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Matt Strahm Resumes Throwing, Questionable For Opening Day

By Mark Polishuk | March 16, 2025 at 3:39pm CDT

Phillies left-hander Matt Strahm was shut down for close to a week due to soreness in his throwing shoulder, but restarted his throwing progression this weekend.  Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes that Strahm threw from 90 feet yesterday and 75 feet today, and Strahm already feels like he is close to being ready for the Phils’ Opening Day roster.

Strahm said he felt discomfort in his shoulder early in camp, but nothing seemed amiss until his velocity was down during his second spring outing.  An MRI revealed both inflammation and a bone bruise in his throwing shoulder, but no structural damage.  After some medication and two examinations from the team doctor, Strahm was given the green light to resume throwing, and his shoulder was feeling good following the two long-distance games of catch this weekend.

It isn’t yet clear whether or not Strahm will be fully ready to pitch by the time camp ends, or if the Phillies could place Strahm on the 15-day injured list just as a precaution.  Philadelphia’s early-season schedule could work against Strahm in this sense, as the Phillies have three off-days in the season’s first 12 days.  As Lauber notes, a minimal 15-day IL stint would therefore translate to only nine missed games for Strahm, when also factoring the three days of backdating available on any IL placement.

The Phils aren’t likely to take any risks with Strahm, arguably the team’s key bullpen arm.  Since coming to Philadelphia during the 2022-23 offseason, Strahm has been outstanding for the Phillies as both a fill-in starter in the first few months of the 2023 campaign and then as a shutdown reliever.  Working exclusively out of the pen last season, Strahm delivered a 1.87 ERA, 33.3% strikeout rate, and 4.6% walk rate over 62 2/3 innings.

Even a fairly brief IL stint might have some impact on Strahm’s future contractual status.  Initially signed to a two-year, $15MM contract, the Phillies were already impressed enough to sign Strahm to a new extension last March, locking him up for $7.5MM in guaranteed money this season, and a club option worth at least $4.5MM for 2026.  That option vests at a $7.5MM guarantee if Strahm pitches at least 60 innings and passes a post-season physical, so missing nine games could hamper Strahm’s chances of hitting that 60-inning threshold.

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Philadelphia Phillies Matt Strahm

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Blue Jays Sign Justin Bruihl To Minors Deal

By Mark Polishuk | March 16, 2025 at 2:36pm CDT

The Blue Jays have signed left-hander Justin Bruihl to a minor league contract, according to Aram Leighton of Just Baseball Media.  Bruihl elected minor league free agency at the end of the 2024 season, after he had been outrighted off the Pirates’ 40-man roster back in July.

Brendon Little is expected to be part of the Opening Day roster and Josh Walker is also competing for a bullpen job, but Easton Lucas and the injured Adam Macko are the only other southpaws on Toronto’s 40-man roster.  Bruihl therefore adds a little more depth in that area, and this signing fairly late in camp might hint that the Jays aren’t entirely satisfied with their selection of left-handers.  It would seem unlikely that Bruihl himself could make a late bid to break camp with the team since he is only now moving from his offseason preparations into a proper Spring Training ramp-up, so he’ll probably start the season with Triple-A Buffalo.

Bruihl has appeared in each of the last four MLB seasons, topping out at 28 innings with the Dodgers and Rockies in 2023 and with a low of just 5 2/3 frames with Pittsburgh last season.  Overall, Bruihl has a 4.62 ERA, 15.9% strikeout rate, 46.2% grounder rate, and 7.9% walk rate across his 76 total innings in the big leagues.

His 26.55% strikeout rate over 211 1/3 career minor league innings is far higher than his lackluster K% in the majors, but Bruihl hasn’t been able to duplicate that bat-missing ability against big-league hitters.  Bruihl might have been the type of pitcher who would’ve thrived before the three-batter rule was implemented, given his drastic career splits — left-handed batters had only a .507 OPS against Bruihl, while right-handed batters have a .918 OPS.

