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Jarlín García Drawing Interest

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Left-hander Jarlín García recently resumed throwing, reports MLBTR’s Steve Adams, but won’t be ready for the start of spring. He is expected to be game ready around May 1 and around six teams have shown some interest.

García, now 31, is coming off an entirely lost season. He signed a one-year deal with the Pirates, with a $2.5MM salary for 2023 and a $3.25MM club option for 2024, but he left a Spring Training game in early March due to some left arm tightness. He was shut down and later diagnosed with a nerve injury in the biceps area. He was placed on the 60-day injured list when the season began and wasn’t able to return at any point.

The Bucs naturally turned down that club option after the injury-marred campaign, but it’s understandable that clubs will be interested based on García’s previous work. From 2019 to 2022, with the Marlins and Giants, he made 188 appearances with good results. He tossed 202 2/3 innings in that time, allowing just 2.89 earned runs per nine. His 21.6% strikeout rate, 7.2% walk rate and 42.1% ground ball rate were all fairly close to league average.

Left-handed relief tends to always be in demand, so it’s understandable that those kinds of results would intrigue clubs. The 2023 season was obviously a frustrating one and it seems he’ll miss at least part of 2024 as well, but the fact that he has now resumed throwing is an encouraging sign of progress.

The relief market has picked up a bit of steam in recent weeks, with lefties like Josh Hader, Aroldis Chapman and Matt Moore having come off the board since mid-January. Southpaws like Wandy Peralta and Brad Hand are some of the more enticing options still on the open market, but García could be an interesting buy-low flier for a club if he’s able to put his injury behind him.

Franmil Reyes Signs With NPB’s Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters

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Jan. 29: The Fighters announced that they’ve signed Reyes.

Jan. 7: Franmil Reyes is on the verge of officially signing with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional Baseball, according to multiple reports out of the Dominican Republic.

Reyes hit .260/.325/.503 with 92 home runs with San Diego and Cleveland over 1540 plate appearances during the 2018-21 seasons.  Despite a lot of strikeouts in that span, Reyes looked like one of baseball’s up-and-coming sluggers before his performance took a sudden downturn.  Reyes has hit only .217/.268/.356 with 16 homers in 538 PA since the start of the 2022 season, while striking out over a third of the time.

Though the Guardians were in sore need of power during the 2022 season, Reyes’ struggles were so pronounced that Cleveland designated him for assignment that August, and he was quickly claimed by the Cubs off waivers but didn’t experience much of a bounce-back on his new team.  Reyes has subsequently signed minor league contracts with the Royals and Nationals within the last year, but his contribution to the 2023 Major League season consisted of just 19 games with Kansas City.  His last minor league came on July 8 with the Nationals’ Triple-A affiliate, and Washington released Reyes in August.

Rather than deal with the uncertainty of another minor league contract, Reyes will instead head to Japan on a guaranteed contract and in search of a fresh start to his career.  Reyes is still only 28, so there’s lots of time to potentially seek out a return to MLB if he gets on track with the Fighters, whether next winter or perhaps multiple years down the line.

Yankees Designate Diego Castillo For Assignment

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The Yankees announced that they have claimed left-hander Matt Gage off waivers, a move which was reported on earlier today. Infielder/outfielder Diego Castillo was designated for assignment in a corresponding move.

Castillo, 26, has had his name on many transactions over the past few years. An amateur signing of the Yankees, he was traded to the Pirates as part of the 2021 Clay Holmes deal. He was traded to the Diamondbacks after the 2022 season and spent the 2023 campaign with that club. But he was designated for assignment last month, going to the Mets and then Yankees on waiver claims. Now he’s been designated for assignment for the third time in just over a month.

He doesn’t have a ton of power but generally fares well at the plate apart from that. Last year, he took 556 trips to the plate at Triple-A, hitting just three home runs. But he drew walks in 17.4% of those plate appearances while striking out at just a 14.2% clip. His .313/.431/.410 batting line translated to a 117 wRC+, indicating he was 17% better than league average overall. His work in the majors hasn’t been as impressive, with Castillo hitting .205/.250/.380 in his 284 plate appearances for a wRC+ of 71.

