Dodgers Sign Jonathan Arauz To Minor League Deal
The Dodgers have signed infielder Jonathan Arauz to a minor league deal, according to his player page on MLB.com. The specifics of the deal aren’t clear, but it’s likely the contract comes with an invite to big league Spring Training.
Arauz, 25, signed with the Phillies out of Panama prior to the 2015 season before being swapped to the Astros as the return in the Ken Giles deal the following season. Arauz spent three seasons in Houston’s farm system, ultimately advancing to Double-A before the Red Sox selected him in the 2019 Rule 5 Draft. Arauz stuck on the big league roster in Boston throughout the entirety of the shortened 2020 season, during which he posted a .250/.325/.319 slash line (77 wRC+) in 80 trips to the plate across 25 games where he primarily played second base.
With Arauz now a permanent member of the Red Sox organization, the club shuttled him from Triple-A to the majors as infield depth in 2021, where he more or less replicated his 2020 season with a 71 wRC+ in 75 trips to the plate across 28 games. While Arauz started the 2022 campaign with the Red Sox, he was designated for assignment and claimed on waivers by the Orioles in June of that year. Arauz spent most of his time in Baltimore on the restricted list and was outrighted by the Orioles late in the year and ended the season with just five hits and a walk in 41 plate appearances spread across 15 games.
That offseason, Arauz changed uniforms through a familiar process after being selected in the second phase of the 2022 Rule 5 draft by the Mets, which added Arauz to the organization without any sort of restrictions. While he hit a respectable .239/.340/.415 in 100 games at the Triple-A level in 2023, the infielder’s time with the big league Mets was less productive as he slashed just .136/.203/.388 in 66 trips to the plate. In joining the Dodgers, Arauz is now on to his fourth team in three years and appears likely to act as minor league depth for L.A. backing up an infield group that includes Max Muncy, Gavin Lux, Miguel Rojas, and Mookie Betts at the big league level with youngsters like Miguel Vargas and Michael Busch hoping to break into a regular role in the majors.
Rangers Sign Diego Castillo To Minor League Deal
The Rangers have signed right-hander Diego Castillo to a minor league contract, according to Castillo’s player page on MLB.com. The details of the the deal aren’t clear, but presumably include an invite to big league Spring Training.
Castillo, 30 next month, made his big league debut with the Rays back in 2018. Early in his career Castillo found success as a solid middle reliever for Tampa, with a 3.30 ERA and 3.53 FIP in 125 1/3 innings across 108 appearances (including 17 appearances as an opener). Castillo owned a solid 28.5% strikeout rate against a walk rate of 8.6% with an impressive 51.8% groundball rate. Among all relievers with at least 100 innings of work across the 2018-19 seasons, only Luke Jackson, Jace Fry and Ryan Pressly struck out more batters while posting a groundball rate north of 50%.
Impressive as the first two seasons of his career already were, Castillo found another gear headed into the shortened 2020 season when he posted a sterling 1.66 ERA across 21 2/3 innings of work with a whopping 60.4% groundball rate. Castillo’s success during the shortened seasons saw him establish himself as a quality set-up option at the back of the Rays bullpen, resulting in the club dealing him to the Mariners the following summer. From 2020-22, Castillo posted a 2.95 ERA (134 ERA+) despite an elevated 3.84 FIP thanks to a 27.8% strikeout rate and a 49.7% groundball rate.
Unfortunately, things came off the rails for Castillo entering the 2023 season as the righty struggled to a 6.23 ERA across 8 2/3 innings of work for Seattle early in the year, resulting in the club outrighting Castillo off the roster in early May. The right-hander’s struggles continued in the minors throughout the year, as Castillo posted an ERA of 5.13 across 47 1/3 innings of work at the Triple-A level across the remainder of the season. Castillo became a minor league free agent back in October, giving the Rangers the opportunity to pick him up on a non-roster deal.
Brutal as Castillo’s performance was in 2023, his addition could provide a significant boost to the Rangers if he’s able to re-establish himself as a quality set-up arm or even as a solid middle reliever. Entering the 2023 season, Castillo sported a career 3.12 ERA and 3.69 FIP. Meanwhile, the Rangers had one of the worst relief corps in the entire league last season, even before the departures of Aroldis Chapman, Will Smith, and Chris Stratton in free agency.
