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Mariners Agree To Minor League Deals With Kirby Snead, Jhonathan Diaz

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The Mariners have signed left-handers Jhonathan Diaz and Kirby Snead to minor league contracts, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America. Both pitchers come from AL West rivals who had outrighted them at the end of last season.

Diaz had spent the past few years with the Angels. The 27-year-old got to the majors every season from 2021-23 but hasn’t tallied more than four appearances in any year. He pitched seven innings over four games last September, allowing 11 runs (eight earned) with seven walks and four strikeouts.

A swing option, Diaz started eight of 38 appearances with Triple-A Salt Lake. He logged 87 innings of 4.55 ERA ball for the Bees. Diaz kept the ball on the ground at a solid 48% clip but had middling strikeout (21.5%) and walk (11.1%) numbers. He’ll likely open next season with the M’s top affiliate in Tacoma as multi-inning depth.

Snead, 29, is a more traditional lefty specialist. Originally a Blue Jays draftee, he made a brief MLB debut with Toronto in 2021. The Jays included him as the fourth piece in the Matt Chapman deal with the A’s the following offseason. Snead pitched 44 2/3 innings for Oakland in 2022, allowing a 5.84 ERA.

A shoulder strain cost him the first three months of the 2023 season. Upon his return, he got into 15 MLB games. Snead allowed seven runs (six earned) across 11 2/3 frames. He fanned nine and issued six walks. The Florida product had a tough run in a very hitter-friendly Triple-A setting. Pitching for the A’s top affiliate in Las Vegas, he was tagged for a 7.59 ERA in 21 2/3 innings. He walked over 14% of opposing hitters.

Snead’s results the past two years haven’t been encouraging, but he managed a 1.58 ERA in 40 Triple-A innings back in 2021. He held left-handed batters to a .141/.222/.203 showing in 73 plate appearances that season. The M’s will see if a change in environment can help him recapture something closer to that ’21 form.

L.A. District Attorney’s Office Will Not File Felony Charges Against Julio Urias; Case Referred For Misdemeanor Consideration

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The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office has determined not to file felony charges against free agent pitcher Julio Urías, reports Alden González of ESPN (X link). The investigation has been forwarded to the L.A. City Attorney’s Office to determine whether misdemeanor charges are warranted.

Urías, then a member of the Dodgers, was arrested and booked on a felony charge of “corporal injury on a spouse” on September 3. According to ESPN, police alleged in the arrest report that Urías was arrested after a physical altercation between a man and a woman following an MLS game. Law enforcement turned the case over to the District Attorney’s Office in mid-December.

Prosecutors have evidently determined not to proceed with the felony case. Whether misdemeanor charges are filed will determine if the criminal proceedings continue. The decision not to bring felony charges is not a declaration that no assault of any kind was committed. Jack Harris of the L.A. Times reports that the D.A.’s office’s charge evaluation worksheet claims that Urías “pushed his wife against a fence and pulled her by the hair or shoulders” but stated that “neither the Victim’s injuries nor the Defendant’s criminal history justify a felony filing.”

MLB will presumably wait on the resolution of the criminal matter before deciding whether discipline is warranted. The league can impose discipline even in the absence of criminal charges under the Joint Domestic Violence policy with the Players Association.

In 2019, MLB suspended Urías for 20 games after determining he violated the domestic violence policy at that time. (He was arrested on the 2019 incident but did not face criminal charges after the DA’s Office agreed to defer prosecution.) No player has yet been suspended twice for violations of the domestic violence policy.

Urías spent the remainder of the 2023 season on administrative leave. He became a free agent at the start of the offseason thanks to his six years of service time. He finished the year with a 4.60 ERA in 21 starts.

White Sox GM Discusses Rotation, Right Field

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White Sox general manager Chris Getz spoke with reporters today and discussed some of the club’s plans for the rest of the offseason and the upcoming campaign, with Scott Merkin of MLB.com and Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times among those to relay the information. Getz acknowledged that Dylan Cease has received plenty of interest from other clubs but said that the Sox won’t trade him unless they feel the deal makes the club better. Elsewhere in the rotation, he said that Garrett Crochet will come into the season preparing to be a starter and that Chris Flexen is expected to be a starter as well. In terms of the lineup, he said that they don’t have an established starting right fielder as of right now and are open to external additions.

