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Austin Nola

Braves Sign Austin Nola To Minors Contract

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The Braves have signed catcher Austin Nola to a minor league deal, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.  The contract contains an invitation to Atlanta’s big league spring camp.

Nola appeared in 345 MLB games with the Padres and Mariners from 2019-2023, posting some very solid numbers at the plate before his production tailed off badly by the 2023 campaign.  Nola spent the 2024 season with the Royals’ Triple-A affiliate without getting any more playing time in the Show, and he moved on to sign a minor league deal with the Rockies last winter.

The early part of Nola’s 2025 campaign was spent battling injuries, but he played well enough at Triple-A to earn a selection to Colorado’s active roster.  Nola didn’t fare nearly as well, hitting .184/.225/.211 over 41 plate appearances and 14 games with the Rox before being designated for assignment and then outrighted off the 40-man roster in August.  He elected free agency rather than accept that outright assignment, so Nola has had a bit of extra time to line up his next stop.

Atlanta is set at the MLB level with Drake Baldwin and Sean Murphy as their catchers, but Chuckie Robinson is the only other backstop in the system with any big league experience.  Nola can provide some depth for the Braves in camp, and could even chip in as a reserve first baseman.  Now entering his age-36 season, time may be running out for Nola to re-establish himself as even a backup in the majors, but a good showing in Spring Training could win him a Triple-A job with the Braves or perhaps a look elsewhere with a team with a less stable catching situation.

Austin Nola Elects Free Agency

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Aug. 15: Nola has indeed elected free agency, per the transaction log at MiLB.com.

Aug. 13: Nola has cleared waivers, and the Rockies have sent him outright to Triple-A Albuquerque, according to the transaction log on his MLB.com player page. He has the right to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency, but he can also choose to accept the assignment and rejoin the Isotopes. He is currently listed on their roster on MiLB.com.

Aug. 11: The Rockies announced Monday that they’ve designated catcher Austin Nola for assignment. His roster spot will go to righty Chase Dollander, who’s been recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque and will start tonight’s game versus the Cardinals in St. Louis.

Nola, 35, has spent the bulk of the season with Triple-A Albuquerque after signing a minor league contract over the winter but had his contract selected to the big league roster in early July. He’s gotten into 15 games for the Rox but turned in a lackluster .184/.225/.211 batting line in a small sample of 41 plate appearances. He was far better in 26 Triple-A games, slashing .347/.411/.474 in 106 trips to the plate.

The older brother of longtime Phillies starter Aaron Nola, Austin has appeared in parts of six big league seasons. He was excellent early on after breaking through with the Mariners as a 29-year-old rookie. The older Nola brother hit .280/.351/.476 in 377 plate appearances with the M’s in 2019-20, pairing that plus offensive output with the ability to play not only catcher but multiple infield and outfield spots.

The Padres coveted Nola’s production and versatility enough to surrender a package of prospects that included Andres Munoz, Ty France and Taylor Trammell to pry Nola and relievers Dan Altavilla and Austin Adams away from Seattle in 2020. Nola’s bat fell off to about league-average levels from 2020-22 following the trade before cratering in 2023. The Friars cut him loose after the ’23 season and he’s since bounced to the Brewers, Royals and now Rockies.

With the trade deadline behind us, the Rockies’ only course of action will be to place Nola on waivers. He’ll be made available to all 29 other teams, beginning with the worst record in the league and climbing through the best. Nola is out of minor league options, so any team that claims him would need to add him right to the big league roster. If he goes unclaimed, he’d have the right to reject an outright assignment to the minors in favor of free agency.

Rockies Designate Sam Hilliard For Assignment, Select Austin Nola

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The Rockies announced a series of roster moves today. They have recalled outfielder Yanquiel Fernández from Triple-A Albuquerque, a move that was previously reported, and also selected the contract of catcher Austin Nola. In corresponding moves, they have optioned backstop Braxton Fulford and designated outfielder Sam Hilliard for assignment.