Defensively, Castillo is capable of moving around quite a bit. He’s spent time at all four infield positions, the outfield corners and has even made a couple of mop-up appearances on the mound. He also has a bit of speed, having stolen 13 bases in Triple-A last year, the third time he’s reached double digits in the minors.

This winter, it seems he has fallen into a bucket of being just good enough to intrigue clubs but not quite good enough to hold a roster spot for very long. The Yanks will now have one week to trade him or pass him through waivers. He still has one option remaining. Between that, his plate discipline and defensive versatility, he may find himself on the move yet again in the coming days. If he were to pass through waivers unclaimed, he would stick with the Yankees as non-roster depth. He doesn’t have three years of MLB service time or a previous career outright, meaning he wouldn’t have the right to elect free agency.

Jimy Williams Passes Away

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Former player, manager and coach Jimy Williams has passed away, according to announcement from his previous clubs. He was 80 years old.

Williams was born in Santa Maria, California in 1943 and started his professional career by signing with the Red Sox. He was selected by the Cardinals in the 1965 Rule 5 draft and made his major league debut with that club. His playing career was quite modest, as he got into just 14 big league games with the Cards, 13 in 1966 and one more the following year. He made 14 plate appearances, walking once and striking out six times. His three singles in 13 at-bats gave him a batting average of .231.

He was traded to the Reds after the 1967 season and selected by the Expos in the 1968 expansion draft, but he never made it back to the big leagues. Though his playing career was limited, he managed to have brushes with greatness. His first appearance was against Sandy Koufax and his first hit came off Juan Marichal, both of whom eventually became Hall of Famers.

He transitioned to coaching and managing in the ’70s, starting in the Angels’ farm system. He got to the big leagues as the third base coach of the Blue Jays in 1980. He was promoted to the manager’s chair in 1986, with Bobby Cox vacating the role and heading to Atlanta. The Jays posted a winning record the next three seasons though didn’t make the postseason. Toronto fans of a certain vintage will remember that the 1987 club had a 3.5-game lead over the Tigers before losing their final seven contests for a heartbreaking second-place finish despite winning 96 games on the year. In 1989, the Jays got out to a slow start and Williams was fired in May, replaced by Cito Gaston.

Williams’ next gig was with Atlanta, reuniting him with Cox. Williams served as the third base coach in Atlanta from 1991 to 1996. The 1994 season wasn’t finished because of that year’s strike, but Atlanta won the National League East in every other season during that stretch, winning the World Series in 1995.

He got another managerial gig in 1997, getting hired by the Red Sox. They finished in fourth in the American League East in the first of his seasons in Boston but then got up to second place and earned the American League Wild Card spot in both 1998 and 1999. Williams won American League Manager of the Year honors in the latter of those two seasons, but the Sox didn’t make it back to the postseason in 2000 and then Williams was fired in August of 2001.

A few months later, Williams was hired to manage the Astros. They finished with winning records but shy of the postseason in 2002 and 2003, before Williams was fired midway through the 2004 campaign. That would be his last managerial gig, but he was hired to be the Phillies’ bench coach going into the 2007 season. The Phils won the National League East that year but lost to the Rockies in the NLDS. The next year, they won the division again and eventually won the 2008 World Series, a second ring for Williams as a coach. He decided not to return to the club the following year, finishing his career on a high note.

Over his career, Williams managed parts of 12 seasons with a combined record of 910-790, a .535 winning percentage. His two sons, Brady Williams and Shawn Williams, went on to become professional baseball players and minor league managers/coaches. We at MLB Trade Rumors join the rest of the baseball world in sending our condolences to the Williams family as well as Jimy’s many friends, acquaintances and fans throughout the game.

Yankees Claim Matt Gage

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The Yankees have claimed left-handed reliever Matt Gage off waivers from the Astros, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. He was designated for assignment last week. The team has not formally announced the move or a corresponding transaction, which will be required since New York currently has a full 40-man roster.

