Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Notes

Latest On Mets’ Roster Decisions

By | at

Most of the Mets’ roster has come into focus with Opening Day approaching, and the team continued to make its final roster cuts this weekend.  MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo has the summary of the decisions, including the news that utilityman Zack Short and (somewhat provisionally) first baseman/outfielder D.J. Stewart will break camp with the team.  Stewart’s status is a little up in the air since he is the proverbial 26th man on the 26-man roster, and the Mets might yet replace him if a player they like becomes available on the waiver wire or in free agency, as rival teams also make their late cuts.

Short was claimed off waivers from the Tigers last November, and has been much more known for his defensive versatility than his bat (.174/.266/.308 in 450 career plate appearances) over his three MLB seasons in Detroit.  However, Short has looked really good at the plate this spring, while Stewart has struggled.  Ironically, Stewart has almost the opposite profile, as he has been productive if inconsistent in hitting .220/.339/.425 with 37 homers in 807 career PA, but isn’t known as much of a defender.  Stewart joined the Mets on a minor league deal last winter and hit a very solid .244/.333/.506 over 185 PA in his first season in Queens.

Short and Stewart got the nod ahead of a pair of minor league signings in Ji-Man Choi and Jose Iglesias.  The two veterans have opt-outs in their minors contracts but Choi told DiComo that he will report to the Mets’ Triple-A affiliate rather than re-enter free agency.  Iglesias also indicted that he will likely remain with the organization to await another possible opportunity later in the season.

One player who is somewhat unexpectedly heading to Triple-A is Mark Vientos, who was initially slated to be a part-time third baseman and DH heading into camp.  However, New York then signed J.D. Martinez this past week, and while Martinez will begin his season in the minors to make up for his lost spring prep time, Martinez’s presence will monopolize the designated hitter role.  As a result, Brett Baty and Short now could work as a third base platoon, since the Mets want Vientos to get steadier playing time in the minors.

Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns also noted that the team wants to see Vientos get more work in at third base.  Vientos’ defensive future has long been a question mark, as he is considered a subpar third baseman and playing at DH or first base with the Mets isn’t an option for at least 2024 due to the presence of Martinez and Pete Alonso.  Becoming even a passable third baseman could greatly help Vientos stick in the majors and keep him from being pigeonholed as a first base/DH type at most.  Vientos has hit just .205/.255/.354 with 10 home runs in 274 career PA in the big leagues, but the former second-round pick doesn’t have much left to prove in the minors after three seasons of crushing Triple-A pitching.

Assuming Stewart is indeed the last position player on the roster, the only remaining 26-man decisions facing the Mets are their last two bullpen spots.  DiComo writes that Michael Tonkin is “a heavy favorite for one” spot, and Yohan Ramirez and Sean Reid-Foley are competing for the other job.  All three pitchers are out of minor league options, DiComo notes that rival scouts have been watching Ramirez and Reid-Foley in anticipation of either pitcher potentially being available on the waiver wire.  The loser of the competition might end up traded rather than designated for assignment, if enough interest exists from teams in need of bullpen depth.

Brewers Notes: Clarke, Woodruff, Arroyo

By | at

Right-hander Taylor Clarke suffered a right meniscus injury and is getting a second opinion to see if surgery can be avoided, Brewers manager Pat Murphy told MLB.com and other media.  Clarke will certainly start the season on the 15-day injured list, and the hope is that he can avoid a significantly longer amount of downtime.

Milwaukee acquired Clarke in a December trade with the Royals, hoping that Clarke could bounce back from a rough 2023 campaign.  The righty posted a 5.95 ERA in 59 innings for Kansas City, as big spikes in Clarke’s barrel and home run rates resulted in 12 homers out of the park over those 59 frames.  His 24.4% strikeout rate was slightly above average, but his walk rate increased sharply to nine percent, after Clarke had posted a very impressive 3.9 BB% in 2022.

Surely the Brewers are hoping Clarke pitches closer to that 2022 form (when he had a 4.04 ERA in 49 innings for K.C.), but for now the priority is just getting him healthy and onto the mound.  Meniscus-related injuries carry a wide range of potential timelines based on the extent of the damage, and whether or not Clarke needs surgery.  If he does have to go under the knife, an absence of 4-6 weeks is probably the best-case scenario for a meniscus surgery.

Turning to another injured Brewers hurler, Brandon Woodruff’s recovery from shoulder surgery will prevent from pitching during the 2024 season, the right-hander told Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.  The right-hander was already expected to miss most of the year rehabbing, which was reflected in both the Brewers’ decision to non-tender Woodruff and in the backloaded nature of the two-year, $17.5MM deal he signed to rejoin the Crew last month.  Woodruff will earn $2.5MM in 2024 and a $5MM salary in 2025, plus a $10MM buyout of a $20MM mutual option for the 2026 season.

