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Newsstand

Yankees Sign Matt Carpenter To Major League Contract

By Anthony Franco | May 26, 2022 at 3:00pm CDT

3:00pm: New York also announced they’ve selected left-hander Manny Bañuelos onto the big league roster. The Yankees had optioned outfielder Estevan Florial and left-hander JP Sears to Triple-A last night.

2:54pm: The Yankees announced they’ve signed Matt Carpenter to a big league deal. The veteran infielder had been granted his release from a minor league deal with the Rangers a week ago.

Carpenter was one of the game’s best hitters for a good portion of his tenure with the Cardinals. He posted above-average offensive numbers each season from 2012-18, earning a trio of All-Star selections along the way. He earned a Silver Slugger award in 2013 and twice finished in the top ten of NL MVP balloting. As recently as 2018, Carpenter had posted an excellent .257/.374/.523 slash line with 36 home runs.

Things have gone sharply downhill over the past few years, however. As he hit his mid-30’s, the left-handed hitter experiences a dramatic decline. Going back to the start of the 2019 season, Carpenter owns just a .203/.325/.346 mark in a bit more than 900 plate appearances. He’s continued to draw walks at a robust 13.3% clip, but that’s essentially been the only positive in his offensive game. He’s fanned in 27.9% of his plate appearances, posted a below-average .143 ISO (slugging minus batting average) and hit only .270 on balls in play.

St. Louis bought Carpenter out at the end of last season, and he was limited to minor league offers over the winter. The 36-year-old was forthright about the necessity of reinventing himself at the plate, and he chronicled some changes he’d made with Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic in February. The former TCU star signed a non-roster pact with the Rangers shortly after the lockout, and he’s shown some signs of a turnaround.

Through 21 games with Triple-A Round Rock, Carpenter put up a .275/.379/.613 showing. He hit six homers while continuing to draw plenty of free passes. Perhaps most encouragingly, he trimmed his strikeout rate to a lower than average 21.1%. Texas didn’t feel he had a path to playing time on the big league club, but the Yankees will give him the opportunity to try to carry over his strong work in the minors against big league arms.

More to come.

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New York Yankees Newsstand Transactions Manny Banuelos Matt Carpenter

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2022-23 MLB Free Agent Power Rankings

By Steve Adams | May 25, 2022 at 10:58pm CDT

We’re more than a quarter of the way through the 2022 season, which makes a look ahead to the forthcoming offseason and free agent class overdue. The 2022-23 free agent market can’t match this past winter’s market in terms of the sheer volume of available star power, but it’s a strong group nevertheless, with a few MVP candidates slated to reach free agency for the first time.

MLBTR will take periodic looks at the top of the class from now through the remainder of the season, and it’s of course worth noting that with about 75% of games left to be played, a lot can change. Our power rankings, compiled collaboratively by myself, Anthony Franco and MLBTR owner Tim Dierkes, are based on what we believe to be a player’s total earning power in free agency. As such, age plays a prominent factor in that equation. Players with opt-out clauses and player options are included, even if they’ve previously given strong indications they’ll forgo any such opportunity to return to the market (as Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado has in the past). Current performance is also, obviously, crucial. A strong platform year can elevate any player’s status in free agency, just as a poor walk year can tank their stock.

Here’s a look at our current top ten, as well as a handful of honorable mentions who could see themselves climb into the top ten by season’s end…

Aaron Judge | Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

1. Aaron Judge, RF, Yankees: When Yankees general manager Brian Cashman made the surprising decision to announce the terms of the contract that was offered to (and rejected by) Judge — a seven-year, $213.5MM extension — there were plenty of onlookers convinced Judge had made a sizable misstep. A $30.5MM annual salary over seven years would place him among the game’s top earners but not quite in the elite tier.

A slow start might’ve made the decision look questionable, but Judge has gone the opposite route. He’s been the best qualified hitter in baseball aside from Mike Trout, by measure of wRC+, leading the Majors in homers and trailing only Trout in slugging percentage by the narrowest of margins (.693 to .692). Judge is walking at a 10.7% clip, his strikeouts (26.6%) are down a good bit from his earlier seasons when rates around 31% were his norm, and his batted-ball profile has practically broken Statcast. Judge is averaging a comical 96.9 mph off the bat this season, and he’s ripped 64% of his batted balls at greater than 95 mph.

Judge’s free-agent contract will begin with his age-31 season, and that’s one distinct disadvantage to him — particularly relative to younger free agents like the trio of shortstops who directly follow him on this ranking. That said, there’s simply no discounting the fact that Judge’s offense is on a new level this season, which is saying something given the high bar he’s previously established. If he maintains even 75% of this pace for the remainder of the season, that seven-year term and $30.5MM AAV are both going to feel light. Right now, an eight-year deal at a heartier AAV is easy to imagine, and the longer Judge keeps hitting like this, the more those numbers will increase.

