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The Opener: Phillies, Orioles, Rule 5

By Nick Deeds | March 27, 2023 at 8:10am CDT

With just three days remaining until Opening Day, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. Phillies to announce Opening Day roster

As clubs all around baseball are making their final roster decisions ahead of Opening Day, Phillies manager Rob Thomson told reporters, including Alex Coffey of the Philadelphia Inquirer, that the club plans to announce the Opening Day roster at some point today. With Matt Strahm starting the fifth game of the season in place of Ranger Suarez, much of the intrigue today seems likely to come down to which players will make the Phillies Opening Day bench. With Darick Hall assured a spot on the roster following Rhys Hoskins’s injury, there are two roster spots available for four players: Kody Clemens, Dalton Guthrie, Scott Kingery, and Jake Cave. The Phillies are also known to be interested in adding a right-handed hitting outfielder, which could boost the chances of Kingery or Guthrie should they not find an external solution.

2. Orioles making final rotation decisions

At the beginning of Spring Training, Orioles brass made clear that top pitching prospect Grayson Rodriguez could play his way into the Opening Day rotation this season. Now, with Opening Day on the horizon, Rodriguez appears to be one of three finalists for two rotation sots alongside Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells, as noted by The Athletic’s Dan Connolly, who notes that the decision will likely come by the end of the day today. All three have struggled this spring, with ERAs well over 5.00, though Rodriguez’s 7.04 figure is the worst of the bunch. Rodriguez has struck out 26.7% of batters faced this spring while walking 9.9%. While that strikeout rate stands slightly ahead of either of his competitors, Bradish (6.0%) and especially Wells (3.0%) both outshine Rodriguez’s walk rate.

3. Will more Rule 5 picks be returned in the coming days?

Yesterday, two picks in December’s Rule 5 draft were returned to their original clubs: the Mariners returned right-hander Chris Clarke to the Cubs, while the Padres returned left-hander Jose Lopez to the Rays. The Mets returned right-hander Zach Greene to the Yankees earlier this spring, but there are still 12 players who were selected in the major league phase of the draft who could be returned to their original clubs. One of those players, Nick Avila, is not expected to break camp with the White Sox, though the club could still look to make a trade with the Giants in order to keep Avila in the organization.

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The Opener

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NL Notes: Strahm, Mendick, Hamels, Panik

By Nick Deeds | March 26, 2023 at 10:40pm CDT

With Ranger Suarez unlikely to be ready for the first turn through the rotation this season, Phillies manager Rob Thomson announced to reporters, including Alex Coffey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, that left-hander Matt Strahm would start the fifth game of the season for Philadelphia, joining Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, Taijuan Walker and Bailey Falter in the rotation while Suarez is on the shelf.

Strahm signed with the Phillies as a reliever this offseason but has 25 career starts in the big leagues under his belt as well. That being said, his 5.08 career ERA in 108 innings of work as a starter pales in comparison to his 3.11 ERA in 196 2/3 relief innings. That said, Strahm nonetheless represents a serviceable option to fill in for Suarez in the short-term, particularly seeing as Thomson notes he will likely be limited to between 65 and 70 pitches in his first start, as he is not fully stretched out yet. That low pitch count could help him avoid facing batters for a third time, a challenge he has only faced in 75 plate appearances in his career to this point.

More from around the NL…

  • The Mets optioned infielder Danny Mendick to Triple-A today, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post. Mendick, who has experience at every position except for catcher and first base, suffered a torn ACL early last season, leading to his non-tender by the White Sox in November of last year. Mendick, who slashed a solid .289/.343/.443 in 106 plate appearances prior to his injury in 2022, eventually landed with the Mets on a one-year, $1MM contract. While he was in the mix for an Opening Day roster spot, he ultimately will serve as depth in Syracuse while the final spot on the bench goes to either Darin Ruf or Tim Locastro.
  • The Padres believe that veteran left-hander Cole Hamels will be able to contribute to the big league club sometime this summer, according to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Hamels, 39, signed with the Padres on a minor league deal after years of battling injuries, with just 3 1/3 innings of work under his belt since the end of the 2019 season. Still, with a career 3.43 ERA in 2,698 innings of work during his fifteen year major league career, it’s easy to see why the Padres decided to take a chance on the possibility he could return healthy and effective.
  • The Giants have hired longtime second baseman Joe Panik as a special assistant, according to Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports. Panik, who won the World Series with the Giants in 2014, was an All Star in 2015, and won a Gold Glove award in 2016, last played in the majors in 2021 for the Blue Jays and the Marlins. He ended his career with a .700 OPS in 818 games, slashing .264/.328/.372. According to Pavlovic, Panik recently spent time working with some of San Francisco’s young infielders in minor league camp. Panik is happy in his new role, telling Pavlovic that “You kind of want to give back because there are a lot of coaches, a lot of people that helped me get to where I was. For me to be on the other side, it’s a little weird, a little different, but I’m enjoying that part of it.”
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New York Mets Notes Philadelphia Phillies San Diego Padres San Francisco Giants Cole Hamels Danny Mendick Joe Panik Matt Strahm