The rehab process seems to be going well in these early stages, and Woodruff has started to lightly throw from 30-foot distances.  The two-time All-Star is confident that he’ll be able to return to his old form when he returns to the mound in 2025, and that his knowledge of pitching will allow him to overcome any potential loss of velocity.

“Honestly, I’m going be the strongest I’ll ever be at any point in my career because I’m going have a year and just basically get my body ready for pitching….I’m just going to learn so much more about my body,” Woodruff said.  “I’m learning a new shoulder.  But as far as everything goes, I expect to be the same guy.  And you know what?  God forbid if anything else happened, like, I ain’t going to forget to pitch. So I can go out there and still figure it out.”

Despite the injury, several teams reportedly had interest in trading for Woodruff before Milwaukee non-tendered him, and also inquired about signing him after the righty hit the open market.  Woodruff ultimately chose to return to the Brewers due to the trust and comfort level built from his career-long stay in the organization.

“Why don’t I keep betting on myself?  Money is not the issue.  I want to win.  I’m comfortable here,” Woodruff said.  “I know the medical staff and they know my shoulder inside and out.  I think I’m just in a good spot in terms of coming back here.  There was a lot of stuff that I weighed out, but I’m able to kind of do – I wouldn’t say do what I want – but I kind of dictate and help run this rehab the way I want.  I’m not learning new people and that was a big part of it.”

In other Brewers news, Christian Arroyo was reassigned to the team’s minor league camp earlier this week, thus giving Arroyo an opt-out decision since he didn’t make the Opening Day roster.  Murphy told Hogg and other reporters that he doesn’t think Arroyo will opt out, plus the infielder also has a minor wrist injury.

This issue could hamper Arroyo’s chances of quickly catching on with another team in free agency, on top of his underwhelming .182/.217/.227 slash line in 23 plate appearances this spring.  Arroyo could take some time at Triple-A to get healed up and then perhaps weigh his options, or simply see if an opportunity might still emerge in Milwaukee.  The Brewers’ projected candidates for second base, third base, and utility infield roles (Brice Turang, Joey Ortiz, Sal Frelick, Andruw Monasterio) are all rather inexperienced, and in Frelick’s case, learning an infield position for the first time.  Arroyo could therefore represent some veteran depth should any of the youngsters struggle, or need more seasoning in the minors.

NL West Notes: McCarthy, Barnhart, Molina, Slater

By | at

The Diamondbacks have gotten a lot of trade interest in outfielder Jake McCarthy but Arizona isn’t yet interested in dealing the 26-year-old, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale writes.  This isn’t the first time McCarthy’s name has surfaced in trade rumors, though the buzz quieted after McCarthy turned in a lackluster 2023 season.  The outfielder finished fourth in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2022, but followed up that breakout campaign by hitting only .243/.318/.326 over 312 plate appearances last season.  McCarthy’s struggles resulted in a loss of playing time and even a demotion to Triple-A, plus an oblique injury kept him from being a part of Arizona’s postseason rosters during the team’s run to the World Series.

Randal Grichuk is expected to begin the season on the injured list, so McCarthy should probably land a job as the Diamondbacks’ fourth outfielder for at least the start of the year.  He also has a minor league option remaining, so the D’Backs could stash him back at Triple-A if necessary.  It is worth noting that the D’Backs were reportedly open to moving either McCarthy or Dominic Fletcher in February’s trade with the White Sox that sent Fletcher to Chicago, though in the wake of that deal, Arizona might not be willing to further deplete their stock of young outfielders by also moving McCarthy in another trade.  Nightengale feels McCarthy might be more of a trade chip later in the season, if the Diamondbacks are having trouble finding playing time or a roster spot available for him.

