Casey Mize Underwent Back Surgery Last Year
Tigers right-hander Casey Mize underwent Tommy John surgery in June of last year and was already set to miss at least part of the upcoming season. However, there’s an extra layer of complication to his recovery, as the team informed reporters today that he also underwent back surgery around the same time, listing his two issues as a right elbow sprain and a lumbar strain.
“I’ve been dealing with the issue for a long time,” Mize told reporters, including Jason Beck of MLB.com. “I would say years. It’s just something that’s gradually gotten worse over time.” He then goes on to detail that, since he was going to be out for an extended stretch with the Tommy John anyway, the idea was to get both issues dealt with at the same time. It seems the back issue delayed his rehab process slightly, but Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports that the rehab is now primarily focused on his arm. He’ll start playing catch this week.
It’s unclear exactly how this will impact his 2023 season, but he was going to be challenged to return in any case. The recovery process from Tommy John generally takes 14 months or longer. Since Mize first went under the knife in June of last year, he was likely looking at a brief late-season return even in a best-case scenario. It’s possible that the back issue will push his return even farther down the road, though it seems that’s all still up in the air.
“It’s tough to make decisions on February 15 about what July 1 is going to look like, about what October 1 is going to look like, about the following spring training,” Mize said, per Petzold. “We have a set schedule and program that we’d like to follow, but this thing is fluid. There are going to be changes throughout it.”
The first overall pick of the 2018 draft, Mize has shown some promise in his big league career so far but also some struggles. He debuted in 2020 with seven starts and a 6.99 ERA. He seemed to take a step forward in 2021 by posting a 3.71 ERA over 30 starts, his first full season in the bigs. His 6.7% walk rate and 48.1% ground ball rate were both strong, but his 19.3% strikeout rate was a few ticks below league average. It’s possible that a .254 batting average on balls in play and 79.5% strand rate were helping his ERA down a bit, as he had a 4.71 FIP and 4.45 SIERA on the year. In 2022, he was only able to make a pair of starts before landing on the shelf.
Ideally, taking care of both ailments and getting Mize to 100% health will allow him to provide better results once he’s back on the mound, be that later this year or in 2024. For the Tigers, they were surely aware of this situation, though it wasn’t publicly known until today. With both Mize and Tarik Skubal both having unclear timelines this year, the club signed Matthew Boyd and Michael Lorenzen to join Eduardo Rodriguez, Matt Manning and Spencer Turnbull in the rotation. Mize will spend most or all of this season on the injured list, accruing service time in the process. He’ll cross the three-year mark this year and qualify for arbitration in the upcoming offseason, slated to become a free agent after 2026.
Tigers To Sign Matt Wisler To Minor League Deal
Feb. 15: Petzold reports that Wisler will make $1.5MM if he makes the team, with $750K in incentives available.
Feb. 13: The Tigers and right-hander Matt Wisler are in agreement on a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training, reports Evan Petzold of The Detroit Free Press.
Wisler, 30, is coming off a strong season of results with the Rays, posting a 2.25 ERA over 44 innings. Despite keeping earned runs off the board like that, he was designated for assignment in September and cleared waivers.
Despite that low ERA, there were some concerning elements that led to Wisler losing his roster spot. He struck out a huge 32.1% of batters faced in 2020 and 2021, but that number dropped to just 19.9% last year. That coincided with a drop of his velocity, as his fastball averaged 89.7 mph last year, a dip from 91.5 mph in 2021 and 94 mph back in 2015. Perhaps more important than the fastball is his slider, since Wisler has been increasing its usage throughout his career, throwing it 91.5% of the time last year. His velocity on that pitch was 79.8 mph last year, after being at 81.5 mph the year prior and 83.5 mph in 2019. With that diminished stuff and fewer punchouts, it’s likely his .198 batting average on balls in play last year was helping him seem more effective than he actually was.
