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Harrison Bader Headed For Testing On Oblique

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Yankees center fielder Harrison Bader is headed for examination on his left oblique, manager Aaron Boone informed reporters (including Marly Rivera of ESPN). The right-handed hitter felt some side soreness during his final at-bat in yesterday’s Spring Training contest.

The club won’t know whether there’s any cause for concern until the imaging results come back. Nevertheless, it adds at least a little more health uncertainty for a team that has already had its share of Spring Training injuries. The Yankees have already lost Frankie Montas for the bulk of the season due to shoulder surgery, while general manager Brian Cashman told reporters this morning that each of Carlos Rodón, Lou Trivino and Tommy Kahnle would start the year on the shelf.

Acquired from the Cardinals for Jordan Montgomery last summer, Bader didn’t make his team debut until late September. He was on the injured list at the time of the trade because of plantar fasciitis in his right foot, an injury that kept him out of action for nearly two more months. Bader struggled during his final couple weeks of regular season action but caught fire in the playoffs, when he hit five homers in just 35 plate appearances.

Bader is one of the sport’s top defensive outfielders. His offense has been less consistent but the 28-year-old has shown flashes of quality production on both sides of the ball. Injuries have kept Bader from ever putting things together over a full season, however. He’s spent time on the injured list in each of the past three 162-game schedules. He had a minimal IL stint due to a 2019 hamstring strain and lost more than a month in 2021 with a hairline fracture in his rib prior to last year’s foot issues.

If healthy, Bader is set to man center field on an everyday basis in the Bronx. He’ll be flanked by Aaron Judge, while Boone will have to determine how to divide playing time amongst Aaron Hicks, Oswaldo Cabrera, Estevan Florial and Giancarlo Stanton in the opposite corner. Any injury to Bader could increase the chances for the opt-of-options Florial to stick on the MLB roster or for a non-roster veteran like Rafael Ortega or Michael Hermosillo to secure a 40-man spot.

Offseason In Review: Milwaukee Brewers

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In conjunction with this entry in our annual Offseason in Review series, MLBTR will be hosting a Brewers-centric chat on March 10 at 10am CT. Click here to submit a question in advance.

The Brewers’ offseason began with a changing of the guard in the front office, as longtime president of baseball operations David Stearns stepped into an advisory role and handed the keys over to general manager Matt Arnold.

Major League Signings

Total spend: $9.72MM

Option Decisions

Trades and Waiver Claims

Extensions

  • None

Notable Minor League Signings

Notable Losses

Early in the offseason, there was some belief that between Stearns stepping down and some of the early transactions under Arnold, the Brewers were shifting into a rebuilding mode. After all, they’d traded Josh Hader at the deadline, missed the playoffs and opened the winter by dealing away both Hunter Renfroe and Kolten Wong.

However, moves of that ilk have become par for the course in Milwaukee as players approach the end of their club control. The Brewers are not and never have been a large-payroll club, and though they’ve made some big-scale splashes (e.g. extending Christian Yelich, signing Lorenzo Cain), Milwaukee generally operates on the margins and makes extreme value-driven decisions that often look a bit befuddling.

This is the same club that non-tendered Chris Carter after he led the league in home runs and the same club that has regularly declined affordable options on role players like Brad Boxberger, Jedd Gyorko and Eric Thames over the years, believing (often correctly so) that slightly better values will surface late in the offseason.

In the case of Renfroe, he was only acquired in the first place as a means of Milwaukee jettisoning the remainder of their ill-fated contract with Jackie Bradley Jr. The Brewers parted with a pair of prospects in order to shed that contract, but the Renfroe swap was a financially motivated one to begin with. Moving one year of control over Renfroe on the heels of a nice season for three near-MLB righties feels like an on-brand move for this team, given Renfroe’s OBP and $11.9MM salary. It’s a reasonable price, but the Brewers probably didn’t consider there to be much surplus value.

The decision on Wong was somewhat similar. The Brewers have depth in the middle infield, headlined by prospect Brice Turang — the favorite for to succeed Wong at second base. Wong’s $10MM salary was effectively market value for a player of his age and skill set — perhaps a bit over — and the Brewers flipped him for a buy-low DH/corner outfield candidate who could help cover for Renfroe’s departure (Jesse Winker) and a controllable infielder who has had his share of struggles but was once a well-regarded prospect (Abraham Toro). Winker, in particular, is an interesting rebound candidate after he played through knee and neck injuries last year, both of which required offseason surgery. Prior to that, he was one of the game’s most productive bats against right-handed pitching.

