Angels Select Kelvin Caceres
The Angels have selected the contract of right-hander Kelvin Caceres, per a team announcement. In corresponding moves, left-hander Aaron Loup has been transferred to the 60-day IL while right-hander Jose Marte was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake.
Caceres, 23, began the 2023 campaign at High-A before quickly advancing to Double-A and then Triple-A by the end of the season. Across all three levels, Caceres owns a 4.12 ERA in 54 2/3 innings of work. Since being promoted to Triple-A, however, Caceres has been nothing short of dominant with a 0.90 ERA and a 27.5% strikeout rate despite a 12.5% walk rate in ten innings of work. That small-sample success is particularly impressive given the extreme offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League, where the Angels’ Triple-A affiliate plays. Caceres will look to get into one of the last few games of the regular season for his major league debut as the Angels look to cover innings ahead of the offseason.
Making room for Caceres on the 40-man roster, is Loup, which is little more than a procedural move. After all, Loup’s 2023 campaign was already expected to come to a close after his placement on the injured list earlier this month with a shoulder strain. The 35-year-old veteran struggled through a difficult season in 2023 as he posted a 6.10 ERA across 55 appearances, albeit with a more palatable 4.37 FIP. The Angels hold a $7.5MM club option on Loup’s services in 2024, but given his downturn in performance it seems more likely the club will opt for a $2MM buyout on the option, allowing Loup to test the open market this offseason.
Meanwhile, the Angels optioned Marte to make room for Caceres on the active roster. The 27-year-old righty has consistently struggled at the big league level in brief cups of coffee over the past three seasons, with a combined 8.14 ERA and 7.62 FIP in 24 1/3 innings of work in the majors. His work at the Triple-A level, while certainly an improvement, also leaves something to be desired; he’s posted a 5.83 ERA in 46 1/3 innings of work at the highest level of the minor leagues during his career.
Cubs Activate Jeimer Candelario From 10-Day Injured List
The Cubs announced this afternoon that infielder Jeimer Candelario has been activated from the 10-day injured list. Infielder Jared Young was optioned to Triple-A Iowa in a corresponding move.
The return of Candelario, 29, should provide the Cubs with a boost for the final five games of the 2023 regular season, all of which could prove crucial for Chicago. Entering play today, the Cubs hold just a half-game lead over the Marlins and a 1.5-game lead over the Reds for the final NL Wild Card spot. Candelario was Chicago’s big splash at the trade deadline this year, as they shipped a pair of prospects to the Nationals in lefty D.J. Herz and shortstop Kevin Made to land the infielder’s services.
At the time of the trade, Candelario was slashing an impressive .258/.342/.481 in 419 trips to the plate with 30 doubles and 16 homers. He got off to a hot start in Chicago with a .305/.370/.524 slash line in his first 92 trips to the plate with the club, though he entered a brutal slump for his final 13 games prior to hitting the shelf with a .083/.227/.278 line across 44 trips to the plate. Adding the bat Candelario flashed at the start of his time with the Cubs this year, or even the production from his stint with the Nationals earlier this year, would provide a huge boost to a Cubs lineup that has been forced to rely on depth options like Miles Mastrobuoni, Nick Madrigal, and Patrick Wisdom in his absence.
Making room for Candelario on the active roster is Young, who has looked like a roughly league-average corner bat during his limited time in the big leagues. In 21 games (65 plate appearances) across the 2022 and 2023 campaigns, the 27-year-old rookie owns a .224/.308/.466 slash line with a 29.2% strikeout rate. In addition to those solid small-sample numbers in the big leagues, Young has torn the cover off the ball at the Triple-A level this year with a fantastic .310/.417/.577 slash line in 376 trips to the plate while playing all four corners.
Candelario may not be the only key Cubs piece returning this week, as right-hander Adbert Alzolay told reporters (including Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune) that his live bullpen session today went well and that he’s hopeful he’ll be able to return for the final series of the regular season in Milwaukee, which begins on Friday. The return of Alzolay could have an even bigger impact for Chicago than Candelario, as the club’s fWAR out of the bullpen (-0.2) since losing Alzolay to the injured list with a forearm strain earlier this month is bottom three in the majors. Alzolay has excelled in 2023 while stepping into the closer role, racking up 22 saves while posting a 2.71 ERA and 3.00 FIP in 63 innings of work.
Nationals, Ildemaro Vargas Avoid Arbitration
The Nationals have agreed to a contract with Ildemaro Vargas for the 2024 season, the team announced this afternoon. Financial details of the contract have not yet been made available. The deal will offer Vargas, who was set to be arbitration eligible this offseason, some security regarding his place in the organization headed into next season.