Cease, 28, has posted excellent results over the past three years and has been incredibly popular on the trade market in recent months. Teams such as the Yankees, Orioles, Dodgers, Cardinals, Red Sox, Mets, Braves and Reds have all been connected to his market this winter. Some of those clubs have since pivoted to other moves but the rumors around the righty have continued to swirl, with many in the industry still expecting a trade before the start of the season. But from the point of view of the Sox, they don’t feel they have to make a deal. “We’ve had [trade] conversations about Dylan [Cease] but we’re not going to move someone unless there’s a benefit,” Getz said.

The righty is still under club control for two years, so the Sox don’t have to move him immediately if they don’t want to. But his trade value won’t get any higher at this point, making it sensible for them to take the best offer they can get at the moment. By the time the trade deadline rolls around, they will only be marketing a year and a half of his services and the number of suitors might dwindle if some interested clubs fall out of contention. There’s also the ever-present risk of an injury sapping Cease of his trade value.

It was reported back in December that the Sox were being patient with the market, seeing if the interest in Cease picked up after Yoshinobu Yamamoto signed and the clubs that missed on him pivoted. Yamamoto has now signed with the Dodgers, leaving Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery as the top free agents available but Cease one of the top trade candidates. Pitchers like Corbin Burnes, Shane Bieber and Jesús Luzardo have also been in trade rumors but it’s unclear how open their respective clubs are to offers.

In the case of Cease, the Sox have reportedly been setting a high asking price, which is perhaps why no deal has been consummated as of yet. It was reported last month that the Sox asked the Reds for four of their top prospects, which seemed to put an end to the discussions. The Reds agreed to terms with free agent Frankie Montas on a deal about a week after that report. Whether the Sox will back down from that apparent lofty asking price, or some other club will bite the bullet and meet it, remains to be seen.

The high level of interest and the asking price are both reflections of his immense talent. Over the past three campaigns, he has taken the ball 97 times and produced an earned run average of 3.54 in that time, along with a 29.8% strikeout rate. FanGraphs considered him to be worth a combined 12.6 wins above replacement in those years, the eighth-best tally out of all big league pitchers. His ERA jumped to 4.58 ERA in 2023 but there seems to be little concern about that. His 27.3% strikeout rate was also a couple of ticks below the previous two seasons but he was also held back by his .330 batting average on balls in play and 69.4% strand rate, both of which are on the unlucky side. His 3.72 FIP and 4.10 SIERA suggest he was closer to his previous self than the ERA may indicate.

In addition to his skills, he’s also attractive due to his contractual situation. While frontline starters can secure nine-figure guarantees as free agents, Cease is still in his arbitration years. He is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for a salary of $8.8MM and will be due one more raise before he’s slated for free agency after 2025.

Whether the Sox eventually move Cease or not, they will have plenty of question marks in their rotation. Pitchers like Erick Fedde, Michael Kopech, Michael Soroka and Touki Toussaint will be in the mix for jobs but there’s uncertainty with each one of them. Fedde is coming off a tremendous showing in the Korea Baseball Organization but struggled in his MLB career prior to that. Soroka was mediocre in 2023 after missing most of the previous three seasons due to injuries. Kopech and Toussaint have battled significant control problems in their respective careers.

It appears the club is keeping an open mind with their rotation mix, with Crochet set to be built up this year. The lefty has previously expressed an interest in return to a rotation gig and will apparently get some kind of shot in the months to come.

Now 24 years old, Crochet was drafted by the Sox in 2020 and was quickly launched to the majors, making his debut later that same year as a reliever. In 2021, he stuck with the big league bullpen and posted an ERA of 2.82 over 54 appearances. There was some consideration of stretching him out as a starter going into 2022 but he required Tommy John surgery that April and missed the entire campaign. He returned to the Sox last year as a reliever but missed three months of the season due to shoulder inflammation and eventually made just 13 appearances.

Due to his limited workload in recent years, it may not be possible to fully stretch him out in just one season, something Getz acknowledged. Due to the canceled minor leagues in 2020, the Tommy John layoff and then the shoulder troubles, the southpaw has thrown just 73 big league innings over the past four years, as well as another 12 1/3 on rehab assignments in 2023. That would make it difficult for him to suddenly jump to 200 or even 150 innings in 2024, but the club will nonetheless give him some runway to see how it plays out.

