Rangers Acquire Daniel Duarte From Reds
The Rangers acquired right-hander Daniel Duarte from the Reds, per announcements from both clubs. The Reds, who designated Duarte for assignment on the weekend, will receive cash considerations in return. The Rangers now have a full 40-man roster.
Duarte, 27, got a cup-of-coffee debut with the Reds in 2022, pitching 2 2/3 innings. He got a more sizable chunk of big league time last year, tossing 31 2/3 frames. In those two seasons combined, he has a 4.19 earned run average, though with less-impressive peripherals. His 46.5% ground ball rate is strong but his 16.7% strikeout rate and 15.3% walk rate are both a few ticks worse than league average. His .221 batting average on balls in play and 79.8% strand rate are both on the lucky side of par and seem to have helped him keep runs from scoring, which is why his 6.16 FIP and 5.68 SIERA are less shiny than his ERA.
The righty has generally done a decent job punching out Triple-A hitters, but has also walked them at a high clip. In 46 2/3 innings at Triple-A over the past three seasons, he has struck out 26.8% of hitters that have come to the plate and gotten a decent amount of ground balls, but has also sent 11.6% of opponents to first via base on balls, as well as hitting 3.5% of them with a pitch.
Despite the control issues, the Rangers are likely enticed by the combination of strikeouts and ground balls. Duarte has an option remaining and won’t need to be guaranteed a spot on the active roster. He’s also at least two years away from qualifying for arbitration and comes with five potential years of club control, while a season spent largely on optionable assignment could push that into the future by another year.
Despite winning the World Series last year, the bullpen was an obvious weak spot for the Rangers. Since hoisting the trophy, they lost Aroldis Chapman, Will Smith and Chris Stratton to free agency. They signed Kirby Yates as their most significant upgrade to date and may not be able to top that. The payroll may not have a ton of space due to uncertainty around the broadcast revenues. The club has given minor league deals to pitchers like Shane Greene, Diego Castillo, Austin Pruitt, Jonathan Holder and Jesús Tinoco.
Rays Sign Jacob Waguespack To Minor League Contract
The Rays announced the signing of right-hander Jacob Waguespack to a minor league deal. He’ll get a look in big league camp as a non-roster invitee.
Waguespack, an Ole Miss product, is familiar with the AL East. His MLB experience came with the Blue Jays between 2019-20. He started 13 of 18 appearances as a rookie, working to a 4.38 ERA over 78 innings. His follow-up season didn’t go as planned, as he surrendered 20 runs in 17 2/3 frames of relief. Toronto outrighted him from the roster during Spring Training in 2021.
After spending the ’21 season in Triple-A, Waguespack headed overseas. He signed with the Orix Buffaloes of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. He found success in his first NPB campaign. In 72 2/3 innings spanning 32 games, he posted a 2.97 ERA with an impressive 26.2% strikeout rate. That led the Buffaloes to keep him around last year, but he struggled in his second season.
Waguespack allowed 5.77 earned runs per nine in 43 2/3 frames. Control was the main issue, as he walked almost 13% of opposing hitters. On the plus side, Waguespack continued to miss plenty of bats. He punched out a third of batters faced last season. Over his two-year tenure, he ran a strikeout rate above 29%.
The Rays will see if the 30-year-old can carry some of that swing-and-miss stuff against MLB hitters in Spring Training. He’ll likely open the season with Triple-A Durham as a long relief depth hurler. The Rays frequently shuttle multi-inning bullpen arms between Durham and Tampa Bay. Waguespack still has a pair of options, so the Rays could move him freely to the minors if he earns a spot on the 40-man roster at any point.
Athletics Re-Sign Carlos Pérez To Minor League Deal
The Athletics have re-signed catcher Carlos Pérez to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. The backstop will presumably receive an invitation to major league Spring Training.
Pérez, 33, should not be confused with his younger brother Carlos Pérez, who is a backstop in the White Sox system. The elder Pérez returned to the majors leagues in 2023 after not making it to the show during the 2019-2022 period. He had been in the big leagues as a part-time catcher with the Angels, Braves and Rangers from 2015 to 2018 but the next four year saw him sign minor league pacts with various and not get selected to a major league roster.
