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Red Sox “Actively” Discussing Sandy Leon Trades

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The Red Sox are currently in “active” trade talks with other clubs regarding a potential Sandy Leon swap, Buster Olney and Marly Rivera of ESPN report (via Twitter).

As has long been anticipated, something will have to give with regard to Boston’s catching situation between now and Opening Day. The Sox are carrying three catchers at the moment in Leon, Christian Vazquez and Blake Swihart.

While the Boston organization managed to hang onto those three players for the entirety of the 2018 season, doing so more or less meant punting a roster spot. Swihart was so seldom used early on that he tallied all of 48 plate appearances through the season’s first two months.

A repeat of that approach has never seemed desirable. The precise resolution, though, remains unclear. Vazquez is projected to be the starter in Boston, and both Leon and Swihart are out of minor league options, making a trade or even just a straight release of Leon both plausible outcomes.

Leon, 30, struggled through an awful season at the plate in 2018, hitting just .177/.232/.279 through 288 PAs. His bat has continually declined since what now looks like a clear outlier campaign in 2016, but he’s regarded as a terrific defender in terms of limiting the running game, framing pitches, and managing a staff.

Leon agreed to a $2.475MM salary to avoid arbitration this winter. That may represent a palatable sum for a trade partner seeking a defensive-minded backup catcher, though it’s just barely shy of the deal Martin Maldonado signed  few weeks back. Maldonado is also highly regarded behind the dish and is also a more accomplished (albeit still well-below-average) hitter.

Arbitration salaries aren’t fully guaranteed until Opening Day, though, so if the Sox were to move on, they’d only be on the hook for 45 days’ termination pay — a total of about $599K. To be clear, there’s no indication that the Sox have given serious thought to cutting Leon loose, but if they’re indeed planning on carrying just two catchers this winter (Vazquez and Swihart), that possibility would need to be considered if the trade route doesn’t bear fruit.

Rays To Extend Blake Snell

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2:00pm: Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports the yearly breakdown (Twitter link). Snell will be paid a $3MM signing bonus and earn $1MM in 2019. He’ll then be paid salaries of $7MM, $10.5MM, $12.5MM and $16MM in the subsequent four seasons. That $16MM salary in 2023 can increase by up to $2MM based on his placement in the Cy Young race.

1:50pm: The Rays have formally announced the contract as well as the terms of the deal. Snell can earn an additional $2MM  via incentives, per the team.

1:43pm: The Rays have reached an agreement on a five-year, $50MM contract with reigning Cy Young winner Blake Snell, Jeff Passan of ESPN reports (on Twitter). There are no options included on the contract, which will buy out all of Snell’s arbitration seasons and what would have been his first free-agent year. Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that Snell’s deal does not include a no-trade clause. Snell is represented by Sosnick, Cobbe & Karon.

Blake Snell | Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Snell, 26, will receive the largest contract ever guaranteed to a pitcher with between two and three years of service time, breaking the previous record held by Gio Gonzalez, as can be seen in MLBTR’s Extension Tracker. (Miles Mikolas could technically be considered in that category, though as a player who had established himself overseas and would’ve otherwise been eligible for free agency, his extension was under wholly different circumstances.) Despite the fact that he has less service time and was not yet eligible for arbitration, Snell rode that Cy Young Award to a guarantee that tops the sums promised to both Luis Severino (four years, $40MM) and Aaron Nola (four years, $45MM) earlier this offseason.

Because Snell was still a year from arbitration, he was still a year from cashing in on his first seven-figure payday. Even if one were to aggressively forecast what he’d make in arbitration by suggesting he’d top Dallas Keuchel’s record $7.25MM first-time arbitration salary for a pitcher, Snell likely would’ve topped out around $35-40MM between now and the end of his arbitration eligibility. He’s possibly trading as much as $20MM in that would-be first year of free agency in exchange for the up-front payday, but that’s in a best-case scenario for his performance. A more realistic forecast of his future would need to account for the downside of injury and regression/decline.

The contract for Snell comes just weeks after the left-hander took umbrage with the organization’s decision to renew his 2019 contract for $573,700 — a raise of just $15K over the preceding season (at a time when the league-minimum salary increased by $5K).

