Mets To Issue Qualifying Offers To Severino, Manaea
The Mets are issuing the $21.05MM qualifying offer to both Luis Severino and Sean Manaea, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post (X links). There’s no surprise in Manaea’s case, though Severino was more of a borderline call. The pitchers will have until November 19 to determine whether to lock in that salary. That’ll give their representatives just over two weeks to gauge the market.
Manaea is coming off one of the better platform years of anyone in the rotation class. He turned in a 3.47 earned run average while striking out a quarter of opponents through a career-high 181 2/3 innings. The southpaw had an excellent second half that coincided with a dip in his arm angle and an increased use of his sinker. He’ll probably be limited to three-year offers as he enters his age-33 season, though those could come at a comparable annual value to the QO price. He shouldn’t give much consideration to accepting.
Severino could have a more interesting decision. The hard-throwing righty worked to a 3.91 ERA across 182 frames spanning 31 starts. It was a nice rebound from his terrible final season with the Yankees. Severino improved his ground-ball rate to 46% but didn’t find the kind of bat-missing ability that made him a high-end starter during his early days in the Bronx. He fanned 21.2% of batters faced while getting swinging strikes at a well below-average 9.4% clip.
The lack of whiffs could lead to trepidation from some teams. Severino has plus velocity and good control, though, and he proved capable of shouldering a full workload for the first time since 2018. With Manaea virtually certain to decline the QO, the Mets were willing to risk bringing Severino back on a decent one-year salary. They’re likely to find themselves in the top tier of luxury tax penalization next season. That’d entail paying a 110% tax, potentially putting them on the hook for more than $44MM.
If Severino declines the offer in search of a three- or four-year deal, the Mets would be in line for modest draft compensation. As luxury tax payors, New York receives the lowest form of compensation for losing qualified free agents. They’d get compensatory picks after the fourth round if Manaea and/or Severino sign elsewhere. The prospect value of those picks is minimal, but it’d tack on a few hundred thousand dollars to next year’s amateur signing bonus pool.
Image courtesy of Imagn.
Mets Claim Luis De Los Santos
The Mets announced that they have claimed infielder Luis De Los Santos off waivers from the Blue Jays. Additionally, outfielder DJ Stewart as well as left-handers Joey Lucchesi and Matt Gage were outrighted off the 40-man roster. Stewart and Lucchesi elected free agency.
De Los Santos, 26, got up to the big leagues for the first time this year. He hit .172/.226/.241 in a small sample of 31 plate appearances to start his major league career. He hit .260/.375/.441 in his 154 Triple-A plate appearances while spending time at all four infield positions.
He still has a couple of option seasons and less than a year of year of service time, so he can provide the Mets with some depth around the dirt for the foreseeable future. They have Francisco Lindor cemented at short but questions elsewhere. First baseman Pete Alonso is now a free agent. He could be re-signed but it’s no guarantee he’ll be back. Mark Vientos just had a breakout season while playing third base but with poor defense, so he could perhaps move over to first if Alonso departs. Second base could be taken by Jeff McNeil but he’s also capable of playing other positions. Young guys like Brett Baty, Luisangel Acuña or Ronny Mauricio are candidates to take over at second or third base.
Stewart, 31 this month, finished 2023 on a heater but couldn’t really carry it over into 2024 as he finished the year with a .177/.325/.297 batting line for the Mets. He could have been retained for 2025 via arbitration, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting him for a $1.7MM salary but the Mets clearly weren’t interested in that and bumped him off the roster instead.
Lucchesi, 32 in June, has been an optionable depth arm for the Mets for a while but is now out of options. That means he wouldn’t be able to continue in that role going forward. Since missing 2022 while recovering from Tommy John surgery, he has tossed 57 innings for the Mets over the past two seasons with a 3.32 ERA but but subpar strikeout and walk rates of 16.2% and 10.4% respectively. As players with at least three years of service time, both Stewart and Lucchesi had the right to elect free agency and did so.
Gage, 32 in February, was acquired from the Dodgers in a cash deal in July but didn’t pitch for them after that, mostly staying on optional assignment. He has 19 2/3 innings of major league experience with the Blue Jays and Astros in previous seasons.
James Karinchak Granted Free Agency After Outright From Guardians
The Guardians announced some roster moves this afternoon, including the news that right-hander James Karinchak was reinstated from the 60-day injured list and then outrighted off the club’s 40-man roster. Karinchak was granted free agency, so the 29-year-old righty will now hit the open market.
