Giants Sign Taylor Williams To Minors Deal
The Giants have signed right-handed pitcher Taylor Williams to a minor league deal with an invite to big league camp, per Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com.
Williams was drafted by the Brewers and spent the first three years of his big league career there, before bouncing to the Mariners, Padres and Marlins over the past two years. Over his five seasons, he’s gotten into 97 games and thrown 98 2/3 innings. His career ERA is 5.29, along with a 23.3% strikeout rate and 10.9% walk rate.
Now 30 years old, Williams is out of options. If he’s able to crack the Giants’ roster, he’ll have to stay there, or else be designated for assignment. However, with just over three years of MLB service time, if he can earn and hang onto a roster spot, he can be retained by the club via arbitration.
Yankees To Sign Marwin Gonzalez To Minor League Deal
The Yankees agreed to a minor league deal with utility man Marwin Gonzalez, according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. He’ll earn $1.15MM if he reaches the Majors, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
Gonzalez, 33, has struggled with the bat over the last two seasons with the Twins, Red Sox, and Astros, posting a 62 wRC+ in 506 plate appearances. Gonzalez came up with the Astros, establishing himself as a versatile oft-used utility player capable of above average offense, particularly in 2017 when he put up a 144 wRC+. He has experience at all four infield positions as well as both corner outfield spots.
Though he fell back to Earth in 2018, Gonzalez was good enough after that season to rank 16th on MLBTR’s top 50 free agents list. He set out looking for a four-year deal, but landed a two-year, $21MM pact with the Twins. After the 2020 season, Gonzalez signed a one-year, $3MM deal with the Red Sox. He was released by August 2021, returning to the Astros and cracking their World Series roster.
Ultimately, Gonzalez represents nothing more than a harmless minor league deal for the Yankees. Every team signs at least a half-dozen of these every spring, to little consequence. However, it’s difficult denying the poor optics and timing of the Gonzalez signing for the Yankees. While the Yankees have found their 2021 shortstop in Isiah Kiner-Falefa, the Gonzalez minor league deal comes about a day after the Twins landed Carlos Correa on a three-year, $105.1MM deal, and minutes after the Red Sox reached a six-year, $140MM agreement with Trevor Story.
The juxtaposition with Correa is particularly stark. Both Correa and Gonzalez were heavily involved in the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal of 2017 and ’18. In Tony Adams’ research of 58 home games from the ’17 Astros, no player had more correct trash can bangs (signifying what type of pitch was coming) than Marwin Gonzalez. It had been reported that at least one of the reasons the Yankees were cool on Correa was his involvement in the scandal, with the club having lost the 2017 ALCS to the Astros. Now the Yankees have added perhaps the chief perpetrator to the organization.
Of course, a no-risk minor league deal for Gonzalez is not analogous to the ten-year commitment Correa initially sought, but it’s still a bad look. Throw in Story’s surprising megadeal with the arch-rival Red Sox, who already had an excellent player at shortstop in Xander Bogaerts, and this morning’s Gonzalez signing may represent more for Yankees fans than a minor depth addition.
Ultimately that’s all it is, and Gonzalez isn’t guaranteed a spot on the big league team. Having traded Luke Voit, the Yankees are set up around the infield with Anthony Rizzo, Gleyber Torres, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and Josh Donaldson, with DJ LeMahieu filling in at first, second, and third as needed. LeMahieu has never played the outfield and has almost never played shortstop. But the Yankees also still have Miguel Andujar on the 40-man roster, and the 27-year-old has experience at both third base and left field.
Phillies Sign Ronald Torreyes To Minors Deal
The Phillies have signed infielder Ronald Torreyes to a minor league deal with an invite to big league camp, according to Matt Gelb of The Athletic. That makes this three years in a row that Torreyes and the Phils have signed such a deal.
Torreyes, 29, is a veteran of seven seasons, also spending time with the Dodgers, Yankees and Twins. He’s never hit a ton, but is useful off the bench as he can provide quality defense at multiple positions and puts the ball in play.
In 352 career games, Torreyes a slash line of .265/.299/.361, wRC+ of 76. His career strikeout rate of 12.6% is just barely over half the usual league average. (Average was 23.2% last year.) He only played four games for the Phils in 2020 but got into 112 games last year, hitting .242/.286/.346, for a wRC+ of 68. Defensively, he saw significant time at third base, shortstop and second base, as well as a brief appearance in center field and he even logged 2 2/3 innings of mop-up duty on the mound.
