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White Sox Acquire Max Stassi From Braves

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December 11: Atlanta is paying Stassi’s deal down to the league minimum, according to the Associated Press; they’ll send $6.26MM in cash. That amount also counts against the Braves luxury tax number, which sits at an estimated $263MM according to Roster Resource. As second-time payors in the second tier of penalization, they’ll pay a 42% tax on that money. Stassi will cost the Braves around $8.89MM overall.

December 9: The White Sox have acquired Max Stassi and cash considerations from the Braves in exchange for a player to be named later. Both teams have announced the deal. Per Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun Times, the Braves are expected to pay for the majority of Stassi’s $7MM salary next season.

Stassi, 33 in March, spent just one day in the Braves organization after being acquired from the Angels yesterday in a multi-played deal with the Angels alongside infielder David Fletcher. Now, the veteran catcher is off to his third organization in two days, where he figures to have the opportunity to step into a regular role on the south side of Chicago. The White Sox lost Yasmani Grandal to free agency earlier this offseason and were in need of a veteran backstop to pair with youngster Korey Lee behind the plate in 2024.

It’s a need Stassi is more than capable of fulfilling. While the veteran missed the entire 2023 season, only the first half of his absence was due to the left hip strain that prevented him from being on the Opening Day roster in Anaheim last season. Stassi recovered from that issue midseason, but he and his wife revealed last month that the three-months premature birth of their son necessitated Stassi to step away from the game and attend to his family for the remainder of the 2023 campaign.

That said, Stassi is expected to return to the field in 2024 and has shown himself to be a quality big league catcher over the past few seasons. Initially drafted by the A’s in the fourth round of the 2009 draft, Stassi made his big league debut back in 2013 with the Astros but did not find a regular role in the majors until the 2018 season when he split time behind the plate in Houston with Brian McCann and Martin Maldonado. Stassi did well for himself in a backup role that season, slashing a respectable .226/.316/.394 in 250 plate appearances. While Stassi struggled through 51 games in 2019, prompting the Astros to trade him to the Angels at that year’s trade deadline, Stassi was given a more prominent role upon his arrival in Anaheim.

In 118 games between the shortened 2020 campaign and his first full season as an Angel in 2021, Stassi combined above-average offense at the plate (113 wRC+) with strong defense behind it to be the ninth most valuable catcher in the league according to fWAR. That strong performance led the Angels to sign Stassi to an extension, though that decision would prove ill-fated. As effective as Stassi was during those two seasons, he took a step back in 2022, slashing a meager .180/.267/.363 (63 wRC+) at the plate while posting framing numbers that were closer to average than the elite figures he had posted earlier in his career.

While the struggles Stassi faced in 2022 and his time away from the game in 2023 make it an understandable decision for the Angels and Braves to go in another direction behind the plate in 2024, it’s easy to see why the addition of Stassi would be intriguing for the White Sox. After all, Lee has less than 100 plate appearances of experience in the big leagues and, even if the club believes the former top-100 prospect to be their catcher of the future, will surely need time and assistant as he looks to transition into a new role as a full-time big leaguer. The addition of a veteran catcher such as Stassi should help with that transition, while also creating a substantial bit of upside for Chicago. Stassi’s contract includes a $7MM 2025 club option that features a $500K buyout; if the veteran is able to regain the form he flashed in 2020 and 2021, that $6.5MM decision would be a no-brainer to pick up and make for an attractive trade chip as the White Sox retool their roster with an eye toward the future.

For the Braves, the deal clears a portion of Stassi’s salary from their books while clearing an unnecessary piece from their roster. Atlanta already had one of the best catching tandems in the game with Sean Murphy and Travis d’Arnaud behind the plate, rendering Stassi as largely superfluous. In conjunction with the trade that brought Stassi and Fletcher to Atlanta in exchange for Evan White and the deal that shipped Marco Gonzales to the Pirates, the Braves have shaved roughly $5MM off their payroll since acquiring Gonzales and White as part of the Jarred Kelenic trade during the Winter Meetings while adding a bench piece in Fletcher who better fits the club’s roster than any of Gonzales, White, or Stassi.

Braves Finalize Coaching Staff

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The Braves announced that they have named Matt Tuiasosopo third base coach, Tom Goodwin first base coach and Erick Abreu bullpen coach. Also, bench coach Walt Weiss will have his responsibilities expanded to oversee the club’s infield. These moves finalize the coaching staff under manager Brian Snitker.

