Royals Exploring Trade Market For High-Leverage Relievers
The Royals have been one of the game’s most active teams this winter but don’t appear done with their offseason just yet. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that Kansas City still hopes to add a closer to its bullpen and is currently looking at the trade market now that free agency has been largely picked over.
While a handful of names have popped up on the trade market this offseason, Kansas City may be just as hard-pressed to find a closer via trade as in free agency. The Guardians listened to offers on closer Emmanuel Clase at the Winter Meetings in December, but he’s signed for another five years. That’d point to a massive asking price in return, and the price for a division-rival club might be even steeper.
More recently, Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen has surfaced in rumors, but the Royals’ projected $112MM payroll is already going to be the team’s highest since 2018. Adding Jansen’s $16MM salary would give the Royals their third-highest payroll ever, trailing only the 2016-17 seasons that immediately followed their consecutive World Series appearances (and 2015 World Series victory).
Any mention of a team trading for a closer figures to reignite yearslong speculation about Pirates star David Bednar, but a move involving the Pittsburgh native seems overwhelmingly unlikely. Bednar remains highly affordable and is controllable for another three seasons. The Pirates’ offseason has been focused on adding pieces rather than subtracting them, and owner Bob Nutting recently commented at length about his desire to contend in 2024. A trade of Bednar would register as a legitimate surprise at this point.
It bears mentioning that trading for “a closer” is a somewhat nebulous description. Players like Clase and Jansen are clear, set-in-stone closers with their respective clubs, but many teams take a committee approach to the ninth inning. Others are content to plug in a less-experienced arm and hope for solid results, as the Nationals did last year with Kyle Finnegan, for instance. The 32-year-old Finnegan was available at the trade deadline but didn’t change hands. He paced the Nats with 28 saves, bringing his career total to 50. That certainly qualifies him as a “closer,” but it’d be a stretch to think that makes him more preferable to the Royals than, say, a younger high-end setup man with more club control and superior rate stats but fewer saves.
However the Royals want to define their targets, the implication is clear: they’re looking for a leverage arm to pitch meaningful innings in what they hope will be a much-improved 2024 season. Kansas City has already signed Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, Hunter Renfroe, Will Smith, Chris Stratton and Garrett Hampson to big league deals totaling $105MM in value. They acquired righty Nick Anderson from the Braves, and in a separate deal with Atlanta picked up injured starter Kyle Wright, who’ll likely miss the ’24 season following shoulder surgery but is controllable via arbitration through 2026.
As things stand, the veteran Smith and righty James McArthur are probably the front-runners to close games in Kansas City. Smith has 113 career saves and signed a one-year, $5MM deal to return to the organization with which he made his MLB debut back in 2012. McArthur was a speculative pickup after being cut loose by the Phillies, and after a slow start he finished out the season with 16 1/3 shutout innings, 19 strikeouts and no walks in his final 12 appearances. Stratton and Anderson give the Royals a pair of experienced setup options — health permitting, in Anderson’s case — and they’ll likely be joined by flamethrowing righty Carlos Hernandez.
It’s somewhat interesting to note that the Royals are only a few months removed from trading prior closer Scott Barlow, who went to the Padres at last summer’s trade deadline (and has since been shipped to Cleveland). That swap arguably came a few months too late, as Barlow’s rocky first half in 2023 surely caused his stock to dip from where it’d been after he notched a 2.62 ERA, 28.7% strikeout rate and 8.2% walk rate with 42 saves from 2020-22.
The Royals’ wide-reaching slate of acquisitions to this point have undoubtedly bettered the roster, but Kansas City would need to improve by a magnitude of around 30 games to have a real postseason chance after going 56-106 last year. Extensive as their acquisitions from outside the organization have been, that’s not likely to become a reality without some meaningful improvements from young players already in house. Adding another quality bullpen arm to the late-inning mix can only help, but it’s a steep road back to contention after losing a combined 203 games over the past two seasons.
Blue Jays, Orioles Have Shown Interest In Domingo German
The Orioles and Blue Jays are among six teams that have shown interest in free agent starter Domingo Germán, reports Mark W. Sanchez of the New York Post. Sanchez adds that the Mets have also checked in but casts doubt on the chance of the right-hander heading to Queens.
