Rockies Outright Keegan Thompson
5:12pm: Thompson has already cleared waivers and is indeed accepting the outright assignment to Triple-A Albuquerque, reports Thomas Harding of MLB.com. Although Colorado announced the DFA this afternoon, they apparently placed him on waivers earlier in the week.
12:37pm: The Rockies announced they’ve designated reliever Keegan Thompson for assignment. The right-hander is out of options and didn’t win a spot in Warren Schaeffer’s bullpen. Colorado selected the contracts of backup catcher Brett Sullivan and rookie first baseman T.J. Rumfield, each of whom was informed they’d made the team over the weekend. Thompson’s DFA cleared one spot on the 40-man roster, while the other was opened with Pierson Ohl (Tommy John surgery) going on the 60-day injured list.
Colorado also optioned hard-throwing righty Seth Halvorsen, who walked 12 batters in five innings this spring. They made five more season-opening IL placements. First baseman Blaine Crim (left oblique strain), utility player Tyler Freeman (back tightness), and outfielder Zac Veen (right knee contusion) all land on the 10-day injured list. Righties McCade Brown (shoulder inflammation) and RJ Petit (Tommy John surgery) open on the 15-day injured list. Colorado will move Petit to the 60-day IL whenever they need a 40-man roster spot. Freeman’s injury means first baseman/outfielder Troy Johnston claims the last bench role.
Thompson’s DFA wasn’t motivated by 40-man concerns but rather his out-of-options status. The Rockies opted to carry Jaden Hill and Zach Agnos in middle relief over Halvorsen and Thompson. They’re dedicating long relief roles to Chase Dollander and Antonio Senzatela. Trade pickup Brennan Bernardino is their only left-hander in the group, while they’ll use Jimmy Herget, Juan Mejia and Victor Vodnik in the late innings.
Colorado claimed Thompson off waivers from the Reds in January. He was on a split contract with Cincinnati that would have paid $1.3MM if he made the MLB roster and $350K for time spent in the minors. The Reds tried to sneak him through waivers but the Rockies placed a claim to take a look at him in camp. The 31-year-old righty had a tough spring, allowing 10 runs with six free passes (five walks and a hit batter) against four strikeouts over 12 innings.
There’s a decent chance Thompson sticks in the organization. He’ll likely go on waivers this week. If he clears, he’s unlikely to decline a minor league assignment and walk away from his $350K Triple-A salary. Thompson spent all of last year at the Triple-A level in the Cubs’ system. He turned in a 4.50 ERA while striking out nearly 30% of opponents across 64 innings.
The Rockies’ Outfield Trade Possibilities
The Rockies have yet to make any significant moves since Paul DePodesta assumed control of baseball operations two months ago. They’re one of two teams that has yet to sign a free agent to a major league deal. Unlike the Red Sox (the other team for which that’s the case), Colorado hasn’t done much via trade either. Their only moves on the trade front were to acquire lefty reliever Brennan Bernardino from Boston and to deal former first-round pick Ryan Rolison away for cash.
A quiet offseason was always to be expected for a new executive working with one of the worst rosters in MLB history. The Rox aren’t going to invest much in the 2026 team. They don’t have many productive veterans to dangle on the trade market. The exception might be in the outfield, as DePodesta hinted that he could subtract from that area to try to add controllable pitching.
Let’s look at the possibilities.
Doyle probably has the highest ceiling of Colorado’s outfielders. He may also be the least likely to move. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported last month that the Rox were reluctant to sell low on the 27-year-old center fielder. Doyle is under arbitration control for four seasons. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects him for a $3.2MM salary.
A stellar defensive player, Doyle has been a target for teams looking for help in a thin center fielder market. The question is whether he’s capable of providing anything at the plate. Doyle looked to have taken a step forward in 2024. He hit 23 homers while cutting his strikeout rate nearly 10 percentage points from his 35% mark as a rookie. The bat dramatically regressed last year, as he stumbled to a .233/.274/.376 line with 15 homers. He kept his strikeout rate around 25% but hit more ground balls and made less of a power impact than he had the previous year.
Moniak is coming off his best year at the plate. Signed to a $1.25MM contract after being released by the Angels in Spring Training, the lefty hitter popped a career-high 24 homers for Colorado. He batted .270/.306/.518 across 461 trips to the dish. Moniak made hard contact (a 95 MPH+ exit velocity) on 45% of his balls in play, easily the best mark of his six MLB seasons.
