Marlins To Hire Gabe Kapler As Assistant General Manager
The Marlins have reached an agreement to hire former Phillies and Giants manager Gabe Kapler as an assistant general manager under new president of baseball operations Peter Bendix, reports Craig Mish of SportsGrid and the Miami Herald. San Francisco dismissed Kapler following the 2023 season, hiring future Hall of Famer Bob Melvin in his place. Mish adds that Kapler has been looking for a new challenge in baseball operations since being let go by the Giants and was also in the running to become the Red Sox’ head of baseball operations before they ultimately hired another former big leaguer, Craig Breslow.
This won’t be the first foray into baseball operations for Kapler, who served as the Dodgers’ farm director prior to being named manager of the Phillies. He’s spent the past six seasons as a manager, compiling a 456-411 record between San Francisco (2020-23) and Philadelphia (2018-19) and won NL Manager of the Year honors in 2021. He’ll now return to the other side of the game, with a primary focus on player development within the Marlins’ system, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The Marlins don’t have a general manager, with the aforementioned Bendix holding the title of president and heading up baseball ops. But Kapler will join Oz Ocampo, Brian Chattin and Daniel Greenlee as the team’s fourth executive to hold the title of assistant GM.
It’s not the only recent baseball ops hire made by Bendix, who replaced GM Kim Ng after she declined her end of a 2024 mutual option (reportedly because ownership wanted to hire a president of baseball ops to overtake her on the front office hierarchy). Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reported earlier this week that Miami hired now-former Rangers assistant director of baseball operations Vinesh Kanthan as their new director of baseball operations.
Changes in the Miami front office figure to continue over the next year, as it’s common for newly hired baseball operations executives to bring in their own team — at times at the expense of holdovers within the department. Bendix and his staff will look to build on the success of the 2023 club, which reached the playoffs for the first time (in 162-game season) since the organization’s 2003 World Series-winning season.
Guardians Open To Offers On Emmanuel Clase
The Guardians are open to offers on All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase and willing to trade him for the right offer, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports. Even if the club is merely performing its due diligence, it’s a fairly surprising development, given the overwhelmingly club-friendly contract to which the 25-year-old (26 in March) righty is signed.
Early in the 2022 season, Cleveland inked Clase to a five-year, $20MM contract extension that included affordable $10MM club options for the 2027-28 seasons (each with a $2MM buyout). He’s entering the third season of that deal, slated to earn $2.5MM this coming season, $4.5MM the following year and $6MM in 2026.
It’s worth pointing out that Clase is well on his way to boosting the value of both those club options. The contract allows him to increase the value of each by another $3MM based on appearances, innings pitched and awards in the first five years of the deal. Clase has already secured a $500K bump for both options by winning the Mariano Rivera Reliever of the Year Award in 2022. He’ll earn $500K bumps on both options for reaching 200 innings or games pitched (he’s at 145 innings and 152 games presently) and see another $500K tacked onto each option upon reaching 250 innings or games pitched. If he reaches 300 innings or games pitched over the life of the deal, he’ll boost the value of each option by another $1MM. In all, the options can top out at a still-very-reasonable $13MM apiece, and Clase would take home another $1MM assignment bonus if traded.
Even if Clase maxes out all of those remaining escalators, he can be controlled for up to five more seasons at a maximum of $40MM. That’s a bargain rate for a flamethrowing righty who has been one of the top relievers in the American League throughout much of his tenure in Cleveland.
That said, there are some red flags that merit mention. Clase hasn’t lost much life on his signature cutter, which still averaged better than 99 mph in 2023, but he posted a career-low 21.2% swinging-strike rate and saw his walk rate (5.3%), ground-ball rate (55%), swinging-strike rate (13.3%), opponents’ chase rate (35.1%), average exit velocity (88.4 mph) and hard-hit rate (37.6%) all trend in the wrong direction over his 2022 levels. Granted, most of those numbers are still excellent, but Clase’s 3.22 ERA doesn’t look nearly as dominant as the combined 1.33 he posted in 2021-22 — and he blew more saves (12) in 2023 than he did in his entire career prior to this season (9).
While it’s never good to see any pitcher begin to trend in the wrong direction, the 2023 version of Clase was still excellent — and the price tag on his contract is still well shy of what he’d earn if he were on the open market at present. Bullpen help is always in demand, but trading a reliever of this caliber with five years of affordable contractual control remaining is virtually unprecedented.
