Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Newsstand

Mariners Designate Chris Flexen For Assignment

By | at

2:55pm: MLBTR’s Steve Adams reports that Flexen can reject an outright assignment while retaining his whole salary. Unless the Mariners work out a trade in the next week, he will almost certainly wind up on the open market.

2:10pm: The Mariners announced that right-hander Trevor Gott has been reinstated from the injured list with fellow righty Chris Flexen designated for assignment in a corresponding move.

Flexen losing his roster spot is totally unsurprising given his results this season but it’s a shocking turn of events compared to where things stood just a few months ago. After a successful stint in the KBO in 2020, Flexen returned to North America by signing a two-year deal with the Mariners, with an option for 2023 as well.

The guaranteed portion of that agreement went quite well, with Flexen tossing 317 1/3 innings over 2021 and 2022 with a 3.66 ERA. His 16.5% strikeout rate in that time wasn’t especially strong, but his 6.8% walk rate showed strong control. He also did a good job keeping the ball from going over the fence, as his 8.8% home run per fly ball rate was third-best in the league among pitchers with at least 300 innings pitcher. His pitcher-friendly ballpark may have had an impact but his 3.75 road ERA was only slightly higher than his 3.57 mark at T-Mobile Park.

The 2023 option on his contract could be vested at $8MM if Flexen tossed 300 innings over the first two years, which he did. With the M’s having five other rotation options in Luis Castillo, George Kirby, Robbie Ray, Logan Gilbert and Marco Gonzales, that led to Flexen getting interest in trade talks over the offseason.

The Mariners ultimately held onto Flexen for some extra rotation depth, which seemed like a wise move when Ray quickly landed on the injured list and eventually required Tommy John surgery. Unfortunately, Flexen couldn’t step up and take the open rotation spot, getting torched for a 10.38 ERA in four starts before getting bumped back to the bullpen.

His next five outings were scoreless but he’s allowed at least one earned run in his past seven appearances. Whatever skill or luck he previously deployed to prevent home runs has eluded him this year, as he’s already given up 11 long balls, leading to a 21.6% HR/FB rate that’s more than double his clip from the previous two campaigns. Overall, he has a 7.71 ERA on the year in 42 innings, which has bumped him off Seattle’s roster.

The Mariners will now have a week to trade Flexen or pass him through waivers. He garnered interest over the winter and some of those clubs could now circle back, especially with so many pitching injuries throughout the league, though Flexen’s poor results this season will obviously tamp down whatever trade value he previously had. With approximately $4.1MM still remaining on his contract, the M’s would surely have to swallow some or all of that in order to facilitate a deal.

As for the waiver route, that will be an interesting factor here. Normally, players with more than three years of service time can reject an outright assignment in favor of electing free agency, but they require five years of service to do so while retaining their salary. Assuming those normal rules apply and Flexen goes on to clear waivers, he obviously wouldn’t leave that money on the table and would therefore stick in the Mariners’ organization as depth. However, players coming from stints in other countries like Japan, Korea or Cuba often have language in their contracts that allows them to circumvent the normal service time rules. For instance, MLBTR confirmed this winter that Flexen would become a free agent after 2023 even though he would be well shy of six years’ of service time. Whether the M’s can potentially keep Flexen as depth or not will have an impact on how much they are willing to trade him.

Orioles To Promote Jordan Westburg

By | at

The Orioles are poised to promote top infield prospect Jordan Westburg prior to tomorrow’s game against the Reds, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Baltimore will need to make a 40-man roster move to accommodate Westburg in addition to clearing space for him on the active roster, though those moves have not yet been announced. Passan adds that Westburg will be in the starting lineup tomorrow for his major league debut.

Westburg was selected 30th overall by Baltimore in the first round of the 2020 draft. He immediately impressed with the bat in his first professional season, slashing .285/.389/.479 in 506 trips to the plate while climbing from Single-A all the way to Double-A over the course of the 2021 campaign. While those numbers were certainly impressive, his roughly league average 104 wRC+ in 30 Double-A games did leave questions as to whether he would be able to dominant in the upper levels of the minors the way he had in A-ball.

The youngster answered those questions in a big way with his performance in 2023. After showing improvement across 47 games at the Double-A level with a .247/.344/.473 slash line, Westburg went on to take another step forward with a strong showing in Triple-A during his age-23 season. In 91 games at the level last season, Westburg slashed an impressive .274/.361/.508 with the lowest strikeout rate of his career and 46 extra base hits, including 18 home runs.

After an excellent 2022 campaign, Westburg entered the 2023 campaign rated as roughly a top-75 prospect in the sport by each of MLB Pipeline, Baseball America, and Baseball Prospectus. He’s since delivered on that promise by posting the best numbers of his career across 67 games in a return to Triple-A. In 301 plate appearances this season, Westburg has slashed .295/.372/.567 with a wRC+ of 131, a strikeout rate of just 21.3%, and .404 wOBA.

