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Nationals To Sign Michael Chavis To Minor League Deal

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The Nationals and infielder Michael Chavis are in agreement on a minor league deal, reports Andrew Golden of The Washington Post. Chavis will receive an invitation to major league Spring Training and will earn a $1MM salary if he cracks the roster, with a further $500K available in incentives. If he’s not in the majors by June 1, he can opt out and return to free agency.

Chavis, 27, was a first round pick of the Red Sox in 2014 and a highly-touted prospect while in the minors. Baseball America ranked him the #85 prospect in the league in 2018. He drew plaudits for his power stroke but also concerns for his extremely aggressive approach that led to few walks and many strikeouts.

Chavis made his major league debut in 2019 and those concerns have largely proved prescient. He’s gone down on strikes in 31.7% of his plate appearances thus far in 309 major league games while earning free passes just 5.4% of the time. Those numbers are both well south of the typical league averages, which were a 22.4% strikeout rate and 8.2% walk rate in 2022. The power has still been present, to be fair, as Chavis has 40 home runs to this point.

He was traded to the Pirates at the deadline in 2021 but didn’t do enough to stay in Pittsburgh’s plans. He hit .229/.265/.389 in 129 games in 2022 while striking out in 29.6% of his trips to the plate and walking in just 4.5% of them. That production was 20% below league average, as evidenced by his 80 wRC+. The Bucs designated him for assignment and outrighted him in September, with Chavis then reaching free agency at season’s end.

For the Nationals, they were the worst team in baseball in 2022 and are likely a few years away from returning to contention. Though Chavis has struggled in the big leagues thus far, he’s a former first round draft pick and top 100 prospect, a fairly sensible player for them to target and hope for a breakout. He’s also hit .279/.357/.547 in the minor leagues going back to the start of 2018, amounting to a wRC+ of 141. If he could bridge the gap between his minor league and major league results, even in a small way, he could turn into a valuable player.

Defensively, Chavis has played the three non-shortstop infield positions as well as the outfield corners in the majors, though he’s spent more time at first base than those other spots. The Nats are set to run out a fairly young and inexperienced infield in the upcoming season, with Joey Meneses at first, Luis Garcia at second, CJ Abrams at shortstop and Carter Kieboom a possibility at third. Jeimer Candelario was brought in for some insurance at the corners, though he’s an impending free agent and could be a midseason trade candidate.

The club seems to be taking a volume approach to adding infield depth, as they retained Ildemaro Vargas and claimed Jeter Downs off waivers. They also inked minor league deals with Matt Adams, Erick Mejia, Franklin Barreto and now Chavis. That group will seemingly be battling to get the call if any of the projected starters struggle or get hurt. If Chavis can emerge and crack the roster, he still has an option year remaining and could be sent to the minors during the season. He has between three of four years of MLB service time and could be retained for future seasons via arbitration if he can show enough improvement to work his way into the club’s plans.

Looking At The Mariners’ Payroll Situation

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The Mariners made the postseason in 2022, breaking the longest active drought in the majors as they hadn’t been to the postseason since 2001. Many expected the club to be extremely active this offseason in order to keep the good times going but they have been fairly quiet so far, making a few trades while their only free agent signing has been reliever Trevor Gott, who secured a modest $1.2MM guarantee. Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times recently took a look at the club’s offseason and reports that president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto and general manager Justin Hollander might not have as much money to work with as had been expected.

It’s not as though the Mariners have been totally inactive. Their primary moves have been on the trade front, as they acquired Teoscar Hernández from the Blue Jays and Kolten Wong from the Brewers. Put together, the club’s various moves have put their payroll at $135MM, per Roster Resource. That’s a notable jump from last year’s $104MM Opening Day figure, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts, but it’s still well shy of the club’s previous competitive window. From 2016 through 2019, the Mariners opened the season between $143MM and $158MM. Given a few years of inflation and some extra league revenues coming into play since then, it was thought by some that Seattle could approach and even go beyond those previous spending levels. The reporting from Divish indicates they will approach that range in the future but it doesn’t seem like this will be the winter.

