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Yohel Pozo

Athletics Re-Sign Yohel Pozo

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The A’s have signed catcher Yohel Pozo to a new minor league contract, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy reports.  Pozo will return for a second year in Oakland’s organization, after hitting an impressive .306/.338/.523 with 18 homers over 391 plate appearances at Triple-A Las Vegas in 2023.

Despite some nice on-paper production at the Triple-A level over the last two seasons, the hitter-friendly nature of the Pacific Coast League tends to inflate Pozo’s numbers.  An .826 OPS over 267 PA with the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate in 2022 translated to only a 104 wRC+, and Pozo’s 2023 numbers in Las Vegas were actually below average (99 wRC+) in comparison to the rest of the PCL’s hitters.

This is probably why Pozo still hasn’t gotten another look in the big leagues since his 21-game stint with the Rangers in 2021.  Pozo hit .284/.312/.378 over 77 PA in his debut season in the bigs, which was the highlight of his nine years in the Texas organization.  (The Padres briefly had Pozo signed to a minors deal during the 2020 offseason before Texas selected him back via the minor league version of the Rule 5 Draft.)  The Rangers parted ways with Pozo last winter, allowing for the Athletics to make the signing.

In addition to catching, Pozo has also gotten a decent chunk of playing time as a first baseman during his pro career.  Still only 26 years old, Pozo will return to a depth role in the minors, as Shea Langeliers and Tyler Soderstrom will continue to get the bulk of catching assignments on the MLB roster.

Manny Pina Visiting Wrist Specialist

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Earlier this week, the Athletics announced that veteran catcher Manny Piña was uncertain for Opening Day after experiencing discomfort in his left wrist. It was an alarming development considering Piña lost almost all of last season after suffering ligament and cartilage damage in the joint that required surgery.

This afternoon, Oakland informed reporters that Piña was headed for evaluation with the specialist who performed last May’s procedure (relayed by Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle). The club is still awaiting the results of that examination and doesn’t have a timetable for Piña’s return.

The A’s haven’t officially announced that Piña will start the season on the injured list but it seems likely with Opening Day two weeks out. If that proves to be the case, the club will have to make a roster move. Shea Langeliers is the only other catcher on the 40-man roster. A Piña injury would necessitate an addition.

That could be one of the non-roster backstops in Spring Training. Yohel Pozo, who played 21 MLB games with the Rangers two seasons ago, is in camp on a minor league deal. Oakland also invited minor leaguers Kyle McCann, Tyler Soderstrom and last year’s first-round selection Daniel Susac to Spring Training.

Susac certainly isn’t in consideration for an MLB job. McCann, a fourth-round pick in 2019, played most of last season with Double-A Midland. Soderstrom, Oakland’s first-round pick out of high school in 2021, traversed three levels last year. The 21-year-old mashed over 89 games for High-A Lansing, continued to perform well in Midland, and secured a late-season cup of coffee with Triple-A Las Vegas. He’s now regarded by most evaluators as the top prospect in the organization.

Given Soderstrom’s youth and questions about his defense, it seems likely he’ll head back to Vegas to open the season. Still, Oakland general manager David Forst suggested this week there’s at least a small window for either of Soderstrom or third base prospect Zack Gelof to take a big league job — if not out of camp, then at some point this year (link via Martín Gallegos of MLB.com).

“Anything can happen,” Forst said. “Those guys have performed in Triple-A. They’ve played in the Fall League. They’re here getting starts in Major League games, so I think it would follow that you hope their opportunity to contribute comes this year at some point.” Gelof is also a 2021 draftee, though he was selected out of college and is two years older than Soderstrom. The Virginia product hit .271/.356/.438 in 87 Double-A games before a late-season bump to Triple-A.

The A’s have a number of options at third base if they wish to get Gelof more developmental work. Sending Soderstrom to Las Vegas, which still seems the likeliest move, would clear a path for Pozo or McCann to crack the roster as Langeliers’ backup if Piña misses time. It’s also possible the front office looks outside the organization as Opening Day draws nearer.