Tuiasosopo, 37, played in the big leagues from 2008 to 2016. He continued playing in the minors and independent ball until he retired and transitioned into coaching for the 2019 season. He has managed the Triple-A Gwinnett club for the past three seasons and will now get his first crack at coaching at the big league level on a permanent basis, having briefly filled in for Ron Washington in 2023 while the latter was away from the club. The announcement adds that he will assist Weiss with the infield duties.

Goodwin, 55, has plenty of coaching experience on his résumé. He was the first base coach for the Mets from 2011 to 2017 before jumping to the same role with the Red Sox. He won a World Series in his first year in Boston and stayed with that club through 2021. He has been a roving minor league instructor in Atlanta’s system for the past two years but will now return to the majors.

Abreu, 40, has spent the past nine seasons as a pitching coach for various minor league clubs in the Astros’ system. This is his first appointment to a major league coaching staff.

Atlanta lost their previous third base coach, Washington, when he was tapped to manage the Angels in 2024. He brought Eric Young Sr. with him, which created a vacancy at first base. The bullpen coach vacancy was created when Drew French jumped to the Orioles to be the pitching coach with that club.

Braves Acquire Max Stassi, David Fletcher

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The Braves and Angels have lined up a swap of change-of-scenery candidates. Atlanta announced the acquisition of infielder David Fletcher and catcher Max Stassi for minor league first baseman Evan White and reliever Tyler Thomas. The Braves’ 40-man roster count is up to 36; the Halos will be at 39 once they finalize one-year free agent deals for Luis García and Adam Cimber.

It’s an odd fit for the Braves, who aren’t in need of catching help. Atlanta has Sean Murphy as their starter and re-signed Travis d’Arnaud to an $8MM deal to work as the backup. Stassi gives them a third experienced, fairly highly-priced catcher. Since it’s unlikely they’d want to carry all three — none of whom can be sent to the minor leagues — Mark Bowman of MLB.com tweets that they plan to flip Stassi elsewhere.

Atlanta has already moved a trio of players whom they’d acquired in previous offseason trades. Right-hander Jackson Kowar, added from the Royals for Kyle Wright, went to the Mariners in the deal that brought in Jarred Kelenic. As part of the Kelenic trade, the Braves agreed to take on salary on the underwater contracts for left-hander Marco Gonzales and White. Gonzales was dealt to the Pirates for a minimal return on Tuesday, while White is now himself shipped away in this swap with the Angels.

Now they’ll try to move Stassi, who is under contract for $7MM next season. He’s also guaranteed a $500K buyout on a $7.5MM team option for the 2025 campaign. The Halos had signed him to an extension on the heels of a combined .250/.333/.452 showing between 2020-21. That contract didn’t work as the organization envisioned. Stassi slumped to a .180/.267/.303 line over a personal-high 375 plate appearances in 2022.

The 32-year-old didn’t appear at all in 2023. Stassi began the season on the injured list with a left hip strain. While he recovered from the hip issue midseason, he remained away from the team to attend to a family issue. After the season, Stassi and his wife Gabrielle revealed their son had been born three months prematurely in mid-April and had spent the past few months in NICU. In November, Angels GM Perry Minasian told reporters that Stassi was planning to play in 2024 (link via Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register).

In the season’s final month, the Angels had placed Stassi on the restricted list. That ensured he wouldn’t be paid for the last few weeks as part of the organization’s ultimately successful effort to limbo below the luxury tax line. There’s no public indication that affected the franchise’s relationship with Stassi, but he also seemed an arguably superfluous part of the roster. Logan O’Hoppe has emerged as the top option behind the plate with Matt Thaiss backing him up.

Fletcher likewise signed an extension that hasn’t panned out. The glove-first infielder inked a $26MM guarantee in April 2021. At the time, the Angels envisioned him as a long-term starter at second base thanks to a strong showing in the shortened 2020 season. That looks like an anomaly, as Fletcher’s offense has evaporated in the three years since then. Going back to the start of the ’21 campaign, he’s a .259/.296/.327 hitter.

