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Mariners To Sign Trevor Gott

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The Mariners are in agreement with reliever Trevor Gott on a one-year contract, reports Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic (on Twitter). Financial terms have not yet been reported. Gott is a Sports One Athlete Management client. Seattle’s 40-man roster count will jump to 38 once the deal is finalized.

Gott signed a somewhat surprising big league contract with the Brewers last offseason. He’d spent the entire 2021 campaign in Triple-A in the Giants organization, impressing the Milwaukee front office with a 31% strikeout rate at the top minor league level. Milwaukee jumped early in the offseason to add him, and he played a fairly significant role in their middle innings mix this past season.

The right-hander tallied 45 2/3 innings across 45 outings. The results were mixed, as he managed just a 4.14 ERA while surrendering eight home runs (1.58 per nine innings). He paired that with quality strikeout and walk marks, though, fanning a slightly above-average 23.7% of opponents against a 6.5% walk rate. He averaged around 95 MPH on his fastball and just north of 91 MPH on a cutter that served as his top secondary offering. Gott’s 10.5% swinging strike percentage and 43.7% grounder rate were right around the respective league marks, and he held right-handed hitters to a meager .200/.243/.333 line in 111 plate appearances.

MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected Gott for a $1.4MM arbitration salary this winter, and the Brewers instead opted to non-tender him. His roughly average peripherals in 2022 were enough to land a 40-man spot with Seattle, and he figures to have an inside track at an Opening Day bullpen job. Gott has exhausted his minor league option years, so the M’s will either have to carry him on the big league roster or make him available via waivers.

With between four and five years of major league service time, Gott would again be eligible for arbitration next offseason if he holds his roster spot all year. He could be a multi-year bullpen pickup for president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto and his staff if he performs well. Gott has also suited up for the Angels, Nationals and Giants in parts of seven seasons at the big league level.

The Mariners have an excellent bullpen that ranked sixth in the majors this past season in ERA at 3.33. Seattle relievers placed fifth with a 26.6% strikeout rate, and only the Orioles blew fewer leads in the late innings. That was a key part of the M’s winning 90 games for a second consecutive season and securing a Wild Card berth. Seattle subtracted from that with the deal that sent Erik Swanson to Toronto to bring in Teoscar Hernández, but they’ll bring back Andrés Muñoz, Diego Castillo, Matt Brash, Paul Sewald and Penn Murfee. Gott figures to work in lower-leverage spots, at least initially, to deepen the group available to manager Scott Servais.

White Sox To Sign Mike Clevinger

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November 28: Jim Bowden of The Athletic reports that the guarantee is $12MM.

November 27: The White Sox have agreed to a one-year deal with right-hander Mike Clevinger, and the contract will become official once Clevinger passes a physical.  Clevinger, represented by ACES, will earn over $8MM in guaranteed money.

After undergoing a Tommy John surgery that sidelined him for the entirety of the 2021 season, Clevinger returned to the Padres in May. He experienced a noticeable drop in velocity, with his fastball averaging 93.5 MPH compared to 95 MPH during the 2019 and 2020 seasons — this likely contributed to a decreased strikeout rate (18.8% in 2022 compared to 27.5% in 2020 and 22.6% in 2019). Nevertheless, Clevinger was able to pitch 114 1/3 regular season innings of 4.33 ERA ball, with a 7.2% walk rate, and 35.2% groundball rate.  He also started a pair of playoff games, allowing seven earned runs in 2 2/3 innings.

The White Sox now have a projected staff of Dylan Cease, Lance Lynn, Lucas Giolito, and Michael Kopech, though Kopech is recovering from a left knee strain and right shoulder inflammation. The addition of Clevinger likely closes the book on a potential Johnny Cueto return. Cueto proved invaluable after signing a minor league deal with the Sox, posting a 3.35 ERA in 158 1/3 frames.

Though Clevinger’s post-Tommy John work was uninspiring, some teams may hope further distance from the surgery and/or tweaks to his repertoire may aid him in rediscovering his 2017-2019 form, where the righty pitched 447 2/3 innings with a 2.96 ERA, 28.3% strikeout rate, 9.1% walk rate, and 40.2% groundball rate.

