Athletics Sign Stephen Piscotty To Minor League Deal
The Athletics have signed outfielder Stephen Piscotty to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. The CAA Sports client has been assigned to Triple-A Las Vegas for now but will presumably receive an invite to major league camp.
Piscotty, 33, will be returning to his long-time home after a year in the wilderness. He signed a minor league deal with the Giants around this time last year but was released after not making the club’s Opening Day roster. He landed another minor league deal, this one with the White Sox, but was released in August after hitting a tepid .232/.330/.390 in Triple-A.
He now returns to the organization for whom he played from 2018 to 2022. While still a member of the Cardinals, he signed an extension in April of 2017, a six-year pact that guaranteed him $33.5MM. He was traded to the A’s prior to the 2018 campaign and his first season in Oakland was excellent. He hit 27 home runs and slashed .267/.331/.491 for a wRC+ of 126.
Unfortunately, his production fell off from there. He hit just 28 home runs over the next four seasons, leading to a batting line of .229/.287/.378 and a wRC+ of 83. He was released in August of 2022 with a few months remaining on his extension.
Given that it’s been many years since he was an effective hitter, the A’s probably aren’t expecting too much from him. But as the old saying goes, there’s no such thing as a bad minor league deal. The A’s can bring him into camp as a veteran presence for a fairly young roster and see if he’s able to turn things around and get back in good form. The club projects to have an outfield mix consisting of Esteury Ruiz, JJ Bleday, Seth Brown, Brent Rooker, Miguel Andújar and Lawrence Butler.
Marlins Win Arbitration Hearing Against Luis Arráez
Arbiters have ruled in favor of the Marlins in their arbitration hearing with infielder Luis Arráez, per Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase. He’ll make a salary of $10.6MM this year as opposed to the $12MM he was seeking.
Arráez, 27 in April, is the best contact hitter in the game. Last year, he struck out in just 5.5% of his plate appearances, easily the best rate in the majors. Jeff McNeil of the Mets was second among qualified hitters at 10%. Arráez flirted with .400 for a while but ultimately finished the season with a batting average of “only” .354. Again, that was easily the best in the majors, with Atlanta’s Ronald Acuña Jr. second at .337.
The other parts of his game are a bit less impressive. He’s never been a huge power threat, with last year’s 10 home runs a new personal best. His second base defense is also questionable. Defensive Runs Saved considered him to be four better than par last year but Outs Above Average had him at a dismal -10. But thanks largely to his bat, FanGraphs considered him to be 3.4 wins above replacement on the year with Baseball Reference at 4.9.
He first qualified for arbitration going into 2022 as a Super Two player, then with the Twins. He and that club avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $2.125MM salary. He and the Twins didn’t agree to a 2023 salary prior to that year’s deadline but he was traded to the Marlins prior to the hearing. He ended up beating the Fish in that case, earning $6.1MM last year instead of the $5MM filing figure.
Going into the 2023-24 offseason, MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected him for a $10.8MM salary this year. The club and the player’s camp filed on either side of that figure, but arbiters have to choose one figure or the other and can’t choose a middle ground number, siding with the Marlins this time. Arráez will be eligible for one more pass through arbitration for his 2025 salary, after which he’s slated to become a free agent.
Brewers Trade Clayton Andrews To Yankees
The Yankees have acquired left-hander Clayton Andrews from the Brewers in exchange for minor league righty Joshua Quezada, the teams announced Wednesday. New York transferred righty Scott Effross, who’s recovering from December back surgery (that was just announced today), to the 60-day injured list. Milwaukee designated Andrews for assignment last week.
Andrews, 27, made his big league debut with Milwaukee in 2023, though things didn’t go as he’d hoped. He pitched just 3 1/3 innings but was torched for ten earned runs on the strength of three homers in that brief cup of coffee.
Ugly as that tiny sample was, Andrews had much more encouraging results in the minors. He spent the bulk of the 2023 campaign with the Brewers’ Triple-A affiliate in Nashville, pitching to a tidy 2.53 ERA in 57 frames out of the bullpen. Andrews fanned a hefty 31.1% of his opponents in Nashville and posted a solid 45.7% grounder rate, but his 13% walk rate was an eyesore that’ll clearly need improvement if he’s to carve out a big league role for himself.
