the next six seasons. While that could still play out, Gurriel has somewhat surprisingly been the far more productive of the two outfielders through the first couple months of the year. Varsho has started his Toronto tenure with a .217/.294/.382 showing through 42 contests. Over his first 39 games in the desert, Gurriel is off to a career-best .310/.373/.552 pace. His seven homers in 161 plate appearances already tops last year’s mark and puts him on pace to beat his career-best 21 longballs from two years ago.
As MLBTR’s Mark Polishuk explored before this season, injuries could certainly have played a role in Gurriel’s up-and-down results from 2022. He’d bookended a very strong run between June and July with dismal numbers in May and August. A hamstring strain cut his season short in early September and, likely of greater import on his production, he underwent surgery on the hamate bone in his left hand following the season. Hand and wrist injuries can sap a hitter’s strength; if Gurriel were playing through that issue for a while, it’d be understandable why his power production was at a career-worst level.
Better health is a plausible explanation for some of Gurriel’s improved production but doesn’t account for all of it. He’s also working with a more dialed-in plate approach than he has in years past. Through play Wednesday, he’s sitting on a personal-low 14.9% strikeout rate and drawing walks at a career-best 8.1% clip.
While Gurriel has always had good bat-t0-ball skills, he has taken things to a new level in the early going by being more selective. He has offered at 45.8% of the pitches he’s seen, the lowest rate of his career by three percentage points. Gurriel is translating that approach into consistent contact. He has gotten the bat on the ball on an excellent 85.8% of his swings, almost six points better than last year’s personal-high mark. Pitchers have been unable to beat him in the zone, with Gurriel making contact nearly 92% of the time he goes after a would-be strike. He’s putting the ball in play more consistently without sacrificing any of his contact authority.
That’s an ideal combination for a hitter. Gurriel is 29th among 171 qualified batters in on-base percentage and 10th in slugging. That plays even without elite defense in the outfield. It’s among the reasons Arizona sits at 25-19 with a +16 run differential and looks like a legitimate contender for a Wild Card spot in an uncertain National League playoff picture.
A career showing couldn’t be timed better for Gurriel personally. He’s headed to the open market for the first time since he was a 23-year-old amateur signee. He’ll do so in advance of his age-30 season and as part of a free agent class that looks very thin on position player talent. Among potential impending free agents with 100+ plate appearances, only Matt Chapman, Kevin Kiermaier and Max Muncy (who’s controllable for 2024 via $10MM club option) have a higher wRC+ than Gurriel’s 148.
Gurriel isn’t going to be the #3 free agent position player in the class but he has a chance to hit his way into a solid multi-year deal. Mitch Haniger and Michael Conforto topped $35MM on contracts with opt-out possibilities as bat-first corner outfielders. Both players had durability concerns that aren’t there with Gurriel. The five years and $75MM secured by Andrew Benintendi feels lofty given Benintendi’s defensive advantage and youth (he signed going into his age-28 season), but Gurriel looks like the superior hitter.
At the very least, Arizona’s new acquisition has a chance to position himself as an interesting mid-tier free agent. It remains to be seen if he can keep up his present pace over six months but he looks healthier than he had last season and is making excellent swing decisions. It’s a better start than the D-Backs could’ve expected and a key development in the club’s strong start to the year.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Diamondbacks Option Alek Thomas
The Diamondbacks announced today that they have optioned outfielder Alek Thomas to Triple-A Reno, recalling right-hander Luis Frías in a corresponding move.
Thomas, 23, has been one of the club’s most notable prospects in recent years. He was selected in the second round of the 2018 draft and featured on Baseball America’s top 100 list in three straight years starting in 2020, with his speed and defense drawing particularly high praise.
He’s now been in the majors for roughly a full season of work, getting into 152 games between last year and this year. The speed and defense parts of his game have been apparent, with Statcast pegging his sprint speed in the 89th percentile among qualified position players this year, though he’s stolen just seven bases in 11 attempts in his career thus far. In terms of his glovework, he’s already accrued nine Defensive Runs Saved and seven Outs Above Average in center field in his short career, as well as earning a grade of 3.7 from Ultimate Zone Rating.
The problem has been his work at the plate. Though Thomas hit very well in the minors, he hasn’t produced much in his 534 major league plate appearances thus far. He has 10 home runs but has walked in just 5.6% of his trips to the plate and has slashed .223/.270/.340 for a wRC+ of 68. That includes a paltry .195/.252/.327 line here in 2023. A career .257 batting average on balls in play likely suggests there’s a bit of bad luck in there, but it’s been a fairly uninspiring showing overall.