The Padres acquired Clevinger from the Indians in a nine-player trade at the 2020 trade deadline. It’s worth noting that the White Sox were also in the mix for the pitcher they knew so well from the AL Central, though Ken Rosenthal reported at the time that the Sox felt they were something of a “stalking horse,” as Cleveland never intended to move the righty to a division rival.  Clevinger made four starts after the deal, but was then scratched for what was at the time called biceps tightness and later revised to an elbow sprain. The Padres brought him back for Game 1 of the NLDS that year, but he was pulled from the start and was on the operating table facing Tommy John surgery the following month.

At the time of the TJ announcement, the Padres also bought out Clevinger’s final two arbitration years for a total of $11.5MM, effectively paying him that amount for what he could contribute in ’22. Though Clevinger remarked in March, “I feel healthier than I have in my entire career,” he sprained his knee shortly thereafter, leading to a May 4th season debut. He hit the IL again after three starts due to a triceps strain.

Over his first ten games, Clevinger was able to miss bats at an above average 24.7% clip. Over his last 11 starts, however, Clevinger punched out only 13.5% of opposing batters. Clevinger’s fastball had a pronounced decline as the season wore on, occasionally working at 95+MPH in some of his earlier starts versus a few sub-93 MPH games in the dog days of summer. Although, this was the first time he had pitched over 42 innings in a season since 2019 and some fatigue was expected.

With a cast of unproven hurlers vying for the fifth starting spot and Kopech recovering from knee surgery, starting pitching was certainly on GM Rick Hahn’s to-do list heading into the offseason. However, Hahn said earlier this month that the team was somewhat limited financially, and the Sox weren’t going beyond the roughly $193MM payroll (a club record) spent last season. Other reports suggested that number might be closer to $180MM, and depending on just how much over $8MM Clevinger is receiving, Roster Resource estimates that the White Sox are already close to that $180MM figure.

As it happens, that $8MM-ish payday for Clevinger comes close to the $8MM that AJ Pollock left on the table by declining his player option for the 2023 season. Pollock wasn’t expected to decline his option, so in that sense, Clevinger’s signing might almost be found money for the front office — and he’ll become an even bigger bargain if he returned to his pre-Tommy John form. MLBTR ranked Clevinger 49th on our list of the winter’s top 50 free agents, and projected him for a one-year, $10MM.

The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal was the first to report that Clevinger and the White Sox had agreed to a deal.  MLB Network’s Jon Morosi (Twitter links) reported the terms and length of the contract.

Giants Sign Four To Minor League Deals

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The Giants have signed four players to minor league deals, according to their transactions tracker at MLB.com. They are infielder Colton Welker and right-handers Mauricio Llovera, Sam Delaplane and Drew Strotman. All four of them were on the club’s roster until getting non-tendered earlier this month.

Welker, 25, spent his entire career with the Rockies up until recently. Colorado drafted him in the fourth round in 2016 and he made his MLB debut with the club in 2021, getting into 19 games. He required season-ending shoulder surgery in June of this year and was subsequently designated for assignment. The Giants put in a claim and held onto him for a few months but he didn’t survive the non-tender deadline.

His cup of coffee in the majors wasn’t terribly impressive, but he has strong numbers in Triple-A. In 2021, he hit .286/.378/.476 for a wRC+ of 114 and then slashed .324/.422/.514 in 2022 for a wRC+ of 136. That latter number was in just 10 games prior to the shoulder injury, but it’s still intriguing enough for the Giants. If Welker can return to health next year, he can provide some depth at the infield corners.

As for the right-handers, Llovera is the only one with major league experience. He’s spent most of his career with the Phillies thus far, including brief appearances with them in 2020 and 2021. He was outrighted in August of last year and later signed a minor league deal with the Giants, who added him to the roster in April of 2022. Over the past three seasons, he’s thrown 24 innings with a 7.13 ERA, but stronger numbers in the minors. He threw 20 Triple-A innings last year without allowing an earned run, striking out 35.9% of batters faced while walking just 5.1% of them and getting grounders on 52.3% of balls in play. He’ll look to work his way back onto the 40-man roster, though he’s now out of options and won’t be able to be easily moved on and off the active roster going forward.

