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Nick Kingham

Minor MLB Transactions: 7/21/19

By Mark Polishuk | July 21, 2019 at 11:52pm CDT

The latest minor moves from around baseball…

  • The Blue Jays outrighted Nick Kingham to Triple-A after the right-handed cleared waivers, according to a team announcement.  Kingham was acquired from the Pirates in mid-June, and he posted a 3.50 ERA over 18 relief innings for Toronto before being designated for assignment earlier this week.  Formerly a top-100 prospect during his time in Pittsburgh’s farm system, Kingham has only a 6.23 ERA over 128 2/3 career frames at the big league level.
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Toronto Blue Jays Transactions Nick Kingham

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Blue Jays Designate Nick Kingham For Assignment

By Steve Adams | July 18, 2019 at 10:27am CDT

The Blue Jays announced on Thursday that they’ve designated right-hander Nick Kingham for assignment. His spot on the active roster will go to lefty Thomas Pannone, who was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo and will start today’s game. The move leaves Toronto with an open spot on the 40-man roster.

Kingham, 27, was once a well-regarded prospect with the Pirates but made his way to Toronto via trade earlier this year after Pittsburgh designated him for assignment. The out-of-options righty struggled tremendously with the Bucs, leaving the organization with little choice but to make a move. Kingham fared considerably better in 18 innings with the Jays, pitching to a 3.50 ERA with 12 strikeouts against seven walks (one intentional. However, the alarming home run issues that plagued Kingham in his final season with the Pirates carried over in Toronto. He served up four homers as a Blue Jay.

Toronto will now have a week to trade Kingham, release him or pass him through outright waivers. He’s never cleared waivers in the past, nor does he have three years of MLB service time, so if Kingham does clear, he can be outrighted to Triple-A and remain with the club without occupying a spot on the 40-man roster. It’s not out of the question that another organization will want to try its hand at straightening out the long-promising right-hander, though. If he does land with another club, he’ll need to stick on the big league roster due to the aforementioned lack of minor league options.

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Toronto Blue Jays Transactions Nick Kingham

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Blue Jays Acquire Nick Kingham

By Mark Polishuk | June 13, 2019 at 3:16pm CDT

The Blue Jays have acquired right-hander Nick Kingham from the Pirates for cash considerations, as announced by both teams.  Ryan Tepera has been shifted to the 60-day injured list to create room on Toronto’s roster.

Kingham was designated for assignment this week, effectively ending almost a full decade in Pittsburgh’s organization for the righty.  Kingham was a fourth-round pick in the 2010 draft and has long been considered one of the more promising arms both in the Bucs’ farm system and in baseball as a whole, appearing on top-100 prospect lists prior to both the 2014 and 2015 seasons.  Tommy John surgery in 2015 delayed his progress, though he still amassed a 3.46 ERA, 3.17 K/BB rate, and 7.7 K/9 over 766 1/3 career innings in the minors, starting 142 of his 147 games.

As a big-leaguer, Kingham flirted with history when he carried a perfect game into the seventh inning during his MLB debut back on April 29, 2018.  Overall, however, Kingham has struggled to find consistency in the Show, posting a 6.67 ERA that has been boosted by 25 homers allowed over 110 2/3 innings, though he has a higher strikeout rate (8.2 K/9) in the majors than in the minors, albeit over a much smaller sample size.

Though the Pirates are far from deep in starting pitching options, it seems like they were simply ready to move on from the 27-year-old Kingham, who now gets a chance on a Blue Jays team that is in even more desperate need of rotation help.  The Jays rank at or near the bottom of the league in most starting pitching categories, and will need even more starters on hand to fill the void if/when Marcus Stroman and Aaron Sanchez are both moved before the July 31st trade deadline.  Kingham could get a shot in the rotation immediately (which could mean the end of struggling veteran Edwin Jackson’s time in Toronto) or he could throw out of the bullpen as a long man until a trade or until the Jays decide a change needs to be made.

