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Report: MLB Grants Yariel Rodriguez Free Agency

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Right-handed pitcher Yariel Rodriguez has officially been declared a free agent by Major League Baseball, reports Francys Romero (X link). He is now free to sign with an MLB team.

Rodriguez became one of the more intriguing options on the pitching market when he was granted a release from his contract with NPB’s Chunichi Dragons a month ago. He has been conducting showcases for MLB clubs in the few weeks since but was barred from officially signing with a major league team until today. There’s nothing to suggest he’ll sign imminently, of course, but this removes the procedural hurdle he still needed to clear.

A native of Cuba, Rodriguez turns 27 in March. That’s atypically young for a free agent pitcher. He worked out of the bullpen over parts of three seasons with the Dragons. Rodriguez had a dominating showing in 2022, when he pitched to a 1.15 ERA with a 27.5% strikeout rate over 54 2/3 innings. He worked as a starter for his home country during the World Baseball Classic. Once that event concluded, Rodriguez decided not to report back to the Dragons. He sat out the remainder of the 2023 season — the team placed him on the restricted list — before his camp secured his release.

MLB teams figure to have differing evaluations on Rodriguez’s viability as a starter. He’s an intriguing arm with promising stuff and success at the second-highest level of professional baseball in the world. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reported last month that the Rays were among 15 teams with scouts in attendance for one of Rodriguez’s recent workouts in the Dominican Republic. This afternoon, Romero listed (on X) 10 clubs that had shown interest in the hurler: the Astros, Yankees, Rangers, Pirates, Dodgers, Blue Jays, Phillies, White Sox, Mets and Giants.

Craig Counsell Reportedly Looking To Reset Market For Managerial Salaries

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With Craig Counsell no longer under contract as manager of the Brewers and strong interest from other clubs, there has been much speculation about what factors he will be taking into account in deciding where to go for 2024. Per a report from Curt Hogg and Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, he is looking to reset the market for managers in terms of salary. Though the interest from the Mets will likely lead to a hefty offer, it seems he will give the Brewers a chance to match that figure.

Counsell is in high demand due to his successful track record as a skipper. He took over as the bench boss for Brewers when they were at a weak point and saw the results gradually improve in his first few seasons, winning 61, 73 and 86 games in his first three campaigns from 2015 to 2017. Since then, the club went on to qualify for the postseason in five of the past six years, despite the club generally having payrolls on the lower end of the league.

That success had garnered him interviews with the Mets and Guardians for their managerial vacancies. The Astros also have interest but it seems they are planning to take their time in their hiring process, which may prevent them from having a shot with Counsell. The fit with the Mets has been speculated upon since David Stearns left the Brewers to become president of baseball operations with the Mets. Given that Stearns and Counsell spent so much time working together, it’s been assumed by many that Stearns would poach Counsell and bring him to Queens.

Despite that outside interest, there would be logic to Counsell preferring to stay in Milwaukee, given his longstanding ties to the region. He grew up in Wisconsin and his father worked for the Brewers. Craig then spent part of his playing career with the club before his managerial career began.

Per the report from Hogg and Rosiak, Counsell is motivated by pushing the market forward in terms of manager salaries, particularly in smaller markets. Although Joe Torre once secured a salary of $8MM when managing the Yankees in the past, the market has apparently softened since then. It has been reported that Terry Francona had the highest salary of any manager in the league in 2023. Previous reports stated his contract with the Guardians had an average annual value of $4.5MM but Hogg and Rosiak relay that it was an even $5MM in 2023.

Counsell himself wasn’t too far off, getting $3.5MM from the Brewers in 2023, but he is now looking to “at least double” that figure next year, per Hogg and Rosiak. It wouldn’t be a shock if the Mets stepped up with the offer of $7MM that Counsell appears to be seeking. Owner Steve Cohen has quickly earned a spendthrift reputation since buying the Mets, seemingly to have little hesitation about plonking down money when he wants something.

But that may not be enough in this case. Per the report, Counsell will return to Milwaukee with whatever offer he has in hand and give the Brewers a chance to match it. If they are willing to do so, he will “almost certainly” stay in Milwaukee, but he doesn’t appear willing to take a hometown discount. The Brewers reportedly offered him a raise at the end of the season but it seems it wasn’t enough to prevent him from sniffing around and seeing what else is available to him.

