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Nationals Sign Joey Gallo

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TODAY: The signing has officially been announced.  The deal also contains a mutual option for the 2025 season.

JANUARY 23: The Nationals and first baseman/outfielder Joey Gallo have agreed to a one-year deal, reports Andrew Golden of The Washington Post (X links). The deal for the Boras Corporation client, which is pending a physical, is for $5MM with another $1MM available in performance bonuses.

Gallo, 30, has been the poster boy for the “three true outcomes” in a major league career that’s almost a decade old at this point. Having debuted with the Rangers in 2015, he has played in 863 games, with 198 home runs to his name in that time. He has struck out in 37.9% of his plate appearances, which is much higher than par. For reference, the league average in 2023 was 22.7%. But he’s also drawn walks in 14.8% of his career plate appearances, well beyond the 2023 league average of 8.6%.

It’s an unusual combination but one that still allows Gallo to be a productive offensive contributor when taken all together. Though his career batting line .197/.323/.466 has him below the Mendoza line, the walks and the homers still help him translate that into a wRC+ of 109. He signed a one-year, $11MM deal with the Twins for 2023 and batted .197/.323/.466 for a wRC+ of 104, hitting 21 home runs while striking out in 42.8% of his plate appearances.

It’s perhaps worth highlighting that the tenability of this oddly-shaped performance has declined over the years. Gallo had his best run with the Rangers from 2017 to 2019, slashing .217/.336/.533 in that time for a wRC+ of 120. He hit a rough patch in 2020 but then bounced back with a strong showing early in 2021, enough for him to be traded to the Yankees alongside Joely Rodríguez. But Gallo’s production fell off again after the deal and didn’t rebound in 2022, with the Yanks flipping him to the Dodgers midseason. He finished that season with a line of .160/.280/.357 and wRC+ of 86 before putting together a decent campaign with the Twins last year.

Despite the huge pop in his bat, the up-and-down nature of his past few seasons would make him a risky bet for a contending club. But for the Nationals, it’s a sensible fit for a number of reasons. Last month, it was reported that the club was looking to add some left-handed power to its lineup. That was a logical target with their outfield mix consisting of Lane Thomas, Stone Garrett, Joey Meneses, Victor Robles, Jacob Young and Alex Call, all of whom hit from the right side.

Beyond that, the club isn’t likely to be in contention this year, having been aggressively rebuilding in recent seasons. Last offseason, they gave modest one-year deals to bounceback candidates like Corey Dickerson, Dominic Smith and Jeimer Candelario. The first two of those didn’t work out but Candelario played well enough to be flipped to the Cubs for a couple of prospects.

The Nats can insert Gallo into the middle of their lineup and hope that he is producing enough to follow a similar trajectory to Candelario last year. If he is having another rough campaign like he did in 2022, he can simply be released like Dickerson was.

The fit also makes sense with the prospects in the system. Outfielders James Wood and Dylan Crews are two of the most highly-rated prospects in the league, and each could plausibly be nearing a major league debut. Wood spent most of last year in Double-A and will likely begin the upcoming season in Triple-A. Crews was just drafted last summer but managed to join Wood in Double-A by the end of the year. Robert Hassell isn’t as highly rated as those two but is another notable outfield prospect who finished last year at Double-A.

With those prospects potentially pushing for major league at-bats by the summer, Gallo can be seen as a placeholder. If he is mashing, he can be traded for prospects. If not, he can be released. In either case, he would yield second half playing time to someone in that group. If each of the prospects are struggling and aren’t justifying a promotion, perhaps Gallo could stay in Washington through the end of the year, as Smith did in 2023.

Gallo is also considered a solid defender, which is a plus. His outfield glovework has led to career tallies of 42 Defensive Runs Saved, four Outs Above Average and a grade of 15.0 from Ultimate Zone Rating. His work at first base isn’t graded as strongly, but he’s passable there as well, with over 1,000 career innings at that spot. Meneses is currently slated to get the bulk of the playing time at first base but the club doesn’t have a strict designated hitter, giving them some ability to rotate players around based on health and matchups.

