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Braves Sign Alex Verdugo

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The Braves announced Thursday that they’ve signed veteran outfielder Alex Verdugo to a one-year, $1.5MM contract. With Opening Day just a week away, he consented to be optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett to ramp up. (Players gain the right to refuse an optional assignment once they accrue five years of MLB service.) Verdugo is represented by MVP Sports Group.

Just days ago, The Athletic’s Brendan Kuty reported that Verdugo had yet to receive a formal big league offer in free agency. That turned quickly. He’ll head straight to minor league camp and spend a bit of time in Gwinnett while he makes up for missing most of spring training, but he’ll be an option for Atlanta at some point in April.

The 28-year-old Verdugo (29 in May) is coming off the worst season of his big league career but was a steady regular with the Dodgers and Red Sox from 2019-23. Over that five-year period, he slashed a combined .283/.338/.432 with quality corner outfield defense. He may not have developed into the star some had hoped when the former second-round pick was widely regarded as a top-100 prospect, but Verdugo was a clear contributor on generally competitive clubs.

The 2024 season started out with more of the same. Traded to the Yankees last offseason, Verdugo came out of the gate hot, batting .275/.362/.450 in his first 141 plate appearances. He fell into a deep slump from that point forth and never recovered, however. From mid-May through season’s end, Verdugo’s .221/.270/.330 line was one of the least-productive in all of baseball among qualified hitters.

Last year’s prolonged struggles surely hindered Verdugo’s market. He was connected to teams like the Pirates, Angels and Astros throughout the winter, but all of those clubs either went another direction in the outfield or didn’t end up making an outfield addition at all. The Pirates instead decided it better to spread out their limited remaining resources across multiple players; they signed Tommy Pham ($4.05MM) and Andrew Heaney ($5.25MM) to one-year deals not long after being linked to Verdugo.

Verdugo heads to Atlanta on a lighter deal than most would’ve predicted back at the onset of free agency, providing some outfield depth at a time when Ronald Acuña Jr. is still rehabbing last year’s ACL tear while Jarred Kelenic continues to struggle. Offseason signee Jurickson Profar has also been banged up in camp, as it’s now been nearly two weeks since he was in an official game. Profar injured his wrist on a diving attempt in left field; he was diagnosed with a bone bruise, not a fracture, and is expected to be ready for Opening Day. Bone bruises are tricky injuries, the effects of which can sometimes linger longer than expected.

If the Braves can get everyone healthy, they’ll have some decisions to make. At full strength, the outfield would clearly be Profar in left, Michael Harris II in center and Acuña in right. Kelenic would fill a fourth outfield role in that setup, while Bryan De La Cruz — also on the 40-man roster — would likely reside in Triple-A as a depth piece.

Verdugo’s addition to the mix most directly threatens Kelenic’s role. Both are left-handed hitters who can handle center field but are probably better suited for corner work. (Verdugo certainly is.) Kelenic is a former top-10 pick and once ranked as one of the game’s 10 best prospects, but he’s never hit his stride in the majors after decimating minor league pitching.

The Braves acquired Kelenic from the Mariners in the 2023-24 offseason via a series of convoluted salary-dump trades that wound up seeing Atlanta take on around $25MM in dead money (plus nearly $7MM in luxury taxes) to purchase the former top prospect. They said from the jump that he’d receive regular playing time and would not be platooned, but by the end of camp he’d struggled enough against lefties that the Braves re-signed Adam Duvall to platoon with him. Kelenic’s first season with Atlanta resulted in a disappointing .231/.286/.393 slash. He’s followed that  up with a .200/.282/.457 slash in 39 spring plate appearances.

Kelenic has a minor league option remaining. If he struggles, it’s feasible that Atlanta will try to get him on track in Gwinnett and switch him out for Verdugo, using the veteran Verdugo in that aforementioned fourth outfield role. It’s a low-cost depth gamble made possible by Verdugo’s lack of market to this point. There’s little harm in opportunistically adding to the depth at this price point; the Braves are now up to about $231MM of luxury obligations, per RosterResource, leaving them $10MM shy of the tax threshold.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post first reported that Verdugo and the Braves had agreed to a deal worth $1.5MM. Brendan Kuty of The Athletic reported that it was a one-year, major league contract.

Offseason In Review: Atlanta Braves

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The Braves scaled back spending this offseason, but still brought in an All-Star outfielder and a lot of depth options to bolster the roster.

