Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Brent Suter

Rockies Notes: Bryant, Bird, Suter

By | at

Kris Bryant’s first season in Colorado didn’t go as envisioned, with injuries combining to limit the former MVP to 42 games. Bryant hit well in that limited look, posting a .306/.376/.475 line with a career-low 14.9% strikeout rate, but he spent virtually the entire second half on the injured list due to plantar fasciitis in his left foot.

Now healthy for Spring Training, Bryant will get a second crack at serving as Colorado’s primary left fielder. Danielle Allentuck of the Denver Gazette writes that the four-time All-Star also remains open to logging some time on the infield if needed. Bryant played exclusively left field or designated hitter during his first season in Denver, though he obviously has plenty of corner infield experience from his time with the Cubs and Giants.

The Rox already have a decent amount of corner infield depth. C.J. Cron and Ryan McMahon are again lined up for work at first and third base, respectively. Michael Toglia and Sean Bouchard are on hand as first base options behind Cron. Offseason acquisition Nolan Jones and second-year player Elehuris Montero are bat-first players but can cover either corner infield slot. Alan Trejo and non-roster invitee Harold Castro are also in the mix as infield defenders with some flexibility to move around the diamond.

In other news out of Colorado:

  • Right-hander Jake Bird recently strained his left oblique, manager Bud Black informed reporters (including Thomas Harding of MLB.com). He’s expected to miss the next four to six weeks. That takes the 27-year-old out of play for the World Baseball Classic — where he’d been slated to represent Israel — and, of more import to Colorado fans, puts his availability for the start of the season in jeopardy. Bird made his major league debut last June and was a fairly frequent bullpen option down the stretch. He got into 38 contests, posting a 4.91 ERA across 47 2/3 innings. Bird’s strikeout and walk profile wasn’t especially impressive but he induced grounders on an excellent 55.7% of batted balls.
  • A pair of veteran bullpen pickups marked some of the biggest moves in a quiet Colorado offseason. Righty Pierce Johnson signed a one-year free agent deal, while the Rox claimed veteran southpaw Brent Suter off waivers from Milwaukee. Black told reporters he’d been among those pushing general manager Bill Schmidt to put in a claim once Milwaukee put Suter on waivers back in November (link via Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post). With the Harvard product eligible for arbitration for a final time, the Brewers waived Suter after determining they weren’t going to tender him a contract. Colorado was happy to keep Suter around for his last arbitration season, with the sides agreeing to a $3MM salary within two weeks of the waiver claim. The 33-year-old posted a 3.78 ERA over 66 2/3 innings of long relief last season. He doesn’t throw hard or pick up many whiffs, but he consistently keeps the ball on the ground and fills the strike zone. The latter trait seems especially appealing to Colorado brass, as Black told reporters the club is emphasizing better strike-throwing at the back end of games. Rockies relievers walked 9.9% of opponents last season, the fifth-highest rate in the league.

Players Avoiding Arbitration: 11/18/22

By | at

The deadline to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players is tonight at 7:00pm Central. There will be a frenzy of non-tenders and trades today, but also some signings.

For many players, there’s little pressure to agree to terms this week. The deadline for exchanging figures isn’t until January 13, with the hearings taking place in March. However, players that are borderline non-tender candidates might get a low-ball offer at this time, with the team hoping that the looming possibility of a non-tender compels the player to accept. As such, deals at this part of the baseball calendar have a higher likelihood of coming in under projections.

One new wrinkle from the new collective bargaining agreement is that all of these deals will be guaranteed. Previously, teams could cut a player during Spring Training and only pay a portion of the agreed-upon figure. However, the new CBA stipulates that any player who settles on a salary without going to a hearing will be subject to full termination pay, even if released prior to the beginning of the season.

MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected salaries for each team’s arbitration-eligible players last month but, as mentioned, it’s not uncommon for the deals agreed to at this time to come in below projections. This post may be updated later as more agreements come in…

Latest

  • The Tigers announced agreement on a deal with outfielder Austin Meadows. Financial terms are undisclosed. Meadows was projected for a $4MM salary. He’s coming off an injury-plagued first season in Detroit but is arbitration eligible twice more. [UPDATE: Meadows signed for $4.3MM, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post.]
  • The Braves avoided arbitration with Mike Soroka on a $2.8MM contract, the club announced. It’s the same salary he’s made in each of the past two seasons, which is typical for an arbitration-eligible player who didn’t see any MLB action but was nevertheless tendered a contract. Soroka hasn’t pitched since 2020 on account of a pair of Achilles ruptures and some late-season elbow soreness, but he’s expected to compete for a rotation spot in Spring Training. He’s arbitration eligible once more next winter.

Earlier Deals

  • The Pirates and infielder/outfielder Miguel Andujar agreed at $1.525MM, per Murray. Andujar was claimed off waivers from the Yankees in September.
  • The Padres announced that they have agreed to a one-year contract with left-hander Jose Castillo. The terms have not been disclosed.
  • The Diamondbacks announced they’ve agreed to a deal with reliever Cole Sulser. Financial terms haven’t been disclosed, but Sulser has been projected at $1MM. Arizona recently claimed him off waivers from the Marlins.
  • The Cubs and right-hander Adrian Sampson agreed to a $1.9MM salary, while fellow right-hander Rowan Wick will take home a $1.55MM salary in 2023, according to Jordan Bastion of MLB.com. Sampson broke out in 2022, finishing with a 3.11 ERA across 104 1/3 innings. Wick tossed 64 innings of relief, finishing up with a 4.22 ERA.
  • The Yankees and right-hander Lou Trivino agreed to a salary of $4.1MM, per Feinsand. Trivino had been a solid reliever for Oakland over the past couple of years but struggled to a 6.47 ERA with them in 2022. He was dealt to the Yankees and then righted the ship with a 1.66 ERA the rest of the way.
  • The Rockies and Brent Suter avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $3MM salary, per Murray. Suter was claimed off waivers from the Brewers earlier today.
  • The Brewers and righty Matt Bush have agreed at $1.85MM, per Murray. Bush came over from the Rangers in a deadline deal. He posted a 2.95 ERA prior to the deal and a 4.30 after.
  • The Marlins and Dylan Floro are in agreement on a contract for 2023, reports Craig Mish of the Miami Herald. He’ll make $3.9MM, Mish reports. Floro tossed 53 2/3 innings in 2022 with a 3.02 ERA.
  • The Brewers and right-hander Adrian Houser agreed on a $3.6MM salary, per Robert Murray of FanSided. The ground ball specialist saw his ERA jump from 3.22 in 2021 to 4.73 this year as his ground ball rate dropped from 59% to 46.7%. He’s likely the club’s sixth starter going into the winter and could jump into the rotation if someone gets injured.
  • The Phillies and right-hander Sam Coonrod have agreed on a salary of $775K, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. He posted a 4.04 ERA in 2021 but was limited to just 12 2/3 innings this year due to a shoulder strain.
  • The Tigers and left-hander Tyler Alexander agreed on a salary of $1.875MM, per Murray. Alexander got into 27 games in 2022, 17 of those being starts. His 4.81 ERA was certainly on the high side, but he had a 3.81 in 2021.
  • The Yankees and shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $6M salary. You can read more about that here.
  • The Braves and left-hander Tyler Matzek avoided arbitration by agreeing to a two-year deal. You can read more about that here.
  • The Giants and outfielder Mike Yastrzemski avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $6.1MM deal, per Jeff Passan of ESPN. He first qualified for arbitration a year ago as a Super Two player and earned $3.7MM in 2022. He took a step back at the plate this year with a line of .214/.305/.392 but still provided value with his glovework.

Rockies Claim Brent Suter From Brewers

By | at

The Brewers announced that left-hander Brent Suter has been claimed off waivers by the Rockies.

Suter, 33, has been with the Brewers for over a decade now, since they drafted him back in June of 2012. He made his MLB debut in 2016, serving in a swing role over his first few seasons, making starts but also coming out of the bullpen. He’s gradually been moving towards more bullpen work, with 2022 being his first full season working exclusively in relief.