“He believes he can be a starter. We’ve seen him be a starter in the past. So we are going to go into spring prepared to stretch him out and we’ll make adjustments along the way if need be,” Getz said. “He hasn’t started in a couple years. So, it’s going to take a little bit of time to appropriately stretch him out. We are going in with the intention for him to be a starter in 2024.” Crochet is eligible for arbitration this winter and is currently slated for free agency after 2026.

Also in the rotation mix will be Flexen, with Getz saying they expect starter’s innings out of him. The righty has worked both as a starter and reliever in recent years, with a disastrous 2023 campaign but better results in the two prior seasons. Over 2021 and 2022, he tossed 317 1/3 innings for the Mariners, with 53 of his 64 appearances coming as a starter. He had a 3.66 ERA in that time, only striking out 16.5% of batters but limiting walks and barrels.

But in 2023, he finished with a 6.86 ERA, splitting his time between the Mariners and Rockies. The Sox decided to overlook that rough showing and gave Flexen a $1.75MM guarantee on a big league deal. Though his performance will ultimately have a bearing on his role, the club appears to be planning on slotting him into the rotation mix.

Turning away from the rotation, Getz also said the club doesn’t have an established right fielder. He mentioned that they have internal options, including non-roster invitees, but that they are looking to make additions. That is a reflection of the poor debut season of Óscar Colás, who was a notable prospect coming into 2023 but struggled badly in his first 75 major league games. He batted .216/.257/.314 in his 263 plate appearances and also received poor grades for his defense. That led to tallies of -1.3 wins above replacement from FanGraphs and -1.5 from Baseball Reference. He still has two option years remaining, allowing the club to keep him in the minors if he doesn’t show signs of significant improvement.

The free agent market still features some notable outfield-capable guys, such as Adam Duvall, Robbie Grossman, Jorge Soler, Tommy Pham, Joc Pederson, David Peralta, Eddie Rosario, Joey Gallo, Whit Merrifield and Randal Grichuk. The trade market could theoretically feature guys such as Randy Arozarena and Max Kepler, though it would be a surprise if a retooling club like the White Sox gave up significant prospects in any deal.

In terms of the internal options who could be battling Colás, Gavin Sheets has had some good hitting results in the past but is coming off a rough season and is considered a poor defender. Brett Phillips was signed to a minor league deal and is a strong defender but weak at the plate. Wynton Bernard and Mark Payton have been signed to minor league deals as well but both of them have less than 70 major league plate appearances. Given those internal options, keeping an eye out for upgrades makes sense, whether that’s a free agent signing, a trade or even just a waiver claim.

MLBTR Poll: Josh Hader’s Market

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There’s no doubt Josh Hader is going to land the largest contract of any reliever this offseason. The more interesting question is whether he’ll establish a new high-water mark for bullpen arms.

Edwin Díaz became the first reliever to cross the nine-figure threshold. The right-hander re-signed with the Mets on a five-year, $102MM pact shortly before free agency opened during the 2022-23 offseason. (Deferrals reduced the contract’s valuation for luxury tax purposes to a little above $93MM.) That set a clear target for Hader’s camp.

Andy Martino of SNY wrote last week that teams engaged with Hader believe he’s shooting for that record. It makes for an interesting comparison between the two pitchers. Díaz was a year younger than Hader is now. The former was going into his age-29 season, while the latter turns 30 not long after Opening Day.

Hader has been a little better from a run prevention perspective. In 388 2/3 career innings, he owns a 2.50 ERA. Díaz had a 2.93 mark over 399 1/3 frames entering free agency (which is still the case because he missed the 2023 season after injuring his knee celebrating a triumph in the World Baseball Classic). While Hader showed a willingness to work multiple innings early in his career, he made clear that he preferred to occupy a single-inning role in recent seasons. Their overall body of work is about the same, while their platform-year ERAs are quite similar.

Díaz allowed a 1.31 ERA over 62 innings in 2022; Hader surrendered 1.28 earned runs per nine through 56 1/3 frames a year ago. There’s very little difference between those two numbers, although Hader probably has the more impressive figure when placed in league context. The league average ERA for relievers jumped from 3.86 to 4.17, likely reflecting both a somewhat livelier ball and rule changes implemented over the 2022-23 offseason (i.e. shift limitations) designed to tilt the game more toward offense.

