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Reds Sign Jake Bauers To Minor League Deal

By Steve Adams | December 20, 2021 at 12:07pm CDT

The Reds have signed first baseman/outfielder Jake Bauers to a minor league contract, per a team announcement. The VC Sports Group client will be in Major League Spring Training as a non-roster invitee. Bauers was eligible to sign a minor league deal even during the lockout due to the fact that he was outrighted off the Mariners’ 40-man roster before the 2021-22 offseason officially began (and is thus technically a minor league free agent).

Still just 26 years of age, Bauers isn’t terribly far removed from ranking as one of the sport’s top 100 prospects, per both Baseball America and MLB.com, in the 2016-17 and 2017-18 offseasons. He’s been a part of two notable three-team trades, going from San Diego to Tampa Bay in the Wil Myers/Steven Souza/Trea Turner/Joe Ross blockbuster (also including the Nats) and also going from Tampa Bay to Cleveland in the Carlos Santana/Edwin Encarnacion/Yandy Diaz deal (which also included the Mariners).

Bauers has logged 1126 plate appearances in the big leagues over the past three seasons but hasn’t produced in Tampa Bay, Cleveland or in Seattle (where he landed following a third minor trade this past summer). He’s a career .213/.307/.348 hitter with 27 home runs, 15 stolen bases and a 26.4% strikeout rate. Bauers has drawn a free pass in 11.5% of his Major League plate appearances, which is well above the league-average, but strikeouts and a general lack of hard contact have suppressed his offensive contributions.

That said, on a minor league pact, there’s little harm in seeing if another change of scenery will bring about better results. Bauers is a career .266/.363/.417 hitter in Triple-A and had near-identical numbers at the Double-A level. He’s drawn average or better defensive marks both as a corner outfielder and a first baseman in the Majors. And, if he were to put it together and tap into that prospect potential, he’d be controllable via arbitration for three years beyond the 2022 season.

The Reds aren’t likely to have much of a need at first base, barring an injury to Joey Votto, but their outfield mix is a bit less certain. Jesse Winker is locked into left field, and Tyler Naquin played his way into at least a platoon role with a solid showing at the plate through 127 games last season. However, the team hasn’t received durability and/or consistent productivity from any of Nick Senzel, Shogo Akiyama or Aristides Aquino. Twenty-six-year-old speedster TJ Friedl might’ve earned himself some consideration with a .290/.361/.419 showing in 36 plate appearances down the stretch last season, too, but Cincinnati’s outfield setup is hardly written in stone. Add in the likely advent of a designated hitter in the National League, and Bauers could at least play his way into a bench role with a productive Spring Training effort.

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Cincinnati Reds Transactions Jake Bauers

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Andrew Suarez Signs With NPB’s Yakult Swallows

By Steve Adams | December 20, 2021 at 8:44am CDT

Left-hander Andrew Suarez has signed with the Yakult Swallows of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball for the 2022 season, per a club announcement (link via Yahoo Japan). It’ll be the first season in Japan for the lefty, who spent the 2021 season with the LG Twins of the Korea Baseball Organization.

Suarez, 29, will head to Japan on the heels of an outstanding season in the KBO. The lefty in 23 games (22 of them starts) and worked to a pristine 2.18 ERA and 2.72 FIP with an impressive 26.6% strikeout rate, a solid 8.7% walk rate and a huge 57.1% ground-ball rate through a total of 115 2/3 innings. Given that success and his relative youth — Suarez won’t turn 30 until next September — it stands to reason that a strong season in Japan would go a long ways toward putting him back on the MLB map as a free agent.

Suarez, after all, is only three seasons removed from a pretty sound debut campaign with the 2018 Giants. That season saw the 2015 second-rounder rack up 160 1/3 innings of 4.49 ERA ball with a 19.5% strikeout rate that was below the league average but a 6.8% walk rate and 51.3% grounder rate that were both considerably better than the average big league pitcher.

Despite that solid showing and some shakiness at the back of the San Francisco rotation in his sophomore season, Suarez was used almost exclusively as a reliever the following year in 2019. He didn’t take well to the change, scuffling to a 5.79 ERA in a small-ish sample of 32 2/3 innings. Suarez saw even less MLB time in 2020 after the acquisitions of Kevin Gausman, Drew Smyly, Tyler Anderson and Trevor Cahill; he logged just 9 2/3 frames out of the bullpen that season and had his contract purchased by the KBO’s Twins that offseason.

