Reds To Sign Colin Moran
3:29pm: The Reds have now announced the signing of Moran to a one-year, Major League contract. He’s guaranteed $1MM on the deal, tweets Mark Sheldon of MLB.com.
2:10pm: The Reds appear to have agreed to a deal with corner infielder Colin Moran, as C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic tweets that there’s a locker setup for the now-former Pirates infielder in the Reds’ clubhouse.
Moran, 29, was selected by the Marlins with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2013 draft but never played in the big leagues with Miami. Traded to the Astros alongside Jake Marisnick and Competitive Balance draft pick in exchange for Enrique Hernandez and righty Jarred Cosart, Moran got only a pair of brief looks in Houston before being traded to Pittsburgh along with Joe Musgrove as part of the deal that sent Gerrit Cole to the ‘Stros.
After a pair of early trades, Moran finally got a long-term look with the Bucs, where he’s spent the past four seasons as a fixture in the lineup. After struggling defensively as Pirates’ primary third baseman from 2018-19, he moved across the diamond to begin logging more reps at first base. Moran’s glove has been better there, but defensive metrics are still fairly bearish on his glove overall.
Through 444 games and 1527 plate appearances with the Pirates, Moran posted a .269/.331/.419 batting line with 44 home runs, 71 doubles and a pair of triples. Moran walked in 8.1% of his plate appearances as a Pirate against a 22.1% strikeout rate. By measure of wRC+ and OPS+, Moran was a league-average hitter in his four years with the Pirates, who non-tendered him this past November rather than pay him a projected arbitration salary in the $4MM range.
While Moran’s glove isn’t going to win any awards and he struggles quite a bit against lefties, he’s a .280/.341/.440 hitter in his career versus right-handed pitching. Cincinnati has lefties Mike Moustakas and Joey Votto at the infield corners, so Moran seems likelier to get in some DH work against right-handed pitching at perhaps serve as the occasional pinch-hitter. At times in the past, Moran has looked as though he might have another gear at the plate; his average exit velocity in 2020 was a hearty 91.9 mph, and he posted excellent barrel and hard-hit rates, per Statcast (13.4% and 43.7%, respectively). Those numbers trended back down toward his career norms in 2021, however.
If the move to a fourth organization — and, more notably, to a much more homer-friendly ballpark — helps Moran take his offensive production to a new level, he could help Cincinnati beyond the 2022 season. With four-plus years of Major League service time, Moran is controlled through the 2023 season via arbitration.
The addition of Moran comes just a day after Cincinnati inked former Giants second baseman Donovan Solano to a one-year deal. The Reds have stripped down what was a competitive roster in 2021 by waiving Wade Miley and trading Sonny Gray, Jesse Winker, Tucker Barnhart and Eugenio Suarez. While the Reds picked up a few prospects, the moves were made not in an effort to rebuild the farm so much as to simply cut payroll. GM Nick Krall opened the offseason by saying the team needed to “align payroll to our resources,” and rather than pursue the maximum possible return on Winker after an All-Star season, he was included in a package deal that was focused on shedding the remaining $35MM on Suarez’s contract.
Krall said yesterday that he’s now focused on adding to the roster, but it appears the Reds will mostly upgrade around the margins after subtracting several key players. Bringing Moran into the mix gives the team a recognizable name, particularly within the NL Central, and adds a competent platoon bat to the bench, but the current Reds roster looks quite a bit weaker than the one that finished the 2021 season at 83-79 and spent much of the season in the Wild Card hunt.
Cubs Place Brad Wieck On 60-Day Injured List
The Cubs announced that left-hander Brad Wieck has been placed on the 60-day injured list due to a left elbow strain. The placement creates a 40-man roster spot for Chris Martin, whose one-year deal with the Cubs is now official.
While Martin’s signing is one of several pitching additions made by the Cubs within the last week, the loss of Wieck for 60 days is a significant blow to the relief corps. According to multiple reporters (including The Chicago Tribune’s Meghan Montemurro), Wieck’s elbow problem surfaced while he was throwing a bullpen session earlier this week.
