Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Brewers Re-Sign Jon Singleton To Minor League Deal

By | at

The Brewers have re-signed first baseman Jon Singleton to a minor league contract, the club informed reporters (including Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel). He’s back with the organization after being released last month and receives a non-roster invitation to Spring Training.

Singleton hasn’t played in the majors since 2015, his second season as a member of the Astros. A one-time top prospect and recipient of a $10MM extension before reaching the majors, Singleton struggled to a .171/.290/.331 line through 114 big league games. He connected on 14 home runs with a massive 14.3% walk percentage but struck out at an untenable 36% clip.

After spending a couple seasons in the minors, Singleton was released by Houston. That came on the heels of a suspension after failing a drug test, with the left-handed hitter later admitting he has battled marijuana addiction. Singleton was out of the sport entirely for a few seasons but embarked on a comeback in Mexico two years ago. A monster 46-game run there earned him a minor league opportunity with Milwaukee heading into 2022.

Singleton spent the year with the Brew Crew’s top affiliate in Nashville. He struck out at a near-28% clip and only hit .219, but he more than compensated with his typical blend of patience and power. Singleton walked at a 20.1% clip to reach base at a strong .375 rate and popped 24 home runs in 581 plate appearances. It didn’t get him a big league call but impressed Milwaukee’s front office enough they re-signed him to a minor league deal at the start of the offseason and quickly added him to the 40-man roster to prevent another team from taking him in the Rule 5 draft.

He didn’t retain that roster spot into the season, as he was designated for assignment once the Brew Crew signed Brian Anderson. After clearing waivers and spending a few weeks on the open market, he circled back to the Milwaukee organization. He’ll have to earn his way back onto the 40-man roster, where he’d hope to join Rowdy Tellez and Jesse Winker as lefty bats in the first base/designated hitter rotation.

Rays, Daniel Robertson Finalizing Minor League Deal

By | at

The Rays are bringing utilityman Daniel Robertson back to the organization on a minor league contract with an invite to spring training, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The two parties are in the process of finalizing the contract.

Robertson, 29 next month, hasn’t appeared in the Majors since a 50-game stint with the 2021 Brewers, but he spent the 2017-19 seasons as an oft-used bench piece for the Rays, batting .231/.340/.352 with 16 home runs, an 11.6% walk rate and a 25.2% walk rate in 831 plate appearances along the way. He’s most frequently appeared at second base in his big league career (816 innings) but does have ample experience at third base (601 innings) and shortstop (569 innings) in addition to brief looks in the corner outfield (38 innings) and at first base (eight innings).

Tampa Bay traded Robertson to the Giants for cash back in 2020, and he appeared in 63 games between San Francisco and Milwaukee from 2020-21. He didn’t hit much in a tiny sample of 114 plate appearances, however, and those struggles continued in Triple-A last year, when he hit a combined .219/.319/.395 between the top affiliates for the Twins and the Phillies.

Still, Robertson can play all over the diamond and has had some modest success both in Triple-A and in the Majors over the course of a decade-long professional career. He’s the second veteran utilityman signed by Tampa Bay in as many days, as the Rays also inked Charlie Culberson to a similar pact yesterday. The Rays will see a dozen of their players depart for the World Baseball Classic in early March, including infielders Jonathan Aranda, Wander Franco and Isaac Paredes, so having some extra veterans in camp will come with an additional benefit.

Rangers Still Open To Outfield Addition

By | at

It’s been a busy offseason for the Rangers in terms of pitching acquisitions, with Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi and Andrew Heaney joining the rotation alongside holdovers Jon Gray and Martin Perez (who accepted the team’s one-year, qualifying offer at the outset of free agency). Texas has also acquired veteran Jake Odorizzi in a deal with the Braves and brought in a slew of veteran players — pitchers and hitters alike — on non-roster deals with invites to spring training.

One glaring hole from the 2022 club that’s yet to be addressed, however, is the outfield. Adolis Garcia has one spot locked down (likely right field), and Texas seems content to turn center field over to fleet-footed, slick-fielding Leody Taveras. Left field remains a question mark, however, and although the team has been connected to names like Bryan Reynolds and old friend Jurickson Profar even since the calendar flipped from 2022 to 2023, the Rangers haven’t brought an outfielder into the mix on a guaranteed deal.

