As the offseason continues to plug along toward the start of Spring Training in a few weeks, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:
1. Unresolved DFAs come due
A pair of lefties who were designated for assignment last week are due for a conclusion today. Daniel Castano was DFA’d last week by the Marlins to make room for Johnny Cueto on the 40-man roster, while Justus Sheffield was designated by the Mariners to open a spot for Tommy La Stella. Castano has pitched to a 3.89 ERA (4.86 FIP) in 85 2/3 innings across 27 games (22 starts) with the Marlins spanning 2020-2022, making him an intriguing option for clubs looking to add starting depth.
Sheffield, on the other hand, has struggled mightily to this point in the big leagues and recently at Triple-A as well, with a career 5.47 ERA (4.77 FIP) in 186 big league innings for his career. As a former top prospect, however, it wouldn’t be a surprise if another organization wanted to try their hand at righting the ship for Sheffield. Unlike Castano, Sheffield also has a minor league option remaining, making him easier for interested clubs to stash in the minors.
2. Are more moves on the horizon for the Twins?
The Twins have been active on the trade market recently, adding Pablo Lopez and two prospects in a blockbuster that sent Luis Arraez to the Marlins while also landing Michael A. Taylor in a separate deal with the Royals. That’s already a considerable amount of action over the past week, but it seems possible Minnesota is still not quite done. Earlier this offseason, rumors frequently percolated regarding outfielder Max Kepler, and the Taylor trade gives Derek Falvey’s front office even more outfield depth. The Twins are particularly deep in lefty-hitting corner outfielders, with Kepler, offseason signee Joey Gallo, Trevor Larnach, Nick Gordon and Matt Wallner all on the roster. Righty Gilberto Celestino, meanwhile, is pushed further down the depth chart by the Taylor acquisition.
Furthermore, with Alex Kirilloff (another lefty-hitting corner outfield option) now primed to take on the lion’s share of playing time at first base, the Twins have looked into veteran complements for the former top prospect. The rumor mill has linked Yuli Gurriel to Minnesota recently, and Miami’s decision to step back from their pursuit of Gurriel could help the odds of a deal getting done.
3. MLBTR Player Chat Today
For our final player chat of the week, MLBTR is excited to welcome former Dodgers and Yankees reliever Cory Wade. Wade’s best season with the Dodgers came in 2008, when he posted a 2.27 ERA (3.78 FIP), good for a 184 ERA+ in 71 1/3 innings. With the Yankees, Wade had is best year in 2011, when he posted a 2.04 ERA (3.76 FIP), good for a 212 ERA+ in 39 2/3 innings. For his career, Wade finished with a 3.65 ERA (115 ERA+) with a 4.03 FIP in 177 2/3 innings of work in the majors. You can tune in at 10am CST today to participate in the live chat, and if you missed yesterday’s live chat with former Rockies and Pirates catcher (and current Pirates TV analyst) Michael McKenry, you can find the transcript here.
It will be interesting to see what the Twins do with all those outfielders. Trades coming I would think for sure.
The Twins like dealing at the end of spring camp. I wouldn’t be surprised to see several players move. On paper, this is a much better team than the past few years but can they score runs and will the skipper ruin starting pitching.
It’s hard to score many runs on the injured list. But maybe this year… /s
Imagine going back to 2021 and predicting Sheffield would get DFA’d for Tommy freaking LaStella lmao
If I were the Reds, I’d grab Castano. I think he’s worth taking a shot on and he’s cheap.
When the Twins play the Mets in the world series I will be cheering loud for Minnesota. After all, it is geographically closest to me. Go twins!
Same here since they have a lot of our former players.
I’ll be cheering hella loud for the guardians when they play the Mets in the world series 2023.
The Rangers would appear to be a good fit for Kepler considering they haven’t addressed their OF needs yet this off season.
I agree. Would not mind Larnach either and depending on what Texas was to offer could see a match for Wallner as a minor league add-on.
