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Cardinals Sign Giovanny Gallegos To Extension

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OCTOBER 4: It’s an $11MM guarantee, the Associated Press reports. Gallegos receives a $500K signing bonus, followed by successive salaries of $4.5MM and $5.5MM for his final seasons of arbitration eligibility. There’s a $500K buyout on the 2025 option, which has a base value of $6.5MM. The option price can escalate by as much as $3.5MM depending on his games finished tally during the 2024 campaign. It’d increase $500K apiece at 20, 26 and 31 games finished and would add an extra $1MM at each of 36 and 41 games.

OCTOBER 3: The Cardinals announced that they have signed right-hander Giovanny Gallegos to a two-year extension with a club option for 2025. Gallegos had two years of arbitration eligibility remaining, with this deal buying out those years and potentially one free agent year as well.

Gallegos, 31, came over to St. Louis alongside Chasen Shreve in the July 2018 trade that sent Luke Voit to the Yankees. He got a very brief stint with the Cards in the months after that trade, throwing 1 1/3 innings over two appearances. But in the four seasons since then, he has established himself as a mainstay of the club’s relief corps.

From 2019 to 2021, he made 155 appearances and threw 169 1/3 innings. In that time, he registered a 2.76 ERA with excellent strikeout and walk rates of 32.4% and 6.2%, respectively. He earned his way into high leverage situations in that time, notching 19 saves and 44 holds in that period.

He reached arbitration for the first time after last season, with he and the club agreeing to a $2.41MM salary for 2022. Since signing that deal, he’s been putting up very similar results to what he had done in the previous three campaigns. He has a 2.91 ERA in 58 2/3 innings with a 31.2% strikeout rate and 6.5% walk rate, earning another 14 saves and another 12 holds.

Based on his fourth straight season of strong performance, Gallegos would have been due an arbitration raise for 2023 and likely another for 2024, as long as he stayed healthy. Of course, with a pitcher, the health factor could always change the calculus in a hurry. Instead, Gallegos will have the security of knowing his earnings for the next two seasons are locked in. For giving Gallegos that guarantee, the Cards will have the ability to secure his services for an extra season.

“So excited,” Gallegos tells Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “I feel so happy. I don’t have the word exactly for how I’m feeling. Right now, I’ve got an extension with the team. My confidence is 100%, 200%.” Goold also spoke to John Mozeliak, the club’s president of baseball operations. “He really wanted to stay and be a part of the St. Louis Cardinals moving forward,” Mozeliak says. “I think it really was a win-win for both parties. This gives him a little peace of mind as well.”

Tony La Russa Announces He Won’t Return To White Sox In 2023

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White Sox manager Tony La Russa issued a statement today, saying that he will not return to his role for 2023. His contract runs for another year but he has been dealing with health issues that have kept him away from the team since late August. Reports emerged over the weekend that an announcement of this nature would be coming today.

“This February, I had a pacemaker installed and was cleared by my doctors to begin spring training as scheduled,” La Russa’s statement reads. “A periodic check of the device later identified a problem. During batting practice on August 30, I was informed of the issue, taken out of uniform and tested by doctors the next day.The solution was to update the pacemaker in Arizona and for me not to return as manager without medical clearance.”

La Russa goes on to outline a second, unspecified health issue that was diagnosed earlier in the year and that he intended to address in the coming offseason. “While I was inactive with the pacemaker, the second issue was analyzed. The result is that a corrective plan has been developed by my medical team and implementation has begun. I informed the White Sox of this second issue while I was out of uniform dealing with the pacemaker. At no time this season did either issue negatively affect my responsibilities as White Sox manager. However, it has become obvious that the length of the treatment and recovery process for this second health issue makes it impossible for me to be the White Sox manager in 2023. The timing of this announcement now enables the front office to include filling the manager position with their other off-season priorities.”

He then goes on to express his disappointment in his performance this year but makes clear he is not upset with the fans, even those who jeered him, as he understands their desire for the club to win. The White Sox are currently 79-80, eliminated from postseason contention after qualifying in the previous two seasons. In a press conference following the release of the statement, La Russa said he has not yet discussed a different role with the organization as his health is his focus right now, per Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times.

General manager Rick Hahn also participated in the press conference, saying that discussions about the next manager have already begun, per Van Schouwen (Twitter links). As for what they will be looking for in their next skipper, Hahn says they would like someone with recent managerial experience and success. A pre-existing relationship with the organization is not a prerequisite, though acting manager Miguel Cairo will receive an interview.

The Sox will be competing with a handful of other clubs who will also be looking for new field bosses for 2023. The Marlins and Don Mattingly announced that he won’t be back for next year, while the Blue Jays, Phillies, Angels and Rangers have all fired their managers midseason here in 2022. Some of those clubs will potentially retain their interim managers, with the Blue Jays seeming like a candidate to do so.

