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Minor MLB Transactions: 11/24/21

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Rounding up a few recent minor league signings involving one-time major leaguers, all courtesy of Chris Hilburn-Trenkle of Baseball America:

  • The White Sox have signed outfielder Luis Alexander Basabe. The switch-hitting outfielder was a fairly well-regarded prospect for a good portion of his early minor league career, beginning his career in the Red Sox’s system before going to the White Sox as part of the Chris Sale blockbuster. Basabe, now 25, topped out at Double-A during his first run through the Chicago farm system, making it onto the 40-man roster but never appearing in a big league game with the Pale Hose. The White Sox traded him to the Giants for cash considerations in August 2020, and he made nine big league appearances with San Francisco that year. Basabe was outrighted off the Giants’ 40-man in February and recently elected minor league free agency after spending this year in Double-A.
  • The Padres have signed right-hander Heath Fillmyer. A former fifth-round pick of the Athletics, Fillmyer reached the majors with the Royals in 2018. Between that year and the following season, he tossed 104 2/3 innings of 5.07 ERA/5.10 SIERA ball. The 27-year-old spent the bulk of the 2021 campaign with Cleveland’s top minor league affiliate, working to a 6.18 ERA with a below-average 21.9% strikeout rate and a slightly elevated 10.2% walk percentage across 83 frames with Columbus.
  • Catcher Juan Graterol has landed with the Diamondbacks. The right-handed hitting backstop suited up with the Angels, Twins and Reds between 2016-19, combining to tally 129 plate appearances over those four seasons. Graterol has significantly more experience in Triple-A, where he’s a .280/.321/.344 hitter across parts of seven seasons. The 32-year-old (33 in February) spent the 2021 campaign with the Blue Jays’ top affiliate, hitting .293/.355/.359 with a pair of home runs over 186 plate appearances.

Latest On Kirby Yates

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Former saves leader Kirby Yates is back on the free agent market, with last offseason’s one-year deal with the Blue Jays having wrapped up. That $5.5MM gamble didn’t pan out for Toronto, as Yates suffered a flexor strain that required a March Tommy John surgery. The 34-year-old is expected back at some point midseason in 2022, MLBTR’s Steve Adams confirms, a timeline that seems to align with the typical approximate fourteen-month recovery from TJS.

Ken Rosenthal of Athletic reported yesterday (on Twitter) that Yates is likely to land a two-year contract this offseason. It’s become fairly common to see teams sign pitchers rehabbing from Tommy John procedures to two-year deals, writing off most or all of the first season with an eye towards buying low on a talented arm in year two. Last offseason, the Dodgers and Mariners agreed to deals of this ilk with Tommy Kahnle and Ken Giles, respectively.

In most instances, such deals involve salaries a bit above the league minimum for the first year and a few million dollars above that the following season. There’s not yet any indication about what kind of offers Yates is looking at specifically, although the possibility for a late-season return in 2022 could give him a bit of a boost relative to other similar situations. Assuming his recovery continues as planned, Yates could market two potential stretch runs and postseasons. Kahnle and Giles, on the other hand, were expected to be out for all of 2021 at the time they signed their respective deals.

Yates has barely pitched over the past two seasons on account of elbow issues, so it’s easy to forget how dominant he was at his peak. A late bloomer who bounced around the league on waivers through the first few years of his MLB career, he took his game to a new level upon landing with the Padres in 2017. Between then and the end of 2019, the right-hander pitched to a 2.31 ERA across 179 1/3 innings of relief, striking out a brilliant 38.7% of batters faced while walking just 6.8%. In addition to his aforementioned 2019 saves crown, he was selected to the All-Star game and finished seventh in National League Cy Young award voting that season.

Even as he enters his age-35 season, Yates should still have a decent number of suitors hoping he can recapture some of that late-game dominance. Rosenthal lists the D-Backs as one team with interest, and others likely have entered or will enter the fray over the coming weeks. The Twins and Dodgers were among the clubs known to have interest in Yates during his trip through free agency last winter.

Pirates To Re-Sign Yoshi Tsutsugo

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The Pirates are reportedly re-signing Yoshi Tsutsugo on a one-year, $4MM guarantee. The deal is pending a physical. Tsutsugo is represented by Wasserman.

The Bucs and Tsutsugo have been in contact about a potential extension over the past few weeks, so it’s not a huge surprise they’ve eventually agreed on terms. After stints with the Rays and Dodgers didn’t prove particularly successful, Tsutsugo latched on with the Pirates on a major league deal in mid-August. It was a month-plus trial run with a team already well out of contention, but Pittsburgh could afford to give Tsutsugo everyday playing time down the stretch.

