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Brewers Designate Luke Voit For Assignment

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The Brewers are designating first baseman Luke Voit for assignment, tweets Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Meanwhile, reliever Alex Claudio has been outrighted to Triple-A Nashville after going unclaimed on waivers, according to Adam McCalvy of MLB.com (Twitter link).

Voit’s time in Milwaukee likely comes to a close after 22 games. The Brewers signed him to a minor league deal over the offseason. He opted out of that contract towards the end of Spring Training but quickly re-signed on a major league contract with a $2MM base salary for time spent in the majors. Voit was slated to pair with the lefty-swinging Rowdy Tellez at first base and designated hitter.

The 32-year-old didn’t find his footing in Milwaukee. He didn’t connect on a single home run in 74 trips to the plate. Voit hit .221/.284/.265 overall, striking out 27 times while drawing four walks. While he’s always had a fair amount of swing-and-miss, his 36.5% strikeout rate in this year’s small sample would be the worst of his career. He was eventually shelved by a neck strain on May 15.

In conjunction with Voit’s IL placement, Milwaukee signed Darin Ruf to a major league deal. Also a veteran right-handed hitter at the bottom of the defensive spectrum, Ruf looked like a curious fit on a club that already employed Voit. It seemed likely the Brewers would part ways with one of that duo once Voit were healthy. They’ll stick with Ruf, who’s hitting .250/.348/.300 over his first nine games.

Voit’s stock has fallen swiftly over the past three seasons. He was an impact power bat for a time with the Yankees, leading the majors with 22 home runs during the shortened 2020 campaign to secure a ninth-place finish in AL MVP balloting. Voit had hit .263/.378/.464 over a full season the year prior, so that production wasn’t a one-off product of the truncated schedule. He battled various injuries in 2021, though, leading the Yankees to bring in Anthony Rizzo from the Cubs at the trade deadline.

With Voit more or less displaced in the Bronx, the Yankees dealt him to the Padres coming out of the lockout. He hit .225/.317/.416 for San Diego and was packaged to the Nationals in the Juan Soto blockbuster. He slumped on a rebuilding Washington club and was non-tendered. This year’s struggles bring his cumulative batting line to .229/.311/.399 in just shy of 900 plate appearances over the past three seasons.

The Brewers have a week to explore the trade market. If they can’t find a taker, they’ll place Voit on waivers. He surpassed five years of major league service this season. That gives him the right to decline a minor league assignment in favor of free agency while still collecting his entire guaranteed salary if he goes unclaimed.

Claudio has that opportunity as well. The veteran southpaw was designated for assignment on Saturday. He’d pitched only once since his contract was selected a month ago. The 31-year-old had worked to a 2.63 ERA over 13 2/3 innings with Nashville before being called up.

White Sox To Activate Liam Hendriks From Injured List

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Liam Hendriks is officially returning to the majors, as the White Sox announced (via a welcome-back video on their team Twitter feed) that the closer will be activated from the 15-day injured list on Monday prior to their game with the Angels.  Hendriks revealed in January that he was starting treatment for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, but after finishing that treatment in early April, he thankfully announced a cancer-free diagnosis just over a month ago.

Hendriks threw six Triple-A rehab outings earlier this month, and has also been throwing bullpens and live BP sessions to continue building up his arm strength.  Reports surfaced yesterday that Hendriks seemed to be nearing his return date, and the decision was made that the closer was ready to again face Major League hitters.

It’s great news all around that Hendriks has been able to emerge from his health scare, and now looks to get back onto the mound for what will be his 13th MLB campaign.  It remains to be seen if Hendriks will be eased into action or whether or not he’ll be immediately able to pitch at his usual elite level, but even off the field, his return is an enormous lift to the White Sox clubhouse, as Hendriks is a beloved figure both with teammates and with his peers throughout baseball.  Sticking just to on-field matters, it will naturally help Chicago’s struggling bullpen to regain a top closer.

