Archives for 2024

Rangers Have Had Internal Discussions About Brandon Belt

By Anthony Franco | January 29, 2024 at 10:28am CDT

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.

Tigers Designate Devin Sweet For Assignment

By Steve Adams | January 29, 2024 at 9:35am CDT

The Tigers announced Monday that they’ve designated right-hander Devin Sweet for assignment. His spot on the 40-man roster will go to newly extended top prospect Colt Keith, who inked a six-year deal with three club options over the weekend.

Detroit only claimed Sweet off waivers 11 days ago — marking his fourth organization in four months. He’s gone from Seattle to Oakland to San Francisco and Detroit via waivers, and the Tigers will now have a week to either trade Sweet or place him on outright waivers yet again. If he clears, the Tigers could retain him as Triple-A depth, but the sheer volume of teams who’ve put in a claim on Sweet suggest there’s a chance he could yet again be claimed.

The 27-year-old Sweet surrendered 10 runs in 8 2/3 innings for the Mariners during this past season’s MLB debut. His minor league track record is far more impressive. In 44 innings between the Double-A and Triple-A levels this past season, the formerly undrafted free agent notched a pristine 2.25 ERA with a 32.6% strikeout rate and 6.3% walk rate. Sweet isn’t a flamethrower — he averaged 93 mph on his heater with Seattle — but has consistently missed bats and avoided walks as a professional. In five minor league seasons, he’s whiffed 29% of his opponents against a 7% walk rate. He has a pair of minor league options remaining, too, which will certainly appeal to other teams looking for some flexible bullpen depth in the late stages of the offseason.

The Opener: Arbitration Hearings, Roster Moves, Bullpen Market

By Nick Deeds | January 29, 2024 at 8:31am CDT

As the MLB offseason continues, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. Arbitration hearings start today:

Twenty-two players did not reach an agreement on their 2024 salary with their club on or before the day figures were were exchanged ahead of arbitration. Some agreements could still be reached to avoid hearings — Casey Mize, Cionel Perez and Tommy Edman have already done so with the Tigers, Orioles and Cardinals, respectively — but many will head to a hearing where a panel of three arbiters will choose either the player’s or team’s submitted figure for the upcoming season. Outfielder Adolis Garcia ($6.9MM) and the Rangers ($5MM) have the largest spread between their submitted figures, while the figures put forth for Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. ($19.9MM and $18.05MM) are the highest of any player with an unresolved case. Click here for MLBTR’s full list of figures exchanged between teams and players.

2. Incoming 40-man roster moves:

A host of agreements were agreed to over the weekend, led by a pre-debut extension for Tigers infielder Colt Keith. Meanwhile, the free agent market saw the Cubs and Hector Neris, the Mets and Adam Ottavino, the A’s and Alex Wood, as well as the Royals and Adam Frazier all come together on one-year deals on the free agent market. Each of those five teams will need to make a corresponding roster move to clear space for their newly-signed player on the 40-man roster in the near future. Commonly, teams will simply designate another player for assignment to clear space on the 40-man roster, though occasionally a team will work out a minor trade to pick up a player who does not require a roster spot in exchange for a player who does. One such example occurred just last week, when the Rangers shipped outfielder J.P. Martinez to Atlanta in a deal that made room for right-hander David Robertson on the 40-man roster.

3. Bullpen market thinning:

The market for relief arms has been very active since top-of-the-market southpaw Josh Hader landed in Houston on a five-year, $95MM deal earlier this month. This weekend proved to be no exception as two of the final remaining established set-up men coming off successful seasons, Neris and Ottavino, both reached agreements for the 2024 campaign. Even as options available in free agency dwindle, there remain some interesting arms clubs could look to sign. The left-handed relief class is highlighted by the likes of Wandy Peralta and Brad Hand at this point in the winter, while former Astros hurlers Phil Maton and Ryne Stanek are among the best right-handed options remaining. Teams looking for impact at the back of the bullpen could also turn to the trade market, where closers such as Cleveland’s Emmanuel Clase and Boston’s Kenley Jansen are rumored to be available, to varying extents.

