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Yordan Alvarez

Dylan Cease Tops Pre-Arbitration Bonus Pool

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One of the big new additions to the collective bargaining agreement signed between the league and the players was the implementation of a $50MM bonus pool set aside for players with less than three years of league service time.

The pool would be handed out to the top 100 eligible players, with MLB’s WAR metric determining which players made the list. Beyond that, further bonuses could be earned for qualified players if they ranked in the top two of Rookie of the Year, top five in MVP or Cy Young, as well as being named in the first or second All-MLB team.

According to ESPN’s Jesse Rogers, White Sox pitcher Dylan Cease topped the class in 2022, taking home a bonus of $2,457,426, in addition to his $750K base salary. Cease threw 184 innings of 2.20 ERA ball for Chicago this year, finishing 2nd in AL Cy Young voting. That finish earned him $1.75MM in addition to the $707,425 he earned for his WAR ranking. 2022 was Cease’s last pre-arbitration season, so he won’t be eligible for the bonus pool after the 2023 season.

The Astros’ Yordan Alvarez was the top hitter on the list, as he took home a $2,381,143 bonus. Alvarez torched pitching to the tune of a .306/.406/.613 line with 37 home runs, finishing third in AL MVP voting. He picked up $881,143 as the top ranked player via the WAR metric, and an additional $1.5MM for his MVP finish. He also won’t be eligible for the pool next season.

Here’s the top ten bonus pool earners (all of these figures are in addition to the player’s base salary):

Per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, Atlanta’s Spencer Strider was the only other player to earn a bonus greater than $1MM, while four more players (Sean Murphy, Tommy Edman, Will Smith and Ryan Helsley) earned more than $700K, with another eleven players (Steven Kwan, Bo Bichette, Alejandro Kirk, Nestor Cortes, Logan Webb, Shane McClanahan, Cal Raleigh, Daulton Varsho, Nico Hoerner, Triston McKenzie and Tony Gonsolin) earned a bonus greater than $500K.

Each player’s team will pay out the bonuses by December 23, but they will be reimbursed by the Commissioner’s Office.

Aaron Judge Wins AL MVP

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AL home run record holder Aaron Judge has been named the league’s Most Valuable Player, the Baseball Writers Association of America announced. Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani finished second, followed by Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez.

Judge has been the favorite to claim the award since a few weeks into the year. The herculean slugger popped six home runs in the season’s first month and only picked up the pace from there. He topped double-digits in longballs in each of the next three months before collecting 20 more from August onwards. His homer pace hit a bit of a lull once he reached 60 and pulled within one of Roger Maris with a bit more than two weeks to play, but Judge eventually claimed the record with blasts off Tim Mayza and Jesús Tinoco.

It was an obviously historic season from a power perspective, but the three-time Silver Slugger winner’s achievements went beyond the longball. He flirted with a Triple Crown late in the season and ultimately finished second among AL qualifiers with a .311 batting average. His .425 on-base percentage paced the circuit, and his .686 slugging mark was well better than Alvarez’s second-place .613 figure. He also played a significant amount of innings in center field, adequately moving to the outfield’s most demanding position after a career spent mostly in right field.

Judge helped the Yankees to 99 wins and an American League East crown. He earned his fourth career All-Star selection, and finished in the top five in MVP balloting for the third time. It’s his first time winning the award, and it couldn’t have come at a better time personally. Judge is a first-time free agent, and his ultimate destination will be one of the storylines of the winter.

Ohtani comes in second place the year after winning his first MVP. An incomparable player, Ohtani hit 34 homers and posted a .273/.356/.519 line as a designated hitter. The right-hander also tossed a career-high 166 innings, posting a 2.33 ERA with an AL-leading 33.2% strikeout rate in 28 starts. On his pitching accomplishments alone, he finished fourth in Cy Young balloting. That’s nothing short of remarkable for a player who also finished fifth in slugging and fourth in longballs in the American League. If not for an historic offensive season from Judge, Ohtani would likely have flown to a second straight MVP.

Judge received 28 of 30 first-place votes, with Ohtani collecting the other two. They were 1-2 in some order on every ballot, while Alvarez picked up 22 third-place nods. The Houston star hit .306/.406/.613, trailing only Judge among AL players in on-base and slugging. He finished third in homers and earned his first All-Star selection and MVP finalist appearance.

