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Blue Jays Release Greg Bird

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The Blue Jays have released first baseman Greg Bird from his minor league contract, reports Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet (Twitter link). Toronto gave “strong” consideration to carrying Bird on the roster, Nicholson-Smith adds, but ultimately the Jays will go in a different direction with their Opening Day 28-man roster.

Bird, 29, had a strong spring showing in Dunedin, hitting .261/.393/.565 with a pair of homers, a double, five walks and five strikeouts in 28 trips to the plate. That performance comes on the heels of a .267/.362/.532 batting line with 27 home runs in 461 plate appearances with the Rockies’ Triple-A affiliate last season.

There’s never been too much doubt that Bird has the ability to hit. He was at one point viewed as a possible long-term option at first base for the Yankees, and understandably so after a .261/.343/.529 batting line and 11 home runs in 178 plate appearances as a rookie in 2015. Injuries, however, have taken their toll on Bird over the years and caused him to miss substantial amounts of time. Shoulder surgery wiped out his entire 2016 campaign, and when he returned in Spring Training the following year, Bird fouled a ball off his ankle that resulted in an injury which eventually required surgery. A year later, that same ankle required a second surgery, and in 2019, he developed plantar fasciitis in his other foot and missed the bulk of the season.

Bird’s huge rookie showing, his career .277/.365/.530 slash line in Triple-A, and this year’s brief but impressive spring performance with the Jays all serve as a reminder of the upside he has at the plate. It’s quite possible he’ll draw interest from another team in need of some help at first base and/or designated hitter. Nicholson-Smith does note that there’s some chance of the Jays re-signing Bird to a new minor league deal, but he’ll of course have the opportunity to talk to all 29 other clubs now as well.

Any team that does pick him up could technically control him not only for the 2022 season but also through 2023 via arbitration, though he’d first need to make the big league roster at some point and hold a spot through season’s end.

Julio Rodriguez Makes Mariners’ Opening Day Roster

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Julio Rodriguez didn’t give the Mariners much of a choice. The team announced Monday that the 21-year-old outfielder, who is near-universally ranked among MLB’s top three prospects, has made its Opening Day roster.

Julio Rodriguez | Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Rodriguez obliterated Cactus League pitching, appearing in a dozen games and slashing .419/.471/.839 with three home runs and four doubles through 34 trips to the plate. He tacked on three stolen bases in four attempts, also flashing his wheels when he circled the bases on an inside-the-park home run, and drew three walks against nine strikeouts.

The massive spring showing comes on the heels of a similarly explosive minor league campaign in 2021. Playing the entire season at age 20 — he turned 21 in December — Rodriguez split the year between Class-A Advanced and Double-A, slashing a combined .347/.441/.560 with 13 home runs, 19 doubles, two triples and 21 stolen bases in just 340 plate appearances. (Rodriguez missed time during the regular season to suit up for the Dominican Republic in the Olympics.)

With just 46 Double-A games under his belt, the Mariners might’ve had a defensible case to keep Rodriguez down in the minors to begin the season had he shown any sign of struggles in camp. But with such a blistering performance in the Cactus League and perhaps in part thanks to the new Prospect Promotion Incentives in the 2021-26 collective bargaining agreement, he’ll instead leapfrog the Triple-A level entirely and get the chance to prove he’s ready to face the sport’s very best pitchers.

Rodriguez figures to join an outfield rotation that also includes offseason acquisition Jesse Winker, veteran right fielder Mitch Haniger and another touted, hopeful building block in Jarred Kelenic. Rodriguez figures to see the bulk of playing time in center field during the early portion of his career, though both Kelenic and Haniger have experience there as well. It’s a talented outfield group has sky-high offensive potential, though both Rodriguez and Kelenic will need to prove that they’re able to handle big league pitching at such young ages. Thus far at least, Rodriguez has been up to the task at virtually every step of his professional career.

Scouting reports on Rodriguez gush over his potential not just to emerge as the face of the Mariners but one of the best players in all of MLB. Baseball America touts Rodriguez’s 80-grade raw power (on the 20-80 scale) and places 70 grades on both his hit tool and his in-game power, noting that while his most impressive long balls are to the pull-side, he can hit the ball out of the park to all fields “with shocking ease.” The Athletic’s Keith Law calls him a potential “long-term cleanup hitter who’ll challenge for MVP awards with 30-40 homers, high OBPs and, at least, solid defense in right field.” Superlatives of this nature are easy to find, as scouts and talent evaluators all agree that Rodriguez looks every bit like a star in the making.

