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White Sox Claim Greg Jones Off Waivers From Rockies

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The White Sox have designated outfielder Oscar Colas for assignment and claimed infielder/outfielder Greg Jones off waivers from the Rockies, per a team announcement. Chicago optioned Jones and righty Justin Anderson to Triple-A Charlotte. The Sox also reassigned infielders Bobby Dalbec, Tristan Gray and Chase Meidroth to minor league camp alongside righties James Karinchak and Steven Wilson.

In Jones, the Sox will pick up one of the sport’s fastest players. The 27-year-old has only six MLB plate appearances to his credit — he went 1-for-6 with a homer for Colorado last year — but drew 80 grades for his speed as a prospect. Jones went 46-for-49 in stolen bases at the Triple-A level last year despite being limited to just 89 games by injury. He hit .267/.344/.453 with the Rockies’ top affiliate (99 wRC+).

Jones is in the last of his three minor league option years. The former Rays first-rounder has split the bulk of his pro career between shortstop and center field. He’ll give the South Siders some depth at both spots and would presumably be an option in the outfield corners or at second base and third base as well. The Rockies gave him 64 games in center, 16 at shortstop, eight at second base and four in right field last year.

Colorado picked Jones up in a March 2024 trade sending left-handed pitching prospect Joe Rock to the Rays. The Rockies are left without anything to show for that swap now, whereas Rock has blossomed into a nearly MLB-ready rotation prospect for Tampa Bay. Rock profiles as more of a back-end starter or multi-inning reliever than a top-of-the-rotation talent, but the swap has clearly worked out in the Rays’ favor to this point.

Poll: Who Will Win The NL West?

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With Opening Day just over the horizon, teams all around the league are gearing up for another pennant chase in hopes of being crowned this year’s World Series champion. Of course, there’s still another seven months to go before someone raises the Commissioner’s Trophy. And until the playoffs begin, teams will be focused on a smaller goal: winning their division. We’ll be conducting a series of polls to gauge who MLBTR readers believe is the favorite in each division, and that series begins today with the NL West. Teams are listed in order of their 2024 record.

Los Angeles Dodgers (98-64)

The Dodgers have already notched two wins over the Cubs in the Tokyo Series for 2025, and they did so coming off a season where they finished the year with the best record in baseball and went on to win the World Series over the Yankees in five games. The club’s core of MVP-caliber talent remains in place with Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman all set to once again anchor the lineup this year. Meanwhile, a pitching staff that already included Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, and Clayton Kershaw has been bulked out further not just by Ohtani’s impending return to the mound but also the additions of Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki.

In the bullpen, the team’s solid late-inning mix of Blake Treinen, Alex Vesia, Michael Kopech, and Evan Phillips got a pair of major additions in the form of Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates, while the lineup is largely unchanged from last season with Hyeseong Kim set to replace Gavin Lux eventually and Michael Conforto stepping into the outfield in place of Jason Heyward. There are few clear places to nitpick a team that appears to be a clear juggernaut on paper, although the combination of Betts and Max Muncy on the left side of the infield figures to be below average defensively and the club’s strategy of stacking talented, oft-injured rotation arms always runs the risk of health problems.

San Diego Padres (93-69)

While many view besting the Dodgers as a mountain that’s near impossible to climb, it’s worth remembering that San Diego came within just one game of toppling them during the NLDS back in October. The Padres were restricted in their offseason activities by financial limitations, but the core of the 2024 club remains largely in place with Manny Machado, Jackson Merrill, and Fernando Tatis Jr. poised to anchor the lineup, Xander Bogaerts and Luis Arraez providing support and a front-of-the-rotation duo of Dylan Cease and Michael King who will be motivated to build on their excellent 2024 campaigns ahead of free agency this winter.

That’s not to say the club made no additions this winter, of course. The Padres waited out the market to sign talented right-hander Nick Pivetta to anchor the middle of their rotation alongside Yu Darvish, allowing them to make a splash on a tight budget. Other additions were less flashy, but could still prove valuable. While a supporting cast of Jason Heyward, Connor Joe, Jose Iglesias, and Yuli Gurriel may not look like much on paper, no one expected Jurickson Profar, David Peralta, and Donovan Solano to be as impactful for the club as they were last year. If the Padres are to win an NL West that got even more loaded this winter, they’ll need to hit on those dice rolls once again.

Arizona Diamondbacks (89-73)

While the Diamondbacks missed the playoffs by a hair in 2024 when they finished tied with the Mets and Braves for the final two NL Wild Card spots, the 2023 NL champions put together an excellent team in 2024. The Diamondbacks led the majors in runs scored last year, and many core pieces like Ketel Marte and Corbin Carroll are back for more this year alongside supporting veterans Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Eugenio Suarez. The losses of Christian Walker and Joc Pederson will certainly sting, but Josh Naylor should help to make up for some of that lost production and it wouldn’t be a shock to see longtime top prospect Jordan Lawlar break into the majors this year, either.

The pitching side of things is where Arizona figures to improve the most over last year. Zac Gallen is now complemented at the top of the Diamondbacks rotation by a co-ace in Corbin Burnes, and Merrill Kelly and Eduardo Rodriguez should be able to offer far steadier mid-rotation production than they did in injury-marred 2024 campaigns. The club also enjoys a deep group of back-of-the-rotation options, with Brandon Pfaadt set to get the first crack at starting. Should injuries once again complicate matters, Ryne Nelson is one of the best sixth starters in the league and there’s nowhere for Jordan Montgomery to go but up after last year’s disastrous campaign.