Hendriks has three All-Star appearances and two top-nine AL Cy Young finishes in the last four seasons, racking up 114 saves for the A’s and White Sox in that time.  2023 is technically the final guaranteed year of Hendriks’ three-year, $54MM free agent deal with the Sox, but the White Sox have a $15MM club option and a $15MM buyout on his services for the 2024 season, so it would appear as though Hendriks will be retained for another year.

A trade could change matters, but while the White Sox fell to 22-33 after today’s loss to the Tigers, the club has somewhat stabilized things after their dreadful 7-20 April record.  No one player can turn things around for a team, but getting Hendriks back should help the Sox try to get back into contention in the weak AL Central.

Royals Release Hunter Dozier

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TODAY: The Royals announced that they have requested unconditional release waivers on Dozier.

MAY 22: The Royals announced Monday that infielder Hunter Dozier, who’s playing out the third season of a four-year contract worth a guaranteed $25MM, has been designated for assignment. His spot on the active roster will go to infielder Nicky Lopez, who is returning from the 10-day injured list.

Dozier, 31, was the No. 8 overall selection in the 2013 draft, though that was generally regarded as an underslot deal that allowed them to go over slot to sign lefty Sean Manaea 26 picks later. Dozier was still a well-regarded prospect himself, but he struggled considerably in his first few pro seasons before a breakout showing between Double-A and Triple-A in 2016. He struggled in his first two big league looks in 2016 and 2018 but looked to have a breakout campaign in 2019, when he slashed .279/.348/.522 with a career-high 26 home runs.

Of course, as is commonly known at this point, that 2019 season saw a host of odd offensive breakouts around the league as MLB worked with a juiced baseball both in the big leagues and in Triple-A. A comical 58 players belted 30 or more home runs that season, and were it not for a three-week stay on the injured list, Dozier might very well have been a 59th.

The 2020 season saw Dozier take a step back, but his .228/.344/.392 batting line still clocked in right around league-average, per metrics like wRC+ and OPS+, after weighting for his pitcher-friendly home park and a reduced leaguewide run-scoring environment. On the whole, Dozier batted .267/.347/.492 with 32 home runs in 772 plate appearances from 2019-20 — showing the Royals enough that they felt comfortable making that four-year extension offer prior to the 2021 season.

Things went south almost immediately, and Dozier has batted just .222/.286/.384 with a 27.2% strikeout rate in 1134 plate appearances since putting pen to paper on that contract. He’s oscillated between first base, third base and right field without drawing positive defensive grades at any of the three spots. This year’s struggles have been particularly pronounced, as Dozier has limped to a .183/.253/.305 slash with a career-worst 31.9% strikeout rate in 91 trips to the plate.

The Royals will have a week to trade Dozier, pass him through waivers or release him. Given that he’s being paid $7.25MM this season and is owed both a $9MM salary in 2024 and a $1MM buyout on a 2025 club option, there’s no way he’d be claimed on waivers. The Royals could perhaps try to engineer a swap that sends Dozier elsewhere in exchange for another bad contract, though they’ve presumably looked into such scenarios (or trade scenarios where they pay the bulk of the contract) without striking up a deal.

Even if Dozier goes unclaimed on outright waivers, he has more than five years of MLB service time, meaning he could reject an outright assignment, elect free agency and still retain the remainder of his salary. It’s most common for players in similar situations to this one to wind up simply being released. One way or another, it’s likely that today’s DFA will spell the end of Dozier’s time with the Royals organization. If he ultimately does end up becoming a free agent, he’d be able to sign with any of the 29 other teams, who’d only owe him the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the big league roster/injured list. That amount would be subtracted from what the Royals owe Dozier, but they’ll remain on the hook for the vast majority of his contract regardless.

Yankees Release Aaron Hicks

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The Yankees announced that veteran outfielder Aaron Hicks, whom they designated for assignment earlier this week, has now been released.