The Diamondbacks went into the winter with a surplus of young outfielders, including Thomas, Corbin Carroll, Jake McCarthy and Daulton Varsho. They felt good enough about the group that they were frequently rumored to be discussing those players in trades, eventually sending Varsho to the Blue Jays for Gabriel Moreno and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. However, Thomas is now the second member of that group to wind up back in the minors after posting disappointing results, as McCarthy was sent down last month.
In addition to his own struggles, the demotion of Thomas seems to have been spurred by the ascendance of Dominic Fletcher, who was promoted a few weeks ago and has hit .377/.400/.604 in his first 15 games. He won’t sustain a .429 BABIP forever but it seems the D’Backs are riding the hot hand and will give Fletcher a chance to stretch his results over a longer sample of playing time. He figures to be the regular center fielder for now, flanked by Gurriel and Carroll with Pavin Smith in the fourth outfielder slot.
Thomas, meanwhile, will head to Reno and try to get back into a groove at the plate. From a service time perspective, he came into this season with 151 days and has already gone over the one-year mark, which is 172 days. Assuming he’s recalled at some point this season, today’s option won’t affect his free agency trajectory but it could impact his ability to reach arbitration after 2024 as a Super Two player, depending on the eventual length of time between now and his next recall.
NL Notes: Nationals, Scherzer, Gallen
Fans of the Nationals received positive injury news today, as their Triple-A affiliate in Rochester announced that left fielder Corey Dickerson is set to begin a rehab assignment. Dickerson signed in Washington on a one-year deal this past offseason, but appeared in just two games for the club prior to the club placing Dickerson on the 10-day injured list with a calf strain. Dickerson, who will celebrate his 34th birthday later this month, is in his eleventh season as a major league player, with a career 112 wRC+.
That solid production would be a boon to a Nationals club that has mostly used 28-year-old outfielder Alex Call in left field while Dickerson has been on the shelf. Call has struggled so far in 143 trips to the plate for the Nationals this season, with a .230/.329/.336 slash line (86 wRC+) so far this season. That being said, Dickerson is not without flaws himself: his wRC+ has declined to a mark of just 97 since the beginning of the 2020 season, and he has hampered by a significant platoon split that has seen him post just a .693 OPS against left-handed pitchers throughout his career.
Fortunately for the Nationals, however, they have a seemingly perfect platoon partner for Dickerson in the form of Stone Garrett, a 27-year-old slugger who has slashed .344/.368/.594 against left-handers in 72 career plate appearances in the majors. Platooning Dickerson with Garrett upon his return to the lineup could help the Nationals solve their offensive woes in left field, where the club’s 85 wRC+ ranks seventh worst in the majors.
Dickerson may not be the only reinforcements on the horizon from the injured list, however. MLB.com’s injury tracker notes that right-hander Chad Kuhl, who signed with the Nationals on a minor league deal during the offseason, threw a simulated game of over 60 pitches earlier this week. Kuhl, who has been on the IL with sprained toe since the beginning of the month, could threaten the spot of right-hander Jake Irvin in the rotation going forward. While Irvin is expected to make his next start, the Nationals figure to reevaluate their rotation after that, with Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post noting that Kuhl’s return could give the Nationals the opportunity to manage the 26-year-old Irvin’s innings going forward.
More from around the National League…
- Jon Heyman of the New York Post suggests that the Mets, while not concerned about the neck issue that caused veteran right-hander Max Scherzer to be scratched from his start earlier in the week, are worried that the 38-year-old’s ailment near the scapula, which caused the club to push back one of his starts in mid-April, could be an issue that Scherzer will need to manage all year. It’s been a difficult start to the 2023 campaign for Scherzer, who has posted a 5.56 ERA in 22 2/3 innings amid multiple injury concerns and a 10-game suspension for violating the league’s policy on foreign substances.
- As noted by Bob Nightengale of USA Today, budding ace Zac Gallen has expressed interest in staying with the Diamondbacks long term, though he noted a preference for avoiding in-season extension negotiations. Gallen, 27, has emerged as one of the game’s best pitchers in recent years, including a breakout campaign last season that saw him post a 2.54 ERA in 184 innings en route to a top 5 finish in NL Cy Young award voting. Fortunately for Arizona, they have plenty of time to discuss a long term deal with their young ace, who is set to hit free agency after the 2025 campaign.
