Marlins, Grant Dayton Agree To Minor League Deal
The Marlins are in agreement with reliever Grant Dayton on a minor league contract, reports Craig Mish of SportsGrid (Twitter link). He’ll receive an invitation to big league Spring Training.
Dayton has spent the past three seasons in the NL East as a member of the Braves. The left-hander was effective when healthy between 2019-20, but he missed most of the former campaign on account of a fracture in his right foot. Between the two seasons, he only tallied 39 1/3 innings across 32 outings but he posted a 2.52 ERA.
Last year was a struggle for the Auburn product, as he surrendered ten runs in thirteen frames. He landed on the injured list in early June with inflammation in his throwing shoulder, then was transferred to the 60-day IL in July. Dayton never returned, and Atlanta cut him loose after the season.
Originally a Marlins draftee (11th round in 2010), Dayton made it as high as Triple-A in the Miami system and briefly cracked the 40-man roster. The Fish outrighted him in April 2015, before he ever made it to the majors, then traded him to the Dodgers that July. He made his big league debut in Los Angeles the following season, working to a 2.05 ERA in 25 games as a rookie.
Dayton, now 34, has 99 MLB appearances under his belt. He’s pitched in the majors in five of the past six seasons, posting a 3.43 ERA over 102 1/3 innings. The Alabama native has never had a problem missing bats, as he’s punched out an above-average 27.5% of opponents throughout his career. His 9% career walk rate is manageable, but the fly-ball pitcher has served up 1.67 homers per nine innings in the big leagues. Spacious Marlins Park could aid him in keeping the ball in the yard, but Dayton will first have to pitch his way onto the roster. The newly-extended Richard Bleier is Miami’s top southpaw in the bullpen, while Steven Okert and Sean Guenther also occupy spots on the 40-man.
Marlins, Richard Bleier Agree To Contract Extension
7:13pm: The deal could actually buy out a pair of free agent seasons, as Craig Mish of SportsGrid reports (on Twitter) there’s a 2024 club option as well. According to Mish, Bleier will receive $2.25MM this year and $3.5MM next season. The option is valued at $3.75MM and comes with a $250K buyout.
3:46pm: The Marlins are in agreement on a two-year, $6MM contract extension with reliever Richard Bleier, reports Daniel Álvarez Montes of El EtxtraBase (Twitter link). The deal extends Miami’s window of club control over the southpaw by a season, as he’d been ticketed to reach free agency at the end of the year. Bleier is represented by Vision Sports.
Bleier has spent the past year and a half in South Florida, as the Fish acquired him in August 2020 while their roster was being decimated by a COVID-19 outbreak. It looked like a nice buy-low for the Marlins at the time, as Bleier had performed well from 2016-18 before things went off track in 2019. Miami took a low-risk flier on him returning to his early-career form, and he’s done just that.
The Florida Gulf Coast product has made 87 appearances in a Marlins uniform, working 71 2/3 innings of 2.89 ERA ball. He’s certainly not the flashiest reliever, having only punched out 18.1% of batters faced. Yet Bleier has walked just 3.6% of opponents and he’s induced grounders on almost two-thirds of balls in play against him. Among 197 relievers with 50+ innings since the Marlins acquired him, only three (Aaron Bummer, Clay Holmes and Emmanuel Clase) have been more successful than Bleier at keeping the ball on the ground. Despite lacking high-velocity, swing-and-miss stuff, Bleier has held opposing hitters to a .242/.275/.337 line in that time.
That is more or less a formula Bleier has ridden to success for his entire career. Over parts of six big league seasons with the Yankees, Orioles and Marlins, he owns a 2.96 ERA with a 63.5% ground-ball rate in 249 innings. He was tagged for a 5.37 ERA in his disappointing 2019 campaign, but he rather incredibly owns a sub-3.00 mark in each of his other five seasons.
