Tigers Sign Colt Keith To Six-Year Extension
The Tigers announced a six-year contract extension with infield prospect Colt Keith. The deal guarantees Keith $28.6425MM and could max out at $82MM over nine years if three club options (covering the 2030, 2031, and 2032 seasons) are all escalated and exercised. Keith is represented by Munger English Sports Management.
In addition to a $2MM signing bonus, Keith will earn $2.5MM in salary for the 2024 campaign, $3.5MM in 2025, $4MM per season in 2026 and ’27, and $5MM per season in 2028 and ’29. Each club option includes salary escalators, but the values currently break down as follows — the 2030 club option is valued at $10MM with a $2.6425MM buyout, the 2031 option worth $13MM ($1MM buyout), and the 2032 option worth $15MM ($2MM buyout).
Keith, 22, was a fifth-round pick by the Tigers in the 2020 draft and has since ascended rapidly through the minor leagues with a .300/.382/.512 slash line across all levels, including a .306/.380/.552 slash line in 126 games split between Double- and Triple-A last season. The youngster has emerged as a consensus Top-30 prospect in the game, with MLB.com ranking him 22nd while Baseball America placed him 28th. Both president of baseball operations Scott Harris and Keith himself commented on the extension in a press release following the announcement.
“This is a very exciting day for the Detroit Tigers, Colt, his family, and our fans,” Harris said in the presser. “This contract demonstrates our faith in Colt and this organization’s commitment to acquire, develop, and retain young talent.”
“I couldn’t be more excited to reach this agreement, securing my place in this organization for years to come,” Keith added. “There’s a reason I felt strongly about making a long-term commitment to be here, and being surrounded by incredibly talented teammates and coaches is a big part of that… I know this is a big accomplishment, but ultimately my mission is to be the best player possible and help win a World Series Championship for Tigers fans everywhere.”
The 22-year-old Keith has now scored a significant windfall after signing for just a $500K bonus out of the draft. Beyond the financial security, Keith also has certainty that he will remain part of the Tigers’ long-term plans as they look to build upon their surprising second place finish in the AL Central last year. For Detroit, the extension affords the club some cost certainty regarding Keith’s arbitration years plus an additional three seasons of team control. If all three options are exercised, Keith will stay in a Tigers uniform through his age-30 season.
It’s the fourth-largest deal in league history for a prospect who has yet to make their MLB debut. Keith’s extension trails only the guarantees for White Sox outfielders Luis Robert Jr. ($50MM) and Eloy Jimenez ($43MM) as well as the record-setting $82MM deal agreed to by outfield prospect Jackson Chourio and the Brewers earlier this winter.
Keith was already expected to join the big league roster as the Tigers’ everyday second baseman at some point in the year, but today’s deal all but guarantees he’ll be in the lineup on Opening Day if healthy. The deal takes away the opportunity for the Tigers to secure an extra year of team control over the infielder, but Detroit is still eligible for an extra Prospect Promotion Incentive draft pick. This pick would be awarded in the event that Keith earns a full year of service time in 2024 and either wins the AL Rookie of the Year award or places in the top three of MVP voting before he would have been eligible for arbitration.
With Keith likely to occupy the keystone for the Tigers entering the season, the likes of Zach McKinstry, Nick Maton, Andy Ibanez, and Matt Vierling will be competing for playing time at third base when camp opens for Spring Training next month. While the third base keys figure to be handed to another top prospect in Jace Jung at some point in the future, the 23-year-old has not yet made an appearance at the Triple-A level and appears unlikely to break camp with the Tigers. Keith and Jung figure to be the latest in a line of top prospects to reach the majors for Detroit in recent years, including starting pitchers jTarik Skubal and Casey Mize, and position players Spencer Torkelson and Riley Greene.