Hilliard, 31, was added to Colorado’s roster just over a month ago. He has since been sent to the plate 61 times, with a huge 37.7% strikeout rate but also a strong 16.4% walk rate. The result is a lopsided line of .196/.328/.412.

He has occasionally shown promise as a big leaguer but often with his penchant for punchouts getting in the way. He now has 936 big league plate appearances over seven seasons with 44 home runs but a 34.3% strikeout rate. Since he’s out of options and the Rockies want to get a look at Fernández, Hilliard has been bumped off the 40-man roster.

Hilliard was also outrighted off the roster at the end of March. As a player with between three and five years of major league service time, he has the right to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency, but has to forfeit his remaining salary in order to do so. He is making $1MM this year, so he accepted an outright assignment the last time he was sent through waivers. It’s possible the same sequence of events plays out in the coming days.

Nola, 35, signed a minor league deal with the Rockies in the offseason. He has spent a decent amount of this year on the minor league injured list but has been healthy for the past month or so. He has 116 minor league plate appearances this year with a strong .330/.397/.456 line, though most of that has been in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, so it only translates to a 107 wRC+.

That will seemingly be enough to Nola a shot at the backup catcher job. The Rockies released Jacob Stallings last month, with Hunter Goodman and Fulford left in charge of the catching duties. Fulford will now presumably get everyday playing time in Triple-A while Nola returns to the majors.

Nola has 345 big league games under his belt with a .249/.326/.370 line and 95 wRC+. That’s a solid mark for a catcher though his framing hasn’t received good marks from outlets like FanGraphs, Statcast or Baseball Prospectus. He is out of options and would therefore have to be removed from the 40-man roster if the Rockies decide to bump him from the active roster at any point.

Photo courtesy of Brad Mills, Imagn Images

Rockies Sign Austin Nola To Minors Deal

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The Rockies have signed catcher Austin Nola to a minor league deal, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (X link).  Nola will receive an invitation to the Rockies’ big league spring camp.

After signing a split contract with the Royals last winter, Nola didn’t appear in a single game in the Show, though he was briefly called up to Kansas City’s roster for a few days in June.  Salvador Perez and Freddy Fermin were both so durable that the Royals never had a real need for another catcher on the roster, and Nola also didn’t do much to force the issue by hitting only .174/.260/.298 over 191 plate appearances with Triple-A Omaha.  The Royals outrighted Nola off their 40-man roster in September, and he became a free agent after the season.

Entering his age-35 season, the veteran backstop will look for a path back to the majors in Colorado, though a depth role at Triple-A is also a possibility given the number of catchers already on hand.  Jacob Stallings was re-signed to a new contract a few weeks ago, Hunter Goodman is a multi-position utility player who can catch, and top prospect Drew Romo made his MLB debut in 2024 and could be in line for more playing time on the active roster.

There is a bit of a full-circle element to Nola’s signing, as the Rockies picked him in the 48th round of the 2008 draft when Nola was still a high schooler, but he instead opted for college ball at LSU.  Nola made his MLB debut with the Mariners in 2019 and looked like a budding star, but his production gradually declined after a trade to the Padres in 2020.  He was still getting regular at-bats behind the plate in San Diego as recently as 2022, yet a sharp decline in 2023 resulted in the Padres non-tendering him a little over a year ago.

Royals Outright Austin Nola, Release CJ Alexander

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September 4: Nola has been outrighted to Triple-A Omaha and Alexander released, per the transactions tracker of each player at MLB.com.

August 31: The Royals announced that catcher Austin Nola and infielder CJ Alexander have been designated for assignment.  The moves open up roster space for Tommy Pham and Robbie Grossman, who are now officially part of the K.C. roster after being respectively claimed off waivers from the Cardinals and Rangers.