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Pirates Rumors: Kingham, Keller, Outfield, Vazquez

By Steve Adams | June 10, 2019 at 9:26am CDT

The Pirates’ rotation in 2019 has been unexpectedly weak. Injuries to Jameson Taillon and Trevor Williams and some alarming regression for Chris Archer have overshadowed solid performances by Joe Musgrove and offseason signee Jordan Lyles. Longtime prospect Nick Kingham entered the year out of minor league options and struggled so greatly that the team begrudgingly designated him for assignment last week and now seems likely to lose the righty.

Pittsburgh isn’t currently certain who’ll start for the organization on Wednesday this week, but general manager Neal Huntington told reporters that the Pirates will “look externally” to see if there are any palatable options available (links via Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Adam Berry of MLB.com). Top prospect Mitch Keller is a candidate to make that start, but the Bucs have already recalled and optioned Keller once this season. The next time Keller is called up to the Majors, Huntington noted, the team would like it to be a permanent promotion. Adding an external option would allow the team to give Keller a bit more time in Triple-A, where he has 100 1/3 total innings since last season, but the Bucs won’t find a more talented option than Keller to plug in for that Wednesday outing.

In the meantime, the Pirates will explore the trade market to see what kind of interest there is in Kingham. Huntington noted that players with that type of prospect pedigree “tend to get traded” if they’re designated for assignment and expressed optimism that he will “be able to get something for him” even in spite of his considerable 2019 struggles. Kingham allowed an incredible 38 runs on 54 hits and 17 walks in 34 2/3 innings to begin the 2019 season, but he has a solid Triple-A track record and was long viewed as a potential big league starter. A rebuilding club like the Orioles, Blue Jays, Tigers, Royals or Giants could be intrigued by seeing how he fares in a change of scenery. An injury-plagued team like the Angels or Athletics could make some sense, too.

Perhaps a more intriguing source of trade speculation surrounding the Pirates, however, resides in the outfield. Corey Dickerson returned from the IL to join a mix that already had Bryan Reynolds, Starling Marte and Melky Cabrera playing well. Gregory Polanco has posted roughly average numbers at the plate since returning from shoulder surgery and has a solid track record prior to this season. With all five healthy, it’ll be tough to sort out playing time Huntington unsurprisingly declined to go into specifics but did at least acknowledge the possibility of a trade, stating that while the Pirates like all five outfielder, they’re “always open to opportunities to make this club better.”

That said, with the team slipping in the National League Central, it’s only natural that there’ll be increased speculation about the possibility of trades in the coming weeks — particularly when dealing from a position of strength like the outfield. Moving an outfielder, even to another contender (probably not within the division) could potentially net some help for a pitching staff that hasn’t performed up to expectations so far. If the Pirates surge back into contention — they’re seven back in the NL Central and five and a half back of a Wild Card spot — moving a short-term piece like Dickerson for another veteran could boost the staff. If their slide in the standings worsens, the Bucs could even entertain offers on Marte, who is controlled through 2021 by way of a pair of club options ($11.5MM in 2020, $12.5MM in 2021). Doing so could reap prospect value while opening a long-term spot for the cost-controlled Reynolds.

Also of interest in a selling scenario would be whether the Pirates make standout closer Felipe Vazquez available, but the fact that he is cheaply controlled through the 2023 season would make it extremely difficult to bite the bullet on a deal. “The ask will be big, and they won’t move from it,” one rival executive told ESPN’s Buster Olney when asked about a potential Vazquez deal (subscription required).

That’s probably an understatement. Vazquez has a 2.30 ERA with 14.2 K/9, 2.6 BB/9, 0.99 HR/9 and a 34.4 percent ground-ball rate in 27 1/3 innings so far in 2019. He’s being paid $4MM this year, $5.25MM in 2020 and $7.25MM in 2021 before the team will be able to decide on a pair of club options in 2022 and 2023 — both valued at $10MM. That’s four and a half seasons of control over Vazquez, who’ll turn 28 in July, for a shade under $35MM.