Cracking the big league roster for a third year in a row might be a challenge for Torreyes. The club projects to start the season with Jean Segura at second, Didi Gregorius at short and Alec Bohm at third. Johan Camargo was signed prior to the lockout to serve the bench/utility role, and the 40-man roster also features optionable infielders such as Luke Williams and Nick Maton.
Marlins To Sign Jorge Soler
The Marlins and outfielder Jorge Soler have agreed to a three-year, $36MM contract, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reports (Twitter links). Soler has opt-out clauses after each of the 2022 and 2023 seasons. Soler is represented by MVP Sports.
Soler will earn $12MM in the first year of the contract, as per FanSided’s Robert Murray (Twitter link). Provided he doesn’t opt out of the deal, Soler is slated to earn $15MM in 2023 and $9MM in 2024. Various incentives based on playing time could significantly boost that 2024 salary, as Soler gets an extra $500K for reaching the 350-plate appearance and 400-PA thresholds, and then a $1MM bonus for hitting 450 PA, 500 PA, and 550 PA.
The deal represents the second big free agent splurge of the winter for the Marlins, who also signed Avisail Garcia to a four-year, $53MM pact prior to the lockout. Miami went into the offseason with a stated need for outfield help and more lineup pop, and the result is two players who have combined for 154 homers since the start of the 2019 season.
Soler led the AL with 48 home runs during that 2019 campaign, one of the high points of what has been an inconsistent eight-year run in the majors for the 30-year-old. Both sides of the Soler experience was on display in 2021, when he began the season hitting only .192/.288/.370 with 13 homers over 360 plate appearances with the Royals.
After the Braves picked Soler up at the trade deadline, however, the switch seemed to be flipped. Soler proceeded to hit .269/.358/.524 with 14 home runs over 242 PA for his new team, and then topped that strong performance in the World Series, batting .300/.391/.800 with three more long balls during 23 PA in the Fall Classic. With Atlanta capturing the championship, Soler earned World Series MVP honors.
There was plenty of interest in Soler on the open market this winter, as the Braves were interested in a reunion, and clubs like the Rockies, Padres joined the Marlins as known suitors for the slugger. MLBTR ranked Soler 25th on our list of the winter’s top 50 free agents, and correctly predicted Soler’s actual three-year, $36MM contract. (Our Anthony Franco took the prognostication a step further and even picked Soler to sign with the Marlins.)
The challenge for any interested club, of course, was determining how much to bid for a player whose production has ebbed and flowed over the years. By that same logic, Soler and his representatives obviously wanted a solid deal that wouldn’t sell the outfielder short for future years if he did return to that 48-homer pace. The two opt-outs allow some flexibility in both cases, as if Soler does enjoy a big 2022 season, he can test the market again next winter.
If Soler did end up only being a Marlin for one season, the team might prefer the flexibility, given the continued uncertainty of Miami’s center field situation. General manager Kim Ng said earlier today that the team was on the lookout for center field help, though Garcia was cited as a possible center field candidate at the time of his signing.
With Soler now added to the mix, it would seem as though Garcia will be tapped for at least semi-regular center field duty, barring another move for the Fish. Jesus Sanchez can also get some work in center and will play regularly as a corner outfielder, while Soler will play every day in either the other corner slot or as the designated hitter. Garrett Cooper will likely get the other right field/DH spot that Soler doesn’t occupy, with Cooper and Jesus Aguilar also sharing time at first base.
Bryan De La Cruz will get one outfield bench spot, while minor league signings Delino DeShields and Roman Quinn could be battling for another bench role. Since DeShields has a stronger defensive track record, that might give him the edge in winning a job, especially if the Marlins seem to be prioritizing hitting over glovework with their other outfield choices.
The likes of Brian Anderson, Joey Wendle, or Jon Berti could also factor into the outfield picture, and future acquisitions can’t be ruled out during what has been a very aggressive offseason for the Marlins. Between the Soler/Garcia signings and the trades for Wendle and Jacob Stallings, the Fish are making a concerted effort to improve, and the free agent deals represent some notable expenditures for a traditionally lower-payroll team. Due to some reports that Derek Jeter‘s surprising departure as CEO was because of a change in ownership’s willingness to spend, the Soler contract will quiet some criticism directed at the franchise in the aftermath of Jeter’s decision.