It appears that the teams around the league recognized those facts, which led to Wisler going unclaimed on waivers last year and now settling for a minor league deal here with Spring Training getting started. For the Tigers, they’re taking a no-risk look at Wisler by bringing him aboard on the minor league deal, given them a chance to see if he can recapture his strong form in 2020-2021 or perhaps continue finding success without the strikeouts.
The club has subtracted from its bullpen mix this offseason, trading away established arms like Joe Jiménez to Atlanta and Gregory Soto to the Phillies. That has left a relief corps that’s fairly open, as many of the remaining arms are young and have limited experience. Wisler will be looking to have a strong spring and earn himself a job in that mix, alongside other non-roster invitees such as Chasen Shreve and Trey Wingenter.
Tigers Have Shown Interest In Will Smith
The Tigers have shown some interest in free-agent reliever Will Smith, per Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press. However, the left-hander has also received interest from multiple clubs that expect to contend for postseason berths in 2023, Petzold adds, which makes them an unlikely landing spot unless they significantly outbid any other suitors.
The 2022 campaign was a tale of two seasons with Smith, who posted a 4.38 ERA and 12.3% walk rate in 37 innings with the Braves before being traded to the Astros for Jake Odorizzi and immediately turning things around. In 22 frames with Houston, Smith worked to a 3.27 ERA (2.66 FIP, 2.83 SIERA) with a 26.7% strikeout rate — an uptick on his 24% mark in Atlanta — and a 4.4% walk rate that was miles below his bloated rate with the Braves. I noted back in January that the Astros upped Smith’s reliance on his slider and four-seamer at the expense of his curveball and also made some alterations to both his horizontal and vertical release points.
The results were impressive, although the Astros didn’t use him in the postseason. Smith wasn’t on the ALDS or ALCS roster and didn’t pitch in the World Series upon being added. And, as encouraging as his turnaround was, the ‘Stros unsurprisingly weren’t heartened enough to exercise a weighty $13MM option (which came with a $1MM buyout).
Smith is now one of the few unsigned, clearly big-league caliber relievers remaining on the free-agent market. He won’t match the three-year, $40MM contract he received from the Braves in the 2019-20 offseason, but it stands to reason that his strong finish in Houston and his track record ought to land him a big league deal somewhere.
Dating back to 2013, the now-33-year-old Smith carries a 3.26 ERA with an excellent 31.5% strikeout rate against a 9% walk rate. He’s tallied 91 saves and 106 holds in that time, frequently operating as a high-leverage reliever with the Brewers, Giants and Braves. His time with Atlanta didn’t go as well as hoped, although it’s worth noting that was dominant during the team’s postseason run in 2021, firing 11 shutout innings as the Braves secured a World Series victory.
With a non-contending club like the Tigers, the opportunity would exist for Smith to even work his way into the closer’s role. There’s no established option in that spot for the time being, and at the very least, Smith would seem likely to find himself in a high-leverage role — be it as a setup man or ninth-inning specialist. Right now, Tyler Alexander looks like the Tigers’ lone lefty in the bullpen, though Chasen Shreve, Jace Fry and Miguel Del Pozo are all in big league camp as non-roster invitees this spring.
There hasn’t been much chatter about Smith’s market — or lack thereof — this offseason. Left-handed bullpen help has remained the one area of free agency with some actual depth for interested clubs, and the fact that so many southpaws lingered so long into the offseason figures to create some potential bargains. The D-backs scooped up Andrew Chafin on a one-year deal with a club option over the weekend, but the likes of Smith, Matt Moore, Zack Britton and Brad Hand all remain available. Britton just worked out for six clubs today, and the Twins have reportedly shown some interest in Hand. There’s likely some degree of overlap in the markets for the remaining lefties, and now that pitchers and catchers are beginning to report, it’s possible there’s an increased sense of urgency among the remaining unsigned free agents to find a job for the upcoming season.
