Central Notes: Votto, Canha, Montgomery
The Reds declined their club option on franchise icon Joey Votto yesterday. In a statement from GM Nick Krall yesterday on the move, he emphasized that he didn’t believe that the necessary at-bats would be available to Votto in 2024 for him to remain with the team, seemingly indicating that the odds of the sides getting together on a smaller deal were remote. That being said, per MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon and Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer, neither side is shutting the door on a potential reunion just yet.
“I’m not closing the door on anything,” Krall said (as relayed by Sheldon), “I just think with the players we have on our roster right now, there’s no playing time [for Votto]… It would be tough to have him as just a pinch-hitter bat off the bench with the way our roster is constructed right now.” Krall went on to acknowledge that it will be “tough to watch” if Votto winds up playing in another uniform next year after departing the Reds.
It’s easy to see what Krall means regarding the club’s crunch for roster space on the positional side. Jonathan India, Elly De La Cruz, Matt McLain, Spencer Steer, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, and Noelvi Marte are all big-league ready infielders who ought to be in line for everyday at bats in 2024, meaning that group’s playing time will surely bleed into the outfield and DH slot, where the likes of TJ Friedl, Jake Fraley, and Will Benson also figure to play on a regular basis, to say nothing of players like Stuart Fairchild and Nick Senzel who could also be in line for at-bats. Given the club’s excess of positional talent, it’s hard to see where Votto could fit in for Cincinnati barring a hypothetical trade that clears some of the club’s positional logjam.
For Votto’s part, he seems to hold no ill will against the Reds over the decision. “At 40 years old, a team that’s about to be a championship-caliber team didn’t pick up the option of a guy who hit .200 in back-to-back seasons,” Votto told reporters, including Goldsmith. Goldsmith added that Votto, like Krall, did not want to close the door on a potential return to Cincinnati next year despite becoming a free agent for the first time in his career.
More from around MLB’s Central divisions…
- Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris spoke to reporters (including Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press and Chris McCosky of The Detroit News) yesterday regarding the club’s acquisition of veteran outfielder Mark Canha from the Brewers. During the conference, Harris noted that the addition of Canha checks the box of “adding a right-handed bat that helps [Detroit] on and off the field” in 2024. As Harris alluded to, Canha’s right-handed bat will serve as an excellent complement to an all-lefty outfield of Kerry Carpenter, Parker Meadows, Akil Baddoo, and Riley Greene while also affording fellow righty hitter Matt Vierling more opportunities to play at third base. Harris also praised the ability of Canha, 35 in February, to mentor the club’s young roster as a “high-character” player whose calling card is his superlative plate discipline, with strikeout and walk rates that are well above the league average. For Canha’s part, McCosky notes that the veteran praised the team’s young core, saying that “A team is never as far away from where they want to be as it feels like. All it takes is a little nudge.”
- The White Sox parted ways with longtime shortstop Tim Anderson yesterday, adding shortstop to a list of positions that need to be filled this offseason that already includes right field, catcher, and second base. MLB.com’s Scott Merkin relays that shortstop prospect Colson Montgomery, who is expected to be the club’s long-term solution at short, has his sights set on making the club’s Opening Day roster in 2024. “I’m confident I could have that spot, but you never know,” Montgomery said regarding the Opening Day shortstop job, “As a competitor and as a baseball player, you want to push yourself… I’m going to chase for it.” Montgomery entered the 2023 season as a consensus top-40 prospect in the sport and .287/.456/.484 in 64 games this games this year while advancing to Double-A.
White Sox To Decline Club Option On Tim Anderson
The White Sox will decline their $14MM club option on shortstop Tim Anderson, according to ESPN’s Jesse Rogers (X link). Anderson will instead receive a $1MM buyout, and become a free agent for the first time in his professional career.
The decision marks the end of an era on the South Side, as Anderson had been part of the organization since the White Sox made him the 17th overall pick of the 2013 draft. Emerging as a regular through the club’s rebuilding years, Anderson made two All-Star Games, won a Silver Slugger Award (in 2020), and won the 2019 AL batting title during his eight seasons in a Sox uniform.