The hard-throwing Karinchak burst onto the scene with a sixth-place finish in AL Rookie of the Year voting in 2020, posting a 2.67 ERA over 27 innings while striking out an exceptional 48.6% of all batters faced. A 14.7% walk rate was attached to all those missed bats, however, which ended up being a constant over Karinchak’s time in the majors. Over parts of five seasons with Cleveland, Karinchak had a 36.3K% and 14.1% walk rate in 165 2/3 innings, with a 3.10 ERA.
While the bottom-line results were still okay, Karinchak’s performance diminished after the league’s crackdown on illegal substances in 2021, and continued control problems and injuries made him something of an afterthought for the Guardians. A teres major muscle strain cost him a big chunk of the 2022 season, he was shuttled back and forth from Triple-A multiple times in 2023, and he was limited to just 6 2/3 Triple-A innings in 2024 due to a shoulder injury suffered during Spring Training.
Karinchak was projected to earn $1.9MM in the arbitration process, so today’s transaction is essentially just an early non-tender. Karinchak is still arb-controlled through 2026 and he has one minor league option year remaining, so any interested teams could stash him in Triple-A to see if he can stay healthy or harness his control. The obvious strikeout potential will surely land Karinchak a minors deal somewhere, and a change of scenery could help him get his career back on track.
David Fry To Miss Start Of 2025 Season Due To Elbow Surgery, Will Be Limited To DH Duty
Guardians utilityman David Fry was known to be receiving consultation from Dr. Keith Meister about a lingering right elbow injury, and MLB.com’s Mandy Bell (X link) reports that Fry had to undergo a surgery to correct the issue. As outlined by the Guardians (via X), Fry underwent a hybrid/internal brace and tendon reconstruction surgery to address a flexor strain and a “chronically insufficient” UCL.
Fry will need 12 months to return to action as a fielder, so he’ll be limited to DH duty for the entirety of the 2025 season. Even in that case, Fry will need 6-8 months just to return as a designated hitter, so he’ll be sidelined for at least the start of next season.
It’s a tough turn of events for both Fry and the Guardians, as his defensive versatility made him a uniquely valuable asset on Cleveland’s roster. Ostensibly a backup catcher, Fry has bounced all over the diamond during his two MLB seasons, banking almost as many innings at first base and as a corner outfielder (129 innings in left, 67 in right) as he has behind the plate, and Fry has also made a handful of appearances at third base.
This usage was curtailed midway through the 2024 season as Fry’s elbow issue began to surface. After June 23, he made only one appearance at catcher and 10 appearances at first base, otherwise playing only as a DH and pinch-hitter. There was a clear impact on Fry’s production, as he had a scorching-hot 1.046 OPS over his first 159 plate appearances of the season, and a far more modest .649 OPS over his final 233 trips to the plate.
The overall result was still a .263/.356/.448 slash line and 14 homers in 392 PA, and Fry’s 129 wRC+ ranked third on the team behind Jose Ramirez and Steven Kwan. Fry kept it going in the playoffs, hitting .286/.333/.536 with two homers over 31 October plate appearances, highlighted by his 10th-inning walkoff homer in Game 3 of the ALCS.
Cleveland was expected to pursue hitting help this winter anyway, so losing one of their top bats to a brace surgery further sets back the Guardians’ quest for offense. In the best-case scenario, Fry will be able to return to Cleveland’s lineup in early April, and he’ll assume at least a share of the regular DH role. The right-handed hitting Fry was a lot more productive against lefties than righties this season, so a left-handed bat like Kyle Manzardo might be in line to get the lion’s share of the DH at-bats anyway once Fry eventually returns.
Of course, quite a bit might be in flux with the Guardians’ first base/DH situation this winter, as Josh Naylor is widely seen as a trade candidate as he enters his last year of team control. If Naylor was dealt and Fry needs more recovery time, it leaves Manzardo and Jhonkensy Noel as an inexperienced pair of first-choice candidates for first base and DH duty, which might make Cleveland a little more apt to hang onto Naylor.
On the catching side, Bo Naylor will continue to receive the bulk of starts behind the plate, and nobody would be surprised if defensive specialist Austin Hedges is re-signed to again serve as the backup. Fry will be missed in the outfield as well, though it was expected that the Guardians would look to bolster the outfield mix anyway with a new addition.
Reds Issue Qualifying Offer To Nick Martinez
The Reds have issued a qualifying offer to Nick Martinez, reports Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer. The QO is valued at $21.05MM. The right-hander declined a $12MM player option over the weekend to hit free agency for a fourth straight winter.