If Soler doesn’t opt out and he hits his 2024 incentive clauses, the total value of the deal will top out at $40MM over three years, which isn’t a huge spend in comparison to other free agent contracts. That said, Miami native Nick Castellanos was another rumored Marlins target, and the Fish might’ve simply felt that spending $36MM (or as little as $12MM) on Soler was a better investment than topping the five-year, $100MM contract Castellanos received from the Phillies. Castellanos also would’ve cost the Marlins a draft pick via the qualifying offer, whereas Soler wasn’t attached to any draft compensation.
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Diamondbacks Sign Wilmer Difo To Minors Contract
The Diamondbacks have inked utilityman Wilmer Difo to a minor league deal, FanSided’s Robert Murray reports (via Twitter). Difo receives an invitation to Arizona’s big league spring camp as part of the contract.
Difo hit .269/.329/.384 over 240 plate appearances with the Pirates last season, appearing in 116 games after signing another minors contract last winter. It marked the first time Difo had ever played outside the Nationals organization, as Difo had spent his entire 11-year pro career with Washington since D.C. signed him to an amateur contract out of the Dominican Republic in 2010.
That stint in the District resulted in 373 big league games spread over the 2015-20 seasons, with Difo seeing a lot of time as a starting shortstop when Trea Turner was injured in 2017 and 2019, and as part of a second base platoon in 2018. Known more for his versatility than his switch-hitting production at the plate, Difo hit .247/.309/.348 over 1060 PA in a Nationals uniform. While he didn’t appear on the postseason roster in 2019, Difo’s 43 games played for the Nats that season earned him a World Series ring for his contribution to the championship year.
Difo has spent much of his career at the two middle infield positions, but has also played a good deal of third base and at least a couple of games at all three outfield positions. The D’Backs don’t have much in the way of veteran utility players competing for jobs on the MLB roster, so Difo’s experience could give him an edge in competing for a roster spot.
Nationals Sign Jace Fry To Minors Deal
The Nationals have signed lefty Jace Fry to a minor league deal, according to Chelsea Janes of The Washington Post. He has been invited to big league camp.
This will be just the second organization for Fry, as he has been with the White Sox for the entirety of his career thus far. After a cup of coffee in 2017, he settled in as a mainstay of the team’s bullpen over the next three years. From 2018 to 2020, he appeared in 145 games for the Pale Hose, with a 4.43 ERA. Although the 13.7% walk rate was concerning, he could certainly rack up the strikeouts, with a rate of 29.6%.
In 2021, a microdiscectomy kept him on the IL until June and he struggled in his return. In a small sample of just 6 2/3 MLB innings, he put up a 10.80 ERA. However, in 40 Triple-A innings on the year, his ERA was just 2.93, along with a 36.1% strikeout rate and 12% walk rate. Despite that strong showing in the minors, he was outrighted by the White Sox at the end of the year.
For the Nationals, they leaned into a rebuild last year, trading away various players, including relievers Daniel Hudson and Brad Hand. That left them with a bullpen primarily consisting of inexperienced younger pitchers and Will Harris, who was limited by injury to just six innings last year. Since then, the club has added Sean Doolittle to be the primary lefty, alongside younger options like Sam Clay and Francisco Perez. Fry is still just 28 years old and has an option year remaining. If selected to the roster, he could give the Nationals an optionable veteran southpaw in the ‘pen. He also has less than four years of MLB service time, meaning he could be retained into the future via arbitration if he succeeds with the Nats.
Rays To Sign Ryon Healy To Minors Deal
The Rays have signed Ryon Healy to a minor league contract, according to FanSided’s Robert Murray (Twitter link). Healy will be making his return to North American baseball after playing with the Korea Baseball Organization’s Hanwha Eagles in 2021.
A veteran of five MLB seasons, Healy’s last appearance in The Show came on a big stage, as he served as the Brewers’ DH and cleanup hitter in Game Two of their wild card series game with the Dodgers in 2020. Injuries had thinned Milwaukee’s roster to the point that Healy (who had played only four regular-season games with the Brew Crew) got the nod for the elimination game, as the Dodgers knocked the Brewers out of the best-of-three series.