The trades of Renfroe and Wong weren’t as much about shedding payroll — though that was surely a piece of it — as converting one year of control over a near-market-value asset into several years of control over a handful of largely big league-ready players, even if they’re seen as projects with limited ceilings.

Many fans and pundits braced for subsequent trades of stars like Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff and Willy Adames, but the Brewers instead told other clubs they planned to hang onto that trio of core players. It’s fair to wonder just how long that’ll last. Woodruff and Burnes are both controlled two more seasons, both owed over $10MM in 2023 and will both likely top $15MM in salary for the 2024 season. Neither seems likely to take a discount on an extension at this point — certainly not Burnes, after voicing frustration regarding the Brewers’ tactics in arbitration. Adames is more affordable, but only slightly so ($8.7MM). He’s also the youngest of the bunch and recently commented on how this offseason’s class of free-agent shortstops “set the bar” for future free agents at the position.

All three of those All-Star-caliber talents will be Brewers to begin the season, but by this summer, there’ll be increased focus on them. If the Brewers are out of contention or even on the cusp of it, they could be forced into decisions that rival last summer’s Hader dilemma: either ride out a star player’s penultimate year of club control in hopes of reaching the postseason (and in doing so lessen his trade value in the offseason), or make a trade that’s unpopular in the clubhouse and among fans in the name of restocking the system with near-MLB pieces.

It’s an unenviable spot, but that’s life for many small- and mid-market clubs with payrolls in the bottom half of MLB. Unpopular as the Hader trade was, the Brewers secured Esteury Ruiz in that swap — in addition to a near-MLB-ready rotation piece in Robert Gasser — and just months later flipped Ruiz to acquire five years of control over slugging catcher William Contreras.

The acquisition of Contreras (and righties Joel Payamps and Justin Yeager) pushed back on any notion that the Brewers were rebuilding. Contreras was a win-now piece with less team control (albeit by just one year) than the prospect surrendered to add him. He’ll step right into the heart of the lineup. The younger brother of Willson Contreras, William slashed .278/.354/.506 with 20 round-trippers in 376 plate appearances last season. His defense is a work in questionable at best, but Milwaukee has developed a reputation as one of the better clubs at improving catchers’ defense (as Omar Narvaez can attest). If Contreras can even be just slightly below-average in terms of framing and overall defense, he could rate among the game’s best all-around backstops.

The rest of Milwaukee’s whopping eight trades were more minor — depth moves that came at little expense to the farm or MLB roster. Out-of-options righties Bryse Wilson and Javy Guerra give Milwaukee a seventh/eighth rotation candidate and a flamethrowing bullpen wild card, respectively. Neither is guaranteed to make it through spring training, but the cost was cash and a PTBNL, so there’s little harm in rolling the dice on a pair of somewhat interesting right-handers.

Owen Miller, also picked up for a PTBNL, gives Milwaukee a right-handed-hitting depth piece who faded after a hot start with Cleveland in 2022. Milwaukee knows catcher Payton Henry quite well, having drafted him in 2016 and traded him to the Marlins in 2021 to acquire John Curtiss. He returns as a slugging third or fourth catcher who’s yet to hit above Double-A but cost only a Dominican Summer League lottery ticket (18-year-old Reminton Batista).

On the free-agent front, the Brewers stayed true to form and eschewed big-money deals, instead waiting out some potential bargains who all signed after the new year. A one-year, $4.5MM to bring southpaw Wade Miley back to the organization was a bit of a head-scratcher at the time, with Burnes, Woodruff, Freddy Peralta, Eric Lauer, Adrian Houser, Aaron Ashby and Wilson already on the roster. Just a month later, the Brewers announced that both Ashby and righty Jason Alexander were out at least a month of the regular season due to shoulder troubles. Miley suddenly looked like a more sensible addition, whether the Brewers knew at the time of the deal that their rotation was compromised or whether that proved to be sheer serendipity.

With Miley stepping in behind Burnes, Woodruff, Peralta and Lauer, it seemed as though the out-of-options Houser could find himself moved to another club with a clear rotation vacancy. That could still potentially come to pass, but with Ashby and Alexander ailing, the rotation depth is thinner. Houser’s the next man up in the event of an injury to any of the top five, and with a reasonable $3.6MM salary and two seasons of club control remaining, the Brewers aren’t going to just give him away even if there’s no rotation spot open.

