Twins Claim Bubba Thompson
The Twins claimed outfielder Bubba Thompson off waivers from the Yankees, per an announcement from the Yankees. He’d been designated for assignment last week in order to open space on the roster for right-hander Luke Weaver. The Twins had a pair of open spots on the 40-man roster, so a corresponding move isn’t necessary.
Thompson, 25, is the game’s fastest player by measure of Statcast’s average sprint speed metric (30.4 ft/sec). He’s also one of the sport’s lightest hitters. In 241 career plate appearances at the big league level — all coming with the Rangers, who originally took him in the first round of the 2017 draft — Thompson is a .242/.286/.305 hitter. That modest slash line comes in spite of a hefty .351 average on balls in play and masks (to an extent) a career 29.9% strikeout rate. Thompson’s top-of-the-scale speed is countered by bottom-of-the-scale ratings in terms of average exit velocity (career 84.1 mph) and hard-hit rate (21.9%).
As one might expect for a player with such prodigious wheels, Thompson grades as a sound defender in his limited MLB action. He’s logged 595 innings in the outfield and been credited with a +1 from both Defensive Runs Saved and Statcast’s Outs Above Average. The former high school football star has drawn praise for off-the-chart athleticism dating back to his amateur days, and Baseball America has previously credited him as a plus-plus runner and plus defender in center field while also cautioning that he’s a below-average hitter who lacks consistency from at-bat to at-bat.
It hasn’t yet manifested in game settings, but Thompson draws praise for his above-average raw power. He’s never topped 16 home runs in a single season, however, and he’s only reached double-digit home runs twice in his pro career. He hit six home runs in 362 plate appearances in 2023 — all coming in the minors. Thompson is a career .284/.347/.440 hitter in 677 Triple-A plate appearances and a .268/.329/.436 hitter overall in the minors.
Thompson will give the Twins some depth in center field and a strong defensive alternative in the event that perennial injury risk Byron Buxton isn’t able to suit up in the outfield. Knee surgery limited Buxton exclusively to DH work in 2023, though the organization’s hope is that he can return to the outfield in 2024. As it stands, lefties Matt Wallner and Max Kepler are expected to man the corners at Target Field, although Kepler’s name has once again been floated as in trade rumblings throughout the offseason as Minnesota looks to pare back payroll and Kepler enters the final season of his contract.
Thompson still has a pair of minor league option years remaining, so the Twins can freely shuttle him between Triple-A St. Paul and the big league team this coming season — assuming he sticks on the 40-man roster for the remainder of the offseason. If things go well, he can take help to offset the loss of free agent Michael A. Taylor, though Thompson has a long ways to go before proving he has enough bat to stick on a big league roster with any degree of consistency. If the Twins can succeed in coaxing more out of him at the plate, he can be controlled for another six seasons.
Tigers Sign Drew Anderson To Minor League Deal
The Tigers have signed right-hander Drew Anderson to a minor league deal, reports Evan Woodbery of MLive. It’s unclear if the righty will be in major league camp with the Tigers.
Anderson, 30 in March, got scattered major league time from 2017 to 2021. He suited up for the Phillies, White Sox and Rangers, appearing in five straight seasons but never making more than nine appearances in any individual campaign. He threw a combined 44 1/3 innings in 19 games over that stretch, allowing 6.50 earned runs per nine frames. His 8.3% walk rate was around average but his 14.7% strikeout rate was well below.
After that run, he headed overseas to join Hiroshima Carp of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. Over the past two years, Anderson tossed 115 innings in 34 games for the Carp, with a 3.05 ERA in that time. He struck out 20.7% of batters faced while giving out walks at an 8.4% clip.
On the heels of those solid results in Japan, Anderson now returns to North America and will join the Tigers. He has worked both as a starter and a reliever in his career and it’s unclear which role the Tigers have in mind for him, but he would seem to have a steep climb towards a starting role.
