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Phillies Designate Kaleb Ort For Assignment

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The Phillies designated right-hander Kaleb Ort for assignment this morning, according to Matt Gelb of The Athletic. The move clears space on the club’s 40-man roster for second baseman Whit Merrifield, whose signing was reported last week.

Ort, 32, has posted huge numbers in the minors but struggled to replicate those results at the major league level. But since he still has one option year remaining, that makes him appealing as a depth arm who is potentially on the verge of a breakout. That has made him just enticing enough for plenty of teams to want to take a shot on him, but his hold on a roster spot has been tenuous. He finished the 2023 season with the Red Sox but that club put him on waivers in October. He has since gone to the Mariners, Marlins and Phillies via waiver claims but has now lost his roster spot yet again.

Over the past three years, he has tossed 51 2/3 innings in the big leagues, allowing 6.27 earned runs per nine. He struck out 20.9% of batters faced while issuing walks at a 10.2% clip. Those numbers aren’t especially impressive but he averaged around 96 miles per hour on his fastball and had success on the farm. In the same three-year stretch, he has 97 2/3 innings of Triple-A work with a 2.76 ERA and 31.1% strikeout rate. The 10.9% walk rate was still high but the overall body of work has clearly been better at that level.

The Phils will have a week to trade Ort or try to pass him through waivers. Given the way his offseason has gone, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he were changing teams yet again in the next week. If he were to pass through unclaimed, he would stick with the Phils as non-roster depth.

Bryce Harper Discusses First Base Move, Extension

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After his recovery from Tommy John surgery necessitated a move to first base last season, Bryce Harper took well enough to his new position that the Phillies announced in November that Harper would be their regular first baseman in 2024 and beyond.  The two-time NL MVP spoke to reporters (including The Athletic’s Matt Gelb) about the situation today, saying “I wanted them to know that I was on board with anything they wanted to do,” and that Harper left the decision about his position up to the club.  “I said if you want me in right field, I’ll play right.  If you want me at first, I’ll play first base.  I think collectively, they said, first base is where we want you.  I said, ’OK, I’ll do everything I can to be there,’ ” Harper said.  He is now spending his Spring Training further working on what seems to be his permanent new position, noting that “I don’t think I’ll move back out to right.  I don’t.  But never say never.”

Harper also confirmed that he is interested in extending his contract, as agent Scott Boras stated in December.  The idea caught many by surprise given that Harper still has eight seasons and $196MM remaining on his original 13-year, $330MM contract, and he’ll be turning 39 years old in October 2031.  While Harper said “I haven’t really thought too much about” his contract situation, he said that “playing into my 40’s, I mean, that’s the biggest thing for me.  So I want to get that done.”  It remains to be seen if Harper, Boras, and the Phillies could possibly reach some kind of deal to add two (or more?) years onto Harper’s contract, yet president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has downplayed the idea of a renegotiation.

  • There’s enough happening within the division that this is our second batch of NL East Notes today.  Earlier on, Nick Deeds compiled another set of items about the Marlins, Phillies, Nationals, and Braves.

Phillies Sign Austin Brice To Minor League Deal

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The Phillies signed right-hander Austin Brice to a minor league deal this morning, per The Athletic’s Matt Gelb. The deal comes with an invite to big league Spring Training.

Brice, 32 in June, last made an appearance at the big league level for the Pirates back in 2022. The righty made his major league debut in 2016 as a member of the Marlins, though he would ultimately pitch just 14 innings with the club before being sent to Cincinnati as part of the deal that sent Luis Castillo to Cincinnati. Over two seasons with the Reds, Brice struggled to a 5.40 ERA with a matching FIP across 70 innings of work before the club designated him for assignment following the 2018 season. After a series of waiver claims, Brice found himself back in Miami ahead of the 2019 season and enjoyed the best season of his career as he pitched to a solid 3.43 ERA in 44 2/3 innings of work for the Marlins.