The surface numbers would seem to make the former first overall pick a strong trade chip for a rebuilding team. The underlying splits aren’t so flattering. Moniak did the vast majority of his damage at Coors Field, where he hit .303/.348/.598 with 15 longballs. His .230/.255/.425 slash away from Denver is a lot less encouraging. Moniak’s rate stats are inflated by his usage, as the Rox shielded him to 60 plate appearances against left-handed pitching.
There was also a dramatic dip in Moniak’s defensive grades. He had graded as a solid, albeit not exceptional, defender who could handle all three outfield spots with the Angels. His numbers in Colorado were well below average no matter where he played. Moniak remains a plus runner with an average arm, so the tools are there to be a competent defender, but it’s another question for interested clubs.
Moniak has between four and five years of service time. He’s controllable through 2027 and projected for a $4.2MM arbitration salary.
Colorado landed Freeman in last offseason’s Nolan Jones trade with the Guardians. FanGraphs and Baseball Reference each graded him around a win below replacement level in his first year in Colorado. However, he showed more or less the same profile he had in Cleveland that made him a trade target for the Rox a year ago.
Freeman hit .281/.354/.361 while striking out in fewer than 12% of his 428 plate appearances. He was easily the team’s most consistent on-base threat. The 26-year-old has zero power but he puts the ball in play and has plus speed. As was the case with Moniak, Freeman’s WAR was depressed by dreadful defensive metrics that don’t fully align with his athleticism and arm strength.
A team that views the defensive grades as a one-year blip could still be in on Freeman as a utility piece for whom they’re willing to swap a depth arm. He’s controllable for three seasons with a $1.8MM arbitration projection and has a minor league option remaining.
A supplemental first-round pick in 2022, Beck got his first look at MLB pitching two years later. He had a rough go as a rookie, striking out at a 35% clip while hitting .188 over his first 55 games. His sophomore season was more promising. Beck spent a couple weeks in Triple-A in April but was otherwise on the MLB roster for the entire season. He worked as Colorado’s primary left fielder and put up decent counting stats. Beck hit 16 home runs, 27 doubles, and five triples while stealing 19 bases.
Beck’s .258/.317/.416 batting line was worse than league average after accounting for Coors Field. He whiffed on nearly 30% of his swings and struggled down the stretch, hitting .250/.316/.377 with a 32% strikeout rate after the All-Star Break. Beck’s physical tools are intriguing. He has above-average bat speed, runs well, and has a strong arm. The approach and pure hitting ability have been questions dating back to his college days, though, and the Rockies are probably better holding onto him to see if he makes any strides at age 25.
Veen and Fernández are left-handed hitting corner outfielders who once ranked among the top offensive prospects in the Colorado system. Both players hit well in the low minors but have seemingly plateaued against upper level pitching. Neither has any kind of MLB track record. Veen has only played in 12 big league games. Fernández hit .225/.265/.348 over 147 plate appearances as a rookie.
Both players have options remaining. They’re probably ticketed for Triple-A Albuquerque as things stand. They’re each young enough to be change of scenery candidates if Colorado’s new regime isn’t as bullish on them as the previous front office had been. That’s theoretically also true of prospect Sterlin Thompson, the only other outfielder on the 40-man roster. Thompson seems likelier to get a chance to play his way into Warren Schaeffer’s outfield next season on the heels of a .296/.392/.519 showing in Albuquerque.
Rockies Notes: Monfort, Front Office, Outfield
The Rockies introduced new president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta at a press conference on Thursday. Owner Dick Monfort and executive vice president Walker Monfort also took part. While the executives spoke mostly in generalities, Dick Monfort revealed that he plans to scale back his involvement in baseball operations now that a new front office leader is in place.
Dick Monfort is one of the leading figures on the owner’s side in labor negotiations with the MLB Players Association. The 71-year-old pointed out that he’ll have more work to do on that end with the collective bargaining agreement expiring a little over a year from now. “I have a lot more responsibility with the league over the next year, so I have to allocate time there. Plus, I’m getting older,” he told reporters (including Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post). “Walker came to me and said he was interested in taking on (a bigger role). He can handle it.”