He made 54 appearances on the year and threw 66 2/3 innings in total with a 3.78 ERA. However, his rate stats indicate he was possibly lucky to keep runs off the board at that rate. His strikeout rate topped out at 29.5% in 2020 before dropping to 22% last year and 19.5% this year. His walk rate also trended in the wrong direction, going from 3.9% to 7.7% to 8.1% in that timeframe. His ground ball rate was just over 50% in the previous two seasons but fell to 45% in 2022.

His .265 batting average on balls in play was a 35-point drop from 2021, which likely helped him keep that ERA down. That might not be entirely luck, since he did limit the damage opposing hitters did against him. His hard hit rate was in the 96th percentile and his average exit velocity was in the 95th. That ability to keep batters in check is surely appealing for a Rockies club that plays in the most hitter-friendly park in the league.

The Brewers had a huge arbitration class going into this winter, with Suter one of 18 players to qualify. Given the club’s history of budget-conscious decisions, it seemed likely that at least some of those players would end up moving off the roster in one way or another. Suter was projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn a salary of $3.1MM in his final year of eligibility. The deadline to tender contracts for arbitration-eligible players is tonight, but it seems Milwaukee wasn’t planning on tendering Suter and put him on waivers instead. The Rockies, based on this claim, are presumably comfortable with paying Suter in that range.

With Suter gone, the Brewers have Hoby Milner as their sole lefty in the bullpen, though starters like Aaron Ashby or Ethan Small could theoretically end up working in relief if they get bumped from the rotation. For the Rockies, they now have two southpaws, with Suter joining Lucas Gilbreath.

Brewers Announce NLDS Roster; Brent Suter Out With Oblique Injury

By | at

The Brewers announced the 26-man roster they’ll carry for an NLDS showdown against the Braves this morning. Left-hander Brent Suter at first appeared to be a surprising omission, but the Brewers announced that Suter is out for at least this series due to a “minor” right oblique strain. Rather than swap Suter out for another lefty, such as Hoby Milner or deadline acquisition Daniel Norris, they’ll instead go with three catchers. Here’s how the roster breaks down…

Right-Handed Pitchers

Left-Handed Pitchers

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

The loss of Suter is a notable one. While he’s far from the household name that teammate Josh Hader is, Suter has quietly been brilliant for the Brewers since his 2019 return from Tommy John surgery. In 123 1/3 innings since being reinstated from the injured list that season, Suter carries a 2.70 ERA with a 24.1 percent strikeout rate, an outstanding 5.9 percent walk rate and a similarly strong 52.2 percent grounder rate. He’s no stranger to working multiple innings, and he has no discernible platoon splits of which to speak. Since 2019, lefties have batted .227/.280/.393 against Suter, while righties have slashed .241/.288/.365. That the team specified the injury as “minor” in nature gives some hope that he could return for a potential NLCS or World Series run, but no timetable for his recovery has been formally announced.

Milwaukee surely had higher hopes for Norris when acquiring him from the Tigers just prior to the trade deadline. Looking past the 5.54 ERA he posted in Detroit this season, Norris had posted strong strikeout, ground-ball, home-run and swinging-strike rates prior to the swap. Every one of those rates trended in the wrong direction following his acquisition, however, and his walk rate jumped by nearly seven percent: from 9.6 to 16.5.

Jackie Bradley Jr.’s inclusion on the roster serves as a testament to his brilliant glovework, which could factor late into any close games for the Brew Crew. After hitting just .163/.236/.261 in his first season with Milwaukee, there was certainly a case to make different use of that roster spot, but Bradley still posted nine Defensive Runs Saved, six Outs Above Average and a 7.1 Ultimate Zone Rating in 722 innings in center field.

