Notes

Royals Notes: Catchers, Hernandez, Pasquantino

By Steve Adams | February 23, 2024 at 3:11pm CDT

The Royals’ recent deal with Austin Nola gives them three catchers on the 40-man roster, and the organization has considered carrying all three to open the season, general manager J.J. Picollo suggested Friday (X link via Jaylon Thompson of the Kansas City Star). Picollo voiced confidence that Freddy Fermin would break camp as the team’s backup to Salvador Perez but noted that “there’s a chance” all three of Perez, Fermin and Nola could be on the Opening Day club. Thompson notes that Kansas City pursued Nola earlier in the offseason before yesterday’s deal as well.

Carrying three catchers could make it easier for the Royals to get Perez some extra time at designated hitter. That’d be a boost to the team’s overall defense, as while Perez graded as a plus defender and won five Gold Gloves earlier in his career, he’s not the same defensive player now as he approaches his 34th birthday. Perez has long been one of the sport’s iron men behind the dish, working one of the largest workloads of any catcher in the game. It’s natural that such heavy usage would take its toll on his 6’3″, 255-pound frame, as would the Tommy John surgery that wiped out his 2019 season. Even with that missed season, Perez has caught more innings (9,071) than anyone other than Yadier Molina since the 2013 season.

Even post-Tommy John surgery, in 2021, Perez led the league with a massive 44% caught-stealing rate behind the dish. That number plummeted over the two subsequent seasons, however, bottoming out at a career-low 14% in 2023. Statcast still credits Perez with solid blocking skills on pitches in the dirt, but he’s also among the league’s least-effective backstops in terms of framing pitches by that same measure. Perez posted a combined 28 Defensive Runs Saved from 2012-16 and was roughly average from 2017-19, but he’s been below average in each of the past three seasons, including -11 DRS in just 738 innings this past season.

Fermin, meanwhile, posted strong defensive grades in 2023 and delivered a surprisingly solid .281/.321/.461 slash as a 28-year-old rookie. There’s an argument to be made that based on defense alone, he deserves a larger share of playing time than a traditional backup. Nola’s defensive grades have waned as he’s entered his mid-30s, but rostering him would make it easier for the Royals to DH Perez, start Fermin behind the dish and still have another catching option. He’s also spent time at first base and second base, with more sparse appearances at third base and in the outfield corners. Nola does have a minor league option remaining, so it’s also possible he heads to Triple-A Omaha as a more conventional depth option.

Turning to the Kansas City bullpen, right-hander Carlos Hernandez has been slowed by injury to this point in camp, Picollo announced (X link via Anne Rogers of MLB.com). The flamethrowing 26-year-old (27 next month) hasn’t thrown off a mound in two weeks due to soreness in his right shoulder, but the team anticipates he’ll have enough time to make six to seven spring appearances. That’s position him to be ready for Opening Day, assuming there are no setbacks with that ailing shoulder.

Hernandez is coming off an unsightly 5.27 ERA in 70 innings last season, although a poor finish to the year torpedoed what had been solid numbers for much of the ’23 campaign. Through the first four months of the year, Hernandez pitched 53 innings with a 3.57 ERA, 30% strikeout rate and 7.1% walk rate. Everything trended in the wrong direction over the final two months, however; Hernandez’s strikeout rate nearly halved, clocking in at 15.6%, and his walk rate exploded to 17.8%. Six of the ten homers he surrendered last year came over his final 17 innings, and he would up yielding a grisly 20 earned runs in that time.

Whether the shoulder was healthy to close out the season or was quietly bothering him, Hernandez showed for two-thirds of the season that he has the ability to be a key piece in the Kansas City bullpen. His health will be a notable factor for K.C. fans to track throughout spring training.

On the other end of the health spectrum, the Royals welcomed first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino back to the lineup Friday — his first game appearance in more than 250 days since undergoing surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder. Pasquantino chatted with Sam McDowell of the Kansas City Star about the rigors of the rehab process — not only the physical ones but also the mental difficulty of being sidelined.

The 26-year-old called his time away from the field “miserable,” particularly given some added guilt stemming from the fact that he elected to undergo surgery at a time when the Royals were in Baltimore, just a three-hour drive from his native Richmond, Va. Friends and family had flocked to Camden Yards to see Pasquantino play, only for him to instead opt for a season-ending surgical procedure. Pasquantino offered plenty of candid comments on the nature of his rehab and detailed the intense video work he underwent during his down time as he studied all aspects of the game and searched for ways to improve.

