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Free Agent Notes: Correa, Braves, Story, Tigers, Cueto

By Mark Polishuk | March 20, 2022 at 5:57pm CDT

The Braves were somewhat surprisingly connected to Carlos Correa prior to the lockout, and the two sides did re-engage to some extent before Correa signed with the Twins, though The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports that Atlanta didn’t make Correa an offer. It was actually agent Scott Boras who reached out to the Braves as he was gauging the market for his client, and Rosenthal writes that Boras “floated” the same three-year, $105.3MM deal with two opt-outs that Correa eventually signed with Minnesota.

While nothing came of these negotiations, Rosenthal does wonder if Correa (assuming he opts out) might be a target for the Braves next winter, as incumbent shortstop Dansby Swanson will be a free agent. Signing Correa to a long-term deal would surely require Atlanta GM Alex Anthopoulos to make his biggest expenditure yet, though the Braves will have quite a bit of money coming off the books in the form of Swanson, Kenley Jansen, and depending on club options, Charlie Morton and Will Smith.

Yankees Claim Yoan Aybar From Rockies

By Mark Polishuk | March 20, 2022 at 5:36pm CDT

The Yankees have claimed left-hander Yoan Aybar off waivers, the team announced. The Rockies designated Aybar for assignment two days ago, in order to clear a 40-man roster spot for Kris Bryant.

A longtime member of the Red Sox farm system, Aybar spent his first four pro seasons as an outfielder before converting to pitching in 2018. He has a 5.06 ERA over 131 2/3 innings of minor league mound work, including a 6.22 ERA over 46 1/3 innings with the Rockies’ Double-A affiliate in 2021. As one might expect for a player relatively new to pitching, control has been a particular issue for Aybar, as he has a 14.62% walk rate during his 131 2/3 IP.

Aybar does bring plenty of velocity, however, and the Yankees will now get a closer look at the 24-year-old to see if his stuff can be harnessed. Double-A Somerset seems the likeliest destination for Aybar to begin the season, though the southpaw could potentially be headed back to DFA limbo if the Yankees make another roster move and need to make room on their own 40-man.

Jack Flaherty, Alex Reyes To Begin Season On Injured List

By Anthony Franco | March 20, 2022 at 3:44pm CDT

TODAY: Flaherty discussed his injury situation today with MLB.com’s Joe Trezza and other reporters, noting that the PRP injection wasn’t due to his labrum tear, but rather bursitis. Flaherty felt that the shoulder issue was brought on by mechanical changes Flaherty made last season, while trying to adjust to his oblique strain. It appears to be a matter of crossed signals between the righty and the team as to why the Cardinals announced the labrum tear as the cause of the PRP injection, as Flaherty has been dealing with the tear for “a handful of years,” and during the lockout, “it was just hard communication-wise to communicate to [the Cardinals] what was going on” in regards to his shoulder inflammation.

MARCH 18: Cardinals starter Jack Flaherty received a platelet-rich plasma injection to address a small tear in his right shoulder, the team informed reporters (including Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch). He’ll be shut down from throwing for two weeks, at which point the team will reevaluate his status. Flaherty obviously won’t have time to build up arm strength in time for Opening Day, and he’ll begin the season on the injured list.

It isn’t known how long Flaherty will be out, as Goold writes the team will have a more definitive timetable once they see how his shoulder responds to the PRP injection. The diagnosis of the small tear sounds ominous, but Katie Woo of the Athletic reports (via Twitter) the Cardinals have been aware of its presence for a while. Flaherty has pitched through it in the past, president of baseball operations John Mozeliak tells Woo, but he’s apparently not able to do so as things currently stand.

Flaherty missed a good chunk of last season due to injury. He initially suffered an oblique strain that cost him a couple months. Not long after returning in August, he suffered a shoulder strain that knocked him out an additional four weeks. Flaherty returned in a relief capacity at the end of the season, but the repeated issues kept him to 78 1/3 innings over 17 outings.

With Flaherty down at the start of the year, there’s some uncertainty in the rotation behind the top four of Adam Wainwright, Miles Mikolas, Steven Matz and Dakota Hudson. Goold writes that Mozeliak pointed to Jake Woodford and Matthew Liberatore as possible candidates for the final spot. Swingman Drew VerHagen and non-roster invitee Aaron Brooks — both of whom were signed after stints in Asian leagues (the NPB and KBO, respectively) — could be other options.

