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The Opener: Cubs, Yankees, DFA Limbo

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One the heels of all but 22 arbitration-eligible players around the league agreeing to deals yesterday, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. Cubs to introduce Imanaga:

The Cubs are expected to introduce newly-signed lefty Shota Imanaga in a press conference at 2pm CT this afternoon (h/t to Yuki Yamada of Sankei Sports) just hours before the team’s annual Cubs Convention kicks off this weekend. Imanaga signed in Chicago earlier this week on a four-year, $53MM deal with opt-outs after the second and third years that can be voided if the club exercises a fifth year club option that would take the total commitment to $80MM. Adding the lefty isn’t the only move the Cubs have made in recent days, and president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer will surely be asked about the prospect-for-prospect swap that brought infielder Michael Busch to the Cubs from the Dodgers yesterday in addition to the signing of Imanaga. To acquire Busch and right-handed reliever Yency Almonte, the Cubs surrendered a pair of recent draftees: left-hander Jackson Ferris (2022 second round) and outfielder Zyhir Hope (a 2023 11th-rounder who signed an over-slot $400K bonus, the equivalent of fifth-round money).

2. Yankees roster moves incoming:

The Yankees deepened their pitching staff yesterday, adding right-hander Luke Weaver on a major league deal in the afternoon before signing veteran righty Marcus Stroman to a two-year pact last night. Stroman, in particular, is a significant boost to the rotation behind Gerrit Cole, filling out a staf that also includes Carlos Rodon, Nestor Cortes, and Clarke Schmidt. Deepening the rotation mix has left something of a roster crunch in the Bronx. The club already had a full 40-man roster, so they’ll need to clear two spots for Weaver and Stroman in the coming days. The club could accomplish this simply by designating two players for assignment, though an alternative solution could be working out a minor trade with another club to acquire non-roster talent in exchange for players towards the back of the club’s 40-man.

3. Kranick in DFA Limbo:

In order to make room for newly-signed lefty Martin Perez on the 40-man roster, the Pirates designated right-hander Max Kranick for assignment last week. The seven-day period during which Kranick can be left in DFA limbo expires this afternoon, meaning a conclusion is expected sometime today. Kranick, 26, was an 11th-round pick in the 2016 draft by Pittsburgh and came up to the majors with the club back in 2021. The righty pitched to a 5.56 ERA in 43 2/3 innings of work across 11 appearances for the Pirates between 2021 and 2022 before he underwent Tommy John surgery in June of the latter year.

The righty didn’t appear in the majors 2023 due to a lengthy rehab but returned to action in the minor leagues toward the end of the season, posting a strong 2.76 ERA in 16 1/3 innings of work at the Triple-A level. Kranick has a very solid Triple-A track record (3.72 ERA, 19% strikeout rate, 7.2% walk rate), but he’s also out of minor league options and therefore would need to be carried on any club’s active roster or else exposed to waivers again. If Kranick goes unclaimed, the righty figures to be outrighted to the minors by the Pirates, where he’ll serve as depth at the Triple-A level entering the season.

Requested Salary Figures For 22 Players Who Didn’t Reach Agreements By Arbitration-Filing Deadline

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Today was the deadline for teams and players eligible for arbitration to exchange salary figures for the 2024 season ahead of possible arbitration hearings. And, as usual, the vast majority of eligible players worked out deals for 2024 (and, in some cases, beyond) before the deadline this afternoon. While these agreements are all listed in MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker, unfinished business remains around the league. 22 players have not yet settled on a salary for the 2024 and are therefore at risk of having their salaries determined by an arbiter. That number is down considerably from last season, when 33 players exchanged figures. Of note, this list does not include Brewers right-hander Devin Williams. While the sides exchanged figures earlier this evening, they managed to avoid arbitration after the deadline had passed.