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Padres Return Rule 5 Pick Jose Lopez To Rays; Option Brandon Dixon; Reassign Julio Teheran, and Tim Lopes

By Nick Deeds | March 26, 2023 at 8:54pm CDT

As the Padres begin to make some of their final roster cuts ahead of Opening Day, MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell reports that San Diego has returned Rule 5 draft pick Jose Lopez to the Rays, optioned utilityman Brandon Dixon, and reassigned right-hander Julio Teheran and utilityman Tim Lopes to minor league camp.

Lopez became the 12th player picked in this year’s Rule 5 draft when the Padres selected him with the 21st pick. A left-handed pitcher Lopez was dominant at Double-A with the Rays last year, striking out a whopping 38.7% of batters faced at the level en route to a 2.60 ERA in 55 1/3 innings. That dominance was enough for the Padres to take a chance on the 24 year-old Lopez, but after a difficult spring where he walked five batters in six innings of work, Lopez is being returned to the Rays, who will pay San Diego back half of the $100k fee the Padres paid to select Lopez in order to reclaim him.

Teheran, meanwhile, was a potential option to act as the sixth starter in San Diego while Joe Musgrove is on the shelf with a fractured toe. An 11-year MLB veteran, the 32 year old Teheran has a career 3.80 ERA in 1396 1/3 innings of work that came primarily as a member of the Braves rotation from 2013 to 2019. Over that period of time, Teheran showed himself to be a reliable, innings-eating back-end starter with an ERA+ of 111. Teheran struggled mightily in the shortened 2020 season with the Angels, however, and has only pitched five big league innings since then. Cassavell notes that due to the assignment clause in Teheran’s contract, he can depart the Padres organization if he receives a big league offer elsewhere. For now, though, Teheran seems poised to remain with San Diego, serving as depth in Triple-A.

Both Dixon and Lopes were in the mix to be part of the Padres bench. Dixon, 31, has a career 74 wRC+ in 201 games at the big league level but provides versatility, with experience at first, second, and third base and all three outfield spots during his major league career. However, with versatile players such as Jake Cronenworth and Ha-Seong Kim already on the roster, the Padres will instead opt to send Dixon to Triple-A as depth. Lopes, meanwhile, has primarily been a corner outfielder in the big leagues but also has experience in center field, at second base, third base, and shortstop. The 29 year-old Lopes has just 94 games of big league experience to this point in his career, and hit well this spring with an .890 OPS in 55 plate appearances. Despite that solid showing, Lopes will join Dixon as depth in Triple-A.

After this round of cuts, it would appear that outfielder David Dahl and infielder Rougned Odor are in line to make the Opening Day roster in San Diego, while the sixth starter spot could go to left-hander Jay Groome or right-hander Brent Honeywell Jr. Dahl had some early success with the Rockies in his career, but has battled injuries throughout his career and has struggled to just a .538 OPS in 87 games since the start of the 2021 season. Odor, meanwhile, spent seven seasons as the regular second baseman for the Rangers, posting an 86 wRC+ during that time, before spending 2021 with the Yankees and 2022 with the Royals. Despite the meager offense numbers for both players in recent years, each can provide the Padres with a left-handed swing off the bench while providing depth in the outfield and infield, respectively.

As for the sixth starter battle, Groome, whom the Padres acquired in the Eric Hosmer deal with the Red Sox last summer, has dazzled in 14 innings of work this spring with a 1.29 ERA, though he has struggled with his control, walking 10 batters while striking out 13. Honeywell, meanwhile, signed a major league deal with the Padres this offseason after the former top prospect was non-tendered by the Rays after years of injury woes. Honeywell got hit hard this spring, posting a 6.88 ERA in 17 innings, but with 22 strikeouts and just six walks in those innings, there’s reason to believe the quality arm he seemed destined to become as a prospect could still surface.

