Dodgers Trade AJ Pollock To White Sox For Craig Kimbrel
The Dodgers and White Sox are in agreement on a trade sending outfielder AJ Pollock to Chicago in exchange for reliever Craig Kimbrel, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (Twitter link). The two teams have since announced the trade.
It’s a fairly stunning blockbuster involving two high-profile and highly paid veterans. Pollock is earning $10MM this season and is owed at least a $5MM buyout on a $10MM player option for the 2023 season. Kimbrel, meanwhile, is slated to earn $16MM this coming season after the ChiSox picked up a 2022 club option despite a poor performance following the trade that sent him from Chicago’s north side to the south side last summer.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan tweets that there is no money changing hands in the deal, which means the Dodgers are effectively adding an extra million dollars in financial commitments (assuming Pollock declines his player option at a net $5MM and tests free agency next winter). The Dodgers will also see their luxury ledger tick upward a bit as a result of the trade. Pollock’s contract was a four-year, $55MM deal but counted as five years and $60MM for luxury tax purposes, as the player option on the end of the contract was considered guaranteed money. Thus, the contract carried a $12MM luxury hit. As Matt Gelb of The Athletic recently reported, the new CBA stipulates that a traded contract’s remaining actual dollars will count toward the luxury tax. As such, Kimbrel will now represent a $16MM luxury hit for the Dodgers (rather than the $14.5MM he’d have represented under previous rules).
Setting aside the financial component of the blockbuster swap, the trade fills a need for both teams. The Dodgers’ bullpen was lacking a shutdown option late in the game, and Kimbrel restored his credibility as a dynamic ninth-inning option through the first four months of the 2021 season while closing games for the Cubs. He’ll now join Blake Treinen, Daniel Hudson and young flamethrower Brusdar Graterol at the back of the Los Angeles bullpen.
For much of the 2021 season, Kimbrel looked back to his vintage form. In 36 2/3 innings with the Cubs, the 33-year-old righty (34 in May) posted a microscopic 0.49 ERA while racking up 23 saves and 46.7% of his opponents against a 9.4% walk rate. Kimbrel deservingly made the All-Star team, and the three-year, $43MM contract he’d signed in 2019 went from albatross to trade asset in a matter of months. The White Sox, looking to push what was already a clear division winner over the hump, traded injured second baseman Nick Madrigal and right-hander Codi Heuer to the Cubs in a crosstown blockbuster.
Kimbrel pitched a shutdown inning in each of his first two appearances with the Sox, and though he was rocked for three runs in his third outing, it looked like a blip on the radar when he bounced back with three more scoreless appearances thereafter. However, the right-hander’s struggles increased in the coming weeks as reports that Kimbrel was uncomfortable pitching in a setup capacity behind Sox closer Liam Hendriks gained prominence. Ultimately, Kimbrel posted an ugly 5.09 ERA in 23 regular season frames with the Sox before being trounced for another three runs (two earned) in two ALDS innings.
Whether Kimbrel’s struggles were indeed tied to the role in which he was pitching or whether that was a more narrative-driven explanation, the Dodgers clearly feel confident that he can return to the high level of performance he displayed with the Cubs last year. If that’s indeed the case, a bullpen that recently lost Kenley Jansen to the Braves (for this same $16MM price tag) will prove one of the most formidable in the sport.
The trade of Pollock also opens up playing time in the outfield for Chris Taylor, who’d previously been deemed the team’s primary second baseman. With Pollock and left-handed-hitting Matt Beaty now gone via trade — Beaty went to the Padres earlier this week — there’s room for Taylor to take over as the primary left fielder and longtime top prospect Gavin Lux to get in everyday reps at second base. Of course, that assumes no further additions are coming for the Dodgers. It’s at least worth noting that L.A. just traded its left fielder and has a right-handed-heavy lineup at a time when former All-Star outfielder Michael Conforto and his left-handed bat are still looking for a landing spot.
Meanwhile, the White Sox have yet to address a glaring hole in right field all offseason. The closest the Sox had come to bolstering the right field position was a recent trade for the Phillies’ Adam Haseley, but the Sox announced that Haseley was optioned to Triple-A just minutes before word of today’s trade broke. Pollock will now step right into the outfield mix, giving the Sox a quality option to pair with center fielder Luis Robert and left fielder Eloy Jimenez. The Sox went much of the 2021 season with first basemen Andrew Vaughn and Gavin Sheets masquerading as corner outfielders, so bringing Pollock into the fold will give them a true outfielder — and a solid defensive one at that.