Whoever the White Sox grab to helm the dugout next season, they will have a very similar roster as La Russa had this year. Much of the club’s core performers are still under club control next year, with the most notable exception being first baseman Jose Abreu. However, the last time Abreu was approaching free agency, he was re-signed to stick around Chicago and could perhaps do the same again.

Of course, the organization could always make changes to the roster through the offseason, though they may be hamstrung financially. The club set a franchise record last year with an Opening Day payroll of $129MM but then shattered that here in 2022 by going up to $193MM, according to numbers from Cot’s Baseball Contracts. Next year’s outlay is at $121MM so far, in the estimation of Jason Martinez of Roster Resource. However, that number doesn’t include raises for arbitration eligible players like Lucas Giolito or options for players like Tim Anderson, not to mention a potential new contract for Abreu. As such, Hahn tells Van Schouwen that the club is likely to be more active on the trade market than in free agency this winter.

Mariners Promote Justin Hollander To General Manager

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The Mariners announced today that Justin Hollander has been promoted to executive vice president & general manager of baseball operations. Hollander had previously been serving in the Mariners front office as vice president & assistant general manager of baseball operations, and has been with the organization since September 2016.  Prior to that, Hollander spent nine seasons as a member of the Angels front office. Hollander’s promotion comes a year after Jerry Dipoto was promoted from GM to president of baseball operations. Dipoto will continue to lead Seattle’s front office in that role.

With this promotion, Seattle has ensured that Hollander will remain with the organization going into next season. Front office executives don’t typically interview for lateral moves from one organization to the other, so the only way for an opposing club to pry Hollander away from the Mariners would be by offering him the opportunity to take the lead role in their organization’s baseball operations infrastructure. The Tigers, Royals, and Rangers have all fired high profile front office officials this season and could potentially be among the teams looking for external additions to their front office this offseason.

Hollander’s promotion comes at the end of a very successful 2022 regular season for Seattle. In addition to clinching a playoff berth and ending the longest postseason drought across the four major North American professional sports, the Mariners have signed likely 2022 AL Rookie of the Year Julio Rodriguez to an extension that should keep him in Seattle for most of his career and both traded for and extended All Star right-hander Luis Castillo.

The Mariners currently hold the second AL wild card spot and, if postseason positioning doesn’t shift in the coming days, will be playing the three-game wild card series in Toronto against the Blue Jays.

Angels, Shohei Ohtani Avoid Arbitration With One-Year, $30MM Contract For 2023

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The Angels and Shohei Ohtani have avoided perhaps the most unique arbitration case in baseball history by agreeing to a one-year, $30MM pact for the 2023 season.  Ohtani is still scheduled to reach free agency following the 2023 campaign.  Ohtani is represented by CAA Sports.

The two-way star becomes the 20th player in baseball to receive a $30MM average annual value on a contract, and that $30MM figure also establishes two other notable thresholds.  Ohtani will now receive the largest salary ever for an arbitration-eligible player, and he also gets the biggest year-to-year raise for an arb-eligible player, after he earned $5.5MM this season.  That $5.5MM salary was established in an earlier extension that avoided arbitration, as Ohtani and the Angels agreed to a two-year, $8.5MM contract in February 2021 that covered the first two of his three arb-eligible years.

At the time of that deal, Ohtani has pitched only 1 2/3 total innings over the 2019-20 seasons, due to a Tommy John surgery and then a flexor strain.  He was also coming off a mediocre year at the plate, hitting only .190/.291/.366 over 175 plate appearances during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.  Though Ohtani was hardly the only player to struggle under the unusual circumstances of the 2020 campaign, there was speculation that his 2018 rookie season might have been his peak, and that Ohtani would be better served by choosing either hitting or pitching.

Instead, Ohtani bounced back with two of the most extraordinary seasons in baseball history.  Since Opening Day 2021, Ohtani has hit .267/.366/.560 with 80 home runs over 1282 plate appearances, while also posting a 2.72 ERA and an array of dazzling secondary metrics over 291 1/3 innings.  After winning AL MVP honors in 2021, it looks as if Ohtani will be at worst a second-place finisher in this year’s MVP race (due to Aaron Judge’s all-timer of a season), and he’ll also earn a good chunk of votes in the AL Cy Young Award race.

With this in mind, it can certainly be argued that $30MM is still a bargain from the Angels’ perspective, considering that Ohtani would earn hefty salaries if he was “only” an All-Star hitter or “only” an All-Star pitcher.  It would’ve been fascinating to see what arbitration figures the Angels and Ohtani’s camp would’ve submitted in this unprecedented scenario, but this agreement sidesteps that possibility.

