The Best Fits For Harrison Bader, Hunter Renfroe, Randal Grichuk
A somewhat surprising trend began yesterday when the Angels placed six members of their active roster on outright waivers: Lucas Giolito, Hunter Renfroe, Reynaldo Lopez, Matt Moore, Randal Grichuk and Dominic Leone. The White Sox (Mike Clevinger), Mets (Carlos Carrasco) and Tigers (Jose Cisnero) all followed suit, to varying degrees.
In many ways, it hearkens back to the days of revocable August trade waivers, when it was common for teams to run the majority of their roster through trade waivers. That led to what was effectively a second trade deadline at the end of August, as high-priced veterans who’d gone unclaimed were free to be moved. This set of circumstances, however, is quite different.
The players waived by the Angels, White Sox, Mets and Tigers are on irrevocable outright waivers. Any team that is awarded a claim on one of these players immediately takes on the remainder of that player’s contract. If one of these veterans goes unclaimed — it’s likely that a few of them will — their current team does not have to outright them to a minor league affiliate. They can simply return said player to their active roster and continue playing him as normal. (The Angels reportedly already passed Tyler Anderson through outright waivers last week and just kept him on the roster after he went unclaimed.) Similarly, these players are quite obviously free to keep playing. Many of them played last night. Renfroe literally hit a home run as I was typing this paragraph. Waivers are fun!
The outright waiver period is 48 hours, meaning we’ll have resolution on everyone from this group at some point tomorrow afternoon (though news of the claims being awarded could be staggered a bit). Waiver priority is determined based on reverse order of winning percentage and is not league specific. League-specific waiver priority was unique to revocable August trade waivers and is now defunct. It’s a common misconception that it remains in place, but MLBTR has confirmed with league sources on multiple occasions that waiver priority is simply worst team through best team — in this case, starting with the A’s and ending with the Braves. More specifically, waiver priority is determined based on the reverse standings on the day players clear waivers, meaning we’ll know the final waiver priority for all of these veterans once tonight’s games are wrapped up.
That’s a whole bunch of preamble that may or may not have been necessary, depending on your prior understanding of waiver minutiae. It felt pertinent to do a brief crash course, however, given the unusual nature of this sequence of moves and the major ramifications it could hold with teams in a tight playoff race.
It’s fair to assume the non-contenders are going to pass on picking up any of these players — they’re all impending free agents — but any club with a glimmer of postseason hope could place a claim. That technically includes the Guardians and the Padres, although both are long shots, at best to play meaningful games in October. FanGraphs gives Cleveland and San Diego respective playoff odds of 3.3% and 1.8%, while Baseball Prospectus has the Guards at just 1.6% and the Friars at what seems like a generous 7%. You can never rule out the Padres on big-name players, but they’re already in the third tier of luxury penalization, so anyone they acquire will come with a 75% tax. It’d be a steep price to pay, but hey, when has that ever stopped president of baseball ops A.J. Preller and owner Peter Seidler?
We’re writing about the best fits for this trio of outfielders, however, and the “best” fit doesn’t seem like a team whose playoff hopes are the rough equivalent of hitting a one-outer on the river in a hand of Texas Hold ‘Em. So, with all that said, let’s take a look at each outfielder, how much he’s still owed on his contract, his strengths/flaws, whether he’s likely to be claimed at all, and where he might best fit among the group of contenders who’ll have priority over the Braves, Orioles, Dodgers, Rays and Mariners (i.e. the upper echelon of MLB’s standings).
Harrison Bader
Age: 29 | Bats: R | Salary: $4.7MM ($783K yet to be paid out) | Position: Center Field
Bader is the youngest, the cheapest and the likeliest of this trio to be claimed. Age and salary play a major role in that, but so does his glove. Bader isn’t just the best defensive outfielder of this bunch — he’s one of the best defensive outfielders in Major League Baseball. He can play any of the three outfield spots, but the defense is so strong that it’s almost a waste to have him anywhere other than center. In 4243 innings of center field play at the big league level, Bader has piled up 43 Defensive Runs Saved and a mammoth 61 Outs Above Average.
For some further context, Bader’s 4243 innings in center field from 2017-23 rank just 96th among all big league players in terms of total innings played at one position. But he nevertheless ranks 18th among all Major Leaguers in Defensive Runs Saved and seventh in Outs Above Average. In other words, even though 95 players have had a larger sample of innings to rack up accolades in that pair of cumulative defensive metrics, Bader still has higher totals than nearly all of them.
Prior to the 2023 season, Bader has been more or less a league-average hitter. From 2018-22, he batted .245/.319/.407 — good for a 98 wRC+. By that measure, he was 2% worse than a big league hitter. For a player with this type of defensive talent, that made him a standout all-around performer. This year, however, has seen his bat take a step back. Bader is fanning at a career-low 18%, but he’s hitting just .239/.275/.365. He’s walking less than ever, hitting more fly balls than ever before, and seeing just 6.5% of those flies turn into home runs (the second-lowest mark of his career).
One thing Bader is doing quite well — and that he’s always done well — is torching left-handed pitching. He’s a career .267/.332/.508 batter against southpaws, but in 2023 he’s absolutely demolishing lefties at a .348/.389/.697 clip. Granted, it’s only 72 plate appearances, but Bader has nonetheless been a behemoth when holding the platoon advantage.