NL Injury Notes: Dodgers, Padres, Brewers

By | at

AJ Pollock of the Dodgers suffered a Grade 1 hamstring strain on Friday, per Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register (via Twitter). He’s being re-evaluated today. Pollock has been a force for good in Los Angeles this year, slashing .261/.313/.446 with 4 home runs across 99 plate appearances. Matt Beaty or Sheldon Neuse could see time in the outfield if Pollock needs time off. Elsewhere around the National League last night…

  • The Padres had a couple of players leave Friday’s game due to injury. Keone Kela left with forearm tightness, always a scary diagnoses. There has been no update as per his status. Austin Nola, meanwhile, only recently returned from the injured list, burst a blood vessel in his hand. The Padres are hopeful that he can return to the lineup as early as today, per Dennis Lin of the Athletic (via Twitter).
  • Brent Suter got a spot start for the Brewers on Friday, but he lasted just to the third inning before being removed due to injury. Early reports suggest Suter suffered from cramping in his right calf, per Sophia Minnaert of Bally Sports Wisconsin (via Twitter). That’s potentially a big sigh of relief for Milwaukee. Suter has been effective as a multi-inning reliever out of the pen tossing 16 2/3 innings in 12 outings prior to Friday’s spot start. He has a 2.70 ERA/3.58 FIP on the year with a strong 54.3 percent groundball rate, 22.4 percent strikeout rate, and 6.0 percent walk rate.

Brewers, Brent Suter Avoid Arbitration With Two-Year Deal

By | at

The Brewers announced on Sunday that they’ve signed left-handed pitcher Brent Suter to a two-year deal, avoiding arbitration. Per Adam McCalvy of MLB.com, it’s a $2.5MM guarantee for the 30-year-old Suter: he’ll collect salaries of $900K in 2020 and $1.5MM in 2021, along with a $100K signing bonus. The contract also includes incentives that could bring Suter’s 2021 salary to $1.75MM based on innings pitched milestones.

Until the two sides reached an agreement, Suter was scheduled to have an arbitration hearing tomorrow; he had asked for $1.25MM while the Brewers offered $825K.

The two-year deal means that the Brewers have bought out Suter’s first two years of arbitration eligibility. However, since he’s a Super Two player, he’ll still have two years of eligibility remaining after the contract expires. Suter is due to reach free agency after the 2023 season.

Suter enjoyed a nice season—albeit a shortened one—in 2019, after spending the majority of the season recovering from Tommy John surgery. He proved a valuable multi-inning, change-of-pace option in the bullpen, tossing 18 1/3 innings and allowing just one run.

And while Suter seems likely to begin the 2020 season in the bullpen, it’s clear from the incentive clauses in his contract (Suter would max out the bonuses with 160 IP) that the Brewers still see potential for Suter to start games this year. With newcomers Josh Lindblom, Eric Lauer, and Brett Anderson rounding out the projected Opening Day rotation, Suter will likely have to cut his teeth as a multi-inning reliever and spot starter, but could get an opportunity to start in case of injuries.

Quick Hits: Astros, Venable, Suter, Kim

By and | at

In the wake of the sign-stealing scandal that has enveloped the Astros and become perhaps the biggest story of the offseason, Astros fan Tony Adams decided to analyze the data from the 2017 season in perhaps the more straight-forward way possible — Adams listened for any loud banging sounds (i.e. someone hitting a trash can) during every opponents’ pitch thrown during Astros home games in 2017.  The whistling, clapping, and vocal signals the Astros allegedly also used to alert batters weren’t chronicled, as such sounds are harder to detect amidst the usual sounds of the ballpark.

After breaking down the 58 Houston home games that had available video, Adams made his work public at SignStealingScandal.com, with intriguing results.  The banging sounds were almost non-existent for the first two months of the season before spiking during a May 28 game against Baltimore (an 8-4 Astros win) and then staying at a noticeably high level for most of the remaining games over the following four months.  More data is available on a game-by-game basis, and on a player-by-player basis.

