Brewers Non-Tender Travis Shaw, Jimmy Nelson, 3 Others
The Brewers have non-tendered a host of prominent players, per a club announcement. Third baseman Travis Shaw, righties Junior Guerra and Jimmy Nelson, southpaw Alex Claudio, and infielder Tyler Saladino are all being dropped from the roster.
That’s quite a lot to take in for the Milwaukee faithful. The organization has already seen several major players depart via free agency and will now bid adieu to a host of notable veterans.
There’s some major cost savings to be tabulated here. Shaw ($4.7MM), Guerra ($3.5MM), Nelson ($3.7MM), Claudio ($2.2MM), and Saladino ($1.0MM) were projected by MLBTR to earn a combined $15.1MM.
It’s also a pretty substantial outflow of talent. The club has relied heavily upon several of these players in recent campaigns. And some appeared to be solid values even at the estimated arb price tags.
The Brewers tried to hang onto Shaw, but weren’t able to work out a deal in advance of the deadline. Miserable as his 2019 season was, he was a well-above-average hitter and thirty homer contributor in each of the prior two campaigns.
Guerra and Nelson each provided the Brewers with a lot of good innings over the years. The former had quite a bit of success at times as a starter and was a solid relief contributor last year, though the club obviously felt it could do better for its money. Nelson probably would be the staff ace were it not for major arm injuries.
The Brewers rode Claudio hard last year, putting the groundball-heavy hurler in over half of the team’s games. Pending rule changes requiring every reliever to face three batters may have reduced his appeal, as Claudio was hit hard by righties in 2019. As for Saladino, the team hung on to him for some time but never really found him a niche. He’s coming off of a strong offensive year at Triple-A.
Jay Jackson Signs With Chiba Lotte Marines
Right-hander Jay Jackson has reached an agreement with the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball, Jon Morosi of MLB Network tweets. Jackson spent last season last season as a member of the Brewers organization.
This continues a nomadic career for the 32-year-old Jackson, a 2008 ninth-round pick of the Cubs who has bounced around a few MLB franchises and has already pitched in Japan previously. Jackson was a force for the Hiroshima Carp from 2016-18, during which he combined for 182 innings of 2.13 ERA ball with 202 strikeouts against 70 walks.
Jackson returned stateside on a minors pact with the Brewers last winter, though he ended up spending most of the season at the Triple-A level. He was dominant there, evidenced by a paltry 1.33 ERA with 12.0 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9 over 40 2/3 innings. Jackson wasn’t as successful in 30 1/3 MLB frames, though, as he managed a 4.45 ERA. While Jackson did strike out 13.9 batters per nine, a lofty walk rate (5.3 BB/9) helped undermine his efforts.
Players Avoiding Arbitration Prior To 2019 Non-Tender Deadline
With tonight’s 8pm ET deadline to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players looming, there’ll be several players who agree to one-year contracts for the 2020 season today. It’s common for the day of the non-tender deadline to be a big one for arbitration agreements, though it’s also worth noting that many of the players who agree to terms today will do so at a rate that’s lower than the salary figures projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz.
Broadly speaking, players who agree to terms on a salary this far in advance tend to be those who were at risk of being non-tendered, and their teams are able to use tonight’s deadline as leverage in bringing about a deal that saves them a bit of cash. A look at some of the early instances of players agreeing to terms reveals this to be true already; Mike Zunino ($4.5MM salary vs. $4.9MM projection), Wilmer Difo ($1MM salary vs. $1.2MM projection) and Scott Alexander ($875K salary vs. $1MM projection) have all agreed to lesser terms rather than risk being cast out into the free-agent market.
We’ll keep track of today’s players who avoid arbitration in this post and update throughout the day…
- The Padres have a deal for $1.5MM with infielder Greg Garcia, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets. That’s a shade under his $1.7MM projection for the 30-year-old.
- Infielder Orlando Arcia has avoided arbitration with the Brewers, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). Though he’s set to lose some playing time, it seems Arcia will be expected to retain a notable role. He’s considered a talented defender at short and was long expected to come around with the bat, but it hasn’t happened yet.
- Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes is in agreement on a $1.1MM deal, per Robert Murray (Twitter link). It’s a guaranteed deal, which isn’t standard for arbitration pacts. Barnes had projected at $1.3MM on the heels of a disappointing season. It seems he’ll be asked to function as the club’s second backstop in 2020.
Earlier Moves
- The Rangers have a deal in place with right-hander Nick Goody, the club announced. He’ll earn $915K, according to MLB.com’s TR Sullivan (via Twitter). Goody projected to earn $1.1MM, so he’s taking a discount on that mark with his new club.
- Just-acquired righty Jharel Cotton has agreed to a $640K deal with the Cubs, Rosenthal tweets. Cotton had projected at $800K but he’s surely focused first and foremost on getting a significant MLB opportunity. He didn’t quite make it back to the majors in 2019 after a long injury layoff but figures to represent a swingman option for the Chicago club in 2020.
- Outfielder Alex Dickerson and lefty Wandy Peralta are in agreement with the Giants, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter links). Dickerson settled for $925K, which is well under his $1.2MM projected earning power. The 29-year-old has had trouble staying healthy but usually hits when he is on the field. He rewarded the San Francisco organization for taking a shot on him last year by turning in a .290/.351/.529 batting line in 171 plate appearances. As for Peralta, he lands right at his projected value with a $805K salary. The 28-year-old was claimed off waivers late in the 2019 season.
- The White Sox and James McCann avoided arbitration with a one-year deal worth $5.4MM, tweets ESPN’s Jeff Passan. McCann’s deal checks in a half million dollars north of his $4.9MM projection. Chicago’s addition of Yasmani Grandal has likely relegated McCann to backup duties, so he’ll be a rather expensive second catcher for the South Siders. A free agent next winter, McCann hit .273/.328/.460 with a career-high 18 home runs, but his bat went dormant in the season’s final few months and his .359 BABIP seems particularly ripe for regression.
- The Athletics avoided arbitration with left-handed reliever T.J. McFarland by agreeing to a one-year contract worth $1.8MM, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets. That salary effectively puts McFarland in line for the same salary he’d have received had he had his $1.85MM club option exercised by the Diamondbacks. Arizona, however, bought him out for $50K and then ran him through waivers, at which point the A’s claimed him. The 30-year-old posted a 4.82 ERA with a middling 5.6 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 56 2/3 innings this past season, but he’s a ground-ball behemoth (61.1 percent). He’ll be a free agent next winter and had been projected at $2.1MM.
- Infielder Ehire Adrianza and the Twins agreed on a $1.6MM salary for the upcoming season, Nightengale tweets. The versatile utilityman hit .272/.349/.416 in 236 plate appearances while appearing at all four infield spots and both outfield corners. Adrianza, a free agent next winter, was projected at $1.9MM.
- Outfielder Travis Jankowski agreed to a rare arbitration pay cut with the Reds, Bobby Nightengale Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets. After earning $1.165MM in 2019, he’ll be owed $1.05MM in 2020 if he makes the club. A fractured wrist cost him much of the season in 2019, and he was just 4-for-22 when healthy and in the Majors. Jankowski did have a nice season in Triple-A, though (.393 OBP in 39 games), and the Reds gave up some international funds to acquire him, which seemingly indicated that they planned to tender him a contract. He was projected to earn $1.2MM.
Brewers Willing To Listen On Josh Hader Trade
Brewers’ star reliever Josh Hader is “available” in trade, reports the Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. While Rosenthal indicates that no deal is close, Hader’s inclusion on the trade market could make for one of the more fascinating storylines of the coming months.
The 25-year-old southpaw has emerged as perhaps the best reliever in baseball since making his MLB debut in 2017. For his career, Hader has tossed 204.2 relief innings with a 2.42 ERA and an otherworldly 44.6% strikeout rate. Working without a set role and capable of handling multiple innings in an outing, Hader has exceeded 75 innings each of the last two seasons, all the while recording dominant strikeout numbers.
If there’s a blemish on Hader’s resume, he was a bit home run prone in 2019. He was hardly unique in that regard, of course, but Hader’s 15 home runs allowed pushed his ERA to a career-worst (albeit still stellar) 2.62. That’s not to diminish, though, just how dominant Hader has been. His 47.8% strikeout rate last year was easily the league’s best (minimum 50 innings); the 6.1 percentage point gap between Hader and second-place Nick Anderson equaled the gap between Anderson and fifteenth-place Chris Sale.
