Red Sox Select Tyler Danish, Place Chris Sale On 60-Day Injured List
The Red Sox announced this afternoon they’ve selected reliever Tyler Danish to the big league roster. In order to open space on the 40-man roster, seven-time All-Star Chris Sale has been placed on the 60-day injured list.
Danish, 27, will be returning to the majors for the first time in four years. A former second-round pick of the White Sox, he suited up for the South Siders each season from 2016-18. He only tallied 13 innings during that time, allowing seven runs with 11 strikeouts against 13 walks. Chicago outrighted him off the 40-man roster in September 2018. The right-hander went on to spend time in the Mariners and Angels systems on minor league deals but didn’t make it to the big leagues with either club.
Despite not seeing any MLB time in Orange County, Danish had a nice 2021 campaign in the Angels system. He worked 70 1/3 innings over 32 appearances, frequently pitching multiple innings out of the bullpen. Along the way, he posted a 3.84 ERA while striking out an impressive 26.8% of opponents against a minuscule 5.1% walk percentage. That earned Danish a non-roster invite to big league Spring Training with the Red Sox. He’s thrown six innings of one-run ball during exhibition play, evidently impressing Sox brass along the way.
To make room for Danish, Boston officially rules out their ace until at least early June. It’s a disappointing but not especially surprising development. Sale was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his rib in mid-March, an injury that was always expected to keep him from throwing for weeks. The southpaw has still yet to begin throwing, and he’ll need plenty of time between when he first picks up a ball and when he’s ready for big league action.
Sale will need weeks to build arm strength via a throwing program, then he’ll assuredly have to embark upon a minor league rehab assignment. Given that timetable, it makes sense the Boston front office didn’t consider it possible for him to make it back for a couple months. With Sale out, the Red Sox look likely to open the season with a rotation of Nathan Eovaldi, Nick Pivetta, Tanner Houck, Rich Hill and Michael Wacha. Danish and Kutter Crawford — who was informed this morning he’d be on the Opening Day roster (link via Ian Browne of MLB.com) — are on hand as swing options.
{Related: view the transcript of Danish’s February chat with MLBTR readers}
Three Free Agents Suspended 80 Games After Testing Positive For PED
Major League Baseball announced this afternoon that three players — reliever Richard Rodríguez, utilityman Danny Santana and infielder José Rondón — have each been suspended for 80 games after testing positive for the performance-enhancing substance Boldenone. All three are currently free agents. PED testing had been suspended during the lockout, but Jared Diamond of the Wall Street Journal reports (0n Twitter) that the trio tested positive before the work stoppage.
Rodríguez was one of the higher-profile remaining free agents, and today’s suspension offers insight into why he’s yet to sign. The 32-year-old isn’t far removed from being an excellent late-game option for the Pirates. Over three and a half seasons in Pittsburgh, he posted a 2.98 ERA in 196 1/3 innings of relief. Along the way, he punched out a strong 27.2% of batters faced while walking just 6.5% of opponents.
The rebuilding Bucs traded Rodríguez to the Braves at this past summer’s trade deadline. The 32-year-old’s performance dipped at the end of the year. While he managed a respectable 3.12 ERA in 26 innings as a Brave, he surrounded six home runs and struck out only nine batters in that time. Atlanta non-tendered Rodríguez at the end of the year. The Pirates were reported to have interest in a reunion in December, but it stands to reason the failed PED test put a damper on that pursuit.
Santana, 31, has appeared in the majors in each of the last eight seasons. Known for his speed and defensive versatility, the switch-hitting Santana has mixed in some solid showings at the plate but has an up-and-down overall track record. He’s coming off a tough year in which he hit just .181/.252/.345 with five homers and four steals over 38 games with the Red Sox.
Rondón has played in parts of four seasons, never tallying more than 157 plate appearances in a year. A right-handed hitting utility infielder, he owns a .216/.274/.353 slash in 380 career trips to the dish. Rondón had a respectable .263/.322/.413 showing in limited playing time with the Cardinals last season, but St. Louis non-tendered him in November.
