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Padres, Wilmer Font Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Padres are in agreement on a minor league contract with free-agent righty Wilmer Font, MLBTR has learned. He’ll be in Major League Spring Training and compete for a roster spot. Font is repped by the OL Baseball Group.

Font, 32, has spent the past two seasons pitching with the SSG Landers of the Korea Baseball Organization and has thrown quite well overseas. After spending parts of five big league seasons oscillating between Triple-A and the Majors in a swingman role, he cemented himself as one of the top starting pitchers for a Landers club that won the Korean Series in 2022.

Over the past two seasons, Font owns a 3.03 ERA with a 24.5% strikeout rate against a terrific 5.9% walk rate. Font, who averaged 95.1 mph on his heater during his last big league campaign in 2020, also induced grounders at a healthy 53% clip during his time in the KBO.

Given Font’s strong showing as a starting pitcher in South Korea, he’ll give the Friars some depth at the back of their rotation, where they’re facing some uncertainty. The hope is that Nick Martinez, who served as a swingman in 2022 and spent more time in the ’pen than in the rotation, can hold down the fourth spot on the starting staff for the bulk of the season. Longtime Mets righty Seth Lugo, who was a starter earlier in his career but has worked as a bullpen arm in recent seasons, was signed with the idea that he’ll return to a starting role on in San Diego.

Martinez pitched just 106 1/3 innings in 2022, though, and Lugo logged only 65 innings as a full-time reliever, so it’s sensible to bring some depth with the potential to cover innings. Font racked up 184 innings over 28 starts in the KBO in 2022 — an average of nearly 6 2/3 innings per outing — so he’s more than capable of eating up innings in Triple-A and jumping into a big league rotation if he handles himself well in the minors. He could also break camp in a long relief role if he shows well in Spring Training, and it’s worth noting that the Padres used a six-man rotation early in the 2022 season, which opens that door if Font forces his way into the equation.

Font will join lefties Adrian Morejon, Ryan Weathers and Jay Groome, plus righties Pedro Avila, Reiss Knehr, Julio Teheran and Aaron Brooks in comprising a wealth of rotation depth for San Diego. Each of Morejon, Weathers, Groome, Avila and Knehr is already on the 40-man roster, which could give them a leg up over Font when it comes to finding their way to the big leagues, but Font’s 2021-22 run in the KBO was genuinely impressive and should position him for a big league look at some point, so long as he’s able to pitch reasonably well early in his Padres tenure.

Twins Agree To Minor League Deal With Tony Wolters

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The Twins and free-agent catcher Tony Wolters are in agreement on a minor league contract, tweets Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Wolters, a client of the VC Sports Group, will presumably receive an invitation to Major League Spring Training.

Wolters, 30, was the Rockies’ primary catcher for several years, logging 320 games behind the dish in Colorado from 2017-20 and appearing in 77% of the team’s games between the 2019 season and shortened 2020 campaign. The former third-round pick was long touted for his plus defense, which helped him to offset a lack of offensive prowess. Wolters hit .259/.327/.395 as a rookie in 2016 (although that was just a 77 wRC+ after accounting for Coors Field), but he’s mustered only a .229/.320/.295 output in 1036 plate appearances since that time.

Wolters has spent the past two seasons with the Cubs and Dodgers, respectively, but only appeared in 14 games with the Cubs in ’21 and two games with the Dodgers in ’22. He posted decent Triple-A numbers between the two teams in 2021 (.240/.348/.385 in 260 plate appearances) but limped to a .230/.321/.284 line in 234 trips to the plate with the Dodgers’ top minor league affiliate in 2022.

As noted, however, Wolters has long been a glove-first option behind the plate. He’s thrown out 31% of runners who’ve attempted to steal against him in his career, comfortably better than the league average, has plus framing marks on the whole, and has amassed 24 Defensive Runs Saved in 2827 innings behind the plate.

The Twins signed Christian Vazquez to a three-year, $30MM contract earlier in the offseason, and he’s expected to split time with incumbent Ryan Jeffers behind the dish, comprising Minnesota’s top catching tandem. However, the Twins are thin on catching depth in the upper minors, so Wolters will provide some defensive-minded insurance in the event of an injury at the MLB level.

Rangers, Kyle Funkhouser Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Rangers and right-handed reliever Kyle Funkhouser are in agreement on a minor-league contract, reports Robert Murray of Fansided. The Boras Corporation client will presumably receive an invite to major league Spring Training.

