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Corey Kluber Announces Retirement

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Right-hander Corey Kluber announced his retirement on Instagram this morning. “With sincere appreciation, I am announcing my retirement from Major League Baseball, concluding a remarkable 13-season Major League Baseball journey,” his message reads. “I am deeply grateful for the support of numerous individuals and entities that profoundly influenced my path.” He goes on to thank the five clubs that he played for, the MLBPA, his representatives at Wasserman, various club staff members, teammates and his family.

Corey Kluber | Peter G. Aiken/USA TODAY Sports“As I take my leave from the pitcher’s mound, my passion for baseball remains unwavering. I eagerly anticipate exploring opportunities to continue contributing to the sport in a different capacity. To all who have been involved with my baseball odyssey, thank you for crafting an indelible and unforgettable ride. For all of those that will be part of my next chapter in baseball, I look forward to passing on what I have learned to the next generation of MLB players.”

Kluber, now 37, was a fourth-round pick of the Padres in 2007 but went to Cleveland in three-team deal at the 2010 deadline. The Cardinals received Jake Westbrook from Cleveland and prospect Nick Greenwood from the Padres. The Friars got Ryan Ludwick from the Cardinals while Cleveland got Kluber from the Padres. For Cleveland, that deal could hardly have worked out any better. They were having a poor season, which would eventually see them finish 69-93. Westbrook was an impending free agent and of little use to a club in that position, but they managed to exchange him for a huge piece of their future success.

As a prospect, Kluber didn’t have much hype. Baseball America didn’t consider him one of the Padres’ top 30 prospects going into 2010 and he had a 3.45 Double-A ERA at the time of the deal, a fine number but not anything outstanding. He made his major league debut in 2011 and didn’t do too much to impress there either, allowing four earned runs in his first 4 1/3 innings.

The legend really picked up steam in early 2012, as relayed by Jordan Bastian of MLB.com in this story from 2014. With Triple-A Columbus experiencing a rain delay, Kluber began tinkering with a two-seam fastball under the watch of pitching coach Ruben Niebla. “I’d never really thrown it much on a consistent basis,” Kluber said. “I’d throw my four-seam and, here and there, I’d mix in a two-seam. After I threw it over and over and over and over, and it kind of clicked. It was like, ’This feels a lot better.'” The two-seamer turned out to be the perfect pairing for his offspeed stuff and he took off from there.

He broke out in 2013 by tossing 147 1/3 innings for Cleveland in 24 starts and two relief appearances. He allowed 3.85 earned runs per nine innings that year, combining a 22.4% strikeout rate with a 5.4% walk rate and 45.5% ground ball rate. The next year, he took things to an utterly dominant level. He made 34 starts in 2014 with a 2.44 ERA, 28.3% strikeout rate, 5.4% walk rate and 48% ground ball rate. He narrowly edged out Félix Hernández for the American League Cy Young Award that year.

Realizing they had something special, the club locked him up with a five-year, $38.5MM extension in April of 2015, with that deal running through 2019 and containing two club options. At the time, it was the largest guarantee ever given to a pre-arbitration pitcher.

Kluber continued to dominate in the coming years. He made 32 starts in each of the next two seasons, with ERAs of 3.49 and 3.14 in those campaigns. The 2016 season saw Cleveland go all the World Series, with Kluber posting a 1.83 ERA in six starts that postseason, though they eventually fell to the Cubs in seven games. 2017 was another incredible season for Kluber, as he made 29 starts with a tiny ERA of 2.25. He got his strikeout rate up to an incredible high of 34.1% while walking only 4.6% of batters. He was awarded his second Cy Young at the end of that campaign.

He followed that up with another excellent showing in 2018, posting a 2.89 ERA over 33 starts, but that would eventually turn out to be the final year of his stretch of utter dominance. Injuries hampered him from there and he was never quite the same. But during that 2014 to 2018 stretch, he posted a 2.85 ERA in 1,091 1/3 innings. His 30.3 wins above replacement from FanGraphs in that time period placed him third among all pitchers in the league, trailing only Max Scherzer and Clayton Kershaw.

In his seventh start of the 2019 season, he was struck by a line drive and suffered a right arm fracture. He wasn’t able to return and finished that campaign with just 35 2/3 innings pitched. Cleveland picked up his $17.5MM club option but then traded him to the Rangers for Emmanuel Clase and Delino DeShields. The 2020 campaign was eventually shortened to just 60 games by the pandemic, with Kluber tossing just one inning for the Rangers. He suffered a teres major tear in his first outing and missed the remainder of the season.

The Rangers declined the $18MM option for Kluber’s services in 2021, and he would go on to serve as a solid journeyman for a few years. He signed with the Yankees and was eventually limited by a shoulder strain to 16 starts, but one of them was a no-hitter against the Rangers in May. He finished the year with a 3.83 ERA. In 2022, he was healthy enough to make 31 starts for the Rays, but with diminished stuff and a 4.34 ERA. With the Red Sox last year, he struggled immensely, getting moved to the bullpen in May. He was placed on the IL in June due to shoulder inflammation, having thrown 55 innings with a 7.04 ERA on the year. He suffered a setback during his rehab and never returned.