Pollock, who turned 34 this offseason, will come to the White Sox fresh off a .297/.355/.536 showing in 117 games/422 plate appearances with the Dodgers this past season. Typically a better hitter against lefties than righties — though his career marks against right-handed pitchers are still well above average — Pollock posted a more even split last season and was immensely effective at the plate regardless of opponent handedness.
That said, Pollock also spent more than a month on the injured list with a pair of hamstring strains, one in each leg. That marked the fourth time in the past five seasons — the shortened 2020 campaign the lone exception — that he’s spent at least a month on the shelf with an injury. Pollock has also missed time with a fractured elbow that cost him 150 games in 2016, a groin strain (2017), a fractured thumb (2018) and elbow surgery (2019) in recent years. Pollock played in a career-high 157 games in 2015, but he’s averaged just 88 games per 162-game season since that time. Notably, he did play in 55 of 60 possible games during the shortened 2020 campaign, which shouldn’t be completely overlooked when weighing questions about his durability.
Even if Pollock does miss time this year, the Sox have their share of fill-in options. Veteran Adam Engel gives Chicago a defensively gifted right-handed bat who can play any of the three outfield positions. Neither Vaughn nor Sheets graded out well in terms of defense last year, but they at least got their feet wet in the outfield and could handle some corner work on a short-term basis. The aforementioned Haseley is an option to be called up at any point and at least provide quality defense and a passable bat against righties. Utilityman Leury Garcia, meanwhile, is an option all over the infield or the outfield. Second baseman Josh Harrison has his share of experience in the outfield corners as well.
As for the Chicago bullpen, the team’s offseason dealings have helped to build a strong relief corps that looks formidable even sans Kimbrel. The Sox signed veteran righties Kendall Graveman (three years, $24MM) and Joe Kelly (two years, $17MM) to multi-year deals this winter. Of course, the Sox are subtracting not only Kimbrel but also free-agent righty Ryan Tepera (who went to the Angels on a two-year deal) and lefty Garrett Crochet, whom GM Rick Hahn announced is likely to undergo Tommy John surgery just minutes after announcing the Kimbrel/Pollock deal. Hendriks, Graveman, Kelly and lefty Aaron Bummer still give the Sox a strong quartet at the end of games, but they’ll need a few in-house options to step up in the middle innings — assuming no further outside additions, of course.
Ultimately, the swap serves as the rare one-for-one, pure baseball trade that sees teams exchange a pair of veterans to address a need on either side. It’s a mostly cash-neutral swap that gives the Sox a new everyday outfielder, the Dodgers their new closer and sets the stage for both veteran to play pivotal roles for their new teams — both during the regular season and quite likely in the playoffs.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
D-Backs Sign Ryan Meisinger To Minor League Deal
The Diamondbacks have signed reliever Ryan Meisinger to a minor league contract, according to Chris Hilburn-Trenkle of Baseball America. The 27-year-old will add to Arizona’s organizational bullpen depth.
Meisinger has pitched in the big leagues in three of the past four seasons. He worked 21 innings over 18 appearances with the Orioles as a rookie in 2018, posting a 6.43 ERA. Meisinger pitched briefly with the Cardinals in 2020 and saw action in seven games with the Cubs last year. The Dodgers claimed the Radford University product off waivers in August, then outrighted him off their 40-man roster about a week later. Meisinger never pitched with L.A. and elected minor league free agency at the end of the season.
Over his time in the majors, Meisinger has worked 31 frames with a 7.26 ERA. His 21.7% strikeout rate, 13.8% walk percentage and 37.6% ground-ball rate are all a bit worse than the respective big league averages. Meisinger has an impressive minor league track record, though, owning a sub-3.50 ERA at every level below MLB. He has a 2.97 mark in 103 career Triple-A innings, including a 3.35 ERA in 40 1/3 innings between the Cubs and Dodgers top affiliates last year. Meisinger punched out a very strong 34.6% of batters faced at the minors’ top level last season.
Arizona had one of the weaker bullpens in the majors in 2021. The D-Backs ranked 28th in bullpen ERA at 5.08, prompting the front office to add Mark Melancon and Ian Kennedy to the late innings. There still figure to be opportunities in the middle innings for some younger or less heralded arms to earn a spot. Meisinger figures to open the year with Triple-A Reno but could get a big league look if he performs well with the Aces.
