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Logan Porter

Giants’ Logan Porter Triggers Opt-Out Clause

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Catcher Logan Porter has triggered an opt-out clause in his minor league deal with the Giants, reports Ari Alexander of KPRC-2. San Francisco has 48 hours to either add Porter to its 40-man roster or trade him to another team that will do so. He’ll become a free agent if neither happens.

Porter, 29, made his big league debut with the Royals in 2023 but appeared in only 11 games and took 38 plate appearances. He hit .194/.323/.324 in that brief cup of coffee. He became a free agent at season’s end, and Kansas City re-signed him to a minor league deal over the winter. However, he was traded to the Giants earlier this season in exchange for cash or a player to be named later.

While Porter’s small-sample numbers in the bigs last year aren’t going to turn any heads, he’s slashing a combined .293/.390/.500 in 223 plate appearances between the Triple-A affiliates for the Royals and Giants. He’s also nabbed a solid 26% of runners who’ve tried to steal against him (11-for-43). In parts of three Triple-A seasons, Porter is a .260/.373/.424 hitter with a 24.6% strikeout rate and a huge 14.6% walk rate.

The Giants don’t have a dire need for catching help in the majors, not with former first-round pick Patrick Bailey in the midst of a breakout year. Bailey debuted in 2023 and quickly established himself as perhaps the game’s premier defender behind the dish but did so while posting a tepid .233/.285/.359 batting line. This year, he’s erupted with a .283/.354/.430 slash that checks in 25% better than league-average, by measure of wRC+. That massive step forward has cemented Bailey as the franchise’s catcher of the future.

Backing up Bailey is veteran Curt Casali, who’s in his second stint with the team. The 35-year-old isn’t hitting much, just .220/.350/.260 in 61 plate appearances, so it’s at least possible the Giants could look at Porter as a potential upgrade. If not, the opt-out clause ensures that the league’s other 29 clubs will have the chance to bring him aboard. Even if no club is interested in putting Porter directly onto its 40-man roster, there’s still value in taking the opt-out and exploring opportunities. A team with a less-entrenched starting catcher or a club that’s planning to trade away some big league catching help could offer Porter a more realistic path to the big leagues on a new minor league contract.

Giants Acquire Logan Porter From Royals

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The Royals announced via their player development account on X that they have traded catcher Logan Porter to the Giants for cash considerations or a player to be named later. Porter was not on the Royals’ 40-man roster and won’t need to be added to that of the Giants.

Porter, now 28, has a small amount of major league experience. He got into 11 games for the Royals last year while both Salvador Perez and Freddy Fermin were battling injuries. Porter hit just .194/.324/.323 in his 38 plate appearances. He was non-tendered after the season and re-signed on a minor league deal.

He has generally performed well in the minor leagues but slumped last year, though he now seems to be back in good form here in 2024. From 2018 to 2022, he hit .293/.428/.497 across various minor league levels, drawing walks 16.6% of the time while being struck out at just a 21.9% rate.

Last year, his batting line fell to .232/.339/.377 in 110 Triple-A contests, but he’s cranked that up to .319/.428/.575 in 32 games this year. He isn’t going to maintain a .400 batting average on balls in play forever but he has six home runs and is drawing walks at a 15.9% clip. His overall production this year translates to a 157 wRC+, indicating he’s been 57% above league average.

Porter would have had a hard time making it back to the majors with the Royals this year, with Fermin and Perez healthy. The club also has Austin Nola on the 40-man roster and on optional assignment, as well as having Brian O’Keefe around as non-roster depth. It seems they decided to give Porter a path to playing time elsewhere while perhaps pocketing a bit of cash.

For the Giants, they have been playing a bit of musical chairs at the catcher position this year. Offseason signee Tom Murphy has a significant knee sprain and an uncertain future. It was about six weeks ago that a timeline of four to six weeks was provided but there hasn’t been an update since then and he hasn’t started a rehab assignment. Patrick Bailey missed some time on the concussion injured list but has been back for about three weeks now. Curt Casali has replaced Murphy as Bailey’s backup but is hitting just .161/.297/.161 this year. Blake Sabol is on optional assignment but plays other positions. Jakson Reetz got a brief look while both Bailey and Murphy were hurt but has since been removed from the 40-man.

