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Angels Release LaMonte Wade Jr.

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The Angels have released first baseman and outfielder LaMonte Wade Jr. and selected the contract of outfielder Bryce Teodosio, per a team announcement. The moves were first reported by Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. The club also announced that infielder Kevin Newman has been released after he was designated for assignment on the day of the trade deadline to make room for infielder Oswald Peraza on the 40-man roster.

Wade, 31, was a ninth-round pick by the Twins back in 2015 and appeared in 42 games for the club early in his career before joining the Giants prior to the 2021 season. In San Francisco, Wade established himself as a quality first baseman with a .248/.352/.415 slash line (115 wRC+) between 2021 and 2024. After crushing 18 homers in his first 381 plate appearances with the club in 2021, he posted below-average numbers (93 wRC+) in a 2022 campaign derailed by both knee and hamstring issues.

After returning to health in time for the 2023 season, Wade lacked the power he had flashed in his first season with San Francisco but made up for it by serving as one of the league’s top on-base threats. While it was a non-traditional profile for a first baseman, it was nonetheless an effective one. Wade slashed .258/.376/.401 with a wRC+ of 120 over the 2023 and ’24 seasons, and only ten players posted a higher on-base percentage that him during those two seasons: Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, Ronald Acuna Jr., Shohei Ohtani, Yordan Alvarez, Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, Bryce Harper, Christian Yelich, and Kyle Tucker. It’s a list stacked with superstars and MVP candidates.

Given that elite company Wade found himself in, his fall from grace this year has been shocking. In 50 games with the Giants this year, Wade maintained his trademark plate discipline with a 20.7% strikeout rate against a 12.4% walk rate. A combination of a comically low .211 BABIP and a complete lack of power left Wade as a deeply unproductive bat in the club’s lineup, however, as he hit just .167/.275/.271 (59 wRC+) in 169 plate appearances. The production was weak enough that the Giants ultimately opted to designate him for assignment in early June. He was traded to the Angels just a few days later, and the Halos had plans to include him in their outfield mix going forward.

It’s a plan that did not work out particularly well. Wade performed even worse in Anaheim than he had been in San Francisco, posting a brutal 38 wRC+ as his plate discipline left him. He struck out in 31.5% of his 73 plate appearances with the Angels and walked at just an 8.5% clip. Now that he’s been released, he’ll be free to sign with any club with interest in his services. His poor performance this year might leave him relegated only to minor league deals, but there are surely teams around the league in need of first base depth as they gear up for the stretch run who would be interested in giving Wade a shot to prove himself for their team in the minor leagues.

Replacing Wade on the roster is Teodosio, who made his big league debut with the Angels last year before being outrighted off their 40-man roster during the offseason. He has just five games of big league experience under his belt but immediately becomes the best defensive center fielder on the club’s roster. A career .281/.342/.426 hitter at the Triple-A level in spite of playing in the Pacific Coast League’s inflated offensive environment, Teodosio is unlikely to offer much with the bat. Even so, he swiped 40 bases in 114 games last year and can provide plenty of value both defensively and on the bases for the club going forward.

Angels Acquire Oswald Peraza

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The Yankees have traded infielder Oswald Peraza to the Angels in exchange for outfield prospect Wilberson De Pena, as well as international bonus pool money. Both teams have announced the deal. To make room for Peraza, the Angels have designated Kevin Newman for assignment.

Peraza, now 25, signed with the Yankees as an international free agent in 2016, and as he rose through the ranks of their minor league system, he also rose up organizational prospect rankings. Entering the 2022 season, when he made his big league debut, he was a consensus top-100 prospect. He impressed during a cup of coffee that September, hitting .306 with a 145 wRC+, and was once again a top-100 prospect entering 2023. Since then, however, his stock has fallen fast. He has slashed .190/.262/.285 in 429 plate appearances from 2022-25, with seven home runs and nine stolen bases in 145 games. Spending time at second base, third base, and shortstop, he has graded out as an average-to-slightly-above-average defender, but his versatile glove has not been nearly enough to make up for his ineffective bat. His offensive numbers at Triple-A over the past few years have also been less than impressive.

