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Archives for March 2024

White Sox Outright Touki Toussaint

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The White Sox announced that right-hander Touki Toussaint cleared waivers and has been assigned outright to Triple-A Charlotte. The righty had been designated for assignment on the weekend when the club signed outfielder Kevin Pillar.

Toussaint, 28 in June, was claimed off waivers from the Guardians in June of last year. The Sox traded away many of their best pitchers last summer, with the trades of Lance Lynn and Lucas Giolito creating two holes in the rotation. Toussaint helped fill in those gaps, tossing 83 1/3 innings for the Sox last year with a 4.97 earned run average.

Even though that was a fairly competent performance, Toussaint’s lack of control was a red flag, as it has been throughout his career. He was once a first-round draft pick, getting selected 16th overall by the Diamondbacks in 2014, and also a top 100 prospect as a minor leaguer. But his consistently high walk rates have prevented him from truly securing a big league job for any meaningful stretch of time.

With the Sox last year, his 22.7% strikeout rate and 49.5% ground ball rate were both pretty close to league average, but he gave free passes to 14.2% of batters that came to the plate. The average walk rate for major league starters was 7.9% last year, so Toussaint was almost double that. He’s walked 14% of batters faced in his career overall, which has played a large part in him not establishing himself in the bigs. He had never previously logged more than 50 innings in a season until he got to 87 last year.

He came into camp with a White Sox club that had a lot of question marks on its pitching staff, but he didn’t do much to take a step forward and answer those questions. He tossed 7 2/3 innings over six appearances, issuing an eye-popping 11 walks while striking out just two batters and getting charged with 11 earned runs.

Since he’s out of options, the Sox had to either keep him on the active roster or remove him from the 40-man entirely. They decided for the latter and no other club was willing to give him a roster spot either.

Toussaint can technically reject this outright assignment but it’s unlikely he will. A player with at least three years of major league service time can reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency but requires five years of service to both elect free agency and retain their salary. Toussaint is at three years and 71 days, meaning he would have to walk away from his salary in order to hit the open market.

He and the club avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $1.3MM salary for this year, so he’ll likely want to hang onto that. Assuming he accepts his assignment, he’ll report to the Knights and look to work his way back to the majors.

A’s Acquire T.J. McFarland From Dodgers, Select Him To Roster

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The Athletics announced that they have acquired left-hander T.J. McFarland from the Dodgers for cash considerations and selected him to the 40-man roster.

McFarland, 35 in June, is a veteran ground ball guy who has bounced around the league, including pitching for the A’s in 2020. He has also suited up for the Orioles, Diamondbacks, Cardinals and Mets in a career that dates back to 2013 and includes 354 major league appearances.

Last year, he was only in the majors for about two weeks with the Mets, making three appearances. He spent the majority of the year in Triple-A for the Mets and Orioles, pitching very well at that level. He posted a 2.30 earned run average in 62 2/3 innings, walking 10.2% of opponents but also striking out 25.2% of batters faced. His ground ball rate was over 62% for both Triple-A clubs he pitched for.

Those grounders have been his M.O. throughout his career, with 62.2% of the balls in play during his major league career having been pounded into the dirt. That has made him particularly vulnerable to the baseball gods, as shown in time with the Cardinals. In 2021, he had a batting average on balls in play of .261 and a strand rate of 81.5%, leading to a 2.56 ERA. The year after, he had a .333 BABIP and 60.4% strand rate, which bumped his ERA all the way to 6.61.

He signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers this winter and posted a 1.35 ERA over seven spring appearances, but that club has a fairly stacked bullpen without a clear opening for McFarland. The A’s, on the other hand, are much more able to employ him.

Oakland is deep into a rebuild and came into camp with a group of relievers fairly light on experience. That issue was compounded when three of the most veteran guys went down with injuries. Trevor Gott required Tommy John surgery, putting him out of action for the whole year. Sean Newcomb is going to start the season on the injured list due to irritation in his surgically-repaired left knee while Scott Alexander has a stress reaction in his left ribs.

The A’s have been trying to quickly to make up for those losses, recently acquiring Austin Adams from the Mets and now McFarland. He’ll provide the A’s with a veteran southpaw arm to hopefully stabilize a pitching staff in flux while also perhaps serving as a guiding force for the many young arms on the team.