Pasquantino came roaring out of the gate in 2023, slashing .298/.383/.539 with seven homers and more walks (11.7%) than strikeouts (11%) in his first 163 trips to the plate. He fell into a deep slump thereafter, hitting just .167/.227/.278 in his next 97 trips to the plate before undergoing surgery.

A healthy Pasquantino would be a boon for a Royals team that has spent aggressively this offseason in an effort to turn the page on a series of losing seasons. Kansas City signed Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, Will Smith, Chris Stratton, Hunter Renfroe, Adam Frazier and Garrett Hampson for a combined $109.5MM and traded for relievers John Schreiber and Nick Anderson in an effort to assemble a better club. There’s a massive gap to close after finishing the 2023 season with 106 losses, but there’s little doubting that Kansas City will be an improved club in 2024.

Brewers Notes: Sanchez, Ortiz, Bour

By Anthony Franco | February 22, 2024 at 10:38pm CDT

The Brewers finalized their restructured contract with Gary Sánchez yesterday. While he’d initially agreed to a $7MM guarantee, an issue with his physical led the sides to rework the deal to lock in only $3MM. Sánchez could still get to $7MM for the upcoming season, but that is conditional on his health.

The Associated Press reports the specifics. Sánchez will make a $3MM salary and has a buyout on a 2025 mutual option. The buyout figure could rise as high as $4MM depending on how much time Sánchez spends on the MLB roster or injured list for a fracture or ligament tear in any area of the body other than his right wrist.

He’d receive the full $4MM buyout if he reaches 150 days on the active roster or IL for a notable non-wrist injury. That dips to $3MM for 120-149 days, $2MM for 90-119, and $1MM for 60-89 days. There’d be no buyout for 59 days or fewer. The deal also contains a $1MM assignment bonus in the event of a trade.

Sánchez broke his right wrist when he was hit by a pitch while playing for the Padres last September. While that was the initially reported cause of the contract restructure, Sánchez told reporters this evening that he recovered fully from that incident (link via Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel). Via translator, the catcher indicated he injured his hand while working out over the offseason, which he says was the cause of the team’s concern.

In any case, ironing out the issue positions Sánchez to serve as a backup catcher/DH for the Brew Crew. He joins first baseman Rhys Hoskins and trade pickups Jake Bauers and Joey Ortiz as offseason additions to a reworked offense. Jack Magruder of MLB.com writes that Ortiz, acquired from the Orioles in the Corbin Burnes deal, could see action at both second and third base.

Ortiz has played mostly shortstop in the minors but doesn’t have a path to regular playing time there in 2024, barring a surprising late Willy Adames trade. Brice Turang is the frontrunner for reps at the keystone, although he’s coming off a well below-average .218/.285/.300 batting line as a rookie. Turang is a former top prospect who played strong defense, so it’s likely the Brewers will give him another run. That’d leave Ortiz vying with Andruw Monasterio and perhaps Owen Miller at third base.

In other Brewers news, Milwaukee added a former big leaguer in a non-playing capacity. Justin Bour announced (on X) that he’s taking on a role in the player development department. Bour hit .253/.337/.457 in parts of six MLB seasons between 2014-19. He finished fifth in NL Rookie of the Year balloting when he hit 23 homers for the Marlins in 2015. Bour played in a few foreign leagues before announcing his retirement as a player last February.

Astros Notes: Verlander, France, Framber, Bullpen

By Steve Adams | February 22, 2024 at 4:50pm CDT

Astros camp kicked off last week with the revelation that right-handers Justin Verlander and J.P. France were both slightly behind schedule due to shoulder troubles. Both, however, have been progressing nicely over the past week-plus. Verlander tossed a bullpen session today, after which manager Joe Espada told reporters he’s “encouraged” with his ace’s progression from that shoulder issue (X link via Brian McTaggart of MLB.com). France, meanwhile, pitched off a mound Wednesday — his first time doing so after being limited to flat ground work at the beginning of camp (X link via Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle).

It’s a positive step for both pitchers, though the team still hasn’t declared with any certainty that both players will be ready for Opening Day. If he’s healthy, Verlander would be the presumptive favorite to start Opening Day. France, meanwhile, figures to compete for a spot at the back of the rotation after impressing as a 28-year-old rookie in 2023. Houston manager Joe Espada has raised the possibility of a six-man rotation this year, which would allow France to continue starting alongside Verlander, Framber Valdez, Cristian Javier, Hunter Brown and Jose Urquidy. That’s not set in stone at this point and will of course be dependent on how both righties continue to progress.