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Toronto Blue Jays Transactions Justin Bruihl

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Michael Tonkin To Open Season On Injured List

By Nick Deeds | March 16, 2025 at 1:05pm CDT

The Twins will be without right-hander Michael Tonkin to start the season, according to a report from Phil Miller of the Star Tribune. Miller adds that the club’s plan is for Tonkin to remain in extended Spring Training for “a few weeks” to build back up to pitching. Tonkin has been sidelined in recent days by a mild rotator cuff strain.

While the news isn’t especially surprising given the nature of rotator cuff issues, it’s nonetheless a disappointing update for both Tonkin and Twins fans. The 35-year-old righty was a 30th-round pick by Minnesota all the way back in 2008 and debuted with the club during the 2013 season. Across parts of five seasons in Minnesota, Tonkin posted a relatively pedestrian 4.43 ERA (95 ERA+) with a 4.57 FIP in 146 1/3 innings of work. That somewhat middling performance in his first stint with Minnesota led Tonkin to head overseas for the 2018 season. In 51 innings for Japan’s Nippon Ham Fighters that year, the right-hander posted a solid 3.71 ERA before returning stateside.

After his brief stay in NPB, Tonkin bounced between several minor league systems and independent teams before finally resurfacing in the majors with Atlanta back in 2023. He posted a solid enough 4.28 ERA (102 ERA+) with the Braves that year and was picked up by the Mets on a major league deal prior to the 2024 season. The righty’s stint in Queens did not go especially well, with ten runs (four earned) allowed in five appearances that led him to be designated for assignment in early April.

The righty bounced between the Mets, Twins, and Yankees via the waiver wire early in the 2024 season and eventually settled in the Bronx for the first half. He posted strong numbers with the club but was squeezed off the roster in late August, leading him back to Minnesota. In his final 51 games (70 1/3 innings of work) last year, Tonkin pitched to a strong 3.33 ERA and 3.27 FIP with a 25.2% strikeout rate. Those solid numbers were enough for the Twins to keep Tonkin in the fold for his age-35 season, but now he’ll be shelved to begin the season. An exact timetable for his return to action isn’t entirely clear, though given that Tonkin is expected to spend at least a few weeks in extended Spring Training it seems as though late April or early May could be a reasonable expectation for his return to the majors.

In other Twins bullpen news, right-hander Brock Stewart exited yesterday’s game due to a hamstring issue. Miller reports that Stewart suffered a “mild” hamstring strain but tested well in the aftermath of the injury and shouldn’t be shut down for very long, with the righty likely to resume throwing at some point this week. While Stewart’s 5.17 ERA in 16 games for the Twins last year was hardly exceptional, his 30% strikeout rate and 3.80 FIP were both intriguing enough to make him a valuable piece of the Twins’ bullpen mix headed into this year and today’s announcement regarding Tonkin figures to make him all the more important to the club’s relief depth come Opening Day. Stewart will likely be joined in the middle of the club’s bullpen by Jorge Alcala and Cole Sands as things currently stand, assuming he doesn’t suffer a setback prior to the start of the season.

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Minnesota Twins Brock Stewart Michael Tonkin

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White Sox Release Joey Gallo Ahead Of Move To Pitching

By Nick Deeds | March 16, 2025 at 12:51pm CDT

12:51pm: Gallo announced on social media in the aftermath of his release that he plans to convert to pitching going forward. The news shines additional light on Chicago’s decision to release Gallo, who can now search for a fresh minor league deal with a team interested in seeing what he can do on the mound. While Gallo has no professional experience on the mound, he did pitch in high school (even throwing a no-hitter) and has long had among the most impressive throwing arms in the game among position players, which was key to him earning two Gold Gloves in right field.

11:40am: The White Sox have granted Joey Gallo his unconditional release, as relayed by MLB.com’s Scott Merkin. Gallo had been in camp with the club on a minor league deal but will now head back into free agency to try and land a job with another club before Opening Day.

Gallo, 31, is coming off a difficult season with the Nationals where he hit just .161/.277/.336 (76 wRC+) in 260 trips to the plate. It’s the latest chapter in what’s been a very up-and-down career for the slugger, who was a first-round pick by the Rangers in 2012 and was a two-time All-Star across his seven years in Dallas, in 2019 and 2021. In that three season stretch, Gallo hit .209/.351/.477 with a wRC+ of 121. He crushed 70 home runs in just 280 games over those three years, but also struck out at a massive 35.6% clip.

