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Players Added To The 40-Man

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We’ll use this post to keep track of the players being added to their teams’ respective 40-man rosters today, which is the deadline to protect players from the Rule 5 draft. Players must be added to the big league roster within either four years (if they were 19 or older at the time of their original signing) or five years (if 18 or younger) of their signing year in order to be shielded from selection.

MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo took a look at some of the biggest names who face roster decisions, though most of those won’t be much in question. At the fringes, teams must also consider the major league readiness of the player, since that factors heavily into whether they’ll be taken and kept. Any drafting team, of course, must keep a player on its active MLB roster for the full season (with certain exceptions relating to the DL) in order for their control rights to vest. Adding a player to the 40-man too early can have its own risks, because it limits flexibility and could require a team to expose that player to waivers if a need arises. With 26-man rosters reportedly under consideration, the Rule 5 draft could be quite intriguing this year, and that may bleed into today’s decisions as well.

Below is a division-by-division rundown of the names that were added to each team’s 40-man roster (plus the various waiver claims that spawned from teams trying to outright players to protect Rule 5-eligible prospects). We won’t delve into each player’s background, but if you’re looking to a little more about the names that were added, I’d highly recommend this tremendous, in-depth examination of each team’s additions by Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper. If you want to see how the moves look in the context of a team’s roster, head over to Roster Resource for your club’s depth chart.

Onto the moves…

American League West

American League Central

American League East

National League West

National League Central

National League East

Williams Again Downplays Possibility Of Votto Trade

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  • Reds GM Dick Williams continues to downplay any notion that Joey Votto could be traded, as MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon writes. Speaking at last week’s GM Meetings, Williams said that he “certainly [hasn’t] had any discussions with [Votto]” about waiving his no-trade clause, per Sheldon. Williams said that the constant speculation is understandable for a player of Votto’s caliber but believes the first baseman will be at the center of the team’s lineup throughout the rebuild and beyond. As we’ve pointed out here at MLBTR many times, Votto also has a full no-trade clause and has gone on record as saying he has no desire to leave Cincinnati. Sheldon offers another quote from Votto, from 2015: “I just absolutely love playing here. I really like where I live. … I like the location of the ballpark and the fans and the clubhouse and the uniform and the number on my back — all the littlest things that people take for granted are very comfortable to me and something I look forward to. I don’t think of myself as anything other than a Cincinnati Red. It’s one of the really cool things about having a no-trade clause.”

Mariners Remain Interested In Zack Cozart

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The Mariners nearly acquired Reds shortstop Zack Cozart prior to the non-waiver trade deadline, and their interest in the veteran infielder has persisted into the offseason, reports Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune. Dutton has previously reported that back on Aug. 1, the Mariners and Reds were in talks that would’ve sent Cozart and a minor leaguer to Seattle in exchange for minor league left-hander Luiz Gohara and another prospect, but the deal never materialized, as Dutton suggested that Cincinnati simply ran out of time to complete the deal after dedicating so much effort to completing its Jay Bruce trade with the Mets.

Seattle still holds interest in Cozart, according to Dutton, but the team seemingly considers a shortstop upgrade more of a luxury than a necessity. “We don’t need a shortstop,” one Seattle exec told Dutton. “We have [Ketel] Marte, and we think he’s going to be fine in the long term. Now could he benefit from some additional development time in the minors? Yes. We did that with [Mike] Zunino, and we think that really helped him. But it’s not the same. Zunino absolutely needed that development time. With Marte, we think it would be beneficial, but it’s not a must.”

If the Mariners do feel that Marte would benefit from additional time in the minors, then Cozart, on paper anyway, would seemingly be an excellent stopgap. The 31-year-old is somewhat OBP-challenged (.309 OBP over the past two seasons) but is one of the game’s premier defenders at shortstop and has demonstrated considerably improved power numbers in the past two seasons as well. Cozart hit 15 homers as a rookie in 2012 but saw that number dip to 12 in 2013 and just four in 2014. He belted nine long balls in just 53 games in 2015, though (his season was cut short by a knee injury), and connected on a career-best 16 homers last year despite playing in just 121 games.

The abbreviated nature of those past two seasons illustrates a potential area of concern when it comes to Cozart: his durability. Cozart suffered a torn ACL and LCL that ended his 2015 season in mid-June, and on multiple occasions in 2016 he missed a handful of games due to knee problems that didn’t necessitate a trip to the disabled list. However, his season did ultimately come to an end in September when his right knee forced him to the disabled list. Cozart’s final game of the year came on Sept. 10.

