With the calendar now flipped to February, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world today:
1. Jazz, Marlins waiting on arb decision:
The Marlins and center fielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. went to arbitration yesterday after Chisholm requested a salary of $2.9MM for the 2024 season while Miami countered with an offer of $2.625MM. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected Chisholm for a $2.8MM salary back in October. Chisholm, who celebrates his 26th birthday today, is eligible for arbitration for the first time in his career on the heels of a decent platform season in 2023 that saw him slash .250/.304/.457 with 19 homers and 22 stolen bases in 97 games while converting from his previous role as a middle infielder to become a full-time center fielder. After a back injury limited him to 60 games in 2022, he was hampered by foot and oblique injuries in 2023.
Chisholm isn’t the first player to go to arbitration this year, as the first case heard was that of Orioles outfielder Austin Hays, who requested a $6.3MM salary against Baltimore’s $5.85MM offer. But a decision on Chisholm’s case is expected to be handed down as soon as today, while a ruling on Hays could take some time. As noted by the Associated Press, MLB’s arbitration panel isn’t likely to announce a ruling on Hays until other second-time eligible outfielders like Angels outfielder Taylor Ward and Astros utility player Mauricio Dubon have had either settled or gone through their hearings.
2. Rodriguez waiting on visa:
It’s been two weeks now since the Blue Jays and right-hander Yariel Rodriguez came together on a four-year, $32MM deal that would bring Rodriguez to the majors for the first time in his career. The deal still hasn’t been made official, however. As indicated by reporter Francys Romero, Rodriguez has not yet been able to secure a visa that would allow him to enter either Canada or the United States. While he’ll of course eventually need approval from both countries to play in the majors, Romero adds that Rodriguez will undergo a physical in whichever country first issues him a visa.
The 26-year-old didn’t pitch outside of the World Baseball Classic in 2023 as he worked to become eligible for MLB free agency, but he posted a dazzling 1.15 ERA in 56 relief appearances for the Chunichi Dragons of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball back in 2022. Assuming the physical goes well, the Jays will need to make a corresponding move to clear space for Rodriguez on their 40-man roster.
3. What’s next for the Padres?
San Diego reportedly landed left-handed relief arm Wandy Peralta on a four-year deal that comes with a trio of opt-outs yesterday. A corresponding move won’t be necessary for the Padres upon the deal becoming official, as the club’s 40-man roster currently stands at just 36. The agreement is the latest of several moves by the club to bolster its bullpen following the departure of closer Josh Hader, who signed with the Astros on a five-year deal last month. In addition to Peralta, San Diego has inked Yuki Matsui and Woo Suk Go to big league free agent deals so far this winter. It’s somewhat surprising to see the Padres continue focusing on relief depth, given their long-discussed budgetary restraints this winter and the number of needs elsewhere on the roster such as the outfield, the starting rotation, and their first base/DH mix. Will San Diego now turn its attention to other areas of the roster over the final two weeks before Spring Training begins?
Jackson Merrill in left and let him get some AB’s. Trade a few other prospects to Tampa for Arozarena and bring Randyland to Petco!
Don’t think what you purposed makes a lot of sense. If by some miracle the padres traded for Randy he would play left. So Merrill playing left wouldn’t be much of an option. Perhaps he would float around the infield and possibly get a few starts in left so Randy could get some dh at bats. The worse thing the padres could do is call up Merrill and not given him nearly everyday playing time.
Also don’t know if it’s a good idea to have Merrill play and learn a lot of new positions while trying to make the jump to hitting major league pitching. Think they would be better off sticking him at a spot and leaving him there to allow him to get comfortable. He has played LF, 2b, 1b in the minors but very few times. So he would definitely be learning a new position if it’s not shortstop. Which is probably fine but not 3-4 positions at once.
Now if they don’t trade for a guy like Randy to play left then he is an option to start there.
couldve used aaron hicks or jankowski, now youll be paying over $5M for someone to play center, or running out retreads like profar or randal grichuk. now the padres sit at a firm fourth place in their division, RIP pete seidler
Pohle…Neither of those guys move the needle much at all. As far as paying more for a center fielder the only guy who is even a real free agent option is Taylor. Who won’t cost all that much if they decide to go that route. Hicks minus his huge babip on the O’s has been pretty terrible. He isn’t even a very good center fielder either. Jankowski I think would have been a decent option be he is more of a 4/5 outfielder.