That combination of nearly unmatched power and deep strikeout woes has contributed to a roller-coaster career where Gallo has been at times among the most impactful hitters in the sport and at times well below average. All of that has averaged out to a relatively middling .194/.319/.456 (107 wRC+) line across ten seasons in the majors, and while that’s still decent production overall Gallo hasn’t quite lived up to even that line in recent years. Despite a decent 103 wRC+ with the Twins in 2023, Gallo’s overall slash line over the past three years is just .166/.286/.379 with a well-below average wRC+ of 88. He’s struck out more than 40% of the time during that stretch, and his most productive season in Minnesota actually saw him punch out in a massive 42.8% of his trips to the plate.

Earlier in his career, Gallo helped to make up for his uneven offensive production with strong outfield defense. A two-time Gold Glove award winner in right field during his days with the Rangers who could even be counted on in center if necessary, Gallo’s fallen from grace defensively and now fits best as a roughly average defensive first baseman. Unfortunately, Gallo’s more limited defensive profile in recent years makes him a more difficult fit for a contending club in a bench role, while his offensive peaks and valleys make him difficult to bet on as a full-time starter.

Those concerns all culminated in the White Sox deciding to part ways with the slugger. While getting released by a club that lost the most games in MLB history last year is an ominous sign, it’s worth pointing out that Chicago actually has a relatively deep group of potential options at first base and in the outfield. Andrew Vaughn and Luis Robert Jr. figure to be everyday players at first base and in center field, while Mike Tauchman and Andrew Benintendi figure to capture the lion’s share of the playing time in the outfield corners.

Tauchman, Benintendi, and Gallo are all left-handed bats, so Gallo’s best opportunity for playing time in Chicago would’ve likely been spelling Vaughn at first base with Michael A. Taylor and Austin Slater both better suited for outfield roles. While Benintendi is out due to a hand fracture at the moment, he has yet to be explicitly ruled out for Opening Day and may be able to return fairly early in the season, making carrying a player like Gallo as a fill-in option less sensible.

Even so, however, it could be difficult for Gallo to find a major league gig with less than two weeks until the season begins. As much as injuries have opened up holes in various clubs’ lineups and rotations throughout the spring, there aren’t many obvious vacancies at first base around the league at the moment. Perhaps a club like the Padres, Pirates, or Marlins could use some additional depth at the position, but even those clubs have internal options they appear to be mostly comfortable with headed into Opening Day. With that said, teams certainly value depth and it’s not hard to imagine Gallo catching on with another club who has a less crowded first base and outfield mix on a fresh minor league deal, even if it doesn’t come with an immediate path to big league playing time.

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Chicago White Sox Transactions Joey Gallo

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Twins Prospect Matt Canterino Undergoes Season-Ending Shoulder Surgery

By Nick Deeds | March 16, 2025 at 10:19am CDT

Twins right-hander Matt Canterino has undergone season-ending surgery to “tighten” ligaments in his throwing shoulder, as relayed by Phil Miller of the Star Tribune.

It’s a brutal blow for the 27-year-old hurler, who will now miss a third consecutive season after last pitching during the regular season back in 2022. A second-round pick by the Twins back in 2019, Canterino has been nothing short of dominant during his professional career but has been had his career thrown off the rails by injury woes. After posting a sterling 1.44 ERA in seven starts down the stretch during his draft year, Canterino missed the entire 2020 season (like all minor leaguers) due to the cancelled minor league season that year.

Upon returning to action in 2021, the right-hander was once again dominant with a sensational 0.78 ERA but made just six starts due to a forearm injury. He returned to action in 2022 and picked up right where he had left off, with a 1.83 ERA and a 34.8% strikeout rate in his first taste of Double-A action, but that 2021 forearm issue resurfaced and he ultimately required Tommy John surgery. That led him to miss the entire 2023 campaign, and in 2024 he was sidelined the entire year due to a rotator cuff strain. He pitched a scoreless inning during Spring Training this year but was shut down earlier this month due to a shoulder strain, which has now required him to go under the knife once again.