Whether the Brewers will match the Mets is a fair question to ask. The club generally walks a fine line when it comes to payroll, occasionally having to make tough roster decisions based on money rather than targeting optimal on-field alignments. The most infamous example of this was the trade of Josh Hader, who was flipped to San Diego as his salary increased, with the club hoping the less-expensive Taylor Rogers could pick up the slack while other cheaper players bolstered other parts of the roster.

It has been speculated that another such trade could be coming this winter, with Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff and Willy Adames each about to enter their respective final arbitration seasons with projected eight-figure salaries. Woodruff’s injury may complicate that matter, but the point remains that it may be tough for a penny-pinching club to have the most expensive manager in the league.

Resolution may not take much longer, as a decision is “likely” by the end of the general manager meetings, which run from November 7 to 9.

Mets To Exercise Club Option On Brooks Raley

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The Mets will be picking up their club option on left-hander Brooks Raley, retaining him for 2024 via a $6.5MM salary instead of taking the $1.25MM buyout, per Jon Heyman of The New York Post.

It’s not a surprising decision, as Raley has been an effective reliever for a few years now. The net $5.25MM price point is a perfectly reasonable amount to pay for a reliable left-handed reliever. He posted an earned run average of 2.80 across 66 appearances for the Mets this year. His 10.6% walk rate was on the high side but he struck out 25.8% of opponents and kept the ball on the ground at a 43% clip.

Raley spent 2015 to 2019 in Korea, pitching for the Lotte Giants of the KBO. He came back to North America and got a brief look with the Reds before getting flipped to the Astros. In 2021, He had an ERA of 4.78 for Houston but with encouraging underlying metrics. He struck out 31.7% of batters faced while walking 7.8%, but a 59.7% strand rate led to some extra runs crossing the plate. That’s why ERA estimators were far kinder, including a 3.27 FIP and a 2.91 SIERA.

Raley didn’t have six years of service after that season but reached free agency regardless, a common contractual stipulation given to players coming from playing overseas. That led to a two-year, $10MM deal with the Rays going into 2022. He then registered a 2.68 ERA for Tampa that year before getting flipped to the Mets prior to 2023.

As mentioned, Raley went on to have another solid season in 2023. He got some trade interest prior to the deadline, as the Mets were selling off pieces amid their disappointing season. He ultimately stayed and will now rejoin the Mets’ bullpen for 2024. As of now, he should be the top lefty in the relief corps, with Josh Walker the only other option on the 40-man. José Quintana, David Peterson and Joey Lucchesi are also left-handed and on the roster but they figure to be in the mix for rotation jobs, depending how the rest of the offseason plays out.

Mets Place Six Players On Outright Waivers

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The Mets have put six players on outright waivers, reports Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. Outfielder Tim Locastro and pitchers Denyi Reyes, Bryce Montes de Oca, John Curtiss, Elieser Hernández and Peyton Battenfield are now available to other clubs.

Locastro, best known for his speed, got into 43 games. He hit .232/.338/.393 in 67 trips to the dish. Locastro has played for four major league clubs, compiling a .228/.327/.337 slash in 290 MLB contests. He has 45 stolen bases in 50 career attempts, including a perfect 6-6 showing this year.

Reyes and Hernández were expected to be depth starters for New York in 2023. The former pitched nine times (including three starts), turning in a 7.78 ERA across 19 2/3 innings. Hernández never pitched as a Met. Acquired in a trade with the Marlins last offseason, he spent almost the whole season on the injured list with shoulder and pectoral concerns.

Curtiss pitched 15 times for New York after rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. He posted a 4.58 ERA through 19 2/3 innings. His season ended a bit early when he underwent surgery to remove a loose body from his elbow, although he is expected to be ready for Spring Training.

Montes de Oca lost the entire ’23 campaign after undergoing a Tommy John procedure in March. New York claimed Battenfield off waivers from the Guardians in the season’s final month, keeping him in Triple-A. Neither Montes de Oca nor Battenfield have the requisite service time to become free agents. They’d remain with the Mets as non-roster players if they clear waivers. The others will likely choose free agency unless another team places a claim.

Omar Narvaez Exercises Player Option

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Catcher Omar Narváez has exercised his player option with the Mets, as first reported by Will Sammon of the Athletic (X link). He’ll return to the club on a $7MM salary.

The decision comes without much intrigue. New York signed the left-handed hitting catcher to a two-year, $15MM guarantee last offseason. Narváez didn’t produce much during his first season in Queens, hitting .211/.283/.297 with a pair of home runs in 49 games. He missed a couple months early on with a strained left calf.