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Rule 5 Draft San Diego Padres Tampa Bay Rays Transactions Brandon Dixon Jose Lopez (b. 1999) Julio Teheran Tim Lopes

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Romy Gonzalez, Gregory Santos To Break Camp With White Sox

By Nick Deeds | March 26, 2023 at 7:31pm CDT

The White Sox Opening Day roster continues to come into focus as Daryl Van Schouwen of the Sun Times reports that both utilityman Romy Gonzalez and right-hander Gregory Santos are expected to make the team out of camp this spring. The pair join outfielder Oscar Colas and infielder Hanser Alberto, who were previously reported to be making the Opening Day roster as well.

Gonzalez has mostly played second base during his 42 games in the big leagues so far, but has also appeared at shortstop, third base, and in both outfielder corners, making him a versatile bench piece for manager Pedro Grifol to utilize as needed. A career .241/.261/.350 hitter in the majors, Gonzalez doesn’t bring much to the table with his bat, but a .795 OPS in 286 minor league games and an .808 OPS this spring both indicate the 26 year-old Gonzalez could take a step forward with more exposure to big league pitching, though he will surely have to cut down on his concerning 35.2% career strikeout rate in order to do so. Gonzalez’s spot on the Opening Day roster likely comes at the expense of third baseman Jake Burger, who has posted an above average 114 wRC+ in 66 career big league games but is largely limited to the infield corners in terms of versatility. Gonzalez will join a bench that appears poised to include Alberto, Gavin Sheets, and Seby Zavala.

Santos seemed to be a potential favorite for a roster spot after Bryan Shaw and Nick Avila were told they would not make the roster earlier today. Chicago acquired Santos in December from the Giants, who Santos had pitched just 5 2/3 innings for at the big league level, allowing seven earned runs in the process. Santos has a 19.3% strikeout rate and 10% walk rate for his career across the major and minor leagues, and tends to keep the ball on the ground, with groundball rates between 50 and 60% in the minor leagues. Santos seems likely to join Jose Ruiz and Jake Diekman in middle relief for the White Sox this year, with Kendall Graveman, Aaron Bummer, Joe Kelly, and Reynaldo Lopez figuring to get more late-inning work to begin the season.

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Chicago White Sox Gregory Santos Romy Gonzalez

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AL Central Notes: Guardians, McKenzie, Twins, Shaw

By Nick Deeds | March 26, 2023 at 6:42pm CDT

The Guardians appear to have mostly finalized their Opening Day roster, though president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti noted to reporters (including Mandy Bell of MLB.com) that “there is some chance that we make an external acquisition, and if we do, that will affect the composition of our roster.”

Barring such an acquisition, however, it seems likely that Cleveland will open the season with three catchers on their roster, as both Cam Gallagher and Meibrys Viloria appear set to make the team and back up starting catcher Mike Zunino. With multiple back-up options, the Guardians are hoping that Zunino will have a lighter workload in 2023 after missing the second half of the 2022 season due to surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome. That comes at the expense of depth in the infield and outfield, however, as Gabriel Arias figures to be the sole infielder on the bench, with Will Brennan the sole outfielder. On the other hand, that should help both youngsters get additional playing time to aid their development. That’s particularly valuable for Arias, who played just 82 games last year between Triple-A and the majors after missing two months on the injured list last season.

