Brewers Agree To Minor League Deals With Easton McGee, Brewer Hicklen
The Brewers have signed right-hander Easton McGee and all-too-appropriately-named outfielder Brewer Hicklen to minor league contracts, reports Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. They’ll both be in major league camp during spring training, though McGee won’t be pitching, as he’ll still be rehabbing from last May’s Tommy John surgery. McCalvy further adds that McGee’s minor league deal is a two-year pact, so he’ll be in the Brewers system through at least the 2025 season.
McGee, 26 next month, appeared briefly in the big leagues with the 2022 Rays and 2023 Mariners, combining for 9 2/3 shutout innings. He fanned three hitters and walked just one during that time. He’s a soft-tosser by today’s standards, averaging 91.5 mph in ’22 and seeing that number drop to 90.1 mph prior to this past season’s surgery.
McGee was Tampa Bay’s fourth-round pick back in 2016, and though he doesn’t have power stuff or a history of elite run prevention in the upper minors (4.78 ERA in 141 Triple-A frames), he does boast outstanding command. He’s faced just shy of 2100 hitters since being drafted and walked only 4.6% of them. At 6’6″, his lanky frame likely helps his pedestrian fastball velocity play up a bit, and that standout command is difficult to develop in players. On what amounts to a no-risk minor league pickup for the Brewers, he’s a nice arm to stash in the system in hopes that he can eventually emerge as a back-end starter or perhaps a multi-inning reliever.
Hicklen, 28 in February, made his MLB debut with the 2022 Royals but went hitless in a minuscule sample of six plate appearances. He’s a 2017 seventh-round pick with a career .244/.348/.486 line at the plate in 853 Triple-A plate appearances.
While he didn’t hit for much power in 2023 (10 homers in 72 games), Hicklen popped 28 long balls with Kansas City’s Triple-A club in 2022 and has drawn praise for his plus-plus (70-grade) speed. Those wheels have been on display in Triple-A, where he’s swiped 56 bags in 61 tries. Overall, he’s stolen 186 bases in the minors with a hefty 85% success rate. He’s worked primarily in left field during his minor league career, but Hicklen has 1310 innings in right field and another 621 frames in center, so he’s capable of playing all three spots.
MLBTR Podcast: Aaron Nola, Non-Tenders And The Pace Of The Offseason
The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.
This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…
- The Phillies re-sign Aaron Nola (0:50)
- The Braves sign Reynaldo López (7:20)
- The Cardinals sign Lance Lynn (10:30)
- Interesting non-tenders, including Brandon Woodruff… (12:10)
- Spencer Turnbull… (14:10)
- ..and Rowdy Tellez (17:10)
Plus, we answer your questions, including…
- Why is the MLB offseason so slow to get going? The other leagues, most of your top free agents are off the board within a few days. It’s been three weeks since players filed for free agency and nothing. (19:55)
- Do you think the Dodgers do something major this year or will it be another disappointing offseason for the fans? (23:30)
- Do you think the Pirates sign Rhys Hoskins or settle for someone cheaper? (26:20)
Check out our past episodes!
- Top Trade Candidates, Bryce Harper at First Base and the Braves’ Raising Payroll – listen here
- Top 50 Free Agents Megapod (with Tim Dierkes, Steve Adams and Anthony Franco) – listen here
- Juan Soto Speculation, Melvin and Zaidi in SF, and Boston Hires Breslow – listen here
Central Notes: Woodruff, Turnbull, Cardinals
The Brewers parted ways with right-handed ace Brandon Woodruff ahead of the non-tender deadline late last week, making the 30-year-old a free agent for the first time in his career. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic discussed the circumstances under which Woodruff became a free agent and his outlook entering the open market this morning, noting that the Brewers did receive interest from multiple clubs ahead of Friday’s deadline in acquiring Woodruff. The return in such a deal would have been negligible, however, and Rosenthal notes that Milwaukee decided to simply non-tender Woodruff rather than ship him to a team he might not prefer to join in exchange for a minimal return.