Nola signed a split contract with the Royals during Spring Training, but the veteran of five MLB seasons has yet to officially bank any big league playing time during the 2024 campaign.  The Royals briefly called Nola up in June but he was sent back to Omaha without appearing in any games, and Salvador Perez and Freddy Fermin have stayed healthy and handled every single inning behind the plate for Kansas City this season.  Injuries also cost Nola all of April, and he hasn’t provided much offense with only a .156/.248/.296 slash line over 163 plate appearances in Omaha.

This made Nola expendable, and now Brian O’Keefe and Rodolfo Duran are the remaining catching depth options at Triple-A.  The Royals might conceivably try to shore up the catching ranks with another veteran, or Nola might simply remain with the team if he clears waivers.  Nola has been outrighted before, so he can opt for free agency if he clears waivers and Kansas City tries to outright him off the 40-man roster.

Alexander has neither a past outright assignment on his ledger, nor the minimum five years of MLB service time to reject an outright, so he might just be optioned back to Omaha if no other teams make a claim.  Alexander just made his Major League debut this season, appearing in four games for the Royals and knocking one single in eight trips to the plate during his brief stint in the Show.

A 20th-round pick for the Braves in the 2018 draft, Alexander was acquired by the Royals as part of the Drew Waters trade in July 2022.  His minor league numbers generally consisted of solid power but low averages and OBPs prior to 2024, when he has put it all together to hit .303/.352/.554 with 16 homers over 350 Triple-A plate appearances.  In the field, Alexander has played mostly third base during his minor league career, with some time at first base and in both corner outfield slots.

Since Alexander just turned 28, he isn’t exactly an up-and-coming type of prospect, but could be another waiver claim candidate if a team is looking for some infield depth.  He also has two minor league option years remaining, making him a flexible roster piece going forward.

AL Central Notes: Royals, Cease, Tigers

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The Royals’ Opening Day roster has begun to come into focus, as the Royals recently optioned first baseman Nick Pratto, outfielder Drew Waters, and catcher Austin Nola to the minor leagues. Those positional cuts from camp helped to clarify the club’s bench mix, as manager Matt Quatraro told reporters (including MLB.com’s Anne Rogers) yesterday that infielder Nick Loftin and outfielder Dairon Blanco have both made the club’s Opening Day roster. Blanco will slot into a reserve outfielder role behind MJ Melendez, Kyle Isbel, Hunter Renfroe, and Nelson Velazquez. Meanwhile, Loftin will step into a bench role previously ticketed for veteran Adam Frazier, who is set to become the club’s Opening Day second baseman with Michael Massey expected to begin the season on the injured list due to lower back tightness.

It’s an unfortunate development for Massey, who celebrated his 26th birthday earlier this week. The infielder was the club’s everyday option at the keystone last year and performed well on defense but struggled with the bat throughout the season. The youngster showed signs of life in the second half, however, slashing a respectable .250/.285/.458 with 11 home runs in 229 trips to the plate over his final 60 games in 2023. That display left him in line to receive the lion’s share of playing time at second once again this year even after the Royals added Frazier and Garrett Hampson in free agency. Now that Massey is set to begin the season on the shelf, however, Frazier will have the opportunity to play his way into a larger role early in the season. The 32-year-old veteran has been a roughly league average bat consistently throughout his career, with a .269/.331/.393 slash across eight seasons in the big leagues, including a .240/.300/.396 showing with the Orioles last year.

As for the trio of recent cuts, none of them are especially surprising. Pratto appeared unlikely to have a role with the big league club to open the season thanks to first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino’s return from labrum surgery and Nelson Velazquez’s emergence as a credible slugger at DH. Waters, similarly, is the odd man out in the club’s crowded outfield mix. Both former top prospects will open the season at Triple-A, providing them an opportunity to receive regular reps they couldn’t get with the big league Royals. Nola starting the season in the minors is hardly a surprise, either, as he joined the club on a split contract that was seemingly designed to allow him to be a backup to Salvador Perez and Freddy Fermin at the Triple-A level.