In exchange for guaranteeing Vargas his 2024 salary and, presumably, spot on the club’s 40-man roster throughout the offseason, the Nationals are getting cost certainty on a veteran infielder who’s proven to be a valuable bench piece during his time in Washington. After kicking off his big league career back in 2015, Vargas spent time with the Cubs, Pirates, Twins, and briefly returned to Arizona before landing in D.C. partway through the 2022 campaign.
Since arriving in the U.S. capitol, Vargas sports a .261/.304/.375 slash line that’s been good for a wRC+ of 90 while boasting a strikeout rate well below 10%. His high-contract, switch-hitting bat offers additional value off the bench thanks to his positional versatility. Vargas has played all four infield positions during his major league career in addition to left field. For a young Nationals club that has little infield depth behind CJ Abrams and Luis Garcia, retaining Vargas gives the club some insurance as they head into a critical offseason with plenty of top prospects on the horizon as soon as this time next year.
Of course, that Vargas figures to remain on the roster headed into 2024 doesn’t mean he figures to continue as the club’s starting third baseman, a role he assumed after Jeimer Candelario was shipped to the north side of Chicago for two prospects. While the pending free agent class isn’t exactly robust in terms of hitters, the coming group at the hot corner includes a handful of interesting veterans like Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Brian Anderson who could turn to the Nationals as an opportunity to draw regular starts in the majors as Candelario did this past offseason.
Vargas signing could also have an impact on fellow arbitration-eligible bench pieces like Michael Chavis and Dominic Smith. Both players are due for raises headed into the 2024 campaign, and could be feasible non-tender candidates for a club that already has Vargas’s veteran infield presence locked into next season’s bench group. Vargas’s return could also impact the opportunities afforded to players like Carter Kieboom and Jeter Downs who have yet to establish themselves in the big leagues.
Mets Shut Starling Marte Down For The Season
Starling Marte has officially been shut down for the season, Mets manager Buck Showalter announced to reporters (including Anthony DiComo of MLB.com). The outfielder has been on the injured list with a groin strain since early August.
Up until this point, Marte was holding out hope he could return before the end of the year. However, he also knew it was a possibility he’d need groin surgery in the offseason. He had groin surgery last winter, too, and given his poor performance this season, it seems like he never fully recovered.
It’s understandable why Marte would want to get back in the lineup for one last chance to turn around his disappointing season, but it’s hard to argue with the team’s decision to shut him down. With the Triple-A season complete, he would have had to return without a rehab assignment, and considering the Mets’ 71-85 record, there was never going to be a good reason to rush him back and risk his long-term health. The 34-year-old is under contract for two more seasons, and it is in everyone’s best interest to make sure he’s fully healthy before he gets back on the field.
From 2021-22, Marte was one of the better hitting outfielders in the game. In just over 1,000 plate appearances, he posted an .828 OPS with 28 home runs and 65 stolen bases. Unfortunately, he looked like a shell of his former self in 2023, posting career-worst numbers across the board. His .625 OPS was the lowest of his career by nearly 100 points. Perhaps with an offseason of rest and recovery (and potentially surgery), Marte will be able to rediscover his All-Star form in 2024.
White Sox GM Chris Getz Discusses Tim Anderson’s Future
It’s been a rough year for Tim Anderson. After back-to-back All-Star campaigns in 2021 and ’22, the shortstop has floundered at the plate in 2023, slashing a meager .248/.290/.300 with just a single home run. By wRC+, he has been the second-worst qualified hitter in baseball, trailing only Javier Báez. Moreover, unlike Báez, Anderson is hardly an elite defensive shortstop. He has made 14 errors this year, accumulating -4 Outs Above Average and -16 Defensive Runs Saved.
The 30-year-old has a $14MM team option on his contract for 2024, and prior to this season, it seemed like a no-brainer the White Sox would exercise the option. Now, however, new general manager Chris Getz has a big decision ahead of him.
According to Getz, Anderson’s option “deserves an exhaustive discussion because of what he has meant to this organization,” reports Bruce Levine of 670 The Score. Indeed, the shortstop has done tremendous work for Chicago since his debut in 2016. Selected by the White Sox in the first round of the 2013 draft, he has played nearly 900 games for the big league club across eight seasons in the majors. He led the Sox to a Wild Card berth in 2020 and a division title in 2021.
Furthermore, this decision isn’t just difficult because of what Anderson has done in the past but because of what he can do in the future. A $14MM price tag is a lot to pay for one of the worst hitters in baseball, but if Anderson can return to anything resembling his All-Star form, that same salary will be a steal. If the White Sox choose to exercise the option, the worst that can happen is they end up eating a few million dollars. In the best-case scenario, however, they could have a star shortstop for a fraction of what he’d cost on the open market.