After missing time due to testicular cancer and two separate heart issues over the last three seasons, Wieck has already dealt with more than his share of health concerns during his brief big league career. Wieck has tossed 59 2/3 innings in The Show since his debut with the Padres in 2018, and he came to Chicago in the July 2019 deadline day trade that sent Carl Edwards Jr. to San Diego.
Wieck has racked up plenty of strikeouts (35.9% K-rate) during his career, even if his 9.7% walk rate and 15.4% homer rate are both on the high side. Though Wieck walked 10 batters during his 17 innings of work last year, he avoided damage en route to a perfect 0.00 ERA for the 2021 season.
It provided a nice platform heading into the coming campaign, but Wieck will now be sidelined until at least the back half of May. Wieck was penciled in as Chicago’s top left-handed relief option, and the recently-signed Daniel Norris may now take the lead as the first-choice southpaw until Wieck is healthy.
Braves Avoid Arbitration With Mike Soroka
The Braves announced an agreement with right-hander Mike Soroka on a contract for the 2022 season, thus avoiding arbitration. Soroka will earn $2.8MM on the one-year deal.
The $2.8MM figure matches Soroka’s salary for 2021, which isn’t surprising since the Canadian righty didn’t pitch at all last season, and hasn’t set foot on a big league mound since August 3, 2020. Soroka tore his Achilles on a fielding play during that game, and then suffered another tear last June that cost him a chance to participate in the Braves’ World Series-winning season. It isn’t known exactly when Soroka might be able to return, though all parties are hopeful that Soroka could make it back by July.
As a Super Two player, Atlanta holds an extra year of arbitration control over Soroka, so he isn’t eligible until free agency until after the 2024 season. There wasn’t any sense that the Braves would non-tender Soroka, both because of the extended team control, and because Soroka simply looked too good in his 2019 rookie to cut loose for nothing. The righty posted a 2.68 ERA, 51.2% grounder rate, and 5.8% walk rate over 174 2/3 innings in 2019, earning a second-place finish in NL Rookie Of The Year voting and a sixth-place finish in Cy Young Award voting.
Unsurprisingly, Soroka’s arb situation was settled much more smoothly this season than last year, when Soroka gained his $2.8MM salary by winning an arbitration hearing. With Soroka’s contract now settled for 2022, the Braves still have eight remaining arbitration-eligible players.
Yankees Place Domingo German On 60-Day Injured List
The Yankees have placed righty Domingo German on the 60-day injured list, the team announced. The placement creates a 40-man roster spot for Anthony Rizzo, whose new deal with the club is now official.
New York manager Aaron Boone told reporters (including Brendan Kuty of NJ.com) earlier this week that German was only just beginning his throwing program, after shoulder problems hampered him in January. If German is essentially starting from scratch, the 60-day IL placement will allow him time to get fully ramped up through extended Spring Training, and he’ll be available for the Yankees by May.
German’s absence removes another arm from a Yankees’ rotation mix that arguably could’ve used some more reinforcement even if German had been healthy. Gerrit Cole, Jordan Montgomery, Luis Severino, Jameson Taillon, and Nestor Cortes give the Yankees a starting five, even if plenty of health questions surround Severino and Taillon (though Boone also said that Taillon’s October ankle surgery won’t keep him out of the Opening Day roster). Michael King, Luis Gil, Deivi Garcia, or Clarke Schmidt form the first line of starter depth at Triple-A or in the bullpen, though none of that group has a proven MLB track record.
The same could also be said of German, as home run issues have been a big factor in his 4.54 ERA over 341 1/3 career innings in the majors. German also missed the 2020 season while suspended under the league’s domestic violence policy, and shoulder inflammation limited him to 98 1/3 frames in 2021. More shoulder problems can’t be seen as good news for German now, though there yet any indication that he could be facing a structural issue.
Twins Claim Jose Godoy From Giants
The Twins have claimed catcher Jose Godoy off waivers from the Giants, as announced by both teams. The claim opens up a roster spot for Joc Pederson, whose new one-year contract with San Francisco is now official.