More from around the NL West…

  • Minor league signing Tucker Barnhart looks to have won the Diamondbacks’ backup catching job, as The Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro (X link) was among those to note that the D’Backs optioned Jose Herrera to Triple-A today.  Herrera acted as Gabriel Moreno’s backup last season once Carson Kelly was let go in August, but Arizona will now turn to the veteran Barnhart as a more experienced bench option.  Barnhart has won two Gold Gloves over his 10 MLB seasons, spent mostly with the Reds before one-year stints with the Tigers and Cubs over the last two seasons.
  • Right-hander Anthony Molina will make the Rockies’ Opening Day roster, according to MLB.com’s Thomas Harding (via X).  Selected as the third overall pick of the Rule 5 Draft last December, Molina was an international signing for the Rays who posted a 3.64 ERA over 301 2/3 innings in Tampa Bay’s farm system, including a 4.37 ERA in 55 2/3 Triple-A frames last season.  The 22-year-old worked mostly as a starter last year but now looks slated for a bullpen role in Colorado.  As per the stipulations of the Rule 5 Draft, Molina will have to remain on the Rockies’ active roster for the entire season in order for the Rox to claim his rights, or else Colorado will have to offer him back to the Rays.
  • Austin Slater returned to the field yesterday and is also set to play in today’s game, marking the Giants outfielder’s first action since last weekend.  Slater has been bothered by discomfort in his right elbow, which is a troubling sign since Slater underwent surgery on that same elbow last October to both remove a bone spur and address some nerve problems via an ulnar nerve transposition.  His recovery led to a slower start to his Cactus League work, and Slater has played in only six games this spring, so manager Bob Melvin told the San Francisco Chronicle’s Shayna Rubin and other reporters that Slater might need to start the season on the injured list.  As Slater himself told Rubin and company, “The quantity of at-bats, I’m not super concerned about.  It’s more about feeling healthy and being able to bounce back the next day which, at this point, I haven’t been able to do.”  If Slater isn’t available for Opening Day, Luis Matos is the likeliest candidate to step into the backup/platoon outfield role.

AL Central Notes: Royals, Cease, Tigers

By | at

The Royals’ Opening Day roster has begun to come into focus, as the Royals recently optioned first baseman Nick Pratto, outfielder Drew Waters, and catcher Austin Nola to the minor leagues. Those positional cuts from camp helped to clarify the club’s bench mix, as manager Matt Quatraro told reporters (including MLB.com’s Anne Rogers) yesterday that infielder Nick Loftin and outfielder Dairon Blanco have both made the club’s Opening Day roster. Blanco will slot into a reserve outfielder role behind MJ Melendez, Kyle Isbel, Hunter Renfroe, and Nelson Velazquez. Meanwhile, Loftin will step into a bench role previously ticketed for veteran Adam Frazier, who is set to become the club’s Opening Day second baseman with Michael Massey expected to begin the season on the injured list due to lower back tightness.

It’s an unfortunate development for Massey, who celebrated his 26th birthday earlier this week. The infielder was the club’s everyday option at the keystone last year and performed well on defense but struggled with the bat throughout the season. The youngster showed signs of life in the second half, however, slashing a respectable .250/.285/.458 with 11 home runs in 229 trips to the plate over his final 60 games in 2023. That display left him in line to receive the lion’s share of playing time at second once again this year even after the Royals added Frazier and Garrett Hampson in free agency. Now that Massey is set to begin the season on the shelf, however, Frazier will have the opportunity to play his way into a larger role early in the season. The 32-year-old veteran has been a roughly league average bat consistently throughout his career, with a .269/.331/.393 slash across eight seasons in the big leagues, including a .240/.300/.396 showing with the Orioles last year.

As for the trio of recent cuts, none of them are especially surprising. Pratto appeared unlikely to have a role with the big league club to open the season thanks to first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino’s return from labrum surgery and Nelson Velazquez’s emergence as a credible slugger at DH. Waters, similarly, is the odd man out in the club’s crowded outfield mix. Both former top prospects will open the season at Triple-A, providing them an opportunity to receive regular reps they couldn’t get with the big league Royals. Nola starting the season in the minors is hardly a surprise, either, as he joined the club on a split contract that was seemingly designed to allow him to be a backup to Salvador Perez and Freddy Fermin at the Triple-A level.

More from around the AL Central…

  • The White Sox recently dealt right-hander Dylan Cease after months of rumors and speculation, shipping him to the Padres in exchange for a prospect package headlined by Drew Thorpe. Club GM Chris Getz recently spoke to Scott Merkin of MLB.com about the trade and noted that San Diego was one of two clubs who made “significant offers,” with Merkin reporting that the Rangers were the second place finisher for Cease’s services. Getz also made clear that the sides did not engage in extension negotiations amid the winter’s trade rumors, adding that while the club would have “loved” to keep Cease in the fold long term, he felt such an arrangement “wasn’t realistic.” That’s somewhat understandable, as Chicago suffered a 101-loss season last year and appears to have a long way to go before contending again, even in a relatively weak AL Central division. Given that reality, it would’ve been surprising to see the club commit to the sort of significant outlay that would have been required to retain the runner-up for the 2022 AL Cy Young award.
  • Tigers youngster Sawyer Gipson-Long once appeared likely to compete with other youngsters such as Casey Mize, Reese Olson, and Matt Manning for a role in the club’s starting rotation alongside Tarik Skubal, Jack Flaherty, and Kenta Maeda. Unfortunately for Gipson-Long, he’s been nursing a left groin strain throughout camp that, as noted by Evan Woodbery of the Detroit Free Press, will lead to him opening the season on the injured list. Gipson-Long, who the club acquired at the 2022 trade deadline in exchange for right-hander Michael Fulmer, made his big league debut late in the season last year and impressed during four starts in the majors. In 20 innings of work, the right-hander posted a 2.70 ERA with a 3.16 FIP while striking out an excellent 31.7% of batters faced. With Mize and Olson now set to start the season in the rotation, Gipson-Long figures to head to Triple-A Toledo once healthy, where he’ll provide Detroit with quality rotation depth alongside Matt Manning and wait for an opportunity in the big leagues.

