White Sox Sign Bryse Wilson
The White Sox announced that they have signed right-hander Bryse Wilson to a one-year deal worth $1.05MM. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported those terms prior to the official announcement and added that Wilson will compete for a rotation spot and can also access bonuses worth $250K in the deal. The Sox had a full 40-man roster but opened a spot by trading catcher Chuckie Robinson to the Angels.
It’s a bit of an early birthday present for Wilson, who turns 27 on Friday. Despite being relatively young, he has pitched in parts of seven major league seasons to this point, debuting with Atlanta as a 20-year-old back in 2018. While many early debutants are on All-Star trajectories and Wilson was considered a top 100 prospect going into the 2019 season, he has spent most of his career thus far as a fairly unremarkable swingman.
Atlanta kept Wilson mostly in a depth role, not letting him get more than 34 innings in any season from 2018 to 2021. He was then flipped to the Pirates as part of the 2021 deadline deal that sent Richard Rodríguez the other way. He spent the next year and a half jockeying for position in the Pittsburgh rotation without fully cementing himself there. He exhausted his final option year in 2022 and was going to be tougher to keep on the roster going forward. He was designated for assignment going into 2023 and was flipped to the Brewers for cash.
Milwaukee used Wilson as a multi-inning reliever in 2023 and then as a swingman in 2024. He could have been retained for 2025 via arbitration, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting him for a modest salary of $1.5MM, but the Brewers outrighted him off the roster in early November.
Generally speaking, the results have been passable but middling for Wilson. His control has been good but he hasn’t been able to rack up huge numbers of strikeouts or ground balls. Overall, he has a 4.61 ERA in 413 2/3 innings to this point in his career. His 7.4% walk rate is better than average but his 17.1% strikeout rate and 38.8% ground ball rate are both subpar.
He did have a strong 2.58 ERA in 2023 when working solely in relief, but that seems to have been mostly luck. His strikeout, walk and grounder rates were all close to his career norms but he had a tiny .232 batting average on balls in play and high strand rate of 81.2%. His 4.13 FIP and 4.31 SIERA suggested it wasn’t sustainable. In 2024, he regressed back to his typical lane with a 4.04 ERA as the BABIP and strand rate normalized a bit.
Though the numbers have been fairly uninspiring, it’s a sensible fit for all sides. Despite once being a top pitching prospect, Wilson has never been given a full rotation chance. His workload topped out at 115 2/3 innings in 2022, when the Pirates sent him to the minors and to the bullpen multiple times. Going to a club with a wide open rotation like the White Sox is surely an appealing opportunity for him.
For the Sox, this investment is essentially nothing in baseball terms. Wilson’s salary will be barely above next year’s $760K league minimum. They also have almost nothing established in their rotation at this point. They had four pitchers make 21 or more starts for them in 2024 and three of them are gone. Erick Fedde was traded to the Cardinals at the deadline last year. Garrett Crochet was traded to the Red Sox last week. Chris Flexen became a free agent at season’s end. That leaves Jonathan Cannon, who just debuted in 2024, as the only guy who pitched a decent number of innings this year and is still on the roster.
The Sox also have guys like Drew Thorpe, Davis Martin, Sean Burke, Jared Shuster, Nick Nastrini, Jairo Iriarte, Jake Eder, Wikelman Gonzalez and Ky Bush on the roster but no one in that group has even a full year of major league service time or 115 innings pitched in the big leagues.
Though Wilson isn’t much older than the guys in that group, and is actually younger than Martin, he has spent far more time facing big league hitters. He can serve as an experienced veteran, relatively speaking, while he tries to take advantage of a fairly open lane for a rotation job. If several of those young pitchers step forward and earn big league auditions, Wilson can move to a bullpen that’s also fairly lacking in proven options.
Wilson’s service time is between four and five years, so the Sox could actually retain him via arbitration for 2026 if things go well next year. Though if things go especially well, he’s likely to end up being traded at next year’s deadline.