More from around the AL Central…

  • Sticking with the Guardians, manager Terry Francona told reporters, including Bell, that right-hander Triston McKenzie was dealing with right arm tightness that led to him being pulled from his start today after just one inning. McKenzie figures to be a key cog at the front of Cleveland’s rotation this year after he posted a 2.96 ERA in 191 1/3 innings of work last season, so long as his current ailment doesn’t prove to be more serious than initially believed. In the event that McKenzie misses time, the club could look to a depth option like Konnor Pilkington or Jason Bilous to fill McKenzie’s spot in the rotation.
  • The Opening Day pitching staff in Minnesota came into further focus today, as the Twins optioned Bailey Ober to Triple-A, per The Athletic’s Dan Hayes, following their decision to reassign Jeff Hoffman, per Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Ober figured to be pushed out of the rotation picture in Minnesota following the club’s acquisition of Pablo Lopez from the Marlins earlier this offseason, and will act as depth in Triple-A following an 11-start showing in 2022 where he posted a solid 3.21 ERA (120 ERA+) in 56 innings of work. Hoffman, meanwhile, signed a minor league deal with the Twins last month in order to compete for a long relief role i the Twins bullpen. Instead, right-hander Cole Sands seems poised to fill that role, leaving Hoffman to decide whether or not to make use of his opt-out clause this coming Tuesday.
  • Shortly after alerting him that he would not make their Opening Day roster, the White Sox announced that they had released right-hander Bryan Shaw from his minor league deal with the club. The veteran Shaw sports a 3.92 ERA in 714 2/3 innings of work during his career and is now poised to look for another club interested in his services for his age-35 season. Shaw made a strong case for himself this spring, pitching to a 1.08 ERA in 8 1/3 innings during camp.
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Chicago White Sox Cleveland Guardians Minnesota Twins Notes Bailey Ober Bryan Shaw Cam Gallagher Jeff Hoffman Meibrys Viloria Mike Zunino Triston McKenzie

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AL East Notes: Rays, Franco, Hall

By Nick Deeds | March 26, 2023 at 5:23pm CDT

Rotation plans for the Rays came into focus today as the club optioned Luis Patino and Yonny Chirinos to Triple-A, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter Links). That leaves left-hander Josh Fleming in line for the fifth starter’s spot behind Shane McClanahan, Jeffery Springs, Drew Rasmussen, Zach Eflin while Tyler Glasnow is on the shelf with a strained oblique.

Fleming, 27 in May, has largely struggled in his limited time with the Rays since his debut in the 2020 season, posting a 4.93 ERA (81 ERA+) with a 4.33 FIP in 171 2/3 innings of work. Of his 43 appearances with the Rays, 19 of those have come as a starter. While he has yet to establish himself as a quality option in the major leagues, it’s somewhat easy to see why the Rays chose him for the fifth starter job, as both Patino and Chirinos were torched this spring: Patino allowed 12 runs in just 9 2/3 innings while walking seven batters, while Chirinos gave up nine runs in 12 1/3 innings of work with six walks of his own. Both righties will begin the season in Triple-A and attempt to right the ship before likely returning to the majors sometime this year.

More from around the AL East…

  • Sticking with the Rays, manager Kevin Cash today told reporters, including Kristie Ackert of the Tampa Bay Times, that the club is optimistic that star shortstop Wander Franco will be available to play on Opening Day, saying the results of an MRI today on Franco’s quad were “favorable.” The club may not make a final decision on Franco’s availability to begin the season until rosters are due on Thursday, given the presence of Taylor Walls on the roster, who is poised to take over the shortstop role should Franco miss any time. Franco, of course, was long the top prospect in all of baseball and has already accumulated 4.7 fWAR just 153 games into his big league career. Should he manage to stay healthy in 2023 after suffering quad and wrist injuries last year, he’s sure to be an instrumental piece of the Rays this season as they attempt to return to the playoffs for a fifth straight season.
  • The Orioles have optioned left-hander DL Hall to Triple-A, per a team announcement. Hall, 24, is one of Baltimore’s top pitching prospects but struggled in his 11 game debut last season, surrendering nine runs in 13 2/3 innings of work. That being said, between the small sample size, the inflated .436 BABIP, and a strong 29.7% strikeout rate, Hall’s performance made his immense talent clear, even though the results didn’t match. Manager Brandon Hyde told reporters, including Roch Kubatko of MASN, that the club plans to build Hall up as a starter. Hyde went on to express certainty that Hall would contribute to the big league club this year. As things stand, the Orioles appear poised to open the season with a starting rotation of Kyle Gibson, Cole Irvin, Dean Kremer, Kyle Bradish, and Grayson Rodriguez.
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Baltimore Orioles Notes Tampa Bay Rays DL Hall Josh Fleming Wander Franco

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White Sox To Select Contracts Of Oscar Colas, Hanser Alberto; Leury Garcia Won’t Make Opening Day Roster

By Mark Polishuk | March 26, 2023 at 3:27pm CDT

3:27 PM: According to James Fegan of The Athletic, Hanser Alberto is expected to make the Opening Day roster with Garcia not making the team.

2:57 PM: The White Sox continue to shape their roster in advance of Opening Day, and according to reporter Francys Romero (Twitter link), outfielder Oscar Colas has been told by the team that he will break camp.  In a more surprising development, Leury Garcia will not be part of the 26-man roster, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports (via Twitter).