In an odd coincidence, Suarez will continue down a similar career path to 32-year-old righty and similarly named Albert Suarez (no relation). Both made their Major League debuts with the Giants within the past five years and have seen their only MLB action come with San Francisco — Albert from 2016-17 (4.51 ERA in 115 2/3 innings) and Andrew from 2018-20 (4.66 ERA in 202 2/3 innings). The similarities don’t stop there; Albert has spent the past three seasons pitching for the same Swallows club that Andrew will now join. Albert departed the Yakult organization as a free agent this winter and signed in the KBO — albeit with the Samsung Lions and not Andrew’s former Twins.

Time will tell whether either pitcher will make it back to the big leagues, but the younger Suarez has certainly taken some promising steps down that path. Andrew’s 2021 campaign in Japan will be particularly worth monitoring for big league clubs who are eyeing 2022 rotation help.

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Nippon Professional Baseball Transactions Andrew Suarez

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Colin Rea Signs With Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks

By Mark Polishuk | December 19, 2021 at 10:01pm CDT

The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks have announced the signing of right-hander Colin Rea (as per Yahoo Japan).  Rea will return to the Hawks for the second straight season, and after something of a rushed departure last summer.

After initially signing with the Japanese club last winter, Rea pitched quite well (2.03 ERA, 25.33% strikeout rate) over 40 innings before he left the Hawks in August to be with his family, following the premature birth of his child back in the United States.  Rea ended up catching on with the Brewers on a minor league contract, resulting in 35 2/3 innings at Triple-A and then a single game in the big leagues, tossing six innings of bulk-pitcher duty in the Brew Crew’s second-last game of the regular season.

It was enough to put a fourth MLB season on Rea’s professional resume, as Rea tossed 134 1/3 innings with the Marlins and Padres in 2015-16 before Tommy John surgery interrupted his career.  He returned to throw 14 innings with the Cubs in 2020, and while the two sides worked out a one-year deal to avoid arbitration heading into the 2021 season, Rea was allowed to pursue that deal with the Hawks since he ultimately wasn’t in Chicago’s long-term plans.

Rea’s performance last season bodes well for more success in NPB, and his chances of re-establishing himself as a solid rotation candidate either in Japan or potentially for another return to a Major League team.  Originally a 12th-round pick for the Padres in the 2011 draft, Rea has worked as a starter for the majority of his career.  The 31-year-old isn’t a particularly hard thrower or a big strikeout pitcher, but he has a solid 3.68 ERA over 742 2/3 career innings in the minors, as well as a 4.90 ERA over his 154 1/3 frames at the big league level.

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Nippon Professional Baseball Transactions Colin Rea

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Freddy Galvis Agrees To Two-Year Deal With NPB’s Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks

By Mark Polishuk | December 18, 2021 at 10:14pm CDT

TODAY: Galvis’ deal could pay him up to $6MM, according to reports out of Japan (hat tip to The Associated Press).

DEC. 12: Galvis has agreed to a two-year contract, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (via Twitter).

DEC. 4: Infielder Freddy Galvis appears to be close to a move overseas, as reports from Yahoo Japan indicate that Galvis is nearing a contract with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball.

Should the move be finalized, it would count as a bit of a surprise.  While there hadn’t been much buzz about Galvis’ free agent market to date, he was widely expected to generate interest either for either contending or non-contending teams that were looking for a lower-cost middle infield option.

Instead, a move to Japan indicates that perhaps Galvis was worried about being caught up in a signing crunch that may take place for mid-to-lower tier free agents once the lockout ends.  The sheer volume of players looking for jobs may force some to settle for smaller guaranteed salaries or even minor league contracts.  If the Hawks are offering more security in the form of a multi-year contract and a guaranteed salary, taking such a deal would allow Galvis to sidestep the lockout entirely and instead focus only on his on-field preparations for 2022 (albeit in a whole new country and new league).

Galvis hit .242/.302/.407 with 14 home runs over 394 combined plate appearances with the Orioles and Phillies in 2021.  After signing a one-year, $1.5MM deal with Baltimore last winter, he was dealt to the Phils at the trade deadline, despite still being on the injured list recovering from a right quad strain.  Galvis ended up missing close to two months of the regular season, and his 104 games played represents his lowest total (2020 excepted) since he played 43 games in 2014.

The 32-year-old Galvis has been an everyday player for most of the last seven seasons, playing as an every shortstop (with significant chunks of time as a second baseman and third baseman) with the Padres, Blue Jays, Reds, Orioles, and in two different stints in Philadelphia.  With a modest .246/.292/.387 slash line over 4238 PA, Galvis relied more on strong glovework and some decent baserunning over his career, though he has shown some power on occasion, including a 23-homer season in 2019.

