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Mets Re-Sign Drew Smith

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February 13: The Smith signing is official, per Joe DeMayo of SNY. Righty Christian Scott, who is also recovering from Tommy John surgery, was transferred to the 60-day IL in a corresponding move. Smith was himself then transferred to the 60-day IL as the corresponding move when the Pete Alonso signing became official.

February 12: The Mets will extend their relationship with their longest-tenured pitcher, as they’ve reportedly agreed to a one-year deal with right-hander Drew Smith, which contains a club option for the 2026 season. Smith, who’s rehabbing from Tommy John/internal brace surgery performed last July, will be paid $1MM in 2025. His club option is valued at $2MM. The MVP Sports client can boost those totals by way of some yet-unclear incentives.

Smith, 31, has pitched parts of six big league seasons with the Mets. He’s been a fixture in their late-inning mix over the past four years, logging a combined 3.35 ERA, 26.2% strikeout rate and 10.2% walk rate in that time. Smith has worked plenty of high-leverage spots, recording 33 holds and five saves in 156 appearances while being credited with only four blown saves during that time.

The surgery for Smith was deflating in multiple aspects. It not only knocked him out of the team’s Grimace- and OMG-fueled postseason run, it also coincided with the run-up to his first trip into free agency. A healthy Smith would’ve been an easy candidate for a guaranteed multi-year deal at a decent annual rate. On top of that, it’s the second Tommy John procedure of his career. After a solid big league debut in 2018, he missed the 2019 campaign due to the same procedure.

Depending how long the rehab process takes this time around, Smith could at least potentially be a late-season and/or October option for the Mets. Should he make it back, he’d join a relief corps also featuring Edwin Diaz, A.J. Minter, Ryne Stanek, Reed Garrett and Jose Butto.

For now, once the deal is finalized, Smith will quickly be placed on the 60-day injured list. The Mets will technically need to open a spot for Smith before they can move him to the 60-day IL, but that can be accomplished by placing Christian Scott (also recovering from Tommy John surgery) on the 60-day IL. Smith could move to the 60-day himself once an additional spot is needed for another free agent signing, waiver claim, or the selection of a non-roster invitee to the 40-man roster later in camp.

With the Mets in the top tier of luxury penalization, the Smith reunion will actually cost them about $2.1MM overall (the $1MM salary plus a 110% tax). Those same taxes will apply to whatever incentives he unlocks this year (and next year, if the Mets are again in the top penalty tier in 2026). That’s a drop in the bucket for a club running a cash payroll north of $330MM and looking at roughly $110MM worth of taxes on top of that sum.

Mark Feinsand of MLB.com first reported the agreement and structure. Jon Heyman of the New York Post added details on the guaranteed money and option value.

Tigers Sign John Brebbia

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The Tigers announced the signing of free agent reliever John Brebbia to a one-year deal with a $2.75MM guarantee. The Icon Sports Management client receives a $2.25MM base salary for the upcoming season and is guaranteed a $500K buyout on a $4MM club option for 2026. Detroit placed Alex Lange on the 60-day injured list to create a 40-man roster spot.

Brebbia’s deal includes $2MM in performance bonuses in both seasons — $250K each for 50, 55, 60 and 65 appearances and $250K apiece at 40, 45, 50, and 55 games finished. The ’26 option price can escalate based on his numbers this year. It’d climb by $500K at 65 appearances, $1MM apiece at 45 and 50 games finished, and by $2MM for 55 games finished. The maximum escalator value is capped at $4MM, so the appearance threshold would essentially be nullified if Brebbia finishes 55 games and pushes the option value to $8MM based on that criteria alone.

It’s a late addition to A.J. Hinch’s middle relief group. Brebbia split the 2024 campaign between the White Sox and Braves. He spent the bulk of the season in Chicago, where he initially looked to be a potential trade chip. He carried a strong 30% strikeout rate and a tidy 5.6% walk percentage over 38 innings into the All-Star Break. A low left-on-base rate contributed to a middling 4.50 earned run average, but he’d held opposing hitters to a .235/.288/.389 showing across 160 plate appearances.

