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Yankees Sign James Norwood To Minor League Deal

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The Yankees have signed right-hander James Norwood to a minor league deal, according to Jack Curry of YES Network. Norwood will presumably receive an invite to major league Spring Training, though no official announcement has been made.

Norwood, 29 later this month, has seen limited big league action in each of the past five seasons. Spending time with the Cubs, Padres and Phillies, he’s tallied a combined 44 1/3 innings over those seasons with a 5.48 ERA. In 2022, he threw 17 1/3 frames with an ERA of 8.31, though likely deserved better. His 25.9% strikeout rate was strong and his 10.6% walk rate high but within range of average. A .423 batting average on balls in play and 53% strand rate surely added some extra earned runs to his ledger.

It was a fairly similar story in Triple-A, with the righty posting a 4.87 ERA in 20 1/3 innings. He struck out 27.3% of batters faced but was undone by a 12.5% walk rate, .358 BABIP and 56.7% strand rate.

Norwood will provide the Yanks with an experienced depth option and also a local connection. As noted by Curry, he went to All Hallows High School in the Bronx, just a couple of blocks away from Yankee Stadium. Norwood is out of options and will have to hang onto a roster spot if he earns one, or else be designated for assignment.

Giants Have Been In Contact With Dansby Swanson

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The market for shortstop Dansby Swanson has begun to heat up, according to Russell Dorsey of Bally Sports. He lists the Dodgers, Giants, Twins, Cubs, Red Sox and Braves as teams with interest. Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports that the Giants have been in touch with Swanson’s representatives, but that it doesn’t appear any decision is imminent.

The Twins, Cubs, Red Sox and Braves have all previously been connected to Swanson this offseason, though the mentions of the Dodgers and Giants are new. This offseason featured a group of shortstops known as the “big four,” with Trea Turner already signed with the Phillies and Xander Bogaerts with the Padres. That leaves Carlos Correa and Swanson as the two of that group left for all those shortstop-needy teams.

Though Correa and Swanson are connected in the sense that they are the two surefire everyday shortstops remaining, there’s a significant difference between the two. Both have strong reputations for their glovework, though Correa’s overall body of work at the plate is stronger. At the start of the season, MLBTR predicted a nine-year, $288MM contract for Correa but a seven-year, $154MM deal for Swanson.

Most teams would surely prefer Correa in a vacuum but the price might be an issue. Both Turner and Bogaerts got at least three years longer than projected and each secured a larger overall guarantee as well. With that context, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Correa and Swanson also end up getting deals larger than their projections.

The Giants were seen by many as the favorites for Correa after they made an offer in the $360MM range to Aaron Judge that he declined in order to return to the Yankees. However, it stands to reason that they would also reach out to Swanson and see if there’s a significant difference in the respective markets. Since the Judge non-signing, they’ve agreed to some smaller deals for Sean Manaea and Ross Stripling, bringing their 2023 payroll up to $164MM, per Roster Resource. It’s unclear how far they want to push spending this offseason, but they are still sitting on a competitive balance tax figure of $180MM, leaving them over $50MM of room before reaching the lowest luxury tax barrier of $233MM.

Giving Correa a salary in the $30MM range wouldn’t push them into the luxury tax on its own, but they do have other needs on the roster as well. They are reportedly still interested in retaining Carlos Rodón, who will also require a contract somewhere in the vicinity of $30MM on an annual basis. Adding both Rodón and Correa would start pushing them into luxury tax territory, whereas the dropdown to Swanson could lead to something closer to $20MM annually. If the CBT barrier is something they’re trying to avoid, then it’s possible the difference between a Correa and a Swanson deal could be significant for them.

For the Dodgers, they have lost their incumbent shortstop in Turner, who is now with the Phillies. The club is reportedly comfortable with moving Gavin Lux from second base to be their new shortstop, though it also makes sense for them to explore what else is available. However, they are apparently not pursuing Correa, given both his ties to the scandal-plagued 2017 Astros team that defeated the Dodgers in the World Series, as well as his high asking price. Perhaps Swanson is an attractive backup plan for the club, though they might also prefer to wait until they get clarity on the Trevor Bauer situation before making firm commitments. He is appealing his suspension and if he is successful in overturning it, the club’s CBT figure would jump from around $189MM to over $220MM. A decision is expected in the next month or so.

If that scenario were to come to pass, even a slightly more modest deal for Swanson would push them over the line into tax payor status. Since the club is reportedly considering dipping under the line to reset their status, that could be an issue. The CBT features escalating penalties for paying in consecutive seasons, meaning that the Dodgers could stay under the line in 2023 but go into 2024 as “first-time” payors.

