Alex Faedo To Have Fourth Option Year In 2024
Tigers right-hander Alex Faedo will have a fourth option year in 2024, according to MLive’s Evan Woodbery.
Typically, players have three option seasons with one used each season during which the player spends at least 20 days on optional assignment in the minor leagues. A player is considered to be on optional assignment when on a club’s 40-man roster but sent to the minor leagues while not on a rehab assignment. Faedo, 28, was first added to Detroit’s 40-man roster back in November of 2020 and has been optioned to the minor leagues in each of the three seasons since, spending at least 20 days in the minor leagues each time. Under normal circumstances, that would leave Faedo out of options headed into the 2024 season, meaning the Tigers would either have to expose Faedo to waivers before attempting to return him to the minor leagues.
Occasionally, teams are granted a fourth option year on certain players, typically due to the player missing significant time with injury. MLB.com explains that players with less than five full professional seasons (defined as at least 90 days on a major or minor league active roster) are eligible for a fourth option year. That applies to Faedo, who underwent Tommy John surgery in December of 2020 and missed the entire 2021 season while rehabbing. Between his lost 2021 campaign and the cancelled minor league season in 2020, Faedo has just four full professional seasons under his belt in 2018, 2019, 2022, and 2023.
The news offers the Tigers considerable roster flexibility headed into the 2024 season. The club’s first-round pick in the 2017 draft, Faedo had the look of a potential back-end starter in 2023 with a 4.45 ERA and 4.85 FIP across 64 2/3 innings of work in the majors split between the rotation and bullpen. Faedo’s work out of the bullpen late in the season was particularly impressive, as the righty posted a 1.04 ERA with a 34.4% strikeout rate in September after moving to shorter appearances, maxing out around 40 pitches. Given Faedo’s strong numbers out of the bullpen and presumed lack of minor league options, the righty seemed poised to enter the 2024 season as a member of Detroit’s Opening Day bullpen.
While that’s certainly still an option, it’s possible the Tigers could take the opportunity to allow Faedo to continue attempting to develop as a starting pitcher in the minor leagues to open the season. Of course, even if Faedo makes the club’s Opening Day roster in 2024, the right-hander’s option eligibility figures to allow Detroit additional flexibility as they look to maneuver their bullpen throughout the season, particularly given the fact that arms such as Joey Wentz and Miguel Diaz will be out of options in 2024, restricting the Tigers’ ability to move them off the active roster while retaining them as members of the organization.
Yankees Notes: Third Base, Kiner-Falefa, Peralta
After landing Alex Verdugo from their arch-rival Red Sox in a rare trade between the sides earlier this evening, the Yankees still figure to look for upgrades to a lineup that ranked 19th in the majors with a 94 wRC+ in 2023 despite another fantastic season from team captain Aaron Judge, who slashed .267/.406/.613 with 37 home runs in just 106 games this season. Those upgrades don’t appear likely to come in the form of an addition at third base, however, as GM Brian Cashman told reporters (including MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch) earlier today that the club feels “covered” around the infield and does not consider third base to be an area of need this offseason.
While the Yankees figure to return Anthony Rizzo, Gleyber Torres, and Anthony Volpe as established regulars at first base, second base, and shortstop respectively, the hot corner features a little more uncertainty next season. Yankees third basemen slashed a collective .225/.302/.361 this past season, good for an 85 wRC+ that ranked better than just eight teams in 2023. Veteran infielder DJ LeMahieu took most of the club’s reps at the hot corner last season with 67 starts, though each of Josh Donaldson, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Oswald Peraza and Oswaldo Cabrera also contributed as the Yankees mixed-and-matched at the position.
With Donaldson and Kiner-Falefa both having departed the organization, that would seemingly leave LeMahieu in line to receive the most reps at the position once again in 2024. The 35-year-old veteran just completed the third season of his six-year, $90MM contract with the Yankees. LeMahieu got roughly league average results (101 wRC+) at the plate in 2023 with a .243/.327/.390 slash line in 136 games. While LeMahieu’s 15 home runs tied his 2018 total with the Rockies for the second-highest of his career in a single season, the added power came at the cost of discipline. LeMahieu struck out at a career-high 22.2% clip this past season, well above both his career average of 15.2% and the 13.1% mark he posted in 2022.
