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The Top Remaining Free Agent Middle Infield Options

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Jean Segura came off the board last week on a two-year deal with the Marlins. That removed the top remaining free agent middle infielder, leaving clubs with very few possibilities for help either at shortstop or second base.

Of course, Carlos Correa lingers over the entire market. Until he officially puts pen to paper somewhere, there’s at least a chance for another twist in that saga. Various reports have suggested Correa’s focused on hammering out his deal with the Mets in spite of their concerns about his physical, and that was essentially confirmed yesterday by Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi. We’ll set Correa aside and look at the best options remaining for teams outside of Queens.

Here are the still-unsigned free agent middle infielders who tallied at least 150 plate appearances in 2022:

  • Elvis Andrus (34): Andrus is arguably the top unsigned free agent infielder. The 14-year veteran still brings a high-contact bat and quality baserunning to the table. Public defensive metrics have been divided on his work recently, with Statcast’s Outs Above Average generally rating him as an above-average shortstop despite less enthusiastic reviews from Defensive Runs Saved. Andrus looked like a glove-only player after hitting .255/.302/.360 from 2018-21, but he bounced back with a solid 2022 campaign. He hit .249/.303/.404 with 17 home runs (the second-highest total of his career) last season. That included a very strong finish, as Andrus hit .271/.309/.464 in 43 games with the White Sox after the A’s released him in mid-August in a move seemingly motivated by a desire to keep him from vesting a $15MM option in his contract for the 2023 season.
  • Josh Harrison (35): The final couple months of the season saw Andrus and Harrison overlap on Chicago’s South Side. The latter played the entire season there after signing a one-year free agent deal during Spring Training. Harrison appeared in 119 games, mostly split between second and third base. He hit .256/.317/.370 with seven home runs across 425 trips to the plate, overcoming a slow start to finish the year with roughly average offensive numbers. The veteran had posted similar numbers in each of the previous two seasons. He doesn’t draw many walks or hit for significant power, but he’s a respected clubhouse presence who consistently puts the ball in play. Harrison still earns solid grades from defensive metrics for his second and third base work; he’s not an option at shortstop, however.
  • José Iglesias (33): Iglesias spent the 2022 season as the primary shortstop in Colorado. He hit .292/.328/.380 through 467 plate appearances, right in line with the production he’s managed over the past four seasons. Igleias is very difficult to strike out and hits for consistently high batting averages, albeit without much else to drive the offensive profile. He rarely walks or hits home runs, though he’s a threat for 25-plus doubles annually. That offense sufficed when paired with the excellent defense that defined his early MLB tenure. He’s drawn less favorable reviews from public metrics the past two seasons though. Statcast has pegged him as a league average shortstop in each of the last two campaigns, but Defensive Runs Saved has rated him a staggering 26 runs below average since the start of 2021. How teams feel about Iglesias’ glove at this stage of his career figures to determine whether he’ll get semi-regular playing time again or have to assume more of a utility role in 2023.
  • César Hernández (32): Hernández suited up 147 times and tallied 617 plate appearances with the Nationals last season. He was a durable presence in the lineup for manager Dave Martinez but had a rough season. Just a year after popping a career-high 21 home runs, the switch-hitter mustered only one longball in the nation’s capital. Hernández is limited to second base and has posted subpar defensive metrics in each of the last two years. He might be limited to minor league offers.
  • Rougned Odor (29): Odor spent the 2022 campaign in Baltimore, his third team in as many seasons. The production was similar as it has been at each of the previous two stops. Odor has enough left-handed power to connect on 10-15 home runs with fairly regular playing time. Yet he also makes plenty of outs thanks both to consistently low walk rates and a propensity for infield pop-ups. Odor is almost strictly a second baseman — he has intermittent experience at third base as well — and posted below-average defensive numbers last year.