Most of the headlines about the offseason shortstop market have naturally focused on the superstars available in free agency, with Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Javier Baez, and Chris Taylor already finding new teams.  Carlos Correa and Trevor Story remain among the big-ticket names, and some clubs might wait to see where those two sign before attention can fully turn to the next tier of available shortstops.  With Galvis perhaps gone to the Hawks, it creates more opportunity for the likes of Andrelton Simmons, Jose Iglesias, or Jonathan Villar to find regular jobs with MLB teams that either miss out on Correa/Story or couldn’t afford them in the first place.

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Nippon Professional Baseball Transactions Freddy Galvis

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Matt Andriese To Sign With NPB’s Yomiuri Giants

By Darragh McDonald | December 18, 2021 at 7:15am CDT

Dec. 18: Andriese’s deal with the Yomiuri Giants is worth $2.1MM plus incentives, reports MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (via Twitter). That’s notably the exact sum Andriese earned with the Red Sox last season.

Dec. 16: Right-handed pitcher Matt Andriese has reportedly agreed to a deal with the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball, according to Yahoo Japan. The 32-year-old elected free agency at the end of September after being designated for assignment by the Mariners.

Andriese first cracked the big leagues with the Rays and spent parts of four seasons there, from 2015 to 2018. His most extensive MLB action was 2016, where he appeared in 29 games, 19 of them starts, logging 127 2/3 innings with an ERA of 4.37. Since that time, he’s gradually seen more time out of the bullpen, having only made one start in the past three seasons as he’s bounced to the Diamondbacks, Angels, Red Sox and Mariners.

Moving to the bullpen has seen him rack up more strikeouts, but without improvement in real results. After posting a 19.8% strikeout rate from 2015-2017, it’s been 24% in the subsequent four campaigns. Despite that, his ERA has jumped from 4.35 in those first three seasons to 4.98 since, although some advanced metrics are a bit more optimistic. (3.70 SIERA and 3.87 xFIP, for instance.)

For 2021, Andriese signed a one-year deal with the Red Sox with a $2.1MM guarantee and was given a chance to earn a role in the starting rotation. He eventually made 26 appearances out of Boston’s bullpen, logging 37 1/3 innings and putting up an ERA of 6.03, despite his decent strikeout and walk rates. He hit the IL with hamstring tendinitis on July 10th and was eventually released in August. He latched on with the Mariners a few weeks later and appeared in eight games for them, throwing 11 innings with an ERA of 2.45. Despite that good stretch, he lost his roster spot in the waning days of the season and wound up electing free agency. He finished the year with a solid final line of 48 1/3 total innings, strikeout rate of 22.5% and walk rate of 5.9%. Despite the 5.21 ERA, he was treated much kinder by the advanced metrics, as evidenced by his 3.66 SIERA and 4.02 xFIP.

Due to finishing the season without a 40-man roster spot, he would have been eligible to sign a minor league deal with an MLB club, even during the ongoing lockout. However, he will instead opt for the greater certainty of a secured roster spot in Japan. If he can have better luck translating those underlying metrics into real results, he could be an interesting candidate to return to North America a year from now.

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Nippon Professional Baseball Transactions Matt Andriese

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Rockies, Ty Blach Agree To Minor League Deal

By Anthony Franco | December 17, 2021 at 4:41pm CDT

The Rockies have reached agreement on a minor league contract with southpaw Ty Blach, reports Thomas Harding of MLB.com (on Twitter). As Harding notes, it marks a homecoming for Blach, a Denver native.

Blach has pitched in parts of four big league seasons, the bulk of which have come with the division-rival Giants. He shouldered a fairly significant workload between 2017-18 in San Francisco, tallying 282 1/3 innings of 4.56 ERA/4.18 FIP ball during that two-year stretch. That’s decent back-of-the-rotation production, as Blach demonstrated solid control and kept the ball on the ground at a strong 49.7% clip.

Even during his best seasons, Blach never missed many bats though. He’s one of the softer throwers around the league, averaging right around 90 MPH with his sinker. Blach only punched out 12.3% of opponents during that stretch (a mark that’s around ten points lower than the league average for starters) and the Giants placed him on waivers in July 2019. The Orioles claimed Blach and gave him five starts, but he posted an 11.32 ERA across 20 2/3 innings in Baltimore before being outrighted off their 40-man roster.