The Angels twice ran Fletcher through waivers this year. He played in only 33 MLB games while getting into 85 contests at Triple-A Salt Lake. Fletcher made a ton of contact with minimal power impact at the top minor league level, hitting .330/.382/.428 with a microscopic 6.3% strikeout rate across 380 plate appearances.

Fletcher will make $6MM next season, is guaranteed $6.5MM in 2025 and will take home at least a $1.5MM buyout on a ’26 club option. That’s well above what he’d have received were he a free agent this offseason. He’s a plus defender at each of second base, shortstop and third base. For the Braves, he’ll serve as utility infield depth behind Ozzie Albies, Orlando Arcia and Austin Riley. It’s a role that had been played by Nicky Lopez in the second half of last season, but Atlanta packaged him in the Aaron Bummer trade with the White Sox.

It’s strictly a financial move for the Angels, who also clear two spots on their 40-man roster. White had been a highly-regarded prospect during his time with the Mariners. Seattle signed him to an extension before his MLB debut. That didn’t work, as the righty-hitting first baseman turned in a .165/.235/.308 line in 84 big league games between 2020-21. White hasn’t played in the majors in two years and has barely played in Triple-A because of various injuries, including multiple surgeries on his left hip.

Atlanta passed White through waivers just yesterday. The Angels will take on the remainder of his contract: $7MM next season, $8MM in 2025 and a $2MM buyout on a ’26 club option. He’ll likely start next season in Salt Lake.

Thomas is a left-handed pitcher who turns 28 in a few weeks. The Braves had just selected him in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft out of the Mets organization. The Fresno State product has appeared in parts of six minor league seasons. He has a 4.30 ERA over 130 2/3 career innings at Double-A with scant experience at the Triple-A level.

The Braves agree to take on an extra $6MM next season, while the Halos are assuming an additional $1.5MM between 2025-26. Atlanta is also assuming $6MM in luxury tax obligations for the upcoming season. A traded player’s luxury tax number is recalculated as the average annual value of what remains on their contract at the time of the trade (including option buyouts). Stassi is guaranteed $7.5MM for one season, while the remaining $14MM over two years on Fletcher’s deal is a $7MM average value. White is due $17MM over two seasons, an $8.5MM annual hit. There’s a $6MM gap between the $14.5MM which Atlanta is assuming versus the $8.5MM they’re shipping out.

Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported the terms of the trade.

Images courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Braves Sign Zach Logue To Minor League Deal

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The Braves have signed left-hander Zach Logue to a minor league deal, as relayed by Jon Heyman of The New York Post. The lefty is a client of MSM Sports Management.

Logue, 28 in April, has 68 innings of major league experience to his point, pitching for the A’s in 2022 and the Tigers in 2023. He has an unfortunate 6.88 earned run average in that small sample, with a respectable 7.2% walk rate but a subpar 17% strikeout rate. He spent most of 2023 in Triple-A, tossing 90 1/3 innings at that level with a 6.58 ERA. He was outrighted by the Tigers in August and able to elect free agency at season’s end.

Prior to getting to the big leagues, Logue was a prospect in the Blue Jays’ system, eventually coming to the A’s as part of the Matt Chapman trade. He was in better form prior to that deal, tossing 125 minor league innings in 2021 with a 3.67 ERA, 28.2% strikeout rate and 5.3% walk rate.

Atlanta has a strong front three in their rotation, with Spencer Strider, Max Fried and Charlie Morton. Beyond that, things are less firm, with Bryce Elder, Huascar Ynoa, Reynaldo López and AJ Smith-Shawver some of the options for the back end. They might still acquire more pitching throughout the offseason but Logue can provide them with some non-roster depth regardless. If he can get back into the form he showed a few years ago and earn a roster spot, he still has one option season remaining and less than a year of service time.

Braves Sign Angel Perdomo, Outright Evan White

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The Braves announced Thursday that they’ve signed left-hander Angel Perdomo to a one-year, split Major League contract. Atlanta also passed recently acquired first baseman Evan White through waivers and assigned him outright to Triple-A Gwinnett. The Braves claimed Perdomo off waivers from the Pirates in early November but non-tendered him later in the month. He’ll now return to their 40-man roster.