For the time being, it’s likely that the Bucs will find some kind of deal for Kingham (or that he’ll be claimed on waivers) and monitor the market for at least a potential spot-start option Wednesday. There’s sure to be more afoot over the next several weeks, as the Pirates will soon have to give a long-term audition to one of the game’s best overall prospects (Keller) and perhaps resolve an outfield logjam on the trade market. Whether that move is made with an eye toward 2019 or an eye toward 2020 and beyond will probably be dictated by the team’s performance in the near term.

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Pittsburgh Pirates Bryan Reynolds Corey Dickerson Felipe Vazquez Gregory Polanco Melky Cabrera Mitch Keller Nick Kingham Starling Marte

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Pirates Designate Nick Kingham For Assignment

By Ty Bradley | June 8, 2019 at 2:14pm CDT

Among a slew of roster moves this afternoon, the Pirates have designated former top-100 prospect Nick Kingham for assignment. The 27-year-old, who established residence on Pirates top ten lists for much of the decade, has been largely ineffective in 110 big-league innings since his MLB debut last summer.

Kingham’s main issue has been the gopher ball – he’s allowed over two per nine over that stretch – but the 6’5 righty’s also struggled to command the ball and keep it on the ground. His 91.4 average fastball velocity is down from the 92-94 MPH reported range in which he sat before his 2015 Tommy John surgery, and Kingham’s swinging strike rates and overall contact percentage against have also been trending in the wrong direction of late. He still sports some affinity for bat-missing, though, so it’s likely another organization will swoop in and attempt to nab the potential reclamation project.

The Pirate staff, currently minus Jameson Taillon, Trevor Williams, Keone Kela, Nick Burdi, and Chris Stratton, was thin to begin and is now almost in shambles. Both Chris Archer and Joe Musgrove have been hammered in recent weeks, and the S.O.S. calls for Kingham, Steven Brault, and Rookie Davis were met mostly with deaf ears.  The club may need to turn for good to top prospect Mitch Keller, who’s lately been lights out for AAA-Indianapolis, and hope for unlikely production from any number of sources if it’s to stay afloat in a very competitive NL Central.

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Pittsburgh Pirates Transactions Nick Kingham

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Pirates Notes: Deadline, Rotation, Middle Infield, Bullpen

By Connor Byrne | June 17, 2018 at 7:16pm CDT

The Pirates have fallen to earth since a solid start and now sit a game below .500 (35-36), but general manager Neal Huntington told reporters before Sunday’s loss to the Reds that he still has a buyer’s mindset as the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline approaches. “We’ve had more conversations about adding players at this point in time than we’ve had about subtracting players,” Huntington said (via Adam Berry of MLB.com), adding that “our intent is to continue to give this club every chance in the world to show us that we can continue to do the things that we did the first six weeks, eight weeks to put ourselves nine games over and that we can dig out of this hole that we’ve dug ourselves over this tough stretch of 30 days.” The Pirates are sitting in fourth place in a tough NL Central, seven games behind first-place Milwaukee, but they’re only 3 1/2 out of a wild-card spot. With several playoff-contending teams on their schedule in the next several weeks, the Bucs will have an opportunity to make up ground on their competitors and end up as buyers. But if the Pirates drop out of the hunt pre-deadline, they could ultimately market some of their shorter-term players, as Jon Morosi of MLB.com reported this week.