Blach remained in the organization as a non-roster player, but he underwent Tommy John Surgery in July 2020. He missed a bit more than a year recovering from that procedure, then spent the last few months of the 2021 season rehabbing in the low minors. Blach elected minor league free agency after not getting another call to the bigs in Baltimore.

The 31-year-old will now join his hometown organization in hopes of getting back to the majors for the first time in three seasons. He can presumably serve as either rotation or long relief depth for Colorado, which is likely to open the year with a starting staff of Germán Márquez, Kyle Freeland, Antonio Senzatela, Austin Gomber and Peter Lambert after losing Jon Gray in free agency.

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Colorado Rockies Transactions Ty Blach

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Cubs Announce Seven Minor League Deals

By Steve Adams | December 17, 2021 at 3:00pm CDT

The Cubs announced a series of minor league deals with invitations to Major League Spring Training on Friday, signing infielder Dixon Machado, infielder Ildemaro Vargas, righty Jonathan Holder, catcher P.J. Higgins and lefty Locke St. John. The Cubs also confirmed previously reported minor league deals with lefty Stephen Gonsalves and righty Mark Leiter Jr.

Machado, 30 in February, spent parts of four seasons as a backup infielder with the Tigers from 2015-18 before spending the 2019 season with the Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate in Iowa. From there, he signed on with the Lotte Giants of the Korea Baseball Organization, serving as their primary shortstop in 2020-21 and hitting a combined .280/.358/.393 with 17 home runs, 52 doubles, two triples and 23 steals (in 29 tries) over the life of 1095 plate appearances. Regarded as a quality defender, Machado hit just .227/.285/.295 in 505 Major League plate appearances in Detroit, though he posted a .261/.371/.480 slash in 102 games/393 plate appearances with the Cubs’ Iowa affiliate in 2019.

The 30-year-old Vargas spent nine game with the Cubs in 2021 — a season he split between Chicago, Arizona and Pittsburgh. A versatile defender who’s appeared at all four infield positions and both outfield corners in the big leagues, Vargas is a switch-hitter with a .233/.268/.355 batting line in parts of five MLB seasons with four teams. (He’s also been with the Twins, in addition to three already-listed clubs.) He’s had much more success in Triple-A, where he’s a .324/.368/.472 batter in 1736 plate appearances.

Holder, 28, looked to be on the path toward cementing himself in the Yankees’ bullpen as recently as 2017-18, when he logged a combined 105 1/3 innings of 3.42 ERA ball with a 22.6% strikeout rate and a tiny 6.1% walk rate. Holder had a pair of IL stints for shoulder troubles in 2019, however, the second of which ended his season in early August. He finished that year with an ugly 6.31 ERA, and he managed just a 4.98 mark in 21 2/3 innings with the Yankees a year later, posting career-worst walk and strikeout rates along the way.

This will actually be Holder’s second season in the Cubs organization. He signed a non-guaranteed, $750K Major League deal with Chicago last winter after being non-tendered by the Yankees, but recurred shoulder woes wiped out the year for him. Holder opened the season on the 10-day IL with a shoulder strain, moved to the 60-day on April 26, and never returned. He ended the season on the Major League injured list and would’ve been considered a big league free agent who was ineligible to sign, but it seems (based on Holder’s transaction log at MLB.com) that this deal was actually finalized on Nov. 19 but simply not announced until today.

It’s a similar story for the 28-year-old Higgins, who was on the Cubs’ Major League injured list at season’s end but became a free agent after being outrighted in early November. Like Holder, his player page at MLB.com indicates that this deal came together on Nov. 19 but wasn’t immediately announced. (It should be noted that it’s commonplace for teams to hold off on announcing minor league deals/Spring Training invites individually and instead announce them in batches like this.)

Higgins made his big league debut with the Cubs this past season, appearing in nine games and going 1-for-23 at the plate. A 12th-rounder back in the Cubs’ 2015 draft, Higgins has spent his entire career in the organization, batting .273/.359/.370 in just over 2000 minor league plate appearances.

As for St. John, who’ll turn 29 in January, he was a 32nd-round pick by the Tigers back in 2014 and briefly appeared in the Majors with the 2019 Rangers. He yielded four runs in 6 2/3 innings during that brief cup of coffee but has a solid minor league track record, with a 3.44 ERA, a 22.6% strikeout rate and an 8.7% walk rate in 483 1/3 innings (including 79 innings of 4.10 ERA ball with a 28.5% strikeout rate in Triple-A).