Though he’s likely to secure a lesser contract than Correa, Swanson is no slouch. He hit 27 home runs in 2022 and produced an overall batting line of .277/.329/.447 for a wRC+ of 116. That was his first time being above-average at the plate over a full season, though it showed that he is capable of being an all-around contributor. He also stole 18 bases and posted excellent defensive marks, leading to 6.4 wins above replacement on the season, in the eyes of FanGraphs.

A’s Designate Ernie Clement, Yonny Hernandez For Assignment

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The Athletics announced Tuesday that they’ve designated infielders Ernie Clement and Yonny Hernandez for assignment. Their spots on the 40-man roster will go to veterans Jace Peterson and Aledmys Diaz, each of whom signed a two-year contract with Oakland last week. That pair of deals has now been formally announced by the team.’

Clement, 26, was a late-September waiver claim out of the Guardians organization and appeared in six games for the A’s down the stretch, going 1-for-18 in that tiny sample. He’s appeared in 109 big league games across the past two seasons and tallied 312 plate appearances, albeit with just a .204/.261/.264 slash to show for it. Clement, however, has drawn outstanding defensive grades in a limited sample of 313 innings at third base (plus-5 Defensive Runs Saved, plus-7 Outs Above Average). He’s long been viewed as a player whose game is more built around speed and defensive versatility, though if he’s to eventually carve out a role as utility player he’ll need to hit more than he has.

In parts of three Triple-A seasons, Clement carries a much more palatable .261/.311/.419 batting line, and he has a minor league option remaining as well. He’s spent time at all four infield positions and in both outfielder corners as a professional, even tossing a pair of mop-up relief innings in the Majors. He also logged a fair bit of time in center field in college at the University of Virgina.

Hernandez, 24, is a similarly versatile player in the speed-and-defense utilityman mold. The A’s claimed him off waivers from the D-backs earlier this winter. He’s managed just a .198/.293/.228 batting line in 194 Major League plate appearances but carries a .245/.384/.324 batting line in 549 Triple-A plate appearances. Hernandez walks at a high clip and rarely strikes out, though his contact-oriented approach is entirely devoid of power, so the balls he puts into play are rarely hit hard — evidenced by the fact that he has just five home runs in 586 professional games (all in the minors).

That said, Hernandez has drawn plus marks for his glovework at three positions, per Defensive Runs Saved: third base (6 in 299 innings), second base (2 in 84 innings) and shortstop (2 in 39 innings). He’s also swiped 32 bases in each of the past two seasons. While Clement has one minor league option remaining, Hernandez has two.

The A’s will have a week to trade either player or else place them outright waivers, at which point they can be claimed by any other team willing to commit a 40-man roster spot. Should they clear waivers, both players could be retained as Triple-A depth without requiring a 40-man roster spot.

KBO’s Hanwha Eagles Re-Sign Felix Pena

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Right-hander Felix Pena is returning to the Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization on a one-year deal that’ll guarantee him $850K, tweets Jee-ho Yoo of South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency.

Pena, 33 in February, landed with the Eagles midway through the 2022 season and immediately stepped into their rotation, finding success right out of the gate. He took the ball 13 times, logging a 3.72 ERA and 3.44 FIP with a 24.6% strikeout rate, a 10.2% walk rate and an enormous 70.9% ground-ball rate in 67 2/3 innings. Yoo notes that Pena’s season ended prematurely when a line-drive fractured his nose. Fortunately, it seems he escaped long-term injury.

That 70.9% ground-ball rate vastly outpaced any mark that Pena posted in his pro career in the U.S., although he’d seemingly made that an area of focus in recent seasons. Pena scrapped his four-seamer in favor of a sinker upon joining the Angels in 2018, and he’d turned in a 53.3% grounder rate in Triple-A with the Mets’ Triple-A affiliate this past summer before signing in South Korea.

A solid swingman with the Halos from 2018-20, Pena turned in a combined 215 2/3 innings of 4.34 ERA ball with a 23.6% strikeout rate, a 7.7% walk rate and a 43.4% grounder rate during that three-year run. He’s made 24 starts at the MLB level in addition to another 80 relief outings. He suffered an ACL tear with the 2019 Angels, rebounded with a solid 2020 effort and then posted disastrous results both in the Majors and in Triple-A during the 2021 season. A hamstring strain shelved him for the first six weeks that season, and he was clobbered for seven runs in just 1 2/3 frames upon returning. The Halos passed him through waivers and retained his rights, but he surrendered 61 innings in 68 1/3 Triple-A frames over the remainder of the year in Salt Lake.

