Yankees Rumors

Gerald Williams Passes Away

By Steve Adams | February 8, 2022 at 1:30pm CDT

Former Yankees, Mets, Devil Rays, Braves, Brewers and Marlins outfielder Gerald Williams passed away today at 55 years of age, former teammate and close friend Derek Jeter announced (via the Players’ Tribune).

“Gerald Williams passed away this morning after a battle with cancer,” Jeter said in his statement announcing the saddening news. “To my teammate and one of my best friends in the world, rest in peace, my brother. My thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Liliana, and their whole family.”

Williams, originally a 14th-round pick by the Yankees back in 1987, debuted as a 25-year-old during the 1992 season — the first step in what would become a 14-year career at the MLB level. That journey took him to six different organizations and spanned 1168 games. Williams, nicknamed “Ice,” posted a career .255/.301/.410 batting line with 85 home runs, 183 doubles, 18 triples, 106 stolen bases, 474 runs scored and another 365 runs driven in. Yankee fans may fondly remember an impressive first-inning grab by Williams back in May or 1996, which seemed innocuous at the time but wound up proving a pivotal play in what would eventually become a Doc Gooden no-hitter (YouTube link).

Williams and Jeter were teammates for the Yankees’ postseason appearance in 1995, and he returned to the playoffs with Atlanta in both 1998 and 1999. He played a huge role in the Braves’ 3-1 National League Division Series win over the Astros in ’99, going 7-for-18 (.389) with a double, a pair of runs scored, three RBIs and a stolen base in that four-game set. A member of both the 1996 Yankees and 2003 Marlins, Williams received a pair of World Series rings (even though the Yankees traded him to the Brewers in August of ’96).

Williams’ two best seasons came with the ’98 Braves, when he hit .305/352/.504 with 10 homers in a part-time role, and in 2000 with Tampa Bay, when he saw regular action in the outfield. Williams logged a career-high 682 plate appearances in his first of two seasons with the then-Devil Rays, adding in a career-best 21 home runs, 30 doubles, a pair of triples and 12 steals.

Most pro ball players can only dream of a 14-year run at the game’s top level — and that’s particularly true among players selected well down the draft board, as was the case with Williams. We at MLBTR offer our condolences to Williams’ family, his friends, his former teammates and the thousands of fans who took joy in rooting him on over the course of his decade-plus in the Majors.

Yankees “Expected To Take A Run At” Signing Freddie Freeman

By Mark Polishuk | February 5, 2022 at 6:55pm CDT

The Yankees were known to have interest in former NL MVP Freddie Freeman prior to the lockout, and it appears as though that interest is more than just simple due diligence. According to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link), the Yankees “love” Freeman and “are expected to take a run at” landing the free agent once the transactions freeze is lifted.

Since it still seems unclear whether Freeman will eventually re-sign with the Braves or perhaps look to join another team, it stands to reason that the Yankees can’t be truly ruled out of a Freeman pursuit until he actually signs a contract elsewhere. Or, conversely, unless the Yankees were to make another big first base acquisition like trading for Matt Olson, or perhaps re-signing Anthony Rizzo.

What would make a Freeman pursuit so intriguing for New York, however, is how it would run counter to how the Yankees have pursued their business this offseason. Prior to the lockout, the Yankees didn’t really do much of anything, with the common thinking being that the Bronx Bombers were perhaps waiting to see the terms of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement before making any major financial commitments. Under how the luxury tax is currently calculated, for example, the Yankees already have more than a $226MM number projected for 2022. Barring a major bump in the luxury tax threshold, the Yankees would certainly surpass the tax line by adding Freeman to their payroll.

The salary forecast notwithstanding, the Yankees were at least linked to such big names as Freeman and some of the top free agent shortstops. However, the team was reportedly planning to wait out the shortstop market until after the lockout, just in case any of the remaining names (now Carlos Correa and Trevor Story) could be had on a shorter-term deal.

Whereas the Yankees think so highly of shortstop prospects Anthony Volpe and Oswald Peraza that they don’t want to acquire a positional roadblock, their first base situation is a little more crowded in the present. Luke Voit is coming off an injury-plagued season but is still the incumbent at the position, with DJ LeMahieu also in the mix when he isn’t playing third base. The infield picture additionally consists of Gleyber Torres as the everyday second baseman, and Gio Urshela playing third and backing up at shortstop behind a new (stopgap) shortstop that will also be taking an every day role. Giancarlo Stanton is still expected to get the bulk of DH time, though since Stanton will get some usage in the outfield, that will open up the DH spot for one of the infielders to get more playing time.

