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Joe Hudson

Astros Sign Joe Hudson To Minor League Deal

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The Astros have signed catcher Joe Hudson to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He has been assigned to Triple-A Sugar Land for now but will presumably receive an invite to big league spring training.

Hudson, 34 in May, was briefly in the majors in 2024. He had started the year with the Cubs on a minor league deal but was traded to the Mets in April. The latter club selected him to their roster for about three weeks in June, though Hudson only got into one big league game in that time and didn’t get a plate appearance. On June 21, the Mets were leading the Cubs 11-1 and had Hudson catch the bottom of the ninth, replacing Francisco Alvarez. He was later outrighted off the roster and elected free agency at season’s end.

That technically added to Hudson’s big league résumé, getting him up to 19 games played over four different seasons. He has a .167/.219/.200 batting line in his 33 plate appearances at the major league level.

He’s generally been a serviceable depth piece at Triple-A. He’s played 198 games at that level over the past four years, stepping to the plate 740 times. He was punched out in 29.1% of those appearances but also managed to draw a walk 14.5% of the time. That allowed him to produce a combined .215/.338/.389 line and 92 wRC+. Baseball Prospectus has generally given him good grades for his framing, blocking and throwing throughout his minor league career.

The Astros currently have three catchers on their 40-man roster. Yainer Diaz should get the bulk of big league playing time, with Victor Caratini also lined up for a notable chunk and César Salazar in Triple-A. Diaz and Caratini also spent some time at first base last year as the Astros tried to cover that spot after releasing José Abreu. Diaz was also slotted in as the designated hitter from time to time, keeping his bat in the lineup even when he got a break from catching.

Hudson gives them a bit of non-roster depth at the Triple-A level. That could perhaps be important as they might continue to experiment with rotating Diaz and Caratini through first, which might tempt them to have Salazar in the majors as a third catcher. Then there’s the ever-present possibility of an injury changing the plans. If Hudson gets a roster spot at any point, he has less than a year of service time and still has options, meaning he’ll be cheap and provide roster flexibility.

Six Players Elect Free Agency

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As the offseason nears, a number of players elect minor league free agency each week. These players are separate from six-year MLB free agents, who’ll reach the open market five days after the conclusion of the World Series. Eligible minor leaguers can begin electing free agency as soon as the regular season wraps up. These players were all outrighted off a team’s 40-man roster during the year and have the requisite service time and/or multiple career outrights necessary to reach free agency since they weren’t added back to teams’ rosters.

Electing free agency is the anticipated outcome for these players. There’ll surely be more to test the market in the coming weeks. We’ll offer periodic updates at MLBTR. These transactions are all reflected on the MiLB.com or MLB.com logs.

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Mets Outright Joe Hudson

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June 27: Hudson cleared outright waivers and has been assigned to Triple-A Syracuse, tweets Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.

June 24: The Mets have designated catcher Joe Hudson for assignment, per a team announcement. His spot on the roster will go to fellow backstop Luis Torrens, who has been reinstated from the paternity list.

The journeyman Hudson was selected to the Mets’ roster earlier this month in advance of the team’s London showdown against the Phillies. He only wound up appearing in one major league game, however, and he did not take an appearance at the plate.

This brief stint was the 33-year-old Hudson’s first appearance on a major league roster since 2020. He’s tallied 18 games in the majors over the course of a 13-year pro career, picking up 33 plate appearances in that short time. Hudson is 5-for-30 with a double, two walks and six strikeouts in the majors. The former sixth-rounder is a career .229/.333/.398 hitter in six Triple-A seasons — including a .237/.392/.441 showing in 21 games with the Mets’ Syracuse affiliate this year.

The Mets will have a week to attempt to pass Hudson through outright waivers, trade him or release him.

Mets Release Omar Narvaez, Jorge Lopez

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The Mets announced Wednesday that they’ve released veteran catcher Omar Narvaez and right-hander Jorge Lopez. Both were designated for assignment last week, and both are now free agents. New York also selected the contract of catcher Joe Hudson from Triple-A Syracuse, moving righty Shintaro Fujinami to the 60-day injured list to open a roster spot. Hudson is a candidate to serve as an extra player for the Mets’ London Series against the Phillies, where each team will be granted a 27th player.