It is generally believed that Monfort will be one of the leading proponents of a salary cap push by the owners. The MLBPA has maintained that’s a non-starter, setting the stage for another round of contentious negotiations. The sides recently opened preliminary talks, but they’re almost certainly going to negotiate throughout the entire 2026 season. Commissioner Rob Manfred has already indicated he expects offseason lockouts to be a norm. A lockout would only come into play if there’s no new deal in place by December 1, 2026, and it seems both sides are pessimistic on the odds of things getting resolved that smoothly.
Walker Monfort, Dick’s son, has taken on a much bigger role with the Rox over the past few months. While he has worked for the franchise for more than 15 years, he was promoted to executive vice president in June. The 38-year-old played a significant role in the DePodesta hiring, and he indicated he’ll oversee a lot of the day-to-day operations of the club. “Obviously, everybody reports upward, to our chairman and CEO, my father, Dick. Basically, from there, I will still be in charge of oversight of the entire organization,” Walker Monfort said. “So Paul will report to me, and those that he hires will report to him.”
The most significant of those hires will a general manger and a manager. DePodesta said there’s no timetable for either hire. The Rockies are the only team without a permanent manager in place. Jon Morosi of The MLB Network reported last week that the Rox would like to have a GM by next month’s Winter Meetings.
Colorado’s search for a baseball operations head dragged a little longer than ownership probably anticipated. They’d reportedly narrowed to two finalists, Amiel Sawdaye and Matt Forman, before both men took themselves out of consideration. Dick Monfort said the team evaluated around 30 candidates in the search.
Any hire was going to have his work cut out for him. DePodesta takes over one of the worst teams in MLB history. They’re coming off a 119-loss season and have very little talent anywhere on the roster. A pitching staff that allowed nearly six earned runs per nine innings is in particularly rough shape. Speaking at the GM Meetings earlier this week, DePodesta implied he was open to trading hitting for rotation help (link via Thomas Harding of MLB.com).
“I want to stop short of naming a particular position group – I have one in mind, for sure – but I do think there’s some depth. Now what I have to do is understand what the other 29 teams think, and what players they are attracted to from our organization,” DePodesta said. “We need to be open-minded about that, and if we need to shift assets around – take a little away from this area to bolster another – then we’ll have to do that.”
Harding writes that a trade of an outfielder could be one way to add pitching. Center fielder Brenton Doyle regressed offensively, hitting .233/.274/.376 across 538 plate appearances. He’s a plus defensive outfielder, though, and teams would surely have interest with his four remaining years of arbitration control. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects Doyle for a $3.2MM salary as a Super Two player.
Mickey Moniak had terrible defensive metrics but is coming off a career season at the plate. He popped 24 homers while hitting .270/.306/.518 in 461 trips. He’s projected at $4.2MM and controllable for two seasons. Most teams probably see him as a fourth outfielder, but he has flashed some of the offensive promise that made him the first overall pick nine years ago.
Tyler Freeman has good bat-to-ball skills, speed and some defensive versatility. He could be a serviceable utility player. None of Jordan Beck, Yanquiel Fernández or Zac Veen have been good MLB players to date, but they all had prospect pedigree and remain in their pre-arbitration seasons. They’d have modest trade value but could have some fans in other clubs’ scouting departments.
Rockies Select Carson Palmquist
The Rockies announced that they have selected left-hander Carson Palmquist to their roster. Thomas Harding of MLB.com reported yesterday that Palmquist was likely to be promoted and to make his major league debut starting tonight’s game. They also reinstated infielders Ezequiel Tovar, Tyler Freeman and Aaron Schunk from the 10-day injured list. To make room for those four, outfielder Sean Bouchard and right-hander Anthony Molina have been optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque while infielders Owen Miller and Alan Trejo have been designated for assignment.
Palmquist, now 24, was selected by the Rockies in the third round of the 2022 draft. Since then, he has been climbing the minor league ladder, putting up some good strikeout numbers but also giving out a fairly high number of free passes.
Overall, he has 246 1/3 minor league innings under his belt with a 3.91 earned run average. He has punched out 31.1% of opponents but also given out a walk 117 times, an 11.2% clip. He has also plunked 21 batters, only adding to the number of free bases he’s given out.
That includes 70 2/3 Triple-A innings, starting in August of last year and continuing through the present. For the Isotopes, who play in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, Palmquist has a 4.84 ERA, 24.1% strikeout rate and 14.3% walk rate.
