Braves Sign Sandy Leon, Jackson Stephens To Minor League Deals
The Braves have signed catcher Sandy Leon and right-hander Jackson Stephens to minor league contracts, as per the MLB.com bio pages for both players. For Stephens, he returns to the organization after rejecting an outright assignment in favor of free agency earlier this week.
Leon’s addition seems like a pure depth move for the Braves with Sean Murphy on the 10-day injured list. Since there usually isn’t a set timeline for oblique injuries, it isn’t yet known when Murphy might be back in action, so signing Leon gives Atlanta a bit more flexibility at Triple-A Gwinnett. Travis d’Arnaud and Chadwick Tromp are handling catching duties on the big league roster, and Sebastian Rivero was the only catcher on the Gwinnett roster with any prior MLB experience.
The 35-year-old Leon has played in each of the last 12 Major League seasons, suiting up for six different teams. Leon has also been part of the Reds and Royals organizations without seeing any regular-season playing time, as Leon took part in Kansas City’s training camp this past spring after being signed to a minors deal. The Royals decided they had enough catching depth and released Leon back on March 23, so it didn’t take long for Leon to land another opportunity.
Defense and game-calling has long been Leon’s calling card, allowing him to carve out a long career as a part-timer and backup catcher despite a .208/.276/.311 slash line over 1729 career plate appearances. He won a World Series ring with the 2018 Red Sox and appeared in 21 games for another championship just last season with the Rangers, though Leon spent most of 2023 with the Triple-A affiliates of the Rangers and Guardians.
Stephens was first outrighted off a 40-man roster back in 2019 when he was a member of the Reds, and he has since had the ability to reject any other outright assignment in favor of free agency. Since he is now out of minor league options, Stephens has bounced on and off Atlanta’s 40-man multiple times since first joining the team during the 2021-22 offseason, opting for free agency and then returning after some period of time on a new contract. Last November, Stephens again opted for free agency before re-signing on a split contract with the Braves, and it isn’t known if this new deal is also a split arrangement or if it’s just a straight minor league pact.
Stephens posted a 4.83 ERA over 63 1/3 innings with the Reds from 2017-18, then spent the next three seasons pitching in the minors, the Mexican League, and on the sidelines altogether due to the canceled 2020 minor league campaign. He resurfaced after signing with the Braves and has a respectable 3.56 ERA, 20.2% strikeout rate, and 9.8% walk rate in 65 2/3 frames since the start of the 2022 season. Thirty-nine of Stephens’ 44 Atlanta appearances took place in 2022, as the righty spent a lot of last year either in the minors or in DFA/free agent limbo.
Royals Release Sandy Leon
The Royals announced this evening that they’ve catcher Sandy Leon has requested and been granted his release by the organization. Leon had signed with the club on a minor league deal back in January.
Leon, 35, made his big league debut with the Nationals back in 2012 and has made appearances in every major league season since thanks to his strong reputation as a glove-first catcher. Those frequent opportunities have come in spite of a career .208/.276/.311 slash line at the plate and a below-average wRC+ in eleven of his twelve seasons as a major league player. It’s thanks to his stellar work behind the plate that he continues to receive reps in the majors. Leon has received high marks for work behind the plate from outlets such as FanGraphs, Statcast, and Baseball Prospectus throughout his career, with the former ranking him especially well in pitch framing during his stint with the Red Sox from 2015 to 2019.
The Royals seeming brought Leon in as insurance behind the club’s current catching tandem of Salvador Perez and Freddy Fermin, allowing them to more comfortably move youngster MJ Melendez to the outfield on a full-time basis. Since then, however, Kansas City signed Austin Nola to a big league split-contract that will allow him to serve as the club’s third catcher headed into the 2024 season. That left Leon as a mostly superfluous addition for the club, and the veteran hit just .118/.167/.118 this spring while striking out in seven of his 18 plate appearances with the club. Between that performance and the fact that Leon is largely blocked at that big league level in Kansas City, it’s not necessarily a shock that the sides are parting ways.
