Padres Sign Daniel Johnson To Minor League Deal
The Padres have signed outfielder Daniel Johnson to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com.
Johnson, 27, was originally drafted by the Nationals but was traded to Cleveland in the 2018 deal that sent Yan Gomes to Washington. Johnson was able to get up to the majors with Cleveland, appearing in 35 games over the 2020 and 2021 seasons. He hit four home runs in that small sample but also struck out in 34% of his trips to the plate while walking in only 5.3% of them. His batting line in that time was .202/.245/.337 for a wRC+ of 52.
He was outrighted off the club’s roster after that 2021 season and was traded to the Mets in May of 2022. The latter club released him in July, which resulted in Johnson returning to the Nats on a minor league deal. All that bouncing around didn’t seem to suit him well, as he hit a combined .219/.268/.347 for the year. He was much better in Triple-A in 2021, hitting 14 home runs in 72 games and producing a .222/.314/.444 batting line.
Johnson will jump into San Diego’s outfield mix, which is in a temporary state of flux. Fernando Tatis Jr. is expected to man right field eventually but won’t be eligible to play in the regular season until he serves the 20 games remaining on his suspension. For the time being, the likely configuration will have Juan Soto in left and Trent Grisham in center, with right field potentially occupied by players like Matt Carpenter, Adam Engel, José Azocar or Brandon Dixon. Johnson will look to fight his way onto the roster alongside other non-roster invitees such as David Dahl and Preston Tucker.
Diamondbacks Re-Sign Jake Hager To Minor League Deal
The Diamondbacks have re-signed infielder Jake Hager to a minor league deal, according to the MILB transaction log.
Hager, 30 in a week, slashed .240/.345/.280 for the Diamondbacks over 59 plate appearances last year. He spent the bulk of the year at Triple-A, where he picked up five home runs as part of a .261/.342/.391 line across 303 plate appearances. That was the second stint Hager had had with the Diamondbacks. After being claimed off waivers from the Mets, Arizona released him at the end of the 2021 season before bringing him back on a minor league deal.
Originally drafted 32nd overall by the Rays back in 2011, Hager toiled away in the minors for Tampa Bay, Milwaukee and Seattle before the Mets finally gave him his first taste of the majors in 2021. He didn’t hit much across a brief spell with the Mets and Diamondbacks in 2021, and all told Hager’s put together a .197/.307/.224 line across 89 career MLB plate appearances.
Hager came through the minors as a shortstop, but has bounced around the field in his short time in the majors, logging time at second, third and shortstop as well as both corner outfield spots. For the third-straight season, Hager will provide the Snakes with some infield depth in the upper minors.
Mets, Jaylin Davis Agree To Minor League Deal
The Mets are signing outfielder Jaylin Davis to a minor league contract with an invitation to big league camp, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The Beverly Hills Sports Council client had elected free agency at the start of the offseason after being outrighted off the Red Sox’s 40-man roster.
Davis, 28, has reached the big league level in each of the past four seasons. He’s seen action with the Giants and Boston but always in a limited capacity. Davis has played in 38 MLB games and tallied 95 trips to the plate, hitting .207/.274/.299 with a 30.5% strikeout percentage.
Swing-and-miss has been an issue for Davis in the minor leagues as well. He fanned at a near-31% rate over 346 plate appearances with the Sox’s top affiliate in Worcester last season. The right-handed hitter paired that with a strong 12.4% walk percentage but still stumbled to a .203/.312/.334 line overall.
Davis has fared better in previous Triple-A stints, however. Over parts of three seasons at the top minor league level, he owns a .258/.348/.503 slash with a 29.2% strikeout percentage while walking at a 10.6% clip.
Davis has experience at all three outfield positions. He’s primarily worked in right field as a professional, logging over 3000 minor league innings there compared to fewer than 800 frames in both left and center. The Mets have Brandon Nimmo, Starling Marte, Mark Canha and Tommy Pham lined up for outfield work, with Darin Ruf an option for the corners. Davis joins Abraham Almonte, Tim Locastro, Khalil Lee and DJ Stewart among non-roster players in camp.
