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David Dahl

Padres Sign David Dahl To Minor League Deal

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The Padres have signed outfielder David Dahl to a minor league deal, according to Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Dahl, 28, spent the past season at Triple-A with the Brewers and Nationals, slashing a combined .279/.345/.442 with ten home runs in 359 plate appearances.

He was once one of the top prospects in all of baseball, rising as high as 22nd on Baseball America’s overall list prior to the 2015 campaign. Drafted tenth overall by the Rockies in 2012, he quickly rose through their ranks and had an impressive rookie season in 2016, hitting .315/.359/.500 in 237 plate appearances and lining himself up to be a mainstay of the Rockies outfield for many years to come.

He suffered a stress fracture in his rib in spring training in 2017, and developed back spasms while rehabbing that summer, leading the Rockies to shut him down for the entire year. He returned in 2018, belting 16 home runs and posting a .273/.325/.534 line. That was followed up by an even better year in 2019, as Dahl earned his first trip to the All Star game amid a season where he wound up with 15 home runs and a .302/.353/.524 line in 100 games.

Unfortunately, 2019 was his last year of above-average production, and Dahl’s offense regressed considerably in the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign as he battled shoulder and back injuries. That year, he hit just .183/.222/.247 without a home run and was released at the end of the season. The Rangers inked him to a one-year, $2.7MM deal that winter in a bid to help him rediscover his offensive potential, but Dahl would continue his struggles, slashing .210/.247/.322 in 220 plate appearances before being released mid-season.

Dahl has spent most of his time in the big leagues in left field, where he’s logged -10 Defensive Runs Saved over his five seasons. He graded out below average in center, but was worth 3 DRS in right field in about 500 innings there over his big league career.

While Dahl is now three years removed from his last above-average season, he’ll play the 2023 season at age-29 so is still young enough that he could still find his offensive groove again with the Padres’ Triple-A affiliate, and try and find an opportunity in the big leagues if injuries strike.

David Dahl Opts Out Of Minor League Deal With Nationals

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Outfielder David Dahl has opted out of his minor league contract with the Nationals, reports Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post (Twitter link). Washington could choose to select him onto the MLB roster to keep him in the fold, but Dougherty indicates they’ll let him head back onto the open market.

It’s the second consecutive minor league deal for Dahl that hasn’t resulted in a big league opportunity. He spent a year with the Brewers top affiliate in Nashville after signing a non-roster pact last August. Despite posting solid numbers with the Sounds, Dahl was let go by Milwaukee this July. He latched on with the Nats a couple weeks later, with the club seemingly eyeing him as a possible late-season replacement after some forthcoming deadline trades that subtracted from the lineup.

That didn’t wind up coming to be, as Dahl struggled over his 18 games with their highest affiliate in Rochester. He hit .224/.304/.343 in 79 trips to the plate, striking out on 22 occasions (27.8% rate). That’s a far cry from the .294/.357/.468 showing he’d posted in 280 plate appearances with Nashville earlier in the year, and the Nationals instead selected the contract of first baseman Joey Meneses and claimed outfielder Alex Call off waivers from the Guardians to backfill the 40-man roster.

Dahl’s most recent MLB came action came during the first half of the 2021 season with the Rangers. Signed to a $3MM deal the preceding offseason, the lefty-hitting outfielder hit .210/.247/.322 over 63 games in Arlington before being released. That came on the heels of an injury-wrecked 2020 season that had led the Rockies to cut him loose, and it’s now been three years since Dahl looked like a potential core piece in Colorado. The former #10 overall pick was an above-average hitter when healthy in each of his first three MLB seasons, which included a .302/.353/.524 showing in 2019 that earned him an All-Star nod.

The 28-year-old heads back into free agency in search of another opportunity. He seems likely to catch on elsewhere on a minor league pact, with a team that seeks non-roster outfield depth likely to be intrigued by his prior MLB success and recent solid production at the upper levels with Milwaukee. If Dahl finds a new landing spot by September 1, he’d technically be eligible for postseason play.