“The Rays have the right under the collective bargaining agreement to renew me at or near the league-minimum salary,” Snell told Topkin at the time. “They also have the ability to to more adequately compensate me, as other organizations have done with players who have similar achievements to mine. The Rays chose the former.” At this point, one would imagine that renewal amounts to little more than water under the bridge with a new record-setting extension locked into place.

Snell, the No. 52 overall pick by the Rays back in 2011 and a longtime top prospect, solidified himself as an MLB-caliber starter in 2017 season with 24 starts of 4.04 ERA ball. However, he thrust himself into the ranks of the game’s elite pitchers in 2018 when he overpowered opponents with a 1.89 ERA with 11.0 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9 in 31 starts. Snell’s 15.1 percent swinging-strike rate was the fourth-best mark among all qualified MLB starters, trailing only Max Scherzer, Patrick Corbin and Carlos Carrasco while tying him with NL Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom. His 33.1 percent opponents’ chase rate on pitches out of the strike zone ranked 18th among MLB starters.

It’s the second extension of the week for the Rays, who also locked up promising young infielder/outfielder Brandon Lowe on a six-year, $24MM pact. Looking ahead, Snell joins Lowe and center fielder Kevin Kiermaier as the only players on the Rays’ roster to have a guaranteed contract beyond the 2020 season. Kiermaier’s deal will come off the books after the 2022 season, while Snell is controlled through 2023 and Lowe through 2024 (plus a pair of club options). That trio won’t combine for more than $34.2MM in any single season in which their contracts overlap, leaving even the cost-conscious Rays with a bit of flexibility.

Hunter Pence Makes Rangers’ Roster; Willie Calhoun Optioned To Triple-A

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The Rangers have informed veteran outfielder Hunter Pence that he’s made the Opening Day roster, tweets MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan. Young outfielder Willie Calhoun, meanwhile, will be optioned to Triple-A Nashville. Sullivan also adds that Rule 5 pick Jordan Romano has been informed he will not make the roster.

While many fans may have hoped that Calhoun would seize the outfield opportunity in front of him and realize the offensive potential that long provided him with top prospect status, Pence emphatically outplayed him this spring. The pair leads the Rangers in spring at-bats, but while Pence has impressed with a .356/.431/.667 batting line, Calhoun has mustered just a .217/.296/.261 output.

Beyond the raw spring stats (which should always be taken with a grain of salt), the Rangers simply don’t have everyday at-bats for Calhoun in the big leagues right now. Joey Gallo, Delino DeShields Jr. and Nomar Mazara are lined up in the outfield, with Shin-So Choo slotted in for regular DH work. At this stage of their respective careers, Pence is better-suited for a bench role, as Texas surely still wants Calhoun to log regular plate appearances to continue his development.

Pence, who spent the offseason making significant alterations to his swing, will seek to reestablish himself as a credible big league outfielder on the heels of that excellent spring. The three-time All-Star finished up a five-year, $90MM contract with the Giants last season and managed just a .249/.297/.368 slash over the final two seasons of that contract.

The 24-year-old Calhoun, acquired as the centerpiece of the trade that sent Yu Darvish to the Dodgers in 2017, saw his bat take a step back both in Triple-A and in the Majors in 2018. After hitting a combined .300/.355/.572 between the Triple-A affiliates for Texas and L.A. in ’17, Calhoun hit a solid but diminished .294/.351/.431 in Triple-A with the Rangers this past season. In 108 big league plate appearances, he hit .222/.269/.333 with a pair of home runs. Calhoun’s glovework has been questioned in scouting reports over the years, but he’ll also look to get his swing back in track in his latest minor league assignment. He has an option remaining even beyond the current season, so the Rangers still have ample time to help him tap into his upside.

Romano, 26 in a month, was selected out of the Blue Jays’ organization in this year’s Rule 5 draft and pitched 9 1/3 innings with the Rangers this spring. He allowed four runs on seven hits and five walks with six strikeouts in that time. Romano logged a 4.11 ERA with 8.1 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 142 1/3 innings last year (nearly all at the Double-A level). He’ll need to be placed on the waivers and offered back to the Blue Jays if he clears.

