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AL Central Notes: Vazquez, Malloy, Bubic

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Now with more clarity on their broadcasting situation established for 2024, the Twins have started to make some significant offseason moves, including the Jorge Polanco trade and the signing of Carlos Santana.  Since rumors about Polanco’s possible departure have swirled for months, it stands to reason that the Twins could also now finally move other trade candidates as Max Kepler or Christian Vazquez, though The Athletic’s Aaron Gleeman writes that there hasn’t been any real steam on a possible salary-shedding Vazquez trade.”

Minnesota was reportedly speaking with teams about potential Vazquez deals back in November, though Gleeman and Dan Hayes wrote at the time that a trade may not be too likely, both due to Vazquez’s $20MM in remaining salary and the catcher’s very disappointing 2023 campaign.  In their most recent piece, Gleeman and Hayes agree that a Vazquez trade may still be something of a longshot, with the Twins’ desire to retain catching depth also acting as a factor.  If Vazquez was dealt, Ryan Jeffers would step into the starting catching role and either rookie Jair Camargo or another veteran addition would be the backup, so Minnesota might prefer to stand pat.

More from the AL Central…

  • After playing third base in college and at the start of his pro career in 2021, Justyn-Henry Malloy now looks to be on more or less a full-time path as a corner outfielder, and the Tigers prospect told Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press that he has spent the winter preparing for this role.  “Every day, I’m out here shagging fly balls and making throws to bases,” Malloy said. “I want to be a player that my pitchers can trust….It’s something that I circle on my day, that we’re going to do some defense and get better.  That’s been my mentality all offseason.”  Baseball America ranked Malloy as the sixth-best prospect in Detroit’s system and also cited him as one of 15 players who just missed making their 2024 edition of the sport’s best prospects, noting that Malloy has a good throwing arm but struggled with accuracy in throwing from third to first base.  While Malloy’s defensive future is still a question mark, his bat already seems big league-ready — Malloy hit .277/.417/.474 with 23 home runs over 611 plate appearances with Triple-A Toledo in 2023.
  • Kris Bubic underwent Tommy John surgery last April, and the Royals southpaw told Jaylon Thompson of the Kansas City Star that he is now about 10 days away from his first bullpen session.  Bubic expects to return around the middle of the season given the usual TJ recovery timeline, and he is taking the opportunity during his rehab to make some mechanical changes, as well as looking forward to continue work on developing a slider as a new pitch in his arsenal.  Bubic was the 40th overall pick of the 2018 draft, and is one of several well-regarded Royals pitching prospects who have yet to really break out at the big league level, thus greatly hampering Kansas City’s rebuild efforts.  The Tommy John procedure provided yet another obstacle for the 26-year-old Bubic, who has a 4.85 ERA over 325 career Major League innings.

Orioles Notes: Holliday, Mateo, Hays, Ownership

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Jackson Holliday is among the non-roster players who received an invitation to big league Spring Training with the Orioles. There was never any doubt the sport’s top prospect would be in MLB camp as he tries to lock down a spot on the Opening Day roster. Baltimore will take advantage of exhibition play to get the 2022 #1 pick experience at both middle infield spots.

General manager Mike Elias told 105.7 The Fan (X link) on Tuesday that the O’s will get Holliday “a lot” of work at second base in camp. The 20-year-old has started 25 games at the keystone in his minor league career. Holliday has made 110 starts at his primary shortstop spot. While the O’s certainly aren’t moving him off the infield’s most demanding position, there’s no harm in building his experience on either side of the second base bag.

Baltimore has plenty of infield talent even after including Joey Ortiz in the Corbin Burnes trade. Rookie of the Year Gunnar Henderson can handle either position on the left side. Jordan Westburg split his time between second and third base while posting a solid .260/.311/.404 batting line over his first 228 MLB plate appearances.

Elias said the O’s would like to have a left-handed hitter who could factor into the second base mix, where the righty-swinging Westburg is in line for the majority of the playing time. Holliday could fit that bill once he’s officially called up, occasionally taking second base reps against tough right-handed starters (with Henderson sliding from third base to shortstop in that scenario). Baltimore acquired another lefty-hitting infield option, Nick Maton, in a small trade with Detroit last night.

The glut of infield talent should push last year’s Opening Day shortstop, Jorge Mateo, out of the regular lineup. The speedster remains on the roster despite speculation he could be traded or even non-tendered. Elias told The Fan that Mateo will see a decent amount of outfield run in Spring Training as he prepares for a utility role. While Baltimore has played Mateo mostly in the middle infield over the past two seasons, he has seen action in center field during his career.

