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Orioles Select Anthony Bemboom; Givens, Tate, McCann Placed On Injured List

By Steve Adams | March 30, 2023 at 9:22am CDT

The Orioles finalized their Opening Day roster this morning, selecting the contract of catcher Anthony Bemboom in the process. Lefty John Means, recovering from Tommy John surgery, was placed on the 60-day injured list to open a spot on the 40-man roster. Baltimore also placed catcher James McCann on the 10-day IL with an oblique strain and placed righties Dillon Tate (flexor strain) and Mychal Givens (left knee inflammation) on the 15-day IL.

Bemboom, 33, appeared in 22 games with the O’s in 2022 and posted a .115/.207/.212 batting line in a tiny sample of 59 plate appearances. He’s a career .160/.231/.265 hitter in 203 big league plate appearances, but he’s drawn plus defensive and framing grades while thwarting 40% of stolen base attempts against him. Bemboom is out of minor league options, so it could be a relatively brief stay on the 40-man roster once McCann is up to full strength.

The Orioles announced early in camp that Tate had suffered a forearm strain back in November during his offseason program and was likely to miss the first month of the season. The latest timetable indicated a potential mid-May return for the righty, who broke out with 73 2/3 innings of 3.05 ERA ball and served as one of the Orioles’ top late-inning arms in 2022.

McCann, acquired from the Mets over the winter, was expected be a backup to star young catcher Adley Rutschman but reported feeling tightness in his side earlier this week. The Orioles haven’t given a timeline, but even grade 1 oblique strains can cause players to miss around a month of action. The O’s have McCann under contract for two more seasons, though the Mets are picking up the majority of the bill. McCann hit just .220/.282/.328 in two seasons with the Mets, but .258/.325/.452 hitter against lefties who could benefit from more selective usage in with his new team.

Givens returned to the O’s on a one-year, $5MM contract over the winter but last pitched in a spring game on March 16. He was testing his ailing knee earlier in the week but lasted only 10 pitches before departing the mound and showing visible frustration (per MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubtako). There’s no timetable on his return just yet. Givens, who spent the first five and a half seasons of his career with the Orioles, split the 2022 season between the Cubs and Mets. He pitched to a strong 3.38 ERA with a 27.3% strikeout rate and 9.6% walk rate through 61 1/3 innings between the two teams.

Mets’ Bryce Montes de Oca Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

By Anthony Franco | March 30, 2023 at 9:15am CDT

March 30: During the surgery mentioned below, doctors discovered that Montes De Oca actually required Tommy John surgery, which they then performed, per Michael Mayer of Metsmerized and Russell Dorsey of Bally Sports. He will miss the entire 2023 season while recovering and perhaps some of 2024 as well.

March 28: Mets reliever Bryce Montes de Oca is going to undergo arthroscopic surgery to remove bone chips from his throwing elbow, reports Russell Dorsey of Bally Sports (Twitter link). He’s expected to miss around four months.

Montes de Oca was already known to be starting the season on the injured list after being diagnosed with a stress reaction a few weeks ago. Still, there was some hope he wouldn’t lose too much time after imaging revealed he’d avoided any ligament damage. While that fortunately remains the case, the bone fragments will cost him the bulk of the 2023 season.

A Missouri product, Montes de Oca made his major league debut at the tail end of last season. He got into three games, allowing four runs in 3 1/3 innings. The big righty averaged just shy of 100 MPH on his sinker and sat in the mid-90s with his cutter during that limited look. That power arsenal had resulted in a huge 36.4% strikeout rate over 34 innings with Triple-A Syracuse. Even with significant control concerns, Montes de Oca posted a solid 3.44 ERA at the top minor league level.

While he certainly wasn’t assured of a season-opening bullpen spot, Montes de Oca could have factored in as middle relief depth throughout the year. If that’ll now be the case, it’ll have to be at the tail end of the season. The Mets can place him on the 60-day injured list whenever the need for a 40-man roster spot comes up.

Red Sox Place Adalberto Mondesí On 60-Day IL

By Darragh McDonald | March 30, 2023 at 9:07am CDT

The Red Sox have set their roster for Opening Day, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive. Outfielder Raimel Tapia has had his contract selected, as was reported earlier this week. In a corresponding move, infielder Adalberto Mondesí has been placed on the 60-day injured list. Julian McWilliams of the Boston Globe had reported a few days ago that this was likely to be the way things played out.