Angels Acquire Chuckie Robinson, Designate Davis Daniel For Assignment
The White Sox traded catcher Chuckie Robinson to the Angels in exchange for cash, the teams announced Wednesday. The Halos designated righty Davis Daniel for assignment in order to open a spot on the 40-man roster. Presumably, the trade of Robinson is the White Sox’ corresponding move to open 40-man roster space for righty Bryse Wilson, who reportedly agreed to a one-year deal there earlier this afternoon. Both teams have full 40-man rosters.
Robinson, 30, has played in two big league seasons, logging 25 games with the ’22 Reds and 26 games with the ChiSox this past season. He’s struggled mightily at the plate, hitting a combined .132/.170/.194 in a small sample of 135 MLB plate appearances. He’s graded out well defensively, though, with good marks for his framing and quality caught-stealing rates. Robinson nabbed nine of the 31 opponents who tried to swipe a base against him in 2024 (29%).
Although Robinson hasn’t hit in his minimal action at the big league level, he’s a .272/.330/.423 hitter in three Triple-A seasons. He also still has a pair of minor league options remaining. He’ll be no higher than third on the organization’s catching depth chart behind Logan O’Hoppe and Travis d’Arnaud, but he’ll give them a more flexible third catcher than they had with the out-of-options Matt Thaiss (who has coincidentally made his way to the White Sox after first being traded from the Angels to the Cubs).
The 27-year-old Daniel will lose his spot on the Angels’ 40-man roster as a result of today’s swap. He’s seen major league time with the Halos in each of the past two seasons but been tagged for an ugly 5.06 ERA in 42 2/3 innings. Daniel has a below-average 19.9% strikeout rate and a solid 8.1% walk rate during that time but has averaged a tepid 92.1 mph on his four-seamer while posting poor whiff rates.
Daniel’s 2024 struggles extended to his Triple-A work (5.43 ERA), but he posted solid numbers there in 2022 (4.49 ERA, 102 1/3 innings) and was sharp in the minors and in the Arizona Fall League as recently as 2023. He also has a minor league option remaining. That could prompt another club to take a look, but if not, Daniels can be outrighted to Triple-A and retained as non-roster depth. The Angels will have a week to trade him or attempt to run him through outright waivers.
Naoyuki Uwasawa Signs With NPB’s SoftBank Hawks
Right-hander Naoyuki Uwasawa‘s foray into North American ball will come to a close after one season. The SoftBank Hawks of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball announced this week that they’ve signed the 30-year-old righty to a four-year contract (link via The Mainichi).
Uwasawa signed a non-guaranteed deal with the Rays last offseason as he looked to make the jump to Major League Baseball on the heels of a nice nine-year run with NPB’s Nippon-Ham Fighters. He only spent spring training with Tampa Bay, however, as he triggered an assignment clause in his minor league deal at the end of camp when he was told he wouldn’t make the team. That prompted a trade to the Red Sox, who sent cash back to the Rays and selected Uwasawa to the 40-man roster the following day.
Uwasawa only wound up pitching in two games with Boston. He gave the Red Sox four innings of one-run ball across those two appearances but didn’t get a longer look, due in large part to his struggles down in Triple-A Worcester. The soft-tossing righty was hammered for a 7.63 ERA over 59 1/3 innings, during which time he fanned 16.8% of his opponents against a 12.9% walk rate. For a pitcher who was never a big strikeout arm in Japan but offset the lack of punchouts with sharp command, the walks were as uncharacteristic as they were problematic.
The Red Sox passed Uwasawa through waivers unclaimed in July. He was assigned outright to Triple-A and became a minor league free agent at season’s end. While there may have been some interest from other MLB clubs on a minor league deal, a four-year guarantee to return home to Japan understandably appears to have been too tempting for the right-hander to overlook.
Uwasawa will head back to Japan and look to build on what’s already a fine track record in NPB. He’s pitched 1118 1/3 innings at Japan’s top level and turned in a 3.19 ERA, a 70-62 record, a 19.7% strikeout rate and a 7.5% walk rate (though his strikeout rate has dwindled as his walk rate has improved further in recent NPB seasons).