Unfortunately, that success at the big league level was short-lived, as Brice has posted a 5.85 ERA in 40 innings of work since the start of the 2020 season and spent the entire 2023 campaign in the minor leagues pitching for the Twins and Diamondbacks, for whom he posted a combined 6.92 ERA in 40 1/3 innings. Despite those brutal numbers last year, Brice’s overall body of work at the Triple-A level still features decent numbers. In 170 1/3 innings of work at the level across six seasons, Brice has posted a 4.54 ERA with a solid 25% strikeout rate against a 10.3% walk rate alongside a strong 47.4% groundball rate.

Those serviceable peripheral numbers are brought down, however, by Brice’s troubles with the longball. Brice has allowed a whopping 17.6% of his fly balls to leave the yard for home runs throughout his major league career, and allowed an even higher percentage at the Triple-A level last year. Given his solid peripherals and penchant for grounders, it’s easy to see how Brice could be a serviceable big league reliever if he can get his home run issues under control.

The right-hander will have a chance to prove himself capable in that regard with the Phillies this spring, where he’ll join fellow NRIs such as Ryan Burr and Nick Snyder in competing for a role in the club’s crowded bullpen. Should Brice fail to make the big league roster out of camp, he’ll likely serve as relief depth at the Triple-A level alongside depth options already on the 40-man roster such as right-handers Michael Rucker and Kaleb Ort.

Dave Dombrowski Discusses Zack Wheeler Extension Talks

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  • The Phillies have long been hoping to extend veteran ace Zack Wheeler, and comments from Wheeler himself last week indicated that the sides have opened extension talks with Spring Training now underway. While Wheeler indicated that he’s open to negotiating even once the season begins, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski indicated to reporters (including Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer) that while extending Wheeler is a “priority” for the club, his preference is for the sides to come together on a deal before the regular season begins. Wheeler has established himself as one of the league’s premiere starters since first suiting up for the Phillies during the shortened 2020 campaign. During his time in Philadelphia, the right-hander has pitched to an excellent 3.06 ERA with a 2.90 FIP in 101 starts during the regular season and has augmented that resume with an incredible 2.42 ERA in 63 1/3 postseason innings.

Phillies Sign Ricardo Pinto To Minor League Deal

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The Phillies have signed right-hander Ricardo Pinto to a minor league deal, according to Oscar Budejan (X link). The deal includes an invite to big league Spring Training.

Pinto, 30, began his professional career in the Phillies organization back in 2012 and eventually made his big league debut for the club during the 2017 season. Pinto’s first stint in the majors did not go well as he struggled to a 7.89 ERA in 29 2/3 innings of work, striking out just 17% of batters while walking 11.6%. Pinto was then dealt to the White Sox just before the start of the 2018 season, though he did not make a major league appearance for the club.

Pinto eventually caught on with the Rays and returned to the big leagues late in the 2019 season after posting a decent 4.13 ERA in 104 2/3 innings of work for the club at the Triple-A level, though he was shelled for four runs on four hits and two walks in 2 1/3 innings for Tampa before the Rays designated him for assignment. After a brief stint in the Giants organization, Pinto headed overseas for the 2020 season to pitch in the Korea Baseball Organization. In the KBO, Pinto was used as a starter for the first time since 2016, when he was still at the Double-A level. While he struggled badly to a 6.17 ERA in his 30 starts overseas, he nonetheless found a spot in the Tigers organization.

The right-hander initially worked as a starter for the Tigers, pitching to a 4.29 ERA over 123 2/3 innings of work split between the Double- and Triple-A levels, but converted back to relief work in his second season with the Tigers. The 2022 campaign saw Pinto pitch fairly well out of the bullpen in Triple-A, with a 3.58 ERA and a 27.7% strikeout rate in 32 1/3 frames across 20 appearances. That’s his most recent stateside work, though Pinto has since pitched in Taiwan’s Chinese Professional Baseball League, the Mexican League, and the Venezuelan Winter League.