Anderson is a classic buy-low candidate on the heels of a non-tender from the Marlins. Shoulder and back injuries have derailed his once-promising trajectory, as he’s only appeared in 165 games and posted a tepid .233/.321/.359 batting line over the past two seasons. Prior to that, he was one of Miami’s best players. From 2018-20, Anderson split time between third base and right field, batting .266/.350/.436 in Miami’s pitcher-friendly home park. Picking him up at a $3.5MM price point has the potential to prove one of the offseason’s best bargains for any club, if he can recapture that peak form.

The defensive versatility Anderson offers shouldn’t be undersold. It may already be coming into play, in fact. While it looked early on as though he’d handle the bulk of the work at the hot corner, that’s no longer certain. Tyrone Taylor, the Brewers’ lone righty-swinging outfielder, is dealing with an elbow sprain that’ll cost him at least the first month of the season. Anderson can slide into right field, with Luis Urias slotting back in at the hot corner and Turang — assuming he shows well this spring — taking up everyday reps at second base. If Taylor returns as quickly as the Brewers hope, Anderson can either slide back to third base and push Urias into a utility role — or the Brewers can simply deploy Taylor as a traditional fourth outfielder. Even the Milwaukee brass probably doesn’t quite know how it’ll all shake out, but the mere fact that there are multiple courses of action to ponder is a testament to Anderson’s flexibility.

Beyond that group, most of Milwaukee’s offseason transactions exist around the periphery of the roster. Outfielder Blake Perkins landed a 40-man roster spot due to his ability to play all three positions and a .246/.357/.456 showing between Double-A and Triple-A with the Yankees last year. It’s a league-minimum deal if he’s in the Majors, and if not, he gives Milwaukee some depth.

The team inked veteran lefty Justin Wilson to a one-year contract with a 2024 club option as he recovers from Tommy John surgery. He can perhaps help down the stretch, and if he returns to form, a net $2.35MM option on him for 2024 makes this a vintage Brewers type of move.

Minor league deals with veterans are commonplace, but Luke Voit and Tyler Naquin are fairly high-profile names to receive such deals, given Voit’s pre-injury track record and Naquin’s performance in Cincinnati over the past couple seasons. The injury to Taylor thins the outfield and seemingly increases Naquin’s chances of landing a roster spot. If the team instead prefers to push Winker into more of an everyday outfield role, that could help Voit’s chances. Right-handed bats Mike Brosseau and Keston Hiura make Voit perhaps redundant, but Hiura could be in for a make-or-break spring himself. The former first-rounder and top prospect is out of minor league options and has never replicated his huge rookie year, struggling with massive strikeout rates and poor defense at multiple positions in the seasons since.

Just as there’s uncertainty surrounding the final bench spots, there are questions in the bullpen. Milwaukee did little to address the relief corps, adding only a trio of out-of-options righties via trade: Wilson, Guerra and Payamps. Of the bunch, Payamps is coming off the best season and is the likeliest to make the roster. If Milwaukee carries all three, they’ll join Houser and Matt Bush as out-of-options arms in the bullpen, leaving Milwaukee with minimal flexibility.

It’s a big bet on a largely unproven group, but the Brewers seem comfortable with a back-end featuring All-Star Devin Williams, Bush and breakout rookie Peter Strzelecki (2.83 ERA, 27% strikeout rate, 10.1% walk rate in 35 innings). Southpaw Hoby Milner quietly enjoyed a nice 2022 season as well. Milwaukee makes enough moves around the edges of the roster that it shouldn’t surprise anyone if they move on from a less-established, out-of-options arm in the name of greater flexibility, but spring training will serve as a proving grounds for Wilson and Guerra.

In the outfield, the Brewers will hope that even with Renfroe gone, they can get a resurgence from Yelich and lean on a combination of Winker, Anderson, Taylor (once healthy) and perhaps Naquin in the corners. They didn’t add a center fielder, which is likely reflective of the thin market at the position, Taylor’s ability there and the organization’s faith in former first-rounder Garrett Mitchell, who hit .311/.373/.459 in 68 plate appearances as a rookie last year. The 24-year-old whiffed in 41% of those plate appearances and was propped up by a ludicrous .548 BABIP, but Mitchell also batted .287/.377/.426 across three minor league levels with far less concerning strikeout numbers. Behind him are prospects Sal Frelick and Joey Wiemer, both of whom made some top-100 lists in the offseason. Both annihilated Triple-A pitching in 2022 and both have experience at all three outfield slots. Outfielder Jackson Chourio, meanwhile, is one of the top ten prospects in the entire sport. He’ll turn just 19 this weekend but already briefly reached Double-A in 2022. That youth makes him a long shot for 2023, unless the Brewers put him on a Juan Soto-esque fast track.