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Chicago Cubs Transactions Dixon Machado Ildemaro Vargas Jonathan Holder Locke St. John P.J. Higgins

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KBO’s SSG Landers Re-Sign Wilmer Font

By Steve Adams | December 17, 2021 at 1:16pm CDT

The SSG Landers of the Korea Baseball Organization have officially re-signed right-hander Wilmer Font to a one-year deal that includes a $1.1MM base salary and a $200K signing bonus, tweets Daniel Kim of MBC Sports. Font can also earn an additional $200K via incentives.

It’ll be the second season with the Landers for Font, who earned an even $1MM in a successful debut campaign. The 31-year-old righty stepped right into the Landers’ rotation and made 25 starts, pitching to a 3.46 ERA with a strong 26% strikeout rate, a 7.5% walk rate and a 55% ground-ball rate that towers over any ground-ball percentage posted by Font during his six big league seasons. Font also induced a whopping 26 infield flies — just over a quarter of the fly-balls he allowed were harmless pop-ups — and surrendered only a dozen long balls on the season (0.74 HR/9).

Prior to signing in South Korea, Font had quickly become a well-traveled big league journeyman. While the results weren’t strong, teams continued to be enamored of Font’s raw movement and velocity; he was designated for assignment four times from April 2018 to July 2019 but traded each time before even reaching waivers, as he went from the Dodgers to the A’s, from Oakland to Tampa Bay, from the Rays to the Mets, and from the Mets to the Blue Jays.

Along the way, Font posted an unsightly 5.54 ERA but averaged better than a punchout per frame while sitting just shy of 95 mph with his fastball. His best work came with the Rays, for whom he pitched to a 3.o7 ERA with a 22.8% strikeout rate and 9.6% walk rate through 41 innings from 2018-19. However, Font struggled with Tampa Bay early in 2019, pushing the Rays to DFA him — at which point the Mets offered up a young pitcher (minor league righty Neraldo Catalina) to take their own shot on him.

With another strong season in the KBO, it stands to reason that Font could garner free-agent interest from either Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan or from Major League teams. The newfound ground-ball rate is of particular intrigue, given Font’s career 38% mark in 151 2/3 Major League innings. For now, he’ll take home a second straight seven-figure salary — no small sum for a player who has spent 14 years in professional baseball but had yet to even go through arbitration in the Majors.

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Korea Baseball Organization Transactions Wilmer Font

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Cubs, Mark Leiter Jr. Agree To Minor League Deal

By Steve Adams | December 17, 2021 at 11:08am CDT

The Cubs have a minor league deal in place with free-agent righty Mark Leiter Jr., per their transaction log at MLB.com. As a minor league free agent who was not on a 40-man roster or Major League injured list at season’s end, Leiter was eligible to sign a minor league deal during the lockout.

It’s been three years since Leiter — the son of 11-year MLB veteran Mark Leiter, nephew of 19-year veteran Al Leiter and cousin of 2021 No. 2 overall draft pick Jack Leiter — last pitched in the Majors. He split the 2018 campaign with the Phillies, who selected him in the 22nd round of the 2013 draft, and the Blue Jays, who claimed him off waivers from Philadelphia in Sept. 2018. The righty logged 114 innings through 47 games (36 relief appearances, 11 starts) between Philly and Toronto from 2017-18, pitching to a 5.54 ERA with a 20.5% strikeout rate and 8.3% walk rate.

Leiter would’ve competed for a spot with the 2019 Jays had he been healthy, but he was diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament during Spring Training that year and missed the season due to Tommy John surgery. He signed a minor league deal with the D-backs in Feb. 2020, but he was not included in Arizona’s 60-man player pool when the league returned from the Covid-19 shutdown (as was the case with most minor league signees of this nature).

Leiter finally did make it back to the mound in 2021, spending the season with the Double-A and Triple-A affiliate for the Tigers. His work in Triple-A was particularly sharp, as he totaled 89 innings of 3.34 ERA ball with an outstanding 30.5% strikeout rate, a strong 6.6% walk rate and an above-average 46.9% ground-ball rate through 17 appearances (15 starts). Those numbers fall in line with Leiter’s prior success in Triple-A, where he now has a career 3.60 ERA, 29.1% strikeout rate and 6.9% walk rate in 147 1/3 innings.

