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Seven Veterans With Opt-Out Opportunities This Weekend

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As part of the 2022 collective bargaining agreement, MLB and the Players Association agreed to a few automatic opt-out dates for some veteran players on minor league contracts. Article XX(B) free agents — generally, players with over six years of MLB service who finished the preceding season on a big league roster — who sign minor league contracts more than ten days before Opening Day receive three uniform chances to retest free agency if they’re not promoted.

The first comes five days before the start of the season. For players who pass on that initial opt-out, they have additional windows to explore the open market on both May 1 and June 1 if they’ve yet to secure a spot on the 40-man roster. There were 31 players who initially had that option in Spring Training.

Eleven of them — Carlos Carrasco, Garrett Cooper, Chase Anderson, Dominic Leone, Eddie Rosario, Jesse Winker, Kevin Pillar, Jesse Chavez, Brad Keller, Curt Casali and José Ureña — are currently on MLB rosters. Joely Rodríguez, Tyler Duffey, Matt Barnes and Drew Pomeranz made it to the big leagues but were subsequently removed from the 40-man roster; Barnes and Pomeranz are free agents.

Bryan Shaw, Matt Duffy and Carl Edwards Jr. are on new minor league deals after opting out in Spring Training. Six others — Elvis Andrus, Eduardo Escobar, Mike Moustakas, C.J. Cron, Jake Odorizzi and Kolten Wong — are free agents after being released.

That left seven players with opt-out chances on May 1. While none of them took that immediately, David Peralta opted out of his deal with the Cubs on May 13. He inked a minor league contract with the Padres a few days later and was added to the MLB roster on May 22. Let’s check in on the six remaining players who can retest free agency tomorrow — plus one player whose deal contains a contractual opt-out provision.

Marisnick has had a tough time staying healthy in 2024. The glove-first outfielder has only played in 12 games with the Angels’ top affiliate in Salt Lake. He hasn’t hit in a limited sample, going 5-32 with 14 strikeouts and one walk. Marinsick was out of action between mid-April and the second week of May. He appeared in seven contests before going back on the injured list on May 25. He’s probably best served staying with the Halos, who are without Mike Trout and leaning on Mickey Moniak as their primary center fielder. Moniak is hitting .175/.214/.250 over 126 plate appearances.

Votto’s homecoming has been held up by a Spring Training ankle injury. The former MVP has yet to play in a minor league game. There’s no reason to expect the Toronto native will opt out. Neither Justin Turner nor Daniel Vogelbach is hitting well for the Jays, so there could be an opportunity for Votto once he’s healthy. Vogelbach, as a left-handed hitting DH, is the most direct competition. He has a .167/.273/.292 slash and has only started 13 of the team’s 55 games.

Choi, a lefty-hitting first baseman, was on the injured list for his prior opt-out chance. He’s healthy now, returning to Triple-A Syracuse on May 14. Choi hasn’t gotten into any kind of rhythm offensively, though. The 33-year-old had a .189/.319/.378 slash before hitting the IL. He owns a .171/.268/.286 mark in the 10 games since his return. Choi isn’t hitting well enough to merit a major league opportunity, though he could look for a different minor league contract with Pete Alonso, J.D. Martinez and Mark Vientos firmly above him on the first base/DH depth chart.

Greene pitched in six games for Triple-A Round Rock in April. He allowed 15 runs in eight innings and was placed on the injured list. The Express transferred the veteran righty to the full-season IL two weeks ago, ruling him out for the year.

Neither Fulmer nor Pérez has played this season. Fulmer will miss the entire year after undergoing elbow surgery last fall. His contract is a two-year deal; he almost certainly won’t opt out.

Pérez missed most of 2023 after undergoing a rotator cuff repair on his right shoulder. He played in seven games this spring but has spent the regular season on the minor league IL with an undisclosed injury. The Sox have gotten strong play from their catching tandem of Connor Wong and Reese McGuire. Perhaps Pérez feels there’s a better path to playing time if he signs a minor league deal with another team, but it seems likelier he’ll stick in the organization.

Kemp is not one of the aforementioned Article XX(b) players. He’s playing on a minor league deal that he signed in mid-April with the Twins. Darren Wolfson of SKOR North reported (on X) earliest this month that Kemp’s contract contains a June 1 opt-out date. The left-handed hitting second baseman/left fielder has struggled for Triple-A St. Paul, batting .193/.316/.325 with three homers across 98 plate appearances.