Given those impressive numbers, it’s no wonder why the Orioles have made the decision to pull the trigger on Westburg’s promotion despite the club’s crowded infield picture. Gunnar Henderson, of course, is entrenched on the left side of the infield with appearances in 67 of the club’s 76 games this season. That leaves Westburg likely to mix in alongside the likes of Jorge Mateo, Ramon Urias, and Adam Frazier up the middle, though Frazier has also seen time in the outfield this season while Urias has occasionally stepped in at first base with Ryan Mountcastle on the injured list.

Of the aforementioned trio, only Urias has hit above league average this season with a wRC+ of 101. That being said, Mateo’s glove at shortstop ranks in the 89th percentile of qualified fielders per Statcast, meaning he’ll likely draw starts even as his bat has cooled off significantly after a hot start to the season. That leaves the likes of Frazier and Joey Ortiz most likely to lose out on playing time in favor of Westburg. Ortiz, in particular, stands out as a potential candidate to be optioned in favor of Westburg, as the 24-year-old youngster has gotten into just 15 games with the club this season, slashing .212/.206/.242 in 35 plate appearances.

Westburg’s promotion is the latest in a line of recent top prospect promotions that began with the debut of catcher Adley Rutschman last year. Since then, Henderson, Ortiz, and Grayson Rodriguez are among the youngster to make their debut for the Orioles, though Ortiz and Rodriguez have yet to establish themselves fully at the major league level. The youth movement in Baltimore has paid dividends, as the club has followed up a surprisingly competitive 2022 campaign with a 47-29 record that leaves them both in second place in an extremely competitive AL East division and in the driver’s seat of the AL Wild Card race.

Angels Acquire Mike Moustakas

By | at

The Angels acquired infielder Mike Moustakas tonight, sending minor league righty Connor Van Scoyoc to the Rockies.  The deal, which is now official, was first reported by Robert Murray of Fansided.  The Halos designated infielder Kevin Padlo for assignment to open a spot for Moustakas, reports MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger.

Moustakas, 34, was released by the Reds in January, with the club eating $22MM in the process.  He hooked on with the Rockies on a minor league deal in March and cracked the Opening Day roster with a strong spring.  With the Rockies, Moustakas was used as a backup at the infield corners behind C.J. Cron and Ryan McMahon.  Cron has been on the IL with a back injury since mid-May, but Elehuris Montero has been drawing a good number of starts at first base in his stead.

After a pair of injury-wracked seasons, the left-handed-hitting Moustakas bounced back to a degree in his 136 plate appearances with Colorado this year by posting a 101 wRC+.  Moustakas effectively got to walk over to the visitors’ clubhouse tonight, after the Angels set various franchise records with a 25-1 drubbing of the Rockies at Coors Field.

Moustakas didn’t get to play in that one, but he’ll move from the NL’s worst team to a Halos club that is tied for the third AL wild-card spot with the Blue Jays.  The Angels are looking to make the playoffs for the first time since 2014.  With the Moustakas acquisition tonight, they’ve added a three-time All-Star, 2015 World Champion, and 13-year MLB veteran.  Moose hit 35 home runs in 2019, the fifth time he’d hit at least 20 in a season.

Moustakas’ initial two bouts with free agency were disappointments.  The first time through in 2017-18,  he turned down a $17.4MM qualifying offer from the Royals only to return in March on a one-year, $6.5MM deal.  The next time, he lingered on the market until February before re-signing with the Brewers for $10MM.  Moustakas was able to use his 2019 All-Star season as a springboard to a surprising four-year, $64MM deal with the Reds.  Unfortunately, Moustakas played in only 140 games for the Reds from 2021-22 due heel injuries, a right biceps strain, calf strains, and stints on the COVID-IL.

Moustakas spent some time at second base in 2019-20, but since then he’s been utilized at the infield corners and designated hitter.  The Angels have used a cast of players at first this year, with over 100 innings apiece going to Brandon Drury, Jared Walsh, Gio Urshela, and Jake Lamb.  Lamb was optioned to Triple-A in May, and Walsh followed him on Saturday.  Urshela recently suffered a season-ending fractured pelvis.

Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon went on the IL last Monday with a bruised wrist.  Luis Rengifo had been getting the nod at the hot corner, until the Angels picked up switch-hitter Eduardo Escobar as something of an Urshela replacement in a trade with the Mets on Friday.  Escobar, the Mets’ starting third baseman last year, could complement Moustakas at first and dabble at second base once Rendon returns.  Escobar has hit lefties quite well in recent seasons, with a 131 wRC+ in 398 plate appearances against them since 2021.  Moustakas hit righties to the tune of a 115 wRC+ from 2015-20, and may need to do so again to maintain his roster spot.

As for the Rockies, Moustakas could perhaps be the first domino to fall in advance of the August 1st trade deadline.  GM Bill Schmidt didn’t give much away in his comments on the topic on the Rockies broadcast about a week ago, but the team’s potential free agents include Charlie Blackmon, Randal Grichuk, Jurickson Profar, C.J. Cron, Pierce Johnson, Brent Suter, and Brad Hand.

