NL East Notes: Garrett, Wheeler, Robles, Matzek
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.
NL Central Notes: Frelick, Morel, Reds
The Brewers signed top prospect Jackson Chourio to a pre-debut extension back in December, and in doing so their outfield logjam for the 2024 season all the more apparent. While the club made some room on the depth chart by shipping Tyrone Taylor to the Mets alongside Adrian Houser earlier in the offseason, the club still figures to have Chourio, Christian Yelich, Garrett Mitchell, Joey Wiemer, Sal Frelick, and Blake Perkins all in the mix for outfield reps entering the 2024 campaign. That positional logjam has led to plenty of speculation that the club could look to trade from its depth to address other parts of the roster, but The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal suggested today that the club could have another, novel solution to the glut in mind: moving Frelick to the infield.
Frelick, 24 in April, was the club’s first-round pick in the 2021 draft and made his big league debut last season. In 57 games at the big league level last year, the lefty-swinging outfield slashed a decent .246/.341/.351 for the Brewers, putting him right around league average despite modest power production. While his first taste of big league action may have left something to be desired, Frelick was a consensus top-40 prospect entering the 2023 season and sports a career .314/.393/.451 slash line for his career in the minors, including a .311/.388/.432 line at the Triple-A level. Despite that strong pedigree, Frelick appears blocked in the outfield by likely regulars Yelich, Chourio, and Mitchell.
Given this, it’s not necessarily a surprise that Frelick has garnered interest on the trade market. The youngster was recently reported as of interest to the Padres, who have a barren outfield mix after shipping Juan Soto and Trent Grisham to the Bronx earlier this winter. With that being said, the Brewers appear, at least for now, appear to be looking for ways to get Frelick’s bat into their own lineup rather than shipping him elsewhere. Rosenthal reports that Frelick is preparing to play both second and third base in addition to the outfield this spring. With Willy Adames entrenched at shortstop barring a trade, Frelick would join an infield mix in Milwaukee that currently features Joey Ortiz and Brice Turang as the likely starting options with Andruw Monasterio, Owen Miller, and top infield prospect Tyler Black also in the mix for playing time.
More from around the NL Central…
- Speaking of youngsters attempting to learn the infield, Cubs manager Craig Counsell recently indicated to reporters, including Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune, that slugger Christopher Morel is set to primarily focus on getting reps at third base this spring. Morel, 25 in June, slashed an impressive .247/.313/.508 in 429 trips to the plate last year while slugging 26 home runs in just 107 games. Most of that production, however, came out of the DH spot in the lineup. Morel’s rookie 2022 campaign saw him split time between second base, third base, shortstop, and center field though he struggled at every position except second, where the Cubs have Gold Glover Nico Hoerner as an everyday option. The Cubs previously seemed poised to rely on a combination of Nick Madrigal and Miles Mastrobuoni at third base, though if Morel can prove himself capable of regular reps at third base he could open the DH spot for an additional bat via free agency or for the club to use as a way to rest regulars.
- As relayed by Gordon Wittenmyer and Charlie Goldsmith of the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Reds provided a pair of minor injury updates today. Most notable is that regarding infielder Noelvi Marte, who suffered a hamstring injury while playing winter ball in the Dominican Republic. The youngster appeared to be recovering well last month, and the good news has continued as both Marte and Reds brass indicate he should be ready for Opening Day, though he will be delayed in the start to his spring as he’s expected to miss the first five games of Cactus League action. Left-hander Sam Moll is also delayed entering camp, with Wittenmyer and Goldsmith relaying the southpaw dealt with a bout of shoulder soreness while ramping up last month. That’s led the club to put off Moll’s first bullpen session of the spring, though the 32-year-old hurler has continued to play catch and is expected to be ready for Opening Day. Moll impressed with the Reds down the stretch with a 0.73 ERA and 3.34 FIP in 25 appearances after being acquired from Oakland last summer.
Blue Jays Notes: Manoah, Tiedemann, Martinez, Jansen
With Spring Training now officially under way for the Blue Jays, right-hander Alek Manoah recently spoke to reporters as he looks to put a brutal 2023 campaign behind him. As noted by Shi Davidi of Sportsnet, Manoah is looking to put last year behind him.