Hicks is in the fifth season of a seven-year, $70MM contract that didn’t pan out nearly as well as the Yankees hoped. The former first-round pick and top prospect hit .255/.368/.470 (128 wRC+) with 42 home runs for the Yankees from 2017-18, and he gave them a respectable .231/.350/.431 output in the 2019-20 seasons. Since that time, however, his offensive production has cratered as injuries have mounted. Hicks hit just .188/.263/.261 in 76 plate appearances this season and is a .209/.315/.310 hitter in 655 plate appearances dating back to 2021.

For all his struggles, Hicks has generally graded as an average or better left fielder in recent years. His once-excellent defense in center field has faded, but he posted a hefty 8 Defensive Runs Saved through just 413 innings in left field as recently as 2022. The switch-hitter hasn’t had success regardless of opponent in 2022-23, but Hicks had a decent showing against lefties in 2021 and has a career .247/.327/.415 batting line as a right-handed hitter facing lefties. He’s also walked in 12.5% of his 3352 Major League plate appearances, including an above-average 9.2% walk rate even in the midst of this year’s freefall at the dish.

Hicks clearly isn’t the player he was at his peak, but now that he’s been released and the Yankees are going to be stuck picking up the tab, he’d make some sense for an outfield-needy club — particularly one seeking some help against left-handed pitching. Hicks is hardly a lock to rediscover any of his former production, but it won’t cost another team much to see if escaping the Yankee Stadium spotlight and the constant scrutiny surrounding his contract and diminished play can help him rebound to at least some extent. He certainly wouldn’t be the first player to rebuild some stock after leaving the Yankees for a lower-pressure environment.

The Yankees remain on the hook for the rest of this year’s $10.5MM salary and will also owe Hicks a $9.5MM salary in each of the next two seasons, plus a $1MM buyout on a 2026 club option. Any team that wants to sign Hicks will only owe him the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the big league roster. That sum will be subtracted from the Yankees’ obligation to Hicks, but even if Hicks catches on with a new club and sticks on the roster moving forward, the Yanks are stuck with the overwhelming majority of that contract.

Brewers Sign Julio Teheran To Major League Deal

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May 25: The Brewers have officially announced the signing. Teheran will start tonight’s game against the Giants. Jon Heyman of The New York Post reports the specifics on Twitter. Teheran will make $1.5MM plus $1MM in incentives.

May 23: The Brewers have agreed to a Major League contract with free-agent righty Julio Teheran, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post (Twitter link). Teheran, a client of Mato Sports Management, opted out of a minor league deal with the Padres yesterday.

Teheran, 32, figures to step into an injury-depleted Brewers rotation that just saw lefty Eric Lauer join fellow southpaw Wade Miley and right-hander Brandon Woodruff on the injured list. Beyond that trio, depth options like Aaron Ashby and Jason Alexander are also on the 60-day IL, leaving the Brewers with a current rotation of Corbin Burnes, Freddy Peralta, Adrian Houser and Colin Rea.

Once one of baseball’s top pitching prospects, Teheran began his career with a terrific four-year stretch (2013-16) in Atlanta that saw him post a 3.33 ERA over 795 2/3 innings. Along the way, he made a pair of All-Star teams and finished fifth in 2013 NL Rookie of the Year voting. He remained a solid starter from 2017-19, but his command began to worse in that time and his velocity started to slip as well.

Upon departing the Braves after the 2019 season, Teheran inked a one-year deal with the Angels but was limited to just 31 1/3 innings — during which he posted a ghastly ERA north of 10.00. He allowed one run in five frames for the 2021 Tigers but hasn’t appeared in the Majors since. Teheran split the 2022 campaign between the independent Atlantic League and the Mexican League before agreeing to a minor league pact with San Diego this past offseason.