Out Of Options 2022
Every spring at MLBTR, we publish a list of players who are out of minor league options and, thusly, cannot be sent to the minor leagues without first clearing outright waivers. Option status is particularly relevant as teams set their rosters prior to Opening Day, given that a lack of minor league options is often a key reason a certain player will make the roster over another who had a superior spring performance (or, as with yesterday’s Blue Jays/White Sox trade, can be a contributing factor in a trade).
The following is a list of all 40-man players throughout the league with fewer than five years of service time — players with more than five years of service can refuse an optional assignment — and no minor league options remaining. We’ve included players who have signed extensions or multi-year deals, even though they’re often less likely to be optioned.
Angels
- Jaime Barria, RHP
- Mike Mayers, RHP
- Jose Quijada, LHP
- Tyler Wade, INF
Athletics
- Domingo Acevedo, RHP
- Austin Allen, C
- Paul Blackburn, RHP
- Skye Bolt, OF
- Deolis Guerra, RHP
- Brent Honeywell Jr., RHP
- Tony Kemp, 2B
- Frankie Montas, RHP
Blue Jays
- Ryan Borucki, LHP
- Trevor Richards, RHP
- Raimel Tapia, OF
Braves
- Orlando Arcia, INF
- Tyler Matzek, LHP
- Sean Newcomb, LHP
Brewers
- Trevor Gott, RHP
- Adrian Houser, RHP
- Pedro Severino, C
- Tyrone Taylor, OF
- Rowdy Tellez, 1B
Cardinals
- Aaron Brooks, RHP
- Edmundo Sosa, INF
- Drew VerHagen, RHP
Cubs
- Michael Hermosillo, OF
- Alec Mills, RHP
- Rafael Ortega, OF
Diamondbacks
- Sergio Alcantara, INF
- Noe Ramirez, RHP
- Christian Walker, 1B
- J.B. Wendelken, RHP
Dodgers
- Evan Phillips, RHP
Giants
- Tyler Beede, RHP
- Mauricio Dubon, INF/OF
- Thairo Estrada, INF
- Jarlin Garcia, LHP
- Darin Ruf, 1B/OF
- LaMonte Wade Jr., 1B/OF
Guardians
- Logan Allen, LHP
- Bobby Bradley, 1B
- Yu Chang, INF
- Anthony Gose, LHP
- Luke Maile, C
- Oscar Mercado, OF
- Bradley Zimmer, OF
Mariners
- Chris Flexen, RHP
- Marco Gonzales, LHP
- Tom Murphy, C
- Casey Sadler, RHP
- Paul Sewald, RHP
- Luis Torrens, C
Marlins
- Steven Okert, LHP
- Jacob Stallings, C
Mets
- Tomas Nido, C
- Sean Reid-Foley, RHP
- Joely Rodriguez, LHP
Nationals
- Erick Fedde, RHP
- Patrick Murphy, RHP
- Tanner Rainey, RHP
- Austin Voth, RHP
Orioles
- Kelvin Gutierrez, 3B
- Jorge Lopez, RHP
- Jorge Mateo, INF/OF
- Cionel Perez, LHP
- Ramon Urias, INF
Padres
- Austin Adams, RHP
- Jorge Alfaro, C/OF
- Javy Guerra, RHP
- Pierce Johnson, RHP
- Nick Martinez, RHP
Phillies
- James Norwood, RHP
Pirates
- Anthony Alford, OF
- Greg Allen, OF
- Anthony Banda, LHP
- Dillon Peters, LHP
- Chris Stratton, RHP
- Duane Underwood Jr., RHP
- Josh VanMeter, 2B/OF
- Daniel Vogelbach, 1B
Rangers
- Albert Abreu, RHP
- Dennis Santana, RHP
Rays
- JT Chargois, RHP
- Ji-Man Choi, 1B
- Brett Phillips, OF
- Brooks Raley, LHP
- Harold Ramirez, OF
Red Sox
- Christian Arroyo, 2B
- Austin Davis, LHP
- Nick Pivetta, RHP
Reds
- Aristides Aquino, OF
- Luis Cessa, RHP
- Jeff Hoffman, RHP
- Lucas Sims, RHP
Rockies
- Yonathan Daza, OF
- Antonio Senzatela, RHP
- Robert Stephenson, RHP
Royals
- Amir Garrett, LHP
- Adalberto Mondesi, INF
- Joel Payamps, RHP
Tigers
- Jeimer Candelario, 3B
- Dustin Garneau, C
- Eric Haase, C
Twins
- Jharel Cotton, RHP
- Nick Gordon, INF/OF
- Gio Urshela, 3B/SS
White Sox
- Micker Adolfo, OF
- Reynaldo Lopez, RHP
- Reese McGuire, C
- Jose Ruiz, RHP
- Seby Zavala, C
Yankees
- Kyle Higashioka, C
- Clay Holmes, RHP
- Lucas Luetge, LHP
Jake Lamb, Kevin Pillar Will Open Season In Triple-A With Dodgers
The Dodgers reassigned several non-roster invitees to minor league camp today, including Jake Lamb, Kevin Pillar, Tony Wolters, Shane Greene, Reyes Moronta, Tomas Telis, Stefen Romero and Eddy Alvarez.