2. Carlos Correa, SS, Twins: Correa was fortunate to dodge a broken finger when he was plunked on the hand recently, instead only sitting out a minimal 10-day stint due to a bone bruise. The former No. 1 overall pick shocked the baseball world by signing the fourth-largest AAV ever with the Twins ($35.1MM) — albeit on a three-year deal laden with opt-out provisions. The commonly held belief is that Correa will opt out after the 2022 season and return to the market in search of the long-term mega-deal that eluded him this past offseason.

Whether that contract is there will hinge both on how many games Correa plays and on how well he performs in his new environs. He got out to a slow start in Minnesota but repeatedly insisted that he wasn’t worried, and his confidence has begun to manifest into production. Correa is hitting .382/.443/.545 over his past 61 plate appearances, and even when he was struggling through poor results before that, he was making loads of hard contact. He’s not on pace to match last year’s career-best defensive numbers, but no one is disputing that the 2021 Platinum Glover is anything less than a top-notch defensive player.

It’s fair to wonder whether Correa will be able to secure a 10-year contract with a premium annual value after the closest he came this past offseason was a reported 10-year, $275MM offer from the Tigers prior to the lockout. Even if Correa “settles” for a seven- or eight-year contract, though, the fact that he’ll play nearly all of the 2023 season at age 28 is a huge point in his favor. An eight-year deal would only run through Correa’s age-35 season, and a lengthier pact can’t be ruled out if he continues to pick up the pace at the plate.

3. Trea Turner, SS, Dodgers: Turner and Correa could arguably be flipped in ordering here, but I’m listing him third due to the fact that he’s more than a year older. While he may be a lesser defender and possess less power than Correa, he’s still a good defensive shortstop with above-average pop. He’s also been more durable in recent years with better contact skills and more value on the basepaths. Some teams will prefer Correa. Some will prefer Turner. Both will be in demand. Both will get paid — a lot.

Broadly speaking, there are very, very few players who present as much all-around value as Turner. He’s unlikely to rip 30 home runs or lead the league in on-base percentage, but Turner is a perennial 20-homer, 40-steal threat with a track record of above-average defensive marks, a lower-than-average strikeout rate and a lifetime .302/.358/.488 batting line. He slugged a career-high 28 home runs in 2021 and was hitting at a similar pace in 2020’s shortened season, but he’s only left the yard thrice in 184 plate appearances this year.

Even if Turner reverts to his prior levels of power, there’s no real weakness in his game. He’s a dependable four- to five-WAR player who showed in 2021 that he has six- to seven-WAR upside when at his absolute best. Turner will turn 30 on June 30 in the first year of his new contract, and it’s reasonable to expect that he could find a lucrative eight-year deal in free agency. One thing worth keeping an eye on: defensive metrics are quite down on his early work (-3 DRS, -6 OAA).

4. Xander Bogaerts, SS, Red Sox: The most consistent hitter among this trio of shortstops, Bogaerts would top Correa and Turner were he even viewed as an average defender at the position. Instead, his glovework has struggled so much that there was a good bit of drama surrounding whether he’d move off the position upon Boston’s signing of Trevor Story.

Bogaerts can opt out of the final three years and $60MM on his contract, and he’s a lock to do so even with the shaky defensive skill set at shortstop. He’s hitting .323/.385/.458 as of this writing and carries a gaudy .300/.372/.518 slash (135 wRC+) dating back to 2018. Bogaerts’ career-high 33 home runs came during the juiced ball season, and he’s otherwise been more of a 20- to 25-homer bat. He’s been remarkably consistent in terms of his solid walk rates, lower-than-average strikeout rates and batting averages, though, and any team that signs him can feel confident it’s getting a true middle-of-the-order threat.

The question will be just what position he plays, as there won’t be many (if any) teams comfortable with the idea of playing Bogaerts at shortstop for the next six-plus years. A team could play him there in the early stages of a new contract, but Bogaerts will likely be viewed by some teams as a second baseman or third baseman only. He’s never posted a positive total in Defensive Runs Saved and only has once in Outs Above Average (back in 2017). For his career, he’s at -58 DRS and -42 OAA. His bat might still carry him to an eight-year deal, but Bogaerts’ days as a shortstop are likely dwindling — and the market could well reflect that reality.

5. Joe Musgrove, RHP, Padres: Musgrove, 30 in December, has improved his stock every year since 2017, either by improving his rate stats or his innings count. It’s been a steady march toward his current top-of-the-rotation status, and he’s now poised to cash in next winter with a blend of youth and general excellence that currently has him as MLBTR’s top-earning starter.

Since Musgrove ramped up his curveball usage in 2020, he’s pitched to a combined 3.03 ERA with a 27.7% strikeout rate and 7.1% walk rate in 273 innings. He’s not missing as many bats in 2022 as he did in 2020-21, but strikeouts are down leaguewide and he’s offsetting that with a career-best 4.4% walk rate in 52 innings so far. Musgrove currently boasts a microscopic 1.90 ERA in 52 innings. He ranks in the 82nd percentile or better in fastball spin rate (97th), curveball spin rate (82nd), opponents’ chase rate (93rd), walk percentage (89th), average exit velocity (84th), expected ERA (87th), expected wOBA (87th) and expected slugging percentage (83rd), per Statcast.

