Brewers Acquire Victor Caratini From Padres
The Brewers fortified their catching situation this afternoon, announcing the acquisition of Víctor Caratini and cash considerations from the Padres. San Diego picks up fellow catcher Brett Sullivan and outfield prospect Korry Howell in return. It’s a quick strike for Milwaukee to find a #2 backstop in the wake of an 80-game suspension to presumptive #2 Pedro Severino, who tested positive for the banned substance Clomiphene this week.
Caratini spent one season in San Diego after coming over from the Cubs alongside Yu Darvish last offseason. He functioned as Darvish’s personal catcher, lining up behind the dish in 29 of the righty’s 30 starts. The switch-hitting backstop also saw more action than anticipated in non-Darvish outings, as expected starter Austin Nola was limited to 56 games by injuries.
Ultimately, Caratini tallied a personal-high 356 plate appearances during his lone season in San Diego. He hit .227/.309/.323 with seven home runs, a fair bit worse than the .250/.327/.372 line he’d put up in the prior four seasons as a reserve option in Chicago. Last season’s 9.8% walk percentage and 23% strikeout rate were both in line with his respective career marks, but he managed just seven homers and nine doubles en route to a subpar .096 ISO (slugging minus batting average).
Caratini’s average exit velocity and hard contact rate were surprisingly strong, but he negated much of his extra-base potential by hitting the ball on the ground more than half the time. Even if he can’t add more offensive impact, he should offer some decent at-bats off the bench for skipper Craig Counsell. Caratini has been better from the right side of the dish over the course of his career, a trait that pairs well with lefty-hitting #1 catcher Omar Narváez.
The Caratini acquisition is clearly tied to Severino’s suspension, which had left Milwaukee without an obvious backup catcher. The Brewers are set to welcome Severino back in the second half of the year, but Caratini could have a path to securing the job with a strong start to the season. He’s making $2MM after avoiding arbitration this offseason, and he’ll be controllable once more through that process before hitting free agency after 2023.
From the Padres perspective, the trade would appear to be a vote of confidence in out-of-options backstop Jorge Alfaro. San Diego acquired Alfaro, with whom president of baseball operations A.J. Preller is quite familiar from their time in the Rangers organization, in a small trade with the Marlins before last November’s tender deadline. It was a mere cash transaction, but that the Friars affirmatively struck to add Alfaro rather than let Miami non-tender him into free agency (which it had become apparent the Fish were set to do) suggested the Friars had hopes of Alfaro breaking camp.
It would appear he’s in line to do just that after a fantastic showing in Spring Training. Alfaro had ten hits, including four homers, in 24 at-bats in Cactus League play. That’s far less meaningful than his more modest .258/.309/.399 career regular season showing, but Alfaro is a former top prospect whom many evaluators had projected as a possible regular thanks to his power at the plate and strong throwing arm. He’ll presumably make the club as Nola’s backup, with top prospect Luis Campusano also on the verge of the big leagues.
Sullivan, too, could find himself in that mix. The 28-year-old has never played in the majors, but he landed a major league deal with the Brewers this winter after qualifying for minor league free agency. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen writes that he’s a contact-oriented hitter who could be a depth option in the short-term, albeit without much power or a great arm.
The lefty-hitting Sullivan is only coming off a .223/.302/.375 line in Triple-A. The Brewers obviously preferred to go externally rather than turn the backup catching job over to him to start the season. Yet the fact that both Milwaukee and San Diego were willing to commit him a 40-man roster spot suggests he’s of appeal to multiple clubs.
Howell, meanwhile, is a former 12th-round selection out of an Iowa junior college. Baseball America slotted the right-handed hitting outfielder 29th in the Milwaukee farm system this offseason, praising his athleticism and plate discipline but noting concerns about his bat-to-ball skills. That’s borne out in his minor league numbers, as Howell punched out in 28.9% of his trips to the plate in High-A last season. That mark jumped to 39.6% upon a late-season promotion to Double-A. Even with the strikeouts, Howell was particularly productive at the former stop, though. He hit 12 homers and stole 20 bases in 69 games while walking at a strong 11.1% clip, showcasing the combination of athleticism and patience BA noted.
Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune first reported the Padres were trading Caratini to the Brewers for a pair of minor leaguers. Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported the return of Sullivan and Howell.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Brewers’ Pedro Severino Suspended 80 Games After Failing PED Test
Brewers catcher Pedro Severino has been suspended for 80 games after testing positive for the performance-enhancing substance Clomiphene, tweets Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. He’ll go on the club’s restricted list.
Severino released a statement via the MLB Players Association (Twitter link), attributing the positive test to an unintentional byproduct of fertility treatments he’d undergone in the Dominican Republic. “I accept responsibility for this mistake and have decided not to challenge my suspension,” he said as part of the statement. “I have been a professional baseball player since I was 16 years old, and I have also been in the big leagues for part of 7 seasons. I have been tested over 100 times in my career and I had never had an issue. In my attempt to start a family, I made a mistake.”
Regardless, Severino will miss the first half of the season. Milwaukee signed the righty-hitting backstop to a one-year deal before the lockout, setting him up to serve as the #2 option behind Omar Narváez. The Brewers allowed Manny Piña to depart in free agency, and the backup catcher spot now becomes a real question.
Milwaukee has Brett Sullivan and Mario Feliciano on the 40-man roster. Between them, that duo has one game of MLB experience. Feliciano is coming off a rough .210/.246/.314 showing in 32 Triple-A games. Sullivan, whom the Brewers signed to a big league deal this winter despite his lack of MLB experience, is coming off a better but hardly overwhelming .223/.302/.375 mark with the Rays top affiliate in Durham.
That’d seem to make Sullivan the favorite for the season-opening gig. Milwaukee also has Jakson Reetz — owner of two big league appearances — in camp as a non-roster invitee. They could look for a veteran option who might shake loose in the coming days as well. Sandy León just opted out of a minor league deal with the Guardians, to name one speculative possibility.
Brewers Select Jose Urena To Major League Roster
March 30: The Brewers have already selected Urena to the 40-man roster. McCalvy tweets that the initial structuring of the contract as a minor league pact was largely a mechanism to get Urena into camp and perform a closer evaluation of the right-hander. President of baseball operations David Stearns tells reporters that the club views Urena as more of a long reliever than a starter at present (video link via Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Jounal-Sentinel). He stopped short of declaring Urena a lock to make the Opening Day roster, but the right-hander is out of minor league options, so that seems likely, barring an unexpected health setback.
March 29: The Brewers announced this evening they’ve signed right-hander José Ureña to a minor league contract. Manager Craig Counsell told reporters he’ll receive an invite to big league Spring Training (via Adam McCalvy of MLB.com).
Ureña has seen a fair bit of rotation work in each of the past seven seasons. The native of the Dominican Republic spent the first six campaigns of his big league career with the Marlins. He never posted overwhelming strikeout totals, but he was consistently solid at keeping the ball on the ground and posted back-to-back sub-4.00 ERA seasons in 2017-18.
The lack of swing-and-miss has caught up to Ureña in recent years, however. He’s posted an ERA north of 5.00 in each of the last three seasons, two in Miami and last year with the Tigers. Ureña soaked up 100 2/3 innings for Detroit, but he managed just a 5.81 ERA with a 14.7% strikeout rate that’s about eight percentage points below the league average.
To his credit, Ureña did manage a career-best 52% grounder rate with the Tigers. He averaged just under 94 MPH on his sinker, and he’s held right-handed opponents to a modest .248/.320/.385 line over the course of his career. That could make Ureña a capable multi-inning relief option if Milwaukee considers deploying him in that role.
The Brewers have arguably baseball’s best starting staff, so the bullpen figures to provide Ureña a cleaner path to the big league roster. Milwaukee is set to open the season with a top five of Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff, Freddy Peralta, Adrian Houser and Eric Lauer, and top prospect Aaron Ashby seems to be next in line for rotation innings.
Injury Notes: Vaughn, Ahmed, Urias, Coonrod
The White Sox announced today that first baseman/outfielder Andrew Vaughn has been diagnosed with a hip pointer (a bruised pelvis bone on his right side) and is expected to return to game action in one to two weeks. Vaughn sustained the injury on a diving catch in right field yesterday, and while he was initially able to get to his feet after the play, he dropped back down and signaled for the training staff. He was eventually helped off the field on a cart.