The Upcoming Shortstop Class Looks Increasingly Bleak
The top free agent storyline of each of the past two offseasons was the respective star-studded shortstop classes. In 2021-22, it was Carlos Correa, Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Trevor Story and Javier Báez. Last winter, Correa was back on the market again, joined by Trea Turner, Xander Bogaerts and Dansby Swanson.
Next winter’s group was never going to rival that previous collection. The class in general is very light on star position player talent beyond Shohei Ohtani. It’s particularly barren up the middle of the diamond. It’s hard to imagine a more complete 180° turn than how things appear to be trending with the shortstop class, though. Virtually everyone involved is off to a very slow start.
The early-season performances from the impending free agents at the position:
Amed Rosario (28)*
While Rosario is not the superstar some evaluators had anticipated during his time in the Mets’ farm system, he’d been a solid regular for two seasons since landing in Cleveland in the Francisco Lindor blockbuster. Rosario’s solid batting averages helped offset his very low walk tallies. He hit 25+ doubles with double-digit homers in both 2021-22, playing on a near everyday basis. His cumulative .282/.316/.406 batting line was almost exactly league average. Public metrics were mixed on Rosario’s defense but the Guardians have been content to keep him at shortstop despite plenty of upper minors infield talent. Only 27 and without a ton of market competition, he entered the year in position for a strong three or four-year contract.
That could still be the case but Rosario is doing himself no favors with his early performance. He’s sitting on a .217/.262/.300 showing through his first 130 plate appearances. He has just one homer and is striking out at a 29.2% clip that’d easily be the worst full-season mark of his career if it holds. After making contact on 81.3% of his swings last season, he’s putting the bat on the ball only 71.5% of the time this year. He’s also committed six errors in 255 1/3 innings after being charged with just 12 in more than 1200 frames last year. Rosario is still the top impending free agent shortstop by default but he’s struggling in all areas right now.
Javier Báez (31), can opt out of final four years and $98MM on his contract
Báez is hitting .256/.318/.376 through his first 130 plate appearances. That’s an improvement over the lackluster .238/.278/.393 line he managed during his first season in Detroit. His 16.2% strikeout rate is the lowest of his career, pushing his overall offense near league average in spite of just three home runs in 32 games. Báez’s 2023 campaign has been fine but hardly overwhelming. It’s nowhere near what it’d take for him to beat the $98MM remaining on his existing contract. He’d need a torrid summer to put himself in position to test free agency.
Enrique Hernández (32)
Hernández has been pushed into primary shortstop duty by the Red Sox’ various injuries. The early reviews from public defensive metrics aren’t favorable, with Statcast putting him at seven outs below average in 199 innings. Hernández is off to an equally slow start at the plate. He’s hitting .236/.295/.362 over 139 plate appearances on the heels of a .222/.291/.338 showing last year. He’s been a valuable super-utility option and everyday center fielder at times in his career, including a 20-homer campaign in 2021. The past year-plus hasn’t been especially impressive, though, and Hernández has yet to demonstrate he’s capable of handling shortstop regularly from a defensive standpoint.
Brandon Crawford (37)
The career-long Giant had a tough April on both sides of the ball. He’s hitting .169/.244/.352 with a personal-high 28.2% strikeout rate in 21 games. His defensive marks through 173 2/3 innings are unanimously below-average. A right calf strain sent him to the injured list last week. Even if Crawford is willing to explore all opportunities next winter after 13 seasons in San Francisco, he’ll need much better production once he returns from the IL to find any interest as a starting shortstop.
Elvis Andrus (35)
Much of what applies to Crawford is also true for Andrus. He’s a 15-year MLB veteran with a couple All-Star appearances to his name but his offense has fallen off in recent seasons. Andrus was a well below-average hitter from 2018-21. He rebounded with a solid .249/.303/.404 showing last season but still didn’t generate much free agent attention. After settling for a $3MM deal with the White Sox, he’s hitting only .208/.291/.264 in 142 plate appearances this year. Andrus hit 17 homers last season but has just one through the first six weeks.
Nick Ahmed (34)
Another glove-first veteran, Ahmed is also off to a rough start at the plate. He carries a .227/.239/.318 line over 67 plate appearances. He’s hit only one home run and walked just once. Ahmed has always been a bottom-of-the-lineup defensive specialist, but his career .235/.289/.380 slash is much more tenable than the production he’s managed thus far in 2023. He lost almost all of last season to shoulder surgery.