After the Yankees traded for infielders Ryan McMahon and Amed Rosario last week, the clock began to tick on Peraza’s tenure with the club. Their deal to acquire José Caballero today was surely the final nail in the coffin, even though the Peraza trade was technically reported shortly before the Caballero agreement. The Yankees have revamped their infield and bench as part of their efforts to take down the Blue Jays to defend their AL East crown. A floundering former top prospect no longer fit into the picture.

Peraza is a textbook change-of-scenery candidate. The Angels acquire him with four years of team control remaining after 2025, although he is out of options. For now, he will offer them depth off the bench and a potential alternative to the slumping Luis Rengifo. If he impresses, he should be in the mix for the second or third base job next season, with Rengifo and Yoán Moncada set to hit free agency at the end of the year. On the other hand, if he continues to hit as poorly as he did with the Yankees, he’ll soon be staring down the barrel of a DFA.

Meanwhile, De Pena is a textbook example of a lottery-ticket prospect. The 18-year-old has not has not yet had much of a chance to make an impression in his professional career. He signed with the Angels as an international free agent last January and has spent the past two seasons as a corner outfielder in the Dominican Summer League. He has hit .211 with four home runs and five doubles in 31 games this year.

Newman signed with the Angels in the offseason on a one-year, $2.75MM guarantee. While he has never been known for his bat, he hit just well enough to offer some value as a utility infielder for the Pirates, Reds, and Diamondbacks from 2022-24. In 2025, however, he has hit just .202 with only four extra-base hits in 57 games. He has a .481 OPS and -0.7 FanGraphs WAR. Given his poor performance and the not-insignificant amount of money remaining on his contract, he is almost certain to pass through waivers, after which he is likely to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency.

Peraza to the Angels was first reported by Jack Curry of the YES Network. Joel Sherman of the New York Post added that the Yankees would receive De Pena and international bonus pool money in return.

Looking Ahead To Club Options: AL West

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Over the coming days, MLBTR will look at next offseason’s option class. Steve Adams highlighted the players who can opt out of their current deals, while we’ll take a division-by-division look at those whose contracts contain either team or mutual options. Virtually all of the mutual options will be bought out by one side. Generally, if the team is willing to retain the player at the option price, the player will decline his end in search of a better free agent deal.

We started with a look at the NL West yesterday. While every team in that division had at least one player whose deal contained a club or mutual option, its American League counterpart only has two teams that are slated to have any option decisions.

Athletics

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Houston Astros

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Los Angeles Angels

The Angels brought in Newman on a $2.75MM contract early last offseason. The contact-hitting infielder was coming off a solid .278/.311/.375 slash over 111 games in a utility role in Arizona. He added necessary shortstop depth with Zach Neto opening the season on the injured list after last fall’s shoulder surgery. Newman had a rough Spring Training, though, and the Angels went with minor league signee Tim Anderson as their primary shortstop until Neto’s return tonight.

Newman’s cold spring has carried into his early regular season work. He has managed three hits, all singles, without taking a walk in 23 trips to the plate. Newman has never walked much or hit for any kind of power, but he generally puts the ball in play and can move around the infield. Neto’s return means he won’t get much playing time at shortstop, while Kyren Paris and Luis Rengifo are respectively getting the majority of work at second and third base.

Note: José Quijada and Evan White each have club options on their respective contracts. They’ve both been outrighted off the 40-man roster and are very likely to be bought out. If they’re added back to the 40-man, the Angels would control both players via arbitration even if they decline the options.

Seattle Mariners

Garver’s two-year, $24MM contract remains the only multi-year deal that the Mariners have awarded to a free agent hitter under Jerry Dipoto’s leadership. It hasn’t gone well. While Garver’s injury history made that a somewhat risky investment, he looked like a good bet to hit whenever he was on the field. Garver was coming off a .270/.370/.500 showing for the Rangers during their World Series season, and he brought a career .252/.342/.483 batting line to T-Mobile Park.

