Angels Sign Jake Lamb, Jhonathan Diaz To Minor League Deals
The Angels are signing infielder Jake Lamb to a minor league contract, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post (Twitter link). Lamb’s deal would come with a $1.25MM base salary if he cracks the major league roster, reports Sam Blum of the Athletic (on Twitter). Blum adds that Lamb would be able to opt out of the deal if he’s not in the majors by July 1.
Lamb is hoping to reach the MLB level for a tenth straight year in 2023. The left-handed hitter was an everyday third baseman with the Diamondbacks for a few seasons, combining for 59 home runs between 2016-17. Things went downhill after he sustained a shoulder injury that required surgery, however, and he’s worked more as a journeyman in recent years.
Over the past three seasons, Lamb has appeared at the major league level with six different clubs (Arizona, Oakland, White Sox, Toronto, Dodgers and Seattle). He split the 2022 campaign between Los Angeles and Seattle, going to the Mariners in a deadline trade. Lamb combined for a .216/.315/.392 line in 111 MLB plate appearances between the two clubs. He struck out in a massive 34.2% of plate appearances but walked at a quality 9.9% clip while picking up three homers and six doubles.
Lamb had started well in Los Angeles but tailed off upon landing in the Pacific Northwest, and the Mariners designated him for assignment in September. He cleared waivers, reached minor league free agency and finished the season unsigned. Now 32, he’ll look to get back to the highest level as a lefty bench bat in Orange County. Lamb broke into the majors as a third baseman but has seen increasing action at first base and in the corner outfield in recent years. He’s a bat-first depth option, one who had an impressive .290/.395/.537 showing in 61 Triple-A games in the Dodgers organization this year.
The Halos also recently inked left-hander Jhonathan Diaz to a minor league contract, according to Chris Hilburn-Trenkle of Baseball America. The 26-year-old returns to the organization where he’s spent the past two years. Signed to a non-roster deal over the 2020-21 offseason, Diaz made the majors late in the ’21 campaign. He pitched three times for the Halos that year and logged four more appearances this past season. At year’s end, the Angels opted not to tender him a contract. That sent him directly to free agency without first exposing him to waivers, and the Halos quickly circled back to ink him to a new minor league pact that didn’t require a 40-man spot.
Diaz has a 3.49 ERA in 28 1/3 MLB innings to date. He’s started five of seven outings, inducing grounders at a solid 47.1% clip but not managing impressive strikeout or walk rates. Diaz has only fanned 16% of opponents while averaging 91.4 MPH on his fastball. He’d succeeded more on the strength of his control in the minors, though he’s walked 13.6% of MLB batters faced. He’ll presumably return to Salt Lake, where he has a 4.76 ERA over the last two years, as rotation depth.
Yankees Designate Lucas Luetge For Assignment
The Yankees announced they’ve designated reliever Lucas Luetge for assignment. The move creates a 40-man roster spot for Tommy Kahnle, who has officially signed a two-year free agent deal.
It’s a relatively surprising decision, as Luetge is coming off a strong two-year run in the New York bullpen. The southpaw returned to the majors in 2021 for the first time in six years. Signed to a minor league deal over the 2020-21 offseason, he broke camp with the MLB club that season. Luetge held his bullpen spot all year and posted a 2.74 ERA over 72 1/3 innings. He struck out an above-average 25.9% of batters faced with a sterling 5% walk rate, holding left-handed hitters to a dreadful .196/.204/.315 line in the process.
Luetge’s 2022 campaign wasn’t quite at that level, but he managed another productive year. He was called upon 50 times and put up a 2.67 ERA across 57 1/3 frames. The 35-year-old punched out 23.9% of opponents against a 6.8% walk percentage. Lefties managed a more respectable .269/.359/.333 showing off him this time around, largely thanks to an uptick in free passes.