Bleier has been especially stifling against same-handed batters, holding lefties to a meager .218/.254/.296 mark in 455 career plate appearances. Righties have hit .297 against him, but Bleier’s combination of elite control and ground-ball numbers have held them to manageable .332 and .440 on-base and slugging marks, respectively.
Picking up a low-cost extra year of control looks like a nifty move for general manager Kim Ng and her staff. Bleier had been projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for a $2.5MM salary via arbitration this season. Today’s deal thus amounts to around $3.5MM in additional money to keep him off the market next year. Bleier turns 35 years old in April and doesn’t have the kind of high-octane arsenal teams value in high-leverage situations, so he was never going to break the bank in free agency. That said, southpaws Aaron Loup (two years, $17MM) and Andrew Chafin (two years, $13MM) landed more significant money in free agency this winter despite similar track records as Bleier has established in recent years. Those hurlers are each a bit younger, but none commanded long-term commitments anyhow.
Bleier figures to return to a middle relief role for manager Don Mattingly this season. He’s the top southpaw in a bullpen mix that also includes Steven Okert and Sean Guenther. Miami quietly had one of the more productive bullpens in the game last season, finishing 7th as a group with a 3.81 ERA.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Cubs, Robel Garcia Agree To Minor League Deal
The Cubs signed infielder Robel García to a minor league contract over the weekend, according to the transactions tracker at MLB.com. The switch-hitting infielder returns to the organization with which he began his MLB career.
García broke into pro ball with the Indians in 2010 but didn’t advance past Low-A in three-plus years in the system. He was out of affiliated ball entirely for some time, but García posted big numbers playing professionally in Italy between 2017-18. The Cubs were intrigued and brought him back to the affiliated ranks on a minors pact over the 2018-19 offseason.
Upon stepping into the high minors in the system, García picked up where he’d left off in Italy. He tore the cover off the ball for a month in Double-A, then hit .281/.361/.585 with 21 home runs over 296 plate appearances at Triple-A Iowa. The Cubs selected him to make his major league debut that July, and he appeared in 31 games. The Dominica Republic native hit five homers in 80 plate appearances, but he also struck out 35 times while drawing just seven walks.
Chicago waived García the following July, and he was claimed by the division-rival Reds. After spending the 2020 season at Cincinnati’s alternate training site, he bounced around the waiver wire from the Mets to the Angels to the Astros. García stuck in Houston for the bulk of last year, tallying a personal-high 117 plate appearances over 47 games. He hit only .151/.216/.208 with one homer in that time, though, and he struggled to a .162/.272/.368 mark over 32 games with Triple-A Sugar Land.
The Astros designated García for assignment and outrighted him off their 40-man roster last September. He elected minor league free agency and now returns to the place where he began the second act of his career. Swing-and-miss has been a clear problem for García, who has punched out in 33.1% of his Triple-A plate appearances and nearly 40% of his big league trips to the dish. Yet he’s capable of playing anywhere on the infield and has flashed some power potential in the past. The Cubs will take add him back to the organization, although it might be hard for García to crack an Opening Day infield mix that figures to include Andrelton Simmons, Nico Hoerner, Nick Madrigal, Jonathan Villar and Patrick Wisdom.
Cubs To Sign Steven Brault
March 21: Brault’s deal has been reworked as a minor league contract with a non-roster invite to Spring Training and a July opt-out opportunity, tweets Bastian. The veteran lefty is now dealing with an “injury setback” of some type, per Bastian — hence the restructured deal. He’d earn at a $1.5MM rate in the big leagues and can tack on up to $400K worth of incentives.
March 16, 11:30am: Brault is signing a Major League contract with the Cubs, tweets Jordan Bastian of MLB.com.
10:44am: The Cubs are close to a deal with free-agent lefty Steven Brault, tweets Robert Murray of FanSided. The longtime Pirates southpaw became a free agent earlier this offseason when Pittsburgh cut him loose just prior to the non-tender deadline. Brault is represented by Warner Sports Management.