Why would the Brewers consider moving Hader coming off back-to-back playoff berths of which he was an integral part? Rosenthal argues it’s simply the nature of being a low payroll organization; the front office can never afford to completely shut itself out from any opportunity. That’s not to say Hader’s priced himself out of Milwaukee. Hader qualified for Super Two and is projected for an extremely affordable $4.6MM salary, although Rosenthal notes that Hader’s reps at CAA figure to argue for something a bit greater based on Hader’s status as a player of “special accomplishment.”
Regardless of whether that argument proves successful, Hader certainly remains a bargain. He won’t be eligible for free agency until after the 2023 season. His employer, be it the Brewers or some eventual trade partner, wouldn’t be committed to any long-term expenditure if he were to regress and/or suffer an injury. Perhaps no reliever in history can boast of Hader’s recent combination of dominance and volume.
One speculative target whom Rosenthal points to is the Mets, although he adds it’s unclear if New York and Milwaukee have actually discussed a Hader trade. New York is certainly on the hunt for bullpen help, and Mets’ GM Brodie Van Wagenen co-represented Hader at CAA before taking over in Flushing. As Rosenthal notes, Van Wagenen has shown an affinity for pursuing his former clients in trade and/or free agency. While the Mets’ farm system has been depleted in recent months (most notably when Van Wagenen parted with Jarred Kelenic and Justin Dunn to bring in former client Robinson Canó), Rosenthal speculates that New York could move pieces directly off its big league roster to facilitate a deal.
That said, virtually every present contender- or team angling towards contention in the near future- figures to have some level of interest in Hader. He’s affordable enough to fit into any team’s budget, and he would be the biggest weapon in essentially any bullpen he’s part of. As Rosenthal notes, some clubs could have concerns that Hader’s unconventionally high volume might eventually catch up with him. To this point, though, Hader’s shown no sign of letting up. Any slight downturn in performance in 2019 can be explained by the liveliness of the baseball, and he’s never had a stint on the injured list.
With all the appeals in Hader’s profile, Milwaukee has little urgency to make a move. If no one meets their exorbitant asking price, the Brewers could certainly bring Hader back and hope for similar dominance moving forward. Listening to offers is hardly the same as aggressively shopping a player. Perhaps nothing will come together in the long run.
Yet Hader’s situation will be fascinating to follow. With free agency starved for relievers, teams set on acquiring one with a high-end track record will have to work the trade market. No one can quite match the track record Hader’s put together over the past few seasons, setting the stage for a potential blockbuster.
MLBTR Poll: Grading The Brewers/Padres Trade
Yesterday, the Brewers and Padres linked up on an interesting four-player swap. MLBTR’s Jeff Todd discussed the players involved in the immediate aftermath of the deal, but it’s worth pondering a little further.
San Diego sent middle infielder Luis Urías and left-hander Eric Lauer to Milwaukee in exchange for outfielder Trent Grisham and right-hander Zach Davies. It’s the rare swap involving four current MLB players, three of whom have yet to even reach arbitration. Unlike many deals where a current contender trades future value to a rebuilding club to upgrade the roster in the short-term, this swap hinges mostly on the talent of the players involved. As Padres GM A.J. Preller put it (via MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell), “sometimes, there are deals because of salary issues. Sometimes, there are deals because someone’s getting toward free agency, because clubs are contending or not contending. In this case, it’s just a good baseball trade.”
For the most part, the deal turns on which of Urías and Grisham one prefers. Each has been a top 50 overall prospect in the past, per Baseball America, but Urías entered 2019 as the more acclaimed of the two. Grisham had a breakout season in the high minors last year, with a cumulative .300/.407/.603 slash in 441 plate appearances between AA and AAA before making his MLB debut in August. Urías, too, mashed in AAA last season (.315/.398/.600 in 339 PA), but scuffled in limited big league action. Grisham was a bit better in his small sample of MLB time, even if a misplay in right field in the NL Wild Card game ended the season on a sour note.
