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Yankees Sign Tanner Tully, Ryan Weber To Minor League Deals

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The Yankees recently signed a number of players to minor league contracts, as reported by Chris Hilburn-Trenkle of Baseball America. Among those that haven’t previously been covered at MLBTR: left-handers Tanner Tully and Nick Ramirez, righty Ryan Weber and infielder Jamie Westbrook.

Tully had spent his entire career in the Cleveland system. A 26th round pick in 2016, he worked his way to the majors for the first time this year. Tully appeared out of Terry Francona’s bullpen three times, allowing four runs in six innings. He spent the bulk of the season at Triple-A Columbus, where he started 24 of 28 outings. Through 122 innings, the Ohio State product put up a 4.72 ERA with a modest 18.5% strikeout percentage but an excellent 4.9% walk rate.

The 28-year-old doesn’t throw hard, averaging just under 91 MPH on his fastball during his MLB time. He’s a quality strike-thrower who has gotten average or better grounder rates in the minors of late. He’ll presumably open the year at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and serve as rotation or long relief depth.

That’s a role with which Weber is also familiar. He spent the 2022 campaign in the Yankees organization, shuttling on and off their roster whenever the club needed to cover some innings. The 32-year-old made five appearances, all in relief. He allowed just one run across 10 2/3 innings with a trio of strikeouts and a walk. That marked his eighth consecutive year logging some big league action, and he has a 5.02 ERA across 177 2/3 career frames.

Like Tully, Weber is a soft-tossing control specialist. He consistently racks up grounders on over half the batted balls he allows, including a robust 53.5% rate in 39 2/3 frames for Scranton this past season. Weber walked just 3% of opponents with the RailRiders, albeit with a 16.5% strikeout rate.

Ramirez, 33, adds some left-handed relief depth to the mix. He appeared in the big leagues in each season between 2019-21, suiting up with the Tigers and Padres. Between the two clubs, he posted a 4.55 ERA with a 20.4% strikeout rate and 9.5% walk percentage across 110 2/3 innings. Ramirez spent the entire 2022 campaign working out of the bullpen with the Mariners highest affiliate in Tacoma. He had a nice season, working to a 2.93 ERA with a 23.7% strikeout percentage and 46% ground-ball rate through 55 1/3 frames. That wasn’t enough to crack an excellent Seattle bullpen, but he’ll try to work his way back to the majors in the Bronx.

Westbrook has yet to play in the big leagues. The 27-year-old has played almost a decade in the minors, spending parts of four seasons at Triple-A. He looked like to be under consideration for an MLB call when the Tigers acquired him from the Brewers in an April trade. That proved not to be, as the former fifth-round draftee spent the year at Triple-A Toledo. Westbrook hit .248/.349/.377 across 499 plate appearances, showing solid plate discipline without much power. He’s primarily a second baseman but has experience in the corner outfield; he’ll add some defensive flexibility to the upper levels of the system.

Rockies, Phillips Valdez Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Rockies have signed righty Phillips Valdez to a minor league contract, according to Chris Hilburn-Trenkle of Baseball America. He’d reached minor league free agency at the end of the season after being outrighted off the Mariners 40-man roster in October.

Valdez didn’t suit up at the MLB level with Seattle. He spent his time in the organization with Triple-A Tacoma, where he worked to a 4.22 ERA over 21 1/3 innings of relief. Valdez struck out just 16.3% of batters faced at that level, though he induced grounders on almost half the batted balls he allowed. Before landing with the Mariners, he pitched in 13 MLB games for the Red Sox. Over 16 1/3 frames, he put up a 4,41 ERA with an 18.1% strikeout rate and a massive 58.7% grounder percentage.

A native of the Dominican Republic, Valdez has pitched in the majors in each of the last four years. He’s made 76 appearances with the Rangers and Red Sox, pitching 102 2/3 frames of 4.56 ERA ball. The 31-year-old doesn’t have especially strong strikeout or walk numbers, but he’s consistently been successful at keeping the ball on the ground. For his career, Valdez has induced worm-burners on 53.9% of batted balls.

That’s surely of appeal to the Rockies, who are always looking for ways to keep the ball in the yard and avoid the massive Coors Field outfield. Valdez will try to carve out a middle innings role. If he secures a 40-man roster spot, the Rox would have to keep him in the majors or make him available to other teams as he’s out of minor league option years.

Diamondbacks Designate Ali Sanchez For Assignment

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The Diamondbacks have designated catcher Ali Sánchez for assignment. The move creates the necessary 40-man roster spot to facilitate today’s major trade sending Daulton Varsho to Toronto for Gabriel Moreno and Lourdes Gurriel Jr.

