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Marlins Sign Cal Quantrill

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The Marlins announced that they have signed right-hander Cal Quantrill to a one-year deal. Left-hander Braxton Garrett has been transferred to the 60-day injured list as the corresponding move. Quantrill’s deal reportedly guarantees him $3.5MM, though the Excel Sports Management client can potentially earn another $500K via incentives.

Quantrill, 30, just finished a season pitching for the Rockies. After a few years pitching for the Guardians, he was flipped to Colorado and had to navigate the challenge of pitching at altitude in 2024. Given the conditions, the results were passable. He made 29 starts and logged 148 1/3 innings, allowing 4.98 earned runs per nine. His 16.8% strikeout rate was subpar but pretty normal for him. His 10.5% walk rate was a bit higher than average while his 44.4% ground ball rate was right around par.

The Rockies could have brought Quantrill back for 2025, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting him for a $9MM salary, but they opted to non-tender him instead. That sent him to free agency without being exposed to waivers, which made him available to work out this deal with the Marlins.

He has had some better numbers in the past. Over the 2021 and 2022 seasons with Cleveland, he worked a swing role, making 54 starts and 18 relief appearances. Over those campaigns, he posted a 3.16 ERA with an 18% strikeout rate, 6.8% walk rate and 42.6% ground ball rate. He benefited from a .274 batting average on balls in play and 77.9% strand rate in that time, which were both on the lucky side. His 4.10 FIP and 4.50 SIERA over that span were perhaps better reflections of his performance but still solid numbers for a back-end starter or swingman.

In 2023, things regressed for him a bit. He spent some time on the injured list due to shoulder inflammation and was only able to make 19 starts. He had a 5.24 ERA and was designated for assignment after the season, which led to his trade to Colorado.

The Marlins are likely looking for Quantrill to serve as a steadying force in a rotation that has talent but is in flux. With the club rebuilding, they have had a strong willingness to deal players over the past year. In the rotation, they traded Trevor Rogers to the Orioles at last year’s deadline and then Jesús Luzardo to the Phillies in this offseason. Garrett is also going to miss the 2025 season while recovering from surgery on the ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing elbow. Eury Pérez is recovering from Tommy John surgery and isn’t slated to return until around the All-Star break.

As of now, the on-paper rotation consists of Sandy Alcántara, Ryan Weathers, Edward Cabrera and Max Meyer, with plenty of uncertainty in those remaining options. Alcántara is returning after Tommy John surgery wiped out his 2024 campaign. Even if he’s successful in coming back healthy, he will likely be in trade rumors this summer. Weathers had some good numbers last year but spent a decent chunk of time on the IL due to a finger strain and still hasn’t thrown 100 innings in an MLB season. Cabrera has also never hit the 100-inning plateau and has walked 13.3% of opponents in his career. He’s also been in plenty of trade rumors and could be flipped if he shows some hints of improvement. Meyer missed the 2023 season recovering from Tommy John surgery and came back last year to make 11 big league starts with a 5.68 ERA.

The Fish have some depth options like Valente Bellozo, Adam Mazur and Connor Gillispie, but those guys all have options. Quantrill can take a rotation spot and bump those guys down to the Triple-A rotation, at least until an injury or a trade opens up an opportunity. If Quantrill pitches well, he’ll likely end up on the trade block himself.

RosterResource currently pegs the Marlins for a competitive balance number of just over $83MM, which should jump to around $86-87MM once Quantrill’s deal is factored in. It has been reported that they may need to get up to $105MM to avoid being subject to a grievance from the MLBPA, in relation to the use of their revenue-sharing funds. If the club plans to get to that number, then perhaps they will look to make further upgrades to their roster in the coming weeks.

 Alden González of ESPN reported that the two sides were in agreement prior to the official announcement. Craig Mish of the Miami Herald first reported the $3.5MM guarantee. Robert Murray of FanSided reported that Quantrill can earn as much as $4MM on the deal, suggesting that there are potential incentives worth $500K.

Anthony Rendon To Undergo Hip Surgery, Facing “Long-Term” Absence

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Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon is slated to undergo hip surgery and will face a “long-term” absence, general manager Perry Minasian announced to the Angels beat this morning (link via Sam Blum of The Athletic).

Rendon, 34, is entering the sixth season of a seven-year, $245MM contract that has proved a catastrophic misstep for the Angels organization. He played 52 of 60 possible games during his first season with the Halos and looked every bit like the star they’d hoped to sign, slashing .286/.418/.497 in 232 plate appearances. It’s been all downhill from there.

Over the past four seasons, Rendon has played 205 of a possible 648 games (31.6%) and posted an anemic .231/.329/.336 batting line. Dating back to 2021 alone, Rendon has had a staggering 12 different IL placements. This hip procedure will account for his 13th. He’s missed time with a near-interminable list of injuries which, in order, reads as follows: knee contusion, hamstring strain, hip impingement, wrist inflammation, wrist surgery, groin strain, wrist contusion, shin contusion, hamstring strain, back inflammation, oblique strain — and now hip surgery.

As Minasian explains, Rendon had a setback during his offseason rehab work, leading to the upcoming operation. Even prior to that, Minasian had stated that after the past four seasons, Rendon would not simply be handed the third base job on account of his contract. The Angels were open to everyday additions at the hot corner throughout the winter and reportedly looked into potential trades for Nolan Arenado, Alec Bohm and Eugenio Suarez. The recently signed Yoan Moncada to a one-year, $5MM deal. With Rendon out indefinitely, Moncada’s already apparent status as the team’s primary third baseman is only further solidified.

