Archives for 2024

Blue Jays Release Emmanuel Ramirez

By Anthony Franco | November 9, 2024 at 8:25pm CDT

The Blue Jays released reliever Emmanuel Ramirez, according to the MLB.com transaction log. Toronto had designated the right-hander for assignment on Tuesday when they claimed Michael Petersen off waivers from Miami.

Ramirez is also a former waiver claim from the Marlins. Toronto grabbed the 30-year-old from the Fish in early September. They optioned him to Triple-A and kept him there for the remainder of the season. Ramirez did not throw a pitch for the Jays. His major league experience consists of 15 appearances with Miami earlier in the year. He tossed 20 2/3 innings with an earned run average approaching 7.00.

Things went a bit smoother in Triple-A. Ramirez combined for a 4.20 ERA across 45 frames between the two organizations. He punched out nearly 30% of batters faced against a manageable 9% walk rate. Ramirez flashed a three-pitch mix in his limited MLB look. He leaned most heavily on a 94 MPH fastball and a mid-80s splitter that generated a lot of whiffs. He’ll likely land a minor league contract somewhere.

Yankees Interested In Carlos Estevez

By Mark Polishuk | November 9, 2024 at 6:45pm CDT

The Yankees are casting a wide net in their search for relief pitching, including some of the names in the top tier of the free agent bullpen market. MLB Network’s Jon Morosi writes (X link) that Carlos Estevez is one of the relievers the Yankees are looking at, on the heels of Estevez’s 26-save season with the Angels and Phillies.

Estevez collected his share of saves as a high-leverage member of the Rockies’ bullpen from 2016-22, but he didn’t become a full-time closer until 2023, after he’d signed a two-year, $13.5MM contract with the Angels in his previous trip to the open market. Estevez racked up 31 saves in his first season in Los Angeles while posting a 3.90 ERA over 62 1/3 innings, and followed that up with a 2.38 ERA over 34 frames this year before the Angels sent him to Philadelphia at the trade deadline. The bottom-line result of a 2.57 ERA over 21 innings with the Phils was still impressive, though Estevez had diminished strikeout and walk rates following the trade.

All in all, the right-hander delivered a 2.45 ERA across 55 innings, with an excellent 5.7% walk rate. The Statcast metrics revealed a few more red flags than red data points, as Estevez’s strikeout rate was barely above league average, and his barrel and hard-hit ball rates were both quite poor. A .229 BABIP might be the key stat of Estevez’s season, and while his 3.57 SIERA was still respectable, the number is over a run higher than his actual ERA.

Then again, perhaps Estevez was due a bit of balance considering that he entered the season with a career .320 BABIP. The righty’s career strikeout numbers have tended to fluctuate since Estevez isn’t good at getting batters to chase outside the zone, yet he still possesses plenty of velocity in his 96.8mph fastball. Estevez has relied heavily on that pitch over his career, though his slider and changeup were also plus pitches in 2024.

MLBTR ranked Estevez 22nd on our list of the winter’s top 50 free agents, projecting a three-year, $27MM deal for the reliever as he enters his age-32 season. Naturally Estevez figures to get plenty of attention from teams that need a proper closer, yet the Yankees technically have that position addressed after Luke Weaver’s late-season emergence. It makes sense that New York would seek out a more proven closer in case Weaver comes back to earth, or perhaps if the Yankees want to use Weaver in more of a situation role than strictly as a ninth-inning specialist.

AL Central Notes: Royals Pitching, Rodriguez, Manning

By Mark Polishuk | November 9, 2024 at 5:17pm CDT

With Michael Wacha retained on a three-year deal worth at least $51MM, “we don’t expect to be in the market for a starter moving forward. We’re going to focus on some other things,” Royals general manager J.J. Picollo told MLB.com’s Maria Guardado and other reporters during the GM Meetings. Picollo cited the projected top five of Wacha, Seth Lugo, Cole Ragans, Brady Singer, and Alec Marsh, and said that the Royals continue to view Kris Bubic and Daniel Lynch as starters even though both pitched primarily as relievers in 2024. All in all, the GM is “very comfortable with our starting pitching right now,” and added that “we feel very good about the depth of our bullpen right now” as well.