For all the fretting post-Renfroe/Wong, the Brewers still have a dominant rotation, one of the game’s best relievers, and a lineup with several solid regulars and multiple intriguing youngsters (Mitchell, Turang, with Frelick and Wiemer looming). Neither Pirates nor the Reds are threats in the NL Central, with both at differing stages of their rebuilding processes. The Cubs are improved but still building up and may be another year from truly reemerging. They could beat expectations and find themselves in the race, but right now, the division again looks like a battle between Milwaukee and St. Louis.

The Brewers have a good shot at competing, and if they get to the postseason, the presence of Burnes, Woodruff, Peralta and Williams is so formidable that they can’t be counted out. But if things are more borderline this summer or they’re totally out of it, Burnes, Woodruff and Adames could become some of the most fascinating (and expensive) names on the market.

One way or another, we’re nearing the end of this group’s run together, but the Brewers have proven that they’re willing to make difficult trades in the name of establishing a new core, and they’ve managed to be competitive more often than not under the Stearns/Arnold regime. We’ll see if that changes with Stearns stepping to the side.

How would you grade the Brewers’ offseason?

Rangers Notes: deGrom, Center Field, Carter

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New Rangers ace Jacob deGrom threw 35 pitches while facing several of his teammates in a simulated game setting yesterday, writes Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. The two-time Cy Young winner sat 98-99 mph with his heater and reached triple digits on his final pitch of the day. It’s possible that’ll be the only tune-up he needs before stepping into a Cactus League game sometime next week. Whether that’s the next step or whether deGrom needs to face live hitters once more, it’s good news that the righty came away from the session without incident. Rangers fans were holding their breath when deGrom had some tightness in his side and had his throwing program slowed early in camp, but it seems he’s now progressing without restrictions.

Signed to a five-year, $185MM contract over the winter, deGrom has pitched just 156 1/3 innings over the past two seasons due to a forearm injury and a stress reaction in his right shoulder blade.

A bit more on the Rangers…

  • Texas still isn’t sure whether center fielder Leody Taveras will be ready to start the season, as he was been diagnosed with a low-grade oblique strain earlier in the week and won’t even attempt to resume baseball activities until next week, at the earliest. If Taveras is to open the season on the shelf, there are three fairly clear alternate plans in center field: give fleet-footed Bubba Thompson the bulk of the workload while Taveras mends, move Adolis Garcia over from right field, or select the contract of a non-roster player like Travis Jankowski to begin the season (which would require a corresponding 40-man move). Of the bunch, MLB.com’s Kennedi Landry writes that GM Chris Young implied Thompson is the likeliest short-term solution, noting that he’s “ready for the challenge” even if his offensive approach still needs further refinement. It’s a different tone than he struck with regard to the possibility of moving Garcia, on which he stated: “…we’ll have to work through how much it makes sense to move Adolis over at all.”
  • One player who’s not under consideration for an Opening Day roster spot at this time, unsurprisingly, is 20-year-old top prospect Evan Carter, manager Bruce Bochy confirmed to Levi Weaver of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 2020 second-rounder erupted with a combined .295/.397/.489 batting line between High-A and six games at Double-A last year, vaulting himself onto to top prospect rankings at Baseball America (No. 25), MLB.com (No. 41) and Baseball Prospectus (No. 22). However, advanced as Carter’s approach at the plate is — he walked in 13.5% of his plate appearances last year despite facing far older and more experienced competition — Bochy indicated that a leap right to the Majors “would be pushing a kid too much.” Carter has all of 28 plate appearances above A-ball and isn’t on the 40-man roster, so he never seemed a particularly likely option, but it’s still of some note that Bochy confirmed as much. It still stands to reason that if Carter opens the year in Double-A, he could play his way into consideration for a call to the big leagues later in the 2023 campaign.

Twins Sign Andrew Stevenson To Minor League Deal

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The Twins have signed outfielder Andrew Stevenson to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com.

This will be just the second organization in the career of Stevenson, who turns 29 in June. He was drafted by the Nationals in 2015 and has spent his entire career in that organization thus far. That included 248 major league games from 2017 to 2021, wherein Stevenson hit .248/.322/.365. His 8.2% walk rate was around league average but he also struck out at a 28.1% clip. Overall, his production amounted to a wRC+ of 84, indicating he was 16% below league average.