Though it wasn’t a fairytale ending, Kluber nonetheless told a remarkable story. As mentioned, he had a five-year stretch where he was one of the best pitchers on the planet, winning two Cy Youngs in the process. He made three All-Star teams, threw a no-hitter and racked up 1,725 career strikeouts. We was worth 34 wins above replacement in the eyes of Baseball Reference and 38.3 per the calculations of FanGraphs. Per BR, he earned just under $90MM in his playing days. We at MLBTR salute him on a tremendous run as a player and wish him the best in whatever comes next.

Blue Jays Announce Yariel Rodriguez Deal, Designate Otto Lopez For Assignment

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After a lengthy wait, the Blue Jays have formally announced their signing of right-hander Yariel Rodriguez. It’s a five-year, $32MM deal for Rodriguez, per the team, as opposed to the four years and $32MM that was previously reported. In order to open a spot on the 40-man roster, Toronto has designated utilityman Otto Lopez for assignment. Rodriguez is jointly represented by WME and Born To Play.

Kaitlyn McGrath of The Athletic reports that the fifth year on Rodriguez’s contract is a player option valued at $6MM. If Rodriguez declines that option, the team will then have the ability to exercise a $10MM club option. That could take the contract to $36MM over five years, though Francys Romero reports that the total money can climb as high as $40MM, which suggests there are some additional incentives baked into the arrangement.

It’s been more than three weeks since Rodriguez and the Jays agreed to terms on a contract, but he’s been unable to finalize the pact while awaiting a visa allowing him to enter either Canada or the United States. The expectation has been that whenever Rodriguez acquired the requisite documentation to enter either country, a physical would be completed and the deal would be finalized in short order.

Just 26 years old, Rodriguez has starred for los Ganaderos de Camaguey in his native Cuba and for the Chunichi Dragons in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. His work in NPB, in particular, caught the eye of Major League scouts, and with good reason. Rodriguez’s 3.03 ERA in three seasons with the Dragons is impressive on its own, but his most recent season featured 54 2/3 overwhelmingly dominant innings: a 1.15 ERA, 27.5% strikeout rate and 8.2% walk rate out of the Chunichi bullpen.

It should be noted, of course, that those numbers came during the 2022 NPB season — not in 2023. Rodriguez pitched for Team Cuba during last year’s World Baseball Classic but did not return to the Dragons for the 2023 season as he set his sights on a move to Major League Baseball. The Dragons placed him on the restricted list for the 2023 season and granted him his release in early November. He’s since hosted multiple showcases for MLB teams and been viewed as one of the more fascinating free agents on the market.

Of course, Rodriguez is also one of the most volatile free agents in play this winter; it’s hard enough to project how much of a player’s success in the Cuban National Series and/or in NPB might carry over to an MLB setting — but that’s all the more complicated when he didn’t even pitch during the preceding season outside of a brief WBC appearance. There’s a good bit of upside, to be sure, but given the long layoff, acclimation to a new culture and step up in overall level off competition, there’s a wide range of plausible outcomes for Rodriguez in MLB — specifically in his first season.

It’s not yet clear just what role Rodriguez will fill with the Jays. He made some starts in NPB but worked primarily as a reliever — exclusively so in his final season with the Dragons. Back in Cuba, be worked primarily out of the Camaguey rotation. Toronto general manager Ross Atkins issued a statement today praising Rodriguez’s ability to generate swings and misses before noting that he provides “starting depth” but could also fill multiple roles on the team.

Given Rodriguez’s lengthy layoff from pitching — and even lengthier layoff from working a full starting pitcher’s workload — it’d be a surprise to see him jump right into the Jays’ rotation. In all likelihood, he’ll be on an innings cap this year, and it’s even possible that Toronto could want to get him some work in Triple-A before thrusting him into the MLB spotlight. Logically speaking, it’s natural to think he could fill a long relief/spot starter role and build up innings this year, with an eye toward stepping into the 2025 rotation on a more permanent basis. But, if the Jays have a need in the late innings Rodriguez clearly has the raw stuff to pitch in that type of leverage role as well.

Baseball America’s Kyle Glaser profiled Rodriguez and several other international free agents (Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shota Imanaga, Jung Hoo Lee, Yuki Matsui, Woo Suk Go) earlier in the offseason, writing that Rodriguez’s fastball sits around 96 mph and can reach triple digits on occasion. Glaser credited the hard-throwing Rodriguez with an above-average slider but called his splitter “fringy” and his curveball “below-average.” The Jays could certainly help the 6’1″ Rodriguez refine some of those offspeed offerings, but even if he’s operating with “only” a plus heater and above-average slider, that could be enough to make him a viable big league setup man or multi-inning reliever.

As for the 25-year-old Lopez, he’ll now be traded or placed on outright waivers within the coming week. The right-handed hitter has appeared in the big leagues sparingly over the past two seasons, collecting six singles in ten at-bats. Lopez looked to be on the cusp of breaking through to the majors for a larger opportunity when he batted .297/.378/.415 in 391 Triple-A plate appearances in 2022, but his bat took a sizable step back in 2023, evidenced by a tepid .258/.313/.343 slash in 346 plate appearances at that same level.