That would explain the seeming lack of aggression from the team, but it’s surely frustrating for the fans who hoped that the 2022 success would lead to some kind of splash this winter. Instead, many of the big splashes have been happening around them in the division. The reigning World Series champion Astros have signed José Abreu while re-signing Michael Brantley and Rafael Montero. The Rangers completely overhauled their rotation by signing Jacob deGrom, Andrew Heaney and Nathan Eovaldi, in addition to re-signing Martín Pérez and acquiring Jake Odorizzi. The Angels have signed Tyler Anderson, Brandon Drury and Carlos Estévez while trading for Hunter Renfroe and Gio Urshela.

There’s still about six weeks until Spring Training begins, meaning there’s time for the club to pull something out of their sleeve. But it seems like they believe in their incumbent players enough to have mostly steered clear of this offseason’s free agent spending frenzy. Most of the top free agents are already attached to new teams at this point, with Jurickson Profar and Michael Wacha among the top names still out there.

Hernández and Wong will effectively replace Mitch Haniger and Adam Frazier, two of the club’s most significant free agent departures alongside Carlos Santana. Barring some huge trade coming together in the next few weeks, it seems the Mariners will go into 2023 with a fairly similar roster to the one they had in 2022. It’s possible they could see improvement from within, as young players like Julio Rodríguez, Logan Gilbert and George Kirby could take steps forward in their development. A full season of Luis Castillo, acquired at last year’s trade deadline, will surely be a boon as well. The Hernández/Wong duo could certainly outproduce Haniger/Frazier, but it doesn’t look like any eight-figure free agent deals will be part of their additions. Whether that faith in the core is justified or not will be determined as the upcoming season plays out. Then again, Dipoto has a reputation for being the most trade-happy executive in the sport and could still shake things up in the next few weeks.

KBO’s Kiwoom Heroes To Post Lee Jung-hoo After 2023 Season

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The Kiwoom Heroes of the Korea Baseball Organization announced that they will post outfielder and reigning league MVP Lee Jung-hoo after the upcoming season, per Yoo Jee-ho of the Yonhap News Agency.

“After some internal discussions, we agreed to respect the player’s intent to play in Major League Baseball,” the team said in a statement. “We will provide whatever support necessary for the player.” Lee also provided a quote in the statement. “The team has been giving me so much support since I was a rookie, and I was able to start dreaming about playing overseas because the team has helped me grow as a player,” he said. “First and foremost, I will concentrate on the upcoming season. I will put aside personal ambitions and try to help the team win the Korean Series.”

Lee is only 24 years old but already has already played six seasons in the KBO, bursting onto the scene in 2017 when he was only 18 years old. He played 144 games that season and only hit a couple of home runs but showed a great ability at the plate otherwise. He walked in 9.6 percent of his plate appearances while striking out in just 10.8 percent of them and produced a batting line of .324/.395/.417. That production was 12 percent better than league average, as evidenced by his 112 wRC+.

He was given Rookie of the Year honors for that performance and has only continued to get better at the plate in subsequent seasons. His excellent plate discipline has only improved as he’s settled into the league, resulting in a 10.5 percent walk rate and tiny 5.1 percent strikeout rate in 2022. That was the fourth straight season in which he walked more than he struck out. His power has also ticked up over time, with Lee launching 23 home runs in the most recent season. He finished with a batting line of .349/.421/.575 for a wRC+ of 175, indicating he was 75 percent better than league average. He was awarded Most Valuable Player for that excellent work. It’s not just at the plate where Lee shines either. He has stolen 63 bases over his six seasons in the KBO and has won Golden Glove awards for his outfield work in each of the past five campaigns.

After the upcoming campaign, Lee will have the seven seasons of experience necessary for KBO players to be posted. He will also turn 25 in August, a significant milestone for his move to MLB. International players under 25 years of age and/or with fewer than six years of professional experience are considered “amateurs” rather than professionals under MLB’s international free agency rules and are thus subject to the “bonus pool” system, where each team has an MLB-mandated cap on how much it can spend on signing bonuses.

International “amateurs” can only agree to minor league deals and signing bonuses, whereas “professionals” like former NPB players Seiya Suzuki, Masataka Yoshida and Kodai Senga (i.e. players 25 and older with six-plus years of pro experience) are free to sign Major League contracts for any length and dollar amount; for example, Shohei Ohtani came over to the Angels prior to his age-23 season, settling for a $2.3MM signing bonus and was unable to reach free agency until after 2023. Had he waited two more years, he could have immediately signed a nine-figure contract.