Zack Britton Working Out For Six Teams Today
Former All-Star closer Zack Britton is hosting a workout for six interested clubs today, tweets Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports that the Mets are one of the six teams in attendance. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic adds that the Angels, Giants, Dodgers, Cubs and Rangers were also in attendance. The Angels, in particular, have been linked to Britton in recent weeks. Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press, meanwhile, writes that the Tigers have had interest in Britton, though it doesn’t seem they attended today’s showcase.
It’s the second time the 35-year-old Britton has thrown for teams this offseason, though the first was more of a leaguewide showcase. That took place back in mid-January, and it stands to reason that today’s workout will offer his most interested suitors a chance to get another look at him as he gears up for a potential signing. That Britton would offer multiple showcases to interested teams isn’t necessarily a surprise, given that he pitched just two-thirds of an inning in 2022 and only 18 1/3 frames in 2021.
Once one of the game’s elite relievers, Britton has seen his star fade in his mid-30s as injuries have begun to take their toll. The lefty had his elbow scoped in March 2021, which cost him the first two months of that season. He returned in June but quickly went down with a hamstring strain that sidelined him another few weeks. The return from that balky hamstring proved similarly short-lived, as an elbow strain again sent him to the injured list.
In Sept. 2021, Britton underwent surgery to address that second elbow issue. The hope was that, like the arthroscopic procedure in March, removing some bone spurs would alleviate the issue. Instead, surgeons determined that Britton’s ulnar collateral ligament had suffered enough damage that a Tommy John surgery was required. He missed almost all of the 2022 season but did make an improbable late-September return. However, that amounted to just three games, during which time Britton walked six of nine batters faced before going back to the injured list yet again. He averaged 92.8 mph on his fastball in that time — nowhere close to the 94.9 mph he averaged during his last healthy season in 2020 (and even further from the 96.9 mph on his sinker at its peak).
That peak, of course, was one for the ages. From 2014-20, Britton notched a superhuman 1.84 ERA in 367 1/3 frames. He punched out 24% of his opponents against a 9.2% walk rate in that time, and Britton’s 76.2% ground-ball rate over that period cemented him as the best ground-ball pitcher since 2002, when batted-ball data of that nature began being carefully tracked. Britton posted a laughable 80% ground-ball rate in 2016 and was at 79.1% in 2015 and 77.2% in 2019 — the three highest single-season marks ever posted by a qualified pitcher.
Whether he can get back to that form in his mid-30s is an open question. Given his diminished velocity and recent elbow woes, it seems like a long shot. But, given that Britton isn’t likely to command more than an incentive-laden deal with a low base salary, there’s plenty of sense in taking a low-cost risk, given the obvious talent and track record of dominance.
Tigers Sign Jace Fry To Minor League Deal
The Tigers announced they have signed left-hander Jace Fry to a minor league deal, as well as announcing the previously-reported deal with righty Matt Wisler. Both pitchers have received invitations to major league Spring Training.
Fry, 29, was a mainstay of the White Sox’ bullpen from 2018 to 2020. In those three seasons, he made 145 appearances with a 4.43 ERA, with control being a notable Achilles’ heel. He struck out 29.6% of batters faced in that time and got grounders at a 51.2% rate, but his 13.7% walk rate was well above average.
Going into 2021, he underwent a microdiscectomy procedure on his back and didn’t make his season debut in the big leagues until July. He struggled in his return and was frequently optioned for the rest of the year, eventually posting a 10.80 in six appearances and getting outrighted at season’s end.
Last year, he signed a minor league deal with the Nats and posted a 3.77 ERA over 15 Triple-A appearances but then opted out when he didn’t get a roster spot and signed another minor league deal with the Phillies. Unfortunately, things soured from there, as he made 18 more Triple-A appearances with a 6.75 ERA after switching organizations. The profile was still fairly similar to his previous work, as he struck out 30.1% of batters on the year between those two stints, but walked 11.3% of them.
For the Tigers, there’s little harm in bringing Fry into camp to see how he looks. Their bullpen should look quite different from a year ago, with Michael Fulmer, Gregory Soto and Joe Jiménez having been traded and Andrew Chafin departing via free agency. That could potentially open up some opportunities for others this season.
