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Orioles Sign Curtis Terry To Minor League Contract

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The Orioles announced this morning they’ve added first baseman Curtis Terry on a minor league deal. The team did not indicate he’s receiving an invitation to big league camp.

Terry, 26, has 13 games of MLB experience under his belt. That came with the Rangers two seasons ago, when the right-handed hitter posted an .089/.146/.133 line through his first 48 plate appearances. It wasn’t a strong MLB debut but came on the heels of a .275/.349/.533 showing with 22 longballs through 99 games with their top affiliate in Round Rock.

Texas outrighted the former 13th-round pick off their roster at the end of the 2021 campaign. Terry signed a minor league deal with the Twins and spent the entire 2022 season at Triple-A St. Paul. He had a solid if unspectacular showing, posting a .250/.348/.429 line with 10 homers in 342 plate appearances. He walked in 11.7% of those trips while only striking out 16.4% of the time. That wasn’t enough to get an MLB look from the Twins and he returned to minor league free agency this offseason.

Baltimore has made an effort to stockpile first base depth. They acquired Ryan O’Hearn from the Royals to promptly run him through outright waivers. The O’s also succeeded on their second attempt to pass Lewin Díaz through the wire unclaimed. Both players figure to have priority over Terry on the first base/designated hitter organizational depth chart given their lengthier MLB résumés and left-handed bats that better complement righty-swinging starter Ryan Mountcastle. Terry figures to open the season with either Triple-A Norfolk or Double-A Bowie as upper minors depth.

Trio Of Free Agent Pitchers Work Out For Clubs

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A handful of free agent hurlers threw for scouts this afternoon in Arlington, tweets Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Cole Hamels, Derek Holland and Kyle Crick each worked out for clubs in search of an opportunity.

Hamels, who turned 39 last month, is obviously the highest-profile of the bunch. One of the top pitchers in the game during his peak with the Phillies, Hamels is a four-time All-Star and former World Series MVP. He was an exemplar of durability throughout his peak, starting 30+ games each season from 2008-16. Hamels missed a bit of time with the 2017 Rangers and 2019 Cubs but still topped 140 innings in both years, with a 32-start showing sandwiched in between.

Unfortunately, the veteran southpaw has had virtually nothing go his way the past few seasons. Signed to a one-year deal by the Braves in 2020, Hamels was limited to just one appearance by shoulder issues. He lingered in free agency until August of the following season, when he caught on with the Dodgers on a $1MM contract. Hamels’ first comeback attempt was derailed within weeks by renewed shoulder discomfort, and he returned to the open market over the 2021-22 offseason.

The 15-year MLB veteran required surgery on his shoulder and didn’t sign for 2022. While initial reports last offseason suggested he could factor into the mix by the end of the summer, he eventually turned his attention to the upcoming season. Throughout the process, Hamels has maintained interest in a comeback, even as he told the Associated Press last month he’s also undergone operations on his right knee and left foot. It seems he’s now healthy enough to get back on a mound, where clubs will evaluate whether his current form warrants a minor league contract.

Holland also has over a decade of MLB experience. The 36-year-old has played for six different clubs over a 13-year big league career. He had some success as a starter early on with the Rangers and committed to a full-time bullpen role in 2019. The southpaw soaked up plenty of innings out of the ’pen for the Giants, Cubs, Pirates and Tigers from 2019-21 but allowed nearly six earned runs per nine altogether in that stretch. He spent last season in Triple-A in the Red Sox and Blue Jays organizations, combining for a 5.77 ERA with a 22.8% strikeout rate in 39 innings at the top minor league level. Released by Toronto around the All-Star Break, he didn’t pitch during the season’s second half.

Crick has the most recent big league experience of the group. The 30-year-old righty has pitched in the majors in each of the last six seasons, including 14 outings with the White Sox last year. His final outing came in mid-June, though, as he was placed on the injured list with inflammation in his throwing elbow. He hit minor league free agency at season’s end once Chicago ran through waivers. Crick had a couple excellent seasons to start his career with the Giants and Pirates in 2017-18; he owns a 4.47 ERA in exactly 100 big league outings since the beginning of the 2019 campaign.