On the topic of Valdez, Chandler Rome of the Athletic wrote earlier this week that the left-hander says he has not yet received any sort of extension offer from the team this winter. Houston general manager Dana Brown listed Valdez as an extension target last offseason not long after being hired, and while the team and Valdez discussed parameters last spring, there was a sufficient enough gap that no deal was reached.

Valdez, 30, is controllable through the 2025 season. He and the Astros agreed to a $12.1MM salary for the upcoming season, avoiding an arbitration hearing in doing so. He’s finished ninth or better on each of the past two Cy Young ballots and touts a 3.13 ERA, a 23.5% strikeout rate, an 8.3% walk rate and a massive 63% ground-ball rate in 534 regular season innings, dating back to 2021. Valdez’s name briefly surfaced in trade rumors earlier in the winter, but a deal never seemed especially likely and now feels even less plausible with Verlander and France behind schedule. If anything, Brown has spoken frequently about his desire to constantly be adding to his pitching depth.

Elsewhere on the pitching staff, the Astros are set for an unusual amount of competition in the bullpen this spring, Kawahara writes in a full column. Josh Hader, Ryan Pressly and Bryan Abreu are locked into late-inning roles, and Rafael Montero’s three-year, $34.5MM contract (covering the 2023-25 seasons) assures him a spot as well. But the Astros lost Phil Maton and Hector Neris to free agency already, and they don’t seem especially likely to re-sign Ryne Stanek, either. They’ll also be without Kendall Graveman, who’ll miss the season due to shoulder surgery.

Among the options to step into prominent bullpen roles are righties Brandon Bielak, Ronel Blanco, Dylan Coleman, Shawn Dubin, Seth Martinez, Forrest Whitley and Oliver Ortega. All are on the 40-man roster, as are southpaws Parker Mushinski and Bennett Sousa. Righty Wander Suero is the most experienced non-roster invitee in camp.

Brown, the team’s general manager, tells Kawahara that the team will “take a close look” at Coleman in particular. Both Espada and pitching coach Josh Miller praised Coleman’s raw stuff and cited a belief that the Astros can get him back to his 2022 form, when he posted a 2.78 ERA, fanned nearly a quarter of his opponents and sat just shy of 98 mph with his heater. The 2023 season was a disaster for Coleman, however, as he posted an 8.84 ERA and walked 19 batters in 18 1/3 innings with Kansas City.

Sousa, too, will get strong consideration. Brown noted to Kawahara that if he’d been acquired prior to the Sept. 1 postseason eligibility deadline last year, he’d likely have been on Houston’s playoff rosters. Espada indicated that he doesn’t feel compelled to have a second lefty in the ’pen beyond Hader and is focused primarily on just carrying the best group the team has, regardless of handedness. Still, Sousa posted interesting strikeout, walk and swinging-strike rates in a small sample last season (29.4%, 5.9% and 12.9%, respectively) and has fanned nearly a third of his career opponents in parts of three Triple-A seasons.

Rockies Notes: Lawrence, Kinley, Bard, Bouchard

By Anthony Franco | February 21, 2024 at 11:29pm CDT

The Rockies are evaluating righties Justin Lawrence and Tyler Kinley as potential closing options in camp, writes Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. Both pitchers held the ninth inning at points last season and are battling for the job to open this year.

Colorado began last year with Pierce Johnson in the closing role. Johnson struggled and was bumped from the ninth inning before he was traded to Atlanta. Lawrence stepped into the role in June. He pitched well through the end of July but hit a skid in August, allowing 10 runs in 8 2/3 innings. Colorado activated Kinley from the injured list in August, the culmination of a year-long recovery from elbow surgery. Skipper Bud Black gave Kinley the ninth inning for the season’s final few weeks.

Despite the shaky finish, Lawrence is coming off the best season of his career. He logged a personal-high 75 innings and turned in a 3.72 ERA. He pairs a mid-90s sinker with a mid-80s slider, against which opponents hit only .149 last season. Lawrence has the raw stuff to hold a late-inning job, but it remains to be seen whether he’ll throw enough strikes to stick in the ninth.