Garcia was initially acquired from the Rangers in an August 2013 trade, and has since become a longstanding roster staple.  Used mostly as a bench player over his 10 seasons with the White Sox, Garcia’s ability to play all over the diamond has made him a solid backup and fill-in option, as he has logged many games at all three outfield positions, shortstop, third base, and second base.  This versatility has helped offset Garcia’s lack of offense, as he has only a .253/.293/.350 career slash line over 2402 plate appearances.

When Garcia entered the free agent market last winter, the Sox re-signed him to a three-year, $16.5MM deal that stood out as relatively steep for a 30-year-old career backup.  The decision to retain Garcia became even more questionable when his offense declined even further in 2022, as he hit a meager .210/.233/.267 over 315 PA.  Garcia’s 39 wRC+ was the lowest of any player in baseball last season with at least 300 plate appearances, and he was a sub-replacement -1.1 fWAR player overall.

In terms of other utility options, minor league signing Hanser Alberto has had a strong camp, and Romy Gonzalez is something of a utilityman-of-the-future down at Triple-A (plus, Gonzalez has already had a taste of the big leagues).  Since veteran shortstop Elvis Andrus is returning to the White Sox as their new second baseman, manager Pedro Grifol hinted yesterday to reporters (including The Athletic’s James Fegan) that Andrus’ presence made Garcia somewhat redundant.

“Our backup shortstop plays second base for us every day,” Grifol said.  “So, it’s not really a pressing need to have a utility player on our bench that is a shortstop.  We are not pressed to do that.  Would it be of value?  Yeah, maybe.  Not of great value, but of some value.“

It remains to be seen if Garcia would accept an assignment to the minor leagues, or if his omission from the roster is the beginning of the end of his time in the organization altogether.  The Sox would be eating the remaining $11MM on Garcia’s contract in the event of a release, and a trade or a waiver claim seems pretty unlikely since teams won’t want to absorb that salary.

As for Colas, there was little doubt that he would be heading north to the Windy City, and the 24-year-old now seems set to make his MLB debut on Opening Day.  Colas signed with Chicago for a $2.7MM bonus when the 2022 international signing period opened, and he hit a combined .314/.371/.524 with 23 homers over 526 combined PA at the high-A, Double-A, and Triple-A levels in 2022.

While Colas has only had okay numbers throughout Spring Training, his minor league dominance and his past track record in the Cuban National Series has indicated that he is ready for MLB competition.  Colas is expected to get the majority of work in right field, with Eloy Jimenez (when he isn’t at DH) and Gavin Sheets also in the mix.  Between the debuting Colas and the newly-signed Andrew Benintendi, Chicago’s outfield will have a new look, with Luis Robert returning as the incumbent in center field.

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Chicago White Sox Transactions Hanser Alberto Leury Garcia Oscar Colas

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Athletics Sign Jeurys Familia

By Mark Polishuk | March 26, 2023 at 2:47pm CDT

TODAY: The Athletics officially announced Familia’s signing.  To create 40-man roster space, left-hander Kirby Snead was placed on the 60-day injured list due to a strained throwing shoulder.  Snead hasn’t thrown for over a month since first suffering the strain in Spring Training action.

MARCH 25: The A’s have signed right-hander Jeurys Familia to a Major League contract, according to FanSided’s Robert Murray (Twitter link).  MLB.com’s Martin Gallegos reported earlier today that Familia was present in the Athletics’ clubhouse.  Familia is represented by ACES.

It was a pretty quick trip through free agency for Familia, as he was only released yesterday from his previous minor league deal with the Diamondbacks.  Since Familia could’ve opted out of that minors deal today if Arizona hadn’t included him on its Opening Day roster, the D’Backs chose to release Familia and give him a bit of a jump on the rest of the Article XX(B) market.

That head start has now paid off in a guaranteed MLB contract for the 33-year-old reliever, as well as a familiar landing spot.  Familia previously pitched for the A’s in 2018, joining the team after a trade deadline swap with the Mets.  Over his previous 31 1/3 innings in the green-and-gold, Familia posted a 3.45 ERA, helping Oakland reach the AL wild card game.

