Todd Frazier Retires
Two-time All-Star Todd Frazier is set to announce his retirement today, he tells Greg Joyce of the New York Post. “(Baseball) has been my love my whole life,” the third baseman said. “It’s very hard to let go. Don’t get me wrong, it’s one of the toughest decisions I’ve ever made in my life. But where I’m at in my career and where I’m at in my life, I think it was the right decision. I think it’s time to be that family figure that I’ve always wanted to be.”
Frazier has appeared in the majors in each of the past 11 seasons. A supplemental first-round pick out of Rutgers by the Reds in 2007, Frazier emerged as one of the sport’s most promising prospects within his first couple pro seasons. He debuted in the big leagues in 2011 and cemented himself at the hot corner in Cincinnati not long thereafter.
In 128 games in 2012, Frazier hit a productive .273/.331/.498 en route to a third-place finish in NL Rookie of the Year balloting. After a roughly league average showing the following season, he broke through as one of the better position players in the game. Frazier combined for a .264/.322/.479 showing between 2014-15, averaging 32 home runs per season. He was selected to the Midsummer Classic in both years and won the 2015 Home Run Derby in front of a home crowd in Cincinnati.
The rebuilding Reds moved Frazier to the White Sox as part of a three-team deal with the Dodgers the following winter. He spent a season and a half in Chicago, not quite reaching his peak Cincinnati level but still offering solid production. The Sox moved him to the Yankees midseason in 2017, and he spent the following two years in Queens after signing with the Mets that offseason. Frazier continued to hit at a decent level throughout that run. His batting average and on-base percentage gradually ticked down, but he popped 39 homers during his first two seasons as a Met.
Frazier’s 499 plate appearances in 2019 proved his last extended MLB workload. He signed with the Rangers over the 2019-20 offseason, then ended up back in Flushing when the Mets acquired him at the trade deadline. Frazier struggled down the stretch, though, and New York bought him out that winter. He hooked on with the Pirates last offseason and played in 13 games before being released in March.
That marked an end to Frazier’s time in the big leagues, but it didn’t bring his playing career to a complete conclusion. He was among a handful of respected veterans to represent the U.S. as part of last summer’s Silver Medal-winning team at the Tokyo Olympics.
Frazier wraps up his career with a .241/.318/.445 slash line in a bit under 5,000 MLB plate appearances. That production was seven percentage points better than league average in aggregate, by measure of wRC+, and he had three seasons with a wRC+ north of 115. A well-regarded defender for the bulk of his career, Frazier got plus marks from both Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating. He suited up for six different clubs, combining to hit 218 homers and drive in 640 runs. Each of Baseball Reference and FanGraphs valued his career at around 23-24 wins above replacement, a very fine showing that endeared him to Reds fans in particular. MLBTR congratulates Frazier on an excellent run and wishes him all the best in his post-playing days.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Roster Notes: Twins, Marlins, Pirates, Yankees, Cubs, Phillies
With the season just a few days away, roster decisions around the game continue to trickle in. We’ll round up some notable non 40-man roster decisions here.
-
- Twins pitching prospect Jhoan Duran has made the Opening Day roster, per a club announcement. He’ll initially work out of the bullpen. Ranked the #9 prospect in the Minnesota organization by Baseball America, Duran draws praise for an upper-90s fastball and a power splitter that have helped him run plus strikeout rates throughout his minor league career.
- The Marlins have informed outfielder Roman Quinn he will not make the Opening Day roster, reports Craig Mish of SportsGrid (Twitter link). It comes as a bit of a surprise, as Quinn had seemed the favorite for a fourth outfield role after the Fish released Delino DeShields Jr. over the weekend. Presumably, that job will fall to utilityman Jon Berti early on.
- Infield prospect Diego Castillo has made the Pirates’ Opening Day roster, tweets Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Castillo, acquired in the trade that sent righty Clay Holmes to the Yankees, will make his big league debut the first time he gets into a game.
- The Yankees announced they’ve reassigned outfielder Ender Inciarte and left-hander Manny Bañuelos to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Inciarte has an opt-out clause in his minor league deal and tells ESPN’s Marly Rivera he hasn’t yet decided whether he’ll accept the assignment to Triple-A.