Vaughn, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2019 draft, made his big league debut in 2021 while converting from first base to the outfield. He hit just .235/.309/.396 with 15 home runs on the season as a whole, in part due to a dismal September swoon that saw him collect just four hits (all singles) in his final 49 plate appearances. He’s had a nice Spring Training so far, but it’s possible that this hip injury will sideline him for the remainder of camp — if not the first few games of the season. Depending on his progress, an IL stint doesn’t seem out of the question, but time will tell whether that proves necessary.
A few more injury scenarios of particular note from around the league…
- D-backs shortstop Nick Ahmed is headed for an MRI on his ailing right shoulder, writes Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. Ahmed’s shoulder issue dates back to the 2020 season, when he initially jammed it on the landing after diving for a ball at shortstop. Piecoro notes that Ahmed has previously sidestepped questions about the potential for surgery, but the results of the MRI will be telling. The 32-year-old Ahmed has always been a glove-first player, but last year’s offensive output cratered as he played through ongoing shoulder discomfort. In 473 trips to the plate, Ahmed slashed just .221/.280/.339 — a far cry from the .254/.316/.437 line he posted in 2019. Defensive metrics remain bullish on Ahmed’s range, although last year’s five throwing errors were the second-most of his career (perhaps not a surprise, given that it’s his throwing shoulder in question). The D-backs owe Ahmed $7.5MM this season and $10MM in 2023.
- Brewers infielder Luis Urias has been ruled out for Opening Day, manager Craig Counsell told reporters today (Twitter link via Will Sammon of The Athletic). It’s not a big surprise given that he’s been limited to just two spring at-bats while nursing a strained quadriceps. The 24-year-old Urias looked on the verge of losing his spot in the Brewers’ lineup at one point last year, as Milwaukee swung an early trade for Willy Adames after some rough play from Urias at shortstop. Upon moving off shortstop and settling in at third base, however, Urias saw not only his defensive ratings improve but also broke out at the plate. Over his final 426 plate appearances, he slashed .262/.352/.470 with 19 home runs, 18 doubles and a triple — good for a 120 wRC+. With Urias sidelined, it’ll likely fall to journeyman Jace Peterson, former Rays infielder Mike Brosseau and utilityman Pablo Reyes to cover the hot corner.
- Phillies right-hander Sam Coonrod has been shut down for five to seven days with a shoulder strain, manager Joe Girardi announced to reporters (Twitter link via Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia). That puts his Opening Day availability in jeopardy, though that will depend on just how he fares when he’s reevaluated a few days down the line. The 29-year-old Coonrod may not be as familiar a name as some of his veteran bullpen-mates, but he’s in line to serve as an important member of the relief corps, if healthy. In 42 1/3 innings last season, the former Giants righty posted a 4.04 ERA with a strong 25.9% strikeout rate, an 8.1% walk rate and a brilliant 57.1% grounder rate. Coonrod averaged 98.8 mph on his heater, and between the velocity, strikeouts, walks and grounders, there’s potential for a breakout performance if this shoulder issue proves minor.
Injury Notes: Urias, Sims, Glasnow, Dobnak
After suffering a left quad strain in yesterday’s Spring Training game, Luis Urias is facing at least a two-week layoff and is “questionable” for Opening Day, Brewers manager Craig Counsell told The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel’s Todd Rosiak and other reporters. Even if Urias does miss only 14 days, that won’t leave much time for Urias to ramp up to play in the Brew Crew’s first game on April 7, and even the two-week timeline is just a projection since Counsell noted that Urias will still get more tests.
While it doesn’t seem like Urias is facing too long a layoff, the Brewers will probably have to turn to their bench depth early to fill in for their starting third baseman. Milwaukee has multiple third base options but not really a true backup shortstop, as Urias was also seen as the top candidate to play short if Willy Adames needed a breather. If not Pablo Reyes (who only has a few career games as a shortstop), top prospect Brice Turang hasn’t yet made his MLB debut, and the Brewers probably don’t want to start his service clock until such limited circumstances.