Guardians third baseman José Ramírez secured six third-place votes and finished fourth overall. Astros second baseman José Altuve came in fifth, edging out Cleveland second baseman Andrés Giménez (the only player besides Alvarez and Ramírez to secure any third-place votes). Julio Rodríguez, Mike Trout, Xander Bogaerts and Cy Young winner Justin Verlander rounded out the top ten.

Full voting breakdown available here.

Latest On Yordan Alvarez

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Yordan Alvarez left Friday’s game in the fifth inning due to shortness of breath, and went to a local hospital for examination later that evening.  Both the Astros and manager Dusty Baker addressed the situation today, saying that Alvarez was released from hospital after tests revealed nothing abnormal, and the slugger was even back at the ballpark today, though he wasn’t in the starting lineup for the Astros’ game against the Braves.

Baker even suggested that Alvarez could play on Sunday, though “We still have to watch him. He’s still under (something) similar to a concussion protocol,” the manager told The Houston Chronicle’s Chandler Rome and other reporters.  “You don’t want him to maybe fall out.  They couldn’t find anything, but that don’t mean nothing’s wrong.  We’re just going to wait today, see how he is tomorrow.”

Any sort of breathing issue is naturally cause for concern, though it is a very good sign that Alvarez’s initial round of testing and observation didn’t reveal any more serious problem.  It could be that Alvarez was affected by playing in Atlanta in particular, with Baker noting that there is more smoke than usual in the atmosphere due to Truist Park’s tradition of shooting fireworks every time a Braves player homers, or every time a Braves pitcher records a strikeout.

Alvarez is also working through his first real slump of the 2022 season, as he has only one home run and a .572 OPS over his last 78 plate appearances.  However, even with his cold streak, Alvarez is still batting .295/.400/.612 for the season, and his 31 homers ties him for the third-highest total in baseball.  The season has cemented Alvarez as one of the game’s top hitters, and he will be a major factor for the Astros as they try to capture the World Series.

Injury Notes: Alvarez, Reynolds, Garcia, Witt

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Yordan Alvarez wasn’t in today’s Astros lineup, as the slugger is still dealing with soreness in his right hand.  The same injury already sent Alvarez to the 10-day injured list for a minimum stay prior to the All-Star break, and medical tests during that IL stint didn’t reveal any structural damage.  Still, manager Dusty Baker told reporters (including Chandler Rome of The Houston Chronicle) that the Astros will be giving Alvarez some occasional time off due to this seemingly lingering injury.  “We knew we were going to have to give him a blow every now and then, but he was sore and we don’t want it to get more sore,” Baker said.

With two homers in 13 plate appearances in his four games since returning from the IL, Alvarez didn’t seem too hampered by this recurring hand problem, though some additional rest could certainly prevent a more severe injury.  The last thing Alvarez and the Astros would want is a lengthier IL trip interrupting both Alvarez’s spectacular season and his potential availability for the playoffs.  Alvarez is hitting a whopping .307/.407/.668 over 329 PA in 2022, leading the majors in both slugging percentage and OPS.

More injury updates from around baseball….

  • Bryan Reynolds told Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he is aiming to return from the 10-day injured list during the Pirates’ upcoming two-games series with the Cubs on Monday and Tuesday.  A left oblique strain sent Reynolds to the 10-day injured list on July 11, though it seems as though he has avoided the lengthy absence that can often come from oblique problems.  In fact, the IL stint may have prevented a longer-term issue, as Reynolds said the injury “had been bothering me for a few series before.  It got to the point where I needed to say something.  I didn’t want to make it worse.”  While his return prior to the trade deadline will inevitable spur on more rumors, there isn’t much expectation that the Pirates will actually deal Reynolds, unless another club meets Pittsburgh’s huge demands.
  • It looks as though Rony Garcia is heading back to the injured list, as Tigers manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (including MLB.com’s Jason Beck) that Garcia felt bicep discomfort during today’s start.  Garcia was only just activated from a three-week IL stint (due to shoulder soreness) to pitch today, but the biceps issue forced Garcia from the game after only 2 2/3 innings.  Hinch said Garcia will be shut down for the time being, creating yet another vacancy in Detroit’s injury-riddled rotation.  Five other starters are already on the IL with temporary or season-ending injuries, plus Eduardo Rodriguez is still on the restricted list.  Today’s abbreviated outing pushed Garcia’s ERA to 4.59 over 51 innings for the Tigers this season.
  • Bobby Witt Jr. is day-to-day with right hamstring tightness, as the Royals made what the club described as a “precautionary” removal of the star rookie after the first inning of today’s game.  Tests didn’t reveal any significant damage, Witt told the Kansas City Star’s Lynn Worthy and other reporters, but it would seem likely that the Royals will give Witt a game or two off to heal up.  Heralded as one of baseball’s top prospects, Witt has hit .258/.301/.459 over his first 379 PA in the big leagues.