More from around the baseball world…

  • Will Venable interviewed for the Astros’ managerial vacancy earlier this month and for the Cubs’ and Giants’ jobs earlier this offseason, though he appears to be stepping out of the managerial race for the time being.  MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo reports that Venable will remain as the Cubs’ third base coach and thus won’t be a candidate to fill the sport’s last remaining managerial opening with the Red Sox.
  • After undergoing Tommy John surgery in mid-2018, Brent Suter returned to the Brewers in a relief role in September and looked tremendous, allowing just a single earned run in 18 1/3 innings (for a tiny 0.49 ERA).  While the Brewers generally like to be as flexible as possible with their pitchers’ assignments, GM David Stearns told reporters (including Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) that he thinks Suter will continue to work as a reliever in 2020.  “We’ll make sure Brent lengthens out so that he can cover multiple innings and accentuate his versatility.  It’s keeping someone in a role where they’ve demonstrated they can be successful,” Stearns said.  Suter pitched mostly as a reliever in his 2016 rookie season but started 32 of 42 appearances in 2017-18, though rarely pitching too deep into games.  A soft-contact specialist whose fastball averaged only 87.5mph last season, Suter provides quite a contrast paired alongside with Milwaukee’s other multi-inning relief ace, the hard-throwing strikeout machine Josh Hader.
  • Korean outfielder Jae-Hwan Kim did not draw sufficient interest from MLB teams this winter to make a move across the Pacific, but he’s determined to try again after the 2020 campaign, Jee-ho Yoo of Yonhap News reports.  “If I do well this year, I’ll take another shot at the majors,” Kim said.  The outfielder had a monster run with the Doosan Bears from 2016-18, averaging nearly 40 homers per season and topping the 1.000 OPS plateau in all three years.  In 2019, however, Kim dropped back to a .283/.362/.434 slash and 15 dingers last year, which he said isn’t just a reflection of the suppressed KBO offensive environment.  Kim is hoping to iron out his swing in 2020 and turn in a convincing season before offering his services again to big league clubs.

David Stearns Discusses Brewers Roster Questions

By | at

Brewers GM David Stearns talked about the upcoming offseason in the wake of his club’s Wild Card loss, with Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel among those to cover the proceedings.

Despite the disappointing end, it was obviously another successful campaign, as the Brewers charged late and again reached the postseason despite losing superstar Christian Yelich. But the club won’t be able to rest on its laurels, as there are a variety of decisions to be made right out of the gates.

As Stearns puts it, he and his front office has “some important questions” that will need to be answered. Every offseason has its own “narrative,” he said, and it’s still not clear what path this one will take.

The first call that has to be made involves corner infielders Eric Thames ($7.5MM club option, $1MM buyout) and Travis Shaw (arbitration eligible). Stearns said he hasn’t reached any decision on Thames, who had a productive season with the bat and seems a reasonable value at that price. As for Shaw, whose season was a disaster, Stearns says the club will “spend a lot of effort internally determining what to do” in advance of the non-tender deadline.

The Shaw situation ties in to the Brewers’ slate of departing free agents, which includes several key players. Infielder Mike Moustakas could replace Shaw, though he’ll likely require a bigger commitment to retain than he commanded on the open market last winter. And then there’s Yasmani Grandal, who had a highly productive year behind the plate and will leave a big hole. Stearns was happy to acknowledge that he’d “love to have both of them back.” Will it happen? “Whether the realities of the market permit that and whether the realities of the free-agent market permit that is something we will have to evaluate as we go through the off-season.”

Likewise, a pair of key hurlers will be available to all teams. Mid-season trade acquisitions Jordan Lyles and Drew Pomeranz. Stearns called the pair “unbelievable” and said he’d be interested in returns in both cases. “They both contributed a lot to this club and I’m sure we’ll be in contact with them,” said Stearns.

There’s no shortage of other roster issues to be addressed. The Brewers’ creative pitching strategies will again be tested. Stearns said he isn’t ready to say precisely how hurlers such as Corbin Burnes, Freddy Peralta, and Brent Suter will be used next year, though he did note that “we tend to blur lines between starters and relievers anyways.” And it certainly sounds as if the Brewers will at least be interested in exploring ways of supplementing (if not supplanting) Orlando Arcia at shortstop. Stearns says the team “need[s] better overall production” from that spot, though he added that he believes Arcia is “a better player than he showed this year” and that the incumbent could still represent the necessary solution.

Brewers Activate Nelson, Suter; Designate Wilkerson, Stokes

By | at

The Brewers announced they have reinstated right-hander Jimmy Nelson and left-hander Brent Suter from the 60-day injured list. To create 40-man roster space, the club has designated right-hander Aaron Wilkerson and outfielder Troy Stokes, Jr. for assignment. The club also confirmed the previously-reported designation of right-hander Jeremy Jeffress.