As their prospects begin to reach the majors and establish themselves at the big league level, the Tigers have looked to augment the roster with short-term veteran additions who won’t block the younger players from earning regular playing time. This offseason, Detroit struck early to land outfielder Mark Canha in a deal with the Brewers before bolstering their rotation with by signing free agent right-handers Kenta Maeda and Jack Flaherty. The club has also added reinforcements to their bullpen in the form of Andrew Chafin and Shelby Miller. Those veteran additions figure to strengthen the club’s burgeoning young core as they gear up for a run in what projects to be a relatively weak AL Central division, though the Twins figure to remain the on-paper favorite even after allowing both Maeda and ace righty Sonny Gray to depart via free agency this winter.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Quick Hits: Int’l Signings, Cooper, Correa, Barnes
Earlier this week, reporter Nathanael Pérez Neró of Diario Libre reported that Major League Baseball voided over 50 official and unofficial agreements between teams and international prospects. In a follow-up piece for The Athletic, Evan Drellich and Ken Rosenthal wrote that the league is trying to again crack down on a spate of suspected age and identity fraud cases within the international signing circuit, as some Dominican Republic-based trainers (known as buscones, who scout and help develop future prospects) have figured out how to work around a past set of guidelines established around 15 years ago.
International prospects can only be officially signed at age 16, yet is widely known that teams line up these deals sometimes multiple years ahead of a prospect’s eligibility period, which can lead to some paperwork confusion (at best) or outright fraud as worst. In several of the 50-odd scuttled agreements, teams including the Astros, Athletics, Mets, Red Sox, Royals, Twins, and Yankees learned that they were scouting or had agreements to sign prospects who were years older than their reported ages, including some who were lined up for hefty bonuses in future int’l signing windows.
More from around baseball as we start a new week….
- The Red Sox have some level of interest in first baseman Garrett Cooper, with MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo (links to X) describing Cooper as a backup plan if the Sox can’t re-sign Adam Duvall. Cooper has some right field experience but has played only first base and DH over the last two seasons, so Duvall is perhaps the better fit as a right-handed hitter who could complement any of Boston’s lefty-swinging outfield options. Known for his solid production as a member of the Miami lineup, Cooper’s slash line dipped to .251/.304/.419 over 457 plate appearances with the Marlins and Padres in 2023
- Coming off a down year that involved an ongoing battle with plantar fasciitis in his left foot, Carlos Correa is feeling fully recovered, as the Twins shortstop told the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Gavin Dorsey and other reporters. Correa got an early start to his usual offseason work due to both his effort to entirely rehab his foot, and to make changes to his swing mechanics. It is a marked difference from last offseason, when Correa’s unusual free agent situation and concerns about a past ankle injury resulted in his taking about a month off to prevent any further injuries to impact his market. As a result, Correa said “coming into spring training, I didn’t feel like I was prepared….This year, I do feel ready.”
- Free agent reliever Matt Barnes is planning to throw for scouts next week, MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reports (X link). Barnes entered the market in November when the Marlins spent $2.25MM to buy out Barnes’ $9MM club option for 2024 — an expected move, considering Barnes had a 5.48 ERA over 21 1/3 innings before his season was cut short by hip surgery. An All-Star as recently as 2021, Barnes usually posted numbers in the Red Sox bullpen from 2016-21, but injuries and inconsistency have cropped up over the last few years.
NL East Notes: Fried, Garrett, Peralta, Mets
Max Fried is feeling healthy after an injury-plagued 2023 season, and the Braves ace is looking to focus just on baseball rather than a possible trip to free agency next winter. “I feel like a lot of that is, I would say it’s out of my control right now,” Fried told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Justin Toscano and other reporters. “But the Braves do things a certain way, and I know that privacy and having that just kind of be more behind closed doors is the way things are done, so I’m gonna respect that. But I know that I love being here, and I’m really excited to get started with this group….We didn’t accomplish what we wanted to last year, but I know that we have a really determined group, and I’m really excited to get started.”
It isn’t known whether or not the Braves and Fried’s reps at CAA have had any more talks since the two sides discussed an extension last spring, since as Fried noted, the Braves tend to avoid leaks when it comes to transactional or contract news. Atlanta is more aggressive than any other club when it comes to extending players, yet the fact that Fried has gotten so close to free agency might hint that either side might ultimately be comfortable in parting ways next winter.