This year, arbitration hearings will begin on January 29th and run through February 16th, two days after pitchers and catchers are due to report for Spring Training. While there’s nothing stopping teams and players from settling to avoid arbitration between now and their hearing, the majority of clubs employ a “file and trial” approach to arbitration hearings, stopping negotiations prior to the formal exchange of figures in order to put additional pressure on players to agree to a deal early. While this approach generally puts a moratorium on discussion of one-year deals, teams are typically still willing to discuss multi-year pacts beyond today’s deadline.

Below are the 22 players who have yet to reach an agreement regarding their 2024 salaries, as well as the players’ requested salaries and the counteroffers issued by clubs. The league tends to pay close attention to arbitration salaries because outliers can serve as precedent going forward, raising the bar both for individual players and players as a whole in the future. That reality incentivizes teams to strictly stick to a “file and trial” approach in arbitration and risk a tense hearing between club and player rather than bridge even fairly minimal gaps between club and player salary figures.

[RELATED: Arbitration projections from MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz]

14 of the league’s 30 clubs have at least one case that has yet to be settled. The Orioles have the most cases that have yet to be settled, with five players on track for a hearing against the club. That being said, it’s worth noting that Baltimore has a massive, 17-player class of arbitration-eligible players, so it’s hardly a surprise that they wound up exchanging figures with an elevated number of players. Toronto first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. submitted the highest salary figure among all players headed for a hearing at $19.9MM, while the Rangers and outfielder Adolis Garcia narrowly top Guerrero and the Blue Jays for the largest gap between figures, with $1.9MM separating Garcia’s request of $6.9MM from the Rangers’ $5MM counteroffer.

The total list, which will be updated as settlements are reached and the results of hearings are made available…

2024 Arbitration Tracker

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Today is the deadline for players and teams to exchange figures in arbitration — an annual deadline that leads to a slew of one-year deals and, typically, a handful of multi-year deals. Today should see upwards of 100 players agree to salaries for the 2024 season, although the majority of clubs and players now wait until the very last minute to agree. The deadline for agreements is noon CT, and we’ll see terms on plenty of last-minute/buzzer-beating deals filter in shortly thereafter. Players and teams that do not reach an agreement will exchange salary figures at 7pm CT tonight.

Each player’s service time is in parentheses, and you can of course check back to see each player’s projected salary from MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz. We’ll keep this updated as deals come in — refresh for updates — and break off some of the larger, more prominent agreements in separate entries. All agreements are for one year unless otherwise noted.

Angels

Astros

Athletics

Blue Jays

Braves

Brewers

Cardinals

Cubs

Diamondbacks

Dodgers

Giants

Guardians

Marlins

Mariners

Mets

Nationals

Orioles

Padres

Phillies

Pirates

Rangers

Rays

Red Sox

Reds

Rockies

Royals

Tigers

Twins

White Sox

Yankees

Yankees Sign Marcus Stroman

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The Yankees’ rotation has gotten a boost, as the club has announced that they have signed veteran righty Marcus Stroman. It’s a two-year deal with a conditional player option for 2026 that reportedly comes with a $37MM guarantee. The 2026 vesting option would become an $18MM player option if he reaches 140 innings in 2025. Stroman is represented by Roc Nation Sports.

Stroman, 33 in May, was a first-round pick by the Blue Jays in the 2012 draft. A fast riser to the big leagues, the right-hander made is debut in 2014 and performed well in his rookie season with a 3.65 ERA and 2.84 FIP in 130 2/3 innings of work. Though Stroman was limited to just four starts in his sophomore season by a torn ACL, the righty established himself as a fixture in Toronto’s rotation in the following years.

By the time the club shipped him to the Mets in a deal at the 2019 trade deadline, Stroman had compiled a solid 3.76 ERA and 3.60 FIP across 135 appearances (129 starts) in a Blue Jays uniform. The right-hander’s tenure in New York was somewhat shortened by him opting out of the shortened 2020 campaign, but Stroman pitched well when on the mound for the Mets, including a 3.02 ERA and 3.49 FIP across a league-leading 33 starts during the 2021 season.