San Francisco Giants (80-82)

The Giants enjoyed a reasonably strong offseason during Buster Posey’s first winter at the helm, but after finishing with a middling record for the third consecutive season it would take a lot of things going right for the club to make significant gains in the standings. The addition of a star-caliber shortstop in Willy Adames alongside Matt Chapman should make for one of the stronger left sides of the infield in the sport this year, but it would take a renaissance from Justin Verlander to even match Blake Snell’s production down the stretch last year. Meanwhile, the club has no established talent at DH and faces questions about the productivity of its outfield after Jung Hoo Lee’s debut season was sidetracked by injuries.

That’s not to say 2025 is a season without hope for fans in San Francisco, however. Verlander and Robbie Ray are both former Cy Young winners, and vintage performances from the duo in conjunction with Logan Webb’s ever-steady production could make an impressive front-end of the rotation. Young players like Heliot Ramos, Tyler Fitzgerald, and Patrick Bailey could build on solid 2024 campaigns and take further steps forward. And if they do so while the rotation plays up to its potential, it’s possible to see the Giants surprising this year.

Colorado Rockies (61-101)

While the division’s other four teams all have reasonable paths to contention this year, the Rockies would need to move heaven and earth just to get to .500 after a season where they finished 37 games back in the NL West and made no significant additions during the offseason. The club has a few potentially exciting pieces in place, with center fielder Brenton Doyle and shortstop Ezequiel Tovar creating an exciting up-the-middle duo, but the supporting cast leaves much to be desired.

The club traded its highest-ceiling offensive player, left fielder Nolan Jones, for utility man Tyler Freeman over the weekend. And exciting top prospects like Zac Veen and Chase Dollander remain in the minor leagues. Even a return to form from $182MM man Kris Bryant wouldn’t be enough to return playoff baseball to Colorado this year unless it was paired with strong performances from those aforementioned prospects in addition to veteran arms like German Marquez and Kyle Freeland turning back the clock to 2018.

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With four of the division’s five teams making an effort to get back to the playoffs this year, which club do you expect to come out on top? Will the Dodgers remain the league’s dominant force, or will they be overcome by a big season from one of their rivals like San Diego or Arizona? Have your say in the poll below:

Rockies Select Nick Martini, Option Zac Veen

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The Rockies announced a series of roster moves this afternoon, highlighted by the club’s decisions to select outfielder Nick Martini’s contract and option outfielder Zac Veen to Triple-A. The Rockies’s 40-man roster stands at 40 after the addition of Martini.

Martini, 35 in June, figures to replace the recently-traded Nolan Jones in left field for the Rockies entering the year. A seventh-round pick by the Cardinals all the way back in 2011, Martini toiled in the minor leagues for several years before finally making his big league debut with Oakland back in 2018. He got into only 55 games for the A’s that year, but hit quite well with a .296/.397/.414 slash line in 179 trips to the plate. Things took a turn for the worse from there, however, as Martini hit just .238/.338/.315 in 57 games from 2019 to 2021 while jumping between the A’s, Padres, and Cubs.

Those lackluster numbers led Martini to try his luck overseas, and he hit a strong .296/.365/.461 in 139 games as a regular for the KBO’s NC Dinos. That served as a springboard that allowed him to return to the majors with the Reds for the 2023 season, and Martini made the most of the opportunity as he hit an excellent .264/.329/.583 in a brief 29-game stint with the club. Cincinnati was impressed enough to keep Martini in the fold last year, though his numbers took a nosedive as he hit just .212/.272/.370 in 52 games for the Reds last year. Martini departed the Reds following that down year and caught on with the Rockies on a minor league deal this winter.

He entered the spring as a long shot for a big league job, but has crushed the ball to the tune of a .389/.511/.556 showing in 16 spring games this year. That performance, combined with the club’s recent move to trade Jones back to Cleveland, cleared the way for Martini to make the Opening Day roster, where he seems poised to platoon with Sean Bouchard in left field.

Veen, meanwhile, was in competition with Jordan Beck and Bouchard for the everyday right field job but will now head to the minor leagues to begin the year. The 23-year-old was Colorado’s first-round pick back in 2020, Veen was a consensus top-50 prospect early in his pro career but has been limited to just 111 games by injuries over the past two years. 2023 saw him struggle to a lackluster .209/.304/.308 in 46 games, but last year Veen bounced back in 65 appearances, with a strong .258/.346/.459 line split mostly between the Double- and Triple-A levels. Like Martini, Veen has enjoyed an incredible spring as he’s hit .298/.375/.509 in 25 games for the Rockies during camp.

Unfortunately for Veen, it appears that strong performance wasn’t enough to force his way onto the roster even after the Jones trade cleared an outfield spot. With Veen now ticketed for Triple-A, he’ll look to build on the 21 games of experience he got at the level last year and stay healthy as he waits for his first big league opportunity. Should an injury to the big league outfield mix occur, Veen’s status on the 40-man roster could give him a leg up over some potential alternative options, though Greg Jones and Yanquiel Fernandez are both on the 40 as well.

Rockies To Release Jake Woodford

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According to a report from MLBTR’s Steve Adams yesterday evening, right-hander Jake Woodford has opted out of his minor league deal with the Rockies and Colorado is expected to grant the righty his release so that he can pursue other opportunities.

