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With the launch of our 2024-25 Top 50 Free Agents list, it’s the perfect time to sign up for the free MLBTR newsletter.  The newsletter is written by Cliff Corcoran, who has an extensive resume contributing to Sports Illustrated, The Athletic, Baseball Prospectus, and other outlets.  Cliff will take you through the hot stove highlights of the previous day, boiling down MLBTR’s posts into the essential stories and providing his analysis.  It’s a great morning read that will help you stay on top of the biggest MLB stories.

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Injury Notes: Gausman, Kahnle, Bednar, Medina

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Kevin Gausman is dealing with “general fatigue” in his throwing shoulder, manager John Schneider told reporters (including Keegan Matheson of MLB.com) on Monday morning. The Blue Jays ace underwent an MRI that fortunately revealed no structural damage or injury. While that’s clearly a relief, there’s going to be some level of concern whenever a pitcher of Gausman’s caliber is battling any kind of shoulder discomfort.

The Jays elected to have Gausman skip his scheduled throwing session on Monday. He’ll be reevaluated later in the week. There’s nothing to suggest his availability for Opening Day is in jeopardy at this point. It’s nevertheless a situation to which the Jays will pay close attention. Alek Manoah is also battling what appears to be minor shoulder soreness. They’re the bookends to a projected rotation that’ll include a middle trio of Chris Bassitt, Yusei Kikuchi and José Berríos. Right-hander Bowden Francis is probably the top option to step into the season-opening starting five if anyone from that group begins the year on the shelf.

A few other pitching injury situations early this week:

  • Tommy Kahnle hasn’t seen any game action this spring. He has been throwing side sessions, but Yankees manager Aaron Boone indicated the team is bringing him along more deliberately after he finished the 2023 season on the IL with shoulder inflammation (relayed by Greg Joyce of the New York Post). Boone indicated that Kahnle might not get on a Grapefruit League mound until close to the end of camp. That at least raises the possibility of opening the regular season on the 15-day injured list to buy him a little more time to get to full strength. Kahnle logged 40 2/3 innings in his return to the Bronx last year, his heaviest workload since 2019. He turned in a 2.66 ERA with a strong 29.1% strikeout rate in a setup capacity.
  • Pirates closer David Bednar is battling what seems to be minor tightness in his right lat, skipper Derek Shelton said over the weekend (via MLB.com). The two-time All-Star has yet to get on the mound in exhibition play as the team keeps an eye on the situation. Bednar is a force at the back of the Pittsburgh bullpen and one of the sport’s best relievers overall. He has turned in a 2.25 ERA through 179 2/3 innings for the Bucs after his inclusion in the Joe Musgrove trade return. Bednar allowed an even two earned runs per nine over 67 1/3 frames a season ago. He paced the National League with 39 saves.
  • The A’s pulled right-hander Luis Medina in the second inning of today’s Cactus League matchup against the Reds. Oakland announced that he sprained his right knee and didn’t provide any timetable for his return. Medina, a key piece of the Frankie Montas trade return, made his MLB debut last season. He started 17 of 23 appearances as a rookie, turning in a 5.42 ERA across 109 2/3 frames. Medina is battling for the #5 spot in the rotation. Paul Blackburn, JP Sears and offseason acquisitions Ross Stripling and Alex Wood look likely to take the top four jobs. Joe Boyle would be the expected choice for the #5 spot if Medina starts the year on the injured list.

Cardinals Have Not Recently Inquired On Snell, Montgomery

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With top left-handers Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery still unsigned into March, agent Scott Boras declared today that four new teams had checked in regarding those pitchers since the opening of spring camps. It doesn’t seem the Cardinals are among that group. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that, as of this afternoon, the Cards had not recently reached out to Boras about Snell or Montgomery.

That’s not a surprise, particularly as it pertains to Snell. St. Louis hasn’t been substantively tied to the defending NL Cy Young winner at any point. They’d left the door ajar to bringing Montgomery back at the time they traded him to the Rangers, but that possibility seemed more or less closed with the front office’s activity early in the offseason. The Cardinals added Sonny Gray on a three-year, $75MM pact as their big rotation pickup. They brought in Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson as hopefully stable sources of innings at the back end.

