Red Sox Designate Franklin German For Assignment
The Red Sox have officially announced their trade that sends right-hander Matt Barnes to the Marlins and sees lefty Richard Bleier come to Boston. To make room on the roster for Bleier, right-hander Franklin German was designated for assignment. Barnes was already off the roster since he was designated for assignment last week.
German, 25, was a Yankee farmhand that came to the Sox in the Adam Ottavino trade in 2021. He had primarily been a starter in the minors but he was used exclusively in relief in 2022. The move seemed to suit him well, as he posted a 2.72 ERA over 49 2/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A. His 9.6% walk rate was a tad high but he paired that with a 32.5% strikeout rate. That showing was impressive enough to get him to the majors, though he was lit up for eight earned runs in his first four innings.
The Red Sox will now have a week to trade German or pass him through waivers. Though his first taste of the majors didn’t go well in terms of results, he did average 97.7 mph on his fastball. He could intrigue other clubs with his youth, excellent performance in the minors last year and full slate of options. He has just a few days of MLB service time thus far and can be affordably retained for the foreseeable future.
Giants Sign Joe Ross To Minor League Deal
The Giants announced that they have signed right-hander Joe Ross to a minor league deal, with Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com among those who relayed the news on Twitter. Ross has received an invitation to major league Spring Training, though he underwent a second career Tommy John surgery in June of last year and isn’t likely to be ready until midseason at the earliest.
Ross, 30 in May, was a first round draft pick of the Padres in 2011 and once considered one of the top pitching prospects in the league. He was traded to the Nationals alongside Trea Turner in the three-team, 11-player deal that also sent Wil Myers to the Padres and Steven Souza Jr. to the Rays. Over 2015 and 2016, he made 32 starts and three relief appearances, posting a 3.52 ERA over 181 2/3 innings. He made another 13 starts in 2017 before he required Tommy John for the first time, wiping out the remainder of that season and most of 2018 as well.
He stayed healthy in 2019 but didn’t quite get his results all the way back. He had a 5.48 ERA that year, splitting his time between the rotation, the bullpen and making eight starts in Triple-A. He sat out the 2020 campaign due to COVID-19 concerns but returned in 2021. He was quite solid that year, tossing 108 innings with a 4.17 ERA, 23.7% strikeout rate, 7.4% walk rate and 43.2% ground ball rate. Unfortunately, he was diagnosed with a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow in August. He tried to rehabilitate the injury via non-surgical means but ultimately had to go under the knife again last summer.
For the Giants, they’re taking a no-risk flier on Ross, hoping that he can perhaps get back into game shape by the later stages of the season. They have six solid rotation options right now, with Logan Webb, Sean Manaea, Alex Cobb, Ross Stripling, Alex Wood and Anthony DeSclafani all in place, as well as long reliever Jakob Junis and depth options such as Tristan Beck, Thomas Szapucki and Sean Hjelle. That’s a fairly crowded mix right now but injuries will inevitably pop up as the season progresses.
For Ross, he’ll get to make use of the club’s facilities and could wind up pitching near his old stomping grounds, as he was born in Berkeley and went to high school in Oakland. The Giants play in San Francisco, of course, and their Triple-A team plays in Sacramento. Despite being drafted over a decade ago, Ross still hasn’t hit his 30th birthday. If he can get into healthy form by the end of the year, he can return to the open market and look to set himself up for a stronger deal in 2024.
White Sox Claim A.J. Alexy From Twins
The White Sox announced that they have claimed right-hander A.J. Alexy off waivers from the Twins. He had been designated for assignment by Minnesota last week when that club acquired Michael A. Taylor from the Royals.
Alexy, 25 in April, was with the Rangers for the past few years, coming from the Dodgers in the 2017 Yu Darvish trade, but has been moving around quite a bit on the waiver wire this winter. Texas designated him for assignment in December and he went to the Nationals on a waiver claim. The Nats also designated him for assignment a few weeks later and dealt him to the Twins for pitching prospect Cristian Jimenez. The Twins improved their pitching depth by acquiring Pablo López from the Marlins and seemingly felt less need to hang onto Alexy, sending him into DFA limbo last week.