As for Delaplane and Strotman, they have each made it onto major league rosters but haven’t had the opportunity to appear in an MLB game. Delaplane was a 23rd round pick of the Mariners in 2017 and got added to the club’s roster in November of 2020 to protect him from being selected in that year’s Rule 5 draft. He required Tommy John surgery in April of 2021 and then was designated for assignment, but the Giants weren’t put off by the surgery and acquired him in a trade. He made it back to the mound this year but only tossed 3 2/3 innings in Single-A. With the injury and the canceled minor league seasons in 2020, his last healthy stretch on a mound was 2019, when he pitched 37 Double-A innings with a 0.49 ERA.

Strotman was a fourth round draft pick of the Rays in 2017 who was added to their 40-man roster ahead of the 2020 Rule 5 draft. He then went to the Twins in 2021 as part of the Nelson Cruz trade. The Twins tried moving him from the rotation to the bullpen but Strotman posted a 6.44 ERA in 50 1/3 innings with their Triple-A affiliate in 2022. He was designated for assignment and went to the Rangers and Giants on waiver claims.

SSG Landers Close To Signing Kirk McCarty

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Left-hander Kirk McCarty is close to signing with the KBO League’s SSG Landers, according to a report from Ilgan Sports (hat tip to reporter Sung Min Kim).  A deal will become official once McCarty passes a physical.

McCarty made his Major League debut in 2022, posting a 4.54 ERA over 37 2/3 innings for the Guardians.  Eleven of McCarty’s 13 appearances came out of the bullpen, and he started getting some Triple-A usage as a multi-inning reliever after spending much of his pro career as a starter.  Over his 425 1/3 innings in the minors, McCarty has a 4.30 ERA, 22.9% strikeout rate, and 7.26% walk rate.

These types of numbers were enough to give McCarty his first crack in the big leagues, but ultimately made him a little expendable in the pitching-deep Guardians farm system.  McCarty was actually designated for assignment in July and claimed off waivers by the Orioles, but he pitched just one game with Baltimore’s Triple-A affiliate before he was DFA’ed again, and re-claimed by Cleveland.  Prior to the 40-man roster deadline earlier this month, the Guards designated McCarty again and released him.

McCarty was a seventh-round pick for Cleveland in the 2017 draft, and he has spent his entire career in the organization apart from that one-week sojourn in the Orioles’ system.  The move to the Korea Baseball Organization presents a whole new chapter for the 27-year-old, and perhaps a chance for McCarty to more firmly re-establish himself as a starting pitcher.  Due to his lack of strikeouts, McCarty doesn’t really fit most MLB teams’ preferred model for a starter or a reliever, though he does have some quality spin rates on both his fastball and curveball.

NPB’s Yokohama BayStars To Sign J.B. Wendelken

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The Yokohama BayStars have signed right-hander J.B. Wendelken, the New York Post’s Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link).  The contract is a one-year deal with an option for 2024, and Wendelken can earn up to $3.05MM, including incentives.

Wendleken elected free agency after the season, ending a stint with the Diamondbacks that began in August 2021 when Arizona claimed him off waivers from the A’s.  The Diamondbacks agreed to an arbitration-avoiding one-year, $835K deal with Wendelken last winter, but he posted only a 5.29 ERA over 29 innings in 2022.  Arizona designated the righty for assignment in July and then outrighted him off the 40-man roster, with Wendelken then spending the remainder of the season at Triple-A Reno.

Beginning his career in Oakland, Wendelken had a solid 2.30 ERA over 74 1/3 relief innings from 2018-20, though his 3.74 SIERA was perhaps more reflective of his overall work.  Wendelken benefited from a very low .218 BABIP in those three seasons, but his fortune changed with a .310 BABIP in 2021 and a dropoff in his strikeout rate.  The right-hander has only a 19% strikeout rate and a unimpressive 11.4% walk rate over 72 2/3 innings since the start of the 2021 season, as well as a 4.71 ERA.

With this recent performance, Wendelken might have been hard-pressed to find anything beyond than a minor league deal with an MLB team this winter, so he has instead opted for some guaranteed money and a fresh start in Japan.  Wendelken’s Triple-A numbers are worth noting, as he had a strong 2.63 ERA, 35.1% strikeout rate, and 9.6% walk rate over the small sample size of 24 innings with Reno.  This provides some hope that Wendelken can perhaps get on track with the BayStars, and either continue in NPB or perhaps eventually explore a return to North American baseball.