General manager Chris Young didn’t exactly strike an aggressive tone in discussing the void, but he did tell Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News that his front office will “continue to monitor leading up to spring training and through spring training” to “see what the options are both internally and externally.”

It’s a fairly generic statement, admittedly, but Young’s comments come on the heels of several other front office leaders around the league all but proclaiming that their teams are done making additions to the roster (e.g. Giants, Mariners, Reds). Given that context, it’s at least somewhat notable that Young is still speaking about the possibility of bringing in talent from outside the organization.

Of course, the free-agent market for outfielders has largely been picked over, and the asking price for the aforementioned Reynolds — which Texas and other clubs have clearly deemed too high — isn’t likely to come down anytime soon. That said, Profar is still looking for an employer for the 2023 season, and the market has a handful of solid platoon bats who could be paired with what’s currently a hodgepodge of unproven youngsters and veteran rebound hopefuls. David Peralta, Robbie Grossman and Tyler Naquin are among the yet-unsigned possibilities.

As it stands, the Rangers have Josh Smith, Bubba Thompson, Mark Mathias, Brad Miller and Ezequiel Duran on the 40-man roster. Thompson is the only pure outfielder by trade — the others are infielders with some outfield experience — but he also needed a .389 BABIP to offset his 30.9% strikeout rate and get to a .265/.302/.312 slash in last year’s MLB debut. That clocked in 23% below-average, by measure of wRC+. As for the team’s non-roster invitees, they’ll give looks to Travis Jankowski, Clint Frazier, Joe McCarthy and Elier Hernandez.

The Rangers are already in line to shatter their previous franchise-record payroll, soaring past that old $165MM mark with what Roster Resource projects as a $196MM Opening Day outlay. Any addition at this point isn’t likely to be all that expensive, barring an unlikely scenario where the Rangers take on a contract of some note in a trade. It’s fair to wonder just how high ownership is willing to push payroll, but after spending nearly $825MM in free agency over the past two offseasons alone, it’s likely that they’d provide Young with the green light to make another modestly price addition (e.g. Profar, Peralta) if the front office determines that to be a prudent course of action.

Rangers left fielders ranked dead-last in the Majors last season in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage, combining to post an almost unfathomably feeble .186/.253/.255 batting line. That translated to a 47 wRC+, or roughly 53% worse than league-average production after weighting for home park and the league run-scoring environment. Rangers left fielders also struck out at a 29.6% clip (28th in MLB), hit 11 home runs (27th), and managed only five doubles (last in the Majors) and no triples.

Padres Sign Yu Darvish To Extension

By | at

Feb. 10: Darvish will be paid a $6MM signing bonus and receive a $24MM salary in 2023, tweets Jon Heyman of the New York Post. He’ll then be paid $15MM in 2024, $20MM in 2025, $15MM in 2026 and $14MM apiece in 2027-28. The contract also contains a full no-trade clause, and any Cy Young win in the contract’s first five seasons would boost his 2028 salary by $1MM.

Feb. 9: The Padres have locked up a second key member of the rotation for the long haul. San Diego announced a new six-year contract with right-hander Yu Darvish that’ll keep him in the fold through the 2028 season. The deal reportedly guarantees the Wasserman client $108MM overall. Since Darvish had already been under contract for $18MM for 2023, it’s five years and $90MM in new money.

It’s a remarkable contract when considering Darvish’s age, although at an average annual value of $18MM, Darvish hardly needs to perform like an ace in order to continue to justify the price tag. That’s the same AAV the Phillies committed to Taijuan Walker this offseason, for instance, and over the life of the new contract, the AAV for high-end pitching only figures to continue to increase. That said, any long-term deal running through a pitcher’s age-41 season — Darvish will turn 42 about six weeks before the contract ends — is obviously teeming with risk.

As things currently stand, however, Darvish remains among the game’s best starters. The right-hander’s age-35 campaign saw him pile up 194 2/3 innings of 3.10 ERA ball with strikeout and walk rates (25.6% and 4.8%) that were far better than league average (particularly the walk rate). Darvish’s 95 mph average fastball was actually the second-best mark of his career, and those 194 2/3 fames were the second-highest single-season total he’s logged since signing with the Rangers back in 2012.