Of course, there’s far more to a pitcher’s performance than keeping runs off the board. That’s particularly true for relievers, whose numbers can be skewed greatly by one poor outing (or simply a subpar defense). Díaz is probably more dominant on a pitch-for-pitch basis. While Hader has the slight edge in career strikeout rate, his approximate 37% mark in each of the past two seasons are his lowest since his rookie year. That’s still an elite number, to be clear, but it’s well shy of the laughable 50.2% of hitters whom Díaz fanned in 2022.

Opponents swung through nearly a quarter of all pitches that Díaz threw in his platform year. Hader’s 15.6% swinging strike percentage from last season was “merely” excellent, the 18th-highest rate in MLB among pitchers with 50+ innings. Díaz’s mark not only led the majors in 2022, it was three percentage points clear of second-place Andrés Muñoz. Díaz also throws a bit harder. He averaged north of 99 MPH on his fastball and nearly 91 MPH on his slider. Hader’s 96 MPH fastball and 86 MPH slider are more conventional velocity figures, although they’ve each proven almost unhittable.

The Padres made Hader a qualifying offer. New York re-signed Díaz before the deadline to make the QO but surely would have done so if they hadn’t agreed to a long-term deal. The Mets knew that re-signing Díaz was waiving their ability to collect the draft compensation they’d have received if he departed, which was presumably factored into the contract price.

Unlike the Mets, San Diego seems content to take the compensatory pick. The Padres have cut payroll and suggested they’re not going to spend at the top of the market. There haven’t been many suitors to emerge publicly. The Orioles were linked to Hader early in the offseason. They signed Craig Kimbrel to a $13MM deal and now profile as a long shot for a top-of-the-market relief splash. Teams like the Yankees, Dodgers and Rangers have been mentioned as speculative fits but without firm ties. Joel Sherman of the New York Post suggested this morning the Mets weren’t likely to be in on Hader.

Hader is one of the three to five best relievers in the sport. His camp has surely received calls that have gone unreported. Yet it’s a little surprising there haven’t been more public revelations on his market.

How will things play out? Will Hader top Díaz and where will he end up?

 

 

Wander Franco To Face Lesser Charges In Dominican Republic

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Some of the details have changed in the case against Rays shortstop Wander Franco, per a report from Martín Adames Alcántara of the Associated Press. He was originally accused of commercial and sexual exploitation and money laundering in the Dominican Republic but will now face the lesser charge of sexual and psychological abuse.

Franco has been accused of having a relationship with a 14-year-old girl and paying the girl’s mother to remain silent about the abuse. Per today’s report, Judge Romaldy Marcelino determined that the money could not be considered payment for the girl’s services because the mother requested it after learning of the relationship, which lasted four months. The judge said that prosecutors initially gave the case more serious treatment because “the accused is a professional MLB player.” Each of the original charges came with potential prison sentences between 10 and 30 years but the new charges could lead to a sentence of two to five years. Per the report, Franco has not yet been formally accused of the new charges.

The money laundering charges against the 35-year-old mother still stand and she remains under house arrest. Her name is being withheld to protect the identity of her daughter. Franco was recently released on bail after paying a bond of 2 million Dominican pesos, equivalent to around $34K USD. He is free to leave the country but has to report to Dominican authorities monthly as the investigation continues.

Though Franco is currently able to leave the Dominican Republic, he may face other difficulties. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic spoke to some American immigration attorneys to highlight some of the complications that could ensue. Primarily, the U.S. government could revoke his visa on the grounds he’s a threat to public safety based on the charges against him. That’s per Amy Maldonado, who serves as outside counsel for major league clubs but not the Rays.

“Barring a full exoneration in this case, where it comes out that this was all made up, I don’t see him very likely coming back anytime soon, if ever,” said Javad Khazaeli, a former prosecutor for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement who now works in private practice. “The likelihood he would come into the U.S., even if he had a valid visa that wasn’t revoked, is minimal, Khazaeli also said. “If I was his immigration attorney, I would tell him not to even try. Then he would open himself up to being detained at the border (by U.S. Customs and Border Protection) and being put into custody here until an administrative adjudication of these claims.”

The attorneys add that Franco would be barred from the United States if convicted. Rosenthal’s piece was published prior to the AP report of the lesser charges but that conclusion would still apply if the new charge is considered “crime of violence” and punishable by more than a year in prison. In that scenario, it would still be considered an aggravated felony and result in a permanent ban from the United States. Franco has a five-year P-1A Athlete visa but Khazaeli says the burden is on the foreign citizen to prove they warrant admission. The Immigration and Nationality Act includes a provision that allows the government to deny admission to a foreign citizen if it determines there are reasonable grounds.

