Dodgers Acquire Tyler Glasnow, Manuel Margot; Glasnow Signed To Contract Extension
December 19: Per Jon Heyman of The New York Post, the extension is actually valued at $111,562,500 over four years, with Glasnow to make $30MM from 2025 to 2027. The player option in 2028 is valued at $21,562,500, slightly higher than previous reporting. Heyman’s framing also suggests that Glasnow will choose on his option first. If he turns it down, then the Dodgers will get to decide whether or not to trigger a $30MM club option.
December 16, 3:33pm: USAToday’s Bob Nightengale relays the full contract breakdown for Glasnow, reporting that the 2028 player option is worth $21.5MM. This accounts for the previously unexplained $1.5MM discrepancy between the reported contract breakdown and the Dodgers’ announced $136.5MM figure.
12:08pm: The Dodgers and Rays finalized the four-player trade that will sent right-hander Tyler Glasnow, outfielder Manuel Margot, and $4MM in cash considerations to Los Angeles in exchange for right-hander Ryan Pepiot and outfielder Jonny Deluca. News of the trade first broke a few days ago, with the final hurdle being the Dodgers’ ability to sign Glasnow to a contract extension. That deal has now also been completed, with L.A. announcing that Glasnow has agreed to a new long-term pact worth $136.5MM. Glasnow is represented by Wasserman.
As per the terms reported yesterday by ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the new contract will see Glasnow earn $110MM in new money over the course of the 2025-28 seasons. Glasnow was already slated to earn $25MM in 2024 according to the terms of his prior contract with the Rays, and the new deal with L.A. breaks down as $90MM in salary over the 2025-27 seasons, and then the Dodgers hold a $30MM club option on Glasnow’s services for 2028. If the team declines that option, Glasnow can exercise a $20MM player option for 2028. Since Passan’s numbers only add up to $135MM rather than the Dodgers’ announced figure of $136.5MM, that extra $1.5MM has yet to be accounted for, possibly a signing bonus or a bit of extra guaranteed money on one of the years.
Unlike Shohei Ohtani‘s $700MM mega-deal with the Dodgers from last week, Glasnow’s extension doesn’t contain any deferred money. As such, it will be entirely portioned out onto the Dodgers’ luxury tax bills based on a $27.3MM average annual value over the next five seasons. According to Roster Resource‘s calculations, Los Angeles has an estimated luxury tax number of roughly $253.7MM for 202 — still under the $257MM secondary CBT tier, thanks to all of Ohtani’s deferrals lowering his tax-related AAV to $46MM per season. Still, with a number of roster needs still be addressed, the Dodgers’ tax bill could certainly still approach or exceed the next penalty tier of $277MM between now and Opening Day.
Glasnow has been seen as a possible trade candidate basically since the moment he inked his previous two-year, $30.35MM extension with Tampa Bay during the 2022 season. Signed when Glasnow was recovering from Tommy John surgery, the deal saw $25MM of the salary backloaded into the 2024 season, making it likely that the cost-conscious Rays would try to unload the right-hander beforehand.
The 30-year-old’s availability dovetailed with the Dodgers’ need for pitching this winter, as the Los Angeles rotation is full of injury-related question marks (i.e. Walker Buehler, and possibly Dustin May at midseason), pitchers without much big league experience (Bobby Miller, Emmet Sheehan, Michael Grove, Gavin Stone), and a swingman in Ryan Yarbrough who may be best suited for bullpen duty. Pepiot was another member of that young crop of arms, but he’ll now head to Tampa Bay as he enters his third season of MLB duty.
In moving Glasnow and Margot and factoring in the $4MM in cash considerations, the Rays unloaded $33MM worth of salary for two players making the Major League minimum, in a move reminiscent of many budget-trimming, sell-high types of trades Tampa has become known for over the years. The Rays’ success rate in these deals is almost a cliche by this point, and even if Tampa Bay fans have become weary of the team’s continual roster churn and perpetually low-spending ways, the Rays’ ability to field competitive teams speaks for itself. Pepiot figures to step right into the rotation spot left open by Glasnow, while Deluca may not be guaranteed a spot in the Opening Day outfield, but he’ll at least be part of the shuttle heading back and forth between Triple-A since the outfielder has two minor league option years remaining.