Astros Activate Yordan Alvarez

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The Astros announced Thursday that they’ve reinstated designated hitter Yordan Alvarez from the injured list and placed closer Ryan Pressly on the paternity list. Outfielder Jose Siri was optioned to make room for Alvarez, while lefty Parker Mushinski was reinstated from the 15-day injured list to take Pressly’s spot for now.

Houston general manager James Click also provided updates on a pair of injured veterans, Michael Brantley and Jason Castro, neither of which sounded like return was imminent (Twitter links via FOX 26’s Mark Berman). There’s no present timetable for Brantley’s return from a shoulder injury, as the team needs to wait for the inflammation to die down before his rehab can progress further. Click stated that “the best medicine [for Brantley] is time” at this point. More nebulously, the GM said Castro is “making some decisions on what the best plan of attack is to get himself back into playing shape.” The team hopes to have a more concrete update on him before long.

With Brantley still sidelined indefinitely, it’s especially good news for Houston that Alvarez only wound up missing the minimum number of regular-season games possible due to inflammation in his right hand. He’s been the best overall offensive performer in baseball on a rate basis this season, ranking 12th among qualified hitters in batting average (.306), fourth in on-base percentage (.405) and leading the Majors in slugging percentage (.653). Only Aaron Judge (33), Kyle Schwarber (29) and Austin Riley (27) have more home runs than Alvarez’s 26, and each of those three players has at least 83 more plate appearances than Alvarez on the year.

This year’s brilliant production, paired with Alvarez’s generally outstanding track record, prompted the ’Stros to put forth a six-year, $115MM extension offer that Alvarez accepted. His new deal covers the 2023-28 seasons, ensuring that Houston will have control over one of the game’s best hitters for what would’ve been his first three free-agent seasons. Given just how good Alvarez is and how immediately he ascended to the ranks of MLB’s elite hitters, it’s easy to forget that he only just turned 25 years old. He’ll be 31 when the new contract expires, leaving him ample opportunity for a second major contract of note.

As for Pressly, he’ll be away from the team for up to three days. He’s been on an absolute tear of late, rattling off a string of nine perfect innings dating back to June 25, punching out 17 of the 27 consecutive hitters he’s retired in that stretch. Rafael Montero, Ryne Stanek and Hector Neris will all be leverage options for manager Dusty Baker in Pressly’s absence.

Mushinski’s return makes him the lone lefty reliever in Baker’s bullpen. The 26-year-old rookie has appeared in six games so far, yielding three runs on five hits and three walks with eight strikeouts in 6 1/3 big league innings. He’s also logged a 3.32 ERA in 19 Triple-A innings so far in the 2022 season.

Astros Place Yordan Alvarez On IL With Hand Injury

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2:40pm: The Astros have announced that Alvarez has been placed on the IL, with outfield Jose Siri recalled to take his place on the active roster.

2:15 pm: The Astros are going to place Yordan Alvarez on the 10-day injured list due to a hand injury, reports Julia Morales of AT&T SportsNet Southwest.

Alvarez dealt with a hand issue back in June that caused him to miss a few games. He has evidently been playing through the injury since that time, with Morales relaying word from manager Dusty Baker that the issue has been getting worse. Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle relays that the club is hoping that a period of rest can help the slugger be ready for their series against the Yankees, which is right after the All-Star break.

Due to the upcoming break, this is probably the best time for a player to hit the IL due to a nagging injury. If he can return after a minimum stay, as the Astros hope, Alvarez could miss just seven games. After the All-Star break, the Astros are in for a bit of a grind, as they start with a double-header against the Yankees as part of a stretch wherein they play 19 games in 18 days. By going on the IL now, he’ll miss games against the A’s and Angels but potentially be ready to go for that stretch where they play the Yankees, Mariners, A’s, Red Sox and Guardians.