Despite the additional whiffs as LeMahieu enters his mid-thirties, the veteran is likely still the club’s best option at the hot corner entering the year as both Cabrera and Peraza are coming off disastrous offensive seasons at the plate. While Peraza performed solidly at the Triple-A level with a 108 wRC+ in 300 plate appearances, the 23-year-old looked over-matched in the big leagues with a meager .191/.267/.272 slash line in a 52 games in the majors. Cabrera, meanwhile, appeared in 115 games for the Yankees as a utility player and struggled similarly across 330 big league plate appearances, slashing just .211/.275/.299 in that time.
Even as Cashman suggests the club is set at third with their internal options, Hoch reports that the club is at least considering adding one more bat to their infield mix: Kiner-Falefa. Jon Heyman of the New York Post echoes Hoch’s report of interest in bringing IKF back to the Bronx, but makes clear that the Yankees are far from alone in their interest in the utilityman; Heyman suggests that as many as 12 teams have interest in Kiner-Falefa’s services this offseason. The 28-year-old doesn’t contribute much at the plate, as he posted an 82 wRC+ in 2023 that nearly matches his career mark of 81, but he makes up for that lack of offensive ability with strong glovework all around the diamond.
Kiner-Falefa began his big league career as a backup catcher, though he hasn’t appeared behind the plate since the 2019 season. Since then, he’s proved to be an elite defensive infielder, winning a Gold Glove at third base in 2020 while offering strong defense at shortstop as well. IKF further expanded his defensive profile in 2023, appearing in 78 games on the outfield grass including 278 1/3 defensive innings of work in center field. While Kiner-Falefa’s strongest defensive marks come on the infield dirt, he posted a respectable +1 OAA and -1 DRS in center this season, potentially making him an attractive bench piece for teams in need of defensive versatility.
IKF isn’t the only outgoing free agent the Yankees reportedly have interest in retaining, as both Heyman and Hoch suggest the club has discussed a reunion with lefty reliever Wandy Peralta. Peralta, 32, has spent parts of eight seasons in the big leagues splitting time between three organizations but saw his career reach a new level since joining the Yankees partway through the 2021 season. Across 165 appearances in pinstripes, Peralta posted a 2.82 ERA that was 49% better than league average by measure of ERA+, though his 4.00 FIP leaves something to be desired. Advanced metrics are particularly critical of Peralta’s 2023 campaign. Despite a sterling 2.83 ERA in 54 innings, the southpaw posted a 5.05 FIP, 4.50 xFIP and 4.44 SIERA this past season.
Much of that disparity is thanks to a whopping 13.2% walk rate that was papered over in terms of Peralta’s raw run prevention numbers thanks to a microscopic .218 BABIP allowed and a career-high 85.2% strand rate. Despite those red flags, however, Peralta has gotten results in each of the past four seasons with a 3.01 ERA dating back to the start of the 2020 season. Much of that success has been thanks to Peralta’s excellence against left-handed hitters, to whom he’s surrendered a slash line of just .213/.308/.330 throughout his big league career. That’s surely a particularly attractive trait for the Yankees, who currently sport just two left-handed relief options on their 40-man roster in Nick Ramirez and Matt Krook.
Cubs Re-Sign Ethan Roberts To Minor League Deal
The Cubs have re-signed right-hander Ethan Roberts on a minor league deal, according to the transactions log on Roberts’s MLB.com player page. The deal presumably includes an invite to big league Spring Training.
Roberts, 26, missed the entire 2023 campaign after undergoing Tommy John surgery in June of 2022. Chicago’s fourth-round pick from the 2018 draft made just nine appearances in the big leagues before going under the knife, struggling to an 8.22 ERA and 8.59 FIP during that time. The injury-plagued start to his big league career belies Roberts’ strong track record in the minor leagues. The 2019 campaign was Roberts’ first full professional season, and he impressed with a sparkling 2.59 ERA in 59 innings split between the Single-A and High-A levels. Roberts did not pitch in 2022 due to the cancelled minor league season, but returned to his prior dominance in 2021 as he posted a 3.00 ERA with a 32.6% strikeout rate in 54 innings of work split between the Double-A and Triple-A levels that season.