Last year, he signed a minor league deal with the A’s and cracked the Opening Day roster. He served as a backup to youngster Shea Langeliers, getting into 68 games on the year. His .226/.293/.357 batting line translated to a wRC+ of 84. That indicates he was 16% below league average overall, but not too bad for a catcher. MLB backstops produced a wRC+ of 90 in 2023, so getting near that from a backup isn’t too shabby. On defense, Statcast wasn’t especially fond of his blocking or framing but did like his work with the running game.
The A’s could have retained Pérez via arbitration, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting a modest salary of $1.2MM, just a bit above next year’s $740K minimum. Instead, they outrighted him off the roster in October, with Pérez electing free agency shortly thereafter.
The A’s go into 2024 with Langeliers once again likely to handle to everyday catching duties but no obvious backup. Tyler Soderstrom is also on the 40-man but he has long faced questions about his defense, with many prospect evaluators expecting him to move off the position eventually. He also limped to a line of .160/.232/.240 in his first 138 MLB plate appearances.
The club has also signed Yohel Pozo to a minor league deal, meaning they have a couple of catchers with major league experience providing non-roster depth. If Soderstrom gets sent back to the minors for more seasoning or is spending his time as a first baseman/designated hitter, then someone like Pérez could get added to the big league roster as a veteran backup. Then there’s always the possibility of an injury opening up more playing time. If Pérez gets selected to the roster at some point, he’s out of options.
White Sox Sign Joe Barlow To Minor League Deal
The White Sox have signed right-hander Joe Barlow to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He’s been assigned to Triple-A Charlotte for now but will presumably receive an invitation to major league Spring Training.
Barlow, 28, is coming off a rough year but is not too far removed from being a big league closer. He debuted with the Rangers in 2021 with 31 appearances, posting an earned run average of 1.55 in those. A tiny .143 batting average on balls in play surely helped him out that year and his 10.8% walk rate was a bit on the high side, but he also struck out 24.3% of opponents and racked up 11 saves. In 2022, the ERA normalized to 3.86 as he saved another 13 games for the club. He dropped his walk rate to 8.9% but he only punched out 19.2% of opponents.
But in 2023, the Rangers signed Will Smith to fortify their bullpen prior to the season, then later traded for Aroldis Chapman and Chris Stratton at the deadline. Those moves coincided with a drop-off from Barlow, who only tossed 9 2/3 innings for the Rangers last year with an ERA of 4.66 in that time. He spent most of the year on optional assignment in Triple-A and then went to the Royals in August via a waiver claim. Between those two clubs, he threw 44 innings at the Triple-A level with a 5.52 ERA. The Royals outrighted him off their roster in September and he was able to elect free agency at the end of the season.
It was obviously not a great year for the righty but he’s a sensible gamble for the White Sox to take. The club itself was also facing plenty of struggles in 2023 and ended up moving significant pieces at the deadline, and then into the current offseason as well. In the past six months, they have traded relievers Kendall Graveman, Reynaldo López, Aaron Bummer, Keynan Middleton and Joe Kelly out of the organization. Also, Garrett Crochet is planning to get stretched out as a starter going into the spring, potentially subtracting another arm from the relief corps.
That should leave plenty of opportunities available for a reliever or two to step forward. That could be an internal option like Gregory Santos, a major league signee like Tim Hill or Rule 5 pick Shane Drohan. As for Barlow, he was getting big league saves not too long ago and would be a nice pickup if he could make steps to get back into that form. If he is added to the roster at any point, he still has two option seasons and less than two years of service time, meaning the club could retain him well into the future if the results justify such a path.
Nivaldo Rodríguez Signs With CPBL’s Fubon Guardians
Right-hander Nivaldo Rodríguez has signed with the Fubon Guardians of the Chinese Professional Baseball League in Taiwan, per CPBL Stats.