The 32-year-old Narvaez is playing out the second season of a two-year, $15MM contract he signed in the 2022-23 offseason. He had the right to opt out of said contract following the 2023 season, but after a .211/.283/.297 showing in his first year with the club, he unsurprisingly passed on that opportunity. He’s struggled even more in 2024, hitting just .154/.191/.185 in 69 trips to the plate.

Though his run with the Mets was dismal, Narvaez was a quality regular for several years leading up to that deal. From 2018-22, he slashed .254/.337/.397 between the White Sox, Mariners and Brewers — even landing an All-Star nod with the ’21 Brewers. Milwaukee also worked with Narvaez to dramatically improve his glovework — specifically his framing skills — improving upon the below-average grades he drew during his time with Seattle and Chicago.

Any team in need of some catching help could take a flier on Narvaez and would owe him only the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the MLB roster. That sum would be subtracted from what the Mets still owe him, but they’re on the hook for the bulk of his $8MM salary regardless. The Marlins and Cubs have had the game’s worst production behind the plate this season, and while Narvaez himself has had an extremely rough go of it, his track record might be appealing to them or another club with suspect backstops.

Lopez’s time with the Mets ended in controversial fashion. The right-hander, showing ample frustration after a poor outing, angrily lobbed his glove into the stands as he walked off the field. After the game, when asked about his actions, the Puerto Rican-born righty said he did not regret his actions and offered a candid assessment. Lopez, speaking his second language without an interpreter by his side, has stressed that he intended to state that he had been “the worst —-ing teammate” in MLB (presumably due to that outburst). But it was difficult in the moment to discern whether he’d said “worst teammate” or called the Mets the “worst team,” and when asked to clarify, he suggested both (again, without an interpreter/translator at his side).

The situation was further muddied by Lopez telling the media that he hadn’t spoken to Mets management about the issue, when he in fact had discussed it with manager Carlos Mendoza. The Mets wound up designating Lopez for assignment. In the hours after the incident, it came to light that he’s also been dealing with significant personal distress. His young son is on a transplant list and awaiting a donor. Add in that Lopez has previously spent time on the injured list due to anxiety issues, and it becomes clear that there’s far more at play than simply losing his temper and some mistaken words.

As with Narvaez, any club can now sign Lopez and owe him only the prorated minimum for any time spent on the big league roster. The manner in which his Mets tenure drew to a close will likely impact his market, but while not excusing his actions, it’s also easy to look at the situation from personal/human standpoint and understand why things may have unraveled for the 31-year-old righty.

Lopez pitched fairly well with the Mets, logging 26 1/3 innings of 3.76 ERA ball. A sub-par 17.1% strikeout rate and 9.9% walk rate both lead fielding-independent metrics to take a more bearish view of his work, however (4.65 FIP, 4.46 SIERA). Lopez had a breakout 2022 showing with the Orioles and Twins but followed that up with a sub-par 2023 campaign spent mostly in Minnesota.

After a brilliant start to the season in which he was unscored upon into May, Lopez hit a rough patch and wound up taking some time away from the Twins due to his anxiety. He expressed gratitude to the team for allowing him to focus on his mental health upon his return to the club. Unfortunately, his results following the break were still sub-par, and the Twins wound up flipping him to the Marlins in a deadline deal sending Dylan Floro back to Minnesota.

Taken in totality, the last three seasons from Lopez have yielded solid, if inconsistent results. He’s pitched 156 1/3 innings and logged a 4.03 ERA with a 20.7% strikeout rate, 9.5% walk rate and 51.2% grounder rate. Lopez’s strikeouts and ground-ball tendencies have trended downward since 2022, however, as has the velocity on his power sinker — which at at 97.8 mph in ’22 but averaged 95.4 mph with the Mets this season. Whatever comes next for the right-hander, the hope beyond the baseball field is that his son finds the donor he needs and that Lopez continues to prioritize his mental health.

Turning to the journeyman Hudson, this will be the 33-year-old’s first time on a big league roster since the 2020 season. He’s appeared in 18 big league games and taken 33 plate appearances, going 5-for-30 with a double, two walks, six strikeouts and a sacrifice in that time. The former sixth-round pick has been with nine organizations in his professional career, including brief MLB stints with the Mariners, Angels and Cardinals. In 19 games with the Syracuse Mets this season, he’s hitting .222/.364/.444 with three home runs and three doubles.