The right-handed hitting Margot figures to move into a part-time role in the Dodgers’ outfield picture, acting as a complement to the left-handed James Outman and Jason Heyward. Margot has played primarily as a center fielder and right fielder, thus lining up well with Outman and Heyward’s projected positions. Mookie Betts will be taking over as the Dodgers’ new everyday second baseman in 2024, so it’s safe to guess that L.A. will aim to add more outfield depth if Betts will be spending most of his time on the dirt.
MLB Trade Rumors’ Steve Adams broke down the Glasnow extension in larger detail yesterday, while Darragh McDonald outlined the news of the four-player trade agreement for MLBTR on Thursday. Jack Azoulay-Haron of MLB Nerds and Bruce Kuntz of Dodgers Digest first reported the four principal players in the trade. Jon Heyman of The New York Post first relayed that a Glasnow extension was a possibility. Jeff Passan of ESPN relayed that the deal was agreed to, contingent on the extension. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times first relayed the Rays’ inclusion of the $4MM in salary offset.
Yankees Claim Jeter Downs From Nationals
The Yankees announced that they have claimed infielder Jeter Downs off waivers from the Nationals. The infielder was designated for assignment a week ago when the Nats signed right-hander Dylan Floro.
Downs, 25, was once a prospect of note, having been selected 32nd overall by the Reds in 2017 and later appearing on top 100 lists. His time as a minor leaguer saw him change organizations twice as part of a major trade, first going to the Dodgers in a seven-player swap and then to the Red Sox in the deal for Mookie Betts and David Price. The Yankees now have two of the three players that went to Boston in that deal, having acquired Alex Verdugo earlier this month and leaving the Sox with just Connor Wong.
But as for Downs, he hasn’t yet delivered on that prospect hype. In 963 minor league plate appearances over the past three years, he has hit just .200/.309/.365 for a wRC+ of 80. Due to that performance, he’s been allowed to make just 50 trips to the plate at the major league level, with a slash of just .182/.260/.273 in those. The Sox put him on waivers prior to 2023, with the Nats putting in a claim but now letting him go via the same door he came in.
Despite that tepid offensive production, there’s little harm in the Yankees putting in a claim. They had three open roster spots to work with, as this claim brings their 40-man count to 38. Downs still has an option, meaning he can be stashed in the minors as depth for the upcoming season, if he sticks on the 40-man for that long. It’s also worth pointing out that he’s still young and could perhaps turn the narrative of his career around.
The Yanks are currently slated to have an infield of DJ LeMahieu, Anthony Volpe, Gleyber Torres and Anthony Rizzo with Oswald Peraza and Oswaldo Cabrera in the mix for bench/utility roles. Downs has played all three infield spots to the left of first base and even had a brief stint in center field this year, allowing him to provide some depth at various spots.
Royals Designate Max Castillo For Assignment
The Royals announced today their previously-reported deal with outfielder Hunter Renfroe, signing him to a one-year contract with a player option for 2025. In a corresponding move, right-hander Max Castillo has been designated for assignment.
Castillo, 24, was one of two prospects acquired in the 2022 trade that sent Whit Merrifield from Kansas City to Toronto. (Infielder/outfielder Samad Taylor was the other.) Castillo has logged big league time in each of the past two seasons, pitching to a combined 5.43 ERA in 59 2/3 frames.
Castillo has punched out a below-average 18.1% of his opponents against a higher-than average 9.3% walk rate. Castillo was quite homer-prone in 2022 but yielded just two long balls in 20 1/3 innings this past season (0.89 HR/9). However, his strikeout rate plummeted from 21.8% in ’22 to just 11.2% this past season as he greatly upped the usage of his slider at the expense of his four-seamer and changeup.
In parts of two Triple-A seasons, Castillo has posted a 4.43 ERA in 164 2/3 innings, showing solid command but below-average strikeout abilities in that time. As a prospect, he was viewed as a potential fifth starter or reliever. It’s possible that another club could yet help him reach that level, but the Royals’ aggressive offseason on the free agent market is clear proof that they’re ready to turn the page on some of the in-house options in whom they’d previously been holding out hope.