I certainly would take the padres current roster over the giants.
Padres roster isn’t complete yet. They will make some more additions. Still likely at least some via trade.
I think one of either Cal Mitchell, or Bryce Johnson make the roster and earn a starting spot in the OF. Both of them have had some impressive runs in the minors and extremely brief and disappointing call ups to the bigs. And they are both of the much-needed left-hand hitting variety.
A five man, outfield of Tatis, Azocar, Mitchell, Johnson and Profar would be pretty depressing, but very affordable.
I don’t think this scenario is very likely as I still think Preller has one medium sized move left to make with whatever funds are still available. And I’m thinking it will be a trade for an $8-10 million per year left fielder.
Mitchell is interesting and it seems like the Pirates may have given up on him too soon. Padres could still land Eddie Rosario and/or Michael Taylor as the price tag on either should be dropping as we get closer to spring training
Marsee (CF, LH) and Oscar Mercado (experience) might have the best chance among the non-rostered OF to make the OD roster
Brew at this point I think Mercado is a lock unless he gets hurt or some group of 2-3 guys get signed. I’m hoping for Marsee to be a mid-season call up because he is tearing up AAA.
I like Merrill on OD roster to play 2b – assuming Manny is DH only at that time AND we don’t sign Votto or Cooper to play 1b allowing Cro to shift to 2b waiting on Manny.
Yes, I’d like Merrill to earn it with his bat / don’t want to overwhelm him if not ready.
Profar / Cooper / Votto solves LF and 1b cheaply – any 2 of them.
As of right now, I’d like Sugar to get a true shot to see what he has. If he is the 4th then maybe that’s when Marsee gets called up. Might as well use March / April to see what 100 ABs can show.
They wasted some ABs in the DH role for 2 months last year on over the hill guys so maybe try it with Sugar / Batten / Rosario this year.
Sounds like you are a Padres fan, so do you think starting pitching or an OF is a bigger need?
If Merrill is playing in LF, where does Arozarena play? Not CF?
Do you really want a kid that has less than 200 AB in AA starting in your outfield? Wouldn’t it serve that prospect better to start the season in the minors and get regular at bats?
If they pick up Arozarena and play him at his regular position in left, wouldn’t Azocar be a good defensive CF?
Couldn’t you just trade Merrill for Arozarena?
Padres could probably get Victor Robles from the Nationals. Vaguely remember San Diego picking up an OF from Washington a couple of years ago. Can’t recall his name. Seems like he ended up in NY or someplace. Prospect cost for a year of Robles might come in a notch or two lower.
Free? Robles had a negative WAR last season and the Nationals declined his option. Not sure if they offered him arbitration or if he is a free agent.
The Nationals declined their club option and agreed with Robles on a lesser one-year contract to avoid arbitration. He’ll be a free agent after this season.
Is there any report or reasoning anywhere as to WHY Rodriguez doesn’t have a Visa yet? This seems like a firable offense for whoever his agent is
Your profile picture is awesome,
Looks like an African swallow
Rodriguez is non-migratory
Is that an “unladen swallow”?
What does it weigh?
What country is Yariel Rodríguez currently in?
I believe the DR
Fight that arb inflation! Go team(s)! I support fans over players.
And you support billionaires over players? How much fun watching the owners play!
So, @aragon, you’re inferring that player salaries have no impact on ticke prices? You’re pretty much saying that every dollar a team saves on salaries goes directly into owner’s pockets as profit?
Your logic doesn’t reflect real world economics. Teams have real world budgets. A dollar they spend one place, is a dollar they don’t have for another resource (or asset, .e.g. the $20M that the Pads are putting into their stadium).
You just sound like a class warrior, which is fine. Be whatever you want to me, but your logic is economic fantasy. $Billionaires aren’t worked about saving a couple of $100K so that they can spend it on their yacht.
Someone needs to let Yariel know you don’t need a Visa to enter the United States anymore. You just walk in and demand asylum.
Happy birthday Jazz Chisholm!