- The Cubs informed pitching prospect Ethan Roberts he’ll be on the Opening Day roster, he informed reporters (including Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times). A fourth-round pick in 2018 out of Tennessee Tech, the right-hander is the #33 prospect in the organization according to Baseball America. The reliever posted an even 3.00 ERA over 54 innings between Double-A Tennessee and Triple-A Iowa last season. The Cubs reassigned non-roster invitees Jonathan Holder, Robert Gsellman, Steven Brault, Stephen Gonsalves and Ildemaro Vargas to Iowa, tweets Jordan Bastian of MLB.com.
- The Phillies reassigned non-roster invitees Ronald Torreyes, Yairo Muñoz and Dillon Maples to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, tweets Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. Torreyes and Muñoz were competing for utility spots, while the hard-throwing Maples had been seeking a spot in the Philly bullpen.
Padres Notes: Clevinger, Abrams, Paddack, Weathers
Mike Clevinger is battling soreness in his right knee and is expected to begin the season on the 10-day injured list, Padres manager Bob Melvin told reporters (including Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune). Clevinger has made only one appearance this spring, and lasted only 1 2/3 innings.
The IL placement “allows us to kind of smooth things out and slow it down some,” Melvin said. “We don’t feel like it’s a significant thing, but it actually might be a little bit of a blessing because it did feel like we were kind of rushing him a little bit.”
It has already been a lengthy absence from a big league mound for Clevinger, who underwent Tommy John surgery in November 2020 and subsequently missed all of last season. The Padres were already planning to ease him back into action on limited innings, pairing Clevinger with another pitcher in piggyback fashion. It seems likely that the team might still pursue this strategy when Clevinger does return, though the extra recovery time could allow Clevinger to start a bit deeper into games.
San Diego has enough of a pitching surplus to withstand Clevinger’s absence, particularly after Sean Manaea was acquired from the A’s earlier today. However, rumors continue to swirl about the possibility that the Friars could trade from their pitching depth to facilitate another deal, and the Padres reportedly came close on a four-player swap with the Mets yesterday that would’ve seen Eric Hosmer, Chris Paddack, and Emilio Pagan all sent to New York for Dominic Smith.
That trade would’ve been largely about getting luxury tax relief from Hosmer’s contract, though the Padres have also pursued other big-ticket moves to add talent. San Diego has long been rumored to have interest in the Pirates’ Bryan Reynolds, and USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports that the Padres offered two arms in Paddack and Ryan Weathers in exchange for the All-Star outfielder. That wasn’t enough for the Pirates, as talks were scuttled when Pittsburgh additionally wanted top prospect C.J. Abrams added to the trade package.
While Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller has been willing to deal notable prospects in the past, he has mostly resisted trading any of the true upper-tier names from his farm system. As a consensus top-15 prospect in baseball, Abrams fits that billing, even coming off an injury-shortened 2021 season. The Pirates are known to be seeking a major return in exchange for Reynolds, so while Abrams is a justifiable ask for a player of Reynolds’ proven ability, it remains to be seen if the Padres (or any team) would be willing to trade away a blue-chip minor league talent.
In fact, the door remains open on Abrams contributing to the Padres’ own big league roster as early as Opening Day. Abrams has been hitting well this spring, and with Fernando Tatis Jr. set to miss as much as the first three months of the season, there is a vacancy at Abrams’ natural shortstop position. Abrams has also been playing at second base, and Melvin has suggested that he could get some reps in the outfield as well, acting as some center field depth behind Trent Grisham.
It would be an aggressive promotion considering that Abrams has only played 42 games of Double-A ball, and has never played at Triple-A. That said, the Padres didn’t shy away from putting Tatis on their Opening Day roster in 2019, and that was even before the new Collective Bargaining Agreement introduced the “Prospect Promotion Incentive,” which allows teams to potentially gain an extra draft pick if a top prospect spends an entire season on the active roster and has a high finish in awards balloting.
