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Phillies Outright Nick Nelson

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The Phillies announced this afternoon that reliever Nick Nelson went unclaimed on outright waivers. He’ll stick in the organization at Triple-A Lehigh Valley without occupying a 40-man roster spot.

A fourth-round pick of the Yankees in 2016, Nelson landed in Philadelphia at the start of the 2021-22 offseason in a four-player trade. The Phils had carried him on their 40-man roster since that point. They nudged him off the roster on Sunday as the corresponding move for their waiver claim of Kyle Tyler from Miami.

Nelson made 47 appearances in 2022, logging 68 2/3 innings of relief for the Phils during their pennant-winning season. Philadelphia gave Nelson one inning of mop-up work during the Fall Classic. He hasn’t been much of a factor over the two years since then. Nelson has combined for four major league appearances against 46 Triple-A outings since the start of 2023. The Phils stretched him out as a depth starter with Lehigh Valley a year ago but returned him to the bullpen this season.

A rough showing this year pushed him off the roster. Nelson has surrendered upwards of seven earned runs per nine across 40 2/3 frames for the IronPigs. His 17.8% strikeout rate is subpar while he’s walking more than 11% of batters faced. The Phils can keep Nelson around as non-roster depth for the stretch run. He’ll have sufficient service time to reach minor league free agency next winter unless Philadelphia adds him back to the 40-man within a few days of the start of the offseason.

Red Sox Re-Sign Brad Keller To Minor League Deal

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The Red Sox have re-signed right-hander Brad Keller to a minor league deal, per Chris Hatfield of SoxProspects.com on X. The veteran elected free agency earlier today but has quickly returned to Boston on a non-roster pact.

Keller, 29, is a veteran with more than five years of service time. That gives him the right to reject optional assignments to the minor leagues. Earlier in the year, he did consent to be optioned by Boston, getting recalled a few days ago. The Sox optioned him a second time but he decided to exercise his right to explore the open market. It seems he didn’t find much to his liking and quickly reunited with the Sox on this minor league deal.

The righty had a nice run with the Royals earlier in his career but he has hit a few bumps in more recent seasons. In the 2018-2020 seasons, Keller logged 360 1/3 innings with Kansas City, allowing 3.50 earned runs per nine in that stretch. His 16.8% strikeout rate was below par but his 9.1% walk rate was around average and his 52.1% ground ball rate was quite strong.

But his ERA crept north of 5.00 in both 2021 and 2022. Last year, he was only able to make 11 appearances before requiring surgery to address thoracic outlet syndrome. This year, he has split his time between the White Sox and the Red Sox, tossing 37 1/3 innings with a 5.30 ERA, 17.8% strikeout rate, 7.7% walk rate and 49.6% ground ball rate.

The Sox bolstered their rotation prior to the deadline by acquiring James Paxton from the Dodgers but he recently suffered a torn calf after just three appearances with Boston. Cooper Criswell is currently on the injured list with COVID but the club is planning on slotting him into the rotation when he’s healthy. Whenever that happens, he’ll join Tanner Houck, Brayan Bello, Nick Pivetta and Kutter Crawford.

The club has Quinn Priester on the 40-man roster as depth but he has allowed 11 earned runs in 6 1/3 Triple-A innings since being acquired from the Pirates. Wikelman Gonzalez is also on the 40-man but he has a 5.93 ERA at Double-A this year and would have to skip Triple-A completely to help the big league club at this point. The club has Naoyuki Uwasawa and Jason Alexander on hand as non-roster depth but Keller has far more major league experience than those two and could be ahead of them in line to get the call whenever a fresh arm is needed next.

Marlins Outright Shaun Anderson

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The Marlins have sent right-hander Shaun Anderson outright to Triple-A Jacksonville, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. That indicates he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment last week. He has the right to elect free agency but it’s not clear if he’s chosen to do so.

Anderson, 29, began the year with Olmecas de Tabasco in the Mexican League but made one start of seven shutout innings and quickly landed a minor league deal with the Rangers. After about a month in Triple-A, the Rangers called him up to the big leagues in the middle of May. He was designated for assignment just over a week later and sent to the Marlins for cash.