Coming into 2025, Baseball America ranked Palmquist as the #8 prospect in the Rockies’ system. They note that the sidearming lefty doesn’t have overpowering stuff, with his fastball generally sitting in the low-90s, but with his angle and extension helping him get results from it. He’s been able to generate a lot of whiffs with his slider while also mixing in a cutter and a changeup. FanGraphs ranked him #6 in the system with a fairly similar report.
Both outlets feel Palmquist has a shot to be a serviceable back-end starter. There’s not much stopping the Rockies from letting him begin that journey now. The team has a dreadful 7-36 record, easily the worst in the majors. Since Ryan Feltner landed on the injured list a couple of weeks ago, they have had a four-man rotation core of Germán Márquez, Kyle Freeland, Antonio Senzatela and Chase Dollander, while also giving spot starts to Bradley Blalock and Tanner Gordon.
Both Blalock and Gordon are currently on optional assignment in the minors. Each of Márquez, Freeland, Senzatela and Dollander has an ERA above 6.00. The Rockies are about to play 13 straight games, starting tonight. Perhaps this will just be a spot start for Palmquist, though he could also get three turns if he stays up for the rest of this 13-game stretch.
Even if Palmquist doesn’t get an extended rotation look right away, there’s a long-term path. Márquez is an impending free agent, as is Austin Gomber, who is currently on the IL. Senzatela and Freeland are both only signed through 2026. Senzatela’s pact has a $14MM club option for 2027 though it’s hard to see that being picked up right now. Freeland can unlock a $17MM player option for 2027 by pitching 170 innings in 2026, though he has only hit that number twice in his career. Even if he’s trending towards hitting it next season, the Rockies would probably be wise to reduce his workload and not allow him to, unless he is having far better results between now and then. In that scenario, he might turn down his option and head to free agency.
Regardless of how those options play out, there should be room for young guys like Dollander, Palmquist and Blalock to take over rotation jobs in the long run, though the difficulties of pitching at Coors Field make that a tricky task even for the most talented pitching prospects.
On the position player side, Tovar, Freeman and Schunk are all back in the infield mix. That squeezes out Trejo and Miller, each of whom are out of minor league options. Trejo returned to the organization last month in a trade with Texas. He hit .175 in 14 games. Miller, acquired in a minor league deal with Milwaukee over the offseason, was promoted around the same time. He went 2-14 over nine contests. Both players figure to land on waivers in the next few days.
Rockies Promote Adael Amador, Place Tyler Freeman On 10-Day IL
The Rockies announced that infielder Tyler Freeman has been placed on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to April 10) due to a left oblique strain. Infield prospect Adael Amador has been called up from Triple-A to take Freeman’s spot on the active roster, as Amador hinted via a message on his Instagram page yesterday.
Freeman suffered his injury while taking warm-up swings in the cage prior to Saturday’s game, so he was a late scratch from the lineup. The only question now is the severity of Freeman’s strain, as even a mild oblique problem will likely mean that the infielder will miss 2-3 weeks of action. The injury adds to what has been a rough start to Freeman’s season and tenure in Colorado, as he has just one hit over his first 16 trips to the plate in a Rockies uniform.
Acquired in a late spring trade with the Guardians for Nolan Jones, Freeman was viewed as a versatile utility option that could help the Rox all over the field. Six of his seven games have come at the second base position, ostensibly in a timeshare with Kyle Farmer though Farmer has been getting a lot more playing time due to his hot bat. Farmer is also a multi-position player, so the Rockies could move him to one of their multiple struggling spots on the diamond in order to free up second base for Amador, as the Rox surely want to give him plenty of playing time in his second stint in the majors.
Amador had only a .394 OPS over 36 plate appearances and 10 games with Colorado last season, as his brief debut in the Show was cut short by a month-long IL trip due to an oblique issue of his own. The Rockies optioned Amador back to Double-A Hartford after his IL activation, and the infielder finished his first full season of Double-A ball with a .230/.343/.376 slash line, 14 homers, and 35 stolen bases (in 46 attempts).
The 2024 promotion was seen as a surprise, given how Amador had never played in Triple-A and he hadn’t even amassed much success (or playing time) at Double-A before the Rockies debuted him in the big leagues. Starting the 2025 campaign at Triple-A Albuquerque, Amador is at least hitting well with a .275/.408/.450 slash line and two home runs, though he still has only 49 PA on his resume at the top minor league level.