Darvish had Tommy John surgery back in March 2015, missing the entirety of that season and a substantial chunk of the 2016 campaign while recovering. His 2018 season with the Cubs, who originally signed him to the six-year $126MM deal on which he’d previously been playing, was limited to just 40 innings thanks to a triceps injury. Since that time, however, Darvish has been quite durable. He made all 12 of his starts during the shortened 2020 season, and in each of his past three 162-game seasons, he’s taken the hill at least 30 times.

The Padres had been set to lose both Darvish and Blake Snell to free agency following the 2023 season, with both heading into the final seasons of their respective contracts. Darvish, however, now looks likely to not only remain in San Diego but finish out his career as a member of the Padres under president of baseball operations A.J. Preller, who played a major role in signing Darvish when he was in the Rangers’ front office. Darvish joins San Diego native Joe Musgrove, who inked a five-year extension last summer, as the bedrock of the Padres’ rotation for the foreseeable future.

Keeping Darvish under contract is of particular benefit with the final two spots on the starting staff already going to relievers who’ll be making the shift to full-time starters in 2023: Nick Martinez and Seth Lugo. Both players have player options on their contracts for 2024, meaning if things go smoothly they’ll likely opt out of the contracts and test free agency on the heels of improved platform seasons. If the shift to starting roles don’t work out, then the Padres will obviously be seeking alternative options, be they in-house or external acquisitions. Either way, prior to the Darvish extension it was possible — if not downright likely — that San Diego would’ve entered the 2023-24 offseason in search of as many as four starting pitchers. That’s no longer the case.

Darvish carries extra importance from a long-term vantage point when considering the Padres’ dealings in recent years. Preller is among  the sport’s most aggressive executives on the trade market, and with the Friars in an all-out, win-at-all-costs blitz, they’ve shown little concern with dismantling their once-vaunted farm system as a means of bringing in Major League talent. Trades of names like MacKenzie Gore, Chris Paddack, Cal Quantrill and Luis Patino have depleted the organization’s pitching pipeline, while the general attrition (injuries and/or poor performances) from the remaining prospects like Ryan Weathers, Adrian Morejon and Pedro Avila leave the system without much immediate help on the horizon.

Beyond the sheer need for long-term help in the rotation, there’s surely an element of financial creativity at play here. Darvish’s preexisting six-year, $126MM contract came with a $21MM luxury hit (based on the contract’s AAV). Since this new deal is being tacked onto the end of that old contract, it effectively becomes an 11-year, $216MM deal. That comes with a reduced luxury hit of $19.64MM. It’s not a major savings, but the Padres were right up against the third tier of luxury penalization, so any newly created breathing room is quite welcome. Once crossing into that third luxury tier, a team is penalized not only in the form of steeper tax rates but also by having their top pick in the next year’s draft dropped by 10 places.

The Darvish extension puts some distance between the team and that particularly undesirable slap on the wrist. It also makes things slightly easier for Preller and his staff if they hope to remain under that tax level but still want to create some wiggle room for in-season acquisitions on the trade market.

The deal is also heavily front-loaded, with Darvish’s 2023 salary jumping from $18MM to $30MM. That leaves $78MM to be distributed over the final five years. That’s of particular note given changes in the recent collective bargaining agreement, which stipulate that upon being traded, only the remainder of a player’s contract counts toward the new team’s luxury tax. Previously, the tax hit would remain the same. In other words, a potential trade of Darvish down the road will come with a considerably lighter luxury hit for an acquiring team by virtue of the contract’s front-loaded nature. Of course, with the full no-trade protection he’s been granted, that could very well end up a moot point.

If the $273MM tax barrier remains a hard stopping point for the Padres once the season’s underway, that’ll likely require the Padres to convince a trade partner to include some money or take on a contract in return. Nonetheless, this extra bit of space could prove useful in accommodating more complementary additions like bullpen help or added bench depth. Alternatively, it could provide necessary space to eventually select the contract of a non-roster veteran with a salary of modest note — someone like reliever Craig Stammen or catcher Pedro Severino, for instance.

