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Rockies Select Five Players To Roster

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The Rockies announced they have selected five players to their roster in advance of today’s Rule 5 deadline. They are right-handers Riley Pint and Blair Calvo, infielders Warming Bernabel and Julio Carreras, as well as outfielder Brenton Doyle.

Pint has pitched his way onto the 40-man roster for the first time. That was long the expectation after Colorado selected him fourth overall out of a Kansas high school back in 2016, but he’s traversed an unexpectedly challenging path. Pint struggled significantly with his strike-throwing in the lower levels of the minor leagues, and he decided to step away from the game entirely for a point last year. The 6’5″ hurler returned in 2022, splitting the season between Double-A Hartford and Triple-A Albuquerque.

Now 25, Pint spent the bulk of the season in Hartford, working to a 4.64 ERA in 42 2/3 innings out of the bullpen. He punched out a very strong 29.6% of opponents, although his 15.6% walk percentage remains alarming. The Rockies were nevertheless impressed enough with his form to foreclose any possibility of losing him in the Rule 5 draft. He could factor into the big league bullpen mix next year.

Calvo was a 23rd-round draftee in 2019 out of a Florida junior college. He worked 35 innings through 29 relief appearances in Hartford, pitching to a 3.09 ERA. Calvo struck out an excellent 32.2% of opponents, induced ground-balls at a massive 57.6% clip and only walked 7.5% of opponents. Calvo turns 27 before Opening Day and could join Pint in factoring into the MLB bullpen mix in 2023.

Bernabel, the #13 prospect in the organization according to Baseball America, was an amateur signee out of the Dominican Republic before the 2019 season. A right-handed hitting third baseman, he’s shown excellent bat-to-ball skills in the low minors. The 20-year-old posted a .317/.390/.504 line with 10 home runs and 21 stolen bases in 300 plate appearances with Low-A Fresno. He’s still likely a couple years from big league readiness, having just briefly reached High-A, but his rapidly improving prospect status gets him a 40-man spot early.

Carreras, 23 in January, signed out of the Dominican Republic during the 2018-19 international period. Baseball America considers him the #20 prospect in the system, praising his shortstop defense and power potential. He spent most of the year at High-A Spokane, hitting .289/.352/.473 with 11 homers to earn a late bump to Hartford.

Doyle is the #22 prospect in the system, according to BA. A fourth-round pick in 2019 out of Shepherd University, he spent most of the year in Hartford. He posted a .246/.287/.450 mark, connecting on 23 longballs but striking out at an elevated 31.2% clip. Doyle spent most of the season playing center field and has a very promising combination of power and athleticism, but his subpar bat-to-ball skills raise questions about his ultimate role.

Rays Trade Miles Mastrobuoni To Cubs

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2:45pm: The Rays’ return for Mastrobuoni will be 21-year-old righty Alfredo Zarraga, Topkin further reports. The Cubs announced the trade shortly after Topkin’s report.

The 21-year-old Zarraga (22 tomorrow) has pitched just 18 2/3 professional innings with the Cubs organization, all in 2022, when he posted a 1.93 ERA and 29-to-9 K/BB ratio in 18 2/3 innings across two Class-A levels. Topkin tweets that Zarraga suffered a broken right hand in August, which ended his season, though there’s no indication that he won’t be ready for Spring Training.

2:03pm: The Rays and Cubs have agreed to a trade that would send infielder/outfielder Miles Mastrobuoni to Chicago, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. In exchange, the Rays will receive a minor league pitcher whose identity is not yet known.

Mastrobuoni, 27, was a 14th round draft pick of the Rays in 2016. He hasn’t been a highly-touted prospect for much of his time in the minors, but did crack the FanGraphs list of top Tampa farmhands coming into 2022, getting the #37 slot. He then cracked the Baseball America list for the first at the 2022 midseason update at #20.

He climbed his way onto those lists by continuing to hit up the minor league ladder while showcasing a classic Tampa Bay defensive versatility. In 2022, he got into 129 Triple-A games, hitting 16 home runs and stealing 23 bases, producing a batting line of .300/.377/.469 for a wRC+ of 126. He walked in 11% of his plate appearances while striking out in just 16.6% of them. Defensively, he played second base, third base, shortstop and all three outfield spots. That was enough to get him a brief promotion to the big leagues, as he had his contract selected in September but only got into eight games.

The Rays have a roster crunch that they have been dealing with in recent days, as they have many Rule 5 eligible players that they have to consider adding to their roster prior to today’s deadline. In the past week, they’ve declined a club option on Kevin Kiermaier, traded Ji-Man Choi and put Nick Anderson, Roman Quinn, Jimmy Yacabonis and Brendan McKay on waivers. Now Mastrobuoni is the latest victim of the squeeze.