While many minor league deals for veterans contain out clauses if they don’t make the roster, Lamb will remain with the Dodgers, per MLB.com’s Juan Toribio (Twitter link). His minor league deal does have out clauses in both May and July, Toribio adds. Similarly, The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya tweets that Pillar passed on his first opt-out opportunity (April 2) but has other opt-out chances later in the deal.
Lamb had a huge Spring Training, going 9-for-27 with a pair of homers and three doubles, but his bid to make the roster as a corner bat off the bench will come up a bit short, at least initially. Los Angeles is going with a short three-man bench to begin the season, deferring to a slate of 16 pitchers at least early on in the wake of an abbreviated Spring Training.
Pillar, meanwhile, signed a bit later and had just two hits in 18 plate appearances, albeit one of them being a home run. He, in particular, seems like a candidate to eventually get a look as a bench option for the Dodgers, who don’t look as though they’ll carry a traditional fourth outfielder alongside backup catcher Austin Barnes, utility infielder Hanser Alberto and infielder/outfielder Edwin Rios. The recent trade of AJ Pollock thinned out the outfield mix in L.A., likely leaving Rios and infielder Gavin Lux as the backup options to Mookie Betts, Cody Bellinger and Chris Taylor across the outfield.
It’s not yet clear whether all of the players who were reassigned today will stick with the team and head to the minors, though it’s common this time of year to see veterans on non-roster deals return to the open market or, in some instances, be traded to another club that has a more clear opening for their services.
Mets To Select Chasen Shreve
Veteran left-handed reliever Chasen Shreve has been informed that he’ll make the Mets’ Opening Day roster, Shreve himself tells Tim Healey of Newsday (Twitter link). Shreve signed a minor league deal back on March 17.
This’ll be Shreve’s second stint with the Mets, and it’s a well-earned roster spot for the 31-year-old southpaw, who rattled off four hitless innings with six strikeouts against just one walk allowed during Grapefruit League play with the Mets. Following yesterday’s trade for Joely Rodriguez, Shreve gives new manager Buck Showalter a pair of experienced lefties to help balance out his bullpen.
Shreve spent the 2021 season in Pittsburgh, where he worked to a 3.20 ERA in 56 1/3 innings. However, Shreve also saw his typically strong strikeout rate (career 27.1% prior to 2021) drop to 19.1%, while his 11.9% walk rate was the third-highest mark of his eight-year big league career. The Pirates could’ve retained him via arbitration but instead chose to outright him after the season rather than pay him a raise on last year’s $1.5MM salary.
Shreve’s prior stint with the Mets was a successful one, as he tossed 25 frames during the shortened 2020 season and worked to a 3.96 ERA with a much more robust 33.3% strikeout rate. The Mets will surely hope there’s more of that bat-missing prowess on display in 2022, but so long as he notches something in the vicinity of his career 3.63 ERA (285 innings), they’ll surely be pleased with what already looks like a solid low-risk pickup.