Guardians’ Prospect George Valera Recovering From Hand Surgery

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Top Guardians outfield prospect George Valera will likely be behind schedule this spring after recently undergoing surgery on the hamate bone in his right hand, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

The 22-year-old Valera has ranked among Cleveland’s top prospects for several years and has landed among the game’s top 100 prospects on rankings at Baseball America, MLB.com and Baseball Prospectus in each of the past two offseasons. Valera appeared in the 2022 Futures Game and climbed as high as Triple-A last season, making him a relatively near-term option for the Guardians — though this surgery will slow that trajectory a bit.

Valera split the 2022 season between Double-A and Triple-A, slashing .264/.367/.470 (129 wRC+) in 387 plate appearances at the former and batting .221/.324/.448 (103 wRC+) in 179 trips to the plate with the latter. He was playing in the Dominican Winter League this summer, but the hand has been problematic — evidenced by a tepid .171/.244/.220 output in 11 games there.

The Guardians haven’t formally announced Valera’s surgery, nor has the team provided an update on his expected recovery period. Hamate fractures and the subsequent surgeries typically sideline hitters for at least four weeks but can require an absence upwards of two months in length.

There’s no immediate spot in the Cleveland outfield for Valera, though with a full, healthy and productive spring he’d have had a chance to force his way into the mix. Third-place Rookie of the Year finisher Steven Kwan has left field locked down, and while Myles Straw’s bat left plenty to be desired in 2022, his elite defense and the contract extension he inked last spring both make him the clear option in center field. In right field, 25-year-old Oscar Gonzalez figures to get the nod after surprising with a .296/.321/.461 batting line and 11 home runs in 382 trips to the plate as a rookie in 2022.

Valera secured a spot on the Cleveland 40-man roster over the 2021-22 offseason once he’d have become eligible for the Rule 5 draft. He’ll be going into his second minor league option year and seems likely to start next season in Triple-A if he’s ready for Opening Day.

Brewers Sign Skye Bolt, Colin Rea To Minor League Contracts

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The Brewers have signed outfielder Skye Bolt and right-hander Colin Rea to minor league deals, tweets Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. Both players will get non-roster looks in major league camp.

Bolt joins the third organization of his professional career. He’s spent most of the last eight years with the A’s, joining the pro ranks as a fourth-round draftee in 2015. Bolt debuted with Oakland briefly in 2019, getting into five games. He didn’t appear in the big leagues in 2020, then split the 2021 campaign between Oakland and the Giants. Returning to the A’s late in that season via waiver claim, he held his 40-man roster spot until last September.

The 29-year-old has played in 81 major league games in his career. More than half came last season, as he tallied 116 plate appearances over 42 contests with Oakland. After missing the first couple months of the season thanks to an oblique strain, he got some run as the A’s primary center fielder. The switch-hitter managed only a .198/.259/.330 line with four homers and a slightly elevated 25.9% strikeout rate before being outrighted off the 40-man roster.

Bolt hasn’t hit well in limited MLB time thus far. The UNC product owns a .313/.399/.526 line through parts of three Triple-A campaigns, and while that’s no doubt aided by the Pacific Coast League’s favorable hitting environment, that’s still above-average production at the top minor league level. Bolt’s a quality runner who can play all three outfield positions, so he doesn’t need to make a huge offensive impact to carve out a depth role.

Milwaukee has Christian Yelich locked into left field, while top prospect Garrett Mitchell is the favorite for center field run. Tyrone Taylor is the top right fielder, with recent signee Brian Anderson set to bounce between third base and right field. Jesse Winker is the primary designated hitter but could see some corner outfield action, while Blake Perkins secured a major league contract this offseason despite having no prior MLB experience. Top prospect Sal Frelick doesn’t seem far off MLB readiness after reaching Triple-A last season, though he’s not yet on the 40-man roster.

Bolt will try to crack the group in exhibition play but could open next season with Triple-A Nashville as a depth option. He’s out of minor league option years, so the Brewers would have to keep him in the big leagues or designate him for assignment if he earns a promotion at any point.