Barring injury, Mateo isn’t going to be a regular on the outfield grass. He’s a good enough athlete to cover all three spots behind the projected starting trio of Austin Hays, Cedric Mullins and Anthony Santander. Top prospects Colton Cowser and Heston Kjerstad reached the majors last year. Kyle Stowers, Ryan McKenna and Sam Hilliard are all on the 40-man roster as well.

Hays found himself in the news this week, as the righty-hitting outfielder triumphed in his arbitration case against the club. He secured a $6.3MM salary for his second of three trips through that process. Hays is on track to get to free agency after the 2025 season, but his camp seems amenable to working out a long-term deal.

Francis Marquez, Hays’ representative at the MAS+ Agency, told Danielle Allentuck and Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner that there were no hard feelings coming out of the hearing. That’s not always the case, as some players bristle at being criticized by team representatives in what is an inherently adversarial proceeding.

“It could’ve been something that would’ve derailed a lot of good faith that has been built, and it did not,” Marquez told the Baltimore Banner. “Unabashedly, Austin is an Oriole, and he feels that he is young enough and he’s good enough to be a member of the Orioles for a long time, not just the time that he has in the arbitration system. So I think in an ideal world, 100%, Austin Hays would like to be a player who just wears an Orioles uniform during his career.”

It’s unclear whether the team has any interest in retaining Hays beyond his six-year control window. Marquez told Allentuck and Kostka that there have not been any extension talks to this point. With highly-regarded prospects like Cowser, Kjerstad, Stowers and last year’s first-round selection Enrique Bradfield Jr. in the system, Baltimore could decide to wait things out on their current starting outfield.

There’s ample long-term payroll space for the O’s if they decide to begin committing to some members of the core, Hays or otherwise. Baltimore’s only obligations beyond the upcoming season are a $1MM salary for star closer Félix Bautista and option buyouts to Craig Kimbrel, Danny Coulombe and Cionel Pérez.

Baltimore fans are hopeful the incoming ownership group will sign off on the kind of long-term deals which the team hasn’t made since John Angelos became point person. The incoming group led by David Rubenstein is set to take control of 40% of the franchise, pending approval from MLB’s other owners. (He’d assume a majority stake upon the passing of Peter Angelos.) Matt Weyrich of the Baltimore Sun reported that a nine-person committee discussed the terms of the sale agreement at this week’s owners’ meeting. Weyrich suggests that MLB could move quickly to approve the sale based on their familiarity with Rubenstein, perhaps voting on it within a couple months.

Quick Hits: Twins, Pohlad, Turner, Suter, Rockies, Marlins

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With David Rubenstein’s ownership group set to buy the Orioles, there have been some inevitable questions about which MLB team might be the next to be put onto the market.  The Twins can be firmly removed from that discussion, as Joe Pohlad told Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune that “we are not considering [selling].  We are in it for the long term.”

Carl Pohlad bought the Twins in 1984, and Joe (Carl’s grandson) is now the third generation of the family to oversee the team’s day-to-day operations.  “This is something that brings our family together, something we enjoy being a part of. We love getting together at the ballpark,” Joe Pohlad said.  “And not only is it a family asset, it’s a community asset.  We take that seriously, being part of the community and stewards of the team.”  The younger Pohlad’s first year overseeing the Twins was a notable one, as Minnesota won the AL Central and then won their first playoff series since 2022 before bowing out in the ALDS.

As we say hey to a baseball legend on Willie Mays Day, here are some more items from around the league

  • “The Blue Jays were one of the first teams that reached out” once free agency began, Justin Turner told the Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham and other reporters, and this aggression paid off when Turner and the Jays agreed to a one-year, $13MM deal earlier this week.  The veteran infielder is excited to be joining his new club, though also expressed some bittersweet feelings about leaving the Red Sox after a successful first season in Boston.  He opted out of the second year of his two-year deal but said that “right when the season ended, I assumed that it would be a no-brainer, that I would try to work something out and come back.”  However, Turner feels the changeover in Boston’s front office might’ve delayed the process, and “as time went on, it was appearing to be less and less likely” that a return to the Sox was in the cards.
  • Brent Suter was one of the few pitching bright spots for the Rockies last season, so it isn’t surprising that GM Bill Schmidt told Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post that the team “had a lot of discussions with Suter’s agent prior and after he became a free agent.”  No deal was reached, however, and Suter ended signing with his hometown Reds for a one-year, $3MM contract.
  • The Marlins have hired Sam Mondry-Cohen as the team’s new VP of player personnel, according to the Miami Herald’s Craig Mish (X link).  Mondry-Cohen is best known for his long stint in the Nationals organization, as he rose from an internship in 2009 to an assistant general manager role at the time of his departure at the end of the 2021 season.  Acting as the club’s director of research and development, Mondry-Cohen is credited with more or less building Washington’s analytics division from scratch, with the 2019 World Series title acting as the crown jewel of an overall very successful decade for the organization.  Mondry-Cohen consulted for the Phillies in 2022, worked in the White Sox baseball operations department last season, and he’ll now take on an important new set of responsibilities under new Miami president of baseball ops Peter Bendix.