Shreve isn’t your typical lefty specialist with gaudy platoon splits; he hasn’t dominated left-handed opponents in his career but also hasn’t been overmatched by right-handers like so many southpaws. Through 482 plate appearances, lefties have batted .222/.319/.405 against Shreve, while right-handers have posted a very similar .226/.316/.428 slash in a larger sample of 741 plate appearances. Shreve will reach six years of Major League service early this year, so when the 2022 season ends, he’ll be eligible for free agency.
Blue Jays Release Greg Bird
The Blue Jays have released first baseman Greg Bird from his minor league contract, reports Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet (Twitter link). Toronto gave “strong” consideration to carrying Bird on the roster, Nicholson-Smith adds, but ultimately the Jays will go in a different direction with their Opening Day 28-man roster.
Bird, 29, had a strong spring showing in Dunedin, hitting .261/.393/.565 with a pair of homers, a double, five walks and five strikeouts in 28 trips to the plate. That performance comes on the heels of a .267/.362/.532 batting line with 27 home runs in 461 plate appearances with the Rockies’ Triple-A affiliate last season.
There’s never been too much doubt that Bird has the ability to hit. He was at one point viewed as a possible long-term option at first base for the Yankees, and understandably so after a .261/.343/.529 batting line and 11 home runs in 178 plate appearances as a rookie in 2015. Injuries, however, have taken their toll on Bird over the years and caused him to miss substantial amounts of time. Shoulder surgery wiped out his entire 2016 campaign, and when he returned in Spring Training the following year, Bird fouled a ball off his ankle that resulted in an injury which eventually required surgery. A year later, that same ankle required a second surgery, and in 2019, he developed plantar fasciitis in his other foot and missed the bulk of the season.
Bird’s huge rookie showing, his career .277/.365/.530 slash line in Triple-A, and this year’s brief but impressive spring performance with the Jays all serve as a reminder of the upside he has at the plate. It’s quite possible he’ll draw interest from another team in need of some help at first base and/or designated hitter. Nicholson-Smith does note that there’s some chance of the Jays re-signing Bird to a new minor league deal, but he’ll of course have the opportunity to talk to all 29 other clubs now as well.
Any team that does pick him up could technically control him not only for the 2022 season but also through 2023 via arbitration, though he’d first need to make the big league roster at some point and hold a spot through season’s end.
Julio Rodriguez Makes Mariners’ Opening Day Roster
Julio Rodriguez didn’t give the Mariners much of a choice. The team announced Monday that the 21-year-old outfielder, who is near-universally ranked among MLB’s top three prospects, has made its Opening Day roster.
Rodriguez obliterated Cactus League pitching, appearing in a dozen games and slashing .419/.471/.839 with three home runs and four doubles through 34 trips to the plate. He tacked on three stolen bases in four attempts, also flashing his wheels when he circled the bases on an inside-the-park home run, and drew three walks against nine strikeouts.
The massive spring showing comes on the heels of a similarly explosive minor league campaign in 2021. Playing the entire season at age 20 — he turned 21 in December — Rodriguez split the year between Class-A Advanced and Double-A, slashing a combined .347/.441/.560 with 13 home runs, 19 doubles, two triples and 21 stolen bases in just 340 plate appearances. (Rodriguez missed time during the regular season to suit up for the Dominican Republic in the Olympics.)
With just 46 Double-A games under his belt, the Mariners might’ve had a defensible case to keep Rodriguez down in the minors to begin the season had he shown any sign of struggles in camp. But with such a blistering performance in the Cactus League and perhaps in part thanks to the new Prospect Promotion Incentives in the 2021-26 collective bargaining agreement, he’ll instead leapfrog the Triple-A level entirely and get the chance to prove he’s ready to face the sport’s very best pitchers.
Rodriguez figures to join an outfield rotation that also includes offseason acquisition Jesse Winker, veteran right fielder Mitch Haniger and another touted, hopeful building block in Jarred Kelenic. Rodriguez figures to see the bulk of playing time in center field during the early portion of his career, though both Kelenic and Haniger have experience there as well. It’s a talented outfield group has sky-high offensive potential, though both Rodriguez and Kelenic will need to prove that they’re able to handle big league pitching at such young ages. Thus far at least, Rodriguez has been up to the task at virtually every step of his professional career.