Nationals Hire Sean Doolittle As Pitching Strategist

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The Nationals announced Tuesday that they’ve hired recently retired left-hander Sean Doolittle and added him to the coaching staff in the role of pitching strategist. He’ll serve as a liaison between the club’s analytics department and pitching staff, per the announcement. He’ll also work with manager Davey Martinez, pitching coach Jim Hickey and bullpen coach Ricky Bones and assist with aspects of the job like pitching strategy, pitcher mechanics and mental preparation for the team’s pitching staff.

“Sean Doolittle was always an extremely talented pitcher, but he is also one of the most intelligent baseball minds you can find,” president of baseball operations and general manager Mike Rizzo said within today’s press release announcing the hire. “We’re incredibly excited to have him on our staff to help guide our talented group of young pitchers.”

Doolittle, 37, spent parts of five seasons pitching with the Nationals and spent the 2023 campaign there as well, although his comeback bid from elbow surgery ended before he was able to return to a big league mound. From 2012-22, he pitched 450 2/3 regular season innings between the A’s, Nats, Reds and Mariners, logging a combined 3.20 ERA with a 29% strikeout rate, 5.7% walk rate, 82 holds and 112 saves. He added another 22 1/3 innings of 2.42 ERA ball in the postseason, including an outstanding run in 2019 when he was a focal point of the Nationals’ World Series-winning bullpen; Doolittle delivered 10 1/3 innings that October, saving a pair of games and notching three holds while limiting opponents to a pair of runs on six hits and a walk with eight punchouts (1.74 ERA).

“I can’t thank the Lerner family, Mike Rizzo and Davey Martinez enough for all they’ve done for me and my family,” Doolittle said in his own statement on the hiring. “I love the Nationals and Washington D.C., and look forward to this new challenge while remaining an active member of an organization that means so much to me.”

Notable International Signings: 1/15/24

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January 15 marks the official opening of the international signing period. While the vast majority of top talents have reached verbal agreements with teams months or years in advance, they’re allowed to formally put pen to paper to begin their affiliated careers. The signing period technically runs until December 15, but the top signees will ink their contracts as soon as first eligible.

Ben Badler of Baseball America and Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com are among those covering the activity. At MLBTR, we’ll highlight a few of the top signees. Both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline provide scouting reports and bonus information on more of the highly-regarded prospects. They’re each worth full reads for those interested in the class.

Note: MLB Pipeline ranks the class on talent. Baseball America orders the players by bonus amount, not on evaluations of the players’ ability. Since international amateurs are so young and tend to agree to their bonuses well in advance of signing day, a player’s profile can change significantly between the time they reach agreement on a bonus and the official opening of the window.

Some of the top names (ordered by signing bonus):

  • Jose Perdomo, SS, Braves: A right-handed hitting infielder from Venezuela, Perdomo leads the class with a $5MM signing bonus. MLB Pipeline ranks him as the #3 prospect in the group. He’s regarded as a polished hitter with a good chance to stick somewhere on the infield. Badler notes (on X) that the $5MM bonus is the largest ever for a Venezuelan player.
  • Leodalis De Vries, SS, Padres: De Vries lands the second-highest bonus at $4.2MM. Sanchez and Badler each indicate he’s now regarded as the most talented prospect in this year’s class. It’s the second straight year in which San Diego landed the #1 player in the international period after last year’s signing of catcher Ethan Salas. De Vries, a native of the Dominican Republic, is a 6’1″ switch-hitter. He draws praise for a well-rounded offensive profile with power potential and a chance to stick at shortstop.
  • Fernando Cruz, SS, Cubs: A $4MM signee out of the Dominican Republic, Cruz is a 5’11” infielder. Evaluators praise his bat speed and all-fields power potential. He draws attention for his athleticism and defensive toolset at shortstop. MLB Pipeline notes he has an aggressive offensive approach, while BA indicates some scouts have expressed concern about the length in his swing. MLB Pipeline ranks Cruz as the #4 talent in the class.
  • Dawel Joseph, SS, Mariners: Signed for $3MM from the Dominican Republic, Joseph is a right-handed hitter with a 6’2″ frame. That build leads to ample raw power projection. BA and Pipeline each indicate that Joseph has lost some of his formerly elite speed as he has grown, although he still has a shot to play somewhere up the middle. Both outlets suggest he sports more of a power-over-hit offensive profile.