Major League Signings

2025 spending: $13.5MM
Total spending: $43.5MM

Option Decisions

Trades & Claims

Notable Minor League Signings

Extensions

Notable Losses

President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos traditionally makes several moves early in the offseason, and he got a particularly quick jump on things this winter by trading Jorge Soler to the Angels less than 24 hours after the World Series ended.  Since exercising Marcell Ozuna's club option was a no-brainer, Soler became redundant in Atlanta's lineup, and an obvious trade candidate.  Because return piece Griffin Canning was eventually non-tendered, the deal became a pure salary dump, as the Halos took the remaining $26MM of Soler's contract off the Braves' hands.

The Braves also moved quickly in signing Reynaldo Lopez and Aaron Bummer to contract extensions, though since the players were already controlled (Lopez via a previous extension and Bummer via club options), the new deals were more about reshuffling some money and creating some space under the luxury tax.  More payroll space was freed up when the Braves declined club options on Travis d'Arnaud and Luke Jackson, and when arbitration-eligibles Ramon Laureano, Cavan Biggio, and Huascar Ynoa were all let go.

All of these moves indicated that Anthopoulos was preparing for another transaction that would cost his team a significant chunk of money.  It took a couple of months for that next step to happen, but Atlanta finally struck in signing Jurickson Profar to a three-year, $42MM deal.  Profar will now line up as the Braves' everyday left fielder, bringing some stability to an outfield that will still be without Ronald Acuna Jr. until likely sometime in May, as Acuna recovers from his torn ACL.

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Braves Outright Luke Williams

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The Braves announced that infielder/outfielder Luke Williams has been outrighted to Triple-A Gwinnett. There wasn’t any previous indication that he had been removed from the 40-man roster, but he was apparently put on waivers recently and cleared. This drops the club’s 40-man count to 37.

Williams, 28, was claimed off waivers from the Dodgers in June of 2023. Atlanta non-tendered him at the end of that season but then re-signed him to a minor league deal. He was back on the 40-man by the middle of April 2024.

He has never been more than a part-time player. He has appeared in each of the past four big league seasons, suiting up for the Phillies, Giants and Marlins before bouncing to Los Angeles and Atlanta. But he has stepped to the plate just 315 times over those four campaigns with a tepid .221/.280/.290 batting line.

He has still proved to be a useful depth piece, despite that lack of offense. He has 20 steals in 26 attempts and has enough defensive versatility to have played every position except catcher. He also had options, meaning he could be sent to the minors and back fairly freely. However, that is no longer the case, as he exhausted his final option season in 2024. That was going to make it tougher for him to hang onto a roster spot, so he has been bumped off today.

Players can reject an outright assignment and elect free agency if they have at least three years of major league service time or a previous career outright. Williams doesn’t meet either of those criteria, so he’ll stick with the club as non-roster depth.

For Atlanta, they now have three open spots on the 40-man roster. Those could be useful since they seem likely to select the contract of catcher Drake Baldwin. They also have a large number of veteran relievers in camp as non-roster invitees, including Héctor Neris, Enyel De Los Santos, Chasen Shreve and others.

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.

Braves Return Rule 5 Pick Christian Cairo To Guardians

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The Braves announced that they have returned Rule 5 pick Christian Cairo to the Guardians. Atlanta’s 40-man roster count drops to 37 but Cairo does not need to take up a roster spot with Cleveland. Atlanta also officially announced that their other Rule 5 pick, Anderson Pilar, was returned to the Marlins. The Pilar news was reported earlier today.

Cairo, 24 in June, was a fourth-round pick of Cleveland’s in 2019. His profile has been fairly consistent. He’s never hit a lot of home runs but has always drawn plenty of walks. In 1,390 minor league plate appearances, he has just 15 homers but has earned free passes at a 15.6% clip. He also stole 72 bases in 89 tries while playing all four infield positions and some left field.

Perhaps Atlanta felt Cairo was ready to jump to the big leagues and serve as a utility guy, so they grabbed him in the Rule 5. Unfortunately, he didn’t do much to impress in camp, producing a tepid .179/.294/.250 batting line.

Per the parameters of the Rule 5 draft, selected players cannot be optioned to the minors. In order to keep him, Atlanta would have had to carry Cairo on the active roster. They clearly weren’t willing to do so and let him go. Rule 5 players have to be put on waivers if they are not kept. Other clubs could claim them but would be bound by the same roster rules. Now that Cairo has been returned to the Guardians, he can provide them with some non-roster depth and try to earn his way to the big leagues the traditional way.

Braves To Return Rule 5 Pick Anderson Pilar To Marlins

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The Braves are returning Rule 5 pick Anderson Pilar to the Marlins, reports Jesse Rogers of ESPN. Neither club has made an official announcement related to Pilar. Atlanta’s 40-man roster count will drop from 39 to 38. Rule 5 picks have to be put on waivers before being returned to their original club. It’s unclear if that has already taken place with Pilar. Assuming he winds up back with Miami, he won’t need to take up a 40-man spot with that organization.