There’s no exact timetable for Rendon’s return, but at this point it’s fair to wonder whether he’ll make it back to the field in an Angels uniform. He’s been injured more often than not since signing in Anaheim and now faces the prospect of rehabbing from a major surgery in his mid-30s. He’s signed through the 2026 season, bringing him close to the point at which teams start to feel comfortable cutting bait on underwater contracts.

Given Moncada’s own lengthy injury history, the Angels may have to patch things together at the hot corner this year. Utility infielder Kevin Newman signed a big league deal early in the offseason and could see frequent time there. He may also get some early run at shortstop with Zach Neto still mending from shoulder surgery. Neto said today (via MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger) that he recently got some “good news” and is ahead of schedule in his recovery, but it’s still not a given that he’ll be ready for Opening Day. He’s hitting off a tee but is not yet cleared to throw.

Among the notable non-roster invitees in Angels camp who could factor into the infield mix — especially early — are Tim Anderson, J.D. Davis, Carter Kieboom and Yolmer Sanchez.

Padres Sign Jason Heyward

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February 11: The Padres have officially announced the deal. Per Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune, Heyward is guaranteed $1MM with another $250K available via incentives. Jon Heyman of The New York Post provides details on those incentives, with Heyward getting $50K for getting to 200, 250, 300, 350 and 400 plate appearances.

February 7: The Padres have reached agreement with Jason Heyward on a free agent deal, reports Dennis Lin of The Athletic. Lin indicates that Heyward is expected to split time in left field with San Diego’s other recent free agent pickup, Connor Joe. Terms are unreported, but it seems likely to be a one-year major league deal for the Excel Sports Management client. The Padres have four openings on the 40-man roster and can accommodate Joe and Heyward without any corresponding moves.

Heyward is headed into his age-35 season. He has spent the past two years as a left-handed platoon bat in the corner outfield. That role suited him quite well in 2023. Heyward caught on with the Dodgers after being released by the Cubs before what would have been the final season of his eight-year contract. He had his best offensive showing in some time, hitting .269/.340/.473 with 15 homers across 377 plate appearances.

The Dodgers brought him back on a $9MM contract early last offseason. He was unable to match the previous year’s production. Heyward missed six weeks early in the season rehabbing a lower back injury. He hit fairly well immediately upon his return but suffered a bone bruise in his left knee at the beginning of July. That knocked him out of action for another three weeks. He fell into a slump upon coming back from that injury. The Dodgers designated him for assignment towards the end of August.

Heyward was sitting on a .208/.289/.393 line when the Dodgers cut him. He quickly landed a big league deal with the Astros, where he fared a bit better in a small sample. Heyward hit four homers in 24 games with Houston, posting a .218/.283/.473 slash across 61 trips to the plate. He cracked the playoff roster and got the start in left field for Game 2 of Houston’s Wild Card series loss at the hands of the Tigers.

Between the two teams, Heyward finished the year with a .211/.288/.412 slash over 258 plate appearances. He posted roughly average strikeout and walk rates while showing a bit of power, connecting on 10 homers in around a half-season’s worth of playing time. He hit a lot of ground-balls to the pull side, though, an approach that wasn’t conducive to strong ball in play results. His .226 average on balls in play was a career low; only seven hitters with 250+ plate appearances had a lower BABIP.

Heyward has only taken 50 plate appearances against left-handed pitching over the past two seasons. He’s hitting .188 with a .220 on-base percentage in that tiny sample. The Padres will limit him to almost exclusively facing right-handers. He had a .214/.298/.422 line with the platoon advantage last year and is two seasons removed from a strong .276/.347/.471 showing against righties. It’s unlikely that he’ll get back to the ’23 level, but he can potentially turn in slightly above-average numbers with the platoon advantage. Joe, a right-handed hitter, had a .251/.353/.418 line against left-handed pitching over his two seasons with the Pirates.

The Friars used David Peralta as a lefty platoon corner outfielder last season. He hit .273/.329/.431 across 234 plate appearances in that role — strong work for a player who joined the team on a minor league deal in the middle of May. Peralta remains unsigned, while the Friars didn’t make a serious effort to retain Jurickson Profar because of payroll limitations. A Heyward/Joe platoon is going to be a significant step down from Profar’s unexpected .280/.380/.459 performance. They were inevitably going to downgrade at the position. Profar played last season on a $1MM salary, making him the biggest bargain signing of last offseason.

Neither the Joe nor Heyward terms have been reported, but they’ll each be modest deals. They join Elias Díaz’s $3.5MM signing as San Diego’s free agent acquisitions this winter. RosterResource calculates their competitive balance tax payroll around $247MM (pending the Joe and Heyward deals). That puts them about $6MM above the luxury tax threshold; they ended last season with a CBT number in the $228MM range. A late-offseason trade to clear payroll and add affordable help to the back of the rotation remains a possibility.

Image courtesy of Imagn.

Twins Sign Harrison Bader

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The Twins officially announced the signing of outfielder Harrison Bader to a one-year deal with a 2026 mutual option. It’s a reported $6.25MM guarantee for the VaynerSports client. That breaks down as a $750K signing bonus, a $4MM base salary, and a $1.5MM buyout on the $10MM option. The buyout price could climb by another $1.5MM based on playing time: $200K at 400, 425 and 450 plate appearances, then by $450K at 475 and 500. There’s also a $500K assignment bonus if Bader is traded.