The Phillies traded five years of Ken Giles to the Astros back in 2015, though Giles was a pre-arbitration player with 115 career innings under his belt to that point; Clase is more established. The Mariners traded four years of Edwin Diaz to the Mets but did so largely as a means of shedding the remainder of Robinson Cano‘s contract. Both trade packages netted former top-six overall draft picks (Mark Appel, Jarred Kelenic) in addition, plus at least one other top prospect/young big leaguer of note (Vince Velasquez, Justin Dunn) and other near-MLB pitchers. None of those names from those trade returns have gone onto MLB stardom, but at the time of those swaps they were highly touted young talents. Clase could arguably command an even larger haul, potentially netting the Guardians multiple top-100 prospects and/or young MLB-ready players.
It should of course be emphasized that Clase is far from a sure thing to move. Because of the massive amount of remaining control on his contract and his eminently affordable salary — even for a low-payroll club like the Guardians — the Cleveland front office might simply opt to hold onto him. The Guards project for a $94MM payroll in 2024, per Roster Resource, which is only a $5MM jump from last year’s Opening Day mark and about $40MM shy of their franchise-record mark of $134MM.
There’s no financial urgency to deal Clase, especially since that $94MM mark figures to drop if Cleveland ultimately moves Shane Bieber — a far likelier trade candidate given his projected $12.2MM salary (via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz) and his status as a free agent at the end of the 2024 campaign. Cleveland has previously traded Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Trevor Bauer and Mike Clevinger all before those players reached the open market, and if they continue that pattern, Bieber will be on the move between now and Opening Day. The Cubs and Reds are among the teams with interest, although the 2020 AL Cy Young winner has surely commanded a broader array of inquiries than just those two teams.
The Opener: Winter Meetings, Rangers, Free Agent Prediction Contest
As baseball’s busiest time of the offseason approaches, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world headed into the weekend:
1. Winter Meetings on the horizon:
The main attraction of MLB’s offseason, the Winter Meetings, are set to begin this weekend. From the time executives, agents, players and owners arrive in Nashville on Sunday until they depart this coming Thursday, a flurry of activity is expected to get underway to truly kick off what has to this point been a relatively quiet offseason. Of course, the name poised to receive the most attention over the next week is two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani, but other top free agents like Yoshinobu Yamamoto as well as trade candidates like Juan Soto and Dylan Cease also figure to be hot-button topics of conversation. Be sure to check back with MLBTR throughout the coming week as we provide round-the-clock coverage of the Meetings from the moment they begin.
2. How will the Rangers’ payroll restrictions shape the offseason?
In recent years, the Rangers have been perhaps the most active team on the free agent market, landing superstars Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, and Jacob deGrom across the past two winters while also making smaller signings such as Jon Gray and Nathan Eovaldi. With the team coming off its first World Series championship in organizational history, many expected the club to once again be at the forefront of the winter. That may not prove to be the case, however, as GM Chris Young downplayed the club’s financial capabilities this offseason, indicating the club may focus on more complementary additions while sticking with the core they currently have in place.
Those comments put into question not only the club’s ability to pursue Ohtani, but also their ability to land other top pieces they’ve been connected to such as Jordan Montgomery and Josh Hader. Of course, it’s worth pointing out that Texas committed around $500MM in free agent dollars during the 2021-22 offseason before following up with an additional sum north of $200MM the following offseason. A splashy move for a player such as Hader could still come in well below those numbers, even when paired with additional complementary moves. Still, with the Rangers seemingly poised to sit out the very top of the market for the first time in years, it could create an opportunity for other clubs to establish themselves as contenders for the league’s marquee talents.
3. MLBTR’s Free Agent Prediction Contest Leaderboard goes live:
In case you missed it yesterday, the leaderboard for our annual free agent prediction contest is now live! You can find the link to the leaderboard here. With just seven of MLBTR’s Top 50 Free Agents currently signed, Tom Diesman currently leads the pack with an impressive five correct picks. Meanwhile, MLBTR’s Leo Morgenstern leads the staff with three correct picks.
Chris Young Discusses Rangers’ Spending Outlook
The Rangers have made plenty of headlines in each of the past two offseasons. After signing Corey Seager, Marcus Semien and Jon Gray during the 2021-22 winter, they added Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi and Andrew Heaney a year ago.
It doesn’t appear Texas is planning to be so aggressive this time around. A few weeks removed from the franchise’s first World Series, general manager Chris Young hinted at a quieter offseason than the previous two.
