Mets, Matt Reynolds Agree To Minor League Deal
Though the team did not formally announce it, the Mets agreed to a minor league contract with infielder Matt Reynolds earlier this month, tweets Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.
It’s a homecoming of sorts for the now-31-year-old Reynolds, a second-round pick of the Mets back in 2012. He spent parts of the 2016-17 seasons on the Mets’ big league roster and has since received very brief looks with the Nationals and Royals at the MLB level. In all, Reynolds is a .212/.282/.323 hitter through 251 plate appearances as a big leaguer.
Reynolds spent the 2021 season in the White Sox organization but hasn’t gotten a call to the big leagues since a that brief Kansas City audition in 2020. He played in 93 games for the ChiSox’ Triple-A affiliate last year, hitting at a solid .269/.373/.395 pace while splitting his time at the two middle-infield spots (in addition to a lone five-inning appearance in right field). In parts of seven Triple-A seasons, Reynolds is a .283/.363/.435 hitter.
Obviously, the infield is quite crowded in Queens, where the Mets have Robinson Cano, Francisco Lindor, Eduardo Escobar, J.D. Davis, Jeff McNeil and Luis Guillorme all slated for time on the big league roster. Reynolds will likely head to Triple-A Syracuse and see plenty of action at shortstop, though he also has experience at second, third and in all three outfield positions as well.
Phillies Sign Six Players To Minor League Deals
Dec. 15: Bedrosian’s contract was actually agreed to on Dec. 1 but only formally announced by the team this week, MLBTR has learned. That explains any confusion surrounding how the deal was possible, as Bedrosian otherwise appeared ineligible to sign during the lockout by virtue of the fact that he ended the 2021 season on the Phillies’ Major League roster.
Dec. 14: The Phillies announced this evening that they’ve signed six players — all right-handed pitchers — to minor league contracts with invitations to big league Spring Training. Joining the organization are Cam Bedrosian, Andrew Bellatti, Jake Newberry, Joe Gatto, Tyler Cyr and Michael Kelly.
Bedrosian is the best-known of the group. He emerged as a high-leverage arm early in his career with the Angels, a stint highlighted by a brilliant 2016 campaign in which he pitched to a 1.12 ERA across 40 1/3 innings. Bedrosian remained in Anaheim through the end of 2020, but his formerly strong strikeout rate has dropped in recent seasons. That has come in conjunction with a downturn in fastball velocity from the 95-96 MPH range to around 92-93 over the past couple years.
The 2021 season was a struggle for Bedrosian, who split the year between the Reds, A’s and Phils. He combined to work 25 innings over 26 outings, posting a 5.04 ERA/5.27 SIERA. Bedrosian’s 19.8% strikeout percentage was a few points below the league average, while his 14.7% walk rate was a career-high. Still, the 30-year-old made a strong enough impression during a late-season run in Philadelphia to get another opportunity to crack the big league bullpen out of Spring Training. (As an interesting historical footnote, Bedrosian’s father Steve Bedrosian won the 1987 NL Cy Young Award in Philadelphia after saving a league-best 40 games).
Bellatti has appeared in two MLB seasons, six years apart. After working 23 1/3 innings of relief with the Rays in 2015, Bellatti bounced around between various high minors and independent clubs without getting a return opportunity in the majors. His long-awaited break came this past July, when he cracked the Marlins’ MLB roster.
The 30-year-old bounced on and off the Miami roster a few times down the stretch, averaging 94.3 MPH on his heater over a three-game cameo. He spent the bulk of the season with their top affiliate in Jacksonville, where he posted an impressive 1.52 ERA over 29 2/3 frames. Bellatti punched out a lofty 33% of opponents at the minors’ top level while walking a decent 8.7% of batters faced. He was outrighted off the 40-man roster and elected minor league free agency at the end of the season.
Newberry is the other of the Phils’ newcomers with MLB experience. The 27-year-old has suited up with the Royals in each of the past four campaigns. He’s tallied 70 2/3 cumulative innings over 65 relief outings, pitching to a 4.84 ERA with worse than average strikeout and walk numbers (21.9% and 12.7%, respectively). Newberry, who became a minor league free agent at season’s end after being outrighted off the Kansas City roster, has a 4.06 ERA in parts of four Triple-A seasons.
None of Gatto, Cyr nor Kelly has pitched in the big leagues, although Gatto and Kelly have been a part of clubs’ 40-man rosters in the past. Gatto, 26, split the 2021 season between the Rangers’ top two affiliates. He posted a 3.32 ERA with solid strikeout and walk rates (29.2% and 8.1%, respectively) but never got a big league look in Texas. Cyr, 28, has spent his entire career in the Giants’ system, topping out at Triple-A, where he owns a 4.66 ERA. Kelly, 29, has pitched in the Padres, Orioles and Astros systems. He has a 4.76 ERA over four seasons at the minors’ highest level.