The righty is likely continuing to attract clubs for a few reasons. For one thing, he still has an option year and can be kept in the minors. Starting pitching depth is a perpetual concern around the league and Alexy can be useful in that regard. He also had a really strong showing in 2021, posting a 1.66 ERA in the minors over 65 innings, striking out 29.8% of batters faced. He did walk 10.6% of opponents but still impressed enough to make his major league debut, putting up a 4.70 ERA in 23 innings there.
2022 was a rough year for Alexy, as his four MLB appearances resulted in an ERA of 11.57. He spent most of the year in Triple-A but posted a 5.91 ERA down there. However, he’s still quite young and, as mentioned, still has an option year. He also has just 55 days of MLB service time, meaning he can still be affordably retained for the foreseeable future.
For the White Sox, they will likely have Dylan Cease, Lucas Giolito, Lance Lynn and Michael Kopech taking up four spots in their rotation, but there’s uncertainty around who will be joining them. Mike Clevinger was signed to a one-year deal to fill out the squad but it was recently reported that he’s under investigation for domestic violence allegations. It’s unclear when that investigation will be completed, but it’s possible that Clevinger will be suspended at some point or perhaps placed on administrative leave while the investigation progresses. The club’s options on the 40-man roster to help out include Davis Martin, Jonathan Stiever and Jason Bilous, with Alexy now added into the mix. That latter group will presumably be competing in spring for either an immediate job in the rotation or one down the line as injuries inevitably pop up through the season.
Phillies Designate Sam Coonrod For Assignment
The Phillies announced their signing of infielder Josh Harrison, making that deal official. To create room for him on the 40-man roster, right-hander Sam Coonrod has been designated for assignment.
Coonrod, 30, was a starting pitcher as a prospect in the Giants’ system when he lost most of his 2018 season to Tommy John surgery. Since then, he’s been working primarily as a reliever, with a blistering fastball but mixed results overall. With the Giants in 2019 and 2020, he made 51 appearances with a 5.74 ERA, 18.9% strikeout rate, 11.9% walk rate and 47.5% ground ball rate.
He was traded to the Phillies prior to the 2021 season and seemed to take a step forward that year. He tossed 42 1/3 innings for the Phils with a 4.04 ERA, striking out 25.9% of batters faced while walking just 8.1% and getting grounders at a 57.1% clip. He surely would have liked to build on that performance in 2022 but he was shut down in the spring due to a shoulder strain and wasn’t able to return to the club until mid-August. He made 12 appearances down the stretch but was torched for a 7.82 ERA in that small sample.
The Phillies will now have a week to trade Coonrod or pass him through waivers. Despite some inconsistency, it’s possible he would find interest from other clubs. His fastball has averaged 97-99 mph in the past few seasons, which he has occasionally used to good effect. He also still has one option year remaining, allowing a club to keep him in the minors as depth so long as they are willing to give him a 40-man roster spot.
Coonrod surpassed three years of service time last year and qualified for arbitration for the first time. He and the Phillies agreed to a salary of $775K for the upcoming season, just above the $720K league minimum. If he were to clear waivers, he would have the right to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency but might opt against it. Players with over three years of service time have that right but only players beyond the five-year mark can both reject an outright and retain their salary. If Coonrod were really motivated to try free agency, he’d have to be willing to leave that $775K on the table in order to do so.
Tigers Sign Jonathan Davis To Minor League Deal
The Tigers today announced a batch of 22 non-roster players that received invitations to major league Spring Training. That group included plenty of players who had already been in the system, as well as those signed to previously-reported minor league deals. One name on the list that wasn’t already expected to be in camp was that of outfielder Jonathan Davis, indicating he’s been signed to a minor league deal.