The righty has largely been kept on optional assignment this year. Between the Rangers and Marlins, he has made five big league appearances, mostly in mop-up fashion. He hasn’t performed especially well in those outings, to put it mildly, allowing 15 earned runs in 14 innings. He hasn’t been helped by a .452 batting average on balls in play or his 48.6% strand rate, but he also only punched out 11.8% of batters faced.

His performance in the minors has been far better. Between the two organizations he has pitched for this year, he has thrown 48 1/3 Triple-A innings with a 2.42 earned run average, 23.2% strikeout rate and 5.7% walk rate. But that wasn’t enough to get him claimed by one of the other clubs in the league.

Anderson has been previously outrighted in his career, which gives him the right to reject this assignment and elect free agency. If he decides to stay, he’ll provide non-roster depth to a fairly snakebitten Miami rotation. Each of Sandy Alcántara, Eury Pérez, Ryan Weathers, Jesús Luzardo, Braxton Garrett and Sixto Sánchez are on the 60-day injured list, with each of Alcántara, Pérez and Luzardo done for the year.

The rotation is now down to Max Meyer, Edward Cabrera, Roddery Muñoz and Valente Bellozo. The Marlins have a few off-days scattered through the rest of their schedule which could perhaps allow them to run that four-man rotation with occasional bullpen days. They have Adam Mazur, Darren McCaughan and Xzavion Curry on optional assignment and Yonny Chirinos as a non-roster depth option. If Anderson sticks around, he can join Chirinos in the veteran non-roster camp. Anderson has 149 2/3 big league innings of big league experience but with a 6.19 ERA in that time.

Rockies Outright John Curtiss

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Rockies right-hander John Curtiss went unclaimed on waivers and was assigned outright to Triple-A Albuquerque, per the team’s MLB.com transaction log. He has the right to reject that assignment in favor of free agency. If he accepts, he’ll stick with the Rox organization in Triple-A but no longer occupy a spot on the 40-man roster.

Curtiss signed a minor league deal with Colorado over the winter, was selected to the big league roster in May, and rejected an outright assignment after being designated for assignment. He’s since returned on an additional pair of minor league deals — opting out once along the way — and was selected back to the big league roster in late July. He’s pitched 2 1/3 MLB innings this year and been tagged for four runs. His Triple-A work has been vastly better. In an extremely hitter-friendly setting, he’s posted 38 innings of 4.03 ERA ball with a sub-par 18.5% strikeout rate against a strong 7.4% walk rate.

The Rockies are the seventh big league team for which the journeyman Curtiss has pitched. He’s amassed 108 2/3 innings in the majors and sports a lifetime 4.06 ERA with a roughly average 22.7% strikeout rate and sharp 7% walk rate. He was at his best in 2020-21 when he pitched 69 1/3 frames with a 2.86 earned run average, 24.1% strikeout rate and 5.2% walk rate between the Rays, Marlins and (much more briefly) Brewers. Milwaukee acquired Curtiss from Miami at the 2021 trade deadline, but he pitched just 4 1/3 innings before requiring Tommy John surgery.

Tigers Reinstate Kerry Carpenter

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The Tigers announced that outfielder Kerry Carpenter has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list. Infielder/outfielder Ryan Vilade was optioned to Triple-A Toledo to open an active roster spot. In a corresponding 40-man roster move, right-hander Brendan White was recalled from Double-A Erie and placed on the 60-day injured list with a right elbow strain.

The return of Carpenter should be a nice boost for the Detroit lineup. He has appeared in 199 major league games to this point in his career and has hit 34 home runs in that time. His .275/.336/.495 slash line translates to a 128 wRC+, indicating he’s been 28% better than league average overall.

He landed on the IL at the end of May due to an unknown lower back injury that was later reported to be a lumbar spine stress fracture. He eventually missed over two months, getting transferred to the 60-day IL along the way, but is now able to rejoin the lineup. The Tigers are nine games back of a playoff spot and have long odds for a miracle run at this point, but it will still be good for Carpenter to get some playing time before the offseason kicks in.

White, 25, has been on Detroit’s 40-man roster since November of 2022. Last year, he was able to toss 40 2/3 innings in the big leagues with a 5.09 ERA, 24.9% strikeout rate, 8.5% walk rate and 51.8% ground ball rate.