In Van Scoyoc, the Rockies picked up a 23-year-old righty who’s served as a starting pitcher for the High-A Tri-City Dust Devils this year.  He was an 11th round pick by the Angels out of an Iowa high school back in 2018.  Van Scoyoc has posted a 2.76 ERA in 62 innings at that level on the strength of a 51.2% groundball rate.  Oddly enough, Van Scoyoc also switched clubhouses to join his new team, notes Doug Taylor on Twitter.

The 26-year-old Padlo had signed a minor league deal with the Angels back in December, earning a Major League look by hitting .273/.396/.555 at Triple-A.  The Angels selected his contract on Monday and gave him eight plate appearances, but now he’s lost a 40-man spot once again.  Padlo, a corner infielder, has also seen MLB time with the Rays, Mariners, Giants, and Pirates.

Angels Acquire Eduardo Escobar

By | at

The Mets and Angels pulled off an unexpected swap Friday night. New York dealt veteran infielder Eduardo Escobar and cash considerations to the Halos for pitching prospects Coleman Crow and Landon Marceaux. New York is reportedly paying Escobar’s salary down to the $720K league minimum.

Escobar, 34, spent a year and a half in Queens. The amiable infielder signed a two-year, $20MM free agent contract over the 2021-22 offseason. He worked as New York’s primary third baseman last year, starting 125 games and tallying 542 plate appearances. He put together a decent .240/.295/.430 showing, compensating for the mediocre on-base mark by connecting on 20 home runs.

That kind of production is par for the course. Escobar doesn’t draw many walks, which generally keeps his on-base percentage around or below the league average. He’s a solid power bat, though, reaching the 20-homer mark in every full season between 2017-22. A 35-homer season with the Diamondbacks in 2019 looks to have been inflated by that year’s very lively ball, but Escobar has a decent amount of pop in his bat.

He hasn’t shown that in 2023, largely thanks to an early-season slump. Escobar opened the year as New York’s third baseman but hit only .125/.173/.229 through April 16. At that point, New York recalled top prospect Brett Baty and installed him at the hot corner. That pushed Escobar into a depth role for which he’s arguably overqualified.

To his credit, Escobar has played well in sporadic playing time since being pushed to the bench. He has a .323/.373/.548 batting line in 67 plate appearances since Baty was promoted. His overall season line still checks in below-average (.236/.286/.409) thanks to the brutal first few weeks, but Escobar has contributed when given opportunities of late.

Nevertheless, there wasn’t a clear path for him to get back into the starting lineup. The 23-year-old Baty is viewed as a potential cornerstone offensive player. He has struggled after a torrid first few weeks but continued to get regular playing time. Baty has taken four of the last six starts at the hot corner, all of which have come against right-handed pitching. Jeff McNeil is entrenched at second base, closing off Escobar’s other main path to playing time.

There are no such roadblocks in Anaheim. The Angels have been hit with a trio of infield injuries in rapid succession over the past week. Shortstop Zach Neto strained his oblique. Corner infielder Gio Urshela suffered a fractured pelvis that is likely to end his season. Anthony Rendon sustained a left wrist contusion on a hit-by-pitch.

All of a sudden, the Halos were pressing Andrew Velazquez, Luis Rengifo and some combination of Jared Walsh and Michael Stefanic into regular playing time around Brandon Drury. That’s a suboptimal group for a club battling for a playoff spot.

Escobar isn’t likely to take playing time from Velazquez at shortstop. While he had experience there early in his career, he hasn’t played the position with any regularity since 2018. He’ll be an option at the other infield spots, particularly third and second base. Public metrics like Defensive Runs Saved and Statcast’s Outs Above Average have pegged him as a below-average defender in recent years, but he can bounce around the dirt as a bat-first utility option.

He’s most directly a replacement for the right-handed hitting Urshela. Escobar switch hits but has been quite a bit more effective from the right side of the dish. Over the past five seasons, he carries a .278/.317/.514 line against left-handed pitching while hitting .237/.300/.431 versus righty arms. Since displacing him at third base, the Mets have deployed him primarily against southpaws — a huge factor in his much improved production.

With Escobar having a diminished role in Queens and the Halos suddenly hunting for infield help, there’s a decent amount of appeal for everyone involved. It’s rare to see a trade of this kind of consequence occur in June, but it’s understandable the Angels wanted to jump the market. Their infield need is most pressing while Rendon is out of action. The Halos don’t have much margin for error in a jumbled American League playoff picture. Los Angeles entered play tonight half a game behind the Yankees for the last AL Wild Card spot and six games back of the Rangers in the AL West.

The Mets entered the season with divisional aspirations after winning 101 games last year. New York has played disappointing ball thus far, carrying a 34-40 record into play Friday night. Now 14 games back of the Braves in the NL East, they’re all but out of the division mix. They’re still within shouting distance of a Wild Card spot, seven games behind the Dodgers.

New York isn’t yet conceding the 2023 campaign. General manager Billy Eppler told Tim Healey of Newsday that trading Escobar had “no correlation” with the rest of the club’s deadline plans. Rather, the team jumped on an opportunity to cash in a player who had been pushed out of the lineup for a pair of minor league pitchers.

Crow ranked 17th on Baseball America’s midseason update of the Angels’ farm system and checked in eighth on Eric Longenhagen’s recent list at FanGraphs. An overslot signee out of high school in the 28th round of the 2019 draft, Crow draws praise for his athleticism and a quality slider.