Rea has some familiarity with the Milwaukee organization. His most recent big league appearance was a six inning relief outing for the Brew Crew in 2021. The 32-year-old has pitched for four different clubs over parts of four big league campaigns. His most extended work came in a 2016 season divided between the Padres and Marlins, where he pitched to a 4.82 ERA through 102 2/3 innings.

An Indiana State graduate, Rea has just 20 big league frames since the conclusion of that 2016 season. He made seven starts in Nashville during the 2021 campaign, posting a 2.27 ERA over 35 2/3 innings. Last year, Rea pitched for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in Japan, logging an even 100 innings through 23 outings. He allowed just fewer than four earned runs per nine with a fairly modest 19.6% strikeout rate but a solid 7.8% walk percentage. He’ll offer some rotation or multi-inning relief depth in camp.

Rangers Sign Danny Duffy, Clint Frazier, Travis Jankowski To Minor League Contracts

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The Rangers announced this evening that left-hander Danny Duffy and outfielders Clint Frazier* and Travis Jankowski have signed minor league deals with non-roster invitations to big league camp. Texas also confirmed previously-reported minor league deals for Reyes Moronta and Ian Kennedy.

Duffy is the most notable addition as a 12-year MLB veteran. A longtime starter with the Royals, he was a key part of Kansas City’s pennant-winning clubs in 2014-15 (put together by former Royals GM and current Texas special advisor Dayton Moore). Duffy was at his best during the first of those two seasons, when he provided Kansas City 149 1/3 innings of 2.53 ERA ball over 31 outings.

The veteran hurler posted mid-rotation production through 2017 before a trio of 4.00-plus ERA showings in 2018-20. He looked on his way to a bounceback in 2021, working to a personal-best 2.51 mark in 61 innings during the season’s first half. Duffy unfortunately then hit the injured list with a flexor strain in his forearm. The Dodgers acquired him at that summer’s deadline while he was on the shelf with an eye towards a late-season return. Duffy had a setback and didn’t pitch for Los Angeles before hitting free agency.

Over the offseason, Duffy underwent surgery that was expected to sideline him into June. The Dodgers nevertheless rolled the dice again, signing him to a $3MM deal with a 2023 club option. The hope was he would return as a reliever for the second half while building back to a starter’s workload for the following season. Yet again, those plans were dashed by a summer setback that ended his season. The Dodgers declined his option and sent him back to the open market.

While he spent a year and a half with the L.A. organization, Duffy has never thrown an MLB pitch for a team other than the Royals. He and the Rangers will look to change that in 2023, though he’ll first have to earn his way back onto an MLB roster. Duffy hasn’t appeared in an MLB game since July 2021 and has just 117 1/3 innings over the last three seasons thanks to the abbreviated 2020 schedule and his recent injuries. That raises an obvious question about how large a workload he can shoulder, with a relief or hybrid starter role perhaps under consideration. Regardless of the specific goal the organization has in mind, there’s obvious appeal in bringing in a respected veteran with a career 3.95 ERA in 234 MLB outings to gauge his form in Spring Training.

Frazier, now 28, was the fifth overall pick of the 2013 draft by Cleveland. Lauded for his electric bat speed and significant power potential, the right-handed hitter was traded to the Yankees as a prospect. He appeared among Baseball America’s list of the 50 most talented minor leaguers in 2014, ’16 and ’17. Frazier got off to a solid start, albeit in sporadic playing time, over his first four years with the Yankees.

Between his MLB debut late in 2017 and the end of the shortened season, he tallied 589 plate appearances across 160 games. In the rough equivalent of one full season, Frazier hit 32 doubles and 24 home runs with a .258/.331/.475 line. Despite some defensive miscues and a higher than average propensity for strikeouts, he looked like a potential regular right fielder thanks to his power and plate discipline.

Things have gone downhill over the past two campaigns though. Frazier limped to a .186/.317/.317 line across 218 plate appearances for the Yankees in 2021. He walked at a massive 14.7% clip but only connected on five home runs. More concerning than his on-field struggles, Frazier battled symptoms of vertigo and missed the season’s second half. The Yankees released him at the end of that year.