While Jose Leclerc is a strong back-end option and the likes of Kirby Yates and Brock Burke could be valuable pieces, Texas will need contributions from others outside of that trio to improve upon their 2023 bullpen ERA of 4.77. A rebound for Castillo would go a long way to achieving that goal, but for now the right-hander figures to enter the spring with competing for a spot in the club’s bullpen with the likes of Grant Anderson and Jake Latz.
The Opener: Garver, Padres, Relief Market
Though many of us are still full of cookies and eggnog, here are three things to keep an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:
1. What’s next for the Mariners after signing Garver?
The Mariners made their first buy-side splash of the offseason on Christmas Eve, inking catcher Mitch Garver to a two-year, $24MM deal. While he’s unlikely to do too much catching given the presence of Cal Raleigh, Garver’s bat has proven to be more than capable of handling work as a regular DH. In 87 games with the Rangers last year, Garver slashed an impressive .270/.370/.500 with 19 home runs in just 344 plate appearances and a wRC+ of 138, the 15th best figure among hitters with at least 300 plate appearances.
With Garver likely to take over regular DH duties in Seattle, it’s fair to wonder what the Mariners will do next. While Garver looks to be a strong addition to the club’s lineup, GM Jerry Dipoto and his front office have plenty of work to do in renovating a lineup that has lost Teoscar Hernandez, Jarred Kelenic, and Eugenio Suarez this offseason. An infielder to pair with Luis Urias and Josh Rojas alongside JP Crawford could make some sense, and the club would surely benefit from adding a corner outfielder or two to a mix that currently features the likes of Cade Marlowe, Taylor Trammell, and Sam Haggerty.
2. Can the Padres address all their needs on a budget?
The Padres’ financial woes are well-documented at this point, having spurred the club to flip superstar Juan Soto to the Yankees alongside center fielder Trent Grisham. As things currently stand, the club is reportedly hoping to stay under the luxury tax threshold in 2024, leaving San Diego without much room to address needs all across the roster. The club’s deal with left-hander Yuki Matsui, which became official over the weekend, comes with a $5.7MM AAV for luxury tax purposes, giving the club (according to RosterResource) around $27MM to work with below the first threshold of the luxury tax. While that offers some flexibility to president of baseball operations A.J. Preller and his front office, the club likely needs at least one more reliever, at least one more starting pitcher, and at least two more everyday players in outfield/DH mix.
3. Will Matsui’s signing cause the relief market to pick up?
San Diego’s deal with Matsui land the second multi-year deal for a reliever headed to a new team this offseason after Emilio Pagan‘s deal with the Reds late last month. The slow relief market this offseason stands in sharp contrast to last year’s which saw the likes of Edwin Diaz, Robert Suarez, and Rafael Montero sign multi-year pacts in early November. This year, relief ace Josh Hader headlines a class of relievers that also includes the likes of Robert Stephenson, Jordan Hicks, Matt Moore, and Aroldis Chapman. While virtually every contender could benefit from bullpen upgrades, the Cardinals, Cubs, Rangers, and Astros all have specific interest in retooling their relief corps this winter.
Free Agent Prediction Contest Leaderboard Update
MLB Trade Rumors’ annual free agent prediction contest drew 6,135 entries this year, and as we hit Christmas Day, the leaderboard informs us of a five-way tie for first place. Vivek Patel, Tom Diesman, Alan Capellan, Michael Scriven, and Ryan Ohara each have correctly picked seven of the 19 top-50 free agents who have signed to date, based on our original Top 50 Free Agents list published on November 6. The leaders’ .368 average on their picks is sure to drop as the winter continues, yet there’s a chance the 2023-24 champ can remain ahead of last year’s pace, set by winner Steve Sacks and his .295 (13 of 44) average.
Thirty-nine entries are in a tie for sixth place, right behind the leaders with a .316 (6-for-19) average. This group includes MLBTR’s own Leo Morgenstern, who has burst onto the scene in his rookie year to thus far control the sub-contest between our site’s staffers. Morgenstern’s Julio Rodriguez-esque emergence has put him ahead Nick Deeds (4-for-19) and myself and Tim Dierkes (3-for-19).
MLBTR Chat Transcript
Click here to read the transcript of today’s Christmas edition of the live baseball chat
How AL Teams Have Addressed Their Weakest Positions Of 2023
We covered the National League’s 15 teams earlier today, so now let’s check in on how the American League’s 15 clubs have done (to date) in fixing their biggest problem positions from the 2023 season. Baseball Reference’s position-by-position bWAR breakdown is our guide through last year’s numbers….