Pilar, 27, has spent most of his career in the Rockies organization but signed with the Marlins prior to 2024. He then had a good year across three levels, tossing 58 innings with a 2.64 earned run average. He struck out 30.6% of batters faced while issuing walks just 5.6% of the time and getting grounders at a 46.9% clip.

That prompted Atlanta to grab him in the Rule 5, which allowed them to bring him into camp and get a close-up look at him. Unfortunately, Pilar wasn’t able to make the most of the opportunity. In six spring outings, he punched out 12 opponents but also issued six walks and ten hits, leading to nine earned runs.

Players selected in the Rule 5 draft cannot be optioned to the minor leagues. Given that spring performance, a contending club like Atlanta can’t really afford to have him figure it out in meaningful games, so they’ll let him go. As mentioned, Rule 5 players need to be put on waivers if the selecting club is relinquishing them. Any claiming club would need to operate under the same parameters, not sending Pilar to the minors. If he clears waivers, he will no longer have Rule 5 status and then he’ll be offered back to the Marlins, who can keep him as non-roster depth.

Atlanta started camp with two Rule 5 picks, the other being infielder Christian Cairo. Taken from Cleveland, Cairo is hitting .179/.294/.250 in camp, which doesn’t bode well for his chances of sticking with Atlanta.

Turning back to the Atlanta bullpen, the club has tried to bolster the group on the cheap. They have kept their payroll just south of the competitive balance tax while signing various veterans to minor league deals, including Craig Kimbrel, Héctor Neris, Enyel De Los Santos, Buck Farmer, Chasen Shreve and many more. That’s a situation that could potentially lead to some tough roster choices, but the club has seemingly been making those in recent days. They traded Angel Perdomo to the Angels recently, opening up one spot. Returning Pilar opens a second. Cairo would open a third. They also released Jake Diekman, subtracting one guy from the NRI pile.

Braves Release Jake Diekman

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The Braves have released veteran left-handed reliever Jake Diekman, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. He’d been in camp as a non-roster invitee this spring but was reassigned to minor league camp on Sunday. He’s the second non-roster veteran cut loose by Atlanta recently, joining catcher Curt Casali, who was released on Monday.

Diekman, 38, appeared in seven Grapefruit League games and tossed 7 1/3 innings with Atlanta. He was tagged for four runs on six hits and four walks with eight punchouts and a 45% ground-ball rate. The resulting 4.91 ERA isn’t eye-catching, but it’s a small sample and Diekman has a lengthy if inconsistent track record at the MLB level.

Diekman spent the 2024 season with the division-rival Mets, for whom he pitched 32 innings with a 5.63 ERA before being released in August. As is typical, the left-hander both missed bats and issued free passes at high levels: 27.6% strikeout rate, 16.6% walk rate.

Command — or lack thereof — has always been an issue for Diekman. He’s walked fewer than 10% of his opponents just once in 13 big league seasons, and it came way back with the 2013 Phillies. He’s walked 13.4% of his opponents in 602 1/3 career innings. However, Diekman has often been able to mitigate the damage from those walks thanks to both a hefty strikeout rate (career 28.7%) and plenty of grounders (career 46.9%), helping him induce a fair number of double plays.

As recently as 2023, Diekman notched a 3.34 ERA in 56 2/3 big league innings between the White Sox (for whom he struggled) and the Rays (with whom he thrived). His results tend to fluctuate on a year-to-year basis, but Diekman sports a 3.91 ERA in his career and a 3.94 mark over the past five big league seasons. A club seeking a veteran lefty in the ’pen could take a look at him as a low-cost option.

For the Braves, Diekman’s release and this week’s trade of Angel Perdomo likely cement that Dylan Lee and Aaron Bummer will be the only two southpaws in Brian Snitker’s bullpen. That pair will join closer Raisel Iglesias and right-handed setup man Pierce Johnson in the mix for late-inning work.

Braves To Sign Craig Kimbrel To Minor League Deal

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The Braves and right-hander Craig Kimbrel have agreed to a minor league deal, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The SportsMeter client will earn a $2MM salary if brought up to the big leagues, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. He’ll spend some time building up before reporting to Triple-A Gwinnett, reports Mark Bowman of MLB.com.