Utility Types/Bounceback Fliers

  • Hanser Alberto (30): Alberto brings a high-contact righty bat to a bench. He never walks and has only once topped three home runs in a season but has plus bat-to-ball skills and is well-regarded as a clubhouse presence. Alberto hit .244/.258/.365 in 159 plate appearances with the Dodgers in 2022.
  • Johan Camargo (29): Camargo spent the 2022 season with the Phillies, hitting .237/.297/.316 through 166 plate appearances. The switch-hitter had a pair of productive years with the Braves to open his MLB career but has since had four straight well below-average seasons. Camargo’s most natural fit is at third base, though he played more shortstop with Philadelphia.
  • Harold Castro (29): A left-handed hitter, Castro makes a decent amount of contact. He’s a career .284 hitter but rarely walks or hits for power. He’s played extensively throughout the infield and even logged a fair bit of center field work but rated poorly defensively at every stop. The Tigers non-tendered him at the end of the season.
  • Yu Chang (27): Chang bounced around the league via waivers in 2022, suiting up for four teams. He hit .208/.289/.315 in 190 combined plate appearances. Chang had been a prospect of some regard during his time in the Cleveland farm system. He hasn’t hit in limited MLB looks in any of the past four seasons but can play all four infield spots.
  • Didi Gregorius (33): Gregorius was an above-average shortstop as recently as 2020. Unfortunately, a two-year free agent deal to return to the Phillies over the 2020-21 offseason didn’t pan out. Gregorius struggled offensively in both seasons, including a .210/.263/.304 line in 232 trips to the plate last year. The Phils cut him in early August and he didn’t sign elsewhere before year’s end.
  • Josh VanMeter (28): VanMeter is primarily a second baseman who has some experience at the corner spots. He hit .187/.266/.292 with a trio of home runs through 192 plate appearances with the Pirates last season.
  • Jonathan Villar (31): Villar has excellent speed and has stolen more than 35 bases on three separate occasions. He’s intermittently been a productive hitter, posting above-average offensive numbers as recently as 2021. Last season was a disappointment, however. Villar hit .208/.260/.302 in 220 plate appearances between the Cubs and Angels. He spent the final couple months of the year in Triple-A.

34 Players Become Free Agents

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The Wild Card round of the 2022 postseason begins today, but for the majority of teams and players, the offseason is now underway. With that will come plenty of roster formalities, including veteran players who’ve been outrighted off their respective teams’ rosters reaching minor league free agency. This week, there have been 34 such instances throughout the league, per the transactions log at MiLB.com.

None of these are a surprise, to be clear. Any player who is not on his team’s 40-man roster at season’s end but has three-plus years of Major League service time, multiple career outright assignments and/or seven-plus seasons in the minors has the right to elect free agency. Everyone in today’s group of players falls under that umbrella. The majority of the group will likely find minor league deals over the winter, although a few of the players in question could potentially find a big league deal as a bench piece or middle-inning reliever.

There will be several more waves of players of this ilk, and we’ll make note of them in bunches over the coming weeks as we await the launch of Major League free agency, when all unsigned players with at least six years of Major League service time will reach the open market. For now, here’s the first of what will likely be several waves of newly minted minor league free agents:

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Pitchers

Phillies Outright Johan Camargo

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The Phillies announced this evening that infielder Johan Camargo cleared waivers and was assigned outright to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The switch-hitter was designated for assignment over the weekend.

Camargo signed a $1.4MM free agent deal with the Phils over the winter after being cut loose by the Braves. It marked his first stint outside the Atlanta organization, and he spent the first half of the year serving as a depth infielder. Philadelphia gave Camargo some early run at third base, but he quickly ceded that job to Alec Bohm. He served as a fill-in shortstop while Didi Gregorius was injured, but the Phils eventually turned back to rookie Bryson Stott there. Camargo was optioned to Lehigh Valley at the end of July, but he hit only .213/.311/.298 with two home runs in 167 trips to the plate with the IronPigs.

It’s the fourth straight subpar offensive season for the 28-year-old. Camargo broke into the majors with a pair of above-average years, but he owns a cumulative .219/.271/.348 mark dating back to the start of the 2019 campaign. Even with the ability to cover anywhere on the infield, that tepid offensive output has squeezed Camargo off a pair of rosters in as many years.

As a player with between three and five years of major league service, he has the right to refuse the outright assignment in favor of free agency. Doing so would mean forfeiting his final week’s worth of salary, though, so it seems likely he’ll accept the assignment and report to Lehigh Valley for the final game of their season tomorrow. He’ll hit minor league free agency anyhow at the end of the season, unless the Phils reselect him onto the 40-man roster before November.

Phillies Select Chris Devenski

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The Philadelphia Phillies announced they have selected the contract of reliever Chris Devenski. In corresponding moves, left-hander Brad Hand was placed on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to September 22nd, and infielder Johan Camargo was designated for assignment.