It’s a devastating turn of events for Canterino and deeply frustrating for the Twins, particularly given the right-hander’s obvious and immense talent when healthy enough to take the mound. While he’s been limited to just 85 innings in his minor league career, those innings could hardly have been more impressive. He’s posted a lifetime 1.48 ERA during his professional career while striking out a sensational 39.2% of opponents. His 10.5% walk rate is certainly elevated, but that issue is masked by Canterino’s overpowering stuff and an impressive ability to keep the ball in the park. He’s surrendered just three home runs throughout his MiLB career despite his fly ball-heavy approach, and it’s easy to imagine him finding success at Triple-A and even in the majors with his impressive repertoire so long as he can eventually stay healthy enough to use it.

Canterino is currently on the 40-man roster, which means the Twins could theoretically place him on the 60-day injured list to open up a 40-man roster spot should they need to at some point this year. With that being said, doing so would mean that Canterino will accrue big league service time this year despite not having made his MLB debut. Alternatively, Canterino can be placed on the minor league injured list, where he would not accrue MLB service time but would count against the club’s 40-man roster.

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Minnesota Twins Matt Canterino

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Orioles Notes: Henderson, Mateo, Urias

By Nick Deeds | March 16, 2025 at 9:35am CDT

Orioles star Gunnar Henderson provided a positive update on the status of his intercostal strain yesterday, telling reporters (including Roch Kubatko of MASN) that he’s “feeling good” as he works his way back to the field in hopes of being ready for Opening Day. Henderson first suffered the injury in late February, and after nearly three weeks of rehab the shortstop expressed some optimism about his situation.

“It’s getting there,” Henderson said, as relayed by Kubatko. “It’s a lot better than what it originally felt like.”

He went on to add that his “plan” is to be active and in the lineup for Opening Day against the Blue Jays on March 27, and hopefully get into some Spring Training games before then as well. While he wasn’t in either lineup for today’s set to split squad Grapefruit League games, Opening Day is still almost two weeks away which should offer the Orioles a bit of time to work with as they look to get Henderson up to speed in time for the start of the regular season.

Losing the shortstop for any amount of time would be devastating given that he was one of the top players in the entire sport last year. After impressing in a 32-game cup of coffee during the 2022 season, Henderson won the AL Rookie of the Year award in 2023 before making his first All-Star game last year and finishing fourth in a stacked AL MVP class behind Aaron Judge, Bobby Witt Jr. and Juan Soto. If Henderson were to miss time, the club could slide Jackson Holliday over to shortstop from second base, with a potential bench player like Livan Soto handling second or perhaps Jordan Westburg moving to the keystone to make room for Coby Mayo at the hot corner. Of course, for now the Orioles seem to be focused on preparing Henderson for the start of the season rather than potential alternatives.

While Henderson seemingly remains on track to break camp with the club, the same cannot be said for utility man Jorge Mateo. As noted by Kubatko, manager Brandon Hyde told reporters Friday that it’s “very doubtful” Mateo will be ready for Opening Day. The versatile hitter has spent the spring recovering from elbow surgery, and recently expressed optimism that he’d be able to make it back in time for Opening Day. That optimism isn’t entirely unfounded, as Mateo is making his spring debut today. With that being said, the final decision of Mateo’s readiness will come down to Hyde and GM Mike Elias, both of whom have now expressed doubt about Mateo’s odds of breaking camp with the club.

Back to more promising injury news, infielder Ramon Urias has been slowed in recent days by a sore hamstring but is not expected to miss significant time due to the issue. Kubatko writes that the 30-year-old went through a full slate of defensive work and took batting practice yesterday, while MLB.com’s Jake Rill notes that Urias told reporters this morning that his hamstring is feeling better and that there’s “no concern” about his ability to be ready for Opening Day. Urias is in neither lineup for today’s split squad games, but both he and Hyde expressed optimism that he would be back in the lineup for Baltimore in relatively short order.