Davis, 31 in May, has appeared in the past five major league seasons, but primarily as a reserve outfielder. He didn’t play more than 64 games in any of those campaigns and has appeared in 171 contests overall. He hasn’t been able to take advantage of those brief opportunities thus far, having hit .185/.291/.245 in 350 career plate appearances for a wRC+ of 54. He’s fared much better in the minor leagues, with a Triple-A slash line of .260/.366/.419 for a 113 wRC+, though he hasn’t been able to come close to that in the bigs. The Brewers outrighted him off their roster in September and he became a free agent at season’s end.
Despite that low offensive output, Davis will bring a solid floor thanks to his speed and defense. Statcast considered his sprint speed to be in the 70th percentile last year, which has helped him steal 18 bases in 21 career tries while also producing eight Outs Above Average in 858 2/3 outfield innings.
The Tigers don’t have much certainty in their outfield mix at present. Riley Greene should be getting everyday action in center field but is still very young and has just 93 games of major league experience. Austin Meadows spent much of last year on the injured list and only got into 36 games. Akil Baddoo followed up a breakout 2021 with a dismal 2022 where he hit just .204/.289/.269. Kerry Carpenter had a nice debut but in a small sample of just 31 games. Depth options on the 40-man include Matt Vierling and Tyler Nevin, neither of whom are fully established big leaguers at this point. Davis will serve as a veteran option for a club that was decimated by injuries last year and surely would like to have plenty of depth on hand. If he makes his way back onto the roster, he’s out of options and can’t be easily sent back to the minors, but he could be retained for future seasons since he has between two and three years of MLB service time.
Phillies Sign Josh Harrison
The Phillies have signed utilityman Josh Harrison to a one-year, $2MM deal, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports (Twitter link). MSM Sports, Harrison’s agency, has also announced the news.
The versatile 35-year-old batted .256/.317/.370 with seven home runs and two stolen bases in 119 games last season for the White Sox while appearing defensively at second base, third base, shortstop, left field, and even a few mop-up relief pitching appearances. The big majority of Harrison’s playing time was at second base, which has been his primary position over 12 Major League seasons. He still drew above-average grades from Defensive Runs Saved and Outs Above Average at the position (and at third base) during his time in Chicago last season.
Harrison has suited up for five different teams over those 12 seasons, though he was formerly a member of the Phillies organization without ever seeing any action on the field. Philadelphia inked Harrison to a minor league deal during the 2019-20 offseason, but he was released just prior to the start of the COVID-shortened 2020 season.
With a guaranteed MLB deal in hand, Harrison can presumably be plugged onto the Opening Day roster in Philadelphia as an option off the bench, joining Edmundo Sosa and Dalton Guthrie as position-player depth. Bryson Stott is the projected starter at second base for the reigning NL champions and Alec Bohm has stated an impressive case that he can be the long-term answer at third.
Former starting second baseman Jean Segura is gone to the Marlins in free agency, so Harrison represents some veteran infield depth behind Stott and Bohm. Stott is the less-established of the two, and while he played better later in his rookie season and saw starting duties for the Phillies in the playoffs, Stott batted a modest .234/.295/.358 over 446 PA in the regular season.
Harrison’s right-handed bat could complement the left-handed hitting Kyle Schwarber for some left field playing time. Since the Phillies’ lineup won’t truly be whole until Bryce Harper makes his midseason return from Tommy John surgery, Harrison gives the team another experienced bat to utilize in the interim.
Harrison’s $2MM salary is modest by MLB standards, but it’s not without some implications for the Phillies. As a luxury tax payor for the second straight season, the Phils were on the hook for a 30% tax for the first $20MM by which they exceed the $233MM tax threshold. Harrison actually bumps them into the second tier, per Roster Resource, landing them at $254.85MM. They’d previously been just below the $253MM cutoff point for tier two. Harrison will cost the club about $800K in taxes, and the Phillies will be taxed at a 42% rate for every dollar added to the payroll up until $273MM, at which point the tax hit would jump to 75%.