Any team can stand to improve its outfield defense, but there are still a few contenders who could make particular use of this type of glove. The Marlins have been seeking a center fielder for years. They rank 29th in the Majors with -19 DRS and are tied for 22nd with -7 OAA. The Phillies, Red Sox, Giants and Cubs all grade as below-average defensive outfield units, too. As far as production against lefties, the Giants, Diamondbacks, Twins and Reds are all bunched tightly together in terms of wRC+ (ranging San Francisco’s 90 to Cincinnati’s 94). The Brewers are also at 94, but they’re currently tied with the Rangers and Astros for the sixth-worst waiver priority in MLB. It’s hard to imagine Bader falling that far.
The Twins have a similar skill set here (Michael A. Taylor) and are hoping to get Byron Buxton back soon. The Cubs and Red Sox make some sense — Boston in particular, after Jarren Duran‘s injury — but both are a ways down the waiver pecking order. Bader would make any contending team better — even if only as a bench player — but he seems like a particularly good fit for the Marlins or the Giants.
Hunter Renfroe
Age: 31 | Bats: R | Salary: $11.9MM ($1.98MM remaining) | Position: Right field
Renfroe’s salary is significant enough that he’s not a lock to be claimed at all — particularly since he’s in the midst of a down year at the plate (the aforementioned homer notwithstanding). A well above-average hitter with the Red Sox and Brewers in 2021-22 when he batted .257/.315/.496, Renfroe finds himself batting .239/.301/.430 on the year — about 3% worse than average, per wRC+. He’s hitting more grounders than he has since his rookie season, popping up more often than ever, and has seen both his average exit velocity and hard-hit rate drop to nearly career-low levels.
Earlier in his career, Renfroe was considered a premium defensive outfielder, but his sprint speed and outfield reads have degraded over the past few years, per Statcast. His raw arm strength still sits in the 92nd percentile of MLB players, so opposing baserunners will want to think twice about tagging up when Renfroe is on the receiving end of a fly-ball, but Renfroe’s range simply isn’t what it once was. DRS pegs him at -8, while OAA is a bit more favorable but still gives him a mark of -3.
Traditionally, Renfroe has punished left-handed pitching. He’s a lifetime .261/.342/.523 hitter against lefties in the big leagues, but this season has seen that production muted. Nearly all of Renfroe’s power has come against right-handed opponents; he’s hitting .250/.304/.356 against lefties, with a higher strikeout rate and lower walk rate than he currently sports against right-handed opponents.
Renfroe was hot-potato’ed around the league even during more productive times, bouncing to four teams in four years — Rays, Red Sox, Brewers, Angels — a reflection of the manner in which the market has generally deprioritized/devalued bat-first corner players with OBP concerns. It’ll now cost a team just shy of $2MM to rent him for one month, and that may be a price at which some clubs balk.
That said, Renfroe has some track record and has still been a roughly average hitter in 2023. He’d be an upgrade over bench bats that are being rostered even on a number of contending clubs, and a team dealing with injuries in the outfield could certainly view him as a potential difference-maker.
While the Marlins could use Bader in center, they’re well-stocked on corner options and have Jorge Soler at DH. The Red Sox and Brewers have both already traded Renfroe once. The Giants (Mitch Haniger) and D-backs (Tommy Pham) have relatively similar players. The Twins could view Renfroe as a viable upgrade over Jordan Luplow or the struggling Joey Gallo, and the Reds are a fit with Jake Fraley, Joey Votto and Jonathan India on the injured list. Renfroe could push Nick Senzel back to Triple-A. If Renfroe makes it to the Mariners, he could be an upgrade over Dominic Canzone in left field with Jarred Kelenic out. The Dodgers could certainly afford to add Renfroe with J.D. Martinez on the injured list and a slew of lefty-hitting outfield options — if he makes it that far.
Randal Grichuk
Age: 32 | Bats: R | Salary: $9.333MM ($1.55MM remaining) | Position: All three outfield spots
Grichuk was having a strong season with the Rockies, batting .308/.365/.496 in 263 plate appearances, but his bat cratered following a trade to the Halos. In 104 plate appearances since the swap, he’s batted .165/.212/.351 with a 25% strikeout rate that’s considerably higher than the 19.4% mark he posted in Denver.
Grichuk has long been a limited player despite tools that suggest otherwise. Statcast annually grades him with above-average speed and arm strength, but he’s never been a threat to steal bases and has drawn inconsistent (at best) grades for his defense around the outfield. He’s probably best-suited for corner work at this point, but the Rox and Angels have given him 143 innings in center this year. He has more than 3000 career innings in both center and right, in addition to nearly 1200 innings in left, so he’s at least going to feel familiar with whichever outfield slot he plays.
While he’s long shown above-average power — career .216 ISO, career-high 31 homers back in 2019, five seasons of 20-plus homers — Grichuk’s offensive value is regularly undercut by his distaste for walks. He’s drawn a free pass in just 5.6% of his career plate appearances, resulting in a lifetime OBP under .300 (.296).
That said, it may be a limited skill set, but Grichuk shines in one particular area: tormenting left-handed pitching. He’s hitting .330/.394/.596 against lefties in 2023 and is a career .266/.314/.503 hitter in such situations.