The White Sox recognized this potential early, and locked Anderson up on a six-year, $25MM extension prior to the 2017 season that contained club options for both 2023 and 2024. Heading into the 2023 season, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that Anderson’s first option would be picked up, yet this parting of the ways underscores the disappointing nature of the shortstop’s year.
Anderson hit only .245/.286/.296 over 524 plate appearances, and his 60 wRC+ was the lowest of any qualified hitter in baseball. Anderson missed about three weeks due to a left knee sprain early in the season, and said last month that he never quite felt right physically for the rest of the year, undoubtedly contributing to this major dropoff at the plate. With his defensive metrics also taking a tumble, Anderson was a sub-replacement level player, with -0.5 fWAR in 2023 after posting 16.1 fWAR over the previous five seasons.
Despite this poor performance, the Marlins and some unknown other teams still had some interest in Anderson heading into the trade deadline, even if a deal was never completed. It is fair to guess that Anderson would’ve been among the other White Sox veterans shipped at the deadline if he’d been playing at any sort of higher level, as it could be that the Sox couldn’t find an appropriate asking price and didn’t want to just give Anderson away.
Yet now, Anderson will hit the market with no strings attached, as the White Sox certainly aren’t going to issue a $20.325MM qualifying offer for a player they could’ve retained for an extra $13MM. Though the Sox lost 101 games last season, owner Jerry Reinsdorf and new GM Chris Getz indicated that the Sox plan to compete rather than rebuild, and it could be argued that parting with Anderson is a step in that direction if the White Sox don’t think a rebound is possible. It’s probably fair to guess that Chicago gauged the trade market again before making today’s decision, but even if clubs do see Anderson as a bounce-back candidate, the $13MM price point also wasn’t to their liking.
Anderson just turned 30 last June, so if he stays healthy, it wouldn’t be surprising if he indeed gets back to his old form in 2024. This makes him an interesting option within a pretty thin middle infield market, especially since Anderson has indicated he is open to playing second base. A position change could further boost Anderson’s value, as while his glovework at shortstop has been inconsistent, he might become a plus as a second baseman.
Colson Montgomery is the shortstop of the future in Chicago, yet since the top prospect has yet to play any Triple-A ball, it would be a very aggressive move for the White Sox to pencil him into their Opening Day plans. We can’t rule out the scenario since we don’t yet know how Getz might operate as a GM, but the likelier option is for Montgomery to make his MLB debut at some point closer to midway through the 2024 season, at the earliest.
The White Sox already needed middle infield help due to their lack of depth at second base, and now a new shortstop can also be added to Getz’s offseason checklist. Romy Gonzalez, Lenyn Sosa, and Zach Remillard could perhaps combine to handle one position until Montgomery is called up, yet some kind of veteran upgrade is absolutely needed for second base or shortstop, particularly if Chicago has any designs on competing. In theory, the Sox could aim to acquire a player using the $13MM they probably had earmarked for Anderson, on a shorter-term deal.
Front Office Notes: Astros, White Sox, Janish, Nationals
The Astros announced a series of internal promotions earlier this week, most notably the promotion of Gavin Dickey to an assistant general manager position. Dickey is a longtime member of the Astros’ staff, working in numerous jobs since his initial hiring as a scout in 2011. Most recently, he worked as a special assistant to GM Dana Brown during the 2023 season. The 40-year-old Dickey moved right into scouting on the heels of his playing career, which consisted of six seasons in independent ball and in the Mariners’ and Braves’ farm systems from 2006-11.
Dickey joins Andrew Ball and Charles Cook as Houston’s assistant GMs, after the team parted ways with former assistant GM Bill Firkus last month. This isn’t to say that Dickey will necessarily be taking Firkus’ exact role, as the specific duties of an assistant GM vary greatly from club to club and executive to executive, usually based on each individual’s areas of expertise.
More on some other front office moves from around baseball….