Brebbia had a few ill-timed blowups in the weeks between the All-Star Break and the trade deadline. That tanked Chicago’s chances of dealing him. He continued to struggle into August. The Sox released him towards the end of that month. There was minimal value for them in carrying an impending free agent middle reliever for the final few weeks of the season. Brebbia caught on with Atlanta and tossed 6 2/3 frames of two-run ball over five appearances to finish the year.

The 34-year-old finished the season with an unsightly 5.86 ERA across 55 1/3 innings. His more interesting strikeout and walk numbers led Detroit to give him an Opening Day bullpen job. Brebbia had allowed fewer than four earned runs per nine innings in 2022 and ’23 as a member of the Giants. He fanned 29.2% of batters faced two seasons ago and has a quality 25.9% strikeout rate over his seven-year MLB career.

Brebbia and Tommy Kahnle are new additions to a Detroit bullpen that’ll be anchored by holdovers Jason Foley, Beau Brieske, Tyler Holton and Will Vest. They’re likely to have Kenta Maeda in a long relief role even with Alex Cobb set to open the season on the injured list.

Lange was Detroit’s season-opening closer in 2024. He had a tough time finding the strike zone and was optioned to Triple-A in the middle of May. Lange suffered a lat tear while pitching in the minors and required season-ending surgery in June. Detroit evidently didn’t feel he’d be ready within the first couple months of this season. The IL placement shelves him until late May at the earliest.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Brewers Sign Tyler Alexander

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The Brewers announced Wednesday that they’ve signed left-hander Tyler Alexander to a one-year, major league contract. He’s a client of SSG Baseball. Fellow southpaw Robert Gasser, who’s recovering from Tommy John surgery, has been placed on the 60-day injured list to clear space on the 40-man roster.

Alexander will earn a guaranteed $1MM on the contract, MLBTR has learned. He can earn an additional $1MM worth of incentives based on innings pitched. That breakdown is as follows: $50K for 40 innings, $100K for 60 innings, $125K for 80 innings, $150K for 90 innings, $175K for 100 innings, and $200K for both 110 and 120 innings.

Alexander, 30, has pitched in parts of six big league seasons between the Tigers and Rays. He owns a career 4.55 ERA over the life of 449 frames. That includes a 5.10 mark in a career-high 107 2/3 innings with Tampa Bay last year. The Rays non-tendered him back in November rather than pay a projected $2.8MM salary in his final season of club control (hat tip to MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz).

A second-round pick by the Tigers out of TCU back in 2015, Alexander has spent the bulk of his career in a swingman role, oscillating between long relief, occasional spot starts and some bulk work behind openers. He doesn’t throw hard, averaging just 89.6 mph on his four-seamer and 89.7 mph on his sinker in 2024, but he has excellent command and typically manages at least a passable strikeout rate.

Alexander has only walked 5.2% of the 1900 batters he’s faced in the majors. His 19.1% strikeout rate is about three percentage points shy of league-average, but that’s skewed a bit by a career-low 14.3% mark in 2022. He punched out 20% of his batters faced prior to that season and has fanned 21.1% of his opponents since that time. Back in 2020, Alexander made headlines and history by punching out nine consecutive batters against the Reds.

The veteran Alexander gives the Brewers some much needed depth in the rotation and a potential long man in the bullpen. That need was already clear even before today’s revelation that fellow lefty DL Hall will be shut down for several weeks due to a lat strain. Between that and the possibility that Brandon Woodruff, still building back up after major shoulder surgery in October 2023, may not be ready for Opening Day, the Brewers only had four clear-cut members of the rotation: Freddy Peralta, Aaron Civale, Nestor Cortes and Tobias Myers.

Alexander likely joins southpaw Aaron Ashby and inexperienced righties Elvin Rodriguez, Carlos Rodriguez, Logan Henderson and Chad Patrick as competitors for that final rotation spot. It’s always possible that the Brewers could add another more established arm to solidify the group, but Alexander is the first fully guaranteed free agent signing of the winter for GM Matt Arnold & Co. They’ve been up against an extreme payroll crunch and haven’t been able to spend anything to this point. That casts some doubt on the front office’s ability to further augment the group — at least via free agency. The trade market could open other avenues, either in the form of an inexpensive (likely pre-arbitration) starter or perhaps by shedding a contract from the current roster that’d free up some money for a different veteran pursuit.