More from around the NL East…
- Stone Garrett‘s season ended on August 23, when the Nationals outfielder fractured his left fibula and broke his left ankle crashing into Yankee Stadium’s right field wall in pursuit of a home run ball. The Washington Post’s Andrew Golden has an update on Garrett’s status, writing that the outfielder has been proceeding as planned with his six-month recovery projection and might be ready for the start of Spring Training, though both Garrett and the Nats will proceed with caution. Garrett discussed many aspects of his rehab process, providing some interesting details into the physical and mental challenges that go into recovering from such a serious pair of injuries. The 28-year-old Garrett has hit an impressive .271/.335/.477 over 355 career plate appearances with the Diamondbacks and Nationals, and looks to have earned himself a more regular spot in Washington’s lineup if he is healthy.
- The relief corps has been a target area for the Mets this offseason, including the recent re-signing of Adam Ottavino. SNY’s Andy Martino writes that the Mets still weighing whether or not to add yet another reliever to the mix, and Jon Heyman of the New York Post adds that the club has a particular interest in left-handed bullpen help, with Wandy Peralta one of the names under consideration. Peralta was initially connected to the Mets earlier this month, and he is no stranger to the Big Apple after pitching the last three seasons with the Yankees (new Mets manager Carlos Mendoza is also the Yankees’ ex-bench coach). Brooks Raley is currently the only southpaw slated for a regular role in the Amazins’ bullpen, so some more lefty depth would certainly appear to be a useful addition.
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Rockies Notes: Marquez, Senzatela, Freeland, Bryant
Pitching injuries defined the Rockies’ 103-loss 2023 season, as the team had a seemingly endless string of hurlers missing time with both minor and major ailments. The top of the rotation was hit particularly hard, with German Marquez and Antonio Senzatela both undergoing Tommy John surgeries that will stretch their time on the injured list into 2024.
Rockies GM Bill Schmidt provided some updates (to Patrick Lyons and other reporters) on the two right-handers at the team’s Fan Fest event this weekend. The club is hopeful Marquez can return sometime after the All-Star break, which fits the normal TJ recovery timeline given that Marquez underwent his procedure last May.
Unfortunately, that same timeline puts Senzatela’s entire 2024 season in doubt. Senzatela had his surgery in July, and thus Schmidt doesn’t “anticipate [him] up here” on Colorado’s active roster. If all goes well, Senzatela will be able to pitch for the Rockies’ Triple-A team near the end of the minor league season, with an eye towards the righty banking some innings and gaining some peace of mind ahead of a more normal offseason.
Colorado has invested heavily in both pitchers as part of its eternal search for rotation stability. Marquez signed a five-year, $43MM extension that covered the 2019-23 seasons, and also included a $16MM club option for 2024. Rather than buy out that option for $2.5MM in the wake of Marquez’s TJ surgery, the Rox instead worked out a new two-year extension that will pay Marquez $20MM over the next two seasons, with another $10MM available in bonuses based on roster time and innings pitched.
Senzatela inked a five-year, $50.5MM extension in October 2021 that also included a club option ($14MM in 2027). Senzatela was already under arbitration control through 2023, so had that deal not been signed, the righty might’ve been in free agency right now and facing an uncertain near future as he recovered from his surgery. The Rockies haven’t gotten much return on their investment since Senzatela has thrown only 100 innings over the last two seasons — his 2022 campaign was also cut short by a torn ACL.
Since it remains to be seen how much Marquez or Senzatela will factor into the 2024 season, the Rockies face an even greater pressure to fill innings. The Rox signed Dakota Hudson and acquired Cal Quantrill in a trade with the Guardians, but they’ll also be relying on in-house options to contribute, none moreso than de facto staff ace Kyle Freeland. However, it has been some time since Freeland has looked like a true frontline pitcher — after finishing fourth in NL Cy Young Award voting in 2018, the southpaw has battled injuries while posting a 4.96 ERA over 626 innings from 2019-23.
That includes a 5.03 ERA in 155 2/3 frames last season, as Freeland missed time with a separated shoulder and then an oblique strain that ultimately ended his season. The good news is that Freeland is now feeling recovered from more than just his 2023 injury woes.