Nationals Select Derek Law

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The Nationals announced today that they have selected the contract of right-hander Derek Law. In a corresponding move, right-hander Cade Cavalli was placed on the 60-day injured list. Cavalli underwent Tommy John surgery just over a year ago and evidently has at least a couple more months of rehab remaining, since he’ll now be ineligible to be activated until late May at the earliest.

Law, 33, is a veteran journeyman who will be joining the sixth team of his career, having previously pitched for the Giants, Blue Jays, Twins, Tigers and Reds. With Cincinnati last year, he tossed 55 innings with a 3.60 earned run average, though less impressive peripherals.

His 18.8% strikeout rate, 10.8% walk rate and 39.5% ground ball rate were each a bit worse than league averages. His .275 batting average on balls in play and 77.9% strand rate were both on the lucky side, which is why there was a sizeable gap between Law’s ERA and his 4.62 FIP and 4.82 SIERA.

The Reds could have retained Law via arbitration, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting a fairly modest $1.4MM salary. They decided to non-tender Law instead, sending him to free agency. He signed a minors pact with the Nats, one that came with a $1.5MM salary if added to the major league roster. He has tossed 9 1/3 scoreless innings this spring, striking out 12 batters while issuing three walks. That strong showing will get him onto the Nats’ roster and lock in that salary.

The Nationals are in the midst of a rebuild and have given many roster spots to veterans this offseason. Jesse Winker, Eddie Rosario and Matt Barnes had their minor league contracts selected on Sunday. The club had earlier given major league deals to Joey Gallo and Dylan Floro.

The club is surely hoping that those players help the team, both by their own performances and by providing guidance to the younger players. If they are playing especially well, they could perhaps become midseason trade candidates, assuming the Nats aren’t in contention. Washington tried this approach last year with mixed results, as their Jeimer Candelario signing worked out great but the deals for Dominic Smith and Corey Dickerson less so.

Law will join Barnes and Floro as veteran arms in a Washington bullpen that’s fairly light on experience. Kyle Finnegan, Hunter Harvey and Tanner Rainey are the most experienced of the returning players from last year, though each is slated for free agency after 2025 and could wind up on the trade block this summer. There will surely be lots of innings to cover throughout the year and Law will do his part to help out in that department. Even if he sticks with the club all year, he’ll still be shy of six years of service time and could be retained for 2025 via arbitration if the club is interested.

Dylan Carlson To Be Placed On Injured List; Cardinals To Select Victor Scott II

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Cardinals center fielder Dylan Carlson has been diagnosed with a sprained AC joint in his left shoulder following a collision with right fielder Jordan Walker during yesterday’s Grapefruit League game, president of baseball operations John Mozeliak announced to reporters Tuesday (X link via Bob Nightengale of USA Today). He’ll open the season on the injured list. In his place, the Cardinals will select the contract of outfield prospect Victor Scott. He’ll open the season in center field.

Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Carlson’s absence will be measured in weeks, not months. As such, while the Cardinals will need to open a 40-man roster spot for Scott, placing Carlson on the 60-day IL seemingly won’t be a consideration when determining a corresponding move.

It’s an unfortunate blow for both Carlson and the Cardinals. The club came into camp with a planned outfield of Walker in right, Tommy Edman in center and Lars Nootbaar in left. Edman and Nootbaar are each going to start the season on the IL, Edman due to lingering soreness in his wrist after last year’s arthroscopic surgery, Nootbaar due to rib fractures suffered while attempting to make a catch.

That opened the door for Carlson, who was himself been frequently beset by injuries. After a breakout season in 2021, he missed time in 2022 due to a left hamstring strain and left ankle sprain, getting capped at 128 games. Last year, the ankle issues resurfaced and he only got into 76 games, eventually requiring surgery on that ankle.

He seemed to be in good form this spring, having hit .271/.340/.521. Just as he was about to open the season with a starting center field job, a brutally timed collision will send him to the injured list once again. He will hopefully be able to get healthy and rejoin the club in just a few weeks, but it’s also possible that Edman and/or Nootbaar will be back in the mix by that point.