Godoy is changing teams for the second time in five days, as the Giants only just claimed the backstop off waivers from the Mariners earlier this week. Godoy will head from one team experiencing a sea change behind the plate (due to Buster Posey‘s retirement) to another, as the Twins just acquired Gary Sanchez from the Yankees and dealt Mitch Garver to the Rangers in a pair of trades.
Beyond Sanchez and Ryan Jeffers, Minnesota doesn’t have any other catchers in the organization with big league experience, so Godoy will provide some Triple-A depth. Godoy’s 16 career MLB games (all with Seattle last year) don’t make for a lengthy Major League resume, but he does have eight years of minor league experience playing in the Cardinals farm system from 2012-19. While Godoy isn’t particularly known for his bat, he does have a .292/.338/.424 slash line over 412 plate appearances at the Triple-A level.
Cubs Sign Robert Gsellman, Adrian Sampson
The Cubs continue to stockpile pitching depth, signing right-handers Robert Gsellman and Adrian Sampson. ESPN’s Jesse Rogers reported the Gsellman signing, while Bryan Smith of Cubs Prospects reported Sampson’s return to the organization. Both are minor league deals, as per Meghan Montemurro of The Chicago Tribune and MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian. (All links to Twitter.)
Gsellman has spent his entire pro career in the Mets organization, but New York chose to non-tender the righty back in November. Due to a variety of injuries over the last two seasons, Gsellman has only tossed 42 2/3 MLB innings since Opening Day 2020.
Gsellman showed some flashes of brilliance over his four previous seasons working as a starter, swingman, and a full-time reliever with the Mets, pitching to a 4.44 ERA over 308 frames from 2016-19. This versatility made Gsellman a useful arm to have on a pitching staff, though after two injury-marred years, it seems as though the Mets were simply ready to move onto other options.
Sampson is another swingman type who started five of his 10 appearances with the Cubs last season, with a nice 2.80 ERA over 35 1/3 innings (even if advanced metrics weren’t impressed by Sampson’s low-strikeout arsenal). 2021 was the fourth MLB season for Sampson, who debuted with the Mariners in 2016 and also pitched with the Rangers in 2018-19. The right-hander spent much of 2017 recovering from flexor tendon surgery and then went abroad in 2020 to pitch for the KBO League’s Lotte Giants.
Since the lockout ended, the Cubs have hit the ground running on pitching additions, bringing the likes of David Robertson, Daniel Norris, Chris Martin, Jesse Chavez (on a minor league deal) and Steven Brault onto the roster. Gsellman and Sampson bring even more depth to the mix, and given their similar skillsets, the two righties could essentially be competing for one swingman-type role. It could be that both pitchers end up seeing work with Chicago, given how the Cubs and other teams are adding depth as a guard against any arm injuries caused by this shortened Spring Training.
Nationals Designate Jhon Romero For Assignment
The Nationals announced that right-hander Jhon Romero has been designated for assignment. The move opens up a roster spot for Nelson Cruz, whose signing is now official.
A veteran of six pro seasons, Romero had something of a breakout in 2021, posting a combined 2.62 ERA, 30.5% strikeout rate, and 4.87% walk rate with Double-A Harrisburg (47 2/3 IP) and Triple-A Rochester (7 1/3 IP). This performance earned Romero his first big league promotion, and he posted a 4.50 ERA over four innings with the Nationals late in the season.
With teams constantly on the lookout for live arms, it wouldn’t be a surprise if another team puts in a waiver claim on Romero, taking note of his big strikeout totals both in 2021 and in his three previous minor league campaigns. It’s possible Romero could be a bit of a late bloomer as he enters his age-27 season, and it’s safe to assume the Nats might prefer to see him slip through DFA waivers and remain in their organization.
Rangers Sign Brad Miller To Two-Year Deal
March 17: Miller has been signed to a two-year contract, the Rangers announced Thursday. It’s a $10MM guarantee for Miller that’ll pay him $6MM in 2022 and $4MM in 2023, tweets Chris Halicke of Sports Illustrated.
March 15: The Rangers have reached an agreement with free agent infielder Brad Miller tweets MLB Drops. The financial terms of this deal have not yet been reported.