Rosenthal also looked into the possibility of the Rays voiding the remainder of their contract with Franco, but there’s no precedent for such a result. In November of 2021, Franco and the Rays agreed to an 11-year, $182MM extension that runs through 2032.

Major League Baseball is also conducting its own investigation under the terms of the MLB/MLBPA Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse policy. In matters relating to that agreement, the league usually waits until legal proceedings play out before revealing its own conclusions. Even if Franco eventually escapes legal consequences, the league still has the authority to impose discipline.

Franco was placed on the restricted list in August of 2023 as the accusations were first coming to light. He was reinstated at the end of the season in a procedural move but will likely be placed back there if the investigations are still ongoing by the terms the 2024 season is ramping up.

Marlins Hire Rachel Balkovec As Director Of Player Development

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The Marlins have hired Rachel Balkovec to be their director of player development, per a report from Christina De Nicola of MLB.com. She has previously been managing for Single-A Tampa in the Yankees’ organization.

Balkovec, 36, has lots of experience working in the minor leagues, having originally been hired by the Cardinals in 2012 as an interim strength and conditioning coach. She later had the interim tag removed from that title in 2014. She jumped to the Astros in 2016, becoming that club’s Latin America strength and conditioning coordinator, learning to speak Spanish for the role. The Astros moved her to their Double-A affiliate in 2018.

Going into 2020, she was hired by the Yankees to be a minor league hitting coach and then got promoted to manage with Single-A Tampa prior to the 2022 campaign. She has held that gig with the Tarpons for the last two seasons but has now found another opportunity with the Marlins.

As noted by De Nicola, Balkovec has often been the first woman to hold these roles, being the first to become a full-time strength and conditioning coach in affiliated baseball, the first to serve as a full-time hitting coach in an affiliated organization and the first to be a full-time manager for an affiliate.

The Marlins have been undergoing changes in their front office in recent months, with general manager Kim Ng departing the organization as owner Bruce Sherman planned to hire a president of baseball operations to work above her. Sherman expressed concerns about the club’s track record in terms of drafting and developing prospects, something that Balkovec will now be involved in. Geoff DeGroot was let go as director of player development in September of 2022 but wasn’t replaced until now. Peter Bendix was brought over in November from the Rays, a club with a strong reputation for player development, to take the president of baseball operations role.

Mariners, Cory Abbott Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Mariners are set to sign right-hander Cory Abbott to a minor league contract, reports Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. The Dynamic Sports Group client will be in big league camp during spring training and compete for a roster spot. He’d be paid at an $800K rate in the majors, MLBTR has learned.

Abbott, 28, has logged big league time in each of the past three seasons, combining for 104 1/3 innings between the Cubs and Nationals. He’s struggled to a 6.02 ERA in that time while posting worse-than-average strikeout and walk rates of 20.2% and 11.4%.

A second-round pick by the Cubs back in 2017, Abbott posted lights-out numbers in the low minors and up through the Double-A level, but he’s struggled both in the big leagues and in Triple-A, where he carries a 5.45 ERA in three seasons. That said, Abbott has fanned a hefty 28.7% of his opponents at the Triple-A level and isn’t all that far removed from being a prospect of some note within the Cubs’ system; Baseball America ranked him 13th or better among Chicago farmhands each year from 2019-21, topping out at No. 8 in the system back in 2019.

The Mariners have regularly shown an ability to take journeyman arms and convert them into quality pieces of the pitching staff in recent years. Paul Sewald and Drew Steckenrider were both signed as minor league free agents before breaking out as key bullpen pieces in Seattle; Sewald in particular has emerged as a high-end big league reliever. Justin Topa was acquired in a minor swap with the Brewers. Lefties Gabe Speier and Tayler Saucedo were both waiver claims. Chris Flexen was signed to an affordable two-year deal after one year in the KBO and gave the M’s two strong seasons before falling off in 2023.

Certainly, not every dart throw made by the team will yield a turnaround along the lines those success stories, but the Mariners have somewhat quietly built up a nice track record of maximizing results from unheralded acquisitions of just this nature.