Tigers Sign Colt Keith To Six-Year Extension

By Nick Deeds | January 28, 2024 at 11:33pm CDT

The Tigers announced a six-year contract extension with infield prospect Colt Keith. The deal guarantees Keith $28.6425MM and could max out at $82MM over nine years if three club options (covering the 2030, 2031, and 2032 seasons) are all escalated and exercised. Keith is represented by Munger English Sports Management.

In addition to a $2MM signing bonus, Keith will earn $2.5MM in salary for the 2024 campaign, $3.5MM in 2025, $4MM per season in 2026 and ’27, and $5MM per season in 2028 and ’29. Each club option includes salary escalators, but the values currently break down as follows — the 2030 club option is valued at $10MM with a $2.6425MM buyout, the 2031 option worth $13MM ($1MM buyout), and the 2032 option worth $15MM ($2MM buyout).

Keith, 22, was a fifth-round pick by the Tigers in the 2020 draft and has since ascended rapidly through the minor leagues with a .300/.382/.512 slash line across all levels, including a .306/.380/.552 slash line in 126 games split between Double- and Triple-A last season. The youngster has emerged as a consensus Top-30 prospect in the game, with MLB.com ranking him 22nd while Baseball America placed him 28th. Both president of baseball operations Scott Harris and Keith himself commented on the extension in a press release following the announcement.

“This is a very exciting day for the Detroit Tigers, Colt, his family, and our fans,” Harris said in the presser. “This contract demonstrates our faith in Colt and this organization’s commitment to acquire, develop, and retain young talent.”

“I couldn’t be more excited to reach this agreement, securing my place in this organization for years to come,” Keith added. “There’s a reason I felt strongly about making a long-term commitment to be here, and being surrounded by incredibly talented teammates and coaches is a big part of that… I know this is a big accomplishment, but ultimately my mission is to be the best player possible and help win a World Series Championship for Tigers fans everywhere.”

The 22-year-old Keith has now scored a significant windfall after signing for just a $500K bonus out of the draft. Beyond the financial security, Keith also has certainty that he will remain part of the Tigers’ long-term plans as they look to build upon their surprising second place finish in the AL Central last year. For Detroit, the extension affords the club some cost certainty regarding Keith’s arbitration years plus an additional three seasons of team control. If all three options are exercised, Keith will stay in a Tigers uniform through his age-30 season.

It’s the fourth-largest deal in league history for a prospect who has yet to make their MLB debut. Keith’s extension trails only the guarantees for White Sox outfielders Luis Robert Jr. ($50MM) and Eloy Jimenez ($43MM) as well as the record-setting $82MM deal agreed to by outfield prospect Jackson Chourio and the Brewers earlier this winter.

Keith was already expected to join the big league roster as the Tigers’ everyday second baseman at some point in the year, but today’s deal all but guarantees he’ll be in the lineup on Opening Day if healthy. The deal takes away the opportunity for the Tigers to secure an extra year of team control over the infielder, but Detroit is still eligible for an extra Prospect Promotion Incentive draft pick. This pick would be awarded in the event that Keith earns a full year of service time in 2024 and either wins the AL Rookie of the Year award or places in the top three of MVP voting before he would have been eligible for arbitration.

With Keith likely to occupy the keystone for the Tigers entering the season, the likes of Zach McKinstry, Nick Maton, Andy Ibanez, and Matt Vierling will be competing for playing time at third base when camp opens for Spring Training next month. While the third base keys figure to be handed to another top prospect in Jace Jung at some point in the future, the 23-year-old has not yet made an appearance at the Triple-A level and appears unlikely to break camp with the Tigers. Keith and Jung figure to be the latest in a line of top prospects to reach the majors for Detroit in recent years, including starting pitchers jTarik Skubal and Casey Mize, and position players Spencer Torkelson and Riley Greene.