KBO’s NC Dinos Sign Logan Allen
The NC Dinos of the Korea Baseball Organization announced Wednesday that they’ve signed left-hander Logan S. Allen (not to be confused with current Guardians lefty Logan T. Allen) to a one-year contract (hat tip: Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net). Allen is represented by Roc Nation Sports. He’ll be guaranteed $700K between his salary and signing bonus, and he can earn another $300K worth of incentives.
It’ll be the first stint overseas for the 27-year-old Allen — a former top prospect who’s now bounced to seven different MLB organizations in his career, appearing in the majors with four of them. Allen spent the 2024 season with the Diamondbacks, pitching 28 innings of 5.46 ERA ball in the majors and adding another 96 1/3 frames at the Triple-A level.
Allen breezed through the lower minors and had a terrific season between Double-A and Triple-A as a 21-year-old back in 2018, but his results both in the majors and in Triple-A have generally been subpar since that time. He altered his repertoire this past season, however, debuting a new splitter that seems to have caught the Dinos’ attention. The pitch generated strong results and drew positive grades from both Statcast and Sports Info Solutions. The Dinos mentioned it in their press release, wherein GM Seon-nam Lim noted that Allen is expected to join their rotation.
Allen heads over the the KBO for his age-28 season, giving him plenty of time to potentially parlay a strong showing in Asia into a big league return. He’d hardly be the first player to do so. Because Allen debuted in the majors less than a month after his 22nd birthday, he’s perhaps younger than many fans might expect of a journeyman who’s been with seven MLB organizations over a nearly decade-long pro career. If he can make further gains with that new split-changeup, it’s feasible that he could garner a look from big league clubs in future offseasons.
Yankees Acquire Cody Bellinger
The long-awaited Cody Bellinger trade has arrived. The Yankees and Cubs announced a trade sending Bellinger and cash considerations to the Bronx in exchange for right-hander Cody Poteet. Chicago is reportedly paying down $5MM of the $52.5MM remaining on Bellinger’s contract. They’ll pay $2.5MM of next season’s $27.5MM salary and send another $2.5MM in 2026 — either covering a portion of his $25MM salary for that season or paying half of the $5MM buyout if he opts out of his contract next winter. New York reportedly plans to use Bellinger as a center fielder.
Bellinger heading to the Bronx is a logical fit and it has been in plenty of rumors recently. At the start of the offseason, the Yankees lost Juan Soto, Alex Verdugo and Anthony Rizzo to free agency, opening up two holes in their outfield and one at first base. Since Bellinger has played both the outfield and at first, the 29-year-old was seen as a possible fit for their 2025 plans in various ways. The Yanks pursued Soto for a long time but he eventually landed with the Mets, pushing the Yankees to several backup plans. They have since signed left-hander Max Fried and acquired right-hander Devin Williams to upgrade their rotation and bullpen.
For the Cubs, Bellinger has seemed expendable for a few reasons. On the one hand, Pete Crow-Armstrong emerged as a viable glove-first center fielder in 2024, which was Bellinger’s primary spot the year before. Michael Busch also took over the first base spot. With Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki in the outfield corners, Bellinger was a bit squeezed. The Cubs only compounded the problem when they acquired Kyle Tucker from the Astros.
However, beyond the roster crunch, the Cubs were also likely motivated to move Bellinger due to his decline in performance. After some rough years with the Dodgers while recovering from shoulder surgery, the Cubs took a bounceback flier on Bellinger in 2023. After being non-tendered by the Dodgers, the Cubs gave Bellinger a $17.5MM guarantee on a one-year pact, hoping he could get over his injury woes and return to being the player that won Most Valuable Player in 2019.
He didn’t get all the way back to that level but was still great value for that investment. He stole 20 bases and hit 26 home runs. He only struck out 15.6% of the time. The reviews of his center field defense were mixed but were mostly close to league average. He also moved to first base on occasion. He slashed .307/.356/.525 for a 136 wRC+ and produced 4.4 wins above replacement, in the eyes of FanGraphs.