Woodford, 28, was a first rounder selected by the Cardinals in 2015 but did not make his big league debut until 2020. The right-hander’s first stint in the majors left something to be desired, as he struggled to a 5.57 ERA across 21 frames, but he remained an up-and-down swingman for the club for four seasons in total. Woodford managed to get some solid results for the Cardinals from 2021-22, as he pitched to a 3.26 ERA (121 ERA+) with a 3.93 FIP in 116 innings of work. He struck out just 15.4% of opponents faced during that time against a 7.5% walk rate, though he made up for his lack of strikeout stuff and pinpoint command in part thanks to a strong 45.8% groundball rate.

The righty’s shaky peripherals proved to be a problem for him during the 2023 campaign, however, as he posted a lackluster 6.23 ERA with a 6.61 FIP over 47 2/3 innings of work. His strikeout rate dipped to 13.1%, his walk rate ballooned to 9.1%, and even his excellent 51.2% groundball rate wasn’t enough to make up for the excessive free passes and minimal punchouts. Woodford’s considerable struggles with the Cardinals led the club to non-tender him last winter, though he eventually caught on with the White Sox on a minor league deal.

Unfortunately, 2024 did not go much better for Woodford than 2023 had. The right-hander made two spot starts on the south side of Chicago but was torched for 15 hits and ten runs in 8 1/3 innings of work before being designated for assignment. He cleared waivers and elected free agency before eventually catching on with the Pirates on a minor league deal and making it back to the majors shortly after the trade deadline. The right-hander ended up making seven appearances (five starts) for Pittsburgh, and while he struggled once again to a 7.09 ERA his peripheral numbers improved somewhat. His strikeout rate ticked back up to 15.7% while he held opponents to a minuscule 3.3% walk rate, though those improvements came at the cost of a groundball rate that sat at just 38.9%.

Woodford was eventually outrighted off the Pirates’ roster late last season and went on to elect minor league free agency, where he landed with the Rockies on a minor league deal. Colorado intended to give Woodford a look as a potential starter, though he did not make the club’s rotation out of camp after struggling to a 5.25 ERA in 12 spring innings of work. Despite that lackluster performance, it’s not hard to imagine a club short on rotation depth taking a chance on Woodford and seeing what he can do for them at the Triple-A level on a minor league deal. After all, many pitching-needy clubs could find interest in his solid career 45.1% groundball rate, and his ability to shuffle between the rotation and bullpen as needed offers flexibility.

Guardians, Rockies Swap Nolan Jones, Tyler Freeman

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The Guardians and Rockies have reached a deal that sent outfielder Nolan Jones to Cleveland in exchange for infielder/outfielder Tyler Freeman, according to a report from Thomas Harding of MLB.com. The deal has subsequently been announced.

The deal represents a homecoming for Jones, who was a second-round pick by Cleveland in 2016 and made his MLB debut with the club in 2022 before being traded to Colorado in a deal that brought back Juan Brito in November of that year. Jones went on to finish fourth in NL Rookie of the Year voting that year as he posted 3.8 fWAR/4.3 bWAR for the Rockies, slugging 20 homers and swiping 20 bases while splitting time between the outfield corners and first base. In all, Jones slashed .297/.389/.542 that season, which even in the inflated offensive environment Coors Field provides was good for an excellent 137 wRC+. Meanwhile, Brito has yet to make his big league debut for the Guardians but posted a strong .256/.365/.443 line in 144 games at Triple-A for the club last year.

As impressive as Jones’s first year in Colorado was, however, he suffered a significant sophomore slump in his second year with the club. Back issues limited him to just 79 games, and when he was healthy enough to take the field he was ineffective with a lackluster .227/.321/.320 slash line. While a downturn in production should have always been expected relative to his 2023 campaign given Jones’s unbelievable .400 BABIP that year, Jones’s lost power production was something of a shock. After barreling up a whopping 15.7% of his batted balls in 2023, that number cratered to just 5.9% last year despite his overall rate of hard hit batted balls increasing from 40.9% to 44.4%. That came primarily from a massive spike in groundball rate, as Jones hit 52.7% of his batted balls on the ground last year, ten points higher than the year prior. That left him to club just three homers last year and enter his age-27 campaign with plenty of questions about what his production would look like this year.

Those questions will now be answered back in Cleveland, where Jones now appears likely to have the opportunity to lock down the club’s regular right field job, which to this point appeared likely to be filled by Will Brennan. Jones offers more proven upside than Brennan, 27, who posted roughly league average offensive numbers in a platoon role with the Guardians last year. Brennan, unlike Jones, has options remaining and can be sent to Triple-A as depth for the coming season. Should he replace Brennan on the roster, Jones could share time in right field with right-handed slugger Jhonkensy Noel if the Guardians want to spell him against left-handed pitchers, though Johnathan Rodriguez is another option on the 40-man roster.