Whether that translates immediately remains to be seen, of course, and for all the lofty expectations placed on Rodriguez, it’s worth recalling that not every ballyhooed prospect hits the ground running. Mike Trout hit .220/.281/.390 in 40 games as a rookie. Ronald Acuna Jr. had a .742 OPS through his first 42 games. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was five percent better than league-average with the bat as a rookie in 2019. The mere fact that Rodriguez is ranked so highly that he can even be mentioned alongside talents of that nature is impressive in and of itself, but not every top prospect breaks down the big league door and thrusts himself into MVP conversation from the jump, a la Juan Soto.

If Rodriguez is indeed in the Majors to stay, he’ll remain under club control all the way through the 2027 season. He’d reach arbitration after the 2024 season, although it’s quite possible that via the newly implemented bonus pool for pre-arbitration players, he’ll boost his earnings beyond the standard minimum (or close to it) levels for pre-arb players. That’ll depend on Rodriguez’s overall performance and his finish in Awards voting over the next few seasons. If he fares well, it’s also possible that the Mariners will be awarded some bonus selections in future drafts, under the previously mentioned “prospect promotion incentives” put in place under the new CBA.

All that aside, Rodriguez’s immediate promotion to the big leagues is cause for Mariners fans to celebrate. Expectations surrounding the club have rapidly escalated in recent years, due in no small part to last year’s 90-win season and a vaunted farm system headlined by their new Opening Day center fielder. The hope of both the team and fans alike will be that Rodriguez can play a pivotal role in snapping what has become the longest playoff drought not only in MLB but in the NBA, NFL and NHL. The last time the Mariners made the playoffs, Rodriguez had not yet celebrated his first birthday. If the Mariners indeed break through into October baseball this year, there’s a good chance that Rodriguez will have played a considerable role — but for now, fans can simply look forward to getting their first look at a potential franchise cornerstone just over 72 hours from now.

Hector Gomez of Z101 Deportes first reported the news a few minutes before Seattle’s formal announcement (Twitter link).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Twins Sign Chance Sisco To Minor League Deal

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The Twins announced that they’ve signed catcher Chance Sisco to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A St. Paul. He’ll replenish some of the catching depth they stand to lose with this morning’s DFA of Jose Godoy (though it’s possible Godoy will clear waivers and join Sisco with the Saints).

A second-round pick by the Orioles back in 2013, Sisco was long viewed as the heir-apparent to Matt Wieters in Baltimore. From 2016-18, Sisco was generally regarded as one of the sport’s 100 best prospects. His 2016 season, in particular, stood out as he reached Triple-A as a 21-year-old and batted a combined .317/.403/.430 in 497 plate appearances between Double-A and Triple-A. Sisco made his big league debut late in the 2017 season and went 6-for-18 with a pair of homers and a pair of doubles, and the future indeed seemed quite bright at that point.

However, Sisco struggled through subsequent seasons, and the O’s never really gave him a full season to audition for the everyday job behind the plate. He appeared in parts of five seasons with the Orioles but never reached 200 plate appearances. Strikeouts have been a huge problem for Sisco at the big league level (32.2%), though he’s also walked at a strong 10.2% clip. Overall, the now-27-year-old Sisco has had 608 plate appearances scattered across those five Major League seasons and posted a .197/.317/.337 line. He’s fared quite a bit better in Triple-A, where he has a .256/.345/.421 output in 906 trips to the plate.

The Twins are set to open the season with 24-year-old Ryan Jeffers (a former second-round pick and top-100 prospect himself) and offseason acquisition Gary Sanchez as their two primary options behind the plate. Based on Sisco’s experience, it seems likely that he would be the next man up in the event of an injury. That could change, depending on whether Godoy clears waivers and remains with the organization.