Arizona just nabbed Sánchez off waivers from the Pirates a few weeks back. The backstop has moved around the league via waivers fairly frequently in recent months. Dating back to June, he’s gone from the Cardinals to the Tigers, Pirates and Diamondbacks in quick succession. Sánchez didn’t appear at the MLB level with any of the latter three teams, and his time in the Arizona organization could come to a close after less than a month.

Sánchez, 26 next month, is a glove-first catcher. He drew some attention from prospect evaluators while with his original organization, the Mets, as a potential backup on the strength of his glove. He’s yet to carve out a lasting MLB role, though, picking up just seven big league appearances dating back to 2020.

The Venezuela native spent the entire 2022 campaign at Triple-A. He hit .262/.354/.389 through 291 cumulative plate appearances. He’s never shown much power but drew plenty more walks this year than he had in prior seasons. That came with an accompanying uptick in strikeouts but resulted in roughly league average offensive numbers at the top minor league level.

Arizona will have a week to trade Sánchez or waive him. No team has yet managed to run through waivers unclaimed, as he’s landed spots at the back of a few 40-man rosters.

Cubs Claim Anthony Kay, Designate Alfonso Rivas

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The Cubs announced they’ve claimed left-hander Anthony Kay off waivers from the Blue Jays. To clear a 40-man roster spot, first baseman Alfonso Rivas was designated for assignment.

Kay lost his spot on the Toronto roster last week once the team officially signed Chris Bassitt. The 27-year-old had spent three-plus years in the organization. A former first-round draftee of the Mets, Kay was acquired alongside Simeon Woods Richardson in the 2019 trade that landed now-teammate Marcus Stroman in Queens. He’d been in Triple-A at the time and debuted at the big league level with Toronto later in the season.

The UCONN product has appeared in the bigs in four straight years, though he’s yet to top 33 2/3 innings in a season. He made only one MLB appearance in 2022, bringing him to 28 for his career. Working mostly as a multi-inning reliever, Kay has a 5.48 ERA through 70 2/3 innings. He’s fanned a solid 23.5% of opponents but walked batters at an 11.6% clip.

Kay has pitched parts of three years at Triple-A. He’s struggled to a 6.02 ERA over that stretch, thanks in large part to an 11.5% walk rate. The 2022 campaign was a particular challenge. Limited to 14 Triple-A innings by injury, he allowed 14 runs in as many innings with 15 strikeouts and 11 free passes.

While he hasn’t found much high level success to date, Kay represents an intriguing bullpen flier for the Chicago staff. He averaged 94.5 MPH with above-average spin on his fastball during his MLB outing this past season. He’s shown the ability to miss a decent number of bats and has a notable prospect pedigree, and the Cubs will work to try to iron out his control woes. He has one minor league option year remaining, so the Cubs can bounce him between Chicago and Triple-A Iowa next season if he holds his 40-man spot.

Rivas was a fourth-round pick of the Athletics in 2018. He was dealt to Chicago for Tony Kemp a year and a half later. Rivas didn’t play in 2020 because of the minor league cancelation and has spent the past two seasons in the upper levels. He’s moved between Chicago and Iowa as a depth option. He has hit well in Triple-A, posting a .300/.398/.433 line across 377 plate appearances. Rivas flashed that offensive potential at the MLB level in 2021 but stumbled to a .235/.322/.307 mark over 287 trips to the dish this year.

The left-handed hitter has shown a patient plate approach, working plenty of walks but also striking out quite a bit. That’s largely a product of the deep counts with which he’s comfortable. Rivas doesn’t have prototypical power for a player who’s limited to first base or the corner outfield, hitting four homers and six doubles in 119 big league games.

Chicago will have a week to deal Rivas or try to run him through waivers. If another team were to put in a claim or swing a small trade, they could option him to the minors for another two seasons.

Diamondbacks Acquire Diego Castillo, Designate Taylor Widener

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The Diamondbacks announced that they have acquired infielder Diego Castillo from the Pirates. Castillo had been designated for assignment by Pittsburgh earlier in the week. In exchange, the Pirates will receive minor league right-hander Scott Randall. The Diamondbacks designated right-hander Taylor Widener for assignment in a corresponding move.

Castillo, 25, was one of two players traded from the Yankees to the Pirates as part of the July 2021 trade that sent Clay Holmes to the Bronx. He was a contact-over-power guy for the beginnings of his professional career, striking out around 10% of the time in the lower levels of the minors but rarely putting the ball over the fence. 2021 seemed to be a breakout for him, as he hit 19 home runs between the systems of the Yankees and Pirates, finishing the year with a combined slash line of .278/.355/.487 and a wRC+ of 128.