Musgrove might not be a household name whose track record is littered with All-Star appearances and Cy Young votes, but his current trajectory should change that. A five-year deal feels like the floor, and a healthier six-year pact seems likely.

6. Nolan Arenado, 3B, Cardinals: Arenado has said in the past that he plans to remain in St. Louis for the long haul after being traded over from the Rockies, so this could very well be a moot point. He made good on those promises by forgoing the first opt-out opportunity in his contract this past offseason, but the Cardinals tacked an extra year (at $15MM) and an extra opt-out provision onto his contract upon acquiring him.

If Arenado continues anywhere near his current pace, it’ll at least be more tempting to see what the market might bear. Shedding the “product of Coors Field” narrative in full this year, Arenado is raking at a .288/.351/.545 pace — all with his typical brand of elite defense (5 Defensive Runs Saved, 4 Outs Above Average, 3.5 Ultimate Zone Rating in just 324 innings).

Arenado has five years and $144MM remaining on his contract following the 2022 season and will turn 32 next April. The remaining five years will carry Arenado through his age-36 season at a rate that’s lighter than many of the game’s top-end stars. We’ve seen infielders Freddie Freeman, Corey Seager, Marcus Semien and Josh Donaldson all sign free-agent deals that run through their age-37 seasons in recent years. Again, the likeliest outcome is that Arenado stays put — based on the infielder’s own wording — but if he does choose to test the market, the earning power will be there.

7. Jacob deGrom, RHP, Mets: If deGrom were healthier, he’d be higher on this list, age be damned. However, deGrom hasn’t pitched since July 7, 2021 due to a forearm strain that ended his 2021 season and a stress reaction in his scapula (shoulder blade) that has prevented him from pitching so far in 2022.

No one needs much of a primer on just how dominant deGrom is when he’s healthy. He’s a two-time Cy Young winner and probably would’ve won a third in 2021 with better health. He posted a superhuman 1.08 ERA, 45.1% strikeout rate and 3.4% walk rate in 92 innings while averaging 99.1 mph on his fastball last year. A healthy deGrom is very arguably the best pitcher on the planet — evidenced by the 1.94 ERA he’s compiled over his past 581 innings.

DeGrom is signed through 2023 (plus a 2024 club option) but has said, even with his injury, that he’ll opt out of the contract and forgo the $30.5MM he’s guaranteed next year. If he can return in late June or early July and dominate down the stretch, a multi-year deal in the neighborhood of teammate Max Scherzer’s record-setting $43.33MM annual salary is in play. Even if deGrom struggles or doesn’t throw a pitch in 2022, a team would likely top that $30.5MM salary to bring him in on a short-term, ultra-high-risk gamble.

8. Carlos Rodon, LHP, Giants: Drafted with the No. 3 overall pick back in 2014, Rodon was heralded as a potential top-of-the-rotation arm for the White Sox He eventually achieved that status, but not until the seventh year of his Major League career. For Rodon’s first six years, he was an oft-injured power arm who’d flash ace potential but lacked both the consistency and the durability to get there.

Durability remains a concern after Rodon pitched just 36 innings over the 2021 season’s final 10 weeks due to shoulder fatigue. He remained effective during that time but worked with a diminished fastball and was not given a qualifying offer by the White Sox — despite his elite production (on a per-inning basis). But what Rodon has done since that 2021 breakout is prove that he is, when healthy, a bona fide No. 1 starter.

Over his past 177 1/3 innings, Rodon has a 2.64 ERA with a dominant 34.5% strikeout rate against just a 7.4% walk rate. Since Opening Day 2021, Rodon leads all Major League pitchers (min. 100 innings) in strikeout percentage. He ranks 10th in swinging-strike rate and owns the eighth-lowest opponents’ contact rate on pitches inside the strike zone. Rodon can opt out of the second year and $22.5MM on his current contract if he pitches 110 innings this season. If he can make 30 starts this year, there’s probably a five-year deal waiting for him in free agency — especially when considering the fact that he won’t turn 30 until December.

9. Willson Contreras, C, Cubs: Clearly the top catcher on next winter’s market, Contreras has gotten out to a strong start in 2022, hitting at a .258/.382/.458 clip with five homers through his first 144 plate appearances. That puts him roughly on pace for what would be the fourth 20-homer season of his career. Contreras, a two-time All-Star, ranks fourth among all catchers (min. 500 plate appearances) in fWAR and fifth in wRC+ dating back to the 2019 season. He just turned 30 earlier this month, making the first season of a new contract his age-31 campaign.

Contreras’ reps will surely be looking to topple Yasmani Grandal’s four-year, $73MM deal with the White Sox. With a strong enough finish, Contreras could reasonably push to join the likes of J.T. Realmuto, Yadier Molina and Buster Posey as catchers who earned $20MM-plus annually during their prime.