The left-handed hitting first baseman took full advantage, as MLBTR’s Steve Adams explored in late September. Over 144 plate appearances in black and yellow, Tsutsugo hit .268/.347/.535 and popped eight home runs. In addition to tapping into the raw power he’d shown for a decade as one of the better hitters in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, Tsutsugo cut his strikeouts substantially in Pittsburgh. After fanning in 29.4% of his 303 plate appearances with Tampa Bay and Los Angeles from 2020-21, he went down on strikes in only 22.9% of his trips to the dish as a Pirate.

It remains to be seen if that run was a sign that Tsutsugo had turned a corner late in his second major league season. There’s a real chance he can’t sustain that kind of output over more than a 43-game sample, and Tsutsugo’s overall numbers as a big leaguer (.209/.309/.388 in 447 plate appearances) aren’t particularly impressive. At a modest $4MM guarantee, though, there’s little risk for the Pirates in giving the 29-year-old (30 on Friday) an opportunity to try to build off his late-season success over an extended showing. If he continues to perform over next season’s first couple months, the rebuilding Bucs could either look to hammer out a longer-term extension or try to move him at next summer’s trade deadline.

Tsutsugo has experience at both first base and in the corner outfield as a big leaguer. When discussing the possibility of bringing him back last week, Pittsburgh general manager Ben Cherington suggested the club would primarily look to deploy him at first base if a deal came together. Now that an extension has been agreed upon, it seems Tsutsugo is in line to assume regular first base duties next season.

That could make fellow lefty-hitting first baseman Colin Moran superfluous. Moran, who was a league average bat over 359 plate appearances in 2021, is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for a $4MM arbitration salary and could be a non-tender candidate.

Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette first reported the Pirates and Tsutsugo were in agreement on a one-year, $4MM deal.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Brendan McKay Undergoes Thoracic Outlet Surgery

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Rays two-way player Brendan McKay underwent thoracic outlet syndrome decompression surgery yesterday, the team informed reporters (including Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times). He’s expected to begin throwing in early February, and the team remains hopeful he can be ready for mound work by the start of Spring Training. The club added that the focus of his rehab process will be on pitching.

If all goes according to plan, it doesn’t seem this procedure will have an impact on McKay’s health for the start of the 2022 campaign. That said, it’s another unfortunate injury development in a long line of recent health issues. The southpaw missed the shortened 2020 season on account of a shoulder problem that eventually required surgery. That kept him out of action until late June of this year. Just a few outings into a minor league rehab stint, he suffered a flexor strain in his forearm that again proved to be season-ending.

The injuries have limited the former #4 overall draft pick to just 49 MLB innings, all of which came back in 2019. McKay’s situation with the club could be complicated by his roster status, as he’s currently slated to be out of minor league options. In that instance, the team would need to either carry him on the active roster (or major league injured list) all season or risk losing him on waivers. Topkin reported earlier this month that the Rays expect they’ll be granted a fourth option year because of McKay’s repeated injury issues, though. That would allow the team to shuttle him between Tampa and Triple-A Durham through the end of next season.

Pirates To Make Coaching Staff Changes

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NOVEMBER 24: Pittsburgh is promoting field coordinator Mike Rabelo to third base coach, Mackey reports (on Twitter). Rabelo also spent the 2020 season on staff as the Bucs’ assistant hitting coach. Previous third base coach Joey Cora was let go at the end of the season.

NOVEMBER 23: The Pirates are hiring Andy Haines to be their next hitting coach, reports Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh fired previous hitting instructor Rick Eckstein in August.

Haines, 44, has spent the past three seasons as the Brewers’ hitting coach and previously logged one year on the Cubs’ staff as assistant hitting coach. Milwaukee’s offense was a touch below average over the course of Haines’ tenure on staff. Going back to the start of 2019, Brewers’ hitters (excluding pitchers) have a .243/.328/.425 cumulative line. By measure of wRC+, that checks in two percentage points below the league average, ranking 18th of the league’s 30 teams. Milwaukee ranked 19th in that category in 2021 alone.

The Bucs’ front office and manager Derek Shelton are taking far more than the Brewers’ results into account when deciding on additions to the staff, of course. Haines will be tasked with guiding a Pirates lineup that’ll likely have its share of growing pains over the next few seasons. Pittsburgh’s .243/.317/.376 line this past season was 12 points below league average according to wRC+, the third-worst mark leaguewide. Highly-touted young players like Ke’Bryan Hayes and Oneil Cruz are expected to have key roles on the 2022 club, and their respective developments could go a long way towards determining how quickly the Bucs can return to competitiveness.