In returning to affiliated ball, Pinto joins a Phillies organization that appears mostly set in the bullpen entering Spring Training. Nonetheless, Pinto will have the opportunity to establish himself in camp alongside fellow non-roster invitees like Ryan Burr and Nick Snyder as well as depth options currently on the club’s 40-man roster such as Michael Rucker and Kaleb Ort. Any of those arms could find themselves on the Opening Day roster in the event of an injury, or perhaps if they manage to outperform an arm such as right-hander Connor Brogdon during camp.

Phillies Sign David Dahl To Minors Contract

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The Phillies have agreed to a minor league deal with outfielder David Dahl, according to the New York Post’s Joel Sherman (via X).  The contract will become official when Dahl passes a physical.

Dahl didn’t see any big league action during the 2022 season, but he returned for a cup of coffee in the form of four games with the Padres at the start of the 2023 campaign.  A quad strain then sidelined Dahl for the better part of two months, and after San Diego released him in June, Dahl didn’t get another MLB call-up after signing another minors deal with the Dodgers.

The outfielder will now look for another fresh start in Philly, in what has become something of a journeyman career for the former top prospect.  Dahl was selected by the Rockies with the 10th overall pick of the 2012 draft, but his career has been marked by injuries, most notably a lacerated spleen suffered during an on-field collision while playing in the minors in 2015.  Debuting in the majors in 2016, Dahl hit .297/.346/.521 over 921 plate appearances with Colorado from 2016-19, and was named to the 2019 NL All-Star roster.

Dahl’s performance dropped off badly in 2020, to the point that the Rockies (surprisingly, at the time) non-tendered him that offseason.  Dahl signed with the Rangers but couldn’t regain his form, hitting .210/.247/.322 over 220 PA for Texas before being released in August 2021.  The Phillies are now the fifth team Dahl has joined on a minor league contract since he was cut loose by Texas.

Brandon Marsh underwent arthroscopic knee surgery last week and won’t get into any Spring Training games until early March, though the Phillies believe Marsh will be ready to go for Opening Day.  President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski didn’t think his team would look for outfield help in the wake of Marsh’s surgery, though between Dahl and yesterday’s deal with Whit Merrifield, the Phils have now signed two outfield-capable players in as many days.

Of course, this doesn’t necessarily indicate any concern over Marsh’s timeline, since Merrifield can also play second base and Dahl’s deal isn’t even guaranteed.  Dahl (like Marsh) is a left-handed hitter, so Philadelphia has a number of other lefty-swinging outfield candidates on the depth chart in Jake Cave, Simon Muzziotti, and Cal Stevenson.

Phillies Sign Whit Merrifield To One-Year Deal

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The Phillies announced they have signed infielder/outfielder Whit Merrifield on a one-year contract. It’s reportedly an $8MM guarantee that takes the form of a $7MM salary this year and a $1MM buyout on an $8MM club option for 2025. There are also bonuses for the Warner Sports Management client that can take the full value to $16.6MM over two years.

Merrifield, 35, reached free agency at a late age, due to both being a late bloomer and signing an extension with the Royals. He made his major league debut in 2016 at the age of 27 and didn’t truly establish himself until the year after, his age-28 campaign.

From 2017 to 2020, Merrifield was solidly above-average at the plate and in other areas as well. He only walked in 6.3% of his plate appearances but limited his strikeouts to a 15.4% clip. His .297/.345/.452 batting line in that time amounted to a wRC+ of 111, or 11% better than league average. He also stole 111 bases in that time while providing quality defense at second base and all three outfield positions.

In the midst of that stretch, Merrifield signed a four-year, $16.25MM extension with the Royals, with that deal having a club option as well. He didn’t have a lot of leverage since his late-bloomer status meant that he wasn’t slated to reach free agency until after his age-33 season. That extension allowed him to lock in some decent money while giving up his age-34 season via that club option. The Royals would later trigger that option in advance, as part of restructuring his deal in early 2022.