There are a number of non-roster players with other clubs who’ll be made available if they don’t break camp with their current team. The Guardians, for instance, have each of Meibrys Viloria, Cam Gallagher and Zack Collins in camp battling for the chance to back up Mike Zunino. At least one of those players won’t make the roster and could get to explore other opportunities. The Angels have two catchers who can’t be optioned, Max Stassi and Matt Thaiss, competing for jobs with top prospect Logan O’Hoppe and non-roster veteran Chad Wallach. Those are just two examples of organizations whose depth could get squeezed once roster decisions have to be made later this month.

A’s To Sign Yohel Pozo To Minor League Deal

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The A’s are in agreement on a minor league contract with catcher Yohel Pozo, reports Alden González of ESPN. Pozo will receive an invitation to major league Spring Training.

Pozo, 26 in June, has spent almost his entire career with the Rangers thus far. He was very briefly a Padre, having signed a minor league deal in November of 2020 but then was selected back by the Rangers in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft just a couple of weeks later.

Pozo has been compared to Willians Astudillo, since the players have a similar penchant for putting the bat on the ball. Pozo has never posted a walk rate of 8% or higher and has never struck out at anything higher than a 13% clip. He seemed to have a nice breakout in 2021, hitting 23 home runs in 77 Triple-A games, which led to his major league debut. In 21 big league games, he hit .284/.312/.378 for a wRC+ of 89, roughly league average for a catcher. Despite that nice year, he was non-tendered and re-signed to a minor league deal for 2022. He hit .320/.352/.474, which amounted to a wRC+ of 104 in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.

For the A’s, they made a very notable subtraction to their catching depth yesterday, trading Sean Murphy to Atlanta. They did get Manny Piña back in that deal, though he is a veteran placeholder who turns 36 next year. Their true path forward behind the plate will likely be forged by Shea Langeliers, who made his MLB debut last year, or Tyler Soderstrom, who made it to Triple-A. However, anyone in that group struggles or gets injured, Pozo will give the A’s a unique depth option. If he makes it onto their 40-man roster, he has a full slate of options.

Rangers Sign Yohel Pozo, Three Others To Minor League Deals

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The Rangers have re-signed catchers Yohel Pozo and David Garcia to minor league contracts, tweets Rangers Executive VP of Communications John Blake. Additionally, Blake reports that minor league free agents Meibrys Viloria, a catcher, and right-handed pitcher Jesus Tinoco have been signed as well. All four players have received invitations to Spring Training. The deals were announced last night, before the lockout and transaction freeze.

Pozo is the highest profile member of the bunch after seeing 21 games of action with Texas last season. He, along with Garcia, were non-tender casualties yesterday so that Texas could make room for their bevy of recent free agent signings. The Rangers will be happy to have the 24-year-old Pozo back after he posted a uniquely incredible season at Triple-A Round Rock. In 77 games the catcher reached base via walk just seven times (2.2% walk rate), but struck out a stingy 42 times (13% strikeout rate). Contact-oriented approaches are seldom this extreme, but Pozo made it work as he slashed .337/.352/.622 with 23 home runs before his Major League promotion.

The 21-year-old Garcia returns to Texas after posting a .647 OPS at the High-A level last season. That tepid showing notwithstanding, the Rangers organization clearly holds the young catcher in high regard. This was evidenced last year, as the team protected him from the Rule 5 draft despite never playing a game above the Low-A level.

Viloria joins a new organization after spending his professional career up to this point with the Royals organization. The 24-year-old catcher saw limited action on Major League Royals squads from 2018-2020, but was held in the upper minors this past season and produced a decent .752 OPS. Tinoco meanwhile has seen most of his action from the Rockies organization, most recently pitching 54 innings of 6.00 ERA ball at Triple-A.

American League Non-Tenders: 11/30/21

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The deadline to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players has come and gone. The Tigers’ decision to non-tender Matthew Boyd — more on that here — represents the most prominent name cast into free agency tonight, but here’s a quick rundown of the rest of the non-tenders in the American League.