Mets Acquire Joe Hudson From Cubs

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The Cubs traded journeyman catcher Joe Hudson to the Mets yesterday, per the teams’ transaction logs at MLB.com. It’s presumably a cash deal that’ll give the Mets some additional depth behind the plate. Hudson was assigned to Double-A Binghamton.

Hudson, 32, has seen brief action in three big leagues seasons but none since 2020. He has just 33 MLB plate appearances under his belt. Hudson has spent the past two seasons in Triple-A with the Rays and Braves, hitting for a low average but posting strong on-base marks and showing off good pop at the plate. He was hitless in eight plate appearances with the Cubs’ Iowa affiliate in 2024 but batted .230/.362/.432 with 20 homers in just 437 plate appearances with the top affiliates for the Rays and Braves from 2022-23.

Behind the plate, Hudson is 0-for-7 in halting steals at the MLB level but boasts an enormous 40% caught-stealing rate in 11 minor league seasons. He’s also typically posted strong framing marks in the upper minors, per Baseball Prospectus.

The Mets are set at catcher on the big league roster, with young Francisco Alvarez shouldering the bulk of the workload and veteran Omar Narvaez backing him up. In Triple-A, they’ve got veteran Tomas Nido and well-traveled Austin Allen — a pair of backstops with big league experience (quite a bit of experience, in Nido’s case). For now, Hudson will head to Double-A and pair with top catching prospect Kevin Parada.

Cubs To Begin Season With Wicks, Assad In Rotation; Smyly In Bullpen

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With Opening Day now one week away, the Cubs made some decisions on their starting pitching plan to begin the year. Manager Craig Counsell told members of the club’s beat, including Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune, that left-hander Jordan Wicks and Javier Assad will have rotation jobs to open the campaign. Veteran lefty Drew Smyly, meanwhile, will head to the bullpen. In a separate tweet, Montemurro confirms that righty Jameson Taillon will start the season on the injured list. In terms of the catching group, Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times relays that both Jorge Alfaro and Joe Hudson have been told they won’t make the team but are staying in big league camp for now.

The Cubs came into camp with a front four of Justin Steele, Kyle Hendricks, Shota Imanaga and Taillon, with one spot available for guys like Wicks, Assad, Smyly, Hayden Wesneski or Caleb Kilian. In early March, Kilian was diagnosed with a teres major strain and will be out for several months, taking him out of the competition.

Taillon was dealt much smaller issues but they nonetheless slowed his progression. He initially had some soreness is his calves and that was followed by some lower back tightness. He still has not appeared in an official Spring Training game and will begin the season on the IL. He told Bruce Levine of WSCR on the weekend that he was planning to throw off a mound this week, which shows some progress, but he’s likely still a few weeks away from readiness.

With Taillon out of action, there were two open spots at the back of the rotation, which will go to Wicks and Assad. Wicks is one of the club’s top pitching prospects and he made his major league debut last year with a 4.41 earned run average in seven starts. In 91 1/3 innings of minor league work, he had a 3.55 ERA, 26.5% strikeout rate and 8.6% walk rate.

He only struck out 16.3% of hitters in his first taste of the majors, but in a fairly small sample of 34 2/3 innings. For what it’s worth, he’s posted a 2.60 ERA this spring, though with a modest 16.9% strikeout rate. But he has also limited his walks to 2.8% and it’s a small sample of 17 1/3 innings. He’ll get a chance to take a step forward at the major league level to start the season. He still has a full slate of options, so the Cubs could easily send him back to the minors when Taillon is healthy if they so choose.

Assad has a bit more experience, having served in a swing role for the Cubs over the past two years. He has a 3.06 ERA in 147 innings over 41 appearances, including 18 starts. His 20.2% strikeout rate and 9.9% walk rate are both slightly worse than league average but he’s kept 44.7% of balls in play on the ground and was in the 78th percentile of qualified pitchers last year in terms of average exit velocity. He has allowed seven earned runs in nine innings this spring. He has a couple of options and could wind up in the minors later but the Cubs have used him as a long reliever out of the bullpen in the past.

That long relief role could perhaps be taken by Smyly, who was also in that role for a time last year. The Cubs signed him to a two-year, $19MM deal last offseason but he struggled in 2023 and wound up moving to the bullpen on multiple occasions. He finished last year with an even ERA of 5.00, but it was 5.62 as a starter and 2.51 out of the ’pen. That latter number was in a small sample of 28 2/3 innings but the Cubs will be hoping his stuff will play up in shorter stints. Spring results are to be taken with a grain of salt but he hasn’t done much to win back a rotation job lately, with a 7.71 ERA, 15.1% strikeout rate and 9.4% walk rate in 11 2/3 innings.