That was a second straight down year for Narváez, who hit .206/.292/.305 during his final season with the Brewers. The consecutive mediocre showings made it unlikely he’d secure a salary nearly as strong as the option value. As a result, he’ll return as the #2 catcher behind second-year player Francisco Alvarez before becoming a free agent during the 2024-25 offseason.

The Mets have two additional option decisions over the next few days. Right-hander Adam Ottavino holds a $6.75MM player option, while the club has a $6.5MM provision on southpaw Brooks Raley.

Latest On Mets’ Managerial Search

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The Mets are one of several teams looking for a new manager, with Buck Showalter having been fired last month. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that Craig Counsell, seen as some as the favorite for the gig, is heading to New York today with an interview to take place in the coming days. Meanwhile, Andy Martino of SNY reports the club is narrowing the field and will make a hire within the week, with Carlos Mendoza and Athletics’ manager Mark Kotsay also in the mix with Counsell. Martino adds that Astros’ bench coach Joe Espada did not interview for the Mets.

The fit with Counsell has been speculated upon for quite some time. David Stearns was general manager and president of baseball operations with the Brewers for many years, overlapping with Counsell’s time as skipper in Milwaukee. Stearns was recently hired by the Mets for the POBO job with that club and one of his first actions was to fire Showalter, immediately causing many to assume that Counsell would follow Stearns to Queens.

Counsell was under contract with the Brewers through the end of October but the Mets received permission to interview him last week. It seems that interview has still not officially taken place, though Martino reports that he did speak to the club on the phone. He has also interviewed with the Guardians and has attracted the interest of the Astros. While a return to Milwaukee could still be possible, it seems Counsell is being thorough in assessing his options.

Mendoza’s involvement in the search has previously been reported but Kotsay is a new entry. He is currently the manager of the A’s, having been hired to be the bench boss of that club prior to the 2022 campaign. The club has been terrible in that time but that could hardly be blamed on the skipper since the A’s have been aggressively rebuilding, trading away just about every established big league player making a notable salary.

If the Mets are seriously interested in Kotsay, they may have to work out an arrangement with the A’s. Oakland let Bob Melvin jump to the Padres prior to hiring Kotsay, not asking the Padres for any compensation in return. It was speculated that the A’s were happy to let Melvin walk to save on his salary, which was reported to be about $4MM per year. It’s unknown how much Kotsay is making but it’s presumably less than that. Whether the A’s would have any reluctance to letting their manager jump ship this time is unknown.

Espada has been the bench coach in Houston since 2018 and has been connected to various managerial openings since then. He has yet to move on from that gig and it’s unclear if the lack of interview with the Mets was a decision of his or of the Mets. The Astros have their own managerial vacancy with Dusty Baker stepping down and Espada has been floated as a possible fit for that job, though it doesn’t seem as though that club is in a hurry to fill that vacancy.

Coaching Notes: Mallee, Rays, Giants, Cora

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The Cubs are promoting John Mallee back to the big league staff, as reported by Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney of The Athletic. It’s currently unclear what role the long-time coach will serve. He was the team’s hitting coach from 2015-17, but that job is currently held down by Dustin Kelly, who helped several players thrive in his first year with the big league squad. 

According to Sharma and Mooney, the Cubs will “incorporate Mallee’s experience and expertise” in a new role, rather than replace anyone currently on the coaching staff. He was the hitting coach at Triple-A Iowa in 2023, and he earned “rave reviews” for his work at the minor league level. Evidently, the Cubs have decided he can have a greater impact with the MLB club, even in a less defined role.

In other coaching news from around the league…

  • In addition to hiring a new first base coach, the Rays could look to hire a couple of additional coaches to replace Jonathan Erlichman, the former process and analytics coach, and Dan DeMent, the former assistant hitting coach (per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times). Erlichman has taken on a new role with the team, while DeMent has parted ways with the organization after 13 years as a minor league coach and two with the big league club. The Rays have another assistant hitting coach, Brady North, and with Erlichman remaining in the organization, they don’t necessarily need to hire a direct replacement for either Erlichman or DeMent. As Topkin notes, the Rays could look to add a couple of coaches in new roles instead.
  • On Monday, Susan Slusser of the San Franciso Chronicle discussed the Giants’ director of pitching role, which has been vacant since the White Sox hired away Brian Bannister to be their senior pitching advisor. She suggests Bryan Price, a long-time pitching coach and former Reds manager, to fill the role. Price is currently employed as a senior advisor to the coaching staff in San Diego, but it’s not out of the question he could come over to San Francisco alongside Bob Melvin, Matt Williams, and Ryan Christenson. Price spent 14 years as a pitching coach for the Mariners, Diamondbacks, Reds, and Phillies. He announced his retirement as a pitching coach after the 2020 season, but a director of pitching job could represent an intriguing new opportunity for the veteran coach.
  • Joey Cora, the Mets’ third base coach in 2022 and ’23, has drawn interest for several coaching positions around the league, per Andy Martino of SNY. Cora, the elder brother of Red Sox manager Alex Cora, has been coaching since 2004. His contract with the Mets expired at the end of October. In further Mets news, Martino notes that first base coach Wayne Kirby’s contract has also expired. Evidently, the team saw no reason to retain all of their coaches without a new manager in place.