Steve Cohen Frustrated By Steven Matz Negotiations

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Lefty Steven Matz is headed to the Cardinals on a four-year deal, pending a physical — the culmination of what appeared to be a rather competitive market for his services. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reported in the leadup to Matz’s decision that eight teams had made offers, and some details on those offers have begun to trickle out. Jon Morosi of MLB.com tweets that the Blue Jays made a three-year offer to retain Matz. Heyman lists the Jays, Red Sox, Cubs and Mets as finalists.

Grabbing the most headlines in the morning hours after Matz’s decision, however, was Mets owner Steve Cohen’s displeasure with the manner in which the free-agent bidding drew to a close. Cohen, never afraid to speak his mind on social media, blasted agent Rob Martin of Icon Sports this morning via Twitter: “I’m not happy this morning. I’ve never seen such unprofessional behavior exhibited by a player’s agent. I guess words and promises don’t matter.”

In a follow-up with Joel Sherman of the New York Post (Twitter thread), Cohen made clear that his frustration lied with the agents and not Matz himself. However, Cohen and the Mets were under the impression Matz’s camp would circle back one final time before accepting an offer elsewhere, which didn’t happen. Heyman tweets that the Mets would have matched the four-year, $44MM offer from St. Louis but were never afforded the opportunity.

“Most relationships I have had with agents have been wonderful,” Cohen tells Sherman. “The conversations have been good, they really have been. But here this was different. This was something so over the line. I can’t imagine what the agent was thinking in the context of how they reached out to us and the reasons they wanted to come back. I have ever (sic) had an agent do that before with me.”

Martin initially declined comment but eventually, as Cohen’s comments continued to mount, issued a statement of his own (Twitter link via The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal):

“We are aware of Mr. Cohen’s tweet. It’s unfortunate that he chose to take his frustrations to Twitter. I will not do the same and instead will take the high road which is consistent with both my character and the character of our client. Steven Matz grew up a Mets fan, loved his time there, and continues to invest in the New York Community through his efforts supporting NY’s First Responders. As a result of all that, there was a strong pull to return to the Mets. But ultimately he made the decision he felt was best for him and his family. Steven is and always will be grateful to the Mets and Mets fans, but he now looks forward to his next chapter with the tremendous franchise in St. Louis.”

Some may wonder about possible long-term ramifications of the spat, but Martin tells Sherman that he called Cohen to speak to him not long after this morning’s tweet. Martin suggested that tension was lessened and that his agency and Matz hold no grudge toward the Mets organization.

Pirates Outright Michael Perez

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The Pirates announced this afternoon that catcher Michael Pérez has cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A Indianapolis (via Rob Biertempfel of the Athletic). He’ll have the right to refuse that assignment in favor of minor league free agency.

The Bucs designated Pérez for assignment last week in order to open 40-man roster space for prospects whom they didn’t want to leave available in the Rule 5 draft. That could end his Pittsburgh tenure after just one season, as Pérez joined the organization after the 2020 campaign via waiver claim from the Rays. The 29-year-old tallied 231 plate appearances as Jacob Stallings’ primary back-up, hitting just .143/.221/.290 with seven home runs.

Pérez hasn’t hit much over his four-season MLB career, owning just a .181/.253/.302 cumulative line. He’s rated as a slightly below-average pitch framer, per Statcast, but his career 26.8% caught stealing rate is almost three percentage points higher than this year’s league average mark.

Diamondbacks Claim Kyle Nelson From Guardians

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The Diamondbacks have claimed reliever Kyle Nelson off waivers from the Guardians, per announcements from both teams. Cleveland also announced that outfielder Daniel Johnson, right-hander Justin Garza and left-hander Alex Young have all cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Columbus. Arizona’s 40-man roster is now full.

Nelson has briefly appeared in the majors in each of the past two seasons. He’s tallied just 10 1/3 combined innings, allowing fourteen runs with nine walks and eight strikeouts. The southpaw has struggled to a 5.26 ERA in 37 2/3 career frames at the Triple-A level as well, but he’d kept runs off the board and punched out batters in droves up through Double-A.

During his limited MLB time, Nelson leaned primarily on a cutter and slider mix. He averaged just under 89 MPH on the cutter and worked in the low-80s with his slider, relying more on movement than velocity. The D-Backs have almost no certainty in the bullpen, as they’re not returning a single reliever who tossed 20+ innings with a SIERA below 4.00 this past season. There should be an opportunity for Nelson to compete for a role in Spring Training, if he sticks on the 40-man roster all winter. He still has a pair of minor league option years remaining, so the D-Backs could shuttle him between Phoenix and Triple-A Reno through 2023 as long as he remains on the 40-man.