“When your team is going to a playoff and you’re not there, it’s tough,” Manoah said, per Davidi. “but talking about 2023, for me is kind of not worth it. It’s in the past right now for me, which is really good.”
It’s not a surprise that Manoah prefers to leave his 2023 in the past. After a breakout season in 2022 where the right-hander pitched to a 2.24 ERA in 196 2/3 innings of work en route to an All Star appearance and third place finish in AL Cy Young award voting, Manoah struggled to a 5.87 ERA with a 6.01 FIP across 19 starts for the Blue Jays last year. Rather than reflect on his disastrous season, Davidi notes that Manoah spent the offseason overhauling his training regime and nutrition plan.
While it’s anyone’s guess how the game’s latest “best shape of his life” rebound candidate will perform on the mound this year, the 26-year-old hurler is seemingly to be penciled into the fifth spot in the club’s rotation behind Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios, Chris Bassitt, and Yusei Kikuchi. Manoah has gotten rave reviews from others around camp this spring, including Gausman. The veteran ace told reporters (including Davidi) that his teammate “looks a lot more like himself than he ever did last year,” adding that he believes Manoah may not have been fully prepared for the impact his 2022 workload would have on him the following year.
Even as Manoah appears to be the primary candidate to round out the club’s rotation, he’s not without competition. Most notably, the Blue Jays signed right-hander Yariel Rodriguez to a five-year deal this winter. Rodriguez, 27 next month, was dominant as a reliever in Japan’s NPB but spent the 2023 campaign building himself back up to be a starting pitcher, with Toronto brass suggesting that his presence provides the club with “starting depth” that can fill multiple roles on the team. While those comments hardly indicate that Rodriguez is a favorite for a spot in the Opening Day rotation, it’s fair to wonder if the Jays could reconsider their stance if Manoah’s struggles continue throughout the spring.
Another possible alternative to Manoah in the rotation is Ricky Tiedemann, the club’s top pitching prospect. The 21-year-old southpaw made just 15 starts last year across all levels of the minor leagues, posting a 3.68 ERA in 44 innings of work, but managed to reach the Triple-A level and has long been seen as a possible contributor at the big league level for the club this season. Club manager John Schneider recently confirmed that to reporters (including MLB Network’s Jon Morosi), noting that the Jays already have a plan in place regarding Tiedemann’s workload for 2024 and that the club’s preference is for those innings to come at the big league level, provided Tiedemann proves himself ready for the opportunity.
Despite his limited workload as a professional since being drafted by the Blue Jays in the third round of the 2021 draft, Tiedemann enters the 2024 campaign as a consensus top-30 prospect in the sport and on the shortlist of the game’s very best pitching prospects alongside the likes of Andrew Painter of the Phillies, Cade Horton of the Cubs, and Kyle Harrison of the Giants. While it seems unlikely the Blue Jays would lean on Tiedemann for anything close to 30 starts this year given his minimal experience, it’s certainly possible that Tiedemann could force the issue and make it to Toronto fairly early in the season if the Jays want to maximize his big league opportunities.
Also looking to establish himself at the big league level this season is infield prospect Orelvis Martinez. The 22-year-old enjoyed a solid season in 2023 as he slashed .243/.340/.496 in 125 games split between the Double- and Triple-A levels last year. While Martinez has spent the vast majority of his professional career on the left side of the infield, he saw increasing time at second base last year and Morosi adds that Schneider has indicated he’ll continue to focus on the keystone headed into the 2024 season. There should be opportunities for Martinez to work himself into the club’s infield mix, as following the departures of Matt Chapman and Whit Merrifield via free agency the club has no certain starter at either second or third base. The likes of Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Justin Turner, Davis Schneider, Cavan Biggio, and Santiago Espinal all figure to spend time on the dirt for the club this winter alongside stars Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
While the likes of Manoah, Tiedemann, and Martinez all figure to impact the club for years to come, the same can’t currently be said for catcher Danny Jansen, who’s entering his final year under club control in 2024. Jansen recently spoke to reporters (including MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson) regarding his future, noting that he and the club have “had conversations” about the possibility of him remaining in Toronto following the 2024 campaign. While Jansen made clear that “he’s not closing any doors” on a return, his focus is on the coming season at this point.