Scouting reports on Lopez have touted his plus hit tool and speed, but he has bottom-of-the-scale power, evidenced by the fact that he’s never topped five homers in a season and has just seven long balls in 931 Triple-A plate appearances. He’s swiped 90 bases in 518 minor league games but has only a 70.8% success rate. Lopez has seen time at second base, shortstop, third base and in the outfield, but skeptics question whether he has the arm to play on the left side of the infield.

Because he’s out of minor league options, Lopez would’ve needed to make the Blue Jays Opening Day roster or else be traded elsewhere or placed on waivers (likely following a DFA). The Jays made the move proactively rather than carry Lopez throughout spring training. He’ll now be available to the other 29 clubs via trade or waivers, but any team that acquires him will need to carry Lopez on its own Opening Day roster or else try to pass Lopez through waivers before sending him down to the minors.

Dodgers Sign Ryan Brasier To Two-Year Deal

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February 8: Los Angeles announced Brasier’s deal and placed Dustin May on the 60-day injured list in a corresponding move. The righty is working back from a flexor tendon procedure last July and isn’t expected back until midseason.

February 5: The Dodgers announced they have signed right-hander Ryan Brasier to a two-year deal worth $9MM. Jon Heyman of The New York Post first reported that the Dodgers were signing Brasier. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first had the two-year, $9MM framework added the possibility for Brasier to earn a total of $13MM via incentives. Brasier is represented by the ALIGND Sports Agency.

Brasier, 36, has had an inconsistent career and that was reflected in his 2023 season. The year began with the Red Sox but he was lit up in his first 20 outings of the year, allowing 7.29 earned runs per nine innings. He likely didn’t deserve such an unsightly number, as his .344 batting average on balls in play and 52.8% strand rate were both on the unfortunate side of average. But his 18.9% strikeout rate was still subpar and the Sox decided to move on, releasing Brasier in May.

He landed a minor league deal with the Dodgers but was added to their roster a couple of weeks later, which gave him the chance to turn his season around. He made 39 appearances for the Dodgers with a miniscule ERA of 0.70. Part of that was a reversal of fortune from the baseball gods, as his BABIP dropped to .183 and his strand rate jumped to 83.3% with his new club. But it wasn’t just luck, as his punchouts jumped to 26.6%, his walk rate dipped from 9.5% to 7% and his ground ball rate climbed from 33.3% to 51.1%. He earned enough trust with the Dodgers to earn a save and nine holds, as well as a postseason roster spot.

That capriciousness didn’t come out of nowhere. Since returning from a stint in Japan by joining the Red Sox in 2018, Brasier has often oscillated between total dominance and apparent struggles. He posted a 1.60 ERA in that 2018 season and continued pitching well through Boston’s World Series run, but then his ERA jumped to 4.85 in 2019. His results improved in the shortened 2020 season but then a left calf strain limited him to just 12 innings in 2021. In 2022, his ERA spiked all the way to 5.78, though that could have been another instance of poor fortune with his BABIP at .335 and his strand rate at 56.2%.

The Dodgers will take a shot on Brasier, banking on the belief that most of his struggles were not of his own doing. In 268 career appearances in the big leagues, he has a 3.88 ERA with a 24.1% strikeout rate, 7.4% walk rate and 39.8% ground ball rate.

The Dodgers are set to be a third-time payor of the competitive balance tax in 2024 and have already blown past the top tier with their incredibly aggressive offseason. Thanks to mega deals for Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, as well as contracts for Teoscar Hernández and James Paxton, their CBT number is now pegged by Roster Resource at $310MM. That’s well beyond the $297MM top tier and comes with a 110% tax rate, meaning the club will be paying more than twice the amount that Brasier will actually receive.

Brasier will jump into the mix for high-leverage relief work with the Dodgers alongside guys like Evan Phillips, Brusdar Graterol and Joe Kelly.

Padres Sign Wandy Peralta

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The Padres finalized the signing of reliever Wandy Peralta on a four-year free agent contract. The MAS+ Agency client has the right to opt out after each of the first three seasons. He is reportedly guaranteed $16.5MM. Peralta will make $3.35MM this year, followed by a $4.25MM player option for 2025, and $4.45MM player options for the following two years. San Diego had five open spots on the 40-man roster, so they didn’t make a corresponding transaction.

Peralta, 32, has been one of the steadiest relievers in the Yankees’ bullpen for the past several seasons. From 2021-23, the southpaw logged 153 innings and turned in a 2.82 ERA with a 21% strikeout rate, 10.2% walk rate and excellent 56.5% ground-ball rate. He’s also limited hard contact quite nicely, sitting in the 88th percentile (or better) of MLB pitchers in opponents’ average exit velocity during each of the past four seasons.

In 2023, Peralta had some uncharacteristic command struggles, as his walk rate jumped from 7.6% to 13.6%. He also plunked a career-high six batters — as many as he’d hit over the four previous years combined. Still, the track record is good, he kept his ERA below 3.00 even with the shaky command, and at 32 he’s younger than most of the other southpaws available. The Yankees reportedly had interest in retaining him, and the Mets were known to have some interest as well. Instead, he’ll head clear across the country and join a revamped Padres bullpen that has lost closer Josh Hader to the Astros but has added several interesting arms.

