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Angel Martínez Replaces Tyler Freeman On Guardians Postseason Roster

By Leo Morgenstern | October 7, 2024 at 11:48am CDT

The Guardians announced a roster move ahead of Game 2 of the ALDS this afternoon: Angel Martínez will sub in for Tyler Freeman, who has been removed from the roster after suffering a left oblique strain. According to Mandy Bell of MLB.com, Freeman hurt his oblique while playing in a simulated game. Major League Baseball has already approved the substitution.

Freeman, 25, appeared in 118 games for the Guardians this season. A converted infielder, her saw most of his playing time in center field but also took reps at second base, third base, shortstop, and DH. In addition, he was a regular pinch-hitter and pinch-runner for manager Stephen Vogt. While he wasn’t particularly productive in any aspect of the game, his speed, contact skills, and defensive versatility helped him earn playing time throughout the year. However, he did not appear in Game 1 of the ALDS, and he is now ineligible to return until the World Series, should Cleveland advance that far.

Martínez, 22, made his big league debut in June but struggled to stick on the Guardians’ roster. However, he hit well in 55 games at Triple-A this year, producing an .812 OPS and 111 wRC+. Indeed, he was so red-hot at Triple-A to start September (182 wRC+ in 10 games) that he bumped Freeman off the active roster. Unfortunately for Martínez, he just could not find the same success against MLB pitching, going 9-for-41 (.220) with a .517 OPS and a 51 wRC+ over 12 games after his latest promotion. That likely explains why the Guardians went back to Freeman in favor of Martínez on the ALDS roster in the first place. With Freeman on the shelf, Cleveland will turn back to Martínez to fill the role of the athletic backup outfielder/pinch-runner/utility man off the bench.

Submit Your Questions For This Week’s Episode Of The MLB Trade Rumors Podcast

By Darragh McDonald | October 7, 2024 at 9:55am CDT

On the MLB Trade Rumors podcast, we regularly answer questions from our readers and listeners. With the next episode set for Wednesday, we’re looking for MLBTR’s audience to submit their questions and we’ll pick a few to answer.

The 2024 postseason is well underway, with the offseason just over the horizon. If you have a question about a past transaction, a look ahead to the winter or anything else baseball related, we’d love to hear from you! You can email your questions to mlbtrpod@gmail.com.

Also, if you want to hear your voice on the podcast, send us your question in audio form and we might play it. iPhone users can find instructions on how to do so here.

In the meantime, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Tucker Davidson Elects Free Agency

By Steve Adams | October 7, 2024 at 9:48am CDT

The Orioles announced this morning that left-hander Tucker Davidson, whom they designated for assignment on the final day of the regular season, elected free agency rather than accepting an outright assignment to Triple-A Norfolk.

A former top prospect with the Braves, Davidson bounced to the Angels and Royals before landing with the O’s for the 2024 season. He posted 4 2/3 scoreless frames in the majors this year, albeit with two walks against just one strikeout. The bulk of his season was spent in Norfolk, where he logged 115 2/3 innings with a 3.89 ERA, 20.7% strikeout rate, a 9.1% walk rate and a 45.7% ground-ball rate.

The 28-year-old Davidson split his time in Norfolk between the rotation and the bullpen, faring far better in the former. While his numbers as a starter were passable — 4.48 ERA, 18.5% strikeout rate, 9.1% walk rate — he was much more successful coming out of the ’pen. In 44 relief innings, he notched a 2.45 ERA, 23% strikeout rate and 9.2% walk rate. As a starter, opponents batted .266/.336/.431 against Davidson this season. They flailed away at a .195/.263/.335 pace when he was pitching in relief.

Davidson will turn 29 in March. To this point in his big league career, he’s posted a 5.76 ERA in 129 2/3 innings. Certainly, that’s not an exciting profile, but there’s reason for cautious optimism moving forward. His work in relief this year was strong, and the brief MLB look he had with the Orioles featured a vary different pitch mix than he’s had in seasons past. Davidson has traditionally focused on a four-seam/slider combination, mixing in an occasional curveball as a change of pace. The Orioles had him scale back the usage of both his four-seamer and slider while adding a sinker and splitter that he used about 12% of the time each.

