Willy Adames “Had Conversations” With Brewers About Contract Extension
Willy Adames is eligible for free agency after the 2024 season, but he has been vocal about wanting to keep playing with the Brewers. To that end, Adames told MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy that the two sides have “had conversations” about a possible longer-term deal, and that “I let them know that obviously I want to stay” in Milwaukee.
“I’m always open to listen to what they’re thinking, and if it’s something that’s good for both sides, I’m open to it,” Adames said. “I let my agent handle that. I love it here, I feel good here, I feel comfortable here and I wish I could stay here the rest of my career.”
The exact timing of these talks isn’t known, though they did take place at some point before David Stearns stepped down as the Brewers’ president of baseball operations in late October. The nature or extent of the negotiations also isn’t known, such as whether the front office and Adames’ agents at CAA Sports had only some broad discussions of Adames’ future, or if they actually exchanged some numbers or floated contract scenarios.
The fact that Stearns is no longer running baseball operations could also be a factor in any future negotiations, though Stearns remains with the Brewers as an advisor, and it isn’t yet clear how things might change in Milwaukee now that GM Matt Arnold has the reins in the front office. While the Brew Crew has opened up some payroll space in declining Brad Boxberger‘s club option, waiving Brent Suter, and trading Hunter Renfroe to the Angels, these moves aren’t necessarily indicative of a rebuild. The Brewers have routinely looked to maintain a modest payroll while also making less-heralded and less-expensive moves to keep the team competitive.
Extensions have also been part of the strategy, with Christian Yelich‘s seven-year, $188.5MM deal standing out as far and away the biggest contract in franchise history. More recent deals for Freddy Peralta and Aaron Ashby were much more modest, and looked to lock up some cost certainty on both pitchers earlier in their careers, whereas Yelich already had an NL MVP Award and an MVP runner-up on his resume at the time of his extension. Yelich was also playing on a previous extension signed back during his days as a member of the Marlins.
Adames represents something of a middle ground between Yelich and Peralta/Ashby, even if a contract extension would certainly be closer to Yelich’s numbers. The shortstop turned 27 last September, so Adames will be entering his age-29 season if he does hit the open market following the 2024 campaign. Adames earned $4.6MM in 2022 (his first year of arbitration eligibility), and is projected to exactly double that figure to a $9.2MM salary in 2023.
Trying to pick a comp for Adames is a little difficult at this point, since such free agent shortstops as Carlos Correa, Trea Turner (also a CAA client), Xander Bogaerts, and Dansby Swanson are all likely to reset the market with their new contracts. Since most extension talks don’t take place until Spring Training anyway, Adames’ representatives will likely wait and see how the “big four” shortstops fare before exploring what Adames could earn on a long-term deal.
Adames has delivered plenty of pop throughout his career, especially after being traded from the Rays to the Brewers early in the 2021 season. The shortstop has hit .256/.325/.483 with 51 homers over 1030 plate appearances in a Brewers uniform, and over his career as a whole, Adames has a 111 wRC+ — a solid number for any player, but particularly from the shortstop position. Adames has also performed well in the field since the start of the 2019 season, at least in the view of the Defensive Runs Saved (+20) and UZR/150 (+2.9) metrics. The Outs Above Average metric was much more down on Adames before 2022, when he suddenly posted a +10 OAA.
There is some sense that Adames might yet have more offensive potential in him, especially if he can translate his hard contract into more hits. Adames had elite barrel-rate metrics in 2022 and an above-average hard-hit ball rate, though he hit only .238 with a .298 on-base percentage. As he told McCalvy, “I don’t even know how to feel about my numbers. It’s weird. Obviously, I want to be more consistent next year and just try to eliminate those long slumps and just be better.”
Adames’ walk rate has fluctuated over the years, dipping to a below-average 7.9% in 2022. But, the biggest fix for Adames would be to correct some of the swing-and-miss in his game. Since making his MLB debut in 2018, only 31 qualified players in all of baseball have a higher strikeout rate than Adames’ 28.2% career number. This is the kind of stat that could give the Brewers some pause in deciding whether or not to extend Adames, if the team’s payroll situation wasn’t already an obstacle.
Yelich’s salary will alone take up a significant chunk of Milwaukee’s future expenditures, and the Brewers also have to consider whether Corbin Burnes or Brandon Woodruff might be extension candidates. Both All-Star pitchers are also set for free agency after the 2024 season, though recent reports suggest that the Brewers aren’t looking to trade either Burnes or Woodruff for salary relief just yet. It could be that the Brew Crew keeps Burnes, Woodruff, and Adames all in the fold through 2023 to take another shot at contention, and then some tougher decisions could be saved until next winter.