The 34-year-old’s production tanked almost immediately. He managed a career-high 430 plate appearances last season, but it came with easily his worst rate stats in a full season. Garver hit .172/.286/.341 while striking out at a 31% rate. It wasn’t simply a product of Seattle’s pitcher-friendly park. His .186/.290/.324 line on the road wasn’t any better than his .153/.281/.363 showing at home. He doesn’t look to be on the verge of a rebound. Garver has begun this season with four singles, six walks, and zero extra-base hits across 34 trips to the plate.

The Mariners worked out an extension with the hard-throwing Muñoz during the 2021-22 offseason. He’d made all of one appearance in a Seattle uniform at the time. Muñoz had undergone Tommy John surgery while a member of the Padres in 2020. Seattle acquired him early in the rehab process. They believed he’d blossom into a late-game weapon. They were right.

Muñoz has rattled off three straight sub-3.00 ERA seasons since signing his extension. He has begun this year with 10 scoreless innings, recording 13 strikeouts with an AL-leading seven saves. He carries a 2.35 earned run average with a huge 34.7% strikeout rate over 184 frames in a Seattle uniform. This has quickly become one of the most team-friendly contracts in the game.

The option is essentially a lock unless he suffers a significant injury that’d cost him all of next season. The team has respective $8MM and $10MM options for 2027 and ’28, so they could keep him at below-market rates for three years. Next season’s option has a $6MM base value. It’d climb by $250K apiece if Muñoz finishes 20, 30, 40 and 45 games this year. He’s already at eight games finished and should get to 45 by season’s end. The option price will probably end up at $7MM, but it’s an easy call for the front office.

Polanco’s option begins as an $8MM mutual provision, but he can convert it to a player option if he hits a vesting threshold. If he reaches 450 plate appearances this season and avoids a lower half injury that’d require him to begin next season on the injured list — which is protection for the team given his recent knee concerns — it’d become a $6MM player option. Getting to 550 plate appearances this year would push the player option price to $8MM.

If Polanco does not hit the vesting threshold, it’d remain an $8MM mutual option with a $750K buyout. He has been dinged up by knee and side discomfort that has limited him but not prevented him from playing. The switch-hitting Polanco is currently unable to play the infield or hit right-handed in games. He’s a lefty-swinging designated hitter for now. Yet he’s been on such a tear that the Mariners will happily live with the limitations.

Polanco has connected on three homers and a pair of doubles through 13 games. He’s hitting .378. That not only leads the team but ranks sixth in the majors among hitters with at least 40 plate appearances. He’s obviously not going to keep up this pace, but Polanco was fairly consistently an above-average hitter during his run as Minnesota’s second baseman. The Mariners felt that last year’s career-worst production was attributable to the knee injury through which he played a good chunk of the season. Polanco has done his best to prove that right so far.

Texas Rangers

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Angels Sign Kevin Newman

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The Angels announced the signing of free agent infielder Kevin Newman on a one-year deal with a club option for 2026. The Halos designated catcher Matt Thaiss for assignment to create a 40-man roster spot. Newman, a Jonathan Weiss client, is reportedly guaranteed $2.75MM. That takes the form of a $2.5MM salary for next season and a $250K buyout on a $2.5MM club option for 2026. The Angels recently announced that shortstop Zach Neto could miss the start of the 2025 season following shoulder surgery.

Newman, 31, had a nice year in a utility role with the Diamondbacks in 2024. The former Pirates first-rounder hit .278/.311/.375 (89 wRC+) with plus defense at both middle infield spots. He also logged brief time at third base and in the outfield corners. He doesn’t provide any power (three homers, .097 ISO) or draw many walks (4.8%), but Newman also showed pesky contact skills, fanning in only 15.4% of his plate appearances. He’s a roughly average runner but has savvy enough instincts to have gone 30-for-35 in stolen base attempts over the past four seasons (85.7% success). Newman swiped eight bags in each of the past three seasons and peaked at a career-best 16 steals when he was given more playing time with the Pirates in 2019.