- The White Sox announced that Paul Janish has been hired as their new director of player development. Janish is a veteran of nine Major League seasons with the Reds, Braves, and Orioles from 2008-17, and since retirement has worked as a coach with Rice University. This will be the first non-playing role in pro ball for the 41-year-old Janish, who will be taking over the position previously held by Chris Getz before Getz was named Chicago’s new general manager in August.
- The Nationals promoted Eddie Longosz to the role of VP/assistant general manager of player development and administration. The Washington Post’s Andrew Golden reported earlier this week that Longosz would be taking over the Nats’ player development department, which is the next step up the ladder for a longtime employee who has been with the Nationals since 2010. As Golden notes, much of the Nationals’ focus over the last couple of months has been a revamp of their front office, with several employees on the way out (like De Jon Watson, Longosz’s predecessor as farm director) and a couple of longer-term staffers like Longosz moving into larger roles.
Mike Clevinger Declines Option With White Sox
Mike Clevinger has declined his half of a $12MM mutual option on his deal with the White Sox, the team announced. He receives a $4MM buyout and qualifies for free agency. Chicago also confirmed their previously-reported decision to buy out righty Liam Hendriks.
Clevinger spent one season on Chicago’s south side. He inked a $12MM guarantee last winter, collecting an $8MM salary and the buyout. He worked to a 3.88 ERA over 12 starts before biceps inflammation sent him to the injured list on June 16. The injury cost him six weeks and, arguably more importantly, a chance to pitch his way into trade candidacy. Clevinger was only able to make one start between his reinstatement from the injured list and the deadline.
That left the Sox to retain him for the remainder of a noncompetitive season. Chicago attempted to offload Clevinger’s salary by placing him on waivers in August. He went unclaimed, presumably because no other team wanted to take on the option buyout. The right-hander had an excellent August before a middling September. He concluded the year with a 3.77 ERA across 131 1/3 innings. Clevinger struck out a slightly below-average 20% of opponents against a solid 7.3% walk rate.
Turning 33 in December, he has a good chance to land a multi-year contract this offseason. While a two-year deal seems likely, it’s not out of the question he finds a three-year pact. That made it a fairly easy call for his camp to pass on the net $8MM deal with Chicago.
The White Sox will need to add multiple starting pitchers this winter. Dylan Cease may be the only pitcher certain to occupy a spot in the Opening Day five. Michael Kopech figures to battle for a job, while Garrett Crochet has angled for a rotation opportunity. Jesse Scholtens and Touki Toussaint occupied back-end roles for the stretch run.
Report: MLB Grants Yariel Rodriguez Free Agency
Right-handed pitcher Yariel Rodriguez has officially been declared a free agent by Major League Baseball, reports Francys Romero (X link). He is now free to sign with an MLB team.
Rodriguez became one of the more intriguing options on the pitching market when he was granted a release from his contract with NPB’s Chunichi Dragons a month ago. He has been conducting showcases for MLB clubs in the few weeks since but was barred from officially signing with a major league team until today. There’s nothing to suggest he’ll sign imminently, of course, but this removes the procedural hurdle he still needed to clear.
A native of Cuba, Rodriguez turns 27 in March. That’s atypically young for a free agent pitcher. He worked out of the bullpen over parts of three seasons with the Dragons. Rodriguez had a dominating showing in 2022, when he pitched to a 1.15 ERA with a 27.5% strikeout rate over 54 2/3 innings. He worked as a starter for his home country during the World Baseball Classic. Once that event concluded, Rodriguez decided not to report back to the Dragons. He sat out the remainder of the 2023 season — the team placed him on the restricted list — before his camp secured his release.
MLB teams figure to have differing evaluations on Rodriguez’s viability as a starter. He’s an intriguing arm with promising stuff and success at the second-highest level of professional baseball in the world. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reported last month that the Rays were among 15 teams with scouts in attendance for one of Rodriguez’s recent workouts in the Dominican Republic. This afternoon, Romero listed (on X) 10 clubs that had shown interest in the hurler: the Astros, Yankees, Rangers, Pirates, Dodgers, Blue Jays, Phillies, White Sox, Mets and Giants.