There are a lot of moving parts in that group but it’s possible Porter will be the next man up if there’s an injury or if Casali keeps struggling. If Porter gets a roster spot, he has a full slate of options and won’t be able to get to one-year of service time this year.

Royals Sign Four To Minor League Contracts

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The Royals announced that right-hander Luis Cessa, left-hander Austin Cox, catcher Logan Porter, and outfielder Diego Hernandez have all been signed to minor league deals.  Cessa is a newcomer to the organization, while Cox, Hernandez, and Porter are making quick returns after being non-tendered yesterday.

Best known for his team with the Yankees as a starter, reliever, and swingman, Cessa had a 2.51 over 64 2/3 bullpen innings with New York and Cincinnati during the 2021 season.  Cessa moved back into swingman work in 2022 with mixed results (a 4.57 ERA), and things went south for the right-hander in 2023.  Pressed into rotation work at the start of the year, Cessa struggled to a 9.00 ERA over 26 innings and was released by the Reds in May.  That marked the end of Cessa’s big league work last year, as he caught on with the Rockies and Nationals on minor league contracts but continued to struggle badly at Triple-A.

Cessa’s career 4.43 ERA and 4.41 SIERA are virtually identical, so the righty hasn’t exactly gotten away with a lack of missed bats throughout his career.  Cessa has gotten by with some good whiff and chase rates despite the low strikeout totals, and he had been good at limiting heavy contact in the form of barrels prior to 2023.  Control had also never really been an issue for Cessa prior to 2023, yet his walk rates crept upwards at both the MLB and minor league levels, leaving him even less margin for error.

The 31-year-old will try to get on track with the Royals, who need pitching of all kinds whether in the rotation or bullpen.  Since Kansas City isn’t expected to be a big spender this winter, it seems likely that the team will look to bring any number of veteran arms into camp on minor league or low-cost deals, in the hopes that at least a couple of them could break out and win jobs on the Opening Day roster.

None of Cox, Porter, or Hernandez were eligible for salary arbitration, but Cox and Porter were designated for assignment this past week and ultimately cut to open up some space on Kansas City’s 40-man roster.  In Hernandez’s case, the outfielder will return for his sixth season in the Royals’ farm system, and will probably start 2024 back at Double-A.

Cox made his MLB debut in 2023, posting a 4.54 ERA over 35 2/3 innings before his rookie year came to an unfortunately early end.  Cox tore his ACL while trying to cover first base during a fielding play in the Royals’ game with the Blue Jays on September 8, and he’ll now miss most or all of the 2024 season in recovery.  It seems quite possible that a handshake deal was in place for Cox to rejoin the Royals, as he was only DFA’ed yesterday and quickly passed through waivers, so he’ll now get to rehab in a familiar environment.

Porter was another 2023 debut, as he had a .647 OPS in 38 plate appearances over his first 11 games in the Show.  An undrafted free agent who signed with the Royals in 2018, Porter hit .248/.367/.394 over 594 PA at Triple-A over the last two seasons, and should again serve as a depth option at the minor league level behind the Royals’ big league catching tandem of Salvador Perez and Freddy Fermin.

American League Non-Tenders: 11/17/23

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The deadline to tender a contract to arbitration-eligible players is tonight at 7:00pm CT. Here’s a rundown of the players on American League teams that have been non-tendered today. This post will be updated as more decisions are revealed. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected salaries for all players eligible for arbitration last month. All players who are non-tendered before this evening’s deadline go directly into free agency, where they’re eligible to sign with any of MLB’s 30 clubs.

