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AL Notes: Tsutsugo, Rangers, Willman, Red Sox

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It “seems inevitable” that Rays infielder/outfielder Yoshi Tsutsugo will lose his roster spot in the near future, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times observes. Although the Rays made a fairly expensive commitment to Tsutsugo prior to 2020, the former Nippon Professional Baseball standout hasn’t lived up to a two-year, $12MM guarantee. This season has been especially rough for the 29-year-old, who has batted a miserable .167/.244/.218 with zero home runs in 87 plate appearances. The Rays still owe Tsutsugo around $5.5MM, Topkin points out, but may decide to move on anyway. Tsutsugo could stay in the organization if they send him down, but he has an assignment clause in his contract and would have to sign off on a demotion. Otherwise, Tsutsugo could collect the remaining money he’s due and try his luck in free agency again.

  • The Rangers announced that they have hired Baseball Savant creator Daren Willman as their Senior Director, Research & Development/Applications for Baseball Operations. Willman, who was the Director of Research & Development for MLB’s Baseball Operations Department, “will be responsible for the development and expansion of the Rangers’ baseball information systems,” the Rangers said. “He will oversee a team of developers in the continued growth and improvement of the organization’s information infrastructure.” Rangers president of baseball operations Jon Daniels stated that he expects Willman to “have a significant impact on our organization.”
  • The Red Sox own the majors’ best record (22-14) and a three-game lead in the American League East. But even if the Red Sox remain in contention around the July 30 trade deadline, the likelihood is that they’ll avoid farm system-altering deals that hurt them over the long haul, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic suggests (links: 1, 2). Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom hasn’t shown he’s willing to sacrifice future gains for short-term help, which could rule out dealing valuable prospects for certain pending free agents (e.g., Kris Bryant and Max Scherzer), writes McCaffrey.
  • Having played three rehab games at the High-A level, Red Sox utilityman Danny Santana will make his 2021 Triple-A debut on Tuesday, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe was among those to report. Santana signed a minor league contract with the Red Sox in the offseason, but a foot infection cost him a chance to make their roster during the spring. Assuming Santana doesn’t suffer any setbacks, the Red Sox will have to make a decision on him soon because his deal includes an opt-out clause for this month.

Quick Hits: Zimmermann, Voit, Dodgers, Red Sox

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Veteran right-hander Jordan Zimmermann was on the brink of calling it a career Thursday, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com writes, but he changed his mind when the Brewers selected his contract. “I think I was retired for about two hours,” said Zimmermann, a Wisconsin native whom the Brewers promoted as a result of recent injured list placements for fellow pitchers Corbin Burnes, Brett Anderson, Zack Godley and Josh Lindblom. Now that Zimmermann will continue on, the former Nationals star will try to get his career back on track after a subpar run with the Tigers from 2016-20.

  • Yankees first baseman Luke Voit could make his 2021 debut as early as May 11, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com relays. In the meantime, Voit – who underwent left knee surgery in late March – will start a rehab assignment at Double-A next week. The Yankees’ offense has improved since an ice-cold start to the season, but there’s no doubt the unit is better with a healthy Voit. The 30-year-old slugger led the majors with 22 home runs over 234 plate appearances last season and slashed .277/.338/.610 (152 wRC+).
  • The Dodgers’ bullpen has gone the first month of the season without righty reliever Joe Kelly, who’s on the IL with a shoulder issue. While Kelly is finally nearing his season debut, it turns out he has been dealing with a rather severe injury that required surgery in November, he revealed to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. “We found some cysts,” Kelly said. “My shoulder hasn’t been good since the end of 2019. But during my suspension after the thing with the Astros (early August) my arm was super weak. If I was laying on a table I couldn’t lift my arm past gravity. They asked me how long it was going on for and I told them forever. I couldn’t sleep at night and it felt like fire ants were eating my arm from the inside-out.” Kelly’s shoulder troubles helped limit him to 10 frames in the 2020 regular season, though he did contribute five appearances of 3 2/3-inning, one-run ball during the Dodgers’ World Series-winning playoff run.
  • The minor league contract that utilityman Danny Santana signed with the Red Sox initially included an opt-out date for today, but the two sides have agreed to push it back to the middle of May, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reports. On March 15, less than two weeks after joining the Boston organization, Santana was hospitalized with a foot infection that required surgery. Santana is still working back from that and will begin a minor league rehab assignment at the High-A level next Tuesday, per Chris Hatfield of SoxProspects.com.