Germán has spent his entire MLB career with the Yankees, who acquired him as a prospect in a 2014 trade with the Marlins. At times, he looked like a key mid-rotation arm in the Bronx, yet his tenure was marred by off-field issues. After working as a depth arm between 2017-18, he tallied a career-high 143 innings over 27 appearances (24 starts) in 2019. Germán was having a productive season, working to a 4.03 ERA with a near-26% strikeout rate.
That September, MLB placed Germán on administrative leave after he reportedly assaulted his girlfriend at a charity event. MLB finished its investigation that offseason and suspended him for the first 81 games of the 2020 season. That year wound up being shortened by the pandemic, so MLB reinstated him after he missed the entire 60-game schedule.
Germán returned to the Yankees in 2021. He missed parts of the next two seasons battling shoulder issues, combining for a 4.17 ERA over 170 2/3 innings. He held a spot in the New York rotation for the early portion of last year. Germán’s start to the year was middling and he was suspended for 10 games in mid-May after failing a foreign substance inspection.
He carried a 5.10 ERA through his first 14 appearances into a late-June start in Oakland. Germán turned in a legendary performance at the Coliseum that night, throwing MLB’s 24th perfect game, the first since Félix Hernández’s outing in 2012. Germán followed that up with a 4.61 ERA over five starts in July.
On August 2, the Yankees announced they were placing Germán on the restricted list so he could report to an inpatient treatment facility for alcohol abuse. Lindsey Adler of the Wall Street Journal subsequently reported that an apparently intoxicated Germán had argued with teammates and coaches in the New York clubhouse and flipped a couch amidst those confrontations.
That ended Germán’s tenure with the Yankees. He spent the rest of the season on the restricted list. At year’s end, New York placed him on outright waivers. Once he went unclaimed, he elected free agency.
Sanchez writes that Germán has completed the requirements of his inpatient treatment and is seeking a return to the majors in 2024. According to Sanchez, his camp has received two formal contract offers (although it isn’t clear if those proposals have come from Baltimore and Toronto specifically). If he lands a major league deal, it’d surely be a cheap one-year pact.
Of the two AL East teams known to have shown interest, Baltimore has the greater need for rotation help. Aside from depth righty Jonathan Heasley, the O’s have yet to add a starting pitcher this offseason. They’re slated to begin the year with Grayson Rodriguez, Kyle Bradish, John Means and likely Dean Kremer in the top four spots. Cole Irvin and Tyler Wells (each of whom worked out of the bullpen at points last year) would be the best options for the #5 job at present. The starting staff is the weakest point on an otherwise loaded roster coming off a 101-win season.
It’s unlikely Baltimore will come away from the offseason completely empty-handed. Yet they’ve thus far resisted dealing from the top of their vaunted farm system to add starting pitching via trade. While they seemed a candidate to at least play in the middle tiers of the free agent rotation market, the organization again hasn’t shown that kind of appetite for spending.
The O’s signed Craig Kimbrel to a $13MM guarantee to take the ninth inning after losing Félix Bautista to Tommy John surgery. They’ve otherwise sat out MLB free agency this winter. Roster Resource projects their 2024 spending around $81MM. That’s well above last year’s approximate $61MM Opening Day figure but puts them in the league’s bottom five in terms of estimated payroll.
Toronto took some early swings at the top of the free agent market. They’ve pivoted to the middle tiers in recent weeks, including a rotation acquisition. The Jays agreed to terms with Cuban right-hander Yariel Rodríguez on a four-year, $32MM deal last week. He’ll likely compete for the final spot with Alek Manoah, who is trying to bounce back from a dismal 2023 season. With Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt, José Berríos and Yusei Kikuchi occupying the top four positions, it’s unlikely they’d give Germán a look in the season-opening rotation. If Rodríguez doesn’t take them out of the market for Germán entirely, they’d probably view him as a long relief option.
Rockies Sign John Curtiss To Minor League Deal
The Rockies have signed veteran righty reliever John Curtiss to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training, MLBTR has learned. He’ll compete for a job in manager Bud Black’s bullpen this spring.