Since that 2018 season, Familia’s performance has been quite inconsistent, with a couple of okay seasons in 2020-21 (at least in terms of bottom-line results) sandwiched in between rough years in both 2019 and 2022.  Last season, Familia struggled to a 6.09 ERA over 44 1/3 combined innings with the Phillies and Red Sox, with below-average walk and strikeout rates as well as some of the most hard contact allowed of any pitcher in baseball.

Familia did look quite a bit sharper this spring in Arizona’s camp, with a 1.35 ERA over 6 2/3 frames of work.  It wasn’t enough to win him a job in the Diamondbacks bullpen, but Familia will now bring some veteran knowhow to an Athletics relief corps that is short on MLB experience.  There is enough uncertainty in Oakland’s bullpen that it might not be a surprise if Familia ends up earning some save chances at some point, and given how the A’s are still in rebuild mode, Familia certainly looks like a potential trade chip this summer if he is pitching well.

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Athletics Transactions Jeurys Familia

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Guardians, Amed Rosario Have Discussed Contract Extension

By Mark Polishuk | March 26, 2023 at 1:46pm CDT

Amed Rosario is scheduled to hit free agency after the 2023 season, but the Guardians have some interest in retaining his services over a longer term, as Rosario told The Athletic’s Zack Meisel (Twitter link) and other reporters that the club has touched base with his agents at Octagon about a possible contract extension.  Rosario isn’t considering Opening Day as a deadline for talks, but he isn’t sure if a deal will be reached.

While the Guardians have commonly pursued and reached extensions over the years, the team has generally pursued multi-year deals with younger players who are either early in their arbitration eligibility or are still in the pre-arb phase of their careers.  Recent examples include the extensions Cleveland reached with Emmanuel Clase and Myles Straw just under a year ago, as both deals saw the Guards gain cost-certainty over the players’ arbitration years and also gain control over free agent years, whether via guaranteed years or via club options.  Of course, the Guardians also signed the biggest contract in team history with their extension with Jose Ramirez last spring, but that deal is something of an outlier considering both Ramirez’s superstar status, his specific desire to remain in Cleveland, and his willingness to take a below-market price.

In short, it would represent a departure from Cleveland’s usual tactics if they locked up a player like Rosario, who is a little older (though he’ll only be 28 on Opening Day 2024) than their normal extension targets, and is also on the verge of free agency.  Rosario and his camp are surely also weighing the Guardians’ offers against the wider market as a whole, since if Rosario can even just replicate his 2022 numbers, he’ll be one of the better options available in a free agent class that isn’t terribly deep in position players.

Once one of baseball’s top prospects during his days in the Mets farm system, Rosario hasn’t yet risen to those lofty expectations, yet he has become a solid everyday player over his two seasons in Cleveland.  Rosario’s inconsistency in New York led the Mets to move him as part of the blockbuster trade that brought Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco to Queens, while also giving Cleveland some major payroll savings and two new middle-infield building blocks in Rosario and Andres Gimenez.

It is a deal that has worked out very nicely for the Guardians, considering how Gimenez broke out with one of the best all-around seasons of any player in 2022.  Rosario’s contributions have also been quite respectable, as he has produced 2.4 fWAR in each of his two seasons in Cleveland, hitting .282/.316/.406 over 1258 plate appearances for a 101 wRC+.  His glovework at shortstop is more of a mixed bag depending on your defensive metric of choice, but at least in the view of Defensive Runs Saved and UZR/150, his fielding was strongly above-average in 2022.  Rosario also has some experience as a left fielder and center fielder, though his defense has been mediocre over his small sample size of 171 1/3 innings on the grass.

Given the Guardians’ penchant for trading players as they become too expensive, Rosario has been the subject of trade rumors almost since the moment he joined the organization, as there was even speculation Cleveland might flip him soon after the Mets deal.  However, even with Rosario’s rising price tag and the number of promising young middle infield prospects in the Guards farm system, the front office has held off on a trade, and now might revert course entirely by extending Rosario beyond 2023.  A midseason trade might still be possible if the Guardians were to fall out of the postseason race, or if the team becomes confident enough in its young depth options that it moves Rosario while also acting as deadline buyers in pursuit of another deep playoff run.

The ripple effects of a Rosario extension could include an increased willingness by the Guardians to move one or two of those prospects to address other needs, if the club is indeed eyeing Rosario and Gimenez as the long-term answer up the middle.  Gimenez is under team control through the 2026 season and might be an extension candidate himself, so it doesn’t seem likely that the Guards would pivot to exploring a Gimenez trade if they locked up Rosario.

