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Reds Extend Qualifying Offer To Nick Castellanos

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The Reds have unsurprisingly extended a qualifying offer to free agent outfield Nick Castellanos. Given that Castellanos just recently chose to opt out of the final two years and $34MM remaining on his contract, it should be a foregone conclusion that Castellanos will reject the one-year, $18.4MM qualifying offer and enter free agency.

The sum total of the last couple days of decisions should lead to an interesting offseason saga for Castellanos. The last time he was a free agent, it required patience for the slugger to ultimately land a uniquely structured long-term deal with the Reds. The 29-year-old ultimately only spent two years with the Reds, the latter of which produced an All-Star campaign. Still, this time around, Castellanos will be entering his age-30 season, he has a qualifying offer attached, and the CBA is set to expire in December. The stars say it will be quite some time until Castellanos knows what uniform he will don in 2022.

At the base of it all, however, is a consistent right-handed power hitter coming off a .309/.362/.576 season with 34 home runs and 100 runs driven in. The gaudy offensive numbers amounted to a 3.3 rWAR season, the most robust of Castellanos’ career. He put up 4.2 WAR by Fangraphs’ measure, which was also a career high. In short, the bat plays.

Counterpoint: Castellanos continues to put up suspect defensive numbers. His glovework in right field merited -7 defensive runs saved and -1.5 UZR, numbers that are supported by the eye test and a longstanding reputation as a subpar defender. Now, the expectation is that there will be a universal designated hitter next season, and if that comes to pass, there should be a robust market for Castellanos. Until that’s put in ink, however, his defensive deficiencies may curtail the bidding for his services.

Dodgers Outright Scott Alexander, Two Others

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The Dodgers outrighted three players off the 40-man roster this evening, the team informed reporters (including Juan Toribio of MLB.com). Relievers Scott Alexander and Jimmie Sherfy and utilityman Andy Burns have all passed through waivers unclaimed. All three players have the right to become minor league free agents.

Alexander is the most notable of the group, as he’d been a productive bullpen option for manager Dave Roberts when healthy. That’s a rather significant qualifier, though, as he hasn’t eclipsed twenty innings in any of the past three seasons. Alexander posted a sub-4.00 ERA in all four seasons as a Dodger (and in two preceding years with the Royals), but he’s been plagued by injuries in recent years.

The southpaw missed a good portion of the 2019 campaign with forearm inflammation, and he missed around four months of this past season because of a shoulder issue. Alexander didn’t pitch after July 19, and Los Angeles elected to clear a 40-man roster spot rather than bring him back for his final year of club control on a projected $1.3MM arbitration salary. Before the injury, the 32-year-old put up numbers right in line with his career trend. He’d tossed 15 1/3 frames of relief with a strong 2.93 ERA, making up for a minuscule 11.9% strikeout percentage with one of the game’s highest ground-ball rates (61.1%).

Sherfy also ended the season on the injured list, in his case due to a bout of elbow inflammation.  L.A. had claimed him from the archrival Giants not long before, and Sherfy’s time in Dodger blue looks likely to consist of just four appearances. Between San Francisco and Los Angeles, the 29-year-old tossed 15 frames of 4.20 ERA ball in 2021. He spent the 2017-19 campaigns with the D-Backs and owns a 3.28 ERA with roughly average strikeout and walk rates (23.8% and 8.3%, respectively) in 60 1/3 big league innings.

Burns played in just nine regular season games before being outrighted off the roster. He was re-selected back after Justin Turner’s season-ending injury during the NLCS necessitated the club adding some extra infield depth. Burns didn’t wind up appearing in a playoff game, though, and he’s likely headed back to the open market. The 31-year-old hit .232/.361/.412 over 216 plate appearances with Triple-A Oklahoma City this year but has very limited MLB experience.

Drew Hutchison, Ian Krol Elect Free Agency

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The Tigers announced this afternoon that right-hander Drew Hutchison and lefty Ian Krol were removed from the 40-man roster and cleared outright waivers. Both players had more than enough service time to elect minor league free agency.