Mondesí, 27, came over from the Royals in an offseason trade. The talented infielder has stolen 133 bases in 358 games while also earning strong grades for his glovework. The problem is that those 358 games have been scattered over seven different seasons due to various injuries. Last year, a torn ACL ended his season after just 15 games.

The Red Sox seemed to know that Mondesí was still on the mend from that surgery when they acquired him, as chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said in January that Mondesí “still has a ways to go” in his rehab. Now that Opening Day has rolled around, it seems they still don’t expect him to return in the next two months, as he will now be ineligible to return prior to late May.

Once he is healthy, he figures to jump into Boston’s middle infield mix. With Xander Bogaerts now on the Padres and Trevor Story potentially missing the entire season due to elbow surgery, the club moved Enrique Hernández in from the outfield to cover shortstop and Christian Arroyo will be at second. Yu Chang is slotted in as the backup infielder for now, but Mondesí could push him for playing time if healthy.

2023 figures to be an important season for Mondesí, as he is a free agent at season’s end. Despite all the missed time due to those injuries, he’s obviously quite talented and will be just 28 years old when he hits the open market. A strong and healthy finish here in 2023 could make him an intriguing option in free agency this winter.

Nationals Select Four Players

By Steve Adams | March 30, 2023 at 8:53am CDT

The Nationals have announced their Opening Day roster, revealing within that they’ve selected the contracts of four non-roster invitees to spring training: righty Chad Kuhl, lefty Anthony Banda, infielder Michael Chavis and right-hander Hobie Harris. In order to make room on the roster, the Nats placed right-handers Cade Cavalli, Stephen Strasburg, Tanner Rainey and Victor Arano on the 60-day injured list. Infielder Carter Kieboom and catcher Israel Pineda were placed on the 10-day IL with a right shoulder impingement and fractured finger, respectively.

Kuhl was widely expected to claim a spot in the rotation following the unfortunate news that Cavalli, Washington’s top pitching prospect, would miss the upcoming season due to Tommy John surgery. The veteran Kuhl, 30, tossed 17 2/3 innings this spring, allowing 10 runs on 18 hits and seven walks with 15 strikeouts along the way.

Kuhl spent the 2022 season in Colorado, getting out to a strong three-month start that he capped off with a shutout of the Dodgers at Coors Field. That gem dropped his ERA to 3.49, but Kuhl was clobbered for 29 runs in 25 2/3 innings over his next six starts before a hip strain sent him to the injured list. He was hit hard upon returning three weeks later, and the Rox put him back on the injured list with what proved to be a season-ending triceps strain. Clearly not pitching at 100% down the stretch, Kuhl was shelled for 57 runs in his final 59 2/3 innings, ballooning his ERA to 5.72. Prior to that season, he tossed 439 2/3 innings over several seasons in Pittsburgh, logging a much more respectable 4.44 ERA.

Banda, 29, once ranked as one of the sport’s top pitching prospects but hasn’t yet established himself as a viable big leaguer in parts of six MLB campaigns. He’s had some brief success with the 2018 Rays and 2021 Pirates, but overall the journeyman southpaw carries a 5.64 ERA in 111 2/3 Major League innings. He yielded seven runs on seven hits and five walks in 11 spring innings. Despite that unsightly 5.64 ERA, Banda likely impressed the Nats by striking out 14 of 46 batters (30.4%). He’ll open the season as the lone lefty in manager Dave Martinez’s bullpen.

The 27-year-old Chavis was the Red Sox’ first-round pick in 2014 and, like Banda, once ranked among the game’s top 100 farmhands. He had an encouraging rookie season, batting .254/.322/.444 with 18 home runs in just 382 plate appearances, but in 708 MLB plate appearances since that time he’s mustered only a .229/.263/.388 output with a concerning 30.8% strikeout rate. He’s been primarily a first baseman, but Chavis has experience at second base, third base and in the outfield corners. He’ll be a righty bat off Martinez’s bench.

Harris’ selection to the roster was announced earlier in the week by his agent, Matt Gaeta. It caps an eight-year minor league grind for the former Yankees 31st-rounder, who held opponents to one run on three hits and two walks with seven strikeouts in 10 innings this spring. Harris spent the 2022 season with the Brewers’ Triple-A club, where he pitched to a 2.04 ERA with a 27% strikeout rate. He’s likely ticketed for a middle-relief role early in the year.