10. Brandon Nimmo, CF, Mets: Perennially underrated, Nimmo doesn’t get the love he deserves when looking at his career production. There’s no skirting the huge injury risk associated with him, but when he’s been healthy enough to take the field, Nimmo’s elite plate discipline and above-average power have resulted in production that’s 35% better than that of a league-average hitter, by measure of wRC+. Nimmo has walked in 14.6% of his career plate appearances en route to a .269/.392/.445 batting line. He’s only reached double-digit homers once in his career, though that’s due to injuries and to the shortened 2020 season (when he played in 55 of 60 games and popped eight homers). On a rate basis, however, Nimmo’s career .176 ISO (slugging minus average) is comfortably north of league average.

Like Contreras, Nimmo is the best player at his position and arguably the only free-agent option for a team seeking an everyday center fielder. He hasn’t graded out as an elite defensive center fielder, but Defensive Runs Saved, Ultimate Zone Rating and Outs Above Average all think he’s been an above-average defender there over the past two seasons. He’s not a huge stolen base threat, but Statcast credits Nimmo with 92nd percentile sprint speed dating back to 2021.

Some teams will balk at the injury history, while others may not be keen on promising a weighty guarantee to a player who’s never reached 20 home runs in a season. However, we’ve seen OBP- and defense-driven center fielders like Dexter Fowler and Lorenzo Cain cash in before. A fifth year may be hard to come by, but a strong four-year deal seems attainable. Another prolonged absence could quickly drop Nimmo off this list, but as things stand right now, Nimmo is the type of free agent who’ll probably surprise fans with the contract he ultimately signs.

Honorable Mentions: Justin Verlander, Sean Manaea, Edwin Diaz, Dansby Swanson, Josh Bell, Chris Bassitt, Nathan Eovaldi, Zach Eflin

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2022-23 MLB Free Agent Power Rankings MLBTR Originals Newsstand

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Alex Reyes To Undergo Shoulder Surgery

By Steve Adams | May 23, 2022 at 11:00pm CDT

Cardinals right-hander Alex Reyes is staring down yet another injury-related setback, as he’s scheduled for surgery on his shoulder late this month, tweets Katie Woo of The Athletic. MLB.com’s John Denton first reported that Reyes would require surgery to repair his right shoulder (Twitter link).

Reyes met with renowned surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache on Monday, and he confirmed a team recommendation that surgery will be required. The exact nature of the procedure has not yet been announced by the Cardinals. Woo adds that while the surgery is likely to end his season, there’s at least a small chance Reyes will be able to return late in the year.

It’ll be the third major surgery for Reyes in the past five years. The righty underwent Tommy John surgery back in Spring Training of 2019 and has since gone under the knife to repair a torn tendon in his latissimus dorsi muscle. Reyes also missed time with shoulder trouble back in 2020, though he didn’t require surgery at the time.

The expected shoulder procedure, then, is just the latest in a long line of physical ailments that have combined to derail what looked to be one of the sport’s most promising young talents. Reyes, for years, was heralded as a potential ace, frequenting top prospect rankings throughout his minor league tenure. Heading into the 2017 season, Baseball Prospectus ranked him as the No. 1 prospect in all of baseball, while Baseball America ranked him fourth and MLB.com ranked him sixth.

At that time, Reyes had barely retained his rookie and prospect status after an electrifying MLB debut in 2016, when he pitched 46 innings of 1.57 ERA ball. However, Reyes had Tommy John surgery before he had the chance to follow up on that debut. That surgery, paired with the previously mentioned lat and shoulder troubles, combined to limit Reyes to just 87 total innings from 2017-20 (big leagues and minors combined). He pitched a career-high 72 1/3 innings for the Cardinals in 2021, all coming as a reliever, leading the team with 29 saves. Reyes punched out more than 30% of his opponents but also issued walks at an untenable 16.4% clip.

The hope heading into the 2022 season was that Reyes, like Jordan Hicks, could potentially be stretched out to either again work as a starter or to provide a multi-inning option in high-leverage spots. This latest bout of shoulder trouble, however, nixed that possibility before it ever even truly began. Now, Reyes’ very future in the organization could be in question.

At 27 years of age (28 in August), Reyes has just 145 Major League innings under his belt. Despite that paltry total, he’ll reach five years of Major League service this season, due largely to the significant amount of time he’s spent on the Major League injured list. He’ll likely add another full season of IL time to that ledger. The Cards will be able to retain him via arbitration this winter, and given that he’s unlikely to pitch at all, he’d likely be in line for a repeat of this year’s $2.9MM salary. It’s a modest sum, but the Cards will still need to determine whether they’ll make that commitment to a player who has averaged 29 innings per year over his first five MLB campaigns.