Carlson’s misfortune will be an opportunity for Scott. He was a fifth-round draft pick of the Cards in 2022 and came into professional baseball with strong grades for his speed and defense but concerns about his bat.

Last year, he did a lot to quiet those concerns. He played 132 games between High-A and Double-A, hitting just nine home runs and walking at just a 7.4% rate, but he also limited his strikeouts to a 15.7% clip. His combined batting line of .303/.369/.425 translated to a wRC+ of 118. He also stole a tremendous 94 bases in 108 attempts on the year.

That vaulted Scott onto prospect lists coming into 2024. Both Baseball America and FanGraphs gave him the #83 slot on their respective top 100 lists coming into this year. Keith Law of The Athletic had him up at #55, though Scott didn’t crack the lists at either MLB Pipeline or ESPN.

He has been performing well this spring, hitting .316/.409/.368 and swiping four bags. The Cards probably didn’t plan on Scott jumping to the big leagues, since he was drafted less than two years ago and has no Triple-A experience thus far, but the string of injuries suffered by their other outfielders has forced their hand. Whether Scott sticks around or is merely a placeholder until the other guys get healthy will likely depend on his performance.

Despite some decent prospect hype, Scott won’t qualify for the prospect promotion incentive of the current collective bargaining agreement. It only applies to players that are on two of three top 100 lists at BA, ESPN and MLB Pipeline. Since Scott only made the BA lists of those three, he doesn’t make the cut and won’t be able to provide the Cards with an extra draft pick via his placement in awards voting.

Orioles Sign Tony Kemp, Designate Nick Maton

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The Orioles announced that they have signed infielder/outfielder Tony Kemp to a major league contract, with infielder/outfielder Nick Maton designated for assignment in a corresponding move. Kemp will make a salary of $1MM, per Andy Kostka of The Baltimore Banner, a bit north of this year’s $740K league minimum.

Kemp, 32, is coming off a decent stretch with the A’s over the past four years. His 11.7% strikeout rate was quite low and he drew walks at a solid 10.5% clip. He didn’t provide much thump when putting the bat on the ball, as he hit just 20 home run in his 1,488 plate appearances in that time. But his .240/.330/.345 batting line was still close to average, translating to a 97 wRC+.

Unfortunately, the most recent season of those four was the worst, as he hit just .209/.303/.304 in 2023. He settled for a minor league deal with the Reds this winter and had a nice spring, slashing .333/.391/.619, though in a tiny sample of 23 plate appearances. Despite that good form, he wasn’t going to make the roster of a Reds club that has a fairly crowded position player mix, so he returned to the open market. He had an opt-out on his minor league deal and he either triggered it or the Reds simply let him go to explore other opportunities.

The Orioles are also loaded with position player talent but will find a way to squeeze Kemp in somehow. They seem to have opted to get some of their talented youngsters more playing time at the Triple-A level, with guys like Jackson Holliday, Coby Mayo, Kyle Stowers and Heston Kjerstad all being optioned or reassigned last week.

While those guys are getting regular playing time on the farm, Kemp will take on a multi-positional bench role with the major league club. He’s not really an option at shortstop, with just two career innings there, but he has plenty of experience at second base and left field.

Kemp has fairly neutral platoon splits in his career, 100 wRC+ versus lefties and 93 against righties, but Ramón Urías and Jordan Westburg are both right-handed. Since Urías and Westburg will likely be covering second and third base in some combination, Kemp can provide a lefty-swinging complement. Left fielder Austin Hays and first baseman/designated hitter Ryan Mountcastle are also right-handed, which perhaps provides another path for Kemp to factor into the club’s plans.

He also had double-digit stolen bases in each of the past two years, which could allow him to serve as a pinch-runner at times. His left field defense has been considered around league average though the metrics are split on his work at the keystone, with seven Outs Above Average but -17 Defensive Runs Saved.

The O’s were seemingly deciding between Tyler Nevin and Nick Maton for a bench/utility role, as both are out of options and were acquired from the Tigers in separate cash deals this offseason. Nevin hit .333/.367/.474 this spring while Maton hit just .000/.207/.000.