Healy has a .261/.298/.450 slash line over 1606 career plate appearances in the majors, almost all with the A’s in 2016-17 and then the Mariners in 2018-19. A noted prospect on his way up in Oakland’s farm system, the Athletics dealt Healy to Seattle in November 2017 since Matt Olson and Matt Chapman were blocking the way at Healy’s two corner infield positions. While Healy followed up a 25-homer campaign in 2017 by hitting 24 long balls in his debut season with the M’s, his hitting numbers declined overall, and injuries limited him to 47 games in 2019.
From there, Healy bounced to the Brewers, and then to the KBO League. The Eagles released Healy in July after he hit .257/.306/.394 over 268 PA for the Daejeon-based team. Both in South Korea and in the majors, Healy has struggled to consistently get on base, and his power dropoff with the Eagles is also a bit of a step backwards for a player who at least used to fit the three-true-outcomes model.
The Rays have been known to be looking for a right-handed hitter with first base ability, and while Healy fits that description, he might be viewed as more of a backup plan than as a true answer to Tampa Bay’s needs. Still, the Rays have been known to find hidden gems in the past, and if Healy is able to get on track, he could be an interesting complement to Ji-Man Choi or Austin Meadows (both left-handed hitters) as the Rays’ top choices at first base or DH.
Reds To Sign Kyle Zimmer
Right-hander Kyle Zimmer is in the Reds’ locker room, according to Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer. Presumably, he and the team have a minor league pact, based on the fact that Zimmer cleared waivers just before the lockout.
The righty was taken by the Royals with the fifth overall selection in the 2012 draft and was considered one of the better prospects in baseball in the years after that. Baseball America placed Zimmer on their Top 100 list four consecutive years from 2013 to 2016. Unfortunately, arm injuries have prevented Zimmer from reaching those lofty expectations thus far in his career.
In the shortened 2020 season, it seemed like maybe he was getting things back on track, throwing 23 innings with a 1.57 ERA. His 11% walk rate was high, but he did rack up strikeouts at an excellent 28.6% rate. He also seemed to be carrying that forward into 2021, with his ERA sitting under 3.00 into July. Unfortunately, he couldn’t finish strong and ended the year with a 4.83 ERA over 54 innings, with a meager 20.6% strikeout rate and 13.5% walk rate. He was released by the Royals in November.
For the Reds, they’ve been mostly focused on cost-cutting measures this offseason, with Wade Miley, Sonny Gray and Amir Garrett being notable subtractions from the pitching staff in the past few months. The 30-year-old Zimmer is a low-cost way of getting a former top prospect into the system. He has over two years of MLB service time and an option year remaining. If he’s able to show any of the previous form that made him successful in 2020, he could give Cincy a depth arm that could be shuffled between Triple-A and the majors, as well as being kept around via arbitration beyond this year.
Phillies Sign Austin Wynns To Minors Deal
The Phillies have signed catcher Austin Wynns to a minor league deal, according to The Athletic’s Matt Gelb (Twitter link). Wynns will receive an invitation to Philadelphia’s big league spring camp.
Beyond J.T. Realmuto, the Phils’ catching depth chart includes Garrett Stubbs (acquired in a trade from the Astros back in November), Rafael Marchan, and now Wynns in terms of backstops with MLB experience. This trio figures to compete for the role of Realmuto’s backup, as former Phillies catcher Andrew Knapp moved on to sign a minor league deal with the Reds prior to the lockout.
Wynns has seen action in three of the last four MLB seasons, only missing out on the shortened 2020 campaign. Known for his defense and game-calling abilities, Wynns has only a .216/.255/.326 slash line over 331 plate appearances in the majors and also had pretty modest minor league production. The 31-year-old has hit .267/.338/.369 over 2044 career PA in the minors, all in the Orioles’ farm system.
The Phillies aren’t necessarily in need of a big bat as Realmuto’s understudy, and both Wynns and Stubbs offer a pretty similar defensive profile, though Stubbs has hit a bit more at the minor league level. Marchan is the in-house prospect of the group, and he has been suggested as a potential trade candidate as a player squeezed between Realmuto and another catching prospect in Logan O’Hoppe.
Dodgers To Sign Danny Duffy
March 19: Jon Heyman of MLB Network provides the details on the contract, with Duffy making $3MM this year. Next year’s option is valued at $7MM but can be increased based on Duffy’s performance this year. Duffy will add $500K by pitching in 5, 10 and then 15 games in 2022, as well as for throwing 5, 10 and 15 innings, a total of $3MM, increasing the value of the option to $10MM. If that option were to be picked up, Duffy could earn an extra $6MM in incentives next year: $750K for reaching each tier of 100, 110, 120 and 130 innings pitched, as well as $1MM for reaching each of 140, 150 and 160 frames.