Lee will thus be able to sign a contract of any length or dollar amount once he reaches the open market. FanGraphs gives him a 50 grade on the 20-80 scouting scale, giving high praise for his work at the plate. They have a little bit of concern about his ground ball rate being near 60 percent and that he has struggled a bit against high velocity, but they still believe him to be a very exciting player.

If Lee does sign with a major league team next year, the club would owe a fee to the Heroes under the MLB – KBO posting agreement. That’s tied to the size of the contract itself, with the MLB team owing the KBO club 20 percent of the contract’s first $25MM, 17.5 percent of the next $25MM and 15 percent of any dollars thereafter. That fee is on top of any dollars guaranteed to the player himself, and subsequent earning (e.g. performance incentives, contract options) are also subject to the posting system once they become guaranteed to the player.

The Opener: Royals, Hosmer, Weaknesses

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With 2023 officially underway, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. Where can the Royals look for pitching?

Recently, Royals GM J.J. Picollo told reporters that the team is still interested in adding to their rotation, even following deals with righty Jordan Lyles and lefty Ryan Yarbrough. While a deal for another starter makes sense for the club, the best available arms, such as Pablo Lopez and Chris Sale, reside on the trade market at this point in the offseason. It seems unlikely that Kansas City would go to the level of prospect (in the case of Lopez) or financial (in the case of Sale) commitment necessary to land either of those arms, or any other top arm that could become available, for that matter. Given this reality, it seems the best option for Picollo’s front office would be scouring what’s left on the free agent market.

Few quality free agent starting pitchers remain, but a reunion with future Hall of Famer Zack Greinke might make the most sense if the Royals are going to continue adding pitching. Greinke was a stabilizing force in the Kansas City rotation in 2022, posting a solid 3.68 ERA over 137 innings. Failing a Greinke reunion, the Royals could look to take a flier on a pitcher with a solid track record who battled injuries in 2022, such as Wade Miley or former Royal Danny Duffy. Either pitcher comes with durability concerns, but Kansas City should have enough young depth to cover for those potentially missed innings.

2. Could a Hosmer deal be imminent?

Following the Red Sox decision to release Eric Hosmer, other clubs have expressed interest in adding the first baseman to their roster. In particular, the Cubs and Orioles have been connected to Hosmer since his release by Boston, with Jon Heyman of the New York Post describing the prospects of a deal between Hosmer and the Cubs, specifically, as “promising” in a tweet over the weekend. A Hosmer signing would allow the Cubs to give first base prospect Matt Mervis more time in the minors should he not win a big league job out of camp this spring. Hosmer can hold down first base at Wrigley until Mervis is ready and afterwards could act as an additional lefty bat in the DH mix for a team that saw only Ian Happ take regular at-bats from the left side in 2022. A deal with Hosmer could take the Cubs out of the market for the likes of Dominic Smith and Trey Mancini, to whom Chicago had previously been connected this offseason.

As for the Orioles, Hosmer would provide a veteran clubhouse presence to a young roster that exceeded expectations in 2023 on a league-minimum salary. He could share time with Ryan Mountcastle at first base while joining Kyle Stowers and Terrin Vavra in the mix for DH at bats. The Orioles are far from the only club who could be interested in Hosmer’s combination of veteran leadership and cheap acquisition cost, however, even in spite of his release by Boston.

3. Which teams have the biggest weaknesses left to address?

Yesterday, MLBTR’s Mark Polishuk took a look at how each AL and NL club has addressed their weakest positions in 2022 by bWAR, and a few weaknesses on contenders stick out as potential places the clubs could look to address headed into the next phase of the offseason. As has been mentioned in previous Openers, perhaps the most glaring needs remaining on teams looking to contend in 2022 are that of the Rangers and Braves in left field, where each club got negative contributions in terms of bWAR. Jurickson Profar is the last everyday player on the free agent market, but even a part time addition like David Peralta or Andrew McCutchen could improve either team’s production at the position.

Looking elsewhere around the league, the Rays have pursued a handful of potential upgrades at catcher throughout the offseason, but as of now are set to go into the season with Francisco Mejia and Christian Bethancourt as their tandem behind the plate. And a handful of catchers remain on the free agent market, however, so it’s possible the club could see a potential upgrade in a player like Jorge Alfaro or Gary Sanchez. By contrast, the Diamondbacks have made several additions to their weakest 2022 position, adding Miguel Castro and Scott McGough (among others) to their MLB-worst bullpen. Still, given the massive struggles of Arizona’s relief corps in 2022 (-4.4 bWAR), more additions could make sense, with former Diamondback Andrew Chafin leading the pack of relief options still on the market.