Orioles Notes: Burnes, Cease, Hicks

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The Orioles completed one of the offseason’s biggest trades in landing Corbin Burnes from the Brewers earlier this week, and it was a move that GM Mike Elias said the organization had been “talking about…since when the World Series ended.” It was heavily expected that the O’s would be looking for significant rotation help during the winter, and Elias shared some details on the search when speaking with reporters (including MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko and MLB.com’s Jake Rill) on a conference call in the aftermath of the trade.

“Corbin Burnes is exactly what we needed.  We were in a dogged pursuit of him the entire offseason,” Elias said.  “Obviously, there were other starting pitchers who we pursued, but it’s harder to have somebody higher than Corbin Burnes on your wish list.  It’s a tremendous impact.”

Milwaukee’s side of the deal involved two big league-ready young players (Joey Ortiz and DL Hall) with top-100 prospect pedigrees, as well as the Orioles’ Competitive Balance Round draft pick (currently 34th overall in the 2024 draft order).  It was a noteworthy amount to give up even for a team as rich in minor league depth as the O’s, but Elias felt it was worth the plunge.

“We’re giving up a lot of long-term talent and also a couple of players that were going to contribute to the 2024 Orioles,” Elias said.  “So I mean, this is a risky move, but it lined up for both sides.  We weren’t going to force it necessarily, but our wish list was a rotation upgrade and I certainly think that the Cy Young winner and with his body of work qualifies as that. We couldn’t have found a better upgrade and now we just have to go play the games.”

While the Orioles’ offer was enough to sway the Brewers, it apparently wasn’t enough to get the White Sox to move Dylan Cease, another pitcher known to be on Baltimore’s list of potential targets.  USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports that the O’s “offered basically the same package” to White Sox, as well as an unknown additional player.  The larger size of the offer probably reflects the fact that Cease is arbitration-controlled through the 2025 season while Burnes is only controlled through 2024, yet it still wasn’t enough to meet Chicago’s asking price for Cease’s services.

Past reports have suggested that the Sox have a particular interest in Jordan Westburg, Heston Kjerstad and Colton Cowser, among many of Baltimore’s top prospects.  It can be assumed that none of these blue-chippers weren’t the mystery fourth part of the Orioles’ offer to Chicago, so speculatively, it could be that the White Sox asked for one of the trio as the top position-player piece instead of Ortiz.  Considering that the Sox have reportedly been looking for additional pitching in other Cease-related trade talks with the Mariners and Reds, it could also be that the White Sox wanted a better pitcher included than Hall, or perhaps a pitcher as the fourth element if the Orioles had offered a position player.

These talks are again indicative of the very large price tag that the White Sox are demanding for Cease, which isn’t really surprising given how he is their biggest trade asset apart from Luis Robert.  It also understandable why the Orioles ultimately pivoted from these talks with Chicago to closing the deal on Burnes, as Burnes provides a higher ceiling as a more consistent ace-level pitcher even if he comes with one less year of control than Cease.

Obviously some of this discussion is just conjecture since we don’t know exactly what the Orioles put on the table for Cease, yet it also speaks to the interesting juggling act Elias has been facing in determining how to put the best “final touch” on the AL East-winning roster.  It can be assumed that pretty much every rival team has been asking about the top tier of names in Baltimore’s farm system in any trade talks, so Elias technically has the minor league depth to complete just about any deal, he naturally isn’t going to deplete that depth for just any pitcher.