Onto the transactions…

Latest Moves

  • Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports that the Rays non-tendered righty Cooper Criswell. He’d been designated for assignment on Tuesday.
  • The Mariners announced this evening that the club has non-tendered first baseman Mike Ford. Ford hit well (.228/.323/.475) in 83 games with Seattle this season but had already been designated for assignment earlier this week.
  • The Yankees announced this evening that the club has non-tendered right-handers Albert Abreu and Lou Trivino in addition to left-hander Anthony Misiewicz. Trivino didn’t pitch in the majors this season after undergoing Tommy John surgery back in May. Abreu pitched to a 4.73 ERA and 5.26 FIP across 59 innings of work while Misiewicz posted a 7.36 ERA across 11 innings of work for the Diamondbacks, Yankees, and Tigers.
  • The Twins have non-tendered left-hander Jovani Moran and right-hander Ronny Henriquez, per Dan Hayes of The Athletic. Moran finished the season on the injured list and, per Hayes, will require Tommy John surgery this offseason. Henriquez did not appear in the majors this year and struggled to a 5.68 ERA in 37 appearances at the Triple-A level.
  • The Angels announced this evening that they have non-tendered right-hander Jose Marte. Marte had gotten brief looks out of Anaheim’s bullpen across the past three seasons but struggled to a 8.14 ERA in 24 1/3 combined innings of work over those cups of coffee.
  • The Red Sox have non-tendered right-hander Wyatt Mills, according to Chris Cotillo of MassLive. Mills, 28, did not appear in the big leagues this year and underwent Tommy John surgery over the summer.

Earlier Moves

  • The Rangers announced this evening that they have non-tendered right-hander Matt Bush and left-hander Brett Martin. Bush, 37, struggled to a 9.58 ERA with the Brewers this year and did not make an appearance with Texas. Martin missed the entire 2023 campaign with shoulder issues.
  • The Royals announced this evening that they have non-tendered outfielder Diego Hernandez, left-hander Austin Cox, catcher Logan Porter and right-hander Josh Staumont. All but Hernandez had already been designated for assignment by the club earlier this week. Hernandez has yet to appear in the majors during his career and slashed .245/.302/.291 in 60 games at the Double-A level this season.
  • The Athletics announced today that they did not tender a contract to infielder Kevin Smith. Smith joined the club in the trade that sent Matt Chapman to Toronto and slashed just .182/.218/.314 in 297 trips to the plate with Oakland over the last two seasons.
  • The Blue Jays are expected to non-tender right-hander Adam Cimber this evening, per Ari Alexander of Houston’s KPRC-2. A veteran of six MLB seasons, the 32-year-old Cimber struggled badly in 2023 with a 7.40 ERA in 22 appearances despite a strong 2.53 ERA in 149 appearances with Toronto between 2021 and 2022.

Royals Designate Logan Porter, Josh Staumont For Assignment

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The Royals announced that they have selected right-hander Will Klein and outfielder Tyler Gentry to the 40-man roster. Today is the deadline to add players in order to prevent them from being available in the Rule 5 draft. In order to open roster space, they designated catcher Logan Porter and right-hander Josh Staumont for assignment.

Klein, 24 later this month, was a fifth-round pick in the 2020 draft. On his way up the minors leagues, he has racked up plenty of strikeouts and ground balls but has also given out batches of walks. In 2023, he pitched 64 1/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A with a 4.62 earned run average. He struck out 30.5% of opponents in that time but also walked 12.8% of them and kept about 45% of balls in play on the ground at both levels.

Gentry, 25 in February, was selected in the third round of the 2020 draft. As he has ascended towards the majors, he has shown an ability to put the ball over the fence as well as take a walk. He spent all of 2023 at the Triple-A level, hitting 16 homers, walking in 14.2% of his plate appearances and also stealing 14 bases. His .253/.370/.421 batting line translates to a wRC+ of 103. He’s not considered an especially strong defender but has a chance to become a regular option in a corner based on his bat.

Baseball America considers Gentry to be the club’s #9 prospect and has Klein in the #22 spot. The two of them will give the club some optionable depth going forward and should be battling for their respective major league debuts by Spring Training.

But their gain is a loss for a couple of other players. Staumont, 30 next month, was a second-round pick in 2015 and had some success in his first tastes of the majors but has hit some speed bumps of late. He made 106 appearances from 2019 to 2021 with an ERA of 2.93 but a 6.09 in the past two years, walking 15.9% of batters in that latter timeframe.