Mets Interview Carlos Mendoza, Andy Green In Managerial Search

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The Mets have interviewed Yankees bench coach Carlos Mendoza for their managerial vacancy, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post. SNY’s Andy Martino indicates that Mendoza is actually in the midst of a second-round interview today after interviewing for the first time last week and receiving a callback. Sherman also reports that the club has interviewed Cubs bench coach Andy Green, though it’s unclear if that’s a first or second interview.

Mendoza, 43, spent 13 seasons as a minor league player before joining the Yankees’ minor league coaching staff in 2009. He joined the big league coaching staff as an infield coach in 2017 before being promoted to bench coach following the 2019 season. Green, on the other hand, participated in parts of four big league seasons during his playing career, including the 2009 season as a member of the Mets. Since retiring, Green served briefly as third base coach of the Diamondbacks before being hired to manage the Padres prior to the 2016 season. Green managed in San Diego for four seasons before joining the Cubs’ coaching staff as bench coach prior to the 2020 campaign.

The pair have drawn interest from other clubs for managerial vacancies, as well. After drawing occasional managerial interest in recent years, Mendoza was among the likeliest candidates to take over for Gabe Kapler as manager of the Giants prior to the club securing permission to interview Bob Melvin. In addition, both coaches have been interviewed by the Guardians. If hired in Cleveland, either coach would step into the shoes of longtime manager Terry Francona following his recent retirement.

Should Mendoza depart the Bronx for another club this offseason, Martino notes that the Yankees could look to promote third base coach Luis Rojas, himself a former Mets manager, to the position. Though Rojas’s contract with the Yankees is up this offseason, Martino makes clear the the club has interest in retaining him, either as bench coach or in his current role as third base coach. It’s not yet clear what direction the Cubs could go in if they wind up needing to replace Green. Chicago already lost a key member of the club’s staff this offseason when Craig Breslow departed the Cubs’ front office to take the vacant GM role in Boston.

That the Mets are moving on to a second interview with Mendoza suggests that the club’s interest in his services next year is strong, though Sherman still refers to Brewers manager Craig Counsell as the “favorite” for the Mets job. Of course, Counsell has plenty of options beyond New York that could complicate the club’s pursuit of his services; Counsell has received interest from the Astros, the Brewers hope to retain him in Milwaukee on a new contract, and he’s already interviewed with the Guardians. Curiously, while MLB Network’s Jon Morosi has indicated that Counsell and the Mets have discussed the club’s managerial vacancy, Martino makes clear that Counsell has not had a formal interview with Mets brass to this point.

With the Mets apparently advancing to a second round of interviews for other candidates before sitting down with Counsell for a first interview it’s possible, speculatively speaking, that the club hopes to move through the interview process with other candidates so that they can act quickly upon Counsell’s decision regarding where he will manage in 2024. If that’s the case, it’s unclear what other candidates could be in the mix beyond Mendoza and Green, as details regarding the managerial search in New York have been few and far between this offseason. While Rangers associate manager Will Venable reportedly declined to interview for the position last month, Mendoza, Green, and Counsell are the only publicly known candidates for the position at this point.

Mets Claim Penn Murfee From Mariners

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The Mariners announced several roster moves this afternoon, chief among them the departure of right-hander Penn Murfee, who was claimed off waivers by the Mets.  In addition, the Mariners assigned three players outright to Triple-A: catcher Luis Torrens along with right-handers Easton McGee and Adam Oller.

Murfee underwent UCL surgery back in June and is expected to miss at least the first half of the 2024 campaign.  Prior to his injury, Murfee had a 1.29 ERA over 14 innings for Seattle in 2023, following up on a 2022 rookie season that saw the righty post a 2.99 ERA in 69 1/3 frames of work.  For his career, Murfee has an impressive 27.6% strikeout rate and an 8.5% walk rate, though that latter number rose significantly from a 6.6BB% in 2022 to an ungainly 17.2% total this past season.