Athletics Shut Down Luzardo For 4-6 Weeks; Olson To Be Evaluated For Hand Injury

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The Athletics have received some unwelcome injury news in the past 12 hours or so, as general manager David Forst revealed prior to Tuesday’s game against the Mariners in Tokyo that top pitching prospect Jesus Luzardo will be shut down for four to six weeks due to a strain in the rotator cuff of his left shoulder (link via the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser).

That’s not all, however, as Oakland announced following today’s game that first baseman Matt Olson exited the game due to discomfort in his right hand. He’ll be further evaluated when the team returns to the United States. As Slusser reports (via Twitter), however, there’s some cause for genuine concern regarding Olson, who felt pain when fouling off a pitch and is now having difficulty gripping a bat.

Luzardo, 21, had emerged as a candidate to break camp in the Athletics’ rotation on the heels of a strong spring in which he allowed one earned run with a 15-to-4 K/BB ratio in 9 2/3 innings. Regarded as one of baseball’s elite pitching prospects by Baseball America, MLB.com, Fangraphs, ESPN and Baseball Prospectus, Luzardo reached Triple-A as a 20-year-old in 2018. He skyrocketed across three levels in the Oakland system, pitching to a collective 2.88 ERA with 10.6 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9 in 109 1/3 innings of work.

Slusser further reports that the A’s were in touch with righty Edwin Jackson about a reunion earlier this spring and suggests that the Luzardo injury could rekindle those talks. At present, the Oakland rotation consists of Mike Fiers, Marco Estrada, Brett Anderson and some combination of Chris Bassitt, Frankie Montas and Aaron Brooks. There’s depth in the form of recently optioned Daniel Mengden, Paul Blackburn and Tanner Anderson, but the A’s could be without top starter Sean Manaea all season following a September shoulder procedure. Other rotation options, including Jharel Cotton, Daniel Gossett and top prospect A.J. Puk are still mending from 2018 Tommy John surgery.

Beyond Jackson, there are still a few recognizable names who’ve yet to sign for the 2019 campaign. While few would expect Oakland to make a splash of Dallas Keuchel magnitude, none of Bartolo Colon, James Shields or Yovani Gallardo have signed yet. There will also be several veterans who took minor league deals this winter opting out of those deals in the coming days if they’re not assured a 25-man roster spot, and the A’s could opportunistically look to bolster their depth by exploring that market.

As for Olson, any sort of fracture or other significant injury would be a huge early-season blow to the A’s. The 24-year-old (25 next week) hit .247/.335/.453 with 29 home runs and 33 doubles while playing all 162 games for the A’s in 2018. He also won a Gold Glove Award in his first full MLB campaign, tallying 14 Defensive Runs Saved and recording an 11.6 Ultimate Zone Rating.

Mark Canha could step into regular at-bats should Olson require a short-term trip to the injured list, though if Olson is expected to be out for a longer period of time, the open market does still have a few notable first-base options. Lucas Duda opted out of his minor league deal with the Twins yesterday and would represent a logical platoon partner for Canha, while veteran Logan Morrison remains unsigned after undergoing season-ending hip surgery last year.

Ichiro Suzuki Announces Retirement

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9:20am: Ichiro has now formally announced his retirement via a Mariners press release. The future Hall of Famer included the following statement:

“I have achieved so many of my dreams in baseball, both in my career in Japan and, since 2001, in Major League Baseball. I am honored to end my big league career where it started, with Seattle, and think it is fitting that my last games as a professional were played in my home country of Japan. I want to thank not only the Mariners, but the Yankees and Marlins, for the opportunity to play in MLB, and I want to thank the fans in both the U.S. and Japan for all the support they have always given me.”

5:54am: Ichiro Suzuki will announce his retirement following the completion of this morning’s game between the Mariners and Athletics in Tokyo, Jim Allen of the Kyodo News reports (Twitter link).  Ichiro has already informed the Mariners about his decision.  The 45-year-old outfielder is in today’s lineup, starting in right field in the 2653rd game of his MLB career.

The official announcement ends months of speculation that Ichiro would hang up his spikes at the conclusion of the two-game series, giving the legendary hitter the opportunity to take a final bow in his home country.  Last May, Ichiro moved from the Mariners’ active roster into a front office role, and while he didn’t play again in 2018, both sides made it clear that he intended to continue his on-field career.