Funkhouser, who is headed into his age 29 season, was an effective member of the Tigers bullpen in 2021, when he posted a 3.42 ERA (124 ERA+) in 68 1/3 innings of work. His arsenal has four pitches, including a sinker and four-seamer that both averaged 96 mph in 2021 in addition to a 87 mph slider and a rarely used changeup. Despite his impressive velocity, Funkhouser struck batters out at just a 21.1% rate in 2021.

Though his strikeout rate was below-average and his 12.8% walk rate was downright troubling, Funkhouser seemed set to reprise this role in 2022 nonetheless. This was in part due to an excellent 53.1% groundball rate that helped him settle in among the best in the game at avoiding the barrel of the bat (92nd percentile opponents’ barrel rate, per Statcast). Unfortunately, Funkhouser suffered a right shoulder strain that kept him from pitching at all in 2022. That contributed to the Tigers designating him for assignment in November, after which point Funkhouser elected free agency to search for his next opportunity.

That opportunity will come in Texas, where Funkhouser will likely compete with the likes of Josh Sborz, Taylor Hearn, John King, and Dane Dunning for a spot in the Opening Day bullpen. While Texas has a handful of quality options for the late innings, such as Jose Leclerc, Brock Burke, Jonathan Hernandez, Joe Barlow and Brett Martin, Funkhouser adds some depth to a bullpen that lost Matt Moore to free agency and Matt Bush in a deadline trade with the Brewers last July. If he doesn’t crack the Opening Day roster, he can head to Triple-A Round Rock and serve as a depth option in the event of an injury.

The Opener: Signings, Cueto, Cubs

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As the offseason continues to move along, here are three things to keep and eye on throughout the day today:

1. Reported signings that could be made official.

Free agent deals are often reported before they’re officially complete and announced by the team. Delays in making things official are often due to the player’s physical not being done yet, or perhaps simply because the team wants to delay having to make a corresponding 40-man roster move. The recent holiday season could also play a role in delaying the physicals on such agreements. MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy tweets that Wade Miley’s one-year, $4.5MM deal with the Brewers, agreed upon yesterday, could have a short turnaround and become official as soon as today. Additionally, deals that still haven’t been made officially from last week, such as Arizona’s one-year, $4MM agreement with Evan Longoria and the one-year, $10MM deal between the Red Sox and Corey Kluber, could also be made official soon. All three organizations have full 40-man rosters, so they’ll need to make a corresponding move to open up space for their incoming free agent.

2. Could Cueto be nearing a decision?

According to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, the Padres and Marlins are “vying” for the services of veteran right-hander Johnny Cueto, with the Reds also interested in acquiring the 36-year-old. Cueto stands as one of the top free-agent pitchers remaining on the market following a solid season with the White Sox where he posted a 3.35 ERA (18% better than league average by ERA+) and a 3.79 FIP. Both the Marlins and Padres have been previously mentioned as interested in adding Cueto to their rotation; this being said, it’s somewhat notable that Rosenthal seems to indicate that the Padres and the Marlins are the frontrunners at this point ahead of Cincinnati, with whom Cueto spent the first seven and a half years of his career.

3. Two Cubs players are currently in DFA limbo.

Yesterday, the Cubs sent recently reliever Erich Uelmen, who had recently been designated for assignment, to the Phillies in exchange for cash considerations. While this move brings Uelmen’s DFA to a conclusion, Chicago still has two players in DFA limbo, with the results of their DFA unannounced: first baseman Alfonso Rivas and catcher P.J. Higgins. Rivas, who was designated to make room for a waiver claim of Anthony Kay, cannot reject an outright assignment to Triple-A, meaning he will likely stay in the Cubs organization if he goes unclaimed on waivers. Higgins, meanwhile, does have the option of rejecting an outright assignment, by virtue of the fact that he’s been outrighted previously in his career. He’ll have control of his own future should he go unclaimed on waivers following his DFA, which made room for the club’s signing of Tucker Barnhart.

Joey Votto Discusses Rehab From Shoulder Surgery

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Joey Votto had a frustrating 2022 season ended prematurely by a rotator cuff tear in his left shoulder that required surgery in August. The Reds expressed optimism at the time of the procedure their longtime first baseman would be ready to go by Spring Training, though Votto’s still amidst his rehab.

“It’s going to take time, I’m realizing now,” Votto told 700 WLW in Cincinnati this afternoon (Twitter link). “I’m hitting off an arm and I just started hitting off a machine a little bit, but it’s not quite there. I’ve been told by people that I’m doing very well in my rehab, but there is a difference between doing well and being ready for a Major League game if that makes sense.”