The backstop, who turns 29 in April, has enjoyed something of a breakout over the past two seasons, slashing .242/.324/.493 combined with strong defense behind the plate. That offense is good for a 127 wRC+, a figure which ranks fourth in the majors among catchers over that timeframe behind only Adley Rutschman, Willson Contreras, and William Contreras. That being said, Jansen has appeared in just 158 games over the past two seasons due to a combination of injury woes and the presence of 25-year-old backstop Alejandro Kirk, who has gotten the lion’s share of playing time each of the past two seasons in Toronto.
Rangers Notes: Jung, Duffy, Rotation
TODAY: The MRI revealed a minor strain for Jung, according to RangersToday.com’s Jeff Wilson and other reporters. Both Jung and manager Bruce Bochy feel Jung will be recovered for Opening Day, with some slight disagreement on the timeline — Jung said he’ll miss two weeks, while Bochy feels Jung will be sidelined for three weeks.
FEB. 16: Camp only just opened this week, but the Rangers are already facing one potentially worrisome injury situation. Third baseman Josh Jung experienced discomfort in his calf while fielding grounders today and is headed for an MRI, tweets Jeff Wilson of RangersToday.com. The club will provide further details once the imaging has been performed and evaluated by medical personnel.
Jung just turned 26 years old this week and was the fourth-place finisher in American League Rookie of the Year voting this past season. The former No. 8 overall draft pick belted 23 home runs and slashed .266/.315/.467 with sharp defense at the hot corner. Were it not for a fractured left thumb that kept him out of action for six weeks, he’d very likely have been a top-three finisher and could’ve potentially even given eventual winner Gunnar Henderson a run for his money.
At this point, there’s no indication the team believes the injury to be serious, though the pending MRI exam suggests there’s at least some degree of concern. The Rangers are relatively deep in infield talent, so in the event that Jung needs to miss any time, they’ll have options. Ezequiel Duran stepped up in Duran’s absence last season, and Josh H. Smith has ample experience at the corner as well. Veteran Matt Duffy is in camp as a non-roster player this spring and would give the Rangers a solid glove and contact-oriented bat at the position if he makes the team.
On the topic of non-roster Duffys, Matt isn’t the only one in camp. Veteran left-hander Danny Duffy also inked a minor league pact with Texas this season and could be an important depth piece for a club that will open the season with Max Scherzer, Jacob deGrom and Tyler Mahle on the injured list and all likely out into the summer. The 35-year-old southpaw hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since the 2021 season due to injuries but has been with the Dodgers (2022) and Rangers (2023) for the past two seasons while working toward a return. Texas used him as a reliever in the minors in ’23, but Kennedi Landry of MLB.com tweets that Duffy is building up as a starter in camp this time around.
It’s a familiar role for Duffy, the longtime Royals hurler who’s made 204 of his 234 career appearances out of the rotation. Aside from a brief dalliance in the bullpen in 2015-16, Duffy was a fixture on Kansas City’s starting staff from 2014-21, during which time he logged a 3.82 ERA in 1015 innings while punching out 21.3% of his opponents against an 8.2% walk rate. Duffy is now 35 years old and hasn’t pitched in the bigs since undergoing surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon in Dec. 2021. He’s pitched a total of 42 1/3 innings in the minors across the past two seasons. Expecting a full bounceback to his peak Royals form isn’t realistic, but if he’s healthy he should be a legitimate option to help the staff.
Getting any contributions from Duffy or fellow non-roster invitees José Ureña and Adrian Sampson would be a boon for the Rangers. Texas is set to enter the season with a rotation including Nathan Eovaldi, Jon Gray, Andrew Heaney, Dane Dunning and likely Cody Bradford. It’s a much weaker group than the World Series-winning outfit that finished out the 2023 season with Scherzer and current free agent Jordan Montgomery atop the staff. But general manager Chris Young has indicated he doesn’t anticipate any more additions to the big league roster at this point, strongly suggesting that the current group is the one the Rangers will carry into the season.
Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News takes a look at the in-house depth options that stalled out last season. Former top prospects Jack Leiter, Cole Winn, Owen White and Zak Kent all struggled in various ways in ’23. Righty Kumar Rocker, the No. 3 pick back in 2022, underwent Tommy John surgery last May.