“We expect to be active in free agency, but probably not spending at the level that we have spent in previous offseasons,” Young told reporters on Thursday afternoon (relayed by Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News). The GM noted there’s “a great returning core group” and said the front office is “really looking for additions to kind of shore up the team.”
That’s a generally fair assessment of the roster. Texas is returning the vast majority of an elite batting order. Seager, Semien, Adolis García, Jonah Heim, Josh Jung, Nathaniel Lowe, Leody Taveras and Evan Carter will be back. Designated hitter/backup catcher Mitch Garver hit free agency after the Rangers opted against issuing a qualifying offer. He’s the biggest potential departure on the offensive side. Robbie Grossman and Travis Jankowski also hit the market after solid performances as depth outfielders.
Texas faces a few more impactful losses on the pitching side. Deadline acquisition Jordan Montgomery is one of the top free agent starters. Aroldis Chapman, Will Smith and Chris Stratton could depart the relief corps, while Martín Pérez played a swing role.
Garver and Montgomery are the most notable losses. Texas doesn’t has a perfect in-house replacement at designated hitter, although the likes of Ezequiel Durán and prospect Justin Foscue could take on larger roles. Wyatt Langford, selected out of Florida with the fourth overall pick last summer, briefly reached Triple-A at the end of his draft year. It’d be a surprise if he’s in the majors on Opening Day. He could hit his way to the big leagues at some point during the summer.
Of course, the headline-grabbing play at designated hitter would be a massive strike for Shohei Ohtani. Texas is reportedly in the mix for the defending AL MVP. Signing Ohtani would quite likely require the largest contract in MLB history. Young’s comments downplay that as a possibility, although perhaps ownership and the front office would pivot if there’s a realistic chance to land the sport’s best player.
Texas has also expressed interest in retaining Montgomery. That’d be a bit of a luxury strike. Effective as the southpaw was down the stretch, the Rangers could open next season with Max Scherzer, Eovaldi, Gray, Heaney and Dane Dunning as a strong rotation. deGrom could join the group in the second half as he rehabs from June’s Tommy John procedure.
Young made clear the Rangers aren’t planning to sit out free agency entirely. Yet adding a depth starter rather than meeting a nine-figure price for Montgomery could be more likely. Texas figures to bring in multiple relievers and will probably add to what presently projects as an inexperienced bench.
While the strength of the existing roster is one factor in projecting a relatively quiet offseason, it also seems the front office is working with more limited spending room than they’ve had in previous winters. Roster Resource projects the Rangers’ 2024 payroll around $203MM. That includes projected salaries for arbitration-eligible players but does not account for any additions they’ll make. That’s already above the approximate $196MM payroll which the team carried into this past season, which was itself a franchise high.
To be clear, Young didn’t forecast any kind of payroll cut. It seems all but assured they’ll go into 2024 at a franchise-record spending level. The championship run brought in extra revenue in the form of playoff gate receipts. Ownership and the front office are surely motivated to push for a repeat. The midseason acquisition of Scherzer (whom Texas will pay $12.5MM next season as part of the trade from the Mets) paired with arbitration raises for the likes of Lowe, García and Dunning organically raise the payroll in comparison to this year’s Opening Day mark.
The Rangers are also one of the teams facing short-term uncertainty about their local television rights. The organization’s deal with Diamond Sports Group for in-market broadcasting on the Bally Sports network is in jeopardy. The Athletic recently reported that Diamond was considering dropping its deals with the Rangers and Guardians before next season amidst its ongoing bankruptcy. Young pointed to the uncertainty about the rights fees, noting that the front office has “a responsibility to be financially prudent.”
That all hints at a less flashy offseason than Texas has had in the last two years. Grant suggests the team could try to stay below the luxury tax threshold during the offseason. While there’s not a clear mandate to avoid paying the tax, it seems ownership prefers to leave some flexibility for midseason acquisitions. A team’s CBT number isn’t finalized until the end of the year, so in-season pickups count against that figure.
Roster Resource pegs the Rangers’ 2024 tax projection (which is calculated using contracts’ average annual salaries and includes player benefits) around $219MM. That checks in $18MM below next year’s $237MM base threshold. If the organization truly prefers to stay under that during the winter, they’d be limited to complementary additions. Back-end starting pitchers Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson have signed for $11MM and $13MM, respectively, for reference.
The Rangers exceeded the tax threshold in 2023. If they surpass it next season, they’d be taxed at a heightened 30% rate as repeat payors on any spending between $237MM and $257MM (with heightened penalties if they surpass the $257MM mark).