Having accepted a qualifying offer to return to the Mets in 2021, Stroman entered the 2021-22 offseason as an unrestricted free agent and found a new team quickly, agreeing to a three-year deal with the Cubs just before the players were locked out in early December. Stroman pitched solidly in his first season as a Cub, with a 3.50 ERA and 3.76 FIP across 138 2/3 innings of work. Entering the 2023 campaign, it appeared the righty had taken a step forward at the age of 32 as he pitched to an incredible 2.28 ERA with a 3.33 FIP in 98 2/3 innings of work across the first 16 starts of his season.

Unfortunately, things came apart from there as Stroman allowed a whopping 28 runs (24 earned) in just 27 innings across his next six starts before heading to the injured list with a hip issue. His stay on the shelf was extended by a rib cartilage fracture and by the time he returned to action in mid-September, the veteran righty was only able to muster eight middling innings of performance over his final four appearances in a Cubs uniform. Despite the rough second half, Stroman nonetheless finished the 2023 campaign with solid overall numbers, including a 3.95 ERA and 3.58 FIP in 136 2/3 innings of work.

Likely with his sights on a multiyear deal, Stroman opted of the final year and $21MM of his deal with the Cubs, returning to free agency. Stroman’s free agent market remained quiet for much of the offseason, though he was connected to the Royals before Kansas City ultimately opted to add right-handers Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo last month. The righty’s market reportedly picked up as the calendar flipped to 2024, with Heyman noting that the Red Sox, Orioles, Giants, and Angels were among the teams interested in the veteran’s services outside of the Bronx.  Ultimately, Stroman’s contract matches well with the two-year, $44MM prediction MLBTR made back on November 6th.

Now, Stroman is set to return to New York to pitch on the other side of the Subway Series. The right-hander adds some veteran stability to the club’s rotation behind ace Gerrit Cole after southpaws Nestor Cortes and Carlos Rodon both produced uneven, injury-marred campaigns in 2023. As things stand, right-handed youngster Clarke Schmidt figures to round out the club’s starting quintet after producing solid back-end results across 33 appearances (32 starts) with the Yankees last year.

While Stroman has never been much of a strikeout artist, typically punching out around 20% of batters faced in a given year, he sports a strong 6.9% walk rate for his career and has been extremely effective at keeping the ball on the ground across his ten years as a major league player. Stroman’s groundball rate has never dipped below 50% throughout his career, and his 57.1% grounder rate last year actually slightly surpasses his career mark of 56.7%. Only Logan Webb, Framber Valdez, and Dallas Keuchel have generated grounders at a higher clip than Stroman throughout their careers among active players, and only Webb walks fewer batters among that group. It’s a style of play that should work particularly well in Yankee stadium, which was the third-most homer friendly park in the majors last year according to Statcast.

The addition of Stroman takes the Yankees over the final $297MM luxury tax threshold, with RosterResource projecting the club for a luxury tax payroll of just under $306MM in 2024.  Every dollar the Yankees spend beyond that $297MM threshold will be taxed at a whopping 110% rate, given the team’s status as a third-time payor in 2024. The club’s actual 2024 payroll is similarly high, sitting at just over $294MM. That will be the highest payroll in club history, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts.

Adding a starting pitcher to the club’s rotation appeared to be the Yankees’ biggest need at this point in the offseason, so it’s possible the club is mostly done for the winter at this point. Recent reports have indicated the club has some level of interest in the likes of Blake Snell, Jordan Montgomery, Dylan Cease, Shane Bieber and Jesus Luzardo, including a report earlier today that the club had made an offer to Snell. All of that was prior to the club’s addition of Stroman, of course, though it’s at least feasible the club could look to add another starter to pair with Cole at the front of the rotation, likely pushing Schmidt into a swing role out of the bullpen.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post first reported that the sides were “making progress” on a deal. Mike Mayer of Metsmerized was first with the sides coming to an agreement. Bob Nightengale of USA Today first reported that the deal, which is pending a physical, is for two years with an option for a third. Joel Sherman of the New York Post first reported the deal’s average annual value of $18.5MM a season, while Heyman first added that the third year is a vesting option. Sherman reported further details on the option.