Twins Select Danny Coulombe, Designate Jose Godoy For Assignment

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The Twins have informed left-hander Danny Coulombe that he’s made the team and formally selected his contract to the 40-man roster, tweets Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. In a corresponding move, Minnesota has designated catcher Jose Godoy for assignment.

Coulombe, 32, is in his third season with the Twins organization but is cracking the Opening Day roster for the first time. The well-traveled southpaw has joined the Twins on minor league deals in each of the past three offseasons and has now pitched his way onto the roster for a third straight year. Coulombe tossed 5 2/3 innings of shutout ball this spring, punching out six hitters along the way while allowing just two hits and two walks.

The 2021 Twins used Coulombe quite a bit out of the bullpen (and once as an opener), as he logged 34 1/3 innings of 3.67 ERA ball with a solid 23% strikeout rate and an excellent 5% walk rate. He also tossed 2 2/3 scoreless frames with Minnesota in 2020 and worked to a 1.77 ERA in 20 1/3 Triple-A innings last year, so it’s easy enough to see how he’s made a good impression on the organization.

This will be the eight season in which Coulombe has logged big league time, and if he can sustain his pace from the 2020-21 seasons, the Twins will have the ability to keep him around via arbitration this offseason. He currently has three years, eight days of Major League service time, meaning he can be controlled through 2024. All in all, Coulombe has a career 4.09 ERA with a 22.5% strikeout rate, a 9.4% walk rate and a 53.6% grounder rate in 180 1/3 innings between the A’s, Twins and Dodgers.

As for Godoy, this marks the third time he’s been bumped from a 40-man roster since the lockout lifted. The Mariners tried to pass him through outright waivers but lost him to the Giants, who immediately tried to slip him through waivers themselves. Godoy was with the Giants for just four days before being claimed by the Twins, and he may now find himself going through the process again, as the Twins have a week to trade him or attempt to pass him through outright waivers.

Godoy, 26, made his big league debut with Seattle last year when he appeared in 16 games and batted .162/.225/.189 in a small sample of 40 plate appearances. That rough showing aside, Godoy is a .292/.338/.424 hitter in 412 career Triple-A plate appearances and is generally regarded as a strong defensive catcher. He boasts a career 40% caught-stealing rate and has posted very strong framing marks throughout his minor league career, per Baseball Prospectus.

Padres Acquire Sean Manaea

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The Athletics have traded Sean Manaea to the Padres, according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. Earlier today, Andy Martino of SNY had tweeted that Oakland had resumed active conversations about Manaea. Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that the Padres will be sending two prospects to Oakland in return. Per Feinsand, the full trade is Sean Manaea and Aaron Holiday for Eruibiel Angeles and Adrian Martinez.

A Manaea trade has seemed inevitable for quite some time now. It was reported prior to the lockout that the A’s were planning on moving just about any player with significant salary and dwindling team control. Once the lockout ended, they made good on those predictions, trading Chris Bassitt to the Mets, Matt Olson to the Braves and Matt Chapman to the Blue Jays. Since Manaea is heading into free agency at the end of this season and is making $9.75MM this year, he was the logical choice as the next guy packing up his bag. He will now head to San Diego, reuniting with manager Bob Melvin, who was another casualty of the Oakland penny-pinching, as the club allowed him to head to the Padres in a salary-dumping move.

The 30-year-old lefty made his MLB debut in 2016 and immediately established himself with a quality season. In 144 2/3 innings, he put up an ERA of 3.86, along with a 20.9% strikeout rate and 6.2% walk rate. He continued to pitch well over the 2017 and 2018 seasons before being stalled by shoulder surgery in September of 2018. That kept him out of action for around a year, as he returned late in 2019. In the shortened 2020 campaign, he seemed to be back to his old self, throwing 54 innings with an ERA of 4.50. In 2021, he logged another 179 1/3 innings with a 3.91 ERA, cranking his strikeout rate up to 25.7% in the process, a career high for a full season.

For the Padres, this furthers bolsters what was already a very strong rotation that includes Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove, Blake Snell, Mike Clevinger, Nick Martinez and Chris Paddack, along with up-and-coming options like Reiss Knehr, Ryan Weathers or MacKenzie Gore. Just a few days ago, it was reported that the Padres were considering trading from that rotation depth in order to improve their outfield picture. The addition of Manaea seems to only increase the odds of such a deal coming together.