Stevenson played all three outfield positions in that time and was generally graded well at all three. Looking at his outfield work in aggregate, he posted a +2 from Defensive Runs Saved, +1 from Outs Above Average and +2.7 from Ultimate Zone Rating.

He was outrighted in April of last year and spent the season in Triple-A, having a solid showing at the plate there. He hit 16 home runs and slashed .279/.344/.457 for a 111 wRC+, stealing 39 bases along the way. He didn’t get called back up to the big league squad and reached free agency at season’s end.

Stevenson is a solid depth add with his speed and defense, but he might have trouble cracking the Twins’ roster. They already have Byron Buxton and Michael A. Taylor set to handle center field duties, with a bunch of left-handed hitting options for the corners such as Max Kepler, Joey Gallo, Alex Kirilloff, Nick Gordon, Trevor Larnach and Matt Wallner. Kirilloff could be playing first base everyday and Gordon could be in a super utility role, but it’s still a fairly crowded group.

If Stevenson is able to muscle his way in there and crack the roster, he’s out of options, limiting his roster flexibility. However, he does have less than three years of MLB service time, giving the club the ability to retain him for future seasons via arbitration if he breaks out at the plate.

Harrison Bader Open To Extension Talks With Yankees

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The Yankees added Harrison Bader in a surprising deadline deal last summer, sending starter Jordan Montgomery to the Cardinals for their new center fielder. Bader was on the injured list due to plantar fasciitis in his right foot at the time and didn’t make his team debut until late September.

Bader only appeared in 14 regular season games with New York and struggled, not surprising for a player who’d had only six Double-A outings to get back to game speed amidst a three-month layoff. He picked things up in the postseason, connecting on five home runs in only 35 plate appearances to help the Yankees to the American League Championship Series.

While he’s still relatively new to the organization, the Bronxville native indicated he’d be happy to discuss a potential long-term pact. In the absence of an extension, he’d hit the open market for the first time in his career next winter. He’d do so with youth mostly on his side, as he’ll be headed into his age-30 season in 2024.

“Being born and raised in New York, it’s always been one of my goals to play in a Yankee uniform,” Bader told Jon Heyman of the New York Post. “Now that I crossed off playing in a Yankees uniform, of course I want to be a Yankee as long as I can be. But I realize, especially being traded last year, that it’s not really up to me. The only thing I can do is go out there and be the best version of myself for this team and every other team.”

To that end, Heyman reports that the Yankees have yet to discuss contract terms with Bader’s representatives at Vayner Sports. That’s not too surprising considering his lack of experience in pinstripes, though the Yankees clearly felt strongly enough about Bader to part with a member of their MLB rotation to bring him in last summer. He’s set for regular work in center field during the upcoming season, with Aaron Judge flanking him in one corner outfield spot. The other corner position is more in flux, with players like Aaron Hicks, Oswaldo Cabrera, Giancarlo Stanton and perhaps Isiah Kiner-Falefa in the mix for reps.

When healthy, Bader has shown the makings of an above-average center fielder. He played consistently excellent defense throughout his time in St. Louis. In a little more than 3500 career innings at the position, he’s rated as 38 runs better than average by measure of Defensive Runs Saved and 45 runs above par according to Statcast. Bader draws strong marks from Statcast for all his defensive tools, with plus grades for his speed, arm strength and reactions off the bat. He secured the National League’s Gold Glove award in 2021 after posting a +15 DRS in 886 2/3 innings.

While there’s little question about the University of Florida product’s glove, his offensive productivity has been more hit-or-miss. He’s a career .245/.317/.405 hitter in 1764 plate appearances. That’s just shy of league average work. Bader seemed to take a step forward at the plate in 2020, combining for a .258/.327/.457 mark with 20 homers across 526 plate appearances between 2020-21. His power production took a step back last year, as he managed only five round-trippers and 18 extra-base hits in 86 regular season games. Last year’s 26.3% hard contact percentage was easily the worst of his career.

It’s possible playing through pain in his foot sapped his ability to drive the ball early in the season. Bader’s power returned in his brief playoff run. He also made contact on a personal-best 79.2% of his swings last year and struck out in fewer than 20% of his plate appearances for the first time in his career. If Bader can pair those improved contact skills with the above-average power he’s shown at times, he could be a quality hitter.