Gage, who’ll be 31 in a couple weeks, has spent time in the majors in each of the past two seasons, logging a combined 1.83 ERA in 19 2/3 innings between the Blue Jays and Astros. He’s punched out a strong 26% of his opponents but also demonstrated some shaky command, evidenced by 20 walks (11.7%) and one hit batter in just 77 faced as a big leaguer.

While Gage has an overall 5.17 ERA in parts of five Triple-A seasons, he’s been better there in the past two years (2.34 ERA in 42 1/3 innings in 2022, 4.58 ERA in 37 1/3 innings in 2023). A good portion of his Triple-A struggles came several years ago when he was working as a starter in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League while pitching in the Giants’ and Mets’ systems.

A move to the bullpen seems to have been agreeable to Gage, however, and like so many other Yankee bullpen targets, Gage will bring a track record of inducing ground-balls at a strong clip to his new club. He’s posted a 48.9% grounder rate in his limited MLB time and typically sits in the mid-40s at the Triple-A level as well. Overall, he has a 45.4% ground-ball rate in his time at the Triple-A level. He also has a minor league option remaining, so he can be sent to Scranton without first needing to pass through waivers.

The Yankees are generally light on established left-handed bullpen candidates. Gage certainly isn’t an established option himself, but he’ll join Victor Gonzalez, Matt Krook and Nick Ramirez as 40-man possibilities for the Yankees to evaluate this spring. The Yanks have reportedly been on the hunt for bullpen help in free agency but are also already into the fourth and highest tier of luxury penalization, meaning they’ll pay a 110% tax on any additional salaries added to the books. A reunion with Wandy Peralta is said to be of interest, but it’s not yet clear whether the Yankees will effectively spend double whatever the market bears (including tax penalties) in order to retain him. For now, they’ll stock up on some affordable depth as they continue surveying the market.

Cardinals Claim Alfonso Rivas, Designate Moises Gomez For Assignment

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The Cardinals announced Monday that they’ve claimed first baseman/outfielder Alfonso Rivas off waivers from the Angels. In a corresponding move, outfielder Moises Gomez was designated for assignment.

Rivas has seen MLB time in each of the past three seasons, splitting those years between the Cubs, Padres and Pirates. The 27-year-old hit well in a tiny sample of 49 plate appearances during his 2021 MLB debut with the Cubs but carries a more tepid .233/.316/.342 slash in 410 trips to the plate over the two previous seasons.

That said, Rivas has a minor league option remaining and an excellent track record at the game’s top minor league level. He’s a career .313/.424/.492 hitter in parts of four Triple-A seasons and has drawn a walk in a massive 15.1% of his plate appearances there. He’s more of a gap hitter than true power bat, evidenced by his 40 doubles and 15 long balls in 637 career plate appearances in Triple-A. He’s primarily been a first baseman in his career, but Rivas does have 342 innings in left field and 75 innings in right field between his time in the big leagues and minors combined. He’ll compete for a job as a left-handed bat off manager Oli Marmol’s bench this spring.

As for the 25-year-old Gomez, he looked to be on the cusp of slugging his way to the big leagues a couple years back but has been dogged by consistent contact issues and saw his numbers decline in Triple-A this year. In 2022, Gomez split the season between Double-A and Triple-A, belting 39 home runs while posting a massive .294/.371/.624 slash line. That power output was accompanied by a staggering 34.7% strikeout rate, however, and things only got worse in his second go-around at the Triple-A level. He still mashed 30 homers this past season but did so with a diminished .232/.293/.457 line and an only slightly improved 31.7% strikeout rate.

The right-handed-hitting Gomez still has two minor league options remaining and is clearly bursting with raw power, but scouting reports have long been down on his glove, speed and particularly his hit tool. FanGraphs and Baseball America both credited Gomez with 70-grade raw power (on the 20-80 scale) as recently as last offseason, but BA put a 40 on his hit tool while FanGraphs was even more bearish and pegged him at a 30.