Their projected outfield currently consists of Trent Grisham in center and Wil Myers in right, with left field being manned by some combination of Jurickson Profar and Matt Beaty. There’s certainly room for improvement over that group, especially for a team hoping to compete with the Dodgers and Giants in the AL West, two teams who easily surpassed the 100-win plateau last year. Recent reports had indicated the club had spoken to the Pirates about a Bryan Reynolds trade, though the last word on that front was that the asking price for Reynolds was “prohibitive.”

The Padres were one of two teams to have paid the luxury tax in 2021, along with the Dodgers. That means they would be subject to escalating penalties if they were to pay the tax again this year. The new CBA bumped up the lowest tax line from $210MM to $230MM, which gave the Padres a bit of breathing space, as their luxury tax number has been between those two numbers for most of the offseason. Since the signing of that new CBA and the end of the lockout, they have been fairly quiet, apart from their acquisition of Luke Voit. With the acquisition of Manaea, their luxury tax number is now just over the line at $233MM, according to Jason Martinez of Roster Resource. Perhaps they are willing to pay the tax yet again, or further trade could allow them to limbo back under the line. Rumors have swirled for years about their attempts to move Eric Hosmer and the four years and $59MM remaining on his deal. Just a few days ago, they were apparently discussing such a deal with the Mets, though those talks have apparently stalled.

For the Athletics, their fire sale has reduced their 2021 payroll to around $50MM in actual dollars, per Roster Resource. They haven’t had a number that low since 2008, leaving aside the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign. (Hat tip to Cot’s Baseball Contracts.) That number could potentially drop even lower if the club lines up a deal on Frankie Montas or Ramon Laureano, though they could also add in a veteran on a modest short-term deal, like those they gave to Stephen Vogt and Jed Lowrie.

The rotation in Oakland won’t just be lacking Bassitt and Manaea, as James Kaprielian and Brent Honeywell Jr. are likely to begin the season on the IL. Montas will be at the front of the group if he’s still around, with Cole Irvin, Daulton Jefferies, Paul Blackburn, Adam Oller and Zach Logue among the options to take the spots  behind him.

One of today’s acquisitions, Adrian Martinez, is an option to serve as rotation depth immediately, as he is on the 40-man roster and made it up to the highest levels of the minors last year. In 80 2/3 Double-A innings, he put up a 2.34 ERA along with a 25.4% strikeout rate and 7.3% walk rate. He struggled a bit in his first taste of Triple-A, throwing 44 1/3 innings with his ERA jumping up to 5.28, along with a deflated strikeout rate of 19.9% and 8.7% walk rate. He’s just 25 years old and has options, meaning he’s likely ticketed for further time in Triple-A.

The other piece of their return will be more of a long-term play, as Angeles is just 19 years old. Last year, he split his time between A-ball and High-A, while lining up at second base, third base and shortstop. In 105 games, his combined slash line was .329/.392/.445, for a wRC+ of 125, along with 19 stolen bases. Although the A’s will need to be patient given his age, he might be the real “get” for Oakland, as he was San Diego’s #12 prospect at MLB Pipeline before the deal, with Martinez coming in at #26.

Alongside Manaea, the Padres are also adding some bullpen depth with the acquisition of Holiday. The 21-year-old was just selected by the A’s last year, in the 13th round of the 2021 draft. He only has 5 2/3 innings of professional experience under his belt at this point, all of that coming in the Complex League last year. Despite that limited resume, R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports relays that he was hitting over 100mph on the radar gun this offseason.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Reds Roster Cuts: Akiyama, Wingenter, Knapp

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The Reds have told Shogo Akiyama that he will not make the Opening Day roster, Reds GM Nick Krall told The Athletic’s C. Trent Rosecrans and other reporters.  The team has also told minor league signings Trey Wingenter and Andrew Knapp that they won’t be breaking camp.

Akiyama’s three-year, $21MM contract gives him the right to decline a minor league assignment, and he already turned down a visit to Triple-A near the end of the 2021 season (he did see some minors action last year as part of a rehab assignment).  If Akiyama does indeed decline to go to Triple-A again, the Reds seem set to designate him for assignment, and in all likelihood eat the $8MM owed to the outfielder for the 2021 season.