More from around the AL Central…

  • The White Sox recently dealt right-hander Dylan Cease after months of rumors and speculation, shipping him to the Padres in exchange for a prospect package headlined by Drew Thorpe. Club GM Chris Getz recently spoke to Scott Merkin of MLB.com about the trade and noted that San Diego was one of two clubs who made “significant offers,” with Merkin reporting that the Rangers were the second place finisher for Cease’s services. Getz also made clear that the sides did not engage in extension negotiations amid the winter’s trade rumors, adding that while the club would have “loved” to keep Cease in the fold long term, he felt such an arrangement “wasn’t realistic.” That’s somewhat understandable, as Chicago suffered a 101-loss season last year and appears to have a long way to go before contending again, even in a relatively weak AL Central division. Given that reality, it would’ve been surprising to see the club commit to the sort of significant outlay that would have been required to retain the runner-up for the 2022 AL Cy Young award.
  • Tigers youngster Sawyer Gipson-Long once appeared likely to compete with other youngsters such as Casey Mize, Reese Olson, and Matt Manning for a role in the club’s starting rotation alongside Tarik Skubal, Jack Flaherty, and Kenta Maeda. Unfortunately for Gipson-Long, he’s been nursing a left groin strain throughout camp that, as noted by Evan Woodbery of the Detroit Free Press, will lead to him opening the season on the injured list. Gipson-Long, who the club acquired at the 2022 trade deadline in exchange for right-hander Michael Fulmer, made his big league debut late in the season last year and impressed during four starts in the majors. In 20 innings of work, the right-hander posted a 2.70 ERA with a 3.16 FIP while striking out an excellent 31.7% of batters faced. With Mize and Olson now set to start the season in the rotation, Gipson-Long figures to head to Triple-A Toledo once healthy, where he’ll provide Detroit with quality rotation depth alongside Matt Manning and wait for an opportunity in the big leagues.

Royals Sign Austin Nola To Major League Deal

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February 23: Nola inked a split deal that pays him at a $975K rate in the majors and $175K for time spent in Triple-A, reports The Associated Press. He could tack on another $250K in incentives for games played in MLB: $50K apiece at 25, 50, 75, 100 and 125 contests.

February 22: The Royals announced the signing of catcher Austin Nola to a major league contract. Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic (X links) first reported the deal. Kansas City placed Kris Bubic on the 60-day injured list to clear an opening on the 40-man roster.

Nola, a client of Paragon Sports International, had been in camp with the Brewers on a non-roster pact. GM Matt Arnold told reporters this evening that Milwaukee was granting him a release to pursue other opportunities (relayed on X by Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel).

Milwaukee indeed has a fairly crowded catching depth chart. Nola was never going to supplant William Contreras as the starter. At the time he agreed to his deal on January 5, the backup role was going to be held by Eric Haase. Milwaukee added a clearer #2 catcher this week when they signed Gary Sánchez. Haase remains on the roster and is out of options. There was little chance of Nola securing an MLB job in camp unless one or two of the players above him suffered an injury.

It’s the second straight year in which Sánchez has blocked Nola’s path to big league playing time. That’s largely on account of the latter’s recent struggles, particularly last season. He’d been the Opening Day catcher for the Padres in each of the last two years. He got off to a very poor start in 2023, hitting .146/.260/.192 over 52 games. San Diego optioned him to Triple-A in mid-July, relying on the tandem of Sánchez (whom they’d claimed off waivers a few weeks earlier) and Luis Campusano for the stretch run.

Nola only appeared in eight Triple-A contests. He spent some time on the minor league injured list. In September, he revealed that he’d been diagnosed with oculomotor dysfunction, a vision disorder. While that could’ve played a role in his dismal production, it was nevertheless an easy call for San Diego to non-tender him. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz had projected him for a $2.35MM salary if he were offered an arbitration contract.