His past experience as a starter could have him working multi-innings stints as a reliever, but he could also be utilized as a situational lefty. The only other southpaw reliever currently on the roster is Luke Little, who has just 6 2/3 innings of major league experience and notable control issues in the minors.

As for the catchers, it’s not too surprising they won’t make the club. The Cubs have Yan Gomes and Miguel Amaya set to be their primary catching tandem. Gomes is a 12-year veteran coming off a solid season while Amaya has been a notable prospect for a while and made his major league debut last year. It’s unclear if either Alfaro or Hudson have opt-outs in their minor league deals, but it seems they will be staying in camp for the time being.

Cubs Sign Joe Hudson To Minor League Deal

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The Cubs have signed catcher Joe Hudson to a minor league deal with an invitation to major league Spring Training, per Eric Treuden of Jays Journal.

Hudson, 33 in May, has 18 games of major league experience to this point in his career. Those games were scattered between the 2018 Angels, 2019 Cardinals and 2020 Mariners. He hit a combined .167/.219/.200  in a small sample of 33 plate appearances, though he’s generally been considered strong on defense.

His offense has been better in the minors, including a batting line of .230/.330/.398 across five different seasons at the Triple-A level. That includes a 2023 stint with the Braves on a minor league deal, wherein he got into 69 Triple-A contests. He struck out in 29% of his trips to the plate this year but also drew walks in 16.2% of them, leading to a slash of .232/.371/.395 for the year and a 99 wRC+.

The Cubs are a bit thin at the catcher position, with Yan Gomes and Miguel Amaya the only two currently on the 40-man roster. Amaya has just 53 games of major league experience while Gomes is going into his age-36 season. Hudson and Jorge Alfaro, who also signed a minor league deal with the Cubs this offseason, will provide the team with some experienced non-roster depth.

Minor MLB Transactions: 12/14/22

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Teams have been quite active over the past couple of weeks and a few minor league deals slipped through the cracks. Here’s a quick roundup.

  • The Giants signed infielder Donovan Walton to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. Walton, 29 in May, began 2022 with the Mariners but was traded to the Giants in May. He spent the year as a frequently-optioned depth piece for the Giants, getting into 25 MLB games and hitting .158/.179/.303, wRC+ of 31. In the minors this year, he hit .248/.353/.403, wRC+ of 94. He was non-tendered at the end of the season but has now re-joined the organization in a non-roster capacity. He has some experience at all four infield positions and left field, giving the club a versatile depth option. If he makes it back onto the 40-man, he’s now out of options and will have to stick on the active roster or else be designated for assignment.
  • The Braves signed catcher Joe Hudson to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. Hudson, 32 in May, has 18 games of MLB experience stretched across three seasons from 2018 to 2020. He spent 2022 in the Rays’ system, getting into 49 games for the Triple-A Durham Bulls. He hit .226/.345/.489 in that time for a wRC+ of 119. The Braves recently acquired Sean Murphy to be their primary catcher, but sent William Contreras and Manny Piña packing as part of the deal. The club does still have Chadwick Tromp and the oft-injured Travis d’Arnaud but Hudson will give them a depth option with major league experience.
  • The Twins signed first baseman Tyler White to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. White, 32, played for the Astros from 2016 to 2019, and a brief stint with the Dodgers, but played in Korea in 2020. He came back to North America for the past two years but has been stuck in Triple-A. Though he generally hits well, his defense is essentially limited to first base at this point, aside from brief stints at third. With the Blue Jays’ system in 2021, he hit .292/.424/.476 for a wRC+ of 141. He split 2022 between the Triple-A teams of the Braves and Brewers, hitting .230/.357/.412, 108 wRC+.
  • The Marlins signed infielder Alex De Goti to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. De Goti, 28, has spent his entire career with the Astros thus far, getting into two big league games in 2021. He spent all of 2022 in Triple-A, hitting .253/.352/.377 for a wRC+ of 87. He’s played every position on the diamond in his minor league career except for catcher, even taking the mound for the occasional mop-up stint. He should serve as a versatile depth piece for the Fish.
  • The Nationals have signed right-hander Ronald Herrera to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. Herrera, 28 in May, has three innings of MLB experience, which came as a 22-year-old back in 2017 with the Yankees. He spent most of 2022 with the Double-A affiliate of the Nats, making 24 starts and throwing 129 innings. He posted a 4.40 ERA in that time with a 21.4% strikeout rate, 6.4% walk rate and 39.8% ground ball rate. The Nats had the worst rotation ERA in the majors in 2022, coming in at 5.97. They’ve signed Trevor Williams to help out but there’s a still a good chance they might have to rely on some depth options throughout the year.
  • The Angels signed right-hander Nash Walters to a minor league contract, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. Walters, 26 in May, spent his entire career in the Brewers’ organization until getting sent to the Angels in a September 2022 trade. He made his major league debut with the Halos on the last day of the season, facing three batters, retiring one while surrendering one hit and one walk. His minor league work for 2022 amounted to 53 2/3 innings with a 4.70 ERA, 30.2% strikeout rate and 8.2% walk rate. He was non-tendered at the end of the year but has returned to the organization without taking up a spot on the 40-man.
  • The Mariners signed right-hander Jose Rodriguez to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. Rodriguez, 27, tossed 21 1/3 innings with the Angels over 2019 and 2020, posting a 2.53 ERA in that time. That number looks impressive but came with an unsustainable 100% strand rate and .226 batting average on balls in play. His 14.1% strikeout rate and 13% walk rate suggest he was lucky to allow so few earned runs. He spent 2022 in the Mets’ system, tossing 76 1/3 innings in Triple-A with a 4.95 ERA, 20.5% strikeout rate, 10.9% walk rate and 42.2% ground ball rate. If he’s able to crack Seattle’s 40-man roster, he still has two option years remaining and can be moved between the majors and minors with regularity.

