Braves Select Darren O’Day, Place Luke Jackson On 60-Day IL
The Braves have announced that they have selected the contract of reliever Darren O’Day, who they had signed to a minor league deal in November. To make room on the 40-man roster, fellow reliever Luke Jackson was placed on the 60-day IL. Additionally, Kyle Muller was optioned to Triple-A.
O’Day, 39, is a veteran side-arming righty who made his MLB debut with the Angels back in 2008. After spending some time with the Mets and Rangers, he landed with the Orioles and stayed for his longest stretch with any one club, spending seven seasons in Baltimore from 2012 to 2018. He then spent two seasons with Atlanta before donning Yankee pinstripes last year, and will now rejoin the Braves this year.
Over his 587 1/3 career innings, he holds an ERA of 2.53, strikeout rate of 25.8% and walk rate of 6.8%, all excellent numbers. However, he was limited to just 10 2/3 innings last year due to various injuries. He had a player option that could have kept him in the Bronx this year with a $1.4MM salary, but he chose the $700K buyout instead. His deal with the Braves will guarantee him $1MM, meaning that he earned himself an extra $300K by opting for the buyout.
As for Jackson, his IL placement isn’t terribly surprising after yesterday’s news that he may require Tommy John surgery. Although that surgery is not yet guaranteed, this move assures that he will be out of action for at least a couple of months. The 30-year-old had a tremendous breakout season last year, throwing 63 2/3 innings of 1.98 ERA ball, helping the club win the NL West and eventually hoist the World Series trophy. Unfortunately, he won’t be able to build on that campaign due to this injury. The club has bolstered their bullpen this offseason with the additions of Collin McHugh and Kenley Jansen. With Jackson landing on the shelf, O’Day will step in as yet another veteran presence.
Mariners Release Chance Sisco
The Mariners announced that catcher Chance Sisco has been released. Between Sisco’s release and three players (George Kirby, Erick Mejia, and Sal Romano) assigned to the minor league camp, Seattle now has 34 players remaining in their big league spring camp.
Between Tom Murphy, Cal Raleigh, and Luis Torrens, the Mariners already have a fair bit of catching depth in place, and Joseph Odom is also in camp on a minor league deal. Sisco might have simply been the odd man out, and he’ll now test free agency to see if he can catch on with another team. With clubs always in need of experienced depth behind the plate, the odds are good that Sisco will land a new opportunity somewhere.
Sisco has played in 196 games with the Orioles and Mets since the start of the 2017 season, and he has batted only .197/.317/.337 over 608 plate appearances in the majors. It seemed like his offense was trending up slightly in limited action with Baltimore in 2019-20, but he had only a .430 OPS over 83 PA last season.
Orioles Avoid Arbitration With Trey Mancini
The Orioles have avoided an arbitration hearing with Trey Mancini, as the team announced that the two sides have agreed to a contract for the 2022 season. The deal also contains a mutual option for the 2023 campaign. The Athletic’s Dan Connelly (via Twitter) reports that Mancini will earn $7.5MM in 2022, and the mutual option is worth $10MM with a $250K buyout. Mancini is represented by Frontline.
Mancini and the O’s couldn’t reach common ground on a deal prior to the deadline for exchanging arbitration figures, and there was a $625K gap between the two numbers — the Orioles offering $7.375MM and Mancini seeking $8MM. With the buyout money factored in, Mancini is guaranteed $7.75MM in 2022, bringing his total earnings closer to his desired figure. MLBTR’s Matt Swartz projected Mancini for a $7.9MM salary, a nice bump up from the $4.75MM salaries Mancini received in his first two arb-eligible seasons.
Of course, Mancini didn’t receive a raise last winter since he didn’t play in 2020, taking the year off to battle colon cancer. Receiving a clean bill of health heading into last season, Mancini won AL Comeback Player Of The Year honors after hitting .255/.326/.432 with 21 home runs over 616 plate appearances in his return to action.
2022 is Mancini’s third and final season of arbitration eligibility, and he is schedule to hit free agency next winter. While the inclusion of the mutual option technically represents something beyond just a flat one-year deal, mutual options are rarely exercised by both parties. In short, the option doesn’t make it any more or less likely that Mancini will still be an Oriole at this time next year, and it remains possible that the rebuilding O’s could still trade Mancini to a contender at some point prior to the trade deadline.
John Means is the only remaining member of Baltimore’s arbitration class that has yet to agree to terms on his 2022 contract. Means submitted a $3.1MM figure while the Orioles submitted a $2.7MM figure, and barring an agreement, the two sides are set to eventually meet in an arbitration hearing.