That ended an overall disappointing tenure in Southern California. The Padres acquired Nola at the 2020 trade deadline from the Mariners. While the LSU product had hit .280/.351/.476 in a limited sample with Seattle, he managed a .234/.314/.320 slash over 819 plate appearances as a Padre.

His formerly strong defensive marks also dropped precipitously. Nola had rated as an above-average framer and blocker early in his career. Over the past two seasons, he has received very poor grades in both departments. Nola has roughly average arm strength.

Despite the recent struggles, he gets a 40-man roster spot in Kansas City. The Royals have Salvador Pérez and Freddy Fermín as the two catchers on the 40-man. Fermín played well enough last year to hold the backup job. Nola still has one minor league option remaining, though, so K.C. could keep him at Triple-A Omaha as needed.

Nola has four years and 45 days of MLB service. Players with five years of service can no longer be optioned, so Nola would have the right to refuse additional minor league assignments once he crosses the five-year threshold. That won’t happen until the second half of next season at the earliest. The Royals could keep him around for 2025 via arbitration, so it could be a multi-year pickup if Nola finds his form.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Royals Notes: Catchers, Hernandez, Pasquantino

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The Royals’ recent deal with Austin Nola gives them three catchers on the 40-man roster, and the organization has considered carrying all three to open the season, general manager J.J. Picollo suggested Friday (X link via Jaylon Thompson of the Kansas City Star). Picollo voiced confidence that Freddy Fermin would break camp as the team’s backup to Salvador Perez but noted that “there’s a chance” all three of Perez, Fermin and Nola could be on the Opening Day club. Thompson notes that Kansas City pursued Nola earlier in the offseason before yesterday’s deal as well.

Carrying three catchers could make it easier for the Royals to get Perez some extra time at designated hitter. That’d be a boost to the team’s overall defense, as while Perez graded as a plus defender and won five Gold Gloves earlier in his career, he’s not the same defensive player now as he approaches his 34th birthday. Perez has long been one of the sport’s iron men behind the dish, working one of the largest workloads of any catcher in the game. It’s natural that such heavy usage would take its toll on his 6’3″, 255-pound frame, as would the Tommy John surgery that wiped out his 2019 season. Even with that missed season, Perez has caught more innings (9,071) than anyone other than Yadier Molina since the 2013 season.

Even post-Tommy John surgery, in 2021, Perez led the league with a massive 44% caught-stealing rate behind the dish. That number plummeted over the two subsequent seasons, however, bottoming out at a career-low 14% in 2023. Statcast still credits Perez with solid blocking skills on pitches in the dirt, but he’s also among the league’s least-effective backstops in terms of framing pitches by that same measure. Perez posted a combined 28 Defensive Runs Saved from 2012-16 and was roughly average from 2017-19, but he’s been below average in each of the past three seasons, including -11 DRS in just 738 innings this past season.

Fermin, meanwhile, posted strong defensive grades in 2023 and delivered a surprisingly solid .281/.321/.461 slash as a 28-year-old rookie. There’s an argument to be made that based on defense alone, he deserves a larger share of playing time than a traditional backup. Nola’s defensive grades have waned as he’s entered his mid-30s, but rostering him would make it easier for the Royals to DH Perez, start Fermin behind the dish and still have another catching option. He’s also spent time at first base and second base, with more sparse appearances at third base and in the outfield corners. Nola does have a minor league option remaining, so it’s also possible he heads to Triple-A Omaha as a more conventional depth option.

Turning to the Kansas City bullpen, right-hander Carlos Hernandez has been slowed by injury to this point in camp, Picollo announced (X link via Anne Rogers of MLB.com). The flamethrowing 26-year-old (27 next month) hasn’t thrown off a mound in two weeks due to soreness in his right shoulder, but the team anticipates he’ll have enough time to make six to seven spring appearances. That’s position him to be ready for Opening Day, assuming there are no setbacks with that ailing shoulder.