After nine seasons as a standout performance for the Saitama Seibu Lions of Nippon Professional Baseball, Akiyama came to Major League Baseball and hit only .224/.320/.274 over 366 plate appearances in a Cincinnati uniform.  His first season had some flashes of promise, as Akiyama was a finalist for NL Gold Glove Award in left field and he posted a .357 OBP in 183 plate appearances.  However, he started off the 2021 season with a month-long stint on the IL with a hamstring problem and simply never got on track, playing in 88 games and amassing 183 PA as a part-time player.

Akiyama was blunt about his performance when speaking with Rosecrans and other reporters through a translator, saying “with two years, that’s the results that are out there” and “it’s just unfortunate how I don’t have that many memorable moments.”  Of course, Akiyama did come to the majors just before the pandemic altered the world, but he only alluded to those unusual circumstances by saying that “I don’t know what the actual true self with me is….But realistically, I still can play.  I can play hard.  I know I can play.  So I just have to move forward with this situation.”

The contract ended up being an expensive misfire for the Reds, which stands out even more given how the team has been paring back its payroll for much of the last two offseasons, particularly this winter.  There doesn’t seem like any chance that another team would claim Akiyama on DFA waivers and thus absorb his entire $8MM salary, so if a team is interested, it can wait out the waiver period and then sign Akiyama to only a minimum salary, with the Reds covering the rest of the $8MM owed.

Even considering Akiyama’s lack of Major League production, it seems possible that another team might take a flier on him for such a limited cost.  The Padres, Cubs, Diamondbacks, Rays, Blue Jays, and Cardinals all had some level of interest in Akiyama when he came over from NPB, so at least one of those former suitors might take a look to see if Akiyama (who turns 34 this month) can break out in a new environment.

Wingenter and Knapp both signed minor league deals just barely before the lockout was implemented.  Wingenter has only pitched two innings this spring due to an elbow injury, and the righty has already told the Reds that he won’t be exercising his opt-out.  Knapp has until Monday to decide whether or not to use his own opt-out, after Aramis Garcia won the competition to be Cincinnati’s backup catcher.

Rangers To Select Charlie Culberson, Matt Bush; Matt Carpenter Assigned To Triple-A

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Charlie Culberson and Matt Bush have both been told they will be making the Rangers’ Opening Day roster, while Matt Carpenter has been assigned to Triple-A.  (Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News was among those to report the info.)  The Rangers will need to make two corresponding moves to create a pair of 40-man roster spots in advance of their April 8 opener in Toronto.

The two veterans are known quantities in Arlington, as Culberson played for the Rangers last season and Bush has spent all four of his MLB seasons in a Rangers uniform.  Culberson came to Texas on another minors contract last year and appeared in 91 games in 2021, batting .243/.296/.381 in 271 plate appearances and mostly playing third base, though Culberson also got a bit of action at six other positions.  The Rangers will again deploy Culberson in a utility role, with Grant noting that Culberson can back up any position besides shortstop, as Marcus Semien could likely move from second base to short in the event that Corey Seager gets a day off.

Bush signed a two-year minors deal prior to the 2020 season, owing to the fact that he underwent Tommy John surgery in July 2019.  He missed all of 2019 and 2020 recovering from the surgery, and then missed almost all of 2021 as well, pitching just four innings due to a flexor strain.  Texas outrighted Bush off its 40-man roster after the season and he opted to remain in the organization rather than become a minor league free agent.

It’s hard to know what to expect from Bush after essentially three lost seasons, plus even a 2018 season that was cut short by elbow problems.  However, the Rangers have liked what they’ve seen from the 36-year-old in camp, and it isn’t out of the question that Bush might even earn some save chances given that Texas doesn’t have an established closer.

Carpenter told MLB.com’s Kennedi Landry and other reporters that he would be accepting his assignment to Triple-A rather than taking his opt-out clause, as Carpenter figured that he would need more time to ramp up.  Due to the lockout, Carpenter only signed his minors deal with the Rangers a little over two weeks ago, and “for anybody with my kind of situation, it would have been better suited to have a normal Spring Training to get more opportunities, more reps and more at-bats.  So I totally understand their decision.  It just wasn’t enough time to really get a good idea of what was going on.  But I’m not gonna shy away from an opportunity down there [in Triple-A].”