Pirates Sign Joe Hudson To Minor League Deal

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The Pirates announced Monday that they’ve signed catcher Joe Hudson to a minor league contract and invited him to Major League Spring Training.

Hudson, 29, spent the 2020 season with the Mariners and appeared in nine big league games, going 3-for-17 with a pair of walks and five strikeouts in 20 trips to the plate. That marked Hudson’s third straight season with at least a taste of the Major Leagues, although both the nine games and 20 plate appearances were career-highs for the journeyman backstop. Overall, he’s a .167/.219/.200 hitter in a minuscule sample of 33 plate appearances.

Beyond his limited big league time, Hudson has logged 102 games at the Triple-A level, batting .249/.323/.411 with 13 homers, 14 doubles and a triple in 383 plate appearances. He’s thwarted a whopping 43 percent of the 505 stolen base attempts against him in the minors since being drafted by the Reds in the sixth round back in 2012, and Baseball Prospectus gives him generally strong marks both in terms of pitch framing and pitch blocking.

Jacob Stallings and Michael Perez are the only two catchers on Pittsburgh’s 40-man roster at the moment, and they lack an MLB-ready prospect behind the dish. Hudson joins fellow non-roster invitee Andrew Susac and 2017 fourth-rounder Jason Delay as depth options for the Bucs who could see action in Triple-A. Delay hasn’t played above Double-A yet and struggled there in 2019, hitting .234/.286/.398 in 67 games.

Mariners Outright Four Players

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The Mariners announced the outrights of four players: right-handers Brady Lail and Seth Frankoff, and catchers Joe Hudson and Joseph Odom. Hudson and Lail have elected free agency, while Frankoff and Odom were assigned to the club’s Triple-A affiliate in Tacoma. Seattle’s 40-man roster is down to 34 players.

Lail was claimed off waivers from the White Sox in August. He allowed eight runs (including five homers) in 15 innings down the stretch, striking out eleven against seven walks. Frankoff signed a minor-league contract the day after Seattle claimed Lail. He was eventually selected to the roster but only pitched in two games, allowing five runs in 2.2 innings. A longtime KBO starter, Frankoff will be eligible for minor-league free agency this offseason.

Hudson and Odom each unexpectedly picked up some of the slack behind the plate this season. Presumptive starter Tom Murphy missed the entire season with a foot fracture but figures to return to action next spring. Luis Torrens, who came over from the Padres in the Austin Nola trade, hit fairly well down the stretch and looks to have staked a claim to the backup job. Like Frankoff, Odom can elect minor-league free agency this winter.

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