I feel like Jazz Chisholm Jr. is quite overrated. He really didn’t have a lot of time spent at AAA, so it’s hard to determine how his production level would be in comparison to the MLB, however, he had a fair number of games at AA and was below average overall.
In AA, he had a 32% K-rate and that has only slightly declined in the MLB to 29.2%. Overall, his minor’s K% sits around 30%. He’s not even that good at OBP either. Honestly, I think the Marlins should try and trade him to get anything back. I don’t think he’s the superstar that he’s hyped up to be.
MLB has hyped Jazz Chisholm for other reasons than his baseball skills.
@stanton100
Such as? I know he was on the cover of MLB The Show but I haven’t heard much about him since then.
Let the kids play and all that, trying to generate younger eyes on the sport.
@Smelly_Cobb
So, kids like sub-par players or just overhyped players on social media and ads?
@Old York
Not sure, I’m 34
I mean the stats you listed are above avg. both ops+ and wrc+ are above avg when avg is 100. I have even said “slight above avg season.
Weird argument you are trying to make.
Okay, if you want to say 3 points above league average for OPS+ & wRC+ is above average, sure, by all means, but the rest of his stats are below average overall. Decent player but I’d rather try and sell high on him right now as he’s not getting any better.
“If you want to say 3 points above avg” “is above avg”.
I means you can’t even say it without saying above avg.
I don’t care if they trade him or not. My point is you trying to argue with me about me saying above avg…even though in the same statement I said slight.
Seems like there would be better things to argue about.
@Simm
I look at 100 & 103 as essentially the same number. If we’re talking about a difference of 100 & 110, then yes, he’s 10% above league average but a 3% difference doesn’t make much difference at creating runs.
3% is above avg. You are now saying how far above avg before you consider it above avg. why don’t they say 10% above avg is above avg. You are moving the line to fit your narrative.
Just stop and agree he is slightly above avg so far in his career.
@Simm
I just can’t. But good conversation. Thank you.
Stats say he is an above avg player though not a star. If he has another slight above avg year then that’s just what he seems to be.
If the marlins believe he is what he has been more often then not then they should see what he can bring back. Some team may be willing to pay for potential over actual results.
What stats suggest this?
MLB slash line is: .245 / .304 / .452
OPS+ is 103, so around league average. wRC+ is also 103, so league average at creating runs. What’s so special about the guy to make him above average.
As I said, I agree they should shop him around to see what they can get for him.
Healthy all year and he is 30/40 maybe more. Seems pretty good to me.
Apropos of nothing in The Opener, just a little praise for MLBTR for doing it in the first place. Good, clean start to the day, teeing up issues without going long form.
I just hope AJ Preller isn’t counting on someone like Jackson Merrill or Robbie Snelling just being big league ready out of camp. I am not a scout or talent director, but I would like to see Merrill get more at-bats in AA and would like to see Snelling continue to build his arm for the big league workload.
With 4 spots left on the 40-man I would think he plans to sign some outfield/DH/starter types before the 11th.
Couldn’t agree more Midway. And I seriously doubt Preller will fill the opening day OF needs with inexperienced minor leaguers, especially when they’re SSs. In the case of Merrill, he even lacks experience at the minor league level.
If they want to develop 20 year olds into quality MLers the worst thing they can do is push them into a league where they see Strider, Wheeler, Buehler, Alcantara on a daily basis.
If any non-roster OFs land on the opening day roster, my bet is it would Marsee (CF). But Oscar Mercado will get some looks and maybe Cal Mitchell. None are likely to land starting gigs, at least in a scenario where the Pads legitimately hope to compete.
What’s worse is trading a Snelling for a Profar type player simply to fill.out a roster.
Teams know the Padres are desperate to fill out the roster.
If the Pads are lowballed in trades, simply play the kids from day 1.
@towinagain. Snelling for Profar-type isn’t realistic, but yes, that would be worse than letting a little leaguer man CF on OD. Or the world could get hit by an asteroid or grizzly bears could learn the nuke codes and seek appropriate revenge. Sure.