The 32-year-old Miller is coming off a decent season with the Phillies, as he batted .227/.321/.453 (107 OPS+) with 20 home runs in 337 plate appearances in 2021. Additionally, Miller lined up at both outfield corners and every infield position besides shortstop last season. Defensive metrics have been bearish on his performance at most of those positions, though there’s little denying the utility of a bat-first player who can play five positions in a pinch.
While Miller is coming off his third straight above average offensive campaign, his limitations are reflected in that modest plate appearances total. After seeing fuller playing time earlier in his career, the left-handed Miller has been platooned with greater frequency in recent years. The results bear that decision out, as the former-Phillie has a lifetime .610 OPS against left-handed pitchers but a solid .780 OPS when holding the platoon advantage. Last year’s splits were even more drastic, as those OPS numbers dipped and climbed to .538 and .842, respectively.
The signing makes ample sense for a Texas squad that has playing time up for grabs at third base and in the outfield. After losing top third base prospect Josh Jung for most of the season to shoulder surgery and parting with Isiah Kiner-Falefa in the deal that netted them Mitch Garver, the Rangers very quickly found themselves without a slam dunk starter at third base. That may well continue to be the case after this signing, as Miller has just 49 big league games at the position to his name.
Texas now seems primed to platoon Miller with some combination of its incumbent third base options, Andy Ibanez and Nick Solak, who have each shown demonstrably better against left-handed pitchers in their brief careers. Because of all three players’ ability to bounce around the field, manager Chris Woodward should have no trouble finding at-bats for the trio, barring future additions.
The addition of Brad Miller to a Rangers team coming off a 60-win season is the continuation of a busy winter for the front office braintrust of Jon Daniels and Chris Young. After a season in which the Rangers did very little competing, the young talent from last season’s team will now have to vie against their new veteran teammates for maximum reps. Given the pace of their offseason so far and the amount of players jockeying for a large role on an improved 2022 team, the Rangers’ truncated spring training camp figures to be one of the league’s most hotly contested sites in the coming weeks.
Angels To Sign Archie Bradley
12:21pm: Bradley and the Angels have agreed to a deal, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. He’ll earn $3.75MM on a one-year contract, tweets Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
9:38am: The Angels are close to finalizing an agreement with free-agent reliever Archie Bradley, tweets Sam Blum of The Athletic. The right-hander is headed to Arizona (where the Halos have their Spring Training facility) at the moment, Blum adds. Bradley is a client of BBI Sports Group.
Drafted by the D-backs with the No. 7 overall pick back in 2011, the now-29-year-old Bradley struggled as a starter early in his career with Arizona before seeing his career take off in 2017 when he moved to the bullpen. Bradley logged a minuscule 1.73 ERA through 73 frames that season and has since been entrenched as a quality reliever with the D-backs, Reds and — last season — the Phillies.
The 2021 season was Bradley’s first in Philadelphia. After being acquired by the Reds at the 2020 trade deadline and pitching well in his brief stint there, Bradley was non-tendered in a surprising cost-cutting move by Cincinnati. He inked a one-year, $6MM with the Phillies that exceeded the salary he’d been projected to receive in arbitration with the Reds. Bradley had a solid season in Philly, notching a 3.71 ERA over the life of 51 innings, but the year wasn’t without its red flags.
Bradley missed time with a pair of oblique strains last season, and when he was healthy, he posted his lowest strikeout rate (17.9%), lowest average fastball velocity (94.2 mph) and second-highest walk rate (9.8%) since moving to the bullpen back in 2017. It was still an effective year overall, of course, and the pair of injuries quite likely had an adverse impact on him. With the Phillies, Bradley also threw his sinker at a career-high 18.2% (double the rate of the 2020 season), which resulted in a 55.7% ground-ball rate — his best since moving from the rotation to the bullpen. In that sense, it seems there was a conscious decision to trade some whiffs for some grounders (a curious approach considering Philadelphia’s woeful infield defense last year).
