Brewers Sign David Dahl To Minor League Deal
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
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
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
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
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.
40-Man Roster Additions: 11/1/20
With the offseason kicking off, most teams are bringing some inactive players back onto their rosters. Here’s the latest:
- The Rockies announced they’ve activated outfielder Ian Desmond from the restricted list. Outfielder David Dahl and right-handers Peter Lambert and Scott Oberg are back from the 60-day injured list, putting Colorado’s 40-man roster tally at 38. Desmond opted out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19 concerns and is entering his final year under contract. Dahl underwent shoulder surgery in September, capping a miserable season. Lambert, meanwhile, underwent Tommy John surgery in July. Oberg unfortunately also had to go under the knife, undergoing thoracic outlet surgery to alleviate blood clots in September.
- The Indians reinstated right-hander Jefry Rodríguez from the 45-day injured list (via Tribeinsider). While working at Cleveland’s alternate training site, the 27-year-old went down with a strain in his throwing shoulder in early September. Rodríguez worked 98.2 innings of 5.20 ERA ball with the Nationals and Indians between 2018-19 but didn’t pitch in the majors in 2020. Cleveland’s 40-man roster now sports 35 players.
- The Rays activated pitchers Jalen Beeks, Yonny Chirinos, Colin Poche and Cody Reed from the 45-day injured list (via Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times). Each of Beeks, Chirinos and Poche has undergone Tommy John surgery over the past few months, meaning none will be ready (or even particularly close) at the start of next season. Reed suffered an injury to his left pinky finger shortly after being acquired from the Reds. He’s expected to be a full-go for spring training, Topkin notes.
- The Mariners have brought outfielder Mitch Haniger, catcher Tom Murphy and right-hander Andres Muñoz off the 45-day injured list, per Greg Johns of MLB.com. Haniger has dealt with a series of brutal injuries since emerging as one of the sport’s quieter stars, but he’s finally expected to be healthy next spring. Like Haniger, Murphy missed the entire 2020 season; the backstop broke a bone in his foot on the heels of a breakout 2019. Muñoz underwent Tommy John surgery while part of the Padres’ system in March. Still, the Mariners acquired the fireballing 21-year-old before the trade deadline as part of the return for Austin Nola, Austin Adams and Dan Altavilla. Seattle now has 35 players on the 40-man roster.
David Dahl Undergoes Shoulder Surgery
Rockies outfielder David Dahl, whose season ended Sept. 23 because of a right shoulder strain, underwent surgery on Tuesday, Thomas Harding of MLB.com tweets. The surgery was a success, and the Rockies expect that Dahl will be ready for spring training, per Harding.
It’s a relief for the Rockies that Dahl’s on track for next season, as the 26-year-old has largely been a quality member of their offense since his career began in 2016. Dahl owns a .286/.334/.494 line with 38 home runs in 1,020 plate appearances, though his production went off the rails during a 2020 in which he batted a horrid .183/.222/.247 without a homer across 99 trips to the plate.
Of course, injuries have been the main problem for Dahl since his pre-MLB days started. He has never played more than 100 regular-season games (in 2019) with the Rockies and has appeared in just 264 dating back to his first year. Dahl appeared in a meager 24 of a possible 60 games this year, but the hope is that he’ll have a healthy, bounce-back campaign next season.
Rockies Select Tommy Doyle, Place David Dahl On 45-Day IL
The Rockies announced that they’ve selected right-hander Tommy Doyle and placed outfielder David Dahl on the 45-day injured list with a right shoulder strain.
Doyle, 24, was a third-round pick of the Rockies in 2017 who posted impressive production in the minors during the previous two seasons. He reached High-A ball for the first time in 2019 and logged a 3.25 ERA/3.61 FIP with 12.0 K/9 and 3.25 BB/9 over 36 innings. Since then, FanGraphs (No. 17), MLB.com (No. 19) and Baseball America (No. 23) have ranked Doyle among Colorado’s 25 best prospects. According to FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen, the hard-throwing Doyle could make it as a setup man in the majors.
This is the latest in an ever-growing line of injuries for the 26-year-old Dahl, who has missed an exorbitant amount of time since he debuted in 2016. Dahl sat out almost a month earlier this year with back problems, and he’ll now see his season end now just a week and a half after returning. While Dahl has been an above-average offensive contributor throughout his career, he had an uncharacteristically awful 2020 at the plate, hitting .183/.222/.247 with no home runs in 99 trips.
Rockies Place David Dahl On IL, Recall Brendan Rodgers
The Rockies have placed outfielder David Dahl on the 10-day injured list with lower back soreness and recalled infielder Brendan Rodgers from their alternate site, the team announced.
Injuries have been all too frequent for Dahl, who has dealt with a litany of health woes during his career. He missed the entire 2017 season and sat out a combined 147 regular-season games from 2018-19. Dahl did offer solid offensive production during that period, but his numbers have cratered in the early going this year. Eighty plate appearances into his season, Dahl has batted .189/.237/.243 (16 wRC+) without a home run. As a result, Garrett Hampson has taken over as the Rockies’ regular center fielder of late.