Gray’s tenure in Cardinal red has started somewhat shakily. The three-time All-Star was removed from his Spring Training appearance today with right hamstring tightness. Gray declined comment pending the results of an MRI; the team is expected to provide more information tomorrow.

While Gray’s status could theoretically spur the Cardinals to seek out additional pitching depth, that won’t be known until the team gets clarity as to whether he’s still on track to be ready for Opening Day. Even if he does need to spend time on the IL, a push for Montgomery or Snell would be a surprise.

St. Louis has roughly $185MM on the books for the upcoming season, according to RosterResource. That’ll be a franchise high for Opening Day, approximately $8MM above last year’s team-record figure. Their competitive balance tax number is around $215MM. Signing either pitcher, especially Snell, would push them near or beyond the $237MM luxury tax threshold. The cost for narrowly exceeding the threshold for the first time isn’t all that significant — a 20% hit on spending between $237MM and $257MM — but Goold notes that team officials have suggested they have no desire to push into tax territory.

If Gray remains on track for Opening Day, he’ll front a rotation also including Gibson, Lynn, Miles Mikolas and Steven Matz. Should anyone from that group miss time, young southpaws Matthew Liberatore and Zack Thompson are probably next on the depth chart. Drew Rom made his MLB debut late last year but was tagged for an 8.02 ERA over eight starts. Sem Robberse and Adam Kloffenstein are also on the 40-man roster and have yet to reach the big leagues.

That’s a questionable group of depth starters for a team expecting to compete in the NL Central. Mike Clevinger and Michael Lorenzen headline the crop of unsigned starters beyond Snell and Montgomery. If the asking price for that duo is beyond the Cardinals’ liking, players like Zack Greinke, Eric Lauer and Noah Syndergaard wouldn’t command more than a few million dollars if they’re able to find a major league offer of any kind.

Phillies Reportedly Have Not “Seriously Discussed” Blake Snell

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The Phillies hammered out their second recent nine-figure pitching investment this morning. Philadelphia’s three-year, $126MM extension with Zack Wheeler follows their $172MM guarantee over seven seasons to retain Aaron Nola in free agency. There’s been chatter about the possibility of adding the defending NL Cy Young winner to form an elite trio, but that has always seemed like a stretch — even for a franchise that spends as aggressively on star talent as the Phillies do.

USA Today’s Bob Nightengale wrote over the weekend that the Phils had interest in Snell if he takes a short-term contract. However, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reported differently this afternoon. According to Gelb, the Phillies have not “seriously discussed” a pursuit of Snell, regardless of the contract length required.

Snell declined a qualifying offer from the Padres at the beginning of the offseason. Gelb suggests the Phils weren’t interested in signing a player who rejected a QO, which would require them to forfeit their second and fifth picks in the 2024 draft and $1MM in bonus pool space for international amateurs. Philadelphia did relinquish their right to a compensatory pick by re-signing Nola, though that would have been only one draft choice that fell after the fourth round. (Snell is the only of the seven players who declined the QO who remains unsigned.)

Even independent of the draft compensation, the Phillies haven’t seemed a great fit for Snell since they retained Nola. Philadelphia has $246MM in player commitments for the upcoming season, as calculated by RosterResource. That’s a little north of last year’s $243MM franchise-record Opening Day mark. The Phils have nearly $262MM in competitive balance tax commitments. They’re going to exceed the CBT for a third consecutive season, leading to higher penalties as a three-time payor.

Philadelphia is already set to pay roughly $13MM in luxury taxes. Further additions either during the offseason or around the deadline will add to that mark. The Phils would pay a 62% tax on their approximate next $15MM in spending. That’d be followed by a 95% charge on the following $20MM and a 110% tax on any money thereafter.

A short-term contract for Snell would assuredly come with a lofty average salary, heightening the CBT commitments. A $35MM annual value, as a hypothetical, would add around $28MM to Philadelphia’s tax bill on top of the money going to Snell. It would also vault the Phils past the $277MM line that marks the third tier of CBT penalization, pushing their top pick in the 2025 draft back 10 spots in the process. A longer-term commitment could soften the CBT hit but would add another extended pitching investment to the Nola, Wheeler and Taijuan Walker contracts — which all run through 2026 or later.