Angels, Dillon Thomas Agree To Minor League Deal
The Angels and outfielder Dillon Thomas are in agreement on a minor league deal with an invite to Major League Spring Training, tweets Robert Murray of FanSided. Thomas wasn’t on a 40-man roster or Major League injured list at season’s end, making him eligible to sign a minor league deal even with the lockout/transaction freeze ongoing.
Thomas, 29, made his big league debut with the Mariners this past season, appearing in four games and going 1-for-9 with a single for his first MLB knock. He spent the rest of the season with the Mariners’ Triple-A affiliate in Tacoma, batting .269/.377/.448 with 13 homers, 19 doubles, a triple and a dozen steals (in 13 tries). Strikeouts were an issue both in the big leagues, where he fanned in seven of his nine plate appearances, and in Tacoma, where he whiffed at a 29.6% clip.
A fourth-round pick by the Rockies back in 2011, Thomas spent six seasons in the Colorado system (2011-17) and another two in the Brewers organization (2018-19) in addition to last year’s stint with the M’s. He’s a career .262/.332/.394 hitter in the minors overall, with last year’s solid run in Triple-A marking his only real experience at that level. (He also had three plate appearances with the Rockies’ Triple-A club in 2017.) He’s primarily a corner outfielder, having logged more than 2200 professional innings in both right and left field, and he also has 465 innings in center under his belt as well.
The Halos already have numerous outfield options ticketed for the big league roster — Mike Trout, Brandon Marsh, Jo Adell, Justin Upton and utilitymen Tyler Wade and Andrew Velazquez — plus Taylor Ward also on the 40-man roster. Thomas will likely head to Triple-A Salt Lake and give the Angels some left-handed-hitting corner depth.
Nationals Sign Maikel Franco To Minor League Deal
The Nationals have signed third baseman Maikel Franco to a minor league deal, reports Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post. Franco is a client of Octagon. Although transactions involving the 40-man roster are frozen during the ongoing lockout, minor league deals are still permitted.
This is the second minor league deal the Nats have given to a veteran infielder in as many days, as they signed Dee Strange-Gordon yesterday. The club has a fairly open infield for 2022, after trading away Trea Turner and Josh Harrison during last year’s deadline fire sale. They’ve since re-signed Alcides Escobar and Cesar Hernandez on major league deals, before adding Strange-Gordon into the mix, to compete with youngsters Luis Garcia and Lucius Fox for middle infield playing time.
Franco, however, should be considered as an option at third base, given that’s where he’s spent the vast majority of his big league time. (He’s also played 15 games at first base in his career, but never more than five in a single season.) Youngster Carter Kieboom seems likely to be Plan A for the Nats at third, despite his struggles at the MLB level thus far. In 106 big league games over the past three seasons, Kieboom has hit .197/.304/.285. However, his Triple-A line is much more impressive, coming in at .286/.400/.464. Given his youth, 24, and prospect pedigree, he’s likely to get an extended run at the hot corner, especially when considering that Washington is likely to spend at least a year retooling after their big selloff. Franco’s presence in the system can offer a veteran fallback plan, should Kieboom continue experiencing growing pains.
Franco has had an inconsistent stretch of late, oscillating wildly from year to year. According to FanGraphs’ wins above replacement, he was worth at least 1.1 fWAR in the past three even-numbered seasons, but was in negative territory during the odd-numbered years. After some of those up-and-down years in Philadelphia, he was non-tendered following the 2019 season and latched on with the Royals. He had a solid showing in the shortened 2020 campaign, hitting .278/.321/.457 for a wRC+ of 106 and 1.3 fWAR in just 60 games. Despite that, the Royals decided not to tender him a contract for 2021, which led to Franco signing with the Orioles. Unfortunately, his yo-yoing continued, as he slumped to a line of .210/.253/.355 in 104 games for Baltimore.
Franco was released in August and signed a minor league deal with Atlanta, but didn’t get another shot at the big leagues. For the Nationals, there’s no harm in having him around to see if he can turn the tide once again. He’s only 29 years old and has shown himself capable of solid production in the past. Even if Kieboom and Franco both get hot at the same time, there’s the likelihood of the National League using the designated hitter in 2022, giving the team some more plate appearances to spread around.
KBO’s LG Twins Re-Sign Casey Kelly
Right-hander Casey Kelly has re-signed with the LG Twins of the Korea Baseball Organization, reports Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News. Kelly will receive a base salary of $1.2MM, with a further $300K available in incentives. The Twins also signed Adam Plutko a few days ago, bringing them up to the maximum of two foreign pitchers. As Yoo points out, this means they will not be bringing back left-hander Andrew Suarez.