That group was expected to produce some pivotal long-term rotation pieces, but each prospect has seen his stock drop amid poor performance and/or injury. Grant notes that Leiter, who was shut down for nearly two months last year to work on his mechanics, spent the offseason working out with American League Cy Young runner-up Sonny Gray and veteran catcher Curt Casali. The trio all attended Vanderbilt (at different times, obviously). Gray worked with Leiter on simplifying his approach and his plan on the mound. Grant chatted not only with Leiter but also White and Kent about some of the changes they’ve made as they look to get back on track and contribute at a time when the Rangers will be leaning more heavily on internal pitching depth than at any point in 2023.
Mets Notes: Diaz, Third Base, Alonso
Edwin Díaz threw a bullpen session on the back fields at Mets camp today, opening his Spring Training build-up. The two-time All-Star told reporters he had no obstructions over the winter after missing the entire 2023 campaign.
“It was my normal offseason, I did my normal routine,” Díaz told reporters (including Tim Britton of the Athletic). “I won’t be afraid to jump, to run. … I feel great.” That was the general expectation, as Díaz considered making a push to return at the end of last season before shutting things down with New York well out of contention.
The Mets are hopeful of a better showing than last year’s 75-87 performance. Díaz’s return is one of the reasons for optimism that they can hang around the playoff mix. He was the best reliever in baseball in 2022, when he struck out more than half the hitters he faced en route to a career-low 1.31 ERA across 62 innings.
While the team is hopeful of at least remaining in the Wild Card race, they’ve opted against making another all-in push for 2024. President of baseball operations David Stearns has pointed to the upcoming season as something of a evaluative year which they expect to serve as a stepping stone to a full-fledged run in 2025. That’s perhaps most evident in the team’s approach at third base and designated hitter. They’ve left the door ajar to making a run at a veteran DH while suggesting that the likelier outcome is giving playing time to Brett Baty and Mark Vientos to gauge whether they can serve important roles on the ’25 team.
Stearns left open the possibility for “some level of competition” among the in-house options at the hot corner this afternoon (relayed by Tim Healey of Newsday). Baty enters camp as the heavy favorite for the starting job despite his disappointing season. The former first-round pick and top prospect hit .212/.275/.323 with nine home runs in 389 plate appearances over his first full big league campaign. New York sent Baty to Triple-A for a few weeks in August as his struggles mounted. He raked in that brief minor league stint but again struggled after being recalled in September.
New York hasn’t done much to bring in serious competition for Baty this offseason. Stearns mentioned Vientos, Joey Wendle and Zack Short as others who could pick up playing time at the hot corner. Vientos is regarded as a below-average defender who is better served at first base or DH. He’d see the bulk of the DH reps unless the Mets somewhat surprisingly add a veteran bat like J.D. Martinez or Jorge Soler in the coming weeks. Wendle inked a $2MM free agent deal after hitting .212/.248/.306 in his second season with the Marlins. Short was a November waiver claim out of Detroit.
While Baty’s season could go in a number of directions, the Mets can feel safe about getting excellent production out of the other corner infield spot. Pete Alonso enters his platform year as one of the sport’s preeminent sluggers. Last month, he and the team agreed to a $20.5MM salary to avoid a hearing in his final winter of arbitration eligibility.
Throughout the offseason, the Mets have downplayed the chances of discussing a deal beyond the 2024 campaign. Stearns reiterated that the club didn’t have much expectation of signing Alonso to an extension. He called it “probably the most likely outcome” that the three-time All-Star hit the open market (link via Chuck King of the Associated Press). “Look, when you have a really talented player, who’s really good, who’s entering his final year of club control, who happens to be represented by Scott Boras, these things generally end up into free agency and we understand that,” he added.
The Mets have expressed confidence they could retain Alonso after he hits the open market, following the process of fellow Boras Corporation client Brandon Nimmo. Assuming he posts a typical platform year, Alonso should handily surpass the $162MM guarantee which Nimmo secured and could search for a contract approaching or exceeding $250MM.
