Pirates Outright Miguel Andujar
The Pirates have sent corner infielder/outfielder Miguel Andújar outright to Triple-A Indianapolis after he went unclaimed on waivers, tweets Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He’ll be in big league camp as a non-roster invitee to Spring Training, which suggests he’s accepted the assignment.
Andújar is a more high-profile player than usually hits the waiver wire. The right-handed hitter posted big numbers in the Yankees’ farm system and reached the majors at the tail end of the 2017 season. A top 60 overall prospect headed into the following year at both Baseball America and FanGraphs, Andújar looked like a potential core piece in the Bronx after an excellent rookie season. He hit 27 home runs and 47 doubles with a .297/.328/.527 line over 606 plate appearances as New York’s primary third baseman in 2018.
That earned Andújar a runner-up behind Shohei Ohtani in AL Rookie of the Year balloting. While he seemed like the third baseman of the future for the Yankees, he’s yet to again reach those early-career heights. His sophomore season was cut short after just 12 games by a labrum tear in his right shoulder that required surgery. By the time he returned in 2020, Gio Urshela had broken out and claimed the third base job. That left Andújar in a depth role, cycling between the Bronx and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre without much consistent MLB playing time.
Tough as that situation must’ve been for Andújar, he never forced the Yankees’ hand by earning significant reps. New York gave him 327 scattered plate appearances between 2020-22. He hit just .244/.272/.346 with eight homers and a meager 4% walk rate. Paired with a corner-only defensive profile, his production was a little below replacement level. The Yankees eventually cut him loose at the end of last season, waiving him in September. The Pirates grabbed the 27-year-old off the wire and plugged him into nine games down the stretch. Andújar got 40 plate appearances with Pittsburgh, hitting .250/.275/.389 to close out the year.
After the season, he and the Bucs agreed to a $1.525MM salary to buy out his second season of arbitration eligibility. While that may have kept him from being non-tendered in November, he was still squeezed off the 40-man roster last week once the Bucs brought back Andrew McCutchen. Any team that claimed Andújar off waivers would’ve had to take on his salary. It’s certainly not an exorbitant sum but is roughly double the league minimum and might’ve played a role in him going unclaimed.
Andújar has a bit more than four years of major league service time. Players with over three years of service have the right to refuse an outright assignment in favor of minor league free agency, though anyone with fewer than five years of service would forfeit the remaining guaranteed money on their contract to do so. Andújar certainly wouldn’t have landed a better deal in free agency after going unclaimed on waivers, so it’s no surprise he’s elected to take the minor league assignment to hang onto that salary.
He’ll report to camp and try to reestablish himself on the 40-man roster as a right-handed bench bat. If he doesn’t break camp, he’ll open the season as a depth option in Indianapolis. Andújar has a .303/.351/.507 line in a little over 600 career Triple-A plate appearances. Performing at that level in the minors could certainly get him back on the radar for a midseason promotion. Andújar is out of minor league option years, though, meaning he’d have to stick on the MLB roster or again be DFA if he earns a call-up at any point.
D-backs Sign Austin Adams, Jesse Biddle To Minor League Deals
The Diamondbacks have signed righties Austin Adams and Eric Yardley and left-hander Jesse Biddle to minor league contracts, per Baseball America’s Chris Hilburn-Trenkle.
Adams, 31, has spent the past three seasons with the division-rival Padres, at times looking like a potential late-inning weapon. Injuries and command issues, however, have undercut the righty’s enormous strikeout numbers. Adams has appeared in 108 games and tallied 97 innings at the MLB level (mostly with the Padres), working to a solid 3.90 ERA along the way. He’s punched out a massive 34.2% of his opponents in the big leagues, walked 15.5% of them and, remarkably, plunked 6% of his opponents as well.