With another solid KBO showing in 2023, it’s possible that Pena could put himself back on the big league radar, though he’d be a free agent in advance of his age-34 season, which isn’t ideal. If nothing else, another quality year there could open the door for a larger salary upon re-signing a third contract with the Eagles — or perhaps for a jump to Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. Regardless, the $850K guarantee on Pena’s deal with the Eagles is more than he’d have earned while spending the majority of the season in Triple-A on a minor league deal with an MLB club, so it’s easy to see why he preferred to return for a full season.

Curt Simmons Passes Away

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The Phillies announced that former big leaguer Curt Simmons has passed away. He was 93 years old.

Born and raised in Pennsylvania, Simmons got his big break when pitching in an exhibition match between the Phillies and local high school players. Simmons struck out 11 Phils and then signed with the club on a $65K bonus. He went on to make his MLB debut in 1947 and stick around in the majors through the 1967 season, getting into 20 different campaigns. Most of that came with the Phillies, though he also pitched for the Cardinals, Cubs and Angels.

After a few decent seasons, he broke out in 1952, posting a 2.82 ERA in 201 1/3 innings of work. He made the All-Star team that year, the first of three such appearances in his career, also getting selected in 1953 and 1957. With the Cardinals in 1964, Simmons threw 244 innings with a 3.43 ERA, followed by another two starts in the World Series. He posted a 2.51 ERA in 14 1/3 innings as the Cardinals defeated the Yankees 4-3.

He would go on to pitch in the next three seasons, with 1967 being his last. He finished his career with 3,348 1/3 innings over 569 games. His win-loss record was 193-183, with 163 complete games, 36 shutouts and 1,697 strikeouts. He made three All-Star teams and won a World Series. MLBTR sends our condolences to his family, friends, loved ones, former teammates and all those mourning him today.

Twins To Sign Jose De León

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Right-hander Jose De León is joining the Twins, with the hurler himself announcing the agreement on Twitter. Presumably, it’s a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training, though no formal announcement has been made.

De León, 30, was once considered one of the best prospects in all of baseball. While in the Dodgers’ organization, Baseball America ranked him #23 in 2016 and #29 in 2017 among all prospects in the league. Unfortunately, injuries have been severely holding him back from living up to his potential since then.

He was traded to the Rays prior to 2017 but only pitched in 11 games that season. In March of 2018, he required Tommy John surgery, which wiped out that entire year. He returned and pitched in 22 games in 2019 before getting flipped to Cincinnati. He saw some brief time in the big leagues with the Reds in 2020 and 2021 but was released. For 2022, he signed a minors deal with the Jays but got hurt in the spring and didn’t make his season debut until August.

De León continues to get chances based on his previous prospect pedigree but it’s been a while since he’s had an extended period of time to showcase his skills. For the Twins, there’s little harm in adding him to their system as a depth option in case injuries elsewhere on the roster create a need for him down the line.

A’s To Sign Yohel Pozo To Minor League Deal

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The A’s are in agreement on a minor league contract with catcher Yohel Pozo, reports Alden González of ESPN. Pozo will receive an invitation to major league Spring Training.

Pozo, 26 in June, has spent almost his entire career with the Rangers thus far. He was very briefly a Padre, having signed a minor league deal in November of 2020 but then was selected back by the Rangers in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft just a couple of weeks later.

Pozo has been compared to Willians Astudillo, since the players have a similar penchant for putting the bat on the ball. Pozo has never posted a walk rate of 8% or higher and has never struck out at anything higher than a 13% clip. He seemed to have a nice breakout in 2021, hitting 23 home runs in 77 Triple-A games, which led to his major league debut. In 21 big league games, he hit .284/.312/.378 for a wRC+ of 89, roughly league average for a catcher. Despite that nice year, he was non-tendered and re-signed to a minor league deal for 2022. He hit .320/.352/.474, which amounted to a wRC+ of 104 in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.

For the A’s, they made a very notable subtraction to their catching depth yesterday, trading Sean Murphy to Atlanta. They did get Manny Piña back in that deal, though he is a veteran placeholder who turns 36 next year. Their true path forward behind the plate will likely be forged by Shea Langeliers, who made his MLB debut last year, or Tyler Soderstrom, who made it to Triple-A. However, anyone in that group struggles or gets injured, Pozo will give the A’s a unique depth option. If he makes it onto their 40-man roster, he has a full slate of options.