Every team would benefit from installing Snell into their rotation in the short term. The Phillies have a strong starting five already, though. Wheeler, Nola, Ranger Suárez, Walker and Cristopher Sánchez is a good group. Philadelphia took a flier on Spencer Turnbull as a long man/sixth starter and added Kolby Allard and Max Castillo as further rotation depth. Prospects Mick Abel and Griff McGarry are higher ceiling options who could make their respective big league debuts in 2024. Andrew Painter is likely to miss all of this season recovering from Tommy John surgery, yet he should be a factor in the ’25 starting staff.

Cubs Notes: Tauchman, Imanaga, Taillon

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Cubs outfielder Mike Tauchman has had plenty of uncertainty in his career. He’s bounced around from the Rockies to the Yankees and Giants, spent 2022 with the Hanwha Eagles of the KBO League and settled for a minor league deal with the Cubs going into 2023. But in 2024, he seems to have a bit more clarity on the path ahead of him. He tells Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times that manager Craig Counsell told him at the start of Spring Training that he has already made the team.

‘‘From a personal standpoint, [it’s] given me a little freedom to trial-and-error a couple of things, rather than really focusing on the results, focusing on ‘making the team,’ ’’ Tauchman said. ‘‘Because now it’s about getting ready for March 28 and the subsequent games that we have.’’

Tauchman, now 33, got added to the Cubs’ roster last year when Cody Bellinger was injured but played well enough to stick around even when Bellinger returned. He got into 108 games, drawing a walk in 14% of his 401 plate appearances. His home run total of eight was fairly modest but he was on-base enough to be above average at the plate overall. His .252/.363/.377 slash line translated to a wRC+ of 107. He also stole seven bases and got strong grades for his time on the grass, most of which was in center field. In 584 innings in center, he produced three Defensive Runs Saved and got a +1 from Outs Above Average.

That solid showing was enough for the Cubs to tender him an arbitration contract, with the two sides eventually agreeing to a $1.95MM salary. For part of this offseason, Tauchman may have been seen as the on-paper center fielder between Seiya Suzuki and Ian Happ. Prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong would have been another option but he’s considered a glove-first player, is still shy of his 22nd birthday and has just 47 games played above Double-A.

The Cubs recently re-signed Bellinger and he figures to take the center field job. He also plays first base but it seems like the Cubs will give Michael Busch a chance to take that spot. That will likely leave Tauchman in a fourth outfielder role while Crow-Armstrong gets regular reps in Triple-A. An injury could always change things, with Happ currently dealing with a mild hamstring strain, but Tauchman seems to have a refreshingly secure gig for the time being.

Elsewhere in Cubs’ tidbits, the rotation figures to be an area of focus this year as the club looks to take a step forward after just missing the playoffs last year. Collectively, Cub starters had a 4.26 ERA last year which put them 14th in the majors. Since the club is going into 2024 with a fairly similar roster, improvement in the rotation could be a difference maker.

Marcus Stroman departed via free agency and the club signed Shota Imanaga to take his spot. Imanaga will be looking to make the transition from Japan, where pitchers often throw once a week, to the five-day cycle in North America.

Bruce Levine of 670 The Score relays that the club plans on using off-days and spot starters to help him with the adjustment, which could perhaps lead to some extra starts for optionable depth arms. The club figures to have Justin Steele, Kyle Hendricks, Jameson Taillon and Imanaga in four rotation spots, with one more spot available to Jordan Wicks, Javier Assad, Hayden Wesneski, Caleb Kilian or Ben Brown.

Everyone in that latter group has options and may start the season in the minors but it sounds like there will be opportunities to make big league appearances as the season rolls along. The occasional spot start will be used to give Imanaga and the other guys a breather and injuries are fairly inevitable for pitchers, which will open other chances.