This year, he was optioned during Spring Training and has been in the minors all season. At the end of May, the club listed him as dealing with right elbow inflammation, per Evan Woodbery of MLive Media Group on X. He was still experiencing elbow discomfort in July, per Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press on X.

At this point, details are still murky about what’s next but it seems the club doesn’t expect him back this year, hence the 60-day IL placement. If there’s a silver lining for White, it’s that he’ll get major league pay and service time for the rest of the season. He was able to accrue 111 days of service last year, putting him 61 days shy of the one-year mark. There’s not enough time left in 2024 for him to get over that line but he’ll creep towards it and get a little pay bump while navigating his injury absence.

Angels Claim Nick Robertson, Brock Burke

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The Angels announced that they have claimed right-hander Nick Robertson off waivers from the Cardinals and left-hander Brock Burke off waivers from the Rangers. Both pitchers had been designated for assignment in recent days. The Halos had two vacancies on their 40-man roster and don’t need to make a corresponding move.

Each pitcher has shown some promise in past seasons but was struggling of late. They both got nudged off their respective roster spots but it makes sense for the Angels to take fliers on them. The Halos are out of contention and can use the remainder of the season to audition players for future roles, and had the open roster spots anyway.

Robertson, 26, pitched for the Dodgers and Red Sox in 2023. He tossed 22 1/3 innings in the majors with an unimpressive 6.04 earned run average but better underlying numbers. He struck out 24.5% of batters faced, gave out walks at an 8.5% clip and got grounders on 47.1% of balls in play. His .397 batting average on balls in play and 57.5% strand rate were both on the unlucky side, which is why he had a 3.88 FIP and 3.76 SIERA. He also had a strong 2.54 ERA in Triple-A last year with a huge 37.5% strikeout rate.

The Cards acquired him as one of the two pieces they got back from Boston in the Tyler O’Neill trade. He missed about a month of this season due to right elbow inflammation and has also been on optional assignment, only throwing 12 1/3 innings for the Cards. In that time, he had a 4.38 ERA, 26.9% strikeout rate and 3.8% walk rate. Oddly, he performed far worse in his 21 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level. He had a 7.48 ERA there, along with a 20.6% strikeout rate and 15.7% walk rate.

It’s not been an outstanding season so St. Louis decided to move on, but the Angels can see if he can find his way in a new environment. Robertson can be optioned for the rest of this year and will still have one option after that. He also currently has less than a year of service time, meaning he still has a ways to go before qualifying for arbitration or free agency.

Burke, 28, had a tremendous 2022 season. He tossed 82 1/3 innings for the Rangers that year with a 1.97 ERA, 27.4% strikeout rate and 7.3% walk rate. But his numbers backed up a bit last year, as he logged 59 2/3 frames with a 4.37 ERA and diminished 20.8% strikeout rate, though he did lower the walks to a rate of 3.6%.

This year, things have been even worse, which was partially self-induced on Burke’s part. He punched a wall in frustration after a poor outing and suffered a fracture in his right hand. Though it wasn’t his throwing hand, it still kept him on the IL for two months. Around that IL placement, he posted a 9.22 ERA in 13 2/3 innings and also spent about a month on optional assignment.

The results have obviously been trending in a bad direction and the wall-punching reflects poorly on him, but he can still be optioned for the rest of this year if the Angels so choose. He’ll be out of options next year but can be retained via arbitration through 2026.

Nationals To Select Orlando Ribalta

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The Nationals are calling up right-hander Orlando Ribalta, reports Andrew Golden of The Washington Post on X. Ribalta is not yet on the club’s 40-man roster but they have a couple of open spots at the moment. They will only have to make a corresponding move to create an active roster spot.

Ribalta, 26, was selected by the Nats in the 12th round of the 2019 draft. He has been climbing the minor league ladder since then, working exclusively as a reliever, with some very encouraging results here in 2024.

He started the year at Double-A and blew through that level by tossing 18 innings with just two earned runs allowed, leading to an ERA of 1.00. His 11.3% walk rate was on the high side but he counteracted that by his striking out a massive 45.1% of batters faced. He was then promoted to Triple-A and tossed 27 1/3 innings with a 3.62 ERA, 30.7% strikeout rate and 12.3% walk rate.