As for Marte, the 23-year-old looked to have solidified his place in the Mariners’ lineup with a terrific rookie season (2015) during which he slashed .283/.351/.402, but his offensive production cratered in 2016. In 466 plate appearances for Seattle this past year, Marte hit just .259/.287/.323 and saw his walk rate plummet from 9.7 percent to 3.9 percent. On top of that, he drew negative marks for his defense at shortstop. Marte debuted as a 21-year-old and played the entire 2016 season at the age of 22, so recommending some additional minor league time would hardly mean the organization has given up on him.

Even if the Mariners aren’t the team to ultimately acquire Cozart, it does seem like there’s a solid chance he’ll be moved this offseason. Cincinnati general manager Dick Williams said at last week’s GM Meetings that a Cozart trade was “something we’d have to consider” if it could put the club in a better position for the 2018 and 2019 seasons. And the Reds have a pair of intriguing middle-infield prospects in Jose Peraza and Dilson Herrera that the team would like to work into the lineup in 2017, which should lead to plenty of chatter about both Cozart and second baseman Brandon Phillips as the winter progresses.

Ivan De Jesus Elects Free Agency

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  • Like Rutledge, Reds utilityman Ivan De Jesus has also elected free agency in lieu of an outright assignment. De Jesus picked up 465 PAs with the Reds during the previous two seasons and garnered playing time in the infield and outfield, but he batted just .249/.311/.341 along the way. Cincinnati also released right-hander Soid Marquez, who threw 186 2/3 innings with low-level Reds affiliates from 2012-16 and posted a 5.26 ERA, 6.7 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9.

Cafardo: Reds Unlikely To Trade Joey Votto

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  • Reds first baseman Joey Votto could waive his no-trade clause if his hometown team – the Blue Jays – attempts to acquire him, Cafardo suggests, but he adds that a deal is unlikely. Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported earlier this week that the Reds have “no intention” of trading Votto, who is owed $179MM over the next seven seasons.“We’ve traded away a lot of players we’ve drafted and developed. He’s one of the few that remains,” said GM Dick Williams. “There’s a sentimental connection with fans no doubt. But it doesn’t have anything to do with attendance and draw. It’s about performance. He delivers.” The 33-year-old Votto did indeed deliver in 2016, slashing a remarkable .326/.434/.550 with 29 home runs in 677 plate appearances.

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Brandon Phillips Increasingly Open To Waiving No-Trade Clause

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Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips has become more willing to waive his no-trade clause than he was last year, Jon Morosi of FOX Sports tweets. Phillips has full no-trade rights as a result of his 10-and-5 status, and he used those rights to seek an extension when the Reds tried to deal him to the Nationals last offseason. Talks between the two teams ended up fizzling.

It appears this offseason might play out differently. Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball wrote last month that the rebuilding Reds intended to let Phillips know about their desire to find more playing time for Jose Peraza, who played a variety of positions in a productive rookie season in 2016. It’s possible the prospect of receiving less playing time himself has caused Phillips to change his tune somewhat.

Phillips is now 35, but he would still make a reasonably attractive target for a team seeking second base help (including, speculatively, teams like the Angels, Dodgers and Mets). He batted .291/.320/.416 in a solid 2016 season (although defensive metrics indicate that his fielding has declined of late), and he only has one year and $14MM remaining on the extension he signed in 2012.

Reds Notes: Cozart, Votto, Rotation, Mesoraco

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The Reds look to be in for a relatively quiet offseason, writes C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer, though GM Dick Williams did acknowledge that he’ll remain open to trade scenarios involving Zack Cozart at this week’s GM Meetings. “He can be a part of grooming players and he can be a part of a winning clubhouse,” said Williams of his veteran shortstop. “But if there’s something that really puts the franchise in a better position for ’18 and ’19 that works, it’s something we’d have to consider. We’ve shown the willingness to trade guys who have been with us if it helps us get better.” Williams also said that both Jose Peraza and Dilson Herrera will get opportunities next year, though the timing of those opportunities is tied to what the Reds accomplish this offseason. Rosecrans adds that solidifying the bench with a right-handed-hitting outfielder and adding to the team’s bullpen are on the to-do list this winter.