That poor performance has seemingly cost Maton his roster spot. The O’s will now have a week to trade him or try to pass him through waivers. He has struggled in the majors, with a .208/.306/.361 batting line thus far, but he’s naturally been better in the minors. He’s hit .274/.383/.440 on the farm over the past two years for a 118 wRC+ while spending time at all four infield positions and the outfield corners.

That could lead to him finding some interest from other clubs, but since he’s out of options and the season is about to begin, he might get squeezed by the fact that many clubs are making tough roster cuts right now. If he were to pass through waivers unclaimed, he would stick with the O’s as non-roster depth.

What remains to be seen is exactly how Baltimore will structure its bench before Opening Day. James McCann will have one spot as a backup catcher, with Kemp and Jorge Mateo serving as infield/outfield pieces. That leaves just one spot for Nevin or Colton Cowser, the latter of whom is still optionable.

Rockies Extend Ezequiel Tovar

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March 26: The Rockies have formally announced Tovar’s extension. Per Jon Heyman of The New York Post, the 2031 option has a $23MM salary and $2.5MM buyout

March 24: The Rockies and shortstop Ezequiel Tovar have agreed to a long-term contract extension that will run through at least the 2030 season. The 22-year-old Tovar will earn $63.5MM over the seven guaranteed years of the deal, and the Rockies hold a club option on his services for the 2031 season that could bring the total to $84MM if triggered. Tovar is represented by the Rimas Sports Agency, and the extension will be official once the shortstop passes a physical.

Tovar was already under club control through the end of the 2028 season, and this next extension will now add at least two and maybe three more years to his time in Colorado. Due to Tovar’s young age, he’ll still be in his prime when eligible for free agency, as he’ll either be 29 or 30 years old at the end of the deal depending on whether or not the Rox exercise their club option.

Tovar entered the 2023 season as a consensus top-25 prospect in the sport. The youngster made the club’s Opening Day roster as the starting shortstop last year but got off to a difficult start before heating up towards the end of April. Tovar managed to carry that hot streak into the All Star break, hitting a solid .283/.314/.479 with nine home runs during that 65 game stretch. Unfortunately, however, Tovar struggled in the second half and hit a paltry .246/.277/.386 the rest of the way. While Tovar’s 66 extra-base hits hinted at real power potential, the youngster struck out in 27% of his trips to the plate while walking just 4.1% of the time. That undisciplined approach left him with a wRC+ of just 70, 30% below league average and fourth-worst among all qualified hitters in the majors last year.

Difficult as Tovar’s rookie season may have been, his age and prospect pedigree make it easy to imagine him finding another gear offensively in the coming years, and his glove is already nothing short of elite. Tovar’s defense at shortstop was worth a whopping 16 Outs Above Average last year, which ranks in the 99th percentile of all MLB fielders per Statcast. Fielding Bible’s Defensive Runs Saved was similarly impressed with Tovar’s work in the field, as his +12 DRS ranked behind only Anthony Volpe, Wander Franco, and Dansby Swanson among major league shortstops last year.

Glovework of that caliber can be a carrying tool that allows players to remain productive overall in the majors leagues even if they struggle at the plate. That’s particularly true at shortstop, where strong defensive players can put together star-level production with even average offensive contributions. For the Rockies, that leaves this deal as a somewhat less risky arrangement than it might seem on the surface; after all, the deal is somewhat similar to the eight-year, $70MM pact the Pirates and third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes agreed to on the heels of a 2021 campaign that saw Hayes post a 85 wRC+ in 96 games. That deal maxes out at $82MM over nine years if Pittsburgh exercises its club option, a similar commitment to the $84MM over eight years Tovar will earn if his club option is exercised by the Rockies.

For Tovar, meanwhile, the deal locks in life-changing money while still affording him the opportunity to hit the open market in his prime. Of course, in signing the deal he also forgoes the opportunity to hit free agency in his mid-20s, a route which has led other players such as Bryce Harper and Manny Machado to massive paydays worth $300MM or more. On the other hand, Tovar would surely have to break out and become at least an above-average hitter in the majors to command a deal of that sort of caliber. While such an improvement with the bat can’t be ruled out, it’s certainly understandable for the 22-year-old to prioritize financial security, particularly on a deal that will still offer him a second bite of the apple following his age-29 season.