While Teheran’s bottom-line numbers with the Padres’ Triple-A club in El Paso this season are unsightly — 40 innings, 5.63 ERA — there’s also some cause for optimism. His 24.3% strikeout rate and 8.6% walk rate are both solid marks, and he’s pitched well over his past four turns: 21 1/3 innings, 3.74 ERA, 23-to-8 K/BB ratio. In fact, outside of one meltdown against the Mariners’ top affiliate on April 21, Teheran has generally been solid in El Paso. Subtract those eight runs and three innings, and his ERA would drop all the way to 4.14. Any pitcher looks better if you look past his worst start, of course, but Teheran has been good for five to six innings and three or fewer runs in six of his eight starts this year.

The notion of signing Teheran isn’t as exciting as it might’ve been a half decade ago, but the Brewers have been decimated by injury and he’ll give them a stretched-out, ready-made rotation option who’s had some big league success. The Brewers have had their own share of successes in terms of rehabilitating veteran pitchers who’ve fallen on hard times, as evidenced by Miley, Gio Gonzalez, Brad Boxberger and others. For now, they’ll hope that Teheran can step onto the staff and help shore things up while their injured trio of veterans is on the mend.

Red Sox Move Corey Kluber To Bullpen

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The Red Sox are moving struggling veteran Corey Kluber from the starting rotation to the bullpen, manager Alex Cora told hosts Andy Gresh and Christian Fauria in a radio appearance on WEEI this afternoon (Twitter link). They’ll move back to a five-man rotation consisting of Chris Sale, James Paxton, Garrett Whitlock, Tanner Houck and Brayan Bello for the time being.

Kluber hasn’t made an appearance out of the bullpen since 2013. The 37-year-old signed a one-year deal worth a guaranteed $10MM this offseason, with the hope that he’d provide some stable innings to a group that was teeming with injury risk (Sale, Paxton) and young starters who’ll be on innings limits due to lighter workloads in 2022 (Whitlock, Houck). Things haven’t played out that way at all, however.

Through his first nine starts with Boston, Kluber has been tattooed for a 6.26 ERA. His 88.6 mph average fastball is the lowest of his career, and he’s also sporting career-worst marks in strikeout rate (17.7%), walk rate (9.4%) and HR/9 (2.38). He has just one quality start on the year and has only twice recorded an out in the sixth inning. On average, Kluber’s starts have lasted 4 2/3 frames.

Kluber becomes the second member of the Opening Day rotation to slide into a relief role. The performances from Houck and Bello have also displaced Nick Pivetta, who has started more Red Sox games than any pitcher dating back to 2021 and led the team in innings pitched last season.

Houck, 26, has had some rough starts, though the resulting 4.99 ERA is still superior to what Kluber has managed so far. Houck’s most recent outing — six innings, one run, three hits, two walks, eight punchouts — in particular seemed to cement the decision to move Kluber to a relief role. Overall, while Houck’s ERA is only south of 5.00 by the literal narrowest of margins, he’s shown roughly league-average strikeout and walk rates with a strong 51.8% ground-ball rate and a quality 0.92 HR/9 mark. Houck has struggled with men on base, leading to a well below average 61.8% strand rate, but there are plenty of positives in his overall performance.

Bello, 24, has made seven starts and logged a 4.08 ERA through 35 1/3 frames. He’s been slightly better than average in terms of strikeout and walk rate (23.6% and 7.6%, respectively), and his massive 59% ground-ball rate is among the league’s best. Bello has run into problems with the long ball, serving up homers at nearly double the rate of Houck (1.78 HR/9). He’s managed to strand a whopping 81% of his opponents, which will be tough to maintain, but if he can scale back the frequency of his home runs, the strikeout/walk/ground-ball trifecta should allow him to continue finding success.