For the Cubs, they have been rebuilding and have various positions that could be up for grabs, depending on how their offseason goes. Seiya Suzuki and Nico Hoerner seem likely to have regular roles, though Hoerner could potentially be moved from shortstop to second base. Ian Happ will be in the lineup but he’s also one year away from free agency and frequently mentioned in trade rumors. The rest of the lineup is currently a hodgepodge of unproven young players or veterans unlikely to be long-term building blocks. Mastrobuoni’s versatility should allow the Cubs to bounce him around to wherever they need, depending on what players they acquire during the offseason or how their young players develop going forward. He still has a full slate of options and has yet to reach arbitration, meaning he won’t cost the club much and can be sent to the minors if he doesn’t carve out a role on the big league club.

A’s Select Lawrence Butler, Hogan Harris

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The Athletics announced Tuesday that they’ve selected the contracts of outfielder Lawrence Butler and left-hander Hogan Harris. The pair of moves brings their 40-man roster count to 39 players.

Butler, 22, spent the bulk of the season in High-A where he slashed .270/.357/.468 with a 12% walk rate and a 31.5% strikeout rate. Baseball America  tabs him 15th among Oakland farmhands, lauding his 70-grade raw power (on the 20-80 scale) and penchant for top-of-the-scale exit velocities. He also boasts plus speed, per their report, but has a tendency to swing and miss even though he’ll also draw plenty of walks. Butler is an outfielder for now but has also garnered some experience at first base.

Harris, 26 next month, isn’t considered among the organization’s top-ranked prospects but put himself on the map with a promising showing across three levels in 2022. The 6’3″, 230-pound southpaw didn’t pitch in 2020 due to the canceled minor league season and missed all of 2021 recovering from Tommy John surgery.

However, he returned with a sub-2.00 ERA and a 35.8% strikeout rate in 43 1/3 innings between High-A and Double-A before getting torched for a 6.35 ERA in 28 1/3 innings late in the season in a very hitter-friendly Triple-A Las Vegas setting. Walks were an issue even at those lower levels, but Harris’ success in Double-A and ability to miss bats from the left side might’ve made him an appealing Rule 5 target even with questions about his ability to consistently locate the ball.

Braves Announce Several Roster Moves

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The Braves have announced several roster moves in advance of today’s Rule 5 protection deadline. Infielder Braden Shewmake as well as right-handers Roddery Munoz and Darius Vines have been added to the club’s 40-man roster. In corresponding moves, outfielder Guillermo Heredia as well as right-handers William Woods and Silvino Bracho were designated for assignment.

Heredia’s DFA should come as little surprise, given that he was an obvious non-tender candidate on the heels of a .158/.220/.342 showing in 82 plate appearances with the Braves this season. While the 31-year-old can handle all three outfield spots and has at times looked the part of a solid, short-side platoon player in his seven-year Major League career, he’s never shed the part-time player label and owns just a .231/.310/.346 batting line in 1566 career plate appearances.

Woods, 23, tossed a pair of scoreless innings in his big league debut this season but was torched for a 6.04 ERA in 25 1/3 innings across three minor league levels as well. The former 23rd-rounder also gave up a dozen runs in 12 2/3 innings during this year’s Arizona Fall League.

Bracho was acquired from the Red Sox for cash over the summer and surrendered three runs in 4 1/3 innings for the Braves. The longtime D-backs righty posted a strong 2.67 ERA in 57 1/3 innings between the Triple-A affiliates for Boston and Atlanta, including a particularly impressive 70-to-10 K/BB ratio. The Braves would’ve had to pay him slightly north of the big league minimum as an arb-eligible player, however, and Bracho’s status as a journeyman who’s thrown just 5 1/3 Major League innings since 2018 — in part due to Tommy John surgery — always left him as a likely non-tender candidate.

Mariners Select Four Players

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The Mariners announced Tuesday that they’ve selected the contract of righties Prelander Berroa and Isaiah Campbell and outfielders Cade Marlowe and Jonatan Clase. All four are now on the 40-man roster and protected from being selected in next month’s Rule 5 Draft. The quartet of additions fills Seattle’s 40-man roster for the time being.

Each of Berroa (13), Clase (15) and Marlowe (21) rank within the organization’s top 30 prospects, per Baseball America. Mariners president of baseball operations had already confirmed last week that Berroa would be selected to the 40-man roster, though the other additions had not been made public.