Hernandez is coming off an unsightly 5.27 ERA in 70 innings last season, although a poor finish to the year torpedoed what had been solid numbers for much of the ’23 campaign. Through the first four months of the year, Hernandez pitched 53 innings with a 3.57 ERA, 30% strikeout rate and 7.1% walk rate. Everything trended in the wrong direction over the final two months, however; Hernandez’s strikeout rate nearly halved, clocking in at 15.6%, and his walk rate exploded to 17.8%. Six of the ten homers he surrendered last year came over his final 17 innings, and he would up yielding a grisly 20 earned runs in that time.

Whether the shoulder was healthy to close out the season or was quietly bothering him, Hernandez showed for two-thirds of the season that he has the ability to be a key piece in the Kansas City bullpen. His health will be a notable factor for K.C. fans to track throughout spring training.

On the other end of the health spectrum, the Royals welcomed first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino back to the lineup Friday — his first game appearance in more than 250 days since undergoing surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder. Pasquantino chatted with Sam McDowell of the Kansas City Star about the rigors of the rehab process — not only the physical ones but also the mental difficulty of being sidelined.

The 26-year-old called his time away from the field “miserable,” particularly given some added guilt stemming from the fact that he elected to undergo surgery at a time when the Royals were in Baltimore, just a three-hour drive from his native Richmond, Va. Friends and family had flocked to Camden Yards to see Pasquantino play, only for him to instead opt for a season-ending surgical procedure. Pasquantino offered plenty of candid comments on the nature of his rehab and detailed the intense video work he underwent during his down time as he studied all aspects of the game and searched for ways to improve.

Pasquantino came roaring out of the gate in 2023, slashing .298/.383/.539 with seven homers and more walks (11.7%) than strikeouts (11%) in his first 163 trips to the plate. He fell into a deep slump thereafter, hitting just .167/.227/.278 in his next 97 trips to the plate before undergoing surgery.

A healthy Pasquantino would be a boon for a Royals team that has spent aggressively this offseason in an effort to turn the page on a series of losing seasons. Kansas City signed Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, Will Smith, Chris Stratton, Hunter Renfroe, Adam Frazier and Garrett Hampson for a combined $109.5MM and traded for relievers John Schreiber and Nick Anderson in an effort to assemble a better club. There’s a massive gap to close after finishing the 2023 season with 106 losses, but there’s little doubting that Kansas City will be an improved club in 2024.

Brewers Sign Austin Nola To Minor League Deal

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The Brewers and Austin Nola are in agreement on a minor league deal, according to MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy. The deal includes an invite to big league Spring Training next month.

Nola, 34, struggled terribly in 2023 with a disastrous slash line of .146/.260/.192 in 154 trips to the plate before he was optioned to Triple-A in mid-July, allowing the Padres to utilize a catching tandem of Gary Sanchez and Luis Campusano for the remainder of the season. Nola discussed his offensive woes back in September, revealing that he had been diagnosed with oculomotor dysfunction, an issue that impacts the brain’s ability to coordinate eye movement and comes with symptoms such as fogginess and headaches. Nola’s worrisome performance led San Diego to non-tender him back in November, sending him to the open market where he has now been snatched up by Milwaukee.

While it’s not clear how Nola’s health has evolved over the past few months or what impact it will have on his performance going forward, it’s not hard to imagine Nola returning to form offensively if healthy. After all, Nola entered the 2023 campaign with a solid .263/.336/.395 slash line for his career, good for a 105 wRC+, and above average offense behind the plate is fairly difficult to come by, particularly when paired with roughly average defense behind the plate. On the other hand, much of that strong offense and solid defense came early in Nola’s career as he slashed an impressive .280/.351/.476 in 377 trips to the plate in a Mariners uniform.