Bader, 31 in June, is a glove-first guy. From 2018 to 2024, he has been credited with 75 Outs Above Average, the top mark among all outfielders for that span. His tally of 48 Defensive Runs Saved in that stretch is only marginally less impressive, putting him sixth in the majors overall.

His offensive contributions have been less consistent, and more muted of late. From 2018 to 2021, he hit .244/.325/.420 for the Cardinals. That production translated to a 101 wRC+, meaning he was just 1% above average. Since he also stole 38 bases in that time and provided his aforementioned strong defense, he was a very valuable player in that stretch.

But in recent years, his batting has been a notch or two below that. Over the past three seasons, he has bounced from the Cardinals to the Yankees, Reds and Mets, hitting .239/.284/.360 for a wRC+ of 79. The glovework has still be strongly rated in that time and he swiped another 38 bags over those three years, but the diminished offense has naturally tamped his overall contributions.

On the whole, he has still been a useful player, even though the bat has been subpar. FanGraphs credited him with 3.7 wins above replacement over the past three campaigns, with at least 1.0 fWAR in each. Last year, he got into 143 games for the Mets. He hit 12 home runs and stole 17 bases. His batting line of .236/.284/.373 led to a wRC+ of just 85, but he was still worth 1.3 fWAR thanks to his speed and defense.

Bader seems likely to fill the role that Manuel Margot had in 2024. Margot appeared in 129 games for the Twins last year, though he was only in the starting lineup for 70. He spent a bit of time in all three outfield positions, doing some pinch hitting and pinch running. He stepped to the plate 343 times and hit .238/.289/.337 for a wRC+ of 79. He was once a strong glove-first outfielder like Bader, though the defensive metrics have soured on him over the past three years.

The Twins have a strong everyday center fielder in Byron Buxton, though he has struggled to stay on the field in his career. He has never played more than 140 games in a season and only once gone past 102. Last year, he got to that 102 number, which was just the second time in his career playing more than 92 games in a season.

As such, the Twins have seemingly made it a mission to have a strong center-field-capable fourth outfielder on the roster. They acquired Michael A. Taylor for the 2023 season, Margot last winter and are now going with Bader for 2025.

By having Bader on the roster, the club has some cover for if Buxton requires time on the injured list again. They also don’t have a surefire designated hitter, so it’s possible that Buxton serves as the DH with some regularity. Buxton is an excellent defensive center fielder himself, so that would rob him of some of his value, but having Bader take his spot in the field would at least mean there’s no downgrade out there. Going that route on occasion could perhaps allow Buxton stay a bit healthier than in some other years, thus staying with the club for a larger chunk of the season.

With Max Kepler hitting free agency, the Twins project to have Matt Wallner and Trevor Larnach in the corners. Bader can spell those two on defense occasionally and also perhaps platoon with them, as he hits from the right side while Wallner and Larnach are lefties with notable career splits. Bader had reverse splits in 2024 but has hit .249/.314/.461 against lefties in his career for a 109 wRC+. That’s compared to a .239/.303/.367 line and 84 wRC+ against righties.

The Twins also have Willi Castro and Austin Martin as guys who could figure into the outfield mix, but they are also capable of playing the infield. Like with Buxton in the outfield, there are some health concerns on the dirt, as Carlos Correa, Royce Lewis and José Miranda have had notable injury concerns over the years.

It’s been a pretty quiet offseason for the Twins overall, with the front office apparently working under some notable constraints. The 2024 payroll dropped by about $30MM compared to the previous year, which was apparently due to the ongoing uncertainty with their broadcast deal with Diamond Sports Group. This year, the Twins are having MLB handle their broadcasts, which is likely to bring in less revenue than their previous arrangement. On top of that, the club is currently for sale. It’s possible that the current owners prefer to keep the long-term books fairly clean, leaving the future spending decisions to the new ownership group.

Going into this week, the Twins hadn’t made a significant trade nor agreed to sign a free agent to a major league deal. They have ramped up their activity, relatively speaking, by giving one-year deals to Coulombe and Bader this week. Bader’s deal does have a mutual option, but those are almost never picked up by both sides. They are essentially just an accounting measure to kick some of the spending to the end of the season.

For much of the offseason, it seemed as though the club might have to clear some payroll to make moves, perhaps by trading someone like Christian Vázquez or Chris Paddack. It remains to be seen whether that is still the case or if they found enough coins in the couch cushions to simply make these additions without subtractions.

There are still some viable infielders and starting pitchers in free agency, but the outfield market has been more picked over. As of a couple of weeks ago, Jurickson Profar was last outfielder still unsigned who profiled as a clear everyday player. He signed a three-year pact with Atlanta, leaving mostly part-time, role-playing types on the market.

Since then, a number of those players have signed fairly similar one-year deals. Austin Hays got $5MM from the Reds, Ramón Laureano got $4MM from the Orioles and Randal Grichuk got $5MM from the Diamondbacks. Those guys can all play center in a pinch but Bader is clearly above them defensively, which has perhaps allowed him to come out ahead. For clubs still looking for outfield help, Mark Canha, Alex Verdugo, Jason Heyward and David Peralta are some of the guys still out there.