“I told [manager Bud Black] and a couple of our other coaches how my arm and my body really hasn’t felt this good since 2021,” Freeland told reporters at Fan Fest, including Luke Zahlmann of the Denver Gazette. “It’s very exciting for me. We discussed my velocity last year, and one thing I really tried to work on this offseason is trying to get that back — doing stuff for my shoulder and stuff like that to make sure that I’m as healthy as possible going into camp.”
Kris Bryant is looking to avoid the injured list and tally his first full season in a Colorado uniform. Since signing his seven-year, $182MM contract during the 2021-22 offseason, Bryant has played in just 122 of 324 games due to plantar fasciitis in his left foot, a bruised left heel, and a fractured finger.
“I feel fortunate that I’m healthy right now and the offseason has been great,” Bryant told the Denver Post’s Patrick Saunders. In terms of his frustration over the last two seasons, Bryant said that “when I’m not performing to my standard it eats at me….When you play this game this long, certain things are going to happen, but I know that there are much better days ahead in my future.”
It remains to be seen if Bryant can ever regain his old MVP form, and while Bryant’s numbers haven’t been good over the last two years, the injuries provide a natural context for his struggles. Bryant hit .306/.376/.475 over 181 plate appearances in 2022, but then only .233/.313/.367 in 335 PA last season. Looking ahead to 2024, the Rockies intend to use Bryant primarily as a first baseman in order to help keep him healthy, but he’ll also get some work as a DH and right fielder. Bryant might possibly also see the odd game in left field when a left-hander is on the mound, but Nolan Jones is slated to take the bulk of work as Colorado’s regular left fielder.
Guardians Sign Carlos Carrasco To Minor League Deal
TODAY: Carrasco will earn a base salary of $2MM if he makes the Guardians’ active roster, ESPN’s Buster Olney writes.
JAN. 27: Veteran right-hander Carlos Carrasco is in agreement with the Guardians on a minor league deal with an invite to big league Spring Training, according to Zack Meisel of The Athletic.
It’s a reunion between the sides, as Carrasco first joined Cleveland in a trade with the Phillies back in 2009 and made his big league debut shortly thereafter. The righty spent more than a decade with the club, pitching to a 3.77 ERA and 3.42 FIP across 1,242 1/3 innings of work in Cleveland. While he struggled with injuries and ineffectiveness early in his tenure with the club, Carrasco eventually settled in to become a quality mid-rotation arm for the club and even earned votes for the AL Cy Young award in both 2015 and 2017. On the heels of a strong 2020 season where Carrasco pitched to a 2.91 ERA across 12 starts, the veteran right-hander was included alongside Francisco Lindor in the blockbuster deal that brought Amed Rosario, Andres Gimenez, Josh Wolf and Isaiah Greene to Cleveland.
Upon joining Lindor in Queens, the then-34-year-old Carrasco quickly began to struggle. Though he posted solid back-of-the-rotation numbers for the Mets in 2022, both the 2021 and 2023 seasons saw Carrasco post ERAs north of 6.00 while managing less than 100 innings of work due to injuries. As Carrasco has entered his mid-thirties, it’s become increasingly difficult for the righty to stay on the field. He battled a hamstring strain and an elbow procedure in 2021, an oblique strain in 2022, and in 2023 suffered from both a bone spur in his elbow and a late-season finger fracture.
Now headed into his age-37 season with a 4.87 ERA in 443 2/3 innings of work dating back to the 2019 season, it’s fair to wonder how much the veteran hurler still has left in the tank. With that being said, bringing a longtime of the club back into the fold on a minor league deal is an incredibly low-risk decision for the Guardians to make. Even if Carrasco is unable to return to the form he flashed in 2022 and provide the club with quality back-of-the-rotation production, bringing a beloved veteran of 14 big league seasons into the club for Spring Training can only help Cleveland’s young rotation arms (such as Tanner Bibee and Gavin Williams) as they look to improve upon strong rookie performances in their sophomore seasons.
Mariners Sign Cole Tucker To Minors Contract
The Mariners have signed utiltyman Cole Tucker to a minor league deal, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports (X link). The contract contains an invitation to Seattle’s big league Spring Training camp.