Mets Re-Sign Pete Alonso

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February 12: The Mets officially announced their deal with Alonso today.

February 5: The stalemate between Pete Alonso and the Mets is over. New York is reportedly in agreement on a two-year, $54MM deal with the star first baseman. Alonso, a client of the Boras Corporation, can opt out after the upcoming season. He receives a $10MM signing bonus and a $20MM salary for 2025. He’ll essentially have a $24MM player option for the ’26 campaign. The deal comes with a $27MM average annual value for luxury tax purposes. Alonso chose the two-year deal over a separate offer from the Mets that would have guaranteed $71MM over three seasons.

Alonso, who turned 30 in December, returns to Queens for a seventh season. He has been one of the faces of the franchise since his electrifying debut. Alonso led the majors with 53 home runs en route to a runaway Rookie of the Year win in 2019. That still stands as the all-time rookie home run record. He connected on 16 longballs in the shortened follow-up season and has topped 30 homers in each of the last four years.

That’s a testament not only to his massive power but to his exceptional availability. Alonso has played at least 152 games in each of his five full seasons. He appeared in all 162 contests last year. His only career injured list stint was a minimal stay in 2023 related to a bone bruise in his left wrist. Over the last six seasons, only Marcus Semien has played in more games. Semien and Freddie Freeman are the only hitters with more plate appearances.

On a rate basis, Alonso’s production has dropped in consecutive seasons. He carried a .261/.349/.535 batting line through his first four seasons. Alonso hit another 46 homers in 2023, though he did so with career-low marks in batting average (.217) and on-base percentage (.318). His average and OBP rebounded slightly last season, but his power ticked down. Alonso hit .240 with a .329 OBP and a career-low .459 slugging percentage across 695 plate appearances. His 34 homers and 88 runs batted in were each personal worsts over a full schedule.

It was a pedestrian year rather than a bad one. There’s clear value in a player who hits 34 home runs in a relative down season. Still, it was the second straight year in which Alonso’s offensive production was below his early-career level. He’s a .229/.324/.480 hitter since the start of the ’23 campaign. That checks in 21 percentage points better than league average, as measured by wRC+.

By that statistic, Alonso ranks ninth in overall offense among the 35 first basemen with at least 750 plate appearances over the past two seasons. He’s just behind Cody Bellinger and Josh Naylor and narrowly ahead of LaMonte Wade Jr., Luis Arraez and Christian Walker. Alonso’s durability and power gives him a higher offensive ceiling than the rest of that group. Nevertheless, his recent rate metrics have put him alongside those hitters and a clear step down from Freddie Freeman, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bryce Harper at the top of the position.

Alonso’s on-field value lies in the bat and his durability. He doesn’t provide baserunning value. His defensive grades at first base are middling. Defensive Runs Saved put him at three runs below par last season and has given him a +2 mark for his career. Statcast had him six runs below average in 2024 and grades him at 18 runs under par overall. FanGraphs and Baseball Reference have both valued Alonso around 2-3 wins above replacement in each of the last two seasons.

Of course, Alonso’s value to the Mets extends beyond that production. He’s a homegrown star who is already third on the organization’s home run leaderboard. He is 16 homers shy of David Wright for second place and only needs 27 longballs to surpass Darryl Strawberry for the franchise record. He’ll almost certainly break that record, likely next season.

Alonso was also a key contributor during New York’s run to last year’s NL Championship Series. He saved the season in the Wild Card series with his three-run shot off Devin Williams in the ninth inning of Game 3. That was one of four longballs he hit in October. Alonso slashed .273/.431/.568 across 58 postseason plate appearances. Modern front offices are generally wary about putting much stock in small-sample playoff numbers, though, and Alonso’s unexceptional regular season worked against him in free agency.

The four-time All-Star hit the market envisioning a strong nine-figure deal. His camp presumably sought something in the range of the Matt Olson and Freeman contracts. Olson inked an eight-year, $168MM extension with the Braves; Freeman signed a six-year, $162MM guarantee with the Dodgers, though deferrals dropped the net present value closer to $148MM.