AL East Notes: Holliday, Gil, Red Sox

By | at

The Orioles shocked the baseball world yesterday by reassigning top prospect Jackson Holliday to minor league camp, effectively ending his bid to make the Opening Day roster. The consensus #1 prospect in the entire sport, Holliday has taken the minors by storm since being selected first overall in the 2022 draft. After hitting .297/.489/.422 in 20 games down the stretch the year he was drafted between rookie ball and Single-A, Holliday tore through the minors in 2023 to advance all the way to the Triple-A level before the end of his first full season as a pro. In 125 games last year, Holliday slashed .323/.442/.499, including a strong .338/.421/.507 showing in 36 games at the Double-A level. The youngster continued to tear the cover off the ball this spring as well, slashing .311/.354/.600 across 15 games during camp.

GM Mike Elias today explained the club’s decision to start Holliday in the minor leagues after that incredible performance to reporters, including MASN’s Roch Kubatko. Among the reasons Elias listed for Holliday not breaking camp with the Orioles was his lack of experience against left-handed pitching. Holliday’s numbers against southpaws last year, while decent, were not at the same caliber as those he posted against right-handed pitching. While he crushed righties to a .331/.437/.551 slash line, his 124 trips to the plate against lefties last year saw him hit just .296/.387/.389. Elias also suggested that Holliday’s minimal experience at second base- where the club plans to play him in the majors- was another motivating factor behind Holliday’s demotion. The youngster has started primarily at shortstop throughout his professional career and has only 25 appearances at the keystone in 145 career minor league games.

Of course, those reasons for sending Holliday to the minors to open the year, however valid they may be, won’t outweigh the impact the move could have on Holliday’s future team control in the eyes of many. A player must be on the major league roster or injured list for at least 172 days of the 187-day season to earn a full year of service time. In other words, if Holliday spends at least 16 days in the minors this year, the Orioles could gain an additional year of team control over the up-and-coming star. Of course, if Holliday were to finish in the top two of AL Rookie of the Year voting this year, he would still be granted a full year of service time even if he spends less than 172 days in the majors this year. It’s also possible the club could reverse course in the early days of the season and call Holliday up in time for him to receive a full service year, in which case the club would receive a draft pick in the event that Holliday wins Rookie of the Year this season or finishes in the top 3 of AL MVP voting during his pre-arbitration seasons.

More from the AL East…

  • The Yankees are “seriously considering” right-hander Luis Gil as their fifth starter to open the season, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Sherman adds that Gil wouldn’t have any innings restrictions in such a scenario despite having 29 2/3 innings of work across the past two seasons due to Tommy John surgery and the subsequent rehab. With ace Gerrit Cole set to miss the early months of the season due to nerve inflammation in his elbow, the Yankees will need an additional starter to pair with Carlos Rodon, Nestor Cortes, Marcus Stroman, and Clarke Schmidt in the rotation. Barring an external addition, Sherman indicates that the fifth spot in the rotation is likely to come down to either Gil or Will Warren, a 24-year-old righty who posted a 3.35 ERA in 129 innings between the Double- and Triple-A levels last year. Gil is the more experienced hurler of the two, with 33 1/3 innings in the majors under his belt. Those seven starts in the big leagues came during the 2021 and 2022 seasons and saw Gil pitch to a solid 3.78 ERA with a 4.12 FIP.  [UPDATE: Gil has indeed won the fifth starter’s job, Boone told the New York Post’s Greg Joyce and other reporters today.]
  • Center field prospect Ceddanne Rafaela will break camp with the Red Sox to open the season, Alex Cora told reporters (including Alex Speier of the Boston Globe) this afternoon. Rafaela has appeared likely to make the club in the aftermath of injuries suffered by both second baseman Vaughn Grissom and outfielder Rob Refsnyder this spring. The 23-year-old has experience both on the infield dirt and in the outfield, though he figures to see the bulk of his playing time in center field as part of an outfield mix that also contains Tyler O’Neill, Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu, and Masataka Yoshida. Rafaela made his big league debut last season with a 28-game cup of coffee that saw him hit just .241/.281/.386 in 89 plate appearances, though he slashed a far more impressive .312/.370/.618 in 60 games at the Triple-A level last year.
  • Sticking with the Red Sox, veteran catcher Roberto Perez won’t be opting out of his minor league deal with the club according to Chris Cotillo of MassLive. Perez, 35, has spent the majority of his career in Cleveland and is regarded as one of the finest defensive catchers in the game, though he’s slashed just .169/.268/.288 since the start of the 2020 season and was limited to just 5 games in the majors last year before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery. Should the club stick with its current catching tandem of Reese McGuire and Connor Wong, that would leave Perez likely ticketed for Triple-A to open the season, where he’d serve as an excellent non-roster depth option for the Red Sox in the early part of the season. As an Article XX(B) free agent, Perez will have additional opportunities to opt-out of his deal with the club on May 1 and June 1 should he decide to test the open market later this season.