Waiting would also give the Brewers more time to evaluate whether or not they have a successor on hand for Adames at shortstop. 2022 first-round pick Eric Brown just completed his first year of pro ball, and Brice Turang (a first-round in the 2018 draft) is expected to make his MLB debut sometime next season. Turang is considered to be a capable shortstop, but he might break into the Show as a second baseman or perhaps an outfielder, depending on the Brewers’ needs at either position.
Brewers Sign Blake Perkins To Major League Contract
The Brewers announced Wednesday that they’ve signed outfielder Blake Perkins to a one-year, Major League contract.
Big league deals for player who’ve yet to make their MLB debut aren’t common, but there are a handful of such signings every season. The 26-year-old Perkins is a former second-round pick by the Nationals (2015) who batted a combined .246/.357/.456 with 15 homers and 21 steals between the Double-A and Triple-A affiliates for the Yankees last season. Signing him to a big league deal doesn’t necessarily indicate that Perkins will be on the Brewers’ roster next year, however, as the switch-hitter will still be optionable. Rather, the Major League deal was likely reflective of considerable interest from other parties on minor league contracts.
Perkins ranked among the top 30 prospects with the Nationals and Royals each season from 2015-19, regularly drawing praise as a potential plus center fielder with good speed and a keen eye at the plate. That strike zone recognition was on full display in 2022, as Perkins walked in a hefty 13.6% of his plate appearances.
However, most scouting reports on Perkins, particularly as he began to reach the upper minors, labeled him as a glove-first player who’d need to improve his offensive profile to take the next step. For the first time in his pro career, Perkins appeared to do just that in 2022. Entering the season, he’d connected on just 28 home runs in 564 professional games, but he swatted 15 long balls and added another 21 extra-base hits in just 397 plate appearances.
While last night’s trade of Hunter Renfroe opened up some playing time in the Milwaukee outfield, Perkins is likely still a ways down the depth chart with the Brewers. Christian Yelich, Garrett Mitchell, Tyrone Taylor and Esteury Ruiz give the Brewers at least five other options who are already on the 40-man roster, to say nothing of top prospects Sal Frelick and Joey Wiemer, each of whom posted huge numbers in about a quarter of a season’s worth of games at the Triple-A level in 2022. Frelick and Wiemer aren’t on the 40-man roster but could emerge as potential call-ups at any point in 2023. Perkins adds some depth to that mix, but he’ll have to earn his way into a big league audition.
Angels Acquire Hunter Renfroe From Brewers
The Angels’ early-offseason aggressiveness continues. The Halos announced the acquisition of outfielder Hunter Renfroe from the Brewers on Tuesday night. Pitchers Janson Junk, Elvis Peguero and Adam Seminaris head to Milwaukee in return.
It’s the third early strike of the offseason for the Halos, who’ve already signed starter Tyler Anderson to a three-year free agent deal and acquired infielder Gio Urshela in a trade with the Twins. Now, they take a step towards fixing an outfield that had a major question mark alongside Mike Trout and Taylor Ward.
Renfroe should solidify the corner outfield spot opposite Ward. He’s been an above-average hitter in each of the past two seasons, with strikingly similar production for the Red Sox in 2021 and Brewers this year. The former first-rounder has combined for 60 home runs over the last two seasons, following up a 31-homer showing with the Sox with 29 more in Milwaukee. He had an identical .315 on-base percentage in each year but more than offset that modest number with big power production.
The right-handed hitter has hit between .255 and .260 in each of the last two years while slugging around .500 both seasons. He has a cumulative .257/.315/.496 line in just under 1100 plate appearances going back to the start of 2021. His 22.9% strikeout rate is right around average, while he’s walked at a slightly below-average 7.6% clip. He’s a lower-OBP slugger who has particularly decimated left-handed opposition. Renfroe carries a .269/.357/.508 line over that stretch while holding the platoon advantage. He’s had starker on-base concerns but hit for enough power to remain a decent option against right-handed pitching (.252/.292/.491).
That power production is Renfroe’s calling card, but he’s also a viable defender. Defensive Runs Saved has pegged him right around league average in right field in each of the last three seasons. Statcast’s range-based metric has Renfroe a few runs below average annually, but he compensates for his fringy athleticism with top-tier arm strength. He’s picked up double-digit assists in each of the last two years, and he leads all MLB outfielders with 27 baserunners cut down in that time.
