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Players Avoiding Arbitration: 3/21/22

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Tomorrow afternoon is the deadline for teams and arbitration-eligible players to exchange filing figures. Some players will go to hearings that will linger into the regular season, but many others will be motivated to settle on a contract before that point. A few early agreements have trickled in throughout the day. All projected salaries are from MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz.

  • The Royals announced this evening they’ve agreed to terms with infielder Adalberto Mondesi. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports (via Twitter) he’ll make $3MM, a hair under his $3.2MM projection. Mondesi was limited to 35 games and 136 plate appearances by various injuries this past season. He posted a .230/.271/.452 line with six homers and 15 stolen bases — an encapsulation of both Mondesi’s enviable combination of power and speed, as well as his concerning plate discipline. Kansas City can control him through 2023.
  • The Guardians and shortstop/outfielder Amed Rosario are settling at $4.95MM, reports Kiley McDaniel of ESPN (via Twitter). That’s right in line with his $5MM projection. Acquired from the Mets last offseason, the former top prospect hit .282/.321/.409 with 11 homers and 13 steals over 588 plate appearances. Rosario comes with one additional season of club control, as Cleveland can keep him around through 2023.
  • The Reds and utilityman Nick Senzel have settled at $1.25MM, reports Robert Murray of FanSided (on Twitter). That’s narrowly above his $1.1MM projection. Senzel, a former #2 overall pick and top prospect, has had trouble staying healthy in recent years. He’s taken 616 cumulative plate appearances in his first three big league seasons, including just 124 trips to the plate last year. The 26-year-old is a career .246/.308/.396 hitter and remains controllable through 2025 after qualifying for early arbitration as a Super Two player this year.
  • The Reds also agreed to terms with outfielder Tyler Naquin, Murray reports (Twitter link). It’s a $4.025MM deal, a bit north of his $3.6MM projection. The lefty-hitting Naquin picked up a career-high 454 plate appearances last season, hitting a solid .270/.333/.477 with 19 home runs. Defensive metrics weren’t fond of his work, but Naquin still looks likely to see plenty of action at all three outfield spots this season. He’ll reach free agency at the end of the year.
  • Murray reports the Blue Jays and right-hander Ross Stripling have settled at $3.79MM, a few hundred thousand dollars under his $4.4MM projection. A successful starter early in his career with the Dodgers, Stripling has stumbled over the past couple seasons. He posted a 4.80 ERA in 101 1/3 innings this past season and looks as if he’ll begin this year in a swing role after Toronto’s offseason efforts to bolster the rotation. Stripling will hit the open market after the season.

Stripling: MLB Tried To “Sneak Things” Past Union Late In Negotiations

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There’s no indication when the 2022 season will start following a contentious set of labor negotiations that resulted in commissioner Rob Manfred canceling the first two series of the year. The general expectation is that further games are quite likely to be lost as well, given the acrimonious nature of talks to date.

On the topic of those negotiations, Blue Jays right-hander Ross Stripling lobbed some fairly eye-opening accusations toward ownership and the manner in which their proposal suddenly changed late in the game. Stripling tells Shi Davidi and Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet that, as the two sides spoke late Monday evening and into the early hours of Tuesday morning, MLB’s proposal suddenly included notable changes regarding the luxury tax. Stripling implies that the changes extend beyond mere alterations to the threshold levels and penalty rates — instead featuring completely new items that had not been previously presented.

“It got to be like 12:30 [in the morning] and the fine print of their CBT proposal was stuff we had never seen before,” says Stripling. “They were trying to sneak things through us, it was like they think we’re dumb baseball players and we get sleepy after midnight or something. … They pushed us to a deadline that they imposed, and then they tried to sneak some shit past us at that deadline and we were ready for it.”

Stripling went on to echo the sentiments broadcast by Giants lefty Alex Wood on Twitter yesterday, wherein Wood claimed that the reported optimism late Monday was “pumped to the media” by Major League Baseball as a public relations strategy. Wood and Stripling maintain that the players’ “tone” never changed Tuesday, as the league claimed via a statement from an anonymous spokesperson. Stripling, Wood, James McCann and several others have publicly stated that the union never felt the sense of optimism broadcast by the league and that MLB’s suggestions of a “change in tone” were an effort to cast blame on players for scuttling a deal at the last minute.