Troubling as that lack of command is, Adams misses bats at an elite rate, and when opponents do make contact, it’s rarely high-quality contact. He’s held opposing batters to a dismal 86.2 mph average exit velocity in his career, yielded just a 29.7% hard-hit rate and allowed only six home runs in 97 innings (433 batters faced).
Adams has been intriguing enough for the Mariners to trade for him and for the Padres to push for his inclusion alongside Austin Nola in the trade that sent Ty France and Andres Munoz to Seattle. There’s some obvious talent, thanks in no small part to a wipeout slider, but in addition to being his difficulties locating the ball, he’s endured a torn ACL in 2020 and a flexor strain that required surgery in 2022, limiting him to just two innings. Because of that latter procedure, which was performed in August, it’s possible Adams will be delayed to begin his season. If he makes it back to the big leagues, the D-backs will have at least two years of club control over him.
Yardley, 32, has pitched in parts of three big league seasons, spending time with the 2019 Padres and 2020-21 Brewers. He’s notched a tidy 3.52 ERA in that time, although fielding-independent metrics are far more bearish than his ERA — due largely to a tiny 13% strikeout rate and a slightly elevated 9.7% walk rate.
Yardley has offset that lack of punchouts in part with a massive 60.8% ground-ball rate and a solid 1.01 HR/9 mark. The righty’s submarine delivery has helped him to keep the ball on the ground and in the yard, although as is often the case, it’s also given him a notable platoon split; lefties have clobbered Yardley at a .312/.382/.468 clip in his big league career.
As for the 31-year-old Biddle, he’s returning from a one-year stint with the Orix Buffaloes in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, where he pitched to a 4.02 ERA with a 24.4% strikeout rate and 10.9% walk rate out of the bullpen. The former first-round pick (27th overall by the Phillies in 2010) has appeared in parts of four Major League seasons, working to a 5.07 ERA in 103 frames. Biddle has fanned 22.2% of his opponents, issued walks at a bloated 13.1% clip and also recorded a hefty 52.8% ground-ball rate in that time.
Back in 2018, the Braves looked like they might’ve benefited from a shrewd waiver claim of Biddle, who pitched 63 2/3 innings of 3.11 ERA ball for them as a rookie that season. Since that solid debut, however, Biddle has been tagged for an 8.24 ERA in 39 1/3 big league innings.
Both pitchers will have the chance to factor into the Arizona bullpen at some point during the 2023 season. The Snakes have a handful of veterans on guaranteed contracts, including Mark Melancon, Miguel Castro and Scott McGough. They also enjoyed a breakout year from lefty Joe Mantiply and a strong 30-game run from 28-year-old Kevin Ginkel in the season’s second half. There are still multiple spots up for grabs, however, and injuries throughout the year will of course create additional opportunities for veterans of this ilk.
Rays Extend Jeffrey Springs
The Rays announced they’ve signed left-hander Jeffrey Springs to a four-year contract extension. Springs, who’s represented by Ryan Ware of Alliance Sports Management, will be guaranteed $31MM over the course of the deal but there’s also incentives and a $15MM club option for 2027 with a $750K buyout. If Springs hits all the incentives and Cy Young award escalators and the club picks up the option, he’ll earn $65.75MM over five years.
The exact details of those incentives and escalators aren’t known. Springs will earn a salary of $4MM this year, $5.25MM next year, followed by $10.5MM in each of the following two seasons. Springs was set to reach free agency after 2024, so this could allow the Rays to secure him for three additional seasons, if they end up triggering that option.
Springs, 30, has had a unique baseball journey. A 30th round draft pick of the Rangers, he drew little fanfare from prospect evaluators in his first few professional seasons. Though he got some rotation work for a few years, the Rangers used him exclusively in relief in 2018 to good results. He tossed 56 2/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A that year. The 4.13 ERA might not seem very impressive, but it was surely inflated by a .438 batting average on balls in play. He kept his walks down to a reasonable 8.1% level while striking out an incredible 41.7% of batters faced. He got to make his MLB debut that year, throwing 32 innings over 18 appearances with a 3.38 ERA.