A club looking for some right-handed pop to stash in the upper minors could well take a flier on the power, but Gomez will need to significantly scale back the strikeouts and/or improve defensively if he’s to carve out a big league role. The Cardinals have a week to trade him or attempt to pass him through outright waivers.

Astros Sign Joel Kuhnel, Drew Strotman To Minor League Deals

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The Astros have re-signed right-hander Joel Kuhnel to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training, reports Chandler Rome of The Athletic. Houston also inked righty Drew Strotman to a minor league pact with a non-roster invite to camp.

The 28-year-old Kuhnel (29 next month) was designated for assignment by Houston earlier this month. He went unclaimed on outright waivers and elected free agency, as is his right as a player who’s previously been outrighted in the past, but he’ll quickly return to the same organization on a new deal.

Kuhnel came to the Astros in a cash swap with the Reds back in June. He’s pitched in parts of four MLB seasons, logging a combined 6.02 ERA with a 19.3% strikeout rate, 6.5% walk rate and 52.5% ground-ball rate. Kuhnel only totaled 13 MLB innings between Cincinnati and Houston last year but delivered a huge 57.1% grounder rate in that time. However, he also struck out just 5.2% of his opponents in that small sample.

Kuhnel throws hard, averaging 95.9 mph on his sinker and four-seamer alike to this point in his career. He incorporated a splitter into the mix beginning in 2022 and has long favored a slider as his go-to breaking ball. Kuhnel has been homer-prone in his career (1.40 HR/9), though the vast majority of that has come in Cincinnati’s bandbox at Great American Ball Park. He’s also been plagued by an uncommonly and perhaps fluky low 64.6% strand rate. But between Kuhnel’s velocity, command and ground-ball rate, there are some intriguing aspects of his profile. Kuhnel still has a minor league option remaining as well, which adds to his appeal.

As for Strotman, he was once a prospect of note within the Rays system and was traded to the Twins alongside righty Joe Ryan in the 2021 deal that brought Nelson Cruz to the Rays. Injuries, including Tommy John surgery, have slowed Strotman’s development and surely contributed to lackluster performances in the upper minors in recent seasons.

Strotman, a 2017 fourth-rounder, was in his first season back from surgery (and the canceled 2020 minor league campaign) in ’21 when he was traded to the Twins. At the time of the swap he’d posted a 3.39 ERA through a dozen starts, but he perhaps began to wear down thereafter, working to a 7.33 ERA in Triple-A over his next dozen starts. After similar struggles in 2022, Strotman was designated for assignment by the Twins in September. He subsequently bounced to the Rangers and then the Giants but hasn’t found success. In 97 1/3 innings with the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate last year, Strotman posted a 6.47 ERA and walked 15.6% of his opponents. Like Kuhnel, he has a minor league option remaining in the event that he’s eventually selected to the 40-man.

Submit Your Questions For This Week’s MLB Trade Rumors Podcast!

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On the MLB Trade Rumors podcast, we’ll frequently answer questions from our readers and listeners.  With the next episode set for Wednesday, we’re looking for MLBTR’s audience to submit their questions and we’ll pick a few to answer.

Whether it’s a question about a recent transaction, a future transaction or anything else related to the offseason, we’d love to hear from you!  You can send your questions to mlbtrpod@gmail.com.

Also, if you want to hear your voice on the podcast, send us your question in audio form and we might play it.  iPhone users can find instructions on how to do so here.

In the meantime, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

The Top Unsigned Corner Outfielders

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Pitchers and catchers will be reporting to Spring Training in about two weeks but a slow offseason means there are still plenty of free agents out there. Over the past week, MLBTR has already taken a look at the remaining catchers, first basemen, second basemen, third basemen, shortstops, center fielders, designated hitters and starting pitchers, and we will now proceed to the corner outfielders.