Curtiss, 30, has pitched in parts of six big league seasons but didn’t break out until a terrific 2020 showing with the Rays (1.80 ERA, 25.3% strikeout rate, 3% walk rate in 25 innings). Tampa Bay traded him to the Marlins the following offseason, and Miami flipped him to the Brewers after a strong start to his 2021 campaign. Unfortunately for both Curtiss and the Brewers, the right-hander suffered a torn ligament in his elbow just two weeks after being acquired and wound up undergoing Tommy John surgery.
The Mets signed Curtis after the Brewers non-tendered him, knowing he’d miss his first season with the team. That pact included a club option that the Mets exercised, and Curtiss returned to pitch 19 2/3 frames for New York this past season. His 4.58 ERA, 19.8% strikeout rate and 9.9% walk rate were all down relative to his 2020-21 seasons, however, and Curtiss wound up hitting the injured list with discomfort in his surgically repaired elbow. His ligament remained intact, but the right-hander still required surgery to remove loose bodies from the elbow. The Mets announced at the time of the procedure that he was expected to be ready for spring training.
Despite that favorable timeline, the Mets removed Curtiss from the 40-man roster following the season. He elected free agency, as is his right as a player with more than three years of MLB service.
If Curtiss is back at full strength, he’ll likely have a good chance to break a thin Rockies bullpen. The righty’s track record is fairly limited, but from 2020-23 he pitched 89 innings of 3.24 ERA ball with a combined 23.2% strikeout rate, 6.3% walk rate and 40.8% ground-ball rate. Curtiss’ 94.5 mph average fastball with the Mets in 2023 was right in line with his pre-surgery levels from 2020-21. There’s some unknown now that he’s undergone a second elbow operation, of course, but it’s encouraging that he’d regained his velocity following the Tommy John procedure.
As things stand, the Rockies’ bullpen is practically wide open. Right-hander Justin Lawrence is the favorite to close games after notching 11 saves and logging a 3.72 ERA in 75 innings out of the ‘pen last year. Jake Bird should have a spot locked down after recording a team-high 84 1/3 innings with a respectable 4.27 ERA. Beyond that, things are murky. The Rockies let Brent Suter, their top 2023 performer, depart in free agency. He signed a one-year, $3MM deal with the Reds. Veterans Pierce Johnson and Brad Hand were traded at last year’s deadline.
Right-hander Daniel Bard is still under contract for another season, but he followed his All-Star 2022 campaign with a tough 2023 season that saw him return to the injured list owing to a long-running battle with anxiety that has at multiple points led to the yips. Bard eventually pitched 49 1/3 innings with a 4.56 ERA but did so with nearly a walk per inning and with more total walks issued than strikeouts recorded. Tyler Kinley posted a 6.06 ERA in his return from elbow surgery, albeit in a sample of just 16 1/3 innings. The Rox picked up veteran lefty Jalen Beeks in November after the Rays placed him on waivers, and he’ll look to bounce back after a down showing in 2023.
Other options in the Colorado ‘pen include Nick Mears, Gavin Hollowell and Rule 5 pickup Anthony Molina. Curtiss will compete with that group as well as a slate of non-roster veterans including Ty Blach, Matt Koch and Chance Adams. If Curtiss makes the club and finds success in that harsh pitching environment, he can be controlled through the 2026 season via arbitration.
The Top Unsigned Catchers
Pitchers and catchers will be reporting to Spring Training in about three weeks but a slow offseason means there are still plenty of free agents out there. MLBTR already took a look at the center fielders still available and will now take a look at some notable catchers.
- Gary Sánchez: Sánchez has always had big power in his bat, having launched 173 home runs already in his career. But he’s often paired that with low batting average/on-base numbers, strikeouts and questionable defense. He wasn’t able to secure a major league deal last offseason, signing a minor league pact with the Giants and then opting out and signing another with the Mets. The latter club added him to their roster but quickly put him on waivers, with the Padres putting in a claim. From there, he went on to have a terrific season. He hit 19 home runs in just 75 games, keeping his strikeouts to a palatable 25.1% clip before a wrist fracture ended his season in September. His glovework has also improved lately, relative to earlier in his career. His joining the Padres coincided with Blake Snell completely turning his season around and eventually winning a second Cy Young. Snell spoke positively of his relationship with Sánchez during the year, as relayed by Dennis Lin of The Athletic, perhaps suggesting his game-calling could be viewed as a plus. There are warts on his profile but he’s clearly a strong player and should be able to find a better deal than he did a year ago. He’s going into his age-31 season.