Nevertheless, Luetge generally handled himself well when tabbed by skipper Aaron Boone. Over his time in pinstripes, he put together a 2.71 ERA through 129 2/3 frames. He avoided the injured list in both seasons, struck out a quarter of his opponents and walked less than 6% of batters faced. Luetge held opponents to a .255/.307/.371 slash in 552 plate appearances. He missed bats on over 12% of his offerings in both seasons and was particularly adept at staying off barrels. Only 23.5% of batted balls against him this past season were hit hard, per Statcast; that’s the lowest rate of any qualified pitcher in the game.
While Luetge was consistently productive, he never quite worked his way up the bullpen hierarchy in the Bronx. New York relied upon Wandy Peralta in higher-leverage situations, and Luetge was a healthy scratch in this year’s American League Championship Series. Peralta generates more ground-balls and throws in the mid-90s, while Luetge has succeeded on guile and movement — primarily turning to a cutter that averaged just 87.6 MPH this year.
As New York stockpiles power arms in the bullpen, Luetge was squeezed out of the picture. There’s a good chance he finds another landing spot in the next few days, with the Yankees having a week to trade him or put him on waivers. Luetge is eligible for arbitration through the end of the 2024 season; he’s projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for a $1.7MM salary next year. That’s a reasonable price for a productive lefty bullpen arm, and teams like the Cardinals, Astros, Cubs and Guardians could check in with New York general manager Brian Cashman about the possibility of a minor trade.
MLBTR Chat Transcript
Click here to view the transcript of today’s chat with MLBTR’s Anthony Franco.
Red Sox Sign Niko Goodrum To Minor League Deal
The Red Sox announced that utility player Niko Goodrum will be a non-roster invitee for their upcoming Spring Training. Prior to the official announcement, Robert Murray of FanSided reported Goodrum had joined the organization on a minor league deal.
Goodrum, 31 in February, seemed to establish himself as a useful player with the Tigers in 2018 and 2019, hitting around league average but adding some defensive versatility and speed. Over that two-year stretch, he hit 28 home runs and stole 24 bases, producing a batting line of .247/.318/.427. That period included the “juiced ball” season of 2019, so that production was actually just below league average, with Goodrum having a 98 wRC+ for that two-year timeframe. He also struck out in 28% of his plate appearances, but was still a useful piece with that average-ish bat and defensive versatility, playing every infield and outfield position.
Unfortunately, he’s been on a downward trajectory since that time. He slid to .184/.263/.335 in the next year for a wRC+ of 63, though that could have been written off as an anomaly of the pandemic-shortened year. He rebounded in 2021, but only slightly, finishing that season at .214/.292/.359, 81 wRC+. He also saw his strikeouts become even more of an issue, jumping to 38.5% in 2020 and 32.9% a year later.
That was disappointing enough for the Tigers to move on, non-tendering Goodrum prior to the 2022 season. The Astros decided to take a flier on a bounceback, signing him for one year and $2.1MM. But things went from bad to worse in Houston, with Goodrum striking out 51.1% of the time in a small sample of 45 plate appearances and hitting just .116/.156/.163. The Astros optioned him to the farm but he got injured down there and only played 20 minor league games. He was designated for assignment and released as the season was winding down.
Like the Astros did a year ago, the Red Sox will now take a chance on Goodrum and hope for a return to form. In this case, it’s essentially a no-risk move for Boston since it’s a minor league deal and they haven’t committed a roster spot to him. They have some uncertainty in their position player mix at the moment with the departure of Xander Bogaerts. It seems like Trevor Story will move to take over shortstop, leaving second base for Christian Arroyo. They have some options who could serve as bench infielders, with Enmanuel Valdez and David Hamilton on the 40-man roster. However, they were both just added in November and neither has any MLB experience. Goodrum’s signing adds a more seasoned option into the mix.
If Goodrum can get back on track and earn his way onto the roster, he’ll be able to be controlled beyond this season. He has over four years of MLB service time and could be retained via arbitration until he gets over the six-year mark. He also has a couple of option years remaining, though players with over five years of MLB service cannot be optioned without their consent. Goodrum is at 4.069 and could cross that threshold this season, with a “year” being flipped at the 172-day mark.
