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Astros’ Forrest Whitley To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

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MARCH 10: Manager Dusty Baker announced Wednesday that Whitley will undergo Tommy John surgery, per Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. He’ll miss the entire season as a result.

MARCH 7: Astros pitching prospect Forrest Whitley has been advised to undergo Tommy John surgery, according to Mark Berman of KRIV Fox 26 (Twitter link).  Whitley has been battling arm soreness that has now been diagnosed as a right UCL sprain, the team told Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link) and other reporters.  No decision has yet been made about Whitley’s next step, as the right-hander is seeking a second opinion.

A 14-15 month layoff for TJ rehab would be the biggest setback yet in a career that has been hampered by injuries.  Whitley also had an forearm problem last season that led to an early shutdown at the Astros’ alternate training site, and he has been sidelined with shoulder and oblique injuries in past years.  Beyond just health woes, Whitley was also issued a 50-game drug suspension in 2018.

Despite all of these issues, Whitley’s potential is still so highly regarded that he has continued to remain a fixture on top-100 prospect lists over the last four years.  Selected with the 17th overall pick of the 2016 draft, Whitley is still only 23 years old, as the Astros took the San Antonio native as a high schooler.  Between the injuries and the suspension, however, Whitley has thrown only 197 innings as a professional from 2016-19, and just 24 1/3 frames at the Triple-A level.  That brief stint at Triple-Round Rock didn’t pan out, as Whitley was torched for a 12.21 ERA with nine home runs allowed.

In the short term, the Astros were hoping Whitley would rebound from his lost season and look good enough to receive consideration for a MLB promotion at some point in 2021.  Over the longer term, Whitley was seen as a bridge to the next generation of the Houston rotation, as Zack Greinke, Justin Verlander, and Lance McCullers Jr. can all be free agents after the season (and Verlander will already miss all of 2021 due to his own Tommy John procedure).  Framber Valdez’s season may also be in question thanks to a broken finger, which is why the Astros added some veteran stability through at least the 2022 campaign by signing Jake Odorizzi yesterday.

Blue Jays Outright Jacob Waguespack

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The Blue Jays have outrighted hurler Jacob Waguespack to Triple-A Buffalo, Scott Mitchell of TSN tweets. The club previously designated the right-hander for assignment, but he’ll remain part of the organization after clearing waivers.

Waguespack, who turned 27 over the winter, joined the Blue Jays when they acquired him from the Phillies in exchange for left-handed reliever Aaron Loup at the 2018 trade deadline. He made his big league debut a year later with 78 innings of 4.38 ERA/5.05 SIERA ball and below-average strikeout and walk rates of 18.8 and 8.7 percent, respectively.

While Waguespack was mostly a starter during his initial action with Toronto, he came out of the club’s bullpen in all 11 of his 2020 appearances. Waguespack struggled in that role, though, as he posted an 8.15 ERA (with a much more palatable 4.89 SIERA) across 17 2/3 frames.

Padres’ Jacob Nix Suffers Elbow Injury; Tommy John Surgery Possible

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Padres righty Jacob Nix could require Tommy John surgery after sustaining another elbow injury, tweets Dennis Lin of The Athletic. Nix, once a touted draft prospect, had a UCL injury two years ago that he rehabbed after undergoing platelet-rich plasma treatment.

Now 25 years old, Nix made it to the big leagues with the Padres in 2018 and started nine games, during which time he was tagged for a grisly 7.02 ERA. He missed most of the 2019 season with that UCL injury and was removed from the 40-man roster that October — not long after being arrested on trespassing charges (to which he eventually pled guilty). Between the injury and the arrest, Nix unsurprisingly went unclaimed on waivers.

Nix didn’t pitch with the Padres in 2020 and was not part of their 60-man player pool. He hasn’t been on the mound in a game setting since making one appearance in the 2019 Arizona Fall League. With Tommy John surgery now once again back on the table as a possibility for the righty, Nix could be out of game action until the 2022 season, depending on the course of treatment for his latest injury. With clubs likely to cycle through a broad range of pitchers and a few injuries on the San Diego staff already, Nix at least had a chance to return to the big leagues if healthy.

Tim Dillard Announces Retirement

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After an 18-year professional career, right-hander Tim Dillard announced today that he’s retiring from baseball. For some MLBTR readers, Dillard may not be a familiar name at all. Others — particularly Brewers fans — may know him well for his lengthy minor league run and parts of four big league seasons in Milwaukee. Others may recall Dillard for his contributions to MLB Trade Rumors over the years.