Grichuk is a bit more affordable than Renfroe, is having a much better season against lefties, and can play center in a pinch, so he may hold more appeal. That same group of the Giants, D-backs, Twins, Reds and Brewers could all use help against southpaws. The Giants are deep in right-handed outfielders though, and the D-backs have Pham to fill a similar role. The Reds and Twins could look at Grichuk for the same reasons they might consider Renfroe, and the Brewers could look at him as a boost against lefties who’d take some pressure off struggling Tyrone Taylor and young Sal Frelick.
The Best Fits For Matt Moore, Reynaldo López, Dominic Leone, José Cisnero
Yesterday saw a flurry of players placed on waivers, with the Angels making six players available to other clubs, while the Yankees, White Sox, Mets and Tigers also got in on the act. What those clubs all have in common is that their chances of competing this year are effectively gone, meaning that impending free agents that aren’t qualifying offer candidates have little use to them at this point. Since the trade deadline passed by a month ago, those clubs have no ability to exchange those players for any kind of younger talent, a player to be named later or even cash considerations. But by placing them on waivers, they could perhaps see another team put in a claim and take on the remainder of the salary commitments. For a claiming team, this is perhaps their best way of upgrading their roster after the deadline. As long as the player is acquired prior to September 1, they would be playoff eligible. That’s why all of this is happening now.
Before digging in, let’s clarify the process. This is different than the revocable kind of waivers that existed under the now-defunct August waiver trade system. These waivers are irrevocable, meaning that the players will be gone if any club puts in a claim. But the players have not been designated for assignment nor released. If they are not claimed, they can simply stay on the roster of their current club. Waiver priority will be in reverse order of the standings at the time of the claim and is not league-specific.
MLBTR is breaking it down by position, with this post focusing on the relievers. Let’s start with an overview of who is in that bucket.
_________________________________
Matt Moore, Angels, LHP: $7.55MM salary, approximately $1.3M remaining
Moore, 34, had his ups and downs as a starter but he recently converted to relief work full-time and has been excellent since then. He had a 1.95 ERA with the Rangers last year and is at 2.30 with the Angels this year, coming into today’s action. In both seasons, he struck out more than 27% of opponents. His ground ball rate has fallen from last year, 43.9% to 34.3%, but he’s cut his walk rate from 12.5% to 7.1%. He has the highest salary of this group but has the best numbers and is the only lefty.
Reynaldo López, Angels, RHP: $3.625M salary, approximately $623K remaining
López, 29, was fairly mediocre as a starter but has been much better since his bullpen move, with a 2.76 ERA last year and 3.86 mark this year. He has bumped his strikeout rate this year from last year’s 24.8% rate to 30.7%, though his walk rate also jumped from 4.3% to 12.1%. He’s been the best of the righties on this list and his salary is about half of Moore’s.
Dominic Leone, Angels, RHP: $1.5MM salary, approximately $258K remaining
Leone, 31, has been fairly inconsistent in his career. He has three seasons with an ERA under 2.57 but also three above 6.32. This year, he’s in between at 4.64 while striking out 24% of opponents and walking 10.9%. He’s not having a dominant season but he had a 1.51 ERA as recently as 2021 and has the lightest salary of anyone on this list.
José Cisnero, Tigers, RHP: $2.2875MM salary, approximately $393K remaining
Cisnero, 34, had an incredible 1.08 ERA last year, though with some unsustainable elements in a .242 BABIP and 88.6% strand rate. This year, the wheel of fortune has spun him around the other way, with a .343 BABIP and 66% strand rate. That’s pushed his ERA to 5.36, a huge jump of more than four runs compared to last year. But his FIP, which takes those luck factors into account, went from 3.67 to 4.38. He has a 25.2% strikeout rate and 9% walk rate this year.
_________________________________
Now that we’ve covered the process and the players available, who makes sense to put in a claim? We can start by crossing out all of the non-contending clubs. They have no need to pick up an impending free agent and his salary as they play out the string on a lost season.
Since the waiver order goes from the bottom of the standings towards the top, the fringe contenders will have a greater chance of a successful claim than teams at the top of the standings. Those teams will have to decide whether they want to add some salary to their books in order to obtain a marginal bullpen upgrade for the final month of the season.
The Padres have been on the edges of the playoff race all year but refused to sell off impending free agents like Blake Snell and Josh Hader and even added players like Garrett Cooper and Rich Hill. But they are still 7.5 games back of a Wild Card spot and their playoff odds are dwindling. The financials are also important as both Roster Resource and Cot’s Baseball Contracts have them between the third and fourth CBT threshold. As a third-time payor, that means they are paying a 95% tax on any cash they take on. Given their place in the standings and their financial ledger, it seems like a long shot they would be involved here.
The Red Sox love to cycle through players at the back of their bullpen, frequently making small trades or minor league signings for depth. But they are now 6.5 games back of a playoff spot with the Blue Jays in between. Speaking of the Jays, they are 3.5 games out of a playoff spot but their bullpen is already quite strong. Their relievers have a collective ERA of 3.48, the fourth-best mark in the majors. Rosters expand in a couple of days but they have Chad Green rehabbing and nearing a return from last year’s Tommy John surgery.