Red Sox Sign Daniel Palka To Minor League Deal
The Red Sox announced Friday that added first baseman/outfielder Daniel Palka has been added to camp as a non-roster invitee (thus indicating he’s inked a minor league deal with the team). He’ll add some left-handed pop to their bench mix.
The 31-year-old Palka has spent parts of two seasons in the big leagues, smashing 27 home runs as a rookie with the 2018 White Sox while hitting .240/.294/.484 along the way. Palka’s 34.1% strikeout rate, however, was a major red flag, and he fanned at an even higher 37.6% clip in 2019 while hitting just .107/.194/.179 in 93 plate appearances before losing his spot on the roster. He struggled through a tough season in the KBO in 2020 before rebounding with the Triple-A clubs for the Nats and the Mets over the past two seasons.
Palka’s big league success is limited, but he’s a .261/.349/.486 hitter in parts of six Triple-A seasons and, as evidenced by his 27 homers in 449 plate appearances as a rookie, has plus raw power. He’s graded out as a sub-par defender in the outfield corners, and the Mets played him more at first base than in the outfield in Triple-A last year.
The Red Sox are set with Masataka Yoshida and Alex Verdugo in the outfield corners, Triston Casas at first base and Justin Turner at designated hitter. However, they’re thin on first basemen in the upper minors, unless Bobby Dalbec is optioned, so Palka will provide an option in that regard while also hoping to play his way into a bench role this spring.
Padres, Jared Koenig Agree To Minor League Deal
The Padres are in agreement with Jared Koenig on a minor league contract, as first announced on Twitter by Matthew Rossignol. The left-hander seems likely to head to Triple-A El Paso to open the season.
Koenig, an undrafted player in 2017, spent a couple years in independent ball to open his professional career. He eventually landed a minor league deal with the A’s heading into 2021. Koenig pitched well for their Double-A affiliate that season and got a bump to Triple-A Las Vegas to open last year. He went on to throw 107 innings of 4.71 ERA ball — deceptively solid production considering the Pacific Coast League’s extreme hitter-friendly nature — over 20 Triple-A outings.
That upper minors production earned Koenig a major league call last June. He’d make ten appearances (five starts) in green and gold, allowing a 5.72 ERA in 39 1/3 innings. He only struck out 12.4% of opponents on a minuscule 6.4% swinging strike percentage. Yet he induced grounders at a strong 48.5% clip and kept his walk rate to a manageable 8.5% mark.
Oakland non-tendered Koenig at the start of the offseason, sending him directly to free agency without first going through waivers. The 29-year-old now joins the second affiliated organization of his career. Koenig adds a strike-throwing rotation depth arm to the San Diego system. He doesn’t brandish a power arsenal, averaging only 89.2 MPH on his sinker and 77.6 MPH on a curveball during his major league look. Koenig found success in spite of the lack of velocity in the upper minors, mixing five pitches and throwing a decent number of strikes.
San Diego looks set to open the season with a six-man rotation of Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove, Blake Snell, Michael Wacha, Nick Martinez and Seth Lugo. Depth options on the 40-man roster include Jay Groome, Brent Honeywell Jr., Adrián Morejón, Reiss Knehr and Ryan Weathers. Koenig will slot in behind that group. He joins Julio Teheran, Cole Hamels, Wilmer Font and Aaron Brooks among non-roster rotation options who have some big league experience.
Tigers, Ashton Goudeau Agree To Minor League Contract
The Tigers are in agreement with right-hander Ashton Goudeau on a minor league deal, according to his transactions log at MLB.com. The right-hander adds some pitching depth to the upper levels of the Detroit system.
Goudeau, 30, has appeared at the major league level in three consecutive seasons. Aside from five innings with the Reds in 2021 as part of some shuffling around on the waiver wire, Goudeau has spent his entire MLB career with the Rockies. He’s worked 63 innings over 32 relief outings, compiling a 5.57 ERA with a modest 14.6% strikeout rate and somewhat lofty 10.6% walk percentage.