He was selected to Pittsburgh’s 40-man roster in November of last year but couldn’t carry his positive developments forward. He got into 96 games at the big league level in 2022 and hit 11 home runs, but he also struck out in 26.5% of his plate appearances while walking just 4.9% of the time. He finished the season with a batting line of .206/.251/.382, production that was 27% below average, as evidenced by his 73 wRC+. He also got into 35 Triple-A games but the results were only marginally better.

Despite that disappointing season, the D-Backs are likely intrigued by his previous performance and defensive versatility. He’s played all four infield positions and a bit of right field, in addition to having a couple of option years remaining. The Arizona infield should have three spots taken by Christian Walker at first, Ketel Marte at second and Josh Rojas at third. Shortstop is a bit less certain, however, with Nick Ahmed the likely frontrunner at the moment. He’s never been an above-average bat but has long provided excellent defense. However, he’s been frequently injured, is turning 33 in March and is entering the last deal of his extension. Geraldo Perdomo is also on the roster but Castillo can give him some competition for playing time.

Randall, 24, was just drafted by the D-Backs last year and spent 2022 in High-A. He threw 108 1/3 innings over 21 starts with a 3.82 ERA, 23.4% strikeout rate, 5.6% walk rate and 37.3% ground ball rate. He’ll add some starting depth to the lower levels of the Pittsburgh system.

Widener, 28, was drafted by the Yankees but came to the Snakes in the three-team trade that sent Brandon Drury to the Bronx. He posted an ERA of 8.10 in 23 Triple-A starts in 2019 and has spent more time in relief since then. In 49 MLB appearances, 13 starts, over the past three major league seasons, he has a 4.26 ERA, 22.3% strikeout rate, 11% walk rate and 34.1% ground ball rate.

In 2022, he spent more time in Triple-A, throwing 36 2/3 innings for the Reno Aces. He posted an ERA of 5.40 in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, along with a 29.6% strikeout rate and 7.5% walk rate. The Diamondbacks will now have a week to trade him or pass him through waivers. Should any team acquire him, he can provide versatile depth due to his two remaining option years.

Justice delos Santos of MLB.com announced Arizona’s acquisition of Castillo prior to the official announcement.

Rangers Claim Nick Mears, Designate Eli White

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The Rangers announced that they have claimed right-hander Nick Mears off waivers from the Pirates. Mears had been designated for assignment earlier in the week. In a corresponding move, outfielder Eli White was designated for assignment.

Mears, 26, will join just the second organization of his career, as he’s spent it all with the Pirates up until now. An undrafted free agent, he burst onto the scene with a 2019 campaign that saw him go from Single-A to High-A to Double-A. He threw 46 2/3 combined innings at those different stops with a 3.28 ERA, 35.9% strikeout rate and 9.4% walk rate. He capped that season off 8 2/3 shutout innings in the Arizona Fall League.

That strong campaign was enough to get him attention from prospect evaluators. Baseball America ranked him the #19 prospect in Pittsburgh’s system going into 2020, highlighting a fastball that averaged in the mid-to-high 90s and could even reach 101 mph. FanGraphs put him as up in the #13 slot.

Mears was added to Pittsburgh’s 40-man roster in 2020 and has served as an optionable depth arm over the past three seasons. He has 30 1/3 big league innings over those three campaigns with a 4.75 ERA and 22.7% strikeout rate but a huge 14.9% walk rate. He spent most of 2022 in Triple-A with similar control concerns, walking 16% of batters faced.

The Rangers were evidently intrigued enough by the power to put in a claim and see if they can harness it. Mears has one option year remaining, allowing the club to keep him in the minors for another season of experimentation and development, if necessary. However, the price they are paying for that privilege is potentially losing White.

Originally drafted by the A’s, White came to the Rangers in the Jurickson Profar trade. Since then, he’s struggled to produce offensively and has dealt with injuries, though he’s been strong on defense. He’s played 130 games at the big league level over the past three seasons, hitting just .185/.260/.296, wRC+ of 56. His 2021 season was ended by elbow surgery and his 2022 finished by wrist surgery. On the glove-side of things, Defensive Runs Saved has given him a grade of +11 in the outfield so far, along with a +9.7 from Ultimate Zone Rating and 10 Outs Above Average.

The Rangers will now have a week to trade White or pass him through waivers. Though the bat hasn’t been great so far, his strong defense and two remaining option years could make him attractive to other clubs looking for outfield depth.