Castillo still has a minor league option remaining and won’t turn 25 until May, so he could hold some appeal to another club looking for pitching depth — one that hasn’t overhauled its roster by signing six free agents to big league deals and acquiring a seventh (Nick Anderson) via trade. Presumably, the Royals explored potential trades of Castillo before today’s DFA, as they’d previously moved Jonathan Heasley, Edward Olivares and Taylor Clarke in DFA-motivated trades. But another club could still be interested in a waiver claim or perhaps a cash swap if that hadn’t been on the table before.
Padres Reportedly Close To Signing Yuki Matsui
The Padres are close to signing a deal with free agent left-hander Yuki Matsui, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. Earlier, Jon Morosi of MLB.com (X links) reported that the Friars had offered Matsui a contract and also relayed a Japanese-language report from Sankei Sports. The Google translation of that report says that the southpaw has already undergone a medical check, though it seems nothing is official quite yet. Morosi relays that it will be a multi-year deal, though the financial are not yet known at this time.
Matsui, 28, is a left-handed reliever that has 10 years of experience in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, having debuted back in 2014. He has an earned run average of 2.40 in his 501 career games, tossing 659 2/3 innings. He has 236 saves in that time, including at least 24 in each of the past three campaigns. He’s coming off a strong 2023 season as well, with a tiny ERA of 1.57 while recording 39 saves. He struck out 32.4% of batters faced this year while walking just 5.9%.
In addition to his excellent results, Matsui is notable for his size, listed at just 5’8″ and 167 pounds. That unusual frame didn’t stop MLB clubs from having interest, with the Cardinals having recently hosted Matsui in St. Louis, though the Padres will apparently be the one to seal the deal.
Beyond his skills, Matsui surely intrigued clubs due to the fact that he reached proper free agency by reaching nine years of service time. Unlike some other pitchers coming over from Japan, such as Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Matsui isn’t currently connected to any NPB club. That means the MLB club that signs him won’t be subject to a posting fee on top of the contract itself.
Matsui has consistently featured on MLBTR’s NPB Players to Watch series this year, with Dai Takegami Podziewski reporting on Matsui’s four-pitch mix, featuring a fastball, splitter, slider and curveball. The southpaw reportedly had some trouble adapting to the ball in the World Baseball Classic, which is closer to the one used in MLB. There’s always some uncertainty with foreign players since they are unproven in North America, and while Matsui’s size and issues with the WBC ball perhaps add to that, clubs are often intrigued by the possibility of unearthing a hidden gem.
That’s especially true of the Padres, for whom the budget has been a focus all year. Due to the ongoing bankruptcy of Diamond Sports Group, the club’s broadcast rights reverted to MLB during the year. It was later reported that the Friars took out a loan to cover expenses and all recent reporting has pointed to a drop in payroll relative to recent years, likely resulting in them staying under the competitive balance tax in 2024.
Their offseason moves to this point have mostly been about clearing out payroll space. The Padres sent outfielders Juan Soto and Trent Grisham to the Yankees for five players, then sent lefty Ray Kerr to Atlanta as a means to get some of Matt Carpenter‘s contract off the books.
Roster Resource currently pegs the club CBT number at $205MM for next year, with the base threshold to be $237MM. That gives the club a bit of room to work with but they still have some things to do. They likely want to find two outfielders to replace Soto and Grisham while also perhaps looking for a designated hitter and some more starting pitching.
But the bullpen is also an issue, with Josh Hader, Nick Martinez, Luis García and Tim Hill now free agents. That means the club will have work to do just to get back to 2023 levels, when their relievers posted a collective ERA of 3.80, the tenth-best mark in the league.
No one is going to expect Matsui to replace Hader as one of the best relievers in the league, but he can certainly bolster the club’s southpaw relief mix, which currently consists of Tom Cosgrove and Adrián Morejón. The former had a solid season in 2023 but still has less than a year of major league experience, while the latter has had ongoing injury issues and is coming off a poor showing this year. Perhaps this is the first of many moves as the Padres pivot from subtracting salary to adding it, looking to fill out the roster for 2024.
Reds Trade TJ Hopkins To Giants
The Giants announced Tuesday that they’ve acquired outfielder TJ Hopkins from the Reds in exchange for cash or a player to be named later. Cincinnati designated Hopkins for assignment last week.