Meanwhile, righty Alex Reyes received a stem cell injection in his own ailing shoulder (via Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat). He’ll be shut down from throwing for at least two weeks, and St. Louis doesn’t expect he’ll be ready for MLB action until late May or early June.

Reyes, who served as St. Louis’ primary closer last season, has dealt with a few arm issues in prior years. Various injuries, including a February 2017 Tommy John procedure, limited him to 72 2/3 big league frames between 2016-20. He avoided the IL last season, but he’s seemingly in line to miss the first six-plus weeks of this year. While he’s out, pitchers like Giovanny Gallegos, Genesis Cabrera and Ryan Helsley could be bumped up a peg in the high-leverage pecking order.

Carter Kieboom To Miss At Least 4-6 Weeks With Forearm Injury

By Mark Polishuk | March 20, 2022 at 3:15pm CDT

TODAY: Kieboom told Jessica Camerato and other reporters that in the “best-case scenario,” he will miss four-to-six weeks of action. A more specific timeline will be known when the additional tests are done.

MARCH 19: Nationals third baseman Carter Kieboom underwent an MRI on his sore throwing elbow today that revealed a flexor mass strain in his right forearm, manager Davey Martinez told MLB.com’s Jessica Camerato and other reporters. It isn’t clear how much time Kieboom will miss, as the 24-year-old is continuing to undergo more tests.

Kieboom is entering his fourth MLB season, though the former 28th overall pick has yet to make an impact at the big league level. Kieboom has hit only .197/.304/.285 in 414 plate appearances, making for an inauspicious start for a player who was considered one of the sport’s top 15 prospects heading into the 2020 season.

Of course, the unusual nature of both the 2020 and 2021 seasons surely haven’t helped Kieboom’s development, not to mention the simple fact that many players (even top prospects) take a while to adjust to the majors. It is far too early for the Nats to give up on such a highly-touted youngster, even if Kieboom’s lack of power has now seemed to carry into his minor league numbers. Kieboom hit only .237/.376/.385 over 181 PA at Triple-A last season, after posting much higher slugging percentages in his first four minor league seasons.

While Kieboom had some big shoes to fill as Anthony Rendon’s heir apparent at third base, Kieboom’s lack of production has limited his playing time, and now this injury will cost him at least some time at the start of the 2022 season. Even if Kieboom is able to avoid a trip to the injured list, he’ll need some more time in the minors or in extended Spring Training to make up for the lost prep time, thus opening up a hole at the hot corner in Washington’s Opening Day lineup.

Barring a future transaction from the Nationals, Maikel Franco is probably the likeliest candidate to fill that spot. Franco inked a minors deal with the District in December, as he was a minor league free agent and thus eligible to sign during the lockout. A former top prospect himself on his way up the Phillies’ minor league ladder, Franco had a nice 2015 rookie season but has since hit .244/.294/.419 over 2792 PA with the Phillies, Royals, and Orioles.

Utilityman Ehire Adrianza could also get some third base time in the event of a Kieboom IL stint, and other minor league signings like Richard Urena or even Dee Strange-Gordon could potentially get some looks. Top prospect Luis Garcia is being used only as a shortstop and second baseman during Spring Training, MASNsports.com’s Mark Zuckerman writes, and neither Garcia nor current starting shortstop Alcides Escobar seem like a third base candidate.

Braves Discussed Craig Kimbrel Trade With White Sox

By Darragh McDonald | March 20, 2022 at 2:43pm CDT

The Atlanta Braves recently discussed a Craig Kimbrel trade with the White Sox, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, before the Braves signed Kenley Jansen. That one-year, $16MM deal for Jansen is an exact match for the one-year and $16MM remaining on Kimbrel’s contract, which perhaps suggests that Atlanta’s pursuit of Kimbrel is no longer in the cards.

Even before last year’s playoffs were finished, the writing seemed to be on the wall for Kimbrel and the White Sox. Reports at that time stated that the club’s plan was to pick up Kimbrel’s $16MM option and then trade him in the winter. With Liam Hendriks already present as an elite closer, Kimbrel was seen as surplus to requirements. Prior to the lockout, the club further bolstered their bullpen with the signing of Kendall Graveman, seemingly only increasing the odds of a Kimbrel trade. During the lockout, MLBTR listed him as one of the players most likely to be dealt in the post-lockout period.

However, after ten days of post-lockout frenzy and with Opening Day just over two weeks away, Kimbrel is still on the roster. The club also added yet another hard-throwing reliever recently, signing Joe Kelly to a two-year, $17MM deal.