The 24-year-old Rodgers is back in the mix after an unproductive, injury-limited first look in the majors last season. Rodgers hit a homer-less .224/.272/.250 (25 wRC+) in 81 PA before undergoing right shoulder surgery. Still, to Rodgers’ credit, he had a huge season in the minors, joined the Rockies as one of the game’s best prospects and continues to rank high on various lists now. There may be an opening for Rodgers at second base, as Ryan McMahon and Chris Owings have given the Rockies little offense there.
Players Avoiding Arbitration: National League
Entering the day, there were more than 150 players on the clock to exchange arbitration figures with their respective teams prior to a noon ET deadline. As one would expect, there’ll be an utter landslide of arbitration agreements in advance of that deadline. We already ran through some key facts and reminders on the arbitration process earlier this morning for those who are unfamiliar or simply need a refresher on one of MLB’s most complex idiosyncrasies, which will hopefully clear up many questions readers might have.
We’ll track the majority of the National League’s settlements in this post and are maintaining a separate one for American League settlements as well. Note that all projections referenced come courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz:
- The Rockies have an agreement in place with righty Jon Gray, per Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post (via Twitter). It’s a $5.6MM deal, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link).
- Outfielder Tommy Pham has struck a $7.9MM pact with the Padres, who acquired him at the outset of the offseason, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). Other Friars striking deals, per an update from Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune, include Zach Davies ($5.25MM) and Matt Strahm ($1.4MM).
- The Nationals announced that they’ve avoided arbitration with Trea Turner. It’s a $7.45MM agreement, per Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post (via Twitter), right in range of the $7.5MM projection.
- The Mets are in agreement with a laundry list of players. Right-handers Marcus Stroman ($12MM) and Noah Syndergaard ($9.7MM) were the top earners, per reports from MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (via Twitter) and MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo (via Twitter). Both come in close to their projected values of $11.8M and $9.9MM, respectively. The Mets also have a $5.1MM deal with reliever Edwin Diaz, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports (Twitter links). He entered the offseason projected at the $7.0MM level but will fall well shy of that. Despite an outstanding overall track record, Diaz’s platform season was a dud and obviously created some risk in a hearing for his side. Outfielder Brandon Nimmo will play for $2.175MM in his first season of arb eligibility, landing well over the $1.7MM that the model projected. Southpaw Steven Matz, meanwhile, lands a $5MM deal, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter). That’s $300K shy of his projected amount. Relievers Robert Gsellman and Seth Lugo will earn $1.225MM and $2MM, respectively, per Mike Puma of the New York Post (Twitter links). Slugger Michael Conforto will earn $8.0MM, per SNY.tv’s Andy Martino (via Twitter), which is notably south of the $9.2MM that we projected. And fellow outfielder Jake Marisnick checks in a just over 10% north of his projection at $3,312,500, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets.
- Star reliever Kirby Yates receiveds a $7,062,500 salary from the Padres, per Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. He tops the $6.5MM that MLBTR projected by a solid margin, reflecting just how exceptional he was in 2019.
- The Marlins will pay recently acquired infielder Jonathan Villar a $8.2MM salary, per MLB.com’s Jon Heyman (via Twitter). That’s a far sight shy of the $10.4MM that the MLBTR system projected, perhaps reflecting a more difficult path to the bigger number through recent comparables. The club also had some added leverage here since Villar would likely not fare terribly well on the open market if cut loose at this stage or later. (Unless this is a guaranteed deal, Villar could still be jettisoned, with the club paying just a fraction of the settled amount.) The Fish also have also agreed to terms with lefty Adam Conley (for $1.525MM, per MLB Network Radio’s Craig Mish, via Twitter) and righty Jose Urena (for $3.75MM, per MLB Network’s Jon Heyman, on Twitter).
- Righty Vince Velasquez will pitch for $3.6MM this year with the Phillies, per Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philly (via Twitter). Fellow hurler Jose Alvarez will earn $2.95MM, per Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter).
- The Rockies have an agreement with lefty Kyle Freeland, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link). He’ll earn $2.875MM. Outfielder David Dahl takes home $2.475MM, Heyman adds on Twitter. The former had projected at $2.4MM and the latter at $3.0MM.
- Pirates hurler Joe Musgrove will receive $2.8MM, per Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Twitter links). Fellow righty Keone Kela will earn a reported $3.725MM. Both players had projected at $3.4MM, but land well to either side of that number. Infielder Adam Frazier also has a deal at $2.8MM, per Mackey (via Twitter).
- Righty Anthony DeSclafani will earn $5.9MM from the Reds, according to Robert Murray (via Twitter). He had projected at $5.2MM. Backstop Curt Casali will earn $1.4625MM, per Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Twitter link). And reliever Matt Bowman takes down $865K, Murray adds on Twitter.
- The Dodgers have worked out a non-typical deal with righty Ross Stripling, Heyman tweets. He’ll get an up-front signing bonus of $1.5MM, which he’ll receive in the next week, and then earn $600K for the campaign to come. Stripling had projected to earn $2.3MM on the year.
- Cardinals righty John Gant will earn $1.3MM after settling with the club. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch first tweeted that a deal was in place, while Murray had the number on Twitter. That comes in just under his $1.4MM projection.
Earlier Settlements