Renfroe’s excellent arm strength has kept him primarily in right field over the past few years, although he did log a number of innings in left earlier in his career. If he steps into right field at Angel Stadium, that’d push Ward over to left field. Former top prospect Jo Adell now looks as if he’ll be relegated to fourth outfield/bench duty after beginning his career with a .215/.259/.356 showing in roughly one full season’s worth of games. Adell is still just 23 years old and coming off a solid year in Triple-A Salt Lake, but the Angels don’t appear prepared to count on him for a regular role as they look to vault their way into the playoff picture in 2023.
As with last week’s Urshela trade, the Renfroe acquisition is about deepening the lineup with a productive but not elite veteran for a season. Renfroe turns 31 in January and is in his final season of club control. He’s projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for an $11.2MM salary, and he’ll be a free agent at the end of the year. That’s a reasonable sum for a player of this caliber, but one moderately expensive season of arbitration control over a lower-OBP corner slugger isn’t teeming with trade value. Renfroe is the second player of that ilk dealt in as many weeks.
The Blue Jays sent Teoscar Hernández to the Mariners for reliever Erik Swanson and pitching prospect Adam Macko. That trade came as a surprise to a number of Toronto fans, but each of Swanson and Macko are arguably more appealing players than any of the trio of pitchers Milwaukee received in this swap. Hernández is a better hitter than Renfroe is, but the gap between the former’s .282/.332/.508 line over the past two seasons and the latter’s production isn’t all that dramatic. Nevertheless, Renfroe has had a hard time sticking in any one spot as his price tag has escalated throughout his arbitration seasons. The Halos will be his fifth team in as many years, as he’s successively played for the Padres, Rays, Red Sox and Brewers going back to 2019.
Adding his projected arbitration salary pushes the Halos’ estimated 2023 payroll up to around $192MM, per Roster Resource. That’d be the highest mark in franchise history, narrowly topping their approximate $189MM figure from this past season. They’re up to roughly $206MM in luxury tax commitments, around $27MM shy of the $233MM base threshold. The franchise’s spending capacity this winter has been in question with owner Arte Moreno exploring a sale of the franchise. There’s still no indication the club is willing to approach luxury tax territory, but the acquisitions of Anderson, Urshela and Renfroe have tacked on an estimated $31.9MM in 2023 spending. The latter two players represent one-year investments, but it seems Moreno is affording general manager Perry Minasian and his group some leeway to add to the roster in advance of the club’s final season of control over defending AL MVP runner-up Shohei Ohtani.
The Brewers add a trio of pitchers, two of whom already have big league experience. Junk is a former 22nd-round pick of the Yankees. He went to the Halos in the 2021 deadline deal that sent southpaw Andrew Heaney to the Bronx. The right-hander has pitched in seven MLB games over the past two seasons, starting six. He’s allowed a 4.74 ERA through 24 2/3 innings, striking out a below-average 19.4% of opponents but posting a sterling 4.4% walk rate.
Junk, 27 in January, leans primarily on a low-80s slider which prospect evaluators suggest could be an above-average pitch. He has decent spin on his 92-93 MPH four-seam but hasn’t cemented himself on a big league staff to this point. He spent most of this year on optional assignment to Salt Lake, where he posted a 4.64 ERA through 73 2/3 innings as a starter in a hitter-friendly environment. His 22.1% strikeout percentage was a touch below average, but he only walked 5.8% of opponents. The Seattle University product still has a pair of minor league option years remaining and can bounce between Milwaukee and Triple-A Nashville as rotation or middle relief depth.
Peguero, on the other hand, is a pure reliever. The righty debuted with three appearances as a COVID replacement late in the 2021 season. He earned a permanent 40-man roster spot last offseason and appeared in 13 games this year. Tasked with low-leverage innings, Peguero put up a 7.27 ERA across 17 1/3 innings. He only struck out 15.6% of opponents but got swinging strikes on a more impressive 12% of his total pitches. The Dominican Republic native induced grounders on roughly half the batted balls he surrendered in the majors.
He also had an excellent year in Salt Lake, where he tossed 44 1/3 frames of 2.84 ERA ball. Peguero fanned 27.5% of batters faced against a quality 7.1% walk rate and racked up grounders at a huge 57.5% clip. Like Junk, Peguero leaned primarily on a slider during his MLB look, although he throws much harder. Peguero’s slider checked in at 91 MPH on average while his fastball sat just north of 96. He turns 26 in March and also has two options remaining, so the Brewers can deploy him as an up-and-down middle reliever while hoping he can translate his Triple-A success against big league opponents.