Three years of diminished productivity for Carpenter led the Cardinals to decline their 2022 club option on his services, and Carpenter has spent the offseason completely changing his swing mechanics and approach at the plate.  With only 18 PA during Spring Training, the time at Triple-A will give Carpenter a chance to “get at-bats and hopefully open some eyes with the way I’m swinging.”

Mets Notes: Scherzer, deGrom, Nimmo

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Max Scherzer is set to throw a bullpen session on Tuesday, Mets manager Buck Showalter told Newsday’s Tim Healey and other reporters.  Right hamstring tightness kept Scherzer out of a scheduled seven-inning intrasquad game on Saturday, which was supposed to be Scherzer’s last bit of spring work before the beginning of the regular season.

The ace has already tossed 11 Grapefruit League innings, so his arm might already be built up enough should he get through Tuesday’s bullpen without any ill effects.  It is also possible that the Mets might opt for some extra caution, and either push Scherzer’s first start back at least a few days, or maybe even sideline him with a backdated IL visit just to be completely sure that the 37-year-old is fully ready.

Scherzer’s health has taken on an greater import for the Mets in the wake of Friday’s news that Jacob deGrom will miss probably at least the first two months of the season after an MRI revealed a stress reaction in his right scapula.  The Mets begin play on April 7 with seven straight games (a four-game series against the Nationals and then a three-game series against the Phillies), so there aren’t any off-days to provide breathing room for the pitching staff.

DeGrom and Scherzer had been penciled in for the first two games of the schedule, with Chris Bassitt, Carlos Carrasco, and Taijuan Walker then slated to follow in the rotation.  Rather than disrupt this planned routine, if Scherzer can’t pitch on April 7, any of Tyler Megill, David Peterson, or Trevor Williams could start the first two games, or New York could even opt for a bullpen game.  Of course, the Mets are also known to be on the lookout for more starting pitching help, so a new face might suddenly emerge to help fill out the rotation picture.

DeGrom met with reporters (including The New York Post’s Mike Puma) today to discuss his injury, and unsurprisingly, his “level of frustration is really high right now” over another lengthy stint on the injured list.  A forearm injury ended deGrom’s 2021 season on July 7, cutting short an incredible year that saw deGrom post an 1.08 ERA over 92 innings.

If there is any silver lining, deGrom is confident that his stress reaction won’t be a lingering problem: “Structurally everything looks fine, so once the bone heals then we’ll be ready to go and build up from there and hopefully be healthy for the rest of the year.”  As such, deGrom reiterated that he is still planning to exercise the opt-out clause in his contract after the season, and test the open market.

Most pitchers with this recent injury history would be more hesitant over walking away from a guaranteed $30.5MM in 2023, plus maybe another $32.5MM in 2024 via a Mets club option.  However, if deGrom is healthy and pitches like his usual self when he returns to the mound, he’ll surely land a more lucrative multi-year commitment.  As The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal pointed out, $12MM of deGrom’s 2023 salary would also be deferred, so opting out would allow deGrom to land more up-front money in a new contract.

In other Mets contract news (or lack thereof), Puma reports that there hasn’t been any discussion between the club and Brandon Nimmo’s representatives about a contract extension.  Nimmo has stated multiple times that he would be interested in working out a long-term deal as he enters his final season before free agency.  In general, most players prefer to not let talks carry on beyond Opening Day, so there might not be a lot of time left for a deal to get done if Nimmo adheres to this rough deadline.

Nimmo has been one of baseball’s more quietly productive players in recent years, hitting .266/.393/.445 with 47 home runs over 1695 career PA.  This translates to a very impressive 131 OPS+ and 134 wRC+, but the key statistic might be the relatively small amount of plate appearances, as Nimmo has been beset by multiple injuries.  It could be that the Mets have held off on extension talks in order to see if Nimmo can finally put together a lengthy stretch of playing time in 2022, though if he does stay healthy, Nimmo might then be tempted to test the free agent market.