A few more notes on the Reds…

  • Cincinnati has “no intention” of trading Joey Votto, tweets USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. Votto’s name has come up a bit over the past few months due to reports of some prior trade talks with the Blue Jays, but a trade has never seemed especially likely due to the fact that Votto is owed $179MM over the next seven seasons and has full no-trade rights. The star first baseman has previously said he hopes to remain in Cincinnati despite the team’s rebuilding status at the moment, and Nightengale notes that the Reds value his leadership with a wave of young players on the horizon.
  • While the Reds’ rotation is largely set for next season — Anthony DeSclafani, Brandon Finnegan, Dan Straily and Homer Bailey are all penciled in at the moment — Williams wouldn’t rule out the possibility of signing a veteran starter this winter, writes MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon. The Reds have a number of young options lined up to compete for that fifth spot already, including Cody Reed, Amir Garrett and Robert Stephenson, but Williams sounded open to adding to that mix. “There’s certainly a chance we could sign starting pitchers,” he said. “Whether they’ll be targeted with a Minor League deal to serve as a Triple-A starter or whether we’ll go after a starting pitcher remains to be seen. We have good competition there, but it’s young guys. We have a bunch of young guys for that last spot.”
  • Also via Sheldon, Williams said that the team expects Devin Mesoraco to be ready for Opening Day of the 2017 season, but the team is looking at contingency plans this winter after seeing Mesoraco play in just 38 games over the past two seasons. Mesoraco signed a four-year, $28MM contract extension prior to the 2015 campaign, but he’s had two hip surgeries and a shoulder surgery since that time, which has kept him from delivering any on-field value to the Reds over that time. “I think it’s important to prepare a contingency plan,” said Williams. “…We probably have to do some of that now. You can’t wait until after mid-January to come up with a plan. The fact that we’re optimistic that he’ll be back means you’re not going to try to go big on catching. … We’re optimistic he’ll open the season ready for catch, but probably on some sort of schedule.” As Sheldon notes, adding a veteran backstop on a low-cost or minor league deal makes sense for the Reds. Mesoraco will begin catching in mid- or late January, and he’ll share time behind the dish with Tucker Barnhart once again in 2017.

Reds Outright Ivan De Jesus

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  • The Reds announced that utilityman Ivan De Jesus has been outrighted off of the 40-man roster. He has been a fairly significant part of the major league team over the last two years, playing in 180 total games. But his batting output dwindled in 2016: despite a slightly higher batting average and identical .311 OBP in comparison to his 2015 line, De Jesus slugged only .312 in his 243 plate appearances.

A’s Claim Right-Hander Josh Smith From Reds

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The Athletics announced that they’ve claimed right-hander Josh Smith off waivers from the Reds.

Smith, 29, has picked up 92 1/3 innings for the Reds over the past two seasons but struggled at the Major League level, yielding a 5.46 ERA with 7.6 K/9 against 4.6 BB/9 and a 40.5 percent ground-ball rate. His numbers did take a step forward in 2016 thanks largely to improved control (3.9 BB/9 in 59 2/3 innings), though the resulting 4.68 earned run average is still fairly pedestrian. Smith averaged just under 91 mph on his heater this season while appearing in 32 games (two starts), and he does own a more encouraging 4.28 ERA with 7.1 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9 in 290 1/3 innings in Triple-A over the course of his professional career.

Smith does have minor league options remaining, so if he survives the offseason on Oakland’s 40-man roster, he won’t need to make the team right out of Spring Training and can function as a minor league depth piece.

Dick Williams On Reds’ Bullpen

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The Reds want to upgrade their bullpen this offseason, but GM Dick Williams admits that will be a challenge, as MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon writes. “There is not a ton of options available, and there are a lot of teams talking about needing bullpen help right now. We just have to be careful that we don’t get swept up in a market that is overheated,” says Williams, who adds that he might prefer internal options like Raisel Iglesias and Michael Lorenzen to pitch in multiple-inning bullpen roles next season, rather than hunting for that sort of pitcher on in free agency. Both pitchers were among the Reds’ best in 2016, and both also have experience starting.

“In the second half of the season, we were trying to promote the usage of Iglesias and Lorenzen in that type of multi-inning role,” says Williams. “People are always looking for the market inefficiency, and if all of a sudden everybody is out chasing multi-inning guys, then you might have to look elsewhere.”

Williams adds that the Reds do not plan to re-sign J.J. Hoover, who was outrighted in August and became a free agent last month. Hoover was a solid contributor in the Reds’ 2015 ’pen, but he was awful in 2016 after being called upon to replace Aroldis Chapman as the Reds’ closer, allowing 29 runs in 18 2/3 innings in the big leagues. He did, however, fare well in an extended stay at Triple-A Louisville.

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