That’s mostly attributable to poor ball in play results. Kemp has shown his typically strong plate discipline, walking 13 times against 17 strikeouts. He has been plagued by a .206 average on balls in play. Kemp was briefly on the Orioles’ big league roster in April and has appeared in parts of nine MLB seasons overall. He hit .209/.303/.404 in 124 games with the A’s a season ago.

Giants Outright Three Players

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The Giants made a few moves before tonight’s series opener against the Yankees. San Francisco placed rookie infielder Marco Luciano on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to May 30, with a right hamstring strain. Casey Schmitt was recalled to take his place on the active roster.

The team also informed reporters (including Andrew Baggarly of the Athletic) that outfielder Ryan McKenna, catcher Jakson Reetz and lefty reliever Drew Pomeranz each cleared outright waivers after being designated for assignment in recent days. Pomeranz has already elected free agency; McKenna and Reetz have that right as well, though it’s not clear if they’ll do so.

Luciano came up to the MLB roster two weeks ago. With Nick Ahmed shelved by a wrist sprain, Luciano got an opportunity as the starting shortstop. He hit well, picking up nine knocks (including two doubles and a triple) in 24 at-bats. The 22-year-old struggled on the defensive side, though. He committed five errors in 60 innings, most notably a booted grounder against the Pirates on May 21 that should have been a game-ending double play. Pittsburgh eventually tied the game and prevailed in extra innings.

Brett Wisely is starting at shortstop against Marcus Stroman tonight. Wisely isn’t a natural shortstop, but he probably offers a higher offensive ceiling than Schmitt provides. The 25-year-old Wisely has hit .311/.403/.487 in Triple-A this season; he has 10 hits in 25 big league at-bats in 2024. He has been a second baseman for the majority of his professional career. Bob Melvin has given him 48 1/3 innings at shortstop this year.

Beyond the infield shakeup, the Giants got DFA resolutions on Reetz, McKenna and Pomeranz. All three players had brief stints on the MLB roster. Reetz, a 28-year-old catcher, appeared in five games with three starts behind the dish. The Giants subsequently welcomed Patrick Bailey back from the concussion list and signed Curt Casali. Reetz is fourth on the catching depth chart behind that duo and Blake Sabol, to say nothing of the injured Tom Murphy.

That pushed him off the 40-man roster one week ago — ironically, to make room for Pomeranz. The Giants signed the former All-Star to a $1MM contract after he opted out of a minor league deal with the Dodgers. Pomeranz didn’t pitch over four days and was DFA on Tuesday. While San Francisco would presumably be interested in bringing him back on a non-roster deal, he’ll head to the open market for now.

McKenna was also DFA as part of Tuesday’s roster shuffle. The 27-year-old played in four games after the Giants claimed him from the Orioles two weeks ago. A career .221/.298/.328 hitter, McKenna is a glove-first depth outfielder. He has a .261/.359/.556 batting line over 274 plate appearances at the Triple-A level.

The Giants also signed outfielder Allan Cerda to a minor league deal earlier this week (h/t to Matt Eddy of Baseball America). They assigned the 24-year-old to Double-A Richmond. Cerda was once a prospect of some regard in the Cincinnati farm system. The Reds carried him on their 40-man roster for the 2022 season, but his bat stalled at the Double-A level. He has a .188/.336/.370 line over 541 Double-A plate appearances. Cerda will hope for a breakthrough with the second organization of his career.

Dodgers Designate Elieser Hernandez For Assignment

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The Dodgers announced they’ve designated right-hander Elieser Hernández for assignment. They needed to clear an active roster spot for closer Evan Phillips, who is back from the 15-day injured list. The move drops the team’s 40-man roster count to 39.

Hernández made five appearances for Los Angeles, his first MLB work since 2022. The righty inked a minor league deal over the offseason and was selected onto the club two weeks ago. He made a spot start in his first appearance, working six innings of three-run ball against the Giants. The Dodgers kept him around as a low-leverage reliever. Hernández allowed runs in three of his four bullpen outings, coughing up three runs without recording an out against the Mets on Wednesday.

The 29-year-old has appeared in parts of six MLB campaigns. He worked in a swing role for the Marlins between 2018-22. Hernández typically posted good strikeout and walk numbers, but he has been very vulnerable to the longball. That was again a problem in his limited look with the Dodgers. He gave up five homers in only 9 2/3 innings, serving up nine runs in the process.