Yankees Avoid Arbitration With Gleyber Torres
The Yankees announced Sunday that they have reached agreement on a one-year contract with Gleyber Torres, avoiding salary arbitration. MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reports that the deal is worth $9.95MM, right at the midway point between the $10.2MM sum that Torres requested and the $9.7MM number that New York put forth when arbitration figures were exchanged earlier this winter.
Torres commanded $6.25 million in 2022 — his second year of arbitration eligibility — and went on to bounce back from a power standpoint with 24 home runs and 76 RBI in 140 regular-season games for the AL East champions. He totaled only nine homers over 127 games played in 2021, when his negotiated salary came in at $4 million. Torres seemed a bit more comfortable in general last year following a more permanent move from shortstop to second base. But he does have some work to do in the OBP department, as his .310 on-base percentage from 2022 was a personal low. That number finished at .331 in 2021, .356 in 2020, .337 in 2019 and .340 in his rookie year in 2018.
Torres drew back-to-back All-Star nods in his first two major league seasons before regular defensive mishaps and inconsistent offensive production threatened to derail such a promising start to his career. He just turned 26 years old and is currently under the Yankees’ control through the 2024 campaign. They’ll certainly hope that he can carry over the hard-hit-rate rebound in 2023 while looking for him to return to overall form as a worthy top-of-the-lineup presence.
Most projected roster outlooks have Torres batting leadoff for the Yanks this season, table-setting ahead of Aaron Judge, Anthony Rizzo, Giancarlo Stanton, Josh Donaldson, Harrison Bader, Aaron Hicks, Oswald Peraza and Jose Trevino. Largely unchanged over the winter, that lineup placed 2nd among all 30 MLB teams last year in runs scored, behind only the Dodgers. It ranked 4th in combined team OPS at .751 as the Bronx Bombers won 99 games.
Of course, Torres isn’t necessarily a guarantee to be part of the 2023 lineup. The Yankees are known to have looked into possible trades of infielders this winter, and while Donaldson or Isiah Kiner-Falefa might be the team’s preferred trade chips, Torres is also a candidate to be moved for the right return. The Marlins made a bid for Torres at the trade deadline, offering Pablo Lopez and Miguel Rojas to New York in exchange for Torres and Peraza, but the Bombers rejected the proposal.
Mariners Release Jason Vosler
TODAY: The Mariners have released Vosler, in the latest update to his MLB.com page. The circumstances behind the abrupt release aren’t known, though in some similar instances with other players, the move indicates that the player has instead agreed to a guaranteed deal with a team overseas.
JANUARY 25: The Mariners have signed infielder/outfielder Jason Vosler to a minor league contract, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. Volser will presumably receive an invitation to major league Spring Training.
Vosler, 29, has been an up-and-down player with the Giants for the past two years. In 2021, he got into 41 games and hit .178/.256/.356 for a wRC+ of 63. He was much better in 72 Triple-A games, with a line of .295/.385/.529, 125 wRC+. In 2022, that split was bizarrely reversed, as he produced a .242/.311/.433 line in the minors but hit .264/.342/.469 in the big leagues. The former line led to a wRC+ of 82 whereas he had a 127 wRC+ in the majors. Defensively, Vosler has played all over, having lined up at all four infield positions and the outfield corners. Despite that versatility and some positive results at the plate, the Giants non-tendered him at season’s end.
For the Mariners, their infield will likely consist of Eugenio Suárez, J.P. Crawford, Kolten Wong and Ty France from left to right on most nights. Tommy La Stella is sort of in the mix but he’s coming off an injury-plagued year where he hardly took the field. The outfield will have Julio Rodríguez, Teoscar Hernández and AJ Pollock, as well as young players that aren’t yet established like Jarred Kelenic and Taylor Trammell.
Vosler will likely be competing with Dylan Moore and Sam Haggerty to serve in a bench/utility role, with injuries possibly opening a path to get onto the roster as the season rolls along. Vosler hits from the left side and has a noticeable platoon split in his limited big league time so far, 102 wRC+ against righties but a 78 otherwise. He could potentially be used situationally since the club has a bunch of righties set to be in their regular lineup. If Vosler does get selected to the roster, he still has an option year remaining and less than a year of service time, allowing the M’s to cheaply retain him for the foreseeable future if they so choose.