Now that the Brewers have allowed Woodruff to hit free agency, Rosenthal notes that the right-hander figures to receive two-year offers on the open market, suggesting that the total guarantee could clock in below the two-year, $30.35MM extension Rays righty Tyler Glasnow inked with the Rays last summer. Though Glasnow was in a somewhat similar situation to Woodruff at the time of the deal, having missed the entire 2022 season to that point due to Tommy John surgery, Glasnow was nearing a return from the procedure when he signed on to a deal that would cover his age-29 and -30 campaigns. Woodruff, by contrast, is expected to miss anywhere between six and eighteen months, per Rosenthal, and would be signing on for his age-31 and -32 campaigns.
More from around MLB’s central divisions…
- Joining Woodruff on the free agent market after being non-tendered by the Tigers is right-hander Spencer Turnbull. Per Chris McCosky of The Detroit News, president of baseball operations tried to trade Turnbull ahead of Friday’s non-tender deadline but was unable to find any takers. The decision to non-tender Turnbull, McCosky notes, comes after a long-running saga of issues between the club’s decision to option Turnbull to Triple-A back in May (a move that was later rescinded due to an at-the-time undisclosed neck injury) and subsequent decision to option him a second time in August while he was working his way back from the neck injury and subsequent toe issue. Tensions between the sides got to the point that McCosky notes Turnbull requested a trade ahead of the trade deadline on August 1 this past summer, though of course no deal wound up occurring back then. Now a free agent, Turnbull figures to be among the more interesting rebound candidates on the rotation market this offseason, given his flashes of success from 2020-21 when he posted a 3.46 ERA and 3.24 FIP across 20 starts.
- While the Cardinals are known to be in the market for multiple starting pitchers and president of baseball operations John Mozeliak referenced discussions he had with right-hander Aaron Nola‘s representation in conversation with Tom Ackerman of KMOX, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch notes that the club’s interest in Nola never reached the point where the club met with the right-hander or made a formal offer prior to him re-signing with the Phillies earlier today. Though Goold notes that other NL clubs were “actively engaged” in attempting to lure Nola away from Philadelphia, he adds that the Cardinals were not among them, despite indications earlier in the offseason that the club would be interested in Nola’s services this winter. While Nola is now off the market, he’s far from the only top-of-the-market pitching free agent the Cardinals have been connected to this offseason, Veteran right-hander Sonny Gray has been connected to St. Louis multiple times so far this offseason, while the club also has reported interested in NPB star Yoshinobu Yamamoto and a potential reunion with southpaw Jordan Montgomery.
Brewers Non-Tender Brandon Woodruff
The Brewers are non-tendering starter Brandon Woodruff, as first reported by Bob Nightengale of USA Today (X link). Woodruff underwent shoulder surgery in October and is expected to miss the majority of the 2024 season.
The injury put Milwaukee in a bind, as Woodruff was also entering his final season of club control. Given his excellent track record and prior salaries, he’d been projected for a hearty $11.6MM salary in arbitration, per MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz. There was no real way for Milwaukee to lower this past season’s $10.8MM salary by any meaningful amount; arbitration salaries can be cut by a maximum of 40%, and the Brewers surely would’ve had to go to an arbitration hearing if they sought such a reduction. Even if they’d won that, Woodruff would’ve been set to earn just shy of $6.5MM in a season where he isn’t expected to pitch much — if at all.
The Brewers discussed multi-year arrangements with Woodruff and trades with other clubs, but neither set of negotiations manifested in a deal. With tonight’s non-tender deadline looming, the Brewers bit the bullet and made what GM Matt Arnold described in a statement as one of the most difficult decisions of his career. Said Arnold:
“Today we had to make a very difficult decision relating to one of the best pitchers and human beings in franchise history. Throughout his 10 seasons in the organization, Brandon Woodruff has represented the Brewers with class, kindness, heart and toughness. He is recognized as a tremendous teammate, both on the field and in the community, where he and his wife, Jonie, have positively impacted so many lives around them. We remain very open to his return to Milwaukee, and regardless of what uniform he wears next, Woody will always be a member of the Brewers family.”