A’s Designate Zach Logue For Assignment
The A’s announced their signing of right-hander Drew Rucinski, making it official. In a corresponding move, lefty Zach Logue was designated for assignment.
Logue, 27 in April, was a ninth round pick of the Blue Jays in 2017 who got added to their 40-man roster after a solid 2021 season. Logue split that year between Double-A and Triple-A, making 24 starts and one relief appearance with a 3.67 ERA, 28.2% strikeout rate and 5.3% walk rate. The A’s were intrigued enough to acquire him, with Logue being one of the four players that came over in the Matt Chapman trade.
Unfortunately, 2022 didn’t go as smooth for Logue. He was able to make his MLB debut, but he posted a 6.79 ERA over 14 appearances for the A’s. He limited walks to a 7.8% clip but only struck out 16.3% of batters faced. Things didn’t go much better in the minors, as he posted an ERA of 8.12 for the Triple-A Las Vegas Aviators. That club plays in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League but park factors alone can’t completely wave away those results. He also had subpar rate stats, striking out just 15.3% of batters faced there while walking 9.9% of them.
The A’s will now have one week to trade Logue or pass him through waivers. Lackluster season aside, pitching depth is always in demand and Logue still has two option years remaining.
Tigers Claim Mario Feliciano, Designate Bligh Madris
The Tigers announced that they have claimed catcher Mario Feliciano off waivers from the Brewers. Outfielder Bligh Madris was designated for assignment in a corresponding move. Feliciano had been designated for assignment last week.
Feliciano, 24, was selected 75th overall by the Brewers in 2016 and has had some prospect shine in his time in the professional ranks so far. Baseball America has considered him to be one of the top 30 Brewer prospects in each season since that draft, characterizing him as a bat-first catcher. He got as high as #6 at BA, on the heels of a 2019 season where he hit 19 home runs in High-A.
After the minor league were cancelled in 2020, Feliciano was added to Milwaukee’s 40-man roster but has struggled since then. A shoulder impingement in 2021 limited him to just 39 minor league games and a single contest in the big leagues. In 2022, he was frequently recalled and optioned but only got into a pair of MLB contests. In 77 Triple-A games, he hit .274/.326/.386 for a wRC+ of 90. After a couple of disappointing seasons, the Brewers designated him for assignment last week.
For the Tigers, their primary catcher in 2022 was Tucker Barnhart, who reached free agency at season’s end. That left them with Eric Haase and Jake Rogers as the only two backstops on their 40-man roster. Haase has been solid at the plate the past two years but his defense is graded poorly behind it, pushing him into spending some time at first base and left field. Rogers, meanwhile, missed all of 2022 due to Tommy John surgery. Given the state of the club’s catching corps, it makes sense for them to take a flier on Feliciano, who still has one option year remaining. He can serve as minor league depth until he earns his way into a larger role.
As for Madris, 27 in February, he was drafted by the Pirates in 2017 and was with them until recently. He’s hit well in the upper levels of the minors over the past couple of seasons but wasn’t able to maintain that in a brief MLB debut. In 104 Triple-A games last year, he hit .272/.352/.434 for a wRC+ of 111. This year, he took it up a notch to .294/.366/.482 and a wRC+ of 124.
That was enough to get him an audition in the big leagues, getting into 39 games for the Pirates this year. He hit just .177/.244/.265 in that period, however, getting designated for assignment in September. He was claimed by the Rays, who kept him in Triple-A until they, too, designated him, which led to another claim by the Tigers.
Madris will now head into DFA limbo for the third time in the past few months. The Tigers will have one week to trade him or pass him through waivers. He still has a pair of option years remaining and could appeal to clubs looking for a bit of extra outfield depth.
Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel announced Feliciano’s claim prior to the official announcement.
A’s Sign Drew Rucinski
December 21: The A’s made it official today, announcing the signing.