More from Pittsburgh…

  • Right-hander Trevor Williams has scuffled of late, as he recorded a 5.51 ERA in May and then allowed seven earned runs in six innings in his only June start thus far. Nevertheless, there aren’t any plans to pull him from Pittsburgh’s rotation and replace him with impressive rookie Nick Kingham, who’s currently in the minors, Huntington said (via Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). “Our focus with Trevor right now is to get that secondary stuff back to being effective, to get the four- and the two-seam fastball command back to being effective, and [we] believe that we’re going to be able to do that and work from there,” stated Huntington, who noted it’s unfortunate for Kingham that “we’ve got six guys that we believe can help us win major league games as starting pitchers right now.” In Huntington’s estimation, that group includes the 26-year-old Williams, who, to his credit, has been a respectable starter since debuting in 2016. Williams has combined for 216 innings of 4.15 ERA ball and posted 6.6 K/9 against 2.95 BB/9 in 40 starts.
  • The Pirates are considering promoting middle infield prospects Kevin Newman and Kevin Kramer, but call-ups don’t seem imminent, Brink suggests. Starting middle infielders Josh Harrison (second base) and Jordy Mercer (shortstop) have been reasonably effective, and Huntington expressed confidence in reserve Sean Rodriguez, even though he has hit just .159/.286/299 in 126 plate appearances. Playing time would be hard to come by for the prospects, then, and the Pirates don’t want to promote them unless they’re going to see regular action. Both Newman, MLB.com’s seventh-ranked Pirates prospect, and Kramer (No. 8) have logged above-average production at the Triple-A level this season. Neither Newman nor Kramer is on the Bucs’ already full 40-man roster, though, which stands as another roadblock in the way of the “Seinfeld” tandem.
  • More from Brink, who writes that Huntington took some of the blame Sunday for the woes of Pittsburgh’s bullpen. “The general manager didn’t give the manager a legitimate eighth-inning guy or seventh-inning guy, speaking in conventional terms,” said Huntington, whose team entered Sunday tied for 25th in the majors in bullpen ERA (4.56). As Brink points out, the Pirates’ season-opening plan to have Michael Feliz and George Kontos set up closer Felipe Vazquez didn’t work. Feliz, whom the Bucs acquired over the winter from Houston as part of the teams’ Gerrit Cole trade, has registered a 6.18 ERA over 27 2/3 innings. And Kontos managed a subpar 5.03 mark in 19 2/3 frames before the Pirates released him last month.
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NL Notes: Darvish, Pirates, Marlins

By Connor Byrne | June 10, 2018 at 2:38pm CDT

The Cubs are unsure if injured right-hander Yu Darvish will return before next month’s All-Star break, manager Joe Maddon told Patrick Mooney of The Athletic and other reporters Sunday. Darvish has been on the shelf for two weeks with right tricep tendinitis, and even though he doesn’t have any structural damage, he’ll end up sitting out nearly two months (if not even more time) if he doesn’t come back prior to the July 17 All-Star Game. Of course, in an ideal world for Darvish and the Cubs, he’d be representing the team in the Midsummer Classic after landing a six-year, $126MM guarantee in free agency over the winter. Instead, not only has Darvish endured multiple DL stints (one for the flu), but the 31-year-old has posted a career-worst 4.95 ERA/4.80 FIP over 40 innings when he has taken the mound.

Here’s more from the NL…

  • The Pirates activated righty Ivan Nova from the disabled list and optioned fellow righty Nick Kingham to Triple-A prior to Sunday’s game. Nova returned after a finger injury shelved him for two weeks. His presence is unfortunate for Kingham, who continued his strong rookie season Saturday with 6 1/3 innings of two-run ball in a loss to the Cubs. Overall, the 26-year-old Kingham has pitched to a 3.82 ERA with 35 strikeouts against seven walks in 35 1/3 innings (six starts).
  • Additionally, the Pirates optioned utility player Adam Frazier to make room for the addition of catcher Jacob Stallings from Triple-A. It’s a somewhat surprising demotion for Frazier, who offered league-average offensive production (.283/.347/.402) over 614 plate appearances from 2016-17 while seeing action at several positions. Frazier’s defensive versatility has continued this year, as he has lined up at second base and all three outfield spots, but his batting line has fallen to .237/.318/.356 in 152 PAs.
  • More on the Pirates, who promoted veteran infielder Jung Ho Kang from Single-A to Triple-A on Sunday, Liz Bloom of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. It’s an important development for Kang, who was a quality regular with the Bucs from 2015-16 but hasn’t played in the majors since then because of off-field problems. Kang racked up his his third DUI in his homeland of South Korea during the 2016-17 offseason, and he’s still on the restricted list as a result. Unsurprisingly, Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said in April that Kang is likely down to “his last chance with us.”
  • The Marlins have removed Stan Meek as their vice president of scouting, according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports. Meek was a confidant of previous owner Jeffrey Loria, having worked under him in Montreal before following him to Florida in 2002. The Marlins’ Meek-led drafts were “disastrous” in recent years, Passan observes, though Jon Heyman of FanRag points out that he did have some hits during his tenure in Giancarlo Stanton, Jose Fernandez, Christian Yelich and J.T. Realmuto. Given that Meek is signed through next season, he could stay in the organization in a different role, Heyman writes.
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Chicago Cubs Miami Marlins Pittsburgh Pirates Adam Frazier Ivan Nova Jung Ho Kang Nick Kingham Yu Darvish