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Baltimore Orioles Notes Gunnar Henderson Jorge Mateo Ramon Urias

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Bryan Shaw Reassigned To Reds Minor League Camp, Will Report To Triple-A

By Nick Deeds | March 15, 2025 at 10:25pm CDT

The Reds announced a series of roster cuts this morning, most notably including right-hander Bryan Shaw. Shaw, 37, signed a minor league deal with Cincinnati back in December, but it is customary for non-roster veterans to have opt-out opportunities built into their contracts even if they (like Shaw) don’t qualify as Article XX(B) free agents who receive uniform opt-out opportunities as mandated by the league’s collective bargaining agreement.

Given this reality, it’s typical for a veteran who is reassigned to minor league camp to explore alternate options in free agency rather than report to the minors and stick with their current club. That’s not the path Shaw is taking, however, as MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon writes that Shaw has decided to stay with the Reds organization and report to Triple-A Louisville when the season begins. That news was relayed to reporters by manager Terry Francona, for whom Shaw pitched in seven seasons with Cleveland.

“He wants to stay,” Francona said, as relayed by Sheldon. “The guy has pitched 16 years. I’ve seen him have springs like this and then he goes out and throws in 81 games and faces the middle of the order all the time. That just wasn’t the position he was in this spring and he’s inconsistent with the strike zone. His stuff is still fine. And we were thrilled he wants to go to Triple-A. He can still do it.”

Shaw, 37, was a second-rounder by the Diamondbacks back in 2008 who made his big league debut during the 2011 season. Since then, the veteran reliever has posted a 3.96 ERA (109 ERA+) with a 4.05 FIP throughout his career, which has seen him throw 764 1/3 innings of work across 14 MLB seasons. He’s struggled with ineffectiveness over the past three seasons, however, pitching to a lackluster 5.00 ERA with a 4.54 FIP across 108 frames with the Guardians and White Sox. That decline in performance has seen Shaw’s opportunities at the big league level begin to dry up somewhat; he pitched in just five big league games for the White Sox last year before spending the rest of 2025 in the Angels organization at Triple-A Salt Lake, for whom he posted a solid 4.14 ERA even in the tough offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League.

After a lackluster spring where he posted a solid enough 4.05 ERA in seven appearances but walked (9) more batters than he struck out (7), Shaw is once again ticketed for Triple-A at least to begin the season. The fact that the veteran is sticking around in the minors is welcome news for the Reds, however, given the club’s relative lack of relief depth on the 40-man roster. While some arms set to serve as rotation depth like Carson Spiers and Lyon Richardson could theoretically be used out of the bullpen, right-hander Yosver Zulueta is the only full-time reliever on the club’s 40-man roster not already projected to make the club’s Opening Day bullpen. Given the frequency with which injuries pop up across a 162-game season, that should leave plenty of room for even players not yet on the 40-man roster such as Shaw to make a case for themselves at Triple-A and pitch their way onto the big league club over the course of the coming campaign.

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Cincinnati Reds Transactions Bryan Shaw

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Red Sox Notes: Abreu, Devers, Newcomb

By Nick Deeds | March 15, 2025 at 8:16pm CDT

Red Sox outfielder Wilyer Abreu has been out of action this spring due to a gastrointestinal virus that, as of last week, had kept the 25-year-old from even swinging a bat this spring. That led to plenty of questions about whether or not he would be ready in time for Opening Day, but as noted by Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic yesterday, he was cleared to play in today’s Grapefruit League game.

It was a major step forward for Abreu, who told reporters (including Christopher Smith of MassLive) that he expects to be ready for Opening Day later this month after acknowledging that he’ll need “some more reps” before he’s in regular season form. Notably, Abreu lost considerable weight as a result of the virus but has said that he doesn’t view that weight loss as a concern as he still feels as strong and mobile as ever. If Abreu does prove to be ready for Opening Day, that would be a major relief for a Red Sox lineup that appears poised to rely on a platoon of him and Rob Refsnyder in right field this season. The sixth place finisher in AL Rookie of the Year voting last year, Abreu won a Gold Glove for his work in right field while hitting .253/.322/.459 (114 wRC+), including a 126 wRC+ against right-handed pitching.