Asked whether he felt he’d be ready by the start of Spring Training, the former MVP demurred. “I’d say I’m not willing to make that prediction just because I don’t know. I’ve never experienced anything like this. I try to manage my expectations, of course. I don’t know. I’m hopeful; I’m always hopeful.”

Votto expressed confidence he’d eventually get back to 100%, but he’s clearly not yet at that level. That’s not really a worrisome development at this stage. Cincinnati’s initial prognosis came with a roughly six-month recovery timetable, and Votto’s only within his fifth month. It still seems possible he’ll be ready at or near the open of exhibition play. Even if he does wind up heading into Spring Training a week or two behind schedule, getting into game shape by Opening Day should be attainable.

Needless to say, getting back to full strength will be a key starting point in what the six-time All-Star hopes is a bounceback campaign. Votto hit just .205/.319/.370 through 376 plate appearances last year. That production was eight percentage points below league average, by measure of wRC+. That’s the lowest mark of his career and only the second below-average offensive showing he’d ever had. Votto candidly admitted to 700 WLW he “didn’t play well enough to even justify a starting job,” though there’s little question the Reds will give him another shot to get back on track.

It’ll be the 17th season in Cincinnati for the career-long Red. It’s certainly possible the 2023 campaign will be his final one with the club, as he’s headed into the last guaranteed season of the $225MM extension he inked back in 2012. Votto will make $25MM next season and is due at least a $7MM buyout on a 2024 club option valued at $20MM. It’s difficult to envision Cincinnati triggering that option unless Votto turns in an excellent season, so he seems headed towards free agency a winter from now.

Renato Nunez Signs With Mexican League’s Toros De Tijuana

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The Toros de Tijuana of the Mexican League announced this afternoon they’ve signed corner infielder Renato Núñez for the 2023 season. It’ll be the first stint in Mexico for the 28-year-old, who played in the majors from 2016-21.

Núñez suited up for four different MLB teams. He’s best known for his time with the Orioles, where he logged over 1000 plate appearances between 2018-20. Núñez popped 31 home runs in 2019 and another 12 longballs during the abbreviated 2020 season, bringing some right-handed power to the organization. That came with fairly modest on-base numbers and a spotty defensive profile, however, and Baltimore cut him loose over the 2020-21 offseason.

The Venezuela native signed with the Tigers for 2021. He only managed a .189/.218/.472 line through 14 contests with Detroit and was twice outrighted off their 40-man roster. A subsequent minor league contract with the Brewers didn’t result in a big league opportunity. Núñez concluded the campaign with a .245/.308/.452 line across 307 career MLB games.

Last offseason, he made the jump to Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. Núñez signed on with the Nippon-Ham Fighters and split the 2022 season between the top level and their minor league affiliate. He hit well over 31 minor league games but mustered only a .174/.228/.299 line through 63 NPB contests. That proved to be his lone season with the Fighters.

Núñez is now a couple seasons removed from offensive productivity. He’s still relatively young and has some power upside. He’ll try to get back on track in a hitter-friendly environment in the Mexican League.

Phillies Sign Jake Jewell To Minor League Deal

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The Phillies have signed right-hander Jake Jewell to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He will presumably receive an invitation to major league Spring Training.

Jewell, 30 in May, has 31 games of MLB experience, scattered over the 2018, 2019 and 2021 seasons with the Angels and Cubs. He’s posted an unsightly 7.75 ERA in that time, with his 13 home runs allowed in just 38 1/3 innings surely playing a role in that inflated figure.

In 2022, he signed a minor league deal with the Guardians. He was throwing well for their Triple-A team for most of the year, logging 43 1/3 innings with a 2.49 ERA, striking out 27% of batters faced, walking 8.4% of them and getting grounders on 63.3% of balls in play. The Guards selected him to the big league roster in August but optioned him back down to the minors and designated him for assignment before he got into a big league game. He was claimed by the Twins and made nine appearances for their Triple-A team, but saw his ERA spike to 5.68. He was outrighted off their roster in September.

Between the two clubs, Jewell finished 2022 with a 3.21 ERA in 56 Triple-A innings, striking out 27.7% of batters faced against an 8.9% walk rate. He’ll give the Phillies’ bullpen some depth without taking up a roster spot for the time being. If he can earn his way onto the roster, he will be able to be cheaply retained for the foreseeable future, as he has just over a year of MLB service time.