As we saw with the Padres’ 11-year signing of Xander Bogaerts — and their reported overtures toward Aaron Judge and Trea Turner — the team is clearly comfortable paying a player into his early 40s if it means lowering the overall luxury bill. All of those offers, Bogaerts and Darvish included, featured annual rates comfortably shy of where the players might have otherwise landed on a more conventional structure. Darvish’s newly added $90MM in guarantees, for instance, could perhaps have been obtained over a three- or certainly a four-year deal had he opted to play out the final season of his contract and return to free agency. Instead, he’ll effectively take three- or four-year money and spread it out over a five-year extension of his contract in order to remain with a contending team and a setting where he’s clearly comfortable.

Those benefits, in the end, are generally secondary. The Padres clearly had a desire to extend Darvish, and likely agreed upon the requisite dollars before determining the length of the contract and, thereby, the extent to which they could tamp down their tax bill. The end result is that Darvish and Musgrove will continue to form a formidable one-two punch in the years to come. And while paying Darvish in his age-40 and age-41 seasons might prove an untenable outcome, it also perhaps creates some present-day savings in terms of luxury taxes that will make those final years a bit easier to stomach.

AJ Cassavell and Mark Feinsand of MLB.com first reported Darvish and the Padres had agreed to a six-year, $108MM contract. Feinsand reported it was a front-loaded deal that contained a $30MM salary for 2023.

Latest On Yuli Gurriel, Astros

By | at

Longtime Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel remains one of the most recognizable names on the free-agent market, but it’s been a generally quiet offseason with regard to interest in the former batting champion and Gold Glove winner. The 38-year-old has drawn interest from the Marlins, Twins and incumbent Astros, but Miami reportedly backed down in its pursuit of Gurriel late last month. Newly minted Astros GM Dana Brown spoke to the Houston media yesterday and touched on Gurriel, effusing praise but also rather candidly suggesting they may not have enough playing time for him following the signing of Jose Abreu earlier in the winter (Twitter link, with video, via Mark Berman of Houston’s FOX 26).

“The tough part about Gurriel is he’s so well-liked,” said Brown. “In the clubhouse, he was outstanding. The players love him. The coaches love him. When we signed Abreu, it makes it tough to go out and get Gurriel because now it’s more of a want as opposed to a need. I think you have to stick with the needs before you jump into the wants, because if you get into the wants, now you have too much of a surplus in one area and it causes weaknesses in other areas. We love the player and would love to have him back, but we have to figure out if there’s any room where he can get at-bats with Abreu here.”

The apparent lack of a market for Gurriel isn’t a total surprise, as he’s coming off a down season in which he slashed just .242/.288/.360 with a career-low (for a full season) eight home runs inn 584 plate appearances. Gurriel won a batting title as recently as 2021, when he hit .319/.383/.462, and he took home a Gold Glove at first base that season as well. However, even his typically strong defensive grades took a nosedive in 2022; Gurriel rated as a negative in the eyes of Defensive Runs Saved (-2), Ultimate Zone Rating (-0.2) and Statcast’s Outs Above Average (-9).

The downturn at the plate wasn’t merely a matter of poor fortune, either. While Gurriel was plagued, to an extent, by a .266 average on balls in play that falls well shy of his career .294 mark, some of that is attributable to a decline in the quality of his contact. His line-drive rate dipped to a career-low 18.5%, for instance, and Statcast measured his average exit velocity (88.2 mph), hard-hit rate (35.4%) and barrel rate (just 1.9%) at career-low levels. Furthermore, while Gurriel’s strikeout rate remained excellent relative to league-average 22.4%, his 12.5% mark was nonetheless a career-worst. That’s a testament to his superlative bat-to-ball skills, but the handful of extra punchouts still further dragged down his overall production.

Brown’s comments Thursday certainly don’t sound as though they’re a portent for a reunion with Gurriel, however beloved he may be in the clubhouse and throughout the organization as a whole. With Abreu taking the lion’s share of time at first base and a corner outfield/designated hitter mix slated to feature productive hitters like Kyle Tucker, Yordan Alvarez and Michael Brantley, it would indeed be tough to bring Gurriel aboard as anything more than a bench bat. But while the Marlins were weighing Gurriel as an option to split time between first base, second base and third base, it’s doubtful every team would consider him for such a versatile role. With the exception of two emergency innings at third base in 2021, Gurriel has played exclusively as a first baseman or designated hitter dating back to Opening Day 2020.