Frazier inked a $1.5MM contract with the Cubs at the start of last offseason. He only got into 19 MLB games, missing some time with appendicitis. The Cubs designated him for assignment in mid-June. Frazier went unclaimed on waivers and spent the rest of the year at Triple-A Iowa on an outright assignment. He had a disastrous .190/.283/.302 showing with an untenable 34.7% strikeout percentage in 66 games there before hitting minor league free agency.

Texas will hope that a change of scenery can help him rediscover some of his early-career success. Frazier still has a minor league option year remaining, meaning the Rangers could send him back to Triple-A Round Rock even if he lands a 40-man roster spot at some point.

Jankowski, 31, has played for five different clubs while suiting up at the major league level in each of the past eight seasons. A left-handed hitter, he’s walked at a quality 10.4% clip against an average 22.6% strikeout rate in his career. Jankowski’s solid strike zone awareness has been negated by a lack of power, as he’s connected on just nine homers in a little more than 1200 plate appearances.

The Stony Brooks product has gotten a decent amount of run as a speed and defense oriented depth outfielder despite lacking much offensive punch. He played in 44 games last season (all but one of those as a member of the Mets), primarily as a defensive substitute and pinch runner. Jankowski has stolen 72 bases in 470 career games and can play all three outfield spots. Public defensive metrics have graded him positively at all three positions, making him a potential center field depth option behind Leody Taveras in Arlington.

* While Frazier played the 2022 season under the name Jackson Frazier, the Rangers announced his signing as Clint Frazier in their press release.

Cardinals Sign Andrew Suarez To Minor League Deal

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The Cardinals announced Friday that they’ve signed lefty Andrew Suarez to a minor league contract and invited him to Spring Training. He’ll provide some left-handed depth and a potential bullpen option after spending the past two seasons pitching in the Korea Baseball Organization (2021) and Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball (2022).

A second-round pick by the Giants back in 2015, Suarez pitched parts of three big league seasons in San Francisco, impressing with a solid 4.49 ERA in 160 1/3 frames as a rookie in 2018 before regressing to a 5.79 ERA in 32 2/3 innings during his sophomore season. Suarez tossed just 9 2/3 innings during the shortened 2020 campaign, bringing his career ERA to 4.66 in 202 2/3 innings. He’s fanned a below-average 17.8% of his MLB opponents but also posted strong 7.8% walk and 49.8% ground-ball rates as a big leaguer.

Suarez, 30, was excellent with the KBO’s LG Twins back in 2021, pitching 115 1/3 innings of 2.18 ERA ball with a 26.6% strikeout rate, 8.7% walk rate and 57.1% grounder rate. That landed him a deal with NPB’s Yakult Swallows for the 2022 season, which he surely hoped to use as a stepping stone for either a raise on a second season in NPB or a return directly to the big leagues. Unfortunately, things didn’t pan out that way; Suarez spent more time with Yakult’s minor league club than he did their top team, and he was roughed up for a 6.23 ERA in 21 2/3 frames while pitching with the Swallows’ top-level club.

It’s not clear whether the Cardinals view Suarez as a starter or reliever, though he’d have a better path to their roster if he were to head to the bullpen for the upcoming season. He’s worked primarily as a starting pitcher in his career, but the Cardinals have Jordan Montgomery, Adam Wainwright, Miles Mikolas, Steven Matz and Jack Flaherty penciled into the rotation now, with several depth options behind them (e.g. Dakota Hudson, Jake Woodford, Matthew Liberatore, top prospect Gordon Graceffo). In the bullpen, however, he could compete with Genesis Cabrera, Zack Thompson, Packy Naughton and JoJo Romero.

Braves Extend Manager Brian Snitker Through 2025

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The Braves announced Friday they’ve signed manager Brian Snitker to an extension through the 2025 season. He’d been headed into the final guaranteed year of his contract, which also contained an option for 2024. Atlanta has preemptively triggered that option and tacked on an additional season for the Illinois native.