Speaking of Kjerstad and Cowser, it wouldn’t be surprising to see either youngster play big roles in whatever success awaits the 2024 Orioles, though they’re part of a crowded outfield, first base, and DH picture that also includes Cedric Mullins, Anthony Santander, Austin Hays, Ryan Mountcastle, Ryan O’Hearn, and even more up-and-coming prospects in Coby Mayo and Kyle Stowers, among others.  Even with all these options on hand, Nightengale reports that the O’s still had interest in bringing back Aaron Hicks before the veteran outfielder signed with the Angels earlier this week.

After an injury-plagued stint with the Yankees, Hicks revived his career after joining the Orioles last season, hitting .275/.381/.425 over 236 PA and acting as a veteran leader within the young clubhouse.  Since the Yankees are still covering Hicks’ previous contract through the 2025 season, the outfielder was available on only a minimum MLB salary to any team this winter, giving him presumably a pretty wide range of suitors.

Though the Orioles are in a better position to contend than the Angels in 2024, it could be that Hicks simply felt he wouldn’t get as much playing time in Baltimore than he would in Los Angeles.  Though the Angels have a fair amount of outfield options themselves, Mike Trout’s injury history and the unproven big league track records of Mickey Moniak and Jo Adell leave more room for Hicks to become a lineup regular.

Athletics Notes: Stripling, Wood, Montas, Waldichuk, Bullpen

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The Athletics’ offseason has been dominated by news about their planned move to Las Vegas, including the still-ongoing question of where exactly the team is going to play during the three-year gap between the end of their lease at the Oakland Coliseum and the opening of their new ballpark in Vegas in 2028.  These issues have naturally influenced the front office’s roster-building endeavors, as GM David Forst told reporters (including The Comeback’s Jessica Kleinschmidt and The San Francisco Chronicle’s John Shea) that the A’s have been targeting free agents on one-year contracts, in part due to the uncertainty over where the team will be playing beyond the 2024 campaign.

One of those one-year offers was finalized this week, when Alex Wood was signed to a one-year, $8.5MM deal.  The pitching additions continued when Ross Stripling was acquired in a trade with the Giants, and Forst confirmed that both Stripling and Wood will be deployed as starting pitchers heading into Spring Training.  The two veterans have worked as starters, relievers, and swingmen during their careers (including as recently as 2023 when they both played for San Francisco), but Forst noted that such seasoned starters are “exactly what we need with a relatively young and inexperienced starting pitching staff….We’ve seen what happens when you get a little overwhelmed with inexperience and we started last season with five rookie starters, and it didn’t go well.”

Forst said the A’s started discussing signing Wood and making a Stripling trade with the Giants back during the GM Meetings in November.  Plenty of other arms received consideration on the free agent and trade markets, and MLB.com’s Martin Gallegos reports that longtime former Athletic Frankie Montas was of interest before Montas signed a one-year, $16MM deal with the Reds.  Montas posted a 3.70 ERA over 537 2/3 innings with Oakland from 2017-22, but the righty has been plagued by injuries and under-performance since the A’s dealt Montas to the Yankees at the 2022 trade deadline.

The Oakland rotation now consists of Wood, Stripling, JP Sears, Paul Blackburn, and then a host of candidates vying for the fifth starter’s job.  It remains to be seen if Ken Waldichuk will be part of this competition, as Forst said Waldichuk has yet to begin throwing and won’t do so for at least two weeks.

Waldichuk will see a doctor next week to figure out a throwing schedule in the next step of the southpaw’s ongoing attempts to recover from a strained flexor tendon and sprained UCL in his throwing arm.  The injuries emerged right at the very end of the 2023 season, and Forst’s update was the first on Waldichuk since the A’s revealed in early December that the left-hander was pursuing a non-surgical rehab plan that included both a Tenex procedure and a PRP injection.  Even if Waldichuk gets the green light to start throwing relatively soon, he’ll obviously still need a lot of ramp-up time to make up for the lost offseason work, and Waldichuk seems like a lock to begin the season on the injured list.

Waldichuk’s had a 5.36 ERA in his second MLB season, and his 141 innings ranked second among all A’s pitchers last year.  The additions of Stripling and Wood will hopefully more than make up for those innings should Waldichuk miss a significant amount of time, but the Athletics figure to keep looking for more lower-cost pitching prior to Opening Day.  Forst didn’t exactly close the door on more rotation candidates, but noted that the A’s are particularly looking at the relief market.