Note that MLBTR’s Anthony Franco also has a rundown of this year’s National League non-tenders, and MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz published his annual projected arbitration salaries earlier this offseason.

Onto the transactions…

  • Outfielder Tim Locastro was non-tendered by the Red Sox, the team announced. The speedy HBP-magnet was claimed off waivers from the Yankees earlier this month after an injury-marred season. He is likely to be an in-demand depth option for teams if his ACL tear recovery goes well.
  • The Rangers announced that outfielder Billy McKinney and catchers David Garcia and Yohel Pozo were non-tendered. Texas also assigned outfielder DJ Peters outright to Triple-A Salt Lake after he went unclaimed on waivers.
  • The Royals non-tendered lefty Richard Lovelady, per a club announcement. Lovelady underwent Tommy John surgery late in the 2021 season and is expected to be sidelined for the entirety of the 2022 season.
  • The Twins non-tendered right-hander Juan Minaya, left-hander Danny Coulombe and right-hander Trevor Megill, per a team announcement. Megill’s non-tender is particularly curious, as he was only just claimed off waivers a few hours ago and was not arbitration-eligible. Presumably, the team will try to quickly re-sign him to a minor league pact and bring him to Spring Training as a depth piece.
  • Infielder Phil Gosselin has been non-tendered by the Angels, per an announcement from the team. The journeyman saw a career-high 373 plate appearances in 2021, but is unlikely to challenge that number next year owing to below average offensive and defensive metrics.

Jimmy Herget Elects Free Agency

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TODAY: Herget elected to become a free agent rather than accept an outright assignment to the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate, the team announced.

AUGUST 13: The Rangers announced they’ve activated starter Dane Dunning from the 10-day injured list and selected the contract of catcher Yohel Pozo. Left-hander Wes Benjamin and first baseman Curtis Terry were optioned to Triple-A Round Rock in corresponding moves. To create space on the 40-man roster for Pozo, Texas designated reliever Jimmy Herget for assignment.

Dunning is back after a minimal absence due to a right ankle impingement. He’s getting the start tonight against the A’s. Acquired from the White Sox in exchange for Lance Lynn over the offseason, Dunning has had a solid year working out of the Texas rotation. The 26-year-old has pitched to a 4.07 ERA over 95 innings. His 23% strikeout rate and 8.2% walk percentage are essentially league average, and Dunning has racked up grounders at a massive 55.7% clip. He looks to be a solid middle or back of the rotation piece over the long-term for the rebuilding Rangers.

Pozo is getting the start at designated hitter tonight in what’ll be his major league debut. Signed as an amateur free agent out of Venezuela during the 2013-14 international period, the right-handed hitting backstop has appeared in parts of seven minor league seasons in the Texas organization. Pozo actually signed with the Padres as a minor league free agent last offseason, but the Rangers almost immediately selected him back in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft.

Entering the 2021 season, Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs ranked Pozo the #56 prospect in the Rangers system, suggesting he could be a reserve catcher in the Willians Astudillo mold. Indeed, Pozo has almost never struck out or walked in his minor league career. His first promotion to Triple-A brought with it a huge uptick in power production, as Pozo has popped 19 home runs in 280 plate appearances after entering the season with 25 long balls in 1733 trips to the dish.

Herget has appeared in the big leagues with the Reds and Rangers, working thirty innings of relief over the past three years. His 4.20 ERA is fine, but the right-hander has only punched out 14.5% of opponents against an elevated 13% walk rate. That said, he’s had a very strong season in Round Rock, tossing 37 2/3 frames of 2.63 ERA ball with much better strikeout and walk numbers (30.6% and 7.6%, respectively). It’s the continuation of a long track record of good minor league work for Herget, who was once a fairly well-regarded relief prospect in the Cincinnati system.

The Rangers will place Herget on waivers in the coming days. Given his solid work in the minors, he could pique the interest of a club looking for some extra bullpen depth. Herget still has a minor league option remaining beyond this season, so any claiming team could shuttle him between the majors and Triple-A through the end of 2022 if he sticks on a 40-man roster.

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