Matching that kind of offense with elite defense and quality baserunning would make him one of the sport’s more valuable all-around players on a rate basis, but Bader has yet to put everything together over a full season. That’s in large part due to health. He’s reached 100 games in a season three times but never topped the 140-game mark or tallied even 450 trips to the plate. In addition to last year’s plantar fasciitis, Bader has missed time due to a hairline fracture in his rib and a right hamstring strain at the big league level.

That all makes him one of the higher-variance players who’s slated to reach the open market. Brandon Nimmo, for instance, only had one season of 140+ games before last year’s excellent platform campaign allowed him to cash in on an eight-year, $162MM free agent deal with the Mets. Nimmo’s career offensive track record is far better than Bader’s, making it hard to envision any way Bader gets to those heights, though he serves as a broad example of the kind of health risk teams are willing to take for an up-the-middle defender with offensive upside. With a strong season, Bader could at least put himself alongside the likes of Starling Marte (four years, $78MM) and Andrew Benintendi (five years, $75MM) in terms of earning power.

On the other hand, another injury-riddled season or one marred by inconsistency at the dish could leave him looking for something more closely resembling a pillow contract. Players like Jackie Bradley Jr., Mitch Haniger and Michael Conforto have all signed two to three-year guarantees between $24MM and $43.5MM with opt-out opportunities over the past couple offseasons. Bradley had a similar track record of defensive excellence paired with inconsistency at the dish, while Haniger and Conforto had shown All-Star caliber upside at their best but had concerns about their injury histories.

Next year’s free agent class seems very light on position player talent beyond two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani. Bader might be the top center fielder available — that’s largely dependent on whether Cody Bellinger can bounce back with the Cubs — while players like Conforto, Matt Chapman, Teoscar Hernández, Ian Happ and Rhys Hoskins look to be some of the best non-Ohtani hitters. The market will obviously be shaped in large part by how those hitters perform over the next six months. Few players could gain or lose more based on their upcoming season than Bader, making him a tricky player for the Yankees to value this spring and an interesting one to monitor if the sides don’t come to an agreement over the coming months.

Rockies’ Sean Bouchard To Undergo Biceps Surgery

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Rockies outfielder Sean Bouchard has been diagnosed with a left distal biceps rupture that’ll require surgery, tweets Thomas Harding of MLB.com. He and the team are both hoping that the injury won’t end his season, but a timeline for his recovery has not yet been provided. Bouchard left yesterday’s Cactus League game with an arm injury, and an MRI performed earlier this morning revealed the rupture.

Bouchard, 26, made his big league debut in 2022 and posted a huge .297/.454/.500 batting line in 97 plate appearances. The 2017 ninth-rounder swatted three homers, six doubles and piled up a massive 21 walks (21.6%) against 25 punchouts (25.8%). That eye-opening debut came on the heels of a sensational .300/.404/.635 breakout in Triple-A, where he added another 20 homers, 15 doubles six triples and 12 steals to go along with a 14.1% walk rate and 22.4% strikeout rate.

Bouchard played exclusively in left field during his big league call-up — a spot that’s ideally slated to be occupied by a healthy Kris Bryant in 2023. However, he’s also spent substantial time at first base in his minor league career, and he has 400-plus innings both at third base and in right field as well. Between his familiarity with the four corner positions, plus some potential for reps at designated hitter, Bouchard looked to have a clear path to making his first Opening Day roster in 2023.

That clearly won’t be the case now, as he’ll instead become a 60-day IL candidate for Colorado. The silver lining there would be that he’d accrue Major League service time and pay after spending a half decade in the minors, but it’s nonetheless a brutal injury for both player and team. Bouchard’s injury could open the door for outfielder Brenton Doyle and first baseman/outfielder Michael Toglia to make the roster — both 24-year-olds are already on the 40-man — and it could create a stronger opportunity for non-roster invitee Harold Castro, as well.

Albert Pujols Interested In Future Coaching Opportunitites

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Retired slugger Albert Pujols swung by Cardinals camp today and spoke to some members of the media, including Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Pujols said that he thinks there’s a coaching role in his future, but not for a few more years.

It’s not surprising that Pujols want to ease his way into the next stage of his life, as he spent the past 22 seasons playing pretty much every day in the majors. He racked up 3,384 hits in that time, including 703 home runs, over 3,080 major league games. Though that lengthy career surely gives him plenty of wisdom to impart to younger players, it’s understandable that he’s not rushing to get back into the dugout and on the road for a full season.