The Twins have more of an opening at first base, where longtime prospect Alex Kirilloff is the favorite for at-bats right now. Kirilloff, a former first-round pick and top-20 prospect in the sport, has just a .251/.295/.398 slash in 387 big league plate appearances, but that production has been adversely impacted by wrist injuries that have required a pair of surgeries. He’s a career .323/.378/.518 hitter in the minors and only just turned 25 this offseason, so Minnesota undoubtedly hopes he can be a big part of the outlook moving forward. Gurriel would give them a right-handed complement to the left-handed Kirilloff and provide some insurance should injuries again sideline him, but Minnesota’s bench is deep in right-handed bats as it is and signing Gurriel would likely mean optioning Trevor Larnach (another former first-rounder and top prospect who’s been beset by injuries) to Triple-A.

Clear fits for Gurriel aren’t exactly plentiful at the moment, though there are some teams that could potentially work him into a part-time first base/DH role (e.g. Rangers, Reds, to name a couple). It’s certainly possible that some spring injuries will open the door for a new opportunity once camps begin to get underway, however. At this point, that might be what it takes for Gurriel to find a semi-regular role.

Phillies, Jose Alvarado Avoid Arbitration

By | at

9:19am: Alvarado and the Phillies settled at $3.45MM, tweets Daniel Alvarez Montes of El Extra Base.

8:55am: The Phillies and left-hander Jose Alvarado have agreed to a one-year contract, per a team announcement. That avoids an arbitration hearing that had been scheduled for later today. Alvarado, a client of the OL Baseball Group, had filed for a $3.7MM figure, while the Phillies submitted a $3.2MM sum.

The 27-year-old Alvarado (28 in May) originally came to the Phils from the Rays in a three-team deal that saw Philadelphia send lefty Garrett Cleavinger to the Dodgers. It was one of the first swaps president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski made upon being hired in Philadelphia and has proven to be a key pickup, as Alvarado has emerged as one of the team’s best relievers.

Over the past two seasons, the flamethrowing Alvarado has averaged 99.6 mph on his sinker and fanned 32% of his opponents while working to a 3.71 ERA. That mark is weighed down a bit by a 2021 season in which Alvarado walked an alarming 18.7% of his opponents, but he pared that number down to 11.2% in 2022 while also upping his strikeout rate to a mammoth 37.9%. This past season’s 3.18 ERA is sharp to begin with, but metrics like FIP (1.92) and SIERA (2.37) feel he’s been even better.

Alvarado has saved seven games for the Phillies and piled up another 38 holds over the past two seasons, cementing himself as one of the organization’s most trusted options in high-leverage settings. He’ll join a high-octane group of relievers in the late innings under manager Rob Thomson, including righty Seranthony Dominguez and offseason acquisitions Gregory Soto and Craig Kimbrel.

The 2022 season will be a crucial one for Alvarado, who’ll be entering his final season of club control. Given his age, elite velocity, strikeout prowess and outstanding ability to miss bats (16.7% swinging-strike rate; 37.3% opponents’ chase rate), Alvarado could position himself as one of the top relievers on the market next offseason with another year like his 2022 campaign.

Walks have long been an issue for the left-hander, but Alvarado had the seventh-highest strikeout rate, fifth-best average velocity on his primary fastball (sinker) and 13th-best swinging-strike rate of the 347 pitchers who pitched at least 50 innings in 2022 (starters included). He also induced grounders on a huge 56.1% of the batted balls against him and yielded just 0.35 homers per nine innings. Command issues notwithstanding, Alvarado has the arsenal to become one of the game’s top relievers.

The Opener: Extensions, Press Conferences, Marlins

By | at

With Spring Training now a matter of days away, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. Are more extensions on the way?