Hernández is out of options, so the Dodgers had to designate him for assignment to remove him from the MLB team. It’s likely he’ll land on waivers in the next few days. While Hernández didn’t pitch well in the majors, he worked to an impressive 2.83 ERA while striking out nearly 30% of batters faced over 28 2/3 innings for Triple-A Oklahoma City. That might get him a look from another organization. If he goes unclaimed on waivers, Hernández has the requisite service time to decline an outright assignment in favor of free agency.

Phillips was sidelined for a little less than a month by a hamstring strain. He was out to another excellent start before the injury. Phillips turned in 13 2/3 innings of three-run ball, fanning 17 hitters while issuing four walks. He now has a 1.64 ERA over 148 1/3 innings since the Dodgers claimed him off waivers from Tampa Bay in August 2021. The Dodgers used a committee approach to the ninth while Phillips was out of action. Daniel Hudson, Alex Vesia, J.P. Feyereisen and Blake Treinen have each picked up at least one save this month.

Jurickson Profar Is Rewarding The Padres’ Faith

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The Padres overhauled much of the roster as they navigated payroll constraints last winter. The outfield was more stripped down than retooled, as San Diego traded Juan Soto and Trent Grisham to both offload Soto’s massive arbitration salary and address a pitching staff that lost four possible starters to free agency. While San Diego subsequently poked around the free agent and trade markets for outfield help, the payroll limitations led them to enter camp with two question marks alongside Fernando Tatis Jr.

Within a couple weeks of exhibition play, it became clear the Padres were going to turn left and center field to Jurickson Profar and Jackson Merrill, respectively. San Diego signed Profar for a barely more than the league minimum in mid-February. Merrill was a 20-year-old shortstop prospect who had never played above Double-A nor logged any game reps in center field before Spring Training. That outfield alignment at least carried ample risk. At worst, it might be the difference between making and missing the postseason for a fringe Wild Card contender.

Through two months, San Diego’s outfield has instead been its biggest strength. Tatis isn’t the same player he was before injuries and a failed PED test wiped out his 2022 season, but he’s an above-average regular. Merrill is hitting at a league average level and playing plus defense at his new position, remarkable work for a player less than three years removed from high school. Yet it’s Profar who has been by far the biggest contributor. He has not only been San Diego’s best player, he’s one of the top performers in the National League.

Profar is hitting .323/.421/.495 across 233 plate appearances. He has hit eight home runs, one shy of the total he managed in 125 games between the Rockies and San Diego last year. Profar is drawing walks at a personal-high 13.3% clip while keeping his strikeout rate at a customarily low 14.2% mark. He’s hitting the ball harder than he has at any point in his career. This season’s 41% hard contact percentage is almost 10 points higher than last year’s middling 31.7% rate.

There’ll very likely be some amount of regression in the next few months. Profar isn’t going to keep pace with the likes of Soto, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman all season. His career has been defined by wild swings in performance. Profar was a slightly above-average hitter in 2018, ’20 and ’22. His performance in the intervening odd seasons was at or below replacement level. Yet this year’s production is unprecedented even for an extremely high-variance player. Before this year, Profar’s career-best OPS over any 59-game span was an .876 mark he managed in the second half of 2018 while a member of the Rangers (h/t to the Baseball Reference Span Finder). This season’s .916 is 40 points higher.

Profar has already more than made good on San Diego’s $1MM investment. Even if his bat were to completely crater in the next few months, bringing him back would be a win for the Padres. President of baseball operations A.J. Preller has long valued Profar more than the rest of the league (and most outside observers) would.

He made a surprising three-year, $21MM bet on the former top prospect during the 2020-21 offseason. San Diego brought him back last fall after Profar played his way off a Rockies team on its way to 103 losses. They didn’t bring in another left fielder to push Profar to the bench this spring. That’s largely because of financial constraints, of course, but San Diego also balked at what proved to be a $3MM price point for Tommy Pham while spending similar salaries on Wandy Peralta, Yuki Matsui and Woo-Suk Go. Preller certainly wouldn’t have anticipated Profar being the team’s best hitter, but it’s probably fair to say he had higher expectations for his left fielder than almost anyone else did.

San Diego heads into the weekend with a 30-29 record that has them in the third Wild Card spot in the National League. They’re still a borderline contender whose season could go a number of ways in the next few months. It would likely take a major collapse for them to sell at the trade deadline, so Profar should play the entire season in San Diego. He’ll return to free agency next offseason going into his age-32 campaign.