Amador received top-100 prospect attention prior to both the 2023 and 2024 seasons, though among the major pundits, Baseball Prospectus (at #79) was the only outlet that still had Amador in their 2025 rankings following his lackluster 2024 campaign. Amador is just two days removed from his 22nd birthday, so it is far too early to write off his potential as a future second-base staple in Denver.
MLBTR Podcast: Garrett Crochet’s Extension, Problems In Atlanta, And Other Early-Season Storylines
The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.
This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…
- The Red Sox signing Garrett Crochet to a six-year extension (0:50)
- The Red Sox keeping Rafael Devers at designated hitter full-time and the general position player logjam (12:20)
- The Braves have started the season ice cold and have lost Reynaldo López to the injured list and Jurickson Profar to a PED suspension (20:05)
- The Rockies trade Nolan Jones to the Guardians for Tyler Freeman (28:05)
- The Astros put Cam Smith on their Opening Day roster, which could alter the view of the trade with the Cubs (34:05)
- The ongoing contract talks between the Blue Jays and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (44:00)
- The Mariners signing Cal Raleigh to a six-year extension (50:30)
- The Guardians extending Tanner Bibee and the Diamondbacks extending Brandon Pfaadt and others (54:35)
Check out our past episodes!
- What We Learned From The Offseason – listen here
- The Rays’ Stadium Deal Is Dead, Rangers’ Rotation Issues, And More! – listen here
- Lawrence Butler’s Extension, Gerrit Cole’s TJ, And Rays’ Ownership Pressured To Sell – listen here
The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff. Check out their Facebook page here!
Photo courtesy of Tim Heitman, Imagn Images
NL Injury Notes: Realmuto, Turner, Suarez, Abbott, Murphy, Freeman
X-rays were negative on J.T. Realmuto‘s left foot after he fouled a ball off himself in Saturday’s 11-6 win over the Nationals. The Phillies took Realmuto out of the game, and the catcher also didn’t play today “more a precaution than anything,” manager Rob Thomson told reporters (including Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer). Realmuto will likely be back in action tomorrow when the Phillies have their home opener, though Trea Turner could miss a third straight game as he recovers from back spasms. Thomson said Turner was available off the bench today and might play Monday, though the Phils’ off-day on Tuesday would allow Turner to get a full four days of recovery time if he is held out of Monday’s lineup.
In other Phillies injury news, Ranger Suarez threw a 26-pitch bullpen session on Saturday, and an up-and-down bullpen is now slated for Tuesday. If all goes well, Lauber writes that Suarez will make at least one minor league rehab start before being activated from the 15-day injured list. Suarez was bothered by a bad back during Spring Training, and the Phils decided to put him on the IL to give him more time to heal up and them finish his spring preparations in advance of his 2025 debut.
More injury updates from around the National League…
- Speaking of pitchers on the 15-day IL, the Reds told reporters (including Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer) that southpaw Andrew Abbott will throw his first rehab start with Triple-A Louisville on Tuesday. Abbott is slated for another outing on April 6, and a decision will then be made about whether or not he might be activated onto the Reds’ roster. A shoulder strain ended Abbott’s 2024 season in late August, and recovering from that strain set Abbott back in his usual offseason work, so the Reds opted to slowly ramp the left-hander up in Spring Training. If all goes well, Abbott should line up to make his 2025 debut on April 11 or 12, depending on how Cincinnati sets up its pitching staff.
- Braves catcher Sean Murphy will also probably be starting a minor league rehab assignment this week, as MLB.com’s Mark Bowman writes that Murphy will likely take the field for the Braves’ A-level affiliate on Friday. Murphy cracked a rib after he was hit by a pitch during a Spring Training game in early March, and we’ve already hit the lower end of the initial 4-6 week recovery timeline. Still, Murphy appears to be making good enough progress that a return to Atlanta’s lineup should be feasible by mid-April.
- Tyler Freeman left today’s game with a bruised left wrist after he was hit by a Taj Bradley pitch, but x-rays were negative, MLB.com’s Thomas Harding writes. Freeman might be well enough to return to the Rockies‘ lineup tomorrow, though since Colorado doesn’t play on Tuesday, this is another situation where a player with a minor injury might simply get an extra day to fully heal.
Guardians, Rockies Swap Nolan Jones, Tyler Freeman
The Guardians and Rockies have reached a deal that sent outfielder Nolan Jones to Cleveland in exchange for infielder/outfielder Tyler Freeman, according to a report from Thomas Harding of MLB.com. The deal has subsequently been announced.