The Padres once again surprised the baseball world yesterday, this time by extending Yu Darvish on a deal that guarantees the right-hander $90MM in new money over five additional years. There’s plenty of reason to believe more extensions could be on the way, both around baseball and, perhaps, even in San Diego. Two weeks after becoming GM of the Astros, Dana Brown told reporters that he has interest in extending a variety of players from Houston’s 2022 World Series core; not just Kyle Tucker, as previously reported, but also Cristian Javier, Alex Bregman, and Jose Altuve. Broadly speaking, Brown made clear he hopes to follow a similar trajectory to his now-former Braves club, aggressively pursuing long-term deals with key young players. As for the Padres, they might not be done after extending Darvish, with the club expected to pursue an extension with superstar third baseman Manny Machado ahead of Opening Day. Machado has an opt-out clause in his contract following the 2023 season. Spring Training — and the days leading up to it — has long been a time where clubs talk about extensions with their players, so expect plenty of chatter about teams looking to hammer out some long-term contracts.

2. Padres, Blue Jays set to hold press conferences today

A pair of press conferences are expected to take place today, with Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins set to speak to the media at noon CT regarding the clubs three-year deal with star shortstop Bo Bichette to buy out the 24-year-old’s remaining arbitration years. Elsewhere in baseball, Padres president of baseball operations AJ Preller will also be speaking to the media today, in his case regarding yesterday’s extension with Darvish. With Spring Training just around the corner, both top decision-makers are likely to get into a variety of other topics regarding the futures of their respective clubs, as well.

3. Marlins FanFest this weekend

This offseason has been one with a considerable amount of change for the Miami Marlins, as the club has swapped out long-time players like Pablo Lopez, Miguel Rojas, and Brian Anderson while picking up new faces such as Luis Arraez, Johnny Cueto, and Jean Segura. This new-look Marlins team is set to welcome fans back to the ballpark tomorrow for Marlins FanFest, a free event that will run from 1pm to 6pm local time. A variety of Marlins players are expected to be in attendance, with player interviews highlighting the festivities.

Cubs Continuing Search For Bullpen Addition

By | at

The Cubs have had a busy offseason, signing seven players to big league free agent deals. Most of the attention has been on the position player side, with Dansby Swanson, Cody Bellinger, Trey Mancini, Tucker Barnhart and Eric Hosmer added to the lineup. Chicago also signed Jameson Taillon to a four-year contract to fortify the rotation.

They’ve been rather quiet with regards to the bullpen, however. Chicago inked Brad Boxberger to a modest $2.8MM guarantee in December. They’ve claimed hard-throwing Julian Merryweather off waivers from the Blue Jays. Otherwise, it’s been minor league deals to backfill a relief corps that saw the departures of David Robertson, Chris Martin and Mychal Givens at last year’s trade deadline.

It seems an addition to the later innings could be on the horizon. Patrick Mooney of the Athletic writes the organization is hopeful of bringing in another reliever before pitchers and catchers hold their first spring workouts next week. It isn’t clear which players are under consideration or the specific odds of Chicago pushing a deal across the finish line, though it’s notable the front office doesn’t appear to be done with Spring Training near.

A left-handed addition would be an ideal fit on paper. Chicago has just one southpaw reliever, Brandon Hughes, on the 40-man roster. He had a solid rookie season and should be in the MLB bullpen, though there’s room for another addition. Non-roster invitees Ryan Borucki, Eric Stout, Anthony Kay and Roenis Elías currently stand as the top options to join Hughes if the front office wants to give David Ross a second southpaw.

Last month, Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic listed the Cubs among a third of the league that was exploring the market for left-handed bullpen help. That subset of free agency has been bizarrely quiet since Taylor Rogers signed a three-year deal with the Giants shortly after Christmas. Andrew Chafin, Matt Moore and Will Smith are among the top remaining free agents at any position, while former stars Zack Britton and Brad Hand are available beyond that trio.

Of course, the Cubs don’t have to look exclusively at the left-handed market — even if that is the stronger group overall. Chicago could certainly accommodate a right-hander to join Boxberger, Adbert Alzolay and perhaps Merryweather or Rowan Wick in the middle to late innings. Michael Fulmer, Jeff Hoffman and Corey Knebel are among a number of still-unsigned options from the right side.

Poll: Can The Rockies Play .500 This Year?

By | at

The Rockies nabbed a Wild Card spot in two straight years, getting into the postseason in 2017 and 2018. However, the past four years have been a struggle. They slipped to 71-91 in 2019, followed that up with a 26-34 showing in the shortened 2020 season and then won 74 and 68 games in the past two years.