The Georgia native is regarded as a potential back-of-the-rotation starter or multi-inning reliever. He’ll be eligible for the Rule 5 draft if not added to the 40-man roster by November, so he’d profile as near-term pitching depth if healthy. He has been on the injured list since the end of April but started his season with a 1.88 ERA and excellent 31:6 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 24 innings at Double-A.

Marceaux, a 2021 third-round pick out of LSU, ranked 20th in the Halos’ system at BA. While he typically works in the low 90s with his fastball, he’s credited with plus control of a four-pitch mix. He has spent his age-23 season in Double-A, working to a 4.88 ERA through 59 innings. The right-hander has a below-average 17.1% strikeout rate but has kept his walks to a tidy 7.2% clip. He won’t be Rule 5 eligible until after the 2024 campaign and seems to profile as a depth starter.

To entice the Halos to part with those arms, the Mets paid down virtually all of Escobar’s $9.5MM salary. They’re paying an accompanying 110% tax on that money. Andy Martino of SNY reported this afternoon that New York was open to spending to improve their farm system, either by taking on another team’s undesirable contract while getting back minor league talent or paying down some of their own deals. They’ve put that into action with today’s swap.

Escobar’s contract contains a $9MM club option for next season with a $500K buyout. It seems likely the Halos will opt for the buyout, although there’s at least some flexibility to keep him around if he goes on a second-half tear. The far bigger concern  is plugging in an immediate stopgap veteran to help them weather their injury issues.

Doing so at no financial cost keeps their luxury tax number around $238MM, as estimated by Roster Resource — a few million north of the $233MM base threshold. They’ll surely be willing to get more aggressive as the deadline approaches if they’re still in the thick of the playoff race. Supporting the back of the rotation and/or adding middle infield help could be future goals for GM Perry Minasian and his staff.

Andy Martino of SNY first reported the Mets were paying Escobar’s salary down to league minimum.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Twins Sign Dallas Keuchel To Minor League Deal

By | at

10:49am: Twins manager Rocco Baldelli confirmed the signing, tweets Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com. “We’re glad to have him in the organization and to give him an opportunity to go out there and pitch and show all the things that he’s been working on,” said Baldelli.

9:43am: The Twins have agreed to a minor league deal with left-hander Dallas Keuchel, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post (Twitter link). The WME client has recently been working out with Driveline Baseball and, as Driveline director of pitching Chris Langin recently noted (Twitter thread), has restored some of the velocity on his heater and movement on his sinker and revamped sweeper. He’ll presumably wind up with the Twins’ Triple-A affiliate in St. Paul, though he might first require a tune-up at a lower-level affiliate.

The 35-year-old Keuchel’s past two seasons have been a nightmare, as the former AL Cy Young winner was shelled for a 6.35 ERA in 222 2/3 innings between the White Sox, D-backs and Rangers. That includes a particularly calamitous 2022 campaign in which he was tagged for 62 earned runs on a whopping 94 hits and 31 walks in just 60 2/3 frames. Keuchel’s fastball averaged a career-worst 87.8 mph in 2022, and his 10.2% walk rate was his highest since a 10.3% mark as a rookie way back in 2012.

That said, Keuchel had strong results back in 2020 (1.99 ERA in 63 1/3 innings) and from 2014-20 was a high-end starting pitcher for the Astros, Braves and White Sox. During that time, the lefty piled up 1126 1/3 innings of 3.25 ERA ball (3.55 FIP, 3.63 SIERA). Keuchel has long posted below-average strikeout rates but, at his best, will offset them with excellent command and one of the top ground-ball rates in the Majors. Opponents have averaged just an 87.4 mph exit velocity against him since Statcast began tracking it in 2015, and even in his recent disastrous seasons Keuchel was only slightly below average in terms of limiting hard contact.

Certainly, it’s beyond optimistic to expect Keuchel to recapture his 2015 Cy Young form. The Twins would likely be thrilled if the lefty were able to even emerge as a viable back-of-the-rotation starter or perhaps a multi-inning reliever. Langin notes that Keuchel has been sitting 89 mph with his fastball and 88.9 mph with his sinker in workouts — down slightly from peak levels but roughly in line with Keuchel’s 2016-19 seasons, when he posted a 3.77 ERA over 102 starts.

Fortunately for the Twins, they can look at Keuchel as a pure depth option rather than someone they’ll realistically need to turn to before long. Minnesota recently optioned fifth starter Louie Varland to Triple-A, but the expectation is that Kenta Maeda will be returning from the injured list in his place. Sonny Gray, Pablo Lopez, Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober give the Twins a strong top four in their rotation anyhow, and the club is hoping for Chris Paddack to finish off his rehab from Tommy John surgery later this summer as well.

Keuchel will merely add to that stockpile of rotation options. If he looks to be in pre-2021 form in Triple-A, that’ll be a major bonus for the Twins, but if he continues to struggle as he has over the past two seasons, they can move on without feeling they’ve placed a major strain on their rotation depth.