Returning to the pitching rumor mill, Paddack drew some attention from New York’s other team last month, when the Yankees and Padres were discussing Luke Voit in trade talks. SNY’s Andy Martino reports that the Yankees initially wanted Paddack in return for Voit, before finally settling on a less-experienced hurler in prospect Justin Lange.
Pirates “Making Serious Effort” To Extend Ke’Bryan Hayes
The Pirates have made an extension offer to young third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes, to no avail. This is not the first time that the Pirates have explored an extension with Hayes, but this time, they are “making a serious effort,” per Jon Heyman of the MLB Network (via Twitter).
MLBTR’s Steve Adams took a look at the potential of a Hayes extension back in August. There aren’t a lot of great recent comps for a Hayes extension. That said, the Pirates should have what it takes financially to make Hayes the first cornerstone of this current iteration of Pirates baseball. They have zero guaranteed contracts on the books for next season and beyond.
To this point, however, the Pirates have not shown signs of turning the corner into a competitive structure. An extension for Hayes would represent that sort of step. As of now, Hayes will not be arbitration eligible until after the 2023 season, and he won’t head to free agency until after 2026.
Padres, Pirates Have Discussed Bryan Reynolds Trade
9:55pm: The Padres currently consider the Pirates asking price on Reynolds to be “prohibitive,” writes Dennis Lin of the Athletic. That’s hardly a surprise, given the reported lofty asks the Bucs have sought in Reynolds talks with other teams.
9:21am: The Padres and Pirates have had recent trade discussions surrounding All-Star outfielder Bryan Reynolds, tweets USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. Young pitchers Chris Paddack and Ryan Weathers have both been mentioned as possible pieces going back to Pittsburgh, he adds.
It’s important to make a few key distinctions here. First and foremost, talks between the two parties don’t necessarily suggest that a deal is nigh — nor do they indicate that Pittsburgh is actively seeking to trade Reynolds. The Pirates have fielded Reynolds interest from more than a half-dozen teams since last summer alone, and he remains in camp with Pittsburgh.
Secondly, Paddack and Weathers are surely just two of a wide range of names that have been discussed. Even if both are of interest to the Bucs, additional pieces would assuredly need to be added. Paddack, for instance, is controlled for less time than Reynolds (three years to Reynolds’ four years) and is coming off a poor 2021 season that ended with an elbow injury. Weathers, meanwhile, is a former top-10 draft pick and top-100 prospect, but he was knocked around for a 5.32 ERA through 94 2/3 innings during last year’s rookie campaign. He’s controllable for another five years, at least.
As Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune tweets, San Diego’s interest in Reynolds is not a new revelation. However, if they are indeed discussing specific players that could go back to Pittsburgh, that’d mark a sign of progression over prior, more preliminary talks, Acee adds.
Reports last night indicated that the Padres are open to trading from both their starting pitching and catching surpluses in order to address their needs in the outfield. Padres skipper Bob Melvin just yesterday acknowledged that the lack of outfield depth is “a concern.” San Diego has been considering the possibility of playing top shortstop prospect CJ Abrams in the outfield early this season.
At the moment, the Padres have Trent Grisham and Wil Myers locked into outfield slots, but their left field situation is particularly dire. Newly acquired first baseman/outfielder Matt Beaty could see significant time there despite grading out as a poor defender. Switch-hitting utilityman Jurickson Profar is the other leading leading candidate, but he’s coming off a miserable 2021 season at the plate and has spent the bulk of his career playing the infield.
Reynolds is about as high-profile a target that Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller could explore. That’s par for the course for Preller, who typically explores any and all opportunities to acquire a marquee player, however slim the chances may be. Preller and Pittsburgh counterpart Ben Cherington have lined up on a couple of trades over the past 13 months or so, however, as Pittsburgh traded both Joe Musgrove and Adam Frazier to San Diego in separate deals. As such, it’s likely that Paddack, Weathers and quite a few other Padres youngsters have already been discussed in previous trade talks between the two sides. Those prior talks could serve as groundwork to an extent, but evaluations and opinions of young players can change rapidly over the course of even just a few months’ time.