Dillard began doing some writing for MLBTR back in 2017, beginning with thoughts from early Spring Training that year and continuing, on occasion, through the 2018-19 offseason when he attended the Winter Meetings as a minor league free agent in search of an opportunity. The structure of his entries and his voice within them were uniquely Tim, and we were happy to host his writing over the years as he shared experiences, anecdotes and the more-than-occasional inanity from the road. You can check out his full archive here.

Tim was a 34th-round draft pick by the Brewers back in 2002 and by 2008 had reached the Major Leagues for his first taste of The Show. He’d go on to spend parts of four seasons with the Brewers, including a 2012 campaign in which he tossed a career-high 37 innings with a 4.38 ERA. From 2011-12, the sidearmer was an oft-used and solid piece of the Milwaukee bullpen. He spent another 13 seasons in the Triple-A ranks, including a 2019 run with the Rangers organization, played parts of three seasons on the independent circuit — two with the Atlantic League’s Lancaster Barnstormers and one (2020) with the American Association’s Milwaukee Milkmen — and turned in an all-time great lip sync performance at the 2017 Univision Awards.

Tim — congrats on spending nearly two decades in pro ball, and thanks for all the fun here at MLBTR over the years! Best wishes!

Joey Votto Tests Positive For Covid-19

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The Reds announced today that first baseman Joey Votto was placed on the injured list, and while no initial reason was listed, Votto gave clearance to reveal that he’s tested positive for Covid-19 (Twitter link via The Athletic’s C. Trent Rosecrans). He’ll be away from the club for a minimum of 10 days under the 2021 health-and-safety protocols. It’s not clear whether Votto is experiencing symptoms, though the obvious hope will be for a swift recovery and return to the team.

The Reds are slated to host the Cardinals come April 1 on Opening Day. There’s no experienced backup option at first base on their 40-man roster should Votto not be back with the club by that point, although Mike Moustakas did play 10 games at the position last year and has logged a total of 14 Major League contests there. Outfielder Scott Heineman, who is on the 40-man roster but not assured of an Opening Day spot, has totaled 124 innings at first base between the minors and the big leagues.

In an ideal setting, Votto himself will be return in time to handle the task, though that’s not a given. Per the league’s guidelines, Votto will need to be cleared for return by a joint MLB/MLBPA committee and the Reds’ team physician, and Votto also will need to pass a mandatory cardiac evaluation and a determination that he no longer poses the risk of infecting others.

Votto will not count against the Reds’ 40-man roster while he is on the Covid-19-related injured list.

Injury Notes: Carrasco, Davis, Brewers

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Mets right-hander Carlos Carrasco will pause his throwing regimen until next week, manager Luis Rojas revealed to reporters Wednesday (Twitter thread via The Athletic’s Tim Britton). Carrasco reported some soreness in his elbow, although Rojas said the organization isn’t overly concerned at this time. The longtime Indians righty says he has experienced similar soreness at a similar point in Spring Training in the past. For now, the club hopes to have Carrasco facing live hitters again by the end of next week. Jordan Yamamoto, Joey Lucchesi, Sam McWilliams and Sean Reid-Foley all stand as 40-man depth options. Carrasco, 34 later this month, was one of the Mets’ most notable offseason additions. He joined free-agent addition Taijuan Walker and righty Marcus Stroman, who accepted a qualifying offer, as additions to a Mets rotation that will also hope to have Noah Syndergaard back at some point midseason. Two-time Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom, of course, will lead the group, and former first-round pick David Peterson pitched his way into the team’s plans with an impressive rookie showing in 2020.