Nelson, the former staff ace, has worked out of the bullpen on rehab, where he’ll presumably factor in down the stretch. He’s battled velocity loss and ineffectiveness in the wake of 2017 shoulder surgery. Suter, too, figures to work in short stints as he returns from 2018 Tommy John Surgery. He’s worked primarily as an opener on rehab, although he did work his way up to four innings in his most recent minor-league start. The soft-tossing lefty was a solid back-end command artist for the club before going under the knife, which would be valuable for a rotation that has undergone its fair share of struggles in 2019.

To welcome back the veterans, Milwaukee cuts bait with Wilkerson and Stokes. Wilkerson’s a 30 year-old swingman whose logged 35.2 subpar innings for the club the past three seasons. He has long been an adequate high minors starter though, explaining why he’s lasted three years on Milwaukee’s 40-man.

Stokes, a former fourth-round pick, has emerged as a noteworthy prospect in Milwaukee’s system the past few seasons. Featuring above-average raw power and speed, per Fangraphs’ prospect duo, Stokes had generally shown solid power and walk rates in the low minors. He hit a speed bump in his first taste at Triple-A, though, where his .233/.341/.385 line was 20% below PCL average. That proved too much for Milwaukee’s taste for a player who has increasingly seen time in left field, not center, in recent years, likely due to a below-average arm. That said, it’s easy to imagine a non-contender taking a chance on Stokes’ physical gifts and pre-2019 track record, so it’s possible, if not likely, he’ll be claimed off waivers. He comes with two additional option seasons, so there’d be no hurry to get him to the big leagues before he’s ready.

Injury Notes: Cano, Chirinos, Sanchez, Suter

By | at

Robinson Cano went 3-for-3 in the Mets’ 13-2 win over the Pirates today, though the veteran infielder’s big day was tarnished by a left hamstring strain.  Cano had to be removed from the game after suffering the injury while running the bases during a fourth-inning single.  An MRI is scheduled for Monday, and it seems likely that Cano will face the third injured-list stint of the season due to his left leg — a pair of quad injuries sidelined the veteran second baseman earlier in the year.  While Cano is still hitting only .252/.295/.415 over 346 PA this season, he was in the midst of a hot streak at the plate, as Sunday marked his fourth consecutive multi-hit game.

We’ve already had quite a bit of injury news from around the game today, and here are updates on some other situations…

  • Yonny Chirinos’ start was cut short after five innings and 63 pitches today due to right middle finger inflammation.  Chirinos will undergo tests on Monday, though the Rays right-hander told MLB.com’s Juan Toribio and other reporters that he doesn’t think his finger is a major concern.  Today’s outing boosted Chirinos to a 3.62 ERA and 7.82 K/9 (against just a 1.99 BB/9) over 126 2/3 innings this season, as Chirinos has increasingly been used in a traditional starting pitching role rather than as the “bulk pitcher” behind an opener.  Chirinos’ emergence has helped a Rays rotation that has continued to rely heavily on openers and bullpen games, particularly with Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow both on the injured list.
  • Gary Sanchez is tentatively scheduled to return to the Yankees’ lineup during their series with the Blue Jays from August 8-11, MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch tweets.  Sanchez is on the verge of beginning a rehab assignment, in the wake of a left groin strain that sent him to the IL on July 24.  At the time of the injury, Sanchez was suffering through a brutal slump that had seen him post only a .370 OPS over his previous 93 plate appearances, which dropped his season slash line to .229/.299/.508 over 328 PA.
  • After beginning a minor league rehab assignment for the Brewers’ rookie league affiliate, left-hander Brent Suter will continue the process at Double-A, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes.  Suter underwent Tommy John surgery in late July 2017 and is still hopeful of returning to the hill for the Brewers before the season is over.  The soft-tossing Suter posted a 3.91 ERA, 3.54 K/BB rate, and 7.2 K/9 over 204 2/3 innings for Milwaukee from 2016-18, overcoming his lack of velocity by becoming a master at generating soft contact from opposing batters.
Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrowsFOX Sports Engage Network scroll to top