Latest On Diamond Sports Group Bankruptcy

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Major League Baseball and Diamond Sports Group are continuing discussions about the broadcasting conglomerate’s ongoing bankruptcy. A hearing initially scheduled for Wednesday morning was delayed to Friday, January 19, according to Evan Drellich of the Athletic.

That suggests MLB and representatives for Diamond feel there’s still something to be gained from talks. At the same time, it moves ever closer towards Opening Day without a firm resolution for teams whose local broadcasting deals run through the Bally Sports networks.

As recently as last season, Diamond’s Bally Sports RSNs carried in-market broadcasts for 14 teams. The struggling corporation dropped its contracts with the Padres and Diamondbacks midseason, leading MLB to take over local broadcasts for those franchises. Bally’s contract with the Twins ran its course at the end of the 2023 season.

That presently leaves 11 teams* who have deals with Diamond for in-market broadcasting in 2024. However, Diamond has suggested it could abandon its contracts with the Guardians and Rangers this offseason unless the terms of those deals are renegotiated. Meanwhile, Drellich reports that Diamond and MLB are in discussions about a possible contract to carry Twins’ games for another season.

It is unclear if Diamond will operate in any capacity after the ’24 campaign. The Wall Street Journal reported last month the company was in discussions with Amazon about potentially selling streaming rights for a short-term influx of cash that could help keep Diamond afloat.

However, Diamond only holds streaming rights for five of the 11 teams with which it has a TV deal. MLB has been reluctant to provide further streaming opportunities. The New York Post’s Josh Kosman reported on Monday that MLB shot down discussions between Diamond and Amazon — potentially with an eye towards negotiating a separate streaming deal with Amazon directly.

* Those clubs are the Angels, Braves, Brewers, Cardinals, Guardians, Marlins, Rangers, Rays, Reds, Royals, and Tigers.

Rays Sign Naoyuki Uwasawa To Minor League Deal

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The Rays announced that they have signed right-hander Naoyuki Uwasawa to a minor league contract with an invite to major league camp. “I’m excited to join the Rays organization and grateful for the opportunity to begin a career in Major League Baseball,” he said in a club press release. “I decided to play for the Rays because the success and the rich history of pitching development really intrigued me.”

Uwasawa, 29, will be coming over from the Nippon Ham Fighters of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. Like Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shota Imanaga, he was posted by his NPB club, but he comes with decidedly less hype than those two. While Yamamoto secured himself a $325MM contract and Shota Imanaga landed a $53MM guarantee, Uwasawa is settling for a minor league pact.

That may be a surprise if one were to merely look at Uwasawa’s results in terms of run prevention. He has a 3.19 earned run average over his nine NPB seasons, having tossed over 1,000 innings. He just posted a 2.96 ERA over 170 innings in 2023.

But digging a little deeper shows why there wasn’t as much excitement from MLB clubs. MLBTR contributor Dai Takegami Podziewski has frequently highlighted Uwasawa in his NPB Players to Watch series, noting that his fastball was averaging just 90.8 miles per hour last year.

That’s perhaps a factor in his low strikeout totals in Japan. His NPB career has resulted in a strikeout rate of just 19.7% while that was down to 17.8% in 2023. For reference, Yamamoto punched out 26.6% of hitters last year while Imanaga was at 29.2%. Since MLB hitters are considered superior to NPB hitters, it’s understable that clubs would be suspicious of how Uwasawa would make the jump to North America.

That doesn’t necessarily mean Uwasawa is doomed to failure, as some pitchers are crafty enough to succeed without a power arsenal, with Kyle Hendricks and Brent Suter just a couple of examples. But throwing harder generally gives a pitcher more room for error than one with a bit less power.

For the Rays, there’s no risk in giving him a minor league deal to see how his stuff plays against hitters in the affiliated ranks. Their rotation has taken a number of hits in the past year, as each of Shane McClanahan, Jeffrey Springs and Drew Rasmussen required a serious elbow surgery that will force them to miss part or perhaps all of the 2024 season. The club’s financial situation also led them to trade Tyler Glasnow to the Dodgers.