Right now, the only lefties on the club’s 40-man roster are Matthew Boyd, Eduardo Rodriguez, Tarik Skubal, Joey Wentz and Tyler Alexander. Boyd and Rodriguez will be in the rotation, with Skubal joining them whenever he recovers from flexor tendon surgery. Wentz figures to be starting in the minors, leaving Alexander as the only southpaw likely to be in the big league bullpen. Fry will be competing with other non-roster invitees in camp such as Chasen Shreve and Miguel Del Pozo. If he can make his way onto the roster, he still has one option remaining and can be shuttled between the majors and minors. He could also be retained for future seasons via arbitration as he’s currently between three and four years of MLB service time.
Tigers Notes: Lorenzen, Lange, Knapp
The Tigers added right-hander Michael Lorenzen on a one-year, $8.5MM guarantee earlier this offseason. He’ll add some depth to a Detroit rotation that’ll be without Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal to start the season (likely the whole year in the former’s case), joining Eduardo Rodriguez, Spencer Turnbull, Matt Manning and Matthew Boyd in the presumptive season-opening rotation. The 31-year-old indicated today he’s hoping to expand his responsibilities beyond the mound.
Lorenzen told reporters he’s angling for an opportunity to log some at-bats this season (link via Evan Woodbery of MLive.com). He’s dabbled with being a two-way player in years past, most notably when he combined for 87 plate appearances with the 2018-19 Reds. Lorenzen only hit once in each of his final two seasons with Cincinnati and didn’t do so at all last year with the Angels, whom he said declined his request for at-bats. The eight-year MLB veteran said this morning he devoted some time this offseason to tinkering with his swing mechanics.
Over 147 big league plate appearances, Lorenzen is a .233/.282/.429 hitter. He’s connected on seven home runs and stolen five bases in seven attempts, showing an intriguing power/speed combination. Yet his overall offensive production — while excellent compared to other pitchers — has been well worse than that of a league average hitter thanks to a meager 4.8% walk rate and huge 32% strikeout percentage. Of course, Lorenzen has never had an extended run of everyday looks at live pitching to get into a groove. Whether the Tigers are willing to give him even stray at-bats or some outfield work remains to be seen.
In other news out of the Motor City:
- Reliever Alex Lange declined an opportunity to pitch for Puerto Rico in the upcoming World Baseball Classic, telling Chris McCosky of the Detroit News he preferred to focus on the season. Lange spoke of his desire to seize the closer’s role heading into 2023. Detroit dealt last year’s primary closer, Gregory Soto, to Philadelphia last month. Andrew Chafin, Joe Jiménez and Michael Fulmer — the other three hurlers who had multiple saves for the club last year — are all on different teams as well. That’ll leave manager A.J. Hinch relying on someone (or multiple pitchers) without much closing experience in the ninth inning. Lange certainly will be in line for high-leverage innings in some capacity after striking out 30.3% of opponents with a massive 55.6% grounder rate over 63 1/3 innings. He posted a 3.41 ERA and held 21 leads in a setup capacity, with an 11.4% walk percentage the only red flag in his performance. Will Vest, José Cisnero and Jason Foley could also battle for work late in games.
- While Lorenzen and Lange are sure to assume key roles on the club, catcher Andrew Knapp will fight for a roster spot this spring. The veteran backstop inked a minor league deal with Detroit on the heels of a 2022 campaign that saw him log time in four different organizations. Knapp recently chatted with Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free-Press about his push for the #2 catching job behind Eric Haase. More broadly, the switch-hitter noted he’s excited to learn from Hinch — a former big league catcher — both in his desire to improve as a leader of a pitching staff and with an eye towards his longer-term future. Knapp noted he’d “really enjoy pursuing a managing career if that’s an opportunity I ever get” in his post-playing days. At age 31, he could certainly extend his playing career for a while before worrying about the next phase, starting with a push for a roster spot in Detroit. Jake Rogers — who’s returning after spending all of last season rehabbing from Tommy John surgery — and recent trade acquisition Donny Sands join Haase as the three backstops on the 40-man roster.