Jon Heyman of The New York Post first reported that the Twins were signing Bader to a one-year deal with a mutual option. Ken Rosenthal and Dan Hayes of The Athletic reported the $6.25MM guarantee. Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune had the specific salary breakdown. Heyman had the specifics on the buyout escalators and the assignment bonus.

Tigers Sign Jack Flaherty

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Feb. 7: The Tigers have formally announced Flaherty’s two-year deal.

Feb. 2: Jack Flaherty is returning to the Motor City, as ESPN’s Jeff Passan (multiple links) reports that the right-hander has signed a two-year deal with the Tigers worth $35MM in guaranteed money.  The frontloaded deal pays Flaherty $25MM in 2025, and he can opt out of the second year of the contract this fall to re-enter free agency.  Flaherty will earn at least $10MM in 2026, though he can unlock up to an additional $10MM in incentive bonuses if he makes 15 starts this season.  The deal will become official once Flaherty passes a physical, and the right-hander is represented by CAA Sports.

The new contract is a healthy increase over the one-year, $14MM deal Flaherty signed with Detroit in December 2023, as the righty was looking to rebuild his value after a few injury-marred and inconsistent seasons with the Cardinals and Orioles.  Flaherty got himself back on track in impressive fashion, delivering a 2.95 ERA over 18 starts and 106 2/3 innings for the Tigers before he was dealt to the Dodgers at the trade deadline.

Now pitching for his hometown team, Flaherty had a 3.58 ERA in 55 1/3 regular-season innings for L.A. and had a couple of big moments in the playoffs, most notably seven shutout innings against the Mets in Game 1 of the NLCS.  After capturing his first World Series ring, Flaherty headed into the open market in search of a lucrative long-term deal, bolstered by his 2024 production and unencumbered by a qualifying offer.

MLBTR rated Flaherty eighth on our list of the winter’s top 50 free agents, projecting that he’d land a five-year, $115MM contract as he entered his age-29 season.  Even as other pitchers exceeded salary expectations, Flaherty’s market remained relatively cold, and he said in an interview on the Foul Territory podcast just over a week ago that he had received little in the way of formal contract offers.  A couple of weeks ago, reports suggested that Flaherty was open to the type of shorter-term deal with an opt-out that he ended up signing for his second stint in a Tigers uniform.

The Mets, Cubs, Red Sox, Giants, Blue Jays, and Orioles were all linked to Flaherty at various points during the offseason, and reports of Detroit’s interest in a reunion first surfaced back in early December.  Flaherty noted during his Foul Territory interview that he “wanted to stay in Detroit” before the deadline trade, and “loved” his previous time with the team, particularly pitching alongside Tarik Skubal in the rotation.

It could be that Flaherty lingered this long on the open market because teams wanted to see more than just his 2024 season before being sold on a longer-term commitment.  Injury concerns may have been a factor, as the Yankees pulled out of a planned deal to acquire Flaherty at the deadline after looking at his medical records.  Apart from one skipped start due to a bad back, Flaherty was otherwise pretty healthy in 2024, avoiding the injured list and tossing 184 combined innings during the regular season and postseason.  His average fastball velocity was a modest 93.3mph, however, and he lost some velo later in the season after the trade.

Looking elsewhere on the Statcast page, Flaherty posted an excellent 29.9% strikeout rate and 5.9% walk rate, along with strong hard-contact and chase rates to go along with his 3.17 combined ERA with Detroit and Los Angeles.  It was the kind of form that Flaherty hadn’t shown over a full season since 2019, when he finished fourth in NL Cy Young Award voting while pitching with the Cardinals.

It is relatively uncommon to see a player get dealt by a team at the trade deadline and then re-sign with that same team the following offseason, yet the way this scenario played out, the Tigers’ decision to move Flaherty couldn’t have worked out much better.  Detroit received prospects Trey Sweeney and Thayron Liranzo from the Dodgers, and Sweeney already made an impact by becoming the Tigers’ regular shortstop down the stretch.  Unlike most deadline sellers, the Tigers caught fire late in the season and made an improbable playoff run, going 31-13 over their last 44 games to win a wild card berth, and Detroit then upset the Astros in the Wild Card Series before taking the Guardians to the full five games in the ALDS.

After relying on the “pitching chaos” strategy for much of that run, the Tigers’ rotation looks a lot more stable heading into 2025.  Flaherty and fellow new signing Alex Cobb join Skubal, Reese Olson as pitchers with set rotation spots, and the list of fifth starter candidates includes the likes of Kenta Maeda, Casey Mize, Jackson Jobe and Matt Manning.  Detroit might well keep this entire group to guard against injuries, but there’s enough depth here that the Tigers could consider trading a starter to address another primary need, like relief pitching or a right-handed bat.

Among Detroit’s primary free agent signings this winter, Cobb, Gleyber Torres, and Tommy Kahnle all signed one-year contracts and Flaherty’s deal might also end up as a one-year pact should he exercise his opt-out clause.  Even if Flaherty passes on his opt-out, all these signings fit president of baseball operations Scott Harris’ preferred model of shorter-term contracts.  This isn’t to say that the Tigers haven’t at least explored longer-term deals (i.e. their ongoing pursuit of Alex Bregman), but focusing on just short-term upgrades has allowed the club to keep its financial powder dry for a bigger splash in the future.  Flaherty, Colt Keith, and Javier Baez are the only Tigers players guaranteed money beyond the 2025 season.