The Cubs have strengthened their rotation considerably this offseason, signing Marcus Stroman and effectively being gifted left-hander Wade Miley when the Reds surprisingly placed him on waivers. They’ll join mainstay Kyle Hendricks and righties Adbert Alzolay and Alec Mills in the rotation, barring further MLB additions after the lockout. Leiter could vie for a bullpen job this spring (assuming his deal contains a Spring Training invite) or head to Triple-A Iowa to give the Cubs some experienced rotation depth.

Chicago has also added lefty Stephen Gonsalves on a minor league pact and selected lefty Conner Menez from the Giants in the minor league Rule 5 Draft this month, adding some additional non-roster depth even as transactions of the Major League variety have been frozen.

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Chicago Cubs Transactions Mark Leiter Jr.

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NPB’s Orix Buffaloes Sign Breyvic Valera, Jesse Biddle, Jacob Waguespack

By Steve Adams | December 17, 2021 at 9:13am CDT

Infielder Breyvic Valera, left-hander Jesse Biddle and right-hander Jacob Waguespack have all signed with the Orix Buffaloes of Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan, the team announced this week (link via Yahoo Japan). MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets that Valera will earn $1MM on his deal.

The 29-year-old Valera ended the 2021 season on the Blue Jays’ roster but was granted his release earlier this month so that he could pursue this opportunity. He played 37 games and tallied 97 plate appearances with a .253/.313/.356 batting line for Toronto this past season.

While Valera has had a difficult time sticking on one team’s 40-man roster and has been designated for assignment on six different occasions, he’s also been claimed off waivers four times and traded once — illustrating the manner in which his defensive versatility and strong minor league production hold appeal to clubs. The switch-hitter has appeared in 93 big league games but spent time with five teams, hitting .236/.302/.322 in 235 plate appearances while seeing action at second base, shortstop, third base and in right field. Valrea has been much more productive in the upper minors, evidenced by a .303/.377/.443 batting line in 1730 Triple-A plate appearances.

Biddle, 30, has pitched in parts of four MLB seasons, with the bulk of his work coming as a member of the Braves. The former No. 27 overall pick has also spent time with the Rangers, Reds and Mariners, pitching to a combined 5.07 ERA in 103 big league frames. Biddle spent the early portion of his pro career as a starter and, for a couple seasons, ranked among the game’s top 100 prospects at Baseball America and MLB.com.

Biddle struggled between Double-A and Triple-A in 2015, however, and he wound up requiring Tommy John surgery following that season. He missed all of the 2016 campaign a good portion of the 2017 season as well while recovering, and he’s worked exclusively out of the bullpen since making it back to the mound. He’s been hit fairly hard in the Majors but posted strong minor league numbers as a reliever, including a 2.67 ERA and a whopping 37.7% strikeout rate through 33 2/3 innings with Triple-A Gwinnett this past season.

Waguespack, 28, made 13 starts for the 2019 Jays and held his own with a 4.38 ERA, an 18.8% strikeout rate and an 8.7% walk rate. His 2020 season was a struggle, however, as he was tagged for 16 earned runs on 27 hits and nine walks in just 17 2/3 innings of work. In all, Waguespack carries a 5.08 ERA in 95 2/3 innings at the big league level.

As with Valera and Biddle, the minor league track record on Waguespack is quite a bit better. He’s notched a 3.86 ERA in parts of six minor league campaigns since being selected by the Pirates way down the board in the 37th round of the 2012 draft. Making it to the big leagues at all is something of a feat for a 37th-round selection, and Waguespack will now head to Japan and secure the first notable, guaranteed salary of his professional career.

All three players figure to earn more playing in Japan than they’d have received in 2022 had they remained in North America. Valera would’ve been in line for a pre-arbitration salary (i.e. near the league minimum) and, as his transaction history makes abundantly clear, was not a lock to last the whole season on the roster. Biddle and Waguespack would’ve been minor league free agents who’d likely command minor league contracts with non-roster invitations to Spring Training. Signing in Japan also creates the possibility for each of the three to earn raises if they find success and re-sign in NPB or the KBO for future seasons. With strong enough results, it’s plausible that any of the three could garner interest in a big league return at some point down the road.

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Nippon Professional Baseball Transactions Breyvic Valera Jacob Waguespack Jesse Biddle

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    Twins Place Royce Lewis On 10-Day Injured List

    Tigers Designate John Brebbia For Assignment

    D-Backs Sign Matt Foster To Minor League Deal

    Yankees’ Jake Cousins Weighing Elbow Surgery

    Marlins To Select Freddy Tarnok

    Dodgers Plan To Activate Emmet Sheehan This Week

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