Quick Hits: Roster Sizes, Phillies, Yankees, Burnes
Each offseason veteran players with experience at the upper levels of the minor leagues and in the majors routinely qualify for minor league free agency and test the open market in search of fresh minor league agreements with clubs willing to offer them an invite to major league Spring Training. Such arrangements have been increasingly difficult to come by this winter, however, and Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper recently explored a significant reason why.
As noted by Cooper, the new collective bargaining agreement between MLB and minor league players gave the league the right to limit the total number of domestic minor league players to just 165 ahead of the 2024 season, with a limit of 175 players during the offseason. Cooper notes that reduced figure slashes a total of 450 roster spots around the league or 15 per club. That limited roster flexibility gives clubs far less opportunity to offer minor league free agents deals that have long been considered “no-risk fliers,” as now clubs will often times be forced with potentially cutting a younger minor league player early in their professional career to make room for an interesting veteran journeyman.
While minor league deals are typically regarded as low-risk signings that are relatively unlikely to result in a given player making an impact at the big league level, one needn’t look very hard to find examples of players heading to camp on minor league deals only to provide considerable value to that club throughout the year. Dodgers outfielder Jason Heyward and Rangers outfielder Travis Jankowski are two examples of veteran hitters who came into camp on minor league deals last year, earned a spot on the Opening Day roster, and played well enough to earn a big-league deal with their respective clubs after returning to the open market this winter.
More from around Major League Baseball…
- The Phillies have long been known to be on the hunt for another relief arm after losing veteran closer Craig Kimbrel in free agency this past winter, with the likes of Phil Maton and Jakob Junis reportedly on the club’s radar prior to the pair signing with the Rays and Brewers, respectively. That being said, Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer indicated this afternoon that the club is unlikely to pursue further bullpen additions this winter after adding depth starter Spencer Turnbull on a big league deal earlier today. While Turnbull has options remaining, he has enough service time at this point in his career to a refuse a minor league assignment. That leaves Philadelphia with minimal flexibility in their bullpen which would only be further reduced by the addition of another veteran arm. According to Lauber, six arms are all but locked into the club’s relief mix already, leaving just two spots for a group that includes non-optionable hurlers Turnbull, Connor Brogdon, Dylan Covey as well as optionable pieces like Yunior Marte, Kolby Allard, and Michael Rucker.
- USA Today’s Bob Nightengale this morning indicated that the Yankees discussed right-hander Corbin Burnes with the Brewers prior to the ace being traded to their division rival in Baltimore, though the club “rebuffed” Milwaukee in talks once the club requested outfield prospect Spencer Jones in return for Burnes’s services. The 22-year-old Jones was the club’s first-round pick in the 2022 draft and has generally impressed to this point in his minor league career, though he struggled with a .261/.333/.406 in a 17-game stint at the Double-A level last year. Previous reporting indicated that New York was unwilling to include Jones in a package for White Sox right-hander Dylan Cease, so it’s not necessarily a surprise that the club also passed on parting with the youngster for a rental arm like Burnes.
Chicago Notes: White Sox, Cubs, McCarthy, Junis
The White Sox acquired outfielder Dominic Fletcher in a trade with the Diamondbacks last week, though the deal may have been something of an either-or proposition. According to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, the Sox had the option of picking either Fletcher or Jake McCarthy in the deal, with pitching prospect Cristian Mena still headed back to the D’Backs as the return piece in the one-for-one trade.
Fletcher and McCarthy share a similar profile as 26-year-old, left-handed hitting outfielders who can play any of the three positions on the grass. McCarthy was the 39th overall pick of the 2018 draft and has more Major League experience, with a .261/.331/.380 slash line over 736 plate appearances in the Show. A fourth-place finish in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2022 seemed to hint at McCarthy’s potential as a building block for the Snakes, yet a tough 2023 season saw him relegated to the minors and then to the Diamondbacks’ bench as the year developed. Arizona’s willingness to move on from either player and the Southsiders’ decision to take Fletcher provides some interesting wrinkles to this trade, and it might be interesting to revisit this deal in a few years’ time once we see how the careers of Fletcher, McCarthy, and Mena have developed.