Hutchison had a pair of separate stints with the Tigers this past season, his first big league action in three years. A back-of-the-rotaion option with the Blue Jays and Pirates early in his career, Hutchison started all nineteen of his Triple-A outings this year but came out of the bullpen for seven of his nine big league appearances. He ultimately worked 21 1/3 frames of 2.11 ERA ball at the MLB level, but his peripherals were far less impressive than that bottom line run prevention mark.

The 31-year-old walked 11 of the 91 big league hitters he faced (12.1%), while striking out just ten (11%). Because of those poor strikeout and walk numbers, Hutchison posted just a 5.98 SIERA, and the Detroit front office determined it best to part ways rather than bring him back via arbitration, where he’d been projected to land a salary in the $900K range. To his credit, Hutchison had a decent season with Triple-A Toledo, tossing 88 1/3 frames of 3.77 ERA ball with serviceable peripherals. That solid work should earn him some minor league offers with Spring Training invitations this winter.

Krol also made it back to the majors for the first time since 2018. The 30-year-old worked 18 2/3 frames of relief, pitching to a 4.34 ERA with a below-average 20.9% strikeout rate but a fine 9.3% walk percentage. He’d also been projected for a $900K arbitration salary but will instead hit the open market in search of a new opportunity.

Angels Select Brendon Davis

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This afternoon, the Angels selected infielder Brendon Davis onto their 40-man roster. The move prevents the 24-year-old from qualifying for minor league free agency.

The Dodgers originally selected Davis in the fifth round of the 2015 draft out of a California high school. He spent the next two seasons in Los Angeles’ farm system before being sent to the Rangers alongside Willie Calhoun and A.J. Alexy at the 2017 trade deadline in exchange for Yu Darvish.

While Davis put up decent numbers at High-A in 2018, his production cratered the following season upon a promotion to Double-A. After last year’s canceled minor league season, the Angels selected Davis in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft. That might turn out to be a feather in the cap of the Angels’ scouting department, as Davis mashed across three levels this year.

Assigned back to High-A to start the season, Davis hit that level around at a .280/.337/.535 clip. That earned him a second crack at Double-A, and he looked far readier this time around. After hitting .268/.366/.536 in Double-A, Davis earned his first bump up to Triple-A. He immediately took to the minors’ top level with his hottest tear yet, posting a .333/.409/.641 mark over 133 trips to the plate to close out the year.

That breakout season evidently impressed Angels’ brass enough they decided to dedicate him a spot on the 40-man rather than risk losing him this winter. Given his lack of Triple-A experience, Davis seems likely to open the 2022 season back with the Angels’ top affiliate in Salt Lake. Were he to pick up where he left off, he might soon be an option at the big league level.

Jakob Junis Elects Free Agency

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The Royals announced this afternoon that right-hander Jakob Junis cleared outright waivers. He’s elected minor league free agency, as is his right as a player with three-plus years of big league service.

Junis has spent a decade in the Kansas City organization, making his MLB debut in 2017. He broke in with passable back-of-the-rotation production over his first couple years, but his numbers have gone backwards recently. Junis managed just a 5.24 ERA in 175 1/3 innings in 2019, and he’s been limited to 64 2/3 frames of 5.71 ball since the start of 2020.

While Junis typically posts solid strikeout and walk rates, he’s also given up a fair amount of hard contact. That’s been reflected in a bloated home run rate, as Junis has served up more longballs than average in each of the last four seasons despite pitching his home games at spacious Kauffman Stadium.

The Royals have graduated a crop of highly-regarded pitching prospects over the past two seasons. The influx of younger talent temporarily bumped Junis to the bullpen midseason, but he struggled over ten outings in that new role. Eligible for arbitration for a second time this winter, he’d been projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for a $1.8MM salary. The front office determined not to make him that kind of financial commitment, and they’ll cut him loose a few weeks before the official non-tender deadline. It remains to be seen whether the 29-year-old Junis will secure a big league deal on the open market or be limited to minor league offers with Spring Training invitations.

Phillies Outright Six Players

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The Phillies announced that six players — outfielders Odúbel Herrera and Travis Jankowski, infielder Ronald Torreyes, catcher Andrew Knapp and right-handers Ramón Rosso and J.D. Hammer — have all cleared outright waivers. Each member of that group has elected free agency.