They are currently left with a rotation featuring Zach Eflin, Aaron Civale, Zack Littell, Ryan Pepiot, Taj Bradley and Shane Baz. Eflin and Civale have checkered health histories while Littell only recently converted from the bullpen to a starting gig. Pepiot and Bradley are lacking in big league experience while Baz is coming off a season completely lost to Tommy John surgery recovery.

If Uwasawa is in good form in the spring and in the early parts of the minor league season, there should be plenty of opportunity for him to find some big league innings, whether that’s in the rotation, behind an opener or perhaps as a multi-inning guy out of the bullpen.

Brewers, Corbin Burnes Avoid Arbitration

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The Brewers and right-hander Corbin Burnes have agreed to a one-year deal worth $15.637MM for the 2024 campaign to avoid arbitration, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post.

Burnes, 29, put together a strong season in 2023 with a 3.39 ERA in 193 2/3 trips to the plate. That performance earned him a third consecutive All Star appearance and and eighth-place finish in NL Cy Young award voting, his fourth consecutive season placing in the top eight or higher. That being said, the 2023 campaign did see Burnes take some small steps back as well. Though he punched out 200 batters for the third straight season, the right-hander’s 25.5% strikeout rate was the lowest of his career since a 38-inning cup of coffee out of the Milwaukee bullpen back in 2018. Meanwhile, Burnes allowed free passes at an 8.4% clip after entering the season with a career 6.7% walk rate.

Despite those concerns, Burnes was nonetheless among the best pitchers in the league last season, with a 3.4 fWAR that ranked 19th among qualified starters last season alongside the likes of Luis Castillo and Kodai Senga. That earned Burnes a salary slightly above the $15.1MM projection put forth by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz back in October. It’s perhaps particularly noteworthy for Burnes and the Brewers to agree to a deal rather than head to an arbitration hearing given the right-hander’s comments last February on the heels of his loss in a hearing against the club regarding his 2023 salary, where the sides were apart by just $750K. Given the contentious hearing the sides went through last year, it’s hardly surprising that both sides would prefer to avoid a similar situation this winter, Burnes’s final before hitting free agency next offseason.

Burnes has been the subject of plenty of trade rumors this offseason. While that’s hardly a surprise given his contractual status and Milwaukee’s decision to non-tender co-ace Brandon Woodruff earlier this winter, comments from GM Matt Arnold have indicated that the Brewers still plan on Burnes taking the ball for the club on Opening Day. That, of course, could change as the offseason continues to progress. It’s worth noting that, whether or not Burnes ends up traded before the season begins, he’s publicly made clear that he’s unlikely to sign an extension this winter and looks forward to hitting the open market come November. In the meantime, however, the right-hander projects at the front of a Brewers rotation that also features Freddy Peralta, Wade Miley, Colin Rea, and Joe Ross.

Diamondbacks, Zac Gallen Avoid Arbitration

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The Diamondbacks and right-hander Zac Gallen have avoided arbitration, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. The Boras Corporation client will make a salary of $10.011MM this year.

Gallen, 28, has established himself as an ace-level pitcher and is coming off a second consecutive excellent season. In 2023, he made 34 starts and tallied 210 innings with a 3.47 earned run average. He struck out 26% of batters that came to the plate against him, walked just 5.6% of them and kept 41.8% of balls in play on the ground.

The righty was then a key part of the Diamondbacks making a surprise charge to the World Series. Though his ERA ticked up to 4.54 in the postseason, he logged 33 2/3 innings over six starts, a notable workload for a club without much pitching depth.

He was a third-round pick of the Cardinals but he was twice traded to end up in the desert. He was one of four players that went to the Marlins in the Marcell Ozuna trade and later was flipped to the Snakes for Jazz Chisholm Jr. He first qualified for arbitration going into 2023 and played last year on a $5.6MM salary, now getting into eight-figure territory. He will be due one more raise in 2025 before he’s slated for free agency.