As for the Rockies, they’ll be parting with Jones to bring in Freeman, a versatile utility bat with the ability to play quality defense all over the diamond but minimal offensive potential. A career 83 wRC+ hitter who slashed .209/.305/.321 (84 wRC+) in 118 games with the Guardians last year, Freeman spent the majority of his time in center field but also got brief looks at shortstop, third base, and second base throughout the season. With Brenton Doyle locked in as the everyday center fielder in Colorado, it seems likely that Freeman will be tasked with a more regular return to the dirt in 2025. While a utility role off the bench could be in Freeman’s future given the presence of Ezequiel Tovar at shortstop and Ryan McMahon at third base, an injury to Thairo Estrada earlier this week opened up regular playing time at the keystone for at least the start of the season. Given that, it seems likely that Freeman will either serve as the Rockies’ regular second baseman or split time with veteran utility man Kyle Farmer at the position while Estrada recovers from the broken wrist that figures to sideline him for four to eight weeks.

Freeman was projected to be part of the Guardians’ bench mix come Opening Day, likely serving as a backup center field option behind Lane Thomas as well as a potential platoon partner for either Brennan or Kyle Manzardo. It’s possible a more regular outfielder like Rodriguez or Angel Martinez could be asked to take on that role, but one potentially intriguing candidate to join the club’s roster would be Brito himself. Brito is mostly an infielder with the vast majority of his time in the minors spent at second base, but he got a look in right field last year and could be an intriguing addition to the club’s bench mix as long as they believe in Lane Thomas as a legitimate everyday option in center field.

Thairo Estrada To Miss Four To Eight Weeks With Broken Wrist

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Rockies infielder Thairo Estrada has a broken right wrist, suffered after being hit by a pitch yesterday, and will miss four to eight weeks. Manager Bud Black passed the information on to reporters, including Bob Nightengale of USA Today and Thomas Harding of MLB.com.

Estrada, 29, was set to be the club’s regular second baseman. They had Brendan Rodgers in that job for much of the past few seasons but non-tendered him after 2024. They signed Estrada to fill that opening, giving him a one-year, $3.25MM deal.

While he was coming off a down year, Estrada had a strong three-year run with the Giants prior to that. Over the 2021 to 2023 seasons, Estrada slashed .266/.320/.416 for a wRC+ of 105. He was mostly at the keystone in that time but also had enough versatility to play shortstop, third base and the outfield on occasion. He stole at least 21 bases in both 2022 and 2023.

But as mentioned, last year didn’t go well. He made multiple trips to the injured list due to left wrist sprains and hit .217/.247/.343 for a 64 wRC+. The Giants outrighted him off the roster at the end of August.

He and the Rockies were surely hoping he could bounce back in 2025 and he looked good in camp. He put up a line of .400/.421/.457 in 38 Cactus League plate appearances. Unfortunately, whatever momentum he was building for the regular season will now be put on hold for an extended stretch. Wrist problems are often tough to come back from, being obviously important for hitting. Estrada had left wrist problems last year and now has a broken right wrist, so it’s anyone’s guess what he’ll look like a few weeks from now.

With the schedule set to begin in a week, the Rockies will have to decide how to proceed. Harding reports that the first priority will be to try Kyle Farmer at second. Farmer also got a $3.25MM deal from the Rockies this winter, though he’s more of a glove-first player. He has hit .252/.313/.396 for a wRC+ of 93 over the past four years but with strong glovework at all four infield spots and the occasional appearance in left field.

Farmer was previously slated to serve in a multi-positional infield role. If he slides in as the regular second baseman, they will need to find another infielder for the bench. They only have four other regular infielders on the 40-man roster. Ryan McMahon is the regular third baseman, with Ezequiel Tovar at short. Michael Toglia will be in the first base job. Adael Amador is one of the club’s best prospects and has made a brief MLB debut, but he’s not yet 22 years old and hasn’t yet played at the Triple-A level. Greg Jones has some infield experience but played more in the outfield last year. Owen Miller isn’t on the roster but a non-roster depth option.

Nightengale suggests they could look to the open market, naming Nicky Lopez and Garrett Hampson as possibilities. Lopez was released by the Cubs today. Hampson has triggered an opt-out in his deal with the Diamondbacks, but they could add him to their roster this weekend. Players like Nick Ahmed and Jose Iglesias also have opt-outs in the coming days.

Photo courtesy Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images

36 Veteran Players With Looming Opt-Out Dates

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The 2022-26 collective bargaining agreement implemented a new series of uniform opt-out dates for players who qualified as free agents under Article XX(b) of said agreement and sign a minor league deal in free agency. More specifically, that designation falls on players with six-plus years of MLB service time who finished the preceding season on a major league roster or injured list. Some contracts for players coming over from a foreign professional league like Nippon Professional Baseball or the Korea Baseball Organization will also have language written into their contracts allowing them to qualify as an XX(b) free agent despite a lack of six years of service.

The three uniform opt-out dates on those contracts land five days before Opening Day, on May 1 and on June 1. With the regular season set to kick off next week, any Article XX(b) free agents who are in camp on minor league contracts will have the opportunity to opt out on Saturday, March 22. A player triggering one of these out clauses gives his current club 48 hours to either add him to the 40-man roster or let him become a free agent.

There are other ways to secure opt-outs in contracts, of course. Many players who don’t qualify for XX(b) designation will still have opt-out opportunities negotiated into their minor league deals in free agency.

The following is a list of 36 players who are in camp as non-roster invitees and will be able to opt out this weekend. Most were XX(b) free agents, but there are a handful of names who didn’t meet that requirement but had outs negotiated into their respective deals nonetheless. This is not a comprehensive list of all players with opt-out opportunities this weekend.

All spring stats referenced are accurate through the completion of games played Wednesday, March 19.