The deal represents a homecoming for Jones, who was a second-round pick by Cleveland in 2016 and made his MLB debut with the club in 2022 before being traded to Colorado in a deal that brought back Juan Brito in November of that year. Jones went on to finish fourth in NL Rookie of the Year voting that year as he posted 3.8 fWAR/4.3 bWAR for the Rockies, slugging 20 homers and swiping 20 bases while splitting time between the outfield corners and first base. In all, Jones slashed .297/.389/.542 that season, which even in the inflated offensive environment Coors Field provides was good for an excellent 137 wRC+. Meanwhile, Brito has yet to make his big league debut for the Guardians but posted a strong .256/.365/.443 line in 144 games at Triple-A for the club last year.
As impressive as Jones’s first year in Colorado was, however, he suffered a significant sophomore slump in his second year with the club. Back issues limited him to just 79 games, and when he was healthy enough to take the field he was ineffective with a lackluster .227/.321/.320 slash line. While a downturn in production should have always been expected relative to his 2023 campaign given Jones’s unbelievable .400 BABIP that year, Jones’s lost power production was something of a shock. After barreling up a whopping 15.7% of his batted balls in 2023, that number cratered to just 5.9% last year despite his overall rate of hard hit batted balls increasing from 40.9% to 44.4%. That came primarily from a massive spike in groundball rate, as Jones hit 52.7% of his batted balls on the ground last year, ten points higher than the year prior. That left him to club just three homers last year and enter his age-27 campaign with plenty of questions about what his production would look like this year.
Those questions will now be answered back in Cleveland, where Jones now appears likely to have the opportunity to lock down the club’s regular right field job, which to this point appeared likely to be filled by Will Brennan. Jones offers more proven upside than Brennan, 27, who posted roughly league average offensive numbers in a platoon role with the Guardians last year. Brennan, unlike Jones, has options remaining and can be sent to Triple-A as depth for the coming season. Should he replace Brennan on the roster, Jones could share time in right field with right-handed slugger Jhonkensy Noel if the Guardians want to spell him against left-handed pitchers, though Johnathan Rodriguez is another option on the 40-man roster.
As for the Rockies, they’ll be parting with Jones to bring in Freeman, a versatile utility bat with the ability to play quality defense all over the diamond but minimal offensive potential. A career 83 wRC+ hitter who slashed .209/.305/.321 (84 wRC+) in 118 games with the Guardians last year, Freeman spent the majority of his time in center field but also got brief looks at shortstop, third base, and second base throughout the season. With Brenton Doyle locked in as the everyday center fielder in Colorado, it seems likely that Freeman will be tasked with a more regular return to the dirt in 2025. While a utility role off the bench could be in Freeman’s future given the presence of Ezequiel Tovar at shortstop and Ryan McMahon at third base, an injury to Thairo Estrada earlier this week opened up regular playing time at the keystone for at least the start of the season. Given that, it seems likely that Freeman will either serve as the Rockies’ regular second baseman or split time with veteran utility man Kyle Farmer at the position while Estrada recovers from the broken wrist that figures to sideline him for four to eight weeks.
Freeman was projected to be part of the Guardians’ bench mix come Opening Day, likely serving as a backup center field option behind Lane Thomas as well as a potential platoon partner for either Brennan or Kyle Manzardo. It’s possible a more regular outfielder like Rodriguez or Angel Martinez could be asked to take on that role, but one potentially intriguing candidate to join the club’s roster would be Brito himself. Brito is mostly an infielder with the vast majority of his time in the minors spent at second base, but he got a look in right field last year and could be an intriguing addition to the club’s bench mix as long as they believe in Lane Thomas as a legitimate everyday option in center field.
Angel Martínez Replaces Tyler Freeman On Guardians Postseason Roster
The Guardians announced a roster move ahead of Game 2 of the ALDS this afternoon: Angel Martínez will sub in for Tyler Freeman, who has been removed from the roster after suffering a left oblique strain. According to Mandy Bell of MLB.com, Freeman hurt his oblique while playing in a simulated game. Major League Baseball has already approved the substitution.
