Cardinals Claim Alfonso Rivas, Designate Moises Gomez For Assignment
The Cardinals announced Monday that they’ve claimed first baseman/outfielder Alfonso Rivas off waivers from the Angels. In a corresponding move, outfielder Moises Gomez was designated for assignment.
Rivas has seen MLB time in each of the past three seasons, splitting those years between the Cubs, Padres and Pirates. The 27-year-old hit well in a tiny sample of 49 plate appearances during his 2021 MLB debut with the Cubs but carries a more tepid .233/.316/.342 slash in 410 trips to the plate over the two previous seasons.
That said, Rivas has a minor league option remaining and an excellent track record at the game’s top minor league level. He’s a career .313/.424/.492 hitter in parts of four Triple-A seasons and has drawn a walk in a massive 15.1% of his plate appearances there. He’s more of a gap hitter than true power bat, evidenced by his 40 doubles and 15 long balls in 637 career plate appearances in Triple-A. He’s primarily been a first baseman in his career, but Rivas does have 342 innings in left field and 75 innings in right field between his time in the big leagues and minors combined. He’ll compete for a job as a left-handed bat off manager Oli Marmol’s bench this spring.
As for the 25-year-old Gomez, he looked to be on the cusp of slugging his way to the big leagues a couple years back but has been dogged by consistent contact issues and saw his numbers decline in Triple-A this year. In 2022, Gomez split the season between Double-A and Triple-A, belting 39 home runs while posting a massive .294/.371/.624 slash line. That power output was accompanied by a staggering 34.7% strikeout rate, however, and things only got worse in his second go-around at the Triple-A level. He still mashed 30 homers this past season but did so with a diminished .232/.293/.457 line and an only slightly improved 31.7% strikeout rate.
The right-handed-hitting Gomez still has two minor league options remaining and is clearly bursting with raw power, but scouting reports have long been down on his glove, speed and particularly his hit tool. FanGraphs and Baseball America both credited Gomez with 70-grade raw power (on the 20-80 scale) as recently as last offseason, but BA put a 40 on his hit tool while FanGraphs was even more bearish and pegged him at a 30.
A club looking for some right-handed pop to stash in the upper minors could well take a flier on the power, but Gomez will need to significantly scale back the strikeouts and/or improve defensively if he’s to carve out a big league role. The Cardinals have a week to trade him or attempt to pass him through outright waivers.
Astros Sign Joel Kuhnel, Drew Strotman To Minor League Deals
The Astros have re-signed right-hander Joel Kuhnel to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training, reports Chandler Rome of The Athletic. Houston also inked righty Drew Strotman to a minor league pact with a non-roster invite to camp.
The 28-year-old Kuhnel (29 next month) was designated for assignment by Houston earlier this month. He went unclaimed on outright waivers and elected free agency, as is his right as a player who’s previously been outrighted in the past, but he’ll quickly return to the same organization on a new deal.
Kuhnel came to the Astros in a cash swap with the Reds back in June. He’s pitched in parts of four MLB seasons, logging a combined 6.02 ERA with a 19.3% strikeout rate, 6.5% walk rate and 52.5% ground-ball rate. Kuhnel only totaled 13 MLB innings between Cincinnati and Houston last year but delivered a huge 57.1% grounder rate in that time. However, he also struck out just 5.2% of his opponents in that small sample.
Kuhnel throws hard, averaging 95.9 mph on his sinker and four-seamer alike to this point in his career. He incorporated a splitter into the mix beginning in 2022 and has long favored a slider as his go-to breaking ball. Kuhnel has been homer-prone in his career (1.40 HR/9), though the vast majority of that has come in Cincinnati’s bandbox at Great American Ball Park. He’s also been plagued by an uncommonly and perhaps fluky low 64.6% strand rate. But between Kuhnel’s velocity, command and ground-ball rate, there are some intriguing aspects of his profile. Kuhnel still has a minor league option remaining as well, which adds to his appeal.
As for Strotman, he was once a prospect of note within the Rays system and was traded to the Twins alongside righty Joe Ryan in the 2021 deal that brought Nelson Cruz to the Rays. Injuries, including Tommy John surgery, have slowed Strotman’s development and surely contributed to lackluster performances in the upper minors in recent seasons.