Nationals Agree To Minor League Deals With David Dahl, Daniel Ponce De Leon

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The Nationals have agreed to minor league deals with outfielder David Dahl and right-hander Daniel Ponce de Leon, reports Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post (Twitter links). Dahl was recently released by the Brewers, while Ponce De Leon was released from the Mariners organization. Both had been playing on minor league deals in Triple-A at the time of their release.

Neither player has appeared on a major league roster this year, but they’d both had extensive big league work before 2022. Dahl, a former tenth overall pick and top Rockies prospect, reached the majors in 2016. He hit .315/.359/.500 down the stretch that season, but injuries helped keep him out of MLB action the following year. That became a familiar occurrence, as Dahl missed notable time in each of the next three seasons with foot, ankle, back and shoulder issues.

The left-handed hitter was generally effective when healthy, at least early in his career. He combined for a .291/.342/.528 line while playing just more than half of Colorado’s games between 2018-19, earning an All-Star nod in the latter season. After losing most of the shortened 2020 campaign to injury, however, he was surprisingly non-tendered by the Rockies. He caught on with the Rangers on a big league deal heading into last season, but his results were disastrous. Dahl hit only .210/.247/.322 over 220 plate appearances in Texas. He was released last August and caught on with the Brewers on a minor league deal.

Dahl had spent the past year with Milwaukee’s top affiliate in Nashville. He played well there, including a .294/.357/.468 showing through 67 games this season. Nevertheless, the Brewers elected against giving him another MLB look, and he was granted his release a few weeks ago. The 28-year-old will try to play his way back to the majors on a Washington club that is rebuilding and likely to deal a few hitters over the coming weeks. Juan Soto is obviously the biggest name on the market, but each of Nelson Cruz and Josh Bell are virtual locks to change hands before the August 2 deadline. Cruz has taken almost the at-bats at designated hitter, so there could be at-bats available for Dahl there for the season’s final couple months.

Ponce de Leon, 30, pitched for the Cardinals from 2018-21. He broke in with some promise as a swingman, posting a sub-4.00 ERA in each of his first two seasons while generating a solid number of strikeouts. He punched out an elite 31.5% of opponents during the shortened 2020 season, but that year also saw him walk a career-high 14% of batters faced. Those control woes persisted last season, and St. Louis designated him for assignment after he posted a 6.21 ERA through 33 1/3 innings.

Signed by Seattle to a minor league deal in April, he’d spent the year with their top affiliate in Tacoma. Ponce de Leon was hit hard over 16 starts, posting a 7.95 ERA with an elevated 12.7% walk rate and surrendering more than two homers per nine innings. His 24.1% strikeout rate there was fine but not at the heights he’d flashed in prior seasons, and the M’s let him go this week. Washington will add him as non-roster depth capable of working either out of the rotation or the bullpen.

Brewers Release David Dahl

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The Brewers announced that outfielder David Dahl has been released from his minor league contract. The 28-year-old heads back to free agency in search of another opportunity elsewhere.

Selected by the Rockies with the #10 overall pick a decade ago, Dahl developed into one of the sport’s top prospects. He reached the majors in 2016 and hit at an above-average level (even after accounting for Coors Field) for his first few seasons. Various injuries limited him to 239 MLB games through the end of the 2019 campaign, but the lefty-swinging Dahl compiled a strong .297/.346/.521 line when he was healthy enough to take the field.

That seemed to position him as a key piece of Colorado’s long-term future, but the Rox made the surprising decision to cut bait after the 2020 season. Dahl had a woeful 24-game stretch and missed extended chunks of action with back and shoulder injuries that year. The Colorado front office nevertheless came under some fire for not retaining him for an arbitration salary that would’ve still been fairly modest.

The Rangers signed Dahl that offseason, buying low on a $2.7MM guarantee. Texas hoped they’d unearth a long-term outfield contributor, but he instead continued to scuffle. Dahl hit only .210/.247/.322 across 220 plate appearances, seeing his power numbers take a dramatic step back. Texas released him last August, and Milwaukee brought him aboard on a multi-year minor league deal last summer.