Peralta joins star NPB left-hander Yuki Matsui and star KBO righty Woo Suk Go as free-agent pickups for San Diego president of baseball operations A.J. Preller. The Friars also acquired Enyel De Los Santos in a trade sending Scott Barlow to Cleveland. That quartet will join right-hander Robert Suarez as he seeks a bounceback after a difficult 2023 campaign. Righty Steven Wilson is also locked into a middle relief role.

It’s almost unheard of for a reliever to sign a deal with three opt-out provisions, but Preller has shown a willingness to utilize opt-out clauses more than any executive in the sport as a means of luring free agents to San Diego. Both Matsui and Suarez have opt-outs in their five-year contracts (which is an extremely rare length for relief contracts as well). Recent offseasons have also seen the Friars grant opt-out clauses to Michael Wacha, Nick Martinez, Seth Lugo, Matt Carpenter, Manny Machado and Eric Hosmer (multiple opt-outs, in the case of Wacha and Martinez).

The frequent opt-out provisions are clearly a successful tactic in terms of reeling in free agents, but they’re also one of the main factors behind the Padres’ perennial roster churn. Moreover, the risk is rather clear from the team vantage point; if Peralta pitches well in 2024, he’ll likely opt back into free agency next season and turn the contract into a one-year deal. If he’s injured or performs poorly, the Padres will remain on the hook for what could quickly look like an undesirable contract. And, even if Peralta is pitching well this summer but the Padres fall from contention, the trio of opt-outs will sap much of Peralta’s trade value. Any potential trade partner will be wary of acquiring a player who’ll bolt for free agency at season’s end if things go well but is still guaranteed additional seasons if the trade pans out poorly.

The uncommon structure of the contract also succeeds in lowering the luxury tax hit for the Padres, who’d surely like to dip beneath the $237MM threshold and reset their penalty after soaring past last year’s tax barriers. The Friars have trimmed back much of their actual, bottom-line payroll but are still only about $22MM shy of that first-tier tax level after signing Peralta, per Roster Resource. That’s due largely to backloaded contracts for Machado, Matsui, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jake Cronenworth.

Peralta’s addition provides a solid veteran arm to what looks like a volatile Padres bullpen. While all of Suarez, Matsui and Go are clearly talented, there’s a broad range of outcomes on each of the three as Suarez looks to put last year’s injuries behind him while Matsui and Go transition to North American ball after starring in their respective leagues across the Pacific. That’s key for the Padres, as is getting Peralta on an affordable yearly rate. While there’s ample downside because of the opt-outs, as previously discussed, the contract also creates the possibility of getting one year of Peralta at a highly affordable rate that wouldn’t have been otherwise feasible.

The lower salaries on the contract also leave Preller & Co. some additional wiggle room as they look to round out a top-heavy roster. The Padres have clear needs in the outfield and rotation, and they could also use another bat to bolster the corner/designated hitter mix. The Padres, though, were also looking to reduce payroll by as much as $50MM from last year’s $255MM mark. They’re currently at a projected $160MM. On the surface, that seems to leave ample room for further additions, but as already noted, the team is only a notable addition or two away from being right back up against the luxury threshold, which could prove instructive in forecasting the remainder of their offseason dealings.

Ken Rosenthal and Dennis Lin of the Athletic first reported the Padres and Peralta were in agreement on a four-year, $16.5MM contract with three opt-out clauses. FanSided’s Robert Murray reported the salary breakdown.

Rays Extend Erik Neander, Kevin Cash

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8:30am: The Rays have formally announced the pair of contract extensions.

“I believe there are none better in baseball,” owner Stuart Sternberg said of his president and manager. “What we’ve all accomplished together has been remarkable, and the best is yet to come.”

8:00am: The Rays have signed president of baseball operations Erik Neander and manager Kevin Cash to long-term contract extensions, according to a report from Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, with an announcement of the deals expected later today. The specifics of the deals are not yet known, though Topkin says they’ll run beyond the 2028 season, when the club is slated to move into a new stadium in St. Petersburg.

The pair’s tenure at the top of the Rays organization has been a resounding success. While Cash has been managing the club since 2015, Neander became the club’s top baseball operations executive during the 2017-18 offseason. He’d previously served as the senior vice president of baseball operations and general manager under then-president Matthew Silverman, but Silverman moved to the business side of the operation and ceded baseball autonomy to Neander.

From 2018 onward, the Rays have posted a winning record in each season with five postseason appearances, including a trip to the World Series in 2020. Overall, the club has enjoyed a 511-359 record under the duo’s guidance, good for a .587 winning percentage.

All that winning has come in spite of resources that pale in comparison to the arsenals available to other perennial contenders. The club’s payroll reached an all-time high of just under $84MM (per Cot’s Baseball Contracts) back in 2022, at which point the team ranked 25th in the majors in terms of player payroll. The club’s payroll ranked 26th in the majors in 2021, and has sat in the bottom three among all major league clubs every other season since Neander took over baseball operations. That’s left the club to occasionally part ways with top talents such as Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow in spite of the team’s consistent success, though those losses have been offset by the club’s ability to identify talent (both in trade partners and in the draft), a subsequent perennially strong farm system and success in developing talent at the major league level.