Los Angeles now has three players earning at least $30MM in 2023, as Ohtani joins Mike Trout ($35.45MM) and Anthony Rendon ($38MM).  In practical terms, it doesn’t change much for the Angels’ payroll situation, as the team naturally figured it would be paying Ohtani some type of gigantic salary in his final arb-eligible year.  In pure dollars and cents, it doesn’t actually represent much different from the Angels’ 2022 payroll, as the since-released Justin Upton was earning $28MM in the final year of his contract with the club.

Ohtani’s future beyond 2023 remains a mystery, as he’ll be heading into free agency presumably still in his prime both on the mound and at the plate.  Though Ohtani turns 29 in July, his two-way ability might still land him the biggest contract in baseball history, topping the $365MM in new money given to Mookie Betts in his extension with the Dodgers prior to the 2020 season.

In reaching an agreement with Ohtani now, the Angels front office gets one big question mark settled heading into what might be one of the most uncertain offseasons in franchise history.  Owner Arte Moreno is looking into a possible sale, and with this situation lingering over the organization, it isn’t clear how aggressive GM Perry Minasian will be allowed to be in upgrading the roster.  The Halos are struggling through their seventh consecutive losing season, so while a teardown isn’t out of the question, it is also possible Moreno might order a final push to try and return to the postseason one final time under his ownership.

Until there’s more clarity with the potential sale, it is hard to gauge what will happen with Ohtani in Anaheim.  Given that Ohtani has already expressed his displeasure with losing, it seems hard to believe that he would agree to an extension unless he was satisfied that the team was heading in the right direction — even if a new owner does take over within 7-8 months, their influence might not be apparent in the short window of time before Ohtani can test the open market.  A new owner might bring a new willingness to exceed the luxury tax threshold, and thus it wouldn’t necessarily be an obstacle in adding a massive Ohtani deal worth more than $40MM (at least) in AAV on top of the long-term Trout and Rendon contracts.

A trade also can’t be ruled out, though it seems like the least likely scenario considering that Moreno vetoed any possibility that Ohtani would be swapped prior to the last trade deadline.  As noted by The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya, establishing Ohtani’s 2023 price tag early gives any interested trade partners more time to plan offers, yet not having Ohtani on the roster could also impact purchasing interest for any potential new owners.  From a practical baseball sense, it is also hard to gauge what exactly an Ohtani trade would look like, considering his elite two-way talent but also just one remaining year of control.

Braves Sign Charlie Morton To One-Year Extension

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The Braves announced this evening they’ve signed starter Charlie Morton to a one-year contract extension. He’ll make $20MM next season, and the sides tacked on a matching $20MM club option for the 2024 campaign with no buyout. The Braves are one of the few major league teams that announce contract terms.

Morton will stick around for a third season in Atlanta. Originally signed to a one-year, $15MM free agent deal over the 2020-21 offseason, he’s now signed late-season extensions in each of the past two years. In both cases, they’ve been a one-year, $20MM guarantee with a matching team option. Atlanta could’ve simply exercised the $20MM option for 2023 in Morton’s previous contract, but their preemptive agreement with the Wasserman client tacks on an additional option for the ’24 campaign.

There’s clearly a mutual comfort between the team and the 15-year MLB veteran. He’s been a durable and effective member of the starting rotation, avoiding the injured list during his first two campaigns in Atlanta and starting 63 regular season contests. He made another four starts during the 2021 postseason. That didn’t end the way he’d have hoped personally, as Morton broke his right leg during his World Series start and had to be scratched from the roster. The club went on to defeat the Astros to secure the title, though, and Morton was back in action by the start of this season.

During his debut campaign in Atlanta, Morton worked to an excellent 3.34 ERA across 185 2/3 innings. He’s not been quite that effective this year, tossing 167 2/3 frames of 4.29 ERA ball heading into his final start of the season. The two-time All-Star’s strikeout rate has been almost identical in each season (28.6% in 2021, 28.4% this year), and he’s not shown any signs of physical decline. Morton has averaged 94.9 MPH on his four-seam and 81.2 MPH on his go-to curveball this season, not far off last year’s respective 95.5 MPH and 80.6 MPH marks.

It’s a similar story on a pitch-for-pitch basis. Morton has generated swinging strikes on 12.3% of his total offerings in both seasons. That’s above this year’s 10.7% league average for starters, and Morton has held a swinging strike rate in the 12% range for five straight years. Even with his 39th birthday less than two months away, Morton hasn’t lost anything from his raw arsenal or his ability to miss bats.