More on other injury situations from around the Show…
- Reds righty Lucas Sims won’t be on the team’s Opening Day roster since he more time to build up his arm, Sims and manager David Bell told reporters (including MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon). Sims is healthy now, but is behind schedule since illness and back spasms interrupted his usual offseason work. “We can re-assess later but [first] make sure the build-up is done right and then we don’t rush into something and have a big deal,” Sims said. The absence could allow for other pitchers to step up into the closer void, as Sims has been favored as Cincinnati’s top choice for the ninth inning this season, assuming the Reds indeed have a set closer. The 27-year-old Sims moved to full-time relief work in 2019, and he has a 4.05 ERA and 35.2% strikeout rate in 115 2/3 innings over the last three seasons, though control and home runs have been issues.
- Tyler Glasnow won’t throw for 2-3 weeks after undergoing an arthroscopic ankle surgery on Friday, according to Rays broadcaster Neil Solondz (Twitter link). The procedure removed some loose bodies from Glasnow’s right ankle. While the procedure seems minor, the delay to Glasnow’s rehab from Tommy John surgery could end whatever hope the righty had of pitching in the 2022 season. Glasnow underwent his Tommy John surgery last August, thus giving him a narrow window to return this season if he hit the low end of the usual 12-15 month TJ recovery timeline.
- The Twins have shut down Randy Dobnak due to continued soreness in the right-hander’s middle finger on his throwing hand, MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park writes. It isn’t known how long Dobnak will be sidelined, though it appears as though he won’t be on the Opening Day roster. Dobnak initially sprained his finger back in late June, and then pitched in only one game the rest of the season due to a pair of 60-day IL placements. Even prior to the finger problems, Dobnak was already struggling through a rough year, and finished with a 7.64 ERA over 50 2/3 innings.
Injury Notes: Urias, Rortvedt, Funkhouser
Luis Urias was removed from today’s Spring Training game after suffering a quad injury while running the bases. Brewers manager Craig Counsell told Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and other reporters that the extent of the injury won’t be known until tomorrow. If Urias needs to miss any amount of time, it would certainly be a blow to the Brewers, as Urias’ excellent breakout campaign (.249/.345/.445 with an 111 wRC+) put him in line to be the club’s everyday third baseman this year.
The Brewers succeeded last year despite a mediocre offense, getting tremendous results from their pitching staff. They’ve made efforts to bolster the lineup this offseason, adding Hunter Renfroe, Andrew McCutchen and Mike Brosseau. If Urias has to miss any time, Brosseau and Jace Peterson are the most likely to step up and man the hot corner.
Some other injury notes from around the league as Spring Training games get underway…
- The Yankees‘ newly-acquired catcher Ben Rortvedt has been sidelined by an oblique injury, per Dan Martin of the New York Post. Rortvedt was just acquired as part of the big trade with the Twins, coming over with Josh Donaldson and Isiah Kiner-Falefa in exchange for Gary Sanchez and Gio Urshela. As a left-handed bat, Rortvedt was expected to play in a platoon capacity alongside right-handed batter Kyle Higashioka. The club doesn’t have another catcher on their 40-man roster. If Rortvedt’s injury proves significant, they may have to look for outside additions, or else rely on depth options like Rob Brantly or David Freitas.
- Tigers reliever Kyle Funkhouser has lat soreness in his right side and may not be ready for Opening Day, reports Chris McCosky of The Detroit News. Funkhouser emerged as a valuable member of Detroit’s relief corps last year, throwing 68 1/3 innings with a 3.42 ERA. His 21.1% strikeout rate and 12.8% walk rate were both subpar, but he did log a strong 53.2% ground ball rate. “It just hasn’t resolved itself,” Tigers’ manager A.J. Hinch said of the injury. “He hasn’t been throwing any bullpens or live batting practice. That’s a concern with the shorter spring. I don’t anticipate that he’ll be ready for the season. Three weeks from yesterday we open up. That’s not much time on a regular schedule, let along when you have a bump in the road like this.”
Brewers Renew Devin Williams’ Contract
The Brewers will be renewing the contract of right-hander Devin Williams for 2022 season, The Athletic’s Will Sammon reports. Club president of baseball operations David Stearns commented on the move, saying “We understand players have a right to take a renewal and look forward to watching Devin continue to make significant contributions to our team this season.”