Brault, 30 in April, has tallied 70 1/3 innings for the Pirates since 2020. He was occasionally deployed as an opener in the shortened 2020 season, though he did close out that year by allowing only one earned run over 16 innings across two starts. In March of 2021, Brault suffered a lat strain, pushing his season debut to August 4. In seven starts, he completed five innings only twice, with his velocity down 1.4 miles per hour from the prior year. The lat strain re-occured on September 10, ending his season and six-year career with the Pirates.
Brault’s career high in innings in an MLB season is 113 1/3, back in 2019. In his big league career, he’s generally struggled with walks and hasn’t missed bats. Brault was a two-way player at Regis University, and was drafted by the Orioles in the 11th round in 2013 and traded to the Pirates two years later. The athletic lefty managed to hit .333 in 50 plate appearances back in 2019, and which point the suggestion arose that he could occasionally pitch in in the outfield. If Brault is healthy, there could still be a potential back-end starter in there for the Cubs. They badly need the depth, especially with Adbert Alzolay starting the season on the IL.
Nationals Claim Hunter Harvey, Place Carter Kieboom On 60-Day Injured List
The Nationals have claimed right-hander Hunter Harvey off waivers from the Giants, per a club announcement. In order to open a spot on the 40-man roster, third baseman Carter Kieboom has been placed on the 60-day injured list with what the team has termed a right UCL sprain/flexor mass strain.
Harvey is a former first-round pick and top prospect who once looked as if he’d be an important part of the Orioles’ long-term plans. His professional career has been thrown off track by injuries, though, as he landed on the minor league injured list in every season between 2014-18. That included a July 2016 Tommy John procedure that kept him to 31 1/3 cumulative innings between 2016-17.
Baltimore eventually moved Harvey to the bullpen in an attempt to keep him healthy, although that hasn’t yet manifested in better results in that regard. He missed the majority of last season recovering from oblique and lat strains. Between the injuries, Harvey has only managed to log 23 2/3 innings at the big league level.
Despite the questionable health record, the North Carolina native has continued to catch teams’ attention. San Francisco nabbed him off waivers from the Orioles in November, but they’ll lose him before he ever logs an inning in their uniform. It’s easy to see why Harvey hasn’t yet passed through the wire unclaimed, as he owns a 3.42 ERA while averaging north of 97 MPH on his heater in his limited big league time. If he can stay healthy — which is clearly no small caveat — it’s still easy to envision Harvey as a productive arm in the middle or late innings. He also has a minor league option year remaining, so the Nats can shuttle him between Washington and Triple-A Rochester for the rest of the year if they carry him on the 40-man roster.
Kieboom is a former first-rounder and top prospect himself. He has struggled to a .197/.304/.285 line over his first 414 MLB plate appearances, but the 24-year-old still seemed to have a path to regular playing time on a retooling Nationals club this year. Unfortunately, he recently sustained a forearm/elbow injury when throwing, and MLB.com’s Joe Trezza tweets that he’ll need to rest for at least six weeks before he can resume baseball activities.
It’s a tough setback for both Kieboom and the Nationals, as 2022 is shaping up as something of a make-or-break year for the young infielder. The Nats don’t look like a strong playoff contender this season, but they’re not about to embark on a rebuild with Juan Soto only under club control for three more seasons. Evaluating whether Kieboom could be part of the long-term core seemed like a key objective for the Washington front office, but that’ll be on hold for at least a couple months. With Kieboom out, Luis Garcia, veteran utilityman Ehire Adrianza and non-roster invitee Maikel Franco all seem to have an easier path to playing time at the hot corner early in the year.
Diamondbacks Claim Caleb Baragar
The D-backs have claimed left-hander Caleb Baragar off waivers from the Giants, per a club announcement. Arizona also confirmed its previously reported signing of Oliver Perez to a minor league contract.
Baragar remains in the NL West, as he’d spent his entire career to date with San Francisco. That includes stints in the big leagues in each of the past two seasons, over which time he’s combined for 45 1/3 innings in 49 games. The former ninth-round pick has an impressive 2.78 ERA in that time, but his underlying numbers haven’t supported that kind of run prevention. Baragar’s 18.8% strikeout rate is about five points below that of the league average reliever. He excelled at avoiding walks during his rookie campaign (5.7%), but last year’s 12.2% walk rate was much more problematic.