Although the clock is ticking, there are still reasons to think Kimbrel could eventually be moved. The White Sox are currently projected for a payroll of $194MM, per Jason Martinez of Roster Resource. That’s miles beyond the club’s record for an Opening Day number, which was last year’s $129MM, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts. Between Hendriks, Kimbrel, Graveman and Kelly, they have over $44MM devoted to four relievers this year. While they could just roll into the season trying to have a super bullpen, it still seems more likely that they look to subtract Kimbrel’s salary from the ledger. The Blue Jays were recently reported to have checked in on Kenley Jansen. With Jansen now signed to the Braves, perhaps the Jays and any unknown Jansen suitors could now pivot to a Kimbrel deal instead.

Mariners Sign Ryan Buchter To Minors Deal

By Darragh McDonald | March 20, 2022 at 1:40pm CDT

The Mariners have signed left-handed pitcher Ryan Buchter to a minor league deal, per Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. The southpaw has been invited to big league camp.

Buchter, 35, has 285 MLB games under his belt, having taken the mound for the Braves, Padres, Royals, Athletics, Angels and Diamondbacks. At the end of the 2019 season, he had a career ERA of 2.86, but was somewhat surprisingly non-tendered by the A’s. Although he kept his ERA to 2.98 that year, his walk rate climbed up to 11.6% and he also had an unsustainable 91.4% strand rate, evidently concerning the club enough that they cut ties.

He made the Angels’ roster in 2020 but was optioned to the team’s alternate training site. Due to the pandemic wiping out the minor league season, he was only able to pitch six innings on the year. In 2021, he bounced on and off the D-Backs roster, throwing 16 1/3 fairly ineffective innings in the majors. His ERA was 6.61, along with a 20.5% strikeout rate and alarming 16.7% walk rate. He was much better in 16 Triple-A innings last year, however, logging an ERA of 3.38 with a 29% strikeout rate and 10.1% walk rate.

The Mariners are a bit thin on lefties, with Anthony Misiewicz and Justus Sheffield the only two on the 40-man roster that are projected to be both healthy and in the bullpen to start the year. With Buchter around, they’ll have a veteran fallback option. Despite his age, he has less than five years of MLB service time, meaning he could be retained for another year if he can regain his pre-2020 form and earn a roster spot.

Braves Sign Brad Brach, Nick Vincent To Minor League Deals

By Darragh McDonald | March 20, 2022 at 1:16pm CDT

The Braves have added right-handers Brad Brach and Nick Vincent on minor league deals with invitations to big league camp, per Bill Shanks of SportsRadio WXKO. (Twitter links)

Brach, 36 next month, has pitched in the past 11 MLB seasons. However, his effectiveness has dropped in recent years, as he hasn’t posted an ERA under 5.00 since 2018. In the past three years, he’s appeared in 107 games, putting up an ERA of 5.77. His 24.4% strikeout rate in that time was above average, but he paired that with an unfortunate 14.4% walk rate. Last year, he threw 30 innings for the Reds, but was released in September with an ERA of 6.30 on the campaign.

Vincent, 36 in July, has pitched in each of the past ten MLB seasons, never finishing a campaign with an ERA higher than the 4.43 he had in 2019 and 2020. Last year, in 12 2/3 innings for the Twins, he got his ERA all the way down to 0.71. However, that was a tiny sample and largely based on an unsustainable .161 batting average on balls in play, leading every advanced metric to cast doubt on that ERA.

The Braves have been busy bolstering their bullpen in recent days, adding Kenley Jansen, Collin McHugh and Tyler Thornburg. The additions of Brach and Vincent give the club a veteran safety net, should they require one.

Reds To Sign Albert Almora

By Darragh McDonald | March 20, 2022 at 12:41pm CDT

There’s a locker for outfielder Albert Almora in the Reds’ clubhouse, per Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Presumably, he and the club have agreed to a minor league deal.

Almora, turning 28 next month, showed a lot of promise in his first few years with the Cubs. From 2016 to 2018, he hit .289/.326/.413, wRC+ of 96. Combining that average-ish offensive production with his excellent outfield defense, he was worth 2.9 fWAR in 331 games. Unfortunately, his bat has continued to decline, with a wRC+ of 62 in 2019 and 34 in 2020.

The Mets took a $1.25MM flier on Almora last year, but his bat slid even further, as he hit just .115/.148/.173 in the big leagues. However, he showed much more promise in Triple-A last year, hitting .270/.331/.428.