Abreu was joined in his return to the lineup by star teammate Rafael Devers. Devers has gotten plenty of attention this spring after the club’s signing of third baseman Alex Bregman, as the Red Sox have thusfar refused to anoint either Devers or Bregman as the Opening Day third baseman in the aftermath of Devers’s vocal opposition to a move off the hot corner. The slugger has struck a more conciliatory tone in recent days, however, as Bregman has been used almost exclusively at third this spring while Devers was slowed in camp after rehabbing a shoulder injury throughout the offseason. Devers was back in the lineup alongside Abreu today, however, and manager Alex Cora told reporters (including Smith) that the duo will get time on the backfields tomorrow before returning to the lineup on Monday as they ease back into regular playing time.

With Devers and Abreu both seemingly making good pace to start for the Red Sox on Opening Day, much of the intrigue in the final weeks of Red Sox camp seems likely to be focused on the rotation. Garrett Crochet, Walker Buehler, and Tanner Houck will feature in the club’s starting five, but the last two spots are up for grabs after Lucas Giolito, Brayan Bello, and Kutter Crawford were all delayed in camp by various injuries. 40-man roster arms Cooper Criswell, Richard Fitts, and Quinn Priester have long been known to be in the conversation for those spots, but Cora told reporters (including Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe) today that non-roster southpaw Sean Newcomb is also in the mix for a rotation job.

Newcomb, 31, was a first-round pick by the Angels back in 2014 and had success in both the rotation and bullpen with Atlanta during the early years of his career. He posted a 3.87 ERA and 4.17 FIP in 332 1/3 innings of work across the 2017 to 2019 seasons, but the wheels came off during the shortened 2020 season and he’s struggled every since. Over the past five seasons, he’s posted a 6.66 ERA with a 5.49 FIP in 98 2/3 innings, the majority of which came out of the bullpen. The southpaw has been nothing short of dominant for the Red Sox this spring, however, and his 0.93 ERA in 9 2/3 frames has seemingly given Boston’s decision-makers enough to think about that he has a chance at starting the season not just on the roster, but in the rotation.

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Boston Red Sox Notes Rafael Devers Sean Newcomb Wilyer Abreu

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Offseason In Review: Pittsburgh Pirates

By Darragh McDonald | March 15, 2025 at 7:36pm CDT

It was another modest offseason for the Pirates, who are banking on their young arms to carry them into contention.

Major League Signings

  • LHP Andrew Heaney: One year, $5.25MM
  • DH/OF Andrew McCutchen: One year, $5MM
  • OF Tommy Pham: One year, $4.025MM
  • LHP Caleb Ferguson: One year, $3MM
  • 2B/OF Adam Frazier: One year, $1.525MM
  • LHP Tim Mayza: One year, $1.15MM
  • RHP Elvis Alvarado: split deal, later lost to Athletics on waivers

2025 spending: $19.95MM
Total spending: $19.95MM

Option Decisions

  • Club declined $15MM option on LHP Marco Gonzales

Trades and Claims

  • Claimed IF Tristan Gray off waivers from Athletics (Gray was later outrighted, elected free agency and signed with the White Sox)
  • Claimed 1B/OF Trey Cabbage from Astros (Cabbage was later released to sign with NPB's Yomiuri Giants)
  • Acquired RHP Peter Strzelecki from Guardians for cash
  • Acquired 1B/2B Spencer Horwitz from Guardians for RHP Luis Ortiz, LHP Josh Hartle, LHP Michael Kennedy
  • Acquired IF Enmanuel Valdéz from Red Sox for RHP Joe Vogatsky
  • Acquired RHP Brett de Geus from Blue Jays for cash (later lost de Geus to Marlins on waivers)
  • Acquired RHP Chase Shugart from Red Sox for RHP Matt McShane
  • Claimed RHP Justin Lawrence off waivers from the Rockies

Extensions

  • None

Notable Minor League Signings

  • Yohan Ramírez, Isaac Mattson, Tanner Rainey, Hunter Stratton, Carson Fulmer, Nick Solak, Darick Hall, Burch Smith, Bryce Johnson, DJ Stewart, Ryder Ryan, Ryan Borucki

Notable Losses

  • Luis Ortiz, Yasmani Grandal, Aroldis Chapman, Jalen Beeks, Rowdy Tellez, Michael A. Taylor, Marco Gonzales, Billy McKinney, Jake Woodford, Justin Bruihl, Edward Olivares, Domingo Germán, Connor Joe (non-tendered), Bryan De La Cruz (non-tendered)

It's been a rough few decades for the Pirates. They didn't make the playoffs between 1993 and 2012. They then got three straight Wild Card berths, but advanced to the NLDS just once. They started a new playoff drought in 2016 that continues to this day.