A 17th-round pick by the Brewers back in 2018, Andrews still has a pair of minor league option years remaining, which will give the Yankees some flexible depth in the bullpen. He’s a three-pitch lefty who averaged 94.8 mph on his heater in 2023 and also mixed in a changeup and slider. Andrews’ changeup is considered his best pitch, hence the reverse splits he showed in ’23; righties hit him at just a .215/.312/.349 clip while fellow lefties managed a healthier .233/.337/.438 slash.
As for the Brewers’ end of the swap, they’ll pick up a 19-year-old righty who’s entering just his second professional season. Quezada signed with the Yankees out of Nicaragua during last year’s international amateur free agency period. He spent the season with the Yankees’ short-season affiliate in the Dominican Summer League, where he pitched 46 1/3 innings of 3.69 ERA ball. The 6’2″, 185-pound Quezada fanned exactly one quarter of his opponents and issued walks at a 9.4% clip. Quezada wasn’t one of the team’s high-profile signings on last year’s international market and didn’t rank among the Yankees’ top 30 prospects, but he turned in a nice debut campaign and will give the Brewers a lottery-ticket arm to stash in the lower levels of their system.
Marlins Trade Peyton Burdick To Orioles
The Marlins have traded outfielder Peyton Burdick to the Orioles in exchange for cash, per announcements from the two teams. Baltimore transferred injured closer Felix Bautista to the 60-day injured list to open a spot on the 40-man roster. Miami designated Burdick for assignment earlier this week when acquiring Darren McCaughan from the Mariners.
Burdick, who’ll turn 27 later this month, has seen limited MLB action with the Marlins in each of the past two seasons. He carries just a .200/.281/.368 batting line and a sky-high 38% strikeout rate in the big leagues, but that’s come in a tiny sample of 139 trips to the plate. Burdick has better numbers in the upper minors — he’s a .214/.324/.424 hitter in 952 Triple-A plate appearances — but strikeouts have been an issue throughout his professional tenure, evidenced by a 32.7% mark even in Triple-A.
Contact issues notwithstanding, Burdick offers plenty of loud tools that have long intrigued evaluators. He’s a former third-round pick whom FanGraphs has credited with plus-plus raw power (70-grade) in the past. He has better-than-average sprint speed, and scouting reports on the 2019 No. 82 overall draft pick have suggested that he has the tools necessary to stick in center field, or at the very least to profile as an above-average to plus defender in the corners.
Burdick has a pair of minor league option years remaining, so the Orioles can stash him in Triple-A Norfolk and rely on him as a bench option behind a deep and talented outfield that features a nice mix of veteran contributors and fast-rising prospects. Austin Hays, Cedric Mullins and Anthony Santander figure to open the season in the Baltimore outfield (from left to right), but top prospects Colton Cowser and/or Heston Kjerstad could force their way into the mix before long.
In Sam Hilliard and Ryan McKenna, the Orioles have a pair of out-of-options outfielders on the 40-man roster who aren’t considered locks to make the club. In the event that one or both of Hilliard/McKenna is lost via waivers late in camp, the addition of Burdick and his two minor league option seasons can help Baltimore retain some experienced outfield depth to help safeguard against injuries throughout the course of the season. And with Burdick just entering his age-27 season and still possessing six full seasons of club control, there’s always the off chance that he makes some strides following the change of scenery and forces his way into a longer-term role than anticipated at the time of acquisition, similar to Ryan O’Hearn last offseason.
Pirates Sign Josh Fleming
11:12am: The Pirates have announced the signing of Fleming and also confirmed their previously reported one-year deal with veteran catcher Yasmani Grandal. In order to create roster space, right-hander Johan Oviedo and catcher Endy Rodriguez were both placed on the 60-day injured list. Both are expected to miss the 2024 season after requiring surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in their respective throwing elbows.
8:45am: The Pirates and lefty Josh Fleming are in agreement on a split major league contract, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. The Republik Sports client will earn $850K if he’s in the big leagues. Pittsburgh will need to open a spot on the 40-man roster for Fleming to make the contract official.
While Fleming’s deal is a split contract, meaning it comes with different rates of pay in the big leagues and in Triple-A, he’s out of minor league options as well. The minor league salary will only come into play in the event that the Pirates remove him from the 40-man roster and pass him through waivers. At that point, Fleming could reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency, but doing so would require forfeiting the rates of pay on his deal with the Pirates, and he’d be no lock to secure more favorable terms in free agency. As such, he’d likely accept a minor league assignment if that scenario presents itself.
The 27-year-old Fleming pitched for the Rays in each of the past four seasons, working out of both the bullpen and the starting rotation at times. He also operated as a bulk reliever following an opener in Tampa Bay at times. The southpaw has just 2.144 years of Major League service time and can thus be controlled for another four seasons.