Strotman, a 2017 fourth-rounder, was in his first season back from surgery (and the canceled 2020 minor league campaign) in ’21 when he was traded to the Twins. At the time of the swap he’d posted a 3.39 ERA through a dozen starts, but he perhaps began to wear down thereafter, working to a 7.33 ERA in Triple-A over his next dozen starts. After similar struggles in 2022, Strotman was designated for assignment by the Twins in September. He subsequently bounced to the Rangers and then the Giants but hasn’t found success. In 97 1/3 innings with the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate last year, Strotman posted a 6.47 ERA and walked 15.6% of his opponents. Like Kuhnel, he has a minor league option remaining in the event that he’s eventually selected to the 40-man.
Tigers Designate Devin Sweet For Assignment
The Tigers announced Monday that they’ve designated right-hander Devin Sweet for assignment. His spot on the 40-man roster will go to newly extended top prospect Colt Keith, who inked a six-year deal with three club options over the weekend.
Detroit only claimed Sweet off waivers 11 days ago — marking his fourth organization in four months. He’s gone from Seattle to Oakland to San Francisco and Detroit via waivers, and the Tigers will now have a week to either trade Sweet or place him on outright waivers yet again. If he clears, the Tigers could retain him as Triple-A depth, but the sheer volume of teams who’ve put in a claim on Sweet suggest there’s a chance he could yet again be claimed.
The 27-year-old Sweet surrendered 10 runs in 8 2/3 innings for the Mariners during this past season’s MLB debut. His minor league track record is far more impressive. In 44 innings between the Double-A and Triple-A levels this past season, the formerly undrafted free agent notched a pristine 2.25 ERA with a 32.6% strikeout rate and 6.3% walk rate. Sweet isn’t a flamethrower — he averaged 93 mph on his heater with Seattle — but has consistently missed bats and avoided walks as a professional. In five minor league seasons, he’s whiffed 29% of his opponents against a 7% walk rate. He has a pair of minor league options remaining, too, which will certainly appeal to other teams looking for some flexible bullpen depth in the late stages of the offseason.
Tigers Sign Colt Keith To Six-Year Extension
The Tigers announced a six-year contract extension with infield prospect Colt Keith. The deal guarantees Keith $28.6425MM and could max out at $82MM over nine years if three club options (covering the 2030, 2031, and 2032 seasons) are all escalated and exercised. Keith is represented by Munger English Sports Management.
In addition to a $2MM signing bonus, Keith will earn $2.5MM in salary for the 2024 campaign, $3.5MM in 2025, $4MM per season in 2026 and ’27, and $5MM per season in 2028 and ’29. Each club option includes salary escalators, but the values currently break down as follows — the 2030 club option is valued at $10MM with a $2.6425MM buyout, the 2031 option worth $13MM ($1MM buyout), and the 2032 option worth $15MM ($2MM buyout).
Keith, 22, was a fifth-round pick by the Tigers in the 2020 draft and has since ascended rapidly through the minor leagues with a .300/.382/.512 slash line across all levels, including a .306/.380/.552 slash line in 126 games split between Double- and Triple-A last season. The youngster has emerged as a consensus Top-30 prospect in the game, with MLB.com ranking him 22nd while Baseball America placed him 28th. Both president of baseball operations Scott Harris and Keith himself commented on the extension in a press release following the announcement.
“This is a very exciting day for the Detroit Tigers, Colt, his family, and our fans,” Harris said in the presser. “This contract demonstrates our faith in Colt and this organization’s commitment to acquire, develop, and retain young talent.”
“I couldn’t be more excited to reach this agreement, securing my place in this organization for years to come,” Keith added. “There’s a reason I felt strongly about making a long-term commitment to be here, and being surrounded by incredibly talented teammates and coaches is a big part of that… I know this is a big accomplishment, but ultimately my mission is to be the best player possible and help win a World Series Championship for Tigers fans everywhere.”
The 22-year-old Keith has now scored a significant windfall after signing for just a $500K bonus out of the draft. Beyond the financial security, Keith also has certainty that he will remain part of the Tigers’ long-term plans as they look to build upon their surprising second place finish in the AL Central last year. For Detroit, the extension affords the club some cost certainty regarding Keith’s arbitration years plus an additional three seasons of team control. If all three options are exercised, Keith will stay in a Tigers uniform through his age-30 season.