Angels (First base, -0.7 bWAR): No team received less from its first basemen than the Angels, even with Brandon Drury hitting well in part-time duty and rookie Nolan Schanuel emerging late in the season. Schanuel and Drury working in a platoon could improve things, yet the Halos are in something of a state of flux in general, as the team is weighing a lot of internal trade possibilities and other free agent signings in the wake of Shohei Ohtani‘s departure. Not that there’s a silver lining to Ohtani leaving, but the Angels do now have the DH spot open to potentially add a slugging first base/DH type to pair with Schanuel and perhaps keep Drury at second base.
Astros (First base, 0.0 bWAR): Jose Abreu struggled badly for most of 2023 before finally heating up in the final six weeks of the regular season and throughout Houston’s playoff run. Since the former AL MVP is owed $39MM over the next two years, the Astros can only hope that Abreu has shaken off any new-team jitters and will be back to his old form for the rest of his tenure in Houston.
Athletics (Relief pitching, -0.9 bWAR): Whew, where to begin. Oakland had the second-lowest relief bWAR and rotation bWAR, and thus their 0.0 total pitching bWAR was the lowest in baseball. The A’s also received sub-replacement-level production at third base (-0.8), center field (-0.5), shortstop (-0.3), and an even 0.0 bWAR from their pinch-hitters. Trevor Gott, Osvaldo Bido, and Gerardo Reyes have at least been signed to try and beef up the pitching, yet with the A’s rebuilding and focused more on figuring out where they’ll be playing between the end of their lease at the Coliseum and the opening of their new ballpark in Las Vegas, expect only low-cost additions between now and Opening Day.
Blue Jays (Pinch-hitting, 1.7 bWAR): Toronto’s lack of position-player depth was exposed basically every time the Jays had even one regular out with an injury. The lack of bench help contributed to the Blue Jays’ overall offensive struggles, and this problem won’t be any clearer until the team addresses its big holes at second base and third base. If at least one starting infielder was obtained, the in-house infield options (i.e. Cavan Biggio, Santiago Espinal, Davis Schneider, Ernie Clement, Spencer Horwitz, Orelvis Martinez, Addison Barger, Leo Jimenez) could then make for a relatively deep, if unproven, bench.
Guardians (Shortstop, -0.3 bWAR): Cleveland dealt the underperforming Amed Rosario to the Dodgers prior to the trade deadline, opening the door for Gabriel Arias and Brayan Rocchio to get most of the playing time at shortstop. Neither has hit much at the Major League level, but the Guardians will continue to give the duo (as well as Tyler Freeman, Jose Tena, and perhaps Juan Brito) more opportunities in 2024. It isn’t an entirely ideal situation for a team in sore need of hitting help, yet since spending is again limited, the Guards will stick to their normal plan of relying on their minor league pipeline.
Mariners (First base, 0.7 bWAR): Ty France hit .250/.337/.366 with 12 home runs over 665 plate appearances last season, translating to about a league-average offensive performance. With Mitch Garver now signed as the primary DH, Seattle might stick with France at first base, or the team could continue to explore other first base targets and perhaps look to trade France elsewhere. Isaac Paredes, Josh Naylor and Rhys Hoskins are some of the names linked to the Mariners for a potential trade or signing.
Orioles (Pinch-hitting, 1.5 bWAR): This is a relatively minor weak link as far as “weakest positions” go, as Baltimore still ranked fourth in baseball in pinch-hitting bWAR. The talent floor should only continue to rise as the Orioles introduce even more top prospects to regular Major League action, so there isn’t much to worry about on the position-player side. As for pitching, the O’s still might considering moving a bat for an arm, either for the rotation or for a bullpen that has been somewhat fortified by the signing of Craig Kimbrel.
Rangers (Relief pitching, 0.0 bWAR): The shaky Texas bullpen almost cost the Rangers a postseason berth altogether, yet the relievers stabilized enough in the playoffs to help deliver the team’s first World Series championship. The Rangers signed Kirby Yates to help make up for the departures of Will Smith and Chris Stratton, and the team has also reportedly shown interest in such high-leverage relievers as Jordan Hicks and Robert Stephenson. Though Texas isn’t going to be continuing their spending sprees from the last two offseasons, they should still have enough payroll room to bolster the pen, even if signing Josh Hader might be a reach.