Of course, that one play was not the reason Milwaukee pulled the trigger on this deal, as Brewers GM David Stearns told reporters (including Adam McCalvy of MLB.com). On the whole, reviews of Grisham’s defense in the corner outfield tend to be positive, even if, despite 93rd percentile sprint speed, he’s not viewed by many public outlets as a long-term option in center. Urías offers more defensive value as a middle infielder, although reviews tend to be mixed on him at shortstop, where he figures to play in Milwaukee with Keston Hiura locking down the keystone.
It’s a bit tougher to get too excited over the pitchers involved, although both are certainly useful big leaguers. Davies has the stronger bottom line results, with a 3.91 career ERA and an even better 3.55 mark in 159.2 innings in 2019. He’s never posted a 20% strikeout rate or a 10% swinging strike rate in a full season, though, and the soft-tossing contact manager has generally fallen out of favor in today’s game. Lauer’s profile isn’t dramatically different. His strikeout and walk rates are higher than Davies’ but each is lower than average. Lauer, though, hasn’t had the success Davies has had to this point keeping runs off the board. Davies is more expensive ($5MM arbitration projection) and comes with three fewer seasons of team control, but neither hurler figures to threaten either team’s bottom line moving forward.
How would you grade this deal for both teams?
First, Milwaukee..
(poll link for app users)
Grade the Brewers' side of yesterday's four-player deal.
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B 50% (10,466)
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A 24% (5,027)
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C 20% (4,275)
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D 4% (764)
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F 2% (495)
Total votes: 21,027
And San Diego…
(poll link for app users)
Grade the Padres' side of yesterday's four-player deal.
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B 39% (7,595)
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C 35% (6,808)
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A 14% (2,750)
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D 8% (1,661)
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F 4% (733)
Total votes: 19,547
Padres, Brewers Agree To Four-Player Trade
2:00pm: The Brewers have formally announced the deal. They’ll also receive a player to be named later or cash from the Padres, per a team press release.
9:57am: The Padres and Brewers have broken open a quiet trade market with an interesting swap of young big leaguers. Outfielder Trent Grisham and righty Zach Davies are heading to San Diego, with second baseman Luis Urias and southpaw Eric Lauer going to Milwaukee in exchange.
This is a rare need-for-need, value-for-value trade. For the Friars, Grisham could pair with Manuel Margot in center field and ultimately move to a corner spot when top prospect Taylor Trammell is ready. Both he and Urias have debuted but not yet accrued a full season of MLB service. Meanwhile, Davies will represent a sturdy rotation piece. He’s projected to earn $5.0MM in his second-to-last season of team control.
On the other side, the Brewers now appear to have a double-play partner for Keston Hiura. Indications are that the club will utilize Urias at shortstop. Whether there’s still room for Orlando Arcia remains to be seen. The 24-year-old Lauer could deliver solid innings for years to come. While he’s not as established as Davies, the southpaw has shown well early in his career and remains under control through the 2024 season.
For the most part, 2019 was a bit of a dream season for Grisham. The former first-rounder finally turned the corner at the plate, raking in the upper minors (.300/.407/.603) to earn his way up to the majors.
Grisham ended up seeing significant time in the big leagues for the postseason-qualifying Brewers. He wasn’t exactly an instant star, but turned in a palatable .231/.328/.410 slash in 183 plate appearances while contributing highly graded defense. Unfortunately, the season ended on a sour note, as Grisham committed a costly error that cemented the Brewers’ Wild Card meltdown.
It feels funny to treat Davies as a secondary piece in this deal; that’s certainly not the case. Still just 26 years of age, he spun 159 2/3 innings of 3.55 ERA ball last year. True, Davies wasn’t exposed often to lineups for a third time. And there’s probably some good fortune embedded in those results. Davies will never be much of a strikeout pitcher, with a career K rate of 6.4 per nine. But he has proven over the years that he can produce good results despite his limitations, with a 3.91 ERA in 614 1/3 career innings.
In Urias, the Brewers see a compelling young hitter that just hasn’t quite found his footing in the majors. He’s just 22 years of age and carries a .305/.403/.511 slash over 887 Triple-A plate appearances. Urias has succeeded largely with his strong plate discipline (108 walks, 172 strikeouts) and excellent bat-to-ball skills. But there’s a bit of pop in the bat as well, as he has 28 long balls during his time at the highest level of the minors.