Berroa, 22, was acquired from the Giants in a deal that sent infielder Donovan Walton to San Francisco. The Dominican-born righty split the year between the High-A affiliates of the Giants and Mariners before topping out with Seattle’s Double-A club later in the year. In a combined 100 2/3 innings, Berroa posted a 2.86 ERA with a gaudy 36.5% strikeout rate but also a problematic 15.3% walk rate.

Clase, just 20, draws 80-grade reviews for his speed and is considered a potential above-average or better defender in center field. He spent the year in Class-A, hitting .267/.373/.463 with a hearty 13% walk rate but also a more suspect 26.7% strikeout rate. While earlier scouting reports on him suggested he lacked power, Clase smacked 13 home runs in 499 plate appearances and posted a .196 ISO (slugging minus batting average) this season, showing more pop than some might have expected.

Marlowe posted an impressive .287/.377/.487 slash with 23 home runs and a whopping 42 steals in 578 plate appearances between Double-A and Triple-A this season. It was an impressive enough showing that he was on the taxi squad and under consideration to make his Major League debut during the playoffs for the Mariners in 2022. The Mariners are expected to add some veteran outfielders this offseason, but Marlowe will be among the options if the team needs to tap into its depth in the event of an injury early in 2023.

Campbell, 25, was the Mariners’ second-round pick in 2019. The 6’4″, 230-pound righty tallied 21 saves and posted a pristine 1.57 ERA with a 33% strikeout rate against a 6.7% walk rate in 46 innings between High-A and Double-A this year.

It’s possible, though not a given, that the Mariners will have further moves in the hours ahead. Seattle is reportedly active on the trade market as teams look to set their rosters in advance of the deadline to protect players from the Rule 5 Draft. Seattle is reportedly open to dealing Jesse Winker on the heels of a disappointing season, and they’ve been receiving interest in fifth-starter candidates Chris Flexen and Marco Gonzales since the offseason began.

Phillies Select Johan Rojas

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The Philliles announced that they have selected outfielder Johan Rojas to their 40-man roster. Today is the deadline for teams to add players to their rosters in order to protect them from being selected in the Rule 5 draft.

Rojas, 22, was an international free agent signing of the club in 2018. Since then, he has been considered one of the club’s top prospects, largely based on his speed and defense. Here in 2022, he split his time between High-A and Double-A, stealing 62 bases in 130 games while playing all three outfield spots but mostly in center field.

His bat isn’t quite as exciting as the rest of his game, however. His combined batting line on the year was .244/.309/.354 for a wRC+ of 83. With the baserunning and the glovework, he should have a nice floor, though a step forward at the plate could turn him into an exciting and well-rounded player.

Even without a strong bat, he could be a nice fit on a Phillies’ team that already has plenty of thump from the outfield grass. With Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos all signed for years to come, adding in a speed-and-defense option could be a nice complement. Brandon Marsh will be that guy for now, as Rojas looks to tackle the upper levels of the minors.

Mets Claim Stephen Ridings From Yankees

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The Yankees announced that right-hander Stephen Ridings was claimed off waivers by the Mets.

Ridings, 27, was drafted by the Cubs in 2016 but was traded to the Royals and later released. He signed a minor league deal with the Yankees prior to 2021 and briefly got up the majors as a COVID replacement. He only tossed five innings in that stint, spending most of the year in the minors but putting up very impressive numbers on the farm. Between Double-A and Triple-A, he threw 29 innings with a 1.24 ERA, 38.2% strikeout rate and 3.6% walk rate.

That was enough to get him added to the Yankee roster prior to the Rule 5 draft one year ago. However, shoulder issues landed him on the 60-day injured list in April and he never returned. He did start a rehab assignment in September, but only got into two minor league games before the offseason arrived.

Various teams are facing roster squeezes this week, since today is the deadline to add prospects to 40-man rosters in order to protect them from being selected in the Rule 5 draft. As such, some other players are going to get nudged out of their spots, and it seems that Ridings was once such player for the Yanks.

For the Mets, they are looking to rebuild essentially an entire bullpen as they saw Edwin Diaz, Mychal Givens, Adam Ottavino, Trevor Williams, Joely Rodriguez, Seth Lugo, Trevor May and Tommy Hunter all reach free agency as the season ended. They have already re-signed Diaz to return as their closer but they will have a lot of work to do in order to get the entire staff ready for 2023. Ridings has injury concerns but has yet to reach arbitration and still has option years remaining, meaning there’s little cost for the Mets to take a look and see how his arm looks going forward.