Marlins Acquire Tanner Scott, Cole Sulser From Orioles

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8:56PM: Both teams have officially announced the trade.  To clear 40-man roster space for Scott and Sulser, the Marlins have designated left-hander Nick Neidert for assignment and placed lefty Sean Guenther on the 60-day injured list.  MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola reported Friday that Guenther was dealing with an arm injury that may require surgery.

5:52PM: The Marlins have acquired left-hander Tanner Scott and right-hander Cole Sulser from the Orioles.  MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reported (Twitter links) Scott’s inclusion in the deal, while The Miami Herald’s Craig Mish reported that Sulser had also been dealt.  Feinsand reports that the Orioles will receive prospects Antonio Velez and Kevin Guerrero, a player to be named later, and the Marlins’ pick in Competitive Balance Round B of this summer’s amateur draft.

The bullpen was known to be a target area for Miami, and the Fish have now bolstered their relief core with a pair of experienced arms.  In Sulser, the Marlins have also found a new closer candidate, as Sulser saved eight games with Baltimore last season.  While the Marlins aren’t expected to have a full-time closer, there is a vacancy for the ninth inning, as Dylan Floro is expected to start the season on the injured list.

Sulser is a late bloomer who didn’t make his MLB debut until he was 29, so he is still controlled through the 2025 season even though he only recently celebrated his 32nd birthday.  Injuries played a factor in Sulser’s late start, as he underwent two Tommy John surgeries (one in college, and the other in 2015 when he was pitching in Cleveland’s farm system).  He finally surfaced in the majors with the Rays in 2019, and then came to Baltimore on a waiver claim at the end of the 2019 season.

After posting a 5.56 ERA over 22 2/3 innings in 2020, Sulser broke out with a 2.70 ERA over 63 1/3 relief innings for Baltimore last season.  Though his 8.9% walk rate ranked only in the 40th percentile of all pitchers (as per Statcast), Sulser’s 28.4% strikeout rate was well above average, and fit in the high strikeout totals he has posted during his minor league career.

Scott also hasn’t had much trouble missing bats, but the southpaw’s control issues have resulted in some inconsistent numbers over 156 Major League innings.  Scott has an ungainly 13.6% walk rate during his MLB career, which is a big reason why he has posted only a 4.73 ERA with the Orioles despite a 50.1% grounder rate and a 29.4% strikeout rate.

Between those numbers, Scott’s mid-90s fastball, and his three remaining years of arbitration control (Scott is set to earn $1.05MM this season after avoiding arbitration with the O’s), it is easy to see why Scott has drawn his share of trade buzz over the years.  As well, Sulser’s name also surfaced in trade rumors earlier this year, as the rebuilding Orioles continue to be open for business on pretty much everyone on the roster.

In fact, the Marlins themselves swung another notable bullpen trade with the O’s back in August 2020, picking up Richard Bleier.  Sulser and Bleier will now join Anthony Bass and Anthony Bender as Miami’s top save candidates, with Floro joining the mix when he returns to action.  It is quite possible more names might end up emerging as closer possibilities for manager Don Mattingly, or one of those relievers might pitch well enough to firmly establish themselves as the top choice for the ninth inning.

From Baltimore’s perspective, the CBR-B draft pick may be the biggest score of the trade return.  The Competitive Balance Rounds are two separate draft rounds that respectively take place after the first round and second round of the draft, with 15 teams (all falling within the bottom 10 of market or revenue size) getting a bonus pick in one of the two rounds.  For the 2022 draft, the Marlins were selected into CBR-B and had the first pick of that round.  As it so happens, Baltimore will now be picking first in both Competitive Balance Rounds, as the O’s also have the first selection of CBR-A.  The Competitive Balance picks are the only draft selections that are allowed to be traded.

Baseball America ranked Guerrero 29th and Velez 34th on their most recent list of the Marlins’ top 40 prospects.  Guerrero is a 17-year-old outfielder who was part of the 2020-21 international signing class, and he hit .260/.373/.298 in 159 PA this past summer with the Marlins’ Dominican Summer League squad.  BA’s scouting report describes him as something of a work in progress, as his “future will be based around the way his body develops,” given that Guerrero is already 6’3″ but only 165 pounds.