Gio Urshela Unlikely To Return In 2023

By and | at

Angels infielder Gio Urshela was placed on the injured list this week due to a pelvic fracture and now it seems like the issue might prevent him from returning again this year. Manager Phil Nevin relayed the news to reporters, including Sarah Valenzuela of the Los Angeles Times. Urshela won’t need surgery but he will need to be shut down for six weeks and then will require at least six weeks of ramp-up time after that. Given that timeline, it will be very difficult for him to make it back to the Angels this year.

Urshela, 31, was acquired in an offseason trade from the Twins, with pitching prospect Alejandro Hidalgo headed the other way. Urshela was coming off a solid season in Minnesota, hitting .285/.338/.429 for a wRC+ of 119 while providing solid third base defense. However, he was set to make a projected $9.2MM via arbitration in his final season before free agency, so the Twins flipped him to Anaheim. The latter club and Urshela eventually went to a hearing with the Halos emerging victorious, leading to the infielder making $8.4MM this year instead of his desired figure of $10MM.

The addition was a sensible one for the Angels, as they have often fielded a roster with plenty of star power but a lack of depth and complementary pieces. They opted to try to fill multiple holes by bringing in solid and versatile players like Urshela, Brandon Drury and Hunter Renfroe. Overall, the plan has worked quite well as the club is having their best season in years, currently 41-34 and currently in possession of a playoff spot. But they will now have to proceed without Urshela in the mix.

Zach Neto and Anthony Rendon have each landed on the injured list in recent days as well. That forced the Halos to turn to the likes of Andrew Velazquez, Michael Stefanic and Kevin Padlo in the short term. Upgrading the infield via trade  next month seems a possibility. The Halos figure to be aggressive to capitalize on a chance to make the postseason in Shohei Ohtani’s final season of club control. Los Angeles enters play Wednesday at 41-34, tied with the Astros for the final Wild Card spot in the American League.

From Urshela’s perspective, it’s a brutally timed injury. He’ll likely close his platform year with a modest .299/.329/.374 showing in 62 games. While the projected timeline suggests he’s likely to have a more or less typical offseason, he’ll hit the open market coming off an injury-shortened year.

Next offseason’s free agent infield class appears very thin. Matt Chapman tops the group, but there aren’t many other productive regulars trending towards free agency. Jeimer Candelario is having a decent season in Washington, while Whit Merrifield is playing fairly well for the Blue Jays but entering his age-35 campaign. Amed Rosario is probably the top shortstop option, but he carries a .229/.303/.346 line in 65 contests.

NPB Players To Watch: June

By | at

It’s time for an update on NPB players who may be making their way to MLB in the near future. Here are the eight players that we are keeping track of at MLBTR. More details about their play styles and background are in the first article.

Players likely available in the 2023 offseason (most rumored or have publicly announced desire to play in MLB)

1. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Orix Buffaloes

In the May update, I wrote that Yamamoto had yet to have his signature outing of the 2023 season, and since then he’s posted three consecutive gems. Yamamoto tossed eight innings in all three starts, allowing just one run and holding hitters to .092, while fanning 29.8% of them.

The 24-year-old right-hander now has a 1.59 ERA on the season, striking out 28.3% of hitters while walking just 4.6% and holding hitters to .188 in 62 ⅓ innings. 

Yamamoto faces stiff competition from Sasaki for most strikeouts, but a third consecutive Pacific League Triple Crown (ERA, Wins, Ks) is definitely within reach.

2. Shota Imanaga, Yokohama DeNA Baystars

The 29-year-old left-hander is back to looking like the Yokohama Baystars ace after a rough May. In his last four starts, Imanaga has a 2.32 ERA, striking out 23.3% of hitters and walking 4.3%. 

On the season, Imanaga has a 2.78 ERA, 26.7 K%, 3.3 BB%, and keeping hitters to a .225 batting average in 55 innings. The lefty struggles with the long ball at times (giving up eight in May), but regularly pitches deep into games, only failing to throw seven innings twice.

Imanaga positioned himself for an MLB move in 2023 by signing with a new agency last December. Given his strong track record in both NPB and international competitions, multiple teams should be showing interest in Imanaga this offseason.

3. Kona Takahashi, Saitama Seibu Lions

After a blistering start to the season, Takahashi has hit somewhat of a rough patch, with a 3.46 ERA in his last four starts. The 26-year-old right-hander is still tied for the Pacific League lead in ERA among qualified pitchers with a 2.11 mark.

On the season, the Lions’ ace is striking out 21% of hitters and holding them to .215, while walking 7.3% in 81 total innings. 

According to Nikkan Gendai, an MLB scout said that Takahashi’s improvement has been a pleasant surprise. “He did not know how to pace himself before, so he’d be tired by around 80 pitches. Since last season, he’s balanced out his delivery and pace. With his frame at 6’2-6’3 and 231 lbs and the combination of an upper 90s fastball and splitter, barring any setbacks, multiple MLB teams should show interest in the offseason.”

4. Yuki Matsui, Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles

The 27-year-old left-handed closer is as reliable as ever, with a 0.77 ERA, 38.8 K%, and 14 saves in 24 appearances in 2023. 