It’s the fourth-largest deal in league history for a prospect who has yet to make their MLB debut. Keith’s extension trails only the guarantees for White Sox outfielders Luis Robert Jr. ($50MM) and Eloy Jimenez ($43MM) as well as the record-setting $82MM deal agreed to by outfield prospect Jackson Chourio and the Brewers earlier this winter.
Keith was already expected to join the big league roster as the Tigers’ everyday second baseman at some point in the year, but today’s deal all but guarantees he’ll be in the lineup on Opening Day if healthy. The deal takes away the opportunity for the Tigers to secure an extra year of team control over the infielder, but Detroit is still eligible for an extra Prospect Promotion Incentive draft pick. This pick would be awarded in the event that Keith earns a full year of service time in 2024 and either wins the AL Rookie of the Year award or places in the top three of MVP voting before he would have been eligible for arbitration.
With Keith likely to occupy the keystone for the Tigers entering the season, the likes of Zach McKinstry, Nick Maton, Andy Ibanez, and Matt Vierling will be competing for playing time at third base when camp opens for Spring Training next month. While the third base keys figure to be handed to another top prospect in Jace Jung at some point in the future, the 23-year-old has not yet made an appearance at the Triple-A level and appears unlikely to break camp with the Tigers. Keith and Jung figure to be the latest in a line of top prospects to reach the majors for Detroit in recent years, including starting pitchers jTarik Skubal and Casey Mize, and position players Spencer Torkelson and Riley Greene.
As their prospects begin to reach the majors and establish themselves at the big league level, the Tigers have looked to augment the roster with short-term veteran additions who won’t block the younger players from earning regular playing time. This offseason, Detroit struck early to land outfielder Mark Canha in a deal with the Brewers before bolstering their rotation with by signing free agent right-handers Kenta Maeda and Jack Flaherty. The club has also added reinforcements to their bullpen in the form of Andrew Chafin and Shelby Miller. Those veteran additions figure to strengthen the club’s burgeoning young core as they gear up for a run in what projects to be a relatively weak AL Central division, though the Twins figure to remain the on-paper favorite even after allowing both Maeda and ace righty Sonny Gray to depart via free agency this winter.
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Guardians Sign Carlos Carrasco To Minor League Deal
TODAY: Carrasco will earn a base salary of $2MM if he makes the Guardians’ active roster, ESPN’s Buster Olney writes.
JAN. 27: Veteran right-hander Carlos Carrasco is in agreement with the Guardians on a minor league deal with an invite to big league Spring Training, according to Zack Meisel of The Athletic.
It’s a reunion between the sides, as Carrasco first joined Cleveland in a trade with the Phillies back in 2009 and made his big league debut shortly thereafter. The righty spent more than a decade with the club, pitching to a 3.77 ERA and 3.42 FIP across 1,242 1/3 innings of work in Cleveland. While he struggled with injuries and ineffectiveness early in his tenure with the club, Carrasco eventually settled in to become a quality mid-rotation arm for the club and even earned votes for the AL Cy Young award in both 2015 and 2017. On the heels of a strong 2020 season where Carrasco pitched to a 2.91 ERA across 12 starts, the veteran right-hander was included alongside Francisco Lindor in the blockbuster deal that brought Amed Rosario, Andres Gimenez, Josh Wolf and Isaiah Greene to Cleveland.
Upon joining Lindor in Queens, the then-34-year-old Carrasco quickly began to struggle. Though he posted solid back-of-the-rotation numbers for the Mets in 2022, both the 2021 and 2023 seasons saw Carrasco post ERAs north of 6.00 while managing less than 100 innings of work due to injuries. As Carrasco has entered his mid-thirties, it’s become increasingly difficult for the righty to stay on the field. He battled a hamstring strain and an elbow procedure in 2021, an oblique strain in 2022, and in 2023 suffered from both a bone spur in his elbow and a late-season finger fracture.
Now headed into his age-37 season with a 4.87 ERA in 443 2/3 innings of work dating back to the 2019 season, it’s fair to wonder how much the veteran hurler still has left in the tank. With that being said, bringing a longtime of the club back into the fold on a minor league deal is an incredibly low-risk decision for the Guardians to make. Even if Carrasco is unable to return to the form he flashed in 2022 and provide the club with quality back-of-the-rotation production, bringing a beloved veteran of 14 big league seasons into the club for Spring Training can only help Cleveland’s young rotation arms (such as Tanner Bibee and Gavin Williams) as they look to improve upon strong rookie performances in their sophomore seasons.