With Tovar now locked up for at least the next seven seasons, the Rockies have now set into place a clear building block for the club’s future. On the heels of the first 100-loss season in franchise history, the club spent cautiously in free agency with short-term agreements for players such as Daniel Hudson, Cal Quantrill, and Charlie Blackmon. That approach leaves little optimism for a 2024 club that appears to be buried behind four highly competitive teams in the NL West. Even so, with Tovar and another emerging youngster in Nolan Jones under long-term team control and a farm system rife with exciting prospects like Amael Amador and Chase Dollander, it’s certainly possible that brighter days lie ahead for the Rockies. With the club’s longest extension since the one afforded to Nolan Arenado prior to the 2019 season now in place, Tovar is now all but certain to be a major part of that future.

Daniel Alvarez-Montes of El Extrabase. first reported the extension, the seven-year term, and the total value of the contract if the club option is exercised. MLB.com’s Thomas Harding. reported the extension’s $63.5MM value over the seven guaranteed years.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Jose Ureña Makes Rangers’ Opening Day Roster

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Veteran right-hander Jose Ureña has made the Rangers’ Opening Day roster, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. He’s in camp as a non-roster invitee to spring training, so he’ll need to be selected to the 40-man roster. Texas currently has a full 40-man roster and will need to open spots for both Ureña and top prospect Wyatt Langford. That can be accomplished by shifting righties Tyler Mahle and Max Scherzer to the 60-day IL — fellow injured righty Jacob deGrom has already been moved to the 60-day IL — but they’ll need to create further space if they’re to bring any more non-roster players (e.g. Jared Walsh) north for Opening Day.

Ureña, 32, has had a strong spring with the Rangers, tossing 16 innings with a 2.25 ERA, 20.9% strikeout rate, 4.5% walk rate and 40% ground-ball rate. He has ample starting experience in the majors and can give Texas a back-of-the-rotation option or some bullpen length early in the season.

Earlier in his career, Ureña was a solid starter in Miami, pitching 343 2/3 innings of 3.90 ERA ball over the life of 59 starts from 2017-18. He’s posted an ERA north of 5.00 in each of the five subsequent seasons, however.

Ureña has had his share of ups and downs in recent years. He caught on with the Rockies midway through the 2022 season and ate innings at a decent enough rate that Colorado re-signed him to a one-year, $3.5MM deal in the 2022-23 offseason. That pact blew up quickly in 2023, however, when Ureña was shelled for 20 runs in just 18 1/3 innings to begin the season. The Rockies released him after just five starts. He’d go on to sign with the White Sox on a minor league deal, resurfacing in the majors late in the season and showing well down the stretch: five starts, 26 1/3 innings, 4.10 ERA, 18.2% strikeout rate, 7.3% walk rate, 50% grounder rate.

The Rangers are slated to open the season with a rotation of Nathan Eovaldi, Jon Gray, Dane Dunning, Andrew Heaney and Cody Bradford. Right-hander Michael Lorenzen, who signed a one-year deal last week, will join the rotation at some point but will first need to stretch out in a game setting. Ureña adds some depth and some length to the staff, whether the plan will be for him to start or perhaps piggyback with Lorenzen while he gets stretched out.

Tigers Release Donny Sands

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The Tigers have released catcher Donny Sands, tweets Evan Woodbery of MLive.com. He was outrighted off the 40-man roster earlier this winter and will now depart the organization entirely.

The 27-year-old Sands was one of three players Detroit acquired in the trade sending Gregory Soto and Kody Clemens to the Phillies. Utilityman Nick Maton and third baseman/outfielder Matt Vierling both came to the Tigers in that swap as well.

Sands hasn’t panned out as hoped since that swap. He spent the bulk of the 2023 season in Triple-A Toledo, where he slashed .225/.318/.353 in 371 plate appearances. Those struggles were pronounced enough that Detroit opted to go outside the organization rather than call up Sands when they cut backup catcher Eric Haase last summer; the Tigers instead signed Carson Kelly to a big league deal that included a club option which has since been exercised.