Astros: LHP Jalen Beeks

Beeks, 31, was a relatively late sign (March 7) who’s since tossed three spring frames — including two scoreless innings just yesterday. He logged a 4.50 ERA in 70 innings between the Rockies and Pirates last season. He struggled to miss bats last year but typically runs strong strikeout rates. Dating back to 2020, Beeks carries a 4.16 ERA in 192 2/3 innings. In Josh Hader, Bryan King and Bennett Sousa, the Astros already have three lefty relievers on the 40-man. Another veteran non-roster invitee, Steven Okert, has rattled off 8 2/3 shutout spring innings with a 14-to-2 K/BB ratio. Beeks might have long odds of cracking the roster.

Blue Jays: RHP Jacob Barnes, LHP Ryan Yarbrough

The 34-year-old Barnes logged a 4.36 ERA in a career-high 66 big league innings last season. He posted an ERA north of 5.00 in each of the five preceding seasons (a total of 115 1/3 frames). He’s been tagged for four runs in 5 1/3 innings this spring.

Yarbrough, 33, had a terrific run with the Jays to close out the 2024 season. Joining Toronto in a deadline swap sending Kevin Kiermaier to the Dodgers, the veteran southpaw posted a 2.01 ERA in 31 1/3 innings. He’s a soft-tosser, sitting just 86.5 mph with his heater, but Yarbrough can pitch multiple innings in relief and has a decent track record even beyond last year’s overall 3.19 earned run average (4.21 ERA in 768 MLB innings). He’s allowed three runs with and 8-to-1 K/BB ratio in 6 2/3 innings in camp.

Braves: RHP Buck Farmer, RHP Hector Neris

Farmer was already reassigned to minor league camp on Sunday, so there’d seem to be a good chance of him taking his out. The 34-year-old turned in a terrific 3.04 ERA in 71 innings for the Reds last year but was probably hampered by his age, pedestrian velocity and subpar command in free agency. With a 3.68 ERA in 193 innings over the past three seasons in Cincinnati, he should find an opportunity somewhere — even if it’s not in Atlanta.

Neris is still in Braves camp. He signed well into camp and thus has only pitched one official inning so far, which was scoreless. (Neris is pitching today as well.) He’s looking to bounce back from a 4.10 ERA and a particularly poor performance in save opportunities last year. Prior to his nondescript 2024, Neris rattled off a 3.03 ERA in 208 innings from 2021-23 between Philly and Houston, saving 17 games and collecting 67 holds along the way.

Brewers: 1B/OF Mark Canha, OF Manuel Margot

He’s had a brutal spring, but the 36-year-old Canha has been an above-average hitter every year since 2018, by measure of wRC+. He’s just 2-for-23 in Brewers camp, but he’s slugged a homer and walked as often as he’s fanned (four times apiece). Milwaukee has Rhys Hoskins at first base, but Canha could chip in at DH and offer a right-handed complement to lefty outfielders Sal Frelick and Garrett Mitchell.

Margot hasn’t hit well in a tiny sample of 35 spring plate appearances, but he’s outproduced Canha with a .250/.314/.375 slash. He’s coming off a dismal .238/.289/.337 showing in Minnesota, however, and hasn’t been the plus defender he was prior to a major 2022 knee injury. Like Canha, he could complement Frelick and Mitchell as a righty-swinging outfielder, but Canha has been the far more productive bat in recent seasons.

Cubs: RHP Chris Flexen

The Cubs reassigned Flexen to minor league camp after just 3 2/3 innings this spring. He was hit hard on the other side of town with the White Sox in 2024, though Flexen quietly righted the ship after an awful start. He posted a 5.69 ERA through nine starts but logged a 4.62 mark over his final 21 trips to the mound, including a tidy 3.52 earned run average across 46 innings in his last eight starts. Flexen may not bounce back to his 2021-22 numbers in Seattle, but he’s a durable fifth starter if nothing else.

Diamondbacks: INF/OF Garrett Hampson, RHP Scott McGough

The D-backs don’t really have a backup shortstop while Blaze Alexander is sidelined with an oblique strain, which seems to bode well for Hampson. He’s hitting .235/.333/.324 in camp and can play three infield spots and three outfield positions. He had a bleak .230/.275/.300 performance in Kansas City last year but was a league-average hitter for the Marlins as recently as 2023.

McGough was reassigned to minor league camp yesterday after serving up six runs in 4 2/3 innings of spring work. That wasn’t the follow-up to last year’s gruesome 7.44 ERA for which the 35-year-old righty or the team had hoped.

Giants: C Max Stassi, RHP Lou Trivino

Stassi is battling Sam Huff, who’s on the 40-man, for the backup catcher’s role while Tom Murphy is injured. The 34-year-old Stassi is hitting .300/.364/.700 with a pair of homers in 22 spring plate appearances. He’s a plus defender with a scattershot track record at the plate.

Trivino hasn’t pitched since 2022 due to Tommy John surgery and a separate shoulder issue. He also hasn’t allowed a run in 8 1/3 spring innings. (9-to-4 K/BB ratio). Trivino’s scoreless Cactus League showing, his pre-injury track record and his familiarity with skipper Bob Melvin — his manager in Oakland — all seem to give him a real chance to win a spot.

