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Sean Newcomb Undergoes Right Knee Surgery, Expected To Be Ready For Spring Training

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A’s reliever Sean Newcomb underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, the team announced (relayed by Martín Gallegos of MLB.com). It’s apparently a minor procedure, as Newcomb is still expected to be ready for Spring Training.

In late September, the southpaw underwent a meniscus repair on his other knee. Two procedures, even if neither is expected to require a notable absence, surely isn’t how he envisioned the start to his A’s tenure. Oakland had acquired Newcomb from the Giants in late August, a post-deadline trade made possible by the fact that neither he nor outfielder Trenton Brooks (who went to S.F. in return) had been on the 40-man roster to that point in the season.

The A’s quickly selected Newcomb’s contract. He pitched seven times before the left knee injury ended his year. The 30-year-old allowed five runs over 15 innings, fanning 17 while issuing nine walks. The front office was intrigued enough by Newcomb’s form to sign him to a $1MM contract within the first few days of the offseason. That bought out his second-to-last arbitration year.

As a result, Newcomb has a good chance of breaking camp in Mark Kotsay’s bullpen. A former first-round pick and top prospect, he has reached the majors in seven straight years. Newcomb had a couple strong seasons early in his career while operating out of the Atlanta rotation. Increasing strike-throwing issues have pushed him to the bullpen and the fringes of clubs’ rosters. He owns a 6.70 ERA in 88 2/3 MLB innings dating back to the start of 2020.

Diamondbacks, Ronaldo Hernandez Agree To Minor League Contract

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The Diamondbacks are signing catcher Ronaldo Hernandez to a minor league deal, reports Kiley McDaniel of ESPN (X link). He’ll get an invitation to big league Spring Training.

Hernandez, 26, was a top prospect during his early days in the Rays system. Tampa Bay traded him to the Red Sox in a deal that sent left-hander Jeffrey Springs to Tampa Bay going into the 2021 season. While that was a controversial decision for the Rays given Hernandez’s prospect status, it turned out to be a significant win. Springs has been a productive starter, while Hernandez stalled out at the upper levels of the Boston system.

The right-handed hitter has spent the past two seasons at Triple-A Worcester. Hernandez has had decent but unspectacular numbers in both years. He hit 17 homers in each season with middling on-base numbers. The Colombia native owns a .255/.319/.448 batting line over 860 plate appearances at the top minor league level.

Hernandez spent a couple years on Boston’s 40-man roster. He was called to the majors on a pair of occasions but didn’t get into an MLB game. The Sox ran him through outright waivers last offseason. When he wasn’t reselected onto the 40-man roster, he became a minor league free agent last month.

Arizona only has two catchers on the 40-man roster: Gabriel Moreno and Jose Herrera. The former is one of the sport’s top young catching talents and is entrenched as the starter. Herrera is a light-hitting backup with a career .198/.272/.231 slash in 90 big league contests. The Snakes could still look for an experienced catcher on a low-cost deal or via minor league pact. As things stand, there’d be a decent opportunity for Hernandez to get an MLB look at some point in 2024.

Braves Sign Taylor Widener To Minor League Deal

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The Braves have signed right-hander Taylor Widener to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. The righty has been assigned to Triple-A Gwinnett for now but could perhaps be in big league camp as a non-roster invitee.

Widener, 29, was drafted by the Yankees but was sent to the Diamondbacks in the complex three-team deal involving Brandon Drury, Steven Souza Jr. and others. He went on to toss 107 2/3 innings for the Snakes from 2020 to 2022 with an earned run average of 4.26. He struck out 22.3% of batters faced but also gave out walks at an 11% clip. His .274 batting average on balls in play and 80.8% strand rate were both on the lucky side of average, leading to a 5.54 FIP and 4.68 SIERA that weren’t as impressive as his ERA.

He was outrighted by the Diamondbacks in January and ended up spending the most recent season in South Korea, pitching for two different clubs in the Korea Baseball Organization. He started with the NC Dinos but was released in August and then signed with the Samsung Lions. Between the two clubs, he tossed 115 innings over 20 starts and one relief appearance. He had a combined ERA of 4.54 in that time, striking out 20% of batters while walking 8.1% and keeping 60.4% of balls in play on the ground.

Widener was working exclusively out of the bullpen in 2022 but was mostly back in a starting gig in 2023. It’s unknown if Atlanta prefers him in one role or the other but they might like the flexibility. They signed reliever Reynaldo López this offseason and will reportedly stretch him out in the spring, with the plan of moving him back to the bullpen if he doesn’t win a rotation job.