There’s been a fair bit of turnover in the Tampa Bay front office over the years, as rival teams frequently target Rays executives when seeking to reshape their own baseball operations outfits — hopeful of emulating the team’s constant success (both in terms of on-field play and player development). Neander was once a top lieutenant for president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman in Tampa Bay, before he was hired away by the Dodgers. Neander and Chaim Bloom were key figures in running baseball ops thereafter, concurrently holding senior vice president titles, but Bloom was hired away by the Red Sox (and has since joined the Cardinals as an advisor after being dismissed in Boston). Brewers GM Matt Arnold was also hired out of the Rays ranks, and more recently now-former Rays GM Peter Bendix, who’d been No. 2 on Tampa Bay’s hierarchy behind Neander, was hired as the Marlins’ president of baseball operations.

It’s a similar story among Cash’s top coaches. A look back at the Rays’ coaching staffs over the past few seasons will reveal a smattering of names who’ve gone on to become big league managers. Pirates skipper Derek Shelton, Royals manager Matt Quatraro and Twins manager Rocco Baldelli were all on Cash’s staff at one point, as was Charlie Montoyo, who was hired away from the Rays to manage the Blue Jays but is now the White Sox’ bench coach.

That’s only a short list of the number of executives, analysts and coaches who’ve been poached by other clubs over the years. Throughout all those personnel changes, however, Neander and Cash have been constants as the Rays have continually defied expectations set by their minimal payroll and roster that often resembles an island of misfit toys. Today’s extensions ensure that this same duo will remain in place for another half decade of baseball in St. Petersburg and that Neander and Cash will help to usher in a new era of Rays baseball when they move into their new stadium in 2028.

Brewers To Sign Gary Sánchez To One-Year Deal

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The Brewers are reportedly signing free agent catcher Gary Sánchez to one-year deal with mutual option with a $7MM guarantee. The club’s 40-man roster is full and a corresponding roster move will be required when the deal is made official. The backstop is represented by MDR Sports Management.

Sánchez, 31, had a frustrating time getting a job last year but made the most of it when he finally got one. He initially signed a minor league deal with the Giants but opted out when that club wouldn’t give him a roster spot. He landed another minor league deal with the Mets and did get called up to the big leagues but was quickly put on waivers.

A claim by the Padres was the opportunity he needed. He went on to take 260 plate appearances over 72 games with San Diego, hitting 19 home runs in that brief time. His batting average and on-base percentage were low, as his fairly normal for him, but his .218/.292/.500 batting line in that time nonetheless translated to a wRC+ of 115 indicating he was 15% better than the league average hitter.

With Sánchez, the power has always been there, but his defense has been more questionable throughout his career. He seems to have improved over time, however. Defensive Runs Saved has given him positive grades in each of the past two years, including a +7 mark in 2023. Each of FanGraphs, Statcast and Baseball Prospectus considered his pitch framing to be a positive over the past two seasons. His throwing arm has always been considered strong with his blocking a weakness, though even his blocking grades have improved in the past few seasons as well.

His strong campaign in 2023 was cut short when he suffered a wrist fracture in early September. Between that and the late start, he only got into 72 contests with the Friars but still managed to produce 1.8 wins above replacement in the eyes of FanGraphs and 2.5 per the calculations of Baseball Reference.

In terms of intangibles, his tenure with the Padres overlapped with the breakout of Blake Snell last year. Through 10 outings last year, Snell had an earned run average of 5.04. But he posted a tiny 1.18 ERA over his final 22 starts, lowering his season ERA to 2.25 and earning himself a second Cy Young Award. Sánchez caught the first 18 of those 22 games, missing the last four due to the aforementioned wrist injury. Snell spoke positively of their relationship to Dennis Lin of The Athletic during the season.

Despite the strong season, there are concerns with Sánchez. As mentioned, he was a poor blocker earlier in his career. He’s never been a huge batting average or on-base guy, apart from the very early parts of his career. Strikeouts have occasionally been a problem, with his 26.8% career rate a few ticks north of typical averages. His power also eluded him in 2022, as he hit just 16 home runs in 128 games for the Twins that year.

But overall, the package has appeal. Apart from that power outage with the Twins, he’s always hit 20-35 home runs or has at least has been on pace to do so. The defense has been a struggle but has improved over time. In every full season dating back to 2016, he’s produced at least 1.3 fWAR. Even if you ignore the hot start to his career and look at 2018 to the present, he’s 10th among active catchers in fWAR.

He received interest from the Padres and Pirates this winter but will end up in an interesting landing spot with the Brewers. They already have a really good catcher in William Contreras. That perhaps suggests Sánchez will be a sort of backup catcher but part-time designated hitter. The right-handed-hitting Sánchez has fairly neutral platoon splits for his career but was excellent against southpaws last year. He hit .267/.304/.680 against lefties, 162 wRC+, but .194/.282/.406 against righties for a 90 wRC+.