The club has Tarik Skubal, Kenta Maeda and Jack Flaherty in the rotation, with Matt Manning, Casey Mize, Reese Olson and Sawyer Gipson-Long likely batting for the spots at the back end. Other options on the roster include Alex Faedo, Mason Englert, Joey Wentz and Keider Montero. Top prospects Wilmer Flores, Ty Madden and Jackson Jobe are getting close to their major league debuts, with Flores having already secured a spot on the 40-man.
Nonetheless, as the cliches say, you can never have enough pitching depth and there’s no such thing as a bad minor league deal. For Anderson, he will get a chance to show himself to MLB scouts after a couple of years abroad and try to get back to show.
Marlins, Trey Mancini Agree To Minor League Deal
The Marlins have agreed to a minor league contract with free agent first baseman/outfielder Trey Mancini, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Mancini, who’s represented by Frontline, will be in big league camp as a non-roster invitee this spring.
Mancini is still technically playing under the two-year, $14MM deal he signed with the Cubs last offseason, so the Marlins will only owe Mancini the prorated league minimum for any time he spends on the active roster. Chicago released Mancini after the trade deadline. The Reds added him on a minor league deal later that month but didn’t call him to the Majors before cutting him loose themselves.
As one would expect for a player who was twice released the prior season, the 2023 campaign was not a good one for Mancini. The longtime Orioles slugger appeared in 79 games with the Cubs after signing that contract but scuffled at the plate throughout his Wrigley tenure, batting just .234/.299/.336 with four home runs and a career-worst 29.7% strikeout rate.
Mancini’s struggles date all the way back to the 2022 All-Star break, however. He was enjoying yet another productive season in Baltimore, hitting .285/.359/.429 through his first 351 trips to the plate, but Mancini scuffled following the Midsummer Classic and never rebounded following a trade to Houston, where he batted .176/.258/.364 in 51 games while receiving erratic playing time. Since that year’s All-Star break, Mancini has 499 plate appearances with only a .204/.280/.335 batting line to show for it.
Of course, at his best, Mancini rates anywhere from “clearly above average” to “bona fide heart-of-the-order presence.” His peak offensive performance came during 2019’s juiced ball season, when he hit .291/.364/.535 with a career-high 35 long balls. Even if that peak performance can be written off as anomalous in nature, Mancini entered the 2023 campaign as a lifetime .265/.330/.457 hitter who’d typically walk around 9% of the time against a strikeout rate that routinely sat between 21-23%. He’s not considered a strong defender in the outfield corners but can play a solid first base.
Beyond his on-field production over a long stint in Baltimore, Mancini became one of the easiest players to cheer on throughout all of MLB. Heading into the 2020 season, a then-28-year-old Mancini stunningly announced that he’d been diagnosed with Stage 3 colon cancer. He underwent surgery to remove a malignant tumor and then embarked on a six-week regimen of chemotherapy. Mancini eventually received a clean bill of health, returned in 2021 and was named the American League Comeback Player of the Year after swatting 21 homers and 33 doubles while batting .255/.326/.436 in 147 games.
With the Marlins, Mancini will compete for a bench spot and perhaps for time at designated hitter. The Fish currently have Josh Bell at first base, with Bryan De La Cruz and Jesus Sanchez likely ticketed for corner outfield work. Struggling veteran Avisail Garcia remains with the club due primarily to his contract status — two years, $29MM remaining — but Mancini could challenge him for a similar role as a righty-swinging option at DH and in the outfield corners. Garcia has batted just .215/.260/.316 since signing a four-year, $53MM contract prior to the 2022 season.
With catcher Christian Bethancourt and utilityman Vidal Brujan both out of minor league options, the Marlins effectively have two bench spots up for grabs. Mancini will compete with outfielder Peyton Burdick and infielders Xavier Edwards, Jordan Groshans and Jacob Amaya for one of those two spots. A third roster spot could conceivably open if the new-look Marlins front office opts to move on from Garcia this spring.