He took a step back in 2019, missing a few months with left biceps tendinitis and posting a 6.40 ERA. Texas designated him for assignment going into 2020 and then traded him to the Red Sox for Sam Travis. The change of scenery didn’t help Springs get back on track, as he posted a 7.08 ERA in the shortened 2020 campaign. He was designated for assignment again and then flipped to the Rays alongside Chris Mazza for prospects Ronaldo Hernández and Nick Sogard.
The move to Tampa appears to have been the one Springs needed, as his results have completely turned around since then. He registered a 3.43 ERA over 43 appearances in 2021, striking out 35.2% of batters faced while walking just 7.8% of them. In 2022, he started in the bullpen but the club began stretching him into a starter as the season went along. He responded well to the change, eventually throwing 135 1/3 innings with a 2.46 ERA, 26.2% strikeout rate, 5.6% walk rate and 40.9% ground ball rate.
After a few years of floundering and struggling, it’s not a huge surprise that Springs would jump at the chance to lock in some life-changing money here. He reached arbitration for the first time going into 2022 but only made $947.5K, a slight bump over the $700K league minimum. He was projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for a jump to $3MM this year, though he and the club didn’t come to an agreement prior to the filing deadline earlier this month. He submitted a $3.55MM figure while the Rays filed at $2.7MM. Instead, he’ll make $4MM and lock in some eight-figure salaries for the future.
For the Rays, they clearly believe Springs is capable of continuing as an effective starter, though there’s some risk here. Springs had excellent results in 2022 but it’s still just one season, and it wasn’t even a full one. As mentioned, Springs began the year in the bullpen and wasn’t stretched out until the end of May. He also went on the injured list for a couple of weeks in July due to right lower leg tightness. Concerns aside, the Rays are confident enough in the lefty that they’re willing to take a gamble on him.
For a low-spending team like the Rays, extensions are an important part of having talent on the roster. Since they don’t usually shop at the top of the free agent market, they need to keep guys around by locking them up before they get closer to the open market and increase their earning power. In recent years, they’ve given extensions to players like Kevin Kiermaier, Blake Snell, Brandon Lowe, Wander Franco, Manuel Margot and Tyler Glasnow, with Springs now joining them on that list.
This won’t have a huge impact on the club’s 2023 payroll but will add some decent commitments to 2025 and 2026. The club now has three players locked into the former season with Franco and Zach Eflin on the books there, along with a club option for Lowe. In exchange for putting that money on the table, the Rays now have arguably the most rotation stability they’ve had in years. Recent seasons have seen them rely on bullpen games and openers to get through a season but they now have Springs, Glasnow, Eflin, Drew Rasmussen and Shane McClanahan, with depth options like Yonny Chirinos, Luis Patiño and Josh Fleming. Most of that group are still in their pre-arbitration years, giving the club years of affordable control. None of them are slated for free agency after this year and Glasnow is now the only one set to hit the open market after 2024. The club also has one of the top pitching prospects in the sport in Taj Bradley, who finished last year at Triple-A and could make his debut this year.
Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times first reported the deal and many of the details. Joel Sherman of the New York Post was the first with the year-to-year salary breakdown.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Marlins Sign Enrique Burgos To Minor League Deal
The Marlins announced that reliever Enrique Burgos has signed a minor league contract with a non-roster Spring Training invitation. The 32-year-old makes it back to the affiliated ranks for the first time since he was released by the Tigers in March 2018.
Burgos, a Panama native, has some previous MLB experience. He was a frequent middle relief option for the Diamondbacks from 2015-16, combining for 73 appearances. Through 68 1/3 innings, the righty posted a 5.27 ERA with a strong 27.4% strikeout rate offset by a 12.7% walk percentage. While Burgos averaged north of 96 MPH on his fastball and missed plenty of bats, his inconsistent control and an elevated .339 batting average on balls in play pushed him off the roster.