Roberto Osuna To Re-Sign With NPB’s Chiba Lotte Marines

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Reliever Roberto Osuna is close to agreeing to a one-year contract with Japan’s Chiba Lotte Marines for the 2023 season, per Enrique Rojas of ESPN.

Osuna began the 2022 season playing in the Mexican League for the Diablos Rojos del México, tossing 13 1/3 innings of three-run ball while striking out 15 batters and earning six saves, before joining the Marines for the second half of the season. Once in Japan, he threw 32 2/3 innings of 1.37 ERA ball, posting a 37:3 strikeout-to-walk ratio, earning sixteen saves, and allowing only a single home run.

Osuna, who will be 28-years-old during the 2023 season, hasn’t appeared in a major league game since 2020, when he was outrighted off the Astros’ roster. Osuna had missed much of that season with an elbow injury that limited him to only four appearances. The injury initially came with a recommendation of Tommy John surgery, but a second opinion led him to rebab instead. Now, with two consecutive years of pitching more than 45 innings, Osuna appears fully recovered.

Osuna served a 75-game suspension in 2018 for violating the MLB – MLBPA Domestic Violence Policy. A member of the Blue Jays at that time, he was arrested in Canada and charged with the assault of his then-girlfriend. He later agreed to a one-year peace bond, with the alleged victim withdrawing the charges to resolve the criminal case.

Per the Canadian Department of Justice’s website, peace bonds are generally used when “an individual (the defendant) appears likely to commit a criminal offence, but there are no reasonable grounds to believe that an offence has actually been committed.” The Canadian Department of Justice further adds that peace bonds are obtainable by “any person who fears that another person may injure them, their spouse or common-law partner, or a child, or may damage their property.”

It’s unclear if any major league club has shown interest in bringing Osuna back state-side this offseason. There’s little question of his on-field effectiveness when he is healthy, but it remains to be seen whether he’ll get another MLB opportunity at any point down the line.

Padres Sign Julio Teheran To Minor League Deal

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Veteran right-hander Julio Teherán has signed with the Padres on a minor league deal, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The contract will pay Teherán up to $6MM if he reaches the majors. Teherán is represented by Mato Sports Management. 

A two-time All-Star, Teherán returns to the National League, where he had previously spent nine seasons with the Braves, pitching to a 3.67 ERA in 1360 innings, before departing to join the Angels in 2020 and the Tigers in 2021. His tenure with the Angels was less successful, as the righty pitched to a 10.05 ERA in 31 1/3 innings with a poor 13.4% strikeout rate and a high 10.7% walk rate. Despite these substandard results, Detroit signed the hurler to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training. Teherán would eventually join the major league roster but would be shut down for the season with a right shoulder strain after a single start. 

The 31-year-old, joined the Staten Island FerryHawkes of the Atlantic League for the 2022 season before having his contract purchased by the Toros de Tijuana of the Mexican League. The Toros de Tijuana released Teherán in August, but he would soon latch on with the Sultanes de Monterrey, also of the Mexican League. Over the 2022 season, Teherán pitched 68 innings across 13 starts, posting a 3.57 ERA with a 56:10 strikeout-to-walk ratio.  

The 11-year MLB vet will look to find a spot on San Diego’s staff, who have seen starters Mike Clevinger and Sean Manaea depart to free agency. However, Nick Martinez figures to earn some starts with his new contract and the Friars have been connected to highly sought-after free agent pitcher Koudai Senga, potentially leaving Teherán as a Triple-A depth piece. 

Aristides Aquino Signs With NPB’s Chunichi Dragons

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10:30 AM: Hector Gomez of Z101 Digital adds that Aquino’s deal is one-year, $1.2MM with an additional $300K of possible incentives.

10:20 AM: Outfielder Aristides Aquino has signed with the Chunichi Dragons of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, reports Jon Morosi of MLB Network. It’s Aquino’s first stint overseas, who had previously spent parts of the last five seasons with the Cincinnati Reds.

Aquino, 28, made his debut during the 2018 season, earning a single at-bat, before reaching free agency and re-signing on a minor league deal with the Reds. He would eventually join the team in a more permanent role during the 2019 season, slashing .259/.316/.576 with 19 homers in 205 at-bats while posting serviceable strikeouts (26.7%) and walk (7.1%) rates. During that stretch, the right-handed hitter hit 13 homers in his first 100 plate appearances, setting an MLB record.