Taillon will be looking for a bounceback season, as his first campaign with the Cubs wasn’t strong, finishing with a 4.84 ERA. That potential bounceback season is off to a bumpy start, however, as Lee reports that Taillon is dealing with some soreness in both of his calves. That issue doesn’t seem debilitating and he still appears to be on track for Opening Day if he doesn’t experience any setbacks, but it’s a situation worth monitoring over the weeks to come since a return to form for Taillon will be important for the Cubs this year.

Orioles Notes: Mullins, Henderson, Bradish, Rotation

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Orioles center fielder Cedric Mullins exited Monday’s Grapefruit League contest against the Twins with discomfort in his hamstring, the team announced. Mullins drew a leadoff walk and advanced to second base on a grounder. He then walked off the field under his own power two pitches into the next at-bat. Enrique Bradfield Jr. replaced him on the bases.

Fortunately for O’s fans, it seems the situation is relatively minor. Manager Brandon Hyde called Mullins’ exit “precautionary” following the game (X link via Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner). Concern is low enough that the team isn’t even planning on performing an MRI or any other imaging to determine if there’s a more serious issue at play. Mullins is considered day-to-day for now, according to Hyde.

The 29-year-old Mullins has been a steady contributor on both sides of the ball for the Orioles over the past three seasons, although the 2023 campaign was his worst and, perhaps not coincidentally, least healthy of the three. Mullins had a pair of IL stints last season due to right groin strains, finishing out the season with a .233/.305/.416 slash (99 wRC+), 15 home runs and 19 stolen bases in 116 games. He missed only nine total games the two seasons prior, batting a combined .274/.339/.460 with 46 big flies and 64 steals. If there’s any sort of setback, infielder/outfielder Jorge Mateo and top outfield prospect Colton Cowser are on hand as options to see time in center field.

Mateo has traditionally been a shortstop, but the team has already suggested that the wealth of infield talent on the Baltimore roster will likely push Mateo into the outfield more frequently in 2024. The fleet-footed Mateo’s primary spot in recent years, shortstop, sounds as though it’ll be handled primarily by reigning AL Rookie of the Year Gunnar Henderson in 2024. While Henderson is capable of playing both shortstop and third base at a high level, the 22-year-old said yesterday that his playing time would be “leaning more toward shortstop” (X link via the Baltimore Sun’s Matt Weyrich).

Henderson has played shortstop, third base and (much more briefly) second base so far in the big leagues. He split his time between the two left-side infield positions nearly evenly in 2023, logging 594 innings at third base and 584 at shortstop. Defensive metrics touted his glovework at both spots, but he drew stronger marks at shortstop (particularly from Defensive Runs Saved, which pegged him at +10). Third base, then, will likely be left to a combination of Jordan Westburg, Ramon Urias and prospect Coby Mayo, though Mateo could also see time there. Current No. 1 overall prospect Jackson Holliday has been playing second base this spring, while each of Westburg and Urias can play basically anywhere in the infield. Mayo’s primary position is third base, though there’s some thought he could eventually move to first base or an outfield corner. Regardless, he’s not yet on the 40-man roster.

Of course, a substantial part of the focus in Orioles camp right now is on right-hander Kyle Bradish, who’s currently attempting a rest/rehab approach to mending a sprain in his right ulnar collateral ligament. Bradish had a platelet-rich plasma injection before the O’s even publicly announced the injury, and Weyrich writes that he’s been throwing pain-free from flat ground.

While general manager Mike Elias struck an optimistic tone, he also preached caution and declined to place a timeline on the right-hander’s potential return. Bradish himself noted that follow-up MRIs have shown “accelerated healing” of the ligament so far, Weyrich writes, though that doesn’t yet mean he’s dodged a long-term absence. Bradish has yet to throw off a mound and currently isn’t throwing at full intensity. The early results are perhaps cause for some cautious optimism, but there’s a ways to go in the process.

For the time being, it doesn’t seem as though Bradish’s injury will prompt the Orioles to make another notable acquisition. Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com downplayed the possibility of the Orioles signing a big-name free agent, writing that the team appears satisfied with its depth at present. Baltimore picked up Julio Teheran on a minor league deal late last week and could give him a look early in the season, but Kubatko more specifically noted that he’d be “floored” to see the O’s pursue an opt-out-laden deal with a top free agent like Jordan Montgomery.