Strong as those minor league numbers were, Roberts’ non-existent big league track record and lengthy absence from the mound in recent years led the Cubs to non-tender him prior to last month’s tender deadline. Looking ahead to 2024, Roberts is expected to have a normal offseason this winter and be ready for camp come the spring, when the righty could look to compete for a spot in the club’s Opening Day bullpen. Adbert Alzolay, Julian Merryweather, and Mark Leiter Jr. all appear to be locks for Chicago’s relief corps next season after strong 2023 campaigns, leaving Roberts to join the likes of Keegan Thompson, Jose Cuas and Daniel Palencia in a battle for one of the club’s remaining bullpen spots.
Reds Have Discussed Dylan Cease Trade With White Sox
The Reds have engaged in conversations with the White Sox regarding right-hander Dylan Cease this offseason, per Gordon Wittenmyer of The Cincinnati Enquirer. Cease, 28 this month, has been among the most discussed trade targets of the offseason to this point, with Chicago GM Chris Getz suggesting yesterday that there’s no club in the majors without at least some level of interest in the right-hander’s services. Wittenmyer goes on to caution that “nothing concrete” has developed from the discussions between the sides at this point.
The fit certainly makes sense for the Reds. The right-hander is coming off something of a down season in 2023 during which he posted a fairly pedestrian 4.58 ERA, though his 3.72 FIP, elevated .330 BABIP, and unusually low 69.4% strand rate all indicate there may have been some bad luck baked into those results. The idea that Cease may be closer to a front-of-the-rotation arm than his 2023 results indicate is backed up by his phenomenal 2022 campaign, during which he posted a sterling 2.20 ERA with a 3.10 FIP while striking out a whopping 30.4% of batters faced. Overall, Cease has pitched to a 3.54 ERA (121 ERA+) with a 3.40 FIP in 97 starts since the start of the 2021 season, striking out 29.8% of batters faced while walking 10.1% along the way.
That sort of playoff-caliber starter would provide a major boost to a Reds club that struggled to a rotation ERA of 5.43 this year, bottom three in the majors ahead of only Oakland and Colorado. The club’s situation isn’t quite as dire as that figure may make it seem; the club has an interesting group of young starters headlined by Hunter Greene and Andrew Abbott that also includes the likes of Graham Ashcraft, Nick Lodolo, Brandon Williamson, and Connor Phillips. The club also recently landed right-hander Nick Martinez on a two-year deal last week, fortifying their rotation depth. That being said, the group offers little certainty aside from Greene, and the addition of a frontline starter such as Cease would take pressure off the club’s younger arms as they look to establish themselves as big league starters.
Cease is far from the only arm the club has looked into who could fill this role. Cincinnati has reportedly discussed a deal for right-hander Shane Bieber with the Guardians while also showing interest in Rays righty Tyler Glasnow. While Cease figures to cost more in terms of prospect capital more than either of those two alternatives, he’s the only one of the trio controllable beyond the 2024 campaign. He also figures to be the cheapest to acquire from a financial perspective, as Cease is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to received just $8.8MM in his penultimate trip through arbitration. By contrast, Bieber is projected for a $12.2MM salary in 2024 while Glasnow’s salary for next season is locked in at $25MM.
The Reds are far from the only team engaged on Cease. While Getz’s remark that all 29 other clubs have interest in Cease’s services is surely at least somewhat hyperbolic, the right-hander has garnered plenty of interest this winter with the Dodgers, Cardinals, Mets, Orioles, and Red Sox among the clubs to show interest in the hurler so far this offseason. The Braves have also been connected to Cease frequently over the past several weeks, though more recent reports have downplayed the club’s interest. Even so, the market for Cease is clearly robust, and there have been indications that a deal for the righty may not come together until the top of the rotation market- which includes the likes of Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Blake Snell– has been sorted out.
Cease is not the only player Wittenmyer suggests the Reds have interest in, as he also connects the club to infielder Jeimer Candelario. That the Reds have interest in Candelario’s services is nothing new, as the sides were linked last month at the outset of free agency. At the time, it seemed likely that the club’s interest in Candelario may have been predicated on a trade from the club’s glut of infielders that already includes Elly De La Cruz, Noelvi Marte, Matt McLain, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Jonathan India, and Spencer Steer. While such a deal has not yet materialized, it seems possible the club’s plans may not be so simple. While not discussing the switch-hitting Candelario specifically, Krall told reporters (as relayed by Wittenmyer) recently that the club “could add a switch-hitter that plays the infield” to their positional mix, with such a move allowing the Reds to “push Steer to the outfield more” often.