It also seems like he will take some time to suss out which roles he likes best, as part of his new role with the Angels. The ten-year, $254MM contract he signed with the Angels in 2011 included a ten-year personal services contract. Although the club eventually designated him for assignment and he moved on to the Dodgers and returned to the Cardinals, Pujols has maintained his intention to hold up his end of that bargain. He reported to Angels camp last month and said he plans to serve as a special instructor during the spring before heading to the Dominican Republic this summer to assist with the club’s prospects.

“Whatever Perry and the organization need, I’m here to help out,” Pujols said to Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com at that time, referring to general manager Perry Minasian. “I’m just trying to assist him, but it’s not my job to be in the front office. It’s more about working with younger guys however I can.” Today, Pujols told Goold that his role with the Angels will allow him to explore the coaching side of the game. It seems Pujols will take his time trying on a few new hats before deciding which one he wants to put on more permanently.

Carlos Rodon, Tommy Kahnle, Lou Trivino To Begin Season On IL

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Yankees GM Brian Cashman told reporters this morning, including ESPN’s Marly Rivera, that pitchers Carlos Rodon, Tommy Kahnle, and Lou Trivino will all begin the season on the injured list. Rodon is suffering from a mild forearm strain and will be shut down for 7 to 10 days, though Cashman notes that Rodon has already undergone an MRI and has no UCL damage. Kahnle was previously reported to be suffering from biceps tendinitis, while Trivino is suffering from a mild elbow sprain and will be out until May. This news is a significant blow to the Yankees pitching staff, which has already lost right-hander Frankie Montas to shoulder surgery.

Rodon figured to pitch at the top of the Yankees rotation alongside Gerrit Cole after signing a six-year, $162MM contract with the club this offseason. That contract stood as a clear gamble on Rodon staying healthy going forward, given his lengthy injury history. 2022 was just the second year of Rodon’s career where he had managed to pitch more than 140 innings, and it was the first such season since 2016. While Rodon’s newest injury (which Cashman describes as “not serious”) is currently only expected to force him to sit down for a week or so, it certainly brings to mind his career-long injury struggles. That said, Rodon has been among the best starters in baseball when healthy, as shown by his sterling 2.67 ERA (157 ERA+), 2.42 FIP, 33.9% strikeout rate, and 0.998 WHIP over the past two seasons.

Kahnle, who returned to the club this offseason on a two-year, $11.5MM contract, has managed just 13 2/3 innings since the end of the 2019 season, battling injuries ever since. That said, he has stood among the better relievers in the game when healthy, sporting a 3.44 ERA (127 ERA+) and 3.16 FIP in 188 1/3 innings of work since the beginning of the 2016 season. Kahnle’s absence seems likely to be a shorter one than that of Trivino, who the Yankees acquired at the trade deadline last year from the A’s alongside Montas. Trivino pitched exceptionally down the stretch following his trade to the Bronx, sporting a 1.66 ERA (238 ERA+) and 3.34 FIP over the course of his 21 2/3 innings of work in New York. Both Trivino and Kahnle figured to feature prominently in the back of the Yankees bullpen this season, particularly as sidearming reliever Scott Effross is set to miss the 2023 season while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery.

Though this trio of injuries certainly weakens the pitching depth available to the Yankees as they open the year, they still have competent options capable of stepping up and filling for the injured hurlers while they are on the shelf. Domingo German and Clarke Schmidt were already figuring to battle for the fifth starter spot following Montas’s injury, and Rodon’s injury leaves the door open for both players to make the Opening Day rotation. That being said, the Yankees have little in the way of starting depth remaining should the rotation sustain another injury. Cashman mentions Deivi Garcia as one potential option, as noted by Erik Boland of Newsday Sports, but it would certainly make sense for the club to consider bringing in an external depth option such as Dylan Bundy or Chris Archer on a minor league deal, as well.

The bullpen picture is significantly rosier, however, as the Yankees still can rely on the likes of Clay Holmes, Michael King, and Wandy Peralta in the late innings of games. These injuries could also provide right-hander Jonathan Loaisiga an opportunity to work his way back into the late-inning mix for the Yankees after a difficult 2022 season where he posted a 4.15 ERA (95 ERA+) in 48 innings while sporting a reduced strikeout rate of just 18.2% and an inflated walk rate of 9.4%. Should the Yankees wish to acquire additional bullpen depth, there’s a few options still available on the free agent market, including right-hander Corey Knebel and former Yankee Zack Britton.