Some more injury situations to keep an eye on around the league…

  • Chris Davis has been down since last week due to a lower back strain, and Orioles general manager Mike Elias today told reporters that there’s still no timeline for when he’ll return to baseball activities (Twitter link via the Baltimore Sun’s Jon Meoli). He saw a specialist earlier in the week. Davis, who’ll turn 35 next week, missed the bulk of the 2020 season due to knee problems and was slowed by a hip injury in 2019 as well. He was likely ticketed for a somewhat limited role now, given the return of Trey Mancini and the emergence of several prospects at the MLB level (Ryan Mountcastle chief among them). With no timeline at the moment, it could be tough for Davis to be ready by Opening Day. The Orioles owe him $23MM in 2021 and 2022.
  • Brewers infielder/outfielder Mark Mathias is headed for an MRI after injuring his shoulder in yesterday’s Cactus League game, manager Craig Counsell announced to reporters Wednesday (Twitter link via Andrew Wagner of the Wisconsin State Journal). There’s no official word yet on the extent of the injury, but Mathias will “miss some time” with the injury, which was sustained on a diving catch in the outfield. The 26-year-old made his MLB debut in 2020 and went 10-for-36 with three doubles in a brief look at the MLB level. He was 4-for-13 thus far in Spring Training and had been competing for a utility role with the club, but it sounds as though this setback could take him out of the running. In brighter news for Milwaukee fans, Counsell revealed that infielder Luis Urias’ hamstring issue is on the mend. Urias took batting practice yesterday and could be in a game by this weekend.

Offseason In Review: New York Yankees

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The Yankees used the winter to re-sign an American League MVP finalist and gamble on a pair of former high-end starters returning to form.

Major League Signings

  • DJ LeMahieu, 2B: Six years, $90MM
  • Corey Kluber, RHP: One year, $11MM
  • Brett Gardner, OF: Two years, $5.15MM (second season is a player option)
  • Justin Wilson, LHP: Two years, $5.15MM (second season is a player option)
  • Darren O’Day, RHP: Two years, $3.15MMM (second season is a player option)
  • Total spend: $114.45MM

Trades and Claims

Notable Minor League Signings

Extensions

  • None

Notable Losses

The biggest question the Yankees faced entering the offseason was whether they would bring back second baseman DJ LeMahieu, who thrived in their uniform from 2019-20 after they signed the ex-Cub and Rockie to a two-year, $24MM contract. LeMahieu turned into one of baseball’s premier players during that two-season stretch, even earning MVP consideration last year, so it was naturally going to cost the Yankees much more this time to keep him in the fold.

Thanks to shortstop Gleyber Torres’ ability to play both middle infield positions, the Yankees could have let LeMahieu walk and seriously pursued a trade for Francisco Lindor or Trevor Story or dipped into free agency for old friend Didi Gregorius, Marcus Semien or Andrelton Simmons. Otherwise, they may have left Torres at short and signed, say, second baseman Kolten Wong, though their offense would have taken a major hit in that tradeoff.

LeMahieu garnered serious interest from multiple teams in free agency after rejecting the Yankees’ $18.9MM qualifying offer, but remaining in the Bronx was always his preference. After a drawn-out trip to the open market, the two sides came together on a six-year, $90MM pact. Six years is an especially long deal for a player who will turn 33 in July, but the Yankees made that commitment in an effort to lower the average annual value and skirt the luxury-tax threshold.

Staying under this year’s $210MM tax seemed to be an important offseason theme for the Yankees (whether that should be a concern for such a rich franchise is up for debate), as they didn’t give out any other big guarantees in free agency, instead structuring various deals to lower the AAVs of the contracts. Outfielder Brett Gardner, the Yankees’ longest-tenured player, and relievers Darren O’Day and Justin Wilson are prime examples; they inked pacts which include cheap 2022 player options that they’re unlikely to exercise barring nightmarish results in 2021.

Gardner and Wilson will both earn $2.85MM in 2021 before deciding on player options valued at just $2.3MM. Should they decline that player option, the Yankees would then hold $7.15MM club options over the pair — each with a $1.15MM buyout. Exercising the player option for either player would only mean guaranteeing an additional $1.15MM for himself. In Wilson’s case, that would trigger a third-year club option at the league minimum, making it even less appealing to exercise his player option for 2022. As for O’Day, his $1.4MM player option comes with a $700K buyout even if he declines, so there’s little reason for him to pick up his end of the deal. It’s a complicated series of accounting measures, but the end result was adding three solid veterans while remaining about $3.5MM shy of the luxury threshold.

O’Day and Wilson should help replace Adam Ottavino, who departed in a rare trade with the archrival Red Sox that saved the Yankees more than $8MM (another move driven by the luxury tax). New York’s bullpen figures to be strong yet again, although key setup man Zack Britton is off to an inauspicious start in 2021. The team will go without him for as many as three to four months because of arthroscopic surgery to remove bone chips from his elbow. The Yankees kicked off their winter by exercising Britton’s 2022 option for $14MM. Had they declined it, he could have opted for free agency this past offseason.

