Players Avoiding Arbitration: 11/17/23
Tonight marks the deadline for teams to tender contracts to players who are eligible for arbitration. This evening should also see a handful of arb-eligible players agree to terms with their clubs to avoid a hearing.
These so-called “pre-tender deals” usually, although not always, involve players who were borderline non-tender candidates. Rather than run the risk of being cut loose, they can look to sign in the lead-up to the deadline. Those salaries often come in a little below projections, since these players tend to have less leverage because of the uncertainty about whether they’ll be offered a contract at all.
Under the 2022 collective bargaining agreement, players who sign to avoid an arbitration hearing are guaranteed full termination pay. That’s a change from prior CBAs, when teams could release an arb-eligible player before the season began and would only owe a prorated portion of the contract. This was done to incentivize teams and players to get deals done without going to a hearing.
All salary projections referenced are courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz. This post will be updated throughout the night as deals are reported.
Latest Moves
- The Orioles agreed to deals with outfielders Sam Hilliard and Ryan McKenna, reliever Keegan Akin and shortstop Jorge Mateo, as announced by the team. Mateo will make $2.7MM, as first reported by Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (X link). Jon Heyman of the New York Post has terms (on X) for Akin and Hilliard: $825K for the former, $800K for the latter.
- Giants outfielder Mike Yastrzemski has a deal for $7.9MM, Heyman reports. That’s a little above his $7.3MM projection. Yastrzemski has one additional arbitration year remaining.
- Reliever Yency Almonte and the Dodgers have agreed to a $1.9MM salary, per Heyman. That matches his projection.
- Lefty reliever Ryan Borucki agreed to a contract with the Pirates, the team announced. Feinsand reports it as a $1.6MM deal. He was projected at $1.3MM.
- The Rockies have a deal with lefty reliever Jalen Beeks, Heyman reports. He’ll make $1.675MM. Recently claimed off waivers from Tampa Bay, Beeks was projected at $1.8MM.
- The Cubs announced a deal with third baseman Patrick Wisdom. Jesse Rogers of ESPN reports that the power-hitting infielder will make $2.725MM. That’s narrowly above a $2.6MM projection.
- Outfielder DJ Stewart agreed to a deal with the Mets, per a club announcement. Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports it’ll be for $1.38MM. Stewart had been projected at $1.5MM as an early qualifier via Super Two.
- The Phillies announced deals with right-hander Dylan Covey, catcher Garrett Stubbs and outfielder Jake Cave. Terms were not disclosed.
- The White Sox announced agreement with reliever Matt Foster on a deal for $750K, narrowly above the league minimum. The right-hander underwent Tommy John surgery in April.
Earlier Tonight
- The Royals announced agreement with lefty reliever Josh Taylor. He’ll make $1.1MM, tweets Anne Rogers of MLB.com. Acquired from the Red Sox last winter, Taylor allowed an 8.15 ERA over 17 2/3 innings before undergoing season-ending back surgery. He was projected for a $1.3MM salary.
- The Athletics announced today that they have agreed to one-year deals with infielders Miguel Andujar and Abraham Toro. The club claimed Andujar off waivers from Pittsburgh earlier this month and swung a deal to acquire Toro from the Brewers earlier this week. Andujar hit .250/.300/.476 in 90 trips to the plate in the majors this year while Toro appeared in just nine games at the big league level but slashed .444/.524/.778 in that extremely limited action. Andujar will make $1.7MM (Heyman link); Toro is set for a $1.275MM salary.
- The Giants have a deal with outfielder Austin Slater for $4MM, reports Craig Mish of SportsGrid (X link). That’s a little north of his $3.6MM projected salary. Slater has over five years of service time and will be a free agent next offseason. The right-handed hitter is coming off a .270/.348/.400 showing over 89 games. He’s a career .285/.374/.463 batter against left-handed pitching but owns a .227/.314/.333 mark versus righties.
Orioles Reinstate Austin Voth, Transfer Keegan Akin To 60-Day IL
The Orioles have reinstated right-hander Austin Voth from the 60-day injured list and optioned righty Mike Baumann to Triple-A Norfolk, per a team announcement. Left-hander Keegan Akin, who’s been out since late June due to a back injury, was moved from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL to create 40-man space for Voth’s return.
Voth, 31, has been out since mid-June due to an elbow issue but recently wrapped up a minor league rehab assignment, pitching 11 1/3 frames of 3.97 ERA ball across three minor league levels. Prior to hitting the injured list, Voth had pitched to a 4.94 ERA in 31 innings out of the Baltimore bullpen, punching out 21.5% of his opponents against a 9.7% walk rate along the way.