Rays (Catcher, 1.2 bWAR): Tampa Bay has been trying to stabilize the catching position for years, and the quest will continue this winter. Christian Bethancourt was non-tendered, leaving Rene Pinto and Alex Jackson lined up as the current tandem behind the plate. The Rays already moved their biggest trade chip (Tyler Glasnow) without getting a catcher as part of the return from the Dodgers, yet since Tampa’s front office is always actively seeking out deals, the Rays could pick up a backstop in a deal. Some kind of signing seems inevitable, whether it’s adding someone for a more regular role, or simply signing a couple of veterans to minors contracts to provide Spring Training competition.
Red Sox (Second base, 0.0 bWAR): Ten different players lined up at second base for the BoSox last season, with little success to be had. Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has highlighted the keystone as a natural target area, ideally for a right-handed hitter with a good glove. Free agent Whit Merrifield is one name known to be on Boston’s radar, and Merrifield’s ability to play the outfield also adds more flexibility to the roster, particularly should the Red Sox have interest in giving Ceddanne Rafaela a look at second base. Breslow’s first couple of months on the job have been mostly focused on remaking the Sox outfield, and pitching remains a larger overarching need of the Red Sox offseason.
Royals (Relief pitching, -1.4 bWAR): Few expected the Royals to be one of the offseason’s more aggressive spenders as we hit Christmas, yet Kansas City has splurged (by their standards) to upgrade its dismal pitching situation. Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha were signed to bolster the rotation, and the bullpen has also been a focus with the additions of Will Smith, Nick Anderson, and Chris Stratton. The work done to the rotation could filter down to the relief corps, as such names as Daniel Lynch, Angel Zerpa, or Alec Marsh could be used in the bullpen if they’re not being used as starting depth.
Tigers (Third base, -0.3 bWAR): Zach McKinstry, Nick Maton, and Matt Vierling are still around to man the second and third base positions, and act as utility depth in general. However, the Tigers aren’t likely to seek out a big upgrade since they hope some help is coming on the farm. It isn’t clear where any of Colt Keith, Jace Jung, or Justyn-Henry Malloy might eventually end up around the diamond, yet all of this trio is expected to make their MLB debuts in 2024 and could help immediately at the keystone or at the hot corner.
Twins (First base, 1.4 bWAR): Alex Kirilloff‘s young career has been plagued by injuries, so just getting a healthy year from Kirilloff would automatically help the Twins get more from the first base position. Edouard Julien could also play first if Jorge Polanco remains at second base and isn’t traded, though there is an expectation that at least one of Polanco or Max Kepler won’t be in Minnesota by Opening Day. President of baseball operations Derek Falvey identified first base as a likely target area in some fashion back in November, though it’s been a pretty quiet offseason thus far for the Twins, with most of the talk centered around payroll cuts and uncertainty over the club’s TV deal.
White Sox (Right field, -2.4 bWAR): There weren’t many positives in Chicago’s miserable 101-loss season, and that can be taken literally given all of the negative bWAR numbers around the diamond. The White Sox had a league-worst collective 0.4 bWAR for all non-pitchers, and were also below replacement level at shortstop (-1.7), catcher (-1.5), pinch-hitting (-0.6), second base (-0.4), and left field (-0.1). New GM Chris Getz has added talent at some of these positions already, but with so many holes to be plugged, Getz has yet to turn his attention to improving on the right field combination of Oscar Colas and Gavin Sheets. Some outfield additions seem inevitable, and Chicago’s roster might end up looking quite different in 2024 considering that Getz has been open to trade offers for just about any White Sox player.
Yankees (Left field, -1.6 bWAR): This was also the lowest left field bWAR total for any team in baseball in 2023, as New York’s revolving door of outfield options didn’t result in any consistent production. However, the Yankees have already upgraded their outfield in eye-opening fashion, acquiring both Juan Soto as the new right fielder and Alex Verdugo from the Red Sox to handle left field. Though Verdugo had some clashes with Sox manager Alex Cora and Verdugo has been only slightly above average over the last couple of years, that still represents a solid improvement over the mess that was the Yankees’ left field situation. Verdugo and Soto are also both left-handed hitters, so the Yankees have balanced out their heavily righty-swinging lineup.
How NL Teams Have Addressed Their Weakest Positions Of 2023
There’s still plenty of time left in the offseason for teams to check items off their winter to-do lists, but with the spirit of holiday shopping in the air, let’s take a look at what baseball’s teams have already done to fix their roster’s weakest links from last season. Using Baseball Reference’s list of how each team performed (as per bWAR) by position in 2023, let’s start with the 15 National League clubs….