None of the 60-day IL placements come as a major surprise. Cavalli’s Tommy John surgery was announced earlier in camp, as was Strasburg’s setback in his recovery from thoracic outlet surgery. A timetable for the 2019 World Series MVP remains unclear. Rainey had Tommy John surgery last August, so he was never going to be an option until late in the season, at best. Arano is the only mild surprise of the bunch, but the Nats announced midway through the month that he was dealing with a shoulder impingement and would be shut down for at least 10 days. The Nats are now classifying the injury as a strain, and no timetable for his return has been provided.

The Opener: Opening Day, Reynolds, Offseason In Review

By Nick Deeds | March 30, 2023 at 8:30am CDT

Happy Opening Day from MLBTR! Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world as the 2023 season kicks off:

1. Opening Day is here!

As previously mentioned, the 2023 MLB season is set to begin today. Games kick off at 12:05pm CT today with the Giants visiting the Yankees and the Braves visiting the Nationals. All 30 clubs will play today, with Diamondbacks at Dodgers and Guardians at Mariners wrapping up the day at 9:10pm CT. While there’s exciting pitching matchups littered all throughout today’s games, two in particular stand out: Jacob deGrom is set to make his first start as a Ranger, taking on the Phillies and Aaron Nola at 3:05pm CT this afternoon, and reigning NL Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara and his Marlins will take on future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer and the Mets at 3:10pm CT. Click here for more information on today’s games.

2. Will the Pirates get a Reynolds deal done?

The Pirates and Bryan Reynolds had reportedly made some progress toward an extension late last night, and today’s looming season opener is said to be a deadline for those talks. Hurdles apparently remain, however. Any deal would likely have to be the new largest in Pirates history, surpassing Ke’Bryan Hayes’s eight-year, $70MM extension that currently stands as the club’s record contract. With a matter of hours left until the agreed upon deadline for extension discussions, will the sides manage to reach an agreement?

3. Offseason In Review series continues

MLBTR’s Offseason in Review series continues today, with a Rockies-centric live chat by MLBTR’s Anthony Franco planned for this morning at 10am CT to go along with the latest installment of the series. You can click here to submit a question in advance, participate live when the chat begins, or read the transcript once it’s complete. In addition to Anthony’s chat, be sure to check back throughout the day for the Giants installment of the series, which should be available later today.

Braves To Extend Orlando Arcia

By Nick Deeds | March 30, 2023 at 7:42am CDT

The Braves and shortstop Orlando Arcia are reportedly in agreement on a three-year, $7.3MM extension that includes a club option for the 2026 season, according to Robert Murray of FanSided. The deal replaces Arcia’s previous contract, under which he was set to earn $1.3MM in 2023 with a $2MM club option with a $100K buyout for next season. Instead, Arcia will earn $2.3MM in 2023 and $2MM in each of 2024 and 2025, with a $1MM buyout on the 2026 option, which Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports is worth $2MM.

Arcia’s new deal will cover his age 28 through age 30 seasons, with the club option giving the Braves team control through age 31. That’s two additional years of team control for the Braves, who had already added an extra year of team control with Arcia’s previous contract, signed in 2021. With an AAV of just $2.43MM, Arcia’s new deal should have minimal impact on Atlanta’s luxury tax standing going forward, though it does actually slightly raise the club’s 2023 luxury tax payroll, as Arcia’s previous deal held an AAV of just $1.5MM.

Since the Braves acquired Arcia from the Brewers early in the 2021 season, he’s acted in a part-time utility role for the club, slashing .237/.308/.398 in 99 games while logging time at shortstop, third base, second base, and in left field. In 2023, Arcia enters the season as the club’s everyday shortstop following the departure of Dansby Swanson, with youngsters Vaughn Grissom and Braden Shewmake waiting in the wings at Triple-A. Either could realistically supplant Arcia as the starter at shortstop in 2023, pushing him into his more familiar bench role.

Prior to joining the Braves, Arcia had previous played for the Brewers on an everyday basis from 2017 to 2020, though he slashed just .248/.297/.367 in his 483 games across those four seasons, good for a wRC+ of just 72. Over that time, Arcia was generally solid with the glove, though defensive metrics were mixed on his performance on a season-to-season basis. While he combined for +5 DRS and +8 OAA in those four seasons, that includes highs of +7 DRS and +8 OAA in 2018 and lows of -6 DRS and -5 OAA from 2019-2020.