At one point, the Mets valued Alonso similarly. Joel Sherman of the New York Post has reported that Alonso declined a seven-year, $158MM extension offer in June 2023. That would have bought out his final arbitration season and six free agent years. Alonso made $20.5MM in his last arbitration year, so he’d need to beat $137.5MM over the next six seasons to come out ahead in that decision.

Circumstances have changed significantly since the Mets made that offer. Alonso has switched his representation to the Boras Corporation. The Mets moved on from then-GM Billy Eppler and installed David Stearns at the top of baseball operations. The Brewers rarely invested heavily in first basemen, even via arbitration, during Stearns’ tenure as Milwaukee’s general manager. He’s operating with a much different payroll ceiling under Steve Cohen’s ownership, but this generally hasn’t been his preferred player archetype.

While Stearns and Cohen maintained that they wanted Alonso back, they didn’t want to do so on a long-term deal. They made the obvious decision to put forth a qualifying offer, which the slugger easily rejected. It seems they held off on going beyond three years. As his free agency dragged, Alonso moved off his desire for a long-term deal in talks with the Mets. His camp reportedly pitched a three-year term with multiple opt-out chances. Financial specifics aren’t clear, but the Mets countered with a three-year proposal in the $68-70MM range in the middle of January. After Alonso declined, the Mets signaled they were willing to move on to contingencies.

Whether the Mets actually believed Alonso would walk or were merely signaling that as negotiating leverage, they must come away pleased with the result. The Mets reportedly had two different offers on the table: a three-year, $71MM proposal or the two-year deal which he ultimately accepted. Will Sammon of The Athletic reports that the three-year term also included an opt-out after the first season and would have broken down as a $27MM salary in year one followed by $22MM salaries if he didn’t opt out. Alonso preferred the extra $3MM in the first season, betting on himself to play well enough to take the out clause next winter.

The Mets keep the term short and retain Alonso on a deal that more closely resembles the two-year contracts signed by Rhys Hoskins ($34MM with Milwaukee) and Joc Pederson ($37MM with Texas) than the Olson or Freeman precedents. It’s an ideal cap to a dangerous lineup. The Mets won the Juan Soto bidding on the record-shattering $765MM deal as the Winter Meetings were getting underway. New York brought back Jesse Winker to serve as their designated hitter, at least against right-handed pitching. That’ll keep Mark Vientos at third base for another season. Francisco Lindor, Brandon Nimmo and Francisco Alvarez are key holdovers, with Jeff McNeil and one of Tyrone Taylor or Jose Siri rounding out the projected starting nine.

Keeping Vientos at third base blocks the clearest path to playing time for younger infielders Brett Baty, Luisangel Acuña and Ronny Mauricio. The latter two could push McNeil for reps at second base. They all have a minor league option remaining, so the Mets could keep all three at Triple-A Syracuse. They don’t need to make a trade — there’s a good chance Alonso will retest free agency next winter — but it’s possible the surplus makes them more willing to include an upper-level infielder in a package for a top-end starter. New York has built strong rotation depth but arguably needs to increase the rotation’s ceiling to pull ahead of the Phillies and Braves in what’ll be a tough NL East race.

The deal pushes the Mets’ projected payroll to roughly $331MM, according to the RosterResource calculations. The $27MM luxury tax hit brings them to $325MM in CBT obligations. That pushes them firmly beyond the $301MM threshold that marks the final tier of penalization. They’re taxed at a 90% clip for the approximate $3MM to push them to that threshold and at a 110% rate on spending beyond that point. The signing comes with approximately $29.1MM in taxes. They’ll pay around $59MM this season to keep Alonso. New York also relinquishes the right to the compensatory draft choice that they would have received had he signed elsewhere after declining the qualifying offer. That pick would have come after the fourth round.