Last season’s 11% walk rate was the best of his career but remains well higher than the league average. Lawrence’s low arm slot could also pose a platoon issue, as left-handed batters can pick up the ball early in his delivery. Southpaws didn’t have much success against him last season, hitting .221/.336/.361 in 149 plate appearances. Lawrence’s strikeout and walk profile was far better against righties, though. He fanned 27.7% and walked 10.2% of right-handed opponents; against lefties, those numbers sat at 19.5% and 12.1%, respectively.

Kinley has more major league experience than Lawrence, but he’d never closed until last fall. His results last season weren’t great. After returning from surgery, he tossed 16 1/3 innings of 11-run ball. His velocity came back stronger than ever, giving reason for optimism that he can find his pre-injury form after a healthy offseason. Kinley was amidst a breakout first half in 2022, turning in a 0.75 ERA with a 27% strikeout rate over 24 innings before going on the shelf.

Beyond that duo, Saunders indicates that Daniel Bard could work back into the closing picture once he’s healthy. He held the job in 2021-22, combining for 54 saves. Anxiety issues, which Bard has battled throughout his career, unfortunately resurfaced early in the ’23 season. While he was able to get back on the mound, he lost his feel for the strike zone. Bard walked more hitters than he struck out, knocking him down the leverage hierarchy.

His efforts at a rebound campaign are delayed after he underwent an arthroscopic procedure on his left knee last week. While he didn’t need to undergo a meniscus repair as the team originally feared, his recovery timeline isn’t quite certain. Thomas Harding of MLB.com writes that Bard hasn’t been cleared to begin working from the mound.

On the other side of the ball, the Rox have most of their expected starting lineup penciled in to open the year. The biggest point of uncertainty is probably right field, although there seems an established frontrunner for that job. Both Saunders and Harding wrote this week that Sean Bouchard has the upper hand on right field early in camp.

Bouchard, who turns 28 in May, has shown well in limited playing time over the past two seasons. The UCLA product debuted midway through the 2022 campaign and hit .297/.454/.500 over 27 games. He had a shot at a starting job last spring but suffered a left biceps rupture that required surgery early in camp. That kept him on the injured list until mid-August. Colorado didn’t promote him back to the big leagues until September.

As he did during his debut season, Bouchard put up strong numbers in a small sample last September. He hit .316/.372/.684 through 43 plate appearances, albeit with 14 strikeouts. Bouchard isn’t regarded as a great defensive outfielder but owns a .276/.356/.492 batting line over six minor league seasons. Carrying over that on-base ability in an extended look against big league pitching would be a welcome boost for a lineup that had a subpar .310 OBP a year ago. Only five teams had a lower on-base mark even though the Rox play half their games at Coors Field.

With Kris Bryant moving to first base and Charlie Blackmon likely to see the bulk of his time at designated hitter, the Rockies are set to turn to Nolan Jones and defensive stalwart Brenton Doyle in the other two outfield spots. Highly-regarded prospect Yanquiel Fernandez is on the 40-man roster but will begin the season in the minors, likely at Double-A. Hunter Goodman is on hand as a first base/corner outfield option, while the Rox have Bradley Zimmer in camp on a non-roster deal.

Giants Notes: Bart, Winn, Eldridge

By Darragh McDonald | February 21, 2024 at 1:24pm CDT

The Giants are nearing a decision point with catcher Joey Bart, who is now out of options and seems unlikely to crack the club’s Opening Day roster. Patrick Bailey is set to be the primary backstop after a strong season last year and the club signed Tom Murphy in the offseason to back him up. They also have Blake Sabol on the 40-man and can now option him to the minors. He was a Rule 5 pick last year and had to stay up due to the restrictions of that status, but they have now fully secured his rights and can send him down to act as a depth piece.

A spring injury could always clear a path for Bart but he otherwise seems poised to be squeezed off the roster in the next month or so. It’s something that Bart is aware of and he spoke to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle about it. “I try not to look out too far ahead,” Bart said. “I can only control what I can control, otherwise you can go off too many places mentally and that wouldn’t put me in the position to be my best. I’m just going to get after it and have fun and have a good spring.”

The second overall pick in the 2018 draft, Bart has hit just .219/.288/.335 in his first 503 major league plate appearances, striking out in 35.4% of them. His work at Triple-A hasn’t been outstanding either, having slashed .274/.357/.434 at that level over the past three years. That line looks decent at first glance but it all came in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, where it actually comes in below average, 97 wRC+. His 28.3% strikeout rate at that level is also on the high side.