Here’s more from the Windy City’s two teams…
- Though the top four in the Cubs rotation seems set and several candidates are vying for the fifth starter’s job, Jakob Junis “recently” drew some interest from Wrigleyville, as per The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma. The depth of the interest isn’t known, though it might’ve been something of a due diligence move by the Cubs since no formal offer was made. Junis’ experience as a swingman means that he wouldn’t have necessarily even been in the rotation, so the Cubs could’ve been looking at Junis to bolster the bullpen and also add even more depth to the starting mix. In any case, Junis is no longer an option, as the right-hander signed a one-year, $7MM contract with the Brewers last week.
- In another piece from Mooney and Sharma, they look at the Cubs‘ unsettled third base situation. Patrick Wisdom and Nick Madrigal seem poised to get the bulk of playing time, with Christopher Morel getting the occasional start at the hot corner, and Miles Mastrobuoni or rookie Luis Vazquez providing further depth. There’s enough uncertainty here that Mooney/Sharma feel the Cubs might again make a trade deadline move at the position, akin to their deal for Jeimer Candelario this past summer. Of course, the Cubs have also been linked to Matt Chapman this winter if the team still had a bigger-ticket free agent upgrade in mind, though a longer-term answer might block top prospect Matt Shaw, who has been working out as a third baseman this offseason.
- Reports surfaced last month that the White Sox were speaking with development company Related Midwest about the potential of building a new ballpark on a portion of land in Chicago’s South Loop area. Related Midwest recently released a series of artist renderings to media (including MLB.com’s Scott Merkin) about what this new stadium and the associated “ballpark village” area might look like alongside the Chicago River, as well as some proposed renderings of how the area around Guaranteed Rate Field could be developed if the Sox moved to a new site. Obviously a lot of hurdles still have to be crossed with the White Sox, developers, civic and state officials, and many other parties before this proposed ballpark could become a reality, and the earliest possible opening date would seem to be 2030, since the team’s lease at Guaranteed Rate Field runs through the 2029 season.
NL West Notes: Kershaw, Peralta, Baker
Longtime face of the franchise Clayton Kershaw reunited with the Dodgers earlier this week on a two-year deal, ending the uncertainty that lingered surrounding the southpaw’s future throughout the offseason. Kershaw recently spoke to reporters, including Juan Toribio of MLB.com, regarding the difficult decisions he had to make this offseason regarding surgery and his future as a player.
As relayed by Toribio, Kershaw noted that thoughts of retirement weighed heavily on him for the first time in his career, and that he took his time deciding whether or not to undergo shoulder surgery, which he indicated was necessary to continue his career but wouldn’t have been required from him to partake in day-to-day activities such as catch with his children. Toribio added that Kershaw’s difficult start against the Diamondbacks during Game 1 of the NLDS, where he surrendered six runs while recording just one out, played a role in the southpaw’s decision to return to the Dodgers for a 17th season in the majors.
Toribio indicates that potentially parting ways with the only club he’s pitched for as a professional and pitching for his hometown Rangers held some appeal for Kershaw, but that ultimately the Dodgers’ flurry of activity this offseason played a role in convincing the veteran lefty to remain in L.A. for the 2024 campaign.
“This offseason has been pretty amazing to watch, honestly. There’s definitely a part of me that wanted to be a part of that,” Kershaw told reporters, as relayed by Toribio.
Kershaw isn’t expected to return to a big league mound until the late summer, with Toribio noting that “sometime in July” is the earliest he could pitch for L.A. in 2024. The left-hander is currently slated to ramp his throwing progression up sometime next month and will join the team on homestands during his rehab. The club’s offseason overhaul of their pitching staff leaves them with plenty of options to hold down the fort in the starting rotation during Kershaw’s absence. Though right-hander Walker Buehler is expected to start the season on the injured list, offseason additions Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, and James Paxton are currently slated to pitch in the rotation alongside sophomore righty Bobby Miller and an addition young arm such as Emmet Sheehan or Gavin Stone come the start of the regular season.
More from around the NL West…
- The Padres brought in left-hander Wandy Peralta on a four-year deal earlier this week, but The Athletic’s Dennis Lin reports that this is hardly the first time the club has pursued the veteran southpaw. According to Lin, San Diego’s interest in Peralta dates back to the 2023 trade deadline. At the time, the lefty was subject to some trade speculation as the Yankees toyed with dealing pending free agents due to them sitting at fifth place in the AL East at the time of the trade deadline despite a decent 55-51 record. Ultimately, of course, no deal came together for the lefty, who went on to struggle to a 4.30 ERA and 6.46 FIP down the stretch last year. Looking ahead to 2024, Peralta figures to be part of San Diego’s late inning mix alongside the likes of Yuki Matsui and Robert Suarez as the bullpen looks to bounce back from the loss of Josh Hader earlier this winter.