Mariners: RHP Shintaro Fujinami, RHP Trevor Gott, 1B Rowdy Tellez

Fujinami’s command has never been good, and he’s walked more batters (seven) than he’s struck out (four) through 5 2/3 spring innings. He’s also plunked a pair of batters. He’s looking to bounce back from an injury-ruined 2024 season but might have to take his first steps toward doing so in Triple-A.

Tellez has had a big camp and looks like he could have a real chance to make the club in a part-time DH/first base role, as explored more yesterday. Gott is on the mend from Tommy John surgery performed last March and won’t pitch until midseason. He’s unlikely to opt out.

Mets: RHP Jose Ureña

Ureña was torched for seven runs in his first 1 1/3 spring innings after signing with the Mets on Feb. 27. He bounced back by striking out all three opponents he faced in an inning this past weekend, but he hasn’t helped himself otherwise. Ureña’s 3.80 ERA in 109 innings with Texas last year was his first sub-5.00 ERA since 2017-18 in Miami.

Padres: 1B Yuli Gurriel, INF Jose Iglesias

Both veterans have a legitimate chance to make the club. Gurriel has had a productive spring (.296/.321/.519) at nearly 41 years of age, while Iglesias is out to a 5-for-18 start since signing in mid-March. Gurriel could split time at first and DH, lessening the need to use Luis Arraez in the field. Iglesias could see frequent work at second base, shifting Jake Cronenworth to first base and pushing Arraez to DH. The Padres probably wouldn’t have put a hefty (relative to most minor league deals) $3MM base salary on Iglesias’ deal if they didn’t see a real path to him making the roster.

Pirates: LHP Ryan Borucki

Borucki was great for the Pirates in 2023 and struggled through 11 innings during an injury-marred 2024 season. The 30-year-old southpaw has allowed one run in eight spring innings. His five walks are a bit much, but he’s also fanned 11 of his 33 opponents.

Rangers: SS Nick Ahmed, RHP David Buchanan, RHP Jesse Chavez, OF Kevin Pillar, RHP Hunter Strickland

Ahmed has more homers in 28 spring plate appearances than he had in 228 plate appearances in 2024 or 210 plate appearances in 2023. He’s popped three round-trippers already and slashed .286/.310/.607. With a crowded infield and versatile backups like Josh Smith and Ezequiel Duran, Ahmed might still have a hard time cracking the roster.

None of the three pitchers listed here has performed well in limited work. Buchanan had a nice run as a starter in the KBO in the four preceding seasons, while Chavez has been a mainstay in the Atlanta bullpen for much of the past few years. Strickland had a nice 2024 in Anaheim but signed very late and retired only one of the five batters he faced during his long spring outing.

Pillar may have the best chance of the bunch to make the team. He’s hitting .273/.333/.394 in 39 plate appearances. Outfielders Wyatt Langford and Adolis Garcia have been banged up this spring, so some extra outfield depth could make sense.

Rays: DH/OF Eloy Jimenez

Jimenez homered for the second time yesterday, boosting his Grapefruit line to .263/.300/.447. He’s coming off a dreadful season in 2024, but from 2019-23 the former top prospect raked at a .275/.324/.487 pace, including a 31-homer rookie campaign (admittedly, in the juiced-ball 2019 season). Durability has been a bigger factor than productivity. If the Rays can get Jimenez to elevate the ball more, he could be a bargain; he’s still only 28.

Red Sox: LHP Matt Moore, RHP Adam Ottavino

Moore signed on Feb. 20 and has only gotten into two spring games so far, totaling two innings. Ottavino has pitched four innings but allowed five runs. He’s walked five and tossed a pair of wild pitches in that time. Both pitchers have long MLB track records, but they’re both coming off lackluster seasons.

Reds: LHP Wade Miley

Miley underwent Tommy John surgery early last season and contemplated retirement upon learning his prognosis. He wanted to return to one of his former NL Central clubs in free agency, and the Reds clearly offered a more compelling minor league deal than the Brewers. He’s not going to be a realistic option until late May, and it seems unlikely he’d opt out while his rehab is still ongoing.

Rockies: RHP Jake Woodford

Woodford isn’t an Article XX(b) free agent, but MLBTR has learned that he still has a March 22 opt-out. He made his fourth appearance of Rockies camp yesterday, tossing 2 2/3 innings with an earned run. Woodford has allowed seven runs on 11 hits and three walks with five punchouts and a nice 47.2% grounder rate in 10 2/3 frames this spring. He has experience as a starter and reliever. The righty doesn’t miss many bats but keeps the ball on the ground and has good command. He’s a fifth starter/swingman who’s out of minor league options.

Royals: C Luke Maile, RHP Ross Stripling

Maile is a glove-first backup who’s had a nice spring at the plate but has done so on a team with a healthy Salvador Perez and Freddy Fermin. His path to a roster spot doesn’t look great. Speculatively, his former Reds club, which just lost Tyler Stephenson to begin the year, would make sense if they plan to add an outside catcher. Maile’s .214/.294/.329 performance over the past three seasons is light, but he’s already familiar with the bulk of Cincinnati’s staff. He’s a fine backup or No. 3 catcher for any club, Kansas City included.

Stripling notched a 3.01 ERA in 124 innings for the 2022 Blue Jays, but it’s been rough waters since. He was rocked for a 5.68 ERA across the past two seasons, spending time with both Bay Area clubs, and has been tagged for 11 runs on 14 hits — four of them homers — with just two strikeouts in six spring frames. He’ll likely need a strong Triple-A showing, be it with the Royals or another club, to pitch his way back to the majors.