White Sox Outright Trayce Thompson, Clint Frazier
The White Sox have sent outfielders Trayce Thompson and Clint Frazier through outright waivers, the team announced. They’re each eligible to elect free agency, although the club didn’t indicate if either player has yet done so. Both players would have qualified for arbitration and seemed easy non-tender decisions.
It is very likely that both will head back to the open market. Thompson, a former Sox draftee, rejoined the team midseason in the Lance Lynn/Joe Kelly deal with the Dodgers. He was on the injured list at the time. Chicago reinstated Thompson on August 3. He hit .171/.261/.232 with a massive 43.5% strikeout rate in 92 plate appearances.
Between the two clubs, he finished the year with a .163/.285/.294 showing while punching out 43% of the time. Thompson had been a key contributor for Los Angeles in the second half of 2022. He’d connected on 13 homers with a .268/.364/.537 slash in 74 games, albeit with a 36% strikeout rate.
Frazier signed a minor league deal with Chicago at the end of April. The club selected him onto the MLB roster a month later. The former #5 overall pick nevertheless spent much of the season on optional assignment to Triple-A Charlotte. He hit .231/.363/.442 with a 26.6% strikeout rate at the top minor league level. Frazier got into 33 MLB games this year, running a .197/.303/.242 slash.
White Sox To Decline Option On Liam Hendriks
The White Sox are declining their club option on right-hander Liam Hendriks, per Jon Heyman of The New York Post. Instead of retaining him for 2024 with a $15MM salary, they will pay him a $15MM buyout but spread over the next ten years in annual instalments of $1.5MM. The righty underwent Tommy John surgery in August and is likely to miss the 2024 season.
Hendriks, 35 in February, signed with the Sox going into 2021. The three-year deal came with a three-year, $54MM guarantee. He would make $39MM over the first three years, with the $15MM option/buyout for 2024. He continued to pitch well over the first two years of the deal, racking up 75 saves over those two seasons with a 2.66 ERA, 39.4% strikeout rate and 4.6% walk rate.
But 2023 provided Hendriks with some significant challenges. He was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in the offseason and had to miss the start of the year undergoing treatment. By the end of April, he was cancer free and began ramping up for a return to the club. He was activated in late May, making five appearances before landing on the injured list due to elbow inflammation, which eventually led him requiring Tommy John surgery.
Since he’s likely to miss the upcoming campaign, it’s understandable that the Sox would take the buyout. Though it’s the same amount as the salary of the option, it’s easier to pay it over 10 years than in one, especially with inflation reducing the value of currency over time. Also, there’s no injured list between the World Series and Spring Training, meaning Hendriks would require a roster spot all winter if the option were picked up. By taking the buyout, the Sox free up a spot for the coming months.
Now Hendriks will head to the open market and be free to sign with any club. Though he still has a lengthy rehab process in front of him, players in this situation often sign two-year deals. The players gets some cash to cover the rehab process while the club gets control over one post-rehab season.
Righty Tommy Kahnle signed one such contract when he and the Dodgers agreed to a two-year deal going into 2021. Kahnle was guaranteed $4.75MM plus incentives. He didn’t have the same track record as Hendriks and that winter’s market was generally deflated after the lost revenues of 2020, so it seems fair to expect Hendriks to be able to top that guarantee.
Quick Hits: Olympics, Garcia, White Sox
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred spoke to reporters ahead of the beginning of the World Series yesterday about a variety of topics. One point of discussion, as relayed by Evan Drellich of The Athletic, was the potential for major league players to participate in the 2028 Summer Olympics, which will take place in Los Angeles. Manfred referenced a push by Casey Wasserman, who acts as CEO of the Wasserman agency and chairman of the LA 2028 organization, making a push to include baseball in the Summer Olympics, which Manfred expressed his support for.