Kelly will be the backup to Jake Rogers, who’s hit .225/.291/.457 (102 wRC+) with plus defense over the past two seasons — a strong enough showing to cement his status as the starting backstop in Detroit. Kelly’s contract was always going to ensure him of a roster spot, but he hit .289/.372/.553 in 43 spring plate appearances, which only reinforced his positioning ahead of Sands on the depth chart.

Sands only logged 10 spring plate appearances and went 1-for-8 with a walk in that tiny sample. His release should get former second-round pick Dillon Dingler even more playing time in Toledo this year. Dingler struggled through 106 plate appearances in his first look at Triple-A last year, but he’s hit well in Double-A and had a decent spring at the plate.

From a defensive standpoint, Sands has drawn decent framing numbers in the upper minors and turned in a 24% caught-stealing rate this past season. His 2023 struggles notwithstanding, Sands is a lifetime .261/.352/.403 hitter in parts of three Triple-A campaigns. He has also has a minor league option year remaining. He could latch on as a depth piece with another club that’s thinner behind the plate than the Tigers at the moment.

Rockies To Select Alan Trejo

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Utility infielder Alan Trejo has made the Rockies’ Opening Day roster, manager Bud Black announced this morning (X link via Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post). He’s a non-roster invitee in camp and will thus need to be selected to the 40-man roster. Colorado has a full 40-man at the moment. Left-hander Lucas Gilbreath is recovering from Tommy John surgery performed in March of 2023 and could be a 60-day IL candidate. Otherwise, the Rox will likely need to free up a spot by way of a DFA.

Black also announced that first baseman/outfielder Michael Toglia has made Colorado’s roster. Outfielder Sean Bouchard has been optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque to begin the season. Toglia figures to step in as the team’s primary right fielder, as first base will be occupied by Kris Bryant in 2024.

Trejo, 27, has appeared in the majors with the Rockies in each of the past three seasons. He’s logged 402 plate appearances and put together a .243/.292/.367 slash (65 wRC+) with nine homers, 19 doubles, six steals (in nine tries), a 6% walk rate and a 24.1% strikeout rate. He’s been far better in Triple-A, evidenced by a .292/.338/.261 slash in 710 plate appearances there, and he’s had a decent performance this spring: .244/.327/.488, three homers in 49 trips to the plate.

Defensively, Trejo has played each of second base, shortstop and third base. Both Defensive Runs Saved and Outs Above Average grade him as a sharp defender at second base and third base but a sub-par option at shortstop. Trejo should serve as a backup for second baseman Brendan Rodgers, shortstop Ezequiel Tovar and third baseman Ryan McMahon. He’s a right-handed hitter who’s been far better against fellow righties than against lefties to this point in his still fairly young career.

Trejo is out of minor league options, so if the Rockies wish to make a change at any point, they’ll need to designate him for assignment. He can’t be sent down to the minors without first clearing waivers. That’s true of Colorado’s entire bench, in fact. Backup catcher Jacob Stallings has enough service time that he can’t be optioned without his consent, and none of Trejo, corner infielder/DH Elehuris Montero, or newly acquired outfielder/first baseman Jake Cave have minor league options remaining.

As for Toglia, he turned in a hefty .259/.333/.593 slash and clubbed five homers in 60 spring plate appearances. That performance came with at least one notable red flag, as he also went down on strikes in 31.7% of his plate appearances, but it was enough to beat out the 27-year-old Bouchard, who hit just .205/.308/.341 in a similar amount of playing time this spring. Toglia will join center fielder Brenton Doyle and left fielder Nolan Jones in the Rockies outfield most days.

The 25-year-old Toglia was the No. 23 overall pick by the Rockies back in 2019. He’s never drawn the sort of top-100 fanfare many other first-round picks garner but has long ranked as one of the better prospects in a thin Rockies system — climbing as high as No. 2 on Baseball America’s rankings two offseasons ago. Toglia hasn’t hit well in the majors in either 2022 or 2023, with just a .187/.246/.325 slash and 34.6% strikeout rate through 272 plate appearances. He’s been a fine hitter in the upper minors, but scouts have questioned his hit tool throughout his pro career, even as his plus raw power has been on display (e.g. a 32-homer season in 2022).

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