It’s familiar territory for Snitker, who has signed a handful of short-term extensions since taking over the dugout midway through the 2016 season. An organizational lifer who has spent more than four decades with the franchise, he stepped into almost immediate success as skipper. Snitker won the NL’s Manager of the Year award by his second full season at the helm after overseeing an 18-win improvement between 2017-18.

That 2018 campaign saw the Braves win 90 games and an NL East title. It kicked off a stretch of five years (and counting) atop the division, one which has seen the club play at a 90-plus win pace in four of those seasons (including the shortened 2020 schedule). The lone exception, an 88-73 showing in 2021 that looked like a relative “down” year, was more than salvaged in October. Despite carrying the worst regular season record of any playoff team, Atlanta knocked off the Brewers and Dodgers before winning a six-game World Series over the Astros.

It was the Braves’ first World Series win since 1995. The club rewarded Snitker by exercising a 2023 option on his contract a year early. They didn’t replicate their playoff success last season but had their best regular season showing in nearly two decades. Atlanta won 101 games, topping the triple-digit mark for the first time since 2003. An otherworldly second half was capped off with a late-season sweep of the Mets to all but clinch the division, erasing a deficit that had reached as high as 10 1/2 games at the beginning of June. Unfortunately for Braves’ fans, it was the third-place Phillies who made the deepest playoff run among NL East clubs, with Philadelphia eliminating Atlanta in four games during their Division Series.

While it obviously wasn’t the manner in which the Braves envisioned their season ending, there’s no question of the success they’ve had under Snitker. The club has gone 542-451 in parts of seven seasons with him at the helm, a 54.6% win percentage. Only the Dodgers, Astros and Yankees have a longer active postseason streak than Atlanta. No other club has won its division in five straight years.

The 67-year-old Snitker has certainly had the fortune of working with extremely talented rosters. No manager is exclusively or even primarily responsible for a club’s successes and failures, and the Braves’ strong run is primarily thanks to their core of young stars. Yet Snitker has helped keep the club remarkably consistent over the past half-decade, and the front office is clearly confident in his ability to continue doing so over the next few years.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Rays Sign Pete Fairbanks To Extension

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The Rays announced Friday afternoon they’ve signed reliever Pete Fairbanks to a three-year extension with a 2026 club option. The deal buys out his three remaining seasons of arbitration eligibility, while the club option covers what would’ve been his first free-agent season.

Fairbanks, a client of Republik Sports, is reportedly guaranteed $12MM over the next three seasons (including a $1MM buyout on the 2026 option). Fairbanks will be paid $3.666MM annually between 2023-25, while the option comes with a $7MM base value. The deal also contains various incentives and escalators that could max it out at $24.6MM over four seasons.

Fairbanks and the Rays had yet to settle on a salary for the upcoming season, as he’d filed for a $1.9MM figure in his first time through the arbitration process, while the team countered at $1.5MM. Fairbanks would’ve been in line for another pair of raises in 2024 and 2025, but those salaries are now locked into place. In exchange for a guarantee that could err toward the high end of what he might’ve earned going year to year, Fairbanks will give the Rays control over his first free-agent campaign — his age-32  season.

The 29-year-old Fairbanks, acquired from the Rangers in a straight-up swap for infielder/outfielder Nick Solak back in 2019, has become one of the Rays’ top late-inning options. Tampa Bay doesn’t typically deploy one set closer, but Fairbanks is among the favorites to lead the club in saves during the upcoming season. Over the past three years, he’s pitched to a 2.70 ERA with a 33.8% strikeout rate and 9.7% walk rate in 93 1/3 innings.

Injuries have kept Fairbanks from working a full slate of innings over a 162-game season, however. In 2021, he twice landed on the injured list due to shoulder troubles — first a strained rotator cuff, then a bout of inflammation — missing roughly a month each time. He missed more than three months of the 2022 season due to a lat strain.

Though there are some durability concerns, Fairbanks’ 2022 campaign, in particular, illustrate the potentially dominant arm the Rays are locking up on this deal. Fairbanks averaged a blistering 99.2 mph on his heater while pitching to a 1.13 ERA with a comical 43.7% strikeout rate, a brilliant 3.4% walk rate and a well above-average 53.3% ground-ball rate. He also registered a 17% swinging-strike rate that ranked 16th out of the 546 pitchers who tossed at least 20 innings in 2022. Fairbanks didn’t allow a run over his final 22 innings of the season.