Profar has not previously received a qualifying offer, so he would be eligible for the QO if the Padres hang onto him all year. While it seems unlikely the Padres would put a one-year offer worth more than $20MM on the table, it’s not entirely out of the question depending on well Profar hits in the second half. If he hits the market unencumbered by draft compensation, he could land the biggest guarantee of his career. He’s at least trending toward a two-year deal and would have an argument for a three-year pact in the Jeimer Candelario ($45MM) or Lourdes Gurriel Jr. ($42MM with an opt-out) range if his bat doesn’t wilt down the stretch.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Diamondbacks Place Zac Gallen On Injured List

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The Diamondbacks announced that right-hander Zac Gallen has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to a right hamstring strain. Fellow righty Slade Cecconi has been recalled in a corresponding move.

Gallen, 28, took the ball in last night’s game against the Mets but departed after just six pitches, with the club later announcing the hamstring strain. There were some signs pointing to a mild injury, as manager Torey Lovullo told Arizona Sports’ Burns & Gambo show earlier today that he expected Gallen to miss one start without going on the IL, as relayed by Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports. Though it seems the club decided to put him on the IL after all, putting him out of action for the next two weeks at least.

Even if it does prove to be a short absence, it’s not good news for the Snakes, as Gallen has emerged as one of the better pitchers in baseball in recent years. In 725 career innings, he has allowed 3.20 earned run per nine frames. Since the start of 2022, he has a 3.05 ERA, 26.3% strikeout rate, 6.1% walk rate and 43.3% ground ball rate.

Subtracting that kind of performance would hurt any rotation but it’s especially concerning for the Diamondbacks, as Gallen now joins Merrill Kelly and Eduardo Rodríguez on the injured list. The defending National League champions have gotten out to a slow start so far this year and are currently 25-31. Climbing back into a playoff position will be tough without those three pitchers and neither Kelly nor Rodríguez have started a rehab assignment yet, so the club will definitely be hoping that Gallen just needs a quick breather before returning.

For now, the club’s rotation consists of Jordan Montgomery, Brandon Pfaadt, Ryne Nelson, Blake Walston and Cecconi. Both Nelson and Cecconi have an ERA over 6.00. Montgomery is at 4.69 and Pfaadt at 4.16. Walston’s ERA is just 2.16 but in a tiny sample of 8 1/3 innings. Tommy Henry is on optional assignment, though he has a 5.40 ERA in the majors so far this year. Cristian Mena is also on the 40-man roster but has yet to make his major league debut.

Mike Ford Elects Free Agency

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First baseman Mike Ford will elect free agency rather than accept an outright assignment with the Reds, per Charlie Goldsmith of the Cincinnati Enquirer on X. Ford was designated for assignment earlier this week but evidently passed through waivers unclaimed.

The 31-year-old is capable of being a potent slugger but has struggled with consistency, both this year and in his career. He has had an on-and-off relationship with the Reds this year, having signed two minor league deals that both ended in him opting out, as well as a major league deal that followed.

Around those transactions, he put up a massive .455/.486/.727 line in Spring Training and hit .297/.381/.538 in Triple-A. Unfortunately, once in the big leagues, his production fell to .150/.177/.233 in 62 plate appearances. A tiny .182 batting average on balls in play surely weighed that line down, but the Reds cut him from the roster regardless.

Ford has struggled in the big leagues before but had his best showing in the majors just last year. He got into 84 games with the Mariners and hit 16 home runs. His 32.3% strikeout rate was on the high side but he drew walks at a solid 9.6% rate and slashed .228/.323/.475 for a 123 wRC+.

Despite that impressive performance, the M’s non-tendered Ford, which led to his transactions dance with the Reds this year. His most recent big league showing wasn’t great but, as mentioned, a lot of that appears to have been BABIP-based. He was great in the bigs last year and also looked great this year in Spring Training and at Triple-A.

He’ll now take some time to suss out opportunities but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him and the Reds reconnect in a few days, as they’ve already done a handful of times so far this year.

Mariners Part Ways With Coach Brant Brown

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The Mariners announced that they have relieved bench coach and offensive coordinator Brant Brown of his duties. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported the news on X prior to the official announcement. Director of hitting strategy Jarret DeHart and assistant hitting coach Tommy Joseph will expand their current roles to compensate for Brown’s absence.