Bobby Witt Jr. Makes Royals’ Opening Day Roster
The Royals will be placing Bobby Witt Jr. on their Opening Day roster, according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link). The superstar prospect and second overall pick of the 2019 draft is set to officially begin his big league career when the Royals host the Guardians on Thursday.
There was no doubt that Witt would be making his big league debut at some point this season, as his .285/.352/.581 slash line over 285 Triple-A plate appearances in 2021 indicated that he was very ready for the next step. Royals president of baseball operations Dayton Moore said last month that Witt would get the “opportunity” to earn his way onto the Opening Day roster, and Witt has only cemented his case after crushing Spring Training pitching.
The new Collective Bargaining Agreement may have also removed an obstacle to Witt’s chances of breaking camp with the Royals. Under the old CBA, the team would have been tempted to leave Witt in the minors long enough to ensure that he wouldn’t gain a full year of service time in 2022, thus giving the Royals an extra year of control over Witt’s services through the 2028 season.
However, the “Prospect Promotion Incentive” in the new labor deal creates the possibility that Kansas City could earn a bonus pick in the 2023 amateur draft if Witt is on the roster for a full year of service time, and if he finishes in the top tier of awards consideration (a top-two finish in AL Rookie Of The Year balloting, a top-five MVP finish, or placement on the first or second-team All-MLB lineup).
Naturally, Witt’s status as one of the game’s top prospects qualifies him as one of the minor leaguers eligible for this PPI plan. Baseball Prospectus and MLB Pipeline each listed Witt atop their most recent rankings of the game’s best minor leaguers, while Fangraphs and Keith Law both ranked Witt second, and Baseball America third. This kind of praise has followed Witt for years, as he is regarded as a five-tool talent by most evaluators.
Originally drafted as a shortstop, Witt is set to begin his career as a third baseman, owing to the presence of Adalberto Mondesi and Nicky Lopez in the middle infield. There is some fluidity in that alignment, as Mondesi is an injury risk, and Whit Merrifield would likely move back to second base in the event that Lopez has to step in at shortstop. Keeping Witt at third base might be the smoothest choice for his development, however, as Witt could stay at the hot corner in more or less uninterrupted fashion, rather than juggling between different positions on a regular basis. If Witt was moved to shortstop or even second base, K.C. could use Hunter Dozier back at third base.
Yankees Acquire Jose Trevino From Rangers
The Rangers and Yankees have announced a trade, as catcher Jose Trevino is headed to New York in exchange for right-hander Albert Abreu and left-hander Robby Ahlstrom.
The deal represents the latest shuffle in the Yankees’ catching situation, after Gary Sanchez was dealt to the Twins as part of the blockbuster deal that brought Josh Donaldson, Ben Rortvedt, and (Trevino’s former Texas teammate) Isiah Kiner-Falefa to the Bronx. The initial plan seemed to be a defense-first platoon of Rortvedt and Kyle Higashioka, though Rortvedt has yet to play in any Spring Training games due to an oblique strain. With Rortvedt not expected to begin the season on the active roster, the Yankees instead now turn to a more experienced big leaguer in Trevino, who has 156 MLB games played to Rortvedt’s 39.
Trevino and Higashioka are both right-handed hitters, making for more of an imperfect platoon fit than the Higashioka/Rortvedt combo, yet the first priority still seems to be defense considering Trevino’s lack of offensive pop. Over his 516 career plate appearances with the Rangers, Trevino has batted only .245/.270/.364. Framing-wise, Statcast considered Trevino to be among the best in baseball last season.
Today’s trade marks the third notable swap between the Yankees and Rangers in less than a year, following last season’s deals that saw Texas sent Joey Gallo and Rougned Odor to New York. It’s probably safe to assume that the two teams discussed Trevino, Abreu, or Ahlstrom at some point during those many negotiations before things finally lined up due to changing roster needs.
For the Rangers, the acquisition of Mitch Garver made Trevino expendable, as Jonah Heim now takes over as the backup catcher. Meibrys Viloria and Yohel Pozo are also in camp on minor league deals, and top prospect Sam Huff is still in the mix at catcher, even though he played only at first base after returning from knee surgery early last season.
It wasn’t long ago that Abreu was garnering attention on top-100 prospect lists, except injuries and control problems hampered his progress up the minor league ladder. Abreu has a 3.77 ERA, 24.2% strikeout rate, and an 11.26% walk rate over 455 2/3 innings in the minors, and he started 87 of his 115 games. In the majors, Abreu didn’t do much to retain a foothold in the Yankees’ bullpen, posting a 5.68 ERA and 12.6% walk rate in 38 innings as a big leaguer.
Abreu is out of minor league options, thus making him something of an expendable piece for the Yankees. The Rangers will replace Trevino with Abreu on their 40-man roster and see if the righty can get a fresh start working out of the Texas relief corps.