It’s the second multi-year extension this week for the Rays, who exchanged arbitration figures with a whopping seven players ago two weeks ago on exchange day. Southpaw Jeffrey Springs agreed to a four-year, $31MM contract that bought out two arbitration seasons and two free-agent years earlier in the week. The Rays, like many other clubs, have taken a file-and-trial approach to arbitration in recent years — effectively cutting off talks on one-year deals once figures are exchanged. Those clubs will typically remain open to working out multi-year arrangements if the player is amenable, and otherwise, an arbitration hearing is the typical outcome.

The Rays still have another five players with unresolved cases. Infielder Yandy Diaz (requested $6.3MM to the Rays’ $5.5MM), first baseman/outfielder Harold Ramirez ($2.2MM vs. $1.9MM), lefty Colin Poche ($1.3MM vs. $1.175MM), righty Ryan Thompson ($1.2MM vs. $1MM) and righty Jason Adam ($1.775MM vs. $1.55MM) all exchanged figures with the team on Jan. 13 after being unable to come to terms on a one-year salary figure.

With the recent rash of extensions over the past year-plus — Wander Franco, Tyler Glasnow, Manuel Margot and Springs also agreed to multi-year deals — and the Rays’ signing of Zach Eflin to a three-year contract, Tampa Bay is in the rare position of having a decent bit of cash already on the books two years down the road. The Rays already have $65.666MM guaranteed to seven players for the 2024 campaign, and that’s before factoring in what’s currently slated to be 13 arbitration-eligible players, league-minimum players to round out the group and, of course, any forthcoming additions via trade or free agency over the next 12 months or so.

The Rays have never opened a season with a payroll higher than last year’s $83.8MM total. That won’t change in 2023, barring an unexpected late addition to the roster, but barring a major trade or trades, they look like locks to set a new franchise record in player payroll in 2024. And with each of Diaz, Ramirez, Poche, Thompson and Adam all still unsettled, it’s possible Tampa Bay could yet add a few more guaranteed salaries to that ledger by hammering out additional multi-year pacts with the currently outstanding members of their arbitration class.

Jeff Passan of ESPN was first to report the Rays and Fairbanks had agreed to a three-year, $12MM guarantee with a fourth-year club option. Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported the option’s base value and buyout. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reported the contract’s maximum value and specific salary breakdown.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Nationals Sign Alex Colome

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The Nationals announced Friday that they’ve signed veteran reliever Alex Colome to a minor league contract and invited him to Major League spring training. Colome is represented by Wasserman.  According to Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post, Colome has long been on the Nationals’ radar.

Colome, 34, pitched for the Rockies last year and struggled mightily.  In 47 innings, he posted a 5.74 ERA, 14.9 K%, and 10.2 BB%.  The silver lining was a career-best 55.6% groundball rate, which ranked tenth in the National League for relievers with at least 40 frames.  That allowed Colome to post a slightly above-average 0.96 HR/9 despite half his innings coming at Coors Field.

Some of Colome’s best work came with the Rays, the team that signed him as an 18-year-old out of the Dominican Republic.  He made his lone All-Star team in 2016, and led MLB in saves the following year.  The Rays traded Colome to the Mariners in 2018, who shipped him to the White Sox six months later.  He’s since signed a series of one-year deals in free agency, first with the Twins and then with the Rockies.

2022 represented the first time Colome failed to tally double digit saves since 2015, which was also the last season he was used partially as a starter.  The Rockies chose to give their highest-leverage work and most save opportunities to Daniel Bard.  Colome spent part of the summer as manager Bud Black’s third-most trusted reliever, but fell out of favor around August.  His ERA stood at 3.20 on July 30th, and then he proceeded to allow 16 earned runs over his next 7 2/3 innings to close out his season.  Those innings came over 12 appearances, as he recorded zero or one out in five of them.  Perhaps on a related note, Colome had an IL stint in August for right lateral epicondylitis, also known as tennis elbow.  He also spent some time on the bereavement list in September.