As noted by MLB.com’s Anne Rogers, it is possible the Royals could still add a veteran arm as depth, so the door probably isn’t closed entirely on Kansas City’s starting pitching plans even if re-signing Wacha checked a major box on the to-do list. There were some reports earlier this week suggesting that the Royals could consider moving Marsh or Bubic in order to land lineup help, and such a trade would in all likelihood lead to K.C. pursuing some extra pitching to shore up the depth chart. Some level of relief additions are also probably likely, even if these might take the form of minor league signings if Picollo is really as set as he claims about the bullpen mix.

Mets Interested In Garrett Crochet

By Mark Polishuk | November 9, 2024 at 3:57pm CDT

Garrett Crochet is the most obvious trade candidate of the 2024-25 offseason, and multiple clubs have already been linked to the White Sox left-hander both in recent days and dating back to last summer’s trade deadline. The Mets are a new club to emerge in the hunt, as the New York Post’s Jon Heyman (hat tip to the Post’s Matt Ehalt) reports that the Amazins are also involved in talks about Crochet’s availability.

The fit is obvious, as the Mets are in clear need of starting pitching with Sean Manaea, Luis Severino, and Jose Quintana all entering free agency. While New York has the spending power to pursue the top names on the free agent market, upgrading the rotation solely through big-ticket signings isn’t really the M.O. of president of baseball operations David Stearns, who has had a lot of success on the trade front during his time with the Brewers.

Crochet is entering his second year of arbitration and is projected for only a $2.9MM salary in 2025, making him immensely affordable for his final two years of team control. While Crochet’s salary isn’t as much of an issue for the Mets as it would be for smaller-market clubs, filling a big hole in the rotation at a fairly minimal cost would allow New York to spend bigger elsewhere, whether on more pitching or on its pursuit of Juan Soto.

Of course, acquiring Crochet comes with a different kind of price tag, as the White Sox are naturally looking to score a huge return. Landing a key building block or two in a Crochet deal is critical to Chicago’s rebuilding plans, as Crochet is the franchise’s top current trade asset, in the wake of Luis Robert’s disappointing 2024 season. With so many suitors in the running, the White Sox can afford to be a little picky in determining which trade package is the best fit for their needs.

To this end, GM Chris Getz has been rather open about his specific demands for Crochet, as Getz recently stated that the White Sox “are focusing on position player return….We certainly need to improve our offense.” As Ehalt notes, the Mets view a strong minor league pipeline as the backbone of their plan for perpetual contention, and the organization was wary about moving prospects even before Stearns was hired last year.

Back in August, Baseball America ranked the Mets’ farm system as the tenth-best in the sport, with MLB Pipeline putting the Amazins not far behind in the No. 13 position in their own ranking. While other teams might have more to offer the White Sox in terms of sheer prospect quality and depth, New York isn’t short on interesting potential trade chips, particularly on the position-player side. Former top prospect Brett Baty might be at the top of that list, as while Baty has yet to do much in his brief MLB career, plenty of clubs were checking in on his services at the deadline.

Luisangel Acuna and Ronny Mauricio are other notables who have made it to the majors, though Mauricio didn’t play in 2024 due to a torn ACL. Looking at Mets position players who have yet to reach the Show, Jett Williams, Drew Gilbert, Ryan Clifford, and Carson Benge are all ranked within Pipeline’s current league-wide top 100 list. It stands to reason that the Mets would need to offer at least two of these players just to get Chicago’s attention in the Crochet market, though another club that offers a true blue-chipper of an elite prospect might have the edge.

Yankees Sign Brandon Leibrandt To Minors Deal

By Mark Polishuk | November 9, 2024 at 2:17pm CDT

The Yankees signed Brandon Leibrandt to a minor league contract, according to the left-hander’s profile page at MLB.com. The Reds designated Leibrandt for assignment and outrighted him off their 40-man roster at the end of October, upon which Leibrandt opted to become a minor league free agent.

A sixth-round pick for the Phillies back in the 2014 draft, Leibrandt made his MLB debut in the form of nine innings and five appearances with the Marlins in 2020. That cup of coffee marked his last trip to the Show until this past season, when Leibrandt tossed 6 1/3 innings over two appearances with Cincinnati.

In between those two big league stints, Leibrandt pitched in the minors with the Marlins and Cubs, and he spent the entire 2023 campaign and the start of the 2024 season outside of affiliated baseball, pitching with the Atlantic League’s High Point Rockers. Leibrandt had a 2.70 ERA over 80 innings with the Rockers, which was enough for the Reds to give him a look on a minor league deal last May.