Alonso secures a strong one-year salary with an eye towards a more lucrative free agent trip next winter. Players cannot receive a QO more than once in their career, so he’d hit the market without draft compensation if he opts out. He’d still come out ahead of that declined extension offer if he secures a deal worth more than $107.5MM over the ensuing five seasons. That’s by no means a guarantee, as he’ll be working against the aging curve, but it’s the kind of risk-reward play that a lot of free agents take if they don’t find their ideal long-term deal on their first free agent try.

Andy Martino of SNY first reported that the Mets were re-signing Alonso. Jeff Passan of ESPN had the two-year, $54MM guarantee and the $30MM in year one. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported the signing bonus and that Alonso declined a three-year term, which USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported had a $71MM guarantee. Image courtesy of Imagn.

Mariners Re-Sign Jhonathan Diaz To Minor League Deal

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The Mariners have re-signed lefty Jhonathan Diaz to a minor league contract, reports Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. He’s already in camp and will be a non-roster invitee this spring.

Diaz was designated for assignment earlier this month. The M’s ultimately placed him on waivers, and the southpaw rejected an outright assignment in favor of free agency upon going unclaimed. He’s now back with the Mariners to vie for a job in camp or, likelier, to head to Triple-A Tacoma as a depth option early in the event of injuries in the big league rotation.

The 28-year-old Diaz has pitched in parts of four big league seasons — from 2021-23 with the Angels and with the Mariners in 2024. He’s totaled 45 MLB frames and carries a pedestrian 4.80 earned run average in that time. The soft-tosser has fanned just 15% of his big league opponents against an unsightly 12.6% walk rate, though his 45.7% ground-ball rate and 0.80 HR/9 mark are both solid.

While the Mariners didn’t need to lean on in-house rotation depth much in 2024 thanks to good health from Luis Castillo, George Kirby, Logan Gilbert, Bryce Miller and (to a lesser extent) Bryan Woo, Diaz still provided them a decent option in the upper minors. He started 22 games in Triple-A Tacoma and tallied 117 2/3 innings with a 4.36 ERA there. Diaz’s strikeout and walk rates in the majors have been ugly, but he whiffed 22.9% of his opponents in Tacoma last year against a 9.9% walk rate. That’s a roughly average strikeout rate and a still worse-than-average walk rate, but both are a far sight better than his MLB rates.

Diaz probably won’t be the first man up in the event of a rotation injury. Former No. 6 overall pick Emerson Hancock was the most frequently called upon reserve last year, and Seattle added righty Blas Castano to the 40-man roster earlier this winter. Top prospect Logan Evans and journeyman Casey Lawrence are also non-roster invitees this spring and could land in the Tacoma rotation to begin the year. Diaz will be in the mix though, especially if the Mariners at any point find themselves in need of multiple starters.

Tigers Trade Mason Englert To Rays

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The Rays announced Wednesday that they’ve acquired righty Mason Englert from the Tigers in exchange for minor league lefty Drew Sommers. Tampa Bay opened a 40-man roster spot by transferring southpaw Nate Lavender to the 60-day IL. Englert was designated for assignment in Detroit last week.

Englert, 25, was with the Tigers for the past two years. A Rule 5 pick from the Rangers, he stuck on the roster through the 2023 season. Once the Tigers had full control over his rights for 2024, he was shuttled between Triple-A and the majors. Over those two campaigns, he tossed 77 2/3 innings for Detroit, allowing 5.45 earned runs per nine. His 16.5% strikeout rate was subpar but he limited walks to a 6.4% clip.

Those numbers aren’t mind-blowing, but Englert was better in the minors last year. He tossed 49 2/3 innings on the farm over 32 appearances with a 3.08 ERA, 33% strikeout rate and 8.9% walk rate. Prior to his Rule 5 selection, he tossed 199 1/3 minor league innings over 2021 and 2022 with a 3.93 ERA, 27.7% strikeout rate and 7% walk rate.

Englert is still fairly young and has a couple of options years remaining. The major league results haven’t been there yet but the minor league numbers seem to be intriguing enough that the Rays have brought him aboard. As a club that rotates pitchers through the roster fairly frequently, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Englert moves between Triple-A and the majors throughout the coming season.

Lavender, 25, was just taken in the most recent Rule 5 draft. He had Tommy John surgery in May and likely won’t be able to return until the second half. Today’s transfer officially rules him out of the first two months of the campaign.