In all likelihood, Davidson will still be looking for a minor league deal this winter, but a former top prospect on the right side of 30 with solid Triple-A numbers and a tweaked pitch mix creates more intrigue than many other minor league free agents. He’ll be an option for clubs seeking rotation and bullpen depth alike.

Player’s Closet Project: A New Era Of Authentic Athlete Memorabilia For Fans (Sponsored)

By Tim Dierkes | October 7, 2024 at 8:53am CDT

This is a sponsored post from Legends Memorabilia.

In a groundbreaking new initiative aimed at connecting fans directly with their favorite athletes, Legends Memorabilia Collection has launched the Player’s Closet Project. This innovative project brings fans exclusive, personally owned and autographed items from the personal collections of some of the biggest stars in sports. Legends Memorabilia Collection (LMC) is a wholly owned for-profit subsidiary of the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association (MLBPAA). With access to thousands of former big- league players, LMC offers an unparalleled experience in Major League Baseball memorabilia.

The Player’s Closet Project stands out from traditional memorabilia offerings by delivering items that have been a part of an athlete’s personal journey. They are tied to meaningful moments in an athlete’s career—whether it’s a pair of sneakers worn during a training session, an autographed locker room sign, a jacket worn during the season, or an autograph exchanged with a fellow player after the game. Each item comes with a certificate of authenticity, ensuring the piece’s source and its significance to the athlete’s personal history.

The Player’s Closet Project already has a growing roster of athletes across different eras of baseball who are participating in the initiative. Each athlete has carefully selected items from their personal closets and will make them available in limited quantities.

Some of the high-profile names involved in the project include exclusive Legends Memorabilia Collection athlete and baseball superstar Mike Trout, 2006 MVP Ryan Howard and two-time World Series champion Johnny Damon. From Trout’s batting gloves to Howard’s game-day cleats, fans can expect unique, one-of-a-kind items to hit the site regularly. Damon has even contributed a pair of autographed seats from Old Yankee Stadium! With more athletes being announced routinely, fans can look forward to a constantly evolving collection of unique items.

Whether you’re a seasoned memorabilia collector or a lifelong sports fan looking for that perfect piece, the Player’s Closet Project offers something for everyone. With exclusive, personally owned items coming directly from the athletes themselves, this project is set to redefine how fans engage with the memorabilia market.

From iconic game-day gear to behind-the-scenes keepsakes, the Player’s Closet Project is a fan’s dream come true—bringing the game, and the players, closer than ever before.

For more information on the Player’s Closet Project and to see the latest drops, visit https://shoplegends.com/pages/players-closet-project.

The Opener: ALDS, Freeman, Bogaerts

By Nick Deeds | October 7, 2024 at 8:50am CDT

On the heels of a wild day of NLDS games that saw both series head into a travel day tied up, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world today:

1. ALDS Game 2:

Both ALDS series are scheduled to have their second games this evening, with the Royals and Tigers playing catch-up after falling to the Yankees and Guardians respectively in Game 1. Fortunately for the underdogs, each club will send an ace lefty to the mound after leaning on them to win Game 1 of the Wild Card series. In the case of the Royals, that means they’ll be trotting out Cole Ragans, who posted a 3.14 ERA (135 ERA+) with a 3.00 FIP in 32 starts during the regular season before throwing six scoreless frames against the Orioles with eight strikeouts in his first career postseason appearance. He’ll be tasked with taking on Yankees southpaw Carlos Rodon, who bounced back after a brutal 2023 season to posted a 3.96 ERA (104 ERA+) in 175 innings of work this season.