Rodríguez, 27 in April, was a notable prospect in the Astros’ system as he climbed the minor league ladder. From 2016 to 2019, he threw 225 1/3 minor league innings with a 2.40 earned run average, pairing a 25.6% strikeout rate with a 7.5% walk rate. He was added to the club’s 40-man roster in November of 2019 to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft and was considered the #23 prospect in the system by Baseball America going into 2020.
He then appeared in nine major league games over the next couple of seasons, pitching in five contests in 2020 and four more in 2021. He tossed 16 innings with a 4.50 ERA in that small sample. The Tigers claimed him off waivers in August of 2021 but kept him in the minors. He finished that year having thrown 62 Triple-A innings between the two systems, with a combined 5.37 ERA.
The Tigers outrighted him off the roster in November of 2021 but he didn’t have the ability to elect free agency, sticking with the club as non-roster depth. In 2022, he made 15 starts and four relief appearances at Triple-A with a 6.92 ERA in his 65 innings. He was released in August and signed on with the Sioux City Explorers of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an independent league. He tossed 30 innings over five starts for that club with an ERA of 1.50. He then spent 2023 with the Sultanes de Monterrey of the Mexican League, posting a 2.76 ERA in 94 2/3 innings there.
The former prospect obviously struggled in his last taste of affiliated ball but has shown some encouraging results over the past year-plus. The righty will now head to Taiwan to see how things fare over there. The CPBL is considered to be a lower level of competition than Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball or the Korea Baseball Organization, but Rodríguez is still young and could perhaps get himself back on track and pitch his way into other opportunities.
Angels Sign Richie Martin To Minor League Deal
The Angels have agreed to a minor league deal with shortstop Richie Martin, according to the transactions log on Martin’s MLB.com player page.
Martin, 29, was selected 20th overall by the A’s in the 2015 draft out of the University of Florida. Martin struggled at the plate early in his professional career but seemed to enjoy a breakout season at the Double-A level in 2018, when he slashed .300/.368/.439 in 118 games at the level. Despite that strong performance and his pedigree as a former first-round pick, the A’s declined to protect Martin from the Rule 5 draft that winter and he was selected by the Orioles.
Baltimore retained Martin on their roster throughout the 2019 season and he appeared in 120 games for the club as a part-time player at shortstop. In 309 trips to the plate, Martin struggled badly with a .208/.260/.322 slash line, but the performance was enough to keep a spot on the 108-loss Orioles throughout the season, earning Baltimore the unrestricted rights to Martin’s services in future seasons. Unfortunately, Martin’s development was further thrown off course by the shortened 2020 campaign. Martin suffered a fractured wrist less than two weeks before Opening Day, ending his season before it began.
When Martin returned to action in 2021, he found a new role as a depth option for the Orioles and spent the majority of his time at the Triple-A level. He received just 138 plate appearances in the majors across the 2021 and ’22 seasons and slashed a paltry .219/.263/.289 across his 50 games with the big league club. In 2022, Martin’s numbers at the Triple-A level were respectable despite his weak big league performance as he posted a 96 wRC+ in 80 games at the level while playing solid defense at second base, shortstop, and all three outfield spots. That performance wasn’t enough for Martin to retain a spot on the Orioles’ big league roster, as they designated him for assignment in early September.
Upon electing minor league free agency that offseason, however, Martin did find interest from other teams on minor league pacts. The then-28-year-old infielder first signed with the Reds last winter but was released shortly before Opening Day and caught on with the Nationals back in April. Martin ultimately did not make an appearance in the majors and slashed just .217/.329/.314 at the Triple-A level. Now that he’s signed on in Anaheim, Martin provides the Halos with middle infield depth in the upper levels of the minors entering the 2024 campaign. With Luis Rengifo and Zach Neto expected to handle everyday duties in the middle infield for the Angels next year, Martin figures to compete with the likes of Kyren Paris and Michael Stefanic for a role on the club’s bench this spring and could act as non-roster depth if he fails to break camp with the club out of Spring Training.
Dodgers Sign Brendon Davis, Chris Okey To Minor League Deals
The Dodgers have inked infielder Brendon Davis and catcher Chris Okey to minor league deals, according to the transaction logs and each player’s MLB.com profile page. It’s unclear if either deal comes with an invitation to MLB Spring Training next month.