Although Houston is clearly of the opinion this is a minor issue that be quickly cleared up, it’s still noteworthy that it’s lingered for the past three weeks, as it was June 19 that the hand issue first forced him to miss a game. Of course, it’s also noteworthy given that Alvarez has been perhaps the best hitter on the planet this year. With 26 home runs and an overall slash line of .306/.405/.653, he’s been 97% better than the league average hitter this year. His 197 wRC+ is first among qualified hitters, six points ahead of Paul Goldschmidt’s 191 and 20 points ahead of Aaron Judge’s 171.

Alvarez has largely been used as a DH this year, with 33 left field appearances mixed in. With Michael Brantley also on the IL, this leaves the club a little stretched on the grass, with Kyle Tucker, Jake Meyers and Chas McCormick likely getting the bulk of the regular action. Aledmys Diaz, Mauricio Dubon and J.J. Matijevic are also around as outfield-capable options.

There’s little reason for the Astros or their fans to panic, as their 55-29 record gives them a 12-game lead in the AL West. If the injuries to either Alvarez or Brantley linger towards the vicinity of the August 2 trade deadline, the club could always look to outfield upgrades at that point.

Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle first relayed that Alvarez was not with the team and that the issue was his hand (Twitter links). Julia Morales of AT&T SportsNet Southwest relayed that he was indeed landing on the IL.

Astros Sign Yordan Alvarez To Six-Year Extension

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June 6: The Astros have formally announced Alvarez’s six-year deal. They’ll hold a press conference this afternoon at 2:30pm CT.

June 3, 12:48pm: Alvarez’s contract breaks down in the form of a $5MM signing bonus followed by annual salaries of $7MM (2023), $10MM (2024), $15MM (2025) and $26MM (2026-28), Mark Berman of Houston’s FOX 26 reports (Twitter link). He’s already passed a physical.

12:19pm: The Astros have agreed to terms on a six-year, $115MM contract extension with Yordan Alvarez, reports ESPN’s Jeff Passan (Twitter link). The contract begins next season and will cover the 2023-28 seasons. Alvarez is represented by the MVP Sports Group.

Yordan Alvarez

Alvarez, 25 later this month, was on pace to reach free agency following the 2025 season and would have hit the open market at at just 28 years of age. Instead, his new contract will buy out all three of his arbitration seasons and give the Astros control over what would have been Alvarez’s first three free-agent seasons. Alvarez technically won’t reach three years of Major League service time until tomorrow, but since the contract begins next year, it can effectively be viewed as the second-largest deal ever signed by a player in the three-plus service bracket, trailing only Freddie Freeman’s eight-year, $135MM extension with the Braves back in 2014.

Acquired in a flat-out heist that sent reliever Josh Fields to the Dodgers, Alvarez burst onto the Major League scene in 2019 when he mashed at a .313/.412/.655 pace and crushed 27 home runs in just 369 plate appearances. Despite barely spending half the season in the Majors (87 games), Alvarez was the unanimous American League Rookie of the Year. While he missed nearly the entire 2020 season due to arthroscopic surgery that was performed on both knees, he was back in full force a year later, hitting .277/.346/.531 with 33 home runs in 598 trips to the plate.

Since making his big league debut, Alvarez has quite simply been one of the best hitters on the planet. He’s a career .287/.370/.576 hitter, and the resulting 156 wRC+ (indicating he’s 56% better than the league-average hitter) sits just ahead of Juan Soto and trails only Mike Trout (177) among all qualified MLB hitters in that span.

Alvarez achieves his dominance at the plate through a keen eye (10.8% walk rate), improving bat-to-ball skills (his 17.6% strikeout rate is down from his rookie year’s 25.5% mark) and, most importantly, through hitting the ever-loving snot out of the ball. Since 2019, Alvarez ranks third in the Majors in both average exit velocity (93.3 mph) and overall hard-hit rate (54.2%), as well as eighth in barrel rate (16.1%) per Statcast. He’s taken that pristine Statcast profile to new heights in 2022, as he’s currently leading the Majors in hard-hit rate, expected slugging percentage and expected wOBA.