Meanwhile, the Tigers will lean on lefty Tarik Skubal in today’s game against the division-rival Guardians. The winner of the pitching Triple Crown in the AL and the likely favorite for the AL Cy Young Award, Skubal turned in an utterly dominant season with a 2.39 ERA (170 ERA+) and a 2.50 FIP in in 192 frames this year before throwing six scoreless innings of his own against the Astros during the first postseason appearance of his career. Skubal will face former teammate Matthew Boyd, who spent eight of his ten career seasons in Detroit, in this evening’s game. Boyd, a midseason signing who sat out the first half while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, has looked great since his return, with a 2.72 ERA (151 ERA+) and a 27.7% strikeout rate in eight regular season starts.

2. Freeman day-to-day:

In addition to a brutal 10-2 rout at the hands of the Padres last night, the Dodgers were dealt another blow when star first baseman Freddie Freeman had to be removed after aggravating his injured right ankle. Freeman is considered day-to-day for now, but as noted by ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez, manager Dave Roberts did not seem optimistic about his first baseman’s availability going forward in the series, calling the injury “not ideal” and “of concern.” That said, the Dodgers also expressed pessimism about Freeman’s availability for Game 1 of the series before he went on to not only start the game but go 2-for-5 with a stolen base. If Freeman is unable to take the field, Max Muncy figures to slide from first base to third base. Enrique Hernandez or Tommy Edman could handle third base, with the other slotting into center field.

3. Bogaerts exits due to cramping:

Padres shortstop Xander Bogaerts also exited San Diego’s win in the bottom of the eighth inning last night due to what he described to reporters (including those at MLB.com) last night as hamstring cramps. The club will already be without primary shortstop Ha-Seong Kim for the remainder of the postseason, a reality that forced Bogaerts back to his old position in the first place. It’s not expected to be an issue that leaves Bogaerts unavailable, but it’ll still be worth keeping a watchful eye on how he comes out of today’s off-day workout. The Friars aren’t lacking players with shortstop experience if Bogaerts does need to miss a game. Light-hitting utilityman Tyler Wade is on the bench, and the lineup features former shortstops Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Merrill all playing other positions. First baseman/second baseman Jake Cronenworth has also played more than 400 big league innings at short.

Freddie Freeman, Xander Bogaerts Leave NLDS Game 2 Due To Injuries

By Mark Polishuk | October 6, 2024 at 10:58pm CDT

The Padres hit six home runs in what turned into a rout of a 10-2 victory in Game 2 of their NLDS matchup with the Dodgers, knotting the series 1-1 as the scene shifts to San Diego for Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday and Wednesday. Neither club emerged from Game 2 unscathed, however, as both Freddie Freeman (left ankle discomfort) and Xander Bogaerts (hamstring cramp) made early exits due to injury.

Freeman’s exit is the less surprising of the two, as the first baseman’s attempts to play through both a bone bruise and a sprain of his left ankle has become one of the series’ chief storylines. After going 2-for-5 and even stealing a base in the Dodgers’ Game 1 victory, Freeman went 0-for-2 tonight before he was replaced in the field heading into the top of the sixth. Freeman was due up to the plate again in the bottom of the sixth and L.A. was trailing only 3-1 after five innings, yet he was clearly not feeling well enough to continue playing. Post-game, manager Dave Roberts told Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times (X link) and other reporters that the team would know more about Freeman’s status after working out tomorrow during the club’s off-day.

Freeman suffered what was initially diagnosed as just an ankle sprain on September 26, in the Dodgers’ fourth-last game of the regular season. X-rays were negative, but Freeman revealed to reporters that the combination of the sprain and the bone bruise would normally sideline him for 4-to-6 weeks if this was the regular season. However, on just eight full days of rest, Freeman returned to the field in Game 1, though it wasn’t clear until just a few hours before game time if the first baseman would indeed be ready to go.

Bogaerts seemingly suffered his injury while hitting a foul ball during his plate appearance in the eighth inning, yet the shortstop seemingly looked no worse for wear in hitting a solo homer. The Padres ended the frame with a 7-1 lead, which perhaps gave the club a little more flexibility to replace Bogaerts in the field with Tyler Wade in the top of the eighth.