That included 20 1/3 innings over 12 outings fairly early into the year for Colorado last season. Goudeau surrendered a little over seven earned runs per nine frames and lost his spot on the 40-man roster in early August. He went unclaimed on waivers and finished out the season in Triple-A before reaching minor league free agency at year’s end.
Goudeau had a brutal year with the Rox’s top affiliate in Albuquerque. He started 15 of 20 appearances there and compiled 64 1/3 innings. He was tagged for a 9.51 ERA in one of affiliated ball’s toughest environments for pitchers. Goudeau’s 7.3% walk rate there was solid but he didn’t miss many bats and allowed over two home runs per nine.
He’ll look to put that nightmarish season behind him in a new organization. Goudeau has had a tough time in hitter-friendly atmospheres at both the MLB and Triple-A levels, but his lower minors track record is more solid. He carries a 4.25 ERA in 279 1/3 career Double-A frames. He’s shown a three-pitch mix at the big league level, backing up a low-90s fastball with a curveball and changeup. He’ll add some rotation or multi-inning relief depth to the Detroit system and figures to open the season with Triple-A Toledo.
Twins Sign Donovan Solano
12:16pm: The Twins formally announced the signing. Right-hander Chris Paddack, who’s recovering from Tommy John surgery performed last May, was placed on the 60-day injured list to open a spot on the 40-man roster.
Feb. 23, 8:40am: The New York Post’s Jon Heyman reports that Solano’s deal guarantees him $2MM, with up to $250K in additional incentives available.
Feb. 21: The Twins are in agreement with infielder Donovan Solano on a one-year, major league contract, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The deal is pending a physical and the financial terms are not yet publicly known.
Solano, 35, has had a unique journey in his baseball career. He played in the big leagues from 2012 to 2016 but didn’t impress much and wound up mired in the minors for two years after that. He was able to claw his way back to the show and has been a solid major league player over the past few years. With the Giants from 2019 to 2021, he hit .308/.354/.435, with his wRC+ of 113 indicating he was 13% better than the league average hitter in that time.
He signed with the Reds last year and took a bit of a step back at the plate, finishing the season with a .284/.339/.385 line and a 98 wRC+. Despite the slight drop, he was still a useful piece for the Reds, since he was able to spend significant time at the three non-shortstop infield positions and was generally considered around average at them, though his work at third was graded the weakest and his work at first the strongest.
Solano could be a good fit for a platoon role given his right-handed bat has fared well against left-handed pitchers, something that MLBTR’s Steve Adams recently highlighted. Solano has hit .289/.342/.397 against righties over the past four seasons but has crushed lefties to a .321/.363/.461 line. That split largely continued last year, even though he was less productive overall. He hit .301/.348/.422 with the platoon advantage but .277/.335/.369 without it.
For the Twins, they’ve seen some notable changes to their infield mix this offseason, though Carlos Correa and Jorge Polanco should still be in the middle. Gio Urshela was traded to the Angels, freeing up the hot corner for José Miranda after he saw significant time at first last year. Luis Arraez was traded to the Marlins while Miguel Sanó had his option declined. All of that has left left-hander Alex Kirilloff potentially the top option at first base. Since Solano fared well at first last year, he could perhaps platoon with Kirilloff some. In addition to the normal platoon strategy, it might make sense to monitor Kirilloff’s workload given his nagging wrist injuries over the past few years.
The club also has a number of left-handed hitters in its outfield mix. Right-hander Byron Buxton will be in center, but the options for the corners include lefties Joey Gallo, Max Kepler, Nick Gordon, Trevor Larnach, Matt Wallner and Kirilloff. The club doesn’t have a strict designated hitter and will likely be rotating those players through that slot, with Solano potentially spelling them against lefties from time to time as well. Solano’s ability to play second could also allow him to give Polanco the occasional day off, though the club also has Kyle Farmer and Gordon available for that duty as well.
It’s unknown what kind of salary Solano will earn, but it’s unlikely to be a huge investment for this move that will add some depth and versatility to the team. They have a full 40-man roster and will need to make a corresponding move, though that will likely be moving one of Chris Paddack or Royce Lewis to the 60-day injured list, since both are expected to be out of action until at least midseason.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Mariners, Kole Calhoun Agree To Minor League Deal
Per Shannon Drayer of SeattleSports, the Mariners and outfielder Kole Calhoun are in agreement on a minor league deal. The deal is pending a physical, with Calhoun already in Seattle’s spring clubhouse.