While Alvarez is primarily a designated hitter and figures to spend even less time in the field as he ages, he’s still seeing a decent chunk of time in left field. He’s logged 155 innings there this year and 540 innings through 278 big league games. He doesn’t rate as a strong outfielder but also hasn’t necessarily drawn butcher-esque reviews for his defense to this point (-2 Defensive Runs Saved, 0.3 Ultimate Zone Rating, and a more bearish -5 Outs Above Average). No one is going to mistake Alvarez for a potential Gold Glove candidate, but as an occasional option to give the Astros’ regular outfielders a breather, he’s a passable enough option who can be relied upon to make the routine plays.

Alvarez is now signed longer than any other Astros player, surpassing Lance McCullers Jr., whose contract runs through the 2026 season. His extension gives the ’Stros a hefty $107MM on next year’s books before the offseason even begins and with several key arbitration cases (e.g. Kyle Tucker, Framber Valdez, Cristian Javier) to address. Houston has more than $100MM committed as far out as the 2024 season, although for a team that flirted with the luxury tax in 2021 and took its actual 2021 payroll upwards of $190MM last year, that’s not an dire outlay.

The Alvarez extension ensures that he, Tucker, Alex Bregman and Jose Altuve will continue to anchor the Houston lineup through at least the 2024 season (when the contracts of Alruve and Bregman are set to expire). Young shortstop Jeremy Pena has given every reason to believe so far that he can be counted among that core group of hitters, and the Astros are hopeful that prospects like Pedro Leon, Colin Barber and Korey Lee could eventually do the same.

Astros Transfer Lance McCullers Jr. To 60-Day Injured List

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The Astros transferred starter Lance McCullers Jr. from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list this evening, tweets Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. The move opens a spot on the 40-man roster for slugging outfielder Yordan Álvarez, who has been reinstated from the COVID-19 IL. Infielder Joe Perez was optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land to clear an active roster spot for Álvarez.

The move rules McCullers out for 60 days from the date of his original IL placement, April 4. He’ll be eligible to return to the big leagues during the first week of June, but he could begin a minor league rehab assignment before then if he’s healthy enough to do so. In either event, it’s clear the team didn’t anticipate McCullers being ready to contribute in the majors any time soon.

He continues to work his way back from a flexor tendon strain in his forearm, which he suffered during last year’s postseason. While it was initially believed he’d be ready for Opening Day — if not perhaps able to pitch through the injury during the 2021 World Series — McCullers admitted over the winter that he’d not healed as quickly as expected. The 28-year-old partially attributed his lack of progress to the lockout, which kept players on the 40-man roster from communicating with team medical personnel between the start of December and the second week of March.

McCullers fortunately had at least progressed to playing catch by last week, but it’s clear he’ll need some time to build up arm strength. He’ll require a throwing program before he’s able to embark on a rehab assignment, and he’ll surely need a couple starts to log some innings in the minors before returning to the big league rotation. There’s little question Houston will be cautious with their prized right-hander, who finished seventh in AL Cy Young balloting last season and is in the first season of a five-year, $85MM contract.

Houston has opened the season with a starting five of Framber Valdez, Jake Odorizzi, José Urquidy, Justin Verlander and Luis Garcia. Even without McCullers, that’s one of the league’s stronger quintets. Cristian Javier is working in relief but appears to be the top depth option. He’s coming off a promising 2021 and has tossed 4 2/3 scoreless innings with eight strikeouts so far this year.

Álvarez, meanwhile, is now in position to return to the lineup for the first time in a week. He has missed the past five games battling what manager Dusty Baker had called a stomach bug. Baker suggested last week he might ease Álvarez back into action, but he’ll reclaim his spot as a middle-of-the-order presence in Houston fairly shortly.

Astros Place Yordan Alvarez On Injured List

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6:20pm: Álvarez has not tested positive, manager Dusty Baker told reporters (including Brian McTaggart of MLB.com). He has traveled with the team to Seattle and could soon be activated, although Baker added he’d give Álvarez a couple days to get back into game shape before penciling him into the lineup.

5:45pm: The Astros have placed star outfielder/designated hitter Yordan Álvarez on the COVID-19 injured list, tweets Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. It isn’t clear whether Álvarez tested positive or is simply experiencing virus-like symptoms. Corner infielder Joe Perez has been recalled from Triple-A Sugar Land to take his spot on the active roster.