In July, he underwent surgery to address thoracic outlet syndrome, making his path forward uncertain. He made a salary of $1.025MM in 2023 and would have been due a raise via arbitration in 2024, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting him for a modest bump to $1.2MM, but it seems the Royals didn’t want to bring him back at that price point.

Porter, 28, was just added to the club’s roster in September as they were dealing with injuries to catchers Salvador Perez and Freddy Fermin. It seems they didn’t have him in their long-term plans, as he’s now been bumped off the roster. He had a strong season in 2022, hitting .301/.442/.476 in the minors for a wRC+ of 145, but that line fell to .232/.339/.377 at Triple-A in 2023.

The Royals will have one week to trade or outright both players. Staumont has more than enough service time to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency.

Royals Outright Tyler Cropley

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Sept. 13: Cropley passed through waivers unclaimed and has been assigned outright to Triple-A Omaha, the Royals announced Wednesday. He’ll remain in the organization, as he does not have the prior outright or three years of MLB service needed to reject an assignment.

Sept. 11: The Royals announced that catcher Tyler Cropley has been designated for assignment. His roster spot will go to Logan Porter, whose upcoming promotion was reported yesterday.

The club has Salvador Perez as its main backstop but was also giving plenty of playing time to Freddy Fermin this year, with Perez spending some time at first base of late. Unfortunately, Fermin suffered a fracture in his right middle finger, forcing the Royals to find another backup. MJ Melendez came up as a catcher but doesn’t seem to be considered a realistic option there. Back in May, manager Matt Quatraro said they were going to keep him in the outfield in order to let him focus on his hitting and he hasn’t been behind the plate since.

Cropley had his contract selected on the weekend but has now been quickly designated for assignment without getting into a game, replaced by Porter. Prior to being selected Cropley was in Double-A while Porter was in Triple-A. On the surface, it’s a strange move to have added Cropley before Porter and then pivot two days later, but it’s possible it’s related to the schedule. The Royals were in Toronto this weekend and it has been speculated that Cropley had his passport ready to go while Porter did not. That’s not confirmed but it would make sense of why Cropley was selected and then quickly removed from the roster once the club crossed back over the Canadian border.

Whatever the reasons, Cropley got a very brief taste of major league life, albeit as a passive observer. Since the trade deadline has now passed, he will be placed on waivers in the coming days. In 43 Double-A games this year, he’s hit .234/.329/.359 for a wRC+ of 86.

Royals To Select Logan Porter

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The Royals are set to select the contract of catcher of Logan Porter, reports Ari Alexander of KPRC 2. The Royals have a full 40-man roster, so a corresponding move will be necessary to clear space for Porter.

The news is a triumph for Porter, 28, who joined the Royals organization as an undrafted free agent back in 2018. Porter broke out at the Double-A level last year, slashing .301/.437/.487 while acting as the team’s starting catcher. That garnered him a promotion to Triple-A late in the year, though his numbers since being promoted late last year have been closer to solid than excellent; in 144 career games at Triple-A, Porter has slashed .250/.370/.398. That includes a downturn in production this year at the plate that’s seen him hit just .235/.342/.381 in 109 plate appearances with a career-high 25.2% strikeout rate, though he’s still walking at an impressive 13.5% clip.

With youngster MJ Melendez not having played behind the plate since April and Freddy Fermin on the injured list due to a fractured finger, the Royals have an opening at catcher on their roster as they look for someone to share time with veteran backstop Salvador Perez behind the plate. While Perez plays most days, he’s split time at first base in recent months, opening up additional starts behind the plate for his backup.

The Royals selected Double-A catcher Tyler Cropley to the big league roster yesterday, though he has yet to make it into a game. It’s not yet clear whether the Royals will employ three catchers with each of Cropley and Porter spelling Perez behind the plate, or if Porter’s impending selection could spell the end of Cropley’s time with the big league club. In addition to Porter’s experience at the Triple-A level, where Cropley has not yet appeared in his career, Cropley’s offensive performance this season has been far below Porter’s, as the 27-year-old has slashed just .235/.329/.359 in 43 games at Double-A this season.

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