Reynolds has also been aggressively pursued by the Marlins, dating back to last year’s trade deadline. Other teams known to have interest in the switch-hitting 27-year-old include the Mariners, Yankees, Braves and Brewers, among others. It’s easy to see why when looking at Reynolds’ career .290/.368/.490 batting line and, in particular, last year’s .302/.390/.522 output. Reynolds is controllable all the way through the 2025 season, though, and between his elite performance and that long-term control, the asking price on him figures to be sky-high.
For instance, Craig Mish and Barry Jacksonn of the Miami Herald recently reported that the Pirates sought both shortstop Kahlil Watson and right-hander Max Meyer in talks with the Fish. Both recent first-rounders rank among the sport’s top-50 overall prospects. In past trade talks with the Mariners, the Bucs targeted uber-prospect Julio Rodriguez as the starting point and sought additional pieces beyond him, per Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. With regard to the Padres, those prior asks on Reynolds underscore that Paddack and Weathers would likely be seen as secondary pieces, at best.
As for the Padres’ general outfield search, if they’re not able to strike up an agreement with the Pirates regarding Reynolds, there’s no shortage of alternative paths for them to explore. The Twins are known to be seeking rotation help and have plenty of outfielders — both in terms of established players (Max Kepler) and young, MLB-ready options with upside (Trevor Larnach, Alex Kirilloff). The Yankees could use additional options on the mound and behind the plate, and they have a crowded outfield mix (which includes former Padres trade target Joey Gallo). The Angels are deep in young outfielders (e.g. Jo Adell, Brandon Marsh) and are always on the hunt for rotation help. The Mariners, similarly, could use another starter and have a deep collection of outfield talent on the 40-man roster. Preller could also look to Baltimore’s Cedric Mullins or Austin Hays, though Mullins in particular is a Reynolds-esque long shot to be moved.
Pirates Acquire Josh VanMeter From Diamondbacks
The Pirates and Diamondbacks announced a deal sending utilityman Josh VanMeter to Pittsburgh for minor league pitcher Listher Sosa. To clear space on the 40-man roster, Pittsburgh designated outfielder Jared Oliva for assignment.
Arizona had designated VanMeter for assignment over the weekend. The 27-year-old is out of minor league option years, meaning the D-Backs had to keep him on the active roster all season or bump him from the 40-man. The Arizona front office evidently determined they weren’t prepared to carry him in the majors.
The Bucs will have to keep VanMeter in the bigs themselves. That they parted with a minor leaguer, rather than waiting to try to grab him off waivers, indicates he’s at least likely to break camp with the MLB team. Pittsburgh would’ve been third in waiver priority based on their finish near the bottom of last year’s standings. (The Pirates had the league’s fourth-worst record, but the D-Backs were one of the teams below them). Rather than risk another team trading for VanMeter or the Orioles/Rangers grabbing him on waivers, the Bucs decided to relinquish a young pitcher to add him.
VanMeter adds a left-handed, multi-positional bat to the mix for skipper Derek Shelton. He has appeared in each of the past three seasons with the Reds and D-Backs, tallying 649 plate appearances. The former fifth-round pick has a career .212/.300/.364 slash line, offense that checks in 25 percentage points below average by measure of wRC+. It was a similar story last season, when VanMeter hit .212/.297/.354 in a personal-high 310 trips to the dish with Arizona.
Those results aren’t great, but VanMeter has shown some promising traits that caught the attention of the Bucs front office. He’s walked in an above-average 10.6% of his plate appearances. Last season, he only chased 21.1% of pitches outside the strike zone, the tenth-lowest mark among the 262 hitters with 300+ trips. That’s partially attributable to an overall patience at the plate — he also has one of the lower swing rates on pitches in the zone — but that selectivity has allowed VanMeter to work plenty of deep counts. He also has slightly above-average career marks in hard contact rate and average exit velocity, pairing his measured approach with some raw power.
VanMeter isn’t regarded as a great defender anywhere, but he’s got plenty of experience at each of first, second and third base and in left field. Ke’Bryan Hayes and Yoshi Tsutsugo are going to play most days in the respective corner infield spots, but the Bucs don’t have obvious answers at the keystone or in left. VanMeter will presumably start off as a bench bat, but there should be a chance to earn more at-bats on a rebuilding Pittsburgh team if his performance warrants.