Three Teams Interested In Yu Chang

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Free agent infielder Yu Chang is reportedly drawing interest from three big league teams (h/t to CPBL Stats).

Chang, 27, suited up for four teams last year, making appearances for the Guardians, Red Sox, Pirates and Rays. He slashed a combined .208/.289/.315 with four home runs over 190 plate appearances, striking out in 31.1% of those and walking 8.4% of the time.

Signed by the Guardians out of Taiwan in 2013, Chang made his debut with Cleveland as a 23-year-old in 2019. He wouldn’t get many opportunities at the big league level in his first few seasons, but did get an extended run in 2021. That year, Chang slashed .228/.267/.426 with nine home runs over 251 plate appearances. Cleveland designated him for assignment after appearing in just four games in 2022, and he’s bounced round the league a bit since.

Defensively, Chang has generally spent time at first, second and third base, although he has seen a little bit of time at shortstop as well. Over his career, he’s been worth two Outs Above Average at first, three at second and four at third.

While it’s not known what sort of interest he’s getting around the majors, it seems likely he’d land on a minor league deal providing some infield depth in case of injuries. As such, it’s largely pointless to try and speculate which three teams may be interested as just about any team could do with a bit more infield depth on minor league deals.

The Angels’ Potentially Elite Rotation

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Despite boasting two of the most gifted players on the planet on their roster, the Angels have failed to make the playoffs since 2014 and failed to secure a winning season since 2015. As they have been for quite some time, they’ll look to change that in 2023 and return to the playoffs. While they haven’t made a splashy move, their signings of Tyler Anderson, Carlos Estevez and Brandon Drury, and acquisition of Gio Urshela and Hunter Renfroe have put them in good shape to do well this year.

Of course, a big challenge for the Angels is that they play in a division with the defending champion Astros, as well as the Mariners and Rangers, two teams that have big ambitions to compete this season. If they are to return to the postseason, they’ll need contributions across the board, but one area that the Angels will surely be leaning on as a strength is their starting rotation. The team has tended to work with a six-man rotation to preserve Shohei Ohtani’s workload in the past, and given they were linked with Nathan Eovaldi just before he signed with Texas, it seems likely they’ll add another starter before the season starts.

In the meantime, let’s take a look at the starting five for the Angels as things stand:

Shohei Ohtani: The Angels will be relying on their two-way superstar to have another monster season this year. There’s not a lot that hasn’t been said about how good Ohtani is, but for this exercise we’ll talk about him purely as a pitcher. He had his best year yet in 2022, throwing 166 innings of 2.33 ERA ball. The strikeouts were up, the walks were down, and Ohtani benefited a fair bit from leaning less on his fastball and throwing his slider more often. Angels manager Phil Nevin has already stated he plans to increase Ohtani’s workload next season, so it’ll be interesting to see how he handles that given his other duties, but if the Angels can get another year like 2022 out of their ace they’ll come away very happy.

Tyler Anderson: Signed to a three-year, $39MM deal, the left-handed Anderson is the lone new face in the Angels starting rotation. A respectable back-of-the-rotation starter for a number of years, Anderson broke out with the Dodgers in 2022, pitching to a 2.57 ERA over 178 2/3 innings. It wasn’t so much an overhaul of his pitching repertoire as it was a few small tweaks (bumping up his changeup usage slightly) that seemingly did the trick for Anderson, and he induced a ton of soft contact out of opposition hitters. If he can show 2022 was no outlier Anderson will slot in as a very reliable second option behind Ohtani.

Patrick Sandoval: The second of four southpaws in the rotation, Sandoval enjoyed his own breakout year in 2022. The 26-year-old gave the Angels 148 innings of 2.91 ERA ball, striking out batters at a 23.7% clip and walking them 9.4% of the time. FIP pegged him a 3.91, which suggests a bit of regression is due, but he also had an above-average opponent’s BABIP of .316. Regardless, even if he can’t post a sub-3 ERA Sandoval definitely has the makings of a very productive starter. He struggled early on in his career, working to a 5.33 ERA between 2019-20, but has been highly effective ever since. One change he did make in 2022 was throwing his fastball less and leaning far more on his slider.