Stripling’s comments, to an extent, also mesh with concerns raised by union leader Tony Clark at yesterday’s press conference. Speaking in the wake of Manfred’s cancelation of games, Clark revealed that during the late stages of negotiations, the league sought to enact a series of rule changes for the 2023 season that would see defensive shifts limited, the size of bases expanded and the implementation of a pitch clock. While Clark noted that the players were not necessarily opposed, the fact that MLB raised them so late in the process left the union with little to no time to discuss them — an obvious point of consternation.

Stripling is hardly alone in his willingness to speak out and voice his displeasure with the manner in which negotiations transpired. Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic chronicled a series of player frustrations that were broadcast via social media, citing Wood, Evan Longoria, Anthony Rizzo, Michael Lorenzen, Kevin Pillar and others. As Ghiorli examines, the players’ ability to freely speak their minds — and share details like those laid out by Stripling, Wood and others — are fascinating new wrinkles to labor talks that did not exist prior to the social media age. While fans have understandably grown exhausted by the public jabs being traded (whether directly or via reports), the lack of any real momentum regarding a return to play and the general distrust between the parties only sets the stage for further exchanges of this nature.

Injury Notes: Rodon, Blue Jays, Slater, Gsellman, Cardinals

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The White Sox are skipping Carlos Rodon’s next turn in the rotation due to shoulder soreness, and manager Tony La Russa told reporters (including NBC Chicago’s Maddie Lee) that the team is hopeful Rodon can pitch during the upcoming September 10-12 series with the Red Sox.  That said, “when he doesn’t feel right, it’s impossible to push it,” La Russa said, noting that in the wake of Rodon’s recent injured-list stint due to shoulder fatigue, “that’s what’s concerning, that all this should add up to where right now he would be in peak form.”

Rodon missed a little over two weeks on the IL and has pitched well in two starts since returning, posting a 2.70 ERA over 10 innings.  However, the Sox were easing Rodon back into action, limiting him to 144 total pitches over the two outings.  La Russa said Jimmy Lambert would likely be called up to take Rodon’s spot in what has become an increasingly injury-riddled pitching staff — Lucas Giolito and Lance Lynn are also on the 10-day injured list.

The latest on other injury situations around baseball…

  • Cavan Biggio and Ross Stripling are slated to begin rehab assignments at the Blue Jays’ Triple-A affiliate, Sportsnet.ca’s Shi Davidi writes (Twitter link).  Stripling was placed on the 10-day IL on August 11 with a left oblique strain and could be closer than Biggio to a return, as Stripling might be back when the Jays begin a series against the Orioles on Friday.  Biggio was already on a rehab assignment for a back problem when he suffered an elbow injury two weeks ago, thus setting back his progress.
  • The Giants placed outfielder Austin Slater on the seven-day concussion IL prior to tonight’s game.  Left-hander Sammy Long was also sent down to Triple-A, while righty Camilo Doval and outfielder Steven Duggar were recalled in corresponding moves.  Slater suffered his concussion while crashing into the outfield wall in Saturday’s game in an attempt to catch a Trea Turner home run.  Now in his fifth season with San Francisco, Slater is hitting .227/.313/.395 with 10 home runs over 288 plate appearances while seeing time at all three outfield positions.
  • Robert Gsellman began a rehab assignment at the Mets’ low-A affiliate today, Newsday’s Tim Healey tweets.  Gsellman has been sidelined since June 21 due to a torn lat muscle, and though he’ll need multiple rehab outings due to the long layoff, he is on pace to return to the Mets bullpen before the season is out.
  • Cardinals manager Mike Shildt told The Athletic’s Katie Woo and other reporters that Jack Flaherty will take the “huge step” of beginning to play catch within the next day or two.  Flaherty’s season seemed to be in jeopardy when he was placed on the IL on August 25 due to a shoulder strain, though there is some optimism that the right-hander may be able to return as either a reliever or as a piggyback starter.  In other Cardinals pitching news, Shildt said that Dakota Hudson will throw at least three more rehab starts as the righty continues to work his way back from Tommy John surgery.  The timing will be somewhat tight, but there is some hope that Hudson can return to a big league mound this season, which would mark a tremendous recovery considering that Hudson underwent his surgery in late September 2020.