Dahl has spent the past year with the Brewers’ top affiliate in Nashville. He’s shown well at the dish, hitting .327/.375/.536 in 31 games down the stretch last season. He’s had another quality performance this year, posting a .294/.357/.468 mark with nine round-trippers in 280 trips to the plate. Milwaukee has Christian Yelich and Hunter Renfroe as their primary corner outfielders, leaving them without a clear path to at-bats for Dahl in the outfield. Center field has been a problem area, but Dahl has played almost exclusively in right field with Nashville.

Milwaukee could’ve given him a look at designated hitter, but they’ve stuck with righty-hitting veteran Andrew McCutchen in that role. Instead, the Brewers will let Dahl search for other opportunities. Between his prospect pedigree, strong minor league performance and history of big league success, he shouldn’t have much problem latching on somewhere else on a minor league pact.

Brewers Invite David Dahl To Spring Training

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Last August, the Brewers signed outfielder David Dahl and assigned him to Triple-A. The former Rockie had been released by the Rangers. Dahl has been brought back to the Brewers on a minor league contract and issued an invitation to Spring Training, per The Athletic’s Will Sammon (via Twitter). The invite was finalized before the transaction freeze went into affect.

Dahl is a bit of a wild card for the Brewers outfield picture next season. The Brewers have lost Avisail Garcia to the Marlins and traded Jackie Bradley Jr. to the Red Sox. Lorenzo Cain and Christian Yelich will look to recapture some of the prior glory after struggling to match their previous heights in 2021. Hunter Renfroe was added to the picture in the Bradley deal. Tyrone Taylor remains on the roster as an extra outfielder, while infielders such as Keston Hiura, Jace Pederson, and Mike Brosseau could see time in the outfield corners.

Dahl, the tenth overall selection of the 2012 draft, has seen his career derailed by a series of injuries. He’s still just 27-years-old, however. He did not find his way with the Rangers, hitting just .210/.247/.322 over 220 plate appearances. His contributions amounted to a disappointing -1.0 rWAR, leading to his eventual DFA.

Brewers Sign David Dahl To Minor League Deal

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The Brewers have signed free-agent outfielder David Dahl to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A, tweets Will Sammon of The Athletic. They’ve also released infielder Kevin Kramer from their Nashville roster.

The 27-year-old Dahl was a first-round pick and longtime top prospect with the Rockies. After debuting as a 21-year-old back in 2016 and hitting the ground running with a .315/.359/.500 slash in 237 plate appearances, Dahl looked like a potential building block for the Rox.

However, Dahl came to the Majors with an injury history of note. He suffered a lacerated spleen during an outfield collision in the minor leagues and had an emergency splenectomy, and since his big league debut he’s incurred a stress reaction in rib cage, a broken foot, a lower back strain, a high ankle sprain and a right shoulder strain — all over the course of about four years.

Dahl spent the 2017 season on the injured list but returned to enjoy productive 2018-19 campaigns. The 2020 season was a disaster, however, as he posted a .183/.222/.247 batting line in 99 plate appearances with the Rockies, who somewhat surprisingly non-tendered him in the offseason. The Rangers swooped in to add Dahl on a one-year deal worth a guaranteed $2.7MM, but he looked nowhere near the 2016-19 version of himself; in 220 plate appearances this season, Dahl has batted only .210/.247/.322.

Texas designated Dahl for assignment earlier this month, and no team saw fit to claim the remainder of his $2.7MM salary on outright waivers. Dahl rejected an outright assignment in favor of free agency, and he’ll now join the Brewers in hopes of finding another big league opportunity with a third organization. Milwaukee would only owe Dahl the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the MLB roster — if he’s called up at all before season’s end.

Kramer, 27, came to the Brewers via a July 4 swap that sent lefty Nathan Kirby to the Pirates. It was an intra-division swap of two formerly high-profile draft prospects who simply haven’t panned out as their organizations had hoped. Kramer improved upon the woeful numbers he’d posted with the Bucs’ top minor league affiliate in what will go down as a brief run with the Brewers’ Nashville affiliate, but his output was still below average overall. In 66 plate appearances with Triple-A Nashville, Kramer hit .245/.379/.321.