Kimbrel, 37 in May, has been on a rollercoaster in recent years. He had a long run as one of the most effective closers in the league, starting that tenure with Atlanta. From 2010 to 2014, he tossed 289 innings for them, allowing only 1.43 earned runs per nine. His 9.6% walk rate was a bit high but he had a massive 42.2% strikeout rate in that time. He quickly became the club’s closer and earned 185 saves in a four-year stretch from 2011 to 2014. He would continue to produce similar results for a few years, going to the Padres and Red Sox.

But as alluded to, things have been far rockier lately. A free agent after 2018, Boston gave him a $17.9MM qualifying offer. Kimbrel rejected that offer, meaning that any signing club would have to forfeit at least one draft pick. That seemed to have a significant impact on his market, as he remained unsigned until after the summer draft, which was held in June at that time. No longer tied to draft pick forfeiture, he signed a three-year, $43MM with the Cubs in early June of 2019.

Perhaps it was due to missing the first half of the season, but Kimbrel’s results were awful once he became a Cub. He eventually made 23 appearances for them that year, posting an ugly 6.53 ERA. That carried over into the shortened 2020 season, as he had a 5.28 ERA that year. Over those two seasons, he still struck out 35.2% of opponents but his 14.5% walk rate was far higher than average.

In 2021, he seemed to rebound in a big way. He made 39 appearances for the Cubs that year with a tiny 0.49 ERA. His 9.5% walk rate was still above average but a massive improvement over the previous two years. He also punched out 46.7% of batters faced. He was shipped across Chicago at that year’s deadline, with the White Sox sending Nick Madrigal and Codi Heuer to the Cubs. Unfortunately, his results immediately backed up, as he posted a 5.09 ERA over the remainder of the season.

Despite that rough finish, the Sox picked up his $16MM club option, though they traded him to the Dodgers for AJ Pollock just prior to Opening Day 2022. Heading to Los Angeles seemed to work out for a while, though he again had a rough finish. He had a 33.8% strikeout rate in the first half but punched out just 20.7% of opponents in the second half. He lost the closer’s job in September and then was left off the Dodgers’ postseason roster.

Going into 2023, the Phils gave him a one-year, $10MM deal, which led to a good bounceback season. Kimbrel posted a 3.26 ERA over 71 appearances that year, with a 33.8% strikeout rate and 10.1% walk rate. But a one-year, $13MM deal with the Orioles last year led to another downturn. He had a 5.33 ERA for Baltimore, striking out 31.5% of batters but also giving out walks 13.4% of the time. He was designated for assignment and released in September.

The overall track record is obviously impressive. Kimbrel has a career ERA of 2.59 and is fifth on the all-time saves list. He’s just seven behind Kenley Jansen, who will close for the Angels this year, and 38 away from third-place Lee Smith. But he’s been incredibly shaky in recent years, so it’s anyone’s guess what he can provide this year.

There’s little harm on a minor league deal. Atlanta can get a close-up look at him over the next few weeks and see how it goes. If he doesn’t look like he can engineer another bounceback, they can simply move on. Some veterans have guaranteed opt-outs in their minor league deals, but that wouldn’t apply to Kimbrel since he was released before the end of the 2024 season. It’s possible he negotiated some opt-outs into his deal, though no details of that nature have been reported yet.

Atlanta’s bullpen took a hit when it was reported that Joe Jiménez will likely miss the entire season due to knee surgery. They should have Raisel Iglesias, Dylan Lee, Pierce Johnson and Aaron Bummer locked into four spots. One of Ian Anderson or Grant Holmes could have a long relief role. That leaves three spots available early on. Daysbel Hernández is on the roster and could secure one.

The club also has a big collection of notable guys on minor league deals, including Héctor Neris, Enyel De Los Santos, Jake Diekman, Chasen Shreve, Buck Farmer and others. That is perhaps a reflection of the club hoping to avoid the competitive balance tax this year. Per RosterResource, they project to have a $230MM CBT number, about $11MM shy of the $241 base threshold. They have opted to sign many minor league deals and hope that a handful of them turn out to be hidden gems.

Kimbrel will jump into that cluster of non-roster veterans trying to earn major league jobs. He has the most impressive track record of anyone in that group but is a few weeks behind them and will have to overcome the memories of a poor 2024 season.

Photo courtesy of Tommy Gilligan and Kareem Elgazzar, Imagn Images.

Braves, James McCann Agree To Minor League Deal

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March 18: McCann’s deal would pay him a $1MM base in the majors, reports ESPN’s Buster Olney.

March 17: The Braves are in agreement with veteran catcher James McCann on a minor league contract, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. Atlanta released Curt Casali from his minor league deal and reassigned Sandy León to minor league camp this afternoon. McCann is represented by the Ballengee Group.