That the Brewers remain open to some kind of reunion is a key takeaway from Arnold’s comments, though obviously Woodruff will now be able to freely negotiate with all 29 other teams. And while the possibility of a year-long absence from the mound looms large, the 30-year-old righty’s track record will surely draw substantial interest — likely on two-year contracts that allow him to rehab with a team for the first season before hopefully enjoying a full and healthy season in year two.
Since establishing himself on the Brewers’ roster in 2018, Woodruff and teammate Corbin Burnes have formed a dominant one-two punch atop the Milwaukee rotation. The 6’4″, 240-pound righty has pitched to a combined 2.98 ERA over 637 1/3 innings in that time, striking out 29.7% of his opponents against a 6.4% walk rate. He’s posted a slightly below-average ground-ball rate (42.4%) and kept the ball in the yard rather well, particularly considering his homer-friendly home environs (0.99 HR/9). Woodruff has generated swinging strikes at a big 12.7% clip and induced chases on pitches off the plate at a hearty 33.2% rate. Simply put, he’s been one of the best and most underrated starters in the National League — at least on a per-inning basis.
If there’s a knock on Woodruff, it’s been his durability (or lack thereof). He’s never topped 179 1/3 innings in a season, has only made 30 starts on one occasion and has averaged just 22 starts per year over his past four 162-game seasons. (Notably, he did start a league-leading 13 games during the Covid-shortened 2020 campaign.)
That said, this is the first year of his big league career in which Woodruff has had a major arm injury. His most prominent other absences were due to oblique and ankle injuries. That didn’t make up for the lost time necessarily, but it paints a more favorable long-term outlook than would be the case had a series of shoulder and elbow troubles kept him off the field in recent years and culminated in this recent procedure.
Now that he’s a free agent, Woodruff becomes one of the most intriguing arms on the market — not necessarily for the 2024 season but from a longer-term perspective. Any team would surely be thrilled to stash Woodruff on the injured list in hopes of a late-2024 return and a close-to-full workload in 2025. His presence on the market gives clubs the rare opportunity to sign a top-of-the-rotation arm at a relatively bargain rate, though any deal for Woodruff will surely afford him the opportunity to return to free agency sooner than later — likely by the 2025-26 offseason.
Brewers Sign Enoli Paredes, Jared Koenig To Minor League Deals
The Brewers have signed pitchers Enoli Paredes and Jared Koenig to minor league contracts, tweets Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. Both will be in MLB camp as non-roster invitees.
Paredes elected free agency a few weeks ago after being waived by the Astros. The right-hander had previously spent his entire career in the Houston organization. Paredes pitched out of Dusty Baker’s bullpen at times from 2020-22, tallying 32 1/3 innings over 37 cumulative appearances. He worked to a 3.90 ERA but walked almost a fifth of opposing hitters.
Now 28, Paredes spent the entire 2023 season on optional assignment to Houston’s Triple-A club. He allowed 4.80 earned runs per nine over 54 1/3 innings in the Pacific Coast League. While Paredes’ 27.3% strikeout rate there was solid, his 18.6% walk percentage was similarly untenable as the mark he’s managed in his MLB career. He has a mid-90s heater but will need to dramatically improve his strike-throwing to carve out a spot in the middle innings for Milwaukee.
Koenig, 30 in January, also spent all of 2023 in Triple-A. He was in the Padres system on a minor league pact. Koenig allowed an even 5.00 ERA over 45 frames with their top affiliate in El Paso. He kept the ball on the ground at a 51.1% clip with slightly worse than average strikeout and walk marks.
His only major league work came in 2022. Koenig pitched 39 1/3 innings over 10 appearances (five starts) with Oakland. The soft-tossing lefty posted a 5.72 ERA while striking out 12.4% of opponents in green and gold. He could provide the Brew Crew with long relief depth in Triple-A if he doesn’t break camp.
National League Non-Tenders: 11/17/23
The deadline to tender a contract to arbitration-eligible players is tonight at 7:00pm CT. Here’s a rundown of fairly minor players on National League teams who have been non-tendered today. This post will be updated as more decisions are revealed. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected salaries for all players eligible for arbitration last month.