  • Jorge Soler: He probably won’t be considered an everyday fielder by any club in the league, but his bat is clearly a notch above anyone else on this list. Soler hasn’t been the most consistent hitter over the years but is excellent when he’s in good form. 2023 was an upswing in his up-and-down career, as he hit 36 home runs and drew walks in 11.4% of his plate appearances. He also kept his strikeouts to a 24.3% rate, a tad above league average but solid by his standards. Soler’s .250/.341/.512 batting line translated to a wRC+ of 126. He walked away from $13MM and the final year of his deal with the Marlins and is now surely looking for a strong multi-year deal. But despite that potent bat, he won’t be anything more than a part-time option in the outfield. He only made 31 starts in the field last year and was graded poorly when out there, having never really received strong marks for his glovework. Whichever club signs him will surely think of him as a designated hitter who can play the field on a part-time basis, at best. The Blue Jays, Mets, Giants and Angels have been linked to him this offseason, with the Jays perceived by some as the favorite to get a deal done.
  • Adam Duvall: Though he has been seeing significant time in center field in recent seasons, Duvall has spent far more of his career in the corners. His work in center has been passable, but he’s now 35 years old and is probably best thought of as a corner guy who can cover center on occasion. At the plate, he doesn’t take many walks and also strikes out a ton, but he parks the ball over the fence often enough to be useful. He was punched out in 31.2% of his trips to the plate last year and only walked at a 6.2% clip, but he launched 21 home runs in just 92 games. His .247/.303/.531 slash translated to a 116 wRC+. Health is an issue, which is why his output was limited last year and he’s only once played 100 games in the last four full seasons. But the combination of solid outfield defense and home runs nonetheless makes him an attractive piece. Jon Heyman of The New York Post recently suggested that Duvall would be choosing between the Angels and the Red Sox.
  • Tommy Pham: After a solid run from 2015 to 2019, Pham’s production has been up-and-down over the past four seasons. He had a rough time in the shortened 2020 season, bounced back in 2021 but then struggled again in 2022. His most recent campaign was another solid bounceback, a season he split between the Mets and Diamondbacks. His 9.8% walk rate and 22% strikeout rate were both a bit better than league average. Pham hit 16 home runs, and his line of .256/.328/.446 translated a wRC+ of 110. He also stole 22 bases and slotted in at all three outfield positions, though primarily in left. As the Diamondbacks made a World Series run, he was able to add another three homers and swipe another two bags in the postseason. Back in November, he said he had received interest from roughly 10 teams, but no specific clubs were mentioned and some of them may have moved on to other targets since.
  • Aaron Hicks: Like many of the other names on this list, Hicks has been inconsistently productive in his career. He had a strong run with the Yankees from 2017 to 2020 but his results fell off from there. He was subpar throughout 2021 and 2022, continuing into the beginning of 2023, leading the Yanks to release him. He latched on with the Orioles and got back on track. In 65 games with the O’s, Hicks hit seven home runs and walked in 14.8% of his plate appearances, striking out just 20.8% of the time. His .275/.381/.425 line translated to a wRC+ of 129. He also stole six bases and played all three outfield spots. That’s a fairly small sample of work that followed more than two years of struggles, but Hicks will be a no-risk signing for whichever club lands him, at least from a financial perspective. The Yankees are still on the hook for his $9.5MM salary both this year and next, as well as a $1MM buyout on a 2026 club option. Any other club can sign Hicks for the prorated league minimum of $740K for any time spent on the roster, with that amount subtracted from what the Yankees pay. It’s unknown what Hicks will be looking for in a landing spot, but since he’s already got a contract, he could look to prioritize playing time or joining a competitive club.
  • Eddie Rosario: Rosario has been at least league average at the plate for six of the past seven seasons. In 2022, his wRC+ dipped all the way down to 62, but it rebounded to an even 100 in 2023. He dealt with some vision problems in that 2022 season and underwent a laser eye procedure, so it’s seems fair to write that year off as an aberration. Rosario hit 21 homers for Atlanta in 2023, though with a subpar walk rate of 6.6%. His .255/.305/.450 line was exactly league average, as mentioned, but Rosario’s platoon splits have become increasingly glaring as his career has progressed. His defensive grades have declined over the years as well, although he posted solid marks in 2023. Many teams will view him as a left field/DH option who’s best paired with a platoon partner. Atlanta declined a $9MM club option for his 2024 services. He’ll likely be available on a one-year deal that clocks in south of that sum.