The Yankees’ starting staff underwent quite a bit of retooling, meanwhile, as mainstay Masahiro Tanaka went back to Japan, J.A. Happ signed with the Twins, and James Paxton reunited with the Mariners. Paxton and Happ were expected to leave, but it was somewhat surprising the Yankees made little effort to retain Tanaka, a quality regular-season performer from 2014-20 who earned a reputation as a big-game pitcher during his run with the club.

Instead of re-signing Tanaka, the Yankees took chances on two-time AL Cy Young winner Corey Kluber in free agency and ex-Pirate Jameson Taillon in a trade. The two hurlers are intriguing additions because of their potential, but they’re also wild cards. Kluber’s an ex-Indians workhorse, but the soon-to-be 35-year-old missed most of 2019 with a fractured forearm, and enemy offenses had their way with him during that 35 2/3-inning campaign. As a member of the Rangers last season, he made his first start of the season, lasted one inning and didn’t pitch again on account of shoulder problems. Taillon, 29, produced mid-rotation numbers with the Pirates from 2016-19, but he underwent Tommy John surgery – the second of his career – in the last of those years and didn’t take the mound last season.

Kluber and Taillon are sure bets to begin the year in the Yankees’ rotation, as is ace Gerrit Cole. But Cole seems like the only lead-pipe lock to succeed. As for the rest of the group, Domingo German missed last year because of a domestic violence suspension; Jordan Montgomery endured a trying 2020 in his return from a TJ procedure; Deivi Garcia, Clarke Schmidt (who’s down with an elbow injury) and Michael King carry little major league experience; and former No. 1 Luis Severino sat out almost all of the previous two seasons because of shoulder problems and Tommy John. Severino could come back this summer, but it’s anyone’s guess what he’ll give the Yankees. All things considered, it’s a risky bunch behind Cole.

Fortunately for the Yankees, if their rotation doesn’t live up to the front office’s expectations, the lineup still carries the ability to overwhelm opposing pitching staffs. Sluggers Aaron Judge (right field) and Giancarlo Stanton (designated hitter) missed a large amount of action with various injuries during the previous couple years, but they remain imposing threats at the plate. Elsewhere, LeMahieu and Torres make for one of the top offensive middle infield tandems in the sport; Gardner’s a capable fourth outfielder at the very least; first baseman Luke Voit led the majors in home runs last season; third baseman Gio Urshela carried his 2019 breakout into 2020; left fielder Clint Frazier finally broke out offensively in 2020; and center fielder Aaron Hicks, despite annual low batting averages and some past injury issues, has typically given the Yankees above-average production.

If you’re looking for question marks unrelated to injuries in the Yankees’ offense, catcher Gary Sanchez and outfielder Mike Tauchman come to mind. Sanchez has been inconsistent – sometimes tremendous, sometimes terrible – and was both a non-tender and trade candidate after a disastrous 2020. The Yankees ultimately kept Sanchez around for a $6.35MM salary, though they did explore possible upgrades in free agency when they showed interest in James McCann and Yadier Molina in free agency. Looking into McCann and Molina implies that Sanchez could be skating on thin ice with the organization. For now, he and and backup Kyle Higashioka – Cole’s personal catcher late in the season – remain intact as New York’s top two backstops, but veteran Robinson Chirinos is also in camp.

Tauchman was a great find for the Yankees when they acquired him from the Rockies heading into 2019, as he slashed .277/.361/.504 with 13 homers and accumulated a whopping 18 Defensive Runs Saved among all three outfield positions in 87 games. Tauchman was nowhere near that effective as either a hitter or defender last year, though. Now, with Gardner returning as the primary backup, Jay Bruce and Derek Dietrich in camp, and no minor league options left, it’s possible the Yankees will deal Tauchman in the coming weeks if they don’t think he’s worthy of a roster spot. Former Rookie of the Year runner-up Miguel Andujar also finds himself without an obvious path to regular at-bats, although unlike Tauchman, he has a minor league option remaining, so there’s no immediate need to make a tough decision on the 26-year-old.

Longtime general manager Brian Cashman looks as if he has put together another playoff-caliber roster. The Yankees appear likely to once again pile up plenty of runs in 2021, but whether they’ll be able to jump over the reigning AL East champion Rays, fend off the rapidly improving Blue Jays and then win their first World Series since 2009 will depend largely on how well their high-risk rotation performs.