The Marlins are three games back of a playoff spot and will certainly be motivated to gain ground, having not made the playoffs in a full season since 2003. Their bullpen has been shaky of late, especially with deadline acquisition David Robertson posting a 7.20 ERA since coming over from the Mets and getting bumped from the closer’s role. Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that the club is expected to put in a claim on at least one of the Angels’ relievers, though the typically-frugal club might be hesitant to take on some of the larger salaries listed above.
The Braves are last in the waiver priority list and already have one of the best bullpens in the league, making it less likely they will grab someone from this group. The Mariners have enough bullpen depth that they could flip Paul Sewald prior to the deadline and still thrive. The Phillies already have a strong bullpen and are in the second CBT tier and set to be a second-time payor.
As for the clubs that make good sense, there are plenty, as just about any contender could squeeze in a bullpen upgrade from a pure roster construction point of view. The Rangers, Astros, Cubs, Giants, Reds, Diamondbacks, Twins, Brewers, Orioles, Rays and Dodgers are each in postseason position or close to it, with another reliever being a sensible add.
The Rangers were leading their division for much of the year but have recently slid and are now in a cutthroat battle with the Astros and Mariners, with a few recent bullpen meltdowns part of the problem. They are already over the CBT but they have shown plenty of willingness to be aggressive in recent years. The Astros have a strong bullpen but it’s all right-handed, making Moore in particular a logical fit.
The Cubs love to build their bullpen via minor league deals and waiver claims, meaning they are surely intrigued. But Roster Resource and Cot’s have their CBT figure around $228MM, just a bit under the $233MM base threshold. Assuming those estimates are correct, they still have a bit of wiggle room, though those aren’t official. The Giants are one of the most creative clubs at patching together an improvised staff and could fit any of these guys into their budget if they are intrigued.
The Reds have a dynamic position player mix but a flimsy pitching staff that could use any help it can find. The Diamondbacks have a collective bullpen ERA of 4.71 that places them 25th in the majors. They added Sewald at the deadline but there’s room for further upgrades. The Twins’ bullpen is middle-of-the-pack and they are almost a lock for a playoff spot at this point, giving them incentive to further bolster the staff for October. The Brewers have a decent bullpen but have struggled to find second reliable lefty alongside Hoby Milner, which could perhaps lead to them claiming Moore.
The O’s have had a good relief group overall but it’s been a top-heavy unit headlined by Félix Bautista, who now has an injury of some sort to his UCL. The Rays have dealt with a mountain of injuries this year and aren’t shy about cycling through arms in their bullpen throughout the year. The Dodgers have been similarly bit by the injury bug, though these clubs are towards the back of the waiver line and will have to settle for the arms that the others pass on.
The Best Fits For Lucas Giolito
Yesterday’s biggest development was the number of players reportedly on the waiver wire. The Angels, White Sox, Yankees, Mets and Tigers each put impending free agents on irrevocable waivers.
Those clubs are out of contention. The hope is that another team with a path to the playoffs will take what remains of this year’s contract off their hands. It’s particularly meaningful in the Angels’ case, as shedding enough veterans could allow them to limbo back under the luxury tax threshold after their deadline push fell flat.
No other player known to be on waivers has the upside of Lucas Giolito. The right-hander has had a tough time in Orange County, allowing a 6.89 ERA over six starts. Giolito has been the victim of a home run barrage in Southern California, allowing multiple longballs in three of those appearances. Clearly, the past month hasn’t gone as he or the team had envisioned. Yet we’re only four weeks removed from Giolito and reliever Reynaldo López (also now on waivers) fetching two of the Halos’ top prospects in trade. Now, another team could have him for nothing more than the approximate $1.9MM remaining on his arbitration contract.
Giolito isn’t the only starter out there, but he’s by far the most appealing (at least among the players publicly reported to be on waivers). The Mets made Carlos Carrasco available. He has a 6.80 ERA through 20 starts on the season, though. He hasn’t shown much sign of recent progress, allowing 35 runs and a staggering .404/.450/.654 opponents’ batting line in 29 innings since the All-Star Break. It’s hard to imagine him as an upgrade for a contending pitching staff, particularly since there’s still around $2.6MM remaining on his $14MM salary.
Mike Clevinger would be a clearer roster upgrade than Carrasco. He missed a month and a half midway through the year with biceps inflammation. A return one start before the August 1 deadline wasn’t sufficient to drum up trade interest. Clevinger has turned in a solid enough season, though, pitching to a 3.32 ERA over 97 2/3 innings. While his 20.8% strikeout rate and 9.3% walk percentage are each worse than average, it’d be easy enough for a number of hopeful contenders to find room for Clevinger at the back of their rotation — at least from an on-field perspective.
Complicating matters is the structure of the righty’s contract. Clevinger’s $8MM salary isn’t the issue, as most teams could easily accommodate the roughly $1.5MM still to be paid out. Yet there’s also a $4MM buyout on a $12MM mutual option for next season. Clevinger receives the buyout regardless of which side declines the option and is very likely to return to free agency since mutual options are almost never triggered by both sides. A claiming team would have to take on responsibility for the buyout as well — it’s all or nothing for assuming a player’s contract off waivers — so it’d be a nearly $5.5MM investment for a month (and perhaps a playoff run) of Clevinger’s services.