Even in the event that Neto is ready for Opening Day, Newman makes some sense as a pure bench option for an Angels club that’s lacking any sort of proven contributor. Former top prospect Scott Kingery is currently in line to hold a bench role. The only other infield options on the 40-man roster are Eric Wagaman, who debuted as a 27-year-old rookie in September, and former second-round pick Kyren Paris, who struggled immensely at Double-A, Triple-A and in the majors last season. Newman will add some necessary depth and raise the team’s floor with his track record of excellent glovework.

Newman can also provide the Halos with some depth in the event that oft-injured veteran Anthony Rendon again requires an absence of length. Newman has been better suited at the middle infield spots than at third base, but the Halos could shift Luis Rengifo to the hot corner if Rendon misses time and plug Newman in at second in his place.

While Newman doesn’t have a strong track record at the plate, he’s settled into a fairly specific range in terms of offensive output over the past three seasons. His 2024 output is a good approximation of what to expect. Dating back to 2022, he’s a .270/.313/.371 hitter in 873 plate appearances. It’s about 14% worse than average, by measure of wRC+, but when coupled with plus defense and above-average baserunning skills it’s enough to make Newman a useful role player who can help any club that’s short on infield depth — a description that currently fits the Angels to a tee.

Will Sammon and Sam Blum of the Athletic first reported the Angels and Newman were nearing a deal. Jon Heyman of the New York Post confirmed there was an agreement in place. Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reported the salary breakdown.

Angels Designate Matt Thaiss For Assignment

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The Angels have designated catcher Matt Thaiss for assignment, per Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times on X. That’s the corresponding move for the club signing infielder Kevin Newman, as was reported earlier.

Thaiss, 30 in May, now seems likely to depart the Angels for the first time in his professional career. He was their first round pick in 2016, getting selected 16th overall. Though he was a catcher in college, the Angels valued him more for his offensive abilities and immediately moved him to a corner infield role upon drafting him. He continued to show good talent with a bat in his hands as he worked his way towards the majors, hitting .279/.363/.445 for a 117 wRC+ across multiple minor league levels from 2016 to 2019.

But that production didn’t translate to the major leagues when he was promoted. He hit .202 /.291/.405 in 2019 and 2020, his first 189 plate appearances in the big leagues. The Halos had a fairly crowded group of guys battling for playing time at the infield corners and designated hitter back then, including Shohei Ohtani, Jared Walsh, Anthony Rendon and Albert Pujols, so they decided in 2021 to move Thaiss back behind the plate.

His major league offense still hasn’t developed as hoped. He’s now up to 771 career plate appearances with a .208/.313/.342 line, 29.3% strikeout rate and 83 wRC+. That’s actually not bad by backup catcher standards. Catchers overall tend to be roughly 10% below average at the plate, including a league-wide 91 wRC+ for backstops in 2024. But his defense hasn’t been especially well regarded, perhaps unsurprising for a guy who was away from the position for a few years.

On top of that lackluster performance, Thaiss has exhausted his option years, meaning he could no longer be easily sent to the minors. The Angels have seen Logan O’Hoppe emerge as their primary catcher and they just brought in Travis d’Arnaud to serve as a veteran complement for the next two years. Given all those factors, Thaiss was squeezed off the roster and perhaps to another club for the first time in his career.

DFA limbo can last up to a week but the waiver process takes 48 hours, meaning the Angels will have five days to see if there’s any trade interest from other teams. His major league track record is obviously not too impressive but it’s possible there will be interest regardless. Catching help is almost always in demand and it’s also possible some team thinks they can help Thaiss unlock something at the plate if they have him give up on the catching thing altogether. His 12.6% walk rate to this point in his career is quite strong, but he has struck out a lot and hasn’t done much damage when he does put the bat on the ball.

Thaiss just crossed three years of service time in 2024, meaning he’s eligible for arbitration for the first time this winter. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects him for a $1.3MM salary next year, not much above the $760K league minimum. If any club acquires him via trade or a waiver claim, he can theoretically be retained through 2027 via arbitration, though that coming to fruition would be contingent on him taking a step forward in terms of his performance.