Braves (Pinch-hitting, 0.3 bWAR): We’ll start with a team without many weak points, as the Braves amassed 104 wins thanks mostly to one of the best offensive lineups in baseball history. Atlanta’s everyday players were so good and so durable that the bench didn’t get much of a chance to even hit the field, even as late-game subs. As to how the bench depth might improve, Vaughn Grissom is expected to take on a larger role, and David Fletcher was acquired from the Angels as a backup infield upgrade over Nicky Lopez.
Brewers (First base, 0.4 bWAR): Carlos Santana is a free agent, Rowdy Tellez was non-tendered, and Mark Canha was traded to the Tigers as the Brew Crew might more or less completely reshuffle their first base mix. GM Matt Arnold did hint that Santana could return and highly-touted prospect Tyler Black could factor at either corner infield position, but for now, first base remains somewhat in flux. Jake Bauers was acquired from the Yankees and currently projects to work with Owen Miller in a platoon at the cold corner.
Cardinals (Pinch-hitting, 0.2 bWAR): St. Louis’ rotation problems have been well-documented, and their 4.1 rotation bWAR ranked 28th of 30 teams. However, pinch-hitting was technically the Cardinals’ weakest point by pure bWAR metrics, and this area might just improve with better results from the team’s in-house options. On paper, the Cards have plenty of versatile position-player depth, though they need to figure out which members of this group will be lineup regulars or perhaps off the team altogether.
Cubs (First base, 0.4 bWAR): Even with Cody Bellinger getting a big chunk of the playing time at first base, he hit only .267/.310/.467 over 200 plate appearances as a first baseman, in contrast to his red-hot .323/.381/.548 slash line in 339 PA as a center fielder. A Matt Mervis/Patrick Wisdom/Christopher Morel combination is currently in place at the cold corner, yet it doesn’t feel like the Cubs are going to just stand pat the position. Wrigleyville has been linked to such trade and free agent targets as Pete Alonso, Josh Naylor, and Rhys Hoskins, plus a reunion with Bellinger can’t yet be ruled out.
Diamondbacks (Third base, 0.0 bWAR): The NL champions only got replacement-level production at the hot corner last year, but Arizona has already made a big move by adding Eugenio Suarez in a trade with the Mariners. It’s a possible short-term fix since 2024 is the last guaranteed year of Suarez’s contract, though he should provide the D’Backs with some extra power while the team gets some more time to evaluate Jordan Lawlar‘s readiness at shortstop (which could shift Gerardo Perdomo to third base in the future).
Dodgers (Pinch-hitting, 1.3 bWAR): Unsurprisingly, the Dodgers’ “weakest position” is still pretty respectable. The return of Gavin Lux and the acquisition of Manuel Margot should raise the talent floor on the roster in terms of bench depth, as younger players like Miguel Vargas or Michael Busch could contribute in backup or part-time roles, rather than being relied on (as Vargas was last season) for a high-pressure starting role. The left field position also generated 1.4 bWAR in 2023, and Los Angeles hopes that the addition of Margot can help on that front, plus a return to form for Chris Taylor would help a ton.
Giants (Shortstop, -1.3 bWAR): Longtime shortstop Brendan Crawford battled injuries all season long and wasn’t very productive when he was on the field, leaving the Giants short-handed at one of the most important positions on the diamond. Top prospect Marco Luciano made his MLB debut last season and will get a longer look in 2024, but San Francisco is also looking around for shortstop help, perhaps just as a one-year stopgap to help Luciano ease into the big leagues.
Marlins (Catcher, -0.6 bWAR): Jacob Stallings wasn’t tendered a contract, and Christian Bethancourt was acquired from the Guardians as president of baseball operations Peter Bendix picked up another of his former players from the Rays. The Bethancourt/Nick Fortes tandem is at least a defensively-stout pairing behind the plate, though Miami isn’t done in exploring the market for more catching help, and former Cardinal Andrew Knizner is reportedly of interest.
Mets (Third base, -1.2 bWAR): No team got less from the hot corner than the Amazins, but New York’s initial plan for the offseason was to keep rolling with younger players like Brett Baty, Ronny Mauricio, or Mark Vientos. However, Mauricio will now miss most or all of the season due to a torn ACL, reducing the options to Baty, Vientos, or utilityman Joey Wendle. Justin Turner is reportedly a player of interest for the Mets, which could fit since Turner would also get a lot of time as a DH, allowing for the youngsters to get action at the third base spot. If not Turner, some other veteran infield depth option could be obtained, yet the Mets want to give their top prospects some time since 2024 is looking like something of an evaluation year for the team.