Fleming has, at times, looked like a quality fifth starter or swingman. He pitched 51 2/3 innings with the Rays in 2023 and logged a 4.70 ERA with a career-low 11.8% strikeout rate with an 8.6% walk rate while dealing with elbow inflammation. Back in 2020, he made his MLB debut with 32 1/3 innings of 2.78 ERA ball. Overall, Fleming has 223 1/3 innings in the big leagues with a 4.88 ERA, 14.9% strikeout rate, 7.1% ground-ball rate and a huge 59% grounder rate. The Pirates, per Murray, view him as a long reliever and occasional spot starter.
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.
By the Pirates’ standards, it’s been an active season in free agency. They haven’t handed out any multi-year deals — a common theme throughout Ben Cherington’s time as general manager — but have agreed to one-year pacts with Aroldis Chapman ($10.5MM), Martin Perez ($8MM), Andrew McCutchen ($5MM), Rowdy Tellez ($3.2MM) and Yasmani Grandal ($2.5MM). Pittsburgh also picked up veteran lefty Marco Gonzales in a trade, and he’ll join Perez in filling out the rotation behind Mitch Keller. Pittsburgh has been seeking additional rotation arms, and while Fleming gives them a potential spot starter, he’s unlikely to be penciled in as a full-time rotation member from day one. Further additions to the starting staff, whether via trade or free agency, still seem likely for the Bucs.
Mets Sign Shintaro Fujinami
Feb. 14: The Mets formally announced the signing of Fujinami. The team waited to make the deal official, as the corresponding roster is transferring infielder Ronny Mauricio, who’s recovering from an ACL tear, to the 60-day injured list. Players can’t be placed on the 60-day IL until spring training opens.
Feb. 2: The Mets have agreed to a deal with free-agent righty Shintaro Fujinami, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. He’ll earn at a $3.35MM rate in the majors on the one-year pact and can unlock an additional $850K worth of incentives. Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that the contract does not contain any language preventing Fujinami from being optioned to the minors. Fujinami is represented by the Boras Corporation.
Fujinami, 29, was a high school rival of Shohei Ohtani and entered Nippon Professional Baseball, Japan’s top professional league, at the same point as the two-way phenom. Early in his NPB career, Fujinami looked the part of a burgeoning phenom himself. He went right from the NPB draft into the Hanshin Tigers’ rotation, pitching to a 2.75 ERA in 137 1/3 frames as a 19-year-old rookie. He turned in a sub-3.00 ERA in each of his first four seasons in NPB and was named an All-Star each year along the way.
Fujinami’s star faded beginning in his age-23 campaign. He’d already been showing some command struggles the year prior, and was controversially left in a game to toss a stunning 161 pitches in a single start — one that began with him surrendering five runs in his first three innings of work. The extent to which that contributed to his decline can’t be known, but Fujinami battled injuries and poor command for much of his remaining time in NPB. The Tigers sent him down to their minor league club on multiple occasions and shuffled him between the rotation and bullpen at various points as well.
In 2022, Fujinami had a resurgence. The hard-throwing righty made 10 starts and six relief appearances with the Tigers’ top team, pitching to a 3.38 ERA in 66 2/3 innings. He fanned 23.6% of his opponents and, most crucially, turned in a career-low 7.6% walk rate. That was not only the best mark of Fujinami’s career but the first time since 2016 he’s posted a walk rate under 10%.
That led to a one-year, $3.25MM deal with the Athletics last year. Fujinami’s MLB career started out in catastrophic fashion. He was absolutely shelled in four starts with Oakland (14.40 ERA) before moving to the bullpen and continuing to struggle, surrendering 15 runs in his next 12 1/3 innings of relief.
Things took a quick turn, however. Fujinami reined in his command beginning in early June, and for nearly two months leading into the trade deadline turned in a 3.18 ERA with a 24-to-9 K/BB ratio in 22 2/3 frames — all while averaging better than 99 mph on his fastball. The turnaround prompted the Orioles to send minor league righty Easton Lucas to the A’s in order to acquire Fujinami in a deadline swap. The 6’6″ righty didn’t quite sustain his recent run of strong results but didn’t regress to his disastrous early-season results, either. He tossed 30 innings with a 4.85 ERA as an Oriole, striking out a quarter of his opponents against an 11.9% walk rate.