There have been some signs of potential lately. In 2023, they were 20-9 at the end of April, but they went 8-18 in May and finished at 76-86. They hovered near contention last year, sitting at 48-48 at the All-Star break, but again finished at 76-86.

Despite those losing seasons, there are exciting elements on the roster. Their collection of rotation talent is one of the best in the league, fronted by Paul Skenes but also including Jared Jones, Mitch Keller, Braxton Ashcraft, Bubba Chandler, Mike Burrows and Thomas Harrington. They also have position players Bryan Reynolds, Ke'Bryan Hayes and Oneil Cruz in place for years to come.

Ideally, the club would have invested around this young core, but that didn't come to pass this winter. The offseason included one notable trade, which is essentially a risky bet on a late bloomer, and several modest free agent signings. They gave out seven one-year deals, none of them worth more than $5.25MM, spending less than $20MM in total. Some of those moves are fine in isolation but the total package is underwhelming.

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2024-25 Offseason In Review Front Office Originals MLBTR Originals Membership Pittsburgh Pirates

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Diamondbacks Sign J.P. Feyereisen To A Minor League Deal

By Nick Deeds | March 15, 2025 at 5:37pm CDT

The Diamondbacks have signed right-hander J.P. Feyereisen to a minor league deal, according to an announcement from the club’s Triple-A affiliate Reno Aces.

Feyereisen, 32, was a 16th-round pick by Cleveland all the way back in 2014 but didn’t make his big league debut in the shortened 2020 season, when he made six relief appearances with the Brewers. That brief cup of coffee aside, Feyereisen’s real first crack at a significant role with Milwaukee came in 2021. The right-hander posted a solid 3.26 ERA in 19 1/3 innings with the club early in the year but was eventually shipped out to the Rays alongside Drew Rasmussen as part of the trade that brought Willy Adames to Milwaukee in May of that year.

The right-hander found another gear in Tampa and performed excellently the rest of the way, with a 2.45 ERA in 36 2/3 innings of work for an overall season ERA of 2.73 in 55 innings. Feyereisen’s peripherals left something to be desired, with a 4.21 FIP thanks primarily to a massive 14.1% walk rate. Those peripheral concerns vanished in 2022, however, as Feyereisen posted an otherworldly start to the season for Tampa. In 24 1/3 scoreless frames for the Rays to open the year, Feyereisen cut his walk rate to just 5.8% while striking out 29.1% of opponents with a 1.67 FIP and a 2.93 SIERA. It was on pace to be one of the better relief seasons in recent memory, but unfortunately Feyereisen’s campaign was cut short by a shoulder injury.

The shoulder woes eventually wiped out the right-hander’s entire 2023 campaign after he underwent surgery on his rotator cuff. While Feyereisen returned to the mound (now as a member of the Dodgers) in 2024, his results left much to be desired. Feyereisen was shelled to the tune of an 8.18 ERA in 11 innings with L.A. in the majors last year, and even in the minors he struggled to a 5.48 ERA with a strikeout rate of just 17.9%. That led the Dodgers to outright Feyereisen off their 40-man roster last July, allowing him to elect free agency back in November. He’s been on the open market since then, but will now land in Arizona and attempt to work his way back into a big league role.

The Diamondbacks have spent the offseason in search of bullpen help, but have not yet secured the lock-down closer they were hoping to find. While Feyereisen is hardly a sure thing, there’s few relievers in the game who have showed the sort of upside he flashed during his stint with the Rays. If Arizona can unlock even some of that ceiling, it’s not hard to imagine Feyereisen pitching high leverage innings for the Diamondbacks at some point this season. For now, however, the right-hander appears ticketed for Triple-A Reno where he’ll look to get his career back on track.

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Arizona Diamondbacks Transactions J.P. Feyereisen

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