The biggest contributor to his overall dip in production was an atypical struggle to throw strikes early in the season. Morton walked 11 batters in four starts in April, surrendering 14 runs in 18 innings. He’d mostly found his footing from a command perspective by the time the calendar flipped to May. In 26 starts since May 1, he owns a 3.97 ERA with a 29.9% strikeout rate and a manageable 8.2% walk percentage. He’s held opposing hitters to a .218/.301/.384 line over that span. Morton was excellent between June and August before hitting another rough patch this month, posting a 5.27 ERA in five September starts.

The Braves aren’t much concerned about either his early-season control woes or a couple recent tough outings at the hands of the Mariners and Phillies. Morton’s velocity and strong strikeout and walk profile give plenty of reason for optimism he can remain an above-average starter next season, even as his ground-ball rate has dipped to a personal-low 39.7% clip.

Morton, meanwhile, seems content taking a year-by-year approach to his playing career. A longtime back-of-the-rotation grounder specialist with the Pirates, Morton reinvented himself as a strikeout artist with the Astros in 2017. After spending two seasons in Houston, he signed a two-year free agent deal with the Rays before what’ll be at least three consecutive seasons as a Brave. He’s reportedly set geographic limitations during his recent potential free agent trips, preferring to stay in the Southeastern part of the country to be closer to his family.

Of course, the Braves have far more than just locale to make them an appealing place to pitch. Morton remains part of a stellar roster that has the team on the verge of 100 wins and firmly in contention for another NL East title. He’s among a strong rotation led by star rookie Spencer Strider, All-Star Max Fried and breakout hurler Kyle Wright. Veteran Jake Odorizzi has occupied the fifth rotation spot since being acquired from the Astros at the trade deadline, but Atlanta also has rookie Bryce Elder and prospect Freddy Tarnok as promising depth options.

That entire group could return for 2023. Strider, Fried and Wright are all under club control. Odorizzi has to decide whether to trigger a $12.5MM player option or take a $6.25MM buyout and test free agency. Elder and Tarnok are controllable, as are former top prospect and mid-rotation arm Ian Anderson, Mike Soroka, Kyle Muller and Huascar Ynoa (although Ynoa is unlikely to pitch next season after undergoing Tommy John surgery recently).

That’s a number of options, reducing the urgency for the club to look outside the organization for rotation help. Signing Morton to an extension also continues the front office’s habit of trying to preserve as much of the current core as possible. Atlanta has also signed Matt Olson, Austin Riley and Michael Harris II to long-term deals this year, in addition to previous extensions for Ronald Acuña Jr., Travis d’Arnaud and Ozzie Albies.

Locking in another $20MM to next year’s books brings the team’s guaranteed commitments north of $165MM (assuming Odorizzi exercises his option), in the estimation of Roster Resource. That’s before considering the possibility of extending impending free agent shortstop Dansby Swanson or accounting for arbitration salaries for Fried, Soroka and high-leverage reliever A.J. Minter. It’s virtually certain they’ll top this year’s franchise-record $178MM Opening Day payroll, but it’s evidently comfortable territory for the Liberty Media ownership group on the heels of last season’s title and another forthcoming postseason trip that’s certain to include at least two home playoff games.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Mets Select Francisco Alvarez, Designate Alex Claudio For Assignment

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The Mets have made it official: they’ve selected the contract of top catching prospect Francisco Alvarez from Triple-A Syracuse, confirming his previously reported promotion to the big leagues. In a pair of corresponding roster moves, Darin Ruf was placed on the 10-day injured list due to a neck strain, and lefty Alex Claudio was designated for assignment. Alvarez will serve as the Mets’ designated hitter today, batting seventh in his Major League debut.

Considered by most outlets to be among baseball’s ten best prospects — and considered the top prospect in the sport at MLB.com — Alvarez will cap off a monstrous season with his first call to the Majors. Splitting his time between Double-A and Triple-A this year, the 20-year-old slugger posted a combined .260/.374/.511 batting line with 27 home runs, 22 doubles, a 14.1% walk rate and a 24.8% strikeout rate in 495 plate appearances. He’s been on an absolute tear since returning from a stint on the minor league injured list earlier this month, mashing at a .362/.483/.596 clip over his past 58 plate appearances.

That’s a stark contrast to the veteran Ruf, acquired from the Giants prior to the trade deadline. The 36-year-old has been one of the game’s most potent bats against lefties in recent years but has stumbled to a dismal .152/.216/.197 batting line in 74 plate appearances as a Met — handily being outproduced by the same right-handed slugger for which he was traded; J.D. Davis is batting .280/.375/.525 in 136 trips to the plate as a Giant. (The Mets also sent lefty Thomas Szapucki and a pair of prospects to San Francisco in that swap.)

Alvarez’s first start will come against Braves southpaw Max Fried — a tough opponent but a favorable platoon matchup at least. In 132 plate appearances against southpaws in the minors this season, he’s raked at a .315/.424/.595 clip and slugged 15 extra-base hits (eight homers, seven doubles). Fried is (obviously) more than a cut above the quality of pitchers Alvarez has been facing in Double-A and Triple-A, but he’ll still add some right-handed thump in a pivotal series that could very well decide the winner of the National League East.