That’s a tough sell for a team. If there were no option buyout, he’d need to be playing this season on a $30MM salary to have that kind of money remaining on his deal. It’s hard to imagine any team views Clevinger as equivalent to a $30MM pitcher, even for just a few weeks.
While Carrasco and Clevinger seem like borderline waiver claims at best, there’s little doubt someone will add Giolito. Despite his recent struggles, he’d be a clear upgrade for fringe contenders with uncertain rotation outlooks.
A few things to remember before taking a look at the likeliest teams to make a claim. It’ll be a club with playoff aspirations. Giolito would be the best pitcher on the A’s, but there’s no incentive for them to add him when he’ll be a free agent in five weeks. Yet he’s probably not going to wind up with one of the three best teams in the sport. Waiver priority is in inverse order of the MLB standings as of tomorrow morning. The Dodgers, Orioles and/or Braves could place a claim, but it’s very likely someone with a worse record will do so as well and beat them out.
Let’s identify potential fits (in expected waiver priority order):
- Padres (62-72)
This could be a test of how much optimism remains in the San Diego front office. The Padres are 10 games under .500 and eight out of the final NL Wild Card spot. A postseason run is hard to envision at this point. Yet the Friars held Blake Snell and Josh Hader at the deadline and acquired Garrett Cooper, Ji Man Choi, Scott Barlow and Rich Hill. If there’s any hope for 2023 left at Petco Park, a Giolito claim would be the last sign. Joe Musgrove and Yu Darvish are on the injured list, leaving Hill and Pedro Avila in the starting five. There’s room for Giolito on the roster. A couple million dollars doesn’t seem much of a deterrent for owner Peter Seidler. The question is simply whether the Padres still think they have a shot.
- Marlins (66-66)
Miami looked into rotation possibilities at the deadline but ultimately brought in just a depth starter in Ryan Weathers. They’ve kept Edward Cabrera in Triple-A for the past month. Johnny Cueto is on the injured list, while it’s unclear if Trevor Rogers will return at all this season. There’s a strong front four in Sandy Alcantara, Jesús Luzardo, Braxton Garrett and rookie Eury Pérez. There’s enough uncertainty with the final rotation spot that Miami could consider a claim.
Notably, the Marlins aren’t guaranteed to remain above the Reds’ in the waiver order. A Marlins win over the Rays paired with a Cincinnati loss in San Francisco would push Miami’s win percentage marginally above that of the Reds.
- Reds (68-66)
The Reds are the first club where it’d be incredibly surprising if they didn’t put in a claim on Giolito. Cincinnati didn’t address their rotation at the deadline despite ranking 27th at the time in rotation ERA. They’ve been no better over the past month, with their starters allowing 5.86 earned runs per nine in 26 games. Hunter Greene returned from the injured list in the intervening weeks but was shelled in his first two starts back. Nick Lodolo — initially expected back from a leg injury at the end of this month — suffered a setback. Even with Graham Ashcraft and Brandon Williamson performing well of late, there’s clear room for more help. The Reds checked in with the White Sox about their rotation before the deadline, presumably at least gauging Chicago’s asking price on Giolito before they sent him to Anaheim.
- Twins (69-65)*
Giolito would be a luxury buy for a Minnesota club that’s on its way to an AL Central title. The rotation is already strong, anchored by Pablo López, Sonny Gray, Kenta Maeda and Joe Ryan. The Twins have gotten decent enough work from Dallas Keuchel that they optioned Bailey Ober to Triple-A. Placing a claim would simply be about deepening the pitching staff for the postseason, where skipper Rocco Baldelli could have quicker hooks for everyone aside from López and Gray.
- Red Sox (69-64)
The Red Sox may feel their rotation is strong enough to pass on Giolito. They’re running with a starting five of Chris Sale, James Paxton, Brayan Bello, Tanner Houck and Kutter Crawford. That’s a pretty good group, although they’re middle-of-the-pack in ERA and strikeout rate since the All-Star Break. Paxton, Sale and Houck have had injury concerns. Houck and Crawford have spent time in the bullpen this season.
Starting pitching isn’t necessarily a need, but adding any kind of talent could be welcome for a club that has fallen 6.5 games out of the last AL Wild Card spot. Boston has roughly $9MM in payroll space before reaching the base luxury tax threshold, as calculated by Roster Resource. They’d only take on the remaining portion of Giolito’s salary if they claimed him, so that shouldn’t be an issue.
- Diamondbacks (69-64)
If Cincinnati, Boston (and everyone else in front of them) passes on Giolito, the D-Backs figure to step in. They’re quite similar to the Reds. Arizona’s a surprise contender that sought but didn’t find rotation upgrades for the deadline. They also touched base with the Sox on Giolito. There’s still very little depth beyond Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly. Righty Slade Cecconi has five MLB appearances to his name. Brandon Pfaadt has been knocked around as a rookie. Zach Davies probably shouldn’t be starting for a team with playoff aspirations. Tommy Henry, arguably the club’s third-best starter, seems likely to miss the rest of the season with an elbow injury.