Colome has put together a ten-year MLB career with 159 saves, despite missing bats at an above-average clip only twice: in 2016 and 2018.  His control, once pretty strong, has slipped into the 9 BB% range since he joined the White Sox.  Around that same point in his career, Colome started abandoning his four-seam fastball for a cutter.  That has at least allowed him to post a 54.2% groundball rate since 2020.  There was a point when Colome was at least limiting hard contact, but last year 10% of the batted balls he allowed were barrels, which is not a good place to be.

Coming off the season he had, the most important factor in free agency is opportunity, and Colome chose the right team for that.  The Nationals’ highest-leverage reliever from last year, Tanner Rainey, underwent Tommy John surgery in August.  Holdovers include Kyle Finnegan, Carl Edwards Jr., Victor Arano, and Hunter Harvey.  Some of those pitchers had better years than you might have realized, but the rebuilding Nats are a good destination for a veteran reliever trying to rebuild value.

The Nats also brought Sean Doolittle  and Francisco Perez back on a minor league deals and retained Erasmo Ramirez on a $1MM contract, so their ’pen features surprisingly little turnover.  Anthony Banda will also fight for a job in spring training, having signed a minor league deal after pitching for the Pirates, Blue Jays, and Yankees last year.

Perhaps working against a Colome resurgence, USA Today’s Bryan Kalbrosky has noted that he was one of the game’s slowest workers in 2022.  With the implementation of a pitch clock at 15 seconds with bases empty and 20 seconds with runners on, Colome will have to speed things up to avoid getting penalized.

Big Hype Prospects: Baty, Colas, Waters, Grissom, Hernaiz

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Late January is a sluggish period in the baseball transactions calendar. As has occurred in other slow weeks this offseason, we’ll be generous with our definitions of “Big Hype” and “Prospects” in order to cover interesting players recently in the news.

Five BHPs In The News

Brett Baty, 23, 3B, Mets (MLB)
(AA/AAA) 420 PA, 19 HR, 2 SB, .315/.410/.533

Baty’s future role with the Mets has shifted a few times this offseason. When it appeared the club was set to sign Carlos Correa, Baty shifted from a potential cost-controlled building block to trade bait. The division-rival Marlins even reportedly explored a trade for Baty involving either Jesus Luzardo or Edward Cabrera. With Correa crossed off the acquisition list, Baty is back in the picture for third base reps. From a roster management perspective, an Opening Day role will likely require either a monstrous Spring Training or an injury to incumbent third baseman Eduardo Escobar. While Baty had an excellent season in the minors, he only recorded 26 plate appearances in Triple-A. He then skipped to the Majors where his issues with ground-ball contact were on display in 42 plate appearances. Encouragingly, he posted above-average exit velocities. He profiles as a high-floor future Major League regular, though he’ll need to hit more balls in the air to access a star-caliber ceiling.

Although Baty is currently a below-average defender, he has the raw tools to improve to league average with sufficient effort. For the sake of comparison, Baty’s range, throwing skills, and athleticism are superior to those of Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm.

Oscar Colas, 24, OF, White Sox (AAA)
(A+/AA/AAA) 526 PA, 23 HR, 3 SB, .314/.371/.524

Colas had an encouraging stateside debut, blitzing through High- and Double-A before finishing with a power show over 33 plate appearances at Triple-A. Despite hitting .387/.424/.645 in that brief taste of Triple-A, Colas also recorded a 36.4 percent strikeout rate and 21.6 percent swinging-strike rate. The White Sox have done little to resolve an opening in right field, leaving the position an open battle between Gavin Sheets, Eloy Jimenez, Leury Garcia, and others. Colas is expected to have a legitimate opportunity to make the Opening Day roster. The left-handed slugger has a couple traits in common with Baty – namely, he produces high exit velocities with too many ground balls. There are also questions about his plate discipline, breaking ball recognition, and feel for contact. Overall, Colas has a volatile profile – the sort one could picture winning Player of the Week honors and experiencing an 0-for-30 slump in the same season.