How would you grade the Yankees’ offseason? (Link to poll for Trade Rumors iOS/Android app users)

Grade the Yankees' offseason:
B 51.00% (3,636 votes)
C 23.59% (1,682 votes)
A 17.29% (1,233 votes)
D 4.38% (312 votes)
F 3.74% (267 votes)
Total Votes: 7,130

What The Nationals See In Joe Ross

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The Nationals continue to lean Joe Ross’ direction for their fifth starter spot, per Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post (via Twitter). The Nats’ organization has long been enamored with Ross’ potential. But it’s been a long and winding road.

Injuries and poor performance had all but done in Ross in the first half of 2019. Austin Voth and Erick Fedde were both getting starts ahead of him, and a stint as a long man out of the pen proved disastrous. He posted an 11.17 ERA/6.27 FIP in 19 1/3 innings out of the bullpen. A .415 BABIP didn’t help matters, nor did Freddie Freeman and the Braves, who blew him up for four earned runs in one inning on June 22nd, an outing that resulted in Ross’ demotion to the minors.

Then, with the Nats playing like one of the best teams in baseball, ace Max Scherzer missed the first three weeks of August. Ross stepped in. Surprisingly, he didn’t miss a beat. He made eight starts the rest of the way with a 2.75 ERA over 39 1/3 innings. The Nats went 7-1 in those games.

What Ross found, and what the Nats saw in him, wasn’t just a solid stretch of games. It was a return to his roots. He came into the league in 2015 as a two-pitch pitcher: sinker and slider. He added a change-up for 2016. Over those first two seasons, he had a 3.52 ERA/3.46 FIP over 181 2/3 innings. But injuries piled up, culminating in Tommy John surgery in 2017. He made just 16 starts in 2017-18 covering 89 2/3 innings with a 5.02 ERA/5.14 FIP.

Those were injury-riddled seasons, but something else happened those two seasons. Ross started to re-work his pitch mix, relying less on his sinker. Instead of 54% sinkers, 38% sliders, and 8% change-ups, Ross threw 47% sinkers, 35% sliders, 11% change-ups, and 8% four-seamers. In three starts after returning from Tommy John in 2018, however, his four-seam usage jumped to 30.4% –  his most-used offering.

Ross started the same way in 2019 – with lots of fastballs. Over the final two months, however, he returned to a sinker-heavy approach, dropping his fastball usage to 15.1% in August and 21.6% in September. It took Ross awhile to find his sinker again after returning from injury, but he found it in August 2019.

His fastball, of course, does serve a function. It has the potential to be a better swing-and-miss offering than his sinker. His heater generated a 22.8% swing-and-miss rate in 2019 to just 14.9% on his sinker. His most important pitch might be his change-up, an area of specialty for new pitching coach Jim Hickey.

After opting out of the 2020 season, Ross made his first spring start yesterday, tossing 39 pitches against the Mets. Ross spoke about rushing, missing high with his fastball, and trying to focus on his change-up, per MLB.com’s Jessica Camerato.

Manager Davey Martinez hopes to get him closer to 50 pitches in his second outing. If Ross can build up his stamina and avoid injury, he’s going to be the Nats’ fifth starter. The inside track is his.

From the outside, it’s easy to see Ross’ 5.21 ERA/4.91 FIP since 2017, and question whether he’s the best option. But the decision-makers in Washington likely remember the best of Ross. Martinez leaned on him down the stretch in their title-winning season. He called on Ross the morning of game five and pushed him into emergency duty, again, when Scherzer woke up unable to lift his arm. The Nats lost that game, but Ross gave them five innings just two days after throwing 19 pitches in game three.

GM Mike Rizzo knows the best parts of Ross as well. He is, after all, the GM who acquired him. What’s more, the deal that brought Ross to Washington is one of the most successful trades on Rizzo’s lengthy resume. That was the same deal that would eventually deliver Trea Turner as a player to be named later.

There’s a lot of history there. Ross was 21-years-old when Rizzo acquired him. The Nationals have invested a lot of time into his development, and if he can be the guy the organization thinks he can be, he’ll be a steal while making just $1.5MM in 2021. He even has one season of arbitration remaining after 2021.

In tracing Ross’ journey with Rizzo over these past six years, it’s easy to see just how muddying the human element of the game can be. One could look at the projections for Ross, 1.1 fWAR by STEAMER, 0.5 fWAR by ZiPS, and see not much upside. Especially for a Nats’ team that hopes to return to contention in a crowded NL East. For Rizzo, Martinez, and Ross, however, the upside is more than a few wins above replacement. It’s redemption. It’s mentorship and perseverance and the culture of their club. It’s validation all around.