Candelario, 30, would add some balance to the club’s righty-dominated infield mix. Only De La Cruz (a fellow switch-hitter) ever bats from the left side among Cincinnati’s bevy of young infielders, though lefties TJ Friedl and Jake Fraley both help to balance the overall lineup somewhat as members of the club’s outfield mix. Candelario, who hit .251/.336/.471 overall last season with the Nationals and Cubs, could be in line of a three- or four-year deal this offseason according to Wittenmyer. That’s in line with MLBTR’s prediction of a four-year, $70MM deal that earned Candelario the #13 spot on our annual Top 50 MLB free agents list.
The Angels, Diamondbacks, Blue Jays and Nationals are among the other clubs Candelario has been connected to this offseason, though it’s worth noting that Arizona subsequently landed Eugenio Suarez in a trade with the Mariners, likely taking them out of the sweepstakes for the third baseman. Despite that interest, Wittenmyer suggests that Candelario’s market, like that of many upper-level positional free agents, has been held up by the bidding on two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani. Ohtani has commanded the attention of big-market clubs such as the Jays, Angels, Dodgers, Cubs and Giants to this point in the offseason, and as such it’s hardly a surprise that the league’s other top free agent hitters prefer to wait out Ohtani’s free agency in case one of those teams looks to pivot after missing out on the superstar.
Mets Sign Kyle Crick To Minor League Deal
DECEMBER 6: Crick’s deal is now official, with Joel Sherman of the New York Post reporting that the righty will earn $950K while in the majors and $180K while in the minor leagues.
DECEMBER 1: The Mets have signed right-hander Kyle Crick to a minor league deal, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The righty, who is represented by Paragon Sports International, has received an invitation to major league Spring Training.
It’s a belated birthday present for Crick, who turned 31 years old yesterday. The righty is coming off a mostly lost season in 2023. He signed a minor league deal with the Rays but opted out at the end of Spring Training and he remained unsigned through the end of the season. He recently joined Águilas Cibaeñas in the Dominican Republic, racking up four strikeouts in three innings there. It seems he looked good enough in that brief winter ball showing to pique the interest of the Mets.
Prior to 2023, Crick made 194 big league appearances from 2017 to 2022, pitching for the Giants, Pirates and White Sox. He has a career 3.56 earned run average, generally getting his fair share of strikeouts but also dealing with control issues. He has punched out 24.6% of batters faced in his career but also given out free passes at a 13.3% clip.
The Mets have been focused on improving their depth in the past few days, giving out one-year deals to Luis Severino, Joey Wendle and Austin Adams. Crick will give the bullpen a bit of extra depth in a non-roster capacity. The Mets traded away Dominic Leone and David Robertson from their bullpen during the 2023 season, then Adam Ottavino opted out of his deal at season’s end.
Orioles “Seriously Engaged” On Craig Kimbrel
The Orioles are “seriously engaged” on free agent reliever Craig Kimbrel, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post (X link). Baltimore has been involved on a number of late-game bullpen arms as they look to compensate for the loss of Félix Bautista to Tommy John surgery.
Kimbrel wouldn’t be as notable a pickup as Josh Hader or Jordan Hicks, in whom Baltimore reportedly also expressed interest. Kimbrel would be a far more affordable acquisition, though. That’s more a reflection of his age (36 in May) than performance, as the nine-time All-Star turned in a generally solid showing for the Phillies.
After inking a $10MM free agent contract with Philadelphia last winter, Kimbrel operated in his customary closing role. He picked up 23 saves with seven more holds while blowing only five leads in the regular season. The right-hander worked to a 3.26 ERA through 69 innings, striking out a little over a third of opponents in the process. Kimbrel’s fastball sat in the customary 96 MPH range, while he picked up a whiff on nearly 14% of his offerings.
It was a good season overall, even if it ended on a less resounding note. Kimbrel allowed four runs with five strikeouts and walks apiece over six innings in the postseason. It was the second consecutive season that didn’t end as he’d hoped; Kimbrel had been left off the Dodgers’ playoff roster in 2022. Yet his overall body of work over the past three years — a 3.10 ERA with a 34.4% strikeout percentage across 188 2/3 innings — is quite strong.