NL East Notes: Fried, Garrett, Peralta, Mets

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Max Fried is feeling healthy after an injury-plagued 2023 season, and the Braves ace is looking to focus just on baseball rather than a possible trip to free agency next winter.  “I feel like a lot of that is, I would say it’s out of my control right now,” Fried told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Justin Toscano and other reporters.  “But the Braves do things a certain way, and I know that privacy and having that just kind of be more behind closed doors is the way things are done, so I’m gonna respect that.  But I know that I love being here, and I’m really excited to get started with this group….We didn’t accomplish what we wanted to last year, but I know that we have a really determined group, and I’m really excited to get started.”

It isn’t known whether or not the Braves and Fried’s reps at CAA have had any more talks since the two sides discussed an extension last spring, since as Fried noted, the Braves tend to avoid leaks when it comes to transactional or contract news.  Atlanta is more aggressive than any other club when it comes to extending players, yet the fact that Fried has gotten so close to free agency might hint that either side might ultimately be comfortable in parting ways next winter.

More from around the NL East…

  • Stone Garrett’s season ended on August 23, when the Nationals outfielder fractured his left fibula and broke his left ankle crashing into Yankee Stadium’s right field wall in pursuit of a home run ball.  The Washington Post’s Andrew Golden has an update on Garrett’s status, writing that the outfielder has been proceeding as planned with his six-month recovery projection and might be ready for the start of Spring Training, though both Garrett and the Nats will proceed with caution.  Garrett discussed many aspects of his rehab process, providing some interesting details into the physical and mental challenges that go into recovering from such a serious pair of injuries.  The 28-year-old Garrett has hit an impressive .271/.335/.477 over 355 career plate appearances with the Diamondbacks and Nationals, and looks to have earned himself a more regular spot in Washington’s lineup if he is healthy.
  • The relief corps has been a target area for the Mets this offseason, including the recent re-signing of Adam Ottavino.  SNY’s Andy Martino writes that the Mets still weighing whether or not to add yet another reliever to the mix, and Jon Heyman of the New York Post adds that the club has a particular interest in left-handed bullpen help, with Wandy Peralta one of the names under consideration.  Peralta was initially connected to the Mets earlier this month, and he is no stranger to the Big Apple after pitching the last three seasons with the Yankees (new Mets manager Carlos Mendoza is also the Yankees’ ex-bench coach).  Brooks Raley is currently the only southpaw slated for a regular role in the Amazins’ bullpen, so some more lefty depth would certainly appear to be a useful addition.

Rockies Notes: Marquez, Senzatela, Freeland, Bryant

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Pitching injuries defined the Rockies’ 103-loss 2023 season, as the team had a seemingly endless string of hurlers missing time with both minor and major ailments.  The top of the rotation was hit particularly hard, with German Marquez and Antonio Senzatela both undergoing Tommy John surgeries that will stretch their time on the injured list into 2024.

Rockies GM Bill Schmidt provided some updates (to Patrick Lyons and other reporters) on the two right-handers at the team’s Fan Fest event this weekend.  The club is hopeful Marquez can return sometime after the All-Star break, which fits the normal TJ recovery timeline given that Marquez underwent his procedure last May.

Unfortunately, that same timeline puts Senzatela’s entire 2024 season in doubt.  Senzatela had his surgery in July, and thus Schmidt doesn’t “anticipate [him] up here” on Colorado’s active roster.  If all goes well, Senzatela will be able to pitch for the Rockies’ Triple-A team near the end of the minor league season, with an eye towards the righty banking some innings and gaining some peace of mind ahead of a more normal offseason.

Colorado has invested heavily in both pitchers as part of its eternal search for rotation stability.  Marquez signed a five-year, $43MM extension that covered the 2019-23 seasons, and also included a $16MM club option for 2024.  Rather than buy out that option for $2.5MM in the wake of Marquez’s TJ surgery, the Rox instead worked out a new two-year extension that will pay Marquez $20MM over the next two seasons, with another $10MM available in bonuses based on roster time and innings pitched.

Senzatela inked a five-year, $50.5MM extension in October 2021 that also included a club option ($14MM in 2027).  Senzatela was already under arbitration control through 2023, so had that deal not been signed, the righty might’ve been in free agency right now and facing an uncertain near future as he recovered from his surgery.  The Rockies haven’t gotten much return on their investment since Senzatela has thrown only 100 innings over the last two seasons — his 2022 campaign was also cut short by a torn ACL.