Marlins, Chi Chi Gonzalez Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Marlins have agreed to a minor league contract with free-agent righty Chi Chi Gonzalez, tweets Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Presumably, the Paragon Sports client will vie for a roster spot in Spring Training.

Gonzalez, 30, was a first-round pick by the Rangers back in 2013 and has spent parts of seven seasons in the Majors. He has had some success in the minors but has rarely been able to be effective in the majors. For his career, he has a 5.66 ERA in 284 2/3 big league innings.

It was a similar story in 2022, with Gonzalez spending time with the Brewers, Twins and Yankees throughout the season. He tossed 23 innings in seven games between those three clubs, but with a 5.87 ERA, 15.2% strikeout rate and 7.1% walk rate. In 80 1/3 minor league innings, it was a 4.03 ERA, striking out 20.8% of batters faced while walking 7.9%.

For the Marlins, pitching is their strong suit but they’ve long been rumored to be considering a trade from their rotation surplus to upgrade their offense. They’ve yet to pull the trigger on a significant pitching deal, but Gonzalez gives them a veteran depth option if they do. As of right now, their rotation consists of Sandy Alcantara, Pablo López, Jesús Luzardo, Edward Cabrera, Trevor Rogers and Braxton Garrett, with prospect Eury Pérez on the way from the minors.

Red Sox Designate Hoy Park For Assignment

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The Red Sox have designated infielder Hoy Park for assignment, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive. The move is in correspondence with the signing of reliever Kenley Jansen, which the Sox are making official today.

Park, 27 in April, spent most of his career in the Yankees organization before going to the Pirates in 2021 as part of the Clay Holmes trade. Between the two clubs, he’s gotten into 68 MLB contests, but with a tepid .201/.291/.346 batting line to show for it. That amounts to a wRC+ of 74, indicating he’s been 26% below league average.

He has occasionally had better showings with the bat, particularly a 48-game showing at Triple-A with the Yankees prior to the trade. In that stretch, he hit .327/.475/.567 for a wRC+ of 180. Unfortunately, he couldn’t keep that going after the deal. In 89 Triple-A games in 2022, he hit .225/.332/.354, 86 wRC+.

Despite that inconsistent work at the plate, Park at least provides speed and defensive versatility. He has regularly put up double-digit steals in the minors and has played the three infield positions to the left of first base as well as all three outfield slots. There was enough intrigue from the Red Sox to acquire him from the Pirates in November, sending prospect Inmer Lobo the other way, but they have now designated him for assignment just three weeks later. They will have one week to try to work out a trade or pass him through waivers. Park has previously been outrighted in his career, meaning he would have the right to reject another outright assignment and elect free agency if he clears waivers.

Giants Outright Miguel Yajure

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The Giants passed right-hander Miguel Yajure through outright waivers unclaimed and have assigned him to Triple-A Sacramento, tweets Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area. That removes him from the 40-man roster and opens a spot for right-hander Ross Stripling, whose two-year deal has been officially announced by the Giants.

San Francisco claimed Yajure off waivers from the Pirates just 11 days ago, and they’ll now be able to stash the 6’1″, 215-pound righty in the upper minors as a depth piece for either the rotation or the bullpen. The 24-year-old righty, originally signed as an amateur by the Yankees, went to Pittsburgh alongside Roansy Contreras as part of the package that sent Jameson Taillon from the Pirates to the Yankees.

Yajure has spent time in the Majors in each of the past three seasons but has yet to find much success, logging a 7.58 ERA in 46 1/3 MLB frames to date. Command has been a considerable obstacle, as he’s walked 13% of his opponents and been tagged for an average of 1.94 home runs per nine innings pitched. That said, Yajure isn’t all that far removed from ranking as one of the better pitching prospects in both the Yankees’ and Pirates’ systems, and he enjoyed a strong Triple-A showing with Pittsburgh in 2021 when he logged 43 2/3 innings of 3.09 ERA ball with a 23% strikeout rate and 7.5% walk rate.

Elbow and forearm injuries limited Yajure to just nine starts during that otherwise solid 2021 showing in Triple-A, however, and he returned with struggles not only in the big leagues but in Triple-A this past season as well (6.09 ERA in 54 2/3 innings). Now that he’s successfully been passed through waivers, Yajure can focus on getting healthy and rounding back into form with an organization that has developed a knack for maximizing output from its pitchers. The Giants are exceptionally deep in rotation options, with Logan Webb, Alex Wood, Alex Cobb, Anthony DeSclafani, Jakob Junis and newcomers Stripling and Sean Manaea, so at this point, Yajure is likelier to be viewed as bullpen depth than starting depth.

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