Rangers Sign Andrew Knizner

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The Rangers have signed catcher Andrew Knizner, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. The CAA Sports client will make a salary of $1.825MM.

Knizner, 29 in February, will join a new organization for the first time in his career. He was drafted by the Cardinals in 2016 and was with that club until he was non-tendered in November of 2023. On his way up the minor league ladder, he was considered a bat-first catcher with questions about whether his defense would be good enough.

He got brief looks in the majors in each of the past five seasons but didn’t get significant playing time as the Cardinals employed Yadier Molina as their primary backstop until he retired, then signed Willson Contreras to replace him. His bat didn’t impress much at the big league level in the 2019 to 2022 period but he showed a bit of promise last year. He hit 10 home runs in 241 plate appearances but his 5% walk rate and 25.7% strikeout rate were both a bit worse than average. His .241/.288/.424 batting line translated to a wRC+ of 92, which is 8% below league average overall but about par for a catcher.

But his glovework hasn’t been strong, as was suggested by prospect evaluators over the years. He has a career tally of -18 Defensive Runs Saved and is considered a poor framer by each of FanGraphs, Baseball Prospectus and Statcast. He’s considered a decent blocker by Statcast but his work with the throwing game is considered subpar.

MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected him for a modest salary of $2MM this year but the Cards decided to cut him loose. They have Contreras in the starting role behind the plate and Iván Herrera on hand to handle the backup duties.

The Rangers have given Knizner a salary that comes in just beneath that projection. They have Jonah Heim as their primary catcher but lost their bat-first backup when Mitch Garver reached free agency and signed with the Mariners. They also have Sam Huff on the 40-man roster but both he and Knizner still have an option year remaining, which will allow the club to keep one of them in the minors as depth.

Knizner has four years and 21 days of service time, meaning he can be retained for 2025 via arbitration if he has a good season and the Rangers want to keep him around. A lengthy option assignment could even extend their club control by another year. His major league hitting hasn’t been overwhelming thus far but he has hit .303/.369/.461 in his minor league career. He was also a late conversion to catching in college and could perhaps still be developing his skills as a defender.

Mets, Pete Alonso Avoid Arbitration

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The Mets and first baseman Pete Alonso have avoided arbitration, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. The Boras Corporation client will make a salary of $20.5MM this year.

Alonso, 29, is coming off yet another potent year at the plate. His 46 home runs in 2023 were a jump from his 40 long balls a year prior. He has finished each full season of his career with between 37 and 53 homers. His batting line of .217/.318/.504 from last year translated to a wRC+ of 121, indicating he was 21% above league average at the plate. The reviews of his defense have been mixed in his career but he generally posted solid results in 2023. He also managed to steal four bases on the year.

Since Alonso cracked the Opening Day roster in 2019, he now has exactly five years of major league service time. He first qualified for arbitration going into the 2022 season and agreed to a $7.4MM salary that year, followed by a $14.5MM figure last year. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected Alonso for a raise to $22MM but he’ll settle for a figure just beneath that.

Due to the Mets taking a sort of step back in 2024, Alonso’s final year of arbitration before he’s slated for free agency, there has been a lot of speculation about the club either trading him or signing him to a contract extension. To this point, neither has happened. New president of baseball operations David Stearns has repeatedly stated that he expects Alonso to be the club’s starting first baseman this year and also spoke this week about the difficulties of signing a player to an extension when they are this close to free agency.

Alonso’s fate would appear to be in the hands of the club. If the Mets falter and are out of contention by the deadline, he will be a top trade candidate in rumors this summer. If they remain in contention, perhaps he will stick with the club through the year and receive a qualifying offer at season’s end. The latter scenario wouldn’t be a guarantee that he would be destined to join another club. The Mets re-signed Brandon Nimmo after he reached free agency and also reached a new deal with Edwin Díaz just as he was about to hit the open market.

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