That being said, any external additions would likely require a change of heart regarding the upper limit of the club’s payroll or a trade to create payroll space. The Yankees have, to this point, seemed unwilling to surpass the fourth tier of the luxury tax, which stands at $293MM. That’s a line the club is pressed right up against, with RosterResource estimating their current 2023 payroll at roughly $292.5MM for luxury tax purposes. While third baseman Josh Donaldson and outfielder Aaron Hicks were seen as the most likely candidates for a salary-clearing trade this offseason, most clubs would likely balk at adding such significant salary to the books just three weeks before Opening Day, making someone like Isiah Kiner-Falefa a more likely option for the Yankees to deal should they try and swing a salary-clearing trade.

Read The Transcript Of Our Chat Hosted By Former All-Star Second Baseman Jason Kipnis

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Jason Kipnis spent an hour fielding questions from MLBTR readers this morning.  Read about his career below, and click here read a transcript.

Jason Kipnis was selected by the Indians in the second round of the 2009 draft. The Arizona State product reached the big leagues within two years. Kipnis collected a walk-off single for the first hit of his MLB career in just his second game. He’d go on to post an excellent .272/.333/.507 line as a rookie.

The left-handed hitter followed up with a .257/.335/.379 showing with 14 home runs and 31 stolen bases over 152 games in his first full big league season. He eclipsed 30 steals again the next year and posted a .284/.366/.452 mark with 15 longballs. Kipnis earned his first All-Star nod after winning the AL’s Player of the Month award in June 2013. He helped the Indians reach the Wild Card game and earned an 11th-place finish in AL MVP balloting.

After that season, the Indians committed to Kipnis on a six-year, $52.5MM extension. The deal, which also contained a 2020 club option, represented the second-largest investment in franchise history at the time. It cemented Kipnis as Cleveland’s primary second baseman through the end of the decade, and he responded with another handful of productive years.

Jason Kipnis | Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

While his power numbers took a step back in 2014, Kipnis stole another 22 bags in 25 attempts. He’d return to the All-Star Game for a second time during the ’15 campaign, finishing with a .303/.372/.451 slash that included the seventh-highest batting average and on-base percentage among qualified American League batters. Kipnis would pick up down-ballot MVP support for a second time as a result.

He had another very strong season in 2016, setting a career mark with 23 home runs. Through 688 trips to the dish, he hit .275/.343/.469 and swiped 15 more bases. The Indians won 94 games to claim the AL Central title and promptly tore through the Junior Circuit playoff field. After sweeping the Red Sox, Cleveland took the American League Championship Series in five games from Toronto. Kipnis was excellent in both the Division Series and a seven-game World Series against the Cubs. Cleveland came up a run short of the title, dropping one of the best World Series in recent history in the decisive extra-inning contest.

Injuries kept him to 90 games during the following season. Kipnis returned to tally 601 plate appearances of .230/.315/.389 hitting the next year, followed by a .245/.304/.410 mark in 2019. Cleveland bought out his option the next offseason, sending him to free agency for the first time. Kipnis signed a minor league contract with the Cubs — his childhood favorite team as a Northbrook, Illinois native — and made the big league roster out of camp. He locked in a $1MM base salary in so doing and hit .237/.341/.404 in 44 of the 60 games during the shortened schedule.

Kipnis returned to free agency at year’s end. He signed a minor league pact with the Braves but didn’t get a big league look on the eventual World Series champions despite a massive .290/.390/.518 showing over 59 games for Triple-A Gwinnett. That’d prove his final season as a pro player. Kipnis didn’t sign anywhere in 2022 and officially announced his retirement last month.

Overall, Kipnis logged parts of ten seasons at the major league level. He tallied just under 5000 plate appearances in 1165 games, hitting .260/.333/.416 with 126 home runs, 260 doubles, 545 runs batted in and 607 runs scored. Like his first MLB knock, Kipnis’ 1,000th hit couldn’t have come in much more dramatic fashion. He connected on a walk-off grand slam off Ian Hamilton to take down the division-rival White Sox in September 2018.

Jason, who announced his retirement last month, graciously took some time to chat with MLBTR readers this morning, talking about his favorite memories and teammates, sharing experiences from playing in the World Series, discussing his transition into broadcasting work and quite a bit more. Click here to read a transcript, and be sure to follow Jason on Twitter @TheJK_Kid.

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