Looking At White Sox’s Second Base Options

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The White Sox have made a couple notable free agent moves this offseason. Andrew Benintendi was brought in on a five-year, $75MM pact to solidify the corner outfield and ensure Andrew Vaughn heads to his natural first base position. Mike Clevinger inked a bounceback deal to add some depth to the back of the starting staff.

One position the White Sox haven’t addressed thus far is second base. The keystone was a question mark last year, with five players logging at least five appearances there. Josh Harrison and Danny Mendick are gone, with Chicago declining a club option on the former and non-tendering the latter. That leaves a trio of last year’s options who stand as the top in-house candidates for reps.

  • Romy González (26): González made his MLB debut in 2021 with 10 appearances, and he got into 32 more games last season. Between those two years, he’s mustered just a .241/.261/.350 line through his first 142 MLB plate appearances. The right-handed hitter has connected on two home runs with well worse than average strikeout and walk numbers. He’s walked in just 2.1% of his trips against a 35.2% strikeout percentage. It was a fairly similar story with Triple-A Charlotte last year, where González punched out a third of the time en route to a .198/.281/.339 line over 33 games. He’d hit better in Double-A the year before, connecting on 20 homers in 78 contests in a pitcher-friendly environment — albeit with a 28.2% strikeout rate. González has some power upside but serious contact concerns against upper level pitching.
  • Leury García (32): García is an organizational favorite who’s headed into his tenth season with the club. He’s defensively versatile and has clearly endeared himself to multiple coaching staffs and the front office, culminating in a surprising three-year free agent deal last offseason. The switch-hitter has just a .253/.293/.350 career line at the big league level, though. Things were even worse in 2022, as he hit .210/.233/.267 over 315 trips to the plate. It’s hard to envision a win-now club counting on him as an everyday player, although he figures to play a multi-positional role off the bench.
  • Lenyn Sosa (23): Sosa has almost no MLB experience. He earned his first big league promotion in June and wound up appearing in 11 games the rest of the way. The Venezuela native is coming off an excellent season in the high minors. He hit well at both Double-A and Triple-A, combining for a .315/.369/.511 line with 22 home runs through 536 plate appearances. While Sosa only walked at a modest 7.3% clip, he kept his strikeout rate under 16%. One can’t be certain he’ll continue at that pace against MLB arms until he proves it at the highest level, of course. Sosa ranks 10th among White Sox prospects at Baseball America and may have the most upside of this trio, though there’d be plenty of risk for a team hoping to compete for a division title in turning the keystone over to him immediately.

The Sox have a few other infield options on the 40-man roster but none seems likely to step into the second base void. Chicago has toyed with the idea of playing Jake Burger at the keystone. He’s a better fit for the corner infield and only saw five innings of MLB action at second base last season. Jose Rodriguez and Bryan Ramos were each added to the 40-man after the 2022 season to keep them out of the Rule 5 draft; neither has any MLB experience to date. Yoán Moncada has played second base in the past, but the White Sox have deployed him exclusively at third base for the past four seasons. It doesn’t seem they’re considering moving him back to the middle infield.

Given the lack of an obvious internal solution, it’s unsurprising the club is open to bringing in help from outside the organization. General manager Rick Hahn told reporters yesterday the club could add at second base, though he indicated they were confident enough in González and Sosa they don’t consider that a necessity (via Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times). Their early-offseason activity has seemed to align with that expressed confidence, since they’ve watched the free agent middle infield market mostly dry up.

The remaining options on the open market are headlined by Elvis Andrus, who closed out the 2022 campaign with the White Sox after being released by the A’s. The veteran has only ever played shortstop in his MLB career, as he filled in there with Tim Anderson injured late last season. Perhaps Andrus is uninterested in moving to second base, though it stands to reason he’d be able to handle the position if willing to kick to the other side of the bag. Harrison is probably the next-best unsigned middle infielder. The Sox presumably don’t view him as a notable upgrade over their in-house options considering they declined to retain him on what amounted to a $4MM decision at the start of the offseason.

If not Andrus, that’d probably leave Hahn and his staff looking to the trade market. Any specific trade targets for the Chicago front office aren’t publicly known, although a few players stand out as speculative possibilities. The Blue Jays have a number of second base options and might be amenable to parting with Cavan Biggio or Santiago Espinal. The Marlins have relegated Joey Wendle and Jon Berti to utility duty after signing Jean Segura. If the Mets indeed finalize their deal with Carlos Correa, maybe they’d deal old friend Eduardo Escobar somewhere with a clearer path to playing time.