Cardinals Release Ricardo Sanchez, Jesus Cruz
The Cardinals have released left-hander Ricardo Sanchez and right-hander Jesus Cruz. Neither hurler pitched in the majors in 2021, as Sanchez was recovering from Tommy John surgery and Cruz spent the season at the Cards’ alternate training camp in April and then with Triple-A Memphis.
Both pitchers made their MLB debuts in 2020, with Sanchez getting a slightly longer look in the Show. Sanchez pitched 5 1/3 innings over three appearances with St. Louis, while Cruz was up in pure “cup of coffee” form with one inning of work in a single game.
Sanchez’s debut season was also set back by a positive COVID-19 diagnosis, as he was one of many Cardinals players caught up in an outbreak that ravaged the roster. The southpaw was also sidelined by elbow problems in August that eventually resulted in the TJ procedure in October 2020. Going by the normal 12-15 month Tommy John recovery timeline, Sanchez should be ready to pitch again, though it isn’t known if he experienced any setbacks in his rehab.
Sanchez is a veteran of seven pro seasons, mostly spent in the Braves’ farm system. The left-hander has a 4.52 ERA over 517 1/3 career innings in the minors, though he had gradually improved the control issues that plagued him in his early days.
Cruz was an international signing for the Cardinals in the 2017-18 July 2 class, spending some time in the Mexican League before joining the Cards organization. Cruz posted a 3.90 ERA over 210 minor league innings, amassing a strong 29.86% strikeout rate, but with a high 13.38% walk rate. Troublingly, Cruz’s control issues have gotten worse as he has worked his way up the minor league ladder.
White Sox Outright Blake Rutherford
TODAY: Rutherford was outrighted to Triple-A after clearing DFA waivers, the Sox announced.
MARCH 29: The White Sox announced Tuesday that they’ve designated outfielder Blake Rutherford for assignment. His spot on the 40-man roster goes to fellow outfielder Adam Haseley, whose previously reported acquisition from the Phillies has now been formally announced.
In jettisoning Rutherford from the roster in exchange for Haseley, the Sox are swapping out one former first-round pick and top prospect for another. Rutherford, 24, was the 18th overall selection by the Yankees back in 2016. The Sox acquired him alongside Ian Clarkin and Tito Polo in the 2017 trade that sent David Robertson and Todd Frazier to the Yankees. Haseley was the eighth overall pick by the Phillies a year later in 2017.
Heading into the 2017 season, Baseball America ranked Rutherford as the No. 45 overall prospect in baseball, but he’s yet to deliver on the tools that made him a consensus first-rounder and a high-end prospect post-draft. The former prep standout turned in an impressive .293/.345/.436 batting line (120 wRC+) in a pitcher-friendly High-A setting back in 2018.
In two full seasons since that time, however, Rutherford has batted .265/.319/.365 in Double-A (98 wRC+) and .250/.286/.404 in Triple-A (80 wRC+). Along the way, he’s seen both his strikeout and walk rates trend in the wrong direction, ultimately drawing a free pass at just a 4.4% clip while fanning in 25% of his plate appearances in Triple-A Charlotte last year.
Rutherford has a minor league option remaining to Haseley’s two. He’s also yet to make his big league debut and has been used increasingly as a corner outfielder in recent years, while Haseley has had some big league success (2019) and is still viewed as a quality defensive option across all three outfield positions. The White Sox will have a week to trade Rutherford, place him on outright waivers or release him.
Athletics Outright Grant Holmes To Triple-A
The Athletics announced that right-hander Grant Holmes has been outrighted off the 40-man roster, and been assigned to Triple-A Las Vegas. Such a move was necessary to remove Holmes from the 40-man since the 26-year-old is out of minor league options.
Holmes was the 22nd overall pick of the 2014 draft, and a regular on top-100 prospect lists for his first few minor league seasons. Originally selected by the Dodgers, he was dealt to Oakland as part of a deadline-day swap in 2016, as the A’s picked up Holmes, Frankie Montas, and Jharel Cotton from Los Angeles in exchange for Josh Reddick and Rich Hill.