Claudio, 30, tossed 3 1/3 shutout innings with the Mets earlier this month, marking his ninth consecutive season with time spent on a Major League roster. A fixture in the bullpens of the Rangers and then the Brewers from 2014-20, Claudio struggled through a poor 2021 season with the Angels and subsequently spent the bulk of the current campaign in Triple-A. He posted a combined 3.44 ERA in 311 2/3 frames in that ’14-’20 stretch between Texas and Milwaukee before serving up a grisly 5.51 ERA in 32 2/3 innings as an Angel. He’s posted a 3.91 ERA in Syracuse this year, in addition to his 3 1/3 shutout innings for the Mets’ big league roster.

The Mets will place Claudio on outright waivers or release waivers within the next couple days. He has more than six years of Major League service time, so he’d be a free agent at season’s end regardless. It’s possible he’ll accept an outright in hopes of potentially being selected back to the roster in the event of an injury, but he’ll be a free agent this offseason regardless.

Mets To Promote Francisco Alvarez

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The Mets will promote catching prospect Francisco Álvarez in advance of the team’s pivotal weekend series against the Braves, reports Daniel Álvarez Montes of El ExtraBase (Twitter link). The 20-year-old is one of the sport’s best minor league talents, checking in sixth on Baseball America’s most recent Top 100 prospects list.

It’ll be the first major league call for Álvarez, who entered the professional ranks as an amateur signee out of Venezuela. One of the better prospects in the 2018-19 international signing period, the 5’10” backstop has only raised his stock in pro ball. He hit very well in rookie ball during his first minor league season, but he lost a year of game action with the cancelation of the minors in 2020. Álvarez opened the ’21 campaign in Low-A but quickly proved himself far too advanced for the level, and he spent most of the year in High-A.

Álvarez hit .247/.351/.538 with 22 home runs in 84 games at that level, astonishing production for a 19-year-0ld catcher. It vaulted him near the top of prospect lists entering this season, with Álvarez cracking the preseason top 15 at Baseball America, The Athletic, ESPN and FanGraphs. He opened the year at Double-A Binghamton and connected on another 18 round-trippers in 67 games. His overall .277/.368/.553 line across 296 plate appearances earned him a bump to Triple-A Syracuse in early July.

The minors’ top level has given Álvarez his toughest challenge to date, but he’s still generally held his own. Over 199 plate appearances there, he carries a .234/.382/.443 slash with another nine homers. He’s striking out at a career-worst 26.1% clip, contributing to the mediocre batting average, but the rest of his profile has remained strong. Álvarez has walked in a stellar 17.1% of his trips to the plate there, and he’s collected six doubles in addition to the longballs.

Between the two upper levels, Álvarez owns a .260/.374/.511 line with 27 homers and 22 doubles over 495 plate appearances this season. That excellent showing has been enough to convince the Mets front office he can hold his own against big league arms, even at his age. Installing him into a pennant race and directly in advance of the Mets’ biggest regular season series of the year is a strong show of faith, but Álvarez has performed well at every rung on the ladder thus far.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that the club is likely to break him as a right-handed option at designated hitter. The Mets acquired Darin Ruf from the Giants at the trade deadline in hopes he could fill that role, but that acquisition hasn’t yet panned out. Ruf has a putrid .152/.216/.197 line in 29 games as a Met. He hit a serviceable .216/.328/.373 in 314 plate appearances before the trade, but his struggles since landing in Queens have led to some questions about how manager Buck Showalter will use the DH role. Fellow deadline acquisition Daniel Vogelbach has excelled since coming over from the Pirates and will continue to pick up the playing time against right-handed pitching. Álvarez gives Showalter an alternative to the struggling Ruf for at-bats against left-handers.

It doesn’t seem likely he’ll step directly in as the primary catcher, however. The Mets have veteran James McCann as the starter, with Tomás Nido backing him up. McCann is hitting only .190/.256/.264 in 180 plate appearances, his second straight down year offensively. The veteran has rated as a slightly above-average defender, and he’s drawn strong reviews for his work with the pitching staff. Sending Álvarez behind the plate for the final few games of the season is more than the front office and coaching staff appears to be comfortable with, particularly given McCann’s longstanding familiarity with the staff.

Scouting reports on Álvarez have long suggested he’s more of a bat-first catcher. That’s largely a testament to his offensive potential, but evaluators have expressed some concern about his defense. BA’s scouting report notes that he’s had some inconsistency as a pitch framer and ball blocker. The outlet also suggests that Álvarez’s plus raw arm strength can play down because of some flaws in his throwing mechanics.