Jose Suarez: The 24-year-old hurled 109 innings of 3.96 ERA ball for the Angels last year, showing a strong 7.1% walk rate and a solid 22.3% strikeout rate, both of which improved from a year prior. He maintained his fastball usage in 2022, but mixed in a slider to his off-speed stuff (which includes a curveball and changeup) that he’d only thrown sparingly in the past. The ERA doesn’t jump off the page, but he was elite in the second half last year, working to a 2.81 ERA over 11 starts after the All Star break. Still just 24 there’s certainly a ton of promise in this youngster, and if he can build off his showing in the second half the Angels will have a very good fourth starter on their staff.

Reid Detmers: Rounding out their five is Detmers, a 23-year-old southpaw who worked to a 3.77 ERA over 129 innings last season, his first full year in the big leagues. He had a fast rise through the system after being drafted 10th overall in 2020, and given there was no minor league season that year it makes his rise to the big leagues, and strong first full season that much more impressive. Detmers owns a 93 mph fastball, and mixes in a slider, curveball and changeup. There’s plenty of upside for Detmers to tap into over the next few years, and if he can take another step forward in 2023 it won’t take long before he’s near the top of a list like this rather than rounding it out.

As noted earlier, it does seem likely that the Angels would opt to bring in a sixth starter to deepen the rotation. That could be someone like Michael Wacha or Johnny Cueto off the free agent market, or they could go with an internal option such as Chase Silseth, Griffin Canning or Chris Rodriguez. They’ve also got top pitching prospect Sam Bachman at Double-A, and getting closer to being a big league option.

Regardless of who the sixth option is, there’s a lot to like about this group, even if they were just able to put in a repeat of their 2022 performance. But the key for the Angels is there’s also a ton of upside in this group, particularly in the back of the rotation. That’s the sort of thing that could go from making this a strong rotation to one that is up there with the best in baseball. Of course, an injury or two could derail things quickly and there’s a chance that players take a step back rather than a step forward, but the potential is there for this group to be dominant.

Free Agent Profile: Andrew McCutchen

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A busy month of December has seen the free agent cupboard mostly cleared out. Yet as we begin 2023 there are still a few interesting options on the open market for teams looking for upgrades heading into the new season. Of course, many teams will look to the trade market over the next month or two – particularly if they’re after impact options – but good deals can still be found in free agency.

One such player is a former MVP, who remains a threat at the plate and is well-regarded as a veteran presence in the clubhouse. Andrew McCutchen may not be the same player that went to five-straight All Star games with the Pirates, but he could still help a lot of teams. There was a report in early December that the Rays and Dodgers had interest in McCutchen, but it’s been quiet since. The Dodgers have since signed J.D. Martinez, which may rule them out, but the Rays could still feasibly have a spot for him.

McCutchen, 36, spent the past season with the Brewers on a one-year, $8MM deal. They’d signed him on the back of three years in Philadelphia, which culminated in McCutchen hitting .222/.334/.444 with 27 home runs over 574 plate appearances. It was a solid enough season, but what perhaps got Milwaukee’s attention was the way in which McCutchen torched left-handed pitching in 2021, slashing .293/.405/.622 in 195 plate appearances against southpaws. It was particularly pronounced in 2021, but McCutchen’s splits have favored hitting against left-handers over his career.

Unfortunately for the Brewers, it wasn’t the case in 2022. McCutchen would hit just .221/.303/.435 against left-handers in Milwaukee, contributing to an overall line of .237/.316/.384 overall line of 580 plate appearances. While his walk and strikeout rates have trended in the wrong direction in recent times, they were still reasonable marks, as he struck out 21.4% of the time against a 9.8% walk rate. That was good for a wRC+ of 98, a couple of ticks below the league average but the first time it had dipped below 100 in his career. He did enjoy a 262 plate appearance tear in the middle of the summer, where he crushed 11 home runs and hit at an .868 OPS. Of course, the fact that his overall season mark was well below that suggests there were some very lean runs in there as well.

Perhaps the biggest concern from McCutchen’s season was the drop in power. He slugged 27 home runs a year prior with the Phillies, but hit just 17 last season. American Family Field in Milwaukee is generally less favorable to home run hitters than Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, but it was still a significant drop in long balls. In McCutchen’s defense, his exit velocity and HardHit% were both roughly the same as a year earlier, so he’s still making plenty of solid contact.