AL East Notes: Archer, Cruz, Urshela, Blue Jays

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Chris Archer’s long-awaited return from the IL didn’t go as planned. The righty returned to the hill today after spending more than four months on the shelf, but then left the game after throwing 41 pitches over two innings due to hip tightness. Although Archer initially went on the IL in April because of forearm tightness, his rehab was slowed by hip soreness in recent weeks. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times relays word from Rays’ manager Kevin Cash, who says that today’s hip soreness was not in the same spot as the previous hip issues. Archer himself told Joey Johnston of the Tampa Bay Times that coming out of the game was precautionary. “I noticed a little drop in my fastball [velocity], and I felt the tightness in my hip,” Archer said. “…I thought it was smart to take a little breather, leave it at two innings.” The hurler has now thrown just 6 1/3 innings since the end of the 2019 season, after missing all of 2020 because of undergoing surgery to correct thoracic outlet syndrome. Whether this is a minor setback or something more serious remains to be seen. In spite of his early exit, the Rays racked up a 9-0 victory over the White Sox, moving to 4 1/2 games ahead of the Yankees.

More from the AL East…

  • Nelson Cruz was placed on the COVID IL earlier today, but it seems that was mostly precautionary. Per Topkin, Cruz just didn’t feel well this morning. Assuming he doesn’t test positive, Cruz should return to the squad as soon as he feels better. (The COVID IL has no minimum stay.) The 41-year-old was in the midst of yet another excellent season at the plate when he was traded from Minnesota to Tampa, though he’s slumped a bit since then. His .198/.257/.448 line since joining the Rays is a far cry from the numbers he put up before the move, though in a small sample size of just 24 games.
  • Yankees’ infielder Gio Urshela is beginning a rehab assignment tonight, per a team announcement. The 29-year-old has been on the IL for about three weeks due to a hamstring strain. It’s been a frustrating few weeks for Urshela, having only played six games since mid-July because of this hamstring issue as well as the Yankees’ lengthy COVID situation. Despite all that, Urshela still has a nice line of .274/.315/.439 on the year, producing a wRC+ of 106. That’s a drop-off from his excellent 2019-2020 production, but still above league average and would be an upgrade to the Yankees’ current lineup. With Gleyber Torres also on the IL, the Yanks have largely been using Rougned Odor and Andrew Velazquez on the left side of the diamond, neither of whom have matched Urshela’s production on the year. Since joining the Yankees, Odor’s slash line is .216/.297/.404, wRC+ of 92, whereas Velazquez is at .242/.265/.424, wRC+ of 84.
  • Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi provides updates on some injured Blue Jays. (Twitter links) Catcher Danny Jansen is close to starting a rehab assignment as he works his way back from a hamstring strain. Ross Stripling has started throwing after being shut down due to an oblique injury. But of course, the most notable wounded Blue Jay is George Springer, who recently landed on the IL with a knee sprain. The star outfielder has only been able to play 49 games this year due to various injuries, but has been outstanding when healthy. His .269/.362/.610 slash line is 58% better than league average, per wRC+. Amongst MLB players with more than 200 plate appearances this year, only four of them are above Springer in that regard. In other words, his health is tremendously important to a team that is 4 1/2 games out of a playoff spot. But as Davidi says, despite doing some hitting, Springer still has to run the bases before being considered for game action.

Blue Jays Place Ross Stripling On Injured List, Select Connor Overton

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The Blue Jays announced they’ve placed right-hander Ross Stripling on the 10-day injured list with a left oblique strain. Trent Thornton is being recalled from Triple-A Buffalo, while the Jays selected the contract of right-hander Connor Overton. To create 40-man roster space for Overton, Toronto designated righty Patrick Murphy for assignment.

Stripling has been a regular in the Jays starting five for much of the season. He’s made twenty appearances (nineteen starts) and worked 93 1/3 innings of 4.34 ERA/4.21 SIERA ball. Stripling has bounced back a bit from a 2020 season that saw him post a 5.84 ERA between the Dodgers and Jays, but he’s yet to regain the above-average form he showed during his best years in Los Angeles.

Toronto has been rolling with a six-man rotation recently. With Stripling out, it seems Hyun-jin Ryu, José Berríos, Robbie Ray, Alek Manoah and Steven Matz will get the ball more frequently over the coming days. The team didn’t provide a timetable on Stripling’s potential return.

Overton will be making his major league debut when he first gets into a game. Selected by the Marlins in the 15th round of the 2014 draft out of Old Dominion, Overton was released the following season. He’d go on to spend time in the Nationals’ and Giants’ organizations but didn’t get to the big leagues with either club.

The 28-year-old hooked on with the Jays on a minor league contract over the winter. He’s had a great season with the Bisons, working to a 2.03 ERA over 57 2/3 frames as a swingman. Overton has worked multiple innings in 17 of his 21 appearances in Triple-A, so he’ll serve as a long relief option for manager Charlie Montoyo. He’s never run particularly high strikeout rates, but Overton has been adept at avoiding walks and keeping the ball on the ground this season.