It should of course be noted that the move to the bullpen for Kluber isn’t necessarily permanent — nor is Pivetta’s shift to a similar role. Both Sale and especially Paxton remain injury risks, and the Sox likely still want to keep an eye on the innings totals of Whitlock (82 1/3 innings in 2022) and Houck (60 innings). As such, it’s quite likely that there will be additional opportunities in the rotation as the season wears on, though whether it’s Pivetta, Kluber, someone from the farm system or an external addition who’s making those appearances will be dependent on how Kluber and Pivetta perform in relief and whether they remain stretched out in multi-inning roles.

Athletics Reach Tentative Stadium Funding Deal With Nevada Lawmakers

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May 24: Nevada governor Joe Lombardo has given his stamp of approval, formally announcing the tentative agreement in a press release (Twitter link via Akers).

“This agreement follows months of negotiations between the state, the county and the A’s, and I believe it gives us a tremendous opportunity to continue building on the professional sports infrastructure of southern Nevada,” Lombardo said in a statement within today’s release. “Las Vegas is clearly a sports town, and Major League Baseball should be a part of it.”

The agreement will be introduced in Nevada Legislature “in the coming days to be publicly debated and considered,” per the press release.

May 23: The Athletics and lawmakers in Nevada have reached a tentative agreement on a stadium funding structure, per reports from both Mick Akers and Steve Sebelius of the Las Vegas Review-Journal and Tabitha Mueller and Howard Stutz of the Nevada Independent.

The Athletics initially agreed to a land purchase just west of the Las Vegas strip and were going to be asking for $500MM in public funding via county-issued bonds to be paid by tax dollars related to the stadium and relocation project. A few weeks later, they changed their target to a plot of land on the strip currently occupied by the Tropicana hotel, and were planning on filing a funding request last week for a lesser amount of $395MM.

Reporting on Friday indicated that there was a meaningful gap in what the A’s were seeking and what legislators was willing to provide. That seemed to suggest that there was at least some chance of the whole plan falling through and the club turning their attention back to Oakland, but this deal seems to push the organization closer to manifesting their relocation plans.

Per both reports, the agreed-upon deal includes a total of around $380MM in public money heading to the project. That is composed of $180MM from the state in transferable tax credits, with $90MM to be repaid over time from stadium revenues. Then there’s $120-125MM coming from Clark County in the form of bonds and another $25MM for infrastructure improvements. There will also be a 30-year property tax exemption issued by the county, which has an estimated value of $55MM.

Although the sides seem to have reached an agreement, there are still some more steps to go through. It has to be formally presented to the legislature, with filing potentially happening as soon as Wednesday, and then it needs to be approved as well as being signed by Governor Joe Lombardo. Major League Baseball’s relocation committee also needs to rubber stamp the project. The site is also close enough to Harry Reid International Airport that the Federal Aviation Administration will need to provide approval before construction can begin. Though those feel like small and surmountable hurdles to overcome compared to agreeing on the financial numbers.

Assuming those hoops are smoothly jumped through, Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc. will provide nine of the 35 acres of the Tropicana site to the A’s for free. The club hopes to construct a 30,000-seat stadium with a retractable roof in time to open for the 2027 season. Once the construction is complete, ownership of the land will transfer to the Las Vegas Stadium Authority. That body also came to own the Allegiant Stadium site, home of the Raiders, after that was completed.

NPB Watch: May Edition

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

Let’s get started.

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

1. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Orix Buffaloes

The two-time Pacific League MVP has had a “slow” start to the season by his standards. Yamamoto has been consistent and his numbers are as solid as ever, with a 2.35 ERA, 27.6 K%, 6.4 BB%, 2.15 FIP in 38 ⅓ innings, but he’s yet to have the signature performance of the season. 

For reference, the Buffaloes ace’s best month last season was June, with a 0.56 ERA in four starts, most notably tossing his first career no-hitter. 

Yamamoto was scratched from his planned start this past weekend due to illness but has not been limited by injury thus far, despite concerns. 