Arguably the best prospect of that three-player package at the time, Holmes has yet to reach the majors due to a lot of inconsistent performances down on the farm. Holmes has a 4.43 ERA over 592 2/3 career minor league innings, including a 7.61 ERA over 71 frames at the Triple-A level. Some shoulder problems have impacted him along the way, and Holmes was of course one of countless players whose careers were set back by the canceled 2020 minor league season. With outright waivers now cleared, Holmes will try again in Triple-A and see if he can finally get on track.
The move opens up a spot on Oakland’s 40-man roster, which forecasts that the Athletics will be selecting at least one of their non-roster invites to the big league roster. Eric Thames, Justin Grimm, Dany Jimenez, and Austin Pruitt are among the notable names in camp on minor league deals, and any or all have a case to break camp, so the A’s might need to carve out some more 40-man space between now and Opening Day. Injuries could play a role, as both of Deolis Guerra and Brent Honeywell Jr. could be headed for the 60-day injured list.
Blue Jays Select David Phelps’ Contract
The Blue Jays announced that David Phelps will break camp with the team, and that his minor league contract has been selected to the active roster.
The veteran right-hander will receive a $1.75MM salary, and Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith (via Twitter) reports that Phelps can earn another $1.75MM in incentives. Phelps gets an extra $250K for appearing in 35 games, and then additional $250K bonuses for every additional five appearances, topping out at the 65-game plateau.
Phelps is now set to play in what will be his 10th Major League season, and looks to rebound from an injury-shortened 2021. A ruptured lat muscle ended Phelps’ season after only 10 1/3 innings of work, and the 35-year-old said he even considered retiring rather than face such a lengthy recovery process. However, Phelps decided to give it another chance, and ended up re-signing with Toronto on a minors deal. It isn’t the first time Phelps has overcome a major injury, as he missed a big chunk of 2013 due to a forearm strain, and then all of the 2018 season recovering from Tommy John surgery.
These stops and starts have perhaps made Phelps something of an underrated pitcher, especially since he became more or less a full-time reliever in 2016. Since the start of the 2016 campaign, Phelps has a 3.12 ERA and 29.9% strikeout rate over 207 2/3 innings with six different teams. Phelps is prone to some free passes (he also has a 10.4% walk rate over the last six seasons), but he has generally been a solid bullpen weapon when healthy. Toronto is hopeful that Phelps can continue this form in 2022, and add some depth to a relief corps that is pretty much unchanged from last year, barring the acquisition of Yimi Garcia.
White Sox Avoid Arbitration With Lucas Giolito
The White Sox announced Friday that they’ve avoided arbitration with right-hander Lucas Giolito by signing him to a one-year deal worth $7.45MM. The two sides recently exchanged arbitration figures, with Giolito’s camp submitting at $7.5MM and the Sox at $7.3MM. The Sox will settle a bit north of the midpoint to avoid a hearing with their top young starter.
Giolito, 27, is in his second season of arbitration eligibility after earning $4.15MM in his first trip through the process. The Sox and Giolito discussed extension scenarios prior to the 2021 season, but Giolito reportedly turned down a four-year deal worth a guaranteed $50MM plus a fifth-year club option. In turning down the deal, Giolito bet on himself and, at least through the first year of that bet, looks to have done well.
The 2021 campaign saw Giolito post a career-best 178 2/3 innings while pitching to a 3.53 ERA with a 27.9% strikeout rate against a similarly strong 7.2% walk rate. The former first-round pick made 31 starts for the South Siders, marking the third time in four years since being traded over from the Nationals that he’s started at least 29 games. The lone exception was the shortened 2020 season, during which Giolito started a full slate of 12 games.
After a dismal first season with the ChiSox in 2018, Giolito broke out to the tune of a 3.41 ERA through 176 2/3 frames the following season. He’s largely matched that performance each year since, solidifying himself not only as Chicago’s most consistent starter but also one of the better young arms in the American League.
The jump from $4.15MM to $7.45MM represents a raise of nearly 80% for Giolito, and if he’s able to achieve a similarly sized boost next year, he could see his salary vault into the $12-13MM range in what would be his final season before free agency. At that point, assuming good health, Giolito would be poised to reach the open market in advance of his age-29 season and with nearly $25MM in arbitration earnings already in his pocket. Viewed through that lens, it’s easy to see why Giolito wasn’t swayed by the team’s $50MM offer, which could’ve kept him from reaching the market until he was set to enter his age-31 season.