A brief stint in the Atlanta organization was spent entirely at Triple-A in 2017. After failing to crack the Detroit roster out of spring camp the following season, Burgos has worked mostly in the Mexican League and winter ball over the past few years (along with a brief stay in the Atlantic League). He struck out 17 against five walks through 15 innings in the Dominican Winter League this offseason, apparently piquing the interest of Marlins’ scouts in the process.
Miami has mostly stood pat with its bullpen this winter. Cole Sulser was lost on waivers to Arizona, while JT Chargois was brought in from the Rays. Rule 5 selection Nic Enright will have to hold a spot or be placed on waivers and subsequently sent back to the Guardians. Dylan Floro, Tanner Scott, Steven Okert and Richard Bleier should have season-opening spots secured. Tommy Nance, Andrew Nardi, Eli Villalobos and Huascar Brazobán could battle for middle relief spots.
Burgos joins Chi Chi González, Geoff Hartlieb and Bryan Hoeing as non-roster invitees with some big league time. Given his lack of recent affiliated experience, the 32-year-old Burgos figures to open the season at Triple-A Jacksonville and will try to earn an MLB call during the season.
Rays, Jaime Schultz Agree To Minor League Deal
The Rays are signing reliever Jaime Schultz to a minor league deal, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. He’ll be in big league camp as a non-roster invitee.
Schultz has plenty of familiarity with the Tampa Bay organization. He began his professional career as a Rays draftee in 2013. Within a few seasons, he garnered some prospect attention as a potential high-leverage bullpen arm. That hasn’t materialized, as Schultz has battled scattershot command and injuries that have kept him from establishing himself in an MLB relief unit.
The High Point product pitched at the highest level in 2018-19, with the first of those seasons spent in Tampa Bay. He made 22 appearances for the Rays and four more as a Dodger the following season. Between the two clubs, he’s posted a 5.86 ERA across 35 1/3 MLB innings. Schultz struck out roughly 26% of opponents while averaging around 95 MPH on his fastball. That came with an alarming 13.6% walk percentage, leading Los Angeles to outright him off their roster towards the end of the 2019 season.
Schultz has signed minor league deals with the A’s and Mariners in recent years but been limited to five combined Triple-A outings since 2020. He didn’t sign with any team for 2022 but returns to the affiliated ranks this year. He’ll add a live arm to the upper levels of the Rays’ minor league system. Schultz figures to open the season with Triple-A Durham. He’s out of option years, so he’d have to stick on the active roster or be made available to other teams if he earns a call-up at any point.
Diamondbacks Sign Jeurys Familia To Minor League Deal
5:22pm: Familia will make $1.5MM if he makes it to the majors with $500K in performance bonuses also available, per Joel Sherman of The New York Post.
4:55pm: The Diamondbacks have signed right-hander Jeurys Familia to a minor league deal, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today. The ACES client will receive an invitation to major league Spring Training.
Familia, 33, has had many good years in the big leagues but is coming off a terrible campaign in 2022. From 2014 to 2021, he made 482 appearances, mostly with the Mets, with a 3.20 ERA in that time. His 10.5% walk rate was a bit on the high side but he struck out 25.2% of batters faced in that time and got grounders on 55.5% of balls in play.
Last year, however, was a completely different story. He signed a $6MM deal with the Phillies and made 38 appearances for them but posted a 6.09 ERA in that time while his strikeout rate fell to 20.9%. He was released in August and latched on with the Red Sox for a while but posted a 6.10 ERA in 10 appearances for them. A .386 batting average on balls in play could have made things look worse than they really were, but it’s not like everything can be explained away by bad luck. Familia’s Statcast page is an icy blue, since he was in the third percentile in terms of hard hit rate, fourth percentile for average exit velocity and eighth percentile in barrel rate.