Mariners Sign Cole Tucker To Minors Contract
The Mariners have signed utiltyman Cole Tucker to a minor league deal, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports (X link). The contract contains an invitation to Seattle’s big league Spring Training camp.
Tucker also signed a minors deal with the Rockies last winter, though it didn’t lead to much time in the majors. His contract wasn’t selected to the active roster until August, and Tucker appeared in only five MLB games amidst twice being designated for assignment and then outrighted off the 40-man roster. At season’s end, Tucker had the ability to elect minor league free agency and hit the open market once more.
Picked 24th overall in the 2014 draft, Tucker showed flashes of that high draft pedigree during his time in the Pirates’ farm system, but he has a modest .250/.350/.382 slash line over 1107 career plate appearances at the Triple-A level. The Pirates gave him multiple looks in the majors, but Tucker has struggled to a .216/.266/.318 slash over 479 PA against MLB pitching. Pittsburgh DFA’ed Tucker during the 2022 season and he was claimed off waivers by the Diamondbacks, though the Phoenix native didn’t receive any time at the big league level with his hometown team.
Tucker was drafted as a shortstop but has moved into more of a multi-positional role in an effort to increase his value of catching onto another big league roster. Between this positional versatility and a switch-hitting approach, Tucker fits the profile of a useful bench piece if he can get any consistency going at the plate. The Mariners have Josh Rojas, Dylan Moore, and Sam Haggerty already lined up for roster spots, so while Tucker may face an uphill battle in winning a job in Spring Training, he could be a good depth piece for Triple-A if he agrees to remain in Seattle’s organization.
Cubs Sign Hector Neris
The Cubs have signed right-hander Hector Neris to a one-year, $9MM contract, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports (via X). There is a $9MM club option attached for the 2025 season, and that vests into a player option if Neris makes at least 60 appearances this season. Between that option and additional incentive bonuses, the deal could be worth as much as $23.25 over the two seasons. Neris is represented by Octagon.
Best known for his time as the Phillies’ closer, Neris has spent the last two seasons in Houston, and is coming off (technically) the best year of his decade-long Major League career. Neris posted a 1.71 ERA over 68 1/3 innings out of the Astros’ bullpen, with an excellent 28.2% strikeout rate and some of the best soft-contact numbers of any pitcher in baseball.
There were a few red flags, however, which is likely why the righty landed what is officially just a one-year guarantee. Neris’ fastball velocity dropped to 93mph in 2023, rather markedly down from the 94.3mph average of his first nine seasons. He also had an 11.4% walk rate, marking the third time in the last four seasons that Neris’ walk rate has sat within the bottom 23rd percentile of all pitches. With a tiny .219 BABIP and a big 90.5% strand rate also aiding his efforts, Neris’ 3.89 SIERA was over two runs higher than his real-world ERA.
It’s fair to assume that some regression is in order, and these troubling secondary metrics aren’t exactly a great sign for a pitcher who turns 35 in June. However, even if Neris’ 2024 ERA is closer to that 3.89 figure, he still figures to bring value to Chicago’s relief corps in terms of both results and durability. Neris has a league-best 307 appearances since the start of the 2019 season, and a stint on the COVID-related injury list in 2020 marks the only time Neris has ever appeared on the IL during his big league career.
This kind of durability holds particular appeal for a Cubs team that was hit hard with bullpen injuries down the stretch, which contributed to Chicago’s 12-16 record in September and subsequent near-miss of a wild card berth. The Cubs were naturally known to be looking for relief help, though president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer has traditionally been wary about committing big money to the pen given the year-to-year volatility of many relievers.
In that sense, Neris’ contract represents more aggression even if it remains a one-year deal, considering that the Cubs haven’t gone beyond $5MM on a relief pitcher since signing Craig Kimbrel in June 2019. Should Neris eat his usual amount of innings, hitting the 60-appearance threshold shouldn’t be too much of an issue, and thus he would top the two-year, $15MM deal that MLBTR projected for the reliever at the start of the offseason. Neris ranked 46th on our list of the winter’s top 50 free agents.