Scouting reports on Rodriguez gush over his potential not just to emerge as the face of the Mariners but one of the best players in all of MLB. Baseball America touts Rodriguez’s 80-grade raw power (on the 20-80 scale) and places 70 grades on both his hit tool and his in-game power, noting that while his most impressive long balls are to the pull-side, he can hit the ball out of the park to all fields “with shocking ease.” The Athletic’s Keith Law calls him a potential “long-term cleanup hitter who’ll challenge for MVP awards with 30-40 homers, high OBPs and, at least, solid defense in right field.” Superlatives of this nature are easy to find, as scouts and talent evaluators all agree that Rodriguez looks every bit like a star in the making.
Whether that translates immediately remains to be seen, of course, and for all the lofty expectations placed on Rodriguez, it’s worth recalling that not every ballyhooed prospect hits the ground running. Mike Trout hit .220/.281/.390 in 40 games as a rookie. Ronald Acuna Jr. had a .742 OPS through his first 42 games. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was five percent better than league-average with the bat as a rookie in 2019. The mere fact that Rodriguez is ranked so highly that he can even be mentioned alongside talents of that nature is impressive in and of itself, but not every top prospect breaks down the big league door and thrusts himself into MVP conversation from the jump, a la Juan Soto.
If Rodriguez is indeed in the Majors to stay, he’ll remain under club control all the way through the 2027 season. He’d reach arbitration after the 2024 season, although it’s quite possible that via the newly implemented bonus pool for pre-arbitration players, he’ll boost his earnings beyond the standard minimum (or close to it) levels for pre-arb players. That’ll depend on Rodriguez’s overall performance and his finish in Awards voting over the next few seasons. If he fares well, it’s also possible that the Mariners will be awarded some bonus selections in future drafts, under the previously mentioned “prospect promotion incentives” put in place under the new CBA.
All that aside, Rodriguez’s immediate promotion to the big leagues is cause for Mariners fans to celebrate. Expectations surrounding the club have rapidly escalated in recent years, due in no small part to last year’s 90-win season and a vaunted farm system headlined by their new Opening Day center fielder. The hope of both the team and fans alike will be that Rodriguez can play a pivotal role in snapping what has become the longest playoff drought not only in MLB but in the NBA, NFL and NHL. The last time the Mariners made the playoffs, Rodriguez had not yet celebrated his first birthday. If the Mariners indeed break through into October baseball this year, there’s a good chance that Rodriguez will have played a considerable role — but for now, fans can simply look forward to getting their first look at a potential franchise cornerstone just over 72 hours from now.
Hector Gomez of Z101 Deportes first reported the news a few minutes before Seattle’s formal announcement (Twitter link).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Twins Sign Chance Sisco To Minor League Deal
The Twins announced that they’ve signed catcher Chance Sisco to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A St. Paul. He’ll replenish some of the catching depth they stand to lose with this morning’s DFA of Jose Godoy (though it’s possible Godoy will clear waivers and join Sisco with the Saints).
A second-round pick by the Orioles back in 2013, Sisco was long viewed as the heir-apparent to Matt Wieters in Baltimore. From 2016-18, Sisco was generally regarded as one of the sport’s 100 best prospects. His 2016 season, in particular, stood out as he reached Triple-A as a 21-year-old and batted a combined .317/.403/.430 in 497 plate appearances between Double-A and Triple-A. Sisco made his big league debut late in the 2017 season and went 6-for-18 with a pair of homers and a pair of doubles, and the future indeed seemed quite bright at that point.
However, Sisco struggled through subsequent seasons, and the O’s never really gave him a full season to audition for the everyday job behind the plate. He appeared in parts of five seasons with the Orioles but never reached 200 plate appearances. Strikeouts have been a huge problem for Sisco at the big league level (32.2%), though he’s also walked at a strong 10.2% clip. Overall, the now-27-year-old Sisco has had 608 plate appearances scattered across those five Major League seasons and posted a .197/.317/.337 line. He’s fared quite a bit better in Triple-A, where he has a .256/.345/.421 output in 906 trips to the plate.