West Notes: Black, Giants, Soderstrom

By | at

Rockies manager Bud Black and owner Dick Monfort are discussing a contract extension that would keep Black in Colorado beyond the 2024 season, per a report from MLB.com’s Thomas Harding. Harding notes that while Black and Monfort acknowledged that they are “talking” about a deal, no agreement has been reached at this point and it’s unclear if a deal will come together prior to Opening Day, which is now less than two weeks away.

Per Harding, Monfort indicated that the club’s focus remains on preparing for the regular season, but that he nonetheless hopes that the sides will be able to reach an agreement. There’s certainly reason for optimism that the sides will eventually work out a deal in some capacity, as the veteran manager has inked one-year extensions in each of the past two springs and reporting in previous years has indicated that the Rockies and Black have a long-standing unofficial agreement on a rolling year-to-year deal where either side can walk away after any given season.

Black, 66, spent nine years as manager of the Padres from 2007 to 2015 (including a 2010 season that saw him win the NL Manager of the Year award) before joining the Rockies prior to the 2017 season. He led the club to back-to-back postseason appearances in his first two years with the club but the club has struggled badly under his leadership over the past five seasons, never winning more than 74 games in a season and even suffering the franchise’s first ever 100-loss campaign in 2023, when the team lost 103 games en route to a last place finish in not only the NL West but the entire National League; only the Royals and A’s lost more games last year. With that being said, Monfort is well-known for being loyal to his employees and valuing continuity in the organization, so it’s not necessarily a surprise that he would be interested in continuing the club’s relationship with Black beyond the 2024 campaign.

More from around MLB’s West divisions…

  • The Giants are set to enter the regular season with little certainty in their starting rotation behind staff ace Logan Webb. With veterans Alex Cobb and Robbie Ray starting the season on the injured list where they’ll be joined by youngsters like Tristan Beck and Sean Hjelle, the club figures to lean on offseason signing Jordan Hicks and top prospect Kyle Harrison to fill out the middle of its rotation. That still leaves two spots undecided, however, and Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle noted today that manager Bob Melvin brought up right-handed rookie Mason Black as one arm the club is likely to turn to for a rotation spot this season. Black, 24, was the club’s third-round pick in the 2021 draft and posted a solid 3.71 ERA in 29 starts split between the Double- and Triple-A levels last year. Slusser adds that other possibilities for the final spots in the rotation and/or bullpen mix are fellow youngster Keaton Winn and non-roster veterans Daulton Jefferies and Spencer Howard. Of course, that could all change if the club’s reported run at left-hander Blake Snell were to bear fruit.
  • The Athletics announced earlier this evening that they have optioned catcher Tyler Soderstrom to Triple-A, effectively ending the 2020 first-round pick’s bid to open the 2024 season with the club. Soderstrom, 22, was a consensus top-100 prospect entering last season as a well-regarded, bat-first catcher. Things came off the rails for the youngster upon making his major league debut, however, as he hit a paltry .160/.232/.240 in 138 trips to the plate during a 45-game stint in the majors last year. Soderstrom’s first taste of big league action saw him strike out in 31.2% of his plate appearances while recording just four extra-base hits. His struggles continued this spring as he recorded just four hits against eight strikeouts in 34 trips to the plate across 14 games, prompting Oakland to send him back to the minors for additional development time. In the meantime, the club appears likely to rely on a tandem of Shea Langeliers and non-roster invitee Carlos Perez behind the plate to open the season.