Nationals (Designated hitter, 0.7 bWAR): Joey Meneses got the bulk of DH at-bats in 2023, and he couldn’t keep up the magic of his surprising 2022 breakout, hitting only .275/.321/.401 in his second year in the majors. Meneses could get more time at first base now that Dominic Smith has been non-tendered, and Washington also brought in Juan Yepez and Lewin Diaz on minor league deals. In short, both the DH and first base spots are basically open-call auditions at this point, as the Nationals probably aren’t likely to acquire a longer-term answer for either position while the team is still rebuilding. The designated hitter role might not be addressed directly, as the Nats might end up cycling several players through the position.
Padres (First base/pinch-hitting, 0.5 bWAR): San Diego’s crowded infield picture resulted in Jake Cronenworth getting most of the first base opportunity, and he struggled after posting some very solid numbers from 2020-22. Cronenworth is still the favorite for the position at this point, and his big contract makes it likely that he’ll still be on the roster next year even though Cronenworth’s name has surfaced in some trade talks. Manny Machado will be used as a DH early in the season until he fully recovers from his elbow surgery, which somewhat complicates any plans San Diego might have in obtaining a slugging first base/DH type, yet such a player might still be a wise addition if the Padres feel confident Machado won’t need too much time to get fully healthy. As much as the Padres’ offseason has been defined to date by payroll cuts, their recent signing of reliever Yuki Matsui indicates that the team is still planning to contend, and getting another big bat in the lineup seems like a must.
Phillies (Third base, 0.4 bWAR): Alec Bohm and Edmundo Sosa mostly split the third base duties in 2023, as Bohm saw a lot of time at first base with Rhys Hoskins out and until Bryce Harper was ready to take over as the regular first baseman. Harper will be sticking at first base in 2024, so Bohm will be back as the full-time third baseman. The former top prospect has been roughly a league-average hitter in his four MLB seasons and his glovework at third base still garners mixed reviews, so if the Phillies did want to make a bigger move to their everyday core, Bohm might be a candidate to be the odd man out. That said, president of baseball ops Dave Dombrowski has indicated that the Phils are more or less done with their top-tier winter shopping.
Pirates (Catcher/shortstop, -0.9 bWAR): The answer is the same at both positions for the Bucs — get full and healthy seasons from two of their best young players. Oneil Cruz missed almost the entire season due to ankle surgery, while Henry Davis made his MLB debut but barely played any catcher, mostly seeing time as a right fielder instead. Unfortunately, another top catching prospect in Endy Rodriguez will miss the entire season due to UCL surgery, so Davis now looks to be the top choice behind the plate unless the Pirates prefer to use Jason Delay and Ali Sanchez while Davis gets more acclimated to the position.
Reds (Right field/DH/Pinch-hitting, 0.7 bWAR): Cincinnati had a three-way tie in the “weakest position” race, and the answer to all three positions might be internal improvements. Or, at least a shuffle caused by the signing of Jeimer Candelario, which will further crowd the infield and push Spencer Steer into a clear left field role. This will in turn make Will Benson and Jake Fraley into the right field platoon, and Christian Encarnacion-Strand or Jonathan India might now be in line for DH duty now that the Reds have parted ways with Joey Votto. There are plenty of moving parts here for the Reds, not to mention the fact that Cincinnati might still move one of their infielders in a trade for pitching.
Rockies (First base/second base, -0.6 bWAR): Colorado hopes to have Kris Bryant and Brendan Rodgers healthy, which would automatically make things better at the two lackluster infield positions. It’s been a pretty quiet winter to date for the Rockies, as their limited transactions to date have understandably been focused on addding pitching. Colorado only received 0.6 bWAR from its starting pitchers in 2023, the lowest mark in baseball.
KBO League’s LG Twins Re-Sign Deok Ju Ham
Left-hander Deok Ju Ham is staying in the Korea Baseball Organization, as Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News (X link) reports that Ham has re-signed with the LG Twins for a four-year deal worth close to $2.9MM, including incentives.
Ham emerged as a possibility for Major League teams last month, when MLB tendered a status check on the southpaw with the KBO League. This procedural move essentially indicates some level of interest in a Korean player from a big league team, though obviously no deal was worked out and Ham opted to stay with the Twins. It could be that he preferred the security of a four-year contract over what might’ve been just a one-year flier from a Major League team for less money, or perhaps even a non-guaranteed sum. Yoo notes that the status check “came as a surprise,” though it isn’t clear if this was surprising to Ham, the Twins, or maybe both parties.