It’s a reunion for Davis, 26, who was selected by the Dodgers in the fifth round of the 2015 draft. His first stint in the organization was a short one, however, as Davis was among the prospects L.A. shipped to the Rangers to acquire right-hander Yu Darvish at the 2017 trade deadline just two years after he had been drafted. Davis’s stay in the Rangers organization was only slightly longer. He played in the club’s organization in the 2017-19 seasons and reached the Double-A level during that time before missing the 2020 season due to the cancelled minor league season. The following offseason, Davis was plucked from the Rangers organization by the Angels in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft.
Davis’s return to southern California was a successful one, as he slashed .290/.362/.561 across three levels during the 2021 season, including a .333/.409/.641 slash line in a 33-game taste of the Triple-A level. 2022 saw him get a full season of experience in Triple-A, though his numbers fell back down to Earth a bit as he slashed just .235/.340/.424. Most of that production came in the Tigers organization, as Detroit claimed him off waivers from the Angels in May of that year. Davis even saw his first taste of big league action during the 2022 season thanks to a brief late-season call-up from the Tigers, though he collected just two hits, a walk, and a stolen base while striking out three times in 11 trips to the plate during his three-game stint in the majors.
Davis remained in Detroit for the 2023 season but struggled badly at Triple-A early in the season, slashing .178/.289/.363 and making it into just 43 games before the club released him back in June. Now back with the team that drafted him nearly a decade ago, Davis figures to provide the Dodgers with a depth option in the upper minors going forward. The 26-year-old boasts experience at all four infield spots and all three outfield spots, though he’s spent most of his time on the left side of the infield to this point in his career.
As for Okey, the 29-year-old was a second-round pick by the Reds back in 2016 and slowly worked his way up the minor league ladder, eventually reaching Triple-A in 2019. After the aforementioned layoff in 2020, Okey managed a respectable .237/.330/.379 slash line in 2021 before making his big league debut the following June. Okey’s time in the majors that season lasted just seven games, however, before he was designated for assignment and spent the rest of the season back at Triple-A.
After electing minor league free agency that winter, Okey caught on with the Angels on a minor league deal. An early-season injury to Logan O’Hoppe provided a potential opportunity for Okey at the big league level but the club ultimately relied primarily on the services of Matt Thaiss and Chad Wallach until O’Hoppe returned in August, with Okey appearing in just two games at the big league level. He struck out in both of his plate appearances in the majors last year, though he did manage to hit a respectable .281/.345/.414 in 235 trips to the plate with the club’s Triple-A affiliate last year.
Going forward, Okey will remain in southern California with the Halos’ geographic rival in L.A. as a depth option behind the plate. The club seems largely set behind the plate thanks to the long-standing tandem of Will Smith and Austin Barnes, but the presence of Okey could allow the club to avoid rushing a prospect like Diego Cartaya, Hunter Feduccia, or Dalton Rushing to the majors in the event of an injury.
Reds Designate Daniel Duarte For Assignment
The Reds announced that right-hander Daniel Duarte has been designated for assignment. The move creates a 40-man roster spot for Brent Suter, whose one-year deal with Cincinnati is now official.
Duarte spent most of the 2022 season battling elbow problems, but he still managed to make his big league debut by tossing 2 2/3 innings over three appearances with the Reds that year. With better health this past season, Duarte split the year between the big leagues (31 2/3 innings) and Triple-A Louisville (35 innings) before going on the Major League injured list in late September due to shoulder tightness.
The results were good on the whole for Duarte in 2023, as he had a 3.34 ERA in the minors and a 3.69 ERA during his time in Cincinnati. However, control has been an issue for the righty over the last seasons, as he had an 11.3% walk rate at Lousiville and then a 14.7% walk rate in the big leagues. Duarte had a respectable 25.8% strikeout rate in the minors but struck out only 16.9% of Major League batters, and he had almost as many walks (20) as strikeouts (23).