Brown, 52, just joined the Seattle staff coming into this year. He had previously served as a hitting coach for the Marlins and Dodgers at the major league level. Prior to holding those gigs, he was with the Mariners as a minor league coordinator.

The M’s are having a good season overall, currently sporting a record of 31-27 that has them atop the American League West. However, that’s largely due to a strong pitching staff and in spite of some lackluster offense. The team has a collective earned run average of 3.58, ninth-lowest in the majors.  But their hitters have collectively slashed .221/.295/.361 for a wRC+ of 94. That indicates they’ve been six percent below league average overall, a mark that bests just six other clubs in the league.

Over the offseason, president of baseball operations spoke of wanting to lower the club’s strikeout-heavy tendencies, which seemed to play a role in letting players like Teoscar Hernández, Mike Ford, Jarred Kelenic, Eugenio Suárez and Tom Murphy depart, either via trade or free agency.

This year, the club as a whole is striking out at a 28.3% rate, easily the worst in the majors. The Athletics are second-worst at 26.2%, a significant gap. That’s at least partially attributable to the front office bringing in other players with their own strikeout tendencies, such as Mitch Garver, Luke Raley and Mitch Haniger, but perhaps the ongoing problem with punchouts played a role in the club looking to make a change.

Regardless of the reasoning, it’s a notable development since it’s fairly rare for clubs to make midseason staff changes, especially when doing so well overall. Manager Scott Servais will try to guide the club forward without Brown, while DeHart and Joseph step up. DeHart has been a member of the staff since the 2020 season, going from assistant hitting coach to his current title. Joseph was just hired coming into the current campaign.

Blue Jays Designate Joel Kuhnel For Assignment

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The Blue Jays announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Ryan Burr. It was reported yesterday that they would be acquiring him from the Phillies for cash considerations. To get Burr onto the roster, the Jays placed right-hander Alek Manoah on the 15-day injured list with a right elbow sprain. To open a 40-man spot for Burr, righty Joel Kuhnel was designated for assignment.

Manoah was removed from Wednesday’s start with elbow discomfort. Scott Mitchell of TSN relayed on X earlier today that Manoah is going for a second opinion and likely to miss an extended period of time. Manager John Schneider informed reporters that the sprain is in Manoah’s ulnar collateral ligament and that the righty will meet Dr. Keith Meister on Thursday. Keegan Matheson of MLB.com was among those who relayed the info on X. Further details will undoubtedly be forthcoming on that, but the Jays will need a fifth starter behind José Berríos, Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt and Yusei Kikuchi.

Matheson relayed on X today that righty Bowden Francis is with the club. He is currently on the injured list but has been rehabbing, most recently throwing 60 pitches 3 2/3 innings for Triple-A Buffalo on Tuesday. If added to the roster at some point in the coming days, he could make a start for the Jays or at least throwing multiple innings behind an opener.

For now, Manoah’s roster spot will go to Burr. He signed a minor league deal with the Phillies in the winter and has looked great so far in Triple-A this year. Through 16 2/3 innings, he has a 2.16 earned run average, 43.3% strikeout rate and 7.5% walk rate.

That has inspired the Jays to give the Phillies some cash to bring Burr aboard and they will now see if he can continue performing well at the major league level. He pitched 75 big league innings with the White Sox over the 2019-22 period with a 4.08 ERA, 20.6% strikeout rate, 12.2% walk rate and 50.5% ground ball rate. He still has a couple of options and could perhaps be sent down to the minors when Francis is reinstated from the IL, though the Jays have some other optionable relievers as well.

To get Burr on the 40-man, the Jays are bumping off Kuhnel. The 29-year-old was just acquired from the Astros less than a month ago in a cash deal. He has since thrown 8 2/3 innings for Triple-A Buffalo with a 1.04 ERA. His 10.8% walk rate is high and his 2.7% strikeout rate incredibly low, but he’s managed to keep 56.3% of balls in play on the ground.

That has generally been Kuhnel’s recipe. In 85 2/3 major league innings, he has only struck out 19% of opponents but has gotten the ball pounded into the dirt at a 52.2% clip. The resulting 6.30 ERA isn’t pretty but that’s partially attributable to a .327 batting average on balls in play and 62.6% strand rate. Going back to the start of 2021, Kuhnel has a 4.28 ERA in 82 innings in the minors. He struck out just 15.7% of batters faced in that time but has generally kept about half of balls in play on the ground.