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Newsstand St. Louis Cardinals Alex Reyes

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Counsell: Freddy Peralta To Miss “Significant” Time

By Steve Adams | May 23, 2022 at 7:50pm CDT

An MRI of Freddy Peralta’s sore right shoulder revealed a posterior shoulder strain, and the right-hander is expected to miss “significant” time, Brewers manager Craig Counsell announced to reporters Monday (Twitter link, with video, via MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy). The Brewers expect that Peralta will be able to return this season, but a specific timetable isn’t yet clear. Surgery isn’t expected  to be necessary, Counsell added. Left-hander Aaron Ashby is expected to step into the Milwaukee rotation in his place, joining Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff, Eric Lauer and Adrian Houser.

Deep and talented as Milwaukee’s pitching staff is, there’s little denying that Peralta’s loss is a major one for the Brew Crew. The right-hander hasn’t been himself this year, evidenced by a pedestrian 4.42 ERA and a diminished (albeit still excellent) 30.3% strikeout rate through his first 38 2/3 frames. That’s solid production for a fourth or fifth starter but a far cry from Peralta’s dominant 2021 campaign, when he posted a 2.81 ERA and 33.6% strikeout rate through 144 1/3 frames.

The group of Burnes, Woodruff and Peralta looked to be arguably the top rotation trio of any team in the league, but it hasn’t played out that way this year. Burnes has been dominant, following up on his 2021 Cy Young win with a brilliant 2.26 ERA in 51 2/3 innings. But both Peralta and Woodruff have struggled to match last year’s outstanding results. Rather, it’s been Lauer who has stepped things up considerably, while through his first seven turns, the underrated Houser somewhat remarkably has perfectly replicated last year’s 3.22 ERA.

Ashby will now step into that mix and hope to solidify his place in the Milwaukee rotation for the foreseeable future. A former fourth-round pick, Ashby has generally been considered the Brewers’ top pitching prospect for the past few seasons and, so far in 2022, has looked the part. He’s split his time between the rotation and the bullpen, notching a 3.49 ERA with a strong 27.6% strikeout rate and a mammoth 64.8% grounder rate. Ashby’s command has been spotty, as advertised (13.8% walk rate), but he’s minimizing hard contact and getting tons of chases off the plate (35.5%). He’s yet to pitch more than four innings in an outing this season, though, so it’ll be telling just how Ashby fares when working deeper into games and perhaps turning a lineup over for a third time.

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Milwaukee Brewers Newsstand Aaron Ashby Freddy Peralta

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Dodgers Extend Blake Treinen

By Mark Polishuk | May 22, 2022 at 5:32pm CDT

5:32PM: The 2024 option could be worth between $1MM and $7MM based on Treinen’s health and other factors, Ardaya tweets.  According to Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter links), the option price will depend on what specific kinds of injuries Treinen may or may not miss time with over the course of the next two seasons.

This uncertain health situation factored into Treinen’s decision to agree to the extension, Harris writes, as Treinen’s return in 2022 isn’t a lock.  A source tells Harris that there is a “decent” chance Treinen pitches again this season, while another source tells Ardaya that Trienen has a “very possible” chance.

4:58PM: Treinen will earn $8MM in 2023, as The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya reports that the extension will guarantee the club option.  The deal also gives the Dodgers a conditional option over Treinen for 2024.

4:38PM: The Dodgers announced a contract extension with right-hander Blake Treinen that will officially keep the reliever in the fold for the 2023 season.  Treinen was already controlled for 2023 via a club option, which would’ve paid him $8MM if exercised (or $1.5MM if bought out).  Treinen is represented by Apex Baseball.

Treinen was first signed by L.A. following an underwhelming 2019 season with the A’s, but the righty bounced back with an impressive performance for the eventual World Series champions.  The Dodgers then re-signed Treinen to a two-year, $17.5MM pact in January 2021, which broke down as $6MM salaries in both 2021 and 2022, the $1.5MM guaranteed by the possible option buyout, and a $4MM signing bonus.

In 2021, Treinen more than lived up to his end of the deal, posting a 1.99 ERA over 72 1/3 innings out of the Los Angeles bullpen.  Other than a below-average 8.7% walk rate, Treinen was otherwise stellar across the board in both bottom-line results and Statcast numbers.  This season, however, Treinen only pitched in three games before shoulder soreness sent him to the injured list.

Manager Dave Roberts recently said that Treinen wasn’t expected back until around the All-Star break, and the club moved Treinen to the 60-day IL earlier this week.  With this injured status in mind, the timing of the extension is perhaps a little curious, though it could also be interpreted as a positive sign about the Dodgers’ confidence in the right-hander’s longer-term health.

Treinen is a little over a month away from his 34th birthday, and he is in his ninth season of MLB action, with stops in Washington and Oakland before his arrival in Los Angeles.  The 2018 season saw Treinen finish sixth in AL Cy Young Award voting due to a superb season as the Athletics’ closer, but for much of his career, Treinen has worked in a set-up capacity.  With Craig Kimbrel handling the ninth inning for the Dodgers, Treinen is expected to resume his usual set-up role when he does return to action.