The 31-year-old Devenski re-signed with Arizona Diamondbacks on a Minor League contract before the 2022 season, but began the season on the injured list, first on the 7-day injured list and then 60-day injured list, as he worked his way back from Tommy John surgery undergone in June 2021. Devenski would make his 2022 debut in late July, remaining on the Diamondbacks for a month and pitching to a 7.59 ERA in 10 2/3 innings with a low 18.8 K% and minuscule 2.1 BB% before being DFA’d and released. It’s a far cry from the once dominant performance Devenski produced in the early years of his career with the Astros. Nicknamed “The Dragon,” Devenski posted a 3.21 ERA in 305 1/3 innings and appeared in 221 games from 2016-2019 with an above-average 26.9 K% and strong 6.6 BB%, earning an All-Star berth in the process. However, since 2019 Devenski has posted a 9.14 ERA in 21 2/3 innings, undergoing arthroscopic surgery to remove a bone spur in his right elbow in 2020 and spraining his right UCL in 2021, forcing him to undergo Tommy John surgery.

Devenski signed a Minor League contract with the Phillies shortly after his release from the Diamondbacks and pitched to a 1.04 ERA in 8 2/3 innings in Triple-A Lehigh Valley, with a high 33.3 K% and average 9.1 BB%. He joins a Phillies bullpen with the 9th highest collective ERA as another righty for interim-manager Rob Thomson to call upon.

Hand, an important part of the Phillies bullpen, was placed on the 15-day injured list with left elbow tendinitis. It is a tough break for both Hand and the Phillies, as the team currently holds the third and final NL Wild Card spot, 1.5 games ahead of the Brewers and 1/2 game behind the Padres. With the placement on the 15-day IL, Hand will unable to return until October 7th, and will miss the remainder of the regular season. He can, however theoretically return for the playoffs. Hand has posted a strong 2.80 ERA in 45 innings (55 appearances) this season after signing a one-year contract with the Phillies in the offseason. This strong performance, if continued, would likely have led to a multi-year contract in the offseason. However, teams may be warier now with the elbow tendonitis possibly being a precursor to a more serious injury.

As for Camargo, his time on the Phillies’ 40-man roster has come to a close. Signed to a one-year deal in the offseason, Camargo posted a respectable .269/.321/.365/.687 slash line in April before declining to .237/.297/.316/.613 as the season progressed. Camargo dealt with a right knee strain and was placed on the 10-day injured list twice in June before being optioned at the end of July with the return of Jean Segura. He has not fared much better in Triple-A Lehigh Valley, slashing .213/.311/.298/.609 for the season.

As a player with more than three years of MLB service, Camargo has the right to refuse the outright assignment in favor of free agency. Even if Camargo accepts this outright assignment, he’d qualify for minor league free agency at the end of the season unless the Phillies add him back to the 40-man roster.

Phillies Activate Ranger Suarez, Johan Camargo From Injured List

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The Phillies made a pair of corresponding roster moves today, per the club. Johan Camargo and Ranger Suarez were activated from the 15-day injured list, while a pair of former number one overall draft picks in Mickey Moniak and Mark Appel were optioned back to Triple-A. Suarez has been an important piece of the Phillies rotation this year.

Through 15 starts, the southpaw has a 4.33 ERA/4.26 FIP in 79 innings, not all that far off from the 109 frames that he totaled last season, which was a career-high. Suarez steps back into the rotation that includes righties Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, and Kyle Gibson.

Appel gave the game one of the feel-good stories of the year when he made his Major League debut. Appel, who turned 31 yesterday, was twice a first-round pick, taken eighth overall by the Pirates and then first overall by the Astros in the following draft. It took until June 29th of this season for the big righty to get his first shot in the show, however.

Appel has now taken the hill four times for the Phillies, including a pair of multi-inning outings this month. In total, Appel registered seven innings of work, allowing just a single earned run on six hits and two walks while striking out three. For now, he’ll return to Triple-A, where he owns a 1.61 ERA over 19 relief outings totaling 28 innings with a 24-to-8 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Moniak, the first overall selection of the 2016 draft, has had limited opportunities with the Phillies over the past couple of seasons. This year, he has amassed 50 plate appearances over 18 games of action, slashing .130/.184/.152 in that time.

Camargo returns to take back his roster spot as a key reserve for the Phils. Capable of playing the infield or the outfield, Camargo’s value largely comes from his versatility. He has struggled with the bat, however, posting a 74 wRC+ on the year, which is his highest such mark since his 2018 breakout with the Braves.

Phillies Select Darick Hall

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2:10pm: Philadelphia officially confirmed Hall’s promotion. Infielder Johan Camargo has been placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to June 26, with a right knee strain. To create a 40-man roster spot, the Phils recalled minor league righty James McArthur from Double-A Reading and placed him on the MLB 60-day injured list. McArthur, who’s dealing with a stress reaction in his throwing elbow, will be paid at the prorated amount of the $700K league minimum salary and collect big league service time while on the IL.