Monday is an off-day in the series, so Freeman and Bogaerts will get some built-in time to recuperate before play resumes. While Bogaerts’ cramp doesn’t seem overly serious, Wade is the natural replacement at shortstop if Bogaerts isn’t ready for Tuesday’s Game 3. If Bogaerts can hit but not field, the Padres can use Wade at shortstop, Luis Arraez at first base, and Bogaerts could conceivably act as the designated hitter.

Shohei Ohtani’s presence in the DH spot gives the Dodgers no such flexibility with Freeman, as he’d have to play first base if he is to be part of the team’s starting lineup. If he can’t start, Freeman would therefore seemingly be limited to pinch-hit duty, which then necessitates a larger shuffle of the Dodgers’ lineup. Obviously losing Freeman under any circumstance is bad news for Los Angeles, but losing a key left-handed bat will hamper the Dodgers against Game 3 starter Michael King (a right-hander), and L.A. is lacking in left-handed bench depth.

As a reminder, teams can make injury replacements to a series roster, but at a significant longer-term cost. Replaced players would not only be out for the rest of the NLDS, but they also wouldn’t be able to participate in the NLCS if their team was to advance to the next round. This rule is surely weighing on the Dodgers in particular as they figure out Freeman’s status, though it would seem as if Freeman would have to have seriously re-aggravated his injury for L.A. to remove him from the roster altogether.

Shinnosuke Ogasawara To Request Posting For MLB Teams

By Mark Polishuk | October 6, 2024 at 9:52pm CDT

Left-hander Shinnosuke Ogasawara is looking to move to the majors, and as per a report from Yahoo Sports Japan (Japanese language link), he’ll ask the Chunichi Dragons to make him available to MLB teams via the posting system this offseason. The Yakyu Cosmopolitan also reported earlier this year that Ogasawara was aiming to pitch for a big league team in 2025, and MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reported (via X) back in April that Major League scouts were watching Ogasawara pitch in Japan.

The southpaw celebrates his 27th birthday on Tuesday, and he has appeared with the Dragons in each of the last nine Nippon Professional Baseball seasons. However, since he is short of nine full years of NPB service time, Ogasawara will need to be posted in order to make the move to North American baseball.

To recap the posting system, any team that signs Ogasawara will have to pay a separate posting fee to the Dragons that is contingent on the size of the contract — the 20% of the contract’s first $25MM, plus 17.5% of the next $25MM and 15% of any dollars thereafter. If Ogasawara is posted, Major League teams will have 45 days to reach an agreement with the left-hander. If no deal is reached within that window of time, Ogasawara will return to the Dragons for the 2025 NPB season.

Ogasawara has a 3.66 ERA over 1095 career innings for the Dragons, and he has tossed at least 141 1/3 innings in each of the last four seasons. In 2024, he had a 2.99 ERA in 141 1/3 frames, with a very impressive 3.42% walk rate but also only a 13.87% strikeout rate. While Ogasawara’s control has only been getting better during his NPB career, he has never been a big strikeout pitcher, and this season’s low rate of missed bats will certainly stand out as a potential red flag to big league evaluators.

It remains to be seen how highly Ogasawara will be judged by MLB teams, though he’ll be one of the youngest rotation candidates available in this year’s free agent market. With scouts already keeping an eye on his work for the Dragons, Ogasawara figures to draw some attention should the Dragons decide to post him.

MLBTR Chat Transcript

By Mark Polishuk | October 6, 2024 at 9:05pm CDT

Click here to read the transcript of tonight’s live baseball chat

NL Notes: Adames, Braves, Giants, Francona, Yamamoto

By Mark Polishuk | October 6, 2024 at 6:33pm CDT

Willy Adames has long been mentioned in trade rumors, with the Dodgers one club known to have had past interest in the star shortstop. It is fair to guess that any number of teams at least checked in with the Brewers about Adames’ availability, and the New York Post’s Jon Heyman (via X) writes that the Braves and Giants also had Adames as a “target” in the past. As Adames is now set to become a free agent this winter, any of these teams could well be suitors again on the open market, though naturally a free agent pursuit and a trade pursuit can be very different endeavors.