Mets Notes: Davis, Alonso, McNeil

By | at

The Mets were a finalist for third baseman J.D. Davis before he signed with the A’s last week, as noted by Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Per Sherman, a “large extent” of Davis’s reason for picking the A’s was that the A’s guaranteed him regular playing time, while the Mets weren’t able to do the same.

Davis, 31 next month, slashed a decent .248/.325/.413 with a 104 wRC+ last year as a member of the Giants and sports a strong 120 wRC+ in five seasons since he first broke out with the Mets back in 2019. A reunion in New York could have made plenty of sense, given the uncertainty the club is facing at both third base and DH entering the 2023 season. That being said, it’s hardly a surprise that the club wasn’t willing to guarantee Davis regular playing time. After all, president of baseball operations David Stearns has frequently made clear that the club doesn’t plan to make further additions at third base after signing Joey Wendle to a one-year deal back in November, instead letting youngsters Brett Baty and Mark Vientos attempt to claim the position while relying on Wendle as veteran insurance off the bench.

It’s a similar story at DH. While the club has been linked to veteran slugger J.D. Martinez as recently as last week, the club has long seemed to prefer to fill the spot internally by allowing Baty and Vientos additional time in the lineup when they aren’t playing third base while also opening up opportunities for the likes of DJ Stewart, who slashed an impressive .244/.333/.506 in 185 trips to the plate with the club last year, and offering the club the ability to rest veterans like Starling Marte without completely removing them from the lineup. While Davis was certainly a strong fit for the club’s positional needs, it’s possible they felt that his roughly league average numbers last year wouldn’t be enough of an upgrade to their roster to warrant passing on the opportunity to give younger players like Baty and Vientos regular reps.

More from around Mets camp…

  • Club owner Steve Cohen spoke to reporters (including SNY’s Alex Smith), and during the presser discussed the future of first baseman Pete Alonso, who is slated to hit free agency following the 2024 season. Cohen made clear that the sides “haven’t had any discussions” regarding a possible extension this spring, adding that it would be best for both Alonso and the Mets if the sides went into the regular season without any distractions. Cohen’s words echo previous comments from Stearns, who has long indicated that Alonso was likely to hit free agency following the coming campaign. Even so, Cohen made clear that Alonso hitting free agency was in no way a guarantee that 2024 would be his final year as a Met, saying that the club will “figure it out” once free agency hits while noting the club’s successful deals to retain closer Edwin Diaz and center fielder Brandon Nimmo after the pair hit free agency during the 2022-23 offseason. One of the game’s premiere power hitters, Alonso owns a lifetime .251/.342/.528 slash line and has slugged 192 home runs during his career, 46 of which came during the 2023 season.
  • As noted recently by Sherman, second baseman Jeff McNeil has yet to appear in a game this spring as he continues to recover from a partially torn UCL he was diagnosed with back in September. NcNeil was able to avoid surgery, but the club has taken things slow with him this spring to this point. While he was initially expected to make his spring debut during today’s game against the Nationals, Sherman relays that, per manager Carlos Mendoza, that’s been pushed back to a likely debut on Tuesday against the Cardinals in order to keep McNeil in a more controlled setting as long as possible. While a lengthy layoff from spring action often spurs questions about a player’s ability to be ready for Opening Day, Sherman adds that the Mets hold no such concern about McNeil, with hitting coach Eric Chavez suggesting that McNeil only needs 20 at-bats in spring games to prepare for the coming season. McNeil has played all around the diamond during his time with the Mets but figures to act as the club’s everyday second baseman in 2024.

Red Sox Notes: Grissom, Winckowski, Rotation, Booser

By | at

Vaughn Grissom was already questionable for Opening Day, but Alex Cora offered an update this morning on the timeline for his second baseman’s return. “We’re talking mid-April probably, [or] late April,” the Red Sox manager told members of the media, including Ian Browne of MLB.com. Grissom has not yet appeared in a Grapefruit League game; he has been nursing a groin strain all spring.

Boston traded for Grissom in December, sending Chris Sale (and $17MM) to Atlanta to complete the exchange. The Red Sox were counting on the 23-year-old to be their everyday second baseman in 2024. Barring a significant setback, he can still fill that role, and if he returns in mid-April, he might only miss 15-20 games.

When news of Grissom’s injury first broke, Cora told Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe that Enmanuel Valdez would fill in at second base. Valdez started 44 games at the keystone for the Red Sox last season. He slashed a perfectly respectable .266/.311/.453 in 149 plate appearances, with eight doubles and six home runs. However, he took nearly 90% of his plate appearances with the platoon advantage and went 2-for-14 against left-handed pitching. Thus, Pablo Reyes is likely to grab some starts at second with a southpaw on the mound.