There’s general optimism that Álvarez can eventually iron out those concerns and become at least a competent defender. That’s more of a long-term question, though. The immediate pressing issue for the Mets is whether he can make an impact offensively. New York enters the weekend set holding a one-game advantage over Atlanta. New York would also hold the tiebreaker over the Braves if they can take even one of the three contests, so they’d head into next week at the top of the division unless they get swept. Securing their first NL East title since 2015 would come with a corresponding first-round bye, making these final six contests crucial.

Álvarez’s promotion for such important regular season games raises the possibility he’ll also crack the postseason roster. Only players on a team’s 40-man roster by September 1 are automatically eligible to partake in the playoffs. However, players in an organization but not on the 40-man by September 1 can be added to a playoff roster in place of someone on the injured list via petition to the commissioner’s office. That situation is fairly common every postseason, so the Mets shouldn’t have much issue getting Álvarez onto the playoff roster if they desire.

New York will have to add him to their 40-man roster before tomorrow evening’s game. Their roster is currently full, so they’ll need to make a corresponding transaction. He’d have been added to the 40-man after the season anyhow to keep him from being taken in the Rule 5 draft, so there’s little harm in bringing him up a few weeks early. Álvarez will collect his first few days of major league service but won’t be eligible for free agency until after the 2028 season at the earliest. His fastest path to arbitration-eligibility is after the 2025 campaign, and it’s certainly possible he’ll spend more time in the minors polishing up his defense and at least delaying his free agency trajectory.

In the meantime, Mets fans will get their first glimpse at a player they hope to be a key piece of the franchise’s future. McCann is under contract for two more seasons, due $12.15MM annually through 2024. It stands to reason Álvarez will have an opportunity to supplant him on the depth chart at some point next year. For now, he’ll get his feet in the majors as a bat-first option for the stretch run — with some postseason action perhaps on the horizon.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Rays Activate Tyler Glasnow, Transfer Brandon Lowe To 60-Day Injured List

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The Rays announced Wednesday that righty Tyler Glasnow has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list. Brandon Lowe, already known to be out for the season due to a back injury, was transferred from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL to open a spot on the 40-man roster. The Rays optioned righty Cristofer Ogando to Triple-A Durham to create a spot on the active roster.

Glasnow’s return gives the Rays a high-octane arm to add to the rotation mix both down the stretch and, more pivotally, in the postseason. Glasnow, who tossed seven minor league rehab innings prior to today’s activation, will be capped at two or three in his first start back from last summer’s Tommy John surgery. He could feasibly build up to a larger, less-restricted workload if Tampa Bay can put together a deep playoff run.

A healthy Glasnow unequivocally improves the Rays’ odds of doing just that, as he’d broken out following a trade from the Pirates, finally developing into the front-of-the-rotation talent he was billed as during his top prospect days. The 6’8″ righty started 37 games for Tampa Bay from 2019-21, pitching to a 2.80 ERA with a massive 35.9% strikeout rate and solid 7.8% walk rate over the life of 206 innings. The only pitchers in baseball with a higher strikeout rate during that three-year stretch were Gerrit Cole and Jacob deGrom, and only Shane Bieber had a higher percentage of combined called and swinging strikes than Glasnow’s 32.9%.

The Rays and Glasnow came to terms on a somewhat surprising two-year, $30.35MM extension earlier this summer — one that’s reflective both of Glasnow’s injury/missed time and his Cy Young-caliber upside. Glasnow will $5.35MM in 2023, which would’ve been his final arbitration year, representing a modest increase over this season’s $5.1MM salary. He’ll then be guaranteed a $25MM salary in 2024 — what would’ve otherwise been his first free-agent season. It’s the most the perennially cost-conscious Rays have ever paid for a single season of a player, so there’s surely a bit of trepidation on their end of things. At the same time, it’s rare for any player with Glasnow’s service time –and particularly one of Glasnow’s caliber — to sign away just one free-agent year, even on the heels of an injury-wrecked season. There’s some compromise from both parties, and Glasnow said after the contract that he’s “exactly where I want to be.”

The returning Glasnow will now join Shane McClanahan, Corey Kluber, Drew Rasmussen and Jeffrey Springs in a formidable rotation. Each of McClanahan, Rasmussen and Springs will be options alongside Glasnow through at least the 2024 season, and the Rays will have several impressive young hurlers to vie for the fifth starting spot next season (barring a free-agent or trade addition). Luis Patino, Yonny Chirinos, Josh Fleming and prospect Taj Bradley will all be in the mix, though their most touted arm, righty Shane Baz, will likely miss all of the 2023 season following his recent Tommy John surgery.