Since it remains to be seen how much Marquez or Senzatela will factor into the 2024 season, the Rockies face an even greater pressure to fill innings.  The Rox signed Dakota Hudson and acquired Cal Quantrill in a trade with the Guardians, but they’ll also be relying on in-house options to contribute, none moreso than de facto staff ace Kyle Freeland.  However, it has been some time since Freeland has looked like a true frontline pitcher — after finishing fourth in NL Cy Young Award voting in 2018, the southpaw has battled injuries while posting a 4.96 ERA over 626 innings from 2019-23.

That includes a 5.03 ERA in 155 2/3 frames last season, as Freeland missed time with a separated shoulder and then an oblique strain that ultimately ended his season.  The good news is that Freeland is now feeling recovered from more than just his 2023 injury woes.

“I told [manager Bud Black] and a couple of our other coaches how my arm and my body really hasn’t felt this good since 2021,” Freeland told reporters at Fan Fest, including Luke Zahlmann of the Denver Gazette.  “It’s very exciting for me.  We discussed my velocity last year, and one thing I really tried to work on this offseason is trying to get that back — doing stuff for my shoulder and stuff like that to make sure that I’m as healthy as possible going into camp.”

Kris Bryant is looking to avoid the injured list and tally his first full season in a Colorado uniform.  Since signing his seven-year, $182MM contract during the 2021-22 offseason, Bryant has played in just 122 of 324 games due to plantar fasciitis in his left foot, a bruised left heel, and a fractured finger.

“I feel fortunate that I’m healthy right now and the offseason has been great,” Bryant told the Denver Post’s Patrick Saunders.  In terms of his frustration over the last two seasons, Bryant said that “when I’m not performing to my standard it eats at me….When you play this game this long, certain things are going to happen, but I know that there are much better days ahead in my future.”

It remains to be seen if Bryant can ever regain his old MVP form, and while Bryant’s numbers haven’t been good over the last two years, the injuries provide a natural context for his struggles.  Bryant hit .306/.376/.475 over 181 plate appearances in 2022, but then only .233/.313/.367 in 335 PA last season.  Looking ahead to 2024, the Rockies intend to use Bryant primarily as a first baseman in order to help keep him healthy, but he’ll also get some work as a DH and right fielder.  Bryant might possibly also see the odd game in left field when a left-hander is on the mound, but Nolan Jones is slated to take the bulk of work as Colorado’s regular left fielder.

AL Notes: Red Sox, Twins, deGrom

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While adding to the front of the rotation once appeared to be a top priority for the Red Sox this winter, they’ve largely come up short in that regard as they simply swapped Chris Sale out for Lucas Giolito in their rotation mix. More recently, it appears the club has begun looking for other options in their quest to improve the club’s pitching staff. MassLive’s Chris Cotillo reported recently that the club has interest in right-handers Jakob Junis and Codi Heuer.

Junis, 31, defied the odds as a 29th-round pick by the Royals in the 2011 draft and managed to make the majors during the 2017 season. In the years since then, the right-hander has managed to put together a solid career while swinging between the bullpen and the rotation for both Kansas City and San Francisco. While he typically offered roughly league average production for most of his career, Junis enjoyed a career year with the Giants this past season as he pitched to a 3.87 ERA with a 3.74 FIP in 86 innings of work. In 40 appearances for San Francisco last year, Junis struck out a career-best 26.2% of batters faced while walking just 5.7%.

Impressive as Junis was last season, the right-hander is unlikely to be an impactful addition to the Red Sox rotation mix if signed as he tended to pitch most effectively in shorter bursts last year. The righty surrendered a 5.32 ERA in 31 innings of work across nine appearances where he threw 50 pitches or more last year. By contrast, Junis posted a strong 2.95 ERA across 39 2/3 innings of work in 26 appearances where he threw 40 pitches or less. Junis’s success in shorter appearances could make him an interesting relief option for the Red Sox, particularly if the club parts with closer Kenley Jansen before Opening Day.

Heuer, meanwhile, would be more of a speculative addition by the Red Sox. The right-hander last pitched in the majors back in 2021 due to Tommy John surgery and a fractured elbow, but sports a solid 3.56 ERA and 3.66 FIP across 91 innings of work in the majors between the White Sox and Cubs. The righty was nothing short of dominant for the south siders during the 2020 season in particular, as he paired a 50% groundball rate with a upper-90s heater that allowed him to strike out 27.2% of batters faced in 21 appearances. The Cubs non-tendered Heuer earlier this offseason, likely thanks to his two-year layoff from pitching while rehabbing from multiple elbow issues. Still, the 27-year-old hurler has flashed set-up caliber skills during his limited big league appearances and could be a savvy add to the Boston bullpen if healthy.