Quick Hits: Red Sox, Diamondbacks, Nationals

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The Red Sox have a decision looming regarding Danny Santana. The infielder/outfielder has an opt-out clause in his contract that will allow him to become a free agent if he’s not promoted to the Majors by April 30th, writes Rob Bradford of WEEI. Santana didn’t sign with Boston until early March, and a foot infection slowed his ramp-up further.

The switch-hitting utility fielder certainly fits the mold of the present-day Red Sox as a guy who can play all over the diamond. The 30-year-old has spent the most time up the middle at short and center, but he has appeared everywhere on the diamond except pitcher and catcher. He’d be right at home on a roster that also includes “supersubs” Enrique Hernandez and Marwin Gonzalez. Bradford suggests Santana could replace scuffling outfielder Franchy Cordero if the Red Sox decide to make a move. Cordero – one of the pieces acquired in the Andrew Benintendi trade – has hit just .200/.265/.244 in his first 49 plate appearances with a whopping 46.9 percent strikeout rate, and he does have two options remaining. Here’s the latest from elsewhere around the game…

  • Madison Bumgarner and Zac Gallen put on a show today. In a doubleheader against the Braves, the pair of Diamondbacks’ hurlers kept the Braves to one hit, zero runs, two walks, and 13 strikeouts in 14 combined scoreless innings. MLB.com’s Mark Bowman writes that it was the fewest hits ever by a team in a doubleheader, per the Elias Sports Bureau. Bumgarner, who had an 8.68 ERA entering the game, tossed an unofficial no-hitter in game two. Because it was only a seven-inning affair, the MLB rule books states that Bumgarner’s effort doesn’t count officially as a no-hitter, but rather as a “notable achievement.” That could change soon, as MLB and Elias will look at the issue and decide if a rule change is necessary, per MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (via Twitter).
  • Juan Soto will be eligible to come off the injured list as early as Friday, and he’s begun hitting off a tee to prepare, per Mark Zuckerman and Al Galdi on the Nats Chat Podcast. Unfortunately, that doesn’t address the issue. Soto’s shoulder was bothering him most when he was throwing, so he’ll have to cross that hurdle before returning, they note.

Latest On Danny Santana

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TODAY: Santana is being released from hospital today, as reported by multiple reporters (including MLB.com’s Ian Browne).  Santana will still have stitches for the next two weeks.

MARCH 15: Recently-signed Red Sox utility man Danny Santana is in the hospital with a foot infection, per Sean McAdam of the Boston Sports Journal (via Twitter). He is currently being treated with antibiotics, and there’s no timetable for his return. Barring any complications, however, it’s reasonable to expect a relatively short layoff for Santana.

Boston signed Santana earlier this month with an eye on adding him to their pool of short-bench candidates capable of playing both the infield and the outfield. It’s now worth wondering if Santana will be able to get ready in time to fully compete for an opening day roster spot. He has only two plate appearances in spring training since suiting up.

Whenever Santana does return, he’ll audition to be a right-handed complement for the bench. Especially with left fielder Franchy Cordero expected to miss the beginning of the season, there will be some playing time to be had in the outfield. That will likely go to Marwin Gonzalez unless Santana makes a very speedy recovery. Boston also has the option of moving Enrique Hernandez to left and giving some additional playing time to Christian Arroyo or another bench bat.

Red Sox To Sign Danny Santana

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3:58pm: Santana will earn a $1.75MM base salary if he makes it to the bigs and up to $1MM in incentives, Heyman tweets. There’s a $100K bonus if he starts the season in Triple-A.