The Brewers have a bunch of outfielders and Sánchez may have to split the DH time with them, but the platoon situation might work well there. Each of Christian Yelich, Garrett Mitchell, Sal Frelick and Jake Bauers hit from the left side. Perhaps Sánchez can give Contreras the occasional breather behind the plate while also taking some at-bats away from that group by slotting in as the DH against tough lefties. This signing may perhaps bode poorly for Eric Haase, who was signed by the Brewers in December. He’s generally considered a bat-first catcher but struggled badly at the plate in 2023. He can also play the outfield but the Brewers have tons of guys battling for jobs out there. Since he’s out of options, he may find himself squeeze off the roster at some point.

The Brewers have been quite active in recent weeks, signing Rhys Hoskins before flipping Corbin Burnes to the Orioles for Joey Ortiz, DL Hall and a draft pick, then signing Jakob Junis and now Sánchez. The subtraction of Burnes obviously weakens their rotation, along with the loss of Brandon Woodruff, who was non-tendered after requiring shoulder surgery. But the additions of Hoskins and Sánchez, along with the impending debut of center field prospect Jackson Chourio, could have their offense making up some of the difference.

The club only allowed 647 runs last year, the lowest in the majors, whereas their 728 runs scored was middle of the pack. Perhaps they will allow a few more runs this year but also score a few more. Then again, based on how busy they’ve been in the past couple of weeks, they may not be done making moves. Roster Resource pegs their current payroll at $111MM, well below last year’s $126MM figure.

Jon Heyman of The New York Post first reported that the Brewers were signing Sánchez and added the $7MM guarantee. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported that there was a mutual option for 2025.

Mets Remain In Contact With J.D. Martinez

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February 7: Andy Martino of SNY wrote this afternoon that while the Mets have indeed stayed in touch with Martinez, there’s still a significant gap between the sides financially.

February 6: The Mets have had continued dialogue with J.D. Martinez’s camp at the Boras Corporation, reports Mike Puma of the New York Post (X link). There’s no indication a deal is close or necessarily likely, but New York continues to evaluate the market for veteran hitters.

Last week, The Athletic’s Will Sammon reported the Mets were leaning towards relying on young bats like Brett Baty and Mark Vientos at the designated hitter spot. That came with the caveat that New York was amenable to jumping into the fray for a veteran free agent if the player’s asking price fell into the club’s comfort zone. It seems the front office is keeping in contact with Martinez regarding that possibility.

Martinez and Jorge Soler are the top unsigned DH options. While the latter has reportedly had recent discussions with the Giants, there’s not yet an agreement between the two sides. The Mets have only been loosely tied to Soler this offseason, while their reported interest in Martinez dates back to December.

A six-time All-Star, Martinez is coming off a strong year with the Dodgers. He connected on 33 home runs over 479 trips to the plate. His .271/.321/.572 batting line was his best since 2019. In a typical offseason, he might have received the qualifying offer from Los Angeles. The Dodgers knew they were preparing for a pursuit of Shohei Ohtani, so they didn’t chance a QO that could’ve tied up more than $20MM on another DH. Once Ohtani agreed to sign with L.A., that forced Martinez to look for a third team in as many years.

There are some concerns with Martinez, even as he profiles as one of the best offensive players still available. He’ll turn 37 in August and is essentially limited to DH. Martinez was never a good defensive outfielder and has only started one game in left field over the last two seasons.

Last year’s power resurgence also came at the cost of a few more whiffs. Martinez punched out in a personal-high 31.1% of his plate appearances. He only made contact on 67.5% of his swings, the lowest rate of his career. So long as he continues hitting the ball as hard as he did a year ago, the strikeouts aren’t a huge concern. They don’t leave much margin for error if he loses any bat speed, however.

During his last free agent trip, Martinez inked a fairly modest $10MM contract. That was below general expectations and it seemed as if he took a discount to go to L.A., where he reunited with his previous hitting instructor (and current Dodger hitting coach) Robert Van Scoyoc. His camp could look for a two-year deal this time around. Even if he’s limited to one-year offers, Martinez should surpass the $12.5MM that the Diamondbacks guaranteed Joc Pederson and could look to exceed the $23.5MM which Teoscar Hernández secured from the Dodgers.

The Mets are taxed at a 110% rate for any further spending. They’re well into the fourth tier of luxury penalization and facing the highest penalties as a third-time repeat payor. Steve Cohen’s ownership tenure has been marked by a willingness to spend, but the organization has taken a more targeted approach to free agency during David Stearns’ first offseason as baseball operations president. They’re trying to strike a balance of remaining on the border of playoff contention in 2024 while looking to ’25 as their target for a renewed full-fledged push.

Astros Sign Jose Altuve To Five-Year Extension

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Jose Altuve is remaining in Houston. The Astros announced the signing of the former MVP to a five-year extension that covers the 2025-29 seasons. Altuve, a client of the Boras Corporation, is reportedly guaranteed $125MM. He’ll collect a $15MM signing bonus. Altuve’s previous deal called for a $26MM salary in 2024 that remains in place. He’s now due $30MM annually between 2025-27 and respective $10MM figures from 2028-29. He had been slated to reach free agency next offseason.