With Opening Day on the horizon, Leon will return to free agency in search of a major league deal or, more likely, a more attractive minor league pact that offers him a clearer path back to the majors. Given the constant need for catching depth around the game, he should have little trouble securing such an arrangement, which would also allow him to serve as a mentor for younger catchers the club has in its minor league system. As for the Royals, the club will likely lean on the likes of Tyler Cropley and Logan Porter in the event that injuries force the club to rely on a fourth catcher behind Perez, Fermin, and Nola.
Royals Sign Sandy León To Minor League Deal
The Royals announced that they have signed catcher Sandy León to a minor league contract with an invitation to major league Spring Training. The backstop is a client of The MAS+ Agency.
León, 35 in March, has appeared in each of the past 12 major league seasons as a glove-first catcher. He had one terrific season at the plate, hitting .310/.369/.476 for the Red Sox in 2016. But for his career, he has hit .208/.276/.311 for a wRC+ of 56. He got 44 plate appearances for the Rangers last year but hit just .146/.186/.195 in those.
It’s a different story when León is behind the plate, however. He has 33 Defensive Runs Saved in his career, with positive framing marks from FanGraphs and Baseball Prospectus. Statcast considers him to be above average both in terms of his blocking and his work with the running game.
With MJ Melendez seemingly a full-time outfielder now, that leaves the Royals with just two catchers on their 40-man roster. Salvador Pérez has been the club’s primary backstop for over a decade, but he’s going into his age-34 season and the club might gradually wean him off the position. He made 90 starts behind the plate last year but also 21 at first base and 29 as the designated hitter. Freddy Fermin had a solid season in 2023 and should be in line to split the catching duties with Perez again this year.
León can be in camp to serve as a veteran receiver to the many young pitchers in the organization. If either Pérez or Fermin suffer an injury at any point during the year, he would be an option to come up to the big leagues. Pérez could also move to first more regularly if Vinnie Pasquantino needs to go on the IL, which would also open up a role for another catcher.
The Royals briefly used Logan Porter and Tyler Cropley as depth catchers last year. Both have since been outrighted off the roster and each is still in the organization as non-roster depth. Neither of them has more than a few weeks in the big leagues, however, in contrast to León’s 557 games in the majors dating back to his 2012 debut.
Guardians Sign Sandy Leon To Minors Contract
The Guardians announced that catcher Sandy Leon has signed a minor league deal. The veteran backstop will report to Triple-A Columbus.
This is Leon’s fourth separate stint with the organization, as Cleveland first acquired him from the Red Sox in a trade in December 2019. He returned to the Guardians on a minors deal in the 2021-22 offseason but opted out at the end of Spring Training, and soon afterwards joined the Reds on another minor league contract. Cincinnati then traded Leon back across Ohio to the Guards last June, before the Guardians dealt Leon again to the Twins at the trade deadline.
The transactional carousel continued for Leon this past offseason when he joined the Rangers on a minor league contract. Leon appeared in 21 games for Texas (who selected his contract when Mitch Garver went on the injured list) before being designated for assignment. Leon did accept his subsequent outright assignment to Triple-A, but then asked to be released 10 days ago, with the Rangers accommodating the request.
The 34-year-old defensive specialist will now seemingly take up a depth role for the Guardians, as Bo Naylor has now taken over the team’s regular starting catcher. Cleveland has Cam Gallagher in a traditional backup role and utilityman David Fry also capable of playing catcher in a pinch, but Leon might provide additional depth since Mike Zunino was released. If nothing else, Leon gives the Guardians a familiar face at Triple-A, but it wouldn’t be surprising if Leon found himself on the move again if a clearer chance at playing time didn’t materialize with Cleveland.
Rangers Release Sandy Leon
The Rangers have granted catcher Sandy León his release, tweets Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. The veteran backstop requested to be let go after losing his spot on the MLB roster last week.
It’s a quick turnaround. León accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Round Rock over the weekend after clearing waivers. He didn’t make another appearance there before looking for other opportunities instead. That León just went unclaimed makes it seem unlikely he has another MLB job lined up, but perhaps he’s receiving interest from a club with a clearer path to playing time than would’ve been available in Arlington.