After being traded to the Padres in seven-player deal that sent Ty France and Andres Munoz (among others) to Seattle, Nola’s offense dipped considerably as he put up essentially league average numbers down the stretch in 2020 before slashing just .258/.327/.344 in 166 games with the Padres from 2021-22. Nola’s defense also took a tumble during his time with San Diego, as Statcast suggests he was worth a whopping -12 runs behind the plate in 2022 alone. It’s fair to wonder if there’s much room for improvement in Nola’s defense going forward, as catchers in their early-to-mid thirties often suffer significant struggles due to the wear and tear that comes with years behind the plate.

Even with the many red flags in Nola’s profile, it’s easy to see why the Brewers would have interest in taking a low-cost flier on the veteran’s services. After all, Victor Caratini departed for the Astros in free agency last month, leaving All Star catcher William Contreras without a clear back up behind the plate. The club recently landed Eric Haase for that role, but it’s easy to see how Nola could step into that role if he manages to prove himself healthy and recover some of his previous offensive ability when Spring Training rolls around in late February. Otherwise, Nola can work on regaining his past form at the Triple-A level with the Brewers while acting as non-roster depth for the club in the event of an injury.

Padres Non-Tender Austin Nola, Three Others

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The Padres announced the non-tenders of catcher Austin Nola, outfielder Taylor Kohlwey and pitchers Tim Hill and Jose Espada.

Nola’s non-tender marks the end of a three-and-a-half-year tenure in San Diego. The Friars picked him up alongside Dan Altavilla and Austin Adams in a now clearly lopsided (in the other direction) swap that sent a four-player package of Ty France, Andres Munoz, Luis Torrens and Taylor Trammell to the Mariners back in 2020. At the time, Nola had been an unmitigated steal for the Mariners in free agency, signing a minor league contract and coming out of nowhere to deliver a .280/.351/.476 batting line in 377 plate appearances while playing catcher, first base, second base, third base and the outfield corners.

Nola’s production almost immediately took a nosedive following the swap, however, and in 819 career plate appearances with the Padres he’s a .234/.314/.320 hitter — including a particularly woeful .146/.260/.192 slash in 154 plate appearances this past season. (France and Munoz, meanwhile, have gone on to become key players for a rebuild Mariners roster, although the former struggled himself in 2023.)

With Nola projected for a $2.35MM salary (via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz), the Padres cutting payroll, and fellow catcher Luis Campusano breaking out to the tune of a .319/.356/.491 batting line in 49 games, Nola no longer had a clear fit in the organization. He’ll turn 34 next month and look to latch on with new club between now and Opening Day.

Hill, also 33, has built a quietly solid track record over a six-year career between the Royals and Padres, though he stumbled to a career-worst 5.48 ERA in 44 1/3 frames this past season. Hill’s 2023 included a lowly 12.9% strikeout rate, although his 6.9% walk rate and particularly his 61.2% grounder rate were both strong marks.

From 2019-22, Hill totaled 165 1/3 innings of 3.70 ERA ball between Kansas City and San Diego, fanning 20.2% of his opponents against an 8.1% walk rate and superlative 58.9% ground-ball rate. He’s long had rather glaring platoon splits, however, making him a victim of the rule that stipulated pitchers must face at least three opponents per outing (or finish the inning). Hill has held opposing lefties to a dreary .223/.302/.304 batting line in his career but yielded an unsightly .284/.351/.460 slash against right-handers. He’ll hit the market in search of a rebound opportunity, likely on a one-year contract or minor league deal.

Kohlwey, 29, made his big league debut this season and went 2-for-13 with a pair of singles. The former 21st-round pick is a career .296/.387/.444 hitter in parts of four Triple-A seasons. The 26-year-old Espada pitched a scoreless inning for the Padres in his MLB debut in 2023. They plucked him out of indie ball in 2022, and he notched a 2.81 ERA with a big 31.4% strikeout rate but a concerning 12.8% walk rate in 83 1/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A this season. Both players will look for new opportunities as minor league free agents.

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