While naturally Flaherty would’ve preferred to have locked down a pricey long-term deal already, another quality season will surely line up nicely for such a contract next winter, even if a full year with the Tigers would make him eligible for a qualifying offer.  In the interim, he’ll bank at least a $25MM payday, and pitch in a comfortable and familiar environment on what looks to be a contending team.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Ippei Mizuhara Sentenced To 57 Months In Prison

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Ippei Mizuhara, former interpreter for Shohei Ohtani, was sentenced to 57 months in prison today. Per Sam Blum of The Athletic, there will be three years of supervised release and Mizuhara has been ordered to pay Ohtani nearly $17MM in restitution.

In March of 2024, reports emerged that millions of dollars had been wired from an account in Ohtani’s name to an illegal gambling ring. Mizuhara initially said that Ohtani agreed to the transfer in order to help him with gambling debts. Ohtani’s attorneys provided an alternative narrative, stating that the player “had been the victim of a massive theft” and Mizuhara was fired by the Dodgers. MLB opened an investigation into the matter shortly thereafter.

Ohtani then read a statement to the media, interpreted by Dodgers employee Will Ireton, who had replaced Mizuhara. Ohtani stated that he had never bet on baseball, nor any other sport. He also claimed to have had no knowledge of Mizuhara’s behavior until just before the recent reporting. “Ippei has been stealing money from my account and has told lies,” Ohtani said.

In April of 2024, Mizuhara was charged with bank fraud, alleged to have transferred more than $16MM from Ohtani’s account to the betting ring. Prosecutors identified Ohtani as a victim in the case. Mizuhara allegedly set up the account with Ohtani in 2018, when the player was first making the move from Japan to North America. The two had met while both were employed by the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, Ohtani’s Nippon Professional Baseball club.

Per the allegations, Mizuhara repeatedly contacted the bank and pretended to be Ohtani in order to access the account and get money to fuel his gambling habit. Ohtani’s agent repeatedly asked about the account but Mizuhara told him it was “private” and that Ohtani didn’t want anyone else to monitor it. Ohtani, meanwhile, believed that his accountants and financial advisors were monitoring the accounts. Since Mizuhara handled all the language interpretation between Ohtani and his team, each side remained unaware of what was going on.

Investigators had also seen text messages from Mizuhara admitting to the theft. “Technically I did steal from him,” one message read. “It’s all over for me.” Investigators viewed the text messages between Ohtani and Mizuhara, finding no evidence that the player had made any bets on sports, nor that he knew anything about Mizuhara’s betting. Though Mizuhara made hundreds of bets on sports, there is no evidence of him betting on baseball.

In May of 2024, Mizuhara pled guilty to multiple charges, including bank fraud and subscribing to a false tax return. It was suggested at that time that Mizuhara would likely be deported to Japan once the legal process had played out. Major League Baseball closed its investigation into Ohtani in June, citing the thorough investigation which had pointed to the player being a victim, with no charges against him. Per Blum, Mizuhara’s attorneys expect him to be deported, as Mizuhara is a permanent resident of the United States but not a citizen.

Cubs Acquire Ryan Brasier

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The Dodgers announced a trade sending reliever Ryan Brasier and cash considerations to the Cubs in exchange for a player to be named later or cash. Los Angeles had designated the veteran righty for assignment on Thursday when they finalized the Kirby Yates signing. Teams have five days following a DFA to trade a player, so the Dodgers needed to find a deal by tonight or put Brasier on waivers. Chicago designated Rob Zastryzny for assignment in a corresponding 40-man roster move.

Brasier is quite a bit better than most players who end up in DFA limbo. The veteran righty had a strong season and a half in Los Angeles. He signed a minor league deal midway through the 2023 season after being let go by the Red Sox. Brasier had a dominant finish, turning in a 0.70 earned run average across 38 2/3 innings with Los Angeles. The Dodgers retained him on a two-year, $9MM free agent contract.

The 37-year-old was never going to replicate his late-season ’23 numbers. He had another decent year when healthy, working to a 3.54 ERA with a league average 22.7% strikeout percentage. Brasier kept his walk rate to a tidy 4.5% clip, in large part because he got opponents to chase 40% of pitches off the plate.

Health was the biggest caveat. Brasier suffered a significant strain of his right calf in late April. He was shelved into the middle of August and limited to 28 innings on the season. He had an excellent second half but was nevertheless relegated to low-leverage appearances during L.A.’s World Series run. Brasier allowed five runs with seven strikeouts and three walks across nine playoff innings.

The DFA is less a reflection of Brasier of “losing” his job and much more about L.A.’s bullpen depth. They added Tanner Scott and Yates after re-signing Blake Treinen. They join Michael Kopech, Evan Phillips and Alex Vesia as bullpen locks. The Dodgers are going to run a six-man rotation, meaning they can only devote seven roster spots to relievers.

Brasier has well over five years of major league service. He cannot be sent to the minor leagues without his consent. The Dodgers could go back to an eight-man bullpen once Shohei Ohtani returns to the rotation, since Ohtani doesn’t count against their 13-pitcher limit as a two-way player. They’re not going to push Ohtani’s elbow rehab merely to get another bullpen spot, so there’s probably only one available if all their relievers are healthy coming out of camp. Anthony Banda is out of options and seems likely to grab the final relief job.