All players who are non-tendered before this evening’s deadline go directly into free agency without being placed on waivers. They’ll be eligible to sign with any of the league’s 30 teams. It’s not uncommon to see non-tendered players almost immediately return to their previous organization on a minor league deal.
The transactions:
Latest Moves
- The Giants non-tendered pitchers Thomas Szapucki, José Cruz and Cole Waites, reports Maria Guardado of MLB.com (X link). None of that trio had been eligible for arbitration.
- No team had a higher percentage of non-tenders than the Braves, who cut seven players loose. As reported by Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (on X), they’re moving on from pitchers Yonny Chirinos, Kolby Allard, Penn Murfee, Angel Perdomo and Michael Tonkin, catcher Chadwick Tromp and infielder Luke Williams. Murfee and Perdomo were recently claimed off waivers.
- San Diego’s non-tenders are covered here.
Earlier
- The Reds have non-tendered relievers Derek Law and Reiver Sanmartin. Cincinnati also confirmed the previously reported non-tender of Nick Senzel.
- In addition to Rowdy Tellez and Brandon Woodruff, the Brewers have non-tendered right-hander J.C. Mejía. He failed a PED test in September, the second such result of his career, and was suspended for 162 games.
- Former Rookie of the Year winner Kyle Lewis was non-tendered by the Diamondbacks. He played in only 16 games after being acquired from the Mariners last offseason.
- The Cubs non-tendered relievers Ethan Roberts, Brandon Hughes and Codi Heuer. All three are recovering from surgeries.
- Right-hander Tommy Doyle was non-tendered by the Rockies. Colorado designated him for assignment when acquiring Cal Quantrill this morning.
- The Cardinals have non-tendered catcher Andrew Knizner, first baseman Juan Yepez and starting pitchers Jake Woodford and Dakota Hudson. St. Louis reportedly tried to deal Hudson this afternoon but evidently did not find a taker.
- The Mets have non-tendered relievers Jeff Brigham, Sam Coonrod and Trevor Gott. New York also cut loose infielder Luis Guillorme and confirmed the reported non-tender of Dan Vogelbach.
- Left-hander Josh Fleming was non-tendered by the Phillies, the team announced. Philadelphia just snagged the southpaw off waivers from the Rays a few weeks ago.
- The Marlins have non-tendered catcher Jacob Stallings and infielder Garrett Hampson, per a club announcement. Stallings spent two seasons as the primary catcher after being acquired from the Pirates at the 2021-22 offseason. Hampson signed a minor league deal with the Fish last season.
- The Pirates non-tendered Osvaldo Bido and Hunter Stratton, tweets Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Neither had yet been eligible for arbitration. Both right-handers made their big league debuts in 2023; Mackey suggests the Bucs will try to bring them back on minor league pacts.
- The Nationals announced they’ve non-tendered first baseman Dominic Smith and right-hander Cory Abbott. Both players were designated for assignment earlier in the week, making this an inevitability.
Brewers To Non-Tender Rowdy Tellez
The Brewers are planning to non-tender first baseman Rowdy Tellez, reports Robert Murray of Fansided. Tellez was projected by MLBTR’s Matt Swartz for a $5.9MM salary in his final trip through arbitration this offseason.
The 28-year-old Tellez smacked a career-high 35 home runs for the 2022 Brewers but was unable to replicate that production at the plate in 2023. This past season saw the slugger turn in a career-worst .215/.291/.376 batting line with just 13 home runs — a stark decline from the prior year’s offensive output.
Perhaps the Brewers might’ve been willing to give him another chance or find a trade partner if Tellez were a standout defender, but the 6’4″, 270-pound slugger is limited to first base and designated hitter only and draws below-average marks for his glovework. Tellez also generally requires a platoon partner; he hit just .174/.269/.261 against left-handers this year and owns a tepid .236/.308/.386 batting line in 438 career plate appearances versus same-handed opponents.
As his 2022 campaign showed, Tellez has the capability to be a source of booming power in the middle of a lineup, but his margin for error is rather slight, given the lack of defensive versatility and on-base issues. Now that he’s a free agent, a club with openings at first base and/or designated hitter and in the market for some low-cost power upside figures to take a look.