Slusser notes that Bart showed up to camp this year in excellent condition, with caveats that “best shape of his life” narratives are common at this part of the calendar. Whether any other clubs buy into his altered physique or not, he could garner interest in spite of his uninspiring results thus far. He was still considered a top 100 prospect in the league as recently as two years ago and catching tends to always be in demand. Slusser speaks to an unnamed scout and executive who each suggest there would be interest from other clubs.

Last month, MLBTR’s Anthony Franco took a look at some clubs who could make sense as a landing spot, listing the Brewers, Diamondbacks, Marlins, Pirates and Rays. Milwaukee has since agreed to terms with Gary Sánchez while Pittsburgh added Yasmani Grandal, but the other three remain plausible fits. Bart’s recent struggles will likely lead to a modest return but the Giants have a few weeks to try to line something up.

Turning to the rotation, Slusser also relays that Keaton Winn is dealing with some elbow soreness. MRIs didn’t reveal any structural damage but manager Bob Melvin says they are “trying to formulate some opinions on where we go.”

Winn also dealt with some elbow soreness last spring and missed about a month of the summer, going on the injured list in the minors while on optional assignment. The fact that no structural damage can be found is perhaps a good sign, but any little issue with a starting pitcher figures to be magnified given the general flimsiness of the club’s starting rotation.

Both Alex Cobb and Robbie Ray are set to start the season on the injured list, rehabbing from hip surgery and elbow surgery, respectively. That leaves the club with a rotation headlined by Logan Webb but little certainty beyond that. Jordan Hicks will be attempting to transition from the bullpen to the rotation, a role in which he has yet to prove himself. Youngsters like Winn, Kyle Harrison and Tristan Beck are the likeliest to fill out the rotation but none of that group has even a year of big league experience.

If Winn’s elbow issue requires him to miss any time, that could force the Giants to turn to depth pieces, with Slusser highlighting non-roster invitees Spencer Howard and Daulton Jefferies as a couple of possibilities. The former has a career ERA of 7.20 while the latter has hardly pitched recently due to thoracic outlet surgery in June 2022 and then Tommy John surgery in September of that same year. If the Giants decide to bolster their rotation mix with an external addition, the free agent market still features Blake Snell, Jordan Montgomery, Michael Lorenzen and others.

Turning to the long-term picture, Slusser also notes that prospect Bryce Eldridge will just be a first baseman for now. He was drafted last year, 16th overall, as a two-way player but it seems he’ll be putting pitching aside for the time being. “We haven’t ruled anything out there, but this year the focus is first base,” general manager Pete Putila says. “We’re super excited about the bat and we want him to get as many plate appearances as possible.”

After the draft last summer, Eldridge got into 16 Complex League games and 15 Single-A games. He hit .294/.400/.505 in 130 plate appearances but didn’t pitch. Prospect evaluators are generally more keen on his abilities as a hitter and it seems the Giants are as well. Listed at 6’7″ and 223 pounds, he played right field last year but will now be moving to first, which is where some evaluators expect him to wind up in the future.

Yankees Notes: Judge, Holmes

By Darragh McDonald | February 20, 2024 at 6:30pm CDT

Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge had a challenging season in 2023, suffering a torn toe ligament when he collided with the outfield wall at Dodger Stadium. Back in December, general manager Brian Cashman described it as “a resolved issue” but Judge spoke on it today and didn’t frame it with the same sort of finality. He said it will likely require “constant maintenance” for the rest of his career, per Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News.

Judge still said that he’s feeling good, so it doesn’t appear there’s real cause for concern in the immediate future. Nonetheless, it’s something that could be worth watching going forward. Judge is turning 32 years old in April and it slated to become an everyday center fielder this year, with Juan Soto and Alex Verdugo in the corners. Judge may get the occasional day as the designated hitter, with Trent Grisham taking over in center, but it still figures to be a notable jump in terms of work.

In 2022, Judge got into 78 games as a center fielder and logged 632 2/3 innings at the position, with both of those currently standing as his career highs. Assuming he avoids the injured list this year, he should easily blow past both figures. His career marks have been passable at the position, especially considering his minimal experience there, with three Outs Above Average, -1 Defensive Runs Saved and a grade of -0.4 from Ultimate Zone Rating.