A few others with a noteworthy signing figure and/or placement on MLB Pipeline’s prospect rankings:

  • Yovanny Rodriguez, C, Mets: $2.85MM signing bonus, Venezuela native, MLB Pipeline’s #6 prospect
  • Victor Hurtado, OF Nationals: $2.7MM-2.8MM signing bonus*, Dominican Republic native, MLB Pipeline’s #20 prospect
  • Adolfo Sanchez, OF, Reds: $2.7MM signing bonus, Dominican Republic native, MLB Pipeline’s #5 prospect
  • Joswa Lugo, SS, Angels: $2.3MM signing bonus, Dominican Republic native, MLB Pipeline’s #37 prospect
  • Yandel Ricardo, SS, Royals: #9 on BA’s bonus board (specific number unreported), Cuba native, MLB Pipeline’s #16 prospect
  • Emil Morales, SS, Dodgers: #10 on BA’s bonus board (specific number unreported), Dominican Republic native, MLB Pipeline’s #14 prospect
  • Paulino Santana, OF, Rangers: $1.3MM signing bonus, Dominican Republic native, MLB Pipeline’s #2 prospect

* BA reports Hurtado’s bonus at $2.7MM, while MLB.com pegs it at $2.8MM

Nationals Re-Sign Travis Blankenhorn

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In a move that flew under our radar last month, the Nationals re-signed first baseman/outfielder Travis Blankenhorn to a minor league contract, according to Blankenhorn’s MLB.com profile page.  The Nats outrighted Blankenhorn off their 40-man roster in October, and he chose to reject the assignment in favor of free agency, as is his right as a player who has previously been outrighted off a 40-man roster during his career.

Blankenhorn signed a minors deal with Washington last winter and spent most of 2023 at the Triple-A level, where he hit an impressive .262/.360/.517 and 23 homers over 455 plate appearances for the Rochester Red Wings.  He didn’t receive a callup to the big league roster until the start of September, and he amassed 37 PA over 10 games for the Nationals before his season was prematurely ended by a bout of plantar fasciitis.

Originally a third-round pick for the Twins in the 2015 draft, Blankenhorn made his MLB debut in 2020 by appearing in a single game for Minnesota.  He also made a one-game cameo in the 2022 season with the Mets, and overall, the 27-year-old has 36 games and 68 PA as a big leaguer with Washington, New York, and Minnesota.  Over 1053 career PA at Triple-A, Blankenhorn has hit .261/.353/.485 with 48 home runs.

The bulk of Blankenhorn’s minor league playing time has come as a second and third baseman, though he hasn’t played the hot corner at any level since 2019, and he played only as a first baseman and corner outfielder in 2023.  That still gives him a fair amount of defensive versatility, and Blankenhorn’s left-handed bat makes him an interesting possible depth complement since Joey Meneses, Stone Garrett, and Lane Thomas are all right-handed hitters.  An injury or trade might be required for Blankenhorn to really get an opportunity on the Nationals’ active roster, but he’ll return to the organization as a familiar depth piece for Rochester’s team.

Possible Left-Handed Power Targets For Nationals

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The Nationals haven’t made many notable acquisitions this offseason. They signed middle reliever Dylan Floro and former top prospect Nick Senzel to affordable one-year pacts and plucked infielder Nasim Nuñez from the Marlins in the Rule 5 draft. It’s not all that surprising that a still-rebuilding Washington team coming off a 71-91 showing hasn’t been aggressive, but GM Mike Rizzo had suggested at the Winter Meetings the team was open to a multi-year free agent pickup “in the right situation” (link via Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com).

With all of $4.25MM in free agent spending committed to Floro and Senzel, there should still be financial room at Rizzo’s disposal. That doesn’t guarantee they’ll hand out any kind of significant deal, particularly with a lack of great options in the middle tiers of free agency. Yet it’d be a surprise if the Nationals were finished with their offseason activity. One area where some kind of addition seems likely: a left-handed bat.