Over the past couple of years, the Nats made headlines by letting superstars Bryce Harper and Anthony Rendon walk in free agency. But as an organization, the Nats like to believe in their people. Ask Ryan Zimmerman, who’s been with the team for 15 years. Or Aaron Barrett, whom the Nats helped return to the bigs after a four year absence and two gruesome injuries. Or even Stephen Strasburg, whom the Nats famously tried to protect by keeping him out of the playoffs because they believed that was best for his long-term health.

It’s not surprising, then, that the Nationals want to believe in Ross. They’re going to give him every opportunity to break camp as their fifth starter. He’s also out of options, which serves as a nice metaphor while also describing his roster status. If he’s not able to put it all together this season, Rizzo and the Nats might finally move on, as they’ve proven themselves capable of doing. But for now, he’s their guy.

Quick Hits: Brewers, Orioles, Rockies, A’s

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The Brewers will defer payments to both Jackie Bradley Jr. and Kolten Wong. Doing so allows the Brewers to add their salaries even amid the lost revenue of the coronavirus era, per Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (via Twitter). The Brewers will only pay out $3.5MM of Bradley’s $24MM total money this season, while Wong will receive just $3MM. Wong’s contract eventually will pay out $18MM in guaranteed money. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (via Twitter) provides a fuller picture of Bradley’s deal. The latest possible payment Bradley will receive is a $7MM buyout for the 2023 season, which he would receive on January 1st, 2025. Elsewhere around the game…

  • Maryland Governor Larry Hogan announced that sports venues will be allowed to open in his state at 50 percent capacity, per WBAL Anchor Phil Yacuboski and others (via Twitter). For the Orioles to open the doors at Camden Yards on opening day, they’ll still need approval from Mayor Brandon Scott, notes Pete Kerzel of MASNSports.com (via Twitter). That last bit of bureaucracy notwithstanding, it does appear that the O’s will have fans in the stands for 2021.
  • The Rockies have also been cleared to open the doors at Coors Field. With the help of MLB and state government officials, the Rockies can now host up to 21,363 fans per game, up from an initial limit of 12,500, writes MLB.com’s Thomas Harding.
  • Jed Lowrie returned to the diamond today starting at second base for the Athletics. Persistent knee problems limited the 36-year-old to just nine games the past two seasons with the Mets. Of course, the A’s know Lowrie well. If he makes the team, it will be his third stint in Oakland after posting 3.2 bWAR in 1,228 plate appearances across 2013-14, then returning for 7.4 bWAR in 1,694 plate appearances from 2016-18. In his last season in Oakland, he was a first-time All-Star at the age of 34 after slashing .267/.353/.448 with 23  home runs. A lot rides on Lowrie making the team. If he does, Tony Kemp and Chad Pinder better fit into their roles as utility options off the bench, writes Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle. If Lowrie doesn’t make the team, Kemp and Pinder will likely share the keystone in a more-or-less straight-up platoon.

Red Sox Roster Moves

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The Red Sox were one of a number of teams to make their first round of roster cuts today. Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom announced the assignment of 12 players to minor league camp.

There are unlikely to be many surprises from this early round of cuts. For Boston, catchers Roldani Baldwin and Austin Rei, and pitchers Seth Blair, Matt Carasiti, Raynel Espinal, Durbin Feltman, Franklin German, Zac Grotz, Kaleb Ort, Andrew Politi, Thaddeus Ward, and Josh Winckowski were re-assigned to minor league camp. No one from this group was on their 40-man roster.

You might recognize Winckowski, who’s been quite the traveler this winter. He went from the Blue Jays to the Mets as part of the Steven Matz trade. Two weeks later, he found himself in Boston as part of the return for Andrew Benintendi (by way of the Royals and Khalil Lee). The 22-year-old has yet to play a pro game above High-A. Though he may eventually work his way into a swingman role, Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen suggests he’s bound for a relief role unless he can develop a more consistent third offering.

German may also ring a few bells, as he came to the Red Sox from the Yankees as the contract tax for Adam Ottavino. Fangraphs has German as the 25th-ranked prospect in Boston’s system. Like Winckowski, however, German has yet to appear above High-A. Fangraphs also lists relievers Feltman and Politi among Boston’s top 47 prospects.

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