Angels To Sign Matt Moore
The Angels are in agreement with reliever Matt Moore on a $9MM contract, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post (X link). Moore, a client of Apex Baseball, will sign with the Halos for a second straight offseason. He inked a one-year, $7.55MM deal with the Angels last winter.
The first run in Anaheim was a good one for the now 34-year-old Moore, who’s enjoying a nice second act of his career since moving to the bullpen. In 44 innings with the Angels during the 2023 season, the veteran southpaw notched an excellent 2.66 earned run average. Moore logged a strong 28% strikeout rate against a lower-than-average 6.9% walk rate.
The Halos wound up waiving Moore in August, but not due to his performance. Rather, the Angels made a last-ditch effort to get under the luxury tax threshold with a mass waiver purge just weeks after an aggressive, win-now trade deadline. Moore, Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, Hunter Renfroe, Randal Grichuk, Dominic Leone and Tyler Anderson all wound up on waivers in hopes that another club would take their contracts (not all were claimed).
Moore was quickly snapped up by the Guardians as they made their own last-minute push, claiming Giolito in addition to Moore. His stint with Cleveland only lasted 4 2/3 innings, as the Guards waived Moore themselves to save some cash after they, too, fell out of postseason contention. The Marlins scooped Moore up and enjoyed four shutout innings for him down the stretch.
Overall, Moore finished out a bizarre 2023 season with a 2.56 ERA, 27.5% strikeout rate and vastly improved 6.9% walk rate in 52 2/3 innings between the three teams. That marked Moore’s second consecutive year of productive pitching following a move to the bullpen. He turned in a 1.95 ERA for the Rangers in 2022 after signing a minor league deal. When combining the two seasons, Moore touts a 2.20 ERA with five saves, 36 holds, a 27.4% strikeout rate and 10.3% walk rate in 126 2/3 innings.
It’s a strong second act for the southpaw, who’d struggled as a starter for the few seasons preceding his bullpen move. It has clearly impressed Halos GM Perry Minasian and his staff, who have added him on a notable one-year pact in consecutive years. That’s in line with a broad willingness to attack the relief corps on free agency.
Los Angeles has signed five relievers this winter. Their first three acquisitions — Luis Garcia, Adam Kolarek and Adam Cimber — were fairly modest one-year deals. In recent days, they’ve been more aggressive. The Angels finalized a three-year, $33MM pact with Robert Stephenson this afternoon. Moore adds a lefty option to a relief group that otherwise figures to lean heavily on righties Carlos Estevez, Stephenson, Garcia, Ben Joyce and Jose Soriano.
The Angels are now up to roughly $172MM in payroll commitments for the upcoming season, as calculated by Roster Resource. That’s still well shy of last year’s $212MM Opening Day mark. Minasian and his staff very likely aren’t finished. They’ve been tied to various possibilities in both the lineup and the starting rotation. There’s still opportunity for the Angels to continue adding in the next few weeks.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Orioles Sign Daniel Johnson To Minor League Contract
The Orioles have signed Daniel Johnson to a minor league deal, the team announced. The outfielder is represented by CAA Sports.
Johnson was once a fairly notable prospect in the Washington and Cleveland farm systems. The Nats dealt him to the Indians in 2018 for catcher Yan Gomes. Johnson made it to the big leagues during the shortened season and appeared in 30 games during the ’21 campaign. The New Mexico State product struggled to a .202/.245/.337 slash while striking out 32 times over 94 plate appearances.
Cleveland sent him off the 40-man roster at the end of the 2021 season. He split the 2022 campaign between the Nationals and Mets systems without reaching the majors. Johnson signed a minor league pact with the Padres last winter. He had a solid year between the top two minor league levels. The 28-year-old ran a .271/.348/.469 slash over 537 cumulative plate appearances.