Both the Talk Nats blog and MLB.com’s Jessica Camerato suggested in late December that Washington was looking to bring in left-handed power. The Nats’ best lefty or switch-hitting bats — CJ Abrams, Keibert Ruiz, Luis García and Jake Alu — all have middling pop. Only the Guardians had a lower ISO (slugging minus batting average) against right-handed pitching in 2023. Acquiring a lefty power source makes plenty of sense.

It’s hard to see Washington spending at the level it’d take to land Cody Bellinger. Even though he’s young enough to be a veteran cornerstone for a team that could more realistically seek to compete by 2025, the Nationals have a pair of top center field prospects in James Wood and Dylan Crews. They’re also still faced with the MASN rights uncertainty and on the hook for significant money to Patrick Corbin, Stephen Strasburg and Max Scherzer’s deferrals in the short term. It’s probably not the right time for a top-of-the-market splash.

We’ll look a few tiers down. Where might that search lead Rizzo and company?

Free Agency

  • Brandon Belt: Belt, even going into his age-36 season, should command the loftiest guarantee of the players in this group. He’s coming off a very strong offensive showing for the Blue Jays. He hit 19 homers and walked more than 15% of the time he stepped to the plate, leading to a .254/.369/.490 line through 404 plate appearances. Favorable matchups played a role in that strong rate production; Toronto limited him to 39 PA’s against left-handed pitching. Washington could deploy him similarly at designated hitter and/or first base, where only Joey Meneses (coming off a league average offensive showing) stands in the way.
  • Joc Pederson: The Blue Jays are the only club publicly tied to Pederson this winter. He’s coming off a middling season in which he hit .235/.348/.416 with 15 homers through 425 plate appearances for the Giants. That’s not huge power production at first glance, but Pederson has five 20+ homer seasons on his résumé (four with at least 25 longballs). He made hard contact — an exit velocity of at least 95 MPH — on more than half his batted balls last season, a top 15 rate in the majors. Pederson is a limited player. He’s best served as a DH and is mostly limited to facing right-handed pitching. He still has life in the bat, though, even if last year’s results were underwhelming.
  • Eddie Rosario: There hasn’t been any public chatter on Rosario since the Braves declined a $9MM option at the start of the offseason. He should command a one-year deal at a salary that’s not too far below that rate. Rosario is coming off a reasonably effective year. He hit 21 homers with a .255/.305/.450 line in 516 trips to the plate. That was the fourth time in his career that he surpassed 20 longballs. Rosario is mostly limited to left field but rated reasonably well with the glove last year. His performance varies wildly within seasons, but he tends to produce roughly league average numbers by the end.
  • Joey Gallo: Gallo hit 21 homers in just 332 plate appearances a season ago. The flaw in his game, huge swing-and-miss rates, has only magnified in recent seasons. Gallo hasn’t hit above the Mendoza line since 2019. He’s hitting .168 with a .290 on-base percentage in 742 plate appearances over the last two campaigns. There are a lot of uncompetitive at-bats. Few players fit the profile of a “left-handed power bat” quite like Gallo, though.

Trade Possibilities

It’s tougher to identify great fits on the trade market in the absence of many clear rebuilding teams. The Nationals could theoretically take a bigger swing at a player with an extended control window (e.g. Alec Burleson, Jesús Sánchez). That’s not an easy task to pull off, particularly since Washington is probably reluctant to part with significant prospect talent. There are a few veteran bats who’d make some sense as speculative trade candidates for a lesser return.

  • Josh Bell: Bell had a productive stint over his year and a half in Washington from 2021-22. He hit .278/.363/.483 in just over 1000 plate appearances before being included in the Juan Soto trade. Bell has changed uniforms twice more since that deadline blockbuster, signing with the Guardians before being flipped to the Marlins last summer. The switch-hitting first baseman struggled in Cleveland (.233/.318/.383) but generally turned things around in South Florida (.270/.338/.480). That reasonably strong finish wasn’t enough for Bell to forego a $16.5MM player option for the upcoming season. It stands to reason the Fish would be happy to get out from under the bulk of that deal if the Nationals were interested in a reunion.
  • Seth Brown: A’s GM David Forst indicated at the beginning of the offseason that he didn’t expect to trade Brown. That’s presumably more about Oakland feeling that other teams won’t meet their ask than an indication they wouldn’t consider offers on a 31-year-old platoon player. Brown is a career .237/.305/.471 hitter against right-handed pitching. He can play first base or the corner outfield and is under arbitration control for three seasons. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz forecasts him for a $2.4MM salary.
  • Mike Yastrzemski: Yastrzemski is projected for a $7.3MM salary in his second-to-last arbitration season. He hit 15 homers in 381 plate appearances a year ago, running a .233/.330/.445 line overall. The Giants aren’t likely to urgently shop Yastrzemski, but the singing of Jung Hoo Lee pushes him from center field to the corner opposite Michael Conforto. Trading Mitch Haniger paved the way for a Lee, Conforto, Yastrzemski outfield supplemented by righty-hitting Austin Slater, but the Giants also have Luis Matos, Wade Meckler and Heliot Ramos as options on the grass.