Willson Contreras To Decline Qualifying Offer

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Catcher Willson Contreras will reject the Cubs’ qualifying offer and instead test the open market this winter, ESPN’s Jesse Rogers tweets. The Cubs, who surprisingly did not trade Contreras at the deadline — a deal sending him to Houston was reportedly nixed by Astros ownership — made the easy call to instead make the one-year, $19.65MM qualifying offer to their longtime catcher. Contreras always appeared overwhelmingly likely to decline the offer. He’ll now seek a multi-year deal in free agency.

The 30-year-old Contreras will head into free agency on the heels of his fourth career season of 20-plus homers and 20-plus doubles. The three-time All-Star and 2016 World Series champion slashed .243/.346/.466 in what seems likely to be his final season as a member of the Cubs. Chicago had multiple opportunities to extend Contreras over the years, with the player himself publicly expressing his desire to stay along the way. It never appeared that the team made a strong effort to sign Contreras for the long haul, however, and with veteran Yan Gomes signed through 2023, the Cubs have at least one alternative option (though there’s a good chance they add another via free agency or trade).

Contreras’ defense has become something of a talking point going back to the trade deadline, though some of that talk is perhaps overblown. It’s generally rare for starting catchers to change hands at the deadline, as learning an entirely new staff on the fly and in the middle of a postseason push is a difficult task for any backstop. That concern, of course, won’t exist with a free-agent signing, as Contreras will have an entire offseason and Spring Training to familiarize himself with a new team’s staff.

In terms of actual defensive metrics, Contreras boasts a 30% caught-stealing rate that’s comfortably above league average and is regarded as having one of the best throwing arms of any catcher in the game. Statcast credits him for the 11th-best poptime of any catcher in baseball and also feels that his framing has been average or slightly above over the past three seasons. Defensive Runs Saved pegged him at -1 in 2022 but credited him with a +8 mark just one year prior. It’s fair to say that Contreras isn’t an elite defensive backstop, and over the course of a multi-year deal that stretches into his mid-30s, he may spend additional time at DH or another position, such as first base. None of that means he’s a defensive liability in the short term, however.

Because Contreras rejected a QO, any team that signs him will have to forfeit at least one draft pick. Luxury-paying clubs will forfeit their second- and fifth-highest selections in next year’s draft and will see their international bonus pool reduced by $1MM. Teams that were neither luxury tax payors nor revenue-sharing recipients will surrender their second-highest pick and see their international pool reduced by $500K. Revenue-sharing recipients would “only” have to surrender their third-highest pick. The Cubs, as a team that neither paid the luxury tax nor received revenue sharing, would receive a compensatory pick between Competitive Balance Round B and Round 3 in next year’s draft (typically in the No. 75 overall range).

Royals Announce Several Roster Moves

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The Royals announced Tuesday that they’ve designated lefty Jake Brentz, right-hander Nate Webb and first baseman/outfielder Brent Rooker for assignment. Their roster spots will go to right-hander Alec Marsh, catcher Freddy Fermin and outfielder Diego Hernandez, each of whom has been selected to the 40-man roster in advance of tonight’s deadline to protect players from the Rule 5 Draft.

Kansas City also announced a one-year deal with non-tender candidate Ryan O’Hearn, avoiding arbitration and ostensibly locking him into a roster spot for the 2023 season. Lynn Worthy of the Kansas City Star reports that O’Hearn will be guaranteed $1.4MM and can earn another $250K of bonuses. O’Hearn was paid $1.3MM in 2022 and is controllable through the 2024 season via arbitration.

Brentz, 28, had a nice rookie season with the Royals in 2021 when he pitched to a 3.66 ERA with a 27.3% strikeout rate in 64 innings of relief. A 13.3% walk rate always served as a red flag, but as a bat-missing lefty with an average fastball of 97 mph and a 49% ground-ball rate, Brentz showed plenty of promise. His 2022 season was unfortunately blown up by injury, however. Brent tossed just 5 1/3 innings with a woeful 9-to-11 K/BB ratio and a 23.63 ERA (14 earned runs) before undergoing surgery to repair a torn UCL in his pitching elbow. That procedure, performed in late June, ended his season.

Webb, 25, was limited to just 33 1/3 innings across three minor league levels this season, struggling at each stop and spending more than two and a half months on the injured list. Although he was healthy to finish out the season, Webb concluded his 2022 campaign with a combined 9.99 ERA and 39-to-27 K/BB ratio in those 33 1/3 frames.

Rooker, acquired on Aug. 2 in a trade that sent backup catcher Cam Gallagher to the Padres, appeared in only 14 games with the Royals and went 4-for-25 with four walks and a double. Drafted by the division-rival Twins with the No. 35 overall pick back in 2017, Rooker was a bat-first prospect touted for his plus raw power but has managed just a .200/.289/.379 batting line in 270 Major League plate appearances. He’s a career .274/.387/.590 hitter in parts of three Triple-A seasons, so it’s possible another club will take a look on waivers or in a minor trade — particularly since he still has a minor league option year remaining.