With the possible exception of Hader, no pitcher could reasonably be expected to rival what the O’s would’ve anticipated from a healthy Bautista. Kimbrel remains an above-average reliever, though, one who clearly has no qualms handling the ninth inning. If the O’s plugged him in as closer for a season, they’d be able to keep Yennier Cano and Danny Coulombe in a setup capacity.
Red Sox Interested In Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Michael A. Taylor, Martin Maldonado
The Red Sox are considering a number of position player targets, including a pair of outfielders. MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reports that the Sox are interested in Lourdes Gurriel Jr., KPRC’s Ari Alexander reports that Michael A. Taylor is another player of interest, and Boston is also looking at help behind the plate in Martin Maldonado, according to The Athletic’s Chandler Rome. (All links to X).
Even after the trade of Alex Verdugo to the Yankees earlier tonight, the Red Sox technically still have a set starting outfield in Jarred Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela, and Wilyer Abreu, with Masataka Yoshida available for part-time duty in left field when he isn’t a designated hitter, and utilitymen Rob Refsnyder and Pablo Reyes in the mix. That said, the projected starting outfield doesn’t carry much MLB experience, making a veteran addition like Gurriel (for left field) or Taylor (for center) very sensible.
Gurriel will be the priciest of the group, as MLBTR predicted a four-year, $54MM contract for the 30-year-old while ranking Gurriel 14th on our list of the winter’s top 50 free agents. Over his six Major League seasons with the Blue Jays and Diamondbacks, Gurriel has been a streaky but generally productive bat, hitting .279/.324/.446 for a career 113 wRC+ over 2456 plate appearances. Settling in as a regular left fielder after some poor defensive showings as an infielder at the start of his career, Gurriel’s glovework has been somewhat mixed, yet public metrics were very impressed across the board with his fielding in 2023. It could be that the move to Chase Field from Rogers Centre helped Gurriel’s defense, though dealing with the Green Monster in Fenway Park could be a trickier endeavor.
The Red Sox got a first-hand look at Gurriel during his days in Toronto, and Gurriel has a solid .811 OPS over 180 career PA at Fenway. Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow also crossed paths with Gurriel on a personal level, as Breslow’s last pro season (2018) was spent in the Blue Jays organization when Gurriel spent time at Double-A and Triple-A before making his MLB debut that season.
Since defensive improvements are a stated goal of the Red Sox offseason, signing a former Gold Glover like Taylor would provide immediate help. Taylor’s +5 Defensive Runs Saved, +8 Outs Above Average, and +4.3 UZR/150 over 960 1/3 center field innings with the Twins last season were actually down from some of his elite totals earlier in his career, yet obviously Taylor is still among the best defensive center fielders in the sport. He added to that glovework with one of his better offensive seasons, hitting .220/.278/.442 with 21 home runs in 388 PA for Minnesota in 2023 for a 96 wRC+.
With Byron Buxton unable to play center field due to recurring knee problems, Taylor ended up being very valuable in solidifying Minnesota’s center field situation. The same could be true in Boston, as having Taylor up the middle on even a part-time basis would allow Rafaela to perhaps contribute at second base — another known target area for the Red Sox this winter.
Taylor and Maldonado could come at much lower price tags than Gurriel, and could be had at one-year contracts despite quite a bit of interest in their service. For instance, Maldonado has drawn interest from at least four other teams besides the Red Sox, though a reunion with the Astros now looks to be scuttled given Houston’s signing of Victor Caratini.
Though Maldonado has never contributed much as a hitter, his ability to handle pitchers and call games has been widely praised throughout his career. This allowed Maldonado to continue getting regular at-bats in Houston, and his work with the Astros’ pitchers was seen as a major reason for their development and the peak that was the 2022 World Series title. However, as Yainer Diaz started to break out as a catcher of the future, the Astros ultimately decided to move on from Maldonado, leaving the veteran in search of a new home.
Connor Wong and Reese McGuire already form a catching platoon, so there would seem to be less immediate opportunity for playing time in Boston than Maldonado might find on another team. Signing Maldonado might open the door for the Sox to make a trade, as Kyle Teel could make his MLB debut in 2024 and is seen as Boston’s catcher of the future. If Wong and McGuire are seen as shorter-term placeholders anyway, Maldonado could then become a veteran mentor to Teel as the top prospect gets acclimated to the majors.