U. L. Washington Passes Away

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Former big league shortstop U. L. Washington passed away on Sunday at the age of 70 after a battle with cancer.

“We mourn the loss of Royals Baseball Academy graduate and 1980 American League Champion U. L. Washington and send our condolences to his family and friends,” the Royals said in a statement earlier today.

“So sorry to hear my friend my teammate UL Washington has died of cancer,” Hall of Famer George Brett said in his own statement on X last night. “He was a great player. I will always be thankful of our time together with the Royals.”

Born in Stringtown, Oklahoma, Washington played collegiate baseball at Murray State College in Tishomingo, Oklahoma for one year before being admitted into the Royals Baseball Academy in 1973, which he attended alongside the likes of Frank White and Ron Washington. After spending several years in the Kansas City system, Washington made his big league debut at the age of 23 in 1977, though he was limited to a 10-game cup of coffee in the majors that season as the Royals went on to win 102 games before falling to the Yankees in the ALCS. Washington grew into a larger utility role with the club over the next two seasons, batting a combined .257/.304/.338 while playing solid defense at both second base and shortstop.

By 1980, Washington had developed into the club’s everyday shortstop and enjoyed the best season of his career to that point, slashing .276/.336/.375 in 153 games in conjunction with slick fielding. Washington’s first season as a regular saw the club reach the World Series, though they ultimately fell to the Phillies in a six-game set. Washington was a key contributor during the club’s postseason run not only in the field but also at the plate, where he went 10-for-33. After struggling somewhat during the strike-shortened 1981 season, the then-28-year-old returned to form in 1982 with a career year that saw him slash an above-average .286/.337/.412 despite missing a month due to injury. Washington came back down to Earth over his final two seasons with the Royals, batting just .233/.294/.310 in a combined 207 games despite recording a 40-steal season in 1983.

The switch-hitter’s tenure in Kansas City came to an end upon being dealt to the Expos in January 1985 in exchange for a package featuring southpaw Mike Kinnunen. Washington played in a utility capacity for the Expos, spending time at shortstop as well as second and third base while slashing .249/.301/.352 in 209 trips to the plate with the club. Washington hit free agency following the 1985 season, but did not sign with a club until partway through the 1986 campaign when he latched on with the Pirates. The then-32-year-old shortstop would finish his career in Pittsburgh, appearing in 82 games over two seasons with the club.

Washington finished his major league career with 907 games under his belt across eleven seasons, 757 of which came as a member of the Royals. A career .251/.313/.343 hitter, he stole 132 bases and clubbed 166 extra-base hits throughout his career while recording 5,864 1/3 innings at shortstop. Though Washington’s playing career in the majors came to a close in 1987, his time in the game was far from over. He began his coaching career as a manager in the Pirates’ system in 1989 before moving on the act as a hitting coach in the Royals, Dodgers, Twins, and Red Sox organizations. During his time as a coach, he worked with future stars such as Tim Wakefield and Mookie Betts.

MLBTR joins the rest of the baseball world in sending our condolences to Washington’s family, friends, loved ones, and former teammates.

Sonny Gray Headed For MRI After Early Exit; Tommy Edman May Not Be Ready For Opening Day

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Top Cardinals starter Sonny Gray exited today’s spring start with a trainer in the middle of an at-bat against Washington’s Nick Senzel. The team announced shortly afterward that Gray was experiencing tightness in his right hamstring. Gray declined to comment on the potential injury after exiting, instead stating that he wanted to talk to the team’s training staff and learn more about the issue before speaking with the media (link via Derrick Goold of the St.  Louis Post-Dispatch). Gray missed roughly a month of the 2022 season with a strain in that same right hamstring as a member of the Twins back in 2022. Goold further tweets that Gray is headed for an MRI to determine the severity of the issue.

An absence of any real note would be a nightmare scenario for the Cardinals. While the Cards overhauled their rotation this winter, Gray is the lone front-of-the-rotation arm the team brought in. Lance Lynn isn’t far removed from posting high-end results himself, but he’s 36 years old and coming off arguably the worst season of his career. He, like fellow mid-30s veteran Kyle Gibson, was signed more as a durable source of innings than to be a clear playoff-caliber starter.