The Cubs don’t have a ton of roster flexibility with their bullpen either. Chicago acquired Ryan Pressly last week. He’ll close games. Brasier joins Porter Hodge and Tyson Miller as high-leverage righties in front of Pressly. The Cubs added Caleb Thielbar on a $2.75MM free agent deal earlier in the winter; he projects as their top left-hander. Colin Rea is probably ticketed for long relief work.

That’d account for six of eight ’pen slots if everyone’s healthy. Eli Morgan and Nate Pearson may be next on the depth chart, but they both have a minor league option remaining. That isn’t the case for Julian Merryweather or Keegan Thompson. They’d each need to be in the majors or be designated for assignment. Thompson’s swing-and-miss ability probably gives him a leg up.

Brasier will make $4.5MM for the upcoming season. He’ll be a free agent at year’s end. It’s unclear how much of that the Dodgers are paying down. The Dodgers will save 110% in taxes on whatever money they managed to offload. If the Cubs had taken on the entire salary, that would have pushed them to around $211MM in luxury tax obligations (courtesy of RosterResource). They’re more than $30MM shy of the base threshold.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported the Cubs were acquiring Brasier. Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic first mentioned the Dodgers receiving cash considerations. Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times reported the return as a player to be named later or cash.

Image courtesy of Imagn.

Diamondbacks Re-Sign Randal Grichuk

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The Diamondbacks announced that they have signed outfielder Randal Grichuk to a one-year deal with a mutual option for 2026. It’s reportedly a $5MM guarantee for the Excel Sports Management client, broken up into a $2MM salary, followed by a $3MM buyout on a $5MM mutual option. He can also earn another $500K via incentives: $250K for getting to 200 plate appearances and another $250K for getting to 275. There’s also a one-time $250K assignment bonus if Grichuk is traded. The club had a 40-man roster vacancy and doesn’t need to make a corresponding move.

Grichuk, 33, signed a similar deal with the Snakes around this time last year. He and the club agreed to a deal with a $2MM guarantee in the middle of February, which turned out to be a big win for the D’Backs. Grichuk played a part-time role, getting into 106 games and stepping to the plate 279 times. He hit .291/.348/.528 in those, production that translated to a 139 wRC+.

Most of that production came in a platoon capacity, which has been a trademark of the righty swinger. He has a .273/.324/.509 line and 121 wRC+ against lefties in his career, compared to a .242/.288/.449 line and 93 wRC+ without the platoon advantage. Arizona sent him to the plate 184 times against southpaws last year and he responded with a huge .319/.386/.528 line and 151 wRC+. They limited him to just 95 trips to the plate against righties, but he actually fared well in those, hitting .242/.274/.527 for a 116 wRC+.

Strikeouts have often been a problem for Grichuk in his career, as he was in the 26 to 32% range in each season from 2014 to 2019. But he then got that down into the low 20s for a few years before dropping all the way to 16.5% in 2024.

That production fit very well on a Diamondbacks club that had a lot of prominent lefties bats and will again in 2025. The outfield mix features Corbin Carroll, Jake McCarthy and Alek Thomas. This offseason, the Snakes acquired lefty Josh Naylor to replace righty-swinging Christian Walker at first base. Last year, lefty Joc Pederson was the primary designated hitter, though he became a free agent and signed with the Rangers. It’s possible that the club will redirect some of Pederson’s plate appearances to Pavin Smith, another lefty.

Grichuk gives manager Torey Lovullo plenty of ability to shuffle those lefties out of the lineup whenever he sees fit, either by sending Grichuk out into the field or by putting him in the designated hitter slot. Defensively, Grichuk is capable of playing any of three outfield slots, though he’s a bit better in a corner than in center.

From a financial perspective, it’s not a huge deal in MLB terms, but it still pushes the Diamondbacks farther into uncharted waters. Per Cot’s Baseball Contracts, the club ran an Opening Day payroll of $163MM, which was a franchise record by a significant margin. Thanks in large part to their shocking Corbin Burnes deal, RosterResource projects them to get to $198MM this year. That’s in spite of the club’s broadcast deal falling apart in 2023, leaving them to pivot to an MLB-run model which likely brings in less revenue.

Trading Jordan Montgomery and the $22.5MM he’s owed this year would bring those numbers down, but it’s possible the budget is getting a bit tight at the moment. That might explain why Grichuk’s option buyout is actually higher than his salary, as it allows the club to kick that payment down the road to the end of the season.

On the heels of his solid season, Grichuk got plenty of interest around the league. He was connected to the Orioles, Pirates and Giants throughout the winter. Anne Rogers of MLB.com relays today that the Royals were interested as well. When Jurickson Profar signed with Atlanta a couple of weeks ago, all the surefire everyday outfielders were off the board. That seems to have pushed clubs to pivot to the part-time role players. Austin Hays was signed last week, while Ramón Laureano and Grichuk put pen to paper today. For clubs still looking for outfield help, guys like Harrison Bader, Mark Canha, Jason Heyward and Alex Verdugo are still available.

Mark Feinsand of MLB.com first reported that the Diamondbacks were bringing back Grichuk with a $5MM guarantee and incentives that could take it to $5.5MM. Jon Heyman of The New York Post first provided the full breakdown.

Orioles Sign Ramón Laureano

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The Orioles announced that they have signed outfielder Ramón Laureano to a one-year deal. It reportedly comes with a $4MM guarantee for the the VaynerSports client and there’s also a $6.5MM club option for 2026. Infielder Luis Vázquez has been designated for assignment as the corresponding move.