The O’s claimed Voth off waivers from the Nationals on June 7, 2022, and immediately received improved results from the longtime Nats prospect. He’d allowed 21 runs in 18 2/3 innings with Washington in 2022 and posted an overall 5.70 ERA in 189 2/3 innings as a member of that organization. Voth, however, tossed 83 innings of 3.04 ERA ball down the stretch in Baltimore, making 22 appearances — 17 of them starts. Voth and the O’s agreed to a one-year, $1.85MM deal with a club option over the winter, avoiding arbitration in the process.
Given the way the 2023 season has played out, the O’s might not be keen on picking up that $2.45MM club option. Even if the team declines, however, Voth would remain under club control as an arbitration-eligible player. The O’s could decline that $2.45MM salary and still try to work out a deal with Voth at a lower rate — somewhere between this year’s salary and that would-be club option price. Of course, Baltimore could also consider non-tendering Voth and moving on entirely. His performance down the stretch will go a long way in determining that outcome.
Akin, 28, finds himself in a relatively similar situation. The southpaw had a strong 2022 season with the O’s, compiling 81 2/3 innings with a 3.20 ERA, 23.4% strikeout rate, 6.1% walk rate, 49.3% grounder rate and 1.10 HR/9. He’s had a rough go of it in ’23, however, pitching to a 6.85 ERA in 23 2/3 innings. Akin has actually slightly improved his strikeout rate, maintained his walk rate and cut back on the home runs he’s yielded. However, his grounder rate has also tanked, and opponents are clobbering his pitches (90.7 mph average exit velocity) after struggling to make hard contact in 2022 (87.8 mph). A .434 average on balls in play is surely due for some regression, but the uptick in hard contact and a line-drive rate that’s jumped from 18.1% to 28.6% underlines the fact that Akin’s struggles can’t be chalked up to poor luck alone.
Like Voth, Akin will be eligible for arbitration this winter. He’s going through that process for the first time, so he’ll be looking for his first raise of note over the league minimum. Akin’s success out of the ‘pen in 2022 could well be enough to convince the Orioles to tender him despite this year’s poor results, but it’s not a lock they’ll choose to do so. Akin has already been out since late June, so the move to the 60-day IL is largely procedural. He’s already missed nearly 60 days, so this move won’t materially alter his path to a return. Akin began a minor league rehab assignment in late July but had a setback after two appearances and has yet to get back into a game.
Orioles Option Grayson Rodriguez
The Orioles announced this morning that the club had optioned right-hander Grayson Rodriguez to Triple-A and recalled left-hander Keegan Akin.
The move brings to an end Rodriguez’s first taste of big league action in his career. The club’s first-round pick in 2018 and a consensus top-10 prospect entering the season, Rodriguez has struggled badly to this point in the majors. The hard-throwing righty sports a ugly 7.35 ERA, 41% worse than league average by measure of ERA+, and a 5.94 FIP in ten starts this season. While a 26.5% strikeout rate is excellent, Rodriguez’s 10% walk rate is well below league average. Most concerning of all, however, is the frequency with which Rodriguez has given up hard contact. The youngster’s average exit velocity, HardHit%, and Barrel% are all in the tenth percentile or worse among qualified players this season.
Rodriguez’s struggles this season have been particularly pronounced since the calendar flipped to May. In five starts this month, Rodriguez has allowed 27 runs (26 earned) with nearly as many combined walks (10) and home runs (11) as strikeouts (22) while pitching into the sixth inning just once and failing to finish the fourth inning three times. All that adds up to a brutal 11.14 ERA with a 20.8% strikeout rate and a 9.43 FIP in 21 innings of work.
Given Rodriguez’s deep struggles, it’s impossible to know when his next big league opportunity will be. That said, Rodriguez obviously has incredible talent, and is far from the only starter struggling for the Orioles this season. Offseason acquisition Cole Irvin is currently in Triple-A himself after posting a 10.38 ERA in 13 innings of work, while Tyler Wells sports a FIP north of 5.00 despite his solid 3.47 ERA. Dean Kremer (94 ERA+) and Kyle Bradish (100 ERA+) have both been roughly league average to this point in the season, leaving offseason signing Kyle Gibson as the club’s only properly above average starter, with a 3.82 ERA and 4.18 FIP in 66 innings of work.