An 11-year MLB veteran, Calhoun’s big league career began as a member of the Angels during the 2012 season, and after succeeding in a part time role during the 2013 season, became the club’s regular right fielder, a position he held until the end of his Angels tenure following the 2019 season. Over that period of seven seasons, Calhoun slashed .250/.323/.426, good for an above average 105 wRC+, with his only season of pronounced struggles coming in 2018, when he slashed just .208/.283/.369 with a wRC+ of just 77, 23% worse than league average. Underlying metrics implied Calhoun’s struggles were due at least in part to bad luck, however: His .249 BABIP was well below his career norms, and his xwOBA outstripped his wOBA by nearly 50 points.
While Calhoun seemed to return to form in 2019 (105 wRC+) and excelled in the shortened 2020 season (125 wRC+ with 16 home runs in just 54 games) following a move to the Diamondbacks, his struggles returned for the 2021 campaign. Calhoun played just 51 games that season while battling hamstring issues, and struggled to a slash line of .235/.297/.373 (80 wRC+) even when he was able to take the field. Still, Calhoun’s past success was enough to land him a $5.2MM guarantee from the Rangers last offseason, though his struggles only grew as he posted a line of just .196/.257/.330 (67 wRC+) over 125 games with Texas during the 2022 campaign.
Now, Calhoun is poised to join a Mariners club that has no shortage of outfield depth on a minor league pact. All of Jarred Kelenic, AJ Pollock, Dylan Moore, and Sam Haggerty appear likely to mix and match in Seattle’s outfield alongside regulars Julio Rodriguez and Teoscar Hernandez this season, leaving Calhoun likely to serve as minors depth alongside players such as Cooper Hummel and Leonys Martin. That said, Seattle’s outfield mix did lose Taylor Trammell last week to surgery that will keep him out of action for at least six more weeks, leaving Calhoun better situated among the players who could potentially take advantage if Kelenic struggles this spring.
While Calhoun’s 2022 struggles are certainly concerning, there is room for optimism he can improve headed into the 2023 campaign. Not only did he miss time in both of the past two seasons with injuries, but 2022 in particular saw him under-perform underlying metrics, as his BABIP last year clocked in 20 points below his career mark, while he under-performed his xwOBA by over 30 points. Calhoun’s contact quality remained largely in line with his career marks, as well. Additionally, it’s possible that the new shift rules being introduced this season could help Calhoun significantly, as Calhoun was among the most shifted on free agents available this offseason.
That said, there are still some red flags in Calhoun’s profile indicating his struggles could continue. Calhoun’s strikeout rate rose dramatically over his career norms in 2022, as he whiffed in a whopping 32.1% of plate appearances against a career strikeout rate of just 22.6%. His 6.4% walk rate in 2022 also represents a noticeable dip from his career mark of 9.1%. With better health, positive regression, and new rules all potentially benefiting him, it’s certainly plausible that Calhoun could bounce back in his age-35 campaign, if given the opportunity.
Rays Sign Ben Gamel To Minor League Deal
Feb. 23: Gamel passed his physical, tweets Topkin. His deal with the Rays is now complete.
Feb. 22: The Rays are finalizing a minor league contract with free-agent outfielder Ben Gamel, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). The Wasserman client will be in big league camp and compete for a spot on Tampa Bay’s roster once he passes a physical.
Gamel, 30, spent the 2022 season with the Pirates, appearing in 115 games and tallying 423 plate appearances with a .232/.324/.369 batting line, nine homers, an 11.3% walk rate and a 23.2% strikeout rate. Gamel was one of a handful of platoon options remaining on the free agent market and will give a heavily right-handed Tampa Bay club an option from the left side of the dish if he makes the club.