Soler: Marlins Have Not Shown Interest This Offseason

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Slugger Jorge Soler opted out of the final season of his three-year, $36MM contract with the Marlins following the 2023 season, and while there’s been plenty of speculation about a potential reunion, Soler himself told reporters Tuesday that his former club hasn’t shown interest in re-signing him. “There has been no contact with the Marlins,” Soler told Yordano Carmona of Pelota Cubana and others at a training event hosted by the Cuban Professional Baseball Federation.

Early in the offseason, the Marlins were reported to have some level of interest in retaining Soler, but whatever interest they did or did not have apparently hasn’t resulted in talks between the two parties. The Mariners, Diamondbacks, Red Sox and Blue Jays have all been tied to Soler, to varying extents, over the past month. (Notably, the Mariners have signed Mitch Garver to a two-year contract and reacquired Mitch Haniger since first being linked to Soler, which could take them out of the running.) Whether any has made a formal offer isn’t clear, but with fellow righty-swinging slugger Teoscar Hernandez now off the board to the Dodgers, it’s possible Soler’s market could accelerate.

Soler, 32 in February, bashed 36 home runs and hit .250/.341/.512 in 580 trips to the plate with the Fish this past season. He did so while registering a 24.3% strikeout rate and 11.4% walk rate that both represent the second-best marks of his career. He posted an above-average .242/.326/.462 slash against right-handed opponents (110 wRC+) and absolutely demolished lefties with a .277/.393/.688 batting line that landed 81% better than league-average (181 wRC+).

Beyond the raw offensive output, Soler continued to post his annual brand of tantalizing batted-ball metrics; he averaged 91.3 mph off the bat and saw 48% of his batted balls top 95 mph. Both of those marks placed Soler in the top 20% of big league hitters, and he ranked in the top nine percent of MLB hitters with a 15% barrel rate.

Thunderous contact has long been a part of Soler’s game, but so have prodigious strikeout totals and questionable defense. His recent contact improvements have perhaps assuaged some concerns about the strikeouts. Soler recorded career-best contact rates on pitches in the strike zone (85.4%) and off the plate (60.1%) in 2023, leading to a career-high 75% overall contact rate. It’s still below the league average, but no longer egregiously so. And, for a player with this type of light-tower power, teams will typically live with some holes in the swing.

However, there’s no getting around the defensive concerns. Soler is best deployed as a primary designated hitter at this point. His once plus sprint speed has fallen to 26.6 feet per second (26th percentile of MLB hitters), and his arm strength clocks into just the 57th percentile. Miami trotted him out for just 241 innings of defense in right field last season, and most public metrics were quite down on his performance there (-5 Defensive Runs Saved, -3.1 Ultimate Zone Rating, -3 Outs Above Average).

A new club could still play Soler in the outfield on occasion — particularly with strikeout-heavy and/or grounder-heavy starters on the mound — and trust that he’ll at least make routine plays, but it seems doubtful any team would view him as an everyday corner outfield option. That said, there are very few power bats available on the open market this offseason, making Soler’s 36-homer platform year all the more appealing.

Soler has had roller-coaster of a career at the plate to some extent, but by measure of wRC+ he’s had just one below-average year overall dating back to 2018. In total, he’s slashed .243/.334/.486 over his past 2598 trips to the plate — numbers that don’t include his .242/.342/.606 postseason showing with the ’21 Braves, when he was named World Series MVP after belting three homers and plating six runs in the Fall Classic. He’s also considerably younger than fellow free agent DH candidates like J.D. Martinez (36) and Justin Turner (39), which could add to his appeal among teams seeking some right-handed thump.

Soler’s original three-year contract with the Marlins was signed when now-former general manager Kim Ng was running the team’s baseball operations. Ng declined her end of a mutual option at the beginning of the offseason, and the Marlins hired Rays general manager Peter Bendix as their new president of baseball operations.

Latest On Shota Imanaga

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Jan. 9: Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports this morning that both the Giants and Angels now “appear to be looking elsewhere” (Twitter links). Heyman suggests that both the Red Sox and Cubs are “very much” still alive in the Imanaga bidding. That runs counter to reports from the weekend and from yesterday, though bidding on any free agent is, of course, quite fluid. Imanaga has a bit more than 48 hours remaining to come to terms with a team.

Jan. 8, 3:55pm: Chris Cotillo of MassLive reports that the Sox are considered a “long shot” to get Imanaga as things currently stand.