Tigers Claim Zach Logue, Designate Angel De Jesus

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The Tigers announced they have claimed left-hander Zach Logue off waivers from the A’s. Oakland had designated Logue for assignment earlier in the week. In a corresponding move, right-hander Angel De Jesus was designated for assignment. Jon Heyman of The New York Post reported the claim of Logue prior to the official announcement.

Logue, 27 in April, was a ninth round pick of the Blue Jays in 2017 who got added to their 40-man roster after a solid 2021 season. Logue split that year between Double-A and Triple-A, making 24 starts and one relief appearance with a 3.67 ERA, 28.2% strikeout rate and 5.3% walk rate. The A’s were intrigued enough to acquire him, with Logue being one of the four players that came over in the Matt Chapman trade.

Unfortunately, 2022 didn’t go as smooth for Logue. He was able to make his MLB debut, but he posted a 6.79 ERA over 14 appearances for the A’s. He limited walks to a 7.8% clip but only struck out 16.3% of batters faced. Things didn’t go much better in the minors, as he posted an ERA of 8.12 for the Triple-A Las Vegas Aviators. That club plays in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League but park factors alone can’t completely wave away those results. He also had subpar rate stats, striking out just 15.3% of batters faced there while walking 9.9% of them.

For the Tigers, it makes plenty of sense to put in a claim, even though Logue is coming off a down year. For one thing, Logue still has two option years remaining, allowing him to stay in the minors as depth until he’s needed. Secondly, there’s much rotation uncertainty in Detroit. Casey Mize underwent Tommy John surgery in June and will likely miss much of the upcoming season. Tarik Skubal underwent flexor tendon surgery in August and is a question mark for 2023. The club added Matthew Boyd and Michael Lorenzen to bolster their rotation, but they are both on one-year deals and could be deadline trade fodder if the Tigers aren’t in contention.

Boyd and Lorenzen should slot into a front five with Eduardo Rodriguez, Matt Manning and Spencer Turnbull. However, Manning also dealt with injuries in 2022 and only made 12 starts. Turnbull missed the entire season due to Tommy John surgery and will be an unknown quantity for 2023. If injuries and/or trades put a dent in the club’s rotation throughout the season, they will have depth options such as Joey Wentz, Beau Brieske and Alex Faedo, but Logue will now jump into that mix.

De Jesus, 26 in February, was added to the club’s 40-man roster in November of 2021 and spent 2022 as a frequently-optioned depth arm. He posted a 2.13 ERA over eight big league appearances but spent most of the season in Triple-A. In 47 2/3 innings down on the farm, he registered a 4.15 ERA with a 22.1% strikeout rate, 10.1% walk rate and 38.5% ground ball rate. The Tigers will now have a week to trade him or pass him through waivers. He still has a pair of option years and could garner interest from clubs looking for extra bullpen depth.

Yankees In Agreement With Wilmer Difo

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12:10pm: Joel Sherman of The New York Post adds that Difo will have the right to opt out of the deal on July 1.

11:40am: The Yankees and infielder Wilmer Difo are in agreement on a contract, reports Robert Murray of Fansided. It’s  split deal that will pay him a salary of $1.2MM if he’s in the majors.

Difo, 31 in April, has appeared in each of the past eight MLB seasons, not offering much at the plate but proving to be quite versatile. Through 1306 plate appearances in his career, he has a batting line of .250/.311/.353 for a wRC+ of 74, indicating he’s been 26% below league average in that time.

That’s not terribly exciting offense, but his best attributes are in other parts of his game. Difo is a switch-hitter and has played every position on the diamond except for first base and catcher. His glovework on the infield is also generally graded as average or better, giving him plenty of avenues for helping out a club. He had to settle on a minor league deal with the Diamondbacks for 2022, eventually getting selected to the big league club but only appearing in three games.

The Yankee infield has some uncertainty in it right now. On paper, a potential alignment would feature Anthony Rizzo at first, Gleyber Torres at second, Josh Donaldson at third and youngster Oswald Peraza at shortstop. DJ LeMahieu could be a factor at various positions but he finished the season injured and his health is uncertain right now. There’s also young utility player Oswaldo Cabrera in the mix, though he might be on the outfield depth chart until the club makes upgrades there. Isiah Kiner-Falefa is also on the roster, seemingly having been bumped into a utility role by Peraza. That’s a lot of options but Torres, Kiner-Falefa and Donaldson have all been mentioned in trade rumors. Peraza and Cabrera each had solid debuts in 2022 but still don’t have much experience.