That said, there are some questions — there’s a reason that Urias has spent so much time at Triple-A while some other Padres players have breezed through and never returned. The initial MLB returns were tepid. Urias owns a .221/.318/.331 batting line in 302 plate appearances in the bigs. It seems reasonable to suppose he’ll improve upon that, but to what extent remains to be seen.
There are also some questions whether Urias can handle the shortstop position with sufficient aplomb at the game’s highest level. He spent the majority of his time in the minors at second base and has graded better there than at short in his limited MLB time at both spots. But the Brew Crew has been willing to rely upon its infield placement to help cover up any range issues.
It’d be easy to lose sight of Lauer here, but he’s a notable asset in his own right. The former first-rounder has thrown 261 2/3 MLB innings over the past two seasons, working to a cumulative 4.40 ERA. Nothing jumps off the page about him — 8.2 K/9, 3.3 BB/9, 38.9% groundball rate, 1.20 HR/9 — but he could bring steady innings at a cheap rate. The Brewers will likely plan to utilize Lauer in a somewhat flexible role to maximize his utility, as they have other hurlers that might not quite warrant traditional starter usage.
Jon Morosi of MLB.com (Twitter link) broke the deal, with Jeff Passan of ESPN.com (via Twitter) and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter link) adding key details.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Minor MLB Transactions: 11/23/19
We’ll use this post to keep track of today’s minor moves…
- The Brewers signed right-hander Jesus Castillo to a minor-league deal that includes and invite to Major League camp, according to Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. The 24-year-old Venezuelan signed with the Diamondbacks as an international amateur in 2012 and has since spent time in the minors with the Cubs and Angels organizations. Last year, Castillo reached the Double-A level and enjoyed arguably his best season as a professional, splitting time between the bullpen and the starting rotation. in 99 2/3 innings of work with the Angels’ Double-A affiliate in Mobile, Castillo posted a 2.71 ERA while striking out 80 batters. While his strikeout and walk numbers are nothing special, Castillo has done well throughout his minor league career to suppress the long ball: in eight seasons across several levels of the minors, he’s conceded just 0.6 homers per nine innings pitched.
- The Giants signed former Cubs farmhand Trey McNutt, tweets Matt Daniels, the Giants’ Coordinator of Pitching Sciences. McNutt, 30, signed with the Cubs in 2009 after being drafted in the 32nd round out of Shelton State Community College. He spent some time in the Padres system before two years in the Independent League (2017, 2018). He posted good strikeout rates while throwing 65 innings of 5.12 ERA baseball for the A’s Double-A and Triple-A affiliates in 2019. Daniels tracked McNutt at least through his independent league days, and the Giants’ pitching coordinator seems to believe in the righty’s ability to continue to improve, despite being quite a few years older than most farmhands. Still, after the success of Nick Anderson in Miami and Tampa Bay (whose career tracked a similar path), McNutt’s chances of making his major league debut are far from dead, and a year from now, he could very well be the Merrill Kelly to Anderson’s Miles Mikolas.
Brewers Notes: Grandal, Moose, Rule 5 Draft, Lucas
The latest on the Brew Crew….
- Yasmani Grandal is now a member of the White Sox, though the Brewers made “multiple offers” to the free agent catcher, as per reporter Robert Murray (via Twitter). Milwaukee had natural interest in a reunion given how well Grandal played in 2019, though Chicago’s four-year, $73MM contract was enough to outbid the Brewers. With Grandal officially no longer an option, catcher becomes perhaps the Brewers’ biggest area of need this winter, as the club will be looking for a solid regular to join in-house options Manny Pina, David Freitas, and Jacob Nottingham. Grandal, by the way, issued a thank-you to both the Brewers and their fans on his Instagram account today.
- With Grandal gone, Mike Moustakas is the biggest remaining Brewers free agent. While Milwaukee would also like to retain Moustakas, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tweets that the infielder “has considerable interest” from other teams. The Phillies, Braves, and Rangers are three of the clubs who have been linked to Moustakas in past reports, and it’s fair to imagine that lots of other teams would see a fit for a power hitter who can play second or third base.