Seminaris went in the fifth round in the 2020 draft out of Long Beach State. A 6’0″ southpaw, he wasn’t ranked among the top 30 prospects in the Anaheim system at Baseball America. He traversed three minor league levels this year, showing well at High-A against younger competition but struggling as he climbed the minor league ladder. Altogether, he worked 101 2/3 frames of 3.54 ERA ball with a 22.1% strikeout rate and an 8.7% walk percentage. He’s not on the 40-man roster but will have to be added by the end of the 2023 season or be exposed in the Rule 5 draft.
While Milwaukee clearly likes all three mid-20’s hurlers, they’re each flexible depth options. Surely, a key motivator in the deal was reallocating Renfroe’s hefty arbitration projection. Slashing payroll wasn’t the sole impetus for the trade — the Brewers could’ve simply non-tendered Renfroe last week if they were committed to getting his money off the books — but GM Matt Arnold and his staff elected to clear some payroll room while bringing in a few depth arms of note.
The Brewers are projected for a salary around $115MM at Roster Resource thanks largely to an arbitration class that still includes Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff and Willy Adames, among others. That’s about $17MM shy of this year’s Opening Day mark, and more roster shuffling figures to be on the horizon. Dealing a complementary player like Renfroe doesn’t suggest the Brewers are about to flip any of Burnes, Woodruff or Adames, but Milwaukee could consider moving second baseman Kolten Wong or a depth starter like Adrian Houser or Eric Lauer. They’ve already drawn some interest from the Mariners on Wong and are sure to contemplate a number of ways to try to balance the present and the future.
Milwaukee could now dip into the lower tiers of the free agent corner outfield market to backfill for Renfroe’s absence, with Tyrone Taylor standing as the current favorite for playing time alongside Christian Yelich and Garrett Mitchell in the outfield. Highly-touted young players like Sal Frelick and Joey Wiemer could play their way into the mix midseason, but it’d be a surprise if the Brewers didn’t add at least one veteran outfielder before Opening Day.
Images courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Brewers, Tobias Myers Agree To Minor League Deal
The Brewers have signed Tobias Myers to a minor league contract, reports Chris Hilburn-Trenkle of Baseball America. The right-hander had been outrighted and eventually released by the White Sox in September.
Myers is a former 6th-round draftee of the Orioles. He’s never pitched in the major leagues but he’s been a frequent depth target for teams over the past 12 months. Traded from the O’s to the Rays in 2017, he pitched his way up to Triple-A in the Tampa Bay farm system last year. He would’ve been eligible for the Rule 5 draft last winter if not added to the 40-man roster, and the Rays dealt him to the Guardians for infield prospect Junior Caminero. Cleveland immediately added him to the 40-man, but that’s a deal they’d surely like back in retrospect.
The 24-year-old Myers had a dismal 2022 campaign. He was tagged for a 6.00 ERA over 14 starts with the Guardians’ top affiliate, and Cleveland dealt him to the Giants for cash in early July. Caminero, on the other hand, had huge numbers between rookie ball and Low-A and was recently named the #8 prospect in a deep Rays system by Baseball America. Myers would make just two Triple-A appearances with San Francisco before being designated for assignment and lost on waivers to the White Sox. He threw seven times for Chicago’s top affiliate, allowing an eye-popping 24 runs in 13 innings, before being released.
Clearly, it was a season to forget for the Florida native. Myers combined for a 7.82 ERA in 76 Triple-A frames, allowing 15 home runs with nearly as many walks as strikeouts. Still, he’s continued to intrigue a number of teams on the strength of his pre-2022 performance. During his final season in the Tampa Bay system, he combined for a 3.90 ERA across 117 2/3 innings with an excellent 30.5% strikeout percentage and just a 5.8% walk rate.
Milwaukee becomes the next team to take a shot at trying to get Myers back on track. He still has two minor league option years remaining, so if he can earn a 40-man roster spot, the Brewers could move him between Milwaukee and Triple-A Nashville as either rotation or multi-inning relief depth.
National League Non-Tenders: 11/18/22
The deadline to tender contract to arbitration-eligible players is tonight at 7:00pm Central. Here’s a rundown of the players on National League teams that have been non-tendered today. This post will be updated as more decisions are revealed. All players non-tendered go directly to free agency
MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected salaries for all arb-eligible players last month.