Kepler to the Rangers does make a lot of sense.
Kepler doesn’t cost enough for the Rangers to sign him.
Isn’t one of the Commandments, Thou shalt not covet other team’s players?
Wouldn’t mind seeing Justus coming back to the Yanks. See if they can right his ship, and they could use the SP depth.
Sheffield was ranked 27th by BA in 2019. He’ll get another chance, somewhere, but may be one of many who never quite figures it out. Fans love prospects, but front offices often are more sanguine, because they know the failure rate.
Coaches have a lot of self belief. I bet they think they can fix these guys a lot of times.
Work ethic, especially once they make the Show, is always the big unknown. The league will always adjust to you so you constantly have to work at it. Not everyone has that type of work ethic once they make it like say, a Joey Votto does.
Castano looks like a good addition for a lot of teams.
I am not sure who the Twins can get from the Rangers for Kepler alone but I would look to the Rays and see what kind of package it would take to get Baz or Patino along with Beeks or Poche. Twins need another lefty in the pen and taking on Baz for 2024 would fit in with Lopez, Ryan, and Paddock with Gray, Mahle and Maeda all being FA next year.
Here is to dreaming. Jack Lieter for Kepler straight up. Hahaha I know it would never happen but here is to dreaming.
Never happens. Kepler alone is worth no more than Dunning, Ragans, Howard, or Otto 1:1 or perhaps Hernandez and Sborz.
What do you think about Kumar Rocker in the package? I am going to say Brook Burke and Antoine Kelly for Kepler and a lower prospect would get the deal done
Maybe I’m missing something but looking at his career numbers, he looks barely average aside from one crazy season. I don’t think a team is trading a quality prospect for him when he’s a borderline starter essnetially.
I can see TB picking up Sheffield. They are masters at fixing pitchers who are lost deep in the weeds.
Miami stepping away from Yuli Gurriel will just encourage the Twins’ FO to wait and try to pick Yuli Gurriel up even more cheaply.
Twins will probably delay on that move until an OF is traded and/or Kirilloff proves that his wrist is healthy enough to be the primary player at 1B.
I suspect no player in baseball has been hurt more by the extreme shift than Max Kepler. Looking at the maps of opposing defenses and how they line up, it’s pretty intense. Kepler doesn’t hit a lot of balls oppo, but more than you’d think to the outfield. His xBA and other expected stats are far better than actual so it’ll be interesting how much the Twins are trying to sell that. Kepler walks a lot and rarely strikes out. His xOBA vs actual shows an extreme spread with his actual OBA consistently being 40pts lower than expected.
I’m guessing there are a couple drawbacks for the Twins and Kepler. 1) Not a team player. One example, Kepler refuses to get vaccinated so he’s not available in Toronto (the Twins have been very short rostered playing the Jays during playoff chases because of vaccination issues). 2) Cost. 3) Injury prone.
Kepler was asked to play pretty beat up last year and I’m sure it didn’t help his stats, but he hasn’t done himself any favors in perception. All that said, selling low on Kepler could be a huge mistake if the split rules see a big rebound.
Him not getting vaccinated definitely improves my perception of him.
Even if you believe the vaccine doesn’t help, Kepler choosing not to be vaccinated wasn’t a personal decision any more than him eating nothing but cheeseburgers and gaining 100lbs would have been. Kepler signed a contract in which it talks about being game ready (teams never seem to enforce these clauses). Deciding not to be vaccinated is not putting forth the effort to be game ready since he was 100% barred from playing in some games where he was very much needed.
Boils down to he gave his word. He didn’t honor his word and he made it easier for other players not to honor their word. The Twins took the high road on the subject rather than deciding to wade knee deep into an highly charged, politicized topic.
If you believe other teams don’t care whether Kepler will be available for games or the example he set for other players on the team, I think you’re wrong. Just my opinion.
You can start a sentence with “meanwhile.” I promise it’s ok, MLBTR.