With these two games, Ichiro has now appeared in parts of the last 28 seasons in both Major League Baseball and Nippon Professional Baseball, completing one of the most remarkable careers in the history of the sport.  Over 951 games with the Orix Buffaloes in Japan and then 2653 games with the Mariners, Yankees, and Marlins in North America, Ichiro recorded more professional hits than any player ever.

Heading into today’s action, Ichiro had an incredible 4367 career hits — 1278 in NPB, and 3089 in MLB, reaching the 3000-hit club in the majors despite not playing his first North American game until he was already 27 years old.

After nine years as a star in Japan, Ichiro made a heavily-anticipated jump to the majors prior to the 2001 season after the Mariners won a posting bid to acquire his services.  The transition was more than just seamless — Ichiro’s debut in the Show saw him hit .350/.381/.457 over a league-high 738 plate appearances for a 116-win Mariners team.  He became just the second player to win both the Rookie Of The Year and MVP Awards in the same year, also winning the first of three Silver Slugger Awards and the first of 10 Gold Gloves.

Ichiro’s smooth left-handed hitting stroke and quick acceleration out of the box made him a threat to reach base every time he made contact.  Perhaps the most notable of his many achievements was setting a new single-season hits record in 2004, as his 262 hits broke the 84-year-old mark formerly held by Hall-of-Famer George Sisler.

Ichiro’s defense and baserunning were perhaps just as impressive as his exploits at the plate.  He stole a league-best 56 bases in 2001, and finished his career with 509 steals, tied for 35th-most in Major League history.  As a right fielder, Ichiro unleashed a throwing arm that instantly drew comparisons to Roberto Clemente in terms of both power and accuracy.

While his skills inevitably declined with age, Ichiro did his best to stave off Father Time, playing past his 45th birthday due to a near-mythic fitness regime and nonstop preparation.  This work ethic helped make Ichiro one of the most respected players of recent times, idolized by both fans and teammates alike all over the world.

We at MLB Trade Rumors congratulate Ichiro on an incredible career, and wish him all the best in his post-playing days.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Angels Extend Mike Trout

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March 21: Trout will make $36MM in 2019 and 2020 before earning $35.45MM annually over the remainder of the contract, Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times reports (via Twitter).

March 20: The Angels have formally announced Trout’s extension. The contract was announced as a 12-year deal, though that term also includes the two years for which he was already under contract.

The Orange County Register’s Jeff Fletcher tweeted today that it is technically being structured as a new 12-year deal and that the Angels have discussed moving some of the money he’s owed in 2019-20 back into the 2021-30 portion of the deal. Regardless of the exact structuring, the bottom-line numbers haven’t changed; Trout will be paid a total of $426.5MM over the next dozen years, effectively making the contract a 10-year, $360MM extension on top of the $66.5MM he was already set to earn in 2019-20.

March 19: The Angels are nearing agreement on a record-setting contract with superstar outfielder Mike Trout, according to ESPN.com’s Jeff Passan. Trout will be promised $360MM in new money over a ten-year term, according to reports from Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times (on Twitter) and Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register.

Trout stands to earn $36MM in each of those ten seasons. The deal leaves in place his preexisting $33.25MM salaries for the 2019-20 seasons, which he agreed to under a previous extension that was also negotiated by agent Craig Landis.

Trout will turn 39 during the final season (2030) of his new contract. In all likelihood, he and the deal will still be with the Halos at that time. The new agreement will not include any opt-outs, per Shaikin (via Twitter), and provides Trout with full no-trade protection, Bob Nightengale of USA Today adds on Twitter.

From one perspective, it’s a record-setting contract befitting Trout’s status as a player of historic excellence. But the salary numbers pale in comparison to Trout’s own productivity on the ballfield. Since his first full season of play, in 2012, the peerless center fielder has vastly outproduced every other player in the game with a tally of 64.2 fWAR and 63.8 rWAR. Others have approached and even bettered Trout in single seasons — somehow, he has only twice been awarded the American League Most Valuable Player award — but none of his contemporaries has maintained anything approaching his unfathomably consistent level of top-end output.