Oliva had been one of the candidates to see some time in left field, but his future in the organization is now in question. Ranked among the back half of the Bucs top 30 prospects by Baseball America in each of the past three seasons, the University of Arizona product looked like he may develop into a fourth or fifth outfield type. He posted strong offensive numbers with gaudy stolen base totals up through Double-A in 2019, but he’s coming a tough campaign.
The right-handed hitter appeared in 64 games and tallied 249 plate appearances with Triple-A Indianapolis last season. He posted a .249/.321/.364 line in a fairly hitter-friendly setting, and he didn’t produce in a 20-game big league look in July. The Bucs will now have a week to trade Oliva or place him on outright waivers. Given that he’s only 26 years old and still has a couple option years remaining, it’s not out of the question another club takes a flier.
Sosa, meanwhile, is a 20-year-old righty who spent last season in the Florida Complex League. The Bucs signed him for $150K out of the Dominican Republic during the 2018-19 international signing period. The 6’4″ hurler posted a 4.31 ERA in 31 1/3 innings last season, striking out 25% of opponents against a tiny 3.8% walk rate.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Pirates Option Oneil Cruz
The Pirates announced this afternoon they’ve optioned top shortstop prospect Oneil Cruz to Triple-A Indianapolis. The 23-year-old will not break camp with the big league club.
Pittsburgh selected Cruz to the MLB roster during the final weekend of last season. That came on the heels of a fantastic .292/.346/.536 line in a pitcher-friendly Double-A setting. The Bucs rewarded the big left-handed hitter with a two-game big league cameo to close out the year, during which time he picked up his first MLB home run.
Despite that brief look, it comes as little surprise the Bucs weren’t planning to carry him in the majors out of the gate this year. He only has six career games at the Triple-A level, and one could argue he’d benefit from a more extended run there before getting a look long at big league pitching. Cruz has performed very well in parts of two seasons at Double-A but has just 38 career plate appearances above that level.
Pittsburgh figures to point to that lack of Triple-A experience as their motivation behind sending Cruz back down, but it’s impossible to ignore the potential service time implications of the decision. Both FanGraphs and Baseball America slotted Cruz as the most talented prospect in the Pittsburgh farm system this winter, with each outlet placing him among the top 15 farmhands in the game. Between his massive raw power and exit velocities, athleticism, and arm strength, both publications suggested he has the potential to be a superstar.
If Cruz reaches that upside, getting a seventh year of club control would be incredibly valuable for the Pirates. Despite the aforementioned two days of MLB service he picked up at the end of last season, he would fall short of an automatic full year of service in 2022 if he stays in the minors for around two and a half weeks.
Service time manipulation was a talking point of the Players Association during the last round of collective bargaining negotiations. The new CBA didn’t overhaul the system, although it did introduce the opportunity for a handful of players to earn “bonus service” each year. The top two finishers in each league’s Rookie of the Year voting are now annually awarded a full year of service regardless of their call-up date.
Even if the Bucs keep him down past the threshold for accruing a full year of service based on the number of days Cruz spends in the majors, he could play his way into the full year by performing as one of the top rookies in the National League whenever he does get called up. Of course, one could argue that possibility incentivizes a rebuilding Pirates team to keep Cruz in the minors even longer. The fewer number of games he plays in the big leagues, the lower his chances are of earning that service year by putting up a Rookie of the Year-caliber season.
How long Cruz spends in the minors remains to be seen, but he clearly won’t get the Opening Day nod at shortstop. Kevin Newman has taken that spot in each of the past two seasons, and it seems likely he’ll get the call there for a third straight year. The 28-year-old Newman is a plus defender but one of the game’s lightest-hitting everyday players; he’s coming off a .226/.265/.309 showing in 554 plate appearances.