Replacing Rodriguez on the active roster is Akin, who turned in a quality season as a reliever last year, with a 3.20 ERA and 3.59 FIP in 81 2/3 innings of work. The 28-year-old lefty struggled somewhat with a 5.91 ERA in 10 2/3 innings of work at the big league level this season, but a 3.76 FIP indicates his underlying performance may have been better than the results would indicate. In seven innings of work at the Triple-A level, Akin has dominated to a 1.29 ERA with thirteen strikeouts.
Orioles Designate Luis Torrens For Assignment, Recall Drew Rom
The Orioles announced a series of roster moves today, recalling left-hander Drew Rom, infielder/outfielder Ryan O’Hearn and infielder Terrin Vavra from Triple-A Norfolk. In corresponding moves, infielder Ramón Urías was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain, left-hander Keegan Akin was optioned to Norfolk and catcher Luis Torrens was designated for assignment.
Torrens, 27, was acquired from the Cubs less than a week ago and was a bit of a curious fit on Baltimore’s roster. They already had Adley Rutschman and James McCann forming their catching duo and Torrens was out of options, meaning he couldn’t be sent down to the minors. Now Torrens has been cut from the roster without even getting into a game as an Oriole, just a few days after Baltimore sent cash to Chicago in order to acquire him.
The Orioles are no strangers to acquiring veteran depth and almost immediately designating that player for assignment, in hopes of successfully passing him through waivers and retaining him in Triple-A. They’ve done this frequently over the past year, with the aforementioned O’Hearn a prime example. First baseman Lewin Diaz and catcher Anthony Bemboom have also fallen under this category, and the O’s tried to do the same with outfielder Jake Cave but lost him when the Phillies claimed him off waivers.
The 26-year-old Torrens is a career .227/.289/.352 hitter in 799 Major League plate appearances between the Padres, Mariners and Cubs. He’s connected on 19 home runs, fanned at a 26% clip and drawn a walk in 7.8% of those trips to the plate. He regularly made contact during his three-year run with Seattle, evidenced by a 91 mph average exit velocity and hefty 45.7% hard-hit rate, but that quality contact didn’t necessarily translate into production.
Defensively, Torrens has drawn below-average grades from Defensive Runs Saved and most pitch-framing metrics. He has a below-average 21.7% caught-stealing rate in his career but did throw out nine of 28 attempted thieves (32.1%) as recently as last season. The O’s will have a week to trade him or attempt to pass him through waivers, which seems like the more probable path they’ll tread, based on their history with this sort of move.
As for Rom, this is his first ascension to the Major League level. He’ll make his debut whenever he takes the mound for the first time. The 23-year-old southpaw, a fourth-round pick in 2018, has pitched exclusively out of the rotation so far in Norfolk, working 31 1/3 innings with a 2.87 ERA to go along with impressive strikeout (24.6%), walk (7.7%) and ground-ball (55.4%) rates on the year.
While Rom isn’t considered to be one of the Orioles’ top overall prospect, he is considered one of the best pitching prospects in a system that skews more toward position players than arms. MLB.com ranks Rom 19th among Baltimore prospects but sixth-best among the team’s minor league pitchers; it’s a similar story at Baseball America, where he’s 25th overall but ninth among their minor league hurlers. He doesn’t throw particularly hard, sitting in the low 90s with his heater, but has typically posted better-than-average strikeout and ground-ball rates. Rom has more than held his own against left-handed opponents in his minor league career but has been far more hittable when facing righties.
Orioles Reinstate Anthony Santander, Keegan Akin
JUNE 17: As expected, Santander and Akin have been reinstated from the restricted list before this evening’s game against the Rays. Stowers and Garcia have been returned to the minor leagues and are off the 40-man roster.
JUNE 13: The Orioles announced they’ve selected outfielder Kyle Stowers and right-hander Rico Garcia onto the major league roster as designated COVID-19 “substitutes.” In corresponding moves, they’ve placed outfielder Anthony Santander and lefty Keegan Akin on the restricted list. That’s the standard practice for players who haven’t been vaccinated against COVID-19 on teams headed for a series in Toronto. The Canadian government prohibits unvaccinated athletes from crossing the border, so Santander and Akin will miss the next four games.
Stowers is the more notable of the two call-ups, as he’s now in line to make his major league debut. A supplemental second-round pick out of Stanford back in 2019, the left-handed hitter has been one of the organization’s most interesting prospects since that point. Stowers appeared among the top 30 farmhands in a quality Baltimore system each season from 2020-22, according to Baseball America, with the outlet recently placing him as the O’s #9 minor league talent.