Orioles Have Shown Interest In Josh Hader, Jordan Hicks
At the GM Meetings earlier this month, Baltimore general manager Mike Elias told reporters the team was seeking a late-game reliever. They’re considering plugging that vacancy in free agency.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that the O’s have been in contact with each of Josh Hader, Jordan Hicks, Craig Kimbrel and Aroldis Chapman. All four hurlers fit the general profile of a late-inning arm, although they’re clearly in different tiers of free agency.
Hader is the best reliever in the class (and arguably the top bullpen arm in the majors). He worked to a 1.28 ERA over 56 1/3 innings during his platform season. The lanky southpaw punched out 36.8% of batters faced. That’s actually Hader’s lowest strikeout percentage since his rookie year, yet it still ranked fifth in MLB among relievers with 50+ innings. Only Chris Martin and Brusdar Graterol had a lower earned run average.
After frequently working multiple innings earlier in his career, Hader has expressed a preference for a traditional one-inning role over the past couple years. The Padres deployed him as a closer. He picked up 33 saves in 38 attempts.
The year marked an emphatic bounce back from a 2022 season in which he’d posted an uncharacteristic 5.22 ERA. Hader has posted an ERA under 1.30 in two of the last three years and has five sub-3.00 showings over his seven MLB seasons. While he’s a year older than Edwin Díaz was last offseason, Hader figures to take aim at topping Diaz’s $102MM guarantee with the Mets — the largest relief contract in MLB history.
Committing a nine-figure deal would be far bolder than any free agent decision that the Elias front office has made. The O’s have remarkably yet to sign a single multi-year free agent deal in his five years as GM. Much of that came during a rebuild, of course, but the O’s remained cautious even as they’d begun to turn a corner last winter. Baltimore signed a trio of veterans (Kyle Gibson, Adam Frazier and Mychal Givens) for a combined $23MM on one-year guarantees.
After a breakout season that saw the O’s win 101 games to take the top seed in the American League, the front office should be more aggressive than ever. Bringing in Hader would represent a very significant shift in operating procedure. In addition to the huge financial commitment, Baltimore would have to relinquish their third-highest pick in next summer’s draft. Hader declined a qualifying offer from the Padres, so he’s attached to signing compensation.
If the O’s are willing to meet those costs, Hader is a sensible target. He’s one of the few relievers who can approach the kind of production the O’s lost when Félix Bautista underwent Tommy John surgery that’ll cost him the entire 2024 season. Hader is also a Maryland native who began his professional career as a 19th-round pick by the Orioles in 2012. While that selection was made by a previous front office, Elias was a high-ranking scouting official with the Astros when Houston acquired Hader as a prospect at the 2013 deadline.
Hader is in his own tier as a free agent relief target. Hicks finds himself in the next group, arguably the #2 option on the open market. One of the hardest throwers in the sport, he averages around 100 MPH on his sinker. Hicks has wobbly control but consistently runs huge ground-ball numbers. He’s coming off arguably the best season of his career, turning in 65 2/3 innings of 3.29 ERA ball between the Cardinals and Blue Jays. The righty struck out a solid 28.4% of batters faced, the highest rate of his career.
Injuries (most notably a June ’19 Tommy John procedure) dogged Hicks between 2019-21. He has mostly stayed healthy over the past two seasons, topping 60 frames in each. He’s also the youngest free agent reliever of note, having turned 27 in September. Hicks should secure at least three years and has a solid case for a four-year pact at an average annual value in the $8-10MM range.
Chapman and Kimbrel would be shorter-term plays. Two of the best closers of their generation, they’re each entering their age-36 campaign. Both pitchers have battled some inconsistency in recent seasons, but they’re coming off solid 2023 performances. Chapman worked to a 3.09 ERA with an eye-popping 41.4% strikeout percentage over 58 1/3 frames between the Royals and Rangers. Kimbrel posted a 3.26 ERA while fanning a little over a third of his opponents in 69 regular season innings with Philadelphia, although he struggled over six innings in the playoffs.
Pirates Release Thomas Hatch To Pursue Overseas Opportunity
The Pirates have released right-hander Thomas Hatch, as reflected on the MLB.com transaction log. A Korean-language report from IS Plus suggested Hatch had received interest from teams in both NPB and the KBO and is likely to sign with the Nippon-Ham Fighters in Japan. Hatch had occupied a spot on Pittsburgh’s 40-man roster. His release will drop that tally to 36.