As their prospects begin to reach the majors and establish themselves at the big league level, the Tigers have looked to augment the roster with short-term veteran additions who won’t block the younger players from earning regular playing time. This offseason, Detroit struck early to land outfielder Mark Canha in a deal with the Brewers before bolstering their rotation with by signing free agent right-handers Kenta Maeda and Jack Flaherty. The club has also added reinforcements to their bullpen in the form of Andrew Chafin and Shelby Miller. Those veteran additions figure to strengthen the club’s burgeoning young core as they gear up for a run in what projects to be a relatively weak AL Central division, though the Twins figure to remain the on-paper favorite even after allowing both Maeda and ace righty Sonny Gray to depart via free agency this winter.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Quick Hits: Int’l Signings, Cooper, Correa, Barnes

By Mark Polishuk | January 28, 2024 at 11:01pm CDT

Earlier this week, reporter Nathanael Pérez Neró of Diario Libre reported that Major League Baseball voided over 50 official and unofficial agreements between teams and international prospects. In a follow-up piece for The Athletic, Evan Drellich and Ken Rosenthal wrote that the league is trying to again crack down on a spate of suspected age and identity fraud cases within the international signing circuit, as some Dominican Republic-based trainers (known as buscones, who scout and help develop future prospects) have figured out how to work around a past set of guidelines established around 15 years ago.

International prospects can only be officially signed at age 16, yet is widely known that teams line up these deals sometimes multiple years ahead of a prospect’s eligibility period, which can lead to some paperwork confusion (at best) or outright fraud as worst. In several of the 50-odd scuttled agreements, teams including the Astros, Athletics, Mets, Red Sox, Royals, Twins, and Yankees learned that they were scouting or had agreements to sign prospects who were years older than their reported ages, including some who were lined up for hefty bonuses in future int’l signing windows.

More from around baseball as we start a new week….

The Red Sox have some level of interest in first baseman Garrett Cooper, with MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo (links to X) describing Cooper as a backup plan if the Sox can’t re-sign Adam Duvall. Cooper has some right field experience but has played only first base and DH over the last two seasons, so Duvall is perhaps the better fit as a right-handed hitter who could complement any of Boston’s lefty-swinging outfield options. Known for his solid production as a member of the Miami lineup, Cooper’s slash line dipped to .251/.304/.419 over 457 plate appearances with the Marlins and Padres in 2023
Coming off a down year that involved an ongoing battle with plantar fasciitis in his left foot, Carlos Correa is feeling fully recovered, as the Twins shortstop told the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Gavin Dorsey and other reporters. Correa got an early start to his usual offseason work due to both his effort to entirely rehab his foot, and to make changes to his swing mechanics. It is a marked difference from last offseason, when Correa’s unusual free agent situation and concerns about a past ankle injury resulted in his taking about a month off to prevent any further injuries to impact his market. As a result, Correa said “coming into spring training, I didn’t feel like I was prepared….This year, I do feel ready.”
Free agent reliever Matt Barnes is planning to throw for scouts next week, MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reports (X link). Barnes entered the market in November when the Marlins spent $2.25MM to buy out Barnes’ $9MM club option for 2024 — an expected move, considering Barnes had a 5.48 ERA over 21 1/3 innings before his season was cut short by hip surgery. An All-Star as recently as 2021, Barnes usually posted numbers in the Red Sox bullpen from 2016-21, but injuries and inconsistency have cropped up over the last few years.

NL East Notes: Fried, Garrett, Peralta, Mets

By Mark Polishuk | January 28, 2024 at 9:22pm CDT

Max Fried is feeling healthy after an injury-plagued 2023 season, and the Braves ace is looking to focus just on baseball rather than a possible trip to free agency next winter. “I feel like a lot of that is, I would say it’s out of my control right now,” Fried told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Justin Toscano and other reporters. “But the Braves do things a certain way, and I know that privacy and having that just kind of be more behind closed doors is the way things are done, so I’m gonna respect that. But I know that I love being here, and I’m really excited to get started with this group….We didn’t accomplish what we wanted to last year, but I know that we have a really determined group, and I’m really excited to get started.”

It isn’t known whether or not the Braves and Fried’s reps at CAA have had any more talks since the two sides discussed an extension last spring, since as Fried noted, the Braves tend to avoid leaks when it comes to transactional or contract news. Atlanta is more aggressive than any other club when it comes to extending players, yet the fact that Fried has gotten so close to free agency might hint that either side might ultimately be comfortable in parting ways next winter.