Brewers Acquire Jake Bauers From Yankees
The Brewers have acquired infielder/outfielder Jake Bauers from the Yankees, per announcements from both clubs. Minor league outfielders Jace Avina and Brian Sanchez are headed to the Yanks in return.
Bauers, 28, signed a minor league deal with the Yanks prior to the 2023 season and ended up getting into 84 big league games on the year. He struck out in 34.9% of his plate appearances but walked at a 9.9% clip and hit 12 home runs. His final batting line of .202/.279/.413 translated to a wRC+ of 89. He’s out of options and has qualified for arbitration for the first time, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting a salary of $1.7MM next year. Tonight is the deadline for clubs to decide whether or not to tender contracts to arb-eligible players and it seems the Yanks preferred to exchange Bauers for some prospects as opposed to making him part of the 2024 club.
Though the results weren’t outstanding in 2023, Bauers has generally hit well in the minors and has continued to intrigue clubs around the league. Drafted by the Padres back in 2013, he was traded to the Rays as part of the Wil Myers deal, with Tampa later flipping him to Cleveland in the three-team deal that also involved Edwin Encarnación, Carlos Santana and Yandy Díaz. Bauers was dealt a third time, going to the Mariners in 2021, but couldn’t thrive at the big league level with any club.
He has hit .211/.302/.361 in his career as a major leaguer but has a much more impressive line of .257/.363/.438 at Triple-A. The Brewers will be the latest club to take a chance on him finally putting it together at the big league level, perhaps as a Rowdy Tellez replacement. Tellez hit just .215/.291/.376 this year and is projected to make $5.9MM in his final arbitration year, making him a speculative non-tender candidate. With Bauers projected at less than a third of of that price and also having two more seasons of club control, the Brewers are taking a bet that he will be better value for money.
The tender deadline is at 7 pm Central tonight, so the Brewers still have a few hours to work out a trade of Tellez or decide whether to keep him around. In addition to first base, Bauers has also played some corner outfield. That perhaps allows them both to fit on the roster but the club is fairly loaded with outfield options, having Christian Yelich, Tyrone Taylor, Joey Wiemer, Garrett Mitchell, Sal Frelick and Blake Perkins, with prospect Jackson Chourio charging hard towards a major league debut.
In exchange for a player that likely wasn’t in their plans anyway, the Yanks will add a couple of pieces to their farm system, both long-term plays. Avina, who turns 21 in June, spent 2023 in Single-A. He hit .233/.373/.442 at that level for a wRC+ of 134. Sanchez is just 19 and was in the Dominican Summer League this year, hitting .297/.414/.446 for a wRC+ of 129. Neither are Rule 5 eligible at this point and won’t need a 40-man roster spot for the time being.
Cubs Interested In Shota Imanaga, “Have An Eye On” Corbin Burnes
“The Cubs would like to acquire a starter” to add to their rotation depth, ESPN’s Jesse Rogers writes, with the idea that a new arm would help make up for the departure of Marcus Stroman. To this end, the Cubs are exploring options on both the free agent and trade fronts, including Japanese southpaw Shota Imanaga and Brewers right-hander Corbin Burnes. As has been previously reported, Chicago is also in on Yoshinobu Yamamoto‘s market, and of course the Cubs are one of the teams known to be interested in Shohei Ohtani, though Ohtani’s UCL surgery will keep him off the mound in 2024.
The Red Sox are the only other team publicly linked to Imanaga’s market thus far, and technically, his market has yet to officially open. The Yokonama DeNA Baystars haven’t yet posted Imanaga for Major League teams, though the move is expected any day now. Once Imanaga is posted, he’ll have 45 days to reach a deal with an MLB club, or else he’ll return to the Baystars for the 2024 Nippon Professional Baseball season.