3:45pm: Star NPB left-hander Shota Imanaga will see his 45-day posting window come to a close on Thursday, meaning it’s only a matter of days before the 30-year-old will decide on his first big league team. Bidding for Imanaga has reportedly been strong, as he’s drawn interest from a wide range of teams thus far in his first foray into MLB’s open market. As the bidding period winds down, Imanaga’s market has unsurprisingly begun to take firmer shape.

Sankei Sports in Japan reports that the Angels and Giants are currently the leading candidates to sign Imanaga, although no decision has been made just yet. Similarly, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand suggests that the Giants are emerging as the favorites to sign the southpaw, though Feinsand adds that each of the Angels, Cubs and Red Sox remain in the fold to some extent. While there’s still a number of ways which the left-hander’s final decision could go, it’s at least notable that Feinsand characterizes a final four of sorts, while the reports out of Japan have the field narrowed further yet.

The Giants and Angels are both strong fits for Imanaga, who’s expected to top countryman Kodai Senga’s five-year, $75MM contract with the Mets. San Francisco acquired former AL Cy Young winner Robbie Ray on Friday in a surprising trade with the Mariners, but Ray isn’t expected to pitch until midseason as he recovers from Tommy John surgery. Similarly, right-hander Alex Cobb will open the year on the injured list while recovering from October hip surgery.

That leaves the Giants with ace Logan Webb as the most (arguably only) solidified member of the rotation. Veteran Ross Stripling, top prospect Kyle Harrison and 2023 rookies Keaton Winn and Tristan Beck are among the candidates to round out the staff, but there’s a good deal of uncertainty beyond that group. It’s true that Imanaga himself comes with his own uncertainty — he’s untested against big league hitters — but MLB scouts are intrigued enough by him that some believe his contract could approach nine figures. Clearly, there’s a prevailing belief throughout MLB that Imanaga is a legitimate mid-rotation arm, at the least.

A few hundred miles to the south, the Angels are facing some rotation questions of their own. Reid Detmers, Griffin Canning and Patrick Sandoval are all locked into spots, although Detmers and Sandoval both had down 2023 showings relative to their 2022 performance. That’s even more true of veteran Tyler Anderson, who had an All-Star ’22 showing with the Dodgers before posting a 5.43 ERA in year one of a three-year, $39MM free agent deal with the Halos. The Angels recently took a low-cost flier on Zach Plesac and have reportedly been prioritizing Blake Snell in the wake of Shohei Ohtani’s departure, but Imanaga presents a mid-rotation option for them as well.

The Red Sox, meanwhile, will roll out a new-look rotation with or without Imanaga. Gone is oft-injured ace Chris Sale, who was shipped to the Braves (with cash) in exchange for second baseman Vaughn Grissom. He was quickly replaced by newly signed Lucas Giolito, who’s currently in line to be joined by some combination of Brayan Bello, Tanner Houck, Nick Pivetta, Garrett Whitlock and Kutter Crawford.

As for the Cubs, they’ve been MLB’s least-active team this winter — at least when it comes to actually pushing deals across the finish line. Chicago has been connected to a litany of free agents and a handful of trade targets, but thus far the Cubs haven’t added a single player to their roster aside from catcher Brian Serven, whom they claimed off waivers from the Rockies last week. Chicago’s rotation currently includes Justin Steele, Kyle Hendricks and Jameson Taillon, with veteran Drew Smyly and young arms like Hayden Wesneski, Jordan Wicks, Ben Brown and Javier Assad all in the mix for starts as well. It’s a relatively solid group, but the Cubs figure to make some kind of move to replace the outgoing Marcus Stroman.

Dating back to 2019, Imanaga boasts a 26.2% strikeout rate and 5.9% walk rate in addition to a cumulative 2.79 earned run average — including a no-hitter in the 2022 season. He’s not overpowering in terms of velocity, though MLBTR contributor Dai Takegami Podziewski noted back in September that he’d added some life to his heater and was averaging between 92-93 mph during the 2023 campaign. In addition to the guaranteed money owed to the pitcher himself, Imanaga’s new team will need to pay a release fee to his former team, the Yokohama DeNA BayStars, which would be equal to 20% of the contract’s first $25MM, plus 17.5% of the next $25MM and 15% of any dollars thereafter.

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