Hopkins, 27 next month, made his MLB debut this past season and went 7-for-41 (all singles) with a pair of walks and 17 strikeouts in 44 plate appearances. It was hardly an eye-catching debut, but the 2019 ninth-rounder’s production in Triple-A Louisville was far more intriguing. In his first full season at the top minor league level, Hopkins delivered a robust .308/.411/.514 batting line with a 14% walk rate, 23.9% strikeout rate, 16 home runs, 18 doubles, a triple and a pair of steals.
Hopkins has played primarily left field in his professional career but has plenty of experience in right field and center field as well. He’s been an average or better hitter at every minor league stop and steadily improved both his walk and strikeout rates as he’s climbed the minor league ladder. Hopkins was in the first of three minor league option years this past season, so he has two more remaining. He’ll give the Giants a right-handed depth bat to add to a heavily left-handed outfield mix.
Presently, the Giants project to have lefties Michael Conforto and Mike Yastrzemski in the outfield corners, where they’ll flank newly signed center fielder Jung Hoo Lee. The KBO star — another lefty bat — signed a six-year deal that’ll pay him $113MM just last week. Also in the outfield mix in San Francisco are righties Mitch Haniger, Austin Slater, Luis Matos, Heliot Ramos and lefties Blake Sabol and Wade Meckler. Haniger, who’s entering the second season of a three-year contract, could see a fair bit of time at designated hitter. Sabol could see big league time as a reserve catcher and outfielder.
Rockies, Chance Adams Agree To Minor League Deal
The Rockies have re-signed righty Chance Adams to a minor league deal and invited him to big league camp this spring, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. He’d earn at a $740K rate in the Majors.
Adams, 29, once ranked among the best pitching prospects in the sport but hasn’t yet found any success in the big leagues. The 2015 fifth-rounder has totaled 41 2/3 MLB frames, yielding a dismal 8.42 ERA in that time. Adams has a far better track record in Triple-A, where he’s turned in a 4.06 ERA in parts of five seasons (a total of 343 1/3 innings).
Adams hasn’t pitched in the Majors since a brief 2020 look with the Royals. He wound up requiring Tommy John surgery that October and made a very brief return to the Royals minor league ranks late in the ’21 campaign (6 2/3 innings). Adams didn’t pitch with an affiliated club in 2022 and spent the 2023 season in the Rockies organization, where he’ll now return.
Though he worked primarily as a starter early in his career, Adams came out of the bullpen for the Rockies’ Triple-A club last season. In 32 2/3 innings, he worked to a 3.86 ERA with solid walk and ground-ball rates of 7.1% and 44.9%, respectively. Adams fanned only 15% of his opponents in Albuquerque, however.
Back with the Rockies and seemingly back to full strength, Adams will have an opportunity to earn a spot in the Colorado bullpen this spring. The Rockies don’t have a ton of bullpen flexibility, with six relievers who can’t be optioned: Justin Lawrence, Tyler Kinley, Daniel Bard, Nick Mears, Jalen Beeks and Rule 5 pick Anthony Molina. There should still be a couple spots up for grabs, however, particularly if Molina doesn’t end up sticking on the roster and is eventually returned to the Rays.
KBO’s NC Dinos Sign Kyle Hart
Left-hander Kyle Hart signed with the NC Dinos of the Korea Baseball Organization, the team announced (h/t to Jee-ho Yoo of Yonhap News). He’ll be paid a $200K signing bonus and a $500K salary, while there’s another $200K in possible incentives.
Hart, a 6’5″ hurler from the University of Indiana, has four major league games to his name. Those came with the Red Sox in 2020. He struggled in that limited look, allowing 21 runs in 11 innings. While he hasn’t gotten back to the big leagues since, he signed successive minor league contracts with the Phillies and Mariners this past season.
The former 19th-round pick only pitched once for the Phils’ top farm team. He was a regular member of the rotation for Seattle’s Triple-A team after signing in June, however. Over 18 starts in the Pacific Coast League, Hart posted a 4.58 ERA through 88 1/3 innings. He struck out a reasonable 22.1% of opponents against a 9.1% walk rate.
This will be Hart’s first overseas stint. He joins former Marlins left-hander Daniel Castano as the club’s two foreign-born pitchers to open the season. They replace Erick Fedde (who signed a $15MM deal with the White Sox) and Tanner Tully. Yoo notes that the team is not retaining outfielder Jason Martin, so they’ll look for an additional hitter to meet their allotted three non-Korean players.