- Yasmani Grandal: Grandal has long been a strong backstop on both sides of the ball, but he has tapered off lately. He hit .240/.355/.451 from 2012 to 2021, combining power with a keen eye at the plate, but that batting line has dropped to .219/.305/.306 over the past two seasons. He’s still a strong framer and was good against lefty pitchers as recently as 2022. The switch-hitter slashed .257/.409/.365 against southpaws that year but just .186/.265/.241 against righties, though that split evened out last year. Now 35 years old, he may not be able to get a job as a club’s primary catcher, but his defense, framing and switch-hitting ability should make him a fit somewhere.
- Curt Casali: Casali has never been more than a part-time player, but he’s been a solid one. He’s appeared in each of the past 10 MLB seasons, though never in more than 84 games in any individual campaign. He has popped 47 home runs in 1,454 plate appearances while walking at a 10.7% rate, leading to a .220/.314/.380 batting line. His 89 wRC+ is below average overall but pretty close to par for a catcher. He’s generally considered a capable defender as well. He’s coming off a disappointing season wherein he hit poorly in 40 games for the Reds before landing on the injured list in July due to a foot contusion and not returning. He’s now going into his age-35 season.
- Manny Piña: Similar to Casali, Piña has long been a serviceable part-time catcher. He has appeared in 10 MLB seasons, only twice playing more than 76 games. He’s hit 43 home runs in his 1,255 plate appearances and slashed .243/.312/.410 for a wRC+ of 91. He’s only played nine big league games over the past two years, primarily due to wrist issues. He underwent surgery in May of 2022 while with Atlanta, then was flipped to the A’s going into 2023 as part of the Sean Murphy deal. The wrist issues lingered into last year and he was released in August. He’s now going into his age-37 season.
- Mike Zunino: As recently as 2021, Zunino showed off his huge power at the plate, launching 33 home runs for the Rays. But the year after, he required thoracic outlet surgery and wasn’t able to bounce back. The Guardians gave him a one-year, $6MM deal for 2023 but he was nowhere near his previous self. Strikeouts have always been a problem for him even when he was at his best, as evidenced by his career rate of 35.1%. However, that rate was all the way up to 43.6% last year as he hit just .177/.271/.306. Zunino was released in June and didn’t sign with anyone else after that. His defense is considered strong, so he could be a useful player if his offense improved with a bit more remove from his surgery. He’ll be 33 in March.
The Opener: Neris, Pirates, Votto
With less than three weeks until pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:
1. Neris up next?
There’s been a run on relief arms throughout the week, with top free agents Josh Hader and Robert Stephenson both landing multi-year deals from the Astros and Angels, respectively. Aroldis Chapman ($10.5MM) and Matt Moore ($9MM) landed respective one-year pacts with the Pirates and Angels. The run on relief arms leaves right-hander Hector Neris as arguably the top reliever left in free agency, though the market also features established veterans like David Robertson, Adam Ottavino, Phil Maton, Wandy Peralta, and Ryne Stanek.
The 34-year-old Neris has gotten plenty of buzz recently. He’s been connected to the Yankees and Mets in recent days but is a sensible addition for any team still hoping to add a leverage reliever. The Cubs, Cardinals, Mariners and Rangers are among those still on the hunt for bullpen arms. Texas has previously been described as a potential “frontrunner” for Neris’ services.
2. What’s next for the Pirates?
The Pirates made a somewhat surprising splash on the free agent market by agreeing with Chapman to that aforementioned one-year, $10.5MM deal earlier in the week. The deal helps to back up recent remarks from owner Bob Nutting, who indicated that the goal for the Pirates this year is to remain in contention “throughout the season.” Even after adding Chapman, however, the Pirates still have a ways to go before they catch up to the other clubs in the division; they finished fourth with an 86-loss season in 2023 and have largely stood pat this winter while their division rivals have made multi-year plays for significant players such as Sonny Gray, Shota Imanaga, Jeimer Candelario, and Rhys Hoskins. It appears that adding a veteran arm to a young and unproven rotation could be the next step Pittsburgh looks to take, and the club has already been connected to the likes of Noah Syndergaard and Michael Lorenzen in recent days.