Mariners Sign Luis Castillo To Extension

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SEPTEMBER 26: Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reports the financial breakdown. Castillo receives a $7MM signing bonus and a $10MM salary for next season, followed by successive $22.75MM salaries between 2024-27. The ’28 options vests if Castillo throws 180 innings in 2027 and receives confirmation from an independent physician after the season that he hasn’t suffered an injury that’d require him to begin the following year on the injured list. The deal also contains a $1MM assignment bonus that’d kick in if he were traded at any point between 2025-27.

SEPTEMBER 24: Luis Castillo has gone from trade deadline prize to franchise cornerstone, as the right-hander has signed a five-year, $108MM extension with the Mariners. The deal could be worth up to $133MM based on a vesting option for the 2028 season, and that option vests if Castillo throws at least 180 innings in 2027. The Mariners can also receive a $5MM club option Castillo’s services for 2028 should he miss more than 130 days in 2025-27 due to a UCL repair procedure. Castillo will also receive a full no-trade clause for the extension’s first three seasons.

Castillo was slated to become a free agent after the 2023 season, but the Republik Sports client will instead stick with the Mariners for at least four years beyond that original date. The Mariners’ official announcement of the extension included statements from both Castillo and president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto.

“Luis has been one of the top pitchers in MLB over the past six seasons,” Dipoto said. “He is a dynamic power pitcher in the prime of his career with a track record of consistency. Bringing him to Seattle represented a key moment in our ongoing efforts to build a championship roster. Similarly, this deal illustrates our continued commitment to both the present and future of this team.”

“I feel great,” Castillo said. “Every baseball player wants to have a dream like this become a reality. I’m happy I was able to accomplish this with the Mariners and I want to thank everybody in the organization for treating me so well.”

Castillo, 29, began his major league career with the Reds, establishing himself as an excellent starting pitcher. From his 2017 debut through 2021, he made 123 starts and pitched to an ERA of 3.72. That mark is all the more impressive given the hitter-friendly nature of Great American Ball Park, with both Statcast and ESPN ranking it second behind Coors Field in that department. He was able to attain that level of success by getting ground balls on 53.9% of batted balls while striking out 26.2% of hitters faced, both of those numbers being much better than league average. He also displayed adequate control, walking 8.8% of hitters who came to the plate, a mark that’s roughly league average. He produced 14.5 wins above replacement in that time, according to FanGraphs, a mark that ranks among the top 20 among all pitchers in the league.

The most recent offseason got off to an ominous start for the Reds, as general manager Nick Krall said that the club “must align our payroll to our resources and continue focusing on scouting and developing young talent from within our system” in the wake of Tucker Barnhart’s trade to the Tigers. Trade rumors immediately began swirling around Castillo, along with his rotation mates Sonny Gray and Tyler Mahle. Gray would be dealt to Minnesota in March but the Reds hung onto Mahle and Castillo to start the year. Castillo was slowed by some shoulder soreness early in camp but returned to the mound in May and didn’t show any rust when retaking the hill. Through 14 starts with Cincy, he had an ERA of 2.86 along with a 47.1% ground ball rate, 25.8% strikeout rate and 8% walk rate.

Despite Castillo’s contributions, the Reds unsurprisingly got poor results overall with their ongoing selloff. Castillo was once again the focus of trade rumors as the deadline approached, with the Padres, Twins, Mets, Yankees, Blue Jays, Dodgers, Cardinals and Astros among those showing interest. Ultimately, the Mariners won the bidding by sending prospects Noelvi Marte, Edwin Arroyo, Levi Stoudt and Andrew Moore to Cincinnati. Since the trade, Castillo has continued his excellent season by making another nine starts with a 2.83 ERA, 29.1% strikeout rate, 5.9% walk rate and 46% ground ball rate. It seems the M’s got exactly what they wanted out of Castillo and locked him up long-term.

The price point is something of a surprise, given the most recent comparison is probably José Berríos. After being acquired by Blue Jays last year, Berríos was heading into his final year before free agency but agreed to a seven-year, $131MM extension. Berríos is having a terrible year here in 2022 but was actually on pretty similar footing to Castillo when he signed that deal. From 2017 to 2021, Berríos produced 15.2 fWAR, the same stretch that saw Castillo produce 14.5. Castillo has agreed to delay his free agency in exchange for less money and fewer years, though a higher average annual value. Berríos’ deal comes with an AAV of $18.7 whereas Castillo’s is $21.6MM, though if he vests the option it would take it up to $22.17MM.

