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Mariners, Kole Calhoun Agree To Minor League Deal

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Per Shannon Drayer of SeattleSports, the Mariners and outfielder Kole Calhoun are in agreement on a minor league deal. The deal is pending a physical, with Calhoun already in Seattle’s spring clubhouse.

An 11-year MLB veteran, Calhoun’s big league career began as a member of the Angels during the 2012 season, and after succeeding in a part time role during the 2013 season, became the club’s regular right fielder, a position he held until the end of his Angels tenure following the 2019 season. Over that period of seven seasons, Calhoun slashed .250/.323/.426, good for an above average 105 wRC+, with his only season of pronounced struggles coming in 2018, when he slashed just .208/.283/.369 with a wRC+ of just 77, 23% worse than league average. Underlying metrics implied Calhoun’s struggles were due at least in part to bad luck, however: His .249 BABIP was well below his career norms, and his xwOBA outstripped his wOBA by nearly 50 points.

While Calhoun seemed to return to form in 2019 (105 wRC+) and excelled in the shortened 2020 season (125 wRC+ with 16 home runs in just 54 games) following a move to the Diamondbacks, his struggles returned for the 2021 campaign. Calhoun played just 51 games that season while battling hamstring issues, and struggled to a slash line of .235/.297/.373 (80 wRC+) even when he was able to take the field. Still, Calhoun’s past success was enough to land him a $5.2MM guarantee from the Rangers last offseason, though his struggles only grew as he posted a line of just .196/.257/.330 (67 wRC+) over 125 games with Texas during the 2022 campaign.

Now, Calhoun is poised to join a Mariners club that has no shortage of outfield depth on a minor league pact. All of Jarred Kelenic, AJ Pollock, Dylan Moore, and Sam Haggerty appear likely to mix and match in Seattle’s outfield alongside regulars Julio Rodriguez and Teoscar Hernandez this season, leaving Calhoun likely to serve as minors depth alongside players such as Cooper Hummel and Leonys Martin. That said, Seattle’s outfield mix did lose Taylor Trammell last week to surgery that will keep him out of action for at least six more weeks, leaving Calhoun better situated among the players who could potentially take advantage if Kelenic struggles this spring.

While Calhoun’s 2022 struggles are certainly concerning, there is room for optimism he can improve headed into the 2023 campaign. Not only did he miss time in both of the past two seasons with injuries, but 2022 in particular saw him under-perform underlying metrics, as his BABIP last year clocked in 20 points below his career mark, while he under-performed his xwOBA by over 30 points. Calhoun’s contact quality remained largely in line with his career marks, as well. Additionally, it’s possible that the new shift rules being introduced this season could help Calhoun significantly, as Calhoun was among the most shifted on free agents available this offseason.

That said, there are still some red flags in Calhoun’s profile indicating his struggles could continue. Calhoun’s strikeout rate rose dramatically over his career norms in 2022, as he whiffed in a whopping 32.1% of plate appearances against a career strikeout rate of just 22.6%. His 6.4% walk rate in 2022 also represents a noticeable dip from his career mark of 9.1%. With better health, positive regression, and new rules all potentially benefiting him, it’s certainly plausible that Calhoun could bounce back in his age-35 campaign, if given the opportunity.

AL Notes: Judge, Brash, Tigers, White Sox

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After spending most of his career in right field and spending much of 2022 in center, it’s possible the reigning AL MVP will be taking reps in left field this spring. Yankees manager Aaron Boone tells reporters, including MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch, that Judge playing some left field is “on the table” for this spring.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported yesterday that this was a consideration, with the goal being to allow slugger Giancarlo Stanton, who figures to be the team’s primary designated hitter, to play right on his days in the outfield due to Yankee Stadium’s outfield being far more spacious in left than in right. For his part, Judge told reporters, including ESPN’s Marly Rivera, that he wouldn’t mind Stanton playing more right field and taking reps in left if needed.

Stanton struggled with durability early on in his Yankees career, including just 41 games played in the 2019 and 2020 seasons combined. Since then, his transition to primarily playing DH has seemingly helped him stay on the field, as he played 249 games combined across the past two seasons, with just 64 of those games including an appearance in the outfield. In 2022, 34 of Stanton’s 38 games in the outfield took place in right, as Judge spent most of his time in center field. This year, 2022 trade deadline acquisition Harrison Bader figures to get most of the reps in center field, leaving Judge to spend more time in left if Stanton is to continue to make most his outfield starts in right.