Tigers: LHP Andrew Chafin

Chafin surprisingly commanded only a minor league deal this offseason and has struggled to begin his third stint with the Tigers. He’s been tagged for eight runs in four spring innings, walking six batters along the way. It’s a rough look, but the affable southpaw notched a 3.51 ERA in 56 1/3 MLB frames last year and touts a 3.12 mark across the past four seasons combined.

White Sox: RHP Mike Clevinger, INF Brandon Drury, OF Travis Jankowski

The ChiSox signed Clevinger for a third time late this spring and are trying him in the bullpen. He’s responded with four shutout innings, allowing only one hit and no walks while fanning six hitters. His 2025 White Sox reunion is out to a much better start than his 2024 reunion, wherein he was limited to only 16 innings with a 6.75 ERA thanks to elbow and neck troubles.

Drury could hardly be doing more to secure a spot with the Pale Hose. He’s decimated Cactus League pitching at a .410/.439/.821 pace, slugging three homers and seven doubles in only 41 plate appearances. He’s coming off a terrible 2024 showing with the Angels but hit .263/.313/.493 from 2021-23. It’d be a surprise if the Sox didn’t keep him.

Jankowski started the spring with the Cubs, was granted his release and signed with the Sox. The hits haven’t been dropping, but he has six walks in 25 plate appearances. The White Sox already have Michael A. Taylor in a fourth outfield role. Andrew Benintendi, who missed three-plus weeks with a fractured hand, was back in the lineup yesterday, making Jankowski something of a long shot.

Yankees: RHP Carlos Carrasco

With a nice spring showing and several injuries in the Yankees’ rotation, Carrasco looks to have a good chance at making the roster. Jack Curry of the YES Network already reported it’s “likely” Carrasco will be added this weekend. Carrasco has a 1.69 ERA with 15 strikeouts and seven walks (plus four hit batters) in 16 spring innings. He tossed five shutout frames yesterday.

Poll: The Rockies’ Outfield Mix

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Headed into 2025, there isn’t a ton for Rockies fans to look forward to this year. The club has just a 0.1% chance of making the postseason this year according to Fangraphs, which is tied with the White Sox for the lowest in baseball. Projected for a 65-97 record this season, the Rockies’ path back to relevance appears long and arduous given the stronger clubs ahead of them in the NL West.

Bleak as things may seem in Colorado, however, the Rockies do have some interesting young players worth dreaming on. Michael Toglia crushed 25 homers in his first full season as a big leaguer last year and figures to serve as the club’s everyday first baseman this year. Ezequiel Tovar won a Gold Glove award last year, led the NL in doubles, and is in town long-term after signing an extension that keeps him under team control for the next seven seasons. Brenton Doyle is among the most talented center field defenders in the sport and enjoyed an above-average offensive season last year, even after adjusting for the offensive environment at Coors Field.

That collection of interesting young hitters could receive a new addition this year, as the retirement of Charlie Blackmon has opened up regular playing time at DH for Kris Bryant. Things are looking rather unsettled for the club in the outfield this year, with no certainty in the corners even as Doyle is locked in as the club’s regular center fielder and Sam Hilliard appears poised to retain his role as the club’s fourth outfielder after performing well in that role last year. Despite that lack of certainty, there’s a number of interesting options available to handle regular playing time.

26-year-old Nolan Jones is the overwhelming favorite to serve as the club’s regular left fielder, even after an injury-marred 2024 campaign where he was limited to just 79 games and hit a lackluster .227/.321/.320 in the games where he was healthy enough to take the field. That’s because Jones is just one season removed from a stellar 2023 campaign where he posted a .297/.389/.542 slash line in a year where he put together a 20/20 season. That proven upside should be enough to get him the first crack at everyday reps in left field, leaving the main roster battle to be held in right.

2022 first-rounder Jordan Beck entered Spring Training as the favorite for the right field job. Beck, 24 next month, struggled mightily in 55 games for the Rockies last year with a paltry .188/.245/.276 slash line. A broken bone in his left hand sidelined him for much of the summer, and the lingering effects of that injury may have impacted his return to action over the season’s final six weeks, when he struck out in 34% of his trips to the plate and hit just .187/.282/.242. He’s also got plenty of pedigree as a former top-100 prospect who raked at every stop on his way through the minor leagues, suggesting the underlying talent for a quality regular is there. However, he’s looked out of sorts this spring with strikeouts in more than 30% of his plate appearances, and his numbers prior to last year’s injury were actually even weaker than his performance down the stretch.

It wouldn’t be a surprise if those deep struggles opened the door for another player to squeeze their way into the right field job, and two players in particular have made the most of the opportunity. One is Sean Bouchard, who at 28 years old is the oldest of the corner outfield options mentioned here. Bouchard made his debut for Colorado back in 2022 and has appeared in each of the past three seasons, but has never received regular playing time in the majors to this point in his career. He didn’t hit much last year, but his overall body of work at the big league level is fairly impressive with a .251/.368/.443 (115 wRC+) slash line in 248 trips to the plate across the past three years. Those solid numbers come with a slightly inflated .339 BABIP, however, and his 29% strikeout rate in the majors offers some cause for concern. On the other hand, Bouchard has done nothing but rake at both the Triple-A level throughout his career (with a career 1.012 OPS at the level) and in Spring Training this year, where he’s slashed .378/.395/.757 in 15 games.