Viewed in that light, there’s an argument to be made that this deal actually underpays Trout — perhaps by a significant amount. It’s important to bear in mind that he was still two years shy of free agency, which he’d have reached at 29 years of age owing to his earlier contract. Nolan Arenado, just one season away from the open market when he new contract with the Rockies, had more leverage relative to his own abilities. But it’s still notable that Arenado — an outstanding player whose best season nevertheless lags Trout’s worst — commanded a then-record $33.4MM AAV over seven new contract seasons. Trout’s deal promises to be longer and larger, but to be sure, but not by a margin that reflects the gap in these players’ established performance levels. Unsurprisingly, Trout’s new deal also easily tops the previous record for total guarantee that was recently set by Bryce Harper and the Phillies. That was a free agent deal; Harper took a longer term (13 years) to briefly reach a new high-water mark in total guarantee ($330MM). Still, in terms of new money, the gap between the contracts is only $30MM. The Harper vs. Trout prospect debate has been resolved conclusively to this point: the former is a heck of a player and the most marketable commodity in baseball; the latter has somehow already compiled numbers that warrant placement in Cooperstown.

It’s hard to overstate the immensity of Trout’s on-field output to this stage of his career. He has only once finished a full season with less than eight fWAR: the 2017 campaign, in which he was limited to 114 games due to a broken wrist and nevertheless posted 6.9 fWAR. While he’s no longer quite as dynamic in the field and on the bases as he was when he first cracked the majors — he’s merely very good or excellent in those areas — Trout’s offensive ability has morphed and risen over the years. He’s now as likely to take a walk as he is to strike out and might hit forty home runs in any given season. He has reached .300+ isolated power and .600+ slugging percentage tallies in each of the past two seasons. Frighteningly, Trout was never better with the bat in hand than he was in 2018, when he slashed an immense .312/.460/.628 — nearly twice the productivity of a league-average hitter (191 wRC+).

We can safely presume that Trout will age and decline like most players. But he still promises to be a hugely productive player for many years to come. There’s always risk in a long-term deal, but you couldn’t pick a better or more durable player to stake a bet on than Trout. All things considered, the Halos certainly seem to have secured quite a lot of promised future output for their money.

Even beyond the value the team can hope to achieve, the Angels have now locked in one of the game’s best-ever players for his entire career. The L.A./Anaheim organization has had its share of difficulties with sizable contracts and hasn’t yet produced a consistent core of talent to supplement Trout. But it also has only three more years left to pay aging slugger Albert Pujols and has steadily rebuilt its farm system over the past several years under GM Billy Eppler. It’s easy to dream on Jo Adell joining Trout and Justin Upton to form the game’s best outfield and tantalizing to envision Shohei Ohtani returning fully from Tommy John surgery to make an iconic superstar pairing. Whatever happens with the club’s other players, though, the Halos have certainty regarding the task at hand. The Angels and Trout are now bound together in pursuit of an elusive World Series title.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Marlins Select Contract Of Curtis Granderson

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The Marlins announced Thursday that they’ve selected the contract of veteran outfielder Curtis Granderson while optioning fellow outfielder Austin Dean to Triple-A New Orleans. Three non-roster players — lefty Mike Kickham, righty Hector Noesi and catcher Rodrigo Vigil — were all reassigned to minor league camp, too. Miami now has a full 40-man roster.

Granderson, who turned 38 last week, split the 2018 season between the Blue Jays and the Brewers and posted a combined .242/.351/.431 batting line with 13 home runs, 22 doubles and a pair of triples in 403 plate appearances. He’s had a rough Spring Training, but Granderson was reportedly likely to make the club from the beginning of camp.

The Marlins surely value having a veteran with his level of experience working with what figures to be a very young outfield mix, but he won’t be an everyday option for them in the outfield. Granderson’s numbers against left-handed pitching have continually deteriorated, rendering him as a strict platoon and pinch-hitting option at this point in his career. Defensively, he’ll be limited to the outfield corners.

The exact composition of Miami’s outfield is beginning to come into focus now that Dean has somewhat surprisingly been optioned out. Lewis Brinson looks locked into the center field job on the heels of a torrid spring, while Garrett Cooper, Peter O’Brien and Rosell Herrera are all still outfield options on the 40-man roster who remain in camp and on the 40-man roster. Gabriel Guerrero is also still in camp as a non-roster player who could yet crack the Opening Day roster.