Atlanta shortstop Orlando Arcia had a dismal year at the plate after posting solid numbers in 2022-23. Arcia is still under contract for 2025 but only for $2MM (and a $1MM buyout of a $2MM club option for 2026), so the Braves could sign Adames and still keep Arcia around as veteran infield depth. With Adames likely to command a contract in the $150MM range, signing the shortstop would represent something of a departure for Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos, whose free agent signings have been fairly limited during his seven seasons running Atlanta’s front office. Still, a more aggressive foray into free agency might be seen as necessary after three straight playoff disappointments, and Anthopoulos certainly hasn’t been shy about spending in general, as evidenced by the Braves’ heavy slate of contract extensions.

Tyler Fitzgerald hit well in his rookie season but was a subpar defender as the Giants’ primary shortstop in 2024. That said, Fitzgerald has played at six different positions during his two years in the big leagues, so it is easy to see San Francisco shift him to another spot on the diamond to accommodate Adames. The Giants have long been eager to bring top-tier free agents to the roster, and with Matt Chapman already signed to a new contract, adding Adames would give the team arguably the league’s best left side of the infield. Landing Adames (or another big name) would be an easy way for Buster Posey to make a splash in his first offseason as the Giants’ new president of baseball ops.

More from around the National League….

The Reds’ hiring of Terry Francona came together quickly, as Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports that president of baseball operations Nick Krall first touched base with Francona via a phone conversation on September 26. Krall had gotten permission from the Guardians to speak with Francona (who was still with the team in a special assistant role), as Francona was atop the Reds’ list of nearly 100 possible managerial candidates but “with an asterisk,” depending on the longtime skipper’s health and whether he wanted to return after a year away from the sport. Krall and GM Brad Meador met with Francona in Tucson on October 2, and were impressed enough to call owner Bob Castellini to fly to Tucson the next day to finalize the contract. In other details on the managerial search, interim manager Freddie Benavides had put himself on the Reds’ short list with an excellent set of interviews, and Rangers associate manager Will Venable was also on the list of top targets. It appears as though Benavides might’ve been the only other candidate to actually interview, as Francona’s emergence precluded the Reds’ need to speak with Venable, or other rumored candidates as David Ross or Skip Schumaker.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto was rocked for five runs over three innings in Game 1 of the NLDS last night, though the Dodgers came back for a 7-5 win over the Padres. Manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya) that the Dodgers were exploring the possibility that Yamamoto was tipping his pitches when runners were on base, and Ardaya notes that Yamamoto had a similar pitch-tipping issue during Spring Training. Or, the problem might just be that the Padres have Yamamoto’s number, as they tagged him for eight runs over six innings in two starts during the regular season. Either scenario is naturally a concern for L.A. in the rest of the series, and Roberts only said Yamamoto was “in play” to pitch during a potential Game 5, if not necessarily as a starter.

AL East Notes: Bichette, Yoshida, Cortes

By Mark Polishuk | October 6, 2024 at 4:46pm CDT

The Blue Jays had some largely “exploratory” trade talks involving Bo Bichette early last offseason, TSN’s Scott Mitchell writes. This isn’t exactly new news, as multiple reports last November indicated that the shortstop’s name indeed come up in trade discussions, though those talks were portrayed as other teams checking on Bichette’s availability. Mitchell, however, specifies that “the Jays did indeed shop Bichette.”

As always, there’s plenty of gray area when parsing hot-stove terminology, as the distinction between actively trying to move Bichette and listening on Bichette trade offers could be pretty thin. Executives routinely discuss scores of players in trade talks with other clubs, just as a matter of due diligence in gauging interest. For instance, if Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins had learned that a rival club had a particular interest in Bichette and had a player or players that the Jays liked, Atkins might have been more inclined to “shop” Bichette in that particular direction in order to swing a favorable trade for Toronto. In any case, as Mitchell observes, revisiting any trade talks involving Bichette this winter could be difficult because the shortstop is coming off an injury-plagued down year, so the Blue Jays aren’t likely to land a premium return even if they did look to move Bichette.

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