2. Shota Imanaga, Yokohama DeNA Baystars

In five starts, Imanaga has a 3.48 ERA, 28.4 K%, and 1.6 BB% in 31 innings. The Baystars ace was off to a hot start to the season, tossing 8 innings of shutout ball in his season debut and following it up with a 7-inning shutout performance where he struck out 12. He’s struggled in the following two starts, however, giving up four runs in five innings and five runs in four innings respectively, and allowing a total of four homers. 

In his most recent start this past weekend, Imanaga had a solid performance against the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, allowing three runs in seven innings. The three runs came from two home runs, however, so the long ball continues to be an issue for the left-hander in the early going. 

Imanaga officially earned his domestic free-agent rights on May 19, but remains focused on the season. “I never thought I’d be in this position to earn this [free agency], and I want to give back to everyone who has been a part of my journey,’ Imanaga said. 

3. Kona Takahashi, Saitama Seibu Lions

Takahashi has had an impressive start to the year. In his eight starts, the Lions ace has an NPB-best 1.47 ERA, holding hitters to a .182 average, striking out 22.9% of hitters and walking 13.6%, in 55 innings. The biggest factor in his improvement is increased average fastball velocity, which has gone up to 94 mph, compared to 91.56 mph last season. His splitter has been the perfect complement to his improved fastball, hitters are only .068 against it. 

Beyond his elite numbers, Takahashi’s strong mentality and his pride as the Lions’ ace have particularly stood out. After his most recent start where he tossed six innings of shutout ball, Takahashi said, “I wanted to be on the mound longer than the opposing pitcher. In order to continue improving, I will reflect on this start so that I can go even deeper into games.”

He outdueled Yamamoto in their April 22 matchup, holding the Buffaloes to two runs and five hits in a complete game. He almost outdueled Yamamoto again on May 6, exiting the game after six innings of one-run ball, but the bullpen was unable to keep the lead. 

Takahashi has certainly met the challenge from GM Watanabe and Manager Kazuo Matsui thus far

4. Yuki Matsui, Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles

Became the fastest pitcher in NPB to reach 200 career saves earlier in the season. The Golden Eagles closer has been dominant as ever and has not allowed an earned run in his 12 appearances. He has 6 saves on the season, and hitters are hitting just .095 against him. The lefty hasn’t gotten much work as other relievers so far, as the Eagles have the second-worst record in NPB and sit in last place in the Pacific League. 

Matsui officially earned his overseas Free Agent rights on April 27. “It’s still April, so there’s not much to think about,” Matsui said in a statement.

5. Naoyuki Uwasawa, Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters

After a nightmarish start to the season, Uwasawa has settled down and is finding his groove. In his last four starts, he’s completed at least 7 innings and has a 2.35 ERA in 30 ⅔ innings. The Fighters right-hander has a 3.72 ERA on the season, striking out 17.9% of hitters and walking 10.8% in 46 innings. 

In his most recent start, the 29-year-old right-hander tossed his first shutout since 2018 against the Saitama Seibu Lions, where he fanned 9 and allowed just 4 hits. 

Younger stars to keep an eye on

1. Roki Sasaki, Chiba Lotte Marines

The “Monster of Reiwa” is off to a dominant start, posting a 0.84 ERA, fanning 43.5% of hitters while walking just 4.3%. Hitters are only hitting .124 against him, and he has a FIP of 0.65. 

He’s been sidelined since his May 5 start where he exited in the 5th inning because of a blister on the middle finger of his throwing hand. He was initially scheduled to pitch on May 21 but was pushed back to May 28, after the starting rotation was reshuffled by a rain-out. 

2. Munetaka Murakami, Tokyo Yakult Swallows

The young Swallows slugger had a disastrous first month of the season. In 25 games, he hit  .157/.311/.265, 2 HR, 15.5 BB%, 37.9 K%, and 12 RBI in 103 plate appearances. Murakami-sama is beginning to look more like his Triple-Crown winning self in May, hitting .278/.381/.556, 4 HR, 14.3 BB%, 23.8 K%, and 10 RBI in 63 plate appearances (as of May 19). 