León, 34, started the season in Round Rock. Texas called him up just four games into the season. He played in 22 MLB games as a depth option, struggling to a .146/.186/.195 line while striking out in 20 of 44 plate appearances. The switch-hitter obviously hoped for better than that, but he has rarely been an offensive threat. Aside from a BABIP-driven 2016 campaign with the Red Sox, León has been a well below-average MLB hitter. Going back to the start of 2020, he owns a .168/.255/.245 mark in 431 plate appearances over four teams.
Despite the tepid offense, León has gotten plenty of opportunities on the strength of a strong defensive reputation. He’s well-regarded for his receiving skills and has thrown out a solid 29.5% of basestealers over the course of his career. He shouldn’t have any issues finding another minor league opportunity as a result.
Jonah Heim, Mitch Garver and Sam Huff comprise Texas’ 40-man catching group and are each on the major league roster. Neither Matt Whatley nor Miguel Ojeda Jr. — the two catchers on Round Rock’s active roster — has played in the majors. Grant suggests the Rangers could look for a veteran backstop willing to sign a non-roster deal to add some upper minors experience now that León is looking elsewhere.
AL West Notes: A’s, McCullers, Leon
While the Athletics seem more likely than ever to relocate to Las Vegas after Nevada’s governor signed a bill providing $380MM in public funding for an MLB stadium in the state’s biggest city, Mick Akers of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that the club will remain in Oakland through the end of their lease at the Coliseum, which expires after the 2024 season. As Akers notes, no discussions have taken place regarding the A’s leaving Oakland ahead of the 2024 campaign, as the 2024 MLB schedule is already set and poised to be released later this summer.
Looking ahead to 2025 and beyond, however, Akers notes that there are a variety of options being explored for the club’s temporary home until the Athletic’s planned ballpark in Las Vegas is ready, which isn’t expected to happen until 2028. Options Akers mentions for the A’s are Sacramento, Reno, and even alternative sites in the Bay Area. Most interestingly, Akers points out that the A’s have an agreement in place with Howard Hughes Corp, the owner of the club’s Triple-A affiliate in Las Vegas, to use the Aviators’ 10,000 seat ballpark while construction of the permanent ballpark is underway.
Of course, there’s still much to do before the club’s planned relocation is official, to say nothing of the steps necessary to finalize a temporary home ballpark. The Athletics will need to have their relocation effort approved by 75% of MLB owners, and the MLB Players Association would have to give its approval for the club’s temporary home ballpark before any plans could be finalized. Still, Akers’s report nonetheless provides some a window into the options at the club’s disposal as they prepare to depart Oakland, their home for more than half a century.
More from around AL West…
- Astros right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. underwent flexor tendon surgery earlier this week that will keep him out of action for the rest of the season. While that’s surely a bitterly disappointing development for both McCullers and fans in Houston, the situation could have gone far worse, as The Athletic’s Chandler Rome notes in a recent article that McCullers and Dr. Neal ElAttrache entered operating room prepared for the possibility that the right-hander would require a second Tommy John surgery rather than the flexor tendon surgery he ultimately needed. Such a procedure would have left McCullers unavailable for at least twelve months, but the 29-year-old righty could begin throwing again toward the end of the 2023 campaign or shortly after the season’s conclusion. Unfortunately, that does little to assist an Astros rotation that has also lost Luis Garcia and Jose Urquidy to injury so far this season.
- The Rangers announced earlier this afternoon that catcher Sandy Leon had accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Round Rock. Leon had been designated for assignment by the club earlier this week. It’s great news for the Rangers, as Leon is a well respected defensive catcher and game caller. While he slashed just .146/.186/.195 in 21 games with the Rangers this season that translates to an abysmal wRC+ of 2, Leon’s presence at Triple-A will provide the Rangers with catching depth behind their current trio of Jonah Heim, Sam Huff, and Mitch Garver while also providing the club’s young pitchers at the level with a veteran catcher who could aid in their development.
