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Phillies Claim Josh Fleming

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The Phillies have claimed left-hander Josh Fleming off waivers from the Rays, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The southpaw was one of six players placed on outright waivers by the Rays over the weekend.

Fleming, 27, has appeared in each of the past four seasons with Tampa Bay, oscillating between the bullpen and starting rotation. A bout of left elbow inflammation shortened his 2023 campaign, and he’s previously had IL stints for calf and oblique strains as well.

When healthy, Fleming has at times looked the part of a quality fifth starter or swingman. He logged 51 2/3 frames with the Rays this year and notched a 4.70 ERA with a career-worst 11.8% strikeout rate and against an 8.6% walk rate. Back in 2020, he made his big league debut with 32 1/3 innings of 2.78 ERA ball. On the whole, Fleming has piled up 223 1/3 Major League frames, working to a 4.88 ERA, 14.9% strikeout rate and 7.1% walk rate. In addition to solid command, Fleming owns a massive 59% ground-ball rate at the MLB level.

Although he’s split his time fairly evenly between the bullpen and rotation in the big leagues, Fleming has been far more effective as a reliever (3.73 ERA) than as a starter (6.10 ERA). Right-handed opponents have been a challenge in particular; he’s yielded a .288/.351/.451 slash to opponents who hold the platoon advantage over him.

The Phillies could look to Fleming as depth for the starting staff and possibly a left-handed option in the ’pen. He’s out of minor league options, so he’d have to stick on the Major League roster on Opening Day 2024 or else be trade or exposed to waivers at some point between now and then. He comes to the Phillies with an additional four years of club control remaining, so if he’s able to get things on track and carve out a role on manager Rob Thomson’s staff, he could be a multi-year piece. Fleming will be arbitration-eligible as a Super Two player this offseason, and MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz has projected him for a $1MM salary.

Mariners Acquire Blake Hunt From Rays

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The Mariners have acquired catcher Blake Hunt from the Rays in exchange for minor league catcher Tatem Levins, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Passan adds that Hunt, one of the prospects the Rays received from the Padres in exchange for left-hander Blake Snell during the 2020-21 offseason, will join the Mariners 40-man roster.

Hunt has spent three seasons in the Tampa Bay system since coming over in the aforementioned Snell deal. The right-handed hitter struggled offensively between 2021-22. He had a better showing in the upper minors this past season. Hunt split the year between Double-A and Triple-A, combining to hit .256/.331/.484 with 12 home runs in 67 games.

Since he has logged parts of seven seasons in the minor leagues, the 24-year-old (25 this week) was slated to become a minor league free agent. The Rays evidently weren’t going to add him to the 40-man roster. Seattle has, thereby keeping him off the market and ensuring he joins the organization. Hunt is the only backstop behind Cal Raleigh on the 40-man, making it likely the M’s bring in a veteran #2 option this offseason to keep Hunt in Triple-A to begin the year.

In exchange for a player they could have lost for nothing, Tampa Bay acquires a further off minor league catcher. Levins was an eighth-round pick out of the University of Pittsburgh in 2022. The left-handed hitter spent the year in Low-A, hitting .286/.358/.476 in 66 games against generally younger competition. He won’t be eligible for the Rule 5 draft for two seasons.

Guardians Claim Christian Bethancourt From Rays

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The Guardians have claimed catcher Christian Bethancourt from the Rays, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The latter club had placed the backstop on waivers over the weekend. Cleveland has yet to officially announce the move.

This ends Bethancourt’s tenure with the Rays, which began a little before the 2022 trade deadline. Tampa Bay acquired the right-handed hitter in a deal with Oakland, sending a pair of minor leaguers to the A’s. The Panamanian catcher owned a .249/.298/.385 line with the A’s and provided similar production down the stretch in St. Pete, hitting .255/.265/.436 over 45 games.

That was enough to hold his roster spot into 2023. Bethancourt’s low on-base numbers became more of a problem this past season. Over 332 trips to the plate, he hit .225/.254/.381. The one-time top prospect connected on 11 home runs but walked at a 3.9% clip while striking out 27.4% of the time. His strikeout rate was pushing 30% in the second half, contributing to Tampa Bay’s decision to give an increasing share of the reps to René Pinto.

Once the season came to a close, it became apparent Bethancourt would no longer be in the Rays’ plans. He was projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for a $2.3MM salary if tendered a contract. While that’s not an outlandish figure, the Rays have a huge arbitration class and intended to look for a catching upgrade. Rather than wait until the non-tender deadline, they placed him on waivers a few weeks early.