The Diamondbacks had a rough showing from their bullpen last year. Their relievers posted a collective 4.58 ERA for the year, a mark that bested just five other teams in the majors. They’ve made a few moves to address the relief corps for the upcoming season, including signing Miguel Castro and Scott McGough, grabbing Cole Sulser off waivers and trading for Carlos Vargas. By signing Familia, they’ve essentially taken a no-risk flier on a veteran with a lengthy track record of success. He’ll give them some extra depth without taking up a roster spot for the time being.
Tigers, Cesar Hernandez Agree To Minor League Deal
The Tigers and veteran infielder Cesar Hernandez are in agreement on a minor league contract, tweets Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The Octagon client will be invited to major league camp this spring. If Hernandez makes the roster, he’ll earn a $1.5MM base salary with the potential to unlock more via incentives, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press adds.
Hernandez spent the 2022 season with the Nationals but struggled to the worst offensive performance of his decade-long MLB career, batting just .248/.311/.318 in 617 plate appearances. Hernandez, who’ll turn 33 in May, surprisingly connected on only one home run with the Nationals — despite having swatted a career-high 21 long balls a year prior. Dating back to 2018, Hernandez had averaged 14 homers per 600 plate appearances, making last year’s power outage particularly unexpected.
Defensively, Hernandez has traditionally been a second baseman, although the Nats gave him some time at third base and in left field last year. Hernandez posted roughly average defensive grades at second base in 2019-20 before seeing metrics like Defensive Runs Saved and Outs Above Average agree that his glovework at the position had swiftly declined, beginning in 2021. Both DRS and OAA felt he was average or better in limited looks at third base and in left field, for what it’s worth.
Although last season marked an obvious low point for Hernandez, he’s long been a solid everyday option at the keystone. From 2016-21, the switch-hitter notched a combined .271/.348/.394 batting line with a modest blend of power and speed, consistently above-average walk rates and consistently lower-than-average strikeout rates. That’ll be the player the Tigers hope they’re getting on this non-guaranteed deal.
The Tigers’ infield mix is relatively full, but it’s possible Hernandez could still carve out a role. As it stands, the team hopes to deploy Spencer Torkelson at first base, Jonathan Schoop at second, Javier Baez at shortstop and Nick Maton at third. That said, Torkelson, the former No. 1 overall pick, didn’t establish himself as a viable big league bat in his rookie campaign and will presumably need to earn his spot in the lineup this spring. If he struggles, it’s feasible that Schoop could spend some time at first base, which would open up some potential reps at second for Hernandez. Furthermore, if the Tigers are comfortable bouncing him to multiple spots, Hernandez could simply win a utility role out of the gate.
Cubs Sign Luis Torrens To Minor League Deal
The Cubs have signed catcher Luis Torrens to a minor league deal, per Ángel Daniel Conde T of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League’s Navegantes del Magallanes. Torrens will receive an invitation to major league Spring Training.
Torrens, 27 in May, has seen scattered playing time in the big leagues since 2017, suiting up for the Padres and Mariners. His longest stretch of playing time in the majors came with Seattle in 2021, when he got into 108 games and hit 15 home runs. His .243/.299/.431 batting line resulted in a 101 wRC+, indicating he was just above average at the plate, though the average catcher usually comes in around 90 or so. Last year, he slipped to a line of .225/.283/.298 and a wRC+ of 72.
Since he’s generally considered to be a bat-first catcher, Torrens needs to hit to be valuable to a team. Defensive Runs Saved has given him a -22 grade for his career so far while both FanGraphs and Baseball Prospectus consider him a subpar framer. Since he was having a down year at the plate in 2022, he was outrighted off the roster in August. He finished the season on the roster after getting selected again in September, but he was then non-tendered in November.