Tucker also signed a minors deal with the Rockies last winter, though it didn’t lead to much time in the majors. His contract wasn’t selected to the active roster until August, and Tucker appeared in only five MLB games amidst twice being designated for assignment and then outrighted off the 40-man roster. At season’s end, Tucker had the ability to elect minor league free agency and hit the open market once more.
Picked 24th overall in the 2014 draft, Tucker showed flashes of that high draft pedigree during his time in the Pirates’ farm system, but he has a modest .250/.350/.382 slash line over 1107 career plate appearances at the Triple-A level. The Pirates gave him multiple looks in the majors, but Tucker has struggled to a .216/.266/.318 slash over 479 PA against MLB pitching. Pittsburgh DFA’ed Tucker during the 2022 season and he was claimed off waivers by the Diamondbacks, though the Phoenix native didn’t receive any time at the big league level with his hometown team.
Tucker was drafted as a shortstop but has moved into more of a multi-positional role in an effort to increase his value of catching onto another big league roster. Between this positional versatility and a switch-hitting approach, Tucker fits the profile of a useful bench piece if he can get any consistency going at the plate. The Mariners have Josh Rojas, Dylan Moore, and Sam Haggerty already lined up for roster spots, so while Tucker may face an uphill battle in winning a job in Spring Training, he could be a good depth piece for Triple-A if he agrees to remain in Seattle’s organization.
Teams Showing Interest In Brandon Crawford
To this point in the winter, the market surrounding Brandon Crawford has been all but silent in the public sphere, with no rumors of note connecting the longtime shortstop to interested clubs throughout the offseason. That doesn’t mean there hasn’t been interest in the 13-year MLB veteran’s services, however. In fact, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported this morning that Crawford has drawn interest from multiple teams this winter. Rosenthal adds that while Crawford would consider a move off shortstop to second or third base this winter, he could decide to retire “if the right opportunity does not arise.”
Crawford, who celebrated his 37th birthday last week, is coming off a difficult 2023 season where he missed time throughout the campaign with calf, hamstring, forearm, and knee issues that surely hampered his performance throughout the year. The veteran slashed a paltry .194/.273/.314 in 320 trips to the plate with the Giants. He remained a quality defender per Statcast with +6 Outs Above Average at shortstop in spite of the offensive struggles, though Fielding Bible’s Defensive Runs Saved were far more skeptical of his performance, grading him at a brutal -14 figure that was bottom three among shortstops last season.
Despite the varied opinions on his defensive chops at shortstop at this point in his career and his recent struggles at the plate, it’s not hard to see why some teams would have interest in adding Crawford to their infield mix. After all, the veteran is just two seasons removed from an explosive 2021 campaign where he slashed .298/.377/.522 while finishing fourth in NL MVP voting. What’s more, as a left-handed hitting infielder with a career .249/.323/.403 slash line against right-handers, Crawford could perhaps provide a counterbalance to the infield mix of a club heavy on right-handed hitters.
Perhaps the strongest point in Crawford’s favor as he seeks a role in the majors for the 2024 campaign is the dearth of shortstop options available this winter. As things stand, the class is led by Tim Anderson, who is coming off a platform season even weaker on both sides of the ball than that of Crawford, and Amed Rosario, who pairs a below-average offensive season with defense at shortstop that routinely ranks among the worst in the majors according to defensive metrics. While second and third base offer some stronger options, this winter’s infield class as a whole is unusually thing, particularly for a club who can’t afford to make a run for third baseman Matt Chapman.
Rosenthal does not mention which specific teams have interest in Crawford’s services, though he does make clear that a reunion between Crawford and the Giants “appears out of the question.” That’s not necessarily a surprise, as the Giants have been frequently connected to Chapman this winter and appear poised to give top prospect Marco Luciano the keys to shortstop after he made his big league debut late last year.