On the defensive side of things, McCutchen has spent most of his time in the DH spot in recent years, but can still play the outfield, and enjoyed a bit of success there in 2022. He was worth 5 Defensive Runs Saved in a small sample of 268 1/3 innings, while he also spent a small amount of time in right and center. He did make 82 appearances in the DH spot and his days of being an everyday outfielder are probably over, but he’s by no means a liability in the field and his numbers in 2022 could encourage a new team to give him a larger workload in the field in 2023.

McCutchen will likely sign another one-year deal, quite possibly in the same range as the $8MM salary he took home in 2022. At this stage of free agency, most of the players available have some flaws, but McCutchen could still work as a solid option for a number of teams. He still has ~20 home run power, draws walks at a bit above the league average rate and doesn’t strike out too often. While he’s not likely to be a team’s everyday outfielder, he could shift around the corner outfield spots, making DH appearances and allowing teams to spell their starting outfielders on a regular basis. Further to that, McCutchen’s got a good clubhouse reputation and could perhaps work on a contending team with a slightly younger roster. While he’s unlikely to be a difference maker at this point, teams could do worse than bringing in the veteran to deepen their roster for the upcoming season.

Farhan Zaidi: “Unlikely” That Giants Can Circle Back To Carlos Correa Deal

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Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi addressed reporters (including ESPN and Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle) for the first time since the team’s $350MM deal with Carlos Correa fell through due to concerns raised in the physical. Correa has since agreed to a $315MM deal with the Mets, but they too are concerned by the player’s physical and that signing has not been made official.

It’s been quiet since reports emerged on Christmas Eve that the Mets had concerns over his physical, with the last report stating the teams were working through things and a deal with New York still appeared “likely”. That’s not stopped a few other teams checking in on the situation, and Zaidi confirmed that the Giants have also checked in with Correa’s agent Scott Boras.

“We’ve had some conversations. Since then, obviously, you know, we’ve been in touch with Boras on other players as well. But our understanding and, as it’s been reported, they’re focused on a deal elsewhere at this point. So I think chances of a deal with us at this point are pretty unlikely based on their position,” Zaidi said.

Correa’s deal with San Francisco falling through shocked the baseball world. The Giants had scheduled a press conference to introduce their new star, but postponed that to further investigate Correa’s physical. That set off a chain of events that came together quickly, and within 24 hours Correa had agreed to a deal with the Mets. Zaidi confirmed that the Giants and Correa’s camp had different views on the medical review, but said they maintain a strong relationship with Boras.

“I was on the phone with Scott Boras on the Monday that we did Carlos’ physical right when his plane landed in San Francisco at 5 p.m., and those conversations continued from that point, so any suggestion that this was an 11th-hour thing is just not accurate. As soon as we had information, we shared it. We have a good working relationship with Scott Boras and his agency.”

The off-season has surely been a frustrating one for the Giants organization. They came into the winter in search of a new face of the franchise, and make a strong push to sign top free agent Aaron Judge. The reigning AL MVP would turn them down to re-sign with the Yankees on a nine-year, $360MM deal. They quickly pivoted to Correa, and just six days after news broke that Judge had agreed to return to New York, reports emerged that the Giants and Correa were in agreement on a 13-year deal.

The team has still been active this winter, adding Ross Stripling and Sean Manaea to their rotation, Taylor Rogers to the bullpen and Michael Conforto and Mitch Haniger to the outfield. San Francisco certainly has a stronger roster as a result of those moves, but they do lack the superstar they coveted coming into the off-season, and the free agent market no longer has any stars.

“One of the unfortunate aspects of the offseason is there’s been — and maybe this is inevitable given the players — a lot of attention paid to players that we wound up not signing rather than the players that we have signed,” Zaidi said.

One added layer to the Correa saga is what it means for long-time Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford. He’s entering the final year of his contract, and is owed $16MM in 2023. A Correa signing would have likely meant that Crawford moved to third-base, but it seems with the Correa deal off he’ll be manning short in his 13th season in San Francisco.

“I’m sure it was a frustrating and confusing period for him, but I also said we had to explore every opportunity to improve this team, including the group of shortstops that were out there, All-Star-caliber players that we all felt would really improve our team. I think Brandon was aware that adding one of these players was a possibility. It didn’t work out and he’s our shortstop now and we want and expect to be a playoff team.”