Despite all the notable names here, Voit, LeMahieu, Torres, and Urshela are all coming off underwhelming seasons, so New York can’t just count on everyone to bounce back. Plus, a proven star like Freeman (even entering his age-32 season) represents such a big upgrade that the Yankees might just prefer to make the signing and then figure out how the pieces fit after the fact. For instance, Voit would seem like the most obvious trade candidate in this scenario, as Voit could be dangled to a first base-needy team that either missed out on Freeman or couldn’t approach his asking price in the first place.

It’s possible the Yankees might also be hoping they can land Freeman at something of a discount price amidst the post-lockout signing frenzy, though that could be more of a difficult play. Teams like the Blue Jays and Red Sox have also been linked to Freeman, the Dodgers and Angels have been noted as possible fits given Freeman’s SoCal roots, and there is still some sentiment that Freeman will ultimately remain with the Braves after all. MLBTR projected Freeman to land a six-year, $180MM deal this winter, and the first baseman is reportedly indeed looking for a contract in that range, though Atlanta (and presumably other clubs) has been hesitant to offer a sixth guaranteed year.

Like Correa and Story, Freeman has draft pick compensation attached since he rejected the qualifying offer. Freeman is five years older than Correa and a little over three years older than Story, plus first base is less of a premium position than shortstop — but it could be argued that Freeman in some ways a safer investment, given how consistent he has been over the last decade. If a team doesn’t want to pay Correa a reported $330MM or make a big nine-figure investment in Story coming off a down year, Freeman may appeal more to a team like the Yankees, who have multiple promising shortstops in the pipeline.

Locking up Freeman on a long-term deal might also be something of a hedge on the Yankees’ part in regards to an Aaron Judge extension. Judge is scheduled for free agency next winter, and he’ll be turning 31 in April 2023. It could be that the Yankees think committing big money to a 32-year-old Freeman through his age-36 or -37 season is a wiser move than paying Judge even more money through his 30’s. Freeman missed time in the 2015 and 2017 seasons due to wrist injuries, but has generally been a very durable player throughout his career. Judge, meanwhile, missed big portions of the 2018-20 seasons due to injury, though he stayed healthy in 2021.

This Date In Transactions History: January 30

By Mark Polishuk | January 30, 2022 at 6:20pm CDT

Let’s take a look back at some notable moves taking place on this day in years past…