Rangers Announce Four Roster Moves
The Rangers announced a quartet of roster moves, including the news that top pitching prospect Owen White has been optioned to Double-A after making his Major League debut. Texas also activated right-hander Joe Barlow from the 15-day injured list and called up catcher Sam Huff from Triple-A, while catcher Sandy Leon was designated for assignment.
White threw two relief innings in yesterday’s 7-3 loss to the Angels, essentially piggybacking off of the 4 1/3 innings thrown by starter Cody Bradford. Since Jon Gray was a late scratch due to a blister problem, the Rangers had a bit of a scramble to fill innings, including a quick recall of Bradford (who was working on three days’ rest since his last Triple-A outing).
With three runs allowed in those two innings, it wasn’t exactly the most auspicious debut for White, who was charged with the loss. Still, with one cup of coffee in the bigs now on his resume, White will return to Double-A and continue to prepare for what the Rangers hope will be a much longer and more productive stint in the majors down the road. A consensus top-100 prospect, White has yet to reach Triple-A ball, but figures to get the promotion to Round Rock in the relatively near future.
As one top prospect heads back to the minors, another makes his return to the majors as Huff will again be part of the Rangers’ active roster. Huff has appeared in 59 games since the start of the 2020 season (including five this season), but Jonah Heim has seemingly eclipsed him as the Rangers’ catcher of the future. Today’s move indicates that Texas will stick with three catchers on the roster, as Heim figures to get most of the work behind the plate and Huff and Mitch Garver will either work in a backup capacity or Garver will continue to get DH at-bats. Garver only recently returned from a two-month stint on the IL due to a left knee sprain, so with Garver being eased back into catching duty, the Rangers wanted the flexibility of an extra catcher.
Leon’s minor league contract was selected to the MLB roster when Garver was hurt, and while Leon has never been much known for his bat, he produced only a .146/.186/.195 slash line over 44 plate appearances. If the veteran backstop clears DFA waivers, he has the right to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency, if Leon prefers to join a team whose catching depth chart is a little less crowded. Known as a defensive specialist and expert game-caller, Leon could garner some interest on the DFA wire given how teams are constantly on the lookout for catching help.
Barlow was placed on the 15-day IL on May 29 due to kidney stones. The right-hander posted a 2.81 ERA over 64 relief innings for Texas in 2021-22, but blister problems brought an early end to his 2022 season, and Barlow then struggled in Spring Training this year. After starting the season at Triple-A, Barlow had only appeared in five games for the Rangers before hitting the IL.
Rangers Select Sandy León, Place Mitch Garver On IL
The Rangers announced that they have selected the contract of catcher Sandy León. To make room on the active roster, fellow catcher Mitch Garver was placed on the 10-day injured list due to a mild left knee sprain. To open a spot on the 40-man, right-hander Spencer Howard was transferred to the 60-day injured list.
León, 34, has appeared in each of the past 11 major league seasons, suiting up for the Nationals, Red Sox, Marlins, Guardians and Twins. He is mostly viewed as a glove-first catcher, though he did have one tremendous season at the plate. With the Red Sox in 2016, he hit .310/.369/.476 for a wRC+ of 124. It seems fair to conclude there was some good fortune in there, as he had a .392 batting average on balls in play that season, compared to a career mark that’s now at .271. Even with that one stellar campaign, his career batting line is .210/.278/.314 for a wRC+ of 58. But on the other side of his game, he has racked up 34 Defensive Runs Saved and is considered a good pitch framer.
León will be taking the spot of Garver, 32, who lands on the shelf. It’s unclear how much time the club expects him to miss with this mild knee sprain, though he’ll now be ineligible to rejoin them for over a week. The slugging backstop has shown tremendous pop in his career, highlighted by a 31-homer campaign in 2019. However, injuries have hampered him significantly since then, going on the IL due to an intercostal strain, groin contusion, back tightness and forearm flexor muscle strain, with the latter issue ultimately requiring surgery. He was off to a hot start here in 2023, hitting a couple of home runs already while slashing .263/.364/.579 for a wRC+ of 160. Unfortunately, he’ll now have to put that on pause, with León stepping in to backup Jonah Heim. Getting back to health will be significant for both the club and Garver personally, as he’s slated to reach free agency at the end of this season.