10:54am: The Phillies are planning to select the contract of first baseman Darick Hall from Triple-A Lehigh Valley, reports Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia. They’ll need to open a spot on the 40-man roster.

It’ll be the big league debut for Hall, a 14th-round selection of the Phillies back in 2016. The 26-year-old has earned his ticket to the big leagues this season, hitting at a .269/.346/.548 clip with 20 home runs, 18 doubles, five steals (in six tries), a 9.5% walk rate and a 20% strikeout rate through his first 315 plate appearances of the season. Hall’s left-handed bat won’t make up for the loss of Harper, of course, but he’ll give interim skipper Rob Thomson another option with some power to mix-and-match while the reigning MVP is sidelined.

With Harper on the shelf, the Phillies are looking at several platoon options around the diamond, but their current slate of left-handed hitters hasn’t performed well — even against righties. Mickey Moniak is hitting .167/.259/.167 in 27 plate appearances, while Odubel Herrera is batting just .218/.248/.412 against right-handers. Hall, meanwhile, has struggled against lefties in Triple-A but absolutely torched right-handed opponents to the tune of a .312/.391/.656 batting line. Seventeen of his 20 long balls have come against righties, as have a dozen of his 18 doubles.

Phillies Select Scott Kingery

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The Phillies announced this afternoon they’ve selected infielder Scott Kingery back onto the major league roster. Utilityman Johan Camargo has been placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to June 6, due to a right knee strain in a corresponding move. Philadelphia already had an opening on the 40-man roster.

Kingery returns to the majors for the first time since being outrighted off the 40-man last June. The designation for assignment and subsequent outright was the culmination of a few seasons of struggles. Kingery hit at a league average level (.258/.315/.474) during the offensively-charged 2019 campaign, but he’s otherwise struggled mightily at the plate as a big leaguer. He’d posted well below-average numbers as a rookie in 2018, and he’s hit .144/.204/.250 in 143 trips to the plate since his sophomore campaign.

That’s certainly not how the Phillies had envisioned his career progressing. A former second-round pick, Kingery tore through the minor leagues over his first couple seasons of pro ball. Baseball America ranked the University of Arizona product as the game’s #31 prospect in advance of his rookie year, and the Philadelphia front office signed him to a six-year, $24MM guarantee a couple weeks before his major league debut. That investment hasn’t panned out as hoped, but the 28-year-old will get another opportunity to try to solve big league arms.

Kingery, who is making $6.25MM this season under the terms of the aforementioned extension, has gotten off to a rough start with Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Through 16 games, he’s hitting .185/.297/.296 while striking out in 34.4% of his plate appearances. That kind of swing-and-miss has been an unexpected issue for Kingery since 2018, as he’s never developed into the potential plus hitter some prospect evaluators anticipated. He’ll step into a second base mix that lost Jean Segura for a few months to finger surgery and has seen Nick Maton and Camargo hit the IL in recent days.

Camargo, signed to a one-year deal over the winter, has seen more playing time than envisioned because of Segura’s injury and Bryson Stott’s struggles. He got off to a nice start but had slumped of late, and he lands on the IL owner of a modest .246/.310/.338 line. Stott and Didi Gregorius figure to assume the bulk of the playing time up the middle, with Kingery on hand as a depth option.

Phillies Sign Johan Camargo

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The Phillies are signing infielder Johan Camargo, reports MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes (Twitter link). It’s a $1.4MM guarantee. Camargo was recently non-tendered by the Braves. The Phils have since announced the move, with right-hander Adonis Medina designated for assignment to clear 40-man roster space.

Camargo’s swift signing was no doubt fueled by Major League Baseball’s decision to institute a lockout, though there are pure player merits to consider here as well. While Camargo has yet to replicate his early career success with Atlanta, he remains a viable bench option capable of covering several positions. His dominant .326/.401/.557 output in 104 Triple-A games this year likely gave the Phillies front office hope as well.

The 24-year-old Medina draws the short end of the transaction stick after a cup of coffee in the Majors and a rough showing at Triple-A. In 67 innings at the minor’s highest level, the right-hander pitched to a 5.05 ERA, continuing the trend of a rising ERA with each promotion. Medina regularly posts above average groundball rates however, and is likely to pique the interest of a front office who values that skillset, assuming he doesn’t end up remaining with the only organization he’s known.