That said, while Manfred noted that the league “will continue to listen as to whether there’s some arrangement that could be worked out… to make it the best possible tournament,” he also cautioned that there are “challenges” that come with staging a tournament like the Olympics in the middle of the major league season, as the 2028 Olympics would be. Olympic baseball was opened to professional players in 2000, but MLB has blocked its players from participating in the games due to its overlap with the big league season, leading to rosters primarily filled by international and minor league players.
Many of the world’s best players not participating led to baseball being dropped from the games entirely in 2012, 2016, and 2024, though that could change if the league and the International Olympic Committee can work out a deal for major league players to participate in the games. It’s unclear how feasible such a deal could be, however, as Manfred explicitly clarified that even as he hopes to support the effort to bring baseball back to the Olympics, he “[is] not saying one word” about allowing big leaguers to partake in the tournament, at least at this point.
More notes from around the league…
- Rangers outfielder Adolis Garcia continued his postseason tear last night against the Diamondbacks, hitting a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 11th inning to win the game for Texas. Garcia’s heroics last night add to what has been an incredible postseason for the 30-year-old. Garcia has now slugged six homers total across five consecutive games with a long ball, bringing the ALCS MVP’s postseason slash line to an incredible .357/.400/.804 in 60 trips to the plate this October. Garcia, of course, was acquired from the Cardinals back in 2019 in exchange for cash considerations. Former Rangers president of baseball operations Jon Daniels spoke with Rob Bradford on the Baseball Isn’t Boring podcast recently about acquiring Garcia, who noted that Garcia was only available to the club thanks to St. Louis’s considerable outfield depth at the time, credited assistant GM of player development and international scouting Ross Fenstermaker as a key person who vouched for Garcia’s talent within the organization. The acquisition has, of course, worked out wonderfully for Texas, who have Garcia under team control through the end of the 2026 campaign.
- MLB.com’s Scott Merkin recently looked at the questions facing the White Sox this offseason, including the futures of Luis Robert Jr. and Tim Anderson. Merkin, who indicates the White Sox view the coming offseason as more of a short-term “retool” than a full-scale “rebuild,” suggests that Robert is “as close to untouchable” as any player on the roster this offseason in trade discussions. If Chicago indeed intends to avoid a rebuild, that’s sensible, given Robert’s immense talent and four remaining seasons of team control. Perhaps more surprisingly, Merkin suggests that the White Sox “probably aren’t giving up Anderson for nothing” when discussing the club’s upcoming team option decision on his services for 2024. In a poll earlier this month, 60% of MLBTR readers responded that the White Sox should decline Anderson’s option, though Merkin seems to suggest the club either trading him or simply retaining him headed into 2024 is the more likely outcome.
AL Notes: Astros, Angels, White Sox, Tigers, Orioles
Dusty Baker might be finished as a manager, but the baseball lifer has a job in the Astros front office anytime he wants it. Owner Jim Crane told reporters (including Brian McTaggart of MLB.com) that Baker is “always welcome” in the Astros organization. Meanwhile, the long-time skipper said he is “retiring from the field” but hasn’t made up his mind about what comes next (per Chandler Rome of The Athletic).
As for hiring a new manager to replace Baker, the Astros are just beginning their search. Bob Nightengale of USA Today suggests that bench coach Joe Espada and former Tigers and Angels manager Brad Ausmus are “strong candidates.” Ausmus was a contender for the Astros GM position last offseason and the managerial opening back in 2020. Espada was another candidate in the team’s last managerial search, and he has interviewed for numerous other managing jobs in the years since. McTaggart also identified several contenders for the gig, including Ausmus, Espada, and Diamondbacks bench coach Jeff Banister.
More news from around the American League…
- After four years on the Angels‘ coaching staff (three as pitching coach), Matt Wise has accepted a new job as the bullpen coach for the White Sox, as first reported by Ken Rosenthal and Sam Blum of The Athletic. While going from pitching coach to bullpen coach might seem like a step backward, Wise was something of a sitting duck in the Angels organization. Los Angeles is looking to hire a new manager after parting ways with Phil Nevin, and that new manager will presumably want to hire a coaching staff of his own.