More from around the American League…

  • The Twins are lacking in starting pitching depth after losing right-handers Sonny Gray, Kenta Maeda, and Tyler Mahle in free agency earlier this winter, and GM Thad Levine acknowledged that concern during a recent appearance on MLBNetwork Radio. During the appearance, Levine noted that the club feels comfortable with its current starting five of Pablo Lopez, Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober, Chris Paddack, and Louie Varland, but that hasn’t stopped the club from exploring both the trade and free agent markets for other rotation options. Bolstering the club’s rotation mix would not only provide the club with much-needed depth to safeguard against injury but could also give Varland competition for the fifth-starter role, allowing him to return to the multi-inning bullpen role in which he thrived late last season. Michael Lorenzen, Mike Clevinger, and Hyun Jin Ryu are among the mid-level rotation options still available this winter.
  • Rangers right-hander Jacob deGrom made just six starts for the reigning World Series champions before undergoing Tommy John surgery last spring, but optimism remains at the oft-injured ace will be able to contribute to the club at some point during the 2024 campaign. As noted by Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News, deGrom provided a health update to reporters during the club’s FanFest this weekend. The righty indicated that his arm is feeling good seven months removed from going under the knife and that he currently plans to begin throwing again “sometime this spring.” While deGrom did not mention a timetable for his return to the big league mound, the update tracks with previous comments from the right-hander back in October, which indicated he was targeting a return to the majors in August of 2024. Among the most talented pitchers of his generation, it’s hard to overstate the potential impact deGrom could have for the Rangers this year if he’s available for the stretch run and a potential playoff push. Over his past 108 starts dating back to the 2018 season, deGrom has posted a 2.08 ERA with a near-matching 2.11 FIP and a whopping 921 strikeouts in just 675 2/3 innings of work.

NL West Notes: Dodgers, Hernandez, Pederson, Ray

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While veteran utility player Enrique Hernandez is drawing interest from the Angels among several other clubs, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that the Halos fear that Hernandez prefers to return to the Dodgers, with whom he played from 2015 to 2020 before the club re-acquired him at the 2023 trade deadline in a deal with the Red Sox.

Hernandez, 32, sports the versatility to play anywhere on the diamond except catcher. While the veteran struggled at the plate during his time in Boston last year, he enjoyed a resurgence upon returning to L.A. with a respectable .262/.308/.423 slash line in 185 plate appearances. If Hernandez were able to replicate those offensive numbers over a full season in 2024, that roughly league average offense and his positional versatility would combine to make him among the more valuable bench options in the game. With that being said, Rosenthal adds that the Dodgers appear to have their priorities focused elsewhere as they search for a high-leverage bullpen arm to complement the likes of Brusdar Graterol and Evan Phillips.

Dodgers bullpen arms posted a strong 3.42 ERA last season, the third-best figure in the majors behind only the Yankees and Brewers. Nonetheless, it’s sensible for the club to look for relief upgrades. After all, the club’s production out of the bullpen dramatically improved upon their acquisition of veteran righty Ryan Brasier, who posted an eye-popping 0.70 ERA in 39 appearances with L.A. after being acquired from the Red Sox last June. Prior to Brasier’s arrival, the Dodgers’ bullpen was struggling to an ERA of 4.94, bottom-two in the majors alongside the lowly A’s. To that end, Rosenthal suggests the club could look to reunite with Brasier or perhaps even longtime closer Kenley Jansen, who the Red Sox are reportedly shopping this winter.

More from around the NL West…

  • Rosenthal also discusses the recent deal between the Diamondbacks and lefty slugger Joc Pederson. Rosenthal notes that prior to accepting a fourth consecutive one-year deal in free agency Pederson indicated to Arizona that he hopes to “restore his value” with the club in 2024 before returning to free agency in search of a multi-year pact. For Pederson, Rosenthal suggests that would involve showing he’s more than a platoon DH. The Diamondbacks’ outfield mix is a fairly crowded one with Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Corbin Carroll entrenched as regulars alongside a litany of potential options like Alek Thomas, Jake McCarthy, and even Dominic Fletcher. Each of the aforementioned names is a stronger defender in the outfield than Pederson, so the 31-year-old could instead look to boost his stock by playing more regularly against southpaws, against whom he has taken just 606 plate appearances during his entire career.
  • Newly-acquired Giants southpaw Robbie Ray spoke to reporters (including Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle) as he rehabs from UCL and flexor tendon surgery. The 32-year-old southpaw said it feels as though he has a “brand new elbow,” and that he hopes to begin throwing off a mound early on during Spring Training. In terms of a timetable for his return to the big league pitching staff, Ray suggests that a return around the All-Star break would be a “best-case scenario.” The 2021 AL Cy Young award winner, Ray posted a 3.31 ERA and 3.94 FIP in 65 starts with the Blue Jays and Mariners the past three seasons, though only one of those starts came in 2023 before Ray went under the knife back in May of last year. His eventual return should bolster a San Francisco rotation that currently figures to feature Logan Webb, Ross Stripling, and newly-signed righty Jordan Hicks alongside youngsters Kyle Harrison and Keaton Winn.