Over three years with the Reds’ Triple-A affiliate, Duarte had a 4.05 ERA, 26.76% strikeout rate, and a 11.61% walk rate. While respectable numbers, they also didn’t stand out to the extent that the Reds felt compelled to keep Duarte on their 40-man, and he now might be a candidate to be claimed by another team looking for bullpen depth. If he clears waivers, Cincinnati might opt to keep Duarte on hand as a relief option who can be frequently shuttled up and down from the minors as circumstances warrant.
Nationals Re-Sign Travis Blankenhorn
In a move that flew under our radar last month, the Nationals re-signed first baseman/outfielder Travis Blankenhorn to a minor league contract, according to Blankenhorn’s MLB.com profile page. The Nats outrighted Blankenhorn off their 40-man roster in October, and he chose to reject the assignment in favor of free agency, as is his right as a player who has previously been outrighted off a 40-man roster during his career.
Blankenhorn signed a minors deal with Washington last winter and spent most of 2023 at the Triple-A level, where he hit an impressive .262/.360/.517 and 23 homers over 455 plate appearances for the Rochester Red Wings. He didn’t receive a callup to the big league roster until the start of September, and he amassed 37 PA over 10 games for the Nationals before his season was prematurely ended by a bout of plantar fasciitis.
Originally a third-round pick for the Twins in the 2015 draft, Blankenhorn made his MLB debut in 2020 by appearing in a single game for Minnesota. He also made a one-game cameo in the 2022 season with the Mets, and overall, the 27-year-old has 36 games and 68 PA as a big leaguer with Washington, New York, and Minnesota. Over 1053 career PA at Triple-A, Blankenhorn has hit .261/.353/.485 with 48 home runs.
The bulk of Blankenhorn’s minor league playing time has come as a second and third baseman, though he hasn’t played the hot corner at any level since 2019, and he played only as a first baseman and corner outfielder in 2023. That still gives him a fair amount of defensive versatility, and Blankenhorn’s left-handed bat makes him an interesting possible depth complement since Joey Meneses, Stone Garrett, and Lane Thomas are all right-handed hitters. An injury or trade might be required for Blankenhorn to really get an opportunity on the Nationals’ active roster, but he’ll return to the organization as a familiar depth piece for Rochester’s team.
Giants Sign Jordan Hicks
The Giants announced that they have signed a four-year, $44MM contract with free agent right-hander Jordan Hicks. The righty will get a one-time signing bonus of $2MM, a $6MM salary in 2024, followed by a $12MM salary in the three subsequent years. Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported the deal and added that the Giants plan to utilize Hicks as a starter rather than a reliever. Hicks, who is represented by the Ballengee Group, can also earn an additional $2MM of annual incentives based on innings pitched, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Those incentives begin kicking in at the 100-inning mark, she adds.
A move back to the rotation is surprising, but it won’t be an entirely unfamiliar role for the flamethrowing 27-year-old. Hicks worked as a starter in the minors before debuting in the Cardinals’ bullpen during the 2018 season, and St. Louis briefly experimented with a move back to the rotation early in the 2022 campaign. That didn’t pan out — he yielded 16 runs in 24 2/3 innings before moving back to a relief role — but the Giants will try their hand at maximizing Hicks’ explosive arsenal out of their own rotation. The Giants have indeed shown a knack for helping pitchers break out — Kevin Gausman chief among them — and Hicks clearly has the type of raw stuff to intrigue clubs in a larger role.
Few pitchers can rival Hicks in terms of sheer velocity. He’s averaged 100.8 mph on his four-seamer and 100.2 mph on his two-seamer to this point in his career and has topped out at borderline comical 105 mph. The former third-round pick couples that blistering velocity with a slider that sits at 86.5 mph, and he’s thrown very occasional “changeups” in the past (never higher than at a 4% clip) — sitting 91.8 mph on that pitch overall.
Given the uncommonly young age at which he reached the open market and the overpowering nature of his raw arsenal, Hicks has long felt like a pitcher who’d command substantial interest despite a more modest track record. MLBTR ranked him 21st on our Top 50 Free Agent list, predicting a four-year, $40MM contract from a club believing it could unlock another gear in the righty.