Read The Transcript Of Our Chat Hosted By Former Yankees Pitcher Humberto Sanchez
If you were a diehard Yankees fan or prospect watcher about 15 years ago, you likely know the name Humberto Sanchez. A native of the Bronx, Sanchez was a 31st round pick by the Tigers in 2001, signing for $1MM as a draft-and-follow. Sanchez started for the World Team in the Futures Game in 2006, and in November he became the key piece in the trade that saw the Yankees send Gary Sheffield to the Tigers.
Before the 2007 season, Baseball America ranked Sanchez the 57th-best prospect in baseball, calling him “the young power arm New York lacked in Triple-A.” However, by April of 2007, Sanchez needed Tommy John surgery. Yankees GM Brian Cashman said, “I knew there was a chance [his elbow] needed to be fixed. But we looked at it long term and in 12 months we will have him back.” As it turned out, Sanchez would need a second procedure six months later, extending his recovery timeline.
17 months after the initial Tommy John surgery, Sanchez made it to The Show. He told Sean Brennan of the New York Daily News, “When you have surgery, it feels like your dream has died. After surgery you’re thinking your career is pretty much in jeopardy and (getting the call) seems out of reach. You don’t know if you’re going to come back.” Sanchez made his MLB debut at Yankee Stadium, entering in the top of the eighth with his team ahead by eight runs. He pitched a scoreless inning, striking out Paul Phillips and getting Jerry Owens and Jim Thome to ground out.
Sanchez entered another game out of the Yankees’ bullpen a week later. Though no one knew it at the time, Sanchez had thrown his last Major League pitch at the age of 25. He battled forearm tightness the following year, and the Yankees released him in April ’09. He re-signed on a minor league deal and picked up 35 2/3 innings across various minor league affiliates. Sanchez went on to pitch in the Chinese Professional Baseball League, later pitching in the Mexican and independent leagues. Facing eight batters was not the MLB career Sanchez or anyone else envisioned, but it can be a brutal game and at least he can say he pitched in the Majors.
For the past four years, Sanchez worked as a pitching coach for the Dominican Summer League Red Sox. At present, he’s preparing to start a logistics venture with his brother. You can find him on Instagram @Humbe528. Humberto chatted with MLBTR readers today, talking about his experience playing alongside Yankees legends, what his MLB debut felt like, what it was like being traded, and much more. Read the full transcript here.
If you’re a current or former MLB player and you’d like to chat with MLBTR readers, contact us here. It’s fun and easy, and you get to choose which questions you publish and answer.
AL Notes: Mahomes, Haggerty, Vogt, Rays
Patrick Mahomes’ ties to baseball are well known, as the NFL superstar is the son of longtime big league reliever Pat Mahomes. However, the future Chiefs quarterback was himself a standout high school baseball player, and was even a 37th-round pick for the Tigers in the 2014 draft. As Tigers scout Tim Grieve told 12Up’s Mark Powell in an interview in 2020, there was no doubt Mahomes was going to play college football at Texas Tech, but the Tigers figured “let’s be that team that started to build the relationship so that if he wants to play baseball 2-4 years down the road, we’ve got our foot in the door.”
Mahomes would likely have been picked in the third or fourth round of the MLB draft if he hadn’t been committed to football, and his father initially felt baseball might be his son’s sport. “He was going to get drafted as an outfielder, and I have no doubt he would’ve made it and been successful,” the elder Mahomes told USA Today’s Bob Nightengale this week. “He loved baseball. But when he went out for football, and saw all of the nuances and things you had to learn to be a quarterback, I think it really intrigued him to see what he could do.” Speaking to Patrick Mahomes’ overall athletic ability, his godfather LaTroy Hawkins thought basketball would end up being his sport of choice.