Braves, Max Fried Discussed Extension Prior To 2023 Season
The Braves and left-hander Max Fried had talks about a contract extension prior to the start of last season, according to Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Obviously no agreement was reached, and it isn’t known if any more negotiations have since taken place between the two sides.
As expected, president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos gave no hints when speaking with Toscano and other reporters at the Winter Meetings, saying “We have [Fried] under contract for ‘24; he’s not under contract for 2025. Obviously, anything beyond that, we’re going to keep that private. I can go into all the comments about how great he is, but I’ve done that many times in the past….We always have an eye on ‘25, but the focus for us is ‘24.”
2023 was a difficult season for Fried, who pitched only 77 2/3 innings during the regular season due to a forearm strain, a hamstring strain, and a blister problem that emerged in late September. Fried didn’t pitch from September 21 until Game 2 of the NLDS on October 9, and the long layoff could’ve contributed to his shaky performance of three runs allowed over four innings of work (though Game 2 was Atlanta’s lone win of the NLDS).
Despite the injuries and the Braves’ disappointingly short playoff run, Fried still delivered when he was healthy enough to pitch. The southpaw posted a 2.55 ERA over his 77 2/3 regular-season frames, as well as a 25.7% strikeout rate and 5.8% walk rate that bettered his career averages in both categories heading into 2023. The injury concerns can’t be completely set aside heading into next season and into the future, yet there is no doubt that Fried still looks like one of baseball’s top pitchers.
That track record has manifested itself with a $14.4MM projected salary for Fried this winter as he enters his fourth and final year of arbitration eligibility as a Super Two player. Considering that Fried and the Braves have gone to hearings in each of the last two offseasons (Fried won in 2022, the Braves won in 2023), this will be one of the more interesting arbitration situations to monitor this winter, even if Fried’s injuries will limit his raise to only slightly beyond his $13.5MM salary for 2023.
There’s still plenty of time for the Braves and Fried’s representatives at CAA to work out an extension, and continue Atlanta’s strategy of locking up its stars to long-term deals. As Toscano notes, however, the team doesn’t extend everyone, as Freddie Freeman and Dansby Swanson both departed in free agency in each of the last two offseasons. The Braves have also tended to pursue extensions with players earlier in their careers, not players as close to free agency as Fried. From the pitcher’s perspective, he might also not want to sign a long-term deal coming off a relative down year, as a healthy and effective 2024 campaign will put Fried in line for a hefty contract next winter.
For speculation’s sake, it seems unlikely that Atlanta might consider dealing Fried this offseason if they think an extension can’t or won’t be worked out. Anthopoulos certainly has a long history of bold trades, yet since Atlanta is already looking to starting pitching, it would take a particularly creative move or sets of moves to bolster the rotation while also moving arguably the team’s best starter. Considering what happened with Freeman and Swanson, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Braves keep Fried and then let him get to free agency and perhaps depart.
Pirates Acquire Marco Gonzales
The Pirates announced the acquisition of left-hander Marco Gonzales and cash considerations from the Braves. Atlanta receives a player to be named later or cash in return. The move comes just two days after Atlanta landed Gonzales as part of a five-player trade with the Mariners, yet it was already expected that Gonzales would be quickly flipped to another team.
Pittsburgh will presumably now be Gonzales’ final landing spot of the offseason, as the southpaw brings some experience to a Pirates team sorely in need of rotation help. Beyond ace Mitch Keller, the Bucs’ projected starting staff is thin on MLB service time and lacking in quality results at the big league level. Roansy Contreras, Bailey Falter, Luis Ortiz, and Quinn Priester were lined up as the next four in the rotation, as Johan Oviedo will miss all of 2024 recovering from Tommy John surgery, and JT Brubaker and Mike Burrows won’t be options until closer to midseason due to TJ procedures of their own from last April. 2023 first overall draft pick Paul Skenes is expected to be on a fast track to the big leagues as early as next season, yet with only 6 2/3 pro innings on his resume, it is too early to assume Skenes is a lock for his MLB debut in 2024.
This isn’t to say that Gonzales (who turns 32 in February) is necessarily a clear-cut upgrade for the Buccos, as he is trying to bounce back from essentially a lost season. Gonzales’ 2023 campaign was cut short by a forearm strain in May, and he had struggled to a 5.22 ERA over 50 innings and 10 starts for Seattle before going on the injured list. While the forearm problem was a painful new wrinkle to the proceedings, the overall dip in form wasn’t a total surprise, given how Gonzales has been outperforming his peripheral numbers for years.