- The Giants hired recently-retired Astros manager Dusty Baker in a special assistant role last month, and the longtime skipper spoke to reporters (including MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart) in Houston recently about his move to San Francisco. Baker indicated that while Houston remains a “second home” to him, a key factor in his decision to join the Giants is the club’s proximity to Sacramento, his hometown. “Getting older, you start thinking about enjoying your life, enjoying your grandchildren,” Baker said, as relayed by McTaggart. “But I still have something, you know, to give to the game and make a living in a part-time capacity.” Baker’s hiring in San Francisco is a homecoming in more ways than one, as he served as manager of the Giants for ten seasons, from 1993 to 2002. He won three NL Manager of the Year awards throughout his tenure with the Giants and led the team to a World Series appearance in his final year with the club.
NL East Notes: Culberson, E-Rod, Lugo, JDM, Mesa
It wasn’t surprising that longtime clubhouse favorite Charlie Culberson rejoined the Braves on a minor league deal last month, though eyebrows were raised at the news that Culberson was attempting to become a pitcher after 11 MLB seasons as a utilityman. In an interview with Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Culberson said he began to pursue a pitching in earnest last August when he was playing with the Braves’ Triple-A affiliate, and he wasn’t entirely alien to the process given his 7 1/3 career innings of mop-up work at the big league level. “I loved pitching growing up, loved pitching through high school and here I am now getting a chance to try it on now toward — I’m not going to say ‘toward the end of my career’ but at this point in my career, I’m getting to try pitching,” Culberson said.
Culberson turns 35 in April, and Atlanta’s stacked lineup meant that he appeared in just one Major League game in 2023, despite several months on the active roster. It remains to be seen if pitching will provide Culberson with any clearer path to playing time, yet his fastball clocks in at 94mph, and his repertoire also consists of a split changeup and a cutter. He has also spent the last six months working with coaches and pitching instructors, and embracing the inherent difficulties of learning a new craft so deep into his career.
“For me, this has been a challenge making a position change, but I’m still playing baseball. I know how tough that is transitioning, and I’m sure it would be probably tougher transitioning out of baseball,” Culberson said. “Everything is just not gonna come easy for a lot of us in life, and at some point, you have to be ready and able to do something different, do something that’s not comfortable. Get out of your comfort zone.”
More from around the NL East…
- The Mets had some limited interest in Eduardo Rodriguez and old friend Seth Lugo this past offseason, The Athletic’s Will Sammon writes, though “neither exchange got serious.” Apart from a serious push to sign Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Mets generally stayed away from pursuing any longer-term contract candidates, as such explorations into players like Rodriguez and Lugo were more akin to routine due diligence. Sammon notes that the same looks to be true of the Mets’ recent talks with J.D. Martinez, even if a probable one-year deal with Martinez would be less expensive than that it would’ve cost to land Rodriguez or Lugo. E-Rod ended up signing with the Diamondbacks for four years and $80MM, while Lugo (who pitched for New York from 2016-22) inked a three-year, $45MM contract with the Royals.
- Victor Victor Mesa was so highly touted as an international prospect that he received a $5.25MM bonus from the Marlins in 2018. Despite all the hype, however, Mesa has hit only .233/.289/.289 over 1211 career plate appearances in the minors, and The Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson writes that his time in the Marlins organization now looks to be over. While there hasn’t been an official parting of the ways, the 27-year-old Mesa isn’t expected to attend Spring Training camp, and was temporarily placed on the restricted list last July after leaving the Triple-A team prior to the start of a series in Gwinnett. Victor Mesa Jr. was also signed to a $1MM bonus at the same time as his older brother, and the younger Mesa has developed into an intriguing prospect, ranked by Baseball America as the sixth-best player in Miami’s farm system.
AL Central Notes: Vazquez, Malloy, Bubic
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.