Rangers Notes: Scherzer, Montgomery, Garcia

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Rangers fans received good news during the club’s FanFest this weekend, as future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer provided an update on his health following back surgery earlier this winter. As noted by Jeff Wilson of Rangers Today, Scherzer noted that he has yet to suffer any setbacks in his recovery in the six weeks since he went under the knife, and added that he expects to begin working out in about three weeks. While that timeline puts him on pace to begin workouts shortly after Spring Training begins next month, there’s still a lengthy rehab ahead for Scherzer, who GM Chris Young indicated when announcing the surgery last month would be sidelined into June or even July of the coming campaign.

An eight-time All Star and three-time Cy Young award winner, Scherzer’s return to the rotation over the summer is sure to provide a major boost to the club’s pitching corps. The veteran righty pitched to a 3.20 ERA and 3.41 FIP in 45 innings of work for the Rangers down the stretch before being sidelined in September due to the back issues that would ultimately require surgery. Scherzer managed to work his way back onto the mound for three short starts during the club’s championship run before ultimately being shut down for the season following three scoreless innings during Game 3 of the World Series against the Diamondbacks.

With Scherzer, Jacob deGrom and offseason signing Tyler Mahle all expected to open the 2024 season on the shelf, the Rangers have plenty of questions marks in the Opening Day rotation. The starting five in Texas currently projects to be Nathan Eovaldi, Jon Gray, Andrew Heaney, Dane Dunning, and Cody Bradford as things stand, without much healthy depth behind that quintet to protect against additional injury woes. The club’s clear rotation needs have paved the way for the club to be tied to a reunion with lefty Jordan Montgomery throughout the winter, though Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News recently cast doubt on the likelihood of the sides coming together on a deal when all is said and done. During a recent appearance on a the Foul Territory podcast, Grant noted that while he believes that both sides have interest in a reunion, he thinks that the club would rather rely on minor league pitching talents to step up and contribute at the big league level early in the season while Scherzer, deGrom, and Mahle rehab than offer Montgomery a hefty deal in the 5-6 year range.

While the Rangers have a trio of pitching prospects in Owen White, Jack Leiter, and Kumar Rocker who were recently very well regarded, both Leiter and White had difficult 2023 campaigns while Rocker made just six professional starts before undergoing Tommy John surgery in May of last year and may not even reach the upper levels of the minors in 2024, much less the big leagues. Given those question marks, it’s hardly a surprise that the club has at least remained engaged with Montgomery. Speculatively speaking, the club could perhaps look to lower-tier alternatives remaining on the starting pitching market such as Mike Clevinger and Hyun Jin Ryu to bolster their depth in the event Montgomery signs elsewhere.

Moving from the rotation to the offense, Stephen Hawkins of the Associated Press recently reported that the Rangers remain at odds with star outfielder Adolis Garcia regarding his 2024 salary with arbitration hearings just around the corner. The only Ranger who didn’t reach an agreement with the club prior to the deadline earlier this month, Garcia requested a salary of $6.9MM while the Rangers countered with $5MM. That $1.9MM gap is the widest among all players who failed to reach an agreement before the deadline. While many teams have adopted a “file and trial” approach to salary arbitration, meaning that they do not continue negotiations after figures are exchanged, Young noted that the club has remained in contact with Garcia’s camp and that the club is “very encouraged” by the dialogue between the two sides.

For Garcia’s part, the 30-year-old slugger said he wasn’t sure if there was a chance of avoiding an arbitration hearing and added that he’s “just a little bit disappointed” about how the process has gone. Garcia enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2023, slashing .245/.328/.508 in 632 trips to the plate as he notched his second career All Star appearance. The slugger also earned a Gold Glove award for his work in right field and posted a .323/.382/.786 slash line in the postseason en route to MVP honors for the ALCS.

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