Walks and home runs proved a major problem for Baragar in Triple-A as well. He handed out free passes at an untenable 17.6% clip with the Giants’ top affiliate in Sacramento, allowing seven homers in 22 1/3 innings. That led to an 8.46 ERA at the minors’ top level, and San Francisco designated him for assignment last week.
The D-Backs will take a shot on the 27-year-old (28 next month) returning to form. Until last season, Baragar generally had a decent track record in the minors. He still has a pair of option years remaining, so Arizona can keep him with their top affiliate in Reno as needed. He joins Joe Mantiply, Kyle Nelson and swingman Caleb Smith as lefty relief options on the Arizona 40-man roster.
Twins Claim Jhon Romero, Place Randy Dobnak On 60-Day Injured List
The Twins announced Monday that they’ve claimed righty Jhon Romero off waivers from the Nationals and, in a corresponding move, placed right-hander Randy Dobnak on the 60-day injured list. Dobnak is still dealing with the effects of a strain in the middle finger on his pitching hand that he suffered last summer.
Romero has five big league innings under his belt, all coming with Washington within the final couple weeks of last season. The 27-year-old showed a three-pitch mix, averaging 94.5 MPH on his four-seam with a slider and changeup that both checked in around 85 MPH. While his big league body of work was too limited on which to draw any meaningful conclusions, he did have an excellent season in the high minors.
The Colombia native split the year between Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Rochester, spending the bulk of the season at the lower level. He tossed 55 cumulative innings across 38 appearances, posting a 2.62 ERA with an excellent 30.5% strikeout percentage and a minuscule 4.9% walk rate. That earned him a late-season call with a Washington club that had a very thin relief corps by the end of the year. However, he didn’t stick on the Nats 40-man roster all winter, as they designated him for assignment last week upon finalizing their one-year deal with Nelson Cruz.
The Twins will take a low-risk dice roll on Romero on the heels of his strong minor league campaign. He still has all option years remaining, so Minnesota can stash him with Triple-A St. Paul for the foreseeable future so long as they keep him on their 40-man.
Dobnak posted quality numbers through his first two big league seasons, combining for a 3.12 ERA despite a subpar strikeout rate on account of excellent control and ground-ball numbers. Minnesota signed him to a five-year, $9.25MM extension last spring, but his 2021 season was a disaster. He was tagged for a 7.64 ERA in 50 2/3 innings. Dobnak spent most of the second half of the season on the injured list with the aforementioned finger strain, returning for one appearance in September before going back on the shelf.
The hope had been that Dobnak would bounce back this year, but the team shut him down over the weekend due to continued soreness in the area. There’s no clear timetable for his return, but he’ll miss at least the first two months of the season.
Cardinals Claim Packy Naughton
The Cardinals announced Monday that they’ve claimed left-hander Packy Naughton off waivers from the Angels. The Cards had one open spot on the 40-man roster, which is now full.
A ninth-round pick by the Reds back in 2017, Naughton was traded to the Halos in the Aug. 2020 trade that shipped outfielder Brian Goodwin to Cincinnati. Naughton made his big league debut in Anaheim last season and wound up pitching 22 2/3 innings with an unsightly 6.35 ERA and more walks (14) than strikeouts (12).
That said, the 25-year-old has a solid minor league track record, having compiled 431 2/3 innings of 3.77 ERA ball with a 21.2% strikeout rate, a 5.7% walk rate and 42.1% grounder rate. Naughton ranked in the middle tiers of both the Angels and Reds farm systems over the years, per Baseball America, who noted that despite lacking a power arsenal Naughton possessed the durability and feel for pitching to profile as a back-end starter.