The A’s would presumably consider offers on Tony Kemp. That’s likely also the case for the Cubs and former White Sox Nick Madrigal, who lost his starting job after they signed Dansby Swanson to push Nico Hoerner to the keystone. Longer-shot trade candidates include Ha-Seong Kim and Gleyber Torres, although the White Sox might have to dip further than they feel comfortable into a shallow farm system to land either of those players. The same is true of Nolan Gorman, who debuted for the Cardinals last season but could be available in a deal that lands St. Louis immediate MLB help in another area. That’s not an exhaustive list but highlights a few players the Chicago front office could check in on.

Figuring out second base is presumably the top priority for Hahn and his group. Even if the front office genuinely is confident in González and/or Sosa to step up, adding a veteran complement as insurance for that unproven duo makes sense. The organization might not have much more spending capacity after the Benintendi signing. None of the remaining free agent options should break the bank, though, while a player like Espinal or Berti projected for a fairly modest arbitration salary shouldn’t be difficult to fit onto the books.

Free Agent Profile: Brian Anderson

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Brian Anderson had a really solid run for the Marlins from 2018 through 2020. In that three-year period, he hit 42 home runs while walking in nine percent of his trips to the plate and striking out in 21.8 percent of them. His batting line in that stretch was .266/.350/.436, good enough for a wRC+ of 115, indicating that he was 15 percent better than the league average hitter.

Defensively, Anderson had very brief appearances at first and second base but split most of his time between third base and right field. His work at the hot corner was graded well by advanced defensive metrics, as he posted five Outs Above Average and Defensive Runs Saved in that time, along with a 2.8 mark from Ultimate Zone Rating. In right field, OAA gave him a -4 mark, but he posted 6 DRS and a 7.2 UZR.

When his above-average offense was paired with that quality defense, he was worth 7.2 wins above replacement, according to the calculations of FanGraphs. That mark was in the top 60 among position players. For the Marlins, who were trading away their star players at this time, Anderson’s 7.2 fWAR from 2018-20 was easily the best on the squad. In a distant second was J.T. Realmuto, who posted 4.8 fWAR in 2018 alone before getting traded to the Phillies prior to the 2019 campaign.

The last couple of years, however, have been a struggle for Anderson. Health has played a significant factor, as he’s made multiple trips to the injured list in each of the two most recent seasons. In 2021, he only played 67 games while heading to the IL due to a left oblique strain and twice due to a left shoulder subluxation. His batting line slipped to .249/.337/.378 and a wRC+ of 98. Last year, he played 98 games, missing time due to a stint on the COVID-IL as well as going to the traditional IL for lower back spasms and a left shoulder sprain. His offense dipped even further, finishing the year at .222/.311/.346 (90 wRC+).

The Marlins could have retained Anderson for one more season via arbitration, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting a salary of $5.2MM. But based on Anderson’s diminished performance in the past couple of years, they non-tendered him instead. Presumably, the Marlins contacted the other 29 clubs before this move to see if anyone else was interested in acquiring Anderson at that price point. The fact that a deal didn’t come together suggests that no club was willing to both pay Anderson a salary in that range and also give Miami something of value on top of that.

Even though he’s been injured the past couple of seasons, there are still some good signs under the hood. Anderson’s maximum exit velocity was 112 mph in 2022. That’s a couple of ticks below 2018-19, when he was able to get into the 113-115 range, but it was still enough to get him into the 81st percentile among qualified hitters last year. He was also in the 65th percentile in terms of barrel rate and 61st in terms of hard-hit rate.

His strikeout rate has been on the high side over the past few years but his walk rate has stayed fairly steady. He has a 9.3% walk rate for his career and has been at 9.7% over the past couple of seasons even while struggling in other areas. While not a huge stolen base threat, his sprint speed was in the 53rd percentile in 2022, so he’s at least an average runner. On Statcast’s new arm strength leaderboard, Anderson is in the 99th percentile, with only five qualified players ahead of him. Even while banged up this year, he still demonstrated that there are some tools in his skill set.

That makes Anderson an interesting buy-low candidate at this late point of the offseason, with many of the top free agents having already signed. Yesterday, the Nats agreed to a deal with Dominic Smith, who was projected for a $4MM salary before being non-tendered by the Mets. Instead, he’ll get $2MM from Washington with a further $2MM available in incentives. Like Anderson, Smith struggled over the past two years but showed plenty of potential in the prior seasons. Perhaps Anderson could find himself a similar type of deal in the coming weeks.