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NL Central Notes: Kingham, Finnegan, Dubon

By Steve Adams | May 7, 2018 at 3:37pm CDT

The Pirates announced this afternoon that they’ve optioned righty Nick Kingham back to Triple-A Indianapolis. The 26-year-old was the talk of baseball when he took a perfect game into the seventh inning in his MLB debut, though his second start (four runs in 5 1/3 innings with seven strikeouts against one walk) offered more mixed results. Kingham’s spot in the rotation will likely go to Joe Musgrove, who is nearing a return from the DL, though more immediately, his roster spot is going to infielder Jose Osuna, who has been recalled from Triple-A. Chad Kuhl’s strong weekend outing likely bought him some additional length on his leash, but it still seems likely that Kingham will be starting games for the Pirates again at some point in 2018, whether due to injury or poor performance from one of the club’s other young starters.

Here’s more from the division…

  • Reds interim manager Jim Riggleman told reporters today that in spite of his considerable struggles, left Brandon Finnegan would make his next scheduled start (Twitter link via C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic). Finnegan, 25, has been hammered for 19 earned runs on 27 hits (five homers) and 15 walks against 14 strikeouts in 20 2/3 innings so far in 2018. He hasn’t lasted more than five innings in any of his starts this season and has allowed three or more runs each time he’s taken the mound. There was plenty of debate as to whether Finnegan was best suited as a starter or reliever even prior to Cincinnati’s acquisition of him in the 2015 Johnny Cueto blockbuster with the Royals, and he’s yet to establish himself as a viable rotation piece at the game’s top level. Rosecrans notes that Riggleman wouldn’t commit to anything beyond his next outing, so it’s possible that Finnegan’s leash is running out. Finnegan does have minor league options remaining for this season and next.
  • Some Brewers fans have clamored for a promotion of infield prospect Mauricio Dubon, who has a 23-game hitting streak going in Triple-A, but Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports that Dubon incurred a knee injury over the weekend and is headed to Milwaukee to be examined by team physician Dr. William Raasch. Farm director Tom Flanagan tells Haudricourt that the hope is that Dubon is dealing only with a strain, though the organization won’t know until further testing and imaging is performed. Dubon suffered the injury while executing a rundown in Saturday’s game. Acquired alongside Travis Shaw in the Tyler Thornburg deal with the Red Sox, Dubon is hitting .343/.348/.574 with four homers and six steals in 114 plate appearances this season.
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Cincinnati Reds Milwaukee Brewers Pittsburgh Pirates Brandon Finnegan Mauricio Dubon Nick Kingham

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Injury Notes: Donaldson, Tropeano, Musgrove, Twins

By Steve Adams | May 2, 2018 at 11:38pm CDT

The Blue Jays announced tonight that third baseman Josh Donaldson will rejoin the club Thursday and is likely to be activated from the disabled list. A shoulder issue has kept the former AL MVP out of action since April 10, though he’s played in multiple minor league rehab games and appears to be back on track after experiencing some troubles throwing across the diamond earlier this season. The Jays have stayed afloat just fine in the absence of their best player, as they’re currently sporting a 17-13 record and right in the middle of the AL Wild Card mix a month into the season. Donaldson will have plenty riding on a healthy and productive return, as he’s set to hit free agency for the first time following the 2018 campaign.