NPB’s Chiba Lotte Marines Sign Hirokazu Sawamura
The Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball have signed right-hander Hirokazu Sawamura, according to Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe (Twitter link). Sawamura pitched with the Red Sox in 2021-22 and was reportedly looking to sign on with another MLB team earlier this offseason, but he’ll now instead back to Japan.
Sawamura started his career in NPB, pitching mostly with the Yomiuri Giants from 2011-20 before being dealt to the Marines during the 2020 season. The righty’s first four seasons were spent mostly as a starter, as he delivered some quality numbers and helped the Giants win the 2012 Japan Series, though a full-time move to the bullpen in 2015 turned Sawamura into one of NPB’s best closers. While his effectiveness had a few injury-related ups and downs over the years, and Sawamura was moved to a setup role, Sawamura’s first stint in Nippon Professional Baseball resulted in an impressive 2.77 ERA, 22.1% strikeout rate and a 7.3% walk rate over 868 1/3 innings.
Exploring a move to North America after the 2020 campaign, Sawamura signed a two-year deal with the Red Sox for $3MM in guaranteed money — $1.2MM in salary in both 2021 and 2022, plus a $600K buyout of a $3MM club option for 2024. The contract also contained incentive clauses and a player option for Sawamura, though that became a moot point after he asked to be released in September in order to pursue opportunities with other teams. The Sox obliged, and Sawamura hit the open market after taking a $1MM buyout.
Though Sawamura had a 3.39 ERA and 50.9% grounder rate over his 103 2/3 Major League innings, other statistics weren’t nearly as flattering. Sawamura had a solid 26.3% strikeout rate in 2021 that plummeted to 18.1% last season, and control was consistent problem in both seasons, with a 13% total walk rate. With batters also consistently generating hard contact, Sawamura’s ability to keep the ball on the ground (and a .276 BABIP) might have saved him from more serious damage on the scoreboard. The Red Sox designated Sawamura for assignment and then outrighted him off their 40-man roster in August.
Sawamura turns 35 in April, and he’ll now make his return to NPB for what might be the final act of his baseball career. His brief time with the Marines in 2020 yielded a lot of success, as Sawamura had a 1.71 ERA over 21 1/3 innings.
Rangers Re-Sign Elier Hernandez To Minors Contract
The Rangers re-signed first baseman/outfielder Elier Hernandez to a minor league deal earlier this month, as per Hernandez’s MLB.com profile page. The 28-year-old received an invitation to the Rangers’ big league Spring Training camp.
Since first signing with Texas during the 2020-21 offseason, Hernandez has played primarily at Triple-A Round Rock, and he hit a strong .298/.356/.524 with 13 homers and 21 doubles over 351 plate appearance at the Triple-A level in 2022. This performance resulted in Hernandez making his Major League debut, though he hit a modest .182/.200/.242 in 35 PA over 14 games with Texas last season. The Rangers designated the outfielder for assignment in August and then outrighted him off their 40-man roster.
After electing to become a minor league free agent, Hernandez will now return to the Rangers organization for another season as a depth option. Hernandez has experience at all three outfield positions and has also seen some action at first base over the last two seasons, increasing his versatility. His chances of winning an Opening Day roster spot might depend on who stays healthy in the camp, but the Rangers’ left field situation is still unsettled (barring an acquisition of a veteran player), so there’s some opportunity for Hernandez to carve out a platoon role if he has a big spring.
Hernandez is a veteran of 10 pro seasons, mostly in the Royals organization. He made his debut at age 17 in 2012, after signing as an international free agent the previous summer for a sizable $3.05MM bonus. Over 981 games and 4018 plate appearances in the minor leagues, Hernandez has a .261/.310/.387 slash line and 67 homers.