Due to his defense, Almora doesn’t need to hit much to be a useful bench piece for the Reds, though he’ll have to earn his way into a somewhat-crowded mix that includes Tyler Naquin, Nick Senzel, Jake Fraley, Aristides Aquino, Shogo Akiyama and TJ Friedl. Almora has over four years of MLB service time, meaning he can be retained for another season via arbitration if he should earn his way back onto a 40-man roster.

Phillies To Sign Kyle Schwarber

By Steve Adams | March 20, 2022 at 12:40pm CDT

March 20: The Phillies have announced the signing, placing Kent Emanuel on the 60-day IL as a corresponding move. Emanuel went on the IL in June of last year with left elbow while with the Astros and never returned. Claimed by the Phillies in November, it seems he’s not close to being recovered, as the Phils announced that he has a left elbow impingement.

March 16, 11:06am: It’s a four-year, $79MM contract, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman.

8:54am: Schwarber and the Phillies have agreed to a four-year deal with an annual value just shy of $20MM, tweets Jayson Stark of The Athletic.

8:31am: The Phillies have reached an agreement with Schwarber, pending a physical, tweets Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia.

8:21am: The Phillies are “making progress” on a deal with free-agent slugger Kyle Schwarber, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Schwarber had recently been linked to the Blue Jays, but Shi Davidi and Hazel Mae of Sportsnet reported a few minutes ago that the team had become “pessimistic” about its chances of signing Schwarber, believing he was likely to sign elsewhere.

Schwarber, 29, has been one of the most sought-after free agents on the market in the days since MLB’s lockout was lifted — thanks in no small part to the implementation of the universal designated hitter. The longtime Cubs left fielder was non-tendered by Chicago after the 2020 season but parlayed a one-year deal with the Nationals (and a subsequent trade to the Red Sox) into a surefire multi-year deal in his second foray into free agency.

While Schwarber got out to a lukewarm start with the Nats in 2021, he erupted with one of the most prodigious hot streaks in big league history in mid-June. From June 12-29, a span of just 18 games, Schwarber launched a staggering 16 home runs through just 77 plate appearances. That astonishing run was cut short by a hamstring strain that sidelined him for more than a month, but the Red Sox had no qualms about trading for Schwarber even while he was on the injured list.

The Boston front office was surely glad it did so, as Schwarber returned with that same thunder the moment he was activated from the injured list. In 168 plate appearances with the Red Sox down the stretch, he turned in a huge .291/.435/.522 slash with seven homers and 10 doubles as the Red Sox surged to an AL East division title. Schwarber clocked three more home runs during the postseason, including a now-iconic grand slam that keyed a Game 3 ALCS romp over the Astros, but his bat fell quiet thereafter, as he finished out the series in an 0-for-15 funk while the ’Stros came back to topple the Sox.

Slow start to the year notwithstanding, Schwarber hit .266/.374/.554 with a whopping 32 home runs in just 471 plate appearances during the regular season. Add in his postseason efforts, and Schwarber carries a .260/.365/.542 with 35 home runs in 520 plate appearances since the Cubs non-tendered him.

Signing with the Phillies will reunite Schwarber with former Nationals hitting coach Kevin Long, who left the Nats’ staff at season’s end and signed on for a reunion with manager Joe Girardi, under whom he’d previously coached with the Yankees. Long’s presence certainly couldn’t have hurt the Phillies’ efforts to sign Schwarber, and it’s of some note that he’ll now continue working with the same hitting coach who helped coax that career-altering run from him during the ’21 season.

Schwarber’s role with the Phillies depends, to an extent, on the remainder of the team’s moves. While he’ll probably spend some time in left field and at designated hitter regardless, the division of his workload between those two spots hinges on whether the Phils make another clear upgrade in the outfield. At the moment, the Phillies don’t have a clear, everyday option in left field. Bryce Harper is, of course, locked into right field, but the rest of the outfield remains in a state of flux. The Phils brought Odubel Herrera back on a one-year, $1.75MM deal, and he’s joined by Adam Haseley, Mickey Moniak and Luke Williams as outfield options on the roster. Suffice it to say, at least one more newly acquired bat seems likely to join Schwarber in the Opening Day lineup by the time all is said and done.