Velez is a Miami native who wasn’t drafted coming out of Florida State, owing to the shortened nature of the 2020 draft.  Baseball America credited Velez as having the best changeup and best control of any pitcher in the Marlins’ farm system, which is no small achievement given all of the high-profile young arms in Miami’s minor league ranks.  In addition to that quality changeup, Velez’s “low-90s fastball is amplified by vertical break that borders on double-plus.”

While the Orioles continue to bolster their minor league ranks, today’s trade marks yet another move that depletes the MLB roster.  Sulser was tentatively set to act as Baltimore’s closer, and since Scott was also in the mix for save chances, it is now an open question as to who will end up getting ninth-inning duties.  Paul Fry, Jorge Lopez, and Dillon Tate look like the next men up on the depth chart, though any number of pitchers could be cycled through depending on performance, shifting roles, injuries, and perhaps more trades.

Padres Notes: Clevinger, Abrams, Paddack, Weathers

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Mike Clevinger is battling soreness in his right knee and is expected to begin the season on the 10-day injured list, Padres manager Bob Melvin told reporters (including Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune).  Clevinger has made only one appearance this spring, and lasted only 1 2/3 innings.

The IL placement “allows us to kind of smooth things out and slow it down some,” Melvin said.  “We don’t feel like it’s a significant thing, but it actually might be a little bit of a blessing because it did feel like we were kind of rushing him a little bit.”

It has already been a lengthy absence from a big league mound for Clevinger, who underwent Tommy John surgery in November 2020 and subsequently missed all of last season.  The Padres were already planning to ease him back into action on limited innings, pairing Clevinger with another pitcher in piggyback fashion.  It seems likely that the team might still pursue this strategy when Clevinger does return, though the extra recovery time could allow Clevinger to start a bit deeper into games.

San Diego has enough of a pitching surplus to withstand Clevinger’s absence, particularly after Sean Manaea was acquired from the A’s earlier today.  However, rumors continue to swirl about the possibility that the Friars could trade from their pitching depth to facilitate another deal, and the Padres reportedly came close on a four-player swap with the Mets yesterday that would’ve seen Eric Hosmer, Chris Paddack, and Emilio Pagan all sent to New York for Dominic Smith.

That trade would’ve been largely about getting luxury tax relief from Hosmer’s contract, though the Padres have also pursued other big-ticket moves to add talent.  San Diego has long been rumored to have interest in the Pirates’ Bryan Reynolds, and USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports that the Padres offered two arms in Paddack and Ryan Weathers in exchange for the All-Star outfielder.  That wasn’t enough for the Pirates, as talks were scuttled when Pittsburgh additionally wanted top prospect C.J. Abrams added to the trade package.

While Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller has been willing to deal notable prospects in the past, he has mostly resisted trading any of the true upper-tier names from his farm system.  As a consensus top-15 prospect in baseball, Abrams fits that billing, even coming off an injury-shortened 2021 season.  The Pirates are known to be seeking a major return in exchange for Reynolds, so while Abrams is a justifiable ask for a player of Reynolds’ proven ability, it remains to be seen if the Padres (or any team) would be willing to trade away a blue-chip minor league talent.

In fact, the door remains open on Abrams contributing to the Padres’ own big league roster as early as Opening Day.  Abrams has been hitting well this spring, and with Fernando Tatis Jr. set to miss as much as the first three months of the season, there is a vacancy at Abrams’ natural shortstop position.  Abrams has also been playing at second base, and Melvin has suggested that he could get some reps in the outfield as well, acting as some center field depth behind Trent Grisham.

It would be an aggressive promotion considering that Abrams has only played 42 games of Double-A ball, and has never played at Triple-A.  That said, the Padres didn’t shy away from putting Tatis on their Opening Day roster in 2019, and that was even before the new Collective Bargaining Agreement introduced the “Prospect Promotion Incentive,” which allows teams to potentially gain an extra draft pick if a top prospect spends an entire season on the active roster and has a high finish in awards balloting.

Returning to the pitching rumor mill, Paddack drew some attention from New York’s other team last month, when the Yankees and Padres were discussing Luke Voit in trade talks.  SNY’s Andy Martino reports that the Yankees initially wanted Paddack in return for Voit, before finally settling on a less-experienced hurler in prospect Justin Lange.

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