By adding Difo, the club has given themselves a glove-first veteran depth option on hand to be deployed as needed. He has less than five years of MLB service time, meaning he could be retained for 2024 via arbitration if he works his way into the team’s plans.

Tayler Scott Rejects Outright Assignment, Elects Free Agency

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December 23: The Phillies announced that Scott has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. A subsequent club announcement revealed that Scott rejected the assignment and elected free agency. He had the right to do so as a player that had previously been outrighted in his career.

December 16: The Phillies have designated right-hander Tayler Scott for assignment, per a team announcement. His spot on the 40-man roster will go to righty Taijuan Walker, whose four-year contract has now been formally announced by the club.

Scott, 30, was a September waiver claim out of the Padres organization who never appeared in a big league game for the Phils. He appeared in eight games with San Diego last season, pitching to a 6.75 ERA with a 13-to-6 K/BB ratio in a dozen innings of work. That marked his first MLB action since his 2019 debut, when he pitched 16 1/3 innings between the Mariners and the Orioles.

One of two South African-born players in MLB history, Scott spent the 2020-21 seasons with the Hiroshima Carp of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. He returned to North American ball on a minor league deal with the Padres last offseason and pitched to a 3.76 ERA with a terrific 30.4% strikeout rate and 6.4% walk rate in 40 2/3 Triple-A frames before his call  to the Majors. In all, he’s been tagged for 35 runs in 28 1/3 big league innings but carries a 4.33 ERA and 26.2% strikeout rate in 168 1/3 innings of Triple-A work.

The Phillies will have a week to trade Scott, attempt to pass him through outright waivers, or release him.

The Opener: Christmas Signings, Correa, Dodgers

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Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. Last chance for moves before Christmas

During the offseason, major holidays are occasionally used by teams and players as soft deadlines for deals to get done. Some free agents like to know where they’re going to live next year before a holiday, and GMs at the one-yard line on a trade may have a little extra incentive to get it over the line before they go home to celebrate. The day before Thanksgiving was rather quiet this year, perhaps partially because the flood gates of transactions really only opened once the Winter Meetings had begun. Will it be different today, the Friday before Christmas weekend?

2. When will we hear how Correa’s physical yesterday went?

Carlos Correa reportedly underwent his physical with the Mets yesterday, a necessary step toward finalizing their 12-year, $315MM deal. This is a typical, routine step in a new deal with a club, but it has taken on added significance in this case. That’s because the Giants pulled back from their 13-year, $350MM agreement with Correa after flagging something in his physical with them, which is what opened the door for the Mets to swoop in in the first place. With Correa’s physical completed, the Mets are reportedly expected to take roughly 24-48 hours to review the information before the deal is finalized, meaning if all goes well, Correa should be a Met before Christmas. It will be worth watching to see if word comes down about how the physical went, as that news could be available as soon as today, and in the event the Mets do find something concerning, as the Giants did, it would be another shocking turn of events in what’s already become one of the strangest forays into free agency by a player in recent memory.

3. With newfound payroll certainty, how will the Dodgers conduct the rest of their offseason?

Yesterday, a decision was handed down that Dodgers right-hander Trevor Bauer would have his suspension reduced to 194 games. This leaves him reinstated ahead of the 2023 season, meaning that LA will be on the hook for most of his 2023 salary (Bauer’s pay has been docked for the first 50 games of the 2023 season, which cuts into his final payday considerably). The news leaves the Dodgers barely $100K under the first luxury tax threshold, per RosterResource, giving them essentially no breathing room if they wish to stay under the luxury tax, as has been rumored following their unusually quiet offseason. If they truly wish to stay under the tax this year rather than face penalties as a third-year offender, it’s possible they’ll have to consider moving salary out, whether that’s in the form of a smaller, one-year commitment like Daniel Hudson or a more significant contract like that of Chris Taylor. Such a move would represent a considerable shift from LA, who has been one of the league’s biggest spenders in recent years, but it wouldn’t be unheard of. Prior to the 2019 season, the Dodgers swung a massive deal with the Reds, sending Matt Kemp, Yasiel Puig, Alex Wood, Kyle Farmer, and cash to Cincinnati in exchange for Homer Bailey, Josiah Gray, and Jeter Downs. The trade ended up a resounding success for the Dodgers, as it allowed them to duck under the luxury tax for the 2019 season and acquire two prospects who would grow into top-100 types in LA’s farm system before being flipped in buy-side trade to acquire Mookie Betts, Max Scherzer, and Trea Turner. While it seems unlikely that another deal of this impactful could come together, it still shows the Dodgers are quite willing to get creative in an attempt to duck under the luxury tax for a year to reset their penalties.

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