Despite that rough slide, owner Dick Monfort is maintaining external optimism. “We have a lot of talent, a lot of good things are going to happen, and I think they are going to start happening this year, and I think we can play .500 ball,” he recently said.

Suddenly finding an extra 10-15 wins would likely have to come from internal improvements, as the roster hasn’t changed much relative to last year. Their most notable free agent departures included Carlos Estévez, José Iglesias, Chad Kuhl and Alex Colomé. One other name on that list was José Ureña, though he was eventually re-signed and will be back with the club this year. Garrett Hampson also departed the roster when he was non-tendered, as did Chad Smith and Connor Joe via small trades.

The Rockies have also made a few additions to the roster, of course, but mostly younger players and a few relievers. Infielder/outfielder Nolan Jones, who has 28 games of MLB experience, was acquired from the Guardians. Connor Seabold and his six career starts were acquired for cash considerations or a player to be named later after he was designated for assignment by the Red Sox. The bullpen got a few new faces when Brent Suter and Nick Mears were claimed off waivers and free agent Pierce Johnson was signed to a one-year deal.

Those changes will all have impacts, though none jump out as franchise-altering moves like the Kris Bryant signing from a year ago. A healthy Bryant is probably the club’s best chance at improving their fortunes, as he was only able to play 42 games last year. He mashed when on the field, hitting .306/.376/.475 for a wRC+ of 125, and the Rockies would surely love to have that kind of production over a larger sample.

The outfield mix will have holdovers in Charlie Blackmon, Yonathan Daza, Randal Grichuk but could also get a boost if Jones breaks out. He came up as a third base prospect but moved to the outfield since Cleveland had José Ramírez at the hot corner. The Rockies will likely keep him on the grass since they have Ryan McMahon at third. Jones has hit very well in the minors despite a high strikeout rate. In 655 Triple-A plate appearances, he’s been punched out at a 28.4% rate but drawn walks at a 13.7% clip, hit 22 home runs and stole 14 bases. His .252/.361/.443 slash line at that level amounts to a 117 wRC+. He didn’t quite reach that level of production in his first taste of the majors, but it was a very brief debut. Sean Bouchard could also be a factor here, as he hit .300/.404/.635 for a 150 wRC+ in Triple-A last year. He kept it going in a 27-game MLB debut by hitting .297/.454/.500 for a wRC+ of 158, though he won’t sustain a 21.6% walk rate or .404 batting average on balls in play.

On the infield, McMahon, C.J. Cron and Brendan Rodgers will still be around. The biggest change relative to last year will be that Iglesias has departed and prospect Ezequiel Tovar has seemingly been given the job. It’s an aggressive move given his youth and inexperience. He began last year in Double-A and crushed it, hitting .318/.386/.545 for a wRC+ of 153 over 66 games. A hip/groin injury kept him out of action for all of July and August, but the club promoted him to Triple-A when he was healthy in September. After just five games there, he got promoted to the big leagues for nine games as the season was winding down. Tovar is considered one of the top prospects in the league but he’s just 21 years old and has only 14 games played above the Double-A level.

Another X-factor on the infield could be Michael Toglia, who is primarily a first baseman though he’s also played a bit of right field. With Cron still under contract for one more year, he’s not being relied upon in the same way as Tovar, but he could force his way into more playing time or fill in for an injury. His MLB debut last year didn’t go well, but he hit 30 home runs in 114 minor league games for a batting line of .249/.341/.510 and a wRC+ of 124. Elehuris Montero could also be in play here, as the corner infielder hit .310/.392/.541 in Triple-A last year, though he also struggled in his first taste of the majors.

At the catcher position, Elias Díaz will be looking for a bounceback after his 18 home runs in 2021 were cut in half to nine last year. He also walked less and struck out more, leading to a .228/.281/.368 batting line and 67 wRC+, a drop from 91 the year before. His defense was also graded far worse, leading to a wide swing from posting 1.6 fWAR two years ago but -1.4 last year.