Álvarez hasn’t played since Sunday. He missed the Astros’ two-game set in Arizona this week with an illness that manager Dusty Baker characterized as a stomach bug. He’ll obviously miss tonight’s game against the Mariners at the very least, with the extent of his absence depending on whether he’s tested positive.

Under the league’s 2022 health-and-safety protocols, players who test positive are subject to a 10-day absence from the club, though it’s possible to be reinstated in less time if the player has gone 24 or more hours without a fever, received a pair of negative PCR tests, and been given approval from a team physician and the MLB/MLBPA joint committee (a panel of one league-appointed and one union-appointed physician). If Álvarez is “merely” dealing with symptoms, he could return in shorter order. Players who test negative can return once their symptoms dissipate, so long as they’re cleared by the joint committee and the team doctor.

Álvarez, of course, is one of the game’s best offensive players. The 24-year-old slugger is coming off a .277/.346/.531 showing with 33 home runs in 598 plate appearances. He hasn’t gotten off to a great start this year, collecting two hits and three walks in 17 trips to the dish over four games.

AL West Notes: Calhoun, Yordan, Murphy

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Rangers outfielder Willie Calhoun missed nearly three months of the 2021 season after suffering a broken arm upon being hit by a pitch, but he’s expected to return to the lineup this week, per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. The club has 18 games left to get a look at Calhoun before determining whether to tender him a contract in arbitration this winter, and manager Chris Woodward offered no certainties when discussing Calhoun’s future. “Unfortunately, he hasn’t played enough for us to really evaluate him,” Woodward said (via Grant). “So, we may have to make a really tough decision one way or the other. We’re going to have to kind of go out on a limb.”

Calhoun, 27 this offseason, was the headlining prospect the Rangers received from the Dodgers in 2017’s Yu Darvish trade. He’s yet to establish himself as a consistently productive hitter, however, and was batting a rather pedestrian .254/.323/.385 in 226 plate appearances before heading to the injured list. Calhoun’s lack of playing time and career .248/.304/.418 batting line to date will limit his arbitration price. That, coupled with the fact that he has a minor league option remaining in 2022, could be a saving grace. So long as the Rangers don’t mind carrying him on the 40-man roster, there’s little downside in tendering him a contract, but Woodward’s mention of a “tough decision” appears to indicate that there’s at least some debate on how to proceed.

Some more notes from the division…

  • Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez is getting increased defensive reps in at first base and could begin seeing time there in games, manager Dusty Baker told reporters this week (link via Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle). Alvarez, 24, played some first base in the minors but hasn’t appeared there in the Majors yet. He’s only played 317 innings of defense since debuting in 2019 — all of which have come in left field. The ’Stros have Yuli Gurriel as their everyday option at first base, and his $8MM club option for the 2022 season is a no-brainer to be exercised after a terrific 2021 season. Still, getting Alvarez some work at first would provide a safety net should Gurriel need to miss time and would also give the Astros an option on days where they hope to rest Gurriel, who’ll turn 38 next June. Looking beyond the ’22 campaign, at which point Gurriel will be a free agent, it’d obviously be a bonus if the ’Stros felt comfortable playing Alvarez at first base on at least a part-time basis. Given the knee troubles he’s already had in his career, Alvarez might not be a full-time option either in left field or at first base for Houston, but the more ways they have to keep him and his outstanding career .293/.375/.584 batting line (906 plate appearances) in the lineup, the better.
  • Mariners catcher Tom Murphy chatted with Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times about his rebound from an awful start to the year — a stretch he called “the lowest point in my baseball career.” Murphy’s roster spot looked to be in jeopardy at one point, but he’s rebounded since mid-May, hitting .236/.346/.408 with eight homers in his past 208 trips to the plate. His season line still rests at an ugly .205/.304/.373, but that’s weighed down by those first six weeks. Murphy didn’t play in 2020 after fouling a ball into his foot and suffering a fracture during Mariners “Summer Camp,” so the slow start after such a long layoff is somewhat understandable. He’ll be arbitration-eligible for a second time this winter, giving the Mariners three potential options behind the dish alongside Luis Torrens and prospect Cal Raleigh. Had Murphy’s struggles continued, he’d have been a clear non-tender candidate. That possibility can’t be expressly ruled out even with the rebound, but the forthcoming raise on his modest $875K salary figures to be relatively minimal. Murphy hit .273/.324/.535 in 281 plate appearances with the Mariners back in 2019.
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