One of the major factors in Murakami’s early season slump is his struggle to hit right-handed pitching. Murakami is hitting a measly .169 against right-handed pitching, and striking out at a 37.7% rate. The slump is also affecting his already sub-par defense at third base where he has 8 errors, the most out of all position players in NPB. 

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.

Kazuma Okamoto, Corner Infielder, Yomiuri Giants; 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 (NEW!), Orix Buffaloes; Tatsuya Imai (NEW!), Seibu Lions; Takahisa Hayakawa (NEW!), Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles; Atsuki Taneichi (NEW!), Chiba Lotte Marines

 

Yankees Designate Aaron Hicks For Assignment

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12:34pm: The Yankees have announced the move, and confirmed they’ve added Greg Allen to the active roster in his place.

12:27pm: The Yankees have designated veteran outfielder Aaron Hicks for assignment, reports Greg Joyce of the New York Post. While the Yankees are yet to make the move official, it’ll likely make room for the team to activate outfielder Greg Allen, who they acquired from the Red Sox last night.

It’ll be a costly move for the Yankees, with Hicks still owed $19.57MM by way of $9.8MM salaries in 2024-25, and a $1MM buyout on a $12.5MM club option for 2026. He’ll also be owed the remainder of his $10.8MM salary in 2023. Hicks will now be exposed to waivers, but his struggles this year and the remaining money owed make it a near certainty he goes unclaimed. Instead, the Yankees could offer to eat the remainder of his contract and try and trade him to another team, or he could be released once he clears waivers.

It’s been a challenging start to the season for Hicks, who’s slashed just .188/.263/.261 with a single home run in 76 plate appearances. He’d fallen down the pecking order in New York, with the team often favoring infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa for starts in the outfield over him. He’s also walking at the rate at his worst rate since 2016, striking out more and defensive metrics haven’t looked favorably on his work in left field this season.

Hicks, 33, was a 14th overall pick by the Twins back in 2008. He was a consensus top-100 prospect coming through the minors in Minnesota’s organization, and made his debut as a 23-year-old in 2013. He struggled that year, and would never really get going over the next three seasons with the Twins, slashing .225/.306/.349 over 247 games between 2013-15. By 2015, the Twins were ready to move on and flipped him to New York in a deal for catcher John Ryan Murphy.

While his struggles continued in his first season in the Bronx, Hicks found his groove in 2017, slashing .266/.372/.475 with 15 home runs over 361 plate appearances. Injuries restricted him to just 88 games that year, but he again impressed in 137 games in 2018, posting a .248/.366/.467 line with 27 home runs and doing enough to earn some down-ballot AL MVP votes.

Hicks’ blend of power, walks and lack of strikeouts, not to mention his solid glove in center field was enough for the Yankees to hand Hicks a seven-year, $70MM extension prior to the 2019 season, preventing him from reaching free agency the following winter. While at the time that looked like a solid rate for a player who’d just come off a 4.3 fWAR season, Hicks’ play deteriorated over the course of the deal.

In the four seasons between 2019-22, he’d be worth just 3.1 fWAR. A lot of that was down to injuries, as Hicks missed time in 2019 to back and flexor strains and appeared in just 59 games, while a 2021 wrist injury saw him appear in just 32 games that year. He did return fit in 2022, playing 130 games, but he hit just eight home runs as he struggled to find his power following wrist surgery. While he continued to walk at a decent clip, his declining power saw him hit just .216/.330/.313, while he also lost the center field job.

He did still contribute 1.4 fWAR in 2022, largely thanks to his walks and improved defense after being moved to left field. Nonetheless, the Yankees entered the past off-season with a bit of speculation over Hicks’ future. The optimistic view was that another year removed from wrist surgery would be enough for Hicks to regain his power and become a positive contributor to the lineup, while the pessimistic view was that Hicks’ declining play and advancing age meant his best years were permanently in the rearview mirror.