More from the American League…

  • The Athletic’s Corey Brock discussed yesterday the role of Mariners right-hander Matt Brash, who is set to begin the 2023 season as a member of the bullpen. Brash made the 2022 Opening Day roster as a starter but struggled mightily, posting a 7.65 ERA across five starts before being demoted to Triple-A. Brash returned later in the season as a reliever and dominated, posting a 2.35 ERA in 30 2/3 innings of work out of the bullpen down the stretch. Brock notes that Brash hopes to get another shot at starting in the future, and though he isn’t being stretched out this spring, the Mariners remain open to the possibility down the line.
  • Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris spoke to the media, including Chris McCosky of The Detroit News, yesterday about the relatively quiet offseason in Detroit. Harris made note that, follow a disappointing 96-loss season, it didn’t make sense to acquire short term veterans who would take up what he called valuable at-bats that could go to young players who would be part of the next core. Detroit acquired a few such players, particularly in the trade that sent reliever Gregory Soto to the Phillies. That deal brought back Matt Vierling, Nick Maton, and Donny Sands, all of whom figure to get playing time in the big leagues with Detroit in 2023.
  • Staying in the AL Central, White Sox GM Rick Hahn discussed how Chicago’s offseason had gone with reporters yesterday, including James Fegan of The Athletic. The White Sox made three key additions to their roster following a disappointing 81-81 campaign, signing righty Mike Clevinger, outfielder Andrew Benintendi, and most recently infielder Elvis Andrus to big league deals, with Benintendi’s five-year, $75MM contract being the only multiyear pact of the group. Hahn, referring back to his comments earlier in the offseason that he expected the club to be active on the trade market, noted the discrepancy between that expectation and what came to pass, saying “I did expect there to be more trades… You go into the offseason with needs and potential fits, and over the course of the offseason, you adjust based on what’s viable, both in free agency and via trade. Sometimes teams are pricing guys differently than expected.” As Fegan notes, a quiet offseason on the south side is somewhat unsurprising giving the club’s stated expectation that payroll would stay largely static headed into 2023.

Mariners, Kean Wong Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Mariners are signing infielder Kean Wong to a minor league contract with an invitation to big league camp, tweets Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. He joins older brother Kolten Wong in the organization.

Kean Wong, 27, is a former fourth-round draftee of the Rays. He split the 2019 campaign between Tampa Bay and the Angels, later suiting up with the Halos for 32 contests in 2021. Wong has 84 MLB plate appearances to his name, carrying a .167/.188/.218 line with 23 strikeouts and two walks in that brief look.

Like his brother, the younger Wong is primarily a second baseman. He has played nearly 5000 innings at the keystone over parts of nine professional seasons. Wong also has a decent amount of experience at third base and has logged some corner outfield work.

The left-handed hitter re-signed on a minor league deal with the Angels last winter after being designated for assignment. He spent the whole year with their highest affiliate in Salt Lake, tallying 565 plate appearances through 128 games. Wong hit .262/.342/.332 with a lofty 10.8% walk percentage and average 22.1% strikeout rate. His on-base numbers were solid but came without much power, as he connected on only three home runs, 18 doubles and four triples despite playing in the extremely hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.

Wong did steal 41 bases in 47 attempts for the Bees, bringing him to 126 stolen bases over his minor league career. He’s now a .285/.352/.399 hitter over parts of five Triple-A campaigns. Wong joins Colin Moran, Drew Ellis and Mike Ford among the non-roster infielders with big league experience who’ll be in camp.

Read The Transcript Of Our Live Chat Hosted By Former MLB Scout Tim Kissner

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Today’s chat guest, Tim Kissner, has 22 years of experience as an MLB scout.

Tim was born in Homer, Alaska, and grew up in Juneau.  He played baseball at Mendocino Community College and Oregon State and has a masters degree from Eastern Oregon State College.

Kissner began his MLB career as a part-time scout with the Phillies in 1999.  After a few years with the Indians, Kissner moved back to the Phillies, eventually serving as the team’s Pacific Rim coordinator.  Kissner spent time as the Cubs’ West Coast crosschecker, then joined the Mariners as director of international scouting.  Kissner’s next step was as a special assignment scout with the Mets.  He finished his MLB career back with the Phillies.