Ahlstrom was selected in the seventh round of the 2021 draft, and the former Oregon Duck has yet to officially begin his pro career. Baseball America’s pre-draft scouting report described the southpaw as “a fiery presence on the mound,” with the ability to consistently throw each of his three pitches (fastball, curve, changeup) for strikes. The latter two pitches are only graded as average, however, and Ahlstrom’s fastball generally clocked in the 88-89mph range, topping out at 92mph.
Cubs Select Jesse Chavez’s Contract
Jesse Chavez has officially made the Cubs’ Opening Day roster, as the team announced that it had selected the veteran right-hander’s contract. No corresponding move needed to be made, as the Cubs had an open spot on their 40-man roster.
There isn’t much surprise to the move, as it was widely expected that Chavez would crack Chicago’s roster when he signed his split contract earlier this month. Chavez’s first game will officially make it 15 MLB seasons for the 38-year-old, and his second stint as a Cub, after tossing 38 innings for the Wrigleyville team in 2018.
A rough 2020 season with the Rangers meant that Chavez had to settle for minor league contracts in the 2020-21 offseason, with Chavez first signing with the Angels and then with the Braves after Los Angeles cut him at the end of Spring Training. The end result was the first World Series ring of Chavez’s long career, as he eventually made Atlanta’s roster and then pitched 33 2/3 innings in the regular season and 6 1/3 more frames in the playoffs.
Chavez posted a 2.14 ERA during the regular season, and while his 3.69 xFIP/3.58 SIERA indicate some good fortune, the righty helped his case with a solid 27.1% strikeout rate. Most strikingly, Chavez didn’t allow a single homer in either the regular season or postseason, a surprising outcome for a pitcher who has long struggled at keeping the ball in the park.
The bullpen has been a priority for the Cubs this winter, as Chavez joins David Robertson, Mychal Givens, Daniel Norris, Chris Martin, Adrian Sampson, and Robert Gsellman as new relief options to join the club. Chavez figures to pitch in his usual middle relief role, though he also received four pseudo-starts last year as an opener.
Cardinals, Harrison Bader Avoid Arbitration With Two-Year Extension
The Cardinals and outfielder Harrison Bader have agreed to a two-year, $10.4MM contract extension, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports (all Twitter links). The deal will cover Bader’s final two years of salary arbitration eligibility, and he’ll now receive a $1MM signing bonus up front, and $4.7MM salaries in both 2022 and 2023. Up to $2.25MM in incentive clauses can also be earned for the 2023 season, based on plate appearances or games-played thresholds. Bader is represented by Vayner Sports.
There was a sizable gap between Bader and the Cardinals when the two sides submitted their arbitration figures, as Bader was looking for $4.8MM and the team countered with a $3.8MM number. (Both figures were higher than the $3.7MM that MLBTR’s Matt Swartz projected for Bader’s 2022 salary.) The extension now means that a hearing is no longer necessary, and Bader’s arbitration process can be sidestepped entirely next winter.
It’s a nice payday for Bader, who has gone from being a backup outfielder to something of an under-the-radar five-tool talent. There was never any question about Bader’s defense, and his excellent center field glovework was recognized with his first Gold Glove Award in 2021. Bader is also a strong baserunner and could hit left-handed pitching, but questions persisted as to whether or not he could produce against right-handers.
Bader answered the critics last season, batting .273/.331/.458 with 12 homers over 326 PA against righties. Oddly, this slash line actually topped his numbers against southpaws, yet the sum total was still a .267/.324/.460 slash and 16 homers over 401 plate appearances (110 wRC+, 116 OPS+). Between this above-average offense and great defense, Bader was a 3.4 fWAR player in only 103 games, as he missed almost two full months of the season with forearm and rib injuries.
This isn’t to say that Bader is necessarily a finished product at the plate, as he had subpar hard-contact numbers and didn’t generate many walks last season. His .331 wOBA was also far higher than his .295 xwOBA, so there was certainly some good fortune at play. Still, even if Bader’s offense takes a step backwards, his defense is alone good enough to merit at least a part-time outfield role.
Between Bader in center, fellow Gold Glover Tyler O’Neill in left field, and star prospect-turned-breakout player Dylan Carlson in right field, St. Louis has one of baseball’s best young outfields, and this trio was a major reason why the Cardinals pulled off a late-season surge to make the playoffs. The Cards augmented this group of right-handed hitters with lefty-swinging Corey Dickerson this winter, plus Lars Nootbaar and the versatile Tommy Edman will be getting some time on the grass.