With that in mind, it’s no surprise the White Sox are considering numerous possibilities to keep Anderson on the roster next season. Getz mentioned that the 2019 AL batting champion has the skills to play “a lot of different positions,” although he stopped short of saying the team would ask the shortstop to move off of his long-time position. Instead, the executive re-emphasized that he and other members of the organization would be meeting with Anderson to discuss his future. Presumably, that will include a conversation about where he’ll play on the diamond.
In other White Sox news, new assistant GM Josh Barfield addressed members of the media on Wednesday (including Vinnie Duber of CHGO Sports). Barfield will have various duties in his new role, including involvement with roster construction and player acquisition, so it stands to reason he’ll also be involved in conversations about Anderson’s future.
Reds Release Kevin Newman
TODAY: The Reds have released Kevin Newman, the team announced. He is now a free agent.
SEPTEMBER 25: The Reds have reinstated Kevin Newman from the injured list and designated the utility infielder for assignment, the team announced. The 30-year-old had been nursing an oblique strain since mid-August.
Across 74 games in his first season with Cincinnati, Newman played all four infield positions, providing valuable depth to a Reds team that has dealt with its fair share of injuries. While his offensive numbers were underwhelming (.253/.311/.364), they were almost identical to his career stat line, so it’s not as if he underperformed expectations. However, with a glut of infielders on the active roster, the Reds no longer had a role for Newman to play. Joey Votto, Jonathan India, and Nick Senzel are healthy, and rookies Spencer Steer, Elly De La Cruz, Noelvi Marte, and Christian Encarnacion-Strand have all earned spots on the big league roster. Matt McLain is nearing his return from the injured list as well.
Cincinnati now has an open spot on the 40-man roster, so the team could be planning an additional move before tomorrow’s game against the Guardians.
The Reds acquired Newman this past offseason in a trade with the Pirates, sending relief pitcher Dauri Moreta to Pittsburgh. The right-hander has performed well this season in a middle-relief role, posting a 4.02 ERA and 3.45 SIERA in 51 appearances.
Cincinnati will have to place Newman on waivers in the coming days, but with less than a week to go in the regular season, it’s highly unlikely he will get claimed. If indeed he passes through waivers, he has enough service time to reject an outright assignment to the minor leagues in favor of free agency.
Offseason Chat Transcript: Detroit Tigers
MLBTR is holding live chats specific to each of the 30 teams as the offseason nears. In conjunction with the offseason outlook for the Tigers, Anthony Franco held a Tigers-centric chat. Click here to view the transcript.
Diamondbacks Designate Zach Davies For Assignment
The Diamondbacks have designated right-hander Zach Davies for assignment, the team announced. Fellow righty Justin Martinez has been recalled from Triple-A to take his place on the active roster.
Davies was a solid back-of-the-rotation starter for Arizona last year, making 27 starts with a 4.09 ERA. That hasn’t been the case this season, as he is pitching to a 7.00 ERA in 18 starts, interspersed between two separate stints on the injured list. Despite his poor performance, the D-backs have kept him around, since they have struggled to find reliable starters to pitch behind Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly all year. Now, however, with just five games remaining in the regular season and the playoffs right around the corner, Arizona no longer has much need for an innings eater on the roster.
This could be an indication the Diamondbacks are planning to make an addition to the 40-man roster ahead of the playoffs, or it could simply be a way of making room to add an extra relief arm for the final five games of the regular season.
Davies, who is making $4.7MM this season and has a $300K buyout for next year, is likely to go unclaimed on waivers, at which point the D-backs would be responsible for the guaranteed salary remaining on his contract. Still just 30 years old, he shouldn’t have trouble finding a new club in the offseason, although he might have to settle for a minor league deal.
Martinez, a right-handed reliever, is the team’s No. 24 prospect, per MLB Pipeline. He made his MLB debut earlier this season and has pitched to a ghastly 14.63 ERA in a few brief call-ups to the big league squad. His numbers at Triple-A are much more palatable; he has a 4.20 ERA in 47 games, although his 21.2% walk rate is still alarming. It’s unlikely he’ll play much of a role while the D-backs are fighting for a postseason berth, but he’ll provide manager Torey Lovullo with an extra arm out of the ‘pen.
The Twins’ Bullpen Is In Good Shape For The Postseason
The Twins’ bullpen got a big boost last night, when flamethrowing righties Chris Paddack and Brock Stewart returned to the mound. Paddack has been out all season recovering from Tommy John surgery, while Stewart has been on the shelf with elbow discomfort for the past three months.
Paddack nearly made his return on Sunday, but a rain delay ended his outing before it began. Thus, it wasn’t until last night that he finally threw a pitch in a Major League Baseball game, his first since last May. While the results weren’t quite what he hoped for – he gave up three runs in two innings of work – the underlying numbers were encouraging. The 6-foot-5 right-hander struck out four, earning six called strikes and seven whiffs. His fastball was averaging 96 mph and touching 99; last season, his four-seam averaged just 93 mph and topped out at 96. To be fair, he was a starting pitcher last year, but even so, a 3-mph bump is a promising sign of good things to come. Paddack was never a power pitcher during his time as a starter, but he seems to have discovered a penchant for high heat.