Johnson has tallied a little more than 1000 plate appearances over parts of four Triple-A seasons. He’s a .254/.326/.446 hitter at that level. Johnson can play all three outfield spots but has more experience in a corner, with his top-of-the-scale arm strength playing best in right field.
Orioles, Cionel Perez Avoid Arbitration
January 23: Perez will make $1.2MM in 2024, per Robert Murray of FanSided. The 2025 option comes with a base salary of $2.2MM can be increased by various escalators. It goes up by $25K for 55, 60, 65 and 70 innings pitched, $50K for 20 and 25 games finished, $100K for 30 and 35 games finished, $150K for 40 and 45 games finished, as well as $200K for 50 games finished.
January 22: The Orioles announced Monday that they’ve avoided arbitration with left-handed reliever Cionel Perez. The Octagon client agreed to a one-year deal with a club option for the 2025 season. Since Perez is under team control for three more years, he’d remain an Oriole (and be arbitration-eligible once again) even if the team declines the 2025 option. Perez had filed at a $1.4MM salary, with the team countering at $1.1MM. Today’s agreement will be somewhere between those two sums and will avoid a potentially contentious hearing.
Like most clubs throughout the sport, Baltimore has taken a “file-and-trial” approach to arbitration in recent years. That is to say, once the team and player have exchanged numbers and filed those respective figures with the league, talks on a straight one-year deal are cut off. However, multi-year deals and one-year pacts that contain options are still on the table for discussion.
To many, it seems an odd line to draw on the surface. But one-year deals containing club or mutual options are not considered “one-year” contracts in arbitration — at least not in the sense that they’re considered relevant data points in future arbitration cases. Because of that, even file-and-trial clubs will generally discuss them, considering those deals more akin to multi-year pacts that don’t have long-term ramifications in a process where salaries are determined based overwhelmingly on prior, comparable one-year agreements.
Perez, 27, has had a breakout showing in Baltimore over the past two seasons after being plucked off waivers from the Reds in November 2021. The southpaw has made 131 appearances for the O’s and turned in a terrific 2.43 earned run average in 111 innings, picking up four saves and 35 holds along the way. Perez took a step back in ’23, as his ERA spiked from 1.40 to 3.54 while his strikeout and walk rates both trended in the wrong direction (23.5% and 9%, respectively, in 2022; 17.8% and 10.9% in 2023). Even with those red flags, Perez’s fastball velocity held at nearly 97 mph on average, he remained one of the toughest pitchers to take out of the ballpark (0.32 HR/9), and his 60.9% ground-ball rate was elite.
Perez will likely join fellow lefties Danny Coulombe and DL Hall in what should once again be a very strong Baltimore bullpen. There’s no compensating for the loss of All-Star closer Felix Bautista, who had Tommy John surgery in October, but the team’s hope is that by signing Craig Kimbrel to join Perez, Coulombe, Hall, All-Star setup man Yennier Cano and potentially right-hander Tyler Wells (if he’s not back in the rotation), the bullpen will again be quite formidable.
With Perez’s case now settled, the Orioles still have four players whose arbitration status remains up in the air. The O’s also exchanged figures with outfielder Austin Hays ($6.35MM vs. $5.85MM), first baseman/designated hitter Ryan O’Hearn ($3.8MM vs. $3.2MM), Coulombe ($2.4MM vs. $2.2MM) and righty Jacob Webb ($1MM vs. $925K).
Angels, Miguel Sanó In Agreement On Minor League Deal
The Angels and slugger Miguel Sanó are in agreement on a minor league deal, reports Enrique Rojas of ESPN. The deal for the Octagon client includes an invite to major league camp.
Sanó, 31 in May, has long had tremendous power but has also dealt with huge strikeout issues and health problems. From 2015 to 2019, he launched 118 home runs in 2,051 plate appearances for the Twins. He was punched out in 36.3% of those trips to the plate but also drew walks at a 12% clip. His .245/.338/.498 batting line translated to a wRC+ of 121. That included a huge 2019 that saw him launch 34 long balls. That was the “juiced ball” season but it’s not as though that power came out of nowhere, with Sanó having hit 25 or more homers twice before.