Now, after struggling over the first few months of the season, he’ll be made available to the rest of the league. It’s possible that a change of scenery is what’s needed for Hicks, who has been the target of plenty of criticism from Yankees fans in recent years.

Presuming he clears waivers, Hicks will be a cheap addition for any team as the Yankees are still on the hook for the remainder of his contract. In Hicks’ defense, he had started to hit a little better in recent times, putting up a .286/.375/.524 line over his last 24 plate appearances. He had also hit lefties at a .278/.381/.333 rate, and while both those lines are pulled from very small sample sizes he could make sense for a team wanting a cheap platoon bat.

Image credit: USA Today Sports

Cubs Designate Eric Hosmer For Assignment

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The Cubs announced a series of roster moves today, with Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic among those to relay them on Twitter. Infielder Nico Hoerner has been activated off the injured list, Edwin Ríos was recalled from Iowa and outfielder Mike Tauchman has had his contract selected. In corresponding moves, Cody Bellinger has been placed on the 10-day injured list retroactive to May 16 with a left knee contusion, Keegan Thompson has been optioned to Iowa and first baseman Eric Hosmer has been designated for assignment.

Hosmer, 33, signed an eight-year, $144MM deal with the Padres going into the 2018 but then saw his production tail off once the ink on that deal was dry. He had a career batting line of .284/.342/.439 prior to that deal but has hit just .263/.323/.406 since then. That latter line amounts to a wRC+ of 98, indicating he’s been a couple of ticks below league average. Since first baseman are generally expected to produce more on the offensive side of things, that’s been an obviously disappointing performance.

He was frequently the subject of trade rumors during him time in San Diego and eventually was flipped to the Red Sox at least year’s deadline with the Padres eating almost all of the remaining money on his deal, with Boston on the hook for just the league minimum. Boston was then encouraged enough by the developments of first base prospect Triston Casas that they released Hosmer in the offseason.

The Cubs then agreed to bring Hosmer aboard, which was a move that had no financial risk since the Padres were still responsible for most of the $39MM remaining on the final three years of his contract. It was seen by many that Hosmer would be a sort of placeholder, hopefully playing at a serviceable level until some younger player such as Matt Mervis eventually forced their way into the major league plans. Mervis was called up a couple of weeks ago and is hitting just .220/.256/.317 so far but Hosmer isn’t doing much better, currently slashing .234/.280/.330 for a wRC+ of 67. It seems the Cubs will use Hosmer’s at-bats on other players and let him seek out his next opportunity.

Hosmer will inevitable be released in the coming days and return to the open market. He hasn’t been able to provide much value lately but he might still get interest based on his previous work and the fact that he’d be essentially free in terms of dollars. He also appears to be respected around the game for intangibles like his clubhouse presence and leadership, which could also appeal to certain clubs.

Turning to the other moves, Bellinger seemed to injure himself by colliding with the wall in Houston while making a catch on Monday. The club took a few days to see how his situation developed but has decided to let him rest for at least another week. He was non-tendered by the Dodgers after last season due to his struggles in both 2021 and 2022 but is in better form so far this year. After signing a one-year, $17.5MM deal with the Cubs this winter, he’s hitting .271/.337/.493 in addition to stealing nine bases and playing quality defense. Christopher Morel is in center field tonight and could perhaps stay there until Bellinger comes back.

Tauchman, 32, could also be in that mix, as he’s been playing all three outfield slots in Triple-A this year. He’s also walked in an incredible 20.4% of his plate appearances, leading to a .278/.427/.443 slash line and 129 wRC+. He has 257 games of major league experience under his belt, having played for the Rockies, Yankees and Giants from 2017 to 2021. His career batting line is currently .231/.326/.378 for a wRC+ of 90. He spent 2022 with the Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization, hitting .289/.366/.430 in 144 games there.

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