Herrera is the most notable of this bunch, although it was apparent his time in the Philly organization was nearing its end when the team declined his option on Wednesday. He has fewer than six seasons of big league service, so he’d technically remained eligible for arbitration, but he was an obvious non-tender decision at that point. Rather than wait until next month’s non-tender deadline, the Phils will cut him loose and clear a roster spot a few weeks early.

The move officially brings to a close Herrera’s six-season tenure in Philadelphia. Selected out of the Rangers’ organization in the 2014 Rule 5 draft, the left-handed hitter offered strong production on both sides of the ball over his first few major league campaigns. The Phils rewarded him with a long-term extension in December 2016, but his production started to slip by 2018.

Herrera performed terribly for the first month and a half in 2019 before being arrested and charged with domestic assault. MLB suspended him for the remainder of that season, and Herrera spent all of last year in the minor leagues after being outrighted off the roster. He returned to the majors in 2021, serving as Philly’s primary center fielder and hitting a slightly below-average .260/.310/.416 over 492 plate appearances.

Knapp has been a career-long Phillie, appearing in the majors in each of the past five seasons. The switch-hitting backstop has worked primarily in a reserve capacity, mashing in a brief 2020 run before stumbling to a .152/.215/.214 mark over 159 trips to the plate this past season. Projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for a $1.2MM salary if tendered an arbitration contract, he’ll instead be let go as the Phils look elsewhere for a J.T. Realmuto backup.

Torreyes and Jankowski have bounced around the league as role players in recent seasons. Both players were arbitration-eligible, with Torreyes projected for a $1.6MM salary and Jankowski slated to make around $900K. The Phils will let both go and look elsewhere to fill their respective utility infielder and backup outfielder roles. Torreyes hit .242/.286/.346 in 344 plate appearances in 2021; Jankowski slashed .252/.364/.351 in 157 tallies at the dish.

Neither Rosso nor Hammer had been eligible for arbitration, but the front office decided to reallocate their spots on the 40-man roster. Rosso posted a 6.11 ERA/4.95 SIERA over 17 2/3 combined MLB innings between 2020-21. Hammer owns a 4.38 ERA/5.07 SIERA in 39 frames dating back to 2019.

Cardinals Outright Max Moroff, Justin Williams

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The Cardinals announced Friday that they’ve outrighted infielder Max Moroff and outfielder Justin Williams to Triple-A Memphis. Moroff posted a meager .125 OPS in a tiny sample (16 plate appearances) in 2021, while Williams managed only a .531 mark in 137 trips to the plate.

Though neither player has yet contributed much in the Major Leagues, Williams comes with the greater pedigree. After arriving in the Cardinals’ system (alongside Genesis Cabrera and Roel Ramirez) in the 2018 Tommy Pham deal with the Rays, the outfielder put together a sterling .296/.372/.484 line in the upper minors in 2019. He had a similarly strong line (.274/.307/.560) in a short stint in Triple-A this year, but he’s not managed to translate his tools into big-league production.

Moroff has appeared in parts of five big league campaigns, never appearing in more than 56 games in a given season. The switch-hitting utilityman owns a .175/.264/.301 mark in 260 cumulative big league plate appearances. Both Williams and Moroff will be eligible for minor league free agency.

Justin Wilson Exercises 2022 Player Option

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The Reds announced this afternoon that southpaw Justin Wilson has exercised a player option to return to Cincinnati in 2022. He’ll lock in a $2.3MM salary.

Wilson signed a fairly complex deal with the Yankees last offseason. Guaranteed a $2.85MM salary for 2021, Wilson could either opt-in to next year’s $2.3MM salary or decline the option. Doing so would’ve forced the team to decide whether to exercise a $7.15MM option or buy him out for $1.15MM.

There’s no chance the Reds — who acquired Wilson alongside Luis Cessa in a midseason deal — would’ve exercised their end of the pact. Not only has Cincinnati signaled a clear desire to shed payroll, Wilson is coming off the worst season of his career. The veteran southpaw hadn’t posted an ERA higher than 3.66 during any year from 2017-20, but that mark spiked to 5.29 as Wilson’s swing-and-miss plummeted. After consistently punching out close to or more than 30% of opposing hitters over the past half-decade, he fanned just 19.5% of batters faced this past season and generated whiffs on a tiny 8.6% of his offerings.