Though the Tigers had to bump Englert off the roster, they are at least getting something in return. Sommers, 24, was an 11th-round selection of the Rays in 2022. In 2023, he tossed 43 Single-A innings with a 2.72 ERA, 34.7% strikeout rate, 5.3% walk rate and 53.3% ground ball rate. Last year, he got bumped up to High-A and tossed 54 innings with an ERA of 4.00, 27.9% strikeout rate, 8.6% walk rate and massive 67.8% ground ball rate. He’s not considered a top prospect but will give the Tigers an intriguing lefty relief option to plug into their system.

White Sox Sign Michael A. Taylor

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February 12: The Sox officially announced their signing of Taylor today. Right-hander Jesse Scholtens was transferred to the 60-day injured list in a corresponding move. He underwent Tommy John surgery in March of last year. Based on this transfer, it seems the Sox aren’t expecting him back in the first two months of the season.

February 11: The White Sox and outfielder Michael A. Taylor are in agreement on a deal, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. The ALIGND Sports Agency client gets a $1.95MM guarantee on a one-year deal with performance bonuses, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. The Sox have a full 40-man roster and will need to open a spot.

Taylor, 34 in March, has long been one of the best defensive center fielders in the game. From 2015 to 2024, he has 78 Defensive Runs Saved in center. That tally puts him third in the majors for that stretch, though the two guys ahead of him are now retired: Kevin Kiermaier and Lorenzo Cain. His 62 Outs Above Average at the position put him sixth in the league.

Offensively, he’s been more mercurial. He strikes out a lot and doesn’t take many walks. He does have enough pop in his bat to occasionally overcome those deficiencies somewhat, with four seasons of double-digit homer tallies, though he also remains vulnerable to deep troughs in his production.

The last two seasons highlight the up-and-down nature of his work at the plate. With the Twins in 2023, he struck out 33.5% of the time and only walked at a 6.7% clip but did park the ball over the fence 21 times. That led to a .220/.278/.442 batting line and 95 wRC+. That means he was still 5% below league average on the whole, but thanks to his defense and 13 stolen bases, FanGraphs considered him to be worth two wins above replacement.

He signed a one-year, $4MM deal with the Pirates in 2024 and things went downhill. His strikeout and walk rates held fairly steady at 35% and 7.7% respectively, but he hit only five home runs and produced a dismal line of .193/.253/.290.

After last year’s historically poor season, the White Sox have been giving deals to various veteran players to pad out their inexperienced roster. That includes adding Mike Tauchman and Austin Slater to an outfield that already included Luis Robert Jr. and Andrew Benintendi. Elsewhere on the roster, they’ve signed Josh Rojas, Martin Perez and Bryse Wilson.

Going into the season, Robert will be the everyday center fielder, at least until a trade comes together. He had an excellent season in 2023 but scuffled through an injury-marred 2024. All reporting from this winter has indicated the Sox have set a high price on Robert. As opposed to selling low, they would rather let him prove his health and effectiveness in the early parts of 2025 before hopefully striking a deal at the right time.

They would also surely love to flip Benintendi and the three years left on his deal, though he’s coming off two rough seasons. He did have a strong second half in 2024, so perhaps there’s some hope of him getting back on track. Like Robert, the club should run him out there for regular playing time in the hopes that he plays well and builds some trade value.

Tauchman and Slater could perhaps form a platoon in another corner. Slater hits right-handed and has been better against lefties in his career. Tauchman has fairly neutral splits but does hit left-handed.

Taylor seems likely to be on the bench in a fourth outfielder role, though he does give the club a bit of insurance in the event Robert gets bitten by the injury bug again. Or if some club meets their lofty asking price and gets a trade over the line. Until that happens, he can serve as a defensive replacement or pinch runner from time to time. The club could also put Robert in the designated hitter slot from time to time as a way of easing his workload, putting Taylor in center.

Oscar Colás and Dominic Fletcher are also on the roster but they have options and could be in Triple-A until they either earn their way into bigger roles or injuries opening up opportunities. Players like Corey Julks and Zach DeLoach have been bumped off the roster this winter but are still around in non-roster roles.