Pittsburgh snagged Hatch off waivers from the Blue Jays in early August. The 29-year-old occupied a depth role down the stretch, logging 22 2/3 innings over 12 appearances. He posted a 4.03 ERA despite a modest 17% strikeout rate. Paired with six MLB appearances for the Jays earlier in the season, Hatch tossed 28 2/3 innings of 4.26 ERA ball — his largest big league workload to date.
Originally a third-round pick of the Cubs in 2016, Hatch landed with the Jays at the ’19 deadline in a trade that sent veteran reliever David Phelps to Chicago. The Oklahoma State product debuted in the majors the following year and saw some big league action in each of the past four seasons. He has allowed 4.96 earned runs per nine in 69 career innings.
Hatch would have been out of minor league option years going into 2024. He’d likely have had a tenuous hold on a bullpen spot in Pittsburgh and could well have found himself on outright waivers at some point over the offseason. Instead, he should lock in a guaranteed salary — quite likely one north of the $740K MLB minimum — and could position himself for other major league opportunities in future offseasons. Hatch throws in the mid 90s and owns a reasonable 4.49 ERA over parts of three Triple-A campaigns, making him an attractive target for evaluators in Japan and Korea.
Free Agent Prediction Contest Leaderboard Now Available
6,135 people submitted entries in MLBTR’s annual free agent prediction contest! The contest leaderboard is now available. Tom Diesman is currently in the lead with an impressive five correct picks for the seven top 50 free agents who have signed so far. Tom’s lofty .714 contest batting average surely won’t last, but he’s off to a blazing start having nailed the destinations of Aaron Nola, Sonny Gray, Kenta Maeda, Reynaldo Lopez, and Nick Martinez. Last year, Steve Sacks won the contest with a .295 average (13 of 44).
MLBTR’s Top 50 Free Agents list was originally published on November 6th. You can check that out here.
NPB’s Hanshin Tigers Sign Javy Guerra, Re-Sign Sheldon Neuse
The Hanshin Tigers of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball announced this week that they’ve signed right-hander Javy Guerra for the 2024 season (Japanese language link via Yahoo Japan). Hanshin has also re-signed infielder Sheldon Neuse and right-hander Jeremy Beasley, per the team’s web site. It’ll be the second season with the Tigers for both former big leaguers and Guerra’s first overseas.
Guerra, 28, once ranked as one of the top prospects in all of baseball while rising through the Red Sox and Padres systems as a shortstop. After struggling at the plate as he climbed the minor league ladder, however, he moved to the mound and has now appeared in each of the past five big league seasons, splitting time between the Padres, Rays and Brewers. Guerra is one of the game’s hardest throwers, averaging 98 mph on his heater and at times climbing into triple digits, but he’s battled significant command issues that have hampered his results.
In 63 MLB innings, Guerra has walked 14.3% of his opponents. He hasn’t balanced that out with the type of gaudy strikeout rate one might imagine either, setting down just 15% of his opponents on strikes. The poor command of his power repertoire has contributed to an ugly 6.43 ERA in the big leagues, but Guerra sports a career 2.87 ERA, 28% strikeout rate and far more palatable 9.6% walk rate in 78 1/3 Triple-A innings across two seasons. He’ll look to match that form more closely with the Tigers. And, at 28 years of age, if Guerra can harness his power arsenal in NPB and improve his command, he’s young enough to parlay this stint into a big league return down the road.
As for Neuse, he’ll be a familiar name for fans of the A’s, Dodgers and perhaps the Nationals (who selected him in the second round of the 2016 draft and traded him to Oakland alongside Jesus Luzardo for both Ryan Madson and Sean Doolittle). The now-28-year-old infielder hit .212/.262/.296 in parts of three seasons between Oakland and Los Angeles (420 plate appearances) and turned in a .240/.295/.328 batting line with Hanshin last season.
As for Beasley, the 28-year-old pitched 24 2/3 innings of 5.84 ERA ball between the D-backs and Blue Jays from 2020-22. He tossed 41 innings for the Tigers’ top-level club in 2023 (plus 44 innings with their minor league squad) and handled himself quite nicely, logging a 2.20 ERA with a 25.3% strikeout rate and 7.6% walk rate in that time.
Mets Continuing To Explore Rotation Market
The Mets are soon to add Luis Severino to their rotation, as they’re in the process of finalizing a $13MM contract with the longtime Yankee. That’s one of what’ll surely be multiple additions to the starting staff, as New York entered the offseason with only Kodai Senga and José Quintana locked into rotation spots.