Minor League Deal Candidates

Each of these players has turned in above-average offense from the left side in their careers. None hit free agency under great circumstances. Choi had an injury-plagued 2023 campaign that kept him to 39 games without much production. The other four players were either non-tendered or elected free agency after an outright.

Meadows has missed most of the past two seasons attending to anxiety; it is unclear if he’ll be in position to return next year. Ford and Vogelbach are largely limited to DH, while Walsh hasn’t been the same since he was diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome in 2022. None of these players are likely to be Washington’s top acquisition, but they’d be viable depth targets if the Nats wanted a second lefty bat on a minor league or low-cost MLB pact.

Nationals Reportedly Searching For Left-Handed Power Bat

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The Nationals have had a fairly quiet offseason, adding third baseman Nick Senzel and right-hander Dylan Floro on one-year deals. If the club is planning to make an impact addition anywhere, TalkNats reports that it won’t be outfielder Teoscar Hernandez, who the club is seemingly not part of the sweepstakes for. The report goes on to suggest that the club is in search of a lefty-swinging power bat to add to their lineup.

That’s not necessarily a surprise, given previous reports of Washington’s interest in a reunion with switch-hitting third baseman Jeimer Candelario prior his three-year deal with Cincinnati and the subsequent addition of Senzel, who the Reds had non-tendered just weeks prior, to the D.C.’s infield mix. MLB.com’s Jessica Camerato adds that the club’s pursuit of a left-handed bat could specifically focus on a player who can be added to the first base and DH mix alongside the likes of Joey Meneses and Stone Garrett. Adding lefty power to the lineup is a worthy goal for the Nats, considering the club’s brutal production from the left side last season. Their left-handed hitters combined for a wRC+ of just 82 last season, the worst figure in the NL and bottom-three in the majors. That’s due in large part to a minuscule .123 isolated slugging that ranks ahead of only the White Sox.

The market for left-handed power is, of course, headlined by center fielder Cody Bellinger. After a pair of injury-marred seasons in Los Angeles, the 2019 NL MVP rebounded in a big way with the Cubs this past year to post a 134 wRC+ while clubbing 26 homers in 130 games. Though primarily an outfielder, Bellinger has plenty of experience at first base as well with 258 career starts at the position including 59 appearances with Chicago this past season. Certainly, Bellinger would be a strong fit for the club’s needs and add some star power to a team that lost 91 games in 2023. While Nationals ownership has found success in negotiating with Bellinger’s agent, Scott Boras, in the past when landing players such as Max Scherzer, it would be something of a surprise to see GM Mike Rizzo’s front office commit to a pricey, long-term contract for Bellinger even as the club is still in the midst of what has turned into a lengthy rebuild.

Setting aside Bellinger, there are a handful of other options available on the free agent market who could fit the club’s needs. Veteran slugger Brandon Belt is coming off a strong season with the Blue Jays during which he crushed 19 home runs in just 404 trips to the plate, while the likes of Joey Votto and Joey Gallo are among the other lefty options available who could play first base for the Nationals next season. The likes of Joc Pederson and Eddie Rosario could provide left-handed power, though both players would likely be limited to DH or left field.

The likes of Josh Naylor, Max Kepler, and Dylan Carlson are among the players who bat from the left side rumored to be available on the trade market, though Kepler and Naylor would be shorter-term acquisitions who wouldn’t line up cleanly with Washington’s competitive timeline while both Kepler and Carlson derive much of their value from their ability to play quality defense, making them questionably choices for a DH role. Barring a more aggressive shift towards contention, the Nationals seem unlikely to part with quality prospects or young players to acquire lefty power via trade when so many mid-tier free agents could fulfill the same role for only money.