As Crawford searches for a new organization for the first time in his 16-year professional career, there are a few speculative fits that could make sense for his services. Should Crawford wish to finish out his career in the bay area, crossing the bay to play for the A’s during their final season in Oakland could allow him to do that while offering the young A’s roster a veteran leader who can plug the club’s obvious hole at shortstop, where Nick Allen and Rule 5 pick Darell Hernaiz appear to be the best remaining options. Looking beyond the bay area, the Marlins, Mariners, Rays, and Pirates are among the teams who could use additional infield help that wouldn’t break the bank.
AL Notes: Red Sox, Twins, deGrom
While adding to the front of the rotation once appeared to be a top priority for the Red Sox this winter, they’ve largely come up short in that regard as they simply swapped Chris Sale out for Lucas Giolito in their rotation mix. More recently, it appears the club has begun looking for other options in their quest to improve the club’s pitching staff. MassLive’s Chris Cotillo reported recently that the club has interest in right-handers Jakob Junis and Codi Heuer.
Junis, 31, defied the odds as a 29th-round pick by the Royals in the 2011 draft and managed to make the majors during the 2017 season. In the years since then, the right-hander has managed to put together a solid career while swinging between the bullpen and the rotation for both Kansas City and San Francisco. While he typically offered roughly league average production for most of his career, Junis enjoyed a career year with the Giants this past season as he pitched to a 3.87 ERA with a 3.74 FIP in 86 innings of work. In 40 appearances for San Francisco last year, Junis struck out a career-best 26.2% of batters faced while walking just 5.7%.
Impressive as Junis was last season, the right-hander is unlikely to be an impactful addition to the Red Sox rotation mix if signed as he tended to pitch most effectively in shorter bursts last year. The righty surrendered a 5.32 ERA in 31 innings of work across nine appearances where he threw 50 pitches or more last year. By contrast, Junis posted a strong 2.95 ERA across 39 2/3 innings of work in 26 appearances where he threw 40 pitches or less. Junis’s success in shorter appearances could make him an interesting relief option for the Red Sox, particularly if the club parts with closer Kenley Jansen before Opening Day.
Heuer, meanwhile, would be more of a speculative addition by the Red Sox. The right-hander last pitched in the majors back in 2021 due to Tommy John surgery and a fractured elbow, but sports a solid 3.56 ERA and 3.66 FIP across 91 innings of work in the majors between the White Sox and Cubs. The righty was nothing short of dominant for the south siders during the 2020 season in particular, as he paired a 50% groundball rate with a upper-90s heater that allowed him to strike out 27.2% of batters faced in 21 appearances. The Cubs non-tendered Heuer earlier this offseason, likely thanks to his two-year layoff from pitching while rehabbing from multiple elbow issues. Still, the 27-year-old hurler has flashed set-up caliber skills during his limited big league appearances and could be a savvy add to the Boston bullpen if healthy.
More from around the American League…
- The Twins are lacking in starting pitching depth after losing right-handers Sonny Gray, Kenta Maeda, and Tyler Mahle in free agency earlier this winter, and GM Thad Levine acknowledged that concern during a recent appearance on MLBNetwork Radio. During the appearance, Levine noted that the club feels comfortable with its current starting five of Pablo Lopez, Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober, Chris Paddack, and Louie Varland, but that hasn’t stopped the club from exploring both the trade and free agent markets for other rotation options. Bolstering the club’s rotation mix would not only provide the club with much-needed depth to safeguard against injury but could also give Varland competition for the fifth-starter role, allowing him to return to the multi-inning bullpen role in which he thrived late last season. Michael Lorenzen, Mike Clevinger, and Hyun Jin Ryu are among the mid-level rotation options still available this winter.
- Rangers right-hander Jacob deGrom made just six starts for the reigning World Series champions before undergoing Tommy John surgery last spring, but optimism remains at the oft-injured ace will be able to contribute to the club at some point during the 2024 campaign. As noted by Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News, deGrom provided a health update to reporters during the club’s FanFest this weekend. The righty indicated that his arm is feeling good seven months removed from going under the knife and that he currently plans to begin throwing again “sometime this spring.” While deGrom did not mention a timetable for his return to the big league mound, the update tracks with previous comments from the right-hander back in October, which indicated he was targeting a return to the majors in August of 2024. Among the most talented pitchers of his generation, it’s hard to overstate the potential impact deGrom could have for the Rangers this year if he’s available for the stretch run and a potential playoff push. Over his past 108 starts dating back to the 2018 season, deGrom has posted a 2.08 ERA with a near-matching 2.11 FIP and a whopping 921 strikeouts in just 675 2/3 innings of work.