It isn’t exactly a surprise to see the two sides come together on a deal. Dana Brown was hired as the club’s general manager in January of 2023 and almost immediately spoke on the record about how he hoped the club would be able to lock up core players, including Altuve. Shortly thereafter, he said that Altuve “should be in Houston for life.” It was just a couple of days later that Altuve himself said “I hope to retire here, so I think we’re on the same page.” It was in March that Brown pushed the brakes a little, saying extension talks would likely be pushed to after the 2023 campaign, with a deal now coming to fruition. This new extension runs through Altuve’s age-39 season.

This is the third time that Altuve and the Astros have signed an extension, which has kept him with the team as so many others have come and gone. Fairly or unfairly, that has made him the face of the franchise, which is a double-edged sword. For supporters of the club, he provides a through line from their miserable rebuilding years at the start of the previous decade to their incredible run of recent success, which includes a pair of World Series titles and seven straight ALCS appearances. For many others around baseball, his accolades remain tarnished by the 2017 sign-stealing scandal.

However one feels about Altuve’s legacy, there’s no question he remains one of the sport’s best offensive players as he goes into his age-34 campaign. An atypically poor showing during the shortened 2020 season looked as if might signal the start of a decline. That hasn’t been the case. Altuve rebounded with 31 homers and a .278/.350/.489 showing in 2021. He has been even better over the last two seasons. He raked at a .300/.387/.533 clip with 28 homers through 604 trips to the plate two seasons ago.

A thumb fracture sustained when he was hit by a pitch in last year’s World Baseball Classic kept Altuve off the field for the first couple months of the 2023 season. He returned in the middle of May, and while his season was again paused in July by a mild oblique strain, he was no worse for wear when able to take the field. Altuve ran a stellar .335/.404/.544 line in the second half and finished the year with a .311/.393/.522 mark in 410 plate appearances. He concluded with another excellent playoff performance, knocking four home runs while hitting .286 in 11 games.

Since the start of the 2021 campaign, Altuve is a .294/.374/.513 hitter. That offensive productivity is 47 percentage points better than league average, as measured by wRC+. That’s easily the best hitting performance by any second baseman and a top 10 mark among all qualified batters. Altuve remains as difficult as ever to strike out and has posted his two highest single-season walk rates within the last two years.

To the extent that the eight-time All-Star has shown any signs of aging, that’s limited to the other side of the ball. Altuve has never been a great defensive second baseman. His glovework has dipped in recent years, although the extent of that drop-off differs depending on the metric. Statcast has graded Altuve around league average. Defensive Runs Saved, on the other hand, estimates that he has been a combined 28 runs worse than an average defensive second baseman over the last two years.

That’s not of much concern for Houston as they retain one of the best players in franchise history for what’ll likely be the remainder of his career. By the time the deal wraps up, Altuve will have spent parts of 19 years in a Houston uniform. Whether the Astros can maintain the kind of team success they’ve had over the last eight years for the rest of the decade remains to be seen. Houston has a number of key players approaching free agency within the next season or two.

Alex Bregman will hit the open market a year from now. Kyle Tucker and Framber Valdez have two remaining seasons of arbitration control. They’ve successfully locked up Altuve, Cristian Javier and Yordan Alvarez on extensions and have three-plus years of control over the likes of Hunter Brown, Jeremy Peña and Yainer Diaz. There could be some turnover if Bregman, Tucker and Valdez were to depart, but the Astros are trying to ensure the window doesn’t close entirely.

Altuve’s extension won’t affect their salary commitments for 2024, but he’ll now add a $15MM signing bonus to their ledger. Houston already had a franchise-record level of spending with a projected 2024 payroll approaching $240MM, per Roster Resource. The signing bonus will push their actual spending obligations towards the $250MM mark.

Houston is already well into luxury tax territory, but the deal’s $25MM average annual value won’t count against their CBT obligations until 2025. They now have upwards of $115MM on the books for ’25 and over $100MM in commitments to Altuve, Alvarez, Javier, Josh Hader and Lance McCullers Jr. for 2026.

Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 first reported the $125MM guarantee. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported the specific salary structure.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

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Royals Sign Bobby Witt Jr. To 11-Year Extension

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The Royals are retaining their franchise shortstop well into the next decade. Kansas City announced the signing of Bobby Witt Jr. to an 11-year extension on Monday afternoon. The Octagon client is reportedly guaranteed nearly $288.78MM on the largest contract in team history. Witt has multiple chances to opt out of the deal, as he’ll be able to test free agency after the 2030, ’31, ’32 and ’33 seasons. If he doesn’t exercise any of those opt-out clauses, the Royals would receive a three-year team option after the ’34 campaign. That’s an $89MM provision covering the 2035-37 seasons, bringing the deal’s maximum value to $377MM over 14 years. Witt has a full no-trade clause.