- The Brewers added three players to their 40-man roster yesterday in advance of the deadline for teams to set their rosters in advance of the Rule 5 Draft. As you might expect, “these are not 100 percent easy, clear decisions to make on some players,” Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns told MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy and other reporters. While Milwaukee has only 36 players on its 40-man, teams often leave spaces open for future additions or other roster maneuvering prior to December 12, when the Rule 5 Draft takes place. This means that other teams could select some notable Brewers youngsters who weren’t protected, such as right-hander Zack Brown, currently ranked by MLB.com as the third-best prospect in Milwaukee’s farm system. Brown was quickly ascending up the minor league ladder and was the Brewers’ minor league pitcher of the year in 2018, though his 2019 numbers (5.79 ERA over his first 116 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level) were a step backwards. Stearns admitted that these struggles “certainly influenced our decision,” though “we still have high hopes for Zack Brown.” If Brown is chosen, his new team would have to keep him on its Major League roster for the entire 2020 season to gain his permanent rights, or else the team would have to offer Brown back to Milwaukee.
- Former Marlins infielder Ed Lucas has been hired as the Brewers’ new minor league hitting coordinator, as per Robert Murray (Twitter link). Lucas’ post-playing career has thus far included three seasons in administrative and development roles with the Phillies and Marlins. Lucas played for seven different organizations from 2004-16, a career that includes 163 MLB games with Miami in 2013-14.
Brewers Acquire Mark Mathias From Indians
The Brewers and Indians announced a minor trade Wednesday, with Cleveland sending minor league infielder Mark Mathias to Milwaukee in exchange for minor league catcher Andres Melendez. Milwaukee has selected the contract of Mathias.
Mathias, 25, needed to be added to the 40-man roster in order to be protected from the Rule 5 Draft. The Indians apparently preferred not to commit that 40-man spot to Mathias, prompting today’s swap with the Brewers, who’ll now pick up some new infield depth. The 2015 third-rounder hit .269/.355/.442 with a dozen home runs, 31 doubles, two triples and 13 stolen bases at Triple-A this past season. Mathias is primarily a second baseman and third baseman, but he’s also logged 203 innings at shortstop since being drafted.
Milwaukee signed the now-18-year-old Melendez out of Venezuela back in 2017. He played 36 games with the Brewers’ Rookie-level Arizona affiliate in 2019, hitting .250/.340/.352 with a 30 percent caught-stealing rate behind the plate. Despite being years from the Majors, Melendez was ranked 16th among Brewers farmhands by Kiley McDaniel and Eric Longenhagen on their midsesason update of the team’s prospect rankings.
Players Added To 40-Man Roster: National League
We’re going to see a whole lot of players added to 40-man rosters in advance of tonight’s deadline to protect players from the Rule 5 draft. We will use this post to track those contract selections from National League teams that are not otherwise covered on the site.
NL West
- The Dodgers announced that they’ve selected the contracts of right-hander Mitchell White, infielder/outfielder Zach McKinstry and outfielder DJ Peters. Both White and Peters are considered to be among the club’s top 15 prospects. McKinstry isn’t generally ranked inside L.A.’s top 30, but the 24-year-old had a big season between Double-A and Triple-A in 2019 while appearing at six defensive positions (shortstop, second base, third base and all three outfield slots).
- The Diamondbacks announced that they’ve selected the contracts of right-handers Taylor Widener and Riley Smith as well as the contracts of infielders Andy Young and Wyatt Mathisen. Widener, 24, was one of the organization’s best pitching prospects coming into the season but was blown up for an eye-popping 8.10 ERA in 100 innings. He’s only a year removed from 137 1/3 innings of 2.75 ERA ball and an 11.5 K/9 mark in Double-A, however. Smith, 24, was sharp in Double-A before struggling in Triple-A — like many pitching prospects throughout the league (and with the D-backs in particular). Young, acquired in the Paul Goldschmidt trade last winter, hit 29 homers while playing three infield positions between Double-A and Triple-A. Mathisen, 26 in December, hit .283/.403/.601 in 345 Triple-A plate appearances.
- The Giants, surprisingly, did not add anyone to their 40-man roster prior to tonight’s deadline.