As for Howard, he was placed on the 15-day IL on Opening Day due to a lat strain. It’s unclear how long he’ll be out of action, though he’s now ineligible to return until late May at the earliest. The 60 days are counted from his initial IL placement, not from today’s transfer. Though he was a highly-touted prospect during his time with the Phillies, he has a 7.09 career ERA through his first 111 2/3 innings. He was pushed way down the club’s depth chart when they remade their rotation this winter, acquiring Jake Odorizzi while signing Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi and Andrew Heaney. Howard wasn’t going to be the most essential member of the staff, but he’s now the third depth starter on the 60-day IL, alongside Odorizzi and Glenn Otto. The rotation is still in good shape for now, with Martín Pérez and Jon Gray joined by those three offseason signees, but those guys have some notable injury histories of their own, meaning the weakened depth could be an issue down the road.
Rangers Re-Sign Sandy Leon
3:35pm: The Rangers announced that they’ve re-signed Leon to a new minor league contract.
12:15pm: The Rangers are re-signing veteran catcher Sandy Leon, tweets Robert Murray of FanSided. He spent spring training in camp with Texas but was released over the weekend. He’ll return — presumably on a new minor league pact — after surveying the market for other opportunities.
The veteran Leon, 34, had a solid spring with Texas, slashing .250/.333/.406 with a homer and two doubles through 36 plate appearances. Texas is set behind the plate with Jonah Heim and Mitch Garver expected to split catching duties, but Leon will give the club plenty an experienced backstop whose abilities with the glove and working with young pitchers are both highly respected.
Leon split the 2022 season between the Guardians and Twins, posting a combined .169/.298/.211 batting line in a tiny sample of 86 plate appearances. Outside of a clear outlier season back in 2016, when he slashed .310/.369/.476 with the Red Sox, he’s been a glove-first backup option. Since that standout season with the bat, Leon is a .190/.260/.292 hitter in 1167 plate appearances. Despite that lack of offense, he’s regularly turned in above-average to plus framing grades with strong marks in Defensive Runs Saved — all while thwarting a respectable 25.4% of stolen base attempts against him.
Beyond Heim and Garver, Texas also has Sam Huff as an option in the upper minors. Leon will give them a veteran complement who can be called up to serve as a backup if needed, whereas the organization likely prefers to continue getting Huff regular reps to the extent possible.
Rangers Release Sandy León
The Rangers announced that catcher Sandy León has been released from his minor league contract.
León, 34, was an Article XX(B) free agent and thus had the ability to opt out of his minor league deal this past weekend if not given a roster spot. It’s unknown if he did indeed trigger his opt-out, but the end result is the same as he’s now back on the open market and free to sign with any club.
The veteran has appeared in each of the past 11 seasons, earning a reputation as a strong defensive catcher. In his career, he’s racked up 34 Defensive Runs Saved and a 12.9 grade from the FanGraphs framing metric. He hasn’t been able to provide too much offense in that time, outside of an incredible 2016 season. His career batting line is .210/.278/.314 for a wRC+ of 58. Despite that tepid performance at the plate, the defense is strong enough to continue to get him opportunities around the league.
Despite that strong reputation, the Rangers don’t have much need on the roster for him. They have Jonah Heim and Mitch Garver lined up to handle the catching duties in the big leagues, with Sam Huff also on the 40-man and likely to be in Triple-A. But León should be able to get himself a job elsewhere, given his skills and the constant need for catching around the league. The A’s are currently dealing with an injury to Manny Piña while the Diamondbacks are set to proceed without Carson Kelly for a while after he fractured his forearm. Those are just a couple of examples that highlight how depth is important at the position given the likelihood of injuries. León and his reps can now talk with all the teams in the league and find the best fit.