MLBTR Chat Transcript

By Mark Polishuk | January 28, 2024 at 7:49pm CDT

Click here to read the transcript of tonight’s live baseball chat

Rockies Notes: Marquez, Senzatela, Freeland, Bryant

By Mark Polishuk | January 28, 2024 at 4:51pm CDT

Pitching injuries defined the Rockies’ 103-loss 2023 season, as the team had a seemingly endless string of hurlers missing time with both minor and major ailments. The top of the rotation was hit particularly hard, with German Marquez and Antonio Senzatela both undergoing Tommy John surgeries that will stretch their time on the injured list into 2024.

Rockies GM Bill Schmidt provided some updates (to Patrick Lyons and other reporters) on the two right-handers at the team’s Fan Fest event this weekend. The club is hopeful Marquez can return sometime after the All-Star break, which fits the normal TJ recovery timeline given that Marquez underwent his procedure last May.

Unfortunately, that same timeline puts Senzatela’s entire 2024 season in doubt. Senzatela had his surgery in July, and thus Schmidt doesn’t “anticipate [him] up here” on Colorado’s active roster. If all goes well, Senzatela will be able to pitch for the Rockies’ Triple-A team near the end of the minor league season, with an eye towards the righty banking some innings and gaining some peace of mind ahead of a more normal offseason.

Colorado has invested heavily in both pitchers as part of its eternal search for rotation stability. Marquez signed a five-year, $43MM extension that covered the 2019-23 seasons, and also included a $16MM club option for 2024. Rather than buy out that option for $2.5MM in the wake of Marquez’s TJ surgery, the Rox instead worked out a new two-year extension that will pay Marquez $20MM over the next two seasons, with another $10MM available in bonuses based on roster time and innings pitched.

Senzatela inked a five-year, $50.5MM extension in October 2021 that also included a club option ($14MM in 2027). Senzatela was already under arbitration control through 2023, so had that deal not been signed, the righty might’ve been in free agency right now and facing an uncertain near future as he recovered from his surgery. The Rockies haven’t gotten much return on their investment since Senzatela has thrown only 100 innings over the last two seasons — his 2022 campaign was also cut short by a torn ACL.

Since it remains to be seen how much Marquez or Senzatela will factor into the 2024 season, the Rockies face an even greater pressure to fill innings. The Rox signed Dakota Hudson and acquired Cal Quantrill in a trade with the Guardians, but they’ll also be relying on in-house options to contribute, none moreso than de facto staff ace Kyle Freeland. However, it has been some time since Freeland has looked like a true frontline pitcher — after finishing fourth in NL Cy Young Award voting in 2018, the southpaw has battled injuries while posting a 4.96 ERA over 626 innings from 2019-23.

That includes a 5.03 ERA in 155 2/3 frames last season, as Freeland missed time with a separated shoulder and then an oblique strain that ultimately ended his season. The good news is that Freeland is now feeling recovered from more than just his 2023 injury woes.

“I told [manager Bud Black] and a couple of our other coaches how my arm and my body really hasn’t felt this good since 2021,” Freeland told reporters at Fan Fest, including Luke Zahlmann of the Denver Gazette. “It’s very exciting for me. We discussed my velocity last year, and one thing I really tried to work on this offseason is trying to get that back — doing stuff for my shoulder and stuff like that to make sure that I’m as healthy as possible going into camp.”

Kris Bryant is looking to avoid the injured list and tally his first full season in a Colorado uniform. Since signing his seven-year, $182MM contract during the 2021-22 offseason, Bryant has played in just 122 of 324 games due to plantar fasciitis in his left foot, a bruised left heel, and a fractured finger.

“I feel fortunate that I’m healthy right now and the offseason has been great,” Bryant told the Denver Post’s Patrick Saunders. In terms of his frustration over the last two seasons, Bryant said that “when I’m not performing to my standard it eats at me….When you play this game this long, certain things are going to happen, but I know that there are much better days ahead in my future.”

It remains to be seen if Bryant can ever regain his old MVP form, and while Bryant’s numbers haven’t been good over the last two years, the injuries provide a natural context for his struggles. Bryant hit .306/.376/.475 over 181 plate appearances in 2022, but then only .233/.313/.367 in 335 PA last season. Looking ahead to 2024, the Rockies intend to use Bryant primarily as a first baseman in order to help keep him healthy, but he’ll also get some work as a DH and right fielder. Bryant might possibly also see the odd game in left field when a left-hander is on the mound, but Nolan Jones is slated to take the bulk of work as Colorado’s regular left fielder.