The Tigers stand out as a particularly strong fit, since they non-tendered Jeimer Candelario and haven’t done anything to replace him at the hot corner thus far. They have some young players who could potentially take that spot, such as Ryan Kreidler, Kody Clemens or Zack Short. However, none of those players have really cemented themselves as surefire big leaguers yet, and Anderson could move to the outfield if they took a step forward this year. With Akil Baddoo and Austin Meadows looking to bounce back from frustrating seasons, Anderson could give them some cover in case either of those in-house options continue to struggle.

The Reds probably want to give Spencer Steer a chance to take over their third base job, but he has only 28 MLB games under his belt at this point. Anderson could provide a veteran alternative and also factor into their outfield mix if Steer takes off. It’s a similar situation in Texas, where the Rangers have Josh Jung penciled in at the hot corner despite the fact he’s played just 26 major league games. They also need help in left field and are about $12MM away from the lowest luxury tax threshold, making a low-cost addition like Anderson an intriguing solution. The Phillies have Alec Bohm at third, but he’s generally considered a poor defender. With Bryce Harper recovering from Tommy John surgery and no longer taking up the designated hitter slot, perhaps Bohm could move to first and bump Rhys Hoskins into the DH role.

Anderson could also fit on most teams in a part-time role off the bench, though platooning might not be a perfect plan. Anderson hits from the right side and was better against lefties in 2022, posting a 111 wRC+ against them compared to an 85 versus righties. However, he has reverse splits for his career, with a 93 wRC+ against southpaws and a 112 otherwise.

Health will likely be a big factor in Anderson’s market, since that has seemingly been hampering him over the past couple of years. But if he’s able to overcome his ailments and get back to the kind of player he was in 2018-20, there could be great value for a team paying him $5MM or less. Anderson was essentially on a three-WAR annual pace in that period, since he accrued 7.2 fWAR over two full seasons and the shortened 2020 campaign.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Nationals Sign Anthony Banda, Francisco Perez To Minor League Deals

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The Nationals announced three minor league deals today, one of which was the previously-reported deal with infielder Michael Chavis. The other two were for left-handers Anthony Banda and Francisco Pérez. All three players will receive invitations to major league Spring Training.

Banda, 29, has seen sporadic major league time in each of the past six seasons, suiting up for the Diamondbacks, Rays, Mets, Pirates, Blue Jays and Yankees. Over the past two seasons, he’s thrown 60 1/3 innings with a 5.37 ERA while striking out 21.5% of batters faced and walking 9% of them. Those peripherals are fairly close to league average and it’s possible he wasn’t quite as bad as that unsightly ERA might suggest. A .387 batting average on balls in play in that stretch probably hurt him, as his 4.74 FIP and 4.11 SIERA suggested he deserved better.

Banda is out of options and has bounced around to various teams via small transactions in recent years. He began 2022 with the Pirates before getting designated for assignment and traded to the Jays for cash. The Jays also gave him the DFA treatment shortly thereafter, which was followed by a minor league deal with the Mariners, a major league deal with the Yankees and an outright. If he can make his way onto Washington’s roster and have some good results, he has just over two years of service time and can be retained via arbitration for the foreseeable future.

Pérez, 25, has spent most of his career in Cleveland’s system, with that club selecting him onto their 40-man roster in 2021. He only made four big league appearances that year but tossed 53 innings between Double-A and Triple-A with a 1.86 ERA and 38.1% strikeout rate. His walks were certainly high at 13.5% but it was an encouraging season nonetheless. He was claimed off waivers by the Nationals after that campaign, but things didn’t go as smooth in 2022. He posted a 7.27 ERA over 10 big league appearances and a 4.82 ERA over 45 Triple-A appearances. He still got strikeouts on 29.9% of Triple-A batters faced, but he walked 15.7% of them and also 18.8% of those he faced in the majors.

Pérez was outrighted at season’s end and elected free agency but has now returned to the Nats without taking up a roster spot. He still has an option year remaining and can be shuffled between the majors and minors if he earns his way back onto the 40-man. He also has less than a year of service time and could be controlled for years to come if the Nats so choose.

The Nationals currently have four left-handers on their 40-man roster, with Patrick Corbin and MacKenzie Gore both likely ticketed for rotation jobs. That leaves Jose Ferrer and Matt Cronin as the two lefty options for the bullpen. Both of them were just added to the club’s roster in November to protect against selection in the Rule 5 draft, meaning neither has any MLB experience. Banda and Pérez give the club some more-experienced options for southpaws to plug into their bullpen for the upcoming campaign.

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