Cubs, Tom Pannone Agree To Minor League Contract
The Cubs are in agreement with left-hander Thomas Pannone on a minor league deal, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post (on X). He’ll be in major league camp as a non-roster invitee. Pannone would be paid at an $800K rate for any time on the MLB team.
Pannone returns from South Korea, where he spent a half-season with the Kia Tigers. The 29-year-old also played part of the 2022 campaign with the Tigers before returning to the affiliated ranks last offseason. He reached the majors for one game with the Brewers, working 2 2/3 innings of relief. Milwaukee granted him his release in July so he could re-sign with the Tigers.
Over 16 appearances in Korea, he worked to a 4.26 ERA across 82 1/3 frames. Pannone had a modest 18.8% strikeout rate while walking 6.6% of batters faced. It marked a step down from his KBO performance in 2022, when he’d posted a 2.72 ERA over a near-identical workload.
Before this year’s cup of coffee in Milwaukee, Pannone’s big league experience was with the Blue Jays between 2018-19. He pitched in a swing capacity for Toronto, allowing 5.43 earned runs per nine over 49 appearances (13 of which were starts). Pannone has compiled a 5.10 ERA with a 21.4% strikeout percentage in 305 career Triple-A frames. He’s out of options, so if he cracks Chicago’s MLB roster at any point, he’d need to remain in the majors or be designated for assignment.
Rays, Garrett Acton Agree To Two-Year Minor League Deal
The Rays are in agreement with right-handed reliever Garrett Acton on a two-year minor league contract, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post (X link). It’s a split deal that would pay him at the MLB minimum rate of $740K next season and a $775K salary in 2025 for any time he spends in the big leagues.
Acton, 25, made his major league debut last season. The Illinois product pitched in six games, allowing eight runs in 5 2/3 innings. While his small sample results were rough, Acton averaged nearly 96 MPH on his fastball in that time. Over 29 Triple-A innings, he had an impressive 26.4% strikeout percentage and a decent 8.8% walk rate. Acton has posted big strikeout tallies throughout his time in the minors, although the fly-ball specialist has also had trouble keeping the ball in the yard.
Oakland released Acton in the middle of July. He had been placed on the minor league injured list with an undisclosed health issue on June 11. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets that Acton had undergone Tommy John surgery. He’s likely to miss most of next season, explaining the two-year term on the deal.
Acton has less than one year of MLB service and a pair of option years. If the Rays add him to the 40-man roster at any point within the next two seasons, they could easily move him between Tampa Bay and Triple-A Durham.
Orioles Acquire Jonathan Heasley From Royals
The Orioles have acquired right-hander Jonathan Heasley from the Royals in exchange for minor league right-hander Cesar Espinal, per announcements from both clubs. This appears to be the corresponding move for right-hander Michael Wacha, whose deal with the Royals was officially announced by that club earlier today. Jeff Passan of ESPN relayed the deal prior to the official announcements. Baltimore’s 40-man count is now at 38.
Heasley, 27 in January, was a 13th-round pick of the Royals in 2018 but seemed to increase his stock with a strong 2021 campaign. That year, he tossed 105 1/3 innings in Double-A with a 3.33 earned run average, striking out 27.7% of batters faced while issuing walks at just a 7.9% clip. He was added to the Kansas City roster in mid-September and went into 2022 with a bit of helium. FanGraphs and Baseball America each ranked him the club’s #13 prospect for 2022.
He hasn’t found much success since then, however, serving as a frequently-optioned depth arm. In his 133 2/3 major league innings to this point, he has a 5.45 ERA and 14.5% strikeout rate. In 134 Triple-A innings over the past two years, he has a 6.11 ERA, though his 22.6% strikeout rate at that level is more encouraging. He still has an option so the O’s can continue to develop him without having to give Heasley a spot on the active roster. He has worked both as a starter and reliever in recent years, though it’s unclear if the O’s have a particular role in mind for him.
Espinal, 18, is not a prospect of note as of right now. He has 53 2/3 innings of minor league experience thus far, pitching in the Dominican Summer League in the past two years. He has a 4.02 ERA in that time, along with a 21.9% strikeout rate and 11% walk rate.