Perhaps the Cubs would have been happy to walk away at that point. They gave Bellinger a qualifying offer and didn’t seem to have a very high motivation to re-sign him, but nor did any other clubs, as Bellinger remained unsigned through late February. Eventually, he and the Cubs agreed to a three-year, $80MM deal with opt-outs after each season.
On that kind of deal, the best case scenario for the club is that the player performs well and then opts out. If the player doesn’t opt out, it means he doesn’t like his prospects in free agency, which likely means he got hurt or underperformed.
Bellinger’s production did indeed slip relative to 2023, though it wasn’t disastrous. He stole nine bases and hit 19 home runs. His strikeout rate held steady at 15.6%. He slashed .266/.325/.426 for a wRC+ of 109. His center field defense was still graded as around league average but he spent less time there due to the aforementioned emergence of Crow-Armstrong. He produced 2.2 fWAR, half of the year before.
Going into the offseason, it was a borderline call as to whether Bellinger would opt out or not. He could have taken the $2.5MM buyout and taken his chances, leaving a $52.5MM guarantee on the table. While he may have been able to beat the $50MM difference this winter, he decided to stay, perhaps due to the way the current contract is allocated. He will make $27.5MM in 2025 with a $5MM buyout on his $25MM for 2026. There’s a best-case scenario for him personally where he plays better in 2025 and then takes the second opt-out, returning to the open market with greater earning power, pocketing $32.5MM in the process. He decided that was more attractive than opting out this year.
It seems fair to conclude that the Cubs would have rather he opted out. Trade rumors surrounding Bellinger have been flying all offseason and now the Cubs have moved on from him, mostly for salary relief. By taking on the majority of that salary, the Yankees haven’t had to give up much, though there is financial risk and the deal has more downside than upside.
If Bellinger plays especially well in 2025, he will trigger that opt-out. That will leave the Yankees having paid him $27.5MM for one year, which is the best-case scenario for them at this point. Though if he doesn’t play well or finishes the upcoming season with a notable injury, he will stay on their books for 2026, with the Yanks on the hook for $22.5MM of his $25MM salary.
The Yankees are also repeat luxury tax payors, which will add to what they are paying Bellinger. If they end up above the highest threshold as they did in 2024, then they are slated for a 110% tax on spending over the top line, so any new additions to the roster effectively cost double. That compounds the risk they are taking with Bellinger but the same would be true if they had instead opted to sign a free agent or acquire another player making a notable salary.
Bellinger has been a very streaky player in his career, so it’s anyone’s guess which of those outcomes is more likely in the upcoming year. As mentioned, he’s shown MVP upside but followed that up with a stretch so bad that he was non-tendered. He roared back in 2023 but dipped a bit in 2024.
All that being said, it’s understandable why the Yankees would be interested in taking this risk. The free agent market features outfielders like Teoscar Hernández and Anthony Santander, but they will likely end up with larger guarantees than Bellinger. Santander is reportedly looking for a five-year deal and Hernández three, each likely hoping for an average annual value of $20MM or more.
They are also both bat-first guys with poor defense, whereas Bellinger is capable of being a strong defender in an outfield corner or perhaps passable in center. The Yanks played Aaron Judge in center a lot in 2024 while using Verdugo and Soto in the corners, though it seems that Judge is now slated to return to right field. That’s a sensible pivot since Judge’s marks were poor this year and he’s about to turn 33, meaning the long-term toll on his body would have to be considered. The Yankees may have continued to have Judge up the middle if they had re-signed Soto but after he signed with the Mets, it was reported the the club was planning to move Judge back to right and have Jasson Domínguez get a crack at the center field job.
Now that they have landed Bellinger, it seems he is Plan A for center. As mentioned, the advanced metrics have been a bit split on his viability there. In over 4,000 innings, he has been credited with 10 Defensive Runs Saved. However, most of that positive value came earlier in his career with the Dodgers. He’s been average or below for four straight years now. Outs Above Average, however, is far more bullish. That metric has given Bellinger a grade of +19 in his career, having him at par or better in every season of his career.