Rangers Place David Dahl On Release Waivers

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Aug. 4: Dahl has been placed on unconditional release waivers, the Rangers announced. Other clubs will have 48 hours to place a claim on him, although doing so would require assuming the remaining $871K on his salary. If he goes unclaimed, a team would only need to commit the prorated league minimum to Dahl for any time spent on the MLB roster. That’d be about $184K from now through season’s end.

Aug. 2: The Rangers announced Monday that they’ve designated outfielder David Dahl for assignment. Texas has also selected the contract of right-hander Jimmy Herget, optioned righty Demarcus Evans to Triple-A Round Rock, and added outfielder DJ Peters to the active roster. The Rangers announced earlier in the afternoon that they’d claimed him from the Dodgers.

Dahl, 27, is a former first-round pick and top prospect who looked like a building block for the Rockies early in his career. He debuted at just 21 years of age back in 2016 and immediately impressed with a .315/.359/.500 slash in 237 plate appearances, turning in seven homers, 12 doubles, four triples and five steals in that time as well.

Injuries have played a massive role in derailing that promising outlook, however. Most notably, Dahl suffered a lacerated spleen in an outfield collision before he ever reached the Majors — a frightening injury that ultimately led to an emergency splenectomy. He’s since had a stress reaction in his ribcage, a fractured foot, a high ankle sprain, a lower back injury and a right shoulder strain.

Dahl spent the 2017 season on the injured list but returned to enjoy productive 2018-19 campaigns. The 2020 season was a disaster, however, as he posted a .183/.222/.247 batting line in 99 plate appearances with the Rox and, somewhat surprisingly, was non-tendered in December. The Rangers swooped in to add Dahl on a one-year deal worth a guaranteed $2.7MM, but he’s looked nowhere near the 2016-19 version of himself; in 220 plate appearances this season, Dahl has batted only .210/.247/.322.

As impressive as Dahl was from 2016-19, slashing a combined .297/.346/.521 in more than 900 plate appearances, he’s only mustered a .201/.239/.299 output over his past 319 plate appearances. Given that downturn and the fact that he’s still owed $900K of that $2.7MM salary between now and season’s end, there’s a good chance Dahl simply goes unclaimed on outright waivers. While Dahl has the three years of service needed to reject an outright assignment, he has fewer than the five years necessary to retain his remaining salary in the event that he rejects that outright.

Rangers Select Jason Martin

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The Rangers announced Wednesday that they’ve selected the contract of outfielder Jason Martin from Triple-A Round Rock. He’ll take the active roster spot of David Dahl, who is headed to the 10-day injured list with a left rib cage contusion. Righty Kohei Arihara, who is slated to undergo shoulder surgery, was transferred from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL in order to open a spot on the 40-man roster.

Martin, 25, is out to a fast start in Triple-A after inking a minor league deal with Texas over the winter. The former Pirates farmhand is hitting .302/.413/.755 with seven home runs and three doubles through his first 63 trips to the plate — a far cry from the lackluster Triple-A output he produced in a pair of seasons with the Pirates’ top affiliate in Indianapolis.

Pittsburgh gave Martin brief MLB looks in both 2019 and 2020, but he hit only .200/.294/.244 in 51 plate appearances. This will be his first opportunity in the Majors with any other organization. The 2013 eighth-rounder was originally drafted by the Astros but flipped to Pittsburgh as part of the Gerrit Cole trade. The Pirates placed him on waivers at the end of the 2020 season, and he opted for free agency after going unclaimed.

The 27-year-old Dahl sustained his injury in yesterday’s game when he crashed into the right field wall as he tracked a Jared Walsh fly-ball that eventually left the yard. Formerly one of the Rockies’ top prospects — one of the top prospects in all of baseball, for that matter — Dahl’s career has been ravaged by injuries that led Colorado to non-tender him this winter rather than pay him a raise in arbitration. The Rangers took a chance on a $2.7MM deal for the former No. 10 overall pick, but he’s floundered thus far with his new team, hitting just .208/.242/.340 through 154 plate appearances.