The Twins are set to open the season with 24-year-old Ryan Jeffers (a former second-round pick and top-100 prospect himself) and offseason acquisition Gary Sanchez as their two primary options behind the plate. Based on Sisco’s experience, it seems likely that he would be the next man up in the event of an injury. That could change, depending on whether Godoy clears waivers and remains with the organization.
Twins Select Danny Coulombe, Designate Jose Godoy For Assignment
The Twins have informed left-hander Danny Coulombe that he’s made the team and formally selected his contract to the 40-man roster, tweets Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. In a corresponding move, Minnesota has designated catcher Jose Godoy for assignment.
Coulombe, 32, is in his third season with the Twins organization but is cracking the Opening Day roster for the first time. The well-traveled southpaw has joined the Twins on minor league deals in each of the past three offseasons and has now pitched his way onto the roster for a third straight year. Coulombe tossed 5 2/3 innings of shutout ball this spring, punching out six hitters along the way while allowing just two hits and two walks.
The 2021 Twins used Coulombe quite a bit out of the bullpen (and once as an opener), as he logged 34 1/3 innings of 3.67 ERA ball with a solid 23% strikeout rate and an excellent 5% walk rate. He also tossed 2 2/3 scoreless frames with Minnesota in 2020 and worked to a 1.77 ERA in 20 1/3 Triple-A innings last year, so it’s easy enough to see how he’s made a good impression on the organization.
This will be the eight season in which Coulombe has logged big league time, and if he can sustain his pace from the 2020-21 seasons, the Twins will have the ability to keep him around via arbitration this offseason. He currently has three years, eight days of Major League service time, meaning he can be controlled through 2024. All in all, Coulombe has a career 4.09 ERA with a 22.5% strikeout rate, a 9.4% walk rate and a 53.6% grounder rate in 180 1/3 innings between the A’s, Twins and Dodgers.
As for Godoy, this marks the third time he’s been bumped from a 40-man roster since the lockout lifted. The Mariners tried to pass him through outright waivers but lost him to the Giants, who immediately tried to slip him through waivers themselves. Godoy was with the Giants for just four days before being claimed by the Twins, and he may now find himself going through the process again, as the Twins have a week to trade him or attempt to pass him through outright waivers.
Godoy, 26, made his big league debut with Seattle last year when he appeared in 16 games and batted .162/.225/.189 in a small sample of 40 plate appearances. That rough showing aside, Godoy is a .292/.338/.424 hitter in 412 career Triple-A plate appearances and is generally regarded as a strong defensive catcher. He boasts a career 40% caught-stealing rate and has posted very strong framing marks throughout his minor league career, per Baseball Prospectus.
Padres Acquire Sean Manaea
The Athletics have traded Sean Manaea to the Padres, according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. Earlier today, Andy Martino of SNY had tweeted that Oakland had resumed active conversations about Manaea. Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that the Padres will be sending two prospects to Oakland in return. Per Feinsand, the full trade is Sean Manaea and Aaron Holiday for Eruibiel Angeles and Adrian Martinez.
A Manaea trade has seemed inevitable for quite some time now. It was reported prior to the lockout that the A’s were planning on moving just about any player with significant salary and dwindling team control. Once the lockout ended, they made good on those predictions, trading Chris Bassitt to the Mets, Matt Olson to the Braves and Matt Chapman to the Blue Jays. Since Manaea is heading into free agency at the end of this season and is making $9.75MM this year, he was the logical choice as the next guy packing up his bag. He will now head to San Diego, reuniting with manager Bob Melvin, who was another casualty of the Oakland penny-pinching, as the club allowed him to head to the Padres in a salary-dumping move.
The 30-year-old lefty made his MLB debut in 2016 and immediately established himself with a quality season. In 144 2/3 innings, he put up an ERA of 3.86, along with a 20.9% strikeout rate and 6.2% walk rate. He continued to pitch well over the 2017 and 2018 seasons before being stalled by shoulder surgery in September of 2018. That kept him out of action for around a year, as he returned late in 2019. In the shortened 2020 campaign, he seemed to be back to his old self, throwing 54 innings with an ERA of 4.50. In 2021, he logged another 179 1/3 innings with a 3.91 ERA, cranking his strikeout rate up to 25.7% in the process, a career high for a full season.