Now that Mahomes has led the Chiefs to another Super Bowl title, the sports world can turn its attention to the start of Spring Training this week. Since every season is baseball season here at MLBTR, here are some notes from around the American League…
- “There are indications” that Mariners utilityman Sam Haggerty had to undergo surgery to fix a grade 2 adductor strain suffered at the end of last season, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times writes. The team hasn’t officially confirmed Haggerty’s status, and GM Jerry Dipoto that Haggerty is “a little behind” in his offseason work. However, Dipoto also noted that Haggerty has started full baseball activity and has “been hitting for quite some time. So he’s in a good place.” In his fourth MLB season, Haggerty got an extended look in a utility role with Seattle last season and delivered, hitting .256/.335/.403 (good for a 114 wRC+) over 201 plate appearances while playing in the field at second base and all three outfield spots. Haggerty looks to continue to play a key role on the Mariners’ bench this season, especially since fellow utilityman Dylan Moore might be a little more impacted during camp while recovering from core surgery.
- Stephen Vogt weighed two other “serious baseball job offers” before becoming the Mariners‘ new bullpen and quality control coach in January. As Vogt told NBC Sports Bay Area’s Brodie Brazil, “the Mariners were the best situation, the best offer, and being close to home — we did the best we could to make it not be a factor in our decision making. The cherry on top is that I get to be with my family more in a season than I ever have.” 2022 was the last of Vogt’s 10 Major League seasons, and given that he has long been considered a future managerial candidate, it isn’t surprising that several teams were interested in being the first stop in Vogt’s post-playing career.
- After a pretty quiet winter on the transactional front, the Rays are now viewing their slower offseason as an opportunity for their core players to enjoy some relatively rare stability, given how Tampa so often shuffles up its roster. “Generally, we’re always trying to build that next year’s team to be as strong as we possibly can,” general manager Peter Bendix told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. “And this year, that led to us having this continuity and banking on some of this continuity, allowing our young players to grow and develop together and see if we can kind of gain from the experience that they’ve had up until this point.” The Rays did part ways with several players in trades, free agency, or non-tenders, yet most of those holes were filled internally. As Topkin notes, Zach Eflin (signed to a three-year, $40MM contract) and Rule 5 Draft selection Kevin Kelly are the only new players on Tampa Bay’s 40-man roster. Of course, there is still plenty of time in the offseason for the Rays to make some more additions, plus one of the team’s many non-roster invitees could win a job in Spring Training.
Austin Meadows Discusses Preparations For Upcoming Season
Tigers outfielder Austin Meadows had a frustrating season in 2022, missing time due to vertigo-like symptoms, COVID-19, strains in each of his Achilles tendons and mental health struggles that he was open about. He was only able to get into 36 games on the year and had diminished results when on the field. However, he recently spoke with Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press and seems to be in a good place for 2023.
“I’m right where I want to be mentally, and I’m right where I want to be physically,” Meadows says. “This offseason has been amazing with having our daughter (Adelynne), being in a much better place mentally and being in a much better physical shape. Everything is starting to go in the right direction.” Meadows provides specifics of how he got into a better place with his anxiety by getting a therapy team in place, and also with his body, losing around 20 pounds this offseason. “For me, I didn’t play, so I gained weight towards the end of the season last year. To be able to lose fat and gain muscle but still lose weight is always a challenge, but I just got after it, put my head down and tried to put myself in the best spot I can be. That 225-230 is where I feel my best, and I’m ready to roll.”
The fact that Meadows has got himself into a better place both mentally and physically is surely great news to Tigers’ fans, both for Meadows as a human being and for the fortunes of the baseball team. In his brief time with the club last year, he hit .250/.347/.328 without a single home run in 147 plate appearances. His strong on-base percentage helped him nudge over the league average mark, as his wRC+ last year was 101. But that’s a noticeable drop from his 2019 peak, when he hit 33 homers and slashed .291/.364/.588 for a wRC+ of 144.