In terms of available payroll space, the Guardians don’t have much in the way of future commitments, but the team’s traditionally limited spending is itself an obstacle.  Prior to Ramirez’s extension, Cleveland had never spent more than $60MM (Edwin Encarnacion) on a player, and it would seem like the team would have to spend well in excess of that number to cover multiple free agent years of a shortstop entering his age-28 season.  Rosario told Meisel and company that he likes playing for the Guardians, though it isn’t known if he would be open to taking anything close to the relative hometown discount that Ramirez gave the team in his extension.

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Cleveland Guardians Amed Rosario

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Injury Notes: Nevin, Severino, Houser, Suarez, Suzuki

By Mark Polishuk | March 26, 2023 at 12:18pm CDT

As expected, the Tigers will place Tyler Nevin on the 10-day injured list to begin the season.  Nevin suffered a Grade 1 oblique strain a little less than three weeks ago, making it doubtful that the 25-year-old would be fully recovered in time for Opening Day.  However, it is possible Nevin won’t miss much time, as Tigers manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (including Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press) that Nevin is on pace to start a rehab assignment this week.

Even a brief IL stint isn’t an ideal way for Nevin to begin his tenure with his new team, as he was only acquired by the Tigers in a swap with the Orioles back in December.  Nevin’s ability to play both corner infield and outfield positions makes him an interesting commodity on Detroit’s roster, as this versatility and Nevin’s right-handed bat made him a natural platoon partner or complement to such left-handed batters as Austin Meadows, Akil Baddoo, Nick Maton, or Kerry Carpenter.

More on other injury situations around baseball…

  • Luis Severino is another player headed for a season-opening IL stint, as the Yankees right-hander has suffered a lat strain.  This particular injury is a concern given that Severino missed over two months of the 2022 season with another lat strain, but the pitcher told reporters (including Greg Joyce of the New York Post) that this strain in lower in his back than last year’s problem and doesn’t seem as serious.  Severino suggested that he could miss “three or four starts,” but a more specific timeline isn’t known, since “I’m going to be a little bit cautious, but I think the Yankees are going to be more cautious than me.”  Last summer, Severino expressed both surprise and public displeasure with the Yankees’ decision to shift him from the 15-day to the 60-day IL, as he expecting a quicker return to action.
  • Brewers right-hander Adrian Houser left his spring outing yesterday due to groin tightness, and the club will further examine his status today.  The same injury bothered Houser both earlier in Spring Training and at the end of last season, resulting in an IL stint.  Considering the recurring nature of the groin problem and the close proximity to Opening Day, it certainly seems possible the Milwaukee could start Houser on the IL once more.  As the odd man out of a deep Brewers rotation, Houser had been tabbed for a relief role to begin the season, with the understanding that he is also the team’s unofficial sixth starter in the event of an injury.
  • Ranger Suarez played catch on Friday and Saturday, telling Alex Coffey of the Philadelphia Inquirer that his left arm still had some tightness but no pain.  In general, Suarez felt “nothing too bad” and his forearm was doing “better.”  Despite this fairly positive update, it still seems unlikely that Suarez will be able to avoid an IL trip given how the Phillies will probably be cautious with a case of elbow inflammation.  The left-hander was projected to be either the third or fourth starter in Philadelphia’s rotation this season, but with his likely absence for part of April, Bailey Falter will step into that vacancy in the starting five.  Matt Strahm or Michael Plassmeyer could take the fifth starter job, as top prospect Andrew Painter, Cristopher Sanchez, and Nick Nelson are also battling injuries.
  • The Cubs haven’t yet decided how they’ll replace Seiya Suzuki on their season-opening roster, as Suzuki will need a 10-day IL stint after missing the last month of Spring Training due to an oblique strain.  Suzuki is making such steady development in his rehab work that even though he’ll miss some time during the regular season, it may not be all that much time. “Whether you are trying to put somebody on the [40-man] roster that’s not on it or trying to fill a gap for 10 days is a big deal,” Cubs manager David Ross told Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times and other reporters.  “And it’s a big decision.  We have so much talent and a lot of depth here.  We would like to keep as much as we possibly can because of the long journey we’re about to start.”
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Chicago Cubs Detroit Tigers Milwaukee Brewers New York Yankees Notes Philadelphia Phillies Adrian Houser Luis Severino Ranger Suarez Seiya Suzuki Tyler Nevin

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