Since Ham has 11 seasons of experience in the KBO League, he was a full free agent, and would’ve available to be signed by a big league team without an additional posting fee going to the Twins. Despite that long track record in South Korea, Ham is still a few weeks shy of his 29th birthday, and might be poised for bigger things now that he has seemingly moved past the injuries that limited him to 33 2/3 innings in 2021-22. Ham bounced back strongly to post a 1.62 ERA over 55 2/3 relief innings for the Twins in 2023, helping the Seoul-based franchise capture the third Korean Series title in franchise history.
Ham has a 3.50 ERA over 501 2/3 innings in his KBO career, comprised of eight seasons with the Doosan Bears and the last three seasons with the Twins. Working mostly as a reliever, Ham has dabbled in rotation work by starting 33 of his 397 career games, but has generally found more success out of the bullpen. Ham isn’t a high velocity pitcher and his 23.94% strikeout rate is solid but unspectacular, and he has been bothered by control problems at various points in his career.
The four-year contract closes the door on Ham’s chances of coming to the big leagues in the near future, barring a trade or some kind of further agreement between the lefty and the Twins. He’ll be 33 at the end of the deal and could still perhaps be a candidate to jump to MLB in 2028, though for now, Ham will focus his efforts on bringing the Twins another championship.
Astros, Blue Jays, Pirates, Yankees Continue To Be Interested In Yariel Rodriguez
Yariel Rodriguez‘s market continues to percolate, as the Astros, Blue Jays, Pirates, and Yankees “are still in the bidding for” the right-hander’s services, according to reporter Francys Romero (X link) earlier this week. Romero’s post came prior to Yoshinobu Yamamoto‘s deal with the Dodgers, as Romero suggested that Rodriguez’s suitors were first waiting for Yamamoto to sign.
This would seemingly refer to the Yankees and Blue Jays in particular, who were known to be in the running for Yamamoto’s services. Toronto was a bit more on the periphery of the hunt while the Yankees were seemingly one of three or four finalists, joining the Mets and Giants in falling short of the Dodgers in the bidding for the Japanese ace. Presumably neither the Yankees or Jays would’ve been in on Rodriguez if they had signed Yamamoto, so the presence of two big spenders still in the market is good news for Rodriguez and his reps at WME Baseball.
It should be noted that Romero didn’t state that these four teams were finalists for Rodriguez, or that any other known suitors were out of the running. The Astros, Jays, Pirates, and Yankees were all listed among the 10 interested teams in Romero’s initial report about Rodriguez in early November, and that group (which also included the Dodgers, Giants, Mets, Phillies, Rangers, and White Sox) has grown to include the Rays, Red Sox, and Padres in subsequent reports.
Rodriguez is something of a wild card in the free agent pitching market, given that he has spent most of his career pitching in Cuba, he worked mostly out of the bullpen with the Chunichi Dragons of Nippon Professional Baseball from 2020-22, and he didn’t pitch at all in 2023 (apart from the World Baseball Classic) since he sat out the NPB season trying to get released from his contract with the Dragons. However, Rodriguez doesn’t turn 27 until March, and there is enough intrigue in his upside as a starter that MLBTR ranked him 28th on our list of the offseason’s top 50 free agents, and projected him for a four-year, $32MM contract.
This price point would put Rodriguez in range for even lower-payroll teams, even if such clubs are taking more of a risk in such a financial commitment for a pitcher with no Major League track record. For the Pirates specifically, $32MM for Rodriguez would rank as one of the eight most expensive contracts in the franchise’s history, so it would seem rather aggressive for a Bucs team just coming out of a rebuild to suddenly splurge on an unproven arm. That said, the Pirates are known to be looking for more rotation help, and they could have enough faith in Rodriguez’s upside that they could view something like a $32MM investment as a potential bargain.
International signings have been the backbone of the Astros’ run of success over the last decade, in the form of inexpensive deals for future stars like Jose Altuve or Framber Valdez, or Houston’s more significant investment in a five-year, $47.5MM deal for Yuli Gurriel when he came to the big leagues from Cuba during the 2016 season. Current Astros general manger Dana Brown naturally wasn’t in change of the front office back in 2016, though he did suggest that his team was looking to add “a legit third starter or better” this offseason, while acknowledging that the Astros were working with a somewhat limited amount of spending space. Roster Resource projects Houston’s 2024 payroll to sit almost exactly at the $237MM luxury tax threshold, which is notable since the Astros have only once (in 2020) exceeded the tax line in their history.