Stewart, for his part, picked up right where he left off. The 31-year-old turned heads earlier this season, showing off a 97-mph fastball and striking out 35.4% of the batters he faced. His heater was back in full force on Tuesday, averaging just under 98 mph. He struck out two of three opposing hitters, inducing eight swings and four whiffs and lowering his season ERA to 0.68.
With Paddack and Stewart back in the fold, the Twins suddenly find themselves with an abundance of talented relievers, an asset every team longs for but few possess. Jhoan Duran, Emilio Pagán, and Caleb Thielbar lead the way, with capable arms like Griffin Jax and Kody Funderburk behind them. Paddack and Stewart provide further depth, as do recently converted starters Louie Varland and Kenta Maeda. That’s nine arms the Twins can count on in October, many of whom have dominant reliever upside.
Manager Rocco Baldelli will lean a little harder on his most trustworthy guys, as all managers do in the playoffs. Still, Duran and Pagán can’t throw every day. When Baldelli has to turn to another bullpen arm, there really isn’t a bad option in the bunch.
Suffice it to say, this hasn’t been the case all year. On the season, Twins relievers rank eighth in the AL with a 3.98 ERA, ninth with 3.2 FanGraphs WAR, and 11th with 36 saves. Things have only gotten worse in the second half, in which they have a 4.27 ERA and 10 blown saves in 28 chances.
However, Minnesota’s bullpen looks completely different today than it has the rest of the year. Indeed, over the last two weeks, they lead the AL with a 2.93 ERA, and that’s without much contribution from Paddack, Stewart, and Maeda. Simply put, the Twins have added by subtraction, replacing their least effective relievers with stronger arms. They cut ties with Jorge López (5.09 ERA) and Dylan Floro (5.29). They optioned Brent Headrick (6.31) and Jordan Balazovic (4.44). Several more relievers are on the 60-day IL, including Jovani Moran (5.31), Jorge Alcala (6.46), and José De León (5.28).
Those seven pitchers threw a total of 175 1/3 innings in relief for the Twins this season; that’s one-third of the team’s bullpen workload. In those innings, they combined for an unsightly 5.39 ERA. To put that in perspective, all other Twins relievers have a 3.29 ERA this year, more than two full runs lower. That’s wider than the gap between the Dodgers’ bullpen (3.41 ERA) and the Rockies’ bullpen (5.31). Meanwhile, the nine relievers who currently make up the Twins’ bullpen have combined for a 2.84 ERA in 276 innings of work.
This team will enter the postseason as an underdog. By winning their division, the Twins are guaranteed to be either the No. 2 or 3 seed in the American League, yet still, they are likely to finish with the worst record in the AL playoff field. On paper, they are the weaker party, whether they’re facing the Blue Jays, the Astros, the Rangers, or the Mariners. That being the case, the Twins must be better than their regular season record suggests if they hope to advance.
It will help if Minnesota gets Carlos Correa, and possibly Royce Lewis and Byron Buxton, back in time for the Wild Card series. The lineup could certainly use the star power. Ultimately, however, the relief corps will be this team’s secret weapon. The Twins have more depth and fewer liabilities in the bullpen than at any other point this season. Accordingly, they’ll be counting on their relievers to give them an edge come October.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
MLB Trade Rumors Podcast: Free Agent Pitching Dark Horses, Padres To Cut Payroll, and If The Angels Should Rebuild
The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.
This week, pinch-hitting host Mark Polishuk is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…
- MLBTR continues previewing the free agent class, with a focus on which starters and relievers might be flying a bit under the radar as quality signings for 2024 (0:50)
- The Padres are planning to reduce payroll next season, and could some broader front office changes also be coming? (11:00)
- After another losing season and with the possible departure of Shohei Ohtani, would the Angels explore rebuilding (and trading Mike Trout) to get the franchise back on track? (15:06)
Plus, we answer your questions, including…
- Will the Twins re-sign Sonny Gray or Tyler Mahle, and what kind of contracts could each pitcher land in free agency?(23:03)
- Could the Braves’ pitching injuries short-circuit their postseason chances? (28:48)
Check out our past episodes!
- Front Office Changes in Boston and New York, and the New Rays Stadium Agreement — listen here
- Free Agent Class Preview: Catcher and First Base, Germán Márquez Extension and the Dodgers’ Rotation — listen here
- Waiver Claim Fallout, September Call-Ups and the Biggest Strength of Each Playoff Contender — listen here