Braves Non-Tender Richard Rodriguez

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The Braves have non-tendered right-handed pitcher Richard Rodriguez, reports MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. Acquired in a mid-season deal with Pittsburgh, Rodriguez pitched to fine bottom-line results in Atlanta but carried worrying peripherals and faded down the stretch. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected the former closer to make $3.1MM in his upcoming trip through arbitration.

A non-tender is an unceremonious end to the year for a player who was a mainstay out of the Pirates bullpen for years. Still, Rodriguez was long thought to be a risky investment owing to a 2-pitch arsenal that leaned on a 93mph fastball most of the time. This approach led to excellent control (4% walk-rate in 2021) and ample pop-ups, but also left Rodriguez with a rather volatile strikeout ability (36.6% strikeout rate in 2020; 16.7% rate in 2021) and at heightened risk for home runs. As a player who has found ample success with his skillset, it won’t be a surprise to see Rodriguez get swooped up by a team for a similar price tag the Braves passed on.

Also being non-tendered by the club are infielder Johan Camargo and right-handed pitcher Jasseel De La Cruz. The soon-to-be 28-year-old Camargo had a 3.2 bWAR showing for the Braves back in 2018 but has seen his offense and playing time slide in recent years. A hitless 15-game stint with the Braves this year coupled with the recent extension of Orlando Arcia gives Atlanta reason to move on, though other clubs will surely be intrigued by Camargo’s versatility and continued Triple-A dominance. De La Cruz meanwhile has scattered strong results as a starter throughout his minor league career but struggled to a 7.19 ERA in 56 Triple-A innings. His non-tender frees up a spot on the Atlanta 40-man roster, bringing it down to 38 players.

Braves Place Adrianza On Postseason Paternity List, Activate Camargo

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Per a Tuesday morning press release, the Braves have placed utilityman Ehire Adrianza on the postseason paternity list and activated infielder Johan Camargo ahead of tonight’s World Series Game 6. MLB rules require that Adrianza spend a minimum of one day and a maximum of three on the paternity list, though the latter will not come into play with the season set to conclude in less than 48 hours. Both players are switch hitters capable of offering serviceable defense at multiple positions.

While neither would be likely to see game action with the series shifting back to an AL park, the move represents a marginal downgrade for the Braves, who had used Adrianza as their top pinch-hitting option in the NLCS (when Jorge Soler was sidelined following a positive COVID test) and a secondary option in the World Series. Though he’s hitless in two at bats against the Astros,  Adrianza did deliver a crucial two-out double ahead of Eddie Rosario’s game-deciding three-run homer in the fourth inning of Game 6 of the NLCS. Camargo, who had been on the Braves’ NLCS roster, is hitless in four trips to the plate so far this postseason.

With time at six positions in 2021 in something of a super-utility role, Adrianza also would have likely represented a top option at a number of positions in the event of an injury. He amassed a .247/.327/.401 across 209 plate appearances in his first season in Atlanta — all of which slightly exceeded his career averages — as he helped to bridge the gap that arose following Ronald Acuña Jr.’s season-ending injury and Marcell Ozuna’s season-ending legal troubles.

Should such a need arise, it may now fall to Camargo, who slashed .272/.349/.457 across 524 plate appearances as the Braves’ primary third baseman during the 2018 season. The 2019 arrival of Josh Donaldson and subsequent emergence of Austin Riley have largely rendered Camargo surplus to requirements in Atlanta, however. He’s struggled mightily since his breakout 2018, slashing a combined .212/.260/.361 (good for a dismal 58 OPS+), and has recorded a meager two walks and zero hits in 18 big-league plate appearances in 2021.

Camargo has mashed in Triple-A (.958 OPS in 436 PAs this year), however, suggesting his struggles with the parent club may be attributable to a small sample size and irregular playing time. He’s also been a significantly better hitter against lefties than righties, posting an .833 OPS hitting from the right side against .700 from the left, but the Braves are still likelier to turn to mid-season pickup Orlando Arcia should a pinch-hitting situation unexpectedly arise.

Still, Camargo does replace some of Adrianza’s positional versatility, potentially enabling Braves’ manager Brian Snitker to pinch-run for a starter in a late-game situation (speedster Terrance Gore is on the roster) without sacrificing too much defensively. All in all, the move is unlikely to amount to much with the DH in play from Game 6 (and a possible Game 7) of the World Series, but it is possible Camargo may be asked to play a role.

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