Later Updates
- The Reds have non-tendered righty Daniel Duarte and minor league outfielder Allan Cerda, taking both off the 40-man roster. Neither had been eligible for arbitration, but Cincinnati will send both into free agency without having to place either on waivers. Duarte made three relief appearances this year, his first as a big leaguer. Cerda, 23 next month, has yet to reach the majors. He hit .198/.350/.401 in 257 plate appearances in Double-A. Cincinnati also announced that six players designated for assignment earlier this week — Aristides Aquino, Jared Solomon, Kyle Dowdy, Derek Law, Art Warren and Jeff Hoffman — were all let go. Both Duarte and Cerda have already agreed to re-sign with Cincinnati on minor league deals, reports Mark Sheldon of MLB.com (Twitter link).
Earlier Moves
- The Braves freed a pair of 40-man roster spots by non-tendering minor league pitchers Brooks Wilson and Alan Rangel. Rangel spent most of this past season in Double-A, while Wilson didn’t pitch in 2022. Atlanta also announced that three players non-tendered earlier this week — Guillermo Heredia, Jackson Stephens and Silvino Bracho — have been let go.
- The Giants have non-tendered relievers Mauricio Llovera and Alex Young and infielder Donovan Walton, clearing three spots on the 40-man roster. Walton was acquired from the Mariners midseason and hit .158/.179/.303 in 24 games with San Francisco. Young made 24 appearances after his contract was purchased from the Guardians. Llovera pitched 17 times after signing a minor league deal last offseason. Additionally San Francisco non-tendered seven players who’d been designated for assignment earlier this week: Drew Strotman, Meibrys Viloria, Colton Welker, Jarlin Garcia, Dom Nunez, Sam Delaplane and Jason Vosler.
- The Pirates non-tendered lefty Manny Banuelos and catcher Tyler Heineman. Both had been designated for assignment earlier this week.
- The Diamondbacks non-tendered righty Reyes Moronta, the team announced. The reliever posted a 4.50 ERA in 17 outings with the Snakes after being claimed off waivers from the Dodgers.
- The Padres announced they’ve cut loose catcher Jorge Alfaro and righty Efrain Contreras. Alfaro had been projected at a $3.6MM salary this season, a hefty amount after a .246/.285/.383 season. Contreras hasn’t pitched in the majors; he had a tough year in High-A and loses his 40-man spot spot as a result.
- The Cubs have non-tendered center fielder Rafael Ortega, as well as minor league pitchers Brailyn Marquez and Alexander Vizcaino. Ortega has seen a decent amount of action the last two years and had a respectable .241/.331/.358 line through 371 plate appearances this past season. Nevertheless, the Cubs opted against a salary in the $1.7MM range for next year. Marquez has been a top pitching prospect but has battled injury issues for the past few years. Vizcaino was part of the Anthony Rizzo trade with the Yankees but didn’t pitch in the minors this year.
- The Nationals non-tendered righty Tommy Romero. He’d been designated for assignment earlier this week. Washington confirmed the previously-reported decisions to part with Luke Voit and Erick Fedde.
- The Brewers cut loose right-handers Trevor Gott, Jandel Gustave and Luis Perdomo. All three were part of Milwaukee’s middle innings mix, with Gustave’s 45 appearances the most among that group. Gott had a 4.15 ERA over 45 2/3 innings after signing a free agent deal last offseason.
- The Rockies non-tendered infielder/outfielder Garrett Hampson, the club announced. The 28-year-old had been projected for a $2.1MM salary. A speedster with the ability to play anywhere up the middle, Hampson just hasn’t hit at the big league level. He’s coming off a .211/.287/.307 showing through 226 plate appearances.
- The Mets announced they’ve non-tendered Sean Reid-Foley and confirmed they’re letting go of Dominic Smith, who’s non-tender was previously reported. This year, Reid-Foley made seven MLB appearances, tossing 10 innings of relief.
- The Dodgers have non-tendered infielder Edwin Rios and utilityman Luke Williams, per a club announcement. Los Angeles also confirmed the previously reported non-tender of former MVP Cody Bellinger. Rios has shown some offensive promise in the past and owns a .212/.299/.492 line through 112 big league games. He missed a good chunk of this past season with a hamstring strain. Williams was claimed off waivers from the Marlins recently; the Dodgers could look to bring him back on a minor league deal.
Players Avoiding Arbitration: 11/18/22
The deadline to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players is tonight at 7:00pm Central. There will be a frenzy of non-tenders and trades today, but also some signings.