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Brewers To Place Freddy Peralta On Injured List Due To Shoulder Tightness

By Mark Polishuk | May 22, 2022 at 5:06pm CDT

Brewers right-hander Freddy Peralta had to leave today’s game in the fourth inning due to right shoulder tightness.  Manager Craig Counsell told reporters (including Andrew Wagner) will be placed on the injured list, and an MRI will reveal more about Peralta’s condition tomorrow.

Something was clearly off with Peralta all game, as he allowed five runs on six hits over his three-plus innings of work in today’s 8-2 Brewers loss to the Nationals.  Only two of those runs came in Peralta’s first three frames, but after allowing hits to the first three batters faced in the fourth inning, Peralta left the game after a mound visit from the team trainer.

Peralta also missed about two weeks late last season with inflammation in that same shoulder.  That IL visit was pretty much the only blemish in an otherwise terrific year for the righty, as Peralta posted a 2.81 ERA, 33.6% strikeout rate, and 9.7% walk rate over 144 1/3 innings.  This earned Peralta his first All-Star appearance, and also cemented his spot in Milwaukee’s rotation after working mostly as a part-time starter or swingman role in his first three Major League seasons.

The Brewers will undoubtedly miss Peralta while he recovers, especially since the club is set to play 15 games over the next 14 days.  However, the Brew Crew are one of the few teams with a deep enough rotation to potentially withstand the loss, as Aaron Ashby is on hand to fill Peralta’s spot in the starting five.  Counsell confirmed that the team would stay with a five-man rotation, so a spot starter will be required at some point over this busy stretch of the schedule (probably when the Brewers face the Cubs in a doubleheader on May 30).

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Mariners Sign Justin Upton

By Mark Polishuk | May 22, 2022 at 4:32pm CDT

TODAY: Upton’s deal contains a 10-team no-trade clause, Bob Nightengale reports.  Upton has had partial or full no-trade protection in all three of his major multi-year contracts (with the D’Backs, Tigers, and Angels), and he’ll retain some measure of control over his future should the Mariners look to flip him before the trade deadline.

MAY 21: The Mariners have signed outfielder Justin Upton to a one-year, Major League contract.  The club has officially announced the move, and in a corresponding transaction designated righty Adrian Sampson for assignment to clear roster space.  Upton will report to the Mariners’ extended Spring Training camp in order to ramp up for his eventual debut with the team.

USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports (Twitter link) was the first to announce the Upton signing, and noted that Upton will earn around $550K on the deal, or the prorated portion of the MLB minimum salary.  The M’s will cover the $550K, while the Angels will still owe Upton the remainder of his original $28MM salary for the 2022 season.

The Angels released Upton just before the season began, ending the outfielder’s four-plus year run in Los Angeles.  Originally acquired from the Tigers in August 2017, Upton was already under contract through the 2021 season but held an opt-out clause, and agreed to forego that clause when the Halos tacked another year onto his deal.  The extension added $17.5MM in new money to Upton’s contract and locked up through the 2022 campaign.

Unfortunately, it was a deal the Angels came to regret, after Upton struggled during the 2019-21 seasons.  Due to both injuries and a simple lack of production, Upton has hit .211/.299/.414 with 38 home runs over 784 plate appearances in the last three seasons.  Between this lack of hitting and declining glovework in left field, Upton has been almost exactly a replacement-level player, generating only 0.1 fWAR since the start of the 2019 season.

In his prime, of course, Upton was an outstanding player, with a resume that includes four All-Star appearances, 324 career homers, and a .262/.343/.471 slash line over 7592 PA with five different organizations.  Selected by the Diamondbacks with the first overall pick of the 2005 draft, Upton is a very familiar face to Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto, who worked in Arizona’s front office during Upton’s time with the club.

For the minimal cost, there isn’t much risk for Dipoto and the Mariners in seeing if Upton still has anything left at age 34.  With Mitch Haniger on the injured list until around July, Jarred Kelenic demoted to the minors, and Kyle Lewis still working his way back from injury, the M’s have a need for outfield depth.  Jesse Winker and rookie phenom Julio Rodriguez have two of the spots spoken for, with Adam Frazier, Dylan Moore, and Steven Souza Jr. all recently seeing starts on the grass since Haniger was lost to the IL.

Sampson was only claimed off waivers from the Cubs earlier this week, and now might be moving on from Seattle without a single appearance in either the minors or majors.  The swingman’s 2022 resume thus far consists of a single MLB inning with the Cubs and 19 2/3 innings with Triple-A Iowa.  The Washington native did break into the majors with his home state Mariners back in 2016, marking the first of Sampson’s five Major League seasons — the righty has a 5.13 ERA over 189 1/3 innings, with 125 1/3 of those frames coming with the Rangers in 2019.

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Los Angeles Angels Newsstand Seattle Mariners Transactions Adrian Sampson Justin Upton

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Chad Green To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

By Darragh McDonald | May 22, 2022 at 12:25pm CDT

Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters, including Lindsey Adler of The Athletic, that Chad Green will undergo Tommy John surgery.