For the Cubs, they have three catchers on their 40-man roster, with Tucker Barnhart and Yan Gomes slated to the share the time with the big league club. Prospect Miguel Amaya is also on the roster but he underwent Tommy John surgery in 2021. He returned last year but was limited to just 40 minor league games and has yet to reach Triple-A. Torrens will give the club some non-roster depth should an injury arise before Amaya is ready to make the jump. Torrens is out of options and won’t be able to be easily sent back to the minors if he gets onto the roster.
Rangers, Reyes Moronta Agree To Minor League Deal
The Rangers have agreed to a minor league deal with right-hander Reyes Moronta, tweets Levi Weaver of The Athletic. Moronta, a client of L.A. Sports Management, will reunite with his former manager in San Francisco, Bruce Bochy.
Moronta, who turned 30 earlier this month, has spent his entire career up to this point in the National League West, logging a decade with San Francisco and splitting the 2022 campaign between L.A. and Arizona. He’s coming off a 4.30 ERA in a combined 37 2/3 innings between the Dodgers and D-backs, during which time he punched out 23.6% of his opponents against an 11% walk rate. The D-backs, however, non-tendered him in November.
The 2022 season marked Moronta’s healthiest campaign since undergoing surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder late in the 2019 season. Moronta didn’t pitch with the Giants in 2020 and tallied just 22 innings between Triple-A and the big leagues in 2021 while finishing off the rehab from that procedure.
Prior to his injury, Moronta held the potential to become a mainstay in the Giants’ bullpen. From 2017-19, he piled up 128 1/3 innings of 2.66 ERA ball with a hefty 29.8% strikeout rate and a heater that averaged 97.1 mph. Command has long been an issue for the big righty, evidenced by a bloated 13.6% walk rate even during that peak. At his best, however, he mitigated those free passes by avoiding home runs (0.63 HR/9) and ranking among the game’s best at limiting hard contact (86.4 mph average exit velocity, 30.6% hard-hit rate).
Moronta has yet to fully regain the life on his fastball post-surgery. He sat at 95.3 mph in 2022 — still well above the league-average — although it’s perhaps worth pointing out that his velocity crept up to an average of 96.1 mph over the season’s final month. The Rangers will hope that a reunion with Bochy, plus some further distance from that 2019 shoulder procedure, can get him closer to his 2017-19 form.
Beyond the fact that it reunites him with his old skipper, the deal with Texas puts Moronta in a relatively good landing spot for a reliever looking to reestablish himself. Texas has a talented bullpen but is lacking in established relievers, outside of its top names. Jose Leclerc is likely to reprise his role as the team’s closer. Fellow righty Joe Barlow has a spot locked up after posting a 2.81 ERA through his first 64 big league frames, and lefty Brock Burke posted what could be the quietest sub-2.00 ERA in the Majors last year.
Elsewhere, Jonathan Hernandez notched a 2.97 ERA in his return from Tommy John surgery but did so with some command issues. Taylor Hearn was better as a reliever than a starter but is still looking to cement himself in that role. John King proved himself to be a ground-ball machine but didn’t miss many bats. Veteran Jake Odorizzi appears ticketed for long relief or sixth starter work.
Suffice it to say, there’s room for Moronta to work his way back into the mix, particularly given a still-thin slate of fellow non-roster invitees to camp. Jacob Barnes and Zack Littell are among the minor league free agents the Rangers have also picked up this winter.
Royals, Red Sox Swap Adalberto Mondesi For Josh Taylor
The Red Sox added some much-needed middle infield help Tuesday, acquiring shortstop Adalberto Mondesi and a player to be named later from the Royals in exchange for left-handed reliever Josh Taylor. Both teams have announced the trade.
In Mondesi, Boston is acquiring an immensely talented 27-year-old infielder — but also one of the most frequently injured players in MLB over the past few seasons. Dating back to the 2018 season, Mondesi has appeared in only 40% of the Royals’ possible games, missing time due to a right shoulder impingement, a groin strain, a pair of left shoulder subluxations, a left hamstring strain, an oblique strain and, most recently, a torn ACL that wiped out his 2022 season. Both the left shoulder injury and ACL tear required surgery.