In terms of amateur scouting, Kissner signed players such as Travis d’Arnaud, Kyle Kendrick, Vance Worley, Scott Mathieson, Andrew Carpenter, Anthony Gose, and Justin De Fratus.  Tim’s Latin American signings include big leaguers Julio Rodriguez, Freddy Peralta, Luis Rengifo, Enyel De Los Santos, and Guillermo Heredia, as well as top prospect Noelvi Marte.  By Tim’s count, the Mariners traded more than 20 of the players he signed there.

Deciding it was time for something new after a career spent scouting all around the world, Tim returned home to become a police officer in Juneau about a year ago.  Tim chatted today with MLBTR readers for nearly two hours, sharing Julio Rodriguez stories, many aspects of the scouting profession, and much more.  Click here to read the transcript.

Mariners Win Arbitration Case Against Teoscar Hernandez

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The Mariners were the winners of their arbitration hearing with Teoscar Hernandez, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports (Twitter link).  The arbitration panel ruled that Hernandez will earn $14MM in 2023, rather than the outfielder’s sought-after salary of $16MM.

This was Hernandez’s final year of arb eligibility, as he is slated to enter the free agent market next offseason.  2023 will also be the slugger’s first season in Seattle, after the M’s acquired Hernandez from the Blue Jays in one of the winter’s most notable trades.  The Mariners dealt a quality set-up man in Erik Swanson and an interesting pitching prospect in Adam Macko to Toronto in the hopes that the 30-year-old Hernandez can add some pop to the lineup.

Hernandez hit .267/.316/.491 with 25 home runs over 535 plate appearances with the Jays in 2022, continuing his string of somewhat quietly productive seasons.  Since the start of the 2018 season, Hernandez has hit 121 homers and slashed .263/.321/.499, which works out to a solidly above-average 120 wrRC+.  Hernandez won Silver Slugger honors in both 2020 and 2021, and was also named to his first All-Star team in 2021.

Despite all these pluses, the Jays felt Hernandez was expendable as part of their effort to add more defense, quickness, and left-handed hitting balance to the lineup.  While Hernandez’s speed is perhaps underrated, his glovework as a corner outfielder drew mixed reviews at best, and such major public defensive metrics as Outs Above Average (-5), UZR/150 (-5.3) and Defensive Runs Saved (-3) all gave him subpar marks as a right fielder in 2022.  Hernandez’s offensive production is also somewhat one-dimensional — he brings plenty of power and hard contact, but also a lot of swing-and-miss without many walks.

Since arbiters generally tend to look more at traditional counting stats than advanced metrics, the drop from Hernandez’s 2021 numbers (32 homers, 116 RBI, .296 average) to his 2022 number could explain why the panel ruled in favor of the Mariners.  Hernandez will still receive a nice raise from his $10.65MM salary in 2022, and barring an extension with the M’s at some point, he’ll look to deliver a good platform season to set him up for a hefty multi-year contract next offseason.

With Hernandez’s case now decided, Seattle’s arbitration business has concluded for the winter.  The club didn’t reach an agreement with three players prior to the figure-exchange deadline, but the Mariners ended up winning their hearings with Hernandez and Diego Castillo, and reaching a three-year extension with Dylan Moore.

Rene Rivera Announces Retirement

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Longtime big league catcher René Rivera took to Instagram to announce his retirement Friday morning. “In June 2001, I had the opportunity to make one of my dreams come true, to get signed as a professional baseball player,” Rivera wrote. “21 years later, I thank God for the career he has allowed me to have. Today I want to announce that I am retiring as a professional baseball player.”

The 39-year-old goes on to thank every organization for which he played. He also expressed gratitude to his family, coaches, representatives and fans before concluding he’s “ready for the next step of (his) career.”

Rivera, a native of Puerto Rico, was selected by the Mariners in the second round of the ’01 draft. He was in the majors a little more than three years later, debuting as a September call-up in 2004 not long after his 21st birthday. Rivera spent a few seasons as a depth catcher for Seattle, combining to appear in 53 MLB games over his first three years.

After the 2006 campaign, Rivera kicked off a nomadic path that’d define his entire career. He was out of the majors entirely between 2007-10, bouncing between various organizations’ upper minors affiliates and spending some time in independent ball. Rivera returned to the bigs with the Twins in 2011 for a 45-game stint and played the following year in Triple-A.

A brief showing with the Padres in 2013 set the stage for Rivera to improbably break through as San Diego’s primary catcher at age 30 the next year. He connected on 11 home runs over a career-high 329 plate appearances during the ’14 season, hitting .252/.319/.432. The following offseason, San Diego sent him to the Rays in the three-team blockbuster that moved Wil Myers to Southern California, Steven Souza to Tampa Bay and then-prospect Trea Turner to Washington.