As standard practice, teams agree to terms on contracts with all of their pre-arbitration players, even though there usually isn’t much real negotiating that takes place since pre-arb players don’t have leverage in demanding big raises beyond the minimum salary. Most teams have formulas in place that do award raises to pre-arb players based on seniority or on particular achievements, though this can usually amount to a relatively small amount of extra money (maybe a bonus of $10K or $20K).
If a player doesn’t accept the team’s proposed salary, then the team can still give that same salary to the player, yet via a renewal rather than an “agreement.” It is essentially something of a symbolic gesture reflecting that the player doesn’t agree with the number being offered by the team, and it doesn’t impact Williams’ status with the Brewers. Quite a few prominent players over the years have opted for renewals rather than regular agreements, and Williams now joins this list of notable names.
Williams earned $681.1K last season, coming off an outstanding 2020 campaign that saw him capture NL Rookie Of The Year honors and finish seventh in NL Cy Young Award voting. If that season has been played under the terms of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, Williams would have received a significantly higher 2021 salary, as per the new $50MM bonus pool for pre-arbitration players and the extra money allotted for awards — the top two finishers in ROY balloting, top-five finishes for MVP or Cy Young balloting, and a spot on the All-MLB first or second team.
2022 is Williams’ final pre-arbitration season, as the reliever is slated for three arb years before becoming eligible for free agency after the 2025 season. While Williams will get a raise as he enters the arbitration process, he is also the type of player whose true value isn’t accurately reflected by the traditional counting stats preferred by arbiters in deciding cases. Williams’ whopping 42.9% strikeout rate or his 1.78 ERA in 2020-21 could be somewhat belied by his lack of saves, as Josh Hader (himself a dominant reliever) remains Milwaukee’s closer.
With Hader always rumored to be on the trade market, however, Williams would seem like the natural heir apparent to the closer’s job if the Brewers did indeed opt to send Hader elsewhere. Williams would also seem like a logical candidate for a contract extension, if the Brew Crew wanted to get some cost-certainty over Williams’ arb years (such as if a new closer role did lead to a big increase in saves) and into at least one or two of his free agent years.
Brewers Sign Andrew McCutchen
MARCH 16: It’s a one-year, $8.5MM pact, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.
MARCH 14: Outfielder Andrew McCutchen is in agreement on a deal with the Brewers, reports Daniel Álvarez Montes of El ExtraBase (on Twitter). Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic had reported this afternoon the sides were in discussions.
McCutchen, 35, has 13 MLB seasons under his belt at this point, having broken into the league as a Pirate in 2009. From that season to 2019, he posted a wRC+ of at least 120 in each season except for a slight dip to 105 in 2016. In 2013, he hit 21 home runs, stole 27 bases and put up an incredible line of .317/404/.508, wRC+ of 156. Combined with his excellent center field defense, he was worth an incredible 8.1 fWAR on the year, winning National League MVP and helping the Pirates make the postseason for the first time since 1992.
In 2018, he had one year remaining on the extension he signed with the Pirates back in 2012. The Bucs sent him to the Giants in exchange for Bryan Reynolds, Kyle Crick and international bonus money. The Giants, in turn, sent McCutchen to the Yankees at the August waiver deadline. Reaching free agency for the first time, he signed a three-year, $50MM deal with the Phillies prior to the 2019 season.
His production has naturally declined somewhat over the years, with his elite center field defense gradually becoming subpar left field defense. He hasn’t reached double-digit steals since 2018. However, he’s still plenty useful with the bat, particularly against left-handed pitching. Over the past two seasons, he’s hit 37 home runs and slashed .232/.331/.441, wRC+ of 106. But when he has the platoon advantage, his line jumps up to .290/.402/.603, wRC+ of 164.
For the Brewers, they went 95-67 last year and won the NL Central, despite a fairly tepid offense. The batting line for the entire team was .233/.317/.396, adding up to a wRC+ of just 91, ranking them 23rd out of the 30 teams in the league. Their moves this offseason have largely been about trying to complement their superb pitching with some increased firepower in the lineup. To that end, they traded for Hunter Renfroe and Mike Brosseau before the lockout, and have now added McCutchen into the mix as well.