It’s a daunting list of injuries for Mondesi, but it’s nevertheless difficult not to be enticed by Mondesi’s blend of power, speed and defense. In 1366 Major League plate appearances, Mondesi has 38 home runs, 54 doubles, 20 triples and 133 stolen bases. He’s also amassed 23 Outs Above Average and a 13.3 Ultimate Zone Rating in 2126 career innings at shortstop.
Beyond the injuries, that combination of raw skills is also undercut by an aggressive approach and sub-par bat-to-ball skills that regularly lead to sub-par OBPs. Mondesi has fanned in 30.2% of his plate appearances against just a 4.4% walk rate, and he’s a career .244/.280/.408 hitter in the big leagues. That includes a rough .140/.204/.140 showing in 2022, though that came in a tiny sample of just 54 plate appearances.
Mondesi has tantalized scouts, fans and evaluators for years now, but the Red Sox will be the first team other than the Royals to try to both keep Mondesi healthy and maximize the return on those raw tools. They’re only acquiring a year of his services, as despite his struggles to remain on the field, Mondesi has racked up over five years of Major League service time through his various stints on the injured list. He and the Royals avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $3.045MM salary back in December.
Boston’s need for up-the-middle help has skyrocketed over the offseason, with Xander Bogaerts heading to the Padres via free agency and Trevor Story now sidelined for at least a significant portion of the 2023 campaign following internal brace surgery in his right elbow. Boston signed Adam Duvall to play center field, thereby pushing Enrique Hernandez to the middle infield. With Mondesi now on board, he can likely handle the bulk of the workload at shortstop, when healthy, while Hernandez slides over to second base. Christian Arroyo remains on hand as a utility option who could play second base regularly, should Hernandez need to slide over to shortstop in the event of a Mondesi injury.
As for the Royals, the trade of Mondesi represents a disappointing outcome regarding a player they once viewed as a potential foundational piece. The long-term outlook of the infield now contains a new cast of characters, highlighted by Bobby Witt Jr. and defensive standout Nicky Lopez. The trade of Mondesi should open up some additional playing time for 24-year-old Michael Massey, whom the organization hopes can be a prominent piece of the infield for years to come.
Kansas City is acquiring three years of Taylor, an affordable and talented lefty reliever who missed the 2022 season due to a back injury. When he’s been healthy, Taylor has pitched 102 1/3 innings at the MLB level, logging a 3.69 ERA with an impressive 29.4% strikeout rate against a more troubling 10% walk rate. Taylor averages nearly 95 mph on his heater, has average ground-ball tendencies and owns a hefty 15% swinging-strike rate in his career — a possible portent for even more strikeout upside. He’s set to earn $1.025MM in 2023 and is controllable through 2025 via arbitration.
Talented as Taylor is, he’s had his own share of health troubles in his pro career. The lefty missed time with shoulder tendinitis in 2020 before dealing with a back strain late in 2021 and then missing the 2022 season due to a continuation of that back issue. He’s also struggled against right-handed hitters, yielding a .283/.375/.429 batting line as opposed to a .173/.247/.228 slash against lefties.
It’s the second trade in as many days for the Royals, who’ve now trimmed a bit more than $6.5MM off their 2023 payroll by trading Mondesi and center fielder Michael A. Taylor. The newly acquired Josh Taylor and lefty Evan Sisk, acquired in last night’s trade with the Twins, give Kansas City a pair of lefties who could impact the bullpen this season. It also frees up some additional resources for the Royals to continue their reported pursuit of a Zack Greinke reunion or perhaps another bat to add elsewhere in the lineup.
Univision’s Mike Rodriguez first reported that the two sides were getting close to a Mondesi trade. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported that a deal sending Mondesi and a PTBNL to the Red Sox in exchange for Taylor was in place (Twitter link).