Should the Nationals ultimately fail in their quest to add a lefty power bat, the club has added a pair of first base/DH options on minor league contracts this offseason in Lewin Diaz and Juan Yepez, though only Diaz hits left-handed of that pair and the 27-year-old sports a weak slash line of just .181/.227/.340 in 343 trips to the plate.

Nationals Sign Lewin Diaz To Minor League Deal

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The Nationals have signed first baseman Lewin Diaz to a minor league deal, according to ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel. The deal reportedly comes with an invite to minor league Spring Training.

Diaz, 27, signed with the Twins out of the Dominican Republic back in 2014. After several years with Minnesota that saw him advance to the Double-A level, Diaz was swapped to the Marlins in exchange for Sergio Romo during the 2019 season. From there, it wouldn’t be long until Diaz made his big league debut as he received a 14 game cup of coffee at the big league level during the shortened 2020 season. He struggled in his first taste of big league action, slashing a paltry .154/.195/.205 with a wRC+ of just 9 across his first 41 plate appearances in the majors.

That meager production didn’t stop Miami from sticking with Diaz as a left-handed bat off the bench over the next two seasons however. From 2021 to 2022, Diaz garnered 302 plate appearances for the Marlins across 98 games. He managed to hold his own somewhat in 2021 with a .217/.270/.518 slash line in 89 trips to the plate against right-handed pitching, though his numbers against southpaws remained abysmal. Unfortunately for Diaz and the Marlins, the first baseman’s fortunes turned in 2022, when he slashed just .164/.224/.288 with a wRC+ of 44 in 174 trips to the plate.

After parts of three seasons in the big leagues with little to show for it, Diaz was designated for assignment by the Marlins early in the 2022-23 offseason. He rode the transactional carousel throughout much of the offseason last year, moving from Miami to Pittsburgh to Baltimore on the waiver wire before being traded to Atlanta and returning to the Orioles on waivers. Baltimore eventually managed to sneak Diaz through waivers successfully in mid-January and outrighted him to Triple-A as a potential lefty hitting complement to Ryan Mountcastle, though the club ended up utilizing the breakout of Ryan O’Hearn to fill that gap on the roster rather than Diaz’s services.

That left Diaz to spend the entire 2023 season in the minor leagues, where he slashed a solid .268/.362/.442 across 118 games. The solid season at Triple-A continued Diaz’s track record of solid work at the level; the lefty owns a slash line of .258/.341/.479 across 274 career games at the level. Now, Diaz is poised to join a Nationals club that recently saw Dominic Smith depart the organization for free agency. This spring, he’ll likely have the opportunity to earn a spot as the club’s first baseman, a role which he’ll likely compete with Joey Meneses for barring further external additions.

Yankees Claim Jeter Downs From Nationals

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The Yankees announced that they have claimed infielder Jeter Downs off waivers from the Nationals. The infielder was designated for assignment a week ago when the Nats signed right-hander Dylan Floro.

Downs, 25, was once a prospect of note, having been selected 32nd overall by the Reds in 2017 and later appearing on top 100 lists. His time as a minor leaguer saw him change organizations twice as part of a major trade, first going to the Dodgers in a seven-player swap and then to the Red Sox in the deal for Mookie Betts and David Price. The Yankees now have two of the three players that went to Boston in that deal, having acquired Alex Verdugo earlier this month and leaving the Sox with just Connor Wong.

But as for Downs, he hasn’t yet delivered on that prospect hype. In 963 minor league plate appearances over the past three years, he has hit just .200/.309/.365 for a wRC+ of 80. Due to that performance, he’s been allowed to make just 50 trips to the plate at the major league level, with a slash of just .182/.260/.273 in those. The Sox put him on waivers prior to 2023, with the Nats putting in a claim but now letting him go via the same door he came in.