If Bradley resumes throwing his four-seamer more heavily in 2022, there’s good reason to expect that his strikeout rate might creep back up a bit. And if he continues to favor his sinker more than in seasons past, he’ll at least be moving to a club that boasts a better defensive group around the infield. Each of Anthony Rendon, David Fletcher and the newly signed Matt Duffy are known for quality glovework.
Bradley has experience closing games, but the move to Anaheim will reunite him with former Reds teammate Raisel Iglesias, who he’ll surely precede as a setup man. Iglesias and Bradley were both cut loose by Cincinnati following that 2020 season — Iglesias in a salary dump trade, Bradley via the aforementioned non-tender — and will now again work together to hold late-inning leads. The Halos re-signed Iglesias to a four-year, $58MM contract earlier this winter after the Cuban-born righty enjoyed a career year in 2021. That duo, along with righty Mike Mayers and lefty Aaron Loup (signed to a two-year, $17MM deal this winter) will be counted among the primary late-inning options for skipper Joe Maddon.
Bradley’s deal boost the Angels’ actual payroll up to a projected $179.5MM — only narrowly shy of last year’s $182MM record Opening Day payroll. The Halos’ luxury-tax payroll (which is based upon the combined annual value of their contractual obligations) now jumps north of $195MM — well shy of the new $230MM luxury tax threshold.
Cardinals To Sign Corey Dickerson
11:20am: Dickerson is guaranteed $5MM on the contract and can boost that salary via incentives, tweets Feinsand.
10:52am: The Cardinals have agreed to a one-year deal with free-agent outfielder Corey Dickerson, reports Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The deal is pending a physical. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com first reported that the two sides were close to a deal (via Twitter). Dickerson, a client of Excel Sports Management, would give the Cards a nice left-handed complement to a heavily right-handed lineup.
Dickerson, 32, spent the bulk of the past two seasons in Miami after signing a two-year, $17MM deal with the Marlins in the 2019-20 offseason. The Blue Jays acquired him last summer while he was on the injured list due to a foot injury. Dickerson returned in August and hit quite well in 140 plate appearances with the Jays down the stretch, offsetting a less-productive start to his season in Miami.
Since signing that two-year deal with the Fish, Dickerson carries a .266/.321/.406 batting line with 13 home runs, 23 doubles, six triples and seven stolen bases (in 13 tries). Dickerson’s power has dipped since his peak with the Rays, which included a 27-homer effort during an All-Star 2017 season, but he remains a relatively tough strikeout who can handle right-handed pitching pretty well. In 312 plate appearances against righties last season, Dickerson slashed .277/.330/.419 (104 wRC+).
From a defensive standpoint, Dickerson has been a pure left fielder for the bulk of his career, though the Jays did trot him out for 62 innings this past season. Sometimes regarded as a defensive liability early in his career, Dickerson worked to radically improved his glovework in the middle of his career, culminating in a 2018 season that saw him post 15 Defensive Runs Saved and take home an NL Gold Glove while playing with the Pirates. His ratings have fallen off since then — as one might expect from a player entering his mid-30s and dealing with multiple foot and hamstring injuries. Still, defensive metrics felt he was a roughly average defender in 2021.
A roughly average hitter with average glovework in the outfield might not bring about tons of excitement among the fanbase, but for a Cardinals club whose only pure left-handed hitter is young Lars Nootbaar, he’ll give the lineup some needed balance. Both Dylan Carlson and Tommy Edman are switch-hitters, so it’s not as though St. Louis was entirely right-handed, but the Cardinals hit just .240/.310/.396 against right-handed pitching as a team last year with primarily the same lineup they were slated to carry prior to this agreement.
Dickerson can rotate into the mix across the outfield, either spelling right-handed-hitting Tyler O’Neill and Harrison Bader entirely or perhaps giving O’Neill the occasional breather at the newly created National League DH position. Dickerson himself could also see his share of at-bats as the DH against righties. His signing might cut into some playing time for Nootbaar and 24-year-old corner infielder Juan Yepez, but playing time tends to open up over for such players over the course of a season, particularly as injuries mount. Dickerson will provide the Cards with some veteran depth and allow them to ease some of their young hitters into the mix.