December 20: The A’s are in agreement with starter Drew Rucinski, pending a physical. It’s reportedly a one-year, $3MM guarantee for the Paragon Sports International client. The deal also contains a $5MM club option for the 2024 season.
Rucinski returns to the U.S. after four seasons in South Korea. The 6’2″ righty kicked around the majors in the middle of the last decade as a swing option. While Rucinski worked as a starter in the minors, he came out of the bullpen for six of seven appearances with the Angels in 2014-15. Rucisnki spent the next year in Triple-A with the Cubs organization before spending two years as a depth reliever. He pitched twice for the Twins in 2017 and logged 35 1/3 innings over 32 relief appearances for the Marlins the next season.
That marked a career-high workload for the Ohio State product, and he made the jump to the Korea Baseball Organization the next offseason. Rucinski landed with the NC Dinos, kicking off a four-year run in which he’d work as a durable innings eater. The righty started 30-plus games in all four of his KBO seasons, pitching at least 177 1/3 innings in each year. Rucinski was consistent and very effective, posting an ERA between 2.97 and 3.17 in every season.
Rucinski only struck out 16.8% of his opponents during his debut season, but he topped a 20% strikeout rate in each of the next three years. Rucinski topped out at a 24.3% strikeout percentage in 2022, while this year’s 2.97 ERA over 193 2/3 innings marked his lowest with the Dinos. He threw plenty of strikes, walking just 4.3% of batters faced this year. Rucinski also induced grounders on two-thirds of batted balls in each of the last three years, with those dominant numbers earning him another MLB look.
MLBTR placed Rucinski 50th on this offseason’s top free agent list. His one-year pact falls short of MLBTR’s projected two-year, $9MM guarantee. Pitchers like Chris Flexen and Merrill Kelly secured two-year contracts coming over from the KBO, but Rucinski’s age apparently limited him to one year. He’ll turn 34 next week, while Flexen and Kelly each returned to the U.S. before their 31st birthday.
It’s a low-cost flier for the A’s, whose spacious home park figures to play well for a pitch-to-contact arm of Rucinski’s ilk. Cole Irvin and Paul Blackburn look to have secured season-opening rotation spots alongside Rucinski, while players like James Kaprielian, Ken Waldichuk, Adam Oller and Adrián Martínez could battle for spots at the back end. Oakland GM David Forst and his staff could still look to augment that group, even in another rebuilding season.
The A’s still have just $54MM in projected 2023 payroll, per Roster Resource. They’ve added Jace Peterson and Aledmys Díaz on lower-cost two-year deals, while Trevor May, Rucinski and Manny Piña (in the Sean Murphy trade) have been brought aboard with one-year commitments.
Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic first reported Rucisnki was in agreement with the A’s. Jon Heyman of the New York Post was first to report it was a one-year, $3MM guarantee with a $5MM club option.
Yankees Designate Junior Fernández For Assignment
The Yankees announced that right-hander Junior Fernández has been designated for assignment. The club has recently made their signings of Aaron Judge and Carlos Rodón official and needed to open a roster spot.
Fernandez, 26 in March, has spent most of his career as a Cardinal, getting sporadic opportunities with them since his 2019 debut. Over the past four seasons, he’s tallied 54 innings in the big leagues with a 5.17 ERA and a solid 49.4% ground ball rate. His strikeout and walk rates have both been subpar, however, coming in at 18.7% and 13.9%, respectively.
The fact that Fernández hasn’t been able to rack up strikeouts is surprising since he has elite velocity on his fastball. He averaged 98.8 mph on his four-seamer this year and 98.7 mph on his sinker. Per Statcast, that puts his velocity in the 98th percentile among qualified pitchers. He’s been better at getting punchouts in the minors but without improved results overall. Over the past two years, he’s thrown 58 2/3 Triple-A innings with a 5.22 ERA, despite striking out 27.1% of batters faced.