Gray, 34, is fresh off a Cy Young runner-up finish in the American League. He pitched 184 innings of 2.79 ERA ball last season, fanning 24.3% of his opponents against a 7.3% walk rate. Gray’s 2.83 FIP was a near-identical match with his ERA, though metrics like xFIP and SIERA, which normalize home run rate, were more bearish and pegged him in the mid- to upper-3.00s. Gray’s 5.2% homer-to-flyball ratio was less than half the 12.3% career mark he carried into the 2023 campaign. The Cardinals signed him for three years and a total of $75MM back in November. He’s slated to be joined by Gibson, Lynn, Steven Matz and Miles Mikolas in one of the game’s oldest rotations.

Even if Gray can’t quite replicate his 2023 performance, he’s the clear top starter on that St. Louis staff. Were he to miss time, the drop-off between Gray and his replacement would be substantial. At present, the top options to step into the staff in his stead would presumably be lefties Matthew Liberatore, Zack Thompson and Drew Rom. Righties Sem Robberse and Adam Kloffenstein are both on the 40-man roster as well, though neither has made his MLB debut yet.

The Cardinals, at least thus far, haven’t brought in any veteran big league starters on non-roster deals. That’s understandable, as most players open to that type of deal would take a look at the veteran rotation in St. Louis and see a lack of opportunity — but the lack of any proven depth could also be an issue in 2024, depending on how the rest of the staff holds up.

Gray isn’t the only key member of the Cardinals who’s facing some health-related uncertainty. Tommy Edman, formerly the team’s shortstop and now slated to serve as the Cardinals’ everyday center fielder, isn’t recovering from arthroscopic wrist surgery as swiftly as the team hoped. Katie Woo of The Athletic reports that “internal concern is growing” that Edman might not be ready for Opening Day. Edman still hasn’t been cleared to face live pitching, Woo writes, and despite the fact that Opening Day is just over three weeks away, there’s not even a timetable for when that might happen.

Fourth outfielder Dylan Carlson would step into the starting job in center field if Edman is on the injured list to begin the season, per the report. Lars Nootbaar played plenty of center field last season, but perhaps if the plan is for him to play left field regularly when Edman is healthy this season, the team simply wants Nootbaar getting as many reps in that position as possible. Carlson’s role as a fourth outfielder would be cycling through all three spots anyhow.

Edman, 28, had a disappointing 2023 at the plate while playing through pain in that now surgically-repaired wrist for much of the season. The versatile switch-hitter spent nearly a month of the ’23 season on the injured list due to inflammation in that wrist, and when he was healthy his output at the plate dropped from .265/.324/.400 in 2022 (106 wRC+) to just .248/.307/.399 in 2023 (92 wRC+).

In the event that Edman indeed requires a stint on the injured list to begin the season, that’d open up a spot on the bench for the Cards. That wouldn’t necessarily need to be an outfielder, as utilityman Brendan Donovan is no stranger to the outfield, and as previously noted, Nootbaar can handle center field work as well. That said, an outfielder would be the most logical candidate. Lefty-swinging Michael Siani and Alec Burleson are both on the 40-man roster already and both have minor league options remaining. Siani is regarded as a plus defender in center field and would offer premium speed off the bench, while Burleson would be limited to first base and the corners but give the Cards some power that the bench currently lacks.

Boras: New Teams Have Reached Out On Snell, Montgomery Since Spring Training Began

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Both Blake Snell (Giants, Yankees) and Jordan Montgomery (Red Sox) have had their teams to which they’ve been frequently connected throughout the offseason, but the opening of spring training has brought about some new suitors — at least… according to their agent. Scott Boras tells USA Today’s Bob Nightengale that four clubs who hadn’t been active suitors for Snell and Montgomery have checked in on the pair of lefties since camps opened in mid-February (X link).

On the one hand, it’s a wholly unsurprising comment. Both pitchers remain unsigned with seemingly limited markets — at least, insofar as who could offer them the of long-term deal or (in Snell’s case), short-term, opt-out laden, high-AAV deal they’re reported to be seeking. As such, it’s only natural their representative would work to dispel the notion that there are few viable landing spots.