Signing Rodriguez would be an interesting fallback position from Yamamoto for either New York or Toronto. Rodriguez’s lack of track record wouldn’t necessarily solidify a rotation that already has a couple of injury-related question marks in Nestor Cortes and Carlos Rodon, as well as the unproven Clarke Schmidt as the projected fourth starter. However, the Yankees might view Rodriguez as an upside play as a de facto fifth starter, or perhaps even a bullpen addition if he doesn’t work out as a starter.
The same could be said about Rodriguez’s possible usage on the Blue Jays’ staff, even if Toronto’s rotation is a little more defined. Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt, Jose Berrios, and Yusei Kikuchi project as the top four, with Alek Manoah penciled in as the fifth starter for now despite all of the uncertainty in the wake of Manoah’s rough 2023 season. Adding Rodriguez would give the Blue Jays more depth if Manoah can’t bounce back, or perhaps the Jays would then feel more emboldened to trade Manoah or even Kikuchi to address other needs in the lineup.
Details On Dylan Cease Trade Talks Between White Sox, Reds
There hasn’t been much on the Dylan Cease front since early December, when reports suggested that the White Sox were going to wait until the free agent pitching market had become a bit clearer before again weighing offers for the right-hander. The Reds were known to be one of the clubs interested in Cease, though 670 The Score’s Bruce Levine reported that the Sox had asked for a four-player trade package — pitching prospects Rhett Lowder and Chase Petty, as well as two position-player prospects.
Jason Williams of the Cincinnati Enquirer sheds some more light on Chicago’s demands, writing that the White Sox wanted Lowder, Edwin Arroyo, Connor Phillips, “and at least one more prospect.” This could mean that the Sox wanted a five-player return, with Petty and an unknown position player comprising the other two names involved. MLB Pipeline ranks Lowder, Arroyo, and Phillips within the top 68 prospects in all of baseball, while Lowder (45th) and Phillips (86th) also ranked within Baseball America’s last top 100 ranking from September.
New White Sox GM Chris Getz has been open about the fact that he is willing to discuss any player on his team’s roster in trade negotiations, though some obviously come at a much higher price tag than others. Luis Robert Jr. may be the only player close to truly untouchable, and Cease might not be far off, though the two have differing levels of team control. Robert’s contract contains two club options that control his services through the 2027 season, while Cease has only two more years of arbitration eligibility remaining before he can hit free agency in the 2025-26 offseason.
Still, two years of a frontline pitcher like Cease is still quite an asset — either for a White Sox team trying to get on track after a disastrous season, or as a trade chip the Sox can use to reload the roster for both now and the future. The Reds are a natural trade partner on paper, given how Cincinnati is in sore need of pitching help and is also deep in position-player prospects. Cincinnati was known to have interest in Chicago’s pitching even prior to the All-Star break, so it is safe to assume Cease has been on the Reds’ radar for a while, at least in some fashion.
Because the White Sox are known to be targeting pitching, however, the Sox and Reds might not quite line up as smoothly on a Cease trade as it might seem. Obviously any team would be hesitant about moving three of its top-rated pitching prospects, and in particular, the Reds would be wary about cleaning out their pitching assets when they have so much of an surplus in another area (the infield) in their farm system. Speculatively speaking, the Reds might be more willing to consider a package of Arroyo, another position player, and one pitcher for Cease, yet it isn’t surprising why Cincinnati would balk at moving at least two of Phillips, Lowder, and Petty on top of what is already a substantial return of infield talent.
There isn’t really any harm in aiming high, of course, as Getz has plenty of offseason left to continue to explore other potential trade packages involving Cease. The fact that the Dodgers have already nabbed two of the top free agent (Yoshinobu Yamamoto) and trade (Tyler Glasnow) targets on the market has left a lot of other teams still in sore need of rotation help, so it certainly seems possible that Cease might be wearing another uniform by Opening Day.
It is also too early to rule the Reds out of any further Cease talks, even if that rumored four-for-one or five-for-one seems like a bridge too far. Cincinnati has been aggressive in adding to its rotation and bullpen by signing Nick Martinez and Emilio Pagan, and bolstered its infield picture even further by signing Jeimer Candelario. The addition of Candelario seemingly makes it more likely that the Reds could move an infielder in some manner of trade, whether for Cease or another pitcher.