2021: The Blue Jays officially announced their one-year, $18MM deal with Marcus Semien, as the two sides agreed to the contract a few days prior. In the aftermath of a disappointing 2020 season with the A’s, Semien opted for the one-year pact with Toronto in order to rebuild his free agent value with a better performance in 2021. This plan worked to perfection, as Semien finished third in AL MVP voting after hitting .265/.334/.538 with 45 home runs (a new single-season record for a second baseman). Semien then cashed in during his most recent trip to the open market, signing a seven-year, $175MM contract with the Rangers signed prior to the lockout.
2021: In another notable move completed one year ago, the Athletics acquired Cole Irvin from the Phillies in exchange for cash considerations. Irvin hadn’t done much over 45 1/3 career innings with Philadelphia, but the southpaw emerged as a valuable member of Oakland’s rotation last year, posting a 4.24 ERA over 178 1/3 innings. While the Statcast metrics weren’t kind to Irvin and questions remain as to whether or not he can stick as a reliable starting pitcher, and yet for the cost of just a minor cash outlay, the trade was already a win for the A’s. It is possible Irvin wouldn’t have broken out without a change of scenery, and yet the deal doesn’t look great in hindsight for the Phillies, especially considering the Phils spent much of the season looking for consistency at the back of their rotation.
2016: Jean Segura was traded for the second of four times in his career, as the Diamondbacks acquired Segura and right-hander Tyler Wagner from the Brewers for a package of Chase Anderson, Isan Diaz, Aaron Hill, and $5.5MM to cover part of Hill’s remaining salary. Segura’s lone season in Arizona was the best of his career (.319/.368/.499 with 20 homers as part of a 5.0 fWAR campaign), but it wasn’t enough to keep the D’Backs from a 93-loss season. With Mike Hazen taking over as Arizona’s GM in the aftermath of that rough season, Segura found himself on the move again in November 2016, traded to the Mariners in another notable swap that brought Ketel Marte to the desert. From Milwaukee’s perspective, their Segura trade ended up being a nice win. Anderson became a solid member of the rotation for four seasons, while Diaz was part of the prospect package the Brewers sent to the Marlins to land Christian Yelich.
2006: Hey, remember when Mike Piazza played for the Padres? The Hall-of-Famer spent only one season in a Friars uniform, but it was a memorable one, sparked when Piazza signed a one-year, $2MM deal (with an $8MM mutual option for 2007). Getting the bulk of playing time as San Diego’s starting catcher, Piazza still plenty left in the tank at age 37, hitting .283/.342/.501 with 22 home runs over 439 PA. Piazza’s big year helped the Padres win the NL West, but the team declined their end of the mutual option after the season.
1954: Bobby Thomson’s legendary home run helped THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT in 1951, but it can be argued that trading Thomson helped the Giants win the World Series in 1954. On this day 68 years ago, the then-New York Giants picked up left-handers Johnny Antonelli and Don Liddle, backup catcher Ebba St. Claire, infielder Billy Klaus and $50K in cash from the then-Milwaukee Braves in exchange for Thomson and catcher Sam Calderone. Antonelli became a fixture of the Giants rotation for the next seven seasons, reaching six All-Star games and posting a league-best 2.30 ERA in 1954. Liddle was also a solid arm for New York in 1954, and might be best remembered for allowing the long Vic Wertz fly ball that required Willie Mays to make “The Catch” in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series. Brought into the game specifically to face Wertz, Liddle was removed after facing his one batter — according to legend, Liddle then wisecracked “well, I got my man” in mock-bragging fashion after leaving the game.
1923: It’s not quite the most famous example of the Red Sox trading a future Hall-of-Famer to the Yankees, since it’s not like Boston fans bemoaned “The Curse Of Herb Pennock.” Still, the Yankees never won a World Series before Pennock came to the Bronx, dealt from Boston for $50K and three players who were all gone from the Sox roster by 1925. Pennock was already a 10-year veteran with a solid career behind him at the time of the trade, but after a couple of relative down years in 1921 and 1922, the Sox were ready to move on. Pennock went on to pitch 11 seasons with the Yankees, posting a 3.54 ERA over 2203 1/3 innings and helping New York win four Series championships. The southpaw was at his best in October, with a 1.95 ERA over 55 1/3 career innings in World Series play.

YES Network Hires Carlos Beltran As Game Analyst

By Anthony Franco | January 28, 2022 at 5:46pm CDT

Carlos Beltrán is joining the YES Network as a part-time game analyst, tweets Jack Curry, his now-colleague at YES Network. He is expected to call 36 Yankees games next season. Andrew Marchand of the New York Post reported last week that Beltrán was under consideration for an analyst role with YES.

It marks the first notable career-related development for Beltrán in two years. Hired by the Mets as manager in November 2019, he and the organization parted ways the following January. That quick ouster, of course, was in response to Beltrán’s active role in the now-infamous 2017 Astros’ sign-stealing scandal, the extent of which came to light in the intervening two months.

Beltrán has largely remained out of the news since departing the Mets, but his name has surfaced a couple times this offseason. He was floated — largely speculatively, it seems — as a possibility to assume some role in Queens on Buck Showalter’s coaching staff. Beltrán also had some brief discussions with the Padres about taking on a potential coaching role in San Diego. Neither position came to fruition, and it seems his next step will be in broadcasting.

The 44-year-old Beltrán is no stranger to the Yankees organization. He played for the Bronx Bombers late in his career, logging action in 341 games between 2014-16. Beltrán returned to New York after hanging up his spikes, serving as an advisor to Yankees general manager Brian Cashman during the 2019 campaign. Obviously, he’s not currently returning to a role in baseball operations, but he should bring plenty of knowledge about the franchise to his position calling games.

It remains to be seen whether this broadcasting position will serve as a sort of stepping stone for Beltrán in future efforts to get a position with an MLB club. Both A.J. Hinch and Alex Cora — the Astros’ manager and bench coach during the 2017 season, respectively — were suspended for the entirety of the 2020 seasons and dismissed from their respective managerial gigs in Houston and Boston. Yet both returned to managing quickly after their suspensions wrapped up. Hinch was hired by the Tigers; Cora reunited with the Red Sox.