Minor MLB Transactions: 3/26/22
The Marlins optioned Bryan De La Cruz, Nick Fortes, Alex Jackson, and Lewin Diaz to Triple-A, per Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald (via Twitter). Diaz’s demotion might raise an eyebrow or two, but Jesus Aguilar and Garrett Cooper have first base covered at the big league level. De La Cruz’s demotion is the more surprising of the bunch, as the 25-year-old was thought to be in contention for at-bats in center field after posting a 115 wRC+ in 219 plate appearances last year.
Of course, Miami’s well-advertised desire to add a center fielder might have been clue enough to suggest the organization did not expect De La Cruz to be “the guy” in center. Offseason additions Jorge Soler and Avisail Garcia have the outfield corners locked down, while Jesus Sanchez becomes the frontrunner to start opening day in center. Brian Anderson will see time in the outfield as well, while Jon Berti will backup center. Delino DeShields and Roman Quinn remain in competition for a roster spot, notes Joe Frisaro of Man On Second Baseball (via Twitter). In other roster moves…
- The Pirates have optioned top pitching prospect Roansy Contreras to Triple-A, one of a number of roster moves made in anticipation of opening day. Yerry De Los Santos, Enmanuel Mejia, Hunter Stratton, and southpaw Blake Weiman were also reassigned to minor league camp, per the team. Contreras, the former Yankees’ farmhand, is the prospect of particular note here, the Pirates’ fourth-ranked prospect, per Baseball America. The 22-year-old made his Major League debut in 2021 in a scoreless, 3-inning outing, but he was not expected to make the opening day rotation. After all, though he made his debut, he also made just one start in Triple-A last season, spending most of the year in Double-A, pitching to a 2.65 ERA/2.74 FIP across 54 1/3 innings spanning 12 starts.
- The Braves reassigned Brad Brach and Michael Harris II to minor league camp, the team announced. Brach posted a 3.05 ERA over 415 appearances from 2012 to 2018 with the Padres, Orioles, and Braves. In the three years since, however, Brach has struggled to a 5.77 ERA with the Mets, Cubs, and Reds. In Cincinnati last season, Brach logged a 6.30 ERA/5.04 FIP in 30 innings over 35 appearances. Harris, 21, slashed .294/.362/.436 in 420 plate appearances in High-A last season.
Outrighted: Potts, Hanhold
With transactions back in full swing, there’s a constant 40-man roster churn as teams accommodate new signings, waiver claims and more. Many of the players who are designated for assignment around the league will go unclaimed and end up sticking with their clubs as a non-roster player. We’ll keep track of today’s outrighted players here…
- The Red Sox announced Friday that infielder Hudson Potts cleared waivers and has been outrighted to the minors. Boston didn’t specify an assignment to a specific affiliate just yet. The 23-year-old Potts was a first-round pick of the Padres in 2016 and landed with the Sox by way of 2020’s Mitch Moreland trade. Potts has drawn praise for his huge raw power in the past, but the 2021 season was a discouraging one. In his second full season spent at the Double-A level, Potts managed only a .217/.264/.399 batting line with a huge 32.8% strikeout rate. Though he hit well in the minors up through Class-A Advanced, Potts now has 837 plate appearances in parts of three Double-A seasons and just a .216/.277/.385 output there.
- Pirates righty Eric Hanhold, designated for assignment last week, also went unclaimed on waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Indianapolis earlier this week. The 28-year-old gave up eight runs in 10 1/3 innings for the Orioles last year and joined the Pirates via waiver claim following the season. Hanhold’s struggles persisted in the minors, evidenced by a 5.19 ERA with Triple-A Norfolk in 2021, but he did have a solid 2019 season in the Mets’ system, pitching to a 3.84 ERA in 63 1/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A. Hanhold has been dominant in 40 career innings of Double-A ball but carries an ERA north of 5.00 both in Triple-A and in the Majors.
Marlins Notes: Reynolds, Hernandez, Bullpen, Neidert, Sixto
The Marlins were on the hunt for outfield upgrades all winter, eventually culminating in multi-year free agent deals with Avisaíl García and Jorge Soler. Neither player required parting with young talent, but the Fish looked into potential higher-impact acquisitions on the trade market.