- The Rockies selected the contracts of infielder Tyler Nevin, left-hander Ben Bowden and right-handers Ashton Goudeau and Antonio Santos (Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post first reported the news on Twitter). Those four moves will fill the team’s 40-man roster. Of the four, Bowden and Nevin draw the most fanfare. Nevin, the No. 38 pick in the 2015 draft and son of former MLB slugger Phil Nevin, posted deceptively solid numbers in an extremely pitcher-friendly Double-A environment in 2019 (.251/.345/.399 — good for a 122 wRC+). Bowden, a second-round pick in ’16, posted gaudy strikeout numbers but struggled in Triple-A after dominating in Double-A in 2019.
- The Padres selected outfielder Jorge Ona‘s contract and designated outfielder Nick Martini for assignment, as outlined here.
NL Central
- The Cardinals announced the additions of Jake Woodford, Elehuris Montero and Alvaro Seijas while designating righty Dominic Leone for assignment (as detailed here at greater length).
- Outfielder Corey Ray and right-hander J.P. Feyereisen will head onto the Brewers 40-man, per Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (via Twitter). It’s not yet known if the team will make further roster additions, but it would have five additional spots to work with to do so. Ray was the fifth overall pick in the 2016 draft but is coming off of a rough season. Feyereisen, who was added in a quiet September swap, will have a chance to challenge for MLB relief opportunities. Milwaukee also added infielder Mark Mathias to the 40-man roster after acquiring him in a trade with the Indians tonight.
- The Cubs announced that they’ve added catcher Miguel Amaya, infielder Zack Short and right-handers Tyson Miller and Manuel Rodriguez to the 40-man roster. Amaya is the most highly regarded of the bunch, ranking second among Chicago farmhands and drawing some top 100 consideration at MLB.com.
- Four additions to the 40-man were announced by the Reds, who have selected the contracts of catcher Tyler Stephenson and right-handers Tony Santillan, Ryan Hendrix and Tejay Antone. All four rank within the club’s top 30 at MLB.com, headlined by Santillan at No. 4 and ranging all the way to Antone at No. 30. Santillan thrived in a brief Double-A debut in 2018 but struggled there in a larger 2019 sample (4.84 ERA, 8.1 K/9, 4.8 BB/9 in 102 1/3 innings). He’s still just 22, though, and is regarded as a potential big league starter. Stephenson is a former first-round pick who hit well in a highly pitcher-friendly Double-A setting (.285/.372/.410; 130 wRC+). Hendrix posted big strikeout numbers as a reliever in 2019, while Antone displayed sharp ground-ball skills as a starter and reached Triple-A for the first time.
- The Pirates added prospects Ke’Bryan Hayes, Oneil Cruz, Will Craig, Blake Cederlind and Cody Ponce to the 40-man roster while also designating four pitchers for assignment (as explored in greater length here). Lefty Williams Jerez and right-handers Dario Agrazal, Montana DuRapau and Luis Escobar were cut loose.
NL East
- Yesterday, the Braves announced the addition of five prospects to their 40-man roster: outfielder Cristian Pache, catcher William Contreras, right-hander Jasseel De La Cruz and lefties Tucker Davidson and Phil Pfeifer. (More about those moves here.)
- The Nationals announced that they have selected the contract of southpaw Ben Braymer. They still have a huge amount of 40-man flexibility to work with. Even after this move, the Nats have nine openings. The organization also surely expects to fill many of those slots with free agents and/or trade acquisitions after losing quite a few significant players to the open market. Braymer is a former 18th rounder out of Auburn who had a nice run last year at Double-A before being hit hard in the batter-friendly International League.
- The Phillies picked up lefty Cristopher Sanchez in a trade with the Rays and added him to the 40-man roster. Philadelphia also selected the contracts of lefties JoJo Romero and Garrett Cleavinger and right-hander Mauricio Llovera. (Details on those moves here.)
- The Mets announced the additions of Andres Gimenez, Thomas Szapucki, Ali Sanchez and Jordan Humphreys to the 40-man roster and designated righty Drew Gagnon for assignment. (More on those moves here).
- The Marlins opened some eyes by eating the remaining $22MM on Wei-Yin Chen‘s contract and adding six prospects to the 40-man roster: Sixto Sanchez, Lewin Diaz, Nick Neidert, Jazz Chisholm, Humberto Mejia and Edward Cabrera. (More details here.)