It’s possible Beltrán attempts to follow a similar path down the line. Because he was a player on the 2017 team, Beltrán was not suspended by MLB despite the league finding he’d been a key orchestrator of the sign-stealing operation. Unlike Hinch and Cora, the nine-time All-Star didn’t have a World Series-winning résumé as a skipper that might’ve allowed him to land a new managerial position after a year away from the game. Whether or not he pursues future coaching/front office roles, Beltrán will garner plenty of attention next offseason, as he’s slated to appear on the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time.

AL East Notes: Guerrero, Bichette, LeMahieu, Camden Yards

By Mark Polishuk | January 16, 2022 at 6:51pm CDT

The futures of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette are “the most pivotal bigger-picture personnel matter facing the Blue Jays,” Sportsnet.ca’s Shi Davidi writes, and it remains to be see if both young stars will remain in Toronto over the long term. Guerrero and Bichette are both controlled via arbitration through the 2025 season, and since their price tags will only rise (Guerrero is already arb-eligible as a Super Two player and projected for $7.9MM in 2022), locking them up sooner rather than later would be beneficial for the Jays. That said, the two players have already done enough to ensure any long-term extensions would cost the Blue Jays a sizeable amount, certainly far more than $200MM and maybe even nearer the $300MM mark depending on the number of years involved.

As Davidi notes, Jose Berrios is the only Toronto player under contract beyond 2026, so the Jays have somewhat kept their long-term ledger clear in the event that Guerrero and/or Bichette are indeed extended to major deals. Speaking of the “and/or” usage, the Blue Jays might opt to just extend one of the two, “and the relationship dynamic between team and player could be impacted if there’s only one extension.” It will make for a fascinating topic for the coming years in Toronto, as Guerrero and Bichette’s contract situations weigh heavily on both the Jays, and on other players and teams around baseball looking to those two as possible precedents and comps.

Quick Hits: Bregman, Taillon, Van Horne

By James Hicks and Sean Bavazzano | January 14, 2022 at 8:08pm CDT

Astros third baseman Alex Bregman was cleared to hit today for the first time since undergoing surgery on his right wrist in November, reports Mark Berman of Houston’s Fox26 (Twitter link with video). Though he played through it, Bregman injured his wrist in September, an issue that came to light only when teammate Carlos Correa told Sports Illustrated’s Stephanie Apstein about it during the World Series. The extent to which the injury played a role in Bregman’s postseason struggles isn’t entirely clear, but it’s likely to have had at least some effect given his .217/.304/.300 postseason line across 69 plate appearances, including a meager .095/.200/.143 in 25 trips to the plate during the Astros’ World Series loss to the Braves.

The injury came at the end of what was a forgettable season by Bregman’s high standards. After following a second-place MVP finish in 2019 with a solid but unspectacular 2020, Bregman missed the first two months of the 2021 season with a quadriceps injury and saw a major dip in his power numbers, posting only a .422 slugging percentage against a .507 career mark (and a top-notch .592 in 2019).

Some other baseball tidbits from around the league…

Yankees pitcher Jameson Taillon discussed his ongoing ankle rehab with former Yankees workhorse David Cone on the latter’s podcast this week. The 30-year-old Taillon once again acknowledged that he remains about a month behind his typical offseason throwing program, jiving with the report he gave last December. More encouragingly however, is the right-hander’s claim that he isn’t feeling any lingering pain from his surgically repaired ankle. While his current regimen consists of throwing 3-4 times a week at much less than full, mid-90’s velocity, this marks another positive step forward in the right-hander’s rehab process. Taillon was a league average arm last year, sporting a 4.30 ERA in 144 plus innings, but has demonstrated the ability to be more than that throughout his career. More positive news as Taillon ramps back up will be welcome for a Yankees club that has a number of solid rotation options but only a few that don’t come with health concerns of their own.
Per a report from Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, longtime Marlins radio announcer Dave Van Horne announced that he is “essentially retiring” after declining the team’s offer to return to the organization in 2022 in a reduced capacity. The 82-year-old Van Horne retires after 53 years of broadcasting at the major league level. After a 33-year tenure broadcasting for the Montreal Expos, Van Horne pivoted to an upstart Marlins team at the end of 2000. In his lengthy career, the veteran sportscaster called three perfect games, thirteen no-hitters, narrated the 2003 Marlins successful World Series run, and was awarded the Ford C. Frick Award from the Baseball Hall of Fame in recognition of his broadcasting contributions. We at MLBTR extend a hearty congratulations to Van Horne for an illustrious career.