Primarily a corner outfielder, Stowers’ calling card is his bat speed and power potential. BA graded his raw power as plus-plus (a 70 on the 20-80 scouting scale), and he popped 27 home runs and 23 doubles across three minor league levels last season. Stowers drew plenty of walks as well but struck out in more than 30% of his plate appearances at each stop, and both Baseball America and Keith Law of the Athletic raised questions about how often he swings through pitches inside the strike zone.
To Stowers’ credit, he’s cut back on his strikeout rate thus far in the 2022 campaign. Through 209 plate appearances at Triple-A Norfolk, he’s hitting .253/.356/.545 with 12 homers and a more manageable 25.4% strikeout percentage. That’s still a few points north of the league average, but it’s unquestionably an improvement relative to last season and hasn’t come at the cost of any of Stowers’ extra-base impact.
Garcia, meanwhile, is headed to the majors for the first time in two years. The Honolulu native suited up with the Rockies and Giants between 2019-20, tossing 16 innings of 7.31 ERA ball between the division rivals. Garcia missed all of last season recovering from Tommy John surgery, and he was limited to a minor league deal this past winter. He has a 1.93 ERA across 18 2/3 innings between three levels, striking out an excellent 37.2% of opponents along the way.
That Baltimore specified both Stowers and Garcia are COVID replacements is notable, as they’ll each be occupying a temporary spot on the 40-man roster. Both players can be taken off the roster and returned to Norfolk when Santander and Akin are eligible to return on Friday, and that seems the likeliest course of action.
Stowers, in particular, figures to land a permanent roster spot in the relatively near future, though. He’ll need to be added to the 40-man at the start of next offseason to keep him from being taken in the Rule 5 draft, and Baltimore could bring him up for an extended look against big league arms before too long given his strong high minors showing.
In other O’s news, the club announced that infielder Chris Owings has passed through release waivers unclaimed. He’s now a free agent. Baltimore designated Owings for assignment last week after a .107/.254/.143 start to the season.
Orioles Hire Matt Borgschulte And Ryan Fuller As Co-Hitting Coaches
The Orioles announced a pair of additions to the coaching staff this morning, hiring Matt Borgschulte and Ryan Fuller as co-hitting coaches. (Joe Trezza of MLB.com first reported the moves yesterday). They’ll replace Don Long, who was let go last month after a three-year stint in Baltimore.
Borgschulte comes over from the Twins organization, where he’s spent the past four seasons. The 31-year-old worked his way up to hitting coach with the Twins’ top affiliate in St. Paul before earning his first big league job in Baltimore. Fuller, also 31, is an internal promotion. The O’s hired him as a minor league instructor over the 2019-20 offseason. As with Borgschulte, this’ll be Fuller’s initial job on a major league staff.
In addition to the coaching changes, the club also provided reporters (including Trezza and Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com) updates on a trio of injured players this week. Left-hander Keegan Akin recently underwent a hip adductor repair, his second procedure within the past couple months. Outfielder Austin Hays and infielder Ramón Urías, meanwhile, each recently underwent core repair surgeries. It’s expected that all three players will be ready for Spring Training.
Orioles Place Anthony Santander On Injured List
The Orioles announced they’ve reinstated left-hander Bruce Zimmermann from the 60-day injured list. He’ll start this evening’s game against the Red Sox. They’ve also recalled corner infielder/outfielder Tyler Nevin from Triple-A Norfolk and placed right-hander Chris Ellis and outfielder Anthony Santander on the 10-day IL. To create space on the 40-man roster for Zimmermann, Baltimore transferred lefty Keegan Akin, who underwent abdominal surgery last week, from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list.
Zimmermann is back after missing around two and a half months due to left biceps tendinitis. The 26-year-old appeared in twelve games (eleven starts) before going on the IL, tossing 59 2/3 innings of 4.83 ERA/4.48 SIERA ball. Zimmermann posted a below-average 20.2% strikeout rate and gave up nearly as much hard contact as any pitcher in baseball, but he pounded the strike zone and posted a ground-ball rate just a bit below the league average.
That’s not the most exciting production, but only John Means posted better numbers among O’s hurlers with 50+ innings this season. That looks to give Zimmermann a decent shot at landing a season-opening rotation spot next year, although the O’s front office will at least add a low-cost veteran option or two to that mix this offseason.
Santander’s season comes to a close a few days early because of a right knee sprain. The 26-year-old mashed in last year’s shortened campaign, but he couldn’t follow up on that over a larger body of work. Through 438 plate appearances, Santander hit .241/.286/.433. He hit for a decent amount of power for a third consecutive year, popping 18 home runs, but Santander’s tiny 5.3% walk rate and career-worst 23.1% strikeout percentage (excluding his 13-game rookie year) contributed to serious on-base issues.