The news is not surprising but is nonetheless disappointing. Green left Thursday’s game with forearm discomfort, with Boone relaying that the injury was feared to be significant. The club initially held off on making any declarative statements, though it seemed like a notable surgical procedure was on the table as they collected further medical opinions. Now, unfortunately, the severity of the situation has been agreed upon, with Green headed for the surgery that should keep him out of action for the next 12-18 months.

This is the second blow to the Yankees’ pitching staff in recent days, as it was announced yesterday that Luis Gil is also going under the knife for Tommy John. The club has had remarkable pitching health on the year overall, with their rotation front five of Gerrit Cole, Jordan Montgomery, Jameson Taillon, Luis Severino and Nestor Cortes Jr. making every start for the team, except for a single spot start from Gil. However, these two surgeries are still notable, taking out the club’s sixth starter and a key member of the relief corps.

Green has somewhat quietly been one of the most effective and durable relievers in the game over the past few years, having not been on the IL since 2016, until this week. His 326 relief innings pitched from 2016 to the present are bested by only 21 other pitchers in the league. He hasn’t just been taking mop-up duty either, as he has a 2.79 ERA out of the bullpen in his career, with a 32.8% strikeout rate and 5.9% walk rate, racking up 11 saves and 52 holds.

It’s also very unfortunate for Green personally, as he is set to reach free agency at season’s end. After years of being healthy and productive, suffering a serious injury just months before heading into the open market is incredibly unlucky timing, to state the obvious. He will now head into free agency with teams knowing he won’t be available until the middle of the 2023 campaign, at the earliest. It’s possible he will still garner interest on a back-loaded or incentive-laden contract, such as those recently signed by Ken Giles, Kirby Yates or Tommy Kahnle., who were also working their way back from Tommy John when their contracts were signed.

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New York Yankees Newsstand Chad Green

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Orioles Promote Adley Rutschman

By Darragh McDonald | May 21, 2022 at 11:12pm CDT

The Orioles announced that they have selected the contract of top prospect Adley Rutschman. Anthony Bemboom has been designated for assignment in a corresponding move.

Of course, this is a day that baseball fans in Baltimore and elsewhere have been looking forward to for quite some time. Even before he was a member of the Orioles organization, Rutschman was tantalizing the baseball world with his performance at Oregon State, shooting up draft boards and considered by many to be the top player available in the 2019 draft. Baseball America, for instance, gave him the #1 slot that year, with their report noting that the switch-hitting catcher had essentially every skill necessary to succeed going forward. Hitting for average, hitting for power, taking walks, strong arm, good receiving and blocking, he had all the tools except speed, which is hardly surprising for a catcher. “He is the best catching prospect since Buster Posey in 2008 and Matt Wieters in 2007,” their report concluded.

Although there were reports that the O’s were considering other players with the first overall selection in the 2019 draft, such as Bobby Witt Jr., Andrew Vaughn and JJ Bleday, it never seemed like there was much chance of anyone usurping Rutschman. When the big day finally rolled around, Rutschman was indeed the first player off the board.

Due to the struggles of the big league club, Rutschman instantly became the light at the end of the tunnel for Baltimore fans. The Orioles finished last in the AL East in both 2017 and 2018, and were in the process of repeating that feat when Rutschman was drafted in 2019. They somehow slipped past the Red Sox and into fourth place in the shortened 2020 season, but were back down in the basement in 2021, and also posted the worst record in baseball again (tied with the Diamondbacks). That means they have the first overall selection in the draft yet again this summer. With nothing inspiring happening at the big league level, all hopes were pinned on the stars in the farm system that would make up the next great Orioles team, with Rutschman being front and center.

Baseball America ranked Rutschman the fifth-best prospect in all of baseball in 2021, then bumping him up to #2 last year and #1 this year. He’s also considered the best prospect in baseball by FanGraphs, ESPN’s Kiley McDaniels, and The Athletic’s Keith Law.

It’s been an atypical rise through the minors for the 24-year-old. It started out normal enough, with Rutschman getting into 37 games in the lower levels of the Orioles’ system in the months after the draft. But the pandemic wiped out the minor leagues in 2020, meaning he wasn’t able to play in any official organized games. But that missed season didn’t slow him down any, as his 2021 proved the hype was for real. In 123 games between Double-A and Triple-A, he hit 23 home runs and produced an overall batting line of .285/.397/.502, walking at a 14.5% rate and striking out only 16.6% of the time. That all adds up to a wRC+ of 144, or 44% better than league average.

The Orioles did little to block his path to the big leagues this offseason. The catchers who got playing time behind the plate in 2021 were all jettisoned from the roster. Pedro Severino, Austin Wynns and Nick Ciuffo were all outrighted at season’s end and Chance Sisco was claimed off waivers by the Mets. There was a time in the offseason that the club actually had no catchers on the 40-man roster, although they eventually signed Robinson Chirinos to be in the mix.