Perhaps there’s a scenario where Domínguez seems like the better option and pushes Bellinger to a corner, but there’s no guarantee he will be a capable big leaguer in 2025 at all. He tore through the minors and then debuted with a splash in 2023, but he then required Tommy John surgery late that year, which put him on the shelf for a decent chunk of 2024. He then missed more time this year due to an oblique strain and has only appeared in 26 big league games at this point. He will likely still get a shot at taking the left field job next to Bellinger and Judge but isn’t guaranteed anything, with guys like Everson Pereira and Spencer Jones around to give him some competition.
The Yanks didn’t have many other options if they wanted to find a solution for center field. The free agent market is arguably led by glove-first Harrison Bader, who they weren’t likely to sign anyway after a bad experience trading for him in 2022. The trade market has other options such as Luis Robert Jr., though all reports have indicated the White Sox are setting a high asking price even though Robert is coming off yet another injury-marred season.
It’s also possible that they change their plans, depending on how the rest of the offseason plays out. They reportedly have interest in various first base options, such as trade candidates Josh Naylor or Nathaniel Lowe, as well as free agents Pete Alonso, Christian Walker, Carlos Santana and Paul Goldschmidt. But if they can’t complete a deal they like there, they could always pivot back to Hernández and/or Santander or some other outfielder, sending Bellinger to first base in that scenario.
For the Cubs, they are likely happy to get the majority of Bellinger’s salary off their books but also take a flier on Poteet. The 30-year-old has 83 innings of major league experience at this point between the Marlins and Yankees, missing the 2023 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. He returned to the mound in 2024 but also missed about three months due to a right triceps strain.
He tossed 24 1/3 innings in the majors this year over four starts and one relief appearance. He allowed 2.22 earned runs per nine with a 16.7% strikeout rate, 8.3% walk rate and 42.3% ground ball rate. He also made ten Triple-A starts with a 3.92 ERA, 27.2% strikeout rate, 8.3% walk rate and 40.7% ground ball rate.
The Cubs already have a solid rotation mix consisting of Justin Steele, Shota Imanaga, Jameson Taillon, Matthew Boyd and Javier Assad. They’ve been connected to Jesús Luzardo in recent rumors and also have Jordan Wicks, Ben Brown and Cade Horton in the mix. Poteet still has options and can slot in as Triple-A depth for the Cubs.
Financially, RosterResource now has the Cubs with a competitive balance tax calculation of $192MM, almost $50MM shy of the $241MM base threshold. They went a bit over the line in 2024 but it’s unclear if they are willing to do so again in 2025. It’s also unclear if they have any other big moves planned now that they have added Tucker and Boyd. The bullpen could certainly use some upgrades but the club has generally shied away from big splashes there.
RR puts the Yankees at a $270MM payroll and a luxury tax calculation of $292MM. They had a payroll around $300MM last year and therefore still have a bit of wiggle room for other moves if they are willing to get to a similar level next year. The top tier of the tax starts at $301MM next year, so they are not far from getting up to that 110% tax rate, but are already at a 95% rate at their current level.
They are still on the lookout for help at the infield corners, with Jazz Chisholm Jr. likely slated to be moved from third to second base, though adding a second baseman and keeping Chisholm at third is also a possibility. Perhaps a trade of Marcus Stroman could help in multiple ways, as he is making a notable salary and arguably surplus to requirements in the rotation.
Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported that Bellinger and cash were going to the Yankees for Poteet. Jack Curry of YES Network first had the $5MM total. Jesse Rogers of ESPN reported that it was split into $2.5MM per year while Passan added that the second half would be coming regardless of the opt-out decision. Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported that Bellinger has been told he’ll be playing center field for the Yanks.
Royals, Taylor Clarke Agree To Minor League Deal
The Royals agreed to a minor league contract with right-hander Taylor Clarke last week, according to the MLB.com transaction log. The 31-year-old returns to the organization after spending one season in the Milwaukee system. He’s represented by the Ballengee Group.
Clarke, a former Diamondbacks draftee, pitched with Kansas City in 2022 and ’23. The former was the best season of his career. Clarke turned in a 4.04 earned run average with stellar command across 49 relief innings. He struggled in his follow-up campaign, allowing nearly six earned runs per nine over 59 frames. The Royals dealt him to the Brewers last offseason for a pair of minor leaguers. Clarke suffered a meniscus injury in his right knee during Spring Training.