The Cardinals evidently ran out of patience with his lack of results, as he was designated for assignment in September. He was claimed by the Pirates and made three appearances for them down the stretch. In November, the Bucs also sent him to DFA limbo, with Fernández landing with the Yankees on a waiver claim.
The righty is still young and could turn things around, but he is now out of options and won’t be easily shuttled between the majors and the minors. But he does have just under two years of MLB service time, giving him plenty of cheap control that could appeal to clubs. The Yanks will have one week to trade him or pass him through waivers.
Scott Boras Comments On Carlos Correa Situation
The past week has seen an incredible free agent plot twist that’s unprecedented in baseball history. Reports emerged last week indicating that the Giants had agreed to terms with shortstop Carlos Correa on a 13-year, $350MM deal. That deal, like all free agent agreements, was pending a physical. However, it was reported yesterday that an issue flagged during Correa’s physical caused the Giants to delay a press conference that was set to introduce Correa. That was followed by a stunning middle-of-the-night report that Correa had a new agreement with the Mets for 12 years and $315MM.
The entire baseball world is still trying to piece together how such a strange sequence of events came to pass. Correa’s agent, Scott Boras, has provided his perspective today, giving comment to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
“We reached an agreement. We had a letter of agreement. We gave them a time frame to execute it,” Boras said. “They advised us they still had questions. They still wanted to talk to other people, other doctors, go through it. I said, ‘Look, I’ve given you a reasonable time. We need to move forward on this. Give me a time frame. If you’re not going to execute, I need to go talk with other teams.”
It still isn’t publicly known what issue the Giants found during Correa’s physical, but Boras frames it as an old injury that precedes Correa’s time in the majors. “You’re talking about a player who has played eight major-league seasons,” Boras said. “There are things in his medical record that happened decades ago. These are all speculative dynamics. Every team has a right to go through things and evaluate things. The key thing is, we gave them (the Giants) medical reports at the time. They still wanted to sign the player and negotiate with the player.”
Rosenthal lays out that Correa suffered a season-ending leg injury in the minor leagues in 2014 but he has not been on the injured list for a lower leg injury since his promotion to the majors. He’s also had back issues in the past but his last IL stint for a back injury was in 2019.
Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi also provided a comment, though without getting into specifics. “While we are prohibited from disclosing confidential medical information, as Scott Boras stated publicly, there was a difference of opinion over the results of Carlos’ physical examination,” Zaidi said to reporters, including Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area. “We wish Carlos the best.”
It’s worth reiterating that, with the Giants not providing any details, we only really have one side of the story. As Correa’s agent, Boras is surely motivated to wipe away the concern of the Giants as unreasonable or a non-issue. Correa’s new deal with the Mets is also pending a physical and won’t be official until that is complete. However, if the Mets end up having the same concerns as the Giants, it might be difficult for them to back out in a similar fashion. Andy Martino of SNY reports that the Mets could face a grievance if they back out of the deal since owner Steve Cohen has already discussed the deal on the record.
Also noted by Rosenthal, it’s not entirely unprecedented for medical personnel to come to different conclusions about the health of a player. This Boras-Mets situation was the other way around with Kumar Rocker, whom the Mets selected 10th overall in the 2021 draft. The Mets had agreed to give Rocker, who is represented by Boras, a $6MM bonus before medical concerns scuttled the deal. Rocker re-entered the draft a year later and was selected third overall by the Rangers.
It has also occasionally happened in the past that free agents agree to terms with teams but then issues pop up with the physical before the deal is official. In one recent example, reliever Grant Balfour agreed to terms with the Orioles on a two-year, $15MM deal prior to the 2014 season. The O’s backed out after conducting Balfour’s physical and he instead signed with the Rays for two years and $12MM. However, a similar situation for a free agent of Correa’s magnitude hasn’t been seen before.
Cubs Sign Dansby Swanson
December 21: The Cubs have officially announced the signing. Robert Murray of FanSided provides a detailed breakdown of Swanson’s salaries. He will get a $7MM signing bonus and a $13MM salary in 2023, followed by $25MM in 2024. He will then get a bump to $27MM for three straight years, followed by $26MM in 2028 and $25MM in 2029.