Once the new collective bargaining agreement was agreed to and the lockout ended in March, it seemed there was a chance Rutschman could crack the Opening Day roster. The new CBA featured incentives to try and discourage teams from holding their best prospects down in the minors at the beginning of a season in order to manipulate their service time and gain an extra year of control over their services. Unfortunately, Rutschman suffered a triceps strain in mid-March that put him on the shelf for a few weeks, ending any chance of him being ready for the season opener. After recuperating from that injury, he made his 2022 debut in the minors on April 26 and has spent the past four weeks getting back into game shape. In 19 games this year across three different levels, he’s hitting .309/.427/.515, 159 wRC+, walking in 13.4% of his plate appearances while striking out in just 8.5% of them.

There are about 137 days remaining in the season, meaning he will be unable to accrue the 172 days necessary to count as a full year. There is a provision in the new CBA that grants a full year of service time to the top two finishers in Rookie of the Year voting, though it will be difficult for Rutschman to take that path now, given that his competitors in that race have a six-week headstart on him. Jeremy Pena has already produced 1.8 fWAR, while other prominent rookies like Bobby Witt Jr. and Julio Rodriguez have 0.8 fWAR during their first MLB seasons.

Assuming Rutschman isn’t able to catch up and finishes this season with less than a year of service time, the O’s will control his services through the 2028 season, though he does have a very good shot at qualifying for arbitration after the 2024 season as a Super Two player. (The Super Two cutoff moves from year to year but has only been above 2.137 three times since 2009, with the last instance coming back in 2012.) Now that he’s reached the big time, the club will be hoping that he and the other prospects that are still to come will help the Orioles start turning the page from rebuilding to competing over those coming years.

With Rutschman injured to start the year, the club selected Bemboom’s contract, pairing him with Chirinos as the club’s catching duo. In 22 games on the year, he’s hit a meager .115/.207/.212. Since he’s out of options, the club had little choice but to designate him for assignment in order to make room for their star prospect. Bemboom will likely hit the waiver wire in the coming days and see if there’s another club in the league that’s interested in his services.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

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Baltimore Orioles Newsstand Transactions Adley Rutschman Anthony Bemboom

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Luis Gil To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

By Darragh McDonald | May 21, 2022 at 10:40am CDT

Yankees manager Aaron Boone announced to reporters, including Lindsey Adler of The Athletic, that right-hander Luis Gil will undergo Tommy John surgery. The procedure is set to take place this Tuesday, per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com.

This is obviously very disappointing news for both Gil and the team. For Gil personally, the 23-year-old was starting to make his way into the Yankees’ plans, making six starts last year and one this year. Last year, he fared very well over those starts for the club, logging a 3.07 ERA with a 29.5% strikeout rate, though a concerning 14.7% walk rate. Still, for a depth starter, that’s more than acceptable. He’d been struggling so far this year, with a 7.89 ERA over six Triple-A starts, though he was still racking up strikeouts at a 30.1% pace.

Gil is in his final option year, meaning he will be out of options next year. Therefore, once he’s made his way back from this surgery, he won’t be able to be sent to the minors without first being exposed to waivers. Gil was in the minors when injured and won’t accrue service time while rehabbing from the injury. However, he will still occupy a spot on the 40-man roster. Should the Yankees have need to add someone else to the roster in the future, they could open up a spot by moving Gil to the MLB 60-day injured list. However, doing so would entitle Gil to MLB pay and service time for the remainder of the year. He came into this season with 33 days of service time and added just a single day to that when making a spot start earlier this year.

For the team, they are now without their sixth starter. They have enjoyed remarkable health with the front five members of their rotation, as Gerrit Cole, Jordan Montgomery, Nestor Cortes Jr., Jameson Taillon and Luis Severino have made all of the club’s starts, outside of that single spot start from Gil. An entire rotation staying healthy for a full season is essentially unheard of, meaning the Yanks will surely need to use another depth starter at some point. Even if they are remarkably healthy, the schedule will occasionally require a fresh arm. For instance, last night’s game was postponed and will be made up as part of a doubleheader tomorrow. That means the Yankees are going to be playing ten games in the next nine days. Assuming the club doesn’t want to have any of their front five pitching on short rest at this stage of the season, they will need a spot start from somewhere.

Other options on the 40-man roster include Deivi Garcia, JP Sears and Luis Medina. Medina is unlikely to get serious consideration, as he’s in Double-A and has an ERA of 5.00 at the moment, having walked 17.9% of batters faced on the year so far. Garcia has eight MLB starts under his belt from 2020 and 2021, but has a whopping 9.17 ERA in Triple-A this year, with his strikeouts down to 16.5% and his walks up to 15.4%. Sears could be a legitimate option, with his 0.53 ERA in Triple-A so far, though in a small sample of just 17 innings. Looking to the active roster, Clarke Schmidt could perhaps transition from the bullpen to the rotation. He’s been working as a long man this year, logging 11 innings in five appearances with a 0.82 ERA.

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New York Yankees Newsstand Luis Gil

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