Maintaining those average-ish marks over a larger sample of playing time will something of a challenge. He’ll also be doing so while trying to work against the natural aging curve that generally comes for players as they push towards their mid-30s and trying to keep the toe thing at bay. It’s a lot of minor things but they could perhaps add up over time, with Judge having eight years left on his contract. Last season’s results were nothing to worry about, however. After coming off the IL in late July, Judge hit .245/.408/.557 over the remainder of the season for a wRC+ of 164.

Elsewhere in Yankee news, right-hander Clay Holmes tells Joel Sherman of The New York Post that the club has not yet approached him about an extension. Holmes, 31 next month, is slated to become a free agent at the end of this year.

Over the past two years, Holmes has established himself as the club’s primary closer, racking up 44 saves over those two campaigns. He’s thrown 126 2/3 innings in that time, allowing 2.70 earned runs per nine. He has struck out 26.1% of batters faced and given out walks at an 8.2% clip while, most impressively, keeping 70.6% of balls in play on the ground. That’s the best grounder rate in the majors among pitchers with at least 120 innings pitched over the last two years.

Keeping that kind of production around beyond the upcoming season is surely appealing, especially for a Yankee club that is known to favor ground ball specialists. But since he’s so close to the open market, the Yanks would likely have to pay something close to free agent prices in order to get him to sign.

Perhaps the club feels they can find the next Holmes another way. As Sherman points out, Holmes didn’t have a huge track record at the time the Yankees acquired him. He had a 5.57 career ERA when the Yanks sent Hoy Park and Diego Castillo to the Pirates to get Holmes, before turning him into a lockdown closer.

But as Sherman also points out, the bullpen is on the cusp of major turnover. Each of Holmes, Jonathan Loáisiga, Tommy Kahnle and Caleb Ferguson are impending free agents. Those four are arguably the club’s top high-leverage guys, leaving a lot of uncertainty going into 2025 and beyond. Bullpens can be fungible and it’s entirely possible the picture is drastically changed by next winter, but there’s a decent chance the Yanks will need to go get someone in free agency.

The club’s payroll will likely be a topic of conversation next winter, as they will likely find themselves paying the competitive balance tax yet again. Roster Resource calculates next year’s CBT number as $190MM, even before factoring in arbitration raises for players like Grisham, Nestor Cortes or Jose Trevino. There’s also Anthony Rizzo’s $17MM club option to consider, with a $6MM buyout making it a net $11MM decision.

Next year’s base threshold will be $241MM while the Yanks will be looking to replace impending free agents like Soto and Verdugo in their outfield mix. Perhaps they would prefer to keep their powder dry for those pursuits instead of spending on their bullpen ahead of time.

NL Notes: Grichuk, D’Backs, Kiermaier, Keller, Lodolo

By Mark Polishuk | February 18, 2024 at 10:40pm CDT

Randal Grichuk underwent surgery last month to remove bone spurs from his ankle, so the newest member of the Diamondbacks roster might not be ready to make his Arizona debut by the very start of the season. “It’s one of those things where there’s a good chance I’ll be ready for Opening Day and if not, it’s a week. In the grand scheme of things, big picture, it’s nothing to worry about,” Grichuk told Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic and other reporters. Obviously the D’Backs weren’t concerned enough to back away from their $2MM deal with the veteran outfielder, and Grichuk could possibly be used as a designated hitter at first until he is fully ready for outfield work.

As to what the D’Backs might have left on their shopping list after a busy offseason, GM Mike Hazen told reporters (including Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports) that “I think building out relief depth is probably something that we’re talking about. Pitching in general…I think from a position player standpoint, we’re probably in a spot where it’s less likely to see a clear opportunity for somebody. But we still have competitions underneath the starting roles. So we’ll see where that takes us.”

NL East Notes: Harper, Sale, Crick

By Mark Polishuk | February 18, 2024 at 5:54pm CDT

After his recovery from Tommy John surgery necessitated a move to first base last season, Bryce Harper took well enough to his new position that the Phillies announced in November that Harper would be their regular first baseman in 2024 and beyond. The two-time NL MVP spoke to reporters (including The Athletic’s Matt Gelb) about the situation today, saying “I wanted them to know that I was on board with anything they wanted to do,” and that Harper left the decision about his position up to the club. “I said if you want me in right field, I’ll play right. If you want me at first, I’ll play first base. I think collectively, they said, first base is where we want you. I said, ’OK, I’ll do everything I can to be there,’ ” Harper said. He is now spending his Spring Training further working on what seems to be his permanent new position, noting that “I don’t think I’ll move back out to right. I don’t. But never say never.”