Kelly was a highly-touted youngster, being a first-round draft pick of the Red Sox in 2008. Boston gave Kelly a bonus of $3MM, which was a franchise record at the time. He quickly came to be considered one of the top prospects in the game, appearing on Baseball America’s Top 100 for four consecutive seasons from 2010 to 2013 and headlining the trade that sent Adrian Gonzalez to the Red Sox.
The righty made his debut with the Padres in 2012 but had to be shut down due to Tommy John surgery after just six starts. He eventually made it back to the big leagues for brief stints with San Diego in 2015 and Atlanta in 2016, but with uninspiring results. He then had a nice showing with the Giants in 2018, logging an ERA of 3.04 over 23 2/3 innings.
That run with the Giants was enough to pique the interest of the LG Twins, who brought Kelly to Korea for 2019. Since then, Kelly has got into a groove and thrived, spurring rumors each year that he would be considering a return to MLB. In 2019, he threw 180 1/3 innings over 29 starts, putting up an ERA of 2.55. In 2020 and 2021, his ERA slipped just over 3.00, but he still made at least 28 starts and threw over 170 innings in each campaign. In total, over the three seasons with the Twins, he’s thrown 525 1/3 innings with an ERA of 2.96. That sort of consistent production has drawn the attention of MLB teams, but the 32-year-old is staying in Korea for a fourth straight season.
As for Suarez, he will no longer have a place on the Twins’ roster. The southpaw was a second-round pick of the Giants in 2015 and made his MLB debut in 2018. He made 29 starts that year and logged 160 1/3 innings with an ERA of 4.49. 2019 was a bit of a setback, as he bounced between Triple-A and the big leagues, with an ERA close to 6.00 at each level. With 2020’s shortened MLB campaign and canceled minor league season, he was frequently optioned and only got to throw 9 2/3 innings.
He signed with the LG Twins for 2021 and seemed to get back on track, appearing in 23 games, 22 of them starts, with an ERA of 2.18 and 126 strikeouts over 115 1/3 innings. Despite that strong showing, the club has seemingly moved on to Plutko, which leaves Suarez available to pursue other opportunities. Given that Suarez is just 29 years old and coming off a strong campaign, he should garner plenty of interest from other clubs.
Nationals Sign Dee Strange-Gordon To Minors Contract
The Nationals have signed infielder Dee Strange-Gordon to a minor league contract, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan (Twitter link). Strange-Gordon is a client of Rep 1 Baseball.
Minor league deals can be signed during the lockout, as so Strange-Gordon will now turn to Washington as the hopeful landing spot for his return to the majors. Strange-Gordon signed minors contracts with the Reds, Brewers, Cubs, and Pirates in 2021 but none of those deals materialized into any big league playing time, thus leaving Strange-Gordon on the sidelines of a MLB season for the first time since 2010.
The 33-year-old is very familiar with the NL East, achieving some of his greatest successes over three seasons with the Marlins from 2015-17. Strange-Gordon won the 2015 NL batting title and led the league with 205 hits and 58 stolen bases that same season, then going on to capture another stolen-base crown in 2017.
Unfortunately for Strange-Gordon, 2017 also marked his last season as a productive regular. After being traded to the Mariners in December 2017, Strange-Gordon posted only a combined 0.2 fWAR over three seasons in Seattle, batting .266/.293/.343 for a 74 wRC+. While still an excellent baserunner, Strange-Gordon’s difficulties in getting on base largely neutralized that skill, and he was also hampered by a position switch from second base to center field.
The Nats inked Cesar Hernandez to a one-year, $4MM free agent deal prior to the lockout, making him their leading candidate for the everyday second base job. As Hernandez is coming off a lackluster year himself, however, Strange-Gordon represents some veteran depth at the position, not to mention a utility piece that could also chip in as a left fielder or shortstop in a pinch. With the experienced duo of Hernandez and Alcides Escobar tentatively penciled in as Washington’s starting middle infield combo, Strange-Gordon will look to join youngsters Luis Garcia and Lucius Fox in the competition for bench roles.
Glenn Sparkman Agrees To Sign With KBO’s Lotte Giants
Right-hander Glenn Sparkman has agreed to sign with the Lotte Giants of the Korea Baseball Organization, according to Naver Sports (hat tip to reporter Sung Min Kim). The deal will be official once Sparkman passes a physical.
This is the second straight year that Sparkman has signed with an international team. He inked a deal with the Orix Buffaloes of Nippon Professional Baseball last June, but posted only a 6.88 ERA over 17 innings. Before heading to Japan, Sparkman had signed a minor league deal with the Twins, but didn’t see any time on the active roster before being released last May.