Melky Cabrera Announces Retirement

By Anthony Franco | January 14, 2022 at 1:38pm CDT

Longtime major league outfielder Melky Cabrera announced his retirement this morning (h/t to Héctor Gómez of z 101). Cabrera last appeared in the majors in 2019 but had played winter ball in each of the past two years.

The announcement officially closes the book on Cabrera’s successful big league playing career. He broke into the majors with the Yankees halfway through the 2005 season, getting to the majors a bit before his 21st birthday. The switch-hitter emerged as a regular in the Bronx the following year, playing with the Yankees through their World Series-winning 2009 campaign.

The following offseason, New York traded Cabrera to the Braves. The Dominican Republic native struggled in Atlanta and was released after one year, but he bounced back after hooking on with the Royals the following season. After a solid year in Kansas City, he was traded to the Giants before the 2012 campaign. He’d only spend one year in the Bay Area as well, but that season proved to be the most productive of Cabrera’s career. He hit .346/.390/.516 across 501 plate appearances, earning his only All-Star nod in the process.

Down the stretch, however, Cabrera was suspended after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs. That ban carried over into 2013, where he landed with the Blue Jays after signing a two-year deal over the winter. Cabrera struggled in the first season of that deal but bounced back with a very productive 2014 campaign. He proved a capable, high-contact bat for a good chunk of 30s, suiting up with the White Sox, Royals (for a second time), Indians and Pirates.

Cabrera’s run of productivity came to a close in 2019. Despite hitting .280 that year, his overall offensive output was 16 percentage points below the league average (by measure of wRC+) due to a lack of power and a minuscule 4.3% walk rate. Cabrera briefly caught on with the Mets in 2020 Summer Camp but was cut loose before the start of the season.

Altogether, Cabrera had a lengthy, impressive showing in the big leagues. He appeared in fifteen consecutive MLB seasons from 2005-19, donning the uniforms of eight different clubs. Over a bit more than 7,500 plate appearances, Cabrera hit .285/.334/.417, an overall slash line a hair above average by both wRC+ and OPS+. He hit 144 home runs, 383 doubles, drove in 854 runs and stole 101 bases. FanGraphs valued his career around 16 wins above replacement, while Baseball Reference pegged him around 21 wins. Cabrera tallied a bit more than $72MM in earnings, according to B-Ref. MLBTR congratulates the 37-year-old on a very fine run and wishes him the best in retirement.

Yankees Sign Ryan Weber, Manny Banuelos

By Anthony Franco | January 14, 2022 at 8:12am CDT

The Yankees recently signed righty Ryan Weber and southpaw Manny Bañuelos to minor league contracts, according to Chris Hilburn-Trenkle of Baseball America. Both pitchers were minor league free agents, allowing them to sign non-roster deals during the ongoing transactions freeze.

Weber has pitched in the big leagues in each of the past seven years. The sinkerballer has worked in a swing capacity, starting 16 of his 63 appearances and tallying 167 cumulative innings. While he’s only punched out 14.9% of batters faced at the MLB level, Weber has demonstrated excellent control (5.4% walk rate) and racked up grounders on over half the balls in play against him.

The 31-year-old only made four MLB appearances last season, although they came with three different teams. He made one outing each with the Red Sox and Brewers and pitched in a pair of games for the Mariners. Weber spent the bulk of the year with those teams’ respective Triple-A affiliates, combining for 103 1/3 frames of 4.18 ERA ball with a minuscule 3.1% walk percentage in generally hitter-friendly settings.

While Weber has the more recent MLB run of the Yankees’ two new pitching additions, Bañuelos is probably the more familiar name to much of the fanbase. Added by the Yanks as an amateur out of Mexico during the 2008-09 signing period, Bañuelos fairly quickly developed into one of the sport’s top pitching prospects. Baseball America ranked the southpaw among the game’s top 50 overall farmhands entering both the 2011 and 2012 campaigns.

Unfortunately, Bañuelos’ progress was beset by injuries as he hit the high minors. He missed the entire 2013 season recovering from Tommy John surgery and wasn’t as effective upon returning. New York traded him to the Braves in advance of the 2015 season. Bañuelos debuted with seven appearances for Atlanta that year, then didn’t pitch in the majors again until 2019 with the White Sox.

Those two seasons mark his only big league experience to date. Across 77 innings, Bañuelos owns a 6.31 ERA with subpar strikeout and walk rates (17.7% and 12.6%, respectively). He’s spent the past two seasons pitching professionally in foreign leagues, appearing in Taiwan’s Chinese Professional Baseball League and in the Mexican League. He’ll return to affiliated ball with his original organization in an attempt to get back to the majors for the first time in three years.