Teams like the Rays, Blue Jays, Padres, Rockies, Marlins, Cubs, Reds, Braves and others could be on the lookout for catching help this offseason. If any of them view Thaiss as a viable option, they’ll be calling the Angels in the coming days. Or as mentioned, perhaps some club is intrigued enough by the walks or the minor league track record to view Thaiss as a potential late-blooming hitter.

Diamondbacks Designate Corbin Martin For Assignment

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The Diamondbacks announced this morning that they’ve designated right-hander Corbin Martin for assignment. Martin’s spot on the club’s 40-man roster will go to infielder Kevin Newman, whose contract has been selected to replace injured shortstop Geraldo Perdomo on the active roster as was reported earlier this morning.

Martin, 28, was a second-round pick by the Astros in the 2017 draft and is perhaps best known as one of the prospects Arizona acquired in the Zack Greinke trade at the 2019 trade deadline alongside first baseman Seth Beer, right-hander JB Bukauskas, and infielder Josh Rojas. What appeared at the time to be a strong return for the ace righty’s services proved to be underwhelming over time, as only Rojas made an impact for the Diamondbacks at the big league level. Now all four players acquired in the Greinke deal will no longer be a part of the Dbacks organization, unless Martin clears waivers and is assigned outright to the minor leagues.

The right-hander’s time with Arizona was fraught with injuries and ineffectiveness. Martin underwent Tommy John surgery shortly before being acquired by the Diamondbacks and as a result did not make his team debut until 2021, when he struggled to a 10.69 ERA (8.42 FIP) in 16 innings of work with the big league club. Those struggles were paired with additional injuries, as Martin spent the entire second half of 2021 on the injured list in the minor leagues. 2022 was more of the same as Martin pitched to a below-average 4.84 ERA and 4.59 FIP in seven appearances for the big league club and spent the majority of the season in the minors before once again being shut down due to injury in August of that year.

Martin’s struggles in a starting role and numerous injuries led the Diamondbacks to move him to the bullpen full time during Spring Training last year in an effort to keep the right-hander healthy, but those hopes were dashed just a month later when Martin suffered a lat tendon in his right shoulder that required surgery. Martin went on to miss the entire 2023 season. He’s made just two appearances at Triple-A Reno so far in 2024 and has allowed three runs on three walks and three hits (including a home run) in three innings of work while striking out three.

Moving forward, the Diamondbacks will have one week to waive, trade, or release Martin. It’s possible the right-hander’s previous prospect pedigree could earn him the interest of another club as a potential reclamation project, though his lengthy injury history and general ineffectiveness in the majors may keep rival clubs from dedicating a roster spot to the former top-100 talent. If Martin passes through waivers unclaimed, Arizona will have the opportunity to retain him in the organization as non-roster depth going forward. As for the club, the Dbacks still have the likes of Justin Martinez and Andrew Saalfrank available as depth options on the 40-man roster behind their current bullpen mix while Paul Sewald recovers from an oblique strain.

Diamondbacks’ Geraldo Perdomo Suffers Torn Meniscus

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Diamondbacks shortstop Geraldo Perdomo has a torn meniscus that will require surgery, per The Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro. The procedure will sideline Perdomo for at least a month. Piecoro suggests that rookie Blaze Alexander will get the lion’s share of playing time at shortstop while Perdomo is on the shelf, though he adds that the club is expected to select the contract of veteran Kevin Newman to replace Perdomo on the active roster. The club’s 40-man roster is currently full, meaning a corresponding move will be necessary to officially add Newman to the roster assuming Arizona doesn’t place Perdomo or another injured player on the 60-day IL,

Perdomo, 24, earned an All Star nod last year on the back of a strong first half that saw him slash an excellent .285/.388/.435 through the end of June, though he struggled the rest of the way with a line of just .205/.318/.280 after July 1. Even so, Perdomo’s switch-hitting bat offered the Diamondbacks roughly league average offense and defense overall last year in addition to strong baserunning that saw him go 16-for-20 on the basepaths. Perhaps most impressive was Perdomo’s plate discipline; he struck out just 17.4% of the time last year while walking at an excellent 12.9% clip, and those numbers largely held up even as his production cratered in the second half.