Judging by his previous work in a full-time role with the Brewers, Arcia figures to be a below-average bat with an above-average glove at short for the Braves this year. That being said, there were positive signs in Arcia’s 68-game performance in 2022 that could indicate a new level of offensive production closer to average. In 2022, Arcia slashed .244/.316/.416, good for a slightly above average wRC+ of 104 despite a depressed BABIP of just .278.

Those gains came on the back of improvements to both his walk rate and ISO compared to his 2017-2020 seasons with the Brewers. His walk rate jumped from 6.5% over that time to 9.0% last year while his ISO jumped from .119 to .172. That latter feat is particularly impressive given his full-time role with the Brewers came in a particularly high-scoring run environment compared to the 2022 season. If Arcia’s 2022 improvements hold over in a larger sample this year, he could prove to be an above-average two-way regular for the Braves in 2023. Should that not prove to be the case, the Braves will still have a long-term, quality bench option at their disposal going forward who’s still on the right side of 30.

Athletics Trade Cristian Pache To Phillies

By Steve Adams and Darragh McDonald | March 29, 2023 at 11:59pm CDT

The Athletics have traded outfielder Cristian Pache to the Phillies in exchange for minor league right-hander Billy Sullivan, per announcements from both teams. The Phillies opened a spot on the 40-man roster by placing first baseman Rhys Hoskins on the 60-day injured list.

Once one of the sport’s top-ranked overall prospects, the now 24-year-old Pache is an elite defender whose bat has yet to develop at the game’s top levels. He’s also out of minor league options and has been leapfrogged on Oakland’s depth chart by offseason trade acquisition Esteury Ruiz, which led manager Mark Kotsay to announce earlier in the week that Pache wouldn’t make the roster and that the front office was exploring potential trades.

They’ve found a match to their liking in Philadelphia, who’ll presumably use Pache as a reserve outfielder and perhaps a righty-swinging complement to left-handed-hitting center fielder Brandon Marsh. Pache is a particularly logical fit for the Phils, given that he can provide a late-game defensive upgrade over either Kyle Schwarber or Nick Castellanos (either by playing a corner himself or by stepping into center and pushing Marsh to a corner).

Pache has always been rated as an excellent defender going back to his early prospect days with Atlanta and that’s held true during his time in the majors as well. He’s already earned +9 Outs Above Average and +4 Defensive Runs Saved in 824 2/3 innings, though Ultimate Zone Rating does have him slightly below average. The major issue has been on offense, where he has struggled mightily. In 332 career plate appearances thus far, he’s hit just .156/.205/.234 for a wRC+ of 26, indicating he’s been 74% worse than the league average hitter. If the Phillies do plan on platooning him with Marsh, that might be the best use of abilities. He’s produced a passable .214/.267/.337 line against lefties for a wRC+ of 73, compared to a dismal .129/.176/.186 showing against righties, wRC+ of 4. These are fairly small sample sizes but there’s perhaps some glimmer of hope there.

For the A’s, they originally acquired Pache from Atlanta just over a year ago as part of the Matt Olson trade. They still have Shea Langeliers, Ryan Cusick and Joey Estes from that deal, but they surely hoped to get more from Pache in 2022 than they eventually did. He struggled enough that they had to send him to the minors for a few months, exhausting his final option year. When they acquired Ruiz and squeezed Pache out of regular action, they decided to pivot and move on.

In exchange for Pache, the A’s will get Sullivan, a right-handed pitcher who turns 24 next month. He’s spent the past two years getting work as a reliever, spending all of last year at Double-A. He tossed 51 innings over 44 appearances at that level with a 4.59 ERA. His 15% walk rate is very concerning, but he also struck out 32.1% of batters faced and got ground balls at a solid 45.5% clip. He’ll head over to a new organization that will undoubtedly be looking to improve that control in order to get those earned runs down.

Transferring Hoskins to the 60-day IL was an inevitable formality after he recently tore his ACL and will require surgery. That will almost certainly result in him missing the entire 2023 season.