For many players, there’s little pressure to agree to terms this week. The deadline for exchanging figures isn’t until January 13, with the hearings taking place in March. However, players that are borderline non-tender candidates might get a low-ball offer at this time, with the team hoping that the looming possibility of a non-tender compels the player to accept. As such, deals at this part of the baseball calendar have a higher likelihood of coming in under projections.
One new wrinkle from the new collective bargaining agreement is that all of these deals will be guaranteed. Previously, teams could cut a player during Spring Training and only pay a portion of the agreed-upon figure. However, the new CBA stipulates that any player who settles on a salary without going to a hearing will be subject to full termination pay, even if released prior to the beginning of the season.
MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected salaries for each team’s arbitration-eligible players last month but, as mentioned, it’s not uncommon for the deals agreed to at this time to come in below projections. This post may be updated later as more agreements come in…
Latest
- The Tigers announced agreement on a deal with outfielder Austin Meadows. Financial terms are undisclosed. Meadows was projected for a $4MM salary. He’s coming off an injury-plagued first season in Detroit but is arbitration eligible twice more. [UPDATE: Meadows signed for $4.3MM, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post.]
- The Braves avoided arbitration with Mike Soroka on a $2.8MM contract, the club announced. It’s the same salary he’s made in each of the past two seasons, which is typical for an arbitration-eligible player who didn’t see any MLB action but was nevertheless tendered a contract. Soroka hasn’t pitched since 2020 on account of a pair of Achilles ruptures and some late-season elbow soreness, but he’s expected to compete for a rotation spot in Spring Training. He’s arbitration eligible once more next winter.
Earlier Deals
- The Pirates and infielder/outfielder Miguel Andujar agreed at $1.525MM, per Murray. Andujar was claimed off waivers from the Yankees in September.
- The Padres announced that they have agreed to a one-year contract with left-hander Jose Castillo. The terms have not been disclosed.
- The Diamondbacks announced they’ve agreed to a deal with reliever Cole Sulser. Financial terms haven’t been disclosed, but Sulser has been projected at $1MM. Arizona recently claimed him off waivers from the Marlins.
- The Cubs and right-hander Adrian Sampson agreed to a $1.9MM salary, while fellow right-hander Rowan Wick will take home a $1.55MM salary in 2023, according to Jordan Bastion of MLB.com. Sampson broke out in 2022, finishing with a 3.11 ERA across 104 1/3 innings. Wick tossed 64 innings of relief, finishing up with a 4.22 ERA.
- The Yankees and right-hander Lou Trivino agreed to a salary of $4.1MM, per Feinsand. Trivino had been a solid reliever for Oakland over the past couple of years but struggled to a 6.47 ERA with them in 2022. He was dealt to the Yankees and then righted the ship with a 1.66 ERA the rest of the way.
- The Rockies and Brent Suter avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $3MM salary, per Murray. Suter was claimed off waivers from the Brewers earlier today.
- The Brewers and righty Matt Bush have agreed at $1.85MM, per Murray. Bush came over from the Rangers in a deadline deal. He posted a 2.95 ERA prior to the deal and a 4.30 after.
- The Marlins and Dylan Floro are in agreement on a contract for 2023, reports Craig Mish of the Miami Herald. He’ll make $3.9MM, Mish reports. Floro tossed 53 2/3 innings in 2022 with a 3.02 ERA.
- The Brewers and right-hander Adrian Houser agreed on a $3.6MM salary, per Robert Murray of FanSided. The ground ball specialist saw his ERA jump from 3.22 in 2021 to 4.73 this year as his ground ball rate dropped from 59% to 46.7%. He’s likely the club’s sixth starter going into the winter and could jump into the rotation if someone gets injured.
- The Phillies and right-hander Sam Coonrod have agreed on a salary of $775K, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. He posted a 4.04 ERA in 2021 but was limited to just 12 2/3 innings this year due to a shoulder strain.
- The Tigers and left-hander Tyler Alexander agreed on a salary of $1.875MM, per Murray. Alexander got into 27 games in 2022, 17 of those being starts. His 4.81 ERA was certainly on the high side, but he had a 3.81 in 2021.
- The Yankees and shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $6M salary. You can read more about that here.
- The Braves and left-hander Tyler Matzek avoided arbitration by agreeing to a two-year deal. You can read more about that here.