As one might expect for a pitcher with this type of superhuman velocity, durability has been an issue. Hicks has never pitched more than 105 innings between the big leagues and minors combined in any season of his career. He underwent Tommy John surgery in 2019, had a 60-day IL stint due to inflammation in that same elbow in 2021, and missed more than a month of the 2022 season due to a flexor strain. Hicks returned from that injury in early July and was placed back on the injured list in mid-September due to arm fatigue.
Of course, when he’s healthy and at his best, Hicks can be flat-out overpowering. He sports a career 3.85 ERA, but that’s skewed by 10 ugly innings prior to his UCL tear in 2019 and by his rough work as a starter in 2022. In 2023, Hicks turned in a 3.29 ERA with a 28.4% strikeout rate, 11.2% walk rate and a 58.3% ground-ball rate in 65 1/3 innings between the Cardinals and the Blue Jays, who acquired him from St. Louis at the trade deadline in exchange for minor league pitchers Adam Kloffenstein and Sem Robberse. That ground-ball rate is nothing new; Hicks boasts a sensational 60.4% grounder rate in his career. Unfortunately, last year’s command troubles aren’t new either. He’s issued a free pass to an unsightly 12.8% of his opponents in the Majors.
Given last year’s innings count — and totals of 66 1/3 and 13 frames in the two preceding seasons — it’s difficult to imagine Hicks simply stepping into a rotation and firing off 30-plus starts, even if he’s able to remain healthy. The Giants figure to place him on some kind of innings limit in 2024, whether that means capping him at five innings per start, using him to piggyback with another starter, or simply giving him some occasional spells in the bullpen to keep his arm fresh.
An ideal setting might see Hicks move to the bullpen late in the season right as recent trade acquisition Robbie Ray returns from Tommy John surgery, though a lot needs to go right before that’s a legitimate consideration. If Hicks is able to both remain healthy and pitch effectively as a starter this coming season, the team could give him a larger workload come 2025. At that point, plugging Hicks and Ray into the rotation behind ace Logan Webb could give San Francisco a formidable trio. That’s a major “if,” but the upside is intriguing.
For the time being, Hicks will add another question mark to a rotation that’s teeming with uncertainty behind Webb, a 2023 Cy Young Award finalist. Webb led the Majors with 216 innings pitched last year, but Alex Cobb and Sean Manaea were the only other Giants pitchers to reach even 100 innings. Manaea has since signed with the Mets in free agency, and Cobb will open the 2024 season on the injured list while he recovers from hip surgery.
Hicks joins veteran swingman Ross Stripling, top prospect Kyle Harrison and young righties Keaton Winn and Tristan Beck as candidates to fill out the rotation behind Webb. Twenty-five-year-old righty Kai-Wei Teng, who walked nearly 14% of his opponents in Triple-A last year, is the only other starting pitcher on the 40-man roster. Top prospect Carson Whisenhunt is surely viewed as a potential rotation mainstay by Giants brass, but he’s pitched just 19 2/3 innings above A-ball and in all likelihood won’t be an option until the 2025 campaign.
It seems fair to envision the Giants making further additions to their rotation, given all that instability, although with both Cobb and Ray on the mend, there will be veteran reinforcements filtering in as the season wears on. Still, the Giants entered the offseason with question marks on the pitching staff and throughout the lineup, and many of those needs remain unaddressed. Adding a more established arm — be it a mid-tier arm in the Mike Clevinger/Michael Lorenzen/Hyun Jin Ryu vein or a top-tier starter like Blake Snell or Jordan Montgomery — still seems both prudent and well within the Giants’ budgetary capacity.
As it stands, the Giants’ payroll currently projects to about $167MM, per Roster Resource, while their luxury-tax ledger sits nearly $30MM shy of the $237MM first-tier threshold. San Francisco opened the 2023 season with a $188MM payroll and has previously put forth a $200MM roster in the past, so there ought to be considerable room for further augmentation on the free agent and/or trade markets.