The club currently projects to have a rotation of Spencer Strider, Max Fried, Charlie Morton and Bryce Elder, with López in the mix for a spot at the back alongside guys like AJ Smith-Shawver and Huascar Ynoa. Widener will give the club a non-roster option in that competition or perhaps in their relief mix. If he gets a roster spot at any point, he still has a couple of options remaining.

White Sox Designate Luis Patiño For Assignment

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The White Sox announced they have selected the contract of right-hander Josimar Cousin, with fellow righty Luis Patiño designated for assignment in a corresponding move.

Patiño, now 24, was once a top 100 prospect but hasn’t yet delivered on that hype as a major leaguer. He came up with the Padres and then went to the Rays in the December 2020 Blake Snell deal. But he struggled to establish himself in Tampa and was flipped to the White Sox just ahead of this year’s deadline.

Between those three clubs, he has 136 1/3 major league innings of experience to this point with a 5.02 earned run average. His 20.2% strikeout rate and 11.4% walk rate are both below typical league averages. He also has struggled at the Triple-A level, with a 5.12 ERA in 123 innings there in his career.

The righty exhausted his final option year in 2023, meaning he could no longer be sent to the minors without being exposed to waivers. With that diminished roster flexibility, it was going to be a challenge for him to hang onto a roster spot, given his poor results of late. The Sox will now have a week to try to work out a trade or pass him through waivers.

Cousin, 26 in February, was born in Cuba and signed a minor league deal with the Sox in May. He spent time at three different minor league levels this year, going from the Complex League to High-A and then Double-A. He posted a combined 5.56 ERA in 55 innings, striking out 19.6% of opponents and walking 6.3%. It’s unclear why he was added to the roster today but it’s possible there was some sort of opt-out in his deal or he was offered an opportunity overseas.

Marlins Acquire Roddery Muñoz From Pirates

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The Marlins announced that they have acquired right-hander Roddery Muñoz from the Pirates in exchange for cash considerations, with fellow righty Ryan Jensen designated for assignment in a corresponding move. Muñoz was designated for assignment last week as the Bucs opened a roster spot for their acquisitions of Rowdy Tellez and Edward Olivares. Alex Stumpf of DK Pittsburgh Sports first relayed that Muñoz would be heading to Miami and Christina De Nicola of MLB.com was among those to relay the full slate of moves.

Muñoz, 24 in April, has never pitched for the Pirates or any major league team. He was a prospect with Atlanta and had a solid 2022 campaign, tossing 100 1/3 innings between High-A and Double-A. His 4.66 earned run average for that year doesn’t jump off the page, but he struck out 26.9% of batters faced while walking 9.5%. That got him a roster spot in November of last year, to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft.

But his results backed up in 2023 and he went to the Nationals and Pirates on waiver claims in July and December, respectively. He tossed 78 minor league innings on the year overall with a 5.42 ERA, striking out 23% of opponents but also walking 15.1% of them. He is still young and has a couple of options, so the Marlins will add him as some optionable starting depth.

The club has a rotation mix that currently consists of Jesús Luzardo, Eury Pérez, Braxton Garrett, Edward Cabrera, Trevor Rogers, Max Meyer, Ryan Weathers and others. Relievers A.J. Puk and George Soriano will reportedly be stretched out in the spring to see if they can help. There have been rumors of some members in that group receiving trade interest, which doesn’t necessarily mean the Marlins are looking to make a deal but Muñoz will give them some extra depth in either case.

As for Jensen, 26, he is somewhat similar in that he has bounced around to various clubs without making a major league appearance. A first-round pick of the Cubs in 2019, he racked up some decent strikeout numbers on his way up the minor league ladder but also gave out walks at a high frequency.

The Cubs added him to their 40-man roster just over a year ago to keep him out of the Rule 5 but his results dipped in 2023. He had a 5.31 ERA after six Double-A starts and was moved to the bullpen. That transition didn’t lead to vastly improved results and he wound up on waivers in August, claimed by the Mariners. He ultimately tossed 64 1/3 innings on the year at Double-A and Triple-A between the organizations of the Cubs and the Mariners. He had a 5.32 ERA in that time, striking out 25.1% of opponents but also walking 17.4%.

The Mariners designated him for assignment in November. The Marlins put in a claim but have now bumped him off the roster less than a month later. They will have a week to work out a trade or try to pass him through waivers. The control has been an issue but he’s a former first-round pick with strikeout stuff and two option years remaining.