Despite that tepid offensive production, there’s little harm in the Yankees putting in a claim. They had three open roster spots to work with, as this claim brings their 40-man count to 38. Downs still has an option, meaning he can be stashed in the minors as depth for the upcoming season, if he sticks on the 40-man for that long. It’s also worth pointing out that he’s still young and could perhaps turn the narrative of his career around.

The Yanks are currently slated to have an infield of DJ LeMahieu, Anthony Volpe, Gleyber Torres and Anthony Rizzo with Oswald Peraza and Oswaldo Cabrera in the mix for bench/utility roles. Downs has played all three infield spots to the left of first base and even had a brief stint in center field this year, allowing him to provide some depth at various spots.

The Best Remaining Fits For Cody Bellinger

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For the past six weeks, the offseason has centered on three individuals: Shohei Ohtani, Juan Soto and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. With the first two having found new homes and Yamamoto expected to choose his team within a week or two, there’s likely to be greater attention placed on Cody Bellinger.

MLBTR’s #2 free agent entering the winter, Bellinger has had a quiet offseason since declining his end of a mutual option and rejecting a qualifying offer from the Cubs. Early reports tied the lefty-hitting center fielder to the Yankees, Giants and Blue Jays. The incumbents have some amount of interest in a reunion, although the presence of highly-regarded rookie Pete Crow-Armstrong gives them leverage to pass on what’s surely still a lofty asking price.

Last week, the New York Post’s Jon Heyman wrote that Bellinger’s camp at the Boras Corporation were seeking to reach or surpass $200MM. Yet it’s fair to presume that the former MVP’s market has dwindled over the past month. Along with Soto, the Yankees acquired Alex Verdugo and Trent Grisham to join Aaron Judge in the outfield. San Francisco signed Jung Hoo Lee to play center field instead. That knocks out the two teams widely perceived as the favorites. (At the beginning of the offseason, every MLBTR staffer pegged the Giants or Yankees as Bellinger’s landing spot in our Free Agent prediction contest.)

Where does that leave things for the two-time All-Star?

Likeliest Fits

  • Angels: It’s difficult to identify exactly where the Angels go from here. Los Angeles has thus far limited its offseason activity to a trio of low-cost middle relief additions (Luis García, Adam Cimber and Adam Kolarek). Ohtani was their top priority. After losing him, they’ll need to determine how aggressively to add to a roster that won only 73 games despite his MVP performance. GM Perry Minasian and new skipper Ron Washington have been clear they’re not about to rebuild. Bringing in a front-line starting pitcher appears the top priority, but they’ll also need to address a lineup that ranked 16th in runs and lost a .304/.412/.654 hitter. Bellinger would give the Angels an option to cover center field if Mike Trout needs any time on the injured list. He’d push Mickey Moniak to a fourth outfield role and could take some of the available DH at-bats. He’s also a marquee name who starred in Los Angeles, which could hold appeal to owner Arte Moreno.
  • Blue Jays: USA Today’s Bob Nightengale wrote over the weekend that the Jays looked like the top suitor for Bellinger. It’s not hard to see why. The Jays came up empty on their pursuits of Ohtani and Soto. While no one would consider Bellinger the same kind of upgrade, Toronto still has ample short-term payroll space and a need for a left-handed bat. They’re also without a clear answer in center field after Kevin Kiermaier hit free agency. The Jays could sign a corner outfielder and bump Daulton Varsho to center (or simply try to re-sign Kiermaier), but Bellinger is the best all-around position player on the open market.
  • Cubs: Bellinger was among the Cubs’ most valuable players a season ago. While they may have initially viewed him as a one-year stopgap to Crow-Armstrong, there’s an argument for bringing him back. The Cubs don’t have a clear option at first base, where Bellinger is a plus defender. His ability to play all three outfield spots would afford the organization the flexibility to start Crow-Armstrong in Triple-A (where he struck out at a concerning rate in 34 games last season) without needing to rely on journeyman Mike Tauchman to maintain his surprisingly strong form from 2023. Even if Tauchman and/or Crow-Armstrong prove deserving of everyday playing time, the Cubs could rotate Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki through designated hitter to keep their outfield fresh.