At the end of May, Eric Longenhagen and Travis Ice at FanGraphs ranked Ribalta as the #11 prospect in the system. They focused on his 6’7″ height, noting that players of that size sometimes take longer to get everything working and that Ribalta might be on the verge of a breakout, despite his relatively old age for a debut. The lack of control is clearly a concern but Longenhagen and Ice feel it’s possible that he’s still harnessing his stuff and could continue taking steps forward.

The Nationals have adopted a mantra of “I don’t care how fast you throw ball four” this year and will undoubtedly be focused on helping Ribalta continue to rein in his stuff. They are out of contention this year but can get a look at Ribalta down the stretch to see if he can be a part of their plans for next year and beyond.

Astros Release Dylan Coleman

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The Astros have released right-hander Dylan Coleman after designating him for assignment last week, as indicated on the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. He’s now a free agent.

Coleman, 28 next month, was acquired from the Royals in a small December swap and has spent the bulk of the season in Triple-A Sugar Land. He pitched one scoreless big league frame for Houston back on April 3 but has limped to a more problematic 6.50 earned run average in 36 Triple-A frames. He’s been on a particularly rocky run of late, yielding 12 runs (11 earned) on eight hits and nine walks over his past 5 2/3 innings. That recent slide surely played into the decision to designate the former fourth-rounder (Padres, 2018) for assignment.

As recently as 2022, Coleman looked well on his way to establishing himself in the Royals’ big league bullpen. He made his MLB debut late in the 2021 season and in 2022 piled up 68 innings of work. In a total of 74 1/3 innings from ’21-’22, he notched a very sharp 2.66 ERA while fanning 24.8% of his opponents. His 12.1% walk rate was in need of improvement, but Coleman sat 97.7 mph with his heater, picked up swinging strikes at an impressive 13% clip, avoided hard contact (86.4 mph average exit velocity, 6.3% barrel rate, 35.9% hard-hit rate) and did a good job keeping the ball in the yard (0.61 HR/9).

That success deteriorated quickly in 2023, however. Coleman was rocked for an 8.84 ERA in 18 1/3 big league innings and walked 19 batters in that time. The command troubles continued in Triple-A Omaha, where he issued a free pass to a calamitous 21.8% of his opponents. The right-hander’s average fastball also plummeted from the prior season’s 97.5 mph to 95.2 mph in the majors (and 96.1 mph down the stretch in Triple-A).

All of those problems have persisted, if not worsened, following the change of scenery. Coleman walked 23.9% of his opponents with Sugar Land in the Astros organization, and Statcast measured his average heater in Triple-A this season at 95.7 mph — well shy of his 2021-22 levels. Whatever the reason for the downturn in command and velocity, the 2023-24 version of Coleman looks like a decidedly different pitcher than the reliever who showed quite a bit of promise from 2021-22.

Coleman’s prior track record, minimal acquisition cost — he’ll very likely require only a minor league deal to sign — and remaining club control (under two years of MLB service) should be enough to spark interest from a new club, whether that’s in the coming days/weeks or in the offseason.

Brad Keller Elects Free Agency

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Red Sox right-hander Brad Keller has elected to become a free agent, reports Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. As a player with five-plus years of big league service, Keller must consent to being optioned to the minors. He agreed to be optioned once earlier this season, but when the Red Sox sought to option him earlier this week, he instead exercised his right to become a free agent and seek a new opportunity.

Keller, 29, was a fixture in the Royals’ rotation from 2018-23. One of the more successful Rule 5 picks in recent memory — Kansas City plucked him out of the D-backs’ organization in the 2017 Rule 5 Draft — he enjoyed three sharp seasons as a starter for the Royals before struggling repeatedly from 2021-23, often due to injuries. After logging a 3.50 ERA in 360 1/3 innings for K.C. from 2018-20, Keller was roughed up for a 5.14 mark in the three subsequent seasons. Things went way off the rails in 2023, when he walked 45 hitters in 45 1/3 innings before going on the injured list and eventually undergoing thoracic outlet surgery.