3. Votto’s market:
Veteran first baseman Joey Votto has a secure legacy as one of his generation’s best hitters and a potential Hall of Famer. That hasn’t stopped him from looking to add to that resume by continuing his playing career, however. Previous reporting this winter has indicated that at least three teams (including the Blue Jays) have interest in the 40-year-old’s services for the 2024 season, and a pair of reports helped to further clarify Votto’s market yesterday. It appears that Toronto is joined by the Angels in the hunt for Votto’s services, where he could act as a veteran mentor to up-and-coming first baseman Nolan Schanuel, who made his big league debut last year just weeks after being selected in the first round of the 2023 draft.
Meanwhile, it’s becoming all the more clear that the one place Votto all but certainly is not signing on is with the Reds, the organization he spent more than two decades with after being selected in the second round of the 2002 draft. At the outset of his first foray into free agency, Votto indicated that he would pursue a role with a new team if the Reds did not decide to bring him back for the 2024 campaign. Recent comments from Cincinnati GM Nick Krall made clear that, at least as things stand, the club does not plan on pursuing a reunion with the former face of the franchise.
Brewers, Christian Arroyo Agree To Minor League Deal
8:23am: The two parties are in agreement on a minor league contract, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. The deal contains a $1.5MM salary at the big league level, and Arroyo would have the opportunity to unlock an additional $500K via incentives. Those incentives are tied to plate appearances, a source told MLBTR while also confirming the terms of the deal. Arroyo will be in camp as a non-roster invitee when spring training opens.
8:13am: The Brewers have agreed to a deal with free agent infielder Christian Arroyo, reports Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. Terms of the arrangement are not yet known. Arroyo is represented by O’Connell Sports Management.
Arroyo, 28, has spent the past four seasons with the Red Sox but was designated for assignment and outrighted off the 40-man roster not long after the 2023 trade deadline. He elected free agency at season’s end. He’s six days shy of five years of MLB service, meaning that he can be controlled through the 2025 season via arbitration, if the Brewers choose.
The 2023 season was a rough one for Arroyo, who had a pair of IL stints due to a hamstring strain and an ankle sprain. He appeared in 66 games when healthy but scuffled with a .241/.268/.369 batting line over the course of 206 trips to the plate. Coincidentally, Boston cut him loose in August after acquiring infielder Luis Urias in a trade with the same Brewers organization that Arroyo will now join.
Prior to his 2023 struggles, Arroyo had a solid run at the plate with the Red Sox. From 2020-22, the former first-round pick (No. 25 overall by the Giants in 2013) and top prospect slashed a combined .273/.320/.427. He walked at a well below-average 4.7% clip but also showed off above-average contact skills and a 19.4% strikeout rate that was a few percentage points lower than the league average.
While he’s played all over the infield and also logged 108 innings in right field in 2022, Arroyo has played primarily second base and third base in the big leagues. Defensive metrics generally agree that he’s a sound defender at second base, where he’s tallied 12 Defensive Runs Saved and an 8.5 Ultimate Zone Rating in 1332 innings there. Statcast’s Outs Above Average considers him to be essentially average there. His grades at third base aren’t as strong, but he’s also only logged 447 innings at the hot corner in the big leagues. Beyond his work at second, third and in right field, Arroyo has 195 career innings at shortstop and another 53 frames at first base.
Arroyo’s experience around the diamond should serve him well for a Brewers club that has question marks at each of his primary positions. Former first-rounder Brice Turang will likely get the first crack at second base in Milwaukee, but he hit just .218/.285/.300 in 448 trips to the plate as a rookie. Turang was optioned multiple times in 2023 and ripped through Triple-A pitching in Nashville (.298/.365/.561), but he’s yet to find his stride in the bigs.