Rivera played in a personal-high 110 games with Tampa Bay but couldn’t recapture his prior year’s success at the plate. He hit .178/.213/.275 over 319 trips to the dish with the Rays and was released before the following season. He quickly signed with the Mets and would see a decent amount of action in Queens over the latter portion of his career. Rivera played in 65 games for the Mets in 2016 before logging 74 contests between New York and the Cubs the next year. He split the 2018 campaign with the Angels and Braves, then returned to the Mets as a depth catcher from 2019-20. Rivera’s final major league action came in 2021, when he got into 25 games between the Indians and Nationals.

While Rivera was rarely much of an offensive contributor, his strong defensive reputation earned him repeated opportunities. He ultimately logged parts of 13 MLB campaigns over a professional career that spanned two decades, suiting up at the MLB level for ten different teams. Rivera played in 542 big league contests, hitting .221/.273/.354 with 43 home runs across 1629 plate appearances. He spent nearly 4000 innings behind the plate, posting consistently strong marks from pitch framing metrics and cutting down a fantastic 36.5% of attempted basestealers.

MLBTR congratulates Rivera on his lengthy run in the professional ranks and wishes him the best in his post-playing endeavors.

Eric Thames Announces Retirement

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Veteran first baseman and outfielder Eric Thames took to Instagram yesterday to announce his retirement. “The day has finally come,” he says in the post. “In the year of our lord, twenty, twenty-three…HE GONE! I’ve been so blessed over these last 14 years to call baseball my job. The friendships that will last a lifetime, the memories that I’ll never shut up about (and those that I’m sworn to secrecy to take to my grave ).”

This announcement officially ends one of the more unique baseball careers, as Thames has spent the past few decades crisscrossing the globe. His professional baseball life began when the Blue Jays drafted him in 2008 out of Pepperdine University. He made his major league debut with the Jays in 2011 and performed well, hitting 12 home runs in 95 games. His batting line on the year was .262/.313/.456 for a wRC+ of 107, indicating he was 7% better than the league average hitter.

Things didn’t go as well the following year, as Thames hit .243/.288/.365 for the Jays and was optioned to the minors for a time. He was then traded to the Mariners in July for Steve Delabar, getting into 40 games with Seattle after that deal. In 2013, the Mariners kept Thames in the minors and eventually designated him for assignment. He was traded to the Orioles and then went to the Astros on a waiver claim, though neither team called him up to the big leagues.

Thames signed with the NC Dinos of the Korea Baseball Organization for 2014, which transformed his career. After years of being on roster bubbles in North America, he emerged as a star in Korea. He hit 37 home runs for the Dinos that year and followed that up by hitting 47 and 40 in the next two seasons. His 2015 season stands out as being exceptionally impressive, as he also stole 40 bases and walked in 17.3% of his trips to the plate. His .381/.497/.790 batting line amounted to a 216 wRC+. He was crowned as the Most Valuable Player in the league that year.

After that strong three-year stretch with the Dinos, Thames returned to Major League Baseball, signing a three-year, $16MM deal with the Brewers. He was able to transfer a decent amount of his success from Korea to North America, as he hit 31 homers in 2017 while walking in 13.6% of his trips to the plate. His .247/.359/.518 batting line led to a 125 wRC+. Thumb surgery kept him out of action for a while in the following year, but he was still able to add another 16 home runs in 96 games, then hit another 25 in 2019. His three-year stretch in Milwaukee resulted in 72 long balls and a .241/.343/.504 batting line for a 118 wRC+. That last year saw the Brewers qualify for the Wild Card game against the Nationals. Thames went 2-4 in that game, including hitting a solo home run off Max Scherzer. But the Brewers ultimately lost 4-3 to the Nats, who would go on to win the World Series later that year, and that now goes down as the only MLB playoff game in which Thames played.

Despite that solid stretch, the Brewers surprisingly turned down a $7.5MM option on Thames for 2020 and went for the $1MM buyout instead. The Nationals scooped him up on a $4MM guarantee but he struggled in the pandemic-shortened season, hitting .203/.300/.317 with just three homers in 41 games. He signed with the Yomiuri Giants of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball for 2021 but suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon after just one game with the club. He tried another return to the majors in 2022 by signing a minor league deal with the A’s, but struck out in 38% of his plate appearances in Triple-A and got released after 22 games.