Quick Hits: Acuña, Yankees, Marlins, Pirates

By James Hicks | January 12, 2022 at 2:40pm CDT

In what’s surely a welcome sight for Braves fans, superstar outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr., who watched his teammates win the 2021 World Series from the dugout as he rehabbed an ACL tear, has resumed on-field batting practice in his native Venezuela (video of the session can be seen here, via Spanish-language baseball news site El Extrabase). Acuña sustained the injury in Miami in July while attempting to track down a fly ball off the bat of Jazz Chisholm into LoanDepot Park’s right field corner.

While it remains to be seen whether (or for how long) the injury might sap Acuña’s speed or explosiveness, the news marks a clear milestone in his recovery. However welcome the news, though, it isn’t clear when Acuña will be available, how he’ll be used when he does return, or what effect it will have on GM Alex Anthopoulos’ plans for the remainder of the Braves’ offseason. Regardless of Acuña’s availability, the Braves face several question marks in the outfield; of the four outfielders Anthopoulos acquired around the 2021 trade deadline (Joc Pederson, Jorge Soler, Eddie Rosario, and Adam Duvall), only Duvall remains under control for 2022. It’s also unclear how the club plans to handle the return of Marcell Ozuna from administrative leave or whether it views any of its three high-end outfield prospects (Cristian Pache, Drew Waters, and Michael Harris) as ready for significant big-league action.

Other notes from around the game:

Per Lindsey Adler of The Athletic, the Yankees have promoted former big-league outfielder (and longtime minor-leaguer) Kevin Reese to the position of Vice President of Player Development. Since retiring after spending the 2007 season at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Reese joined the Yankees as a minor league scout. Before this promotion, he had served as the Yankee’s Director of Professional Scouting since 2017. In an extremely small sample (16 plate appearances between 2005 and 2006), Reese posted a .385/.500/.385 batting line in the majors.
The Marlins announced a series of front office promotions, including DJ Svihlik to Senior Director of Amateur Scouting, Adrien Lorenzo to Senior Director of International Operations, Geoff DeGroot to Director of Player Development, and Hector Crespo to Director of Minor League Operations. The full list can be found via the club’s official announcement.
The Pirates announced the promotion of two minor league managers, reports Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Miguel Perez, who managed the Double-A Altoona Curve in 2021, has been named the manager of Triple-A Indianapolis, and Kieran Mattison, who had served as manager for the High-A Greensboro Grasshoppers, will move to Altoona in 2022. Perez spent twelve years as a catcher in the Reds system, going hitless in 3 ABs with the big-league club in 2005, while Mattison spent nine years bouncing around the minors and independent ball, including stints in the Royals’, Indians’, and Dodgers’ systems.

Quick Hits: Elian Soto, Yankees, Hinske, Royals

By Mark Polishuk | January 11, 2022 at 10:00pm CDT

While the next international signing period opens on January 15, teams are already lining up the next wave of int’l prospects for years in advance. Washington City Paper’s Byron Kerr writes that the Nationals have agreed to a deal with outfielder/third baseman Elian Soto, the younger brother of superstar Juan Soto, as the 15-year-old has decided to join the D.C. organization when the 2023 signing period opens roughly a year from now. Reports from Z101’s Hector Gomez earlier this week suggested that the younger Soto was preparing to head to the Mets, and Soto seemingly confirmed matters by posting an Instagram video of himself wearing Mets-branded attire. New York was reportedly set to give Soto a $50K bonus, and while Brittany Ghiroli and Maria Torres of The Athletic report that the Nationals topped that offer, it wasn’t with a huge dollar figure, as the younger Soto has intriguing potential but isn’t considered a true top-tier prospect.

Though it is common practice for teams and international prospects to agree to deals well in advance of their eligibility date, deals aren’t completely official until a prospect’s signing period opens, so the younger Soto wasn’t breaking any rules by backing out of his Mets agreement. It also remains to be seen if the 2023 international signing period even exists in its current form, as it has long been speculated that MLB might overhaul the signing process and perhaps institute an international draft as part of the next collective bargaining agreement. This would wipe out the handshake deals teams have made with scores of younger prospects like Soto, and subject these players to a draft with a harder slot value (and less financial flexibility) than the one used in the North American amateur draft.

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