Wittenmyer reports that the Reds and Martinez have discussed a multi-year extension but haven’t gained much traction. Rather than risk losing him for nothing, Cincinnati made the surprising call to issue the QO. Martinez and his representatives at the Boras Corporation have until November 19 to explore the market before deciding whether to lock in what would easily be the highest salary of his career.
Martinez had an excellent first season in Cincinnati. The Reds signed him to a two-year, $26MM free agent deal. Martinez had pitched well over two seasons in a swing role with the Padres. He pitched in the same capacity for the Reds, starting 16 of 42 appearances. He logged a career-best 142 1/3 innings with a 3.10 earned run average. He has allowed fewer than 3.50 earned runs per nine in all three seasons since returning from Japan during the 2021-22 offseason. Martinez showed pristine control (3.2% walk percentage) and did a fantastic job avoiding hard contact. That mitigated concerns about how he’d adjust to hitter-friendly Great American Ball Park.
Strong as that production was, the QO is a gamble for a team that doesn’t run huge payrolls. Martinez is headed into his age-34 season and would likely be limited to a three-year deal even if he weren’t attached to draft compensation. There looks to be a good chance he accepts the offer. The Reds spent around $90MM on player payroll this past season. If they end up a similar range in 2025, Martinez’s salary would account for upwards of a fifth of their spending.
That’s a lot to commit to a swingman, though it’d be more reasonable if the Reds wanted to give Martinez a full-time rotation job. He has been better out of the bullpen, as one would expect, though he was quite good in either role. Martinez posted a 3.84 ERA with a 19.1% strikeout rate out of the rotation. He turned in a sparkling 1.86 mark while fanning 22.5% of opponents across 53 1/3 relief innings.
The QO qualifies as a major league free agent contract. Article XX(b) free agents like Martinez gain full no-trade rights until June 15 of the following season, so the Reds couldn’t deal him this offseason without his consent if he accepts the offer. Cincinnati wouldn’t have made the offer if they weren’t prepared to welcome him back at that price.
If Martinez finds a robust market and is still able to land a notable multi-year contract, the Reds position themselves to land draft compensation. In the unexpected event that Martinez lands a $50MM+ deal elsewhere, Cincinnati would get a pick after the end of the first round in 2025. The likelier outcome is that a contract would be for less than $50MM, entitling the Reds to a pick between the end of Competitive Balance Round B and the start of the third round. Another team would forfeit draft pick(s) and potentially international signing bonus space to add Martinez. The penalties vary depending on the signing team’s revenue sharing status.
Image courtesy of Imagn.
White Sox Claim Penn Murfee
The White Sox announced that they have claimed right-hander Penn Murfee off waivers from the Astros. The Sox also announced that righties Matt Foster and Jimmy Lambert both elected free agency in lieu of accepting outright assignments, indicating both players cleared waivers recently.
Murfee, 31 in May, posted strong results for the Mariners in 2022 and 2023. He tossed 83 1/3 innings with a 2.70 earned run average, 27.9% strikeout rate and 8.5% walk rate. Unfortunately, he’s been on ice for a while, having undergone UCL surgery in June of 2023.
Since then, he has bounced around the league, going to the Mets, Braves, Astros and now White Sox via waiver claims. He began a rehabbing in August of this year but that assignment was shut down after just one appearance with the Astros saying he had “a reoccurrence of right elbow discomfort.”
His current status is unclear but the White Sox are perhaps the team best positioned to be patient with him. They just wrapped up the worst season in the modern era of baseball and can’t be expected to return to contention any time soon. Murfee can still be retained for four more seasons and the Sox will see if they can get him back on track.
Foster, 30 in January, has thrown 119 1/3 innings in his major league career with a 4.30 ERA, 23.1% strikeout rate and 8.7% walk rate. He had Tommy John surgery in April of 2023 and has missed most of the past two years.
He could have been retained for next year via arbitration with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting him for a $900K salary. However, this move indicates the White Sox didn’t want him back at that price point, nor did any of the other clubs who all passed on the chance to grab him off waivers.
Lambert, 30 this month, has thrown 99 2/3 innings for the Sox in his big league career with a 4.33 ERA, 22.1% strikeout rate and 11.3% walk rate. He exhausted his final option year in 2023 and went on to spend all of 2024 on the injured list, eventually undergoing shoulder surgery in August. He qualified for arbitration for the first time this winter and was projected for a $1.2MM salary next year but the Sox decided cut him from the roster.
Both he and Foster have at least three years of service time, which gives them the right to reject outrights assignments and elect free agency. Both players exercised their rights and will head to the open market in search of their respective next opportunities.