*Note: Boston, Minnesota and Arizona could swap places in waiver priority tonight. When multiple clubs have the same record, priority goes to the team in the same league as the team that put the player on waivers. Within leagues, priority goes to the team that had the worse record in prior seasons. If they all have the same record going into tomorrow, the order would go Minnesota (worse record than the Red Sox in 2021) – Boston – Arizona.
—————————–
It’s tough to envision scenarios where Giolito gets past the Diamondbacks. At least one of Miami, Cincinnati and Arizona should be motivated enough to make a claim. Contenders like the Cubs, Rays, Orioles and Dodgers may all have interest, but it’d require inexplicable decisions to pass on the part of a few teams in front of them. Perhaps clubs near the back of the waiver order will consider a flier on Clevinger as a fallback, though the aforementioned contract situation makes that far less appealing than getting Giolito would be.
Mets To Promote Ronny Mauricio
The Mets are promoting infield prospect Ronny Mauricio, reports Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase (Twitter link). He’ll join the club on Friday when active rosters expand from 26 to 28 players.
Mauricio, 22, joins the major league team for the first time. He has been one of the most highly-touted players in the system since signing out of the Dominican Republic during the 2017-18 amateur period. Baseball America has slotted him among the Mets’ five most talented farmhands at the start of each of the last five years, while he placed among the league’s Top 100 talents at BA every season from 2019-22.
A switch-hitter, Mauricio draws praise from evaluators for significant power potential from both sides of the plate. He’s an excellent athlete with a strong throwing arm and has a shot to stick in the middle infield. Few minor league players can match Mauricio’s physical ability, which he has put on display in the upper minors over the past couple seasons.
Mauricio has posted consecutive 20-20 seasons, spending last year in Double-A before moving up to Triple-A Syracuse for this year. He connected on 26 longballs with 20 stolen bases a year ago. Through 115 contests with Syracuse, he has hit 23 homers and gone 24-31 on the basepaths.
The main question is whether Mauricio is a selective enough hitter to continue performing against MLB competition. This year’s 6.6% walk rate is his highest at any full-season level but is still a couple points below the MLB average. The lack of free passes have generally resulted in below-average OBP marks as he’s climbed the minor league ladder. His prospect stock has dimmed slightly as a result. Baseball America no longer includes him in their Top 100, though he still ranked sixth in the organization on their midseason update. Kiley McDaniel of ESPN left him just outside a recent Top 50 list.
Mauricio is still a very good prospect, albeit perhaps more high-variance than most top minor league talents. To his credit, he has continued to perform well at the upper levels — generally against slightly older competition. Mauricio is hitting .295/.349/.511 across 527 Triple-A plate appearances. Alongside his marginally improved walk rate, he has cut his strikeouts to a lower than average 18.2% clip — nearly five points better than his Double-A figure. Mauricio has performed well from both sides of the dish, hitting .298/.358/.521 against southpaws while posting a .284/.316/.477 slash versus right-handed pitching.
The Mets have used Mauricio at shortstop for the majority of his pro career. He has logged nearly 500 innings of second base work in Syracuse this year. The latter position seems his likeliest fit at the MLB level given the presence of Francisco Lindor in Queens. New York could kick Jeff McNeil into left field while taking reps from Rafael Ortega as they get their first look at Mauricio to close a disappointing season.
Mauricio will retain his rookie eligibility headed into next year, leaving open the possibility of him netting the club a future draft choice if he meets the criteria for the Prospect Promotion Incentive. He was already added to the 40-man roster two offseasons ago, so the Mets won’t have to make any additional moves to bring him up on Friday.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Report: Investigators Looking Into Second Formal Complaint Against Wander Franco
Investigators in the Dominican Republic are looking into a second complaint filed against Rays shortstop Wander Franco, according to a Spanish-language report from Juan Arturo Recio of ESPN. ESPN’s Jeff Passan also wrote an English article based on Recio’s report.
According to ESPN, law enforcement first began a formal investigation on July 17 into allegations that Franco had an inappropriate relationship with a minor. A second girl subsequently filed an official complaint making similar allegations. ESPN writes that a third girl has alleged an inappropriate relationship as well but has not spoken with investigators. There are presently two formal complaints.
Passan writes that investigators have not yet spoken with Franco but hope to do so within the coming weeks. According to Passan, the investigations are expected to last well beyond the end of the 2023 season.
In the interim, Franco is away from the team. Shortly after social media allegations circulated on August 13, the team and player mutually agreed he’d be placed on the restricted list. MLB indefinitely placed Franco on administrative leave on August 22.
Administrative leave is not a disciplinary action or a finding of fact. It’s an agreed-upon portion of the MLB/MLBPA policy on domestic violence, child abuse and/or sexual assault that keeps a player away from the team while the league can look into the allegations. The player is paid while on administrative leave. The domestic violence/child abuse policy permits MLB to levy discipline regardless of whether a player is criminally charged.
The Rays have used Osleivis Basabe as their shortstop of late. The 22-year-old is hitting .273/.333/.409 through his first 14 major league games.
Mariners Sign Luis Torrens To Minor League Deal
The Mariners have signed catcher Luis Torrens to a minor league deal and assigned him to Triple-A Tacoma, per Rainiers broadcaster Mike Curto. By joining the organization prior to September 1, Torrens will be eligible to play for the Mariners in the postseason.