Longer Shots

  • Mets: New York could upgrade over either Starling Marte or DJ Stewart in the corner outfield. There’s room for Bellinger to join Brandon Nimmo as a long-term outfield investment, but it doesn’t seem that’s how the front office is approaching this winter. The Mets are in on Yamamoto but appear to view him as an exceptional case in what’d otherwise be a relatively quiet offseason as they focus primarily on 2025.
  • Nationals: While Washington isn’t an immediate contender, they could make a legitimate push for the playoffs by the ’25 season. Bellinger, who turned 28 in July, would still project as a productive player during that window. The Nats have top outfield prospects Dylan Crews and James Wood looming, but only Lane Thomas should have a short-term spot locked down. The Nationals struck early on the Jayson Werth signing to accelerate a rebuild a decade ago. There’d be some sense in doing that again, but they’ve been fairly quiet in recent offseasons and still have organizational uncertainty regarding their local TV deal as part of the contentious MASN arrangement with the Orioles.
  • Phillies: Philadelphia is involved on Yamamoto, suggesting an ability to stretch the budget for the right player. Whether Bellinger qualifies isn’t clear. Brandon Marsh is a solid center field option, while the Phils have Johan Rojas and Cristian Pache as options for the corner opposite Nick Castellanos. It’s not a terrible outfield, but it’s also perhaps the weakest area of an otherwise excellent roster. The Phils haven’t shied away from pursuing star talent under owner John Middleton and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski.

Payroll Questions

  • Mariners: Seattle is likely to bring in at least one outfielder to join Julio Rodríguez and a group that otherwise consists of players like Dominic Canzone, Taylor Trammell and Sam Haggerty. Bellinger fits on the roster, but the M’s have thus far sliced payroll amidst uncertainty about the revenues from their local TV deal with Root Sports. President of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto hasn’t signed a free agent hitter to a multi-year contract in his eight-plus years leading the Seattle front office. Breaking that streak with Bellinger would be a massive shift in operating procedure.
  • Padres: Much of what applies to the Mariners can be said about the Padres. They want to compete after a disappointing playoff miss. They need outfield help to do so. Yet they’re also facing questions about their broadcasting deal and have only cut payroll so far this offseason. With Lee’s six-year, $113MM deal pushing beyond their spending range, it’s hard to see how they could make Bellinger work.
  • Rangers: The defending World Series winners could ostensibly make room for Bellinger, perhaps by trading incumbent center fielder Leody Taveras to address an injury-plagued rotation. GM Chris Young has suggested they’re unlikely to make the kind of free agent splash they have in prior offseasons, though, so it’s far likelier they stick with an internal group of Adolis García, Taveras and Evan Carter while awaiting the arrival of top prospect Wyatt Langford.

Nationals Sign Spenser Watkins

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Dec. 18: It’s a minor league deal for Watkins, tweets Andrew Golden of the Washington Post. He’ll vie for a roster spot in camp next spring.

Dec. 17: The Nationals have signed right-hander Spenser Watkins, as revealed by Watkins himself in a statement on X (via the account of his agency, Gaeta Sports Management).  Reports from earlier this week suggested that Watkins was close to a deal with a KBO League team, yet as Watkins explained in his statement, he chose to stay in the United States due to the upcoming birth of his daughter in January.

Watkins, 31, pitched in only Major League game in 2023, allowing five runs over 4 1/3 innings in a start for the Athletics on August 15.  The rest of his season was spent at the Triple-A level, with Watkins delivering a 7.86 ERA over 71 combined innings for the top affiliates of the A’s, Astros, and Orioles.

A 30th-round pick for the Tigers in the 2014 draft, Watkins didn’t make his MLB debut until 2021, when he had caught on with the Orioles on a free agent deal.  The right-hander posted an 8.07 ERA over 54 2/3 frames for Baltimore that season, and then a 4.70 ERA in 105 1/3 innings in 2022.  All in all, that translates to a 5.97 ERA in 164 1/3 career innings for Watkins in the Show, as well as a 13.9% strikeout rate and 6.9% walk rate.

Working as a starter in 31 of his 40 MLB games and in 122 of his 149 career minor league games, Watkins projects as a depth arm at the Triple-A level.  The Nationals are known to be looking for pitching this winter, and while the team will keep looking for more proven upgrades, depth arms like Watkins are a useful commodity to eat innings.

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