That required surgery, leading Clarke to begin the season on the minor league injured list. He struggled in Triple-A upon his return and lost his spot on Milwaukee’s 40-man roster in July. Clarke spent the entire season with their top affiliate in Nashville before qualifying for minor league free agency.
The Brewers used Clarke mostly out of the rotation in the minors. He started 15 of 22 outings, tallying 68 frames of 4.90 ERA ball. He’d pitched exclusively as a reliever or opener over his two seasons in Kansas City (and in his final year in Arizona). The Royals have more need for bullpen depth than they do for a starter, so they’re presumably targeting Clarke as a candidate for middle innings work.
Clarke has strong command and posted roughly average strikeout rates over his two seasons in K.C. He sat in the 95-96 MPH range with his heater in short stints. That dropped to around 93-94 in Triple-A this year, which is to be expected since he was working deeper into games. Clarke has struggled with the home run ball throughout his five MLB seasons, the biggest reason his career ERA sits narrowly above 5.00.
Yankees, Colten Brewer Agree To Minor League Deal
The Yankees have agreed to a minor league deal with righty Colten Brewer, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. The ISE client will be back for a second stint with the Yankees and will receive an invite to big league camp next spring.
Brewer, 32, pitched 8 1/3 innings with the Yankees in 2023 and spent the bulk of that season with their Triple-A affiliate. He spent the 2024 campaign with the Cubs, pitching 20 2/3 innings with a grim 5.66 ERA but a more encouraging 23.2% strikeout rate versus a 9.5% walk rate. The 6’4″ righty has pitched in parts of six big league seasons for four teams, compiling 120 innings of 5.10 ERA ball.
Though Brewer doesn’t have a standout MLB track record, he’s been solid in parts of seven Triple-A seasons, working 164 2/3 innings with a 4.10 ERA, a 26.6% strikeout rate and a 9.5% walk rate. He averaged 94.3 mph on his heater this past season and, like many Yankees pitching targets, has shown a repeated penchant for inducing ground-balls. Just over half the batted balls put into play against Brewer in his big league career have been grounders (50.1%).
With the exception of an uncharacteristic six homers in 25 2/3 innings in 2020, Brewer has done a good job of both keeping the ball in the yard and avoiding hard contact. He yielded just a 31.9% hard-hit rate in Triple-A this past season and an even stingier 28.3% mark with the Yankees in 2023. Overall, Brewer was excellent with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 2023, recording 20 2/3 innings of 1.80 ERA ball for the Yankees’ top affiliate that year. He parlayed that success into a run with the Hanshin Tigers in Japan but returned stateside this past season.
Obviously, Brewer’s minor league deal is far from the most impactful Yankees news of the day. However, he’ll give the Yanks an experienced reliever with a nice Triple-A track record and plenty of grounders to stash in the upper minors. Brewer has pitched in six of the past seven MLB seasons — 2022 being the lone exception — and ought to be in line for a call should the Yankees need an extra arm in the event of injuries and/or a stretch that heavily taxes the big league bullpen.
White Sox Acquire Matt Thaiss From Cubs
The Chicago teams have lined up on a minor trade. The White Sox acquired catcher Matt Thaiss from the Cubs for cash, the teams announced. The Sox had an opening on the 40-man roster, so there was no corresponding move.
Thaiss was only an offseason acquisition for the Cubs. They landed him from the Angels in a cash trade last month. He had a path to backup job behind Miguel Amaya at the time. That’s no longer on the table. Chicago signed Carson Kelly to a two-year free agent deal last week. Amaya and Kelly will split the catching reps at Wrigley Field.
Kelly’s signing made a Thaiss move all but inevitable. He’s out of options, so the Cubs couldn’t send him to the minors without putting him on waivers. Teams rarely carry three catchers on the active roster for an entire season. The Cubs could have carried Thaiss into Spring Training as injury insurance, but they’d likely have been squeezed into a roster move if their top two catchers were healthy on Opening Day.