In the end, it makes for quite a journey, with Thames having played for baseball teams all over the world. His major league career resulted in 96 home runs, 18 stolen bases, 451 hits, 286 runs scored and 235 driven in. But he’ll perhaps be best remembered by some fans for that magical three-year run in the KBO wherein he hit 124 home runs, stole 64 bases, scored 343 runs and drove in 382.

We at MLB Trade Rumors congratulate Thames on a fascinating and distinctive career, and wish him the best in his future endeavors.

Taylor Trammell To Miss Seven-Plus Weeks Due To Hamate Surgery

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Mariners outfielder Taylor Trammell will have surgery on his right hand to repair a broken hamate bone, reports Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times. Trammell will be out of action for seven or more weeks, per Corey Brock of The Athletic. Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto tells Divish that Trammell was struck on the hand during a workout.

Trammell, 25, was once one of the most highly-touted prospects in baseball but has yet to deliver on his promise in the big leagues thus far. Originally drafted by the Reds, he has twice switched organizations in significant trades. He went to the Padres in the 2019 deal that sent Trevor Bauer to the Reds and Yasiel Puig to Cleveland, then went to the Mariners in the 2020 trade that also sent Ty France and Andrés Muñoz to Seattle.

Trammell was able to make his MLB debut in 2021 but wasn’t able to hit the ground running, striking out in 42.1% of his plate appearances. Last year, he dealt with a hamstring strain for much of the time, only getting into 43 major league contests and 22 more in Triple-A. There were some signs of optimism, as his 28.2% strikeout rate was still above average but a noticeable improvement from the year prior. He also walked in a strong 11.1% of his trips to the plate. In those Triple-A games, he only struck out 17.3% of the time and hit .333/.408/.575 for a wRC+ of 144.

The outfield in Seattle figures to be different this year compared to last. Jesse Winker was traded to the Brewers, Mitch Haniger departed via free agency and Teoscar Hernández was acquired in a trade with the Blue Jays. Hernandez and Julio Rodríguez figure to be in right and center field, respectively, but left field was open for someone like Trammell. AJ Pollock was brought signed to be the short side of a platoon but Trammell and Jarred Kelenic, who both hit left-handed, were going to be competing to be on the strong side.

Opening Day is now about six weeks away, so Trammell now seems destined to miss at least some of the regular season. That opens the possibility that Kelenic gets another stretch of time in the club’s lineup, though he has faced similar struggles. Despite hitting .302/.372/.574 in 537 Triple-A plate appearances for a wRC+ of 128, his major league batting line is .168/.251/.338 for a wRC+ of 68 in 558 trips to the plate.

Should Kelenic continue to struggle against major league pitching, it seems he’ll face another competitor in Cade Marlowe. Dipoto tells Daniel Kramer of MLB.com that Marlowe could now figure more prominently in the competition. The young outfielder, 26 in June, had a solid year at the plate last year in the minors, hitting .287/.377/.487. That amounted to a 120 wRC+ and he added 42 stolen bases to boot. Most of that came at Double-A with a 13-game stint at Triple-A to finish the season. He was added to the club’s 40-man roster in November to protect him from selection in the Rule 5 draft.

Though it’s possible Trammell doesn’t miss much of the regular season, it’s surely a frustrating start to his 2023 on a personal level after he missed so much time last year. For the club, their outfield competition has lost one option, but they will hope that one of Kelenic or Marlowe can step up.

AL Notes: Mahomes, Haggerty, Vogt, Rays

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Patrick Mahomes’ ties to baseball are well known, as the NFL superstar is the son of longtime big league reliever Pat Mahomes.  However, the future Chiefs quarterback was himself a standout high school baseball player, and was even a 37th-round pick for the Tigers in the 2014 draft.  As Tigers scout Tim Grieve told 12Up’s Mark Powell in an interview in 2020, there was no doubt Mahomes was going to play college football at Texas Tech, but the Tigers figured “let’s be that team that started to build the relationship so that if he wants to play baseball 2-4 years down the road, we’ve got our foot in the door.”

Mahomes would likely have been picked in the third or fourth round of the MLB draft if he hadn’t been committed to football, and his father initially felt baseball might be his son’s sport.  “He was going to get drafted as an outfielder, and I have no doubt he would’ve made it and been successful,” the elder Mahomes told USA Today’s Bob Nightengale this week. “He loved baseball.  But when he went out for football, and saw all of the nuances and things you had to learn to be a quarterback, I think it really intrigued him to see what he could do.”  Speaking to Patrick Mahomes’ overall athletic ability, his godfather LaTroy Hawkins thought basketball would end up being his sport of choice.