Those qualities were enough to earn Perdomo the nod as the club’s starting shortstop over top prospect Jordan Lawlar this spring. Unfortunately, Arizona will now be without both players as Lawlar is set to miss at least the first two months of the season after undergoing surgery on his thumb last month. The pair of injuries set the stage for Alexander, a 24-year-old who the club drafted in the 11th-round of the 2018 draft, to take over as the club’s starting shortstop for the time being.

Six games into his major league career, Alexander has held his own with an impressive .278/.350/.444 slash line in 20 trips to the plate while splitting time between shortstop and second base. A career .288/.408/.464 hitter at the Triple-A level, Alexander has posted walk rates above 10% consistently throughout his career despite struggling to make consistent contact but figures to offer a quality glove and decent on-base skills to the Diamondbacks at shortstop.

Should Alexander falter in his first run of regular playing time at the big league level, the Diamondbacks appear poised to turn to Newman. Once a first-round pick by the Pirates in the 2015 draft, the 30-year-old has generally been a below average hitter through his career, slashing a collective .259/.304/.358 (77 wRC+) in six seasons with Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. While those offensive numbers certainly leave something to be desired, Newman makes up for it with a 12% career strikeout rate, a roughly league average 96 wRC+ against lefties, and strong defense all around the infield. Newman should act as a right-handed complement to left-hitting bench piece Jace Peterson, who has struggled to a .553 OPS against southpaws in his career, once selected to the roster.

Diamondbacks Sign Kevin Newman To New Minors Contract

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TODAY: Newman re-signed with the Diamondbacks on a new minors deal, and was in the lineup for Triple-A Reno yesterday.

MARCH 27: Infielder Kevin Newman opted out of his minor league contract with the Diamondbacks, reports Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. He’s now a free agent and free to sign with any club in need of some infield depth.

Newman, 30, spent the 2023 season with the Reds and posted a .253/.311/.364 batting line in 253 plate appearances while shortstop, second base and third base. He’s spent the other five seasons of his career with the Pirates, who selected him 19th overall back in 2015. He had  the look of a potential big league regular back in 2019 when he hit .308/.353/.446 in 130 games, but that’s the only productive season of the former top prospect’s big league career to date. On the whole, he’s a .259/.304/.358 hitter who’s drawn mixed reviews for his glovework at shortstop and moved more into a utility role in recent seasons.

Those may be unappealing numbers overall, but the right-handed-hitting Newman is a solid .279/.336/.395 hitter against lefties to this point in his career. Paired with above-average speed and some defensive versatility, that could be enough to garner interest for clubs seeking some right-handed infield depth to round out their bench (or to stash in the upper minors).

On paper, there was a potential path to a bench spot for Newman in Arizona. Eugenio Suarez, Geraldo Perdomo and Ketel Marte are lined up at third base, shortstop and second base, respectively, but the bench options are more suspect. Veteran Jace Peterson has an infield/outfield role locked down because of his on-base skills, defense at third base, and his contract. Newman could’ve been a right-handed complement to the lefty-swinging Peterson, but it seems the Snakes will stick with out-of-options Emmanuel Rivera and perhaps prospect Blaze Alexander instead.

Diamondbacks To Sign Kevin Newman To Minor League Deal

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10:10am: It’s a minor league deal with a Spring Training invite, per Steve Gilbert of MLB.com.

8:59am: The Diamondbacks and infielder Kevin Newman are in agreement on a deal, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The specifics of the deal are not yet known.

Newman, 30, was a first-round pick by the Pirates in the 2015 draft and made his debut in Pittsburgh back in 2018 after being called up in late August. Newman appeared in 31 games for the club down the stretch but struggled badly in 97 trips to the plate, slashing just .209/.247/.231 during that time. Fortunately, Newman’s second taste of big league action went much better as the infielder posted the best season of his career in 2019. While acting as Pittsburgh’s regular shortstop, Newman slashed a solid .308/.353/.446 (109 wRC+) in 531 trips to the plate while striking out at a clip of just 11.7%.