Gio Urshela (32)
Urshela is hitting plenty of singles to start his time in Orange County. His .303 batting average is impressive but is paired with just a .325 on-base percentage and .345 slugging mark. He’s walking at a career-low 3.3% clip and has only three extra-base hits (two doubles and a homer) in 123 plate appearances.
More concerning for teams looking to the shortstop market is Urshela’s lack of experience at the position. He’s been a third baseman for the majority of his career. Since landing with the Angels, he’s assumed a multi-positional infield role that has given him eight-plus starts at shortstop and both corner infield spots. Even if he starts hitting for more power, he’s better deployed as a versatile infielder who can moonlight at shortstop than an everyday solution there.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa (28)
Kiner-Falefa lost his starting shortstop role with the Yankees towards the end of last season. He’s been kicked into a multi-positional capacity this year and hasn’t logged a single inning at the position in 2023. While Kiner-Falefa presumably could still handle shortstop if asked, he’s contributed nothing offensively in the early going. Through 72 plate appearances, he owns a .191/.225/.206 line.
Adalberto Mondesí (28)
Mondesí is young and has flashed tantalizing tools throughout his major league career. He’s also reached base at a meager .280 clip over 358 MLB games and battled various injuries. An April 2022 ACL tear cut that season short after just 15 games. The Red Sox nevertheless acquired him from the Royals over the offseason, but he’s yet to play a game with Boston. Mondesí opened the season on the 60-day injured list and won’t make his Sox debut until at least the end of this month. There’s a chance for him to play his way into some free agent interest. He’ll need an extended stretch of health and performance.
Players With Club Options
Both Tim Anderson and Paul DeJong can hit free agency if the White Sox and Cardinals decline respective 2024 club options. That seems likely in DeJong’s case but is reflective of the .196/.280/.351 line he managed between 2020-22. If he plays well enough to warrant significant free agent interest — he has been excellent in 11 games this season, to his credit — the Cardinals would exercise their $12.5MM option and keep him off the market anyhow.
The White Sox hold a $14MM option on Anderson’s services. That looks as if it’ll be a no-brainer for Chicago to keep him around (or exercise and make him available in trade). The only way Anderson gets to free agency is if his 2023 season is decimated by injury or an uncharacteristic performance drop-off, in which case he’d be a question mark as well.
Outlook
This was never going to be a great group. It’s comprised largely of glove-first veterans in their mid-30s. Players like Andrus, Ahmed, Crawford and José Iglesias — who’ll also hit free agency and has bounced around on minor league deals thus far in 2023 — don’t tend to be priority targets. That opened the door for the likes of Rosario, Báez and a potentially healthy Mondesí — younger players who have shown some offensive upside — to separate themselves from the pack in a way they wouldn’t have the last couple winters. No one has seized the mantle to this point. While there are still more than four months for someone to emerge, the early returns on the shortstop class aren’t promising.
*age for the 2024 season
D-Backs Outright Seth Beer
Diamondbacks first baseman/DH Seth Beer has been sent outright to Triple-A Reno, according to the transaction log at MLB.com. That indicates he went unclaimed on waivers after being designated for assignment last week.
Beer has played parts of two seasons with the Snakes. The former first round pick was one of four prospects Arizona acquired from the Astros in the 2019 Zack Greinke blockbuster. He’d hit very well in the low minors after an incredible career at Clemson but came with questions about his lack of a defensive home. Beer continued performing at the plate through 2021, eventually reaching the majors towards the tail end of that season.
The left-handed hitter got into five games during his debut. He played a bit more last year, appearing in 38 contests and tallying 126 trips to the plate. He only hit .189/.278/.243 in his first real crack against MLB pitching. Beer spent the bulk of the season with Reno, putting up a solid but unspectacular .242/.361/.435 slash that was below his previous minor league production.
Arizona optioned Beer back to Reno to start the 2023 campaign. He’s been off to a rough start in his third crack at Triple-A, posting a .200/.266/.314 line over 79 plate appearances. Beer has homered just twice while striking out at a personal-worst 29.1% clip. Paired with the concern he could be limited to designated hitter, that slow start pushed Beer off the roster when the D-Backs promoted pitching prospect Brandon Pfaadt last Wednesday.
No other team was willing to devote him an immediate 40-man roster spot in light of his early-season slump. This is the first outright of his career and he doesn’t have three years of major league service. As a result, Beer does not have the ability to test free agency. He’ll remain in the Arizona system and try to hit his way back onto the big league radar.