I agree that they need a little more time in AA/AAA. What about Cronenworth in CF (has pretty good speed) and Eddie/Eguy Rosario or Ornelas in LF? Acquire a LH/SH 1B and bounce back SP (preferably LHP) until Thorpe/Snelling and Merrill/Marsee/Pauley are ready for a call up.
I am very interested to see what Tirso does in ST. Maybe it’s he year to grab a spot and contribute. Same with Eguy.
Definitely! Now is the perfect opportunity for them to earn that spot.
Say what you will, but, the Madres are always interesting under Preller. Someone is always coming and going. Never static.
I like this take. Preller is exciting if nothing else.
Preller isn’t afraid to make bold moves. Whether they always work out or not.
Singing huge long term deals or trading away tons of prospects. A number of teams don’t do either. Will be interesting to see what he does this offseason. Mainly in the trade category given financial restrictions this year.
Beware of Kluber for Ludwick deals.
Because the team won’t add payroll.
Preller being forced to trade a Snelling or Lesko for a Profar type player simply to fill out the roster.
There’s no way he trades a good prospect like Snelling for a borderline major leaguer like Profar.
Legitimate question. If Rodriguez’s visa gets denied, would the Blue Jays be allowed to void his contract? Would they have to pay him anyways, or would they pay him but his salary doesn’t count toward the lux-tax?
His contract isn’t official yet because he hasn’t been able to take his physical. So I think they could walk away altogether if they wanted to, even if it wouldn’t necessarily be a good look.
I think technically they would be able to void his contract since he’s unavailable to work. Not sure what the exact language is in his contract. It’s highly probable the Blue Jays won’t do that until his visa issues have been resolved and will place him under administrative leave with pay. His salary would count towards the CBT and he’ll accrue service time. His roster spot would then be available. If they attempt to void his deal, good luck trying to sign future international talent.
Its happened before. The player is placed on the restricted list until he is able to get a visa. He is not paid nor does he accrue service time while on the restricted list.
@mlb225
I can’t reply to you for some reason, but I’d assume it’s similar to this situation with the New England Revolution.
mlssoccer.com/news/new-england-revolution-deal-sam…
What’s the point of scheduling the arbitration hearing for Hays before any of the other ones, just for the ruling to depend on comps that come after him?
Pilgrims and anchor babies go back home
That means everyone that is not native American.
I just don’t get the Marlins off-season. Ng leaves. Bendix steps in. Josh Bell opts in and nothing else. Now your gonna go to arbitration with the face of your team. I agree that Jazz is totally over hyped and definitely not a superstar but again he’s the face of the franchise even though he’s not there best player and now they are gonna hurt his feelings at arbitration. Those hearing are always contentious. It’s a couple hundred grand. Pay him and avoid this. They back doored into the playoffs last year with regression and total lack of improving the team. They look like 80 wins.
Sandy Alcantara is the face of the franchise.
Also, I wouldn’t say they backed into the playoffs since the D’backs literally lost 4 in row to end the year and barely got it in and they advanced to the NLCS.
I do agree that regression will most likely come due to their luck in having the best record in MLB in 1 run games. As a fish fan, 80 wins would be nice but it could be less.
Alcantara won’t play in 2024.
Jazz is the face of the franchise, no doubt.
Alcantara is the best player on the Marlins but Jazz is definitely the face of the franchise. He is the most marketable player on that team. The D-backs made it past the NLCS. They won it. What I mean by backing into it is Cincy,The Cubs,and The Giants folded in September and Miami played really well. They weren’t wire to wire. They were.500 for most of the year.I think Cincy has a lot to be excited about and they have improved. If I was Marlin fan I’d be a bit salty about the way this off-season has went. On the verge of contention and instead of adding it seems like they are happy to stay put. How do they replace Soler? I know he’s up and down but they have to replace that production. Alcantara was hurt and not as effective when he was pitching. How do they replace him? I like Eury Perez but they really mishandled him. He looked great until they shut him down only to start him back up. The Marlins confuse me. I hope they play well. It’s better for baseball if the Miami’s, Cincinnati’s and Pittsburgh’s of the world are in contention.
Thank you MLBTR! Exactly what the Padres need. Appreciate MLBTR reaffirming it!
Criticizing the facts, doesn’t change the fact the Padres need help at these positions.