Harper also confirmed that he is interested in extending his contract, as agent Scott Boras stated in December. The idea caught many by surprise given that Harper still has eight seasons and $196MM remaining on his original 13-year, $330MM contract, and he’ll be turning 39 years old in October 2031. While Harper said “I haven’t really thought too much about” his contract situation, he said that “playing into my 40’s, I mean, that’s the biggest thing for me. So I want to get that done.” It remains to be seen if Harper, Boras, and the Phillies could possibly reach some kind of deal to add two (or more?) years onto Harper’s contract, yet president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has downplayed the idea of a renegotiation.

Giants Notes: Soler, Lineups, Transactions, Slater, Zaidi

By Mark Polishuk | February 18, 2024 at 4:23pm CDT

The Giants’ three-year, $42MM contract with Jorge Soler was finalized and announced earlier today, so Soler, manager Bob Melvin and president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi were now officially able to discuss the deal with the media. Melvin told reporters (including the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser and NBC Sports Bay Area’s Alex Pavlovic) that Thairo Estrada and Wilmer Flores played a key role in helping recruit Soler, as the three players are friends. This helped lure Soler to San Francisco and the West Coast in general, as Soler’s preference was to stay on the East Coast, ideally close to his home in Miami.

Soler will now head west for the first time in his career, after playing with the Cubs, Royals, Braves, and Marlins during his 10 previous Major League seasons. Though Soler’s production has tended to vary wildly over his career, he comes to the Giants on the high of hitting .250/.341/.512 with 36 homers for the Marlins in 2023, bringing some needed pop to San Francisco’s lineup.

This power naturally lends itself to the cleanup spot, and Melvin said that Soler will primarily hit fourth in the batting order and act as the regular designated hitter. New arrival Jung Hoo Lee will hit leadoff and be the everyday center fielder, flanked on the grass by Michael Conforto in left field and Mike Yastrzemski in right. Since both corner outfielders are left-handed hitters, Soler might get some time out of the DH spot when a southpaw is on the mound, though Melvin sees the DH role as a natural way to keep Soler healthy and free of the nagging injuries that have bothered him in recent years.

In general, it seems like the Giants are going with at least slightly more of a regular lineup under Melvin, as opposed to the matchup-centric style of revolving lineups favored by former manager Gabe Kapler. There are still some obvious platoon or timeshare possibilities built into the roster, including Austin Slater’s role as a right-handed hitting complement to the lefty-heavy starting outfield. However, Melvin said Slater is a little behind the other outfielders in spring work, as Slater spent the offseason recovering from right elbow surgery in October. It doesn’t seem like Slater is in danger of missing Opening Day, though Melvin said Luis Matos will get some extra work as a center fielder.

Since it’s only mid-February, the chance still exists that the Giants might yet add another regular to the mix via free agency or trade. Though some gamesmanship must be acknowledge whenever an executive says they’re happy with their team, Zaidi inferred that further moves to the big league roster were unlikely, if not impossible.

“It’s a little bit more disruptive to add at this point. Anybody who’s a free agent, we’ve theoretically had three and a half months to figure out a deal and if it hasn’t happened yet, at some point organizationally, you just need to turn the page and focus on the players you have,” Zaidi said. “You never rule anything out, whether it’s now or May or June or whatever, but you know, at this point, the calendar makes any further additions unlikely.”

The Giants’ offseasons under Zaidi have largely been defined by the superstar players they didn’t sign (i.e. Bryce Harper, Aaron Judge, Carlos Correa, Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto) than the players they did acquire, leading to some consternation amongst the Bay Area fanbase. Still, Slusser notes that the Giants’ signings of Soler, Lee, Jordan Hicks, and Tom Murphy ranked the team second behind only the Dodgers in free agent spending, and San Francisco also completed a major trade in acquiring Robbie Ray from the Mariners.

Zaidi defended the Giants’ pursuits this winter, saying “we’re going to continue to take the big swing in free agency when it makes sense and some of the guys that we’ve pursued and have landed are top five-10 players in baseball. I’ve said this about a couple of them: I’m always surprised there aren’t more teams in on them rather than that maybe they wind up somewhere else. You expect things like this to be competitive and we always feel like we have to be able to pivot when things don’t work out. We think we’ve added some exciting players and I think we feel that energy in camp.”