December 17: The Cubs have landed one of the offseason’s biggest free agents, as the team has agreed to a deal with shortstop Dansby Swanson. NBC Sports Chicago’s David Kaplan (via Twitter) was first to report that the two sides were “very close” to finalizing a deal, and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel tweeted later that the agreement had been reached. The contract is a seven-year, $177MM deal that includes a full no-trade clause, according to Russell Dorsey of Bally Sports (Twitter link). Swanson is represented by Excel Sports Management.
It is the second-biggest free agent deal in Cubs history, second only to Jason Heyward‘s eight-year, $184MM pact from the 2015-16 offseason. After the Cubs had spent the last couple of seasons cutting payroll and largely moving into rebuild mode, it is safe to say that the franchise is firmly planning to compete again, given the signings of Swanson, Jameson Taillon, and Cody Bellinger this offseason, as well as the Seiya Suzuki and Marcus Stroman deals last winter.
Rumors have swirled since the summer that the Cubs were planning to sign one of the “big four” shortstops of the 2022-23 offseason — Swanson, Carlos Correa, Trea Turner, or Xander Bogaerts. Some reports even suggested that Chicago could sign two of the shortstops, with an eye towards moving one player to another position (a la the Rangers inking both Corey Seager and Marcus Semien last winter). Initial reports indicated that Correa and Bogaerts were the Cubs’ top options of the group, but during the Winter Meetings, Swanson began to emerge as “perhaps their most realistic target at shortstop,” in the words of The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal.
As it turned out, all of the big four shortstops ended up switching teams, with Swanson the last one to land his next contract. Turner signed with the Phillies, Bogaerts with the Padres, Correa with the Giants, and now Swanson will head to Wrigleyville to join the third different organization of his pro career. Drafted first overall by the Diamondbacks in 2015, Swanson’s Arizona was limited to 22 A-ball games, as he was dealt to the Braves that offseason as part of a blockbuster five-player swap.
The trade became infamous for Arizona fans, as Shelby Miller (the primary piece headed to the D’Backs) immediately struggled with his new team, while Georgia-born Swanson blossomed with his hometown Braves. Success wasn’t immediate for Swanson, who hit only .243/.314/.369 over his first 1229 Major League plate appearances from 2016-18. However, he gradually became more productive at the plate, culminating in a 2022 season that saw him hit .277/.329/.447 with 25 homers over 696 PA, translating to a 116 wRC+.
Swanson also hit 27 homers in 2021, bringing some solid power from the shortstop position. It could be that Swanson might still be entering his prime years as a hitter as he enters his age-29 season, making him an even more intriguing addition as an all-around player. Swanson is also an excellent baserunner and has a very strong defensive resume that includes a Gold Glove last season. The Outs Above Average metric grades Swanson with a +38 total over the last five seasons, and while his Defensive Runs Saved (+18) and UZR/150 (+0.4) numbers are a little more inconsistent, Swanson is certainly an above-average fielder at a key defensive position.
The Cubs already had a good defensive shortstop in Nico Hoerner, of course, and yet Hoerner’s versatility allowed Chicago to explore multiple options around the diamond. With Swanson now taking over at shortstop and Bellinger also signed as primarily the everyday center fielder, it looks like Hoerner will be spending most of his time at second base. Between Hoerner and Swanson, the Cubs now have one of the very best defensive middle infields in baseball, which will be particularly important in 2023 given the new rules limiting defensive shifts.
Between Swanson, Bellinger, Taillon, and Brad Boxberger, Chicago has spent a little over $265MM on guaranteed free agent deals this offseason. Even with a projected $181.1MM in payroll for 2023 and a luxury tax number (which is based on average annual values) of a little over $203.1MM, it seems possible that the Cubs and president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer might not be done yet.