Now that Mahomes has led the Chiefs to another Super Bowl title, the sports world can turn its attention to the start of Spring Training this week.  Since every season is baseball season here at MLBTR, here are some notes from around the American League…

  • “There are indications” that Mariners utilityman Sam Haggerty had to undergo surgery to fix a grade 2 adductor strain suffered at the end of last season, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times writes.  The team hasn’t officially confirmed Haggerty’s status, and GM Jerry Dipoto that Haggerty is “a little behind” in his offseason work.  However, Dipoto also noted that Haggerty has started full baseball activity and has “been hitting for quite some time.  So he’s in a good place.”  In his fourth MLB season, Haggerty got an extended look in a utility role with Seattle last season and delivered, hitting .256/.335/.403 (good for a 114 wRC+) over 201 plate appearances while playing in the field at second base and all three outfield spots.  Haggerty looks to continue to play a key role on the Mariners’ bench this season, especially since fellow utilityman Dylan Moore might be a little more impacted during camp while recovering from core surgery.
  • Stephen Vogt weighed two other “serious baseball job offers” before becoming the Mariners’ new bullpen and quality control coach in January.  As Vogt told NBC Sports Bay Area’s Brodie Brazil, “the Mariners were the best situation, the best offer, and being close to home — we did the best we could to make it not be a factor in our decision making.  The cherry on top is that I get to be with my family more in a season than I ever have.”  2022 was the last of Vogt’s 10 Major League seasons, and given that he has long been considered a future managerial candidate, it isn’t surprising that several teams were interested in being the first stop in Vogt’s post-playing career.
  • After a pretty quiet winter on the transactional front, the Rays are now viewing their slower offseason as an opportunity for their core players to enjoy some relatively rare stability, given how Tampa so often shuffles up its roster.  “Generally, we’re always trying to build that next year’s team to be as strong as we possibly can,” general manager Peter Bendix told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.  “And this year, that led to us having this continuity and banking on some of this continuity, allowing our young players to grow and develop together and see if we can kind of gain from the experience that they’ve had up until this point.”  The Rays did part ways with several players in trades, free agency, or non-tenders, yet most of those holes were filled internally.  As Topkin notes, Zach Eflin (signed to a three-year, $40MM contract) and Rule 5 Draft selection Kevin Kelly are the only new players on Tampa Bay’s 40-man roster.  Of course, there is still plenty of time in the offseason for the Rays to make some more additions, plus one of the team’s many non-roster invitees could win a job in Spring Training.

Mariners Sign Carson Fulmer To Minor League Contract

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The Mariners have signed Carson Fulmer to a minor league pact, according to the right-hander’s MLB.com profile page.  Fulmer has been assigned to Triple-A Tacoma.

After pitching 130 2/3 innings and appearing in every season from 2016-21, Fulmer didn’t see any big league action in 2022.  The Dodgers acquired Fulmer on a waiver claim last winter and briefly selected him to their active roster at the end of April, but Fulmer was designated for assignment a few days later without appearing in a game.  Los Angeles then outrighted Fulmer to Triple-A, where he spent the rest of the season before electing minor league free agency in October.

The year at Triple-A had mixed results, as while Fulmer had a 2.86 ERA over 56 2/3 innings for Oklahoma City, his 25.6% strikeout rate was only decent, and his 14.5% walk rate was well below average.  A .230 BABIP seems to have greatly aided Fulmer in limiting damage, which could partially be why the Dodgers didn’t give him another call-up despite that quality ERA.

The White Sox selected Fulmer with the eighth overall pick of the 2015 draft, and he made his MLB debut just a year later.  However, the righty didn’t live up to high expectations, posting a 6.56 ERA over 94 2/3 innings with Chicago before being designated for assignment in July 2020.  This move sparked a flurry of transactions for the out-of-options Fulmer, who went to the Tigers, Pirates, Orioles, again to the Pirates, then to the Reds on a series of waiver claims in a span of under eight months.  Cincinnati’s claim in March 2021 ended the carousel to some extent, as Fulmer spent the entire 2021 season in the Reds organization, though he struggled to a 6.66 ERA over 25 2/3 MLB innings.

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