Guardians Sign Carlos Carrasco To Minor League Deal

By Nick Deeds | January 28, 2024 at 3:50pm CDT

TODAY: Carrasco will earn a base salary of $2MM if he makes the Guardians’ active roster, ESPN’s Buster Olney writes.

JAN. 27: Veteran right-hander Carlos Carrasco is in agreement with the Guardians on a minor league deal with an invite to big league Spring Training, according to Zack Meisel of The Athletic.

It’s a reunion between the sides, as Carrasco first joined Cleveland in a trade with the Phillies back in 2009 and made his big league debut shortly thereafter. The righty spent more than a decade with the club, pitching to a 3.77 ERA and 3.42 FIP across 1,242 1/3 innings of work in Cleveland. While he struggled with injuries and ineffectiveness early in his tenure with the club, Carrasco eventually settled in to become a quality mid-rotation arm for the club and even earned votes for the AL Cy Young award in both 2015 and 2017. On the heels of a strong 2020 season where Carrasco pitched to a 2.91 ERA across 12 starts, the veteran right-hander was included alongside Francisco Lindor in the blockbuster deal that brought Amed Rosario, Andres Gimenez, Josh Wolf and Isaiah Greene to Cleveland.

Upon joining Lindor in Queens, the then-34-year-old Carrasco quickly began to struggle. Though he posted solid back-of-the-rotation numbers for the Mets in 2022, both the 2021 and 2023 seasons saw Carrasco post ERAs north of 6.00 while managing less than 100 innings of work due to injuries. As Carrasco has entered his mid-thirties, it’s become increasingly difficult for the righty to stay on the field. He battled a hamstring strain and an elbow procedure in 2021, an oblique strain in 2022, and in 2023 suffered from both a bone spur in his elbow and a late-season finger fracture.

Now headed into his age-37 season with a 4.87 ERA in 443 2/3 innings of work dating back to the 2019 season, it’s fair to wonder how much the veteran hurler still has left in the tank. With that being said, bringing a longtime of the club back into the fold on a minor league deal is an incredibly low-risk decision for the Guardians to make. Even if Carrasco is unable to return to the form he flashed in 2022 and provide the club with quality back-of-the-rotation production, bringing a beloved veteran of 14 big league seasons into the club for Spring Training can only help Cleveland’s young rotation arms (such as Tanner Bibee and Gavin Williams) as they look to improve upon strong rookie performances in their sophomore seasons.

Mariners Sign Cole Tucker To Minors Contract

By Mark Polishuk | January 28, 2024 at 3:07pm CDT

The Mariners have signed utiltyman Cole Tucker to a minor league deal, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports (X link). The contract contains an invitation to Seattle’s big league Spring Training camp.

Tucker also signed a minors deal with the Rockies last winter, though it didn’t lead to much time in the majors. His contract wasn’t selected to the active roster until August, and Tucker appeared in only five MLB games amidst twice being designated for assignment and then outrighted off the 40-man roster. At season’s end, Tucker had the ability to elect minor league free agency and hit the open market once more.

Picked 24th overall in the 2014 draft, Tucker showed flashes of that high draft pedigree during his time in the Pirates’ farm system, but he has a modest .250/.350/.382 slash line over 1107 career plate appearances at the Triple-A level. The Pirates gave him multiple looks in the majors, but Tucker has struggled to a .216/.266/.318 slash over 479 PA against MLB pitching. Pittsburgh DFA’ed Tucker during the 2022 season and he was claimed off waivers by the Diamondbacks, though the Phoenix native didn’t receive any time at the big league level with his hometown team.

Tucker was drafted as a shortstop but has moved into more of a multi-positional role in an effort to increase his value of catching onto another big league roster. Between this positional versatility and a switch-hitting approach, Tucker fits the profile of a useful bench piece if he can get any consistency going at the plate. The Mariners have Josh Rojas, Dylan Moore, and Sam Haggerty already lined up for roster spots, so while Tucker may face an uphill battle in winning a job in Spring Training, he could be a good depth piece for Triple-A if he agrees to remain in Seattle’s organization.

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