Setting aside that miserable start to the year, Fujinami closed out his MLB rookie campaign with 48 innings of 3.94 ERA ball. He struck out 25.6% of opponents, walked 10.6% of them, yielded just a .206 opponents’ batting average, kept the ball on the ground at a 43.5% clip and averaged a massive 99.1 mph on his fastball in that time. That type of production would be plenty commensurate with a one-year deal at this price point — if not more — though there’s certainly some risk, given the tall righty’s first two months in 2023.
By guaranteeing Fujinami a 40-man roster spot and a not-insignificant $3.35MM, the Mets are placing a bet that he can at least sustain the performance he showed from June onward — if not improve upon it. There’s something to be said for a pitcher transitioning to a new league and new culture when making the jump from a foreign professional league to MLB, but the extent of Fujinami’s early struggles was nevertheless alarming. If the final four months of his performance are more representative of his abilities, however, he could make for a nice addition to a radically overhauled Mets bullpen.
New York has re-signed Adam Ottavino but also brought in newcomers Jorge Lopez, Michael Tonkin and Austin Adams — none of whom can be optioned without first clearing waivers. The Mets are also reportedly close to a deal with veteran lefty Jake Diekman, and SNY’s Andy Martino tweets that the team is still optimistic his deal will be completed. Given the mounting slate of bullpen additions, it’s quite possible the Mets try to pass someone like Tonkin or Adams through waivers; neither has five years of MLB service, and the salary agreed to on each player’s big league deal could help them clear waivers and head to Triple-A as depth options.
The Mets are set to pay the luxury tax for a third consecutive season in 2024 and are already well into the fourth and final tier of penalty levels. Any dollars spent at this point come with a 110% tax, meaning the Fujinami pact will cost them $7.035MM after taxes. If he unlocks the full $850K incentive package, that’d cost an additional $1.785MM after taxes, although getting to that point would very likely mean he’s pitched well enough to be worth that amount and then some. The Mets will need to open a spot on the 40-man roster for Fujinami and likely for Diekman (assuming that deal is indeed completed), so additional transactions should be on the horizon within the next few days.
Rays Sign Phil Maton
The Rays bulked up their bullpen Wednesday, finalizing their previously reported one-year contract with free agent righty Phil Maton. The Paragon Sports International client is reportedly guaranteed $6.5MM, which takes the form of a $6.25MM salary and a $250K buyout on a $7.75MM club option for the 2025 season. Tampa Bay transferred left-hander Shane McClanahan, who’s recovering from Tommy John surgery, to the 60-day IL to open a spot for Maton on the 40-man roster.
The Cardinals, Phillies, and Yankees have been linked to Maton’s market this winter, but the reliever will now head to Tampa Bay as he enters his age-31 season. Maton has seven years of MLB experience, breaking into the big leagues with San Diego in 2017 and then landing in Cleveland and Houston. Maton had a 4.76 ERA over 215 1/3 innings in the 2017-21 seasons, but a 3.68 ERA in that same span and excellent spin rates and soft-contact numbers indicated that the ceiling was higher on the righty’s performance.
The results began to show over Maton’s last two seasons, both with the Astros. He delivered a 3.84 ERA in 65 2/3 innings in 2022 and then followed up even more strongly with a 3.00 ERA over 66 frames this past year. As per Statcast, Maton had the second-best hard-hit ball rate of any qualified pitcher in baseball in 2023, and the spin rates on his curveball and fastball were both in at least the 98th percentile of all pitchers.
Walks have been an issue for Maton, and his above-average but not standout barrel rates indicate that batters can hit for power on the rare occasions when they actually make solid contact on Maton’s offerings. Still, between his ability to generate soft contact and his above-average strikeout rates, Maton has rather quietly been one of the more effective relievers in baseball over the last two seasons. This success has also extended into the postseason, as while injuries forced Maton to miss the Astros’ 2022 World Series run, he has a sparking 0.83 ERA over 21 2/3 career playoff innings.
Given the Rays’ success at helping pitchers achieve higher levels of performance, it wouldn’t be at all surprising to see Maton at least continue or even improve on his strong numbers from 2022-23. Maton figures to essentially act as the replacement for Robert Stephenson, a reclamation project-turned-high leverage reliever after joining the Rays last summer.
Stephenson parlayed his spectacular four-month run in Tampa into a three-year, $33MM free agent deal with the Angels. Jake Diekman also signed with the Mets, Andrew Kittredge was traded to the Cardinals, and Jalen Beeks and Josh Fleming were both let go at the start of free agency, leaving the Rays with some holes to fill in the relief corps. Pete Fairbanks figures to be the team’s primary closer again, and though the Rays are traditionally pretty flexible with their bullpen roles, Maton will likely stick to set-up duty since he has only one career save.