Marlins Sign Cal Quantrill

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The Marlins announced that they have signed right-hander Cal Quantrill to a one-year deal. Left-hander Braxton Garrett has been transferred to the 60-day injured list as the corresponding move. Quantrill’s deal reportedly guarantees him $3.5MM, though the Excel Sports Management client can potentially earn another $500K via incentives.

Quantrill, 30, just finished a season pitching for the Rockies. After a few years pitching for the Guardians, he was flipped to Colorado and had to navigate the challenge of pitching at altitude in 2024. Given the conditions, the results were passable. He made 29 starts and logged 148 1/3 innings, allowing 4.98 earned runs per nine. His 16.8% strikeout rate was subpar but pretty normal for him. His 10.5% walk rate was a bit higher than average while his 44.4% ground ball rate was right around par.

The Rockies could have brought Quantrill back for 2025, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting him for a $9MM salary, but they opted to non-tender him instead. That sent him to free agency without being exposed to waivers, which made him available to work out this deal with the Marlins.

He has had some better numbers in the past. Over the 2021 and 2022 seasons with Cleveland, he worked a swing role, making 54 starts and 18 relief appearances. Over those campaigns, he posted a 3.16 ERA with an 18% strikeout rate, 6.8% walk rate and 42.6% ground ball rate. He benefited from a .274 batting average on balls in play and 77.9% strand rate in that time, which were both on the lucky side. His 4.10 FIP and 4.50 SIERA over that span were perhaps better reflections of his performance but still solid numbers for a back-end starter or swingman.

In 2023, things regressed for him a bit. He spent some time on the injured list due to shoulder inflammation and was only able to make 19 starts. He had a 5.24 ERA and was designated for assignment after the season, which led to his trade to Colorado.

The Marlins are likely looking for Quantrill to serve as a steadying force in a rotation that has talent but is in flux. With the club rebuilding, they have had a strong willingness to deal players over the past year. In the rotation, they traded Trevor Rogers to the Orioles at last year’s deadline and then Jesús Luzardo to the Phillies in this offseason. Garrett is also going to miss the 2025 season while recovering from surgery on the ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing elbow. Eury Pérez is recovering from Tommy John surgery and isn’t slated to return until around the All-Star break.

As of now, the on-paper rotation consists of Sandy Alcántara, Ryan Weathers, Edward Cabrera and Max Meyer, with plenty of uncertainty in those remaining options. Alcántara is returning after Tommy John surgery wiped out his 2024 campaign. Even if he’s successful in coming back healthy, he will likely be in trade rumors this summer. Weathers had some good numbers last year but spent a decent chunk of time on the IL due to a finger strain and still hasn’t thrown 100 innings in an MLB season. Cabrera has also never hit the 100-inning plateau and has walked 13.3% of opponents in his career. He’s also been in plenty of trade rumors and could be flipped if he shows some hints of improvement. Meyer missed the 2023 season recovering from Tommy John surgery and came back last year to make 11 big league starts with a 5.68 ERA.

The Fish have some depth options like Valente Bellozo, Adam Mazur and Connor Gillispie, but those guys all have options. Quantrill can take a rotation spot and bump those guys down to the Triple-A rotation, at least until an injury or a trade opens up an opportunity. If Quantrill pitches well, he’ll likely end up on the trade block himself.

RosterResource currently pegs the Marlins for a competitive balance number of just over $83MM, which should jump to around $86-87MM once Quantrill’s deal is factored in. It has been reported that they may need to get up to $105MM to avoid being subject to a grievance from the MLBPA, in relation to the use of their revenue-sharing funds. If the club plans to get to that number, then perhaps they will look to make further upgrades to their roster in the coming weeks.

 Alden González of ESPN reported that the two sides were in agreement prior to the official announcement. Craig Mish of the Miami Herald first reported the $3.5MM guarantee. Robert Murray of FanSided reported that Quantrill can earn as much as $4MM on the deal, suggesting that there are potential incentives worth $500K.