On the other, there’s also surely at least some truth to the statement. Spring training annually brings about pitcher injuries of note. Already, we’ve seen Orioles starter Kyle Bradish diagnosed with a UCL sprain that will impact his availability for the regular season and could portend a long-term absence, depending how he progresses after receiving a platelet-rich plasma injection. Mets righty Kodai Senga has been diagnosed with a capsule strain in his shoulder and is expected to open the year on the injured list. The Astros announced some early shoulder concern for Justin Verlander and J.P. France, though both righties have progressed well since. The Giants will be without fifth starter Tristan Beck for quite some time as he undergoes surgery to treat an aneurysm in his shoulder.

The shifting of contract goals for the pair of lefties is sure to bring about new interest as well. Several reports over the past week have indicated that Snell is increasingly amenable to a short-term deal with a high annual value and multiple opt-out opportunities. Fellow Boras clients Cody Bellinger and Matt Chapman signed similar deals. Montgomery, by most accounts, is still looking for a long-term arrangement, but it’s only natural for teams to check the extent to which (if any) his ask on a long-term pact might have fallen. It also bears mentioning, of course, that a team reaching out to inquire on where things stand with a player’s market is far from the same as expressing legitimate interest in meeting what’s sure to be an enormous asking price on either left-hander.

The further the potential length of a contract drops, the more additional suitors could join the fray. The Twins’ original signing of Carlos Correa, for example, only came about after it became clear he’d be open to a three-year deal with multiple opt-outs. Reports all offseason suggested the Cubs were reluctant to go too long-term on Bellinger, but he wound up back at Wrigley Field once he pivoted to the short-term route. Any lower-payroll club with a win-now mindset and ample payroll space in the short-term could perhaps convince itself to stretch beyond comfort levels in 2024 if it means signing a player who’d be wholly out of their price range under more conventional market conditions.

Suffice it to say, there’s ample reason to take Boras’ comments with a hefty grain of salt — but it’s also surely true that circumstances surrounding the rotation mix of several clubs have changed. Whether that leads to any new offers remains to be seen. Even with Bradish ailing, for instance, MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko writes that he’d be “floored” if the Orioles pursued a short-term opt-out-laden deal with Montgomery and adds that any high-profile free agent addition remains very unlikely in Baltimore.

Dodgers Acquire Andre Lipcius From Tigers

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The Tigers have traded infielder Andre Lipcius to the Dodgers in exchange for cash considerations. He had been designated for assignment by Detroit last week. The Dodgers opened up a roster spot for him by transferring left-hander Clayton Kershaw to the 60-day injured list.

Lipcius, 26 in May, will join a new organization for the first time in his career. He was selected by the Tigers in the third round of the 2019 draft and was added to their 40-man roster in November of 2022. His major league experience thus far consists of 38 plate appearances over 13 games with the Tigers last year, hitting .286/.342/.400 in that time.

During his time in the minors, he has primarily profiled as a hit-over-power utility guy. Over the past three years, he has made 1487 minor league plate appearances at various levels, walking in 13% of them while limiting his strikeouts to a 17.9% clip. He hit 36 home runs in that time and slashed a combined .264/.360/.419 for a wRC+ of 110. He hasn’t played shortstop since 2019 but has continued to play the other three infield positions, as well as getting brief looks in the outfield corners.

The Tigers bumped Lipcius off their 40-man last week when they claimed another utility infielder, Buddy Kennedy. The Dodgers had a roster spot to burn as Kershaw had shoulder surgery in the offseason and isn’t expected back until the second half of the season. They sent a bit of cash to Detroit so that they could jump the waiver claim order and add Lipcius to their roster.

Lipcius still has a couple of options and will likely be serving as a depth piece in the minors to be called upon as needed. The Dodgers have Max Muncy, Gavin Lux, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman set to be their regular infielders, with Miguel Rojas, Chris Taylor and Enrique Hernández on hand as bench options. Lipcius will join Miguel Vargas and Andy Pages as optionable depth pieces on the roster.

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