An overseas free agent this offseason, Matsui has not clearly stated his intentions for a move to MLB this offseason outside of vague comments made earlier in his career. 

Interestingly, he has made some changes this season that may be signaling a potential move.

He has mostly relied on his four-seam, splitter, and slider in his career, but this season he has cut down his slider usage and heavily increased the usage of his splitter. Given that the ability to throw splitters is highly valued in MLB, this could very well be him showcasing MLB front offices that his stuff will translate to the big leagues. 

There is certainly a need across the league for left-handed relievers with strikeout ability, and Matsui may be an interesting option. 

5. Naoyuki Uwasawa, Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters

The 29-year-old right-hander has bounced back from a nightmarish start to the season and is back to looking like an ace for the Fighters. In his last four starts since the previous NPB update, Uwasawa has a 1.74 ERA in 31 innings, striking out 20.8% of hitters and holding them to a .158 batting average, while walking 6.7%. 

Stuff-wise, Uwasawa lags behind the other players on the list and profiles similar to former Fighters teammate and former Rangers starting pitcher Kohei Arihara. He faces an uphill battle to earn an MLB contract, but he seems intent on taking on the challenge anyway. Maintaining his current form and finishing the season below a 2.50 ERA would definitely improve his chances.

Younger stars to keep an eye on

1. Roki Sasaki, Chiba Lotte Marines

Sasaki has come down to earth a little bit after a 1.00 ERA in April and 1.64 ERA in May. In his last four starts, Sasaki has a 3.24 ERA and two losses. The ‘Monster of Reiwa’ still has a 1.89 ERA on the season, striking out hitters at an unfathomable 40.4% rate and holding them to .146 while walking just 5.6%.

While Sasaki has unquestionable stuff and strikeout ability, building up the stamina to handle a full season workload is the next step in his development. Marines manager Masato Yoshii said that he might skip Sasaki’s next start, saying that he looked tired. Sasaki usually throws on six days of rest this season. Unless he makes a surprise request to be posted, Sasaki has a couple of season to improve that area of his game. 

2. Munetaka Murakami, Tokyo Yakult Swallows

The reigning Triple Crown winner looks more like himself in June, slashing .291/.418/.455 in 67 plate appearances. On the season, Murakami has a .233/.317/.419 line with a .789 OPS and 11 homers, a disappointing follow-up to his historic 2022 season.

Murakami is striking out on a horrendous 32% of at-bats, and his NPB-worst 89 total strikeouts is 22 more than the next closest at 67 strikeouts. He still has a strong walk rate at 16.5%, but is simply not making good contact.

Murakami is especially struggling to hit velocity, hitting just .083 against fastballs thrown harder than 150 km/h (93.75 mph). and is also struggling to hit righties, hitting just .180. 

3. Kazuma Okamoto, Yomiuri Giants

A newcomer on this list, Okamoto has been one of the best hitters in NPB who is enjoying a career season. Some of you may remember him for his solo homer that extended Team Japan’s lead over Team USA in the WBC Final.

The 6’1, 220lb slugger is a career .275 hitter with 182 homers, hitting at least 30 homers in every season since becoming a full-time starter in 2018. Okamoto was the youngest player in NPB to post a .300, 30HR, 100 RBI season. He led the Central League in homers and RBIs in back-to-back seasons in 2020 and 2021, 

The soon-to-be 27-year-old corner infielder is hitting .322/.414/.597 with 17 homers, 42 RBIs and an OPS of 1.010 in 2o23. He would be in prime position for the Triple Crown in any other season if it wasn’t for Toshiro Miyazaki and his .372 batting average. 

In comparison to Murakami, Okamoto hits for less average and walks less. Okamoto has hit over .300 just once in his career, and has a 10.5% career BB% compared to Murakami’s 16.5%. Okamoto plays average defense at third base and has taken first base and left field reps this year. 

Okamoto has hinted at some interest in a potential MLB move, but there is nothing concrete yet. He isn’t set to be a free agent for four years, his age-31 season. The Giants are traditionally against the posting system, so it remains to be seen whether or not he will request a move before that.

Honorable Mentions

The following players have either expressed their desire to play in the big leagues, been rumored by Japanese media, or have drawn interest from MLB scouts but have factors (age, team stance on posting system) preventing a potential move. I’ve also added top performers who may be of interest.

Shosei Togo, right-handed starting pitcher, Yomiuri Giants; Keiji Takahashi, left-handed starting pitcher, Tokyo Yakult Swallows; Taisei Ohta, right-handed reliever, Yomiuri Giants; Hiroto Takahashi, right-handed starting pitcher, Chunichi Dragons; Kaima Taira, right-handed starting pitcher, Saitama Seibu Lions; Atsuki Yuasa, right-handed reliever, Hanshin Tigers; Shinnosuke Ogasawara, left-handed starting pitcher, Chunichi Dragons; Shunpeita Yamashita, Orix Buffaloes; Tatsuya Imai, Seibu Lions; Takahisa Hayakawa, Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles; Atsuki Taneichi, Chiba Lotte Marines

 

Reds Designate Wil Myers For Assignment

By and | at

The Reds announced today that first baseman/outfielder Wil Myers has been reinstated from the injured list and designated for assignment.