- The Giants and outfielder Mike Yastrzemski avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $6.1MM deal, per Jeff Passan of ESPN. He first qualified for arbitration a year ago as a Super Two player and earned $3.7MM in 2022. He took a step back at the plate this year with a line of .214/.305/.392 but still provided value with his glovework.
Rays Trade Javy Guerra To Brewers
The Brewers have acquired right-hander Javy Guerra from the Rays in exchange for a player to be named later, tweets Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Tampa Bay had designated Guerra for assignment earlier in the week. The team has since announced the swap.
Guerra, 27, started the year in San Diego, but was DFA’d by the Padres after throwing just two innings for them. He was claimed by the Rays, but DFA’d by again them after a handful of appearances. This time, Guerra cleared waivers and was sent to Triple-A only to find himself back in Tampa six weeks later. Altogether, Guerra wound up with a 3.38 ERA across 16 innings of relief work for the Rays. His poor 12.9% strikeout rate and 11.4% walk rate suggested some regression, and sure enough FIP had him pegged at 5.30. He was a lot better at Triple-A, where he logged 41 1/3 innings of work for a 1.74 ERA.
Originally signed by the Red Sox as an infielder out of Panama, Guerra made his way to the Padres in the Craig Kimbrel deal of 2015. He made his debut for San Diego a few years later in 2018, playing 19 games and picking up two hits in 16 plate appearances. He returned to the minors in 2019 working as a pitcher, and after tossing 21 1/3 innings of 3.38 ERA ball, he was rewarded with a return to the big leagues in a relief role. He continued to work between Triple-A and the big leagues over the next few seasons, but never performed well enough to last in San Diego, and across four seasons there he owned an 8.46 ERA through 27 2/3 innings.
Guerra’s one year shy of arbitration, so won’t take much of a financial commitment from the Brewers. He is, however, out of options, so the Brewers will either have to carry them on their big league roster or expose him to waivers.
Rockies Claim Brent Suter From Brewers
The Brewers announced that left-hander Brent Suter has been claimed off waivers by the Rockies.
Suter, 33, has been with the Brewers for over a decade now, since they drafted him back in June of 2012. He made his MLB debut in 2016, serving in a swing role over his first few seasons, making starts but also coming out of the bullpen. He’s gradually been moving towards more bullpen work, with 2022 being his first full season working exclusively in relief.
He made 54 appearances on the year and threw 66 2/3 innings in total with a 3.78 ERA. However, his rate stats indicate he was possibly lucky to keep runs off the board at that rate. His strikeout rate topped out at 29.5% in 2020 before dropping to 22% last year and 19.5% this year. His walk rate also trended in the wrong direction, going from 3.9% to 7.7% to 8.1% in that timeframe. His ground ball rate was just over 50% in the previous two seasons but fell to 45% in 2022.
His .265 batting average on balls in play was a 35-point drop from 2021, which likely helped him keep that ERA down. That might not be entirely luck, since he did limit the damage opposing hitters did against him. His hard hit rate was in the 96th percentile and his average exit velocity was in the 95th. That ability to keep batters in check is surely appealing for a Rockies club that plays in the most hitter-friendly park in the league.
The Brewers had a huge arbitration class going into this winter, with Suter one of 18 players to qualify. Given the club’s history of budget-conscious decisions, it seemed likely that at least some of those players would end up moving off the roster in one way or another. Suter was projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn a salary of $3.1MM in his final year of eligibility. The deadline to tender contracts for arbitration-eligible players is tonight, but it seems Milwaukee wasn’t planning on tendering Suter and put him on waivers instead. The Rockies, based on this claim, are presumably comfortable with paying Suter in that range.
With Suter gone, the Brewers have Hoby Milner as their sole lefty in the bullpen, though starters like Aaron Ashby or Ethan Small could theoretically end up working in relief if they get bumped from the rotation. For the Rockies, they now have two southpaws, with Suter joining Lucas Gilbreath.
Mariners Have Shown Interest In Kolten Wong
Fresh off yesterday’s acquisition of Teoscar Hernandez, the Mariners are again looking to the trade market to solidify some areas of need. Seattle has reached out to the Brewers to inquire on the potential availability of second baseman Kolten Wong, reports Jon Morosi of MLB.com (Twitter link).
Wong is a natural target for the Mariners, given their lack of a clear starter at second base and a lineup that skews a bit right-handed. The Brewers picked up a $10MM club option on the two-time Gold Glove winner just last week, but Milwaukee’s massive arbitration class and mounting payroll opens the door for the trades of some players on notable salaries. While picking up Wong’s option shows that the team is certainly comfortable committing what was a net $8MM to him — the option had a $2MM buyout — Milwaukee also surely recognized that at one year and $10MM, Wong may also be a desirable trade commodity.