The Cubs’ Opening Day payroll in 2019 cracked the $203MM mark, so Hoyer might have at least another $22MM to spend if that past record total does represent ownership’s upper limit. Since the Cubs crossed the luxury tax threshold in 2016, 2019, and 2020, it could be that ownership might even green-light more spending at least up to the current $233MM tax line. “Intelligent spending” has been one of Hoyer’s chief descriptions of the Cubs’ spending strategies over the last two winters, and club chairman Tom Ricketts said at the start of the offseason that the front office would have “the necessary resources available to substantially supplement our current roster.”
Swanson’s signing marks the first time in two offseasons that the Cubs signed a free agent who rejected a qualifying offer. This means Chicago will have to give up $500K in international spending money, and lose its second-highest pick in the 2023 draft. While losing a draft pick (currently 49th overall) is no small matter, the Cubs will also get a bonus pick back since Willson Contreras rejected his QO and signed with the Cardinals. This will net Chicago a compensatory pick that will fall between Competitive Balance Round B and the start of the third round, so roughly 70th overall.
Atlanta’s compensatory pick will also fall right alongside Chicago’s pick in the 70th-overall range. That draft selection will represent the last piece of Swanson’s tenure with the Braves, an overall very successful run highlighted by the team’s 2021 World Series championship. Since the Braves captured that title, the club has said goodbye to both Swanson and Freddie Freeman in free agency — a scenario that would’ve been unlikely 13 months ago, given how both seemed like cornerstone pieces.
President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos has spent much of that time building a new foundation, however. The Braves have been very aggressive in locking up several young players to contract extensions, and also swung separate trades with the Athletics to bring in two more star players in Matt Olson (essentially Freeman’s replacement at first base) and new catcher Sean Murphy. This left less focus on Swanson, as Atlanta reportedly made him an offer in the neighborhood of six years and $100MM before the offseason began, and ever since, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman wrote that the two sides “haven’t had any legit negotiations.”
The Braves reportedly had reservations about committing the kind of high average-annual value it would’ve taken to land Swanson, as the $25.286 AAV on his Cubs deal would’ve been easily the highest on Atlanta’s payroll (Austin Riley‘s $21.2MM is the current leader). While time will tell if the Braves made the right decision in moving on from Swanson, it’s hard to accuse the club of being tight-fisted, given how they’re already on pace for a team-record $196.5MM payroll and are close to the luxury tax threshold for the first time.
Atlanta might also feel like it has another young star ready to take the reins at shortstop, as Vaughn Grissom (who played his first 41 MLB games in 2022) now looks like the top choice at the position. Orlando Arcia is on hand as a veteran backup and you can never rule Anthopoulos out from another headline-grabbing move for another shortstop, but it appears as though the Braves are hoping Grissom can become the latest homegrown prospect to make an immediate impact at the big league level. Grissom already hit .291/.353/.440 in his first 156 career plate appearances.
Looking at both the shortstop market and the greater free agent market, Swanson is the latest player to cash in during what has been something of a spending free-for-all this winter. MLBTR projected Swanson for a seven-year, $154MM deal, so that prediction at least came closer to expectations than Bogaerts’ 11-year/$280MM deal with San Diego, Correa’s 13-year/$350MM pact with San Francisco, or even the 11 years and $300MM Turner got from the Phillies. While it was generally expected that Swanson would receive the smallest contract (relatively speaking) of the “big four” shortstops, the average annual values of the four players ended up all falling within a $2MM range, as the longer-term deals signed by Bogaerts, Correa, and Turner helped lessen the AAV and subsequent luxury tax hit.
Elvis Andrus and Jose Iglesias won’t command anywhere near those types of numbers, but the two veteran infielders are now the best shortstop options remaining on the open market. For other teams (like the Red Sox, Twins, Dodgers, and perhaps the Diamondbacks and Angels) that were looking for shortstop help and were at least on the periphery of the markets of the “big four,” Andrus or Iglesias might get some looks, or any needy teams might explore the trade market.
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