Hirokazu Sawamura Looking For MLB Opportunities Over Return To Japan

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Former Boston reliever Hirokazu Sawamura is looking for another opportunity in the US over a return to Japan, according to Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe.

Sawamura pitched for a decade in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball before going stateside, signing for the Red Sox on a two-year, $3MM deal. He’d compiled a 2.77 ERA across 868 1/3 NPB innings. Sawamura initially worked as a starter for Yomiuri but switched to the bullpen in 2015 and became the team’s closer. A shoulder injury saw him miss the 2017 season, but he’d return as a quality setup man before his eventual move to the US in 2021.

When the Red Sox landed Sawamura, 32 at the time, it was seen as an affordable pact with a fair bit of upside if he could excel in the transition to MLB. While he never blossomed into a dominant relief arm, he did give the Sox some valuable middle relief innings. In 2021, Sawamura tossed 53 innings of 3.06 ERA ball, striking out batters at a strong 26.2% clip and walking them at a below-average 13.7% rate.

2022 started well for Sawamura, as he held a 2.48 ERA on July 23. Things went downhill quickly though, and over the next month Sawamura would work to a 5.40 ERA before the Red Sox opted to designate him for assignment in late August. All told, Sawamura owned a 3.39 ERA over 103 2/3 innings for Boston. Given his affordable salary that mark would make the DFA a little surprising, but there were some troubling signs below the surface, and Sawamura had seen his strikeout rate dip and his HardHit% jump towards the end of his time with the Red Sox.

There also may have been some financial motivation to the DFA. There was a club and player option in place for 2023 with the value of those options increasing based on performance. Sawamura had a player option of $1.9MM at the time of the DFA, while the club option sat at $3.7MM. The player option would have increased to $2MM with his 50th appearance, but the Sox DFA’d him after his 49th appearance. Boston would outright Sawamura to Triple-A, but he’d ask for a release from the team ten days later to pursue other opportunities. The Red Sox granted that release, and Sawamura received a $1MM buyout on the 2023 option.

Royals To “Explore” Adding More Starting Pitching

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The Royals entered the offseason with a stated goal of adding some veteran depth to their young rotation, and the signings of Jordan Lyles and Ryan Yarbrough have addressed that need.  However, general manager J.J. Picollo may not be done, recently telling The Kansas City Star’s Lynn Worthy and other reporters that “I think we have to still explore” further reinforcements to the starting five.

“Because we just don’t know how it’s going to end up throughout the offseason, regardless of who the pitcher is,” Picollo said.  “So if there’s an opportunity for us to get deeper and get better, we can’t close the door right now.”

Technically, only Lyles is assured of a full-time spot in the 2023 rotation, as K.C. could opt to keep using Yarbrough in a swingman capacity.  Yarbrough has started 59 of his 127 career MLB games (all with the Rays), operating as a traditional starter, an opener, a bulk pitcher behind an opener, and in a long relief capacity.  New Royals manager Matt Quatraro is a former longtime member of the Rays’ coaching staff, and thus is very familiar with how Yarbrough can be deployed in a way that helps a pitching staff as a whole.

Considering the uncertainty throughout the rest of Kansas City’s rotation, Yarbrough’s versatility gives Quatraro, Picollo, and company some flexibility with their pitching options.  Lyles and Brady Singer are the only sure things for starting roles, as highly-touted younger starters Daniel Lynch, Kris Bubic, and Jackson Kowar have all struggled in their relatively brief big league careers.  Veteran Brad Keller has also been quite shaky over the last two seasons, and was shifted to the bullpen last summer.

As much as the Royals still want (or need) to see what they have in Lynch, Bubic, and Kowar, bringing in another steady veteran hurler in addition to Lyles and Yarbrough might help the Royals be more competitive in 2023.  While this could leave the youngsters competing for just one starting spot heading into Opening Day, it can be assumed that Keller might be something of a short leash for a rotation job.  Plus, the Royals could also pivot and move Yarbrough to the pen if multiple pitchers impress during Spring Training.

Picollo also suggested that any starters who don’t win rotation spots could work out of the bullpen.  K.C. is also looking for relief pitching this winter, yet this need could be addressed from within if one of younger starters make at least a temporary transition to the pen.  This wouldn’t forego an eventual return to rotation work later this season or in 2024, but clearly the Royals are willing to explore all possibilities for upgrading a pitching corps that struggled last year.

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