Rangers Sign David Dahl

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TODAY: The Rangers have announced the signing. Dahl will earn $2.7MM in guaranteed money, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets, with another $300K available in salary incentives.

DECEMBER 11: The Rangers and free-agent outfielder David Dahl have agreed to a one-year deal worth approximately $3MM, Jeff Passan of ESPN reports.

Texas will be the second major league franchise for the 26-year-old Dahl, who spent the first several seasons of his professional career as a member of the Colorado organization. Dahl is a former No. 10 overall pick and top 100 prospect who was a successful hitter with the Rockies for most of his time there (which spanned from 2016-20), but after he recorded woeful production last season, the Rockies moved on at the non-tender deadline a week ago. Instead of paying Dahl a projected $2.5MM to $2.7MM for 2021, Colorado cut him loose.

Dahl was just a .183/.222/.247 hitter without a single home run in 99 plate appearances last year, though he entered the campaign with a far more respectable .297/.346/.521 line with 38 HRs over 921 PA. Dahl even earned an All-Star nod in 2019. Of course, there were plenty of health issues that helped stop Dahl from making an even greater impact in Colorado. Rib, foot, ankle and back injuries have limited Dahl to a mere 264 games to this point, including just 24 in 2020, and he has only appeared in at least 100 contests in one season.

While Dahl does come with question marks, this still looks like an interesting buy-low signing on the part of the Rangers. If it works out, they’ll be able to control Dahl via arbitration through 2023. In 2021, Dahl – who has experience at all three outfield positions – should get ample chances to revive his career. Aside from Joey Gallo and Willie Calhoun, who endured their own significant drop-offs in 2020, the Rangers’ 40-man roster is sorely lacking outfielders who have experienced any real major league success.

The Dahl addition makes for the third noteworthy move the Rangers have made since they hired Chris Young as their new general manager on Dec. 4. Young and president of baseball operations Jon Daniels traded right-hander Lance Lynn to the White Sox and acquired first baseman Nate Lowe from the Rays earlier this week.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Rockies Non-Tender David Dahl, Tony Wolters

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The Rockies announced that they’ve non-tendered outfielder David Dahl, catcher Tony Wolters and right-hander Chi Chi Gonzalez. All three are now free agents.

Dahl, 26, registers as something of a surprise non-tender. The former top prospect was due only a very modest raise on last year’s $2.475MM salary, and while he struggled through an awful 2020 season, hitting .183/.222/.247, he’s only a year removed from an All-Star campaign. In 2019, Dahl slashed .302/.353/.524 with 15 big flies, 28 doubles and five triples through 413 plate appearances.

The sky once looked to be the limit for Dahl, the No. 10 overall pick in the 2012 draft. He was universally regarded as a top 100 prospect throughout his minor league career, landing within the top 25 on multiple lists in multiple offseasons. He debuted in 2016 and hit .315/.359/.500 through 236 plate appearances, looking every bit like the star that most anticipated he would become.

Unfortunately for Dahl, injuries have hindered him time and time again. He’s had his spleen removed after suffering a laceration during a violent on-field collision, and he’s since dealt with stress reactions in his rib cage, a fractured foot, a high ankle sprain, multiple back injuries and most recently a shoulder injury. With all of those health concerns, perhaps the Rockies simply didn’t expect they could count on him to remain on the field in 2021, but a salary in the $2.5-2.6MM range doesn’t seem like much of a risk given the upside he carried over his remaining three years of club control.

Wolters, 28, has been a non-tender candidate in each of the past two seasons but hung onto his roster spot despite a lack of production at the plate. Rockies brass clearly has long liked his defensive capabilities, but at this point the club wasn’t willing to give him a raise on top of last year’s $1.9MM salary. Over the past three seasons, Wolters has batted .231/.316/.307. Gonzalez, also 28, has pitched in 20 games (16 starts) for the Rox since 2019 but been roughed up for a 5.66 ERA and 5.62 FIP.

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