1:33pm: The Red Sox have agreed to a minor league deal with free-agent infielder/outfielder Danny Santana, reports Julian McWilliams of the Boston Globe. The Mato Sports Management client will head to Major League camp as a non-roster invitee. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman had previously suggested Boston was “in the mix” for Santana.

Santana, 30, has been hosting workouts for clubs over the past week or so and reportedly received enough interest that he canceled an open audition that would’ve taken place today. His 2020 season with the Rangers was limited to 15 games before an elbow injury required surgery, but it seems he’s sufficiently rehabbed and will join Boston’s Major League group once he clears intake protocols.

The switch-hitting Santana will add yet another versatile piece for a Red Sox organization that has already signed Enrique Hernandez to a two-year deal and Marwin Gonzalez to a one-year pact this winter. While he managed only a tepid .145/.238/.278 slash in 63 plate appearances due to the aforementioned elbow injury, his 2019 season with the Rangers resulted in an impressive .283/.324/.534 slash with a career-high 28 homers and 21 steals. The juiced ball in 2019 likely had something to do with that sudden power spike, however, as Santana has never shown that type of power in the past.

Santana debuted with the Twins in 2014 and finished seventh in American League Rookie of the Year voting before his bat tailed off for several seasons — some of which were marred by injury. He’s spent the bulk of his time in the big leagues in center field (1143 innings) and at shortstop (918 innings), but Santana has played all three outfield spots and all four infield spots as a Major Leaguer. Overall, he’s a .260/.299/.418 hitter at the game’s top level.

Danny Santana Expected To Sign Soon

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Veteran infielder/outfielder Danny Santana has been working out for teams over the past week and is expected to sign a deal in the coming days, reports MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (via Twitter). Santana had originally planned to host an open showcase for interested clubs on Thursday, per Heyman, but he’s had enough interest after displaying his health in recent one-on-one workouts that he’s canceled that audition and expects to choose an offer in the near future.

The Athletic’s Dan Hayes tweets that the Twins are among the clubs with interest, although their preference would be on a minor league deal. It’s at least possible that Santana, who played in just 15 games last year before undergoing elbow surgery, could command a big league deal elsewhere. But as an original product of the Twins system, a reunion with his first organization could hold some appeal.

Wherever Santana signs, he’ll give his next club a versatile bench option who has some power, some speed and experience both in the outfield and the infield. The 30-year-old switch-hitter managed just a .145/.238/.278 output in 63 trips to the plate while playing through that elbow injury last year, but as recently as 2019 he gave the Rangers a .283/.324/.534 slash with 28 homers in 511 plate appearances. The composition of the ball in 2019 has been widely questioned, and that might have played a role in Santana’s out-of-the-blue power spike; he did homer seven times in 430 plate appearances as a rookie with the 2014 Twins but had never reached double-digit homers otherwise in a big league season.

On the whole, Santana is a career .260/.299/.418 batter with 42 homers, 87 doubles, 22 triples and a 71-for-95 showing in stolen base attempts. Santana has played all four infield positions and all three outfield slots in his Major League career, with the bulk of his time coming at shortstop (918 innings) and in center field (1143 innings). Assuming he’s healthy, Santana would make a nice late addition to any club’s bench or perhaps even as a competitor for a larger role on a club whose starting nine is not yet fully defined.

Quick Hits: Pujols, Blue Jays, Kennedy, Santana

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There was a brief flurry of speculation about Albert Pujols’ future earlier this week when Deirdre Pujols, the Angels veteran’s wife, created an Instagram post that seemed to hint that the future Hall-of-Famer would call it a career after the 2021 season.  Deirdre clarified her online statement soon after posting, and her husband also addressed the matter in speaking with media (including The Associated Press) today at Spring Training.

“This thing just got blown out of proportion,” Pujols said.  “My mind is not even there.  My mind is on staying focused, healthy, and hopefully trying to help this ballclub win this year, and that’s it.  If I feel at the end of the year that that’s it, I’ll announce it [and] go home.  But I’m not even there yet.”