It’s a bit of a surprise to see the Jays designate Murphy, who will find himself on waivers in the coming days. The 26-year-old has long been regarded as one of the more talented pitching prospects in the organization, but a series of injuries has impeded his progress up the ladder. Murphy has had brief stints in the majors in each of the past two seasons, working 15 1/3 innings of 3.52 ERA ball.

While his peripherals in that limited work haven’t been particularly impressive, he’s averaged north of 96 MPH on his sinker. Murphy has typically posted groundball rates approaching or exceeding 50% at each minor league level. A starting pitcher throughout much of that time, Murphy has worked exclusively out of the bullpen this season. He’s in his final minor league option year, so any team that claims him could keep him in Triple-A through the end of the season but would have to break camp with him beginning in 2022.

Blue Jays Place Kirk, Milone, Castro On 10-Day IL

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MAY 3: Kirk could miss at least six weeks, Ben Wagner of Sportsnet tweets.

MAY 2, 5:20PM: Right-hander Anthony Castro was also sent to the 10-day IL due to a forearm strain.  The severity of the strain isn’t known, though Castro did undergo Tommy John surgery earlier in his career.  Left-hander Anthony Kay was called up from the alternate training site.

11:40PM: The Blue Jays indeed decided to recall Riley Adams from Triple-A to replace Kirk on the active roster, per Scott Mitchell of TSN Sports (via Twitter).

9:10PM: The Blue Jays will make a number of roster moves today. Alejandro Kirk and Tommy Milone will head to the injured list, while Ross Stripling will return to the team, per Ben Wagner of Sportsnet (via Twitter). Presumably, with Kirk out for at least 10 days, the Blue Jays will need to add a backup to the roster for Danny Jansen.

Speculatively speaking, Reese McGuire or Juan Graterol would be the Jays’ top option, though either one would need to be added to the 40-man roster. The Jays do have an open spot on their 40-man, but they also have Riley Adams, 24, who is already on the 40-man roster and could slot into Jansen’s backup role without a 40-man move. If the Jays expect Kirk to return after a minimum stint on the IL, they might prefer to avoid the rigmarole that comes with putting the out-of-options McGuire back onto the active roster. Graterol, 32, does have an option remaining.

On the pitching side, Milone heads to the injured list after contributing 14 innings of 6.43 ERA baseball (4.09 FIP). The veteran southpaw made one start and five appearances out of the pen. Stripling will return to the rotation for the first time since being placed on the injured list with a flexor strain in mid-April. Stripling and the Blue Jays hope he can re-gain the form that made him a valuable swingman for the Dodgers from 2016 to 2019.

Injury Notes: Yardley, Brewers, Kirk, Stripling

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Prior to Saturday’s game, the Brewers placed right-hander Eric Yardley on the 10-day injured list (placement retroactive to April 30) due to a right shoulder strain.  An extreme grounder specialist, Yardley posted a 1.80 ERA over 35 innings with the Padres and Brewers in 2019-20, but struggled to a 5.73 ERA over his first 11 innings of 2021.

Yardley is the seventh pitcher and the 16th player overall on an incredibly crowded Milwaukee injured list.  Despite missing so many key players, the Brewers are still 16-10 and in first place in the NL Central, though one wonders if the loss of healthy manpower will eventually catch up to the team.  MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy provided a rundown of known or estimated return dates for the 16 players, with a few unknowns based on a lack of information (such as Corbin Burnes’ placement on the COVID-19 injured list).

More on some injury situations from around baseball…

  • Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk left Saturday’s game due to left hip flexor discomfort.  Kirk was just 24 hours removed from his biggest performance of the season, hitting two homers in the Jays’ 13-5 victory over the Braves on Friday.  For the year, Kirk is hitting .225/.326/.475 over 46 PA, good for a 127 wRC+.  Danny Jansen would assume starting duties in Kirk’s absence, and since Toronto has an open 40-man roster spot, Reese McGuire or veteran Juan Graterol could be selected to the roster in the event of an IL visit for Kirk.  (Riley Adams and Gabriel Moreno are the only catchers on the 40-man but neither has any MLB experience.)
  • In better injury news for the Blue Jays, manager Charlie Montoyo told reporters (including Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith) that Ross Stripling is expected to start against the Braves on Sunday.  Stripling hasn’t pitched since April 8 due to a flexor strain, and given his absence, his outing tomorrow is probably likely to be limited to a few innings rather than a full starter’s workload.