Between the UCL injury and Murfee’s spike in walks, the Mariners had some legitimate reasons for seeing the reliever as expendable, and Murfee is also turning 30 in May.  On the other hand, Murfee had some very strong numbers since becoming a full-time reliever in the minors in 2021, and he hasn’t yet reached his arbitration years.  Should Murfee return in good health, the Mets might’ve landed themselves some quality relief help for some portion of the 2024 season and beyond, as Murfee is controlled through the 2028 season.

Torrens has the right to reject the outright assignment and elect free agency, since he has previously been outrighted in his career.  Oller and McGee, meanwhile, lack the requisite service time to reject their assignments but still figure to be eligible for minor league free agency in November.

Now perhaps nearing the end of his second stint with the Mariners, Torrens was signed to a minor league deal back in August.  Seattle didn’t tender Torrens a contract last winter, and he subsequently signed a minors contract with the Cubs before eventually moving to the Orioles and Nationals in other transactions over the course of a journeyman season for the 27-year-old catcher.  Brought back as some catching depth after Tom Murphy was injured, Torrens appeared in five MLB games with the M’s, to go along with the 13 Major League appearances he made with the Cubs during the 2023 campaign.

Never known for his defense, Torrens’ market will be limited since some teams go glovework-first when considering backup catcher options.  Torres did hit 15 homers as recently as 2021 when it looked like he might be carving out a place for himself in Seattle’s catching mix, but he has a .227/.289/.354 slash line over his 807 career plate appearances in the majors.

Torrens will surely catch on somewhere on a new minor league deal since teams are always in need of catching depth, yet he might need some spark at the plate to keep himself from another carousel of roster transactions.  This winter marked Torrens’ second trip through the arbitration process, and since he was projected to earn $1.3MM in 2024, it made for a pretty easy decision for the Mariners to part ways.

Like Murfee, McGee is in the midst of a lengthy rehab, as he underwent Tommy John surgery back in May.  That will keep the right-hander out until at least halfway through the 2024 season, with the timeline perhaps a little fluid depending on both health and whether or not McGee is built back up for a starters’ workload.  McGee has worked mostly as a starter throughout his pro career, though the Mariners (or a new team) could bring him back as a reliever next year as a way of getting him back into the field, and then fully stretching him back out in Spring Training 2025.

McGee (who turns 26 in December) was a Rays fourth-round selection in the 2016 draft, and his big league experience to date has consisted of exactly two games — three innings in an outing with Tampa in 2022, and a 6 2/3-inning start with Seattle in 2023.  His minor league resume consists of 485 1/3 innings and a 4.30 ERA, including a 4.78 ERA over 141 1/3 frames at the Triple-A level.  McGee isn’t a big strikeout pitcher, relying on good control and grounders to get results.

All of Oller’s MLB experience came with the Athletics (94 innings in 28 games) in 2022-23, though he has been part of five different organizations in his career.  Oller was a Rule 5 Draft selection for the Mets off the Giants’ roster in 2019, and Oller was part of the trade package New York sent to the A’s for Chris Bassitt prior to the 2022 season.  Seattle claimed Oller off waivers from the A’s in July but he never made any appearances for the M’s at the big league level.

Oller has a 7.09 ERA over his 94 innings for Oakland, and a 4.50 ERA in 526 1/3 career innings in the minors.  It seemed as though Oller had turned a corner in 2021 with an impressive years in the Mets’ farm system, but things soured in 2023 as Oller struggles both the big leagues, and at the Triple-A level with the Athletics’ and Mariners’ top affiliates.

Latest On Mets' Pursuit Of Craig Counsell

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  • The Mets have not yet scheduled an interview with Brewers manager Craig Counsell, who formally interviewed with the Guardians yesterday. That being said, Jon Heyman of the New York Post indicates that while the meeting between the sides hasn’t been “firmed up yet”, the expectation is that a meeting will happen soon. What’s more, Heyman adds that the Mets figure to be the highest bidder for Counsell’s services in terms of salary. While Heyman suggests that the Mets are unlikely to offer a salary at the level of Joe Torre’s record $8MM figure as manager of the Yankees, he notes that still leaves plenty of room for the Mets to offer Counsell a contract richer than the $4.5MM salary recently-retired Guardians manager Terry Francona received in 2023, which was the highest in the majors this year.
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