His success soon faded, and Aquino would spend the 2020 season bouncing between the major league club and the Reds’ alternative training site. More recently, Aquino hit a weak .194/.269/.381 with 20 homers across the 2021 and 2022 seasons (433 at-bats) with a poor 36.7% strikeout rate and a strong 9.2% walk rate. He was designated for assignment two weeks ago, as the Reds’ adjuted their 40-Man roster ahead of the Rule 5 Draft.

It’s possible that Aquino has a strong enough performance in Japan to draw some new major league interest in the future, for it was only a few seasons ago that he hit showcased his immense power. Nevertheless, he will now turn to the Dragons as an outfield option with a career .300/.374/.644 line at the Triple-A level.

Angels Sign Jacob Webb To Minors Contract

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The Angels have agreed to sign right-hander Jacob Webb to a minor league contract, FanSided’s Robert Murray reports (Twitter link).  Webb became a free agent after spending much of the 2022 season with the Braves’ Triple-A affiliate.

Webb was an 18th-round pick for the Braves in the 2014 draft, and he has spent his entire career in Atlanta’s organization apart from a brief stint with the Diamondbacks last season.  The D’Backs claimed Webb off waivers in April, and he made six appearances at Triple-A and some time on the Major League roster (without appearing in a game) before the Braves re-acquired Webb back in a trade last June.

Injuries hampered Webb last season, and he had only a 6.06 ERA over 35 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level with the Braves’ and Diamondbacks’ top affiliates.  He didn’t pitch at all at the MLB level, after posting a 2.47 ERA in 76 2/3 frames for Atlanta in parts of the 2019-21 seasons, topping out at 34 1/3 frames in 2021.  Webb also pitched 1 2/3 innings during the NLCS, and earned a World Series ring for his role in Atlanta’s championship season.

Despite that 2.47 ERA, Webb’s 4.28 SIERA and modest 21.9% strikeout rate perhaps better reflect why the Braves first parted ways with him a year ago, and he also had a checkered injury history.  Still, there isn’t much risk for the Angels in taking a look at Webb in camp and seeing if he can compete for a bullpen job.  As Murray notes, Webb is a known quantity to Angels GM Perry Minasian, who worked in Atlanta’s front office from 2017-20 before being hired by Los Angeles.

Though Webb doesn’t record a ton of strikeouts, he does have some swing-and-miss in his game, with an impressive 13.8% swinging-strike rate over his brief MLB career.  If he can continue to miss bats, generate soft contact and (perhaps most importantly) stay healthy, Webb might end up being a nice under-the-radar pickup for the Angels.

KBO’s Kiwoom Heroes Sign Ariel Jurado

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The Kiwoom Heroes have signed right-hander Ariel Jurado to a one-year contract worth $850K in guaranteed salary, with another $150K available in incentives.  (Hat tip to Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net.)  After nine seasons in affiliated North American baseball, Jurado will try to jumpstart his career in the Korea Baseball Organization.

It was almost exactly ten years ago that Jurado began his pro career as an international signing for the Rangers, and he worked away in the farm system before finally making his MLB debut in 2018.  Baseball Prospectus even ranked Jurado as the 72nd-best prospect in the sport prior to the 2017 season, though once Jurado made it to the Show, he posted only a 5.97 ERA over 181 innings with the Rangers and Mets from 2018-20.  The Mets acquired the righty from Texas in August 2020, then non-tendered him after the season.

Jurado’s career was then put on hold due to Tommy John surgery, and he missed the entire 2021 season in recovery.  Catching on with the Twins on a minor league deal last winter, Jurado posted a 3.54 ERA over 53 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level in 2022, with his typical low-strikeout (21.5%) and grounder-heavy (51.8%) approach.

Jurado worked as both a starter and long reliever with Triple-A St. Paul, with most of his starts coming later in the season after he had gotten more stretched out after his long layoff.  It’s fair to assume he will look to keep starting in the KBO League, and hope to pitch well for the Heroes and perhaps attract future attention from Major League scouts.  Jurado doesn’t even turn 27 until January, so there’s plenty of time for him to rebuild some value in South Korea and then explore a potential move back to the big leagues.

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