Padres’ Third Base Coach Matt Williams Taking Leave Of Absence After Colon Cancer Diagnosis

By Anthony Franco | March 29, 2023 at 11:11pm CDT

Padres third base coach Matt Williams will step away from the team for an undetermined amount of time following tomorrow’s Opening Day festivities. Skipper Bob Melvin informed reporters (including Alden González of ESPN) on Wednesday that Williams was recently diagnosed with colon cancer. He’ll undergo surgery to address the issue on Friday.

Williams said he was first made aware of the issue a few weeks ago after a standard physical turned up a low red blood cell count. Fortunately, the 57-year-old indicated he’s feeling well physically. “I don’t have any symptoms, I don’t have any issues,” Williams told reporters. “At this point it’s important now to get it out of there. That’s the plan for Friday, and we’ll see how it goes from there. They’ll test, and they’ll do all the pathology and all of that at that point. But the initial scans were positive in that on the initial CT scan they didn’t see any spread anywhere else. That’s a good thing. We’ll see where it goes from there.”

A five-time All-Star during his playing days, Williams has spent the better part of the last decade in the coaching ranks. He managed for the Nationals for two seasons in 2014-15, securing the NL’s Manager of the Year award in his first campaign. Williams later spent time on the A’s coaching staff and followed Melvin to San Diego over the 2021-22 offseason. He’s headed into his second season with the Friars.

Former Cardinals’ manager and current senior advisor Mike Shildt will take over third base coaching duties on an interim basis. MLBTR sends our best wishes to Williams and his family on his recovery.

White Sox Notes: Hendriks, Right Field, Colas, Garcia

By Steve Adams and Anthony Franco | March 29, 2023 at 10:41pm CDT

The White Sox will open the season without closer Liam Hendriks, who announced in January that he’d begun undergoing treatment following a non-Hodgkins lymphoma diagnosis. The team hasn’t provided much in the way of updates since that time, but general manager Rick Hahn tells reporters on the eve of Opening Day that Hendriks is making good progress in his battle (Twitter link via Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times). While the Sox aren’t placing a formal timeline on his return, Hahn noted that the Sox have deliberately avoided placing Hendriks on the 60-day injured list thus far.

That’s certainly not a guarantee that Hendriks will return within the season’s first two months, but the fact that the Sox are leaving themselves open to the possibility is encouraging. Hendriks will still open the season on the 15-day injured list, and if the White Sox need a 40-man roster spot at any time prior to his activation, he can be transferred to the 60-day IL without penalty. (The 60-day term is retroactive to the original IL placement and does not reset when a player is moved from the 15-day to the 60-day.)

Pirates, Bryan Reynolds Continue To Discuss Extension; Start Of Regular Season Reportedly Seen As Deadline

By Anthony Franco | March 29, 2023 at 10:20pm CDT

The Pirates and star outfielder Bryan Reynolds remain engaged in discussion talks, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post (Twitter link) and Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (on Twitter). Both Heyman and Mackey suggest that tomorrow appears to be the deadline for an agreement, with Mackey indicating the 4:10pm EST first pitch of the club’s game in Cincinnati would be the cutoff point.

Whether a deal can come together remains to be seen. Mackey reports that both team and player have budged on their previous dollar figures, closing the gap and offering some optimism. Yet Robert Murray of FanSided cautions that “major hurdles” still have to be jumped, suggesting there remains a relatively significant split for the sides to sort out.

The Reynolds saga has taken a number of twists and turns throughout the offseason. Extension talks stalled at the beginning of the winter. The Pirates had reportedly offered somewhere in the $75-80MM range over six seasons, while his camp had reportedly countered at eight years and $134MM. The switch-hitting outfielder then requested a trade, which the Pirates showed no inclination to grant. While Reynolds never publicly disavowed the trade request, he softened his stance this spring and expressed a willingness to reengage with Pittsburgh on the extension front.

Reynolds is set to make $6.75MM this season after avoiding arbitration on a two-year pact last May. He’ll be eligible for the arbitration process twice more after this season barring an extension. He’s slated to hit free agency after the 2025 campaign, when he’d be entering his age-31 season.

If no deal comes together, Reynolds would almost assuredly find himself back in trade rumors over the summer. Pittsburgh again seems a long shot to compete for a playoff spot this year. If Reynolds is hitting at anything like the .262/.345/.461 level he managed last season, he’d be one of the more coveted trade candidates closer to the deadline. The Bucs will hope to avoid that situation by hammering out a new contract within the next 16 hours.

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