The Jays will have one week to trade Kuhnel or pass him through waivers. He still can be optioned for the rest of this year and could appeal to clubs looking for extra rotation depth. He has been outrighted previously in his career and would therefore have the right to reject another outright assignment in favor of free agency, if he passes through waivers unclaimed.

A’s Place Lucas Erceg On IL With Forearm Strain

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TODAY: The A’s have now made it official, placing Erceg on the IL today and also optioned right-hander Tyler Ferguson to Triple-A. In corresponding moves, right-hander Dany Jiménez and left-hander Brady Basso were recalled. Additionally, infielder Tyler Nevin was outrighted to Triple-A after being designated for assignment earlier this week.

MAY 30: The A’s will place setup man Lucas Erceg on the 15-day injured list, manager Mark Kotsay told reporters on Thursday afternoon (via the MLB.com injury tracker). The right-hander experienced forearm tightness while warming up on Tuesday. He’s headed back to Oakland for further evaluation.

While Erceg isn’t as dominant as late-inning bullpen mate Mason Miller, he has been a key leverage arm in his own right. He’s carrying a 2.86 ERA with a 31% strikeout rate over 22 innings. Half the batted balls he has allowed have been hit on the ground. Erceg has averaged nearly 99 MPH on his fastball and has gotten swinging strikes on almost 13% of his offerings. He’s second on the team behind Austin Adams with eight holds and has picked up a pair of saves.

This has the makings of a breakout season for Erceg, who turned 29 earlier this month. He began his career as a reasonably well-regarded third base prospect in the Milwaukee system. When his bat plateaued in Triple-A, the Brewers moved him to the mound. Milwaukee abandoned the experiment when they traded Erceg to Oakland for cash last May. The A’s lived with some inconsistent results in his rookie campaign — a 4.75 ERA with a huge 14.3% walk rate over 55 innings — and have been rewarded through this year’s first couple months.

A healthy Erceg would make for an interesting trade candidate this summer. The A’s certainly don’t need to move him. He has five more seasons of team control and won’t get to arbitration until the end of 2025. There’s clear appeal to a Miller/Erceg pairing in the late innings. If the A’s decide to stretch Miller back out as a starter next year, Erceg could be their first choice to close.

Still, there’s also an argument for trying to sell high on Erceg. His winding career path means he’s well into what would typically be a pitcher’s prime (although it’s possible he’ll develop later than most because of his relative inexperience on the mound). Relief pitching tends to be volatile and Erceg’s command is still a work in progress. While this season’s 9.2% walk rate is average for a reliever, he had generally walked between 13-15% of opponents before this year.

Trade speculation is conditional on him being on the mound in July. He’s set to be out at least into the middle of June. The upcoming testing will reveal whether he’s in line for a longer absence and if there are any structural concerns.

Guardians Designate Estevan Florial For Assignment

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The Guardians have designated outfielder Estevan Florial for assignment, tweets Zack Meisel of The Athletic. His spot on the roster will go to outfielder Steven Kwan, who’s been reinstated from the injured list and is back in the Cleveland lineup tonight.

Acquired from the Yankees in a December swap that sent right-hander Cody Morris back to New York, the out-of-options Florial won a spot on Cleveland’s Opening Day roster but has yet to hit with his new club. The once-vaunted prospect has appeared in 36 games with the Guards and tallied 111 plate appearances while mustering only a .173/.264/.367 slash. Florial has shown some extra-base pop, with three homers, six doubles and a pair of triples, but he’s also gone down on strikes in a staggering 36.9% of his plate appearances.

Strikeout woes are nothing new for Florial, who’s now punched out in 33.5% of his 245 big league plate appearances. Even as Florial put up gaudy numbers in Triple-A with the Yankees organization in 2022-23, he did so while fanning in three out of every ten trips to the plate. The Yankees largely left him in Triple-A to try to sort through his lack of contact skills, but it’s not a flaw that Florial has been able to overcome to this point.

Florial’s combination of power and speed has long been tantalizing, but he’s now a .192/.291/.329 hitter in the big leagues who can’t be sent to the minors without first clearing waivers. Another club that’s not in contention could perhaps afford to take a flier and place a waiver claim, but it’d be hard for any team with postseason aspirations to give Florial any kind of meaningful playing time when he’s clearly a project. The Guardians will have a week to try to trade him, pass him through outright waivers, or release him. If he clears outright waivers, Florial can reject the assignment and elect free agency by virtue of the fact that he’s been outrighted once in the past (with the Yankees in April 2023).

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