Signed to a one-year, $7.5MM deal over the winter, Myers joined the Reds with the hope that he could rebound at the plate and develop into a serviceable trade chip at this year’s deadline. Things haven’t panned out as hoped, however. Prior to being placed on the injured list due to a bout with kidney stones, Myers appeared in 37 games and hit .189/.257/.283 with a jarring 34% strikeout rate in 141 trips to the plate. He managed to connect on three homers and added in a pair of steals, but Myers was nowhere close to his peak levels of performance.

Myers’ placement on the injured list was one of multiple injuries that paved the way for the Reds to go with a youth movement in the infield — one that has thus far reaped immense dividends. Spencer Steer, Matt McLain and Elly De La Cruz have all impressed this season, and 2021 NL Rookie of the Year Jonathan India has enjoyed a fine rebound season at second base.

With Cincinnati activating stalwart first baseman Joey Votto to join that group just yesterday — Votto homered in his return — Myers’ path back to a spot on the active roster was cloudy, at best. The Reds could’ve tried to find Myers some playing time in the outfield, but each of Will Benson, TJ Friedl, Jake Fraley and Nick Senzel have outperformed the veteran Myers. Given the team’s current nine-game winning streak, it’s understandable that the Reds didn’t want to disrupt the lineup beyond Votto’s return.

The 2023 season has been the worst of Myers’ career. The former top prospect and 2013 AL Rookie of the Year seemed destined for stardom a decade ago, but he’s settled in more as a steadily productive regular with an offensive ceiling that’s well shy of All-Star status. His eight-year tenure with the Padres was a roller coaster in terms of performance, but the end result was a .254/.330/.451 batting line and 134 homers in 3415 plate appearances. Myers was one of MLB’s best hitters in the shortened 2020 campaign, hitting .288/.353/.606 with a whopping 15 dingers in just 218 trips to the plate, but that proved to be an outlier rather than a breakout.

The Reds will now have a week to trade Myers, pass him through outright waivers, or release him. Myers is still owed $3.34MM of this year’s $6MM salary, plus the full $1.5MM buyout on next year’s mutual option. Given that $4.84MM left on his contract, there’s no chance another team would claim him at this point. In the likely event that the Reds can’t find a trade partner — which would surely require them either paying down the bulk, if not the entirety of the contract, or taking another bad contract back in return — Myers will pass through waivers unclaimed.

Myers has enough service time to reject an outright assignment without forfeiting the remainder of his salary, so the likeliest outcome is that he’ll become a free agent. Any new team that signs him would only be responsible for paying Myers the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the MLB roster. That sum would be subtracted from what Cincinnati owes him, but either way the Reds will be on the hook for the vast majority of his contract.

Guardians To Promote Gavin Williams

By | at

The Guardians are going to promote pitching prospect Gavin Williams, reports Guardians Prospective on Twitter. The right-hander will start on Wednesday, making his major league debut. He’s not yet on the 40-man roster, so a corresponding move or moves will be required.

Williams, 23, was the club’s first-round pick in 2021, getting selected 23rd overall. He didn’t make his professional debut until the following season, but it was well worth the wait. He split last year between High-A and Double-A, tossing 115 innings over 25 starts with a 1.96 ERA. He struck out 33.1% of batters faced while walking 8.9%.

That strong showing, combined with his pre-draft work at East Carolina University, helped him shoot up prospect rankings this offseason. Coming into 2023, he was ranked the #20 prospect in the league at Baseball America, #81 at FanGraphs, #33 at ESPN and got the #42 slot from Keith Law of The Athletic. He also was ranked 42nd by MLB Pipeline, though he’s since moved up to #16.

Here in 2023, he’s done little slowing down. He began the year back at Double-A but posted an ERA of 0.63 in three starts and was quickly bumped up. Through nine outings at Triple-A, he has a 2.93 ERA in 46 innings, striking out 33.3% of batters faced. His 11.5% walk rate at that level is a bit high, but there’s little denying the overall success. Reports on Williams tend to highlight his triple-digit fastball while also giving praise to his curveball and slider. He also has a changeup, though that is generally seen as his fourth-best offering.

The Guardians have turned to their young pitching prospects several times this year due to various factors. Zach Plesac struggled with a 7.59 ERA and got himself outrighted off the roster. Both of Peyton Battenfield and Cal Quantrill saw their ERA climb above 5.00 before they each landed on the injured list, where they currently remain. Aaron Civale is healthy now but has only been able to make five starts thus far due to a strained oblique. Triston McKenzie was shut down in March with a teres major strain and came back last week, though he’s now on the IL again with an elbow sprain that involves his UCL and seems serious.

Amid all of that, the club has already called upon top 100 pitching prospects Tanner Bibee and Logan Allen to join the rotation alongside Civale and Shane Bieber. Bibee has a 4.05 ERA and Allen is at 3.95 through 10 starts for each. The club already had a reputation for seemingly finding excellent pitchers in the couch cushions but they continue to impress and will now be promoting their third rotation prospect of the year. That’s despite another pitching prospect, Daniel Espino, undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery earlier this year.