Laureano, now 30, once looked like a star in the making in Oakland. But since returning from a PED suspension, he’s settled in as more of a solid role player. He had a career batting line of .263/.335/.465 and a 119 wRC+ in August of 2021, when it was announced that he tested positive for Nandrolone and had been given an 80-game suspension.

Since returning from that absence, he has slashed .230/.300/.392 for a wRC+ of 96. That includes 98 games in the 2024 season, split between Cleveland and Atlanta. He started with the Guardians but hit just .143/.265/.229 through 31 games. By the end of May, he had been designated for assignment, released and then landed a minor league deal with Atlanta.

He turned his fortunes around with that latter club, who had seen Ronald Acuña Jr. go down with a season-ending ACL tear. They brought Laureano in for some extra depth then added him to the roster when Michael Harris II hit the injured list. Laureano got into 67 games and put up a strong line of .296/.327/.505, production that translated to a 129 wRC+.

Although that was an impressive turnaround, there was also reason to suspect it wasn’t sustainable. He had a .380 batting average on balls in play during his time with Atlanta, well above last year’s .291 league average. Presumably, Atlanta was leery of that batted ball luck. They could have retained Laureano for the 2025 season via arbitration, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting a $6.1MM salary. Instead, the club decided to non-tender him, sending him to the open market.

Even if Laureano’s offense regresses a bit closer to league average, he can still be a solid player. His sprint speed was in the 63rd percentile last year, according to Statcast, and he’s been able to swipe about ten bags per full season in his career. Reviews on his outfield defense are mixed. He has 21 Defensive Runs Saved in his career, including three last year, whereas Outs Above Average gave him -6 last year and has him at -14 for his career overall.

The O’s will also likely try to optimize his performance by limiting him to a platoon role. For his career, the righty-swinging Laureano has hit .274/.343/.460 against lefties and .236/.309/.418 against righties, leading to respective wRC+ numbers of 123 and 102. His split was even more extreme in 2024, as he had a .305/.343/.526 line and 139 wRC+ against southpaws, but a .236/.295/.393 line and 92 wRC+ otherwise.

The outfield mix in Baltimore leans left-handed, as does the lineup in general. Tyler O’Neill swings from the right side but Cedric Mullins, Colton Cowser and Heston Kjerstad are lefty-swinging outfielders. Infielders Gunnar Henderson, Ryan O’Hearn and Jackson Holliday also swing from the left side.

Laureano will likely slot into a part-time role for the O’s. He can occasionally spell those lefties to shield them from tough southpaws or just give them a day off. He can serve as a pinch runner or defensive replacement. He also gives them a bit of insurance for the oft-injured O’Neill, who has never played more than 138 games in a season and only topped 113 once.

Acquiring Laureano crowds the club’s bench mix. They have Gary Sánchez set to be the backup catcher and Ramón Urías backing up the infield. Jorge Mateo should have a spot if he’s recovered from last year’s elbow surgery by Opening Day. Laureano, Daz Cameron and Dylan Carlson are candidates for bench outfielder roles, though Carlson has options and could wind up playing regularly in Triple-A. Kjerstad could be down in Norfolk with him, if the regular outfield will feature O’Neill, Mullins and Cowser, with O’Hearn and Ryan Mountcastle in the first base/DH spots.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported that the O’s and Laureano had agreed to a one-year, $4MM deal. Jake Rill of MLB.com first reported the presence of a 2026 club option, with Jon Heyman of The New York Post reporting the $6.5MM value.

Rays Sign Ha-Seong Kim

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The Rays officially announced the signing of Ha-Seong Kim to a two-year free agent deal. The Boras Corporation client is reportedly guaranteed $29MM and can opt out after the first season. Kim will make a $13MM base salary for the upcoming season. He can earn an additional $2MM in performance bonuses, as he’ll make $10K for every plate appearance between 326 and 525. If Kim forgoes the opt-out, he’ll make $16MM in 2026. Lefty Brandon Eisert has been designated for assignment in a corresponding move.

Kim’s free agency has been one of the more difficult ones to project on account of his uncertain health status. In August of last year, while with the Padres, he injured his right shoulder while diving back into first base on a pickoff attempt. He underwent surgery in October to repair the labrum in that shoulder. His agent, Scott Boras, has since suggested that Kim could be back on the field by April. Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller gave a more nebulous and less optimistic answer of “May, June, July.”

Prior to that injury, there was an argument for Kim securing a four- or five-year deal, perhaps approaching nine figures. But the injury to his throwing shoulder made that harder to see. Though he’s a solid hitter, a big part of his appeal as a player is his defense. He has played most of his career at shortstop but also has significant time at second and third base with strong marks at all three spots. If he comes back from surgery with diminished arm strength and is less viable on the left side of the diamond, that would cut into his value.

As such, it seemed likely that he would sign a deal that allowed him to return to free agency next year, either on a one-year deal or a two-year pact with an opt-out. That would give him the chance to potentially return, prove his health and sign another contract with the injury in the rear-view mirror.

At the start of the offseason, MLBTR predicted Kim for a straight one-year pact with a $12MM guarantee, though with the caveat he could follow players like Rhys Hoskins and Michael Conforto in securing a two-year pact with an opt-out. Hoskins got $34MM from the Brewers and Conforto $36MM from the Giants. Both are represented by Boras and Kim switched his representation to that agency in October, shortly after his injury.