Torrens, 27, returns to the Mariners organization, which was his club from 2020 to 2022. But he was non-tendered at the end of last year and has been fairly nomadic since. He signed a minor league deal with the Cubs in the offseason and cracked the Opening Day roster but was designated for assignment and flipped to the Orioles a month later. He was designated for assignment again about a week after that, this time clearing waivers and electing free agency. He landed with the Nats on a minor league deal but opted out on the first of July and has been unattached until now.
Amid all of those stops on his journey, he hit .250/.318/.300 in 13 major league games for the Cubs and .258/.311/.470 in 19 games for Triple-A Rochester. He’s generally considered a bat-first catcher and showed that potential with the M’s, hitting .245/.303/.421 over 2020 and 2021. That production translates to a league average wRC+ of 100, though catchers generally hit roughly 10 points lower as a group. But his line dropped to .225/.283/.298 last year, 71 wRC+, leading to his non-tender and wayward 2023 campaign.
The Mariners have Cal Raleigh as their primary catcher but placed backup Tom Murphy on the injured list a couple of weeks ago, bumping Brian O’Keefe up from Triple-A to the majors. They have Cooper Hummel on the 40-man but he’s spent more time in the outfield than behind the plate in Triple-A this year. Pedro Severino is in the organization as experienced non-roster depth and Torrens can now join him on the depth chart. The M’s have been one of the hottest clubs in the league of late and seem to be surging towards the playoffs. If any of their catchers suffers an injury now or through the postseason, Torrens can be an option to replace them.
A’s Outright Three Players
The A’s announced that right-hander Spenser Watkins and outfielders Conner Capel and Cody Thomas have gone unclaimed on waivers and were sent outright to Triple-A Las Vegas. None of them had previously been designated for assignment. All three are off the 40-man roster, which now sits at 37.
Oakland claimed Watkins off waivers from the Astros a few weeks ago. He made one start, allowing five runs in 4 1/3 innings in a loss in St. Louis. It was the 31-year-old’s third straight season logging some major league action. Watkins started 30 of 39 appearances with the Orioles in 2021-22. In 164 1/3 career MLB frames, he carries a 5.97 ERA with a well below-average 13.9% strikeout rate.
Watkins isn’t overpowering, but he has typically shown above-average control. He has walked fewer than 7% of opposing hitters in his MLB career. His command has been uncharacteristically wobbly in Triple-A this year, however. Watkins has handed out free passes at an elevated 12.8% clip through 54 1/3 frames between three organizations.
Capel, 26, was claimed off waivers from St. Louis last September. He raked in 13 games for the A’s down the stretch and had held his spot on the 40-man until this week. Capel has bounced on and off the MLB roster this year, playing in 32 big league games. He has reached based at a quality .372 clip in his 86 plate appearances but hasn’t made much of a power impact.
The left-handed hitter has spent the bulk of the year in Las Vegas, picking up 315 trips to the dish in 72 contests. He’s hitting .269/.362/.444 with nine homers and 15 stolen bases in 18 attempts. That’s solid but unexceptional offense in one of affiliated ball’s most hitter-friendly settings.
Thomas has played in 29 games for the A’s over the past two seasons. The former Dodger draftee has hit .250/.308/.333 in that limited look. Thomas has had a good year in Triple-A, connecting on 19 homers with a .298/.357/.553 slash over 389 plate appearances.
It’s the second career outfights for Watkins and Thomas, giving each the right to test free agency. Capel doesn’t have a previous outright or sufficient service time to decline the assignment. He’ll stick in Vegas for the stretch run but would qualify for minor league free agency at the end of the season if the A’s don’t add him back to the 40-man roster.
Rays, Billy Hamilton Agree To Minor League Deal
The Rays are signing speedy outfielder Billy Hamilton to a minor league contract, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). Hamilton had been released by the White Sox a week ago.
At this stage of his career, the switch-hitting outfielder is a depth player. Hamilton was a regular center fielder for the Reds from 2014-18 on the strength of his speed and glove. He’s appeared for seven different clubs since the start of 2019, hitting .205/.262/.288 through 549 MLB plate appearances. Hamilton has gone an excellent 49-58 in stolen base attempts over that stretch and continued to play strong defense, but the lack of productivity at the plate has bounced him around the league.
Hamilton has barely played in the majors this season, suiting up just twice with the ChiSox. He’s appeared in 28 games with their Triple-A club, hitting .147/.261/.253 while striking out in just under a third of his plate appearances. Hamilton hasn’t played since July 7 because of shoulder discomfort, but a source informed MLBTR last week that he was recently cleared to return to game action.
It’s common for teams to give a look to speed/defense players late in the season. Active rosters expand from 26 to 28 players on Friday, giving clubs some additional leeway to carry a late-game specialist. It’s not uncommon for such players to also crack a postseason roster, though that’s by no means assured in Hamilton’s case.
He will be eligible for the playoff roster if the Rays wanted to give him an MLB look. Players only need to be in the organization before September 1. Players not on the 40-man roster by the start of September have to be granted a commissioner’s exemption to replace an injured player in October, though that’s commonly approved by the league office.
Dodgers Designate Tyson Miller For Assignment
The Dodgers announced that they have recalled right-hander Ryan Pepiot, with fellow righty Tyson Miller designated for assignment in a corresponding move. Miller is out of minor league options, so a DFA was the only way to remove him from the active roster. Los Angeles’ 40-man count drops to 39.