For the Padres, this furthers bolsters what was already a very strong rotation that includes Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove, Blake Snell, Mike Clevinger, Nick Martinez and Chris Paddack, along with up-and-coming options like Reiss Knehr, Ryan Weathers or MacKenzie Gore. Just a few days ago, it was reported that the Padres were considering trading from that rotation depth in order to improve their outfield picture. The addition of Manaea seems to only increase the odds of such a deal coming together.
Their projected outfield currently consists of Trent Grisham in center and Wil Myers in right, with left field being manned by some combination of Jurickson Profar and Matt Beaty. There’s certainly room for improvement over that group, especially for a team hoping to compete with the Dodgers and Giants in the AL West, two teams who easily surpassed the 100-win plateau last year. Recent reports had indicated the club had spoken to the Pirates about a Bryan Reynolds trade, though the last word on that front was that the asking price for Reynolds was “prohibitive.”
The Padres were one of two teams to have paid the luxury tax in 2021, along with the Dodgers. That means they would be subject to escalating penalties if they were to pay the tax again this year. The new CBA bumped up the lowest tax line from $210MM to $230MM, which gave the Padres a bit of breathing space, as their luxury tax number has been between those two numbers for most of the offseason. Since the signing of that new CBA and the end of the lockout, they have been fairly quiet, apart from their acquisition of Luke Voit. With the acquisition of Manaea, their luxury tax number is now just over the line at $233MM, according to Jason Martinez of Roster Resource. Perhaps they are willing to pay the tax yet again, or further trade could allow them to limbo back under the line. Rumors have swirled for years about their attempts to move Eric Hosmer and the four years and $59MM remaining on his deal. Just a few days ago, they were apparently discussing such a deal with the Mets, though those talks have apparently stalled.
For the Athletics, their fire sale has reduced their 2021 payroll to around $50MM in actual dollars, per Roster Resource. They haven’t had a number that low since 2008, leaving aside the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign. (Hat tip to Cot’s Baseball Contracts.) That number could potentially drop even lower if the club lines up a deal on Frankie Montas or Ramon Laureano, though they could also add in a veteran on a modest short-term deal, like those they gave to Stephen Vogt and Jed Lowrie.
The rotation in Oakland won’t just be lacking Bassitt and Manaea, as James Kaprielian and Brent Honeywell Jr. are likely to begin the season on the IL. Montas will be at the front of the group if he’s still around, with Cole Irvin, Daulton Jefferies, Paul Blackburn, Adam Oller and Zach Logue among the options to take the spots behind him.
One of today’s acquisitions, Adrian Martinez, is an option to serve as rotation depth immediately, as he is on the 40-man roster and made it up to the highest levels of the minors last year. In 80 2/3 Double-A innings, he put up a 2.34 ERA along with a 25.4% strikeout rate and 7.3% walk rate. He struggled a bit in his first taste of Triple-A, throwing 44 1/3 innings with his ERA jumping up to 5.28, along with a deflated strikeout rate of 19.9% and 8.7% walk rate. He’s just 25 years old and has options, meaning he’s likely ticketed for further time in Triple-A.
The other piece of their return will be more of a long-term play, as Angeles is just 19 years old. Last year, he split his time between A-ball and High-A, while lining up at second base, third base and shortstop. In 105 games, his combined slash line was .329/.392/.445, for a wRC+ of 125, along with 19 stolen bases. Although the A’s will need to be patient given his age, he might be the real “get” for Oakland, as he was San Diego’s #12 prospect at MLB Pipeline before the deal, with Martinez coming in at #26.
Alongside Manaea, the Padres are also adding some bullpen depth with the acquisition of Holiday. The 21-year-old was just selected by the A’s last year, in the 13th round of the 2021 draft. He only has 5 2/3 innings of professional experience under his belt at this point, all of that coming in the Complex League last year. Despite that limited resume, R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports relays that he was hitting over 100mph on the radar gun this offseason.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.