March 17: The Dodgers continue to bolster their roster via free agency, reportedly agreeing to terms on a one-year deal with Danny Duffy. The contract, which is pending a physical, also contains a club option for the 2023 season. Duffy is an ACES client.
It marks a return to Southern California for the left-hander, whom the Dodgers acquired from the Royals in advance of last summer’s trade deadline. Duffy, unfortunately, never could take the field in Dodger blue. At the time of the trade, he was on the injured list with a flexor strain in his forearm. The hope had been that he could return late in the season for a club that was obviously headed to the playoffs, but that proved not to be. He suffered a setback in early September and was shut down for the year.
That setback will prevent him from making his team debut for at least a few more months. After the season, Duffy told Andy McCullough of the Athletic he underwent surgery to repair the flexor tendon in October. As of the time of that early-December conversation, Duffy was targeting a June return to a big league mound. He conceded it was likely he’d work in relief this year as a means of keeping his innings in check before lengthening back out into a rotation role in 2023 and beyond.
Whatever role he takes on, a healthy Duffy figures to be a boon to the Dodgers pitching staff. Before his 2021 season was derailed, the 33-year-old was off to a nice start with the Royals. He’d worked 61 innings with a stellar 2.51 ERA. His peripherals weren’t quite so superlative, but he posted quality strikeout and walk numbers (25.8% and 8.7%, respectively) and owned a capable 4.14 SIERA.
Prior to last summer’s trade, Duffy had spent his entire career with Kansas City. A former third-round draftee, he cemented himself as a valuable member of the rotation by their pennant-winning 2014 season. Over a four-year run from 2014-17, he pitched to a 3.47 ERA/3.87 FIP in 612 innings. That included 136 2/3 frames of 4.08 ERA ball for the World Series-winning club in 2015.
Beginning in 2018, Duffy’s production began to tick downward. His walk and home run rates both increased, and he posted an ERA north of 4.00 in each season. His fastball velocity, which had averaged nearly 96 MPH at his peak, dropped to a bit more than 92 MPH by 2019-20. Last season, before he went down with injury, Duffy’s arm speed bounced back somewhat. His heater came in at 93.7 MPH on average, and Duffy’s swing-and-miss rates saw a corresponding spike. Last year’s 13.6% swinging strike rate was a personal high, more than two percentage points above the league mark for starters.
That intrigued the L.A. front office enough they traded for him last summer, and their interest is apparently continued. That Duffy won’t be ready until midseason is less of a concern for the Dodgers than it might be for other clubs around the league, since Los Angeles looks as good a bet as any to be playing meaningful games late in the year. Even if he’s forced to work in relief, Duffy could be a valuable option for skipper Dave Roberts down the stretch and into potential postseason play. For his career, he’s held opposing left-handed hitters to a meager .218/.277/.318 line. That could make Duffy a particular weapon if leveraged into more favorable match-ups in shorter stints.
Specific terms of the deal aren’t yet known, although the presence of the club option would seem to give Los Angeles further long-term upside. The Dodgers signed Jimmy Nelson, himself rehabbing from elbow surgery, to a one-year deal with a 2023 option earlier this week. Duffy presumably secured a loftier guarantee than Nelson’s $700K salary, but the pacts follow a similar logic of giving the Dodgers a shot at a late-season run from a talented but currently injured hurler with the chance to keep him in the fold for a second season.
The Dodgers have been aggressive in recent days as they look to cement themselves as the team to beat in the National League. They reunited with Clayton Kershaw last week, then agreed to terms with Freddie Freeman on a six-year contract last night. Those deals pushed the team’s 2022 luxury tax tab north of $277MM, in the estimation of Jason Martinez of Roster Resource. Because they exceeded the CBT last season, the Dodgers will be subject to escalating fees as a second-time payor. They’ll be taxed at a 30% rate for every dollar spent between $230MM and $250MM, a 42% clip on overages between $250MM and $270MM, a 75% rate on overages between $270MM and $290MM and a 90% tax on all expenditures north of $290MM.
Mark Feinsand of MLB.com first reported the Dodgers and Duffy were nearing agreement. Robert Murray of FanSided reported they had reached an agreement on a one-year deal with a 2023 option, which Fabian Ardaya of the Athletic specified was a club option.
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