Newman’s success did not last, however, as his offense cratered during the shortened 2020 season and his struggles at the plate continued into the 2021 season. While the Pirates stuck with Newman as their regular shortstop, he hit just .226/.268/.302 in a combined 726 trips to the plate across those two seasons. That production was good for a wRC+ of 52 that was 48% worse than league average and represents the worst slash line in the majors during that time among all regulars (min. 700 plate appearances). That weak production and a groin injury left Newman supplanted at shortstop by Oneil Cruz early in the 2022 season. Upon returning from injury in July and moving to second base, Newman provided the Pirates with decent production in the second half, slashing .279/.318/.371 (91 wRC+) in 257 trips to the plate from July 8 onward. Still, that improved production didn’t stop the Pirates from dealing Newman to Cincinnati last November in exchange for right-hander Dauri Moreta.

Joining the Reds ahead of the 2023 campaign left Newman to move into a part-time role as the club’s wave of young infielders including Matt McLain, Spencer Steer, and Elly De La Cruz took on regular roles throughout the season. Newman performed decently in his new role as a utility player, spending time at all four infield positions while slashing .253/.311/.364 (78 wRC+) in 253 trips to the plate, though his season was eventually cut short in mid-August by an oblique strain. The Reds then released Newman in late September, at which point he hit the open market.

The addition of Newman offers Arizona a high-contact bat capable of playing anywhere on the infield dirt. While his overall offensive profile leaves something to be desired, Newman’s ability to avoid strikeouts gives him value as a pinch-hitting option off the bench. Just 19 players with at least 200 plate appearances last season posted a strikeout rate lower than Newman’s 13.4% figure, and his career strikeout rate of 12% ranks sixth among active players with at least 1500 plate appearances since the start of 2018 season. That places him in rarefied air alongside the likes of Jeff McNeil, David Fletcher, and Yuli Gurriel.

Newman figures to continue in a utility role with the club. Though the details of his contract with the reigning NL champions are not yet available, Newman appears likely to battle with fellow utilityman Jace Peterson and infielder Emmanuel Rivera for a spot on the club’s bench this spring. Newman is the only member of that trio capable of playing shortstop, a fact that could give him a leg up even in spite of his relatively meager offensive production as he would likely serve as the club’s primary back-up to Gerlado Perdomo in the event that top prospect Jordan Lawler begins the season at Triple-A.

Reds Release Kevin Newman

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TODAY: The Reds have released Kevin Newman, the team announced. He is now a free agent.

SEPTEMBER 25: The Reds have reinstated Kevin Newman from the injured list and designated the utility infielder for assignment, the team announced. The 30-year-old had been nursing an oblique strain since mid-August.

Across 74 games in his first season with Cincinnati, Newman played all four infield positions, providing valuable depth to a Reds team that has dealt with its fair share of injuries. While his offensive numbers were underwhelming (.253/.311/.364), they were almost identical to his career stat line, so it’s not as if he underperformed expectations. However, with a glut of infielders on the active roster, the Reds no longer had a role for Newman to play. Joey Votto, Jonathan India, and Nick Senzel are healthy, and rookies Spencer Steer, Elly De La Cruz, Noelvi Marte, and Christian Encarnacion-Strand have all earned spots on the big league roster. Matt McLain is nearing his return from the injured list as well.

Cincinnati now has an open spot on the 40-man roster, so the team could be planning an additional move before tomorrow’s game against the Guardians.

The Reds acquired Newman this past offseason in a trade with the Pirates, sending relief pitcher Dauri Moreta to Pittsburgh. The right-hander has performed well this season in a middle-relief role, posting a 4.02 ERA and 3.45 SIERA in 51 appearances.

Cincinnati will have to place Newman on waivers in the coming days, but with less than a week to go in the regular season, it’s highly unlikely he will get claimed. If indeed he passes through waivers, he has enough service time to reject an outright assignment to the minor leagues in favor of free agency.

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