Cleveland’s decision to place a claim indicates they’re likely to tender Bethancourt at that price. The Guardians have lefty-hitting Bo Naylor as their #1 option. Cleveland didn’t get much out of Cam Gallagher this year, though, making him a non-tender candidate. Bethancourt could take on the backup role as a righty-swinging complement to Naylor. Statcast pegs him as a below-average framer and blocker but credits him with excellent arm strength, a plus he has had dating back to his prospect days.

Bethancourt has between four and five years of service. He’d therefore be eligible for arbitration again next offseason if he holds his roster spot all year.

Enoli Paredes To Elect Free Agency

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The Astros have assigned right-hander Enoli Paredes outright to Triple-A, per a club announcement. There had been no prior indication Paredes was on waivers. The move leaves the Astros with 37 players on their 40-man roster. Paredes is electing free agency, per Ari Alexander of KRPC 2 (X link).

Paredes, 28, was added to the club’s roster prior to the 2020 campaign. He made 22 appearances for them in that shortened campaign but has mostly been on optional assignment for the past three years. He has now tallied 37 major league appearances in total with an earned run average of 3.90. His 23.6% strikeout rate is around league average but his 19.7% walk rate is roughly double par.

In 2023, he spent most of his time at Triple-A, with a 4.80 ERA over 54 1/3 innings. His 27.3% strikeout rate was strong but he again struggled with free passes, giving them out to 18.6% of hitters at that level. Beyond his control issues, he’s also set to be out of options next year, meaning he will have less roster flexibility going forward. Both of those factors likely led to the Astros removing him from the roster.

Adam Ottavino To Decline Player Option

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Right-hander Adam Ottavino is going to decline his player option and return to free agency, reports Joel Sherman of The New York Post. The righty could have stayed with the Mets via a $6.75MM player option but will head to the open market instead.

Ottavino, who turns 38 this month, signed a two-year, $14.5MM deal with the Mets coming into 2023, with an opt-out opportunity after the first season. He made 66 appearances for the club this season with a 3.21 earned run average. His 23.8% strikeout rate was around league average and his 11.1% walk rate was on the high side, but he found success by keeping the ball on the ground. 56.3% of balls he allowed in play were grounders, significantly above the league rate of 42.5% for the year.

There may have been some good luck for Ottavino in there, as his .252 batting average on balls in play and 80.6% strand rate were both on the lucky side of average. His 4.52 FIP and 4.04 SIERA suggest he was fortunate to keep runs off the board the way that he did, but Ottavino’s got a strong track record going back years. He has a 3.42 ERA in 664 appearances dating back to 2010.

Today’s move comes as a surprise because, as recently as August, Ottavino was open about his intention to stay with the Mets. “I want to be here no matter what,” the New York native said at that time. “This is a good place for me. I love the organization. I love being able to play where I’m from.”

It’s unclear what made Ottavino change his mind, but it could be related to recent developments in the right-handed relief pitching market. Pierce Johnson and Joe Jiménez were going to be two of the top free agents this winter but they each re-signed with Atlanta before reaching the open market. Chad Green could have been another intriguing option but the Blue Jays picked up a two-year option to keep him in Toronto. Even Blake Treinen, who missed the entire 2023 season, had his option picked up by the Dodgers.

Free agency will still feature talented righties like Reynaldo López, Jordan Hicks, Robert Stephenson and others, but perhaps some of those names coming off the board early gave Ottavino and his reps a good feeling about returning to the open market and topping that $6.75MM figure.

Beyond the market changes, it seems the language of his contract played a part. Ottavino tells Sherman that $4MM of his 2024 salary was to be deferred. He was willing to take a smaller amount to return but with fewer deferrals and was also open to a two-year deal, but the Mets weren’t interested in either.

The Mets will now lose yet another arm from their bullpen. They traded away David Robertson and Dominic Leone prior to the deadline, though they will get Edwin Díaz back next year and picked up a club option on lefty Brooks Raley. Even though they might take a bit of a step back this winter relative to last year, they will likely add to the relief mix in the coming months.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Justin Garza Elects Free Agency

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TODAY: Garza has cleared waivers and elected free agency, per Julian McWilliams of the Boston Globe.

Nov 2: The Red Sox have sent reliever Justin Garza through outright waivers, reports Alex Speier of the Boston Globe (Twitter link). That clears a spot on the 40-man roster.

Boston claimed Garza off waivers from the Angels at the end of April. The right-hander made 17 appearances, tallying 18 1/3 innings. He allowed a 7.36 ERA with a modest 18.7% strikeout percentage while walking more than 13% of batters faced. Garza spent a bit more time at Triple-A Worcester, where he tossed 28 innings of 4.82 ERA ball.