White’s outright comes as little surprise; the Braves’ acquisition of him was always a financial mechanism to facilitate their trade for Jarred Kelenic, and it was obvious that no team would place a claim on White, given the remaining $17MM he’s owed under his previously signed contract extension with the Mariners. White technically has enough service time (three-plus years) to reject the assignment but not enough to do so while retaining the remainder of his salary (which requires five years). As such, he’ll surely accept the assignment and head to Triple-A Gwinnett to begin the 2024 campaign.

Perdomo, 29, posted a 3.72 ERA in 29 innings for the Pirates in 2023 and did so with a gaudy 37.6% strikeout rate against a 9.4% walk rate. Had he been healthy, the Pirates surely would’ve hung onto him, but Perdomo hit the injured list with an elbow injury in August. He ultimately required Tommy John surgery and is slated to miss the 2024 campaign as a result. Even if he spends the entire season on the 60-day injured list, he’d still finish out the 2024 season with two-plus years of service time, meaning Atlanta could potentially control a healthy Perdomo from 2025-28, if all goes well.

White, 27, was the Mariners’ first-round pick back in 2017 and was widely considered one of the sport’s best prospects. Touted as an elite defender at first base with a solid hit tool and above-average power, White looked the part of a future fixture in the Seattle lineup during his prospect days. His 2019 campaign in Double-A saw White turn in a .293/.350/.488 batting line with 18 home runs in 400 plate appearances. The Mariners signed White to a six-year, $24MM contract that November with the idea that he’d be their Opening Day first baseman in 2020. White, however, stumbled to a .165/.235/.308 batting line in 306 plate appearances from 2020-21 and was eventually overtaken by Ty France on the team’s depth chart.

Injuries have also played a notable role in White’s struggles. In the past three years alone, the University of Kentucky product has undergone a pair of surgeries on his left hip and a sports hernia surgery. He’s also dealt with a Grade 2 strain/tear in his groin. That hasn’t helped his production any, and it’s certainly possible that the faulty hip contributed to his struggles in prior stints with the M’s, as his first surgery took place midway through his second MLB campaign.

For now, White will head to Gwinnett and hope for better health and performance to create an opportunity — if not with the Braves then with another club. The aforementioned slate of injuries has limited him to just 30 minor league games since Opening Day 2022 — including only two last year. He’s owed $7MM in 2024 and $8MM in 2025. He’s also guaranteed a $2MM buyout on the first of three club options.

Braves, Dodgers Have Shown Interest In Tyler Glasnow

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Tyler Glasnow remains on the Rays coming out of what had been a fairly quiet Winter Meetings until recently. That doesn’t mean trade talks have slowed down, however, as the 6’8″ righty is one of the sport’s highest-profile trade candidates.

Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes that upwards of half the league has been in contact with the front office on Glasnow’s availability. Topkin lists the Dodgers and Braves among that group, while some teams within the AL East have also inquired on the possibility of an intra-division swap.

Atlanta has spent the past few weeks searching for rotation help. The Braves have brought in Reynaldo López with an eye towards a possible rotation move. President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos recently noted that the starting staff still “has room” for an addition (link via Mark Bowman of MLB.com).

The Braves have Spencer Strider, Max Fried and Charlie Morton locked into three spots. López, Bryce Elder, AJ Smith-Shawver and Dylan Dodd are among the in-house options for the last two roles. Last year’s first round pick Hurston Waldrep could factor into the mix at some point. There’s talent but also room for one more impact arm as a finishing touch on arguably the sport’s best roster.

Los Angeles has been mentioned as a team to watch on almost every starting pitcher of note, so it’s little surprise they’ve also checked in on Glasnow. The Dodgers’ starting staff is headlined by Walker Buehler and Bobby Miller with very little certainty beyond that duo. They’re clearly going to acquire multiple starting pitchers; Glasnow is one of myriad possibilities.

Atlanta and the Dodgers are far from the only teams still in the bidding. The Angels are hunting for a top-end starter and have been involved on Glasnow. The Cubs have been a frequently mentioned suitor over the last few weeks. Jon Heyman of the New York Post tweeted on Wednesday afternoon that they’re still in the mix.