The White Sox signed Keller to a minor league deal over the winter, and he had a brief run with Chicago before being designated for assignment and electing free agency. The Red Sox scooped him up in late May. After a tough debut in Baltimore, he settled in to pitch well over a string of eight long-relief appearances, but Boston sent him to the minors in late June (a move he approved at the time). He was recalled on Friday, surrendered three runs in four innings against the Astros on Saturday, and was optioned back to Triple-A Worcester on Monday — this time exercising his right to become a free agent.

Overall, Keller has pitched 37 1/3 innings between the ChiSox and BoSox this season. He’s logged a discouraging 5.30 ERA in that time, but his season isn’t without its silver linings. First and foremost, the disastrous command issues he displayed last season have come back down to Earth. In fact, Keller has not only put last year’s ghastly 21.3% walk rate behind him — he’s sporting a career-low 7.7% walk rate in his 37 1/3 frames. His 17.8% strikeout rate is below the league average but is right in line with the 17.4% mark he posted prior to his TOS-ruined 2023 season. Keller has seen the velocity on his four-seamer and sinker tick up slightly (though he’s also primarily been working in relief, so that’s not necessarily due to better health), and this year’s 9.1% swinging-strike rate is the second-best mark of his career (but still worse than league-average).

Down in Triple-A, things have gone better. He’s pitched a nearly identical slate of 38 innings there and has similar walk and strikeout rates to the ones he’s posted in the majors. However, he’s sporting a 4.26 ERA that’s more than a full run lower than his MLB ERA, due largely to the fact that he’s been able to avoid the long ball in a way he hasn’t at the MLB level (0.24 HR/9 in Triple-A, 1.93 HR/9 in MLB). In all likelihood, his home run rate in the majors is due for some positive regression, while his home run rate in the minors is likely due to swing the other direction.

For a team needing some late-season rotation depth or length in the bullpen, the veteran Keller could be a worthy flier. The Twins, Astros, Guardians, Mets, Braves and Padres are among the postseason hopefuls who have incurred injuries or are experiencing notable workload concerns among their current crop of starting pitchers.

Mariners Sign Víctor Robles To Extension

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The Mariners announced that they have signed outfielder Víctor Robles to a contract extension. It reportedly guarantees him $9.75MM over the next two years, which includes a $1.25MM signing bonus. He can earn an extra $2MM via bonuses/escalators, $1MM in each season, $500K for reaching 500 plate appearances and another $500K for 600 plate appearances. The Mariners will have a $9MM club option for 2027. Robles is represented by Republik Sports.

The deal is a demonstration of what a remarkable turnaround it’s been for Robles in the past two months. After years of struggles with the Nationals, he was designated for assignment at the end of May. They reportedly then explored trades with other clubs but couldn’t find any takers. Since Robles had enough service time to reject an outright assignment while keeping what remained of this year’s $2.65MM salary, the Nats simply released him.

The Mariners took a shot on him, which essentially came with no risk. The Nats were still on the hook for most of his salary, leaving the Mariners to pay just the prorated league minimum, with that amount subtracted from what the Nats pay.

For that minimal investment, the Mariners have already been hugely rewarded. In 42 games for Seattle, he has three home runs and a batting line of .303/.372/.450. That’s 39% better than league average offense, per wRC+. His .349 batting average on balls in play is definitely on the high side but he’s only striking out at a 16.3% rate and that would be strong offense even with a bit of regression.

That’s especially true because Robles is capable of providing value even when he doesn’t have the bat in his hands. He has stolen 12 bases in 12 tries since coming to Seattle and provided competent glovework in the outfield, playing all three positions on the grass. FanGraphs calculates that he has been worth 1.2 wins above replacement already in his brief stint with the Mariners.

That has been especially valuable for a club that has struggled to generate offense this year. They have arguably the best pitching staff in the league, with their team-wide 3.42 tops in the majors, but the lack of punch at the plate has kept them fighting for their lives. They are 63-56, effectively even with the Astros in the division but 2.5 games back of a Wild Card spot.