The Twins signed him to a three-year, $30MM extension going into 2020, with a club option for 2023. From there, his production dipped. Over 2020 and 2021, he still hit 43 home runs in those two seasons, with one of them being shortened to just 60 games, but his strikeouts and on-base numbers went in the wrong direction. He was punched out at a 37% rate in that time while batting .218/.303/.470. That was still above average, 109 wRC+, but below his previous levels. In 2022, knee injuries limited him to just 20 games and a dismal line of .083/.211/.133.
After that injury-marred season, the Twins decided to let him go, opting for a $3MM buyout instead of a $14MM salary. He held workouts for interested teams but ultimately didn’t sign anywhere for the 2023 season. Recently, he’s been playing for Estrellas Orientales in the Dominican Winter League and appears to be healthy. In 107 plate appearances there, he has struck out 30 times but also drawn 14 walks and launched a couple of homers, leading to a .225/.346/.405 slash line.
Sanó was primarily a corner infielder during his time with the Twins but was never highly rated on defense. The Angels have an open designated hitter spot, with Shohei Ohtani having been there in recent years. First base and third base also have some question marks. Anthony Rendon is the club’s third baseman on paper but he hasn’t played 60 games in a season since 2019 due to the pandemic and injuries. Nolan Schanuel could be their first baseman but he was just drafted last summer and only has 51 games of professional experience.
There’s no risk for the Angels in bringing Sanó to Spring Training, allowing them to get an up-close look at his health and performance. If he can bounce back into his previous slugging form, it would be a huge win for them. If not, he’s not even guaranteed a roster spot and could be quickly jettisoned even if added. For Sanó, it’s a chance to show his health and abilities to the Angels but also to other clubs around the league who will surely be watching.
Angels Designate Alfonso Rivas For Assignment
The Angels have officially announced their previously-reported deal with right-hander Robert Stephenson. First baseman/outfielder Alfonso Rivas has been designated for assignment in a corresponding move, per Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register.
Rivas, 27, has never appeared in a game as an Angel, having just been claimed off waivers a month ago. Over the past three years, he has been given 459 plate appearances in the majors between the Cubs, Padres and Pirates. He struck out in 30.3% of those and produced a batting line of .243/.324/.349, leading to a wRC+ of 90.
The production at Triple-A has been far more impressive. In 499 trips to the plate at that level over the past three years, he’s hit 14 home runs and paired a 15.6% walk rate with a 21.1% strikeout rate. His combined slash line of .307/.423/.483 translates to a wRC+ of 137. Defensively, he’s been mostly at first base but has also seen some time in the outfield corners.
Since the season ended, he’s been on the waiver carousel. He was claimed off waivers by the Guardians and then the Angels and may end up changing teams yet again. The Halos will now have one week to trade him or pass him through waivers. Despite the tepid major league production, the work in the minors is likely strong enough for him to get a shot with another club. He still has one option remaining and won’t even need to be guaranteed an active roster spot by a club that acquires him.
Phillies Sign Kolby Allard
2:55pm: It’s a split deal for Allard that’d pay him at a $1MM rate in the Majors with another $125K via incentives, reports Matt Gelb of The Athletic. Allard will earn at a $375K rate in the minors, Gelb adds.
2:32pm: The Phillies announced Tuesday that they’ve signed free agent left-hander Kolby Allard to a one-year contract. The Excel Sports Management client will be added to Philadelphia’s 40-man roster, although he has a minor league option remaining, so it’s not a lock he’ll be on the Opening Day roster. Allard, who was non-tendered by the Braves back in November, has three-plus years of MLB service (3.162) and is controllable through the 2026 season.