MLBTR Podcast: Winter Meetings, Ohtani Secrecy, and the Mariners Shedding Salary

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The latest episode 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 Darragh McDonald is joined by Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • If the Dodgers miss on Ohtani, what’s the next logical move? Will the Dodgers be interested in Jung Hoo Lee? (23:40)
  • Contracts are getting completely out of hand. Now Ohtani might pull in a $600 million dollar deal this week. Will the runaway inflation of MLB contracts sink the sport soon? It seems like fans will take the brunt of the costs and eventually turn away. (28:00)
  • Does anyone from MLB trade rumors attend the winter meetings? (32:35)

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Braves, Leury Garcia Agree To Minor League Contract

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The Braves are in agreement with Leury García on a minor league deal, as first reflected on the MLB.com transaction log. Robert Murray of FanSided tweets the utility player will get a look in big league Spring Training.

García returns to the affiliated ranks after sitting out the 2023 campaign. He was released by the White Sox at the end of Spring Training and spent the rest of the year in free agency. That ended a decade-long run in Chicago. García has never been much of an offensive contributor but endeared himself to multiple Sox coaching staffs with his defensive versatility.

He leveraged that into a three-year, $16.5MM contract when he hit free agency during the 2021-22 offseason. That always seemed a high price for a light-hitting utility player. It didn’t work out at all as the Sox had envisioned. García hit .210/.233/.267 in 97 games during the first season. He was cut loose before the start of year two.

García will make $5.5MM next year, his age-33 campaign. The White Sox are on the hook for that money. If García cracks the Braves roster at any point, Atlanta would only be responsible for the $740K league minimum for whatever time he spends in the majors. That makes this a no-risk flier to add multi-positional depth in exhibition play.

A switch-hitter, García owns a .253/.293/.350 batting line in over 2400 major league plate appearances. He has played everywhere aside from catcher and first base, seeing the plurality of his time in center field. García also has plenty of experience in the corner outfield and at both middle infield positions. Public defensive metrics have graded him around average at every spot.

Braves, Max Fried Discussed Extension Prior To 2023 Season

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The Braves and left-hander Max Fried had talks about a contract extension prior to the start of last season, according to Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.  Obviously no agreement was reached, and it isn’t known if any more negotiations have since taken place between the two sides.

As expected, president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos gave no hints when speaking with Toscano and other reporters at the Winter Meetings, saying “We have [Fried] under contract for ‘24; he’s not under contract for 2025.  Obviously, anything beyond that, we’re going to keep that private.  I can go into all the comments about how great he is, but I’ve done that many times in the past….We always have an eye on ‘25, but the focus for us is ‘24.”

2023 was a difficult season for Fried, who pitched only 77 2/3 innings during the regular season due to a forearm strain, a hamstring strain, and a blister problem that emerged in late September.  Fried didn’t pitch from September 21 until Game 2 of the NLDS on October 9, and the long layoff could’ve contributed to his shaky performance of three runs allowed over four innings of work (though Game 2 was Atlanta’s lone win of the NLDS).

Despite the injuries and the Braves’ disappointingly short playoff run, Fried still delivered when he was healthy enough to pitch.  The southpaw posted a 2.55 ERA over his 77 2/3 regular-season frames, as well as a 25.7% strikeout rate and 5.8% walk rate that bettered his career averages in both categories heading into 2023.  The injury concerns can’t be completely set aside heading into next season and into the future, yet there is no doubt that Fried still looks like one of baseball’s top pitchers.

That track record has manifested itself with a $14.4MM projected salary for Fried this winter as he enters his fourth and final year of arbitration eligibility as a Super Two player.  Considering that Fried and the Braves have gone to hearings in each of the last two offseasons (Fried won in 2022, the Braves won in 2023), this will be one of the more interesting arbitration situations to monitor this winter, even if Fried’s injuries will limit his raise to only slightly beyond his $13.5MM salary for 2023.

There’s still plenty of time for the Braves and Fried’s representatives at CAA to work out an extension, and continue Atlanta’s strategy of locking up its stars to long-term deals.  As Toscano notes, however, the team doesn’t extend everyone, as Freddie Freeman and Dansby Swanson both departed in free agency in each of the last two offseasons.  The Braves have also tended to pursue extensions with players earlier in their careers, not players as close to free agency as Fried.  From the pitcher’s perspective, he might also not want to sign a long-term deal coming off a relative down year, as a healthy and effective 2024 campaign will put Fried in line for a hefty contract next winter.