Various Detroit players suffered through injuries or swoons in performance in 2022 and the club suffered greatly. Though some predicted them to emerge from their rebuild with a young core and snag a postseason spot, they ended up falling down in the standings and finishing 66-96. Meadows will be one of a group of players looking for a rebound in 2023 to help the club get back on track. Despite the down year, Meadows has a strong enough track record that he’ll get plenty of opportunity in an unsettled outfield mix where he and Riley Greene should be the two locks for regular playing time, with Akil Baddoo, Kerry Carpenter, Matt Vierling and others battling for roles as well.
With Meadows seeming to be in a good place all around, it’s possible he can get back to being his old self, which will be good for him and the Tigers. “I do, I really do,” Meadows said, when asked if he thought he could get back to being an All-Star caliber player. “If I continue to take care of myself on and off the field and stay healthy, I think good things will happen.”
Each MLB Team’s Players On WBC Rosters
The World Baseball Classic is returning this year, the first time since 2017. The quadrennial event was supposed to take place in 2021 but was scuttled by the pandemic, now returning after a six-year absence. Rosters for the tournament were announced today and those can be found at this link. Here is a breakdown of which players from each MLB team are set to take participate. Quick caveat that this list is fluid and might be changed as more information becomes available.
Without further ado…
Angels
- Glenn Albanese Jr.
- Jaime Barria
- Gustavo Campero
- Alan Carter
- Jhonathan Diaz
- Carlos Estevez
- David Fletcher
- Jake Kalish
- D’Shawn Knowles
- Shohei Ohtani
- Jose Quijada
- Luis Rengifo
- Gerardo Reyes
- Patrick Sandoval
- Mike Trout
- Gio Urshela
- Cesar Valdez
- Zack Weiss
- Aaron Whitefield
Astros
- Bryan Abreu
- Jose Altuve
- Ronel Blanco
- Luis Garcia
- Colton Gordon
- Cristian Javier
- Martin Maldonado
- Rafael Montero
- Hector Neris
- Jeremy Pena
- Ryan Pressly
- Andre Scrubb
- Kyle Tucker
- Jose Urquidy
- Derek West
Athletics
Blue Jays
- Jose Berrios
- Jiorgeny Casimiri
- Yimi Garcia
- Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
- Spencer Horwitz
- Alejandro Kirk
- Otto Lopez
- Damiano Palmegiani
Braves
Brewers
- Willy Adames
- Sal Frelick
- Alex Hall
- Matt Hardy
- Joel Payamps
- Rowdy Tellez
- Abraham Toro
- Luis Urias
- Michele Vassalotti
- Devin Williams
Cardinals
- Nolan Arenado
- Genesis Cabrera
- Tommy Edman
- Giovanny Gallegos
- Paul Goldschmidt
- Ivan Herrera
- Matt Koperniak
- Noah Mendlinger
- Oscar Mercado
- Miles Mikolas
- Lars Nootbaar
- Tyler O’Neill
- JoJo Romero
- Adam Wainwright
- Guillermo Zuniga
Cubs
- Javier Assad
- Owen Caissie
- Danis Correa
- Ben DeLuzio
- Roenis Elias
- Miles Mastrobuoni
- Matt Mervis
- B.J. Murray Jr.