Diamondbacks Extend Merrill Kelly
The Diamondbacks announced Friday that they’ve signed right-hander Merrill Kelly to a two-year contract extension, covering the 2023-24 seasons. There’s a club option for the 2025 season as well. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports that Kelly will be guaranteed $18MM in new money on the contract. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic adds that the right-hander will receive a $1MM signing bonus and earn $8MM in each of the 2023 and 2024 seasons. The 2025 club option is valued at $7MM and comes with a $1MM buyout. Kelly is represented by Apex Baseball.
The new contract for Kelly ought to put any trade speculation to rest for the foreseeable future. Kelly was an oft-mentioned trade candidate prior to the 2021 deadline given his solid production for a noncontending D-backs club and a contract that, prior to today’s announcement, only ran through the 2022 season. Instead, he’ll join recently extended Ketel Marte as a consistent presence for a D-backs team that clearly has no plans to tear down or take a step back despite last year’s poor showing and a stacked division.
Kelly, 33, had been slated to earn $5.25MM this season before reaching free agency for the first time next winter. That $5.25MM salary was locked in after Arizona picked up a club option on Kelly, who originally joined the D-backs on a two-year, $5.5MM deal with a pair of options after a strong run pitching in the Korea Baseball Organization.
Prior to signing in Arizona, Kelly had never thrown a pitch in the Majors. An eighth-round pick of the Rays back in 2010, Kelly never got a look in the Majors with Tampa Bay before being lured to the KBO after a strong run in the upper minors. He spent the 2015-18 seasons pitching for the KBO’s SK Wyverns — now the SSG Landers — where he logged a 3.86 ERA with a 20.6% strikeout rate and a 6.6% walk rate.
That showing was enough to entice the D-backs to bring him back stateside on a guaranteed multi-year deal, and Kelly has rewarded the D-backs with three years of solid performance to date. In 427 2/3 innings, he’s posted a 4.27 ERA with a 20.2% strikeout rate, a 6.6% walk rate and a 43.1% grounder rate. Kelly made 32 starts in his first big league season and another 27 last year. His 2020 campaign was cut short by thoracic outlet surgery, but he was the rare pitcher who immediately bounced back from TOS to produce quality results the following season.
Given the solid nature of Kelly’s work since that big league debut, it’s a rather risk-averse decision to take a reasonably priced extension with free agency just a few months away. That said, given his recent injury and the fact that he didn’t cash in on his first Major League deal until his age-30 season, it’s plenty understandable that he’d opt for the security of a new deal right now. The $18MM in new guarantees will more than double his career earnings, after all. And, in putting pen to paper on this deal, he’ll further establish himself as an aspirational benchmark for little-known players who sign overseas in hopes of eventually cashing in upon a return to North American ball.
With Kelly now locked into a steady back-of-the-rotation spot, he’ll be counted on alongside Madison Bumgarner, Zac Gallen and Luke Weaver to round out the starting staff both this year and into future seasons. Veteran right-hander Zach Davies, signed to a one-year deal in March, non-roster righty Dan Straily (another KBO returnee), lefty Tyler Gilbert and prospect Corbin Martin are among the other options for the Diamondbacks as they look to rebound from last year’s woeful 52-110 showing.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Mariners Expected To Sign Tommy Milone
The Mariners are expected to sign Tommy Milone to a minor league contract, reports Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times (Twitter link). The veteran left-hander will presumably open the year with Triple-A Tacoma.
Milone is a familiar face to Mariners fans, as he spent the 2019 campaign in Seattle. That season, he tossed 111 2/3 innings as a swingman, pitching to a 4.76 ERA. The M’s are one of nine different teams for which the 35-year-old has suited up at the big league level. The USC product has bounced around the league in true journeyman fashion, but he’s continued to earn big league looks along the way. Milone has pitched in the majors in each of the past eleven seasons, although his 14 frames with the Blue Jays last year marked a personal low.
One of the softer throwers in the game, Milone has never been known for his bat-missing prowess. Bizarrely, he did punch out an above-average 26.2% of opposing hitters on a strong 12.4% swinging strike rate last season despite averaging a career-low 84.2 MPH on his fastball. That’s probably little more than a sample size blip, as his 16.4% strikeout percentage in Triple-A more closely aligned with his career track record.
Without overpowering stuff, Milone has gotten by on excellent control. He’s never walked more than 7.1% of batters faced in a given season, and he’s doled out free passes at just a 5.6% clip for his career. (Last year’s league average walk percentage for starters, for reference, checked in at 7.8%). That strike-throwing reliability has made Milone a frequently-used depth option throughout his career. He has started 146 of his 189 MLB appearances, posting a 4.59 cumulative ERA.