The 29-year-old will have the ability to test minor league free agency. Garza owns a 3.98 ERA through 101 2/3 frames in parts of three seasons at Triple-A. He averaged around 95 MPH on his fastball and could find minor league interest as a depth option.

Yankees Select Carlos Narvaez

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The Yankees announced today that the club has selected the contract of catcher Carlos Narvaez. In addition, outfielders Franchy Cordero and Billy McKinney as well as right-handers Domingo German, Jimmy Cordero, Matt Bowman, and Ryan Weber have all elected free agency after rejecting outright assignments from earlier this week.

It’s an early birthday present for Narvaez, who turns 25 in a few weeks. A right-handed hitter, he signed with the Yankees as an amateur from Venezuela before the 2016 season. The cousin of Mets catcher Omar Narvaez, Carlos has spent the past seven years in the Yankee system. He didn’t reach Low-A until 2021 but has posted respectable numbers over the past couple years — albeit with a three true outcomes approach.

Narvaez opened this year in Double-A but spent the bulk of the season at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He hit .240/.373/.387 with 10 home runs across 84 games for the RailRiders. Narvaez walked in a huge 15.3% of his plate appearances but struck out more than a quarter of the time. He has routinely posted strikeout rates approaching 30% in the minors, generally limiting his batting average.

The ability to draw free passes and bring some power from behind the plate is clearly still intriguing to the New York front office. Narvaez has spent parts of seven seasons in the minors, meaning he would have become a minor league free agent were he not added to the 40-man roster. He joins Kyle Higashioka, Jose Trevino, Ben Rortvedt and prospect Austin Wells in what has become a crowded catching mix. Narvaez can be sent to Triple-A for the foreseeable future, as he’ll be in his first of three minor league option years in 2024.

Nationals Designate Matt Cronin For Assignment

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The Nationals announced today that they have activated right-handers Stephen Strasburg and Cade Cavalli, catcher Riley Adams, and outfielders Stone Garrett and Victor Robles from the 60-day injured list. In a corresponding move, left-hander Matt Cronin was designated for assignment. The club’s 40-man roster stands at 40. The IL activations were required by today, as players cannot be on the 60-day IL during the offseason.

Cronin, 26, was the club’s fourth-round selection in the 2019 draft. From 2019-22, the left-hander put up solid numbers while advancing from Single-A all the way to Triple-A, capped off by a strong 2022 season where Cronin posted a 2.42 ERA with a 26.9% strikeout rate in 52 innings of work. That sort of dominance out of the bullpen figured to make Cronin an attractive potential bullpen piece for the rebuilding Nationals headed into 2023, particularly after the Nationals added him to the 40-man roster this past offseason in order to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.

Unfortunately, that’s not how things turned out this year. Cronin dealt with pain in his shoulder throughout the year that limited him to just 14 1/3 innings of work during which he struggled to a 5.02 ERA. Back in August, it was revealed that the issue causing the pain was a herniated disc in his back. Cronin underwent surgery to repair the issue and missed the remainder of the 2023 campaign. It’s not clear when Cronin is expected to be healthy enough to return to the mound at this point. Given Cronin’s youth (he only turned 26 back in September) combined with his previous success and status as one of the Nationals’ top 20 prospects (per Baseball America) entering this year, it would hardly be a surprise if a rival club with space on their 40-man roster decided to claim Cronin in the coming days, particularly if he figures to be able to return to the mound in 2024.

Cardinals Claim Jared Young From Cubs

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The Cardinals announced that they have claimed infielder/outfielder Jared Young from the Cubs. They also announced their previously-reported deal for right-hander Riley O’Brien, who has had his contract selected. The 40-man roster is now full.

Young, 28, was drafted by the Cubs in the 15th round in 2017 out of Old Dominion University – his third college in three years.  He was never a major prospect, garnering a 40 grade from Baseball America prior to the 2019 season.  After the 2020 minor league season was canceled due to the pandemic, Young earned a promotion to Triple-A during the ’21 campaign.

Despite uninspiring hitting at Triple-A Iowa, Young received a brief Major League look with the Cubs in September 2022.  Young cleared waivers and was outrighted back to Triple-A in November of that year.  In June of this year, Young regained his spot on the Cubs’ 40-man roster and picked up 47 big league plate appearances in the bigs.  The Cubs again outrighted Young on Thursday, leading to today’s claim by the Cardinals.

Young has primarily played first base in the minors, but he’s also put in time at third base, second base, and the outfield corners.  As was the case with the Cubs, Young may have difficulty earning even a bench spot in St. Louis.  He did conquer Triple-A pitching this year with a 147 wRC+, and he’ll have to hit his way into more MLB playing time.

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