Pujols is entering the final season of his ten-year, $240MM deal with the Angels, and 2021 will be the slugger’s 21st MLB campaign.  After four years of subpar offensive production, it would certainly seem like the 41-year-old is nearing the end of the line, though it seems we won’t know for certain until the season is through.

More from around baseball…

  • George Springer will surely play every day in the Blue Jays’ outfield, so his addition means the team’s other starting outfielders from 2020 will see their playing time either reduced or somewhat altered.  Both Randal Grichuk and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. told reporters (including Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith) that they wondered if they’d be traded, yet as Spring Training continues, that duo and Teoscar Hernandez are all still on the roster.  It remains to be seen exactly how the Jays will arrange their lineup to get everyone at-bats, though Gurriel could find an opening with a return to part-time infield duty, as manager Charlie Montoyo is having Gurriel work out as a first baseman and third baseman.  The Jays already have Cavan Biggio lined up for the bulk of the action at the hot corner, with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. also hopeful of getting some third base time while sharing first base/DH duty with Rowdy Tellez.  Getting at least one other position under his belt can only help Gurriel, however, especially after his defensive struggles as an infielder earlier in his career.
  • Ian Kennedy debated signing with two other teams before settling on the Rangers’ minor league offer, per Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (via Twitter).  The Royals, Kennedy’s former team, were one of the two other suitors, though Kennedy seems to have a clearer path to regular bullpen work in Texas.  A starter for all but two of his first 291 MLB games from 2007-18, Kennedy enjoyed a stellar season as the Royals’ closer in 2019, but he is out to re-establish himself after a difficult 2020.  Kennedy posted a 9.00 ERA over 14 innings before a left calf strain brought a premature end to his season.
  • Danny Santana is also coming off an injury-plagued season, as the super-utilityman amassed just 63 plate appearances over 15 games with the Rangers.  After undergoing elbow surgery in September, Santana is now set to hold a showcase for scouts on Thursday, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link) reports, and Santana has also been holding private workouts for teams.  The 30-year-old has played all over the diamond over his seven years with the Twins, Braves, and Rangers, and was a revelation for Texas in 2019 — he hit .283/.324/.534 with 28 home runs, with by far his best wRC+ (111) since a 132 wRC+ over 430 PA as a rookie with Minnesota back in 2014.

American League Non-Tenders

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With revenue losses expected to result in reduced payrolls around baseball, a larger number of players than usual are expected to be let go by their current teams by tonight’s 7pm CT non-tender deadline.  Some of these players could end up re-signing with their teams for salaries below what they were projected (by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz) to earn through the arbitration process, or teams could end up simply opting to explore other options…with many of those options arriving on the market through this same non-tender process.

You can track all of the arbitration and non-tender activity here, and we’ll also run through the list of American League players who have been let go in this post.  (The NL list is available here.)

  • In addition to Naquin, covered below, the Indians announced that they’ve non-tendered outfielder Delino DeShields Jr. and right-hander Jefry Rodriguez. Cleveland picked up DeShields in the Corey Kluber salary dump to the Rangers last winter, and he managed a tepid .252/.310/.318 slash in 137 plate appearances. Rodriguez wasn’t arb-eligible yet and didn’t pitch in the Majors this season, but the Indians obviously wanted to open the 40-man spot. He has a career 5.20 ERA and 5.29 FIP in 98 2/3 innings.
  • The Rangers non-tendered utilityman Danny Santana, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports. The 30-year-old switch-hitter had a big season with Texas in 2019, but as was the case with his rookie showing in Minnesota, the results were largely BABIP-driven. Santana underwent elbow surgery in September and may not be ready for Opening Day, so his non-tender isn’t a surprise. Outfielder Scott Heineman and righty Jimmy Herget were also non-tendered, the team announced.
  • Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets that the Rays have non-tendered righty Edgar Garcia, who was not yet eligible for arbitration. Tampa acquired Garcia for a PTBNL in August after the Phils designated him for assignment, but he was hit hard in a small sample of work. The Rays prefer to have an open roster spot and will make Garcia a free agent.