Gamel has seen Major League time in each of the past seven seasons, dating back to his 2016 debut with the Yankees. He’s a lifetime .253/.333/.385 hitter (97 wRC+) in just over 2200 plate appearances, and while he’s typically been light on power — career-high 11 homers, .132 career ISO — he’s drawn walks at a strong clip for the majority of his big league tenure (10.2%).
Looking at his career as a whole, Gamel’s track record against right-handed pitching is roughly average. That’s skewed somewhat by some shaky performances earlier in his career, however. Dating back to Opening Day 2021, Gamel carries a solid .255/.351/.408 slash against right-handed pitchers — about 12% better than league-average after weighting for his home park and league run-scoring environment, by measure of wRC+. During that time, he’s walked at a stout 13.9% clip in platoon matchups.
Gamel rated as s solid outfield defender early in his career, but publicly available defensive metrics have soured his glovework in recent seasons. Statcast has given decreasingly favorable reviews to his outfield jumps and dropped his arm strength from above-average to roughly average in 2022. Gamel’s sprint speed still landed in the 65th percentile of MLB players in 2022, but he was in at least the 80th percentile in each of his first three MLB campaigns (including an 87th percentile showing in his debut season).
The Rays’ primary outfielders — Randy Arozarena, Jose Siri, Manuel Margot and Harold Ramirez — all bat from the right side of the dish, so there’s plenty of sense in adding some left-handed help. Tampa Bay has lefties Jonathan Aranda, Luke Raley and Josh Lowe on the 40-man roster, plus switch-hitting infielder/outfielder Vidal Brujan. Second baseman Brandon Lowe has some experience in the outfield, too.
Still, of that group of lefty options, none are sure bets. Aranda has mashed throughout the minors but is regarded as something of a positionless nomad on the defensive spectrum. Raley has a huge minor league track record but is 28 and has yet to hit in a pair of big league seasons. Josh Lowe is a former top prospect who’s still searching for an MLB breakout. The same goes for Brujan. As for Brandon Lowe, he’s logged just 331 career innings in the outfield, and last year’s three frames in right field represented the entirety of his outfield work on the season.
Gamel will head to Rays camp as the most experienced outfield option among the team’s non-roster invitees, and presumably with a good spring showing, he’ll have a decent chance at cracking the roster. He does have some experience in center field, though it’s limited and he’s best-suited for corner work. That said, both Siri and Margot are plus defenders at any outfield spot, which lessens the need for the Rays’ reserve options to be adept in center.
Reds Claim Bennett Sousa
The Reds announced Wednesday that they’ve claimed lefty Bennett Sousa off waivers from the White Sox. Chicago had designated him for assignment on Monday when finalizing their one-year deal with Elvis Andrus. Cincinnati placed right-hander Vladimir Gutierrez, who underwent Tommy John surgery last July, on the 60-day injured list to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.
The 27-year-old Sousa made his MLB debut with the Sox last year but was knocked around for 19 runs on 25 hits and 10 walks in 25 1/3 frames — an 8.31 ERA. Ugly as that showing was, he’s regularly turned in sub-4.00 ERAs in the upper minors while displaying above-average strikeout and ground-ball rates. Command issues have plagued him at times, however, and while Sousa looked to have turned a corner with a tiny 5.3% walk rate in 2021, he walked 10.3% of his opponent in a similar sample size of Triple-A innings this past season.
Overall, Sousa has a 3.96 ERA, a 32.2% strikeout rate and 8.1% walk rate in 50 Triple-A frames, in addition to a 2.96 ERA, 35.6% strikeout rate and 13.9% walk rate in 27 1/3 innings at the Double-A level. Sousa has a pair of minor league option years remaining and averaged a solid 94.3 mph on his heater in the big leagues last year. Paired with his 11.7% swinging-strike rate (and history of missing bats in the minors) there could be improvement on the horizon for the unsightly 12.5% strikeout rate he posted in the Majors last year.
Sousa joins Reiver Sanmartin as a lefty option for manager David Bell‘s bullpen. That’s the only pair of southpaw options on the 40-man roster — outside of prospect Brandon Williamson, who’ll surely continue to be utilized as a starter — but Sousa will have competition in camp in the form of non-roster invitees like Daniel Norris and Alex Young.