It’s a similar story at the hot corner, where 26-year-old Andruw Monasterio hit .271/.343/.371 to begin his MLB career but saw his production crater in the season’s final few weeks. Monasterio finished out the season with a .259/.330/.348 slash that checked in 12% below league average, by measure of wRC+. He played strong defense at the hot corner, which surely helps his cause as well, but as a career .257/.365/.370 hitter in three Triple-A seasons, he’s hardly a lock to provide enough offense to carry the position at the MLB level.
Both Turang and Monasterio have minor league options remaining, so it’s feasible that Arroyo could challenge either for a larger role in the Milwaukee infield. He could also win a bench job over current right-handed-hitting utility infielder Owen Miller, who hit .261/.303/.371 with the Brew Crew in 2023 (81 wRC+). Like Turang and Monasterio, Miller has a minor league option remaining and could thus be sent down to Nashville (without needing to pass through waivers) in the event Arroyo outplays him this spring.
MLBTR Podcast: The Broadcasting Landscape, Josh Hader and the Relief Market
The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.
This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…
- The RSN model for MLB clubs (1:00)
- The latest details on the Diamond Sports Group bankruptcy (4:05)
- The Astros signed Josh Hader (12:35)
- The Angels signed Robert Stephenson (19:05)
- The Pirates signed Aroldis Chapman (21:50)
Plus, we answer your questions, including…
- Does J.D. Martinez make sense for the Angels? (24:30)
- With the Mets in rebuild/retooling mode and the Mariners in need of another infield bat (and a surplus of controllable young arms), is there a trade there? (27:55)
- How odd is it that we are this late in January and have several players likely to get multi-year deals? (31:55)
Check out our past episodes!
- The Cubs’ Activity, Marcus Stroman And Jordan Hicks – listen here
- Teoscar Hernández Signs With L.A. And The Move-Making Mariners and Rays – listen here
- Yoshi Yamamoto Fallout, the Chris Sale/Vaughn Grissom Trade and Transaction Roundup – listen here
The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff. Check out their Facebook page here!
Reds Notes: India, Marte, Candelario
The Reds infield has been a story as far back as last summer, as opposing teams have tried to leverage Cincinnati’s depth in that regard in trade discussions. GM Nick Krall and his front office have resisted that kind of move, maintaining they’re happy to stockpile position player talent which they can rotate through the outfield and/or keep in Triple-A.
Manager David Bell addressed the infield mix this afternoon, again pointing to an expectation they’ll bounce players to various positions (relayed by Mark Sheldon of MLB.com). That’s particularly true of Jonathan India, who has played exclusively second base in nearly 3000 career innings on defense. Krall suggested earlier in the offseason that Cincinnati could get India work at first base, while Sheldon writes that the 27-year-old could also see some left field reps.
Bell affirmed today that India is on board with a multi-positional role. “He just wants to be on the field and in the lineup as much as possible,” the manager said. “Obviously as a second baseman, but depending on how things shake out, to be able to get him on the field as much as he wants to be and as much as I want him to be, there may be other positions that he’ll need to play.”
India has graded as a below-average defender at the keystone over his three MLB seasons. Seeing increased action at first base or in the corner outfield could improve his defensive metrics, although more frequent work at a bat-first position would put additional pressure on him to rebound at the plate. India hasn’t taken the expected step forward since his Rookie of the Year campaign in 2021. He owns a league average .246/.333/.394 slash over the past two seasons.
While India’s mediocre defensive grades are a factor in potentially moving him to a bat-first utility role, the bigger driver is Cincinnati’s glut of young middle infield options. Matt McLain, Elly De La Cruz and Noelvi Marte all debuted last season. McLain was excellent, hitting .290/.357/.507 over 89 games while splitting his time between the middle infield positions. De La Cruz flashed the massive physical tools that made him a top prospect, but he ultimately struggled to a .235/.300/.410 line while striking out more than a third of the time in 98 contests.
Marte had the least amount of experience of the group. He played in 35 games after being promoted in the middle of August. He made a strong first impression, running a .316/.366/.456 slash while playing mostly third base. He’s in the mix for the Opening Day job at either shortstop or the hot corner. Marte’s winter ball season was cut short by a hamstring injury, but Krall said this morning that the young infielder is recovering well and remains on track for Spring Training (relayed by Charlie Goldsmith of the Cincinnati Enquirer).