The past three seasons have seen Merrifield’s production slip, a period of time that saw him traded to the Blue Jays midway through. Since the start of the 2021 campaign, his walk and strikeout rates have both stayed low as he has hit .269/.313/.392 for a wRC+ of 92. He added another 94 steals but his defensive metrics have taken a step back. In the outfield, both Defensive Runs Saved and Outs Above Average have considered him to be subpar in those recent years. OAA still likes his work at second base, whereas DRS gave him +14 at the keystone in 2021 but negative numbers in the past two years.

Coming into the offseason, MLBTR predicted that Merrifield could get $18MM over two years. This contract takes roughly that same shape but only half of it is guaranteed, with the second half depending on whether or not that option is picked up.

For the Phillies, Merrifield is likely to serve as a bench/utility piece, though one that could see fairly regular playing time. The club has Bryson Stott at second base, though he’s a left-handed hitter. Merrifield is right-handed and has modest traditional platoon splits in his career: .289/.335/.458 batting line and 111 wRC+ against lefties compared with a .282/.328/.407 line and 97 wRC+ the rest of the time. Stott actually has reverse splits overall but was even in 2023.

In the outfield, with Bryce Harper now entrenched at first base and Kyle Schwarber likely to be a regular as the designated hitter, that leaves Nick Castellanos as the everyday option in right field and Johan Rojas in center. There’s some uncertainty with Brandon Marsh in left after he recently had arthroscopic knee surgery. The Phils are still hopeful of him being ready for Opening Day but it will be tight. He also hits left-handed has strong platoon splits for his career, with a .272/.347/.438 line and 115 wRC+ against righties but a .223/.278/.312 showing and 63 wRC+ against southpaws.

If Marsh were to miss time, the options to replace him weren’t terribly inspiring. Neither Cristian Pache nor Jake Cave have hit much in their big league careers. It seems Merrifield could see some left field time, either covering for Marsh or platooning with him once he’s healthy. He could also cover second on occasion if Bryson Stott needs a breather. He has a tiny bit of experience on the infield corners so could perhaps spell either Harper or Alec Bohm from time to time, as well as serving as a pinch runner if he’s not in the starting lineup. After the Marsh injury, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski downplayed the club’s likelihood of acquiring outfield help as they didn’t really have the playing time to offer, but Merrifield’s versatility makes him a better fit than a traditional outfielder.

The move brings the Philadelphia payroll to $246MM, per Roster Resource. That’s a bit north of last year’s $243 Opening Day figure, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts. RR has their competitive balance tax figure at $261MM, above the second tax tier of $257MM. They also finished last year between the second and third tax tier. Going over the third line, which is $277MM, would require the club to have its top 2025 draft pick moved back 10 spots.

Jon Morosi of MLB.com first connected the two sides on an $8MM guarantee and first had the $1MM buyout. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first relayed the 2025 option and details.

Alec Bohm Wins Arbitration Hearing Against Phillies

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Infielder Alec Bohm has won his arbitration hearing against the Phillies, per Jon Heyman of The New York Post. The Boras Corporation client will make a salary of $4MM this year as opposed to the $3.4MM figure the club was hoping for.

Bohm, 27, is coming off arguably his best full season in the majors. He hit 20 home runs while reducing his strikeout rate to just 15.4%. His 6.9% walk rate was still on the low side but his .274/.327/.437 batting line translated to a 105 wRC+, indicating he was 5% better than league average at the plate. He split his time almost evenly between third base and first base, covering the latter while Rhys Hoskins and Bryce Harper were both unavailable due to injuries. He didn’t receive especially strong grades at either spot but the versatility is surely still valuable to the club.

This was the first time he qualified for arbitration and MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected Bohm for a $4.3MM salary this year. The two sides couldn’t reach an agreement prior to the filing deadline and both of them filed under that projection. The arbiters decided to go with the player’s camp and awarded him the higher figure.

Players get raises based on their initial arbitration figure so establishing a strong base in the first year is often important for them, while the clubs conversely want the base to be low in order to tamp down future earnings. All players tendered contracts for 2024 now have their salaries determined except for Marlins left-hander Tanner Scott.