Neris has a similar clause in his previous deal, a two-year/$17MM pact signed with Houston in the 2021-22 offseason. The Astros held an $8.5MM club option ($1MM buyout) on Neris for 2024 that vested into a player option if Neris both passed a physical after the 2023 campaign, and if he made at least 110 appearances over the course of the two seasons. Neris ended pitching in 141 games, and then opted to decline his player option to re-enter the market in search of a richer deal.
Adbert Alzolay blossomed as the Cubs’ closer in 2023, and Neris will now step right in as Wrigleyville’s top setup option. Neris joins Yency Almonte as newcomers in the relief corps, and it can’t be assumed that the Cubs are now done with their bullpen shopping. Adding another veteran on at least a minor league deal seems like a possibility, and if Neris represents a bit of a splashy spend, perhaps Chicago could look for another reliever on a guaranteed deal within that sub-$5MM comfort zone.
The Cubs’ payroll now sits at roughly $196.3MM, and there’s still plenty of room to go before Chicago hits the $237MM luxury tax threshold. A big-ticket signing like Cody Bellinger could naturally absorb a lot of that remaining space, but there’s still plenty of flexibility for Hoyer during what has been a pretty quiet winter overall for the Cubs. The Shohei Ohtani pursuit carried a lot of the team’s attention in the offseason’s first month, though the Cubs have since added Shota Imanaga and Neris in free agency, while also adding Almonte and Michael Busch in a trade with the Dodgers.
The Astros, Cardinals, Mets, Rangers, and Yankees were all linked to Neris at various points this offseason. Earlier this month, it seemed as if the Rangers and Yankees were looking like the favorites to sign the right-hander, but Chicago ended up emerging to win the bidding.
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Angels Designate Trey Cabbage For Assignment
The Angels announced that first baseman/outfielder Trey Cabbage has been designated for assignment. The transaction creates a 40-man roster spot for Matt Moore, whose one-year, $9MM deal is now official.
Cabbage was a fourth-round pick for the Twins in the 2015 draft, and he was a member of the Angels organization for the last two seasons after signing as a minor league free agent. He didn’t show much at the plate over his first five pro seasons, but after sitting out 2020 due to the canceled minor league season, Cabbage’s bat suddenly caught fire. A .283/.377/.574 slash line over 414 Double-A plate appearances was followed up by a .306/.379/.596 slash line in 474 PA at the Triple-A level, and it resulted in Cabbage getting a look on the Angels’ active roster this past season.
Despite only a .553 OPS over 56 PA in the Show, Cabbage at least finally made the big leagues, debuting slightly after his 26th birthday. He might now find himself on the move to another team in the event of a waiver claim or if the Halos opt to simply release him after the DFA period, though one would imagine Los Angeles might just hang onto a player who has performed so well against minor league pitching. Cabbage’s age could be a slight caveat to his numbers, though his performance can’t even be chalked up just to the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, given how Cabbage’s breakout started when he was still in Minnesota’s farm system.
After getting some time as a third baseman and shortstop earlier in his career, Cabbage has settled into a first base/corner outfield role. His DFA could indicate that the Angels simply prefer other options at those positions — Nolan Schanuel is penciled in for regular first base duty and Brandon Drury can also play the position, while Miguel Sano and Hunter Dozier were recently signed to minors contracts. The corner outfield picture is also pretty crowded, and could be even more crowded if Mike Trout is moved to left field in order to both help keep him healthy and to improve the defense with a more glove-focused center fielder.
Nationals Designate Israel Pineda
The Nationals announced that catcher Israel Pineda has been designated for assignment. The move opens up a 40-man roster spot for Joey Gallo, whose one-year, $5MM contract with D.C. is now official.
Pineda was a member of the Nationals’ 2016 international signing class, and he has spent his entire career in the organization. Still only 23 years old, Pineda has hit .231/.291/.374 over 1529 plate appearances in the minor leagues, though he hit quite well at Double-A in 2022 and earned his first MLB call-up that September when Keibert Ruiz went on the injured list.
After appearing in his first four big league games, Pineda didn’t make it back to the Show in 2023 due in large part to injuries. A fractured ring finger and an oblique strain limited Pineda to just 41 total games, and he had only a .496 OPS over 153 PA split over three minor league levels. This rough year made Pineda expendable on Washington’s 40-man, though there might be a chance he simply clears waivers and remains in the minors as a depth option.