Freeman, 25, appeared in 118 games for the Guardians this season. A converted infielder, her saw most of his playing time in center field but also took reps at second base, third base, shortstop, and DH. In addition, he was a regular pinch-hitter and pinch-runner for manager Stephen Vogt. While he wasn’t particularly productive in any aspect of the game, his speed, contact skills, and defensive versatility helped him earn playing time throughout the year. However, he did not appear in Game 1 of the ALDS, and he is now ineligible to return until the World Series, should Cleveland advance that far.
Martínez, 22, made his big league debut in June but struggled to stick on the Guardians’ roster. However, he hit well in 55 games at Triple-A this year, producing an .812 OPS and 111 wRC+. Indeed, he was so red-hot at Triple-A to start September (182 wRC+ in 10 games) that he bumped Freeman off the active roster. Unfortunately for Martínez, he just could not find the same success against MLB pitching, going 9-for-41 (.220) with a .517 OPS and a 51 wRC+ over 12 games after his latest promotion. That likely explains why the Guardians went back to Freeman in favor of Martínez on the ALDS roster in the first place. With Freeman on the shelf, Cleveland will turn back to Martínez to fill the role of the athletic backup outfielder/pinch-runner/utility man off the bench.
Carlos Carrasco, Tyler Beede Make Guardians’ Opening Day Roster
The Guardians have informed right-handers Carlos Carrasco and Tyler Beede that they’ve made the team’s Opening Day roster, Mandy Bell of MLB.com reports. Both were in camp on minor league deals. Cleveland also informed catcher David Fry and infielders Gabriel Arias, Brayan Rocchio and Tyler Freeman that they’ll open the season on the big league roster. Carrasco had an opt-out clause in his contract today but that won’t end up coming into play.
Both Carrasco and Beede will need to be formally selected to the 40-man roster before Opening Day. The Guards will need to make a pair of corresponding moves to clear space. One can be opened by placing Trevor Stephan, who’s set to undergo Tommy John surgery, on the 60-day IL, but they’ll need a second spot. The other spot could depend on the status of outfielder Myles Straw, who has been placed on waivers.
The Guards came into camp with a rotation consisting of Shane Bieber, Triston McKenzie and last year’s rookies Tanner Bibee, Logan Allen and Gavin Williams. But it was reported last week that Williams will open the season on the injured list due to some right elbow discomfort, which opened a spot at the back end.
That spot will go to Carrasco, who Cleveland fans will be plenty familiar with. He pitched for the club from 2009 through 2020, before going to the Mets as part of the Francisco Lindor deal. He tossed 1,242 1/3 innings during his previous stint in Cleveland with a 3.77 earned run average.
His time in Queens has been a bit rockier. He has a 4.78 ERA over the past three years, including a mark of 6.80 last year. He had stints on the IL last year due to right elbow inflammation and a right pinky finger fracture, limiting him to 90 innings with uninspiring results. His previous Cleveland tenure resulted in a 25.5% strikeout rate and 6.3% walk rate but those numbers were at 15.8% and 9.1% with the Mets last year.
It’s a bit of a belated birthday present for Carrasco, who turned 37 yesterday. He and the Guardians will be hoping that a return to Cleveland can get him back to his old form.
Beede, 31 in May, was once a highly-touted youngster. He was selected 14th overall by the Giants back in 2014 and was considered to be a top 100 prospect as he climbed the minor league ladder. Unfortunately, he struggled in his first tastes of the majors and then required Tommy John surgery in 2020, wiping out that year and much of the next. He had a 5.14 ERA in 2022 and headed to Japan last year.
The move overseas seems to have got him back on track. He posted a 3.99 ERA for the Yomiuri Giants in 49 2/3 relief innings. That got him a minor league deal with the Guardians and he’s looked well in spring so far, with 10 2/3 innings pitched with a 1.69 ERA. That will get him back onto a big league roster via the Cleveland bullpen, though he is now out of options and will need to stick in the majors or else be made available to other clubs, either via waivers or a trade.
As for the middle infielders, Mandy Bell of MLB.com tweets that Rocchio is expected to get the bulk of shortstop reps with Arias in a utility role. The Guardians have a huge number of shortstop options, something that MLBTR’s Anthony Franco looked at last month. It’s likely a fluid situation that will evolve over time but Rocchio will get a crack at taking the job for now.
He made his major league debut last year and hit just .247/.279/.321, though in a small sample of 86 plate appearances. His Triple-A batting line was a much nicer .280/.367/.421 last year and he’ll hope to bring some of that production up to the big leagues this season.