NL East Notes: Garrett, Wheeler, Robles, Matzek

By Nick Deeds | February 18, 2024 at 11:17am CDT

The Marlins kicked off Spring Training with a potential injury scare in the rotation, as Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald relays that, per manager Skip Schumaker, southpaw Braxton Garrett is dealing with “general soreness” in his left shoulder. While shoulder injuries are among the more concerning ailments for pitchers, Schumaker made clear that Garrett hasn’t been shut down at this point with the club instead planning to “push back” the start to Garrett’s spring “until he feels better.” McPherson adds that Garrett continued to play catch late last week.

Garrett, 26, has quietly broken out as a quality mid-rotation arm for the Marlins over the past two seasons. In 48 appearances (47 starts) since the start of the 2022 season, Garrett has posted an impressive 3.63 ERA with a nearly-matching 3.64 FIP across 247 2/3 innings of work. During that time, the lefty has struck out a respectable 23.8% of batters faced while walking just 5.1%. The youngster’s strong peripheral numbers are rounded out by his ability to generate grounders, which he has done at an above-average 48.7% clip over the past two years. With Sandy Alcantara set to miss the entire 2024 campaign while rehabbing Tommy John surgery, Garrett figures to slot in toward the front of the Miami rotation this season alongside the likes of Jesus Luzardo and Eury Perez.

With Garrett’s health uncertain entering camp, it’s fair to wonder what impact his status may have on the club’s trade talks regarding members of their rotation. The Marlins have long been known to be listening on their controllable starting pitching in hopes of addressing other areas of their roster, with Luzardo receiving attention from the likes of the Orioles and Dodgers while the Pirates have also reportedly shown interesting in the club’s available rotation arms. While it’s unclear what impact, if any, Garrett’s current shoulder issue would have on his availability in trade, it’s possible the Marlins may be more hesitant to shop any of their starting options until they have more certainty on Garrett’s status. After all, a hypothetical trade of Luzardo would leave the Marlins with only Perez, Edward Cabrera, and Trevor Rogers as surefire starting options entering the 2024 season if Garrett were to require time on the injured list.

More from the NL East…

The Phillies have long been hoping to extend veteran ace Zack Wheeler, and comments from Wheeler himself last week indicated that the sides have opened extension talks with Spring Training now underway. While Wheeler indicated that he’s open to negotiating even once the season begins, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski indicated to reporters (including Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer) that while extending Wheeler is a “priority” for the club, his preference is for the sides to come together on a deal before the regular season begins. Wheeler has established himself as one of the league’s premiere starters since first suiting up for the Phillies during the shortened 2020 campaign. During his time in Philadelphia, the right-hander has pitched to an excellent 3.06 ERA with a 2.90 FIP in 101 starts during the regular season and has augmented that resume with an incredible 2.42 ERA in 63 1/3 postseason innings.
Victor Robles has patrolled center field for the Nationals on a regular basis ever since his rookie season back in 2019, though it’s possible that could change entering the 2024 season. As relayed by MASN’s Mark Zuckerman, manager Dave Martinez told reporters recently that there will be a “battle” between Robles and 24-year-old rookie Jacob Young for the starting center field job, though Martinez added that Robles has “a little bit of an upper hand” coming into camp. Robles has largely been a plus-glove center fielder with below average offense throughout his career, though in 2023 he appeared to flash more offensive upside as he slashed a solid .299/.385/.364. Unfortunately, that slash line came across just 126 trips to the plate as Robles spent most of the year on the injured list due to back injuries. Young, meanwhile, held his own in a 33-game cup of coffee in the majors last year with a decent .252/.322/.336 slash line in 122 trips to the plate.
Braves left-hander Tyler Matzek missed the entire 2023 season due to Tommy John surgery, but he told reporters (including Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution) that he’s feeling good entering Spring Training and hopes to be ready for Opening Day, though he didn’t rule out a possible IL stint to open the season if he needs time to finish preparing to retake the mound. The 33-year-old’s return to the mound figures to provide a significant boost to Atlanta’s relief corps, as Matzek pitched to strong results over three seasons with the Braves prior to the injury. In 132 combined appearances, the southpaw posted a 2.92 ERA with a 3.34 FIP in 135 2/3 innings of work as he struck out 27.4% of batters faced.

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