- The Tigers, meanwhile, need a new first base coach. According to Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press, Alfredo Amézaga will not return to A.J. Hinch’s coaching staff next season. He joined the staff ahead of the 2023 campaign after previously working as a minor league coach in the Braves organization. Amézaga is also a manager in the Mexican Winter League.
- Finally, over in the AL East, the Orioles made some changes in their scouting and player development departments. A dozen front office staffers were promoted to new roles, including Matt Blood, the new vice president of player development and domestic scouting; Koby Perez, the new vice president of international scouting and operations; and Anthony Villa, the new director of player development (per Roch Kubatko of MASN). Blood was the previous director of player development, while Perez served as director of international scouting. Villa was the minor league hitting coordinator in 2023.
Quick Hits: Ng, White Sox, Alvarez, Rodriguez
The Marlins parted ways with GM Kim Ng earlier today, and Brittany Ghiroli of The Athletic offered additional details on the situation this afternoon. Ghiroli writes that one of the primary issues between the sides was the club’s decision not to offer Ng a three-year extension rather than simply pick up their end of the mutual option, a practice that Ghiroli notes is “fairly standard” for executives at the end of their current deal who have made significant achievements. Those descriptors certainly seem to fit Ng, under whom the Marlins returned to the postseason for the first time in a full-length season since they won the World Series in 2003.
Beyond the contract dispute, Ghiroli adds that Ng and the club were at odds over personnel decisions regarding the front office, the largest of which was ownership’s previously-reported desire to put a president of baseball operations in place above Ng in the organization’s hierarchy, a move that would effectively be a demotion for Ng. Aside from that, Ghiroli notes that Ng had plans for personnel changes regarding leadership-level positions in the club’s scouting and player development departments, which owner Bruce Sherman opposed.
Ghiroli adds that Ng’s next steps are currently uncertain. While there are GM-level openings in both Queens and Boston at the moment, any GM hired in New York would serve under president of baseball operations David Stearns, creating a similar situation to the one Ng sought to avoid in Miami. Meanwhile, Boston’s GM search has seen a number of high-profile candidates decline to interview for the position, with Ghiroli citing the influence of manager Alex Cora and the club’s proclivity for changes at the head of the baseball operations department as potential pitfalls in accepting the job. One possibility Ghiroli floats is a return to the White Sox, where she began her career in professional baseball and served as a member of the front office for seven seasons. Though the club recently promoted Chris Getz to the role of GM, Ghiroli notes the possibility that the club could have interest in Ng as a president of baseball operations to oversee Getz and the rest of Chicago’s front office.
More notes from around the league…
- Yordan Alvarez is recovering from a virus, Astros manager Dusty Baker revealed to reporters (including Ken Rosenthal and Chandler Rome of The Athletic). His symptoms include a headache and an upset stomach, although Baker declined to discuss the exact details of his star slugger’s illness. The skipper said Alvarez was “better today than he was yesterday” and downplayed the significance of the virus, saying “I got a virus, everybody got a virus. So he’s fine.” While Alvarez had a difficult game last night, going hitless with three strikeouts, he hit two home runs off during today’s 5-4 loss to the Rangers. In the event Alvarez does wind up needing a day off at some point in the series, Yainer Diaz and Jon Singleton are among the club’s options who could fill in for the slugger as the team’s DH.
- According to a report from Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, the Rays sent scouts to the Dominican Republic recently to observe a workout by Cuban free agent righty Yariel Rodriguez. They were far from alone on that excursion, however, with Topkin adding that fourteen other teams were present to scout Rodriguez. Rodriguez was reportedly released from his NPB contract earlier this month and appears to be in line to test MLB free agency this offseason. Rodriguez did not pitch professionally outside of the World Baseball Classic this year, though in 2022 he was a dominant relief arm for the Chunichi Dragons as he posted a 1.15 ERA in 56 appearances while striking out 27.5% of batters faced.