For the Mariners, it’s still a significant investment in a starting pitcher, their second in the past year. They signed Robbie Ray to a five-year, $115MM deal back in November. Those two will now continue forming a core in the rotation for at least the next four seasons after this one. Logan Gilbert, whom the club drafted and developed, isn’t slated to reach free agency until after the 2027 season. George Kirby is one year behind Gilbert and should be around through the 2028 campaign, giving the M’s a core four that can anchor the rotation for quite some time. There’s also Marco Gonzales, whose contract runs through 2024 with a club option for 2025. The club is so awash in starting pitching that Chris Flexen, who triggered a vesting option for 2023, has been bumped to bullpen duty despite a 3.69 ERA on the season.

The Mariners haven’t made the postseason since 2001, the largest active playoff drought in the majors. They are well-positioned to snap that streak here in 2022, currently holding down the final American League Wild Card spot with a three-game cushion over the Orioles. With their rotation seemingly set for years to come and a position player core that includes Julio Rodriguez, J.P. Crawford, Eugenio Suarez and others, they should continue competing into the future as well.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan (Twitter links) was the first to report about Castillo’s extension, and the clause related to the UCL injury. Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reported the 180-inning threshold for the vesting option, and The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported the details of Castillo’s no-trade protection.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Don Mattingly Won’t Return As Marlins Manager In 2023

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Don Mattingly and the Marlins have mutually agreed that 2022 will be his final season as the club’s manager, according to a press release from the team.

The team released a statement from chairman and principal owner Bruce Sherman as well as Mattingly. Sherman’s portion reads: “We are fortunate to have had Don Mattingly leading our team on the field over the last seven years. He has represented the Marlins, our players, our fans, and the South Florida community with unmatched dignity and pride. Over the course of our recent conversations with Don, we both agreed not to pursue a new contract for the 2023 season and that the time is right for a new voice to lead our clubhouse. He will depart with the most wins and most games managed in franchise history and we are proud of Don’s many accomplishments, including winning National League Manager of the Year in 2022 when he guided the Marlins to the postseason after a 16-year absence.”

Don Mattingly } Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY SportsMattingly’s portion of the press release reads: “Today I am announcing that I will not be seeking a contract extension with the Miami Marlins. After meeting with Mr. Sherman and discussing with Kim Ng, all parties agreed that it was time for a new voice for the organization. I am proud and honored to have served as manager of the Marlins for the past seven years and have enjoyed my experiences and relationships I’ve developed within the organization. I look forward to spending time with my family in Evansville, and to any future endeavors.”

Mattingly, 61, got his first taste of managing with the Dodgers from 2011 to 2015 before coming over to the Marlins prior to the 2016 season. Of course, a lot has changed for the franchise during that time. The Fish were near-ish to .500 in Mattingly’s first two seasons as skipper, finishing 79-82 in 2016 and then 77-85 the following year.

It was towards the end of that 2017 campaign that the club was sold from Jeffrey Loria to a group headed by Derek Jeter and Bruce Sherman. The new ownership group immediately set out to slash the team’s budget, trading away Giancarlo Stanton, Marcell Ozuna and Christian Yelich that winter and J.T. Realmuto one year later. That unsurprisingly led the team into a stretch of poor results, finishing in the basement of the NL East in 2018 and 2019. They surprised with a 31-29 finish in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, with Mattingly winning Manager of the Year in the process, but then were back to being bad again in the two subsequent campaigns. They went 67-95 last year and currently sport a record of 63-89 here in 2022.

Those trades landed several prospects, including Sandy Alcantara, Zac Gallen, Daniel Castano, Lewis Brinson, Monte Harrison, Isan Diaz, Sixto Sanchez, Jorge Alfaro and others. Very few of those players found success in Miami, however, with many of them having since moved on to other organizations. The club still felt like it had enough young pitching talent to take an aggressive approach this offseason, bringing in Avisail Garcia, Jorge Soler, Jacob Stallings and Joey Wendle for 2022. Unfortunately, all of those players have had disappointing seasons, meaning the post-rebuild era still seems illusive.

Mattingly currently sports a record of 437-583 while at the helm in Miami, though it would be difficult to place the blame squarely on him for all that losing given that the franchise has been intentionally bad for much of that stretch. It’s also probably not what Mattingly had in mind when he first joined the team, as the exciting bunch of young and talented MLB players that were present when he was first hired were sent packing in exchange for even younger prospects. Given that his departure has been reported as a mutual decision, it doesn’t seem like he was particularly enthused about continuing with the ongoing rebuild efforts. His statement indicates that he will go home to his family in Indiana, though it’s unclear if he would be interested in or pursue any other opportunities in baseball.

The Marlins will head into the offseason with much work to do this offseason in order to improve for 2023, but now they will have to add a managerial search to the list. General manager Kim Ng and her staff will be competing with the Blue Jays, Phillies, Angels and Rangers, who all fired their managers this year, though some of them could potentially retain their interim skippers into the future.

Craig Mish and Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reported on Mattingly’s departure prior to the official team announcement.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

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