Pirates Still Looking To Add Pitching, Could Explore Catching Market

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The Pirates have added a pair of arms to their rotation this offseason by signing Martin Perez and acquiring Marco Gonzales, and they also just completed their long-expected deal to re-sign Andrew McCutchen. During this morning’s media availability to discuss the McCutchen deal, Cherington noted that his club hopes to add more starting pitching (Twitter link via Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette).

The free-agent market still contains a bevy of veteran starters who could likely be had on relatively affordable short-term deals — James Paxton, Jakob Junis, Sean Manaea, Frankie Montas, Noah Syndergaard and Spencer Turnbull among them. However, Mackey reported yesterday that a trade for rotation help was a likelier outcome. Of even greater note, he suggests that the Bucs could change pace at this stage of the building process, looking to consolidate several young players into a trade for a rotation arm with multiple years of club control remaining.

For a Pirates team that has far more frequently been the team trading away a veteran for a package of several young players, it’s a notable departure (and, for fans, likely a breath of fresh air). In particular, the Bucs have a glut of infield options on the 40-man roster but little place to put them all — assuming Ke’Bryan Hayes and Oneil Cruz have the left side of the diamond locked down for the foreseeable future, that is.

Nick Gonzales, Jared Triolo, Liover Peguero, Alika Williams and Ji Hwan Bae could all factor into what looks like an open audition at second base, but there aren’t enough at-bats for that group to go around. The Bucs aren’t going to get a high-end starter for one of those players alone, but any of the bunch could conceivably be packaged with other young talent to bring in a more immediate starting pitching upgrade.

Much of the focus on the pitching trade market has been on one-year rental options like Shane Bieber, Corbin Burnes and the since-traded/extended Tyler Glasnow, but there are other arms with multiple years of club control who could potentially be available. Dylan Cease is the likeliest such pitcher to change hands, but each of Jesus Luzardo, Edward Cabrera, Michael Kopech, Brady Singer, Jose Urquidy and (to a lesser extent) Framber Valdez has been mentioned in trade rumors of some degree dating back to the summer deadline. The Mariners are also an oft-speculated club with pitching to spare, though president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto has downplayed the possibility of moving one of his many interesting young arms. There are surely other names being discussed throughout the league.

Regardless of how the rotation pursuit plays out, the Pirates could have multiple moves yet in store. Cherington also indicated that his club might explore the market for catching help, which is only natural after the unfortunate news that Endy Rodriguez will miss the 2024 season following Tommy John surgery. Former No. 1 overall pick Henry Davis could be in line for a full-time audition now, and the Pirates also have also signed Ali Sanchez to a big league deal. Jason Delay is on hand as a reasonably experienced backup, too. But if Davis struggles and/or there are injuries among that trio, the depth doesn’t look great.

As is the case in any given offseason, there’s no shortage of veteran free agents who could be had on a short-term deal. The trade market also bears a handful of options, ranging from change-of-scenery candidates (e.g. Joey Bart) to underwater contracts (e.g. Christian Vazquez) to out-of-options players who may not fit their current club’s Opening Day roster (e.g. Ben Rortvedt).

Dodgers Sign Nabil Crismatt, Travis Swaggerty To Minor League Deals

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The Dodgers have signed right-hander Nabil Crismatt and outfielder Travis Swaggerty to minor league deals, per each player’s respective transaction tracker at MLB.com. Each has been assigned to Triple-A Oklahoma for now but could be in big league camp as non-roster invitees.

Crismatt, who turns 29 on Monday, has thrown a combined 170 innings over the past four MLB seasons. Most of that has some with the Padres but he also made appearances with the Cardinals and Diamondbacks, with a 3.76 earned run average in that time. His 21.5% strikeout rate is right around typical league averages but his 7.4% walk rate and 50.5% ground ball rate are both strong.

It’s a solid track record but he’s coming off a challenging season. He made six appearances for the Padres early in the year and wasn’t in great form, sporting an ERA of 10.80 when he was placed on the injured list with a hip strain. He was activated off the IL in June and made one more appearance before being designated for assignment. He elected free agency and landed with the Diamondbacks, making one appearance for that club before getting designated for assignment again. Between the two organizations, he had a 6.86 ERA in 59 Triple-A innings for the year.

Despite the frustrating 2023, Crismatt has shown an ability to get outs at the major league level before and will give the Dodgers some non-roster depth in their bullpen. If he is able to crack the roster at any point, he is out of options.