Blue Jays Place Ross Stripling, Jordan Romano On 10-Day IL

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The injuries continue to pile up for the Blue Jays, who announced that they’ve placed right-handers Ross Stripling and Jordan Romano on the 10-day injured list. The team recalled lefty Anthony Kay and righty Joel Payamps to take the open roster spots.

There is no word on how much time Stripling and Romano will miss, but the fact that they’re dealing with arm injuries is certainly cause for concern. Stripling has a flexor strain, while Romano has ulnar neuritis.

Stripling has been part of the Blue Jays’ rotation this season, though he has slumped to a 7.55 ERA with 13 hits allowed over 8 1/3 innings and two starts. So far, it’s the second straight tough year for Stripling, formerly a useful swingman with the Dodgers who could only muster a 5.84 ERA in 49 1/3 innings between Los Angeles and Toronto in 2020.

The loss of Romano is another serious blow to a Jays bullpen that saw fellow late-game arm Julian Merryweather go to the IL on Wednesday with an oblique strain. Kirby Yates was supposed to be Toronto’s closer this season, but he went down before it began on account of Tommy John surgery, which immediately made Romano and Merryweather logical options to save games. Merryweather won the role, but despite control problems (three walks in 3 1/3 innings), Romano has still only allowed one run and totaled four strikeouts.

Quick Hits: Rodon, Bellinger, Graterol, Mazara, Stripling

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Carlos Rodon was perfect through 8 1/3 innings tonight against the Indians. A backfoot slider skipped off the top of Roberto Perez’s right foot, ending his bid for a perfect game. Rodon managed to complete the no hitter, however, with a masterful 114-pitch complete game shutout. Coming into this season, the former third overall pick was in a battle for the fifth starter job in the White Sox rotation. But tonight, the burly southpaw routinely hit 97 mph on the radar gun (hitting as high as 99 mph in the ninth inning). Certainly, Rodon wasn’t all that high up on the list of pitchers likeliest to throw what would have been the first perfect game in the Majors since 2012: He hasn’t posted an ERA under five since 2018, and he was designated for assignment this winter. Yet, tonight’s start marked the culmination of an arduous journey through numerous injuries and multiple arm surgeries. Congrats to Rodon on throwing the 20th no-hitter in White Sox franchise history. Now, let’s check in on some players still making their way back from injury…

  • Cody Bellinger and Brusdar Graterol will both join the Dodgers on their forthcoming road trip, but neither is a guarantee to be activated. Belligner is still experiencing some swelling in his calf, and he’s yet to run the bases as full speed, per Juan Toribio of MLB.com (via Twitter). Bellinger has been out since April 5th. As for Graterol, he’ll be added to the taxi squad, per Jorge Castillo of the LA Times (via Twitter). It’s not entirely clear why Graterol wasn’t ready to start the season, but it’s only a matter of time until he becomes available out of the bullpen for manager Dave Roberts.
  • Nomar Mazara left Wednesday night’s game with a left abdominal strain, per Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press. There’s no timetable for his return. In the meantime, JaCoby Jones and Victor Reyes should have more opportunities in the starting lineup. Both outfielders have seen their playing time cut both by the offseason acquisition of Robbie Grossman and the early-season breakout from Akil Baddoo. Both Reyes (30 wRC+) and Jones (-10 wRC+) are off to slow starts through their first week of games.
  • Ross Stripling is dealing with forearm tightness, but the Blue Jays don’t have any information beyond that, per Scott Mitchell of TSN Sports (via Twitter). The former Dodger has been tagged for seven earned runs on 13 hits and three walks over 8 1/3 innings so far.

Dodgers, Blue Jays Complete Ross Stripling Trade

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The Dodgers have acquired first baseman/outfielder Ryan Noda from the Blue Jays, Juan Toribio of MLB.com was among those to report. Noda was the second of two players to be named later (joining right-hander Kendall Williams) in the teams’ August trade centering on veteran righty Ross Stripling.

Now 24 years old, Noda became a pro when the Jays chose him in the 15th round of the 2017 draft. He has mashed in the minors since then, having combined for a .272/.422/.478 line with 40 home runs and 35 stolen bases in 1,292 plate appearances among the rookie, Single-A and High-A levels. However, FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen wrote last month that Noda “strikes out a lot for someone older than is usual for his level” and may only amount to a Quad-A type of player. Noda fanned in just under 30 percent of his plate appearances during his most recent minor league action in 2019.

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