Twins Outright Five Players
The Twins have outrighted right-handers Scott Blewett, Randy Dobnak, Josh Winder, and Daniel Duarte as well as first baseman Yunior Severino off their 40-man roster, as noted by Bobby Nightengale of the Star Tribune. While none of the quintet were previously announced as having been designated for assignment, all five has cleared waivers and been sent outright to the minors. The club also triggered a $1.5MM club option for right-hander Jorge Alcalá, per Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic on X.
Today is a big roster churn day, as the 60-day injured list goes away and doesn’t come back until spring training. Since players on the 60-day IL don’t count against a club’s 40-man roster count, this leads to roster crunches around the league. As such, the Twins have removed five players from the roster and passed them through waivers.
Dobnak has been passed through waivers a couple of times before, a reflection of his contract and service time status. Going into 2021, he and the Twins agreed to a five-year, $9.25MM extension but his results failed to live up to that deal. Players need to have at least five years of service to both reject an outright assignment and keep all the remaining money on their contracts. Dobnak was and is well shy of that, meaning he has continually turned down chances to elect free agency, allowing him to keep collecting his paychecks on the deal. That is likely how this will play out. He got back to the big leagues this year for the first time since 2021 but posted a 5.59 earned run average over his five outings, bringing his career ERA up to 4.99.
Blewett, 29 in April, signed a minor league deal with the Twins in the winter and ultimately tossed 20 1/3 innings for them with a 1.77 ERA. However, he wasn’t going to continue stranding 90.5% of baserunners, which is why his FIP was 4.00 and his SIERA was 4.05 for the year. He has been outrighted before in his career so he has the right to elect free agency.
Winder, 28, was drafted by the Twins and has been on the roster since November of 2021. Since then, he has tossed 110 2/3 innings with a 4.39 ERA, 18% strikeout rate, 7% walk rate and 37.2% ground ball rate.
Duarte, 28 next month, was claimed off waivers in the offseason and made two appearances for the Twins this season before requiring season-ending elbow surgery. His timeline for returning to play is not currently clear. He has a previous career outright and is therefore eligible to elect free agency.
Severino, 25, was added to the club’s 40-man roster a year ago to keep him out of the 2023 Rule 5 draft. He put up a solid line of .254/.342/.434 in Triple-A this year but the offensive environment was strong in the International League this year, leading that to translate to a roughly league average wRC+ of 101.
As for Alcalá, he and the Twins avoided arbitration last year by agreeing to a $790K salary with a $1.5MM club option for 2025 that came with a $55K buyout. He went on to toss 58 1/3 innings for the Twins this year with a 3.24 ERA, 24.7% strikeout rate and 8.5% walk rate. Based on that performance, MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected Alcalá to get a raise to $1.7MM through the abr process. The Twins have instead gone for the lower price of the club option to bring him back next year.
Astros To Acquire Taylor Trammell From Yankees
The Astros are acquiring outfielder Taylor Trammell from the Yankees, according to a report from Chandler Rome of The Athletic. The return headed to the Bronx is not yet known.
Trammell, 27, was selected 35th overall in the 2016 draft by the Reds and was regarded as a top-100 caliber prospect as recently as 2021. By that point, he had been a part of multiple trades, heading from the Reds to the Padres in the three-team deal that sent Yasiel Puig to Cleveland before eventually being shipped from San Diego to Seattle as part of the seven-player deal that brought Austin Nola to the Padres. Though he was traded multiple times before reaching the Triple-A level, Trammell hit fairly well in his first taste of the level with the Mariners’ affiliate in Tacoma and earned a call up to the big leagues during the 2021 season.
Unfortunately, that call-up did not go well. Trammell hit just .160/.256/.359 with a 73 wRC+ in 178 trips to the plate across 51 games during his first season in the majors. While he flashed considerable power with eight home runs during that time, he struck out at a completely untenable 42.1% clip that left him as a lackluster option in the outfield, where he was capable of playing center but not a particularly strong defender. The results would improve somewhat over the next two years as Trammell rode the shuttle between Tacoma and Seattle. In 173 plate appearances at the big league level over those two seasons, he hit an improved .176/.285/.378 that was just 6% worse than average by measure of wRC+ thanks to an excellent 12.7% walk rate in conjunction with his impressive power.
That said, Trammell was still striking out more than 30% of the time in the majors, even as he tore up the Triple-A level to the tune of a .268/.381/.500 slash line throughout his time at the level. Trammell also gradually became less of a viable option in center with just two innings of work at the position in 2023, further putting pressure on his bat to perform. This led the Mariners to designate him for assignment back in March rather than keep him on the Opening Day roster. Trammell was promptly plucked off waivers by the Dodgers while veteran outfielder Jason Heyward dealt with a back injury, but appeared in just five games before being designated for assignment in mid-April.