Robles was an impending free agent but the Mariners have seen enough that they are willing to keep him around for another two and maybe three years. Of course, they’re not just making this decision based on the 42 games he has played since changing uniforms. During his time with the Nats, he was once considered one of the best prospects in the sport. He was on Baseball America’s top 100 list in four straight seasons from 2016 to 2019, getting as high as fifth overall in 2018.

He seemed to be delivering on that prospect hype in 2019, helping the Nats win the World Series that year. His .255/.326/.419 batting line was a bit below par, translating to a 92 wRC+, but he was able to produce 3.7 fWAR thanks to his defense and speed. He stole 28 bases on the year, racking up 25 Defensive Runs Saved and 21 Outs Above Average. Given that he was only 22 years old at the time, it seemed fair to expect that he was only scratching the surface of the player he was about to become.

Unfortunately, the opposite happened, as his performance dropped significantly for the next few years. For the 2020-22 seasons, he hit just .216/.291/.306 for a wRC+ of 66. He did spend some time on the injured list but that was a significant sample size of 965 plate appearances.

Despite those struggles, the Nats stuck by him, continually tendering him contracts as he reached arbitration. He seemed to be getting things back on track last year, as he hit .299/.385/.364 for a wRC+ of 112, but he was limited to just 36 games on the season because of back spasms in the lumbar spine. Nonetheless, the Nats agreed to the aforementioned $2.65MM salary for 2024, hoping that Robles could both stay healthy and put his past struggles behind him. But this year got out to a shaky start, as Robles missed about a month due to a left hamstring strain and hit just .120/.281/.120 in 14 games for Washington before they decided to cut him loose.

The Mariners have been rewarded with the version of Robles that the Nats thought they had many times in the past. The combination of his past prospect pedigree and his recent performance clearly has given the M’s some hope that Robles can keep producing for a few more years. There is obviously some risk there based on how poorly he has performed at times in the past, but they are also not sticking their neck out with vast sums of money.

The guarantee works out to less than $5MM per year, which is fairly modest in baseball terms. Even if Robles takes a step back at the plate and is merely a speed-and-defense fourth outfielder, that’s not a drastic waste of resources. And if he can continue to keep hitting, then there’s plenty of upside for the M’s.

For Robles, he is perhaps leaving a bit of money on the table here, but it’s also understandable that he would want to lock in some significant earnings. If he had continued to perform at this level for the rest of the season, he likely would have earned a larger guarantee than the one he’s agreeing to now. But as he surely knows from the winding path of his career, it’s not a guarantee that it will continue to go so well. After all, it was just two months ago that all the clubs in the league passed on the chance to acquire him while he’s making a fairly modest salary. If Robles had suffered another injury or simply struggled at the plate down the stretch, he may not have been able to secure a guarantee of even this size.

He also still has future earning power that he could tap into if he keeps performing. Due to debuting at such a young age, he’s still just 27 years old. This deal will cover his age-28 and -29 seasons with the option giving the M’s a chance to control him through his age-30 season. If he’s able to keep up his all-around performance through the course of this contract, he could line himself up for a more sizable deal at that point. If the option is triggered and he hits those escalators, he will have already banked $20.75MM off this deal.

The Mariners also get a headstart on bolstering their future outfield. They already have Julio Rodríguez locked in for many years and the recently-acquired Randy Arozarena is controllable via arbitration through 2026. Mitch Haniger has one more year on his deal after this and the club also has pre-arb guys like Luke Raley and Dominic Canzone in the mix, though Raley has been getting a lot of playing time at first base lately. Justin Turner figures to be in the designated hitter spot a lot for the rest of this year but is an impending free agent.

It’s arguably a crowded mix but president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto is one of the game’s most active decision makers and could deal from this group in the offseason if the opportunity presents itself. For now, he’s locked in a player who is perhaps breaking out, but without breaking the bank. Robles, meanwhile, has secured himself a really nice bit of financial security that didn’t seem possible just a few short weeks ago.

Yancen Pujols first reported that the two sides had agreed to an extension with a $9.75MM guarantee (Spanish-language link on X). Jorge Castillo of ESPN had the two-year length, club option and $2MM in bonuses/escalators (X link). Daniel Kramer of MLB.com provided the specifics of the bonuses/escalators as well as the signing bonus (X link).

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