Phillies Release Trevor Plouffe, Gregorio Petit

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The Phillies announced Thursday that they’ve released four non-roster invitees to Spring Training: infielders Trevor Plouffe and Gregorio Petit as well as left-handers Edward Paredes and Jeremy Bleich. The Phils also optioned lefty James Pazos and right-hander Drew Anderson to Triple-A.

Plouffe, 32, was the Twins’ primary third baseman from 2013-16 and provided a solid bat with some pop for them during that time. However, he’s struggled with the A’s, Rays and Phillies across the past two seasons, hitting a combined .200/.271/.325 with 10 homers in 325 trips to the plate. He’s picked up some experience playing first base in recent years and has traditionally been a strong right-handed bat against left-handed opponents. In 27 spring plate appearances, Plouffe collected five hits (two homers, two doubles) and drew four walks.

Petit is a more versatile infielder, capable of playing both middle-infield slots, but he doesn’t have near the track record that Plouffe carries. Another former Twins/A’s infielder, the 34-year-old Petit is a career .249/.294/.342 hitter in 493 plate appearances. He went 4-for-15 with the Phils in his limited time in camp.

Paredes, 32, appeared briefly with the Dodgers in both 2017 and 2018, pitching a combined 16 innings with a 4.50 ERA but an outstanding 19-to-2 K/BB ratio. He’s been an extreme fly-ball pitcher in Triple-A and particularly in his limited big league time. Paredes was lights-out in camp, tossing 6 1/3 innings without allowing an earned run while recording an 11-to-2 K/BB ratio.

Bleich made his big league debut last season at the age of 31, though he faced only four batters (retiring one of them). A supplemental first-round pick by the Yankees back in 2008, Bleich is a 10-year minor league veteran with a career 3.64 ERA at the Triple-A level. In nine spring innings, Bleich allowed three runs on six hits and seven walks with 11 strikeouts.

Braves Sign Josh Tomlin To Minor League Deal

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7:25am: MLB.com’s Mark Bowman tweets that Tomlin will start Saturday’s Grapefruit League game for the Braves and could potentially break camp with the club as a long reliever. If not, it appears he’ll head to Triple-A Gwinnett.

7:04am: The Braves announced Thursday that they’ve signed right-hander Josh Tomlin to a minor league contract. He’ll be in Major League camp for the remainder of Spring Training and add some depth to a pitching staff that is currently dealing with numerous injuries both in the rotation and in the bullpen. Tomlin, a Meister Sports client, opted out of a minor league deal with the Brewers yesterday.

Tomlin, 34, has spent the entirety of his big league career with the Indians to this point and was a fairly regular member of the Cleveland rotation from 2011-17. During that time, he posted a combined 4.66 ERA with 6.2 K/9 against 1.2 BB/9 over the life of 755 1/3 innings. He’s a quintessential soft-tosser, averaging 88.7 mph on his fastball in his career (87.8 mph over the past three seasons) but also demonstrating pinpoint control. Tomlin has averaged just 1.3 walks per nine innings pitched and has never allowed an average of more than 2.3 BB/9 in any single season.

Last season was a rough one for the veteran Tomlin, who pitched to a 6.14 ERA and yielded a stunning 25 home runs in 70 1/3 innings of work. The long ball has always been an issue for Tomlin, though certainly never to that extent. Tomlin’s homer-to-fly ball ratio leaped more than seven percentage points to a fluky 21.4 percent last year. That mark seems highly likely to regress, and a move to the National League figures to help to an extent as well.

The Braves had great success with a similar late-spring signing last year when another AL Central castoff, Anibal Sanchez, revitalized his career in Atlanta. Expecting that level of resurgence wouldn’t be reasonable for any pitcher, but Tomlin does seem to have a chance to log some innings for the Braves early in the season. Atlanta’s top starter, Mike Foltynewicz, will open the season on the injured list, and fellow righty Kevin Gausman could do the same. Right-hander Mike Soroka was optioned to Triple-A yesterday after shoulder troubles limited him for most of camp. Even if the Braves opt to deploy a number of younger options in the rotation, Tomlin could provide some support in a long relief role for a bullpen that will be without both A.J. Minter and Darren O’Day.

In 15 innings with the Brewers this spring, Tomlin allowed eight earned runs on 12 hits (three homers) and two walks with nine strikeouts.

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