- Vinny Nittoli
- Fabian Pertuz
- Liam Spence
- Seiya Suzuki
- Marcus Stroman
- Pedro Strop
- Nelson Velazquez
- Jared Young
Diamondbacks
- Dominic Fletcher
- Jakob Goldfarb
- Gunnar Groen
- Merrill Kelly
- Ketel Marte
- Eric Mendez
- Dominic Miroglio
- Emmanuel Rivera
- Jacob Steinmetz
- Mitchell Stumpo
- Alek Thomas
Dodgers
- Austin Barnes
- Mookie Betts
- Freddie Freeman
- Clayton Kershaw
- Adam Kolarek
- Miguel Rojas
- Will Smith
- Trayce Thompson
- Julio Urias
Giants
Guardians
- Enyel De Los Santos
- Dayan Frias
- Andres Gimenez
- Bo Naylor
- Richie Palacios
- Cal Quantrill
- Cade Smith
- Meibrys Viloria
- Josh Wolf
Marlins
Mariners
- Matt Brash
- Diego Castillo
- Matt Festa
- Harry Ford
- Teoscar Hernandez
- Milkar Perez
- Julio Rodriguez
- Eugenio Suarez
- Blake Townsend
Mets
- Pete Alonso
- Jonathan Arauz
- Edwin Diaz
- Eduardo Escobar
- Dominic Hamel
- Elieser Hernandez
- Francisco Lindor
- Jeff McNeil
- Omar Narvaez
- Cam Opp
- Adam Ottavino
- Jose Quintana
- Brooks Raley
- Claudio Scotti
Nationals
Orioles
Padres
- Xander Bogaerts
- Nabil Crismatt
- Nelson Cruz
- Jarryd Dale
- Yu Darvish
- Jose Espada
- Ruben Galindo
- Luis Garcia
- Ha-Seong Kim
- Manny Machado
- Nick Martinez
- Evan Mendoza
- Juan Soto
- Brett Sullivan
- Julio Teheran
Phillies
- Jose Alvarado
- Erubiel Armenta
- Malik Binns
- Jaydenn Estanista
- Vito Friscia
- Brian Marconi
- J.T. Realmuto
- Kyle Schwarber
- Noah Skirrow
- Gregory Soto
- Garrett Stubbs
- Ranger Suarez
- Trea Turner
- Taijuan Walker
- Rixon Wingrove
Pirates
- David Bednar
- Tsung-Che Cheng
- Roansy Contreras
- Alessandro Ercolani
- Santiago Florez
- Jarlin Garcia
- Antwone Kelly
- Josh Palacios
- Jeffrey Passantino
- Tahnaj Thomas
- Duane Underwood Jr.
- Chavez Young
- Rob Zastryzny
Rangers
Rays
- Jason Adam
- Jonathan Aranda
- Randy Arozarena
- Christian Bethancourt
- Trevor Brigden
- Wander Franco
- Andrew Gross
- Joe LaSorsa
- Francisco Mejia
- Isaac Paredes
- Harold Ramirez
- Graham Spraker
Red Sox
- Jorge Alfaro
- Richard Bleier
- Rafael Devers
- Jarren Duran
- Ian Gibaut
- Rio Gomez
- Norwith Gudino
- Enrique Hernandez
- Nick Pivetta
- Henry Ramos
- Alex Verdugo
- Masataka Yoshida
Reds
- Donovan Benoit
- Silvino Bracho
- Luis Cessa
- Fernando Cruz
- Alexis Diaz
- Arij Fransen
- Kyle Glogoski
- Tayron Guerrero
- Evan Kravetz
- Nicolo Pinazzi
- Reiver Sanmartin
- Vin Timpanelli
Rockies
- Daniel Bard
- Jake Bird
- Yonathan Daza
- Elias Diaz
- Kyle Freeland
- Justin Lawrence
- German Marquez
- Michael Petersen
- Alan Trejo
Royals
- Max Castillo
- Robbie Glendinning
- Carlos Hernandez
- Nicky Lopez
- MJ Melendez
- Vinnie Pasquantino
- Salvador Perez
- Brady Singer
- Bobby Witt Jr.
- Angel Zerpa
Tigers
- Javier Baez
- Miguel Cabrera
- Chavez Fernander
- Andy Ibanez
- Jack O’Loughlin
- Jacob Robson
- Eduardo Rodriguez
- Jonathan Schoop
- John Valente
Twins
- Jose De Leon
- Edouard Julien
- Jorge Lopez
- Pablo Lopez
- Carlos Luna
- Jose Miranda
- Jovani Moran
- Emilio Pagan
- Christian Vazquez
White Sox
- Tim Anderson
- Kendall Graveman
- Eloy Jimenez
- Lance Lynn
- Yoan Moncada
- Nicholas Padilla
- Luis Robert
- Jose Ruiz
Yankees