Perhaps the most intriguing option available to the Rockies is calling up former top prospect Zac Veen. Veen, 23, is the youngest of the club’s options and was considered a top-30 prospect in the sport as recently as last year. However, he’s suffered through back-to-back injury marred campaigns with 111 games played across all levels of the minors since the start of the 2023 season. He hit a solid .258/.346/.459 across all levels of the minors when healthy last year and ultimately reached Triple-A, but his struggles in 21 games at the level last year could suggest he’s not quite ready for the big leagues. On the other hand, Veen has joined Bouchard in putting on an offensive clinic this spring, with a .317/.304/.610 slash line in 20 spring games.

As presently constructed, the Rockies appear to have enough roster spots available to carry only three of these four corner bats. Jones is essentially guaranteed a roster spot given that he’s out of options, but each of Bouchard, Veen, and Beck all have options remaining. Given the prospect pedigree and high ceilings both Beck and Veen seemingly have to offer, it wouldn’t make much sense to keep either player on the roster in a pure bench role. The right-handed Beck and left-handed Veen could certainly work out some sort of timeshare that gets both the at-bats they need to develop, though it’s also possible the club could opt to give either player regular reps in the minor leagues while rostering Bouchard. Bouchard’s right-handed bat could also provide additional value off the bench if the lefty-swinging Jones, who hit just .205/.283/.265 against southpaws last year, needs a platoon partner to maximize his own development.

Who would you send to the minors to open the season if you were in Colorado’s shoes? Would you give Veen more time to develop in the minors despite his strong spring and exciting upside? Would Beck’s struggles last year bleeding over into Spring Training be enough to turn you away from including him on the roster to open the season? Or perhaps you’d include both youngsters and send Bouchard to the minors as depth despite his relative success in the majors? Have your say in the poll below:

Austin Gomber Will Begin Season On Rockies’ Injured List

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Rockies left-hander Austin Gomber will be placed on the 15-day injured list prior to Opening Day, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post reports.  It might just be a fairly minimal stint, but the placement reflects the left shoulder soreness that has held Gomber back for the last two weeks.

The southpaw threw two scoreless innings in his only Cactus League appearance of the spring, though Gomber’s velocity was slightly down and his shoulder continued to feel sore in the lead-up to his next planned outing, which ended up being scratched.  Rox manager Bud Black told reporters (including Patrick Lyons of Just Baseball Media) last Monday that Gomber received an injection to deal with the discomfort.  Gomber is back on the mound, with MLB.com’s Rockies injury report noting that Gomber is planned to throw two innings in a minor league game today, and then three innings in a Cactus League game on Saturday.

While Gomber is slated to be part of Colorado’s rotation, the team has off-days on both April 1 and 7.  As Lyons noted, the Rockies were already considering just using four starters in the early going, since by using just one game as a bullpen day, a proper fifth starter won’t be needed until the third week of the season.  This would give Gomber time to recover while missing barely any time.

Gomber had a 5.08 ERA over 544 innings with the Rockies over the last four seasons, including a 4.75 ERA in a career-high 165 frames last year.  While the overall results haven’t been great, Gomber’s ability to eat innings has been valuable to a Rockies team that has had to deal with a ton of pitching injuries in recent years.  Gomber himself hasn’t been immune, as he missed time with back issues in both 2021 and 2023.

Kyle Freeland, German Marquez, Antonio Senzatela, and Ryan Feltner are lined up to join Gomber in the rotation when everyone is healthy.  The Rockies finished at or near the bottom of most pitching categories in 2024, but the hope is that Marquez and Senzatela can provide some help now that they’re hopefully recovered from long-term injury absences.

Rockies’ Prospect Charlie Condon Sustains Non-Displaced Wrist Fracture

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Rockies prospect Charlie Condon suffered a non-displaced fracture in his left wrist, reports Manny Randhawa of MLB.com. He’ll be in a splint for a month and will not resume baseball activities for six weeks. Condon will not require surgery, but this will delay his season debut until at least May.

Colorado drafted Condon third overall last summer. The righty-hitting outfielder/third baseman was a candidate to go at #1 after a monster junior season at Georgia. Condon slugged 37 homers with a .433/.556/1.009 line against SEC pitching. Baseball America, ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel and Keith Law of The Athletic all ranked Condon as the top prospect in the class leading up to the draft. It registered as a slight surprise that he even got to the Rox at three. Cleveland took hit-first second baseman Travis Bazzana first, while the Reds went with righty Chase Burns with the #2 pick.

Condon’s professional career hasn’t begun as hoped. The Rockies assigned him to High-A Spokane. Condon hit .180 with 34 strikeouts and four walks in 25 games. He managed only one home run in 109 plate appearances. GM Bill Schmidt said last month that Condon was playing through a thumb injury. It’s a small enough sample that it’s not cause for too much concern, though the Rockies clearly anticipated he’d perform better after he obliterated the top college pitching in the country. Condon still ranks among the sport’s top 50 overall prospects at Baseball America, The Athletic, ESPN and MLB Pipeline.

The wrist injury gets his first full minor league season off to a tough start. Thomas Harding of MLB.com writes that the injury occurred when he dove for a fly ball in a minor league Spring Training contest on Tuesday.

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