Trading Thaiss now gives him some clarity and opens a spot on the Cubs’ 40-man roster, which had been at capacity. Thaiss has a decent chance at breaking camp on the South Side. Korey Lee had a .210/.244/.347 showing in a career-high 394 plate appearances this past season. Chuckie Robinson, who has 51 MLB appearances and turned 30 this week, was the only other catcher on the 40-man roster.
The Sox have a pair of highly-regarded catching prospects, Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero, who aren’t far off major league readiness. They were each the headliners of recent trades. Teel led a four-prospect return from the Red Sox in last week’s Garrett Crochet deal, while Quero was the big piece in the 2023 deadline deal that sent Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo López to the Halos. Both players should make their big league debuts next season, though they might each open the season at Triple-A Charlotte.
Thaiss, a left-handed hitter, brings more on-base ability than Lee provides. He’s a career .208/.313/.342 hitter who posted a .204/.323/.299 slash across 186 plate appearances with the Angels this year. Thaiss takes plenty of pitches, which allows him to work a lot of walks but contributes to lofty strikeout rates. He has never graded as a particularly strong defender, which led the Angels to move him from catcher to first base early in his minor league career. He moved back behind the dish in 2022 but grades as a below-average pitch framer with subpar arm strength.
Diamondbacks, Ildemaro Vargas Agree To Minor League Deal
The D-Backs are in agreement with infielder Ildemaro Vargas on a minor league contract, reports Aram Leighton of Just Baseball. The 33-year-old will get an invite to MLB camp.
Vargas has spent the last two and a half seasons in Washington. The switch-hitting utilityman has played in a bit more than half of the Nationals’ games since the start of the 2023 campaign. Vargas puts the ball in play but rarely walks and has very little power. He hit .257/.302/.354 across 785 plate appearances with the Nats. Washington outrighted him off their 40-man roster at the end of the season, essentially non-tendering him in lieu of a $1.8MM arbitration projection.
Before this recent run in Washington, Vargas had spent the majority of his career with the Diamondbacks. He debuted with Arizona in 2017 and remained with the organization into 2020. Arizona traded him to the Twins during the shortened season but brought him back in a minor trade with the Pirates the following year. That ended up being a brief stint, as Arizona waived him at the start of the 2021-22 offseason.
Vargas has evidently made a positive impression on team brass. They’ll bring him back for a third stint in a non-roster capacity. Arizona has a decent amount of infield depth. Blaze Alexander and Tim Tawa are on hand as potential utility options behind the presumptive starting infield of Pavin Smith, Ketel Marte, Geraldo Perdomo and Eugenio Suárez. Top prospect Jordan Lawlar will probably open the season in Triple-A but could get his first extended MLB look next season. Vargas is stretched at shortstop but grades as a capable defender at both second and third base.
Tigers Outright Akil Baddoo
The Tigers announced that outfielder Akil Baddoo has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Toledo. Detroit designated him for assignment last week as the corresponding move for the Alex Cobb signing.
Baddoo was a Rule 5 success story in 2021, when he hit .259/.330/.436 with 13 homers across 461 plate appearances in his debut season. The lefty-swinging outfielder hasn’t maintained that form over the last three seasons. Baddoo struggled to a .212/.302/.331 slash in 178 games between 2022-23. The Tigers kept him on optional assignment for most of the ’24 season. Baddoo only played in 37 MLB games, hitting .137/.220/.301 while striking out in 27 of his 82 plate appearances (32.9% rate).
Strikeouts were also an issue in Triple-A. Baddoo fanned at an elevated 26.5% clip across 377 trips to the plate with Toledo this year. He walked at a strong 12.7% rate to post a respectable .340 on-base mark, but it was a roughly league average offensive showing in the International League. It was moderately surprising that the Tigers tendered him an arbitration contract with a $1.6MM projected salary.
Baddoo will stick in the organization and should receive a non-roster invitation to MLB Spring Training. He’ll likely begin the season in Toledo and try to hit his way back into the outfield mix alongside Riley Greene, Kerry Carpenter, Parker Meadows, and Matt Vierling.