This offseason, Santander will be eligible for arbitration for the second of four times. If tendered a contract, he’d be in line for a raise on this year’s $2.1MM salary. The Orioles have no guaranteed money on the books next season, so they could certainly shoulder a few million dollar tab for Santander. Still, that was true last offseason of Renato Nuñez — another low-OBP, power bat — and Baltimore elected to non-tender Nuñez. The front office will have to make a similar call on Santander this winter.
Orioles’ Keegan Akin To Undergo Abdominal Surgery
The Orioles announced today that left-hander Keegan Akin has been placed on the 10-day injured list. Baltimore selected the contract of catcher Nick Ciuffo and recalled right-hander Joey Krehbiel from Triple-A Norfolk. Akin will undergo abdominal surgery in the near future, tweets MLB.com’s Joe Trezza. He’s expected to be ready for Spring Training 2022.
A former second-round draft pick, Akin has been regarded as one of the better young pitchers in the Orioles’ system over the past few years. He’s posted strong strikeout rates throughout his minor league tenure to earn his first big league look last season.
Akin has yet to carry that lower-level success over against MLB hitters. He’s tossed 120 2/3 big league frames over the past couple years, managing just a 6.19 ERA with slightly worse than average strikeout and walk rates (21.5% and 9.2%, respectively). Excepting John Means, the Orioles have gotten very little from their starting pitching options this season. That should give Akin another opportunity to stake a claim to a permanent rotation spot in 2022, assuming he’s back at full strength next spring as expected.
Ciuffo returns to the big leagues for the first time in two years. He’s a former first-round pick and highly-regarded prospect himself, but the 26-year-old wound up tallying just 50 MLB plate appearances with the Rays, his original organization. Ciuffo spent last season with the Rangers on a minor league deal but never landed a big league opportunity and reentered minor league free agency last winter.
The O’s added Ciuffo on another minors deal in December. He was assigned to Triple-A Norfolk but only picked up 58 plate appearances there after losing most of the season to injury. The left-handed hitter will get an opportunity to back up Pedro Severino and Austin Wynns for the season’s final few games. He’d be controllable well beyond this season if the O’s front office decides to carry him on the 40-man roster through the upcoming offseason.
Orioles Make Three Roster Moves
The Orioles placed left-hander Tanner Scott on the 10-day injured list due to a left knee sprain. Fellow lefty Keegan Akin has been reinstated from the COVID-related injury list to take Scott’s place on the active roster, while right-hander Thomas Eshelman was designated for assignment to open up a 40-man roster spot.
Scott has a 3.95 ERA/4.12 SIERA over 41 innings out of Baltimore’s bullpen this season, with a very strong 31.4% strikeout rate. However, Scott’s 16.5% walk rate is one of the worst in baseball, continuing the control problems that have plagued the southpaw over his 143 career innings in the Show. Despite these free passes, Scott still drew a lot of attention prior to the trade deadline, as rival teams were intrigued by his high fastball velocity and the fact that Scott isn’t eligible for free agency until after the 2024 season.
This is the third time in as many seasons that the Orioles have DFA’s Eshelman, with the previous two designations resulting in the right-hander being outrighted to Triple-A. All 92 of Eshelman’s career Major League innings have come with Baltimore in those three seasons, with the righty posting a 5.87 ERA and only an 11% strikeout rate. The swingman has been mostly used in the rotation in 2021, as Eshelman has started five of his six games.
Orioles Place Two Players On COVID-19 Injured List
The Orioles have placed outfielder Anthony Santander and left-hander Keegan Akin on the COVID-19 injured list. Outfielder Ryan McKenna and lefty Alexander Wells have been recalled from Triple-A Norfolk to replace them on the active roster.
There’s no indication at this point that either of Santander or Akin has tested positive for COVID-19. Players can land on the IL for feeling symptoms or for viral exposure. The COVID-19 IL does not come with a minimum stint.
Santander has gotten the bulk of playing time this season in right field. He’s hitting .231/.280/.387 across 247 plate appearances, a drop-off from last year’s strong .261/.315/.575 line. Akin, meanwhile, has made thirteen appearances (including eight starts) this year. He’s tossed 48 1/3 innings of 8.19 ERA/4.62 SIERA ball. The southpaw had been the projected starter for this afternoon’s game against the Rays. Wells will take the ball instead.