Rangers Sign JT Chargois To Minor League Deal

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The Rangers announced this morning that they’ve signed veteran reliever JT Chargois to a minor league deal and invited him to spring training. The Wasserman client will compete for a spot in a vastly overhauled Texas bullpen. Just Baseball’s Aram Leighton first reported the agreement.

Chargois, 34, has pitched in seven big league seasons, appearing for five different clubs. Originally a second-round pick by the Twins in 2012, he’s also bounced to the Dodgers, Mariners, Rays and Marlins. The Rice University product is coming off a nice 2024 campaign between Miami and Seattle, wherein he pitched 36 1/3 innings with a combined 2.23 earned run average. That mark overstates his effectiveness, as it was buoyed by a microscopic .189 average on balls in play and colossal 98% strand rate.

Chargois’ 20.5% strikeout rate and 8.9% walk rate were both passable but a bit worse than league average, and he gave up plenty of hard contact. He averaged 94.9 mph on his sinker, which is certainly above-average — but also a notable dip from the 96.3 mph he’d averaged across the five prior seasons. That may have been tied to the neck spasms that plagued him in 2024 and at one point landed him on the 60-day IL.

The Mariners could’ve retained Chargois this offseason via arbitration, as he’s only at 5.101 years of MLB service. They opted to non-tender him despite a reasonable $1.7MM projected salary, however (courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz).

Looking at the broader scope of Chargois’ career, he’s frequently been an effective reliever but has also too often been hobbled by injuries. In the past three years alone, he’s missed time with neck spasms, a ribcage strain and two separate oblique strains. He’s also had nerve and elbow injuries in his right arm.

Chargois has only reached 50 innings in one of his seven MLB campaigns. He’s also posted an ERA of 3.61 or better in five of those seasons. On the whole, he’s tallied 231 1/3 innings with a 3.35 ERA, 23.3% strikeout rate, 9.3% walk rate and 50.2% grounder rate. He’s usually kept the ball in the yard (0.97 HR/9), though last year’s 1.49 HR/9 mark is a bit of a red flag.

The Rangers have already formally bid farewell to Kirby Yates and Jose Leclerc. David Robertson and Andrew Chafin remain unsigned but seem likely to sign elsewhere as well. In place of that quartet, Texas has traded for Robert Garcia and signed free agents Chris Martin, Hoby Milner, Jacob Webb and Shawn Armstrong to major league deals. Chargois joins Jesse Chavez as the most experienced non-roster arm in camp and will compete for a spot in Bruce Bochy’s new-look relief corps.

Cubs Outright Rob Zastryzny

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Cubs reliever Rob Zastryzny cleared waivers and was outrighted off the 40-man roster, according to the MLB.com transaction log. The southpaw has the right to elect free agency, as he has been outrighted multiple times in his career.

Chicago squeezed Zastryzny off their roster when they acquired Ryan Brasier last week. They had claimed the southpaw off waivers from the Brewers in the first week of the offseason. The Missouri product returned to his original organization. Chicago drafted Zastryzny in the second round in 2013. He tossed 16 innings for their 2016 World Series team as a rookie. Zastryzny remained with the Cubs through 2018, when they outrighted him.

He bounced around between a few organizations and spent time in the independent ranks. He returned to the big leagues with a brief stint for the Mets in 2022. The southpaw suited up for the Angels later that season and threw a career-high 20 2/3 frames with the Pirates in ’23. He spent last year with the Brewers, making nine MLB appearances and working 7 2/3 innings of one-run ball.

Between five teams, Zastryzny has thrown 67 innings with a 4.30 earned run average in his MLB career. He had a nice year with Milwaukee’s top affiliate in Nashville last year. Zastrynzny managed a 3.03 ERA with an excellent 32.5% strikeout rate across 29 2/3 frames. That intrigued the Cubs enough that they brought him back on waivers, though he had an uphill battle sticking on the roster.

That’s largely because he has exhausted his minor league options. Chicago couldn’t send him to Triple-A without putting him on waivers. The Cubs don’t have a ton of flexibility in a bullpen without many pitchers who can be optioned. If Zastryzny elects free agency, he’ll likely be limited to minor league offers elsewhere.

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