In the rotation, Germán Márquez and Kyle Freeland will be back at the front, but it gets murky after that. Antonio Senzatela tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee last year and required surgery in August. The timeline at that point was given at 6-8 months, meaning he could return soon, but that remains to be seen. Ureña seems to have laid claim to another spot, though the last time he posted an ERA under 5.00 was 2018. Austin Gomber could be in the mix, though he posted a 5.56 ERA last year. Seabold has some good Triple-A results but has struggled in the majors thus far and will have to get acclimated to the Coors Field experience. Other options on the 40-man include Peter Lambert, Ryan Feltner, Ryan Rolison and Noah Davis.

In the bullpen, the Rockies will be without Estévez, who has been a quietly effective reliever of late. His triple-digit fastball helped him post a 3.94 ERA over the past two seasons, not too shabby for a guy who takes the mound at altitude half the time. Daniel Bard will still be present in the closer’s role, but the club will try to replace Estévez with Johnson, Suter, Mears and Dinelson Lamet, whom they grabbed off waivers in August of last year.

A few things will need to go right for the Rockies to make a huge jump in the win column. A healthy and productive season from Bryant would be great, as would a return to form from Díaz and a healthy Senzatela. Younger players like Tovar, Jones, Toglia, Montero and Bouchard taking steps forward would be a huge help. But the pitching staff has big question marks and there’s also the matter of what other clubs have done. The Padres have added Xander Bogaerts and various other players in order to build off their strong 2022. The Giants didn’t make a huge addition but added several strong players such as Michael Conforto, Mitch Haniger, Sean Manaea, Ross Stripling and Taylor Rogers. The Dodgers have been fairly quiet but are still loaded with talent and coming off a 111-win season. The Diamondbacks have tons of exciting young prospects and a big surge seems possible. 2023 will have a more balanced schedule, meaning the Rockies will play outside their division more often, but most American League teams are in good shape, as are the clubs in the NL East. The NL Central is seen by many as weaker, but the Cubs and Pirates have both made efforts to be better than they were in 2022.

What do you think? Is Monfort right? Can this club play .500 ball? Have your say in the poll below.

(poll link for app users)

Mariners, Leonys Martin Agree To Minor League Deal

By | at

The Mariners are in agreement with outfielder Leonys Martín on a minor league contract, tweets Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. The Wasserman client will be in MLB camp as a non-roster invitee.

It’s the second Seattle stint for Martín, who spent parts of the 2016-17 seasons in the Pacific Northwest. The former campaign was one of the best of his career, as he stole 24 bases while hitting .247/.306/.378 across 143 games. Statcast’s Outs Above Average suggested he played Gold Glove caliber defense in center field, his calling card throughout his early run in the big leagues. Martín had previously spent three years as the primary center fielder for the Rangers, where his glove represented his best asset.

The lefty-hitting Martín never made much of an offensive impact, as low walk rates and a lack of power reduced his overall upside at the plate. He posted below-average hitting numbers throughout his career and carries a .244/.301/.367 line in just under 2800 trips to the dish. When he reached base, Martín rated as a plus baserunner. He twice topped 30 steals in a season and has taken 126 bags over parts of nine years.

Martín hasn’t played in the big leagues since struggling to a .199/.276/.343 showing in 65 games for the 2019 Indians. He went to Japan midway through that season, signing on with the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball. The Cuban outfielder has spent the last three and a half years there, combining for a .220/.350/.461 line with 75 homers, an excellent 13.7% walk percentage but a lofty 25.3% strikeout rate over 1441 plate appearances.

After putting up an OPS north of .830 in each of his first three seasons with the Marines, Martín had a disappointing year in 2022. He’s coming off a .163/.293/.317 showing in 68 games. That marked a disappointing end to what had been a generally successful tenure in Japan.

Martín returns to the affiliated ranks in hopes of an MLB comeback. He’ll be 35 next month and presumably isn’t the excellent runner or defender he was at his peak. The M’s will give him a look as a depth outfielder to see if he’s still capable of playing solid defense up the middle. Julio Rodríguez obviously has the position locked down. Sam Haggerty, Jarred Kelenic and Taylor Trammell can each cover center but are better suited for corner outfield work. Well-regarded prospect Cade Marlowe joins them on the 40-man roster and has yet to make his major league debut. It’s hard to envision Martín cracking the roster out of camp but he’d bring 17 years of professional experience to Triple-A Tacoma if he starts the season in the minors.

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrows scroll to top