Miller just rejoined the Dodgers via a waiver claim over the weekend. It was his second stint with L.A., as he’d also spent a few weeks at Chavez Revine in the midsummer. The Dodgers initially acquired Miller from the Brewers in a July trade. They waived him a few weeks thereafter and lost him to the Mets. Los Angeles brought him back on a waiver claim out of New York a few days ago.
Between the two stints, Miller has pitched only twice as a Dodger — once apiece in each stay. He has logged 15 1/3 innings through 10 outings this season overall, allowing eight runs with a 10:6 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Miller has pitched in parts of three MLB campaigns with five different organizations and owns a 6.97 ERA in 31 frames.
The 28-year-old has also had mixed results at the Triple-A level, where he carries a 4.77 ERA in 230 1/3 innings. Miller has fanned over a quarter of opponents at the top minor league stop but has walked just over 10% of batters faced. Despite the inconsistency, he’s continued to find interest on the waiver wire in recent months.
He’ll land back on waivers in the next couple days. Miller has cleared once before, so he’d have the right to become a free agent if he’s outrighted again.
Yankees To Promote Jasson Domínguez, Austin Wells
The Yankees are calling up outfield prospect Jasson Domínguez, reports Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. Catching prospect Austin Wells will be promoted as well, per Greg Joyce and Joel Sherman of The New York Post. Both looming promotions were reported on earlier today. Neither player is on the 40-man roster but the Yanks already opened a couple of spots by releasing Josh Donaldson and Spencer Howard. Active rosters expand from 26 to 28 on Friday.
Domínguez, 20, was a much-hyped prospect even before joining the affiliated ranks, signing for a huge $5.1MM bonus in 2019 that accounted for the vast majority of the Yankees’ bonus pool that year. “The Martian” has since climbed the ranks of the minor leagues, showcasing the potential to be an all-around contributor.
After some tepid results in 2021, the switch-hitter went through three different levels last year, going from Single-A to High-A and Double-A. In 120 total games, he hit 16 home runs and stole 20 bases. He struck out in 24.2% of his plate appearances but also walked at a 13.6% rate. His .273/.375/.461 batting line amounted to a wRC+ of 135, indicating he was 35% above average. This year, he hit .254/.367/.414 in 109 Double-A games for a 117 wRC+. His 25.6% strikeout rate is on the high side but he’s also walked at a 15.2% clip and stolen 37 bases. He was recently promoted to Triple-A and mashed in eight games there.
Defensively, Domínguez is a center fielder, though there’s much debate among prospect evaluators as to whether he’s a long-term fit there. Even if he has to move to a corner, he’s considered to have the arm strength necessary to be viable in right, though that would put more pressure on his bat than if he were to stick in center. Domínguez is currently ranked the #60 prospect in the league at Baseball America, #34 at FanGraphs, #78 at MLB Pipeline, #16 at ESPN and got the #27 spot from Keith Law of The Athletic.
Wells, 24, was a first-round pick of the Yanks in 2020, getting selected 28th overall. He’s considered a bat-first catcher, hitting left-handed, though many evaluators think he’s elevated his defensive reputation as he’s approached the majors.
He’s played in 95 games this year across three different minor league levels, hitting 17 home runs in that time and walking in 11.1% of his plate appearances. His combined slash of .243/.335/.447 amounts to a wRC+ of 105 and he also stole seven bases. BA considers him the #81 prospect in the league. He didn’t crack any of the other four aforementioned lists, though ESPN lists him as a “late cut” on their midseason update, which was capped at 50 names.
The Yankees are 64-68 and 11 games out of a playoff spot with just over a month left on the schedule. They have clearly shifted from contention mode, placing outfielder Harrison Bader on waivers this week, willing to essentially give him away for cost savings. They will use what is left of the season to evaluate some of their younger players, having recently promoted Everson Pereira and Oswald Peraza, with Domínguez and Wells now joining them.
Assuming Bader is claimed off waivers tomorrow, it’s possible Domínguez gets to finish the year as the club’s regular center fielder, with the Yanks taking that time to evaluate him before deciding how to proceed this winter. Behind the plate, Jose Trevino is out for the season due to wrist surgery. The club has been using Kyle Higashioka and Ben Rortvedt as their catching duo lately but Wells will presumably take some of their playing time the rest of the way.
Neither player will have enough time to exhaust their rookie eligibility here in 2023, meaning they will still be rookies in 2024. Under the current collective bargaining agreement, the prospect promotion incentive can potentially provide extra draft picks to clubs who promote top prospects for an entire year of service time. To qualify, a player must be on two of the Top 100 lists at BA, ESPN and MLB Pipeline in the preceding offseason and then earn a full year of service time as a rookie. If they win Rookie of the Year or finish in the top three in MVP voting during pre-arbitration seasons, the parent club earns an extra draft pick in the following season just after the first round. Wells may or may not be in that camp, depending on how the offseason lists shake out, but Domínguez seems like a lock to have PPI status next year.
Though it’s undoubtedly been a disappointing season in the Bronx, fans will be able get a glimpse at some things to be excited about for future seasons, as they watch some players who could perhaps help the Yankees in future seasons.