Some other health-related notes from around the league…

  • Already being hit hard by the injury bug, the Angels took another punch on Wednesday, announcing that righty Nick Tropeano is headed to the 10-day DL with a shoulder issue. The good news for the Halos is that the injury appears minor, as Tropeano told reporters he’ll “100 percent” be ready to return after the 10-day minimum (Twitter link via Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register). As Tropeano explains, he’s not even planning to stop throwing and already played catch earlier today. The Angels, it seems, are merely acting with precaution after the righty felt some something slightly off in his shoulder.
  • Pirates righty Joe Musgrove threw 36 pitches in a rehab outing, writes Oliver Macklin of MLB.com, 29 of which went for strikes. Manager Clint Hurdle added that Musgrove threw his cutter, slider and changeup in the outing and demonstrated “firm” velocity on his fastball. Perhaps more notable is the fact that Hurdle confirmed that Musgrove will indeed be rejoining the Pirates’ rotation when he returns from the disabled list. That could be bad news for rookie Nick Kingham, who turned in one of the best debuts in recent MLB history when he flirted with a perfect game through more than six innings this past Sunday. Kingham is slated to start Friday for the Buccos, though Hurdle said in announcing that earlier this week that there was nothing guaranteed beyond that point. Speculatively speaking, right-hander Chad Kuhl has also struggled in 2018 (5.01 ERA, seven homers in 32 1/3 innings), so perhaps he could be bumped if Kingham impresses in his second big league start.
  • Byron Buxton has yet to progress to running since being diagnosed with a hairline fracture in his toe, writes MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger. Buxton sustained the injury when he fouled a ball into his foot during a rehab game in Fort Myers as he was working his way back from a bout with ongoing migraine headaches. He’ll rejoin the club on Friday but won’t necessarily be activated from the DL, Bollinger notes, as the team is debating whether he needs another rehab stint now that he’s been off for several weeks due to the foot injury. Bollinger adds that righty Trevor May, recovering from 2017 Tommy John surgery, tossed three innings and 46 pitches in an extended Spring Training game as he pushes his way toward readiness for a rehab assignment with the team’s Triple-A club.
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Los Angeles Angels Minnesota Twins Pittsburgh Pirates Toronto Blue Jays Byron Buxton Chad Kuhl Joe Musgrove Josh Donaldson Nick Kingham Nick Tropeano Trevor May

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Pirates Move Steven Brault To Bullpen

By Steve Adams | April 30, 2018 at 3:58pm CDT

The Pirates are moving left-hander Steven Brault to the bullpen, tweets Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic. For the time being, that means that righty Nick Kingham will remain in the rotation and get another start on Friday on the heels of yesterday’s historic debut, during which he took a perfect game into the seventh inning.

Manager Clint Hurdle told reporters, however, that there are no guarantees for Kingham beyond his second start. The club has a number of off-days on the horizon, and righty Joe Musgrove is expected to return later this month. Of course, Kingham already bought himself a second start after what looked to be a spot start Sunday, and it stands to reason that another strong performance could further force the Pirates’ hand. Ivan Nova, Jameson Taillon, Trevor Williams and Chad Kuhl will continue to hold down the top four spots in the Pittsburgh rotation, with either of Kingham or Musgrove now looking to be the leading candidates for the final spot.

[Related: Updated Pittsburgh Pirates depth chart]

Brault, meanwhile, will give the Pirates a much-needed lefty in a bullpen where closer Felipe Vazquez is the lone southpaw. Josh Smoker opened the season in the ’pen but has since been optioned to Triple-A, leaving Hurdle with a heavily right-handed relief corps.

Even if Kingham is in the Majors to stay, he’s spent enough time in the minor leagues this season to fall shy of a full year of MLB service time. He’ll be controlled through the 2024 season at the very least, though he’s currently on track to qualify as a Super Two player, meaning he’d be eligible for arbitration four times rather than the standard three.

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