There’s no secret about their interest in NPB superstar Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the three-time winner of the Sawamura Award (Japan’s Cy Young equivalent). Upwards of a dozen teams are in the mix for the 25-year-old righty, who seems likely to command the largest contract of any pure pitcher in this year’s class. Jon Heyman of the New York Post wrote this afternoon that some rival clubs consider the Mets the favorite on Yamamoto, but there’ll be no shortage of competition.
Unsurprisingly, the front office has its eye on multiple options on the open market. Michael Marino of Fantrax tweeted this week that the club was showing interest in left-hander Jordan Montgomery. Andy Martino of SNY echoes that sentiment, calling Montgomery “a more likely target” than fellow free agent southpaws Blake Snell and Eduardo Rodriguez.
Montgomery has been a popular name. He is also known to have drawn attention from the Red Sox, Yankees and incumbent Rangers. It stands to reason there are numerous additional suitors for the soon to be 31-year-old, who is coming off a 3.20 ERA across 188 2/3 innings. That’s a career-best mark, but he has allowed fewer than four earned runs per nine while reaching 30+ starts in each of the past three seasons.
In addition to their Yamamoto pursuit, the Mets apparently also have some level of interest in Shota Imanaga. Martino adds that they’ll “explore” the market on the left-hander, the second-best pitcher coming over from Japan this offseason. Imanaga was officially posted by the Yokohama BayStars this week, opening a 45-day window for him to sign with a major league team.
While Imanaga isn’t the same caliber of pitcher as Yamamoto, he has a chance to beat the five-year, $75MM pact which the Mets gave Senga last offseason. Imanaga turned 30 in September, so he’s one of the younger free agent arms available (albeit nowhere near as young as Yamamoto). He’s coming off a 2.80 ERA showing over 148 innings in NPB. Imanaga struck out 174 hitters, fanning a little over 29% of batters faced. Evaluators with whom MLBTR spoke projected him as a potential mid-rotation arm. Brandon Tew of Spots Info Solutions took a look at Imanaga’s repertoire yesterday, praising his command and the carry he generates on his low-90s four-seam fastball.
Each of Montgomery and Imanaga could land five or more years. A pact of that length would align with the Mets’ general competitive timeline. Team officials have made clear they won’t punt on the upcoming season but are targeting 2025 and beyond as a more realistic contention window.
To that end, Martino suggests they’re unlikely to be actively involved in trade discussions for a star player whose contract expires at the end of next season. He reports that the Mets are not in discussions with the Rays on Tyler Glasnow at present. (While Martino doesn’t specifically mention Corbin Burnes or Shane Bieber, it’d be similarly logical for the team to mostly sit out those discussions as well.) They’re seemingly reluctant to relinquish significant future value for a rental on the heels of a fourth-place finish in a competitive NL East.
Giants Re-Sign Thomas Szapucki To Minor League Deal
The Giants have re-signed left-hander Thomas Szapucki to a minor league deal, per his transactions tracker at MLB.com. The club had just non-tendered him a couple of weeks ago. He’s been assigned to Triple-A Sacramento for the time being.
Szapucki, now 27, didn’t pitch in any official capacity in 2023. He experienced some elbow discomfort in the spring which eventually led to surgery to correct thoracic outlet syndrome in May. He stayed on the 60-day injured list all year until he was non-tendered a couple of weeks back. That sent him into free agency without him being exposed to waivers, which allowed the Giants to re-sign him.
Prior to the lost season, Szapucki had appeared in 12 major league games between the 2021 and 2022 seasons. He was with the Mets until coming to the Giants as part of the Darin Ruf trade. He has an 8.68 earned run average in that time, though that’s obviously a very small sample. In Triple-A in 2022, he tossed 72 1/3 innings with a 3.11 ERA and 33.7% strikeout rate.
His health will be a factor going forward, as the track record for pitchers who have dealt with TOS is mixed. Merrill Kelly bounced back without seeming to miss a beat, whereas pitchers like Stephen Strasburg, Matt Harvey and Joe Ross weren’t so lucky. Back in July, Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post looked at that disparity and highlighted that there are two different types of TOS. Kelly had venous TOS whereas Strasburg had neurogenic TOS.
The Giants will be hoping that Szapucki can get back to health and back in form. He showed big strikeout stuff in the minors in 2022, which is surely part of the reason why they acquired him from the Mets, for whom he was a top 5-20 prospect on his way up to the big leagues. If the southpaw can earn his way back onto the roster, he still has an option season and just over a year of service time.