Imanaga has a long track record of success in NPB and on the international stage, including a 3.18 ERA and 25% strikeout rate over 1002 2/3 innings with the Baystars, two NPB All-Star nods, and a World Baseball Classic gold medal as part of Japan’s championship team in 2023. MLBTR ranked Imanaga tenth on our list of the winter’s top 50 free agents and projected a five-year, $85MM deal for the left-hander, with Anthony Franco even predicting that Imanaga would land with the Cubs.
While $85MM isn’t small change, it does represent significantly less than Ohtani or Yamamoto will receive, making Imanaga an interesting backup plan for the Cubs (and other teams) if they don’t land one of the bigger names on the pitching market. Five years/$85MM happens to be exactly what Chicago gave to another notable Japanese player in Seiya Suzuki two offseasons ago. Though the Cubs did sign Dansby Swanson for $177MM last winter, Rogers notes that “under [president of baseball operations Jed] Hoyer and owner Tom Ricketts, the Cubs have been measured in their dealings with free agents. Setting Ohtani aside, the organization isn’t the type that gets into bidding wars.”
Burnes’ price tag would just cover the 2024 season, as the former NL Cy Young Award winner is set for free agency next winter and is projected for a $15.1MM salary in his final year of arbitration eligibility. Of course, Burnes would come at a different cost than just money, as Chicago would have to give up a significant trade package to obtain Burnes from the Brewers. This might be more of a due diligence situation than a true pursuit, as Rogers writes that the Cubs just “have an eye” on Burnes should Milwaukee make him available in the first place.
A Burnes trade would also be contingent on many other factors, including the larger hurdle of whether or not the Brewers would specifically be open to trading Burnes within the NL Central. As Rogers notes, Craig Counsell just surprisingly left the Brewers to become the new manager in Wrigleyville, only adding to the rivalry between the two clubs — and quite possibly the unlikelihood of the two sides coming together on any sort of trade, let alone a major swap.
Justin Steele, Kyle Hendricks, and Jameson Taillon are the Cubs’ current top three starters, with youngsters Javier Assad, Hayden Wesneski, and Jordan Wicks competing for the other two spots and veteran Drew Smyly on hand as either further depth or as a bullpen option. On paper, this is already a surplus of arms, even before factoring in top prospect Cade Horton likely making his MLB debut in 2024, or Ben Brown and Caleb Kilian as further Triple-A depth. However, adding another frontline starter would certainly solidify things for a Cubs team that wants to contend in 2024. Signing Imanaga, for instance, might also give Chicago some flexibility in dealing from that young depth to address other needs.
Brewers, Yonny Hernández Agree To Minor League Deal
The Brewers and infielder Yonny Hernández are in agreement on a minor league deal that includes an invitation to Spring Training, reports Robert Murray of FanSided.
Hernández, 26 in May, spent the 2023 season with the Dodgers but was mostly kept in the minors, only getting into 14 major league contests. In 93 games at the Triple-A level, he hit .252/.395/.342. He walked in 18.4% of his plate appearances and struck out just 19.9% of the time but hit just four home runs, with his overall production translating into a wRC+ of 93. He also stole 17 bases but was caught 12 times. Defensively, he lined up at shortstop, second base and third base.
The Dodgers outrighted Hernández off their 40-man roster in September and he was able to elect free agency at season’s end, allowing him to sign this deal with the Brewers. He will likely serve a similar contact-hitting depth role with his new club. He has generally had strong walk rates and low strikeout rates throughout his time in the minors but his four homers this year brought his career minor league tally to just nine.
The Milwaukee infield has plenty of question marks right now. Shortstop Willy Adames is the most surefire everyday player, but he is a speculative trade candidate since he’s going into his final arbitration season and has a projected salary of $12.4MM, with that figure courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz. First baseman Rowdy Tellez is a non-tender candidate after a rough 2023 season. Players like Brice Turang, Andruw Monasterio, Owen Miller and Jahmai Jones all produced subpar offense in the majors this past season.
The club has been actively trying to improve the depth lately, having claimed Vinny Capra off waivers from the Pirates, acquiring Oliver Dunn from the Phillies and now bringing Hernández aboard in a non-roster capacity. If Hernández is selected to the roster next year, he still has an option remaining and less than a year of service time.