The club has a record of just 33-38 but that’s good enough for second place in the weak American League Central. With no teams in the division able to even stay above .500, the Guards are just two games back of the 36-37 Twins. Despite a tepid offense, perhaps their never-ending supply of young pitching can keep them in the mix the rest of the way.

As for the ever-present service time question with top prospects, Williams can only earn 103 days this year even if he stays up for the rest of the year. That won’t allow him to get to a full year in 2023 and will leave him shy of achieving Super Two status by the end of 2025. Since he was a top 100 guy coming into the season, he could theoretically earn a full year of service time by finishing in the top two in Rookie of the Year voting. However, that will be very hard to do since he’s already missed almost half the season.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Reds Approaching Deadline Season As Buyers, Looking To Add Pitching

By | at

The Reds are baseball’s hottest team. After knocking off the Rockies 8-6 this evening, Cincinnati has reeled off 10 consecutive wins to push a season-high four games over .500. Their 39-35 record has them atop a wide open NL Central, half a game up on the Brewers.

Cincinnati’s surprising hot streak comes as teams are beginning to weigh their approaches to the upcoming trade deadline. Reds general manager Nick Krall met with reporters before tonight’s game and suggested they’re trending towards adding to the MLB roster.

“We’re in first place. We’re looking to win,” Krall said when asked if the team was planning to add at the deadline (relayed by Mark Sheldon of MLB.com). Unsurprisingly, the GM pointed to the pitching staff — both the rotation and bullpen — as an area where they could try to improve (via Charlie Goldsmith of the Cincinnati Enquirer).

The Reds’ midseason turnaround has been driven in large part by an influx of position players from the farm system. Elly De La Cruz and Matt McLain have hit the ground running after midseason debuts. Fellow rookie Spencer Steer, who reached the majors last September, has somewhat quietly put together an excellent .278/.361/.475 showing while bouncing around the corner positions. Holdovers Jonathan India, TJ Friedl and Jake Fraley are all having strong years.

Rather suddenly, Cincinnati finds itself with a surplus of hitting talent. They designated Wil Myers — their highest-paid free agent pickup of last offseason — for assignment this afternoon rather than create room for him on the roster to return from the injured list. Corner infield prospect Christian Encarnacion-Strand would likely have made his MLB debut for a number of teams by now thanks to a .348/.421/.687 showing in Triple-A. With Steer, India, McLain, De La Cruz and Joey Votto around the infield, the Reds don’t have the MLB playing time for Encarnacion-Strand at the moment.

Over the past month, only the Giants and Braves have scored more runs than Cincinnati. It’s a young lineup but one that’s firing on all cylinders. Perhaps injuries or a few slumps will open a clear need on the position player side within the next month, but there aren’t any obvious holes in the lineup right now.

The pitching staff is another story. Cincinnati entered the season with a top-heavy rotation reliant on second-year arms Nick Lodolo, Hunter Greene and Graham Aschraft. All three are presently on the injured list. Ashcraft should be back this week, but he has an ERA pushing 7.00 over 13 starts. Greene will miss at least the next two weeks; Lodolo is out into August.

Rookie left-hander Andrew Abbott has carried over a breakout upper minors showing to toss 17 2/3 scoreless innings to kick off his MLB career. While he’s obviously a very promising pitcher, he has all of three big league appearances and is already the club’s best healthy starter. Offseason signee Luke Weaver has an ERA above 6.00 and is struggling mightily to keep the ball in the yard. Brandon Williamson has a 5.40 ERA over his first seven starts. Ben Lively has acquitted himself well at the back of the staff, but he’s a journeyman who didn’t start a single MLB game between 2019-22.

Even if Greene joins Ashcraft in making a quick return from the IL, the Reds need rotation help if they’re to fight for a division title. Cincinnati’s bullpen has been a little more reliable. They entered play Tuesday ranked 10th in ERA (3.73), although they’re just 22nd in strikeout rate (22.6%).

Alexis Díaz has been almost untouchable in the ninth inning. There’s room for help bridging the gap to Díaz, with Lucas Sims, Ian Gibaut, Derek Law and Alex Young representing David Bell’s highest-leverage setup arms. Young is the only left-hander in the current group, so another southpaw could be on the wishlist.

Krall predictably didn’t delve into specific targets. Whether the Reds would seriously vie for a top impending free agent trade candidate (i.e. Lucas Giolito or old friend Aroldis Chapman) during a season in which they’re surprise contenders isn’t clear. Perhaps the front office will prioritize players with multiple years of control, simultaneously trying to support this year’s club while adding to future rosters that’ll enter seasons with higher expectations than the 2023 team did.

How the team performs over the next six weeks could determine how much the front office is willing to push in young talent. That Krall is openly positioning the team as a buyer in late June is a testament to how quickly things have looked upwards. The GM has already suggested there’s room on the books to take on some money for the stretch run, a sentiment he repeated this evening. It’s an exciting time in Cincinnati, one that looks to have changed the deadline trajectory for a team that seemed to be a seller just a few weeks ago.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top