According to Roster Resource, Tampa Bay has a projected $93.3MM payroll, which would already be the highest payroll in Rays franchise history even before Maton’s deal is added to the tally. President of baseball operations Erik Neander said in October that the club was open to spending at a (comparatively) higher level to help keep their core in place and to make a deeper playoff run, though the Rays did move Tyler Glasnow and his $25MM salary to the Dodgers in a trade.
MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand first reported the two sides were nearing a deal (via X). Robert Murray of FanSided reported (on X) the terms of the deal, while Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 reported the specific year-to-year breakdown (X link).
Angels Sign Drew Pomeranz To Minor League Deal
Feb. 14: The Angels announced their minor league deal with Pomeranz this morning. He’s in camp as a non-roster invitee.
Feb. 13: The Angels are nearing a minor league deal with left-hander Drew Pomeranz, reports Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. The southpaw would be invited to major league camp if the deal becomes official.
Pomeranz, 35, spent many years as a quality starting pitcher in the major leagues. As his results started fading, he transitioned to the bullpen and seemed to be sliding into a nice second act as an elite reliever. But he has lost the past two seasons due to injuries and it’s unknown how much he can provide going forward.
In both 2016 and 2017, he tossed over 170 innings with matching ERAs of 3.32 in those seasons. But he got lit up in 2018, with his ERA finishing at 6.08 just as he was about to hit the open market for the first time. He settled for a modest one-year, $1.5MM deal with the Giants and had a 5.68 ERA as he was flipped to the Brewers at the 2019 deadline.
Milwaukee moved him to the bullpen which seemed to be a revelation for the lefty. He tossed 26 1/3 innings after the deal with a 2.39 ERA. He struck out an incredible 45% of batters faced while walking just 8% and kept 46.8% of balls in play on the ground.
The Padres believed in that mini breakout enough to give Pomeranz a four-year, $34MM guarantee going into 2020. That gamble seemed to be paying off for a while, as Pomeranz made 20 relief appearances in 2020 with a 1.45 ERA and another 27 in 2021 with a 1.75 ERA. He struck out 33.7% of batters faced over those two years and had a 45.8% ground ball rate. The 11.4% walk rate was on the high side but he was nonetheless one of the most dominant relievers in the league for a time.
But in August of 2021, he underwent surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon and hasn’t appeared in the big leagues since. At various times throughout 2022 and 2023, there were reports of him ramping up throwing, but each time saw him deal with some renewed soreness or inflammation that stopped his progression. He underwent “a cleanup surgery in his elbow” in May of last year and went out on a rehab assignment in August and September before being shut down again.
It’s hard to expect much after a couple of years completely lost to arm complications, but there’s no real risk for the Angels. They aren’t guaranteeing him a roster spot so they can bring him into camp and see how he looks. If he’s healthy and in good form, it’s a nice find, with no real downside if it doesn’t pan out.
The Halos have been very focused on their bullpen this offseason, signing Robert Stephenson, Matt Moore, Luis García, Adam Cimber and José Cisnero to major league deals. Pomeranz will come in as a non-roster wild card who could provide them with another boost if his arm allows.
Orioles, Ryan O’Hearn Avoid Arbitration
9:05am: The 2025 option is valued at $7.5MM and does not contain a buyout, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports. The value of that option would jump $500K if O’Hearn appears in 120 games and another $500K for appearing in 150 games.
8:30am: O’Hearn is guaranteed $3.5MM, Andy Koska of the Baltimore Banner reports.
7:54am: The Orioles announced this morning that the club agreed to a one-year contract with first baseman Ryan O’Hearn to avoid arbitration. The terms of the deal are not yet clear, though the pact does include a club option for the 2025 season. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected O’Hearn for a $3MM salary in 2024 back in October. Both sides submitted figures slightly higher than that projection back in January, as O’Hearn requested a $3.8MM salary while the Orioles countered at $3.2MM.
The 30-year-old O’Hearn, acquired from the Royals last offseason in exchange for cash, has the best season of his big league career with Baltimore in 2023. The former eighth-round pick slashed .289/.322/.480 with career-highs in plate appearances (368), home runs (14), doubles (22).
That O’Hearn agreed to a club option for the 2025 season is an unexpected benefit for the Orioles. The lefty-swinging slugger had been slated to reach open market following the 2024 campaign, but Baltimore now gains control over what would’ve been his first free-agent season.