Swaggerty, now 26, was once a highly-touted youngster. The Pirates selected him with the 10th overall pick in the 2018 draft but has had his trajectory altered by injuries. A dislocated shoulder required surgery in 2021, then he battled vertigo and migraines in 2023. Due to those challenges and the minors being canceled by the pandemic in 2020, he’s been limited to 146 total games played over the past four years, only five of those at the major league level.

The 141 minor league games he played in that stretch led to a batting line of .242/.342/.397. He drew walks in 12.6% of his plate appearances but also struck out in 25% of them. He has a decent floor since his speed and defensive abilities are considered assets, but his offense might still be a work in progress due to so much missed development time. For the Dodgers, there’s no harm in taking a non-roster flier on a former first-round pick.

The club is currently slated to have an outfield mix consisting of James Outman, Manuel Margot, Jason Heyward and Chris Taylor, with Miguel Vargas and Andy Pages also on the roster. If Swaggerty is in good form in 2024 and gets his contract selected, he still has one option remaining.

Tigers Sign Jack Flaherty To One-Year Deal

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The Tigers announced that they have signed right-hander Jack Flaherty to a one-year, $14MM deal. He can also earn an extra $1MM in bonuses based on games started: $250K for 26 and 28 starts, then another $500K for 30. Flaherty is a client of CAA Sports.

Just 28 years old, Flaherty isn’t all that far removed from looking like one of the National League’s budding young aces. The former first-rounder was one of the sport’s top all-around prospects prior to making his big league debut, which came in 2017.

The following year saw the California native pitch to a sharp 3.34 earned run average through 151 big league innings, but Flaherty’s best work came, of all times, during the juiced-ball season in 2019. That year’s 2.75 ERA, 29.9% strikeout rate, 7.1% walk rate and 1.15 HR/9 would be strong marks in any season but were especially impressive during the highest run-scoring environment since the steroid era. Two teams broke MLB’s single-season home run record that year, and yet while many pitchers throughout the league posted career-worst marks, Flaherty shined at his absolute brightest.

Unfortunately for both Flaherty and the Cardinals, that brilliant start to his career didn’t hold up. Injuries, primarily shoulder issues, conspired to limit Flaherty to just 154 1/3 innings over the next three seasons combined. During that time, he worked with slightly lesser velocity (93.9 mph) than his 94.5 mph peak, and his walk and home-run rates trended in the wrong direction. Overall, he posted a 3.90 earned run average but was limited to 32 starts (and another three bullpen outings).

The 2023 season for Flaherty was split between the Cardinals and the Orioles, who acquired him in a trade deadline deal sending lefty Drew Rom and prospects Cesar Prieto and Zack Showalter from Baltimore back to St. Louis. It was a mixed bag of a season for the righty. On the one hand, Flaherty’s 27 starts and 144 1/3 innings clearly made for his healthiest season since that brilliant ’19 effort. On the other, his 4.99 ERA was a career-worst (outside of a 21-inning sample as a rookie in 2017). His 22.8% strikeout rate was about average, but Flaherty’s 10.6% walk rate was elevated and his 93.2 mph average heater was down even further.

Despite the poor 2023 showing, Flaherty drew interest from at least the Pirates, Royals and Tigers — though his market surely included other suitors. There’s good sense in taking a flier on Flaherty, given his age, former prospect pedigree and the heights he reached earlier in his career.

As we noted on our Top 50 Free Agent Rankings, while we predicted a three-year pact for the righty — presuming a team would extend a multi-year pact in hopes of acquiring a below-market bargain — a straight one-year pillow deal always figured to be on the table. With strong results this year Flaherty can return to the market as a 29-year-old in position for a much more lucrative deal. The downside, of course, is that with another lackluster performance, Flaherty could well hit the market with considerably less earning power and no interest on multi-year contracts. Despite that potential, he’ll bet on himself with the more traditional approach and hope to cash in a year from now.

Should things play out that way, it’ll be to the benefit of the Tigers, who’ll not only have the opportunity to help Flaherty return to something resembling his peak levels but — if things play out that way — extend a qualifying offer to the righty. There’s a long way to go before that scenario is in play, but Flaherty’s early-career performance shows that he clearly has the talent to merit that type of offer when he’s at his best.

Flaherty becomes the second free-agent addition to what will be a dramatically different Tigers rotation than the one we saw in 2023. Gone is veteran lefty Eduardo Rodriguez, who opted out of the three years and $49MM on his contract and scored a four-year, $80MM deal with the NL champion D-backs. Flaherty and righty Kenta Maeda, fresh off an excellent finish to his ’23 campaign with the division-rival Twins, will take up the mantle of veteran rotation leaders for skipper AJ Hinch.