The situations aren’t completely analogous. Both Hoskins and Conforto signed their deals after missing an entire season but were set to be healthy as those deals began. Kim, however, seems likely to start the season on the injured list. Kim’s guarantee comes in a bit below those guys, perhaps a reflection of the slightly different timeline.

That makes this an interesting gamble for the Rays. If Kim’s injury lingers towards the longer end of Preller’s timeline, it’s possible that they are going to be paying him $13MM for just half a season. If Kim doesn’t immediately get back in form, he could then forego his opt-out and stick around for 2026 with an even higher salary. For what it’s worth, both Hoskins and Conforto had tepid results in the first years of their respective deals and did not use their opt-outs.

The upside for the Rays is that they could get a really strong player for a relatively modest price. Kim struggled at the plate in 2021, his first season after coming over from Korea, but has been above average in each of the three seasons since then. He stepped to plate 1,678 times over the 2022 to 2024 campaigns, with his 11% walk rate and 17.9% strikeout rate both a few ticks better than average. While not a huge power threat, he got to double-digit homers in each of those campaigns, hitting 39 overall. His combined batting line of .250/.336/.385 led to a wRC+ of 106.

As mentioned, Kim is a strong defender at multiple positions. He also stole 72 bases over the past three years. Putting it all together, FanGraphs has considered him to be roughly a four-win player. He was credited with 3.6 fWAR in 2022 and 4.2 the year after. Last year, the injury limited him to just 121 games, so his fWAR tally came in a bit lighter at 2.6.

The Rays have some question marks at shortstop. Wander Franco was supposed to be the long-term answer there but he hasn’t played since August of 2023, when heinous allegations of sexual abuse against minors emerged. The legal process is still playing out on those charges but it would be surprising if he ever returns to the majors.

Players like Taylor Walls, José Caballero and Osleivis Basabe are on the roster but each of them have posted lackluster offensive numbers in their respective careers thus far. Prospect Carson Williams is probably the new shortstop of the future but he might still need some more time in the minors. He’s still not yet 22 years old, with that birthday coming up in June, and spent all of last year at Double-A. He did get into four Triple-A games late in 2023 but the Rays might want to send him there for a slightly longer stint before giving him his major league debut.

For the Rays, ideally, Kim can return relatively early in the year and play like his old self. Junior Caminero seems likely to take over the third base job this year, with Brandon Lowe and Yandy Díaz the projected regulars on the other side of the infield. That could give them a formidable infield for the majority of the season.

If that plan comes to fruition, Kim would likely opt-out and head back to free agency. He would be leaving $16MM on the table but would be looking for a larger guarantee on a multi-year deal. The Rays could then issue him a qualifying offer, which would probably be around $22MM or so. The QO was $21.05MM this offseason but usually goes up over time due to salaries increasing. The QO number is calculated by averaging out the salaries of the 125 highest-paid players in the league. That could allow the Rays to recoup draft pick compensation and then perhaps hand over the shortstop job to Williams.

There are other less-ideal outcomes on the other end of the spectrum. It’s possible Kim doesn’t return until the second half. Or he returns at some point but his arm strength isn’t quite what it was, making him an imperfect shortstop solution. Or perhaps Williams seizes the job before Kim gets back, leaving him as something of a high-priced utility guy. In those or other imperfect scenarios, the odds of him staying for 2026 would increase. That would naturally be an underwater deal at that point, since he would have walked away otherwise.

That wouldn’t necessarily be the end of the world, depending on the specifics. The Cubs got an okay-but-not-great season out of Cody Bellinger in 2024, then saw him forego an opt-out opportunity. They were still able to dump most of the remainder of the contract on the Yankees. The Brewers, however, are seemingly stuck with Hoskins after his mediocre season. That has perhaps been part of the reason why they don’t have a lot of financial wiggle room this winter.

The Rays are a low-spending club, far more like the Brewers than the Cubs or the Giants. Kim’s $13MM salary will actually make him the highest-paid player on the team. Though they’ve given out some big extensions over the years, this is the third-largest guarantee they’ve given to a free agent, behind the $40MM they gave Zach Eflin and the $30MM they gave Charlie Morton.

It’s unclear exactly what sort of payroll parameters they have for 2025. Cot’s Baseball Contracts had them at $99MM on Opening Day last year. They ended up moving some players making notable salaries at the deadline, such as Eflin, Randy Arozarena and Isaac Paredes. This offseason, they flipped Jeffrey Springs to the Athletics but then signed Danny Jansen and now Kim.

RosterResource now projects them for a $90MM payroll this year. That’s a bit below 2024 but they also might have extra financial concerns apart from player salaries. Due to the hurricane damage to Tropicana Field, they are going to be playing the 2025 season at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida. That’s normally the home of the Tampa Tarpons, the Single-A affiliate of the Yankees. That is presumably leading to some unexpected moving costs and perhaps less ticket revenue for the upcoming season. Their plans for next year and beyond are murky as well.

It’s an interesting gambit for the club to take with its limited resources. For clubs still looking for middle infield help, Alex Bregman is a potential option due to his reported willingness to play second base. Apart from him, Jose Iglesias, Paul DeJong and Brendan Rodgers are some of the notable free agents.

Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported the two-year deal, $29MM guarantee and opt-out. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times first reported the specific annual breakdown and the incentives. Jon Heyman of The New York Post reported that the bonuses start at 325 plate appearances. The Associated Press reported the $10K per plate appearance specifics.

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