Earlier Non-Tenders

  • The Indians have non-tendered outfielder Tyler Naquin, Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com tweets. Naquin, who would have earned around $2MM in arbitration, is coming off a poor year in Cleveland. The 29-year-old slashed .218/.248/.383 with four home runs, 40 strikeouts and five walks in 141 plate appearances. Naquin joined the Indians as the 15th overall pick in 2012, but he has only provided league-average offense since debuting in 2016.
  • The Royals also non-tendered Maikel Franco, as covered here. The White Sox, meanwhile, cut ties with Nomar Mazara and Carlos Rodon, as outlined here.

Kluber, Leclerc, Santana Won’t Return To Rangers This Season

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SEPT. 9: Santana underwent elbow surgery and will miss seven to eight months, TR Sullivan of MLB.com tweets. That could jeopardize at least some of Santana’s 2021 campaign, which will be his final arbitration-eligible season. After Santana made a prorated $3.6MM this season, the Rangers will have to decide whether to keep him on the heels of a rough year.

SEPT. 5: Three injured Rangers players are done for the season, as manager Chris Woodward told reporters (including Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News) that Corey Kluber, Jose Leclerc, and Danny Santana won’t return to action in 2020.  Kluber and Leclerc were each already on the 45-day injured list with teres major problems, while Santana has been on the 10-day IL since August 28 due to a right elbow strain.

The Rangers expected all three to be key contributors this season, hoping for a repeat of Santana’s breakout 2019 numbers, Leclerc to return to his 2018 form after a somewhat shaky 2019, and for Kluber to bounce back from an injured-plagued 2019 season that ultimately closed the book on the former ace’s tenure in Cleveland.

Instead, Kluber pitched in just one inning of one game for Texas before hitting the IL with a grade 2 tear of the teres major muscle.  Leclerc only banked two games before suffering a strain in his own teres major muscle, while Santana has been limited to 63 PA in 15 games (and only a .145/.238/.273 slash line) thanks to two trips to the injured list.  A right forearm strain put Santana on the 10-day IL on August 2 and kept him out of action until the middle of the month.

Leclerc is under contract through at least the 2022 season, while Santana has one more year of arbitration eligibility remaining before hitting free agency in the 2021-22 offseason.  Santana obviously won’t earn much of a raise on his $3.6MM salary for 2020, but given how the Rangers (like many teams) are planning on a lower payroll next season, it is conceivable that Santana could be non-tendered and then pursued at a lower price than a salary in the ballpark of $3.6 or $3.7MM.

Of course, a big chunk of money will be coming off the Rangers’ books in the form of Kluber’s contract, as Texas is surely unlikely to exercise its $18MM club option on the veteran righty for the 2021 campaign.  With just 36 2/3 total innings pitched since the start of the 2019 season, Kluber will be hard-pressed to find anything more than a single guaranteed year on his next contract, though his track record could still land him another Major League deal.  We aren’t far removed, after all, from the dominant five-year stretch Kluber delivered in the Indians’ rotation from 2014-18 — 2.85 ERA, 10.1 K/9, 5.51 K/BB rate, two AL Cy Young Awards, and an average of 218 innings pitched.

Rangers Place Danny Santana On 10-Day Injured List

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Prior to this afternoon’s game against the Giants, the Rangers announced they’ve placed outfielder Danny Santana on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to July 30, with a right forearm strain. In his stead, they’re bringing up infield prospect Anderson Tejeda.

Four years removed from his previous quality season, Santana surprisingly broke out in Texas last season, hitting .283/.324/.534 (111 wRC+) with 28 home runs and 21 steals over 511 plate appearances. An elevated strikeout rate (29.5%) and below-average walk rate (4.9%) cast some doubt on the long-term sustainability of that strong output, but Santana has clearly established himself as an everyday option for manager Chris Woodward.

Tejeda, 22, is remarkably in position to make his MLB debut despite never having taken a high minors plate appearance. He’s topped out in the High-A Carolina League, putting up a solid but unspectacular .253/.327/.426 line in 703 plate appearances at that level. A switch-hitting middle infielder with power, Tejeda has a bright future but seems unlikely to get many MLB at-bats at this stage of his career.

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