Miami has long had interest in prying star center fielder Bryan Reynolds from Pittsburgh, and Barry Jackson and Craig Mish of the Miami Herald shed some light on the teams’ discussions. The Bucs and Marlins discussed permutations that would’ve involved top shortstop prospect Kahlil Watson — Miami’s first-round pick last summer — headed back as part of a deal. However, Jackson and Mish write that the Marlins balked at including both Watson and 2020 #3 overall pick Max Meyer in a Reynolds trade.
Baseball America placed both Watson and Meyer among the back half of their Top 100 prospects this winter. Watson, a lefty-hitting shortstop with big bat speed and athleticism, fell to the Marlins at 16th in last year’s draft but signed for the 10th-highest bonus. That better reflected how evaluators viewed him as an amateur prospect, and he’s generally regarded as one of the highest-upside players in the minors. Meyer, meanwhile, has one of the minors’ best fastball-slider combinations and struck out 27.2% of Double-A hitters in his first full pro season. Prospect evaluators have raised some concerns about his size and command consistency, but he boasts a high-octane arsenal and isn’t that far from MLB readiness.
Parting with both Watson and Meyer would’ve been quite a blow to the Miami farm system, but it reflects the huge asking price the Pirates can justifiably set with four years of arbitration control over Reynolds. Reports going back to last summer’s trade deadline have suggested the Bucs preferred to build around him rather than move him. Reynolds told reporters (including Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) this afternoon the Pirates haven’t approached him about an extension this offseason, and they’re set to go to an arbitration hearing to determine his 2022 salary after not agreeing to terms yesterday. Still, the 27-year-old downplayed the notion that a hearing could affect his relationship with the organization. “I’m an adult,” he said. “I can handle it. I don’t care. I have a pretty good idea of what’ll be said and all that. We’ll prepare, and we’ll be fine.”
Jackson and Mish write the Marlins and Pirates may eventually revisit trade talks, although it’ll again be difficult to pry him out of Pittsburgh. The Herald reports the Marlins also had some pre-lockout discussions with the Blue Jays regarding corner outfielder Teoscar Hernández, but those conversations are no longer active. Soler’s signing to play right field would seem to close the door on the possibility of Miami making a run at another corner outfielder/DH option like Hernández.
Speaking with reporters (including Christina De Nicola of MLB.com) this afternoon, general manager Kim Ng expressed her confidence in the Miami outfield. She pointed to García and Bryan De La Cruz as options to see some time in center field, while Jackson and Mish write that Jesús Sánchez could get a look there as well. Ng didn’t expressly rule out the possibility of further moves on the position player side, but she suggested it was more likely they’d look to add another arm to the bullpen.
“As I mentioned, the bat was first and foremost, and making sure that we secured that and what the parameters of that looked like,” Ng said (via De Nicola). “And now we’re definitely focused on relievers. I will say that I’ve gotten some nice reports on some of the guys here, so we might be able to pull from within as well.”
Among those internal possibilities is right-hander Nick Neidert. A well-regarded starting pitching prospect early in his career, Neidert has yet to find success in 44 MLB innings. The Marlins are deep in rotation options, and manager Don Mattingly told reporters today that Neidert will transition to a bullpen role (De Nicola link). Despite his profile as a changeup specialist — which theoretically should aid him against opposite-handed batters — Neidert has been hit at a .314/.444/.500 clip by lefties in the majors. He was similarly ineffective against southpaws in Triple-A last season (.306/.393/.471), and the bullpen role may afford Mattingly the opportunity to deploy him more often with the platoon advantage.
At present, the Marlins look likely to open the year with a starting five of Sandy Alcantara, Trevor Rogers, Pablo López, Elieser Hernández and Jesús Luzardo. That’s a particularly strong top end, and Miami has high-upside young arms like Meyer, Edward Cabrera and Sixto Sánchez who could factor into the mix at some point.
Sánchez has already had some MLB success, but he missed the entire 2021 season due to injury and will also begin this year on the injured list as he recovers from last July’s shoulder surgery. De Nicola tweets that the fireballing 23-year-old is currently a third of the way through a six-week shutdown period. Given that he won’t even pick up a ball until at least a few weeks into the season, it seems likely he’ll spend a fairly significant amount of time on the IL to open the year.