The scope of any further additions seems likely to be driven by the luxury tax. Phillies owner John Middleton has staunchly resisted exceeding the tax line in the past two seasons, and today’s addition of Schwarber will push the Phils to roughly $216-217MM in luxury obligations, depending on the specifics (hat tip to Roster Resource’s Jason Martinez). That’ll leave the Phils with somewhere in the vicinity of $13-14MM of breathing room to add at least one more outfielder and any other supplemental pieces the front office desires. Teams generally want to leave at least a few million dollars for in-season dealings, so it could be that president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski is dealing with a bit less than that projected $13-14MM.

Of course, additional trades or a simple change of heart with regard to Middleton’s luxury-tax aversion could change the calculus. Dombrowski made clear early in the offseason that shortstop Didi Gregorius would have to earn a starting job after a dismal showing in 2021, and he’s been listed as a speculative candidate to be moved in a change-of-scenery swap. The Phils could also try to dump the contract of outrighted utilityman Scott Kingery on another club as well, which would free up another $4MM in luxury space.

Barring any such trades or philosophical changes in ownership thinking, Dombrowski will be working with some notable financial limitations from here on out. That might mean a shift to the trade market or pursuing some smaller-scale free agents in hopes of securing a bargain. Time will tell just how the front office will proceed, but the addition of Schwarber to a lineup that ranked 15th in the Majors in home runs and 13th in runs scored will provide a notable jolt in production.

Giants To Sign Matthew Boyd

By Steve Adams | March 20, 2022 at 11:30am CDT

March 20: John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle provides the details on the incentives. Boyd will earn an extra $400K for reaching 12, 14 and 16 starts, $500K for 18 starts and $600K for 20 starts.

March 17: The Giants have agreed to a one-year deal with free-agent lefty Matthew Boyd, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. The longtime Tigers hurler will be guaranteed $5.2MM on the contract and can earn an additional $2.3MM via incentives. Boyd is represented by the Boras Corporation.

Boyd, who turned 31 last month, underwent season-ending surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon last September and said in February that he’s targeting an early-June return to a big league mound. He’ll be sidelined for at least the first two months of the season, then, but will give San Francisco a potential midseason boost in the rotation.

At various points in his career, Boyd has shown flashes of brilliance and looked to be on the cusp of breaking out as an upper-echelon starter. He carried a 3.44 ERA through early June last season before an injury knocked him out of a June 14 start. He was sidelined two months, returned to throw eight ineffective innings, and underwent surgery shortly thereafter. The Tigers, knowing he’d miss a significant portion of the 2022 season, opted to non-tender him back in November rather than pay him a final raise in arbitration. The combined $5.2MM base and $2.3MM of incentives on this new contract give Boyd the opportunity to earn roughly the same amount as the $7.3MM at which MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz had projected his 2022 arbitration salary ($7.3MM).

Last year wasn’t the only intriguing and promising stretch of his career, though. In 2019, Boyd had a 3.08 ERA and 2.98 FIP with elite strikeout and walk rates through mid-June, prompting him to be regarded as one of the most sought-after trade candidates on the market that season. He was sitting on a 3.94 ERA, a 3.26 SIERA, a 32.5% strikeout rate and 5.3% walk rate by the time the trade deadline rolled around, but he ultimately remained in Detroit.

Boyd’s ability to miss bats and limit walks has continually intrigued teams, but there tend to be other red flags that offset those promising trends. In 2019, when he ranked ninth in the Majors in strikeout percentage and eighth in K-BB%, he also served up an untenable 1.89 HR/9. This past season, when he tamped down that grisly home run rate all the way to 1.03 HR/9, it came with a huge dip in his strikeout rate.

If the Giants are able to get Boyd’s strikeout, walk and home-run prevention rates all working in sync for the first time in his career, there’s obvious potential for him to finally take that next step. San Francisco has developed a reputation as a club that thrives on coaxing breakouts from talented pitchers in need of a scenery change, and it certainly can’t hurt Boyd to be moving to the spacious Oracle Park (although Detroit’s Comerica Park is hardly a bandbox itself).

The Giants are heading into the season with a starting rotation of Logan Webb, Carlos Rodon, Anthony DeSclafani, Alex Wood and Alex Cobb — a talented and experienced mix that has potential to be one of the game’s more effective quintets. However, Rodon, Wood, Cobb and (to a lesser extent) DeSclafani all have checkered track records of health, so stockpiling depth to support that group is imperative. President of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi, GM Scott Harris and the rest of the front office have begun to do just that in recent days, signing not only Boyd but also former Royals righty Jakob Junis (one year, $1.75MM) and former Cardinals ace Carlos Martinez (minor league deal, $2.5MM base in the Majors).

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