Originally selected by the Braves with the No. 14 overall pick back in 2015, Allard long rated as one of the sport’s top pitching prospects. Back injuries hobbled him throughout the early stages of his career, however, and he’s yet to establish himself at the MLB level in parts of six seasons with the Braves and Rangers. Atlanta traded Allard to Texas in the 2019 swap that sent reliever Chris Martin to Atlanta, and the Rangers sent him back to the Braves following the 2022 season in exchange for righty Jake Odorizzi (plus $10MM to cover the bulk of Odorizzi’s $12MM salary).
In 2023, Allard opened the season on the 60-day injured list owing to a Grade 2 oblique strain suffered in camp. He returned over the summer but made only four appearances before inflammation in his shoulder led to him being shut back down and shelved for the remainder of the year. He was limited to just 12 1/3 innings overall, yielding nine runs on 16 hits and four walks with 13 strikeouts (6.57 ERA).
Allard has just one season with a sub-5.00 ERA under his belt — the 4.96 mark he recorded through nine starts (45 1/3 innings) during his first season as a Ranger. He’s made 38 MLB starts and another 31 relief appearances, accumulating a total of 245 innings but with an unsightly 6.10 ERA to show for it. Allard has missed bats at close to league-average levels in brief looks over the past two seasons, but he has a below-average 18.8% strikeout rate in his career and sits in the 90-91 mph range with his fastball. He’s regularly shown strong command, evidenced by a 7.7% walk rate in his time as a big leaguer.
While he hasn’t found sustained MLB success yet, Allard does have a nice track record in the upper minors. He’s pitched in parts of four Triple-A seasons, totaling 323 innings at that level, and recorded a solid 3.71 earned run average in that time. Along the way, he’s fanned 23.4% of his opponents against an 8.3% walk rate — all while working exclusively out of the starting rotation.
Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said earlier this month that he’d been engaged with several free agents in an effort to bolster his team’s rotation depth behind its top five starters: Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suarez, Taijuan Walker and Cristopher Sanchez. Allard is one step toward doing so, and he’ll cost little more than the 40-man roster spot which the team has promised to him.
It’s certainly feasible that Allard could eventually join the big league club as a swingman or lefty reliever, but out-of-options journeyman Dylan Covey seems likely to hold that long relief job to begin the season. And, given that Dombrowski was speaking on record about pursuing exactly this type of rotation depth just a few weeks ago, it seems fair to expect that the initial plan for Allard is for him to open the year in the rotation in Triple-A Lehigh Valley. A spring injury to one of the current starters or perhaps a strong showing (and matching poor performance from Covey) could alter that trajectory, of course.
Nick Margevicius Signs With CPBL’s TSG Hawks
Left-hander Nick Margevicius has signed with the TSG Hawks of Chinese Professional Baseball in Taiwan, per CPBL Stats on X. The lefty is represented by the Beverly Hills Sports Council.
Margevicius, 28 in June, has 32 games of major league experience. He threw 110 1/3 innings for the Padres and Mariners over the 2019-2021 seasons, making 22 starts and 10 relief appearances, allowing 6.12 earned runs per nine innings in that time. He struck out 18.3% of batters faced, gave out walks at an 8.1% rate and kept 41.3% of balls in play on the ground.
He was diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome in May of 2021 and didn’t pitch for the rest of that season. He was outrighted by the Mariners early in 2022 and stayed in their organization, tossing 49 Triple-A innings that year with a 7.53 ERA. He signed a minor league deal with Atlanta going into 2023 and had a 6.82 ERA in the minors last year, split between Double-A and Triple-A.
It’s been a rough few years with the injury and subsequent poor results. Margevicius would have been limited to another minor league deal if he stayed in North America but will instead head to Taiwan to join the Hawks. The financial details of his contract aren’t known but he’ll surely make a larger salary than if he were stuck in Triple-A somewhere, in addition to getting a chance to showcase himself in a prominent foreign league.