The Bader extension takes care of one of the Cards’ two outstanding arb cases, as O’Neill has also yet to agree on his deal for the 2022 season. However, MLB.com’s John Denton hears from a source that “progress is being made” toward an agreement with O’Neill.
Guardians, Emmanuel Clase Agree To Extension
The Guardians have reportedly agreed to a five-year, $20MM extension with reliever Emmanuel Clase, per Mike Rodriguez of Univision (via Twitter). The deal is pending a physical. The possibility of an extension for Clase first broke yesterday.
The deal includes a $2MM signing bonus and two option years at $10MM apiece for the 2027 and 2028 seasons, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter). There is a $2MM buyout for each season, while incentives can raise the sum of each year to $13MM per year. Those option years buy out Clase’s first two years of free agency.
Clase dominated batters to the tune of a 1.29 ERA, 67.6% grounder rate, 26.5% strikeout rate, and 5.7% walk rate over 69 2/3 innings for the Guardians in 2021. He finished in the upper echelon of basically every Statcast metric in the book, while also averaging 100.3 mph on his fastball. If that wasn’t enough, Clase complemented that great fastball with a devastating slider. That wicked combination was what made Clase a tantalizing return for Corey Kluber when their long-time ace was dealt to the Texas Rangers.
The 24-year-old figures to be the Guardians’ primary closer this season. Perhaps more to the point, the Guardians hope he will be at the center of their run prevention plans for the next seven seasons, the length of contract control the team now holds over Clase. He is the only player Cleveland with a guaranteed contract beyond 2023.
Roster Notes: Nationals, A’s, Royals
Andrew Stevenson of the Nationals has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A, per the team. Stevenson can provide solid defense and baserunning, but those aren’t particular needs for a Washington team planning to start Lane Thomas and Victor Robles alongside superstar Juan Soto. Yadiel Hernandez and Gerardo Parra are the pure outfielders remaining in camp with a chance to win the fourth outfielder spot, while Ehire Adrianza is also capable of playing in the grass. As for Stevenson, he will have 48 hours to accept his assignment or elect free agency. Let’s check in on some other roster updates from around the game…
- The A’s have optioned southpaw Sam Selman to Triple-A, per the team, lowering the number of players in camp to 38. Selman appeared in each of the past three seasons with the Giants, but also made 18 appearances with the Angels after being acquired as part of the Tony Watson deal. Oakland later claimed Selman off waivers. He’ll continue to serve as bullpen depth in Oakland for the time being.
- The Royals announced a handful of minor league assignments today. Colten Brewer, Jose Cuas, Brad Peacock and Arodys Vizcaino; infielders Gabriel Cancel, Iván Castillo, Clay Dungan and Vinnie Pasquantino; and outfielders Dairon Blanco, Brewer Hicken and JaCoby Jones were all assigned to minor league camp.
Angels Designate Justin Upton For Assignment
The Angels have designated Justin Upton for assignment, per The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (via Twitter). Upton is owed $28MM this season in the last year of his deal. Anyone who claims Upton would have to take on the $28MM contract, so the likelihood here is that Upton will soon before a free agent.
The Angels appear ready to go young in the outfield. The burden to flank all-world superstar Mike Trout in the outfield will now fall to highly-touted prospects Jo Adell and Brandon Marsh. Taylor Ward, 28, will also be in the mix for playing time there.
As for Upton, the 34-year-old has proved a streaky hitter in recent years, though his final line came in at just .211/.296/.409 over 362 plate appearances. He did, however, still slug southpaws to the tune of .225/.355/.483. As a free agent, Upton could be a low-cost option to provide some value in a short-side platoon. He’s also been working out at first base this spring, which could give an avenue to playing time somewhere. Speculatively speaking, the Red Sox, Padres, Tigers, Rangers, Dodgers, or Rockies might be interested in giving Upton a look in this capacity.
Today’s move ends what has to be considered an overall disappointing tenure in L.A. for Upton, given that he hit a modest .232/.322/.443 with 75 home runs over his 1512 PA in an Angels uniform. Injuries were undoubtedly a factor, as Upton has battled back problems in recent years and also missed the majority of the 2019 season with both knee issues and turf toe.
While Upton’s numbers as an Angel still work out as above-average (106 OPS+) offensive production, more was expected given Upton’s salary. The Halos acquired Upton from the Tigers in August 2017, and though Upton had an opt-out clause following that season, the two sides worked out a new contract extension to keep Upton in Anaheim. The new deal guaranteed Upton $106MM covering the 2018-22 seasons.
In a corresponding move, Ty Buttrey was reinstated from the restricted list and placed on the 40-man roster. The right-handed reliever has been optioned to Triple-A, per the team. Buttrey had been on the restricted list since last April when he decided to take some time away from baseball, but decided over the winter to return.