The Mariners look likely to open the year with a top four of Robbie Ray, Marco Gonzales, Chris Flexen and Logan Gilbert. Top prospects Matt Brash and George Kirby look the likely options for the final spot, with Brash seemingly having the upper hand by virtue of last season’s late selection onto the 40-man roster. Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic wrote yesterday that Seattle brass would prefer to add another starter to that group, but it’s not clear that’s possible at this stage of the offseason. Regardless of whether the M’s make another rotation move in the next week, Milone figures to begin the season in Tacoma and remain on hand in the event injuries necessitate a midseason call-up.
Pirates Acquire Josh VanMeter From Diamondbacks
The Pirates and Diamondbacks announced a deal sending utilityman Josh VanMeter to Pittsburgh for minor league pitcher Listher Sosa. To clear space on the 40-man roster, Pittsburgh designated outfielder Jared Oliva for assignment.
Arizona had designated VanMeter for assignment over the weekend. The 27-year-old is out of minor league option years, meaning the D-Backs had to keep him on the active roster all season or bump him from the 40-man. The Arizona front office evidently determined they weren’t prepared to carry him in the majors.
The Bucs will have to keep VanMeter in the bigs themselves. That they parted with a minor leaguer, rather than waiting to try to grab him off waivers, indicates he’s at least likely to break camp with the MLB team. Pittsburgh would’ve been third in waiver priority based on their finish near the bottom of last year’s standings. (The Pirates had the league’s fourth-worst record, but the D-Backs were one of the teams below them). Rather than risk another team trading for VanMeter or the Orioles/Rangers grabbing him on waivers, the Bucs decided to relinquish a young pitcher to add him.
VanMeter adds a left-handed, multi-positional bat to the mix for skipper Derek Shelton. He has appeared in each of the past three seasons with the Reds and D-Backs, tallying 649 plate appearances. The former fifth-round pick has a career .212/.300/.364 slash line, offense that checks in 25 percentage points below average by measure of wRC+. It was a similar story last season, when VanMeter hit .212/.297/.354 in a personal-high 310 trips to the dish with Arizona.
Those results aren’t great, but VanMeter has shown some promising traits that caught the attention of the Bucs front office. He’s walked in an above-average 10.6% of his plate appearances. Last season, he only chased 21.1% of pitches outside the strike zone, the tenth-lowest mark among the 262 hitters with 300+ trips. That’s partially attributable to an overall patience at the plate — he also has one of the lower swing rates on pitches in the zone — but that selectivity has allowed VanMeter to work plenty of deep counts. He also has slightly above-average career marks in hard contact rate and average exit velocity, pairing his measured approach with some raw power.
VanMeter isn’t regarded as a great defender anywhere, but he’s got plenty of experience at each of first, second and third base and in left field. Ke’Bryan Hayes and Yoshi Tsutsugo are going to play most days in the respective corner infield spots, but the Bucs don’t have obvious answers at the keystone or in left. VanMeter will presumably start off as a bench bat, but there should be a chance to earn more at-bats on a rebuilding Pittsburgh team if his performance warrants.
Oliva had been one of the candidates to see some time in left field, but his future in the organization is now in question. Ranked among the back half of the Bucs top 30 prospects by Baseball America in each of the past three seasons, the University of Arizona product looked like he may develop into a fourth or fifth outfield type. He posted strong offensive numbers with gaudy stolen base totals up through Double-A in 2019, but he’s coming a tough campaign.
The right-handed hitter appeared in 64 games and tallied 249 plate appearances with Triple-A Indianapolis last season. He posted a .249/.321/.364 line in a fairly hitter-friendly setting, and he didn’t produce in a 20-game big league look in July. The Bucs will now have a week to trade Oliva or place him on outright waivers. Given that he’s only 26 years old and still has a couple option years remaining, it’s not out of the question another club takes a flier.
Sosa, meanwhile, is a 20-year-old righty who spent last season in the Florida Complex League. The Bucs signed him for $150K out of the Dominican Republic during the 2018-19 international signing period. The 6’4″ hurler posted a 4.31 ERA in 31 1/3 innings last season, striking out 25% of opponents against a tiny 3.8% walk rate.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.