That move led the Yankees to claim Trammell from the Dodgers, though he similarly lasted just five games on New York’s big league roster before being DFA’d for the third time in just over a month. This time, the move stuck and Trammell cleared waivers, allowing the Yankees to outright him to the minors. Once at Triple-A, Trammell hit fairly well with a .256/.381/.488 slash line in 106 games. Now, Trammell is on the move once again and will begin the 2024-25 offseason with the Astros. For Houston, the 27-year-old should provide additional outfield depth behind the right-handed Chas McCormick and Jake Meyers and could compete for a job on the club’s bench during Spring Training next year.
A’s Claim Anthony Maldonado, Justin Sterner
The A’s announced they’ve claimed righty relievers Anthony Maldonado from the Marlins and Justin Sterner from the Rays. Both players had quietly landed on waivers last week.
Maldonado and Sterner each made their debuts this past season. Maldonado, 27 in February, has slightly more experience. He pitched in 16 games for Miami and allowed 12 runs across 19 innings. He struck out 11 while issuing seven walks. Maldonado showed better strikeout stuff in the minors, fanning 26.1% of batters faced over 46 1/3 Triple-A frames. While that came with a slightly elevated 10.8% walk rate and a middling 4.66 ERA, the A’s are evidently intrigued by his arsenal. Maldonado leaned most heavily on his mid-80s slider.
Sterner, 28, has all of two games of MLB experience. The BYU product tossed four innings of two-run ball with four strikeouts. He had a strong year with the Rays’ top affiliate in Durham. Sterner turned in a 3.28 earned run average over 46 2/3 innings. He punched out more than 31% of batters faced against an 8.9% walk percentage. Sterner used a fastball-cutter combination during his limited MLB look. Both he and Maldonado sat in the 93-94 MPH range with their heaters.
This was the first option year for both pitchers. The A’s can keep them in Triple-A for the foreseeable future if they stick on the 40-man roster.
Rays, Jacob Waguespack Agree To Extension
The Rays announced that right-hander Jacob Waguespack has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list and that the two sides have agreed to an extension, though no details of the new deal were provided. The club also noted that righty Joel Kuhnel cleared waivers and elected free agency.
Waguespack, who turns 31 tomorrow, has less than three years of service time and is therefore not close to the six years necessary to reach free agency. However, he did spent 2022 and 2023 pitching in Japan. Players coming back from overseas often have clauses in their contracts that allow them to become free agents regardless of service time considerations.
Waguespack signed a minor league deal with the Rays in January of 2024 and was selected to the roster early in March. Earlier today, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times noted on X that the Rays had a $1.3MM club option on Waguespack for 2025. Later, Topkin provided an update in a new tweet that Waguespack will indeed make $1.3MM next year with a $1.5MM club option for 2026.
It’s an interesting show of faith in Waguespack, as he didn’t pitch much this year. He tossed ten innings for the Rays over four appearances but the last of those was on April 12, with the righty being optioned to Triple-A after that. He was recalled in May to be placed on the 60-day injured list due to right rotator cuff inflammation. He was sent on a rehab assignment in June but made just one appearance at that time, starting another rehab assignment in September that lasted six outings.
After such an injury-marred season, there’s not much for the Rays to go on. He posted a 5.01 earned run average in his 23 1/3 minor league innings and a 5.40 ERA in his major league work. Presumably, they still like what they saw of Waguespack’s results in Japan. Over his two years in Nippon Professional Baseball, Waguespack had a 4.02 ERA in 116 1/3 innings. He struck out 29% of batters faced with a 10.8% walk rate. They’ll keep Waguespack around at a modest price point with the club option giving them some future upside if the bet pays off.
Kuhnel, 30 in February, was just claimed off waivers by the Rays in July. He has been bouncing around the league in recent years, having gone from the Reds to the Astros, Blue Jays, Brewers and then Rays via waiver claims, small trades or minor league deals since June of 2023. As a player who has been outrighted in the past, he had the right to elect free agency this time and has exercised that right.
He will now look for his next club, which will most likely come on a minor league deal. He has strong velocity but has turned that into more ground balls than strikeouts thus far. In 93 2/3 big league innings, he has a 5.86 ERA, 18.7% strikeout rate, 5.9% walk rate and 52% ground ball rate. He’s now out of options, which will limit his roster flexibility going forward.