Should the Brewers ultimately trade Wong, they might not feel compelled to look outside the organization for an alternative. Luis Urias is currently slated to play third base in 2023, but he has ample experience at second and could appear there more regularly in the absence of Wong. Alternatively, former first-round pick Brice Turang played a full season in Triple-A at just 22 years of age and held his own against more seasoned competition, batting .286/.360/.412 (108 wRC+) with 13 home runs, 24 doubles, two triples, 34 steals (in 36 tries), a 10.8% walk rate and a 19.6% strikeout rate. He’s already on the 40-man roster and quite arguably ready for a look in the big leagues.
The 2022 season was an odd one for Wong — one of his best with the bat and perhaps his worst with the glove. The 32-year-old smacked a career-high 15 home runs and batted .251/.339/.430, adding 24 doubles, five triples and 17 steals (in 23 tries) along the way. The 2022 season marked a second straight year of improved power for Wong, who put the ball on the ground at a 47% clip during his eight-year tenure with the Cardinals but has dropped that to 42% as a member of the Brewers. Whether it’s been a conscious decision to elevate the ball more regularly or simply an organic development in his swing path, the uptick in power is noticeable. It’s come with a slight bump in his strikeouts, but Wong’s 17.7% rate in 2022 was still well shy of the league average.
On the defensive side of the game, however, the 2022 season was a bizarre and borderline nightmarish one for Wong. Typically one of the game’s best defenders at his position, Wong made a stunning 17 errors — more than he’d totaled in the three prior seasons combined. When his option was picked up, Wong told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel’s Todd Rosiak that his legs weren’t fully healthy in 2022, which he felt contributed to his surprising defensive shortcomings (Twitter links). Wong missed time in June with a calf strain that sent him to the injured list, and it’s certainly plausible that his legs cost him some of his typical defensive excellence.
Though he’s a natural fit for the Mariners, Wong is no lock to be traded and is but one of many options Seattle could pursue at the position. Old friend Jean Segura is the top second baseman on the market, and Brandon Drury is another potential free-agent option, although he played far more third base than second base in 2022. The Mariners could, for a second straight offseason, try to convince a premier shortstop to sign in Seattle and slide over to second base. Dipoto’s Mariners appear committed to keeping J.P. Crawford at shortstop, even on the heels of his own down season with the glove.
Dylan File Signs With KBO’s Doosan Bears
Right-hander Dylan File has inked a contract with the Doosan Bears of the Korea Baseball Organization, the team announced (h/t to Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net). He’ll receive a $550K salary, and the deal contains up to $100K in incentives.
File was a 21st-round draftee of the Brewers back in 2017. He made it to Milwaukee’s 40-man roster over the 2020-21 offseason, as the club was concerned about losing him in the Rule 5 draft. File hadn’t pitched that year on account of the cancelation of the minor league season, but he’d performed well between High-A and Double-A in 2019. He appeared among the top 30 prospects in the Milwaukee system at Baseball America that winter, remaining on the list in each of the subsequent two seasons.
Bumped up to Triple-A Nashville in 2021, the Dixie State product spent the entire year on optional assignment. He posted a 5.27 ERA in nine starts with the Sounds in 2021 but held his 40-man spot all winter. The Brewers eventually took him off the roster this past May, although he remained in the organization after clearing outright waivers. File started 19 of his 26 outings in Nashville, pitching to a 4.57 ERA with a modest 19.9% strikeout rate but an excellent 7.1% walk percentage across 114 1/3 innings. He’s still yet to make his big league debut.
The Brewers could have kept File in the organization as non-roster rotation depth, but they officially granted him his release yesterday. The 26-year-old could ostensibly look to return to the majors at some point down the line, but he’ll make the jump to the KBO for at least the 2023 season. Players like Chris Flexen and Merrill Kelly were all on the fringes of a 40-man roster before signing and having success in South Korea and eventually returning stateside on guaranteed big league deals. Drew Rucinski seems likely to follow that path this offseason.
There’s no guarantee File will have the same amount of success, of course. He’s an excellent strike-thrower, however, and he’ll presumably get a guaranteed rotation spot with the Seoul-based team. File secures the largest payday of his career and will get an opportunity to perform at Korea’s highest level.
Naver Sports first reported File and the Bears were negotiating a deal earlier this month.