Not only will the Tigers have that newly signed pair of arms, they’ll also welcome 2018 No. 1 overall pick Casey Mize back into the fold after a season lost to Tommy John surgery. Standout lefty Tarik Skubal returns as the team’s top starter, and the quartet of Skubal, Flaherty, Maeda and Mize will be joined by some combination of Reese Olson, Matt Manning and Sawyer Gipson-Long. Olson, in particular, had a solid rookie campaign. Manning, meanwhile, is a former first-round pick and top prospect himself — one who’ll be looking for better luck in 2024. In astonishing fashion, Manning suffered a broken left foot on two different occasions, both upon being struck by a comeback liner (once in April and again in September).

With Flaherty’s $14MM salary added to the books, the Tigers’ payroll projection climbs north of $104MM. That’s still quite a ways down from last year’s $135MM Opening Day mark — due in no small part to Miguel Cabrera’s retirement — and nowhere close to the franchise-record $200MM mark. The Tigers will surely want to leave ample playing time for young, potential core pieces like Mize, Skubal, Manning, Olson, Riley Greene, Spencer Torkelson, Kerry Carpenter and prospects Colt Keith and Justyn-Henry Malloy. But there’s still enough payroll space for the team to make some further additions, perhaps in the bullpen or on the bench.

Trevor Plouffe of Jomboy first connected the two sides. Jeff Passan of ESPN first relayed the contract specifics.

Brewers Sign Eric Haase

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The Brewers announced Wednesday that they’ve signed free agent catcher/outfielder Eric Haase to a one-year contract. The Warner Sports Management client will serve as the backup to William Contreras, replacing Victor Caratini after he inked a two-year deal with the Astros this winter. Milwaukee had an open spot on the 40-man roster, so a corresponding move isn’t needed.

Haase, 31, has spent his entire career to date with Detroit and Cleveland, splitting the 2023 campaign between those two teams. It was a down year for Haase overall, particularly relative to his 2021-22 campaigns, wherein he combined for a .242/.295/.451 slash with 36 homers in 732 plate appearances for the Tigers. Last year, he saw that production dip to .201/.247/.281, prompting the Tigers to make a change behind the plate and acquire Carson Kelly as their new backup to Jake Rogers.

Last year’s downturn at the plate was in part due to a reduction in average on balls in play (.297 from 2021-22 but just .268 in 2023), however it also can’t simply be chalked up to poor fortune. Haase made hard contact at a far lower rate (45.1% in 2021-22, just 35.9% in 2023) and put the ball on the ground more often than in any full big league season prior. He also hit infield flies at the highest rate of his career and saw a career-low 5.6% of his fly-balls become home runs after enjoying an 18.8% mark in that regard in the two preceding seasons.

One would imagine that a move from the cavernous Comerica Park to Milwaukee’s American Family Field could help Haase to rediscover some of the previous pop he’d displayed. The Brewers may also be heartened by Haase’s career-best marks in overall contact percentage and contact rate within the strike zone.

Defensively, Haase is something of a mixed bag. Last year’s 24% caught-stealing rate was actually three percentage points higher than the 21% league average, and he showed improved framing marks after struggling in that regard in previous seasons. He also graded poorly in terms of blocking pitches in the dirt, however, and his broader body of work behind the plate has drawn below-average reviews when taken in sum. The Brewers, however, has a reputation for radically improving catcher defense. Contreras had significant defensive question marks before arriving in Milwaukee but graded as a premium defender last year. Before him, Omar Narvaez also saw pronounced improvements in his defensive ratings upon joining the Brewers.

Haase also brings some versatility to the table. While he’s not exactly a premium defender in the outfield, he’s still logged 355 career innings in left and made a one-off appearance in right field as well. He’s also had one-off appearances at both infield corners in the minors. For a Brewers team that has typically valued players who can move around the diamond, Haase’s outfield experience perhaps held additional appeal that other backup catching candidates couldn’t match.

Also of appeal is the fact that Haase comes to Milwaukee with multiple years of club control remaining. The Guardians outrighted him at season’s end — effectively non-tendering him — rather than paying him a raise in arbitration. Haase has just 3.058 years of big league service time, meaning he’ll remain under club control even beyond the current campaign. The Brewers can retain him via arbitration all the way through the 2026 season if the signing pans out. If not, Haase can at least serve as a bridge to catching prospect Jeferson Quero, who is fast climbing the minor league ladder and could be an option to join Contreras in Milwaukee by 2025 — if not later in the 2024 campaign.

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