While the Reds weren’t generally expected to pursue infield help this offseason, they bucked expectations by adding Jeimer Candelario on a three-year, $45MM free agent deal. Unsurprisingly, Bell stated that the veteran switch-hitter will be in the lineup on an everyday basis but could see action at a few different spots. “Between DH, first base, third base — he’s going to be an everyday player,” he said of Candelario. “There’s plenty of playing time to go around there.”
Christian Encarnacion-Strand also finds himself in the corner infield/DH mix. Spencer Steer impressed as the primary first baseman a season ago, hitting .271/.356/.464 with 23 homers in his own rookie campaign. The Candelario signing is expected to push Steer to left field on most days, although he’ll likely pick up stray DH and first base reps as the season goes along. There are a lot of options at the organization’s disposal, at least so long as everyone is healthy.
Latest On Marlins’ Rotation Trade Possibilities
As the free agent starting pitching market thins, there’s been some chatter about the Marlins as a team that might subtract a pitcher in trade. That attention has generally been centered on left-hander Jesús Luzardo and young righty Edward Cabrera. Last week, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal wrote that Cabrera had the better chance of that duo of changing hands, although it wasn’t clear how likely Miami was to move either player.
Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald added some context on the trade possibilities involving Miami’s starters this afternoon. Jackson writes that the Fish are willing to consider offers on each of Luzardo, Cabrera and left-hander Braxton Garrett, although he indicates there aren’t any proposals under “active consideration.”
A trade still seems a possibility but isn’t necessarily likely. The Fish haven’t done much under first-year president of baseball operations Peter Bendix. Miami is the only team that still hasn’t signed a free agent to a major league deal this offseason. Their biggest moves were trade pickups of catcher Christian Bethancourt, reliever Calvin Faucher and out-of-options infielder Vidal Bruján.
It’s an underwhelming offseason for a team coming off a surprising Wild Card berth. The Fish seem likely to lose a 36-homer hitter after Jorge Soler declined his player option. They’re looking to add at shortstop, but the free agent class at the position is dismal. They could use another bat in the corner outfield/designated hitter mix.
For all the lineup questions, their biggest loss in 2024 is one to injury. Sandy Alcantara underwent Tommy John surgery during last year’s postseason. With the 2022 NL Cy Young winner missing the entire season, the Fish project for a season-opening starting five of Eury Pérez, Luzardo, Garrett, Cabrera and Trevor Rogers.
That’s still a promising group, but their once vaunted rotation depth has thinned. In addition to the Alcantara injury, the Fish dealt Pablo López and prospect Jake Eder last year. Depth options beyond their front five include Ryan Weathers and Bryan Hoeing. Miami should get a boost from former #3 overall pick Max Meyer, who is 18 months removed from his own Tommy John procedure. Jackson writes that the new front office still considers Meyer a viable starting pitcher; prospect evaluators were divided on whether he was better suited for a high-leverage relief role before the injury.
Meyer only made two MLB starts before the unfortunate ligament tear. Rogers was limited to four starts, all in April, last year by biceps and lat injuries. Pérez, widely regarded as the sport’s top pitching prospect before an impressive rookie season, logged 128 innings between Triple-A and the majors last season. Miami could still be cautious about expanding the 20-year-old’s workload too far beyond 150 frames.
Luzardo and Garrett are Miami’s only healthy starters who topped 100 MLB innings a season ago. They both had strong seasons. The former posted a 3.58 ERA while punching out more than 28% of opposing hitters in 32 starts. With three years of arbitration control and a fastball approaching 97 MPH on average, he likely has more trade value than anyone in the Miami rotation aside from Pérez (who certainly isn’t getting moved).
Garrett has a more extended control window, as he won’t get to free agency for another five seasons. The former #7 overall pick allowed 3.66 earned runs per nine in just under 160 frames. Garrett doesn’t have the huge velocity of most of his rotation mates, sitting around 91 MPH with his heater. Yet his strong secondary offerings and plus command have translated into mid-rotation results for the last two seasons.