Ruiz and Riley Adams have the catching situation covered at the MLB level for the Nats, leaving Drew Millas (with 11 games) as the only other backstop in the organization with any Major League experience. If Pineda isn’t brought back, the Nationals figure to be in the market for some veteran depth to bring into Spring Training on a minors deal.
Nationals Sign Joey Gallo
TODAY: The signing has officially been announced. The deal also contains a mutual option for the 2025 season.
JANUARY 23: The Nationals and first baseman/outfielder Joey Gallo have agreed to a one-year deal, reports Andrew Golden of The Washington Post (X links). The deal for the Boras Corporation client, which is pending a physical, is for $5MM with another $1MM available in performance bonuses.
Gallo, 30, has been the poster boy for the “three true outcomes” in a major league career that’s almost a decade old at this point. Having debuted with the Rangers in 2015, he has played in 863 games, with 198 home runs to his name in that time. He has struck out in 37.9% of his plate appearances, which is much higher than par. For reference, the league average in 2023 was 22.7%. But he’s also drawn walks in 14.8% of his career plate appearances, well beyond the 2023 league average of 8.6%.
It’s an unusual combination but one that still allows Gallo to be a productive offensive contributor when taken all together. Though his career batting line .197/.323/.466 has him below the Mendoza line, the walks and the homers still help him translate that into a wRC+ of 109. He signed a one-year, $11MM deal with the Twins for 2023 and batted .197/.323/.466 for a wRC+ of 104, hitting 21 home runs while striking out in 42.8% of his plate appearances.
It’s perhaps worth highlighting that the tenability of this oddly-shaped performance has declined over the years. Gallo had his best run with the Rangers from 2017 to 2019, slashing .217/.336/.533 in that time for a wRC+ of 120. He hit a rough patch in 2020 but then bounced back with a strong showing early in 2021, enough for him to be traded to the Yankees alongside Joely Rodríguez. But Gallo’s production fell off again after the deal and didn’t rebound in 2022, with the Yanks flipping him to the Dodgers midseason. He finished that season with a line of .160/.280/.357 and wRC+ of 86 before putting together a decent campaign with the Twins last year.
Despite the huge pop in his bat, the up-and-down nature of his past few seasons would make him a risky bet for a contending club. But for the Nationals, it’s a sensible fit for a number of reasons. Last month, it was reported that the club was looking to add some left-handed power to its lineup. That was a logical target with their outfield mix consisting of Lane Thomas, Stone Garrett, Joey Meneses, Victor Robles, Jacob Young and Alex Call, all of whom hit from the right side.
Beyond that, the club isn’t likely to be in contention this year, having been aggressively rebuilding in recent seasons. Last offseason, they gave modest one-year deals to bounceback candidates like Corey Dickerson, Dominic Smith and Jeimer Candelario. The first two of those didn’t work out but Candelario played well enough to be flipped to the Cubs for a couple of prospects.
The Nats can insert Gallo into the middle of their lineup and hope that he is producing enough to follow a similar trajectory to Candelario last year. If he is having another rough campaign like he did in 2022, he can simply be released like Dickerson was.
The fit also makes sense with the prospects in the system. Outfielders James Wood and Dylan Crews are two of the most highly-rated prospects in the league, and each could plausibly be nearing a major league debut. Wood spent most of last year in Double-A and will likely begin the upcoming season in Triple-A. Crews was just drafted last summer but managed to join Wood in Double-A by the end of the year. Robert Hassell isn’t as highly rated as those two but is another notable outfield prospect who finished last year at Double-A.
With those prospects potentially pushing for major league at-bats by the summer, Gallo can be seen as a placeholder. If he is mashing, he can be traded for prospects. If not, he can be released. In either case, he would yield second half playing time to someone in that group. If each of the prospects are struggling and aren’t justifying a promotion, perhaps Gallo could stay in Washington through the end of the year, as Smith did in 2023.
Gallo is also considered a solid defender, which is a plus. His outfield glovework has led to career tallies of 42 Defensive Runs Saved, four Outs Above Average and a grade of 15.0 from Ultimate Zone Rating. His work at first base isn’t graded as strongly, but he’s passable there as well, with over 1,000 career innings at that spot. Meneses is currently slated to get the bulk of the playing time at first base but the club doesn’t have a strict designated hitter, giving them some ability to rotate players around based on health and matchups.