Drew Waters, 24, OF, Royals (MLB)
(MLB) 109 PA, 5 HR, .240/.324/.479

A former top prospect in the Braves system who lost his luster in recent seasons, Waters is another volatile outfielder with a wide range of plausible outcomes. The Royals found 109 plate appearances for him last season. He’s primed to start in 2023 following the trade of Michael A. Taylor. Since joining the Royals in the middle of 2022, Waters has posted uncharacteristically high walk rates – possibly an important sign of improvement. Long considered an undisciplined hitter, he’s always had issues with low walk and high strikeout rates. It’s worth noting his swinging-strike rate improved along with the improved walk rate. Waters can produce an above-average maximum exit velocity, but his 84.1-mph average exit velocity was among the league’s worst. All told, there are a lot of moving parts to Waters’ profile. The 2023 campaign should prove instructive for his future role.

Vaughn Grissom, 22, SS/2B, Braves (MLB)
(MLB) 156 PA, 5 HR, 5 SB, .291/.353/.440

Like teammate Michael Harris, Grissom skipped Triple-A last season and still managed to perform remarkably well. He’s an effective Spring Training away from an Opening Day role in the Braves’ middle infield. While he’s no longer a rookie, there’s no question he’s still a developing young player. Per reports, infield coach Ron Washington is encouraged by his development as a shortstop this offseason. That’s a necessary improvement, as defensive metrics indicate he struggled as a second baseman last season. Presently, the Braves’ shortstop options amount to Grissom, Orlando Arcia, Ehire Adrianza, and Hoy Park. It’s possible opposing scouts figured out how to exploit Grissom at the plate late last season. His final 53 plate appearances amounted to a .174/.264/.196 triple-slash. He also struck out in all three postseason plate appearances.

Darell Hernaiz, 21, SS, Athletics (AA)
(A/A+/AA) 452 PA, 12 HR, 32 SB, .273/.341/.438

The Athletics’ return in yesterday’s Cole Irvin trade with the Orioles, Hernaiz was considered by both clubs to be more valuable than Irvin despite the pitcher’s success in the Majors. Hernaiz’s path to a regular role in Baltimore was narrow and unlikely to be achieved. He’s praised for his work ethic and baseball acumen, leading most scouts to consider him a future utilityman as a floor. He could stand to improve his plate discipline, though it isn’t a fatal flaw like with many aggressive, young hitters. He has above-average feel for contact and has shown unexpected growth in the power department. He’s expected to remain a contact-over-power hitter. As a defender, he’s sure-handed but might lose the footspeed necessary to remain at shortstop – especially in a post-shifts era.

In my opinion, this was an intelligent move by both clubs. The Athletics landed an up-and-coming prospect who would have remained overshadowed had he stuck in the Orioles’ farm system.

Three More

Connor Norby, Orioles (22 years old): For most clubs, Gunnar Henderson and Jordan Westburg would serve as an enviable middle infield prospect duo with Jackson Holliday offering a down-the-road reinforcement. Baltimore has additional depth, rendering Hernaiz a practically unusable luxury. Norby is Major League adjacent and hit 29 home runs across three levels last season. I get vague Chase Utley vibes from him – meaning his production comfortably exceeds his appearance. After a few looks, you’ll come to expect clutch hits in big spots.

Joey Ortiz, Orioles (24): Ortiz is also Major League adjacent. A gritty gamer, Ortiz seems destined to fill an oft-used utility role in the Orioles’ loaded infield. The club is enamored with Ortiz and may struggle to find another team that likes him as much as them, even though he’d project as a starter in most systems. His presence could help them feel comfortable dealing Westburg if and when a blockbuster opportunity emerges.

Jose Salas, Twins (19): Acquired as ballast in the Luis Arraez trade, Salas is considered a high-probability future big leaguer. As with most developing teenagers, there’s a wide degree of plausible outcomes ranging from emergency bench depth to future front-line starter. A switch-hitter, there are still exploitable holes in his swing from both sides of the plate. It’s also unclear how his power will develop.

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