Mariners Interested In Dylan Cease
The Mariners have begun discussing a trade for right-hander Dylan Cease with the White Sox, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. Nightengale suggests that the White Sox are seeking a package centered around one of Bryce Miller or Bryan Woo, Seattle’s pair of cost-controlled righty starters. There’s no indications that a deal is particularly close or even likely, with Nightengale noting that the White Sox appear likely to retain Cease through the start of the 2024 season if a deal with Seattle doesn’t come together. That sentiment echoes other recent reports regarding Cease’s trade candidacy that have cast doubt on the likelihood he changes uniforms before Opening Day.
The report marks the first time the Mariners have been connected to Cease this winter. The right-hander has been a frequent subject of trade rumors this offseason with the Yankees, Reds, Orioles, and Red Sox among the clubs rumored to have had interest at one point or another. Despite that widespread interest, teams have largely appeared to balk at the high asking price the White Sox have set for Cease’s services. A report last month indicated that the club requested a package of four of the Cincinnati’s top prospects in negotiations with the Reds earlier this winter, and Nightengale added that talks between the White Sox and Orioles regarding Cease have “stopped” at this point in the offseason.
In negotiations with the Mariners, it appears the White Sox have pivoted from their previous ask of a hefty prospect package to instead focus on big-league ready talent. It’s an understandable move for the club to make. Woo and Miller are entering their age-24 and -25 seasons, respectively, coming off solid rookie campaigns with six seasons of team control remaining. Either righty would not only be able to immediately replace Cease in the club’s rotation mix, but would give the club another long-term asset to build around alongside star center fielder Luis Robert Jr. Robert is under team control for the next four seasons.
As for Seattle, adding Cease to their starting staff would give the club perhaps the strongest rotation in the majors. Cease is coming off a relative down season on the mound where he posted a 4.58 ERA in 177 innings of work but is just one season removed from a 2022 campaign where he placed second in AL Cy Young award voting. Over the past three seasons, Cease sports a solid 3.54 ERA (121 ERA+) and 3.40 FIP with a 29.8% strikeout rate, numbers that paint him as a solid #2 starter. The 28-year-old would likely slot into the middle of the club’s rotation alongside Logan Gilbert behind ace Luis Castillo and young star George Kirby, with whichever of Woo or Miller remained with the Mariners rounding out the club’s starting rotation.
Replacing Miller or Woo with Cease in the rotation would provide the club with additional certainty in a rotation that figures to lean heavily on young players. The most experienced pitcher aside from Castillo who currently projects for the club’s starting rotation is Gilbert, who is entering just the fourth season of his career in 2024. Kirby has just two MLB seasons under his belt, while both Miller and Woo are entering their sophomore campaigns with just 25 and 18 big league starts respectively under their belts.
Cease, by contrast, has been among the most durable starters in the league in recent years with 97 starts over the past three seasons. For a team that has long valued starting pitching depth but parted with both Marco Gonzales while swapping Robbie Ray for Anthony DeSclafani earlier this offseason, bringing a durable veteran arm in place of a young player who has yet to make 30 starts in a big league season could provide the club with an opportunity to make up for the innings lost by parting with Gonzales and Ray.
On the other hand, it would nonetheless be something of a surprise to see Seattle part with one of their young, cost-controlled arms in a deal that wouldn’t address an area of greater need such as the club’s infield, where Josh Rojas and Luis Urias project to be the everyday starters at second and third base. In addition to shopping for another infielder to add to the club’s mix, the Mariners have expressed interest in fortifying their relief corps, which currently features Andres Munoz and Matt Brash as its back-end options after the club dealt closer Paul Sewald to the Diamondbacks last summer. Recent comments from president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto also seemed to cast doubt on the possibility of a deal involving Miller or Woo, as he suggested that retaining the duo was “Plan A” for their offseason.