In pitching news from Red Sox camp, Cora told reporters (including Sean McAdam of MassLive) that Josh Winckowski is no longer in the running for the Opening Day rotation, and he will likely move to the bullpen to begin the season. As Browne points out, that leaves Tanner Houck, Garrett Whitlock, and Cooper Criswell competing for the final two jobs on Boston’s starting staff. Brayan Bello, Nick Pivetta, and Kutter Crawford will hold down the top three spots.

Winckowski pitched well out of the bullpen last season, posting a 2.88 ERA in 84 1/3 innings of work. His 3.84 SIERA and 3.82 xERA were more good than great, but there is no denying he was an effective reliever, especially against left-handed opponents. The same cannot be said for his time as a starting pitcher the year before. Over 70 1/3 innings, Winckowski pitched to a 5.89 ERA, 4.84 xERA, and 4.82 SIERA, striking out a mere 44 batters while walking 27. Nonetheless, the 25-year-old told Rob Bradford of WEEI that he still considers himself a starting pitcher.

While Cora suggested Winckowski would likely fill a multi-inning role at the MLB level, he didn’t completely shut down the possibility that the righty could begin the season as a starter at Triple-A (per McAdam). “We still have got decisions to make,” said the skipper. “We’ll transition him now to the bullpen… and we’ll make decisions after that.”

Out of Houck, Whitlock, and Criswell, a trio of tall, 27-year-old right-handers, it seems like the former two have the edge over the latter. Houck and Whitlock have significantly more big league experience, and both were serviceable out of the rotation for Boston in 2023. Houck has a career 3.86 ERA in 252 innings, while Whitlock has a career 3.51 in 223 1/3 frames. Criswell has pitched well this spring, but it would be hard to argue he has done enough to edge out either of his more proven teammates.

Turning back to the bullpen, Cora mentioned an interesting name to Christopher Smith of MassLive: Cam Booser. Booser will turn 32 in May. He has spent time in the Twins, Diamondbacks, and Red Sox organizationx. He has never been selected to a 40-man roster, let alone pitched in the major leagues. Yet Booser was the first name the manager mentioned,  pointing out his upper-90s fastball velocity and the way he has landed “offspeed pitches for strikes.”

That said, Cora was also clear to emphasize the value of experience. Brennan Bernardino, who already has a spot on the 40-man roster, made 55 appearances last year with a 3.20 ERA. Joely Rodríguez, a non-roster invitee, has pitched in 168 games over six big league seasons. Chris Murphy, another 40-man arm, found moderate success as a multi-inning reliever last season, tossing 47 2/3 frames over 20 appearances with the Red Sox. Cora brought up all three of their names in the same discussion, and it’s hard to imagine Booser beating out any of them for a spot on the Opening Day roster.

Still, it’s becoming clear that Booser is a name to keep an eye on this season. He has given up just two runs in eight innings this spring, striking out eight and walking none.

Dodgers Notes: Lux, Hurt, Future Moves

By | at

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts made waves earlier this month when he announced that superstar Mookie Betts would play shortstop this season. The former MVP and seven-time All-Star is entering his 11th big league campaign and has played only 31 games at shortstop throughout his professional career. It was surprising enough in December when Roberts revealed that Betts, a six-time Gold Glove winner in the outfield, would play second base in 2024.

However, while Betts dominated the headlines, this move arguably had more to do with his teammate, 26-year-old Gavin Lux. The Dodgers originally planned for Lux to be their starting shortstop, but he will now play second base instead. Although Lux was primarily a shortstop in the minor leagues, he has spent most of his major league career at second. He has handled the keystone well, earning 16 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) and 8 Outs Above Average (OAA) in 1346 2/3 defensive innings.  As Lux prepares for a full-time role in 2024 (after missing the 2023 season with a torn ACL), the Dodgers decided it was in the young player’s best interests to keep him at second base for the time being.

When Roberts first spoke about the decision, he told reporters the new middle infield alignment was “permanent, for now” (per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic). Those words are something of an oxymoron, so yesterday, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman offered a little more clarity on the situation. Speaking to Doug McKain of Dodgers Nation, Friedman said the team remains “confident” Lux can play shortstop in the future. They will re-evaluate his health and position as they “get into the offseason next year.” That certainly suggests Lux will play second base and Betts will handle shortstop for the full 2024 campaign, but nothing is set in stone for the following season and beyond. In 2025, Lux will be another year removed from major knee surgery, while Betts will be 32 years old, an age at which many players begin to move down the defensive spectrum.