The Royals again opted against non-tendering the now-29-year-old O’Hearn, despite the fact that four full seasons have elapsed since his productive rookie effort in 2018. Since hitting .262/.353/.597 in 170 plate appearances as a 24-year-old rookie, the lefty-swinging O’Hearn has managed only a .211/.282/.351 slash in 901 plate appearances. Even with a pair of younger, highly touted first base prospects in Vinnie Pasquantino and Nick Pratto needing playing time next season, though, Kansas City will continue to hope O’Hearn can eventually recapture that rookie form and factor into the first base/DH mix.

Mariners Discussing Jesse Winker In Trade Talks

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The Mariners are in active trade discussions as today’s 5pm CT deadline to set rosters prior to next month’s Rule 5 Draft looms, and they’re showing a willingness to move left fielder/designated hitter Jesse Winker, reports Jon Morosi of MLB.com (via Twitter). As has been expected for some time now, the M’s have also discussed potential trades involving fifth starter candidates Chris Flexen and Marco Gonzales, Morosi further adds, though the team has not yet engaged in a scenario where Winker and one of those pitchers would be moved in the same package.

Moving on from Winker would be selling low on a player whom the Mariners acquired last offseason, hoping at the time that Winker could be a key middle-of-the-lineup fixture. In the two seasons prior to that trade, Winker was one of the game’s three best hitters against right-handed pitching, trailing only Juan Soto and Bryce Harper in terms of wRC+. He posted a Herculean .321/.417/.619 batting line in 509 plate appearances against right-handed pitching, and while his production against fellow lefties was nowhere near that level, he still walked at a 12% clip against them, resulting in a .314 OBP. His .199 average and .338 slugging against lefties were dismal, but at the very least, Winker could get on base at a near-average clip in when in disadvantageous platoon matchups.

What followed in 2022, however, was the worst season of Winker’s career by nearly any measure. He did walk at a career-best 15.4% clip as a Mariner, but the 29-year-old’s .219/.344/.344 batting line was generally underwhelming — especially considering he was acquired in hopes of providing some left-handed power to the lineup. Winker’s .125 ISO (slugging percentage minus batting average) was the lowest mark of his career. And, while he’s never been considered a plus defender in the outfield, Winker’s defensive ratings across the board in 2022 were career-worsts (-16 Defensive Runs Saved, -7.2 Ultimate Zone Rating, -10 Outs Above Average).

Poor 2022 season notwithstanding, Winker has a strong track record at the plate and could be viewed by other clubs as a decent candidate to rebound. In his five seasons with the Reds, dating back to his 2017 debut, Winker turned in a collective .288/.385/.504 batting line — about 32% better than the average hitter after weighting for his home park and league.

Winker is also rather affordable. He’s entering what would have been his final arbitration season but is already signed for $8.25MM, having agreed to a two-year, $14.5MM contract with the Mariners just last season. If he’s able to approach anything close to his Reds form in 2023, that’ll be an eminently reasonable price to pay.

It bears mentioning that there could be other factors at play as the Mariners field interest in Winker. In an October appearance on 710 AM Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk Show, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times laid out, in detail, the manner in which Winker fell out of favor within the Mariners clubhouse over the course of the season. (Mike Axisa of CBS Sports transcribed the meat of Divish’s segment, for those interested in the full scope of the comments.) Add in the fact that president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto has already spoken publicly about his desire to add at least one, if not two outfielders to his team this winter, and there’s plenty of reason to believe the Mariners’ outfield mix will look different in 2023 (though AL Rookie of the Year Julio Rodriguez is an obvious lock to return).

Of course, the trade that brought Winker to Seattle wasn’t all bad — far from it. In order to acquire Winker, Seattle gave up pitching prospect Brandon Williamson, outfielder Jake Fraley and righty Justin Dunn and took on a notable portion of a contract the Reds were seeking to escape … that of Eugenio Suarez. It’s a move the Mariners may not have made had they believed Suarez was beyond hope after a rough 2020-21 showing in Cincinnati, but he bounced back to an even greater extent than most optimists could’ve forecast.

After hitting .199 /.293/.440 with the Reds in 2020-21, Suarez logged a resurgent .236/.332/.459 batting line with 31 home runs, 24 doubles, a pair of triples and roughly average defense at the hot corner. Both Baseball-Reference and FanGraphs pegged his 2022 season around four wins above replacement, and Suarez remains signed for another two years and $24MM (plus a club option for the 2025 campaign).

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