Cabrera is a more volatile young arm. The 25-year-old righty worked to a 4.24 ERA across 99 2/3 MLB frames. He generated an impressive 27.2% strikeout rate and 54.3% ground-ball percentage with a fastball that sits above 96 MPH. His control remains a significant question, however. Cabrera walked more than 15% of opposing hitters last season and has handed out free passes at a 14% rate over parts of three years in the big leagues. As with Garrett, he’s under club control for five more seasons.
The Top Unsigned Center Fielders
We’re less than three weeks from pitchers and catchers beginning to report to Spring Training. While the offseason is theoretically winding down, there are still a number of noteworthy players on the open market. The top unsigned position player headlines the group of remaining center fielders.
- Cody Bellinger: Bellinger rejected a qualifying offer from the Cubs at the beginning of the offseason. That was an easy call as he sought a long-term deal after a successful rebound campaign in Chicago. The 28-year-old is coming off his best season since his 2019 MVP campaign. He hit .307/.356/.525 with 26 home runs across 556 plate appearances. Bellinger’s batted ball metrics (a 31.4% hard contact rate, 87.9 MPH average exit velocity) aren’t as impressive as one might assume from his 25+ homers and early-career power impact. That said, he seemingly made a concerted effort to put more balls in play. His 15.6% strikeout rate last season was a career low, a marked improvement after he fanned in a quarter of his plate appearances between 2020-22. The Cubs are most often linked to Bellinger, who has also been loosely tied to the Blue Jays and Angels at points this offseason.
- Michael A. Taylor: Taylor is a solid glove-first regular. Even as he nears his 33rd birthday, he continues to post well above-average defensive grades. Defensive Runs Saved and Statcast estimated he was between five and seven runs better than the standard center fielder in a little under 1000 innings for the Twins last year. Taylor paired that with one of his better offensive showings. He hit a career-high 21 home runs and swiped 13 bags in 129 contests. That came with a subpar .220 average and .278 on-base percentage, as he struck out more than a third of the time. The whiffs are part of the package with Taylor, but he has enough power to profile as a bottom-of-the-lineup regular so long as he continues to defend at this level. The Angels, Padres, Pirates and Red Sox are among the teams that have been linked to Taylor.
- Adam Duvall: It’s debatable whether Duvall qualifies as more than an emergency option in center field. He’s been a left fielder for the majority of his career. The Red Sox moved him more frequently into center last year, an odd choice for a player in his age-34 season. Duvall’s defensive grades in 478 innings of center field work were predictably below-average. He’s still a solid defender in left who can moonlight up the middle, however. More importantly, Duvall had a rebound year at the plate. He blasted 21 homers in only 353 plate appearances, running a .247/.303/.531 slash. As is the case with Taylor, teams looking at Duvall will have to live with some strikeouts and a low OBP. He has a trio of 30-homer seasons on his résumé and might have gotten a fourth last year had he not missed a couple months with a wrist fracture. The Angels and incumbent Red Sox have been tied to Duvall this offseason; Jon Heyman of the New York Post suggested last week the bidding may come down to those two clubs.
- Aaron Hicks: By late May, it wasn’t clear how much longer Hicks would remain in the big leagues. He was released by the Yankees as he seemed en route to a third straight poor season. The Orioles somewhat surprisingly added him on a big league deal. From that point, the switch-hitting Hicks had a resurgence. He closed the year with a .275/.381/.425 slash over 236 plate appearances in Baltimore. Hicks walked at a massive 14.8% clip while striking out only 20.8% of the time. That won’t erase the memories of his struggles toward the end of his tenure in the Bronx, but it should land him a guaranteed MLB roster spot again. He’d be essentially a free pickup for whatever teams signs him. The Yankees are still on the hook for next year’s $9.5MM salary and a $1MM buyout on a 2025 option. A signing team would only pay Hicks at the $740K league minimum rate for whatever time he spends on the MLB roster, which would be subtracted from New York’s obligations.
- Travis Jankowski: The lefty-swinging Jankowski had a nice year as a role player for the World Series champion Rangers. He hit .263/.357/.332 and stole 19 bases in 20 attempts over 107 games. That should be enough to land him another MLB deal on a low base salary. Jankowski’s offensive upside is limited by bottom-of-the-scale power. He has excellent contact skills, a patient approach, and enough speed to factor in on the bases and at all three outfield positions. He’s a solid bench piece.