Indeed, made 28 starts in both 2018 and in 2019, pitching to solid ERAs (4.03 in Class-A and 3.32 between Class-A Advanced and Double-A) with low walk rates and below-average strikeout numbers. For a Cardinals team that’s largely built around an elite defense, he’s a sensible depth pickup. That depth is all the more crucial right now with ace Jack Flaherty and fellow righty Alex Reyes both expected to begin the season on the injured list. Naughton isn’t any kind of favorite to open the year in the Cardinals’ rotation, but he’s a 25-year-old with a pair of option years remaining, so he gives the Cards some nice flexibility.
Diamondbacks Sign Oliver Perez To Minor League Deal
The D-backs have signed lefty Oliver Perez to a minor league contract, Perez himself tells Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (Twitter thread). Perez is a client of the Boras Corporation.
The deal with Arizona represents a change of plans for the veteran Perez, who’d previously been slated to play with los Toros de Tijuana in the Mexican League for the upcoming season. Perez announced that he planned to retire after spending the season with the Toros, although that signing and the announcement by Perez came while the MLB lockout was still in place. For now, Perez will shift his focus and instead take aim at an incredible twentieth MLB season.
Perez, 40, has spent the past four seasons in Cleveland, where he’s pitched to a combined 2.57 ERA in 94 2/3 frames of relief work. Perez, however, only tossed 3 2/3 innings in the Majors last year. He spent the rest of the season pitching with that same Toros club for which he’d been planning to play while the lockout was still ongoing.
At this point, the veteran Perez’s track record largely speaks for itself. After a roller-coaster run as a starting pitcher from 2002-10, Perez moved to the bullpen with the 2012 Mariners and embarked on what has essentially amounted to a second career as a reliever. Working for a long time as the quintessential lefty specialist, Perez has made 489 relief appearances and totaled 350 innings of 3.42 ERA ball since that 2012 campaign began.
The implementation of the three-batter minimum wasn’t a great development for pitchers with specialized skill sets of this nature, but Perez had no trouble getting right-handed opponents out in 2020. It was an admittedly short sample, and his career numbers tell another story, but Perez held righties to a .229/.342/.286 slash in 41 plate appearances that year and was similarly effective in another dozen tries last year.
Reds, Brandon Drury Agree To Deal
Another day, another new sighting in the Reds’ clubhouse. Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets that veteran infielder/outfielder Brandon Drury has a locker with the Reds, signaling that the two parties have agreed to terms. Presumably, a deal with the Wasserman client will formally be announced once he passes a physical.
Drury, 29, spent the 2021 season with the Mets organization, appearing in 51 games at the big league level but primarily serving as a bench player. He logged just 88 plate appearances across those 51 contests and posted a strong .274/.307/.476 batting line with four homers and five doubles.
That was far and away Drury’s most productive showing in the past several seasons. The former 13th-round pick looked on his way to solidifying himself as a solid big league hitter with some defensive versatility back in 2016, when he hit .282/.329/.458 with 16 homers and 31 doubles in 499 plate appearances with the D-backs. He followed that with a solid enough .267/.317/.447 output in 2017, but Drury’s bat went dormant from 2018-20, when he mustered only a .205/.254/.346 triple slash through a combined 582 plate appearances.
Drury has played all over the diamond in the big leagues, although his most frequent positions have been second base (1264 innings) and third base (1082 innings). He’s also logged more than 400 innings in both outfield corners in addition to 139 innings at first base and 57 frames at shortstop.
The Reds are largely set at second base and third base, with reigning NL Rookie of the Year Jonathan India and veteran Mike Moustakas, respectively. Cincinnati also inked Donovan Solano to a one-year deal last week, and he can fill in at second, third and shortstop as needed. The outfield is a bit less certain following the trade of Jesse Winker, but the Reds still have Jake Fraley, Nick Senzel, Tyler Naquin, Shogo Akiyama and Aristides Aquino on the big league roster. That doesn’t leave a ton of room for Drury to win a roster spot — assuming this is a minor league deal, which seems likely — but injuries or further transactions could always open up playing time.