Each of Johnson, Garza and Young was designated for assignment last Friday, as Cleveland somewhat remarkably overturned around one quarter of their 40-man roster before the deadline to keep prospects from being eligible for the Rule 5 draft. The Guardians also traded Harold Ramírez and J.C. Mejia (to the Cubs and Brewers, respectively), while losing Scott Moss on waivers to the Phillies.

Johnson has been a fairly well-regarded prospect during his days in the Nationals and Cleveland farm systems, but he hasn’t hit well over his first 94 big league plate appearances. He’ll remain in the organization as non-roster depth and hope to play his way back into an uncertain Guardians’ outfield mix next spring.

Garza and Young logged some big league time in the bullpen this past season, with Young coming over from the D-Backs as a waiver claim in July. Garza pitched to a 4.71 ERA/4.79 SIERA across 28 2/3 innings; Young worked 10 1/3 innings of 7.84 ERA/6.24 SIERA ball with Cleveland. Both hurlers have ample starting experience during their pro careers as well.

Phillies Claim Scott Moss From Guardians

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The Phillies announced they’ve claimed left-hander Scott Moss off waivers from the Guardians. The 27-year-old was one of seven players Cleveland designated for assignment last week. The Phils’ 40-man roster is now full.

Moss has yet to make his major league debut. A former fourth-round pick of the Reds, the southpaw has appeared on the back two-thirds of Cincinnati and Cleveland organizational top 30 prospects lists at Baseball America in each of the past four seasons. Entering 2021, BA wrote that Moss can run his fastball up to 94 MPH and has a plus slider but inconsistent control.

His minor league numbers largely reflect that profile, as Moss has typically run strong strikeout rates but issued far too many walks. The 6’6″ southpaw has a 3.13 ERA in 112 Double-A frames and a 4.62 mark over 39 innings at Triple-A. At the minors’ top level, he’s fanned an impressive 30% of opponents but also doled out free passes at an alarming 13.3% clip. While Moss has worked almost exclusively as a starting pitcher to this point in his pro career, those control woes could hint at a big league future in the bullpen. He has one minor league option year remaining, meaning the Phils can keep him at Triple-A Lehigh Valley through the end of next season so long as he remains on their 40-man roster.

Twins Release Willians Astudillo, Outright Charlie Barnes

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Twins utilityman Willians Astudillo cleared release waivers and is now a free agent, per a team announcement. Left-hander Charlie Barnes, meanwhile, went unclaimed on outright waivers and has been assigned to Triple-A St. Paul. He’ll remain with the club but will no longer require a 40-man roster spot. Both players were designated for assignment Friday.

Astudillo, 30, made his big league debut with the Twins back in 2018 and has since displayed an uncommon skill set and fairly rare level of defensive versatility. “La Tortuga” has played every position on the diamond, with the exception of shortstop. Astudillo worked as a catcher and corner infielder with the Phillies in his early days as a prospect and has continued to add more positions to his defensive profile. He’s not considered a plus defender anywhere, but Astudillo embodies the “jack of all trades, master of none” profile quite well.

More interesting is Astudillo’s unorthodox skill set at the plate. As free a swinger as there is in the game, the right-handed-hitting Astudillo also possesses uncanny bat-to-ball skills. He’s struck out just 25 times in 533 career plate appearances (4.7%), but his frequent hacking has led to an even smaller 1.9% walk rate. Astudillo has a bit of raw power, but he swings so early and so often, with such high contact rates, that he rarely finds himself in position to get a pitch to drive. Since 2018 (min. 500 plate appearances), Astudillo has the third-highest swing rate (60.1%) of any player in baseball and the second-highest contact rate (91.5%) — trailing only his now-former teammate Luiz Arraez in that regard.

Astudillo was arbitration-eligible and projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn a $1.2MM salary in 2022. Coming off a .236/.259/.375 slash in 216 plate appearances, however, it seems the Twins preferred not to allocate those dollars or a 40-man roster spot to him — particularly with so many prospects needing to be added to the 40-man roster. (Minnesota selected six players Friday.) Astudillo can now sign with any team.

The 26-year-old Barnes is a former fourth-rounder who made his big league debut out of necessity to help soak up some innings in an injury-ruined season for the Twins. He was clobbered for a 5.92 ERA while striking out just 20 of the 175 batters he faced, however. Barnes is a strike-throwing changeup artist whose fastball averaged just 89.9 mph in the Majors. However, he did managed a solid 3.79 ERA with a 19.1% strikeout rate and a 7.4% walk rate in 76 innings at the Triple-A level. He’ll stick with the organization for now and hope for another opportunity in 2022. As it stands, the Twins have a perilously thin mix of starting options, but Minnesota is expected to add several starters this winter.

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