McCutchen will join Renfroe in an outfield group that also includes Christian Yelich, Lorenzo Cain and Tyrone Taylor. That’s a bit of a crowded mix, but with the recent implementation of the designated hitter in the National League, they should be able to spread at-bats around to whichever part of this group needs a day off their feet. McCutchen and Cain are both 35 years old, with Cain turning 36 in less than a month, making them particularly good fits for some time in the DH slot, in order to keep them healthy and in the lineup throughout the season.
However manager Craig Counsell decides to construct the lineup, it seems like it will be capable of more firepower than last year’s version, as they attempt to defend their division title and make the postseason for a fifth consecutive season.
Brewers In Talks With Andrew McCutchen
The Brewers are in talks with free agent outfielder Andrew McCutchen, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The Brewers’ outfield is generally set with Christian Yelich, Lorenzo Cain, Hunter Renfroe, and Tyrone Taylor, but Cutch could certainly supplement that mix and spend time at designated hitter.
McCutchen, 35, posted a 107 wRC+ in 574 plate appearances with the Phillies last year. A right-handed hitter, McCutchen has been particularly strong against southpaws, with a 154 wRC+ dating back to 2017.
Upon getting fourth place in the 2009 NL Rookie of the Year voting, McCutchen established himself as the face of the Pirates and once of the best players in baseball. From 2011-15, McCutchen ranked second in baseball among position players in WAR, making five straight All-Star teams, winning the 2013 NL MVP, and garnering top-five MVP votes in three other seasons.
In January 2018, with free agency on the horizon, the Pirates traded McCutchen to the Giants for Bryan Reynolds, Kyle Crick, and international bonus pool money. The Giants later shipped McCutchen to the Yankees at the August waiver trade deadline. McCutchen signed a three-year, $50MM free agent deal with the Phillies in the offseason. Off to a strong start in his young Phillies career, McCutchen tore his ACL in June of 2019 and missed the remainder of the season.
McCutchen hit .222/.334/.444 in 574 plate appearances for the Phillies in 2021, spending all of his time in left field. After the season, the Phillies declined his $15MM club option in favor of a $3MM buyout. An everyday center fielder in Pittsburgh, McCutchen has become a below-average defensive left fielder with age, according to Statcast. Given the advent of the NL DH, McCutchen could complement Milwaukee’s offense if they close a deal.
Brewers Re-Sign Brad Boxberger
The Brewers are reuniting with Brad Boxberger, as ESPN’s Jeff Passan (Twitter link) reports that Boxberger has agreed to a new one-year deal. The veteran right-hander will earn $2.5MM in guaranteed money, with up to $550K available in bonuses. The Brewers’ official Twitter feed has announced the signing, and added that the deal contains a club option on Boxberger’s services for the 2023 season. Boxberger will earn $1.75MM in 2022 and has a $750K buyout on a $3MM option, tweets FanSided’s Robert Murray. Boxberger is represented by Paragon Sports International.
After a downturn in performance in 2018 and 2019, Boxberger had to settle for minor league deals with the Marlins prior to the 2020 season, and with the Brew Crew last winter. A 3.00 ERA over 18 innings with Miami in 2020 hinted that Boxberger was starting to return to form, and he bounced all the way back with a strong year in Milwaukee’s bullpen.
The righty posted a 3.34 ERA over 64 2/3 innings in 2021, with a 31.2% strikeout rate that placed Boxberger in the 90th percentile of all pitchers. While his 9.4% walk rate was below average, Boxberger had an otherwise solid showing in most major Statcast categories.
It was enough to land the 33-year-old a guaranteed big league contract, and Boxberger will now aim for an encore as one of the Brewers’ setup men. With Josh Hader still in the closer’s spot, the Brewers are slated to roll out Devin Williams, Brent Suter, and Boxberger for other high-leverage innings, not to mention a plethora of other in-house arms. Milwaukee has also had success in finding unheralded relievers or veterans (like Boxberger) in need of a fresh start, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see more arms added to the relief corps before Opening Day.