Honorable mentions: Whit Merrifield, Randal Grichuk, Robbie Grossman, Austin Meadows, David Peralta, Jurickson Profar, Brian Anderson

Rangers Have Had Internal Discussions About Brandon Belt

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The Rangers have had “internal conversations” about a possible free agent pursuit of Brandon Belt, reports Buster Olney of ESPN. The veteran is plenty familiar with Texas skipper Bruce Bochy after their nine seasons together in San Francisco.

There’s also a fairly straightforward roster fit. Texas lost last year’s primary designated hitter, Mitch Garver, to the Mariners in free agency. That leaves DH as the only partial question mark in a loaded lineup. Last year’s #4 overall pick, Wyatt Langford, is fast approaching the majors. With only 44 minor league games on his résumé, the former University of Florida star could begin next season at Triple-A Round Rock.

If the Rangers want to get Langford a few more minor league reps, they’d be set to rotate a handful of players through the DH spot. Utility player Ezequiel Duran would probably be the top option, while former first-round pick Justin Foscue and one-time top catching prospect Sam Huff are also possibilities. Texas should have a very good lineup in either case, but adding a proven veteran bat could replace some of the production lost with Garver’s departure.

Belt would be a solid addition for that role. He’s coming off another very strong offensive showing. The longtime Giant signed with the Blue Jays on a one-year, $9.3MM deal last winter. He connected on 19 home runs in 404 plate appearances, running a .254/.369/.490 batting line. That came in a limited role — Toronto kept him to 34 PAs against left-handed pitching — but Belt posted an excellent .256/.375/.515 mark against righties.

Last year’s 103 games marked his highest workload since 2019. Belt has battled right knee issues throughout his career. A September 2022 surgery looked as if it might end his playing days. Fortunately, Belt rebounded from the procedure to turn in a productive and generally healthy season. He landed on the injured list twice last year, but they were brief absences for a left hamstring strain and back spasms, respectively.

Belt started 69 games at DH and opened 28 contests at first base. He’s best suited on a team that can afford to offer him extended run at designated hitter. With Nathaniel Lowe holding down the first base spot in Arlington, the Rangers qualify. Lowe is also a left-handed hitter, so there wouldn’t be a ton of matchup possibilities between the two players, but each of Duran, Huff and Foscue hit from the right side and could take reps against lefty pitching.

Turning 36 in April, Belt will likely be limited to one-year offers for the remainder of his career. He wouldn’t be any kind of long-term roadblock to Langford, who’d likely still reach the majors in 2024 as injuries in the outfield (or to Belt himself) arise.

The biggest obstacle might be financial. It’s unclear how much spending room general manager Chris Young and his front office still possess. The franchise may need to renegotiate its in-market broadcasting contract with Diamond Sports Group at a reduced rights fee. Paired with an already hefty slate of financial commitments, they’ve limited themselves to fairly modest acquisitions on the heels of their first World Series win.

Texas has brought in Tyler Mahle, Kirby Yates and David Robertson while reuniting with Travis Jankowski in free agency. That’s not a complete dearth of activity, but they’ve mostly avoided taking on notable salary in 2024. Mahle’s two-year contract is backloaded, playing him only $5.5MM this year. Yates and Jankowski are combining for $6.2MM on one-year deals. Robertson inked an $11.5MM guarantee but is only making $6.5MM this season, taking the form of a $5MM salary and a $1.5MM mutual option buyout at year’s end. The remaining $5MM is deferred.

Belt’s camp at Excel Sports Management should want to beat last year’s $9.3MM guarantee, since the veteran is coming off a much better platform year than he was last winter. Joc Pederson, another lefty-hitting platoon DH, just landed $12.5MM from the Diamondbacks off an inferior season. Belt could seek something similar. Texas would also have to pay taxes on any acquisitions, as the Robertson deal pushed their CBT projection above this year’s $237MM base threshold. They’re taxed at a 32% rate on spending up to the $257MM mark.

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