For speculation’s sake, it seems unlikely that Atlanta might consider dealing Fried this offseason if they think an extension can’t or won’t be worked out.  Anthopoulos certainly has a long history of bold trades, yet since Atlanta is already looking to starting pitching, it would take a particularly creative move or sets of moves to bolster the rotation while also moving arguably the team’s best starter.  Considering what happened with Freeman and Swanson, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Braves keep Fried and then let him get to free agency and perhaps depart.

Pirates Acquire Marco Gonzales

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The Pirates announced the acquisition of left-hander Marco Gonzales and cash considerations from the Braves. Atlanta receives a player to be named later or cash in return. The move comes just two days after Atlanta landed Gonzales as part of a five-player trade with the Mariners, yet it was already expected that Gonzales would be quickly flipped to another team.

Pittsburgh will presumably now be Gonzales’ final landing spot of the offseason, as the southpaw brings some experience to a Pirates team sorely in need of rotation help.  Beyond ace Mitch Keller, the Bucs’ projected starting staff is thin on MLB service time and lacking in quality results at the big league level.  Roansy Contreras, Bailey Falter, Luis Ortiz, and Quinn Priester were lined up as the next four in the rotation, as Johan Oviedo will miss all of 2024 recovering from Tommy John surgery, and JT Brubaker and Mike Burrows won’t be options until closer to midseason due to TJ procedures of their own from last April.  2023 first overall draft pick Paul Skenes is expected to be on a fast track to the big leagues as early as next season, yet with only 6 2/3 pro innings on his resume, it is too early to assume Skenes is a lock for his MLB debut in 2024.

This isn’t to say that Gonzales (who turns 32 in February) is necessarily a clear-cut upgrade for the Buccos, as he is trying to bounce back from essentially a lost season.  Gonzales’ 2023 campaign was cut short by a forearm strain in May, and he had struggled to a 5.22 ERA over 50 innings and 10 starts for Seattle before going on the injured list.  While the forearm problem was a painful new wrinkle to the proceedings, the overall dip in form wasn’t a total surprise, given how Gonzales has been outperforming his peripheral numbers for years.

Gonzales posted a 3.94 ERA over 765 2/3 innings for the Mariners from 2018-22, with a more unflattering 4.64 SIERA reflecting his lack of strikeouts.  Though Gonzales isn’t a hard thrower and he doesn’t miss many bats, he still achieved success with a recipe of solid control and limiting hard contact.  Despite the lack of velocity, Gonzales’ four-seamer was quietly one of the more effective pitches in baseball before 2022, when it suddenly dropped into being a below-average offering.

If Gonzales can stay healthy and get back to his pre-2023 results, that alone represents a nice boost for the Pirates’ staff.  It might help that the lefty is leaving Seattle for another pretty pitcher-friendly locale in PNC Park, as home runs also became an increasing problem for Gonzales in 2021-22.

2024 is the last guaranteed season of the four-year, $30MM extension that Gonzales signed with the Mariners prior to the 2020 campaign, and the deal also contains a $15MM club option for 2025 with no buyout.  Since Gonzales received a $250K assignment bonus for being traded from the Mariners, the $4.5MM Seattle included in the trade package to Atlanta left $7.75MM remaining in owed salary to the left-hander.  The Braves have eaten part of that portion to facilitate this next deal with Pittsburgh, only increasing Gonzales’ affordable nature — no small matter for a Pirates team that is always looking to keep its spending in check.

Though the Bucs are intending to raise their modest payroll by some extent, obtaining Gonzales for less than $7.75MM allows the club to fill one rotation hole without taking up much of whatever spending capacity GM Ben Cherington has been allotted this winter.  Since Jack Flaherty is another name on the Pirates’ radar, it could be that Pittsburgh will address its rotation with veterans on short-term deals, hoping that at least one reclamation project like Gonzales or Flaherty can bounce back to become solid starter.

From Atlanta’s perspective, taking on the contracts of Gonzales and Evan White was the price necessary to obtain Jarred Kelenic from the Mariners.  White’s injury history makes him more or less immovable outside of a total salary dump, yet Gonzales’ history as a decently effective and durable starter prior to 2022 made him a better candidate to be flipped, considering the league-wide need for pitching depth.  The Braves are known to be looking for higher-tier pitching upgrades themselves, after missing out on Aaron Nola earlier in the offseason.

Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported the Pirates were acquiring Gonzales and cash for a player to be named later.

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