Yankees Claim McKinley Moore From Phillies

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The Yankees claimed right-hander McKinley Moore off waivers from the Phillies, per announcements from both clubs. The Yanks put right-hander Lou Trivino on the 60-day injured list to open up a roster spot.

Moore, 25, was designated for assignment by the Phils earlier this week when they signed Spencer Turnbull. Originally a draftee of the White Sox, he came to the Phils in the 2022 Adam Haseley trade. Moore has shown a powerful arsenal but has also struggled to harness that stuff.

Last year, he made his major league debut, which didn’t turn out to be the dream scenario. He issued five walks and allowed seven earned runs in 3 1/3 innings. That means he currently sports a gruesome earned run average of 18.90 in his career. But that’s obviously a tiny sample size and he at least averaged a potent 97.2 miles per hour on his fastball in that time.

Looking at his minor league work, he threw a combined 120 2/3 innings over the past three years at various levels. He posted a 3.88 ERA in that time, giving out walks to 13.1% of opponents but also striking out 32.9% of them. The Yankees are known to favor ground ball guys and Moore has kept about half of balls in play in the dirt throughout his career.

The righty is obviously not a finished product but he has a couple of option years remaining and just a few days of service time. He’ll provide the bullpen with a bit of depth that can be summoned from the minors when needed, while they will presumably try to help him rein in the command.

As for Trivino, the 32-year-old was just signed a couple of days ago, but the club was well aware that he underwent Tommy John surgery in May of last year. He’ll now be officially ineligible to come off the IL until late May, which likely wasn’t going to be a possibility anyway.

Orioles Claim Diego Castillo, Designate Livan Soto

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The Orioles announced Friday that they’ve claimed infielder/outfielder Diego Castillo off waivers from the Phillies. Fellow infielder Livan Soto was designated for assignment to open a spot on the 40-man roster.

The 26-year-old Castillo has bounced from the D-backs, to the Mets, to the Yankees, to the Phillies and now to the Orioles all in the span of two months. He appeared in only one game at the MLB level for Arizona last year and went hitless in a single plate appearance. A year prior, he logged 283 trips to the plate with the Pirates but mustered only a .206/.251/.382 batting line in his debut campaign in the majors.

Though he’s yet to have any big league success, Castillo possesses an outstanding track record in the upper minors. He hit .313/.431/.410 in Triple-A Reno last season, walking more often than he struck out: 17.4% versus 14.2%. Castillo has played in 177 Triple-A games to this point in his career and delivered a stout .296/.410/.407 line thanks to that keen eye at the plate and his excellent bat-to-ball skills. He’s walked 124 times in Triple-A against 125 strikeouts. Beyond that, he’s experienced at second base, shortstop, third base and in left field.

While Castillo has never been touted as a top prospect, he’s a versatile and contact-oriented hitter who can provide some depth — hence the whopping five teams he’s now been with in just two months. That said, there are reasons he’s been unable to hold down a roster spot. Castillo hit just three homers last year and has only twice reached double-digits in plate appearances. He’s never swiped more than 13 bases in a season. He’s generally considered a below-average runner with below-average power and a sub-par (albeit versatile) defensive skill set.

But Castillo has a minor league option remaining, and there’s still value in a bat-first utilityman with plus bat-to-ball skills. He can provide cover for the Orioles at a number of different positions, and as shown by last year’s .323/.445/.439 slash against lefties, his right-handed bat is particularly interesting in platoon situations.

Soto, 23, was just claimed off waivers from the Angels eight days ago. He’s hit .375/.414/.531 in a tiny sample of 71 big league plate appearances but benefited from a sky-high .469 average on balls in play during that time. Despite that strong showing in the majors, Soto has typically been a light-hitting but solid defensive shortstop in the minors. He split the 2023 season between Double-A and Triple-A in the Angels system, hitting a combined .237/.342/.358 between those two levels.

The Orioles will have a week to trade Soto or attempt to pass him through outright waivers. If he goes unclaimed, they can retain him without dedicating a 40-man roster spot.

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