A veteran of four Major League seasons, Sparkman posted a 5.99 ERA with the Blue Jays and Royals from 2017-2020, tossing all but one of his 180 1/3 career MLB frames in a Kansas City uniform. Despite an underwhelming ERA and strikeout totals as a big leaguer, Sparkman has been much more solid in the minors, with a 2.88 ERA and a 22.85 K% over 378 2/3 frames, though most of his bigger strikeout rates came prior to his 2015 Tommy John surgery.
With numbers suggesting a “Quad-A” type of career arc to date, Sparkman has a chance to re-invent himself in the KBO, and at least bank some guaranteed salary at a time when many free agents in a similar position are waiting out the lockout. Sparkman doesn’t turn 30 until May, so a solid performance with the Giants could open some new doors for a return to MLB next winter, or perhaps more lucrative opportunities pitching in South Korea or Japan.
Kyle Keller Signs With Hanshin Tigers
Former Pirates right-hander Kyle Keller has signed a deal to join the Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan, MLBTR has learned. Keller is expected to compete for closer responsibilities with the Tigers.
The 28-year-old Louisiana native spent the 2021 season with the Pirates, logging a career-high 33 1/3 innings over 32 appearances with a 6.48 ERA/6.95 FIP. Keller had previously seen time in the Majors with the Angels in 2020 and the Marlins in 2019.
Keller was originally an 18th round draft choice of the Marlins back in the 2015 draft. After making his Major League debut in 2019 in 10 outings with a 3.38 ERA as a 26-year-old, he was traded the following winter to the Angels for Jose Estrada. The Pirates purchased his contract in April of this past season. After shuttling between the Majors and Triple-A, he was released to free agency in November.
The Hanshin Tigers will give Keller high-leverage opportunities. That might surprise at first blush given his 2021 numbers, but Keller fared much better in Triple-A, where he posted an impressive 1.96 ERA in 18 1/3 innings. Combined, Keller struck out 30.0 percent of opposing batters while walking 11.1 percent of batters, suggesting he certainly has the potential to be a potent arm if he can limit free passes.
Keller combines a 94.5 mph heater with a hook that generated a strong 34.7 percent Whiff rate. He mixes the two offerings fairly evenly to lefties and righties. He has been prone to keeping the ball up in the air, generating just a 29.9 percent groundball rate in his Major League career.
White Sox Sign Brandon Finnegan To Minor League Deal
The White Sox have signed lefty Brandon Finnegan to a minor league contract.
Chicago will look to unlock Finnegan, who hasn’t appeared in the Majors since 2018. And yet, Finnegan is still just 28 years old. Remember, he debuted with the Royals at the tender age of 21, working out of the bullpen for the Royals as they won the pennant in 2014. He made seven appearances out of the pen during that playoff run.
Finnegan was shipped off the Cincinnati as part of the package for Johnny Cueto the next season, however. He was converted into a full-time starter for the 2016 season, making 31 starts and tossing 172 innings with a 3.98 ERA/5.19 FIP, good for 2.1 rWAR. He made just nine total starts over the next two years, however, and hasn’t returned to the Majors since. From 2014 to 2018, he posted an overall 4.11 ERA/5.12 FIP over 260 2/3 innings with the Royals and Reds.
This past season, Finnegan converted back into a reliever, spending the entire season with the Reds’ Triple-A affiliate in Louisville. Finnegan logged 55 1/3 innings with a 5.53 ERA, never getting a call-up to return to Cincy.
Giants To Sign Alex Blandino To Minor League Deal
The Giants are signing infielder Alex Blandino to a minor league contract with an invitation to big league Spring Training, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link). Blandino was outrighted off the Reds’ 40-man roster at the end of the season, making him eligible to sign a minors deal during the lockout.
Blandino has appeared in three of the past four seasons with Cincinnati, tallying 279 cumulative plate appearances. He’s a .226/.339/.291 hitter with a pair of home runs in that time. The right-handed hitting Blandino has been exceptionally patient at the plate, only offering at 34% of pitches he’s seen. That’s around 13 points lower than the league average, a plan of attack that frequently sees him working deep counts.
It’s little surprise that he’s walked in a strong 11.1% of his career plate appearances, but that patience has also caused some fairly significant strikeout problems. Despite possessing decent bat-to-ball skills, Blandino has punched out in a very high 29.7% of his trips to the dish because of the frequency at which he’s taken pitches both inside and outside the strike zone.
Blandino doesn’t bring much power to the table, but he owns a .235/.374/.369 line across parts of four Triple-A seasons. He’s also capable of bouncing all around the infield, having started games at all four spots on the dirt during his time with the Reds. The former first-round pick also made cameos in the corner outfield and occasionally in mop-up relief during blowouts.
As Slusser points out, Blandino is a Santa Clara County native who played his college ball at Stanford. The 29-year-old will look to return to the Bay Area by playing his way onto the Giants’ active roster next spring.