To his credit, Wilson did post a 2.81 ERA in sixteen frames with Cincinnati after the trade. That’s obviously far better than his 7.50 mark in pinstripes, but his peripherals were generally unimpressive with both clubs. The 34-year-old will try to right the ship and again cement himself as a trustworthy high-leverage arm in a return run at Great American Ball Park.

Orioles Announce Series Of Outrights

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NOVEMBER 5: The O’s formally announced the outrights of Severino, Diplan and Greene on Friday evening. Additionally, Baltimore announced that right-handers Chris Ellis and Spenser Watkins and catcher Nick Ciuffo have cleared waivers. Ellis has already elected minor league free agency, and Watkins and Ciuffo will also have that right.

Ellis made six starts for the O’s after being claimed off waivers from the Rays. He worked to a 2.49 ERA in 25 1/3 innings but did so with underwhelming peripherals after struggling in Triple-A. Watkins posted an 8.07 ERA over 54 2/3 frames during his first major league action. Ciuffo appeared in just two big league games at the very tail end of the season.

NOVEMBER 3: The Orioles have outrighted catcher Pedro Severino and right-handers Marcos Diplan and Conner Greene to Triple-A Norfolk.  According to MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko, all three players will elect free agency rather than accept the outright assignment.

Severino is the most experienced name of the trio, with parts of seven MLB seasons under his belt (the last three in Baltimore).  Severino was projected to earn $3.1MM in arbitration this winter, but was seen as a non-tender candidate following a season that saw him hit .248/.303/.383 with 11 home runs over 419 plate appearances.

The 28-year-old shouldn’t have much trouble catching on somewhere as a platoon partner or backup catcher.  As for the Orioles, Nick Ciuffo is the only catcher in the organization with Major League experience, but the O’s are expected to add another low-cost veteran backstop this winter, and star prospect Adley Rutschman is expected to make his MLB debut at some point in 2022.

Diplan made his Major League debut in 2021, with a 4.50 ERA over 30 innings out of the Orioles bullpen.  A veteran of seven minor league seasons with the Orioles, Twins, Brewers, and Rangers, 2021 was Diplan’s first season as a full-time reliever, though he had gotten an increasingly large share of bullpen work by 2019.  He showed some solid improvements to his strikeout and walk rates with Norfolk this season and even pitched in the Futures Game during All-Star week.

Greene also got his first taste of MLB action this year, posting a 7.11 ERA over 25 1/3 combined innings with the Orioles and Dodgers.  Beginning the season with the O’s, Greene was claimed on waivers by Los Angeles and then claimed back by Baltimore, all within the span of less than three weeks in August.  Greene has a live fastball, but he has yet to translate that heater into big strikeout numbers or even consistent results in the minors, with a 4.34 ERA over 729 2/3 career innings on the farm.

Giants To Decline Johnny Cueto’s Option

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As expected, the Giants have declined their $22MM club option for next season on right-hander Johnny Cueto, tweets Jon Heyman of the MLB Network. The veteran hurler will instead receive a $5MM buyout and hit the open market.

The call on the option has long been a mere formality, as Cueto has settled in as a back-of-the-rotation arm over his past couple seasons. The two-time All-Star missed most of the 2018-19 campaigns on account of an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery. He had a couple of minor injured list stints this year but has generally been a capable innings eater over the past two seasons.

Since the start of 2020, Cueto has tossed 178 innings with a 4.55 ERA/4.26 FIP. The 35-year-old has a better than average 7.3% walk percentage in that time, but he’s only fanned 20.1% of opponents. Cueto doesn’t throw as hard or induce as many whiffs as he did during his peak days with the Reds, but he’s a capable strike-thrower who could upgrade the fourth or fifth rotation spot on a number of teams around the league.

Cueto shouldn’t have any problem landing a major league contract, but that deal doesn’t figure to come particularly close to the net $17MM call the Giants’ front office was left to make. It wouldn’t be shocking if San Francisco themselves remains in the market, as the Giants are also facing the potential free agent departures of Kevin Gausman, Anthony DeSclafani and Alex Wood. They’ll need to overhaul their rotation this winter, which president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi has already called the club’s “number one priority.”

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