McCann, 34, provides veteran insurance with Sean Murphy ticketed for the injured list to begin the season. Murphy and expected backup Chadwick Tromp are the only catchers on Atlanta’s 40-man roster. They’ll need to add someone else by the start of the regular season. Removing Casali and León from the mix made it seem inevitable that top prospect Drake Baldwin would get the Opening Day assignment. That still seems highly likely. McCann hasn’t had any game reps and Spring Training ends in one week. Mark Bowman of MLB.com writes that the plan is for the veteran to begin the season at Triple-A Gwinnett.

The righty-swinging McCann has spent the last two seasons backing up Adley Rutschman in Baltimore. He hit .228/.274/.382 in a combined 134 games. He has a bit of power but isn’t going to provide much from an on-base perspective. McCann is highly respected for his leadership and work with pitching staffs. He ranks in the middle of the pack in terms of arm strength and throwing out attempted basestealers. He has never graded well by public pitch framing metrics, while Statcast has graded him a little below average at blocking balls in the dirt.

Baldwin has had a big Spring Training. He’s hitting .333 with six walks and two strikeouts in 13 exhibition games. The former third-round pick combined for a .270/.384/.460 batting line between the top two minor league levels last season. He clearly has more offensive upside than McCann or Tromp bring to the table. That said, plenty of top prospects struggle in their first look at major league pitching. If Baldwin’s career gets out to a tough start, McCann could step in as the starter until Murphy returns from a broken rib. McCann has far more experience as a primary catcher than Tromp does.

Angels Acquire Angel Perdomo, Designate Scott Kingery For Assignment

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The Angels announced they’ve acquired lefty reliever Angel Perdomo from the Braves for cash or a player to be named later. The Halos designated infielder Scott Kingery for assignment to open a 40-man roster spot. Perdomo had not previously been DFA, so this drops Atlanta’s roster count to 39.

Perdomo spent more than a year with Atlanta but never threw a regular season pitch for them. The 6’8″ southpaw was a member of the Pirates when he underwent Tommy John surgery late in the 2023 season. Pittsburgh waived him at the end of that year. Atlanta claimed him, non-tendered him, then brought him back on a fresh major league deal. They kept him on the 60-day injured list for all of last season to see whether he warranted a spot in their bullpen once he returned to health.

The 30-year-old Perdomo has gotten back on the mound this spring. He has made seven appearances, working 7 1/3 frames of two-run ball. Perdomo has issued four walks while recording six strikeouts. The Braves evidently didn’t see enough in that small sample to carry him as a third left-hander behind Aaron Bummer and Dylan Lee. Perdomo is out of minor league options, so the Braves couldn’t send him to Triple-A without running him through waivers.

That the Angels jumped the line via trade suggests Perdomo would not have cleared waivers. The Halos will also need to carry him in the MLB bullpen or make him available to other teams. They’ll very likely move on from one or two left-handers by Opening Day. The Angels now have five lefty relievers whom they can’t send to the minors.

Brock Burke, José Quijada, José Suarez and Perdomo are all out of options. Rule 5 pick Garrett McDaniels needs to stick on the roster or be waived and offered back to the Dodgers. Burke will make the team and McDaniels is pitching fairly well this spring. Suárez and Quijada seemed like bubble candidates to stick on the roster all offseason. Neither has pitched well this spring. Quijada has been blitzed for nine runs in 3 2/3 innings. Suárez has surrendered a trio of homers across 7 2/3 frames.

Perdomo has pitched in parts of three big league seasons. His best work came with Pittsburgh two years ago. He turned in a 3.72 ERA while striking out almost 38% of opposing hitters in 29 innings. His fastball averaged 94 MPH before the Tommy John procedure. Perdomo is playing on a pre-arbitration salary and is under club control for four seasons. He’d be an affordable bullpen piece if he sticks on the roster.

Kingery, a one-time top prospect with the Phillies, has played one major league game in the last three years. Philadelphia had kept him in Triple-A after outrighting him off their 40-man roster. They traded him to the Angels at the start of the offseason. The Halos added him to the roster to prevent him from reaching minor league free agency. Kingery was coming off a .268/.316/.488 showing in Triple-A that led the Angels to get a look at him in camp.

The 30-year-old needed a strong showing in Spring Training to secure a spot on Ron Washington’s bench. He’s hitting .138 with 11 strikeouts in 36 plate appearances this spring. That pushed him off the roster and is likely to land him on waivers in the next few days. If he goes unclaimed, Kingery would have the right to elect free agency because he has more than three years of service time. Doing that would mean forfeiting his $770K arbitration salary, so there’s a decent chance he’d accept an outright assignment and head back to Triple-A.

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