O’Hearn tallied only 29 plate appearances against left-handed pitchers in 2023, and he’ll likely reprise that platoon first base/designated role in 2024. He’ll be joined by right-handed-hitting Ryan Mountcastle in that mix, but both players will have plenty of young talent pushing for playing time as the season wears on. Corner infielder Coby Mayo and outfielders Colton Cowser and Heston Kjerstad could all push onto the big league roster and into prominent roles at some point in 2024. (Cowser and Kjerstad have already made their MLB debuts.)
If and when that happens, right fielder Anthony Santander could be pushed into more time at designated hitter, crowding the mix. It’s a good “problem” for the Orioles to have, and one that could of course be alleviated by injuries that a team inevitably incurs over the course of the year. At $3.5MM, O’Hearn is a reasonably priced power bat off the bench, even if the Orioles’ burgeoning youth movement pushes him into a reserve role.
The Orioles exchanged arbitration figures with an MLB-high five players, O’Hearn among them. The team avoided hearings with O’Hearn and left-handed relievers Danny Coulombe and Cionel Perez by agreeing to one-year deals with club options for the 2025 season. Outfielder Austin Hays and right-handed reliever Jacob Webb both won hearings over the team.
Drew Gagnon, Eric Stout Sign With CPBL Teams
Former big league pitchers Drew Gagnon and Eric Stout have both signed on with teams in Taiwan’s Chinese Professional Baseball League. Gagnon, the reigning CPBL MVP, re-signed with the Wei Chuan Dragons, per a team announcement. It’s a two-year deal for the former Mets righty, who’s repped by GSI. The left-handed Stout, who’s previously pitched in the big leagues for the Royals, Cubs and Pirates, has signed with the CPBL’s CTBC Brothers, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes reports. The 30-year-old Stout, a client of NPG Sports, finished out the 2023 season with the Brothers as well after beginning last year with the Mariners’ Triple-A affiliate.
Gagnon, 33, has spent the past three seasons pitching with the Dragons and cemented himself as one of the top starters in the CPBL. Since debuting there in 2021, he’s pitched 451 1/3 innings of 3.07 ERA ball with a 20.5% strikeout rate and 6.4% walk rate. The 183 innings Gagnon pitched this past season were a personal-high at any level in his 13-year professional career, and he turned in a sharp 3.00 ERA with a 20.8% strikeout rate and 5.9% walk rate.
Gagnon hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since a 2018-19 run with the Mets that saw him record a 7.32 ERA in a small sample of 35 2/3 innings. He spent the 2020 season with the KBO’s Kia Tigers, pitching to a 4.34 ERA in 159 2/3 frames, and his new two-year pact — one of the most lucrative for a foreign player in CPBL history — will keep him in Taiwan for his fourth and fifth CPBL campaigns.
For a former third-rounder who’d become something of a minor league journeyman before making his first jump to the professional ball in Asia, Gagnon has carved out a nice career with better compensation and job security than he’d have had jumping from Triple-A club to Triple-A club in hopes of a perhaps brief MLB return. Present-day CPBL salaries for first-year foreign players can range from $300-400K, and with Gagnon coming off an MVP season and a strong three-year run, he’s quite likely priced himself north of those figures.
As for Stout, he’d been pitching in the bullpen with the Mariners’ Triple-A affiliate but stretched out as a starter in Taiwan, ultimately taking the ball a dozen times and pitching to a 3.28 ERA with a 27.9% strikeout rate and 4.6% walk rate in 68 2/3 frames. He’ll head back to the Brothers’ rotation for the upcoming season. It’s not uncommon for former big leaguers pitching in the CPBL to draw interest from larger Asian professional leagues as the season wears on, but even if he spends the whole year in the CPBL, Stout could parlay a strong showing there into interest from KBO, NPB and/or MLB teams.
In the majors, Stout has just 24 2/3 innings under his belt. He’s been tagged for an unsightly 7.30 ERA in that time. In parts of six Triple-A seasons, he carries a 4.63 ERA in 286 innings, with particularly solid results over the past two years between the affiliates for the Pirates, Cubs and Mariners. Stout drew some interest from big league clubs early in the offseason, though that was presumably on minor league arrangements. He’ll instead head back to Taiwan and hope that continued success there can either lead to a multi-year deal like the one signed by Gagnon or perhaps a larger guarantee with a team in the KBO, NPB or even back in MLB at some point.