More Dodgers news as the team prepares to open the 2024 season in South Korea…

  • According to Roberts, there is a “very good possibility” Kyle Hurt is in the Dodgers bullpen for the team’s opening series against the Padres at Gocheok Sky Dome (per Ardaya). Hurt, whom the team acquired from the Marlins in February 2021, has looked sharp so far this spring. The righty was selected to the 40-man roster last September and made one appearance for the big league squad, striking out three Padres batters in two scoreless innings of work. Nevertheless, he was optioned back to Triple-A the following day. As Ardaya notes, the Dodgers still see Hurt as a starting pitcher, but he has made appearances out of the bullpen in all three seasons of his professional career. He can offer the team a little extra bullpen depth early in the season before returning to the minor leagues to stretch back out as a starter. Hurt struck out five across 2 1/3 scoreless innings during an exhibition game against the Kiwoom Heroes of the KBO on Saturday.
  • Speaking to McKain, Friedman would not say the Dodgers are done making moves. “We really feel good about this team,” the executive explained. “That being said, we’ll continue to explore avenues, and if there’s ways to get better, we won’t hesitate.” Perhaps this should be every team’s approach to roster building, but hearing this from the Dodgers president is still notable. L.A. has significantly outspent every other team this offseason, signing the most sought-after MLB free agent, Shohei Ohtani, and the most sought-after international free agent, Yoshinobu Yamamoto. They also made a deal for one of the most talented players on the trade market, Tyler Glasnow, and inked him to a nine-figure extension. The Dodgers have won at least 100 games for three consecutive seasons, yet they arguably improved their roster more than any other team this winter.

Rangers Notes: Seager, Jung, Langford, Bradford

By and | at

Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News had some positive updates from Rangers camp on Friday, reporting that manager Bruce Bochy is “more optimistic” that Corey Seager and Josh Jung will both be in the Opening Day lineup at the end of the month. Seager had surgery on a sports hernia about six weeks ago, while Josh Jung has been nursing a calf strain since mid-February. Neither has played a game thus far in spring training, but both players figure to be key pieces for the club as it looks to defend its 2023 World Series championship this season.

Seager, 30 next month, won World Series MVP honors during the club’s title run in the fall and slashed an excellent .327/.390/.623 en route to his fourth All Star appearance and a second-place finish in AL MVP voting. Jung, meanwhile, made his first career All Star appearance and finish fourth in AL Rookie of the Year voting on the heels of a solid rookie campaign that saw him hit a respectable .266/.315/.467 in 122 games. Losing either player for an extended period would be a significant blow to the Rangers’ chances in a competitive AL West that’s seen the Astros add star closer Josh Hader while seeming also pursuing two-time Cy Young award winner Blake Snell while the Mariners have completely retooled their starting lineup to add threatening players such as Jorge Polanco and former Ranger Mitch Garver.

Of course, the Rangers have versatile youngster Ezequiel Duran able to help out on the left side of the infield if either Jung or Seager were to open the season on the shelf. Duran, 25 in May, slashed a solid .276/.324/.443 in 439 trips to the plate last year while splitting time between all four infield spots and both outfield corners. With that being said, Duran could already be tabbed to cover for first baseman Nathaniel Lowe, who is also questionable for Opening Day due to an oblique strain. Aside from Duran, the Rangers have Jose Barrero and Josh Smith as infield depth options should Seager, Jung, and Lowe start the season on the shelf.

More from Rangers camp…

  • Grant also notes that, according to GM Chris Young, top prospect Wyatt Langford has done “everything he can” to make a case for himself as a member of the Opening Day roster. Langford, 22, was the club’s first-round pick in the 2023 draft and slashed an incredible .360/.480/.677 in 200 plate appearances across four levels of the minors down the stretch last season. He’s continued to tear the cover off the ball this spring with a .361/.442/.806 in 43 trips to the plate during camp. Should Langford make the roster, he’d figure to factor into the club’s outfield/DH mix alongside Evan Carter, Adolis Garcia, and Leody Taveras.
  • While Young didn’t make any commitments to Langford as a regular entering the season, he told reporters (including Grant) recently that left-hander Cody Bradford is going to be in the club’s starting rotation to open the season. With Nathan Eovaldi, Jon Gray, Andrew Heaney, and Dane Dunning all seemingly locked into rotation spots of their own, that would appear to preclude the club from making additions such as former Ranger Jordan Montgomery to their starting mix prior to Opening Day. When asked about the possibility of further rotation additions, Young was noncommittal, simply stating that “The group we have is the group we have, and it’s a great group.” Bradford has certainly done everything he can to earn a rotation spot this spring, pitching to a 2.45 ERA across four appearances including three starts.
Show all

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

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top