Gonzales posted a 3.94 ERA over 765 2/3 innings for the Mariners from 2018-22, with a more unflattering 4.64 SIERA reflecting his lack of strikeouts. Though Gonzales isn’t a hard thrower and he doesn’t miss many bats, he still achieved success with a recipe of solid control and limiting hard contact. Despite the lack of velocity, Gonzales’ four-seamer was quietly one of the more effective pitches in baseball before 2022, when it suddenly dropped into being a below-average offering.
If Gonzales can stay healthy and get back to his pre-2023 results, that alone represents a nice boost for the Pirates’ staff. It might help that the lefty is leaving Seattle for another pretty pitcher-friendly locale in PNC Park, as home runs also became an increasing problem for Gonzales in 2021-22.
2024 is the last guaranteed season of the four-year, $30MM extension that Gonzales signed with the Mariners prior to the 2020 campaign, and the deal also contains a $15MM club option for 2025 with no buyout. Since Gonzales received a $250K assignment bonus for being traded from the Mariners, the $4.5MM Seattle included in the trade package to Atlanta left $7.75MM remaining in owed salary to the left-hander. The Braves have eaten part of that portion to facilitate this next deal with Pittsburgh, only increasing Gonzales’ affordable nature — no small matter for a Pirates team that is always looking to keep its spending in check.
Though the Bucs are intending to raise their modest payroll by some extent, obtaining Gonzales for less than $7.75MM allows the club to fill one rotation hole without taking up much of whatever spending capacity GM Ben Cherington has been allotted this winter. Since Jack Flaherty is another name on the Pirates’ radar, it could be that Pittsburgh will address its rotation with veterans on short-term deals, hoping that at least one reclamation project like Gonzales or Flaherty can bounce back to become solid starter.
From Atlanta’s perspective, taking on the contracts of Gonzales and Evan White was the price necessary to obtain Jarred Kelenic from the Mariners. White’s injury history makes him more or less immovable outside of a total salary dump, yet Gonzales’ history as a decently effective and durable starter prior to 2022 made him a better candidate to be flipped, considering the league-wide need for pitching depth. The Braves are known to be looking for higher-tier pitching upgrades themselves, after missing out on Aaron Nola earlier in the offseason.
Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported the Pirates were acquiring Gonzales and cash for a player to be named later.
Angels Sign Luis Garcia
The Angels announced the signing of reliever Luis García on a one-year contract. He’ll reportedly make $4.25MM.
An 11-year big league veteran, García is set for a second stint with the Halos. The right-hander spent the 2019 campaign in Orange County, turning in a 4.35 ERA across 64 appearances. That was amidst a difficult three-year run spanning 2018-20, but García has generally turned things around over the past couple seasons.
After pitching to a 3.24 ERA in 34 games with the Cardinals in 2021, the Dominican Republic native inked a two-year pact with the Padres. He had a strong first year at Petco Park, tossing 61 innings of 3.39 ERA ball while working in a high-leverage role. García’s second season wasn’t as impressive. His ERA jumped to 4.03 while his strikeout rate dropped from a quality 26.3% mark to a middling 19.9% clip. As his production tailed off, the Padres deployed him in mostly low-leverage situations.
Despite that dip, there are still a few clear positives for the Halos front office. García has an extended track record of keeping the ball on the ground. He has allowed fewer than one home run per nine innings in three straight seasons and racked up grounders at a massive 61.5% rate this year. Even as he enters his age-37 campaign, he’s still one of the harder throwers available. García’s sinker sat north of 97 MPH.
It’s the second grounder specialist whom the Halos have added this offseason. They signed left-hander Adam Kolarek to a $900K guarantee a few weeks ago. García also steps into the middle innings mix alongside younger, more volatile arms like Ben Joyce and José Soriano. The Halos still seem likely to look for a clearer setup option to bridge the gap to closer Carlos Estévez.
The signing brings the Angels’ 2024 payroll projection to roughly $156MM, as calculated by Roster Resource. They’re upwards of $50MM from last season’s Opening Day payroll and around $70MM shy of the luxury tax threshold.
Bob Nightengale of USA Today first reported the Angels and García were in agreement on a one-year, $4.25MM deal.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.