Witt receives a $7.777777MM signing bonus. The salaries break down as follows:

  • 2024: $2MM
  • 2025: $7MM
  • 2026: $13MM
  • 2027: $19MM
  • 2028: $30MM
  • 2029-34: $35MM annually
  • 2035: $33MM
  • 2036-37: $28MM annually

It’s a stunning deal that more than triples the previous franchise-record, which was the $82MM extension signed by Salvador Pérez in March of 2021. It was reported back in November that Witt and the club had engaged in some preliminary talks but it would have been fair for fans to be skeptical of anything getting done. The club’s payroll has never been higher than 15th in the league in recent years, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts, making it hard to predict them for any kind of mega deal.

Witt is still fairly early in his career, having just two years of service time and not yet qualifying for arbitration. But even pre-arb deals for superstar players have grown to a massive scale in recent years. MLBTR’s Contract Tracker shows that the Brewers gave Jackson Chourio $82MM before he even reached the majors. Players like Julio Rodríguez and Corbin Carroll got to $210MM and $111MM, respectively, before even getting to one year of service time. Witt has exactly two years of service, having cracked the club’s Opening Day roster in 2022. The apex for players between two and three years of MLB service is the 14-year, $340MM extension between the Padres and Fernando Tatis Jr.

Given those escalating prices and the typical low-spending ways of the Royals, it was difficult to see the two sides coming together and getting a deal done. But the Royals have extended well beyond their comfort zone, shattering their previous franchise record. For Witt, he didn’t quite get the same guarantee as Tatis but he could end up earning more than him via that option. The opt-outs also give him extra earning power, either by allowing him to test the open market or by leveraging those opt-outs into future contract talks with the Royals.

The fact that the Royals were willing to go to such extreme lengths is a reflection of Witt’s incredible talents as a player. The second overall pick in the 2019 draft, behind only Adley Rutschman of the Orioles, Witt showed his potential with a solid rookie showing in 2022. As mentioned, he cracked the club’s Opening Day roster, and eventually appeared in 150 games that year. His 4.7% walk rate was on the low side, but he limited his strikeouts to a 21.4% clip while launching 20 home runs. His .254/.294/.428 line was just a bit below average, wRC+ of 98. He also stole 30 bases, though his glovework wasn’t highly rated, split between shortstop and third base.

Last year, he took steps forward in just about every respect of his game. He decreased his strikeout rate to 17.4% while bumping his walk rate slightly to 5.8%. His home run tally jumped from 20 to 30 and he increased his steal tally to 49. His .276/.319/.495 batting line led to a wRC+ of 115, indicating he was 15% better than league average at the plate.

On the defensive side of things, he stayed at shortstop all year and seemed to cement himself as a viable franchise cornerstone there. Defensive Runs Saved wasn’t too enthused, giving him a grade of -6, but that was still an upgrade over the -18 he was tagged with at shortstop the year before. But Ultimate Zone Rating gave him a positive grade of 3.2 in 2023 while his tally of 14 Outs Above Average was one of the best in the league. Only Dansby Swanson, Willy Adames and Ezequiel Tovar racked up more OAA among shortstops last year.

That combination of offense, speed and defense makes him one of the most exciting and valuable players in the league. His 5.7 wins above replacement via FanGraphs was 11th among all position players last year and he finished seventh in American League Most Valuable Player voting.

It’s been a rough few years for the Royals, as they just lost 106 games last year and haven’t been above .500 since 2015. But it seems there has been a concerted effort this winter to give the fans more reasons to be excited. The club has given significant deals to free agents like Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, Hunter Renfroe, Adam Frazier, Will Smith and Chris Stratton in an effort to improve the club’s chances in 2024. Witt was already on the roster and this deal won’t alter the club’s fortunes in 2024, but it does send a strong message that they are willing to commit to a player they feel can be the face of the franchise for years to come.

Owner John Sherman only purchased the team towards the end of 2019 and things have been fairly dreary for the franchise since then, as they have struggled to emerge from a lengthy rebuild. But the club has been trying to secure government funding for a new stadium and perhaps this offseason’s spending is an attempt to build some good will between ownership and a fanbase that hasn’t had much to cheer about lately.

Regardless of the motives, it’s a massive deal and surely an exciting one for the supporters. Witt is one of the most talented players in the league and he’ll now be locked into the Kansas City lineup for the foreseeable future. His first opt-out chance will come after 2030, which will be his age-30 campaign. At that point, he’ll be deciding whether to stick around or leave four years and $140MM on the table to become a free agent. Assuming he continues to perform at a superstar level, that would be a fairly easy decision. He could likely double that even with today’s dollars and seven years of inflation would only help him. But it seems that he and the club have a good relationship, so perhaps another deal could be worked out to keep him with the Royals at that point.

“I am incredibly grateful to the Sherman family and the Royals front office for believing in me,” Witt said on X today, “and I promise to do everything in my power to help bring championship baseball back to Kansas City! Let’s go!!”

Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported the Royals and Witt were in agreement on an 11-year, $288.8MM deal. Anne Rogers of MLB.com reported the deal included a three-year team option. Passan reported the inclusion of opt-out clauses after years seven, eight, nine and ten; Passan was also first to report the $89MM value of the three-year option as well as the $7.78MM signing bonus. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported the specific salary breakdown. FanSided’s Robert Murray had reported on Sunday that the Royals and Witt had reopened extension talks. Jon Heyman of The New York Post relayed the full no-trade clause.

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