Leibrandt is turning 32 in December, so he’d be a late bloomer if he can unlock something at this stage of his career and catch on as a reliable big league pitcher. However, the Yankees have had a solid recent track record at getting results out of unheralded pitchers, and Leibrandt’s seven percent career walk rate in the minors is a hint that he might possess MLB-caliber control. There’s no risk for the Yankees in bringing Leibrandt to Spring Training and seeing what he can offer as a southpaw depth arm for the bullpen.

Reds Sign Alex Jackson To Minor League Contract

By Mark Polishuk | November 9, 2024 at 1:45pm CDT

The Reds signed catcher Alex Jackson to a minors deal, as per Jackson’s MLB.com profile page. While not specified, the contract presumably includes an invitation for Jackson to attend Cincinnati’s big league spring camp. Jackson chose to become a minor league free agent last month after he was outrighted off the Rays’ 40-man roster in September.

A veteran of five Major League seasons, Jackson’s 58 games and 155 plate appearances last year represented a new career high for the backstop, though he did very little with the opportunity. Jackson hit only .122/.201/.237 over those 155 PA, with his 29 wRC+ was a whopping 71 percent below the league-average 100 wRC+ threshold. These numbers essentially matched Jackson’s career .132/.224/.232 slash line in 340 PA with the Rays, Brewers, Marlins, and Braves.

It has been something of an unexpected career arc for Jackson, whose was seen as something of a hit-first catcher when the Mariners selected him sixth overall in the 2014 draft. Jackson instead morphed into a quality defensive backstop who has simply been unable to hit big league pitching. The Rays were content enough with Jackson’s defense to give him semi-regular playing time in 2024, but finally moved on by removing him from their 40-man roster in September.

Cincinnati declined its club option on Luke Maile and Austin Wynns became a minor league free agency after the season, leaving the Reds in sore need for a backup catcher to spell starter Tyler Stephenson. Jackson and Stephenson are the only catchers in the organization with any MLB experience, and it is likely the Reds will bring in one or two more catchers to compete with Jackson in Spring Training.

Diamondbacks Receiving Trade Interest In Starting Pitching

By Mark Polishuk | November 9, 2024 at 12:27pm CDT

The Diamondbacks finished 27th of 30 teams in rotation ERA (4.79) last season, as a lack of production from the starting pitchers was one of the chief reasons why Arizona fell just short of the playoffs. Despite these recent struggles, however, the D’Backs still got “significant interest from clubs looking for starters” during the GM Meetings last week, according to Will Sammon and Patrick Mooney of The Athletic.

It really isn’t a surprise that any team with any level of on-paper pitching depth is getting hits on their starters, though this level of interest indicates that much of the league might view Arizona’s 2024 rotation performance as something of a fluke. After all, Merrill Kelly and Eduardo Rodriguez each missed the majority of the season with injury, Zac Gallen spent about a month on the injured list, and Jordan Montgomery just never seemed settled after missing Spring Training and only signing with the D’Backs on Opening Day. Beyond this veteran group, younger and more controllable starters like Brandon Pfaadt, Ryne Nelson, and Yilber Diaz also had respectable showings as they were called on to cover innings in place of their injured teammates.

Sammon and Mooney didn’t specify which names drew any particular attention from trade suitors, though it might be safe to guess that Rodriguez’s trade value is fairly low, considering his injury-plagued year and the $66MM remaining on his contract through 2027. Beyond E-Rod, any of Arizona’s other pitchers could be viewed as trade candidates depending on the club’s own plans, or if one rival team views a particular starter as a key fit.

The fact that the Diamondbacks have “more options and more quality,” Sammon and Mooney write, gives them a leg up in trade talks. The Pirates are another team said to be drawing interest in their pitchers, though since Pittsburgh’s arms are mostly of the younger variety, the Pirates might appeal to teams in a bit of a rebuild stage rather than teams looking for a win-now piece for 2025. It can also be assumed that the Bucs have pitchers (i.e. Paul Skenes, Jared Jones) who aren’t going anywhere, whereas the D’Backs can be more broadly open to at least listening on any of their starters.

Naturally, a team that got so little from its rotation in one season won’t be so quick to deal away from its starting depth the next year. However, Gallen, Kelly, and Montgomery are all slated to be free agents next season, so the Diamondbacks could be open to moving a starter they don’t believe will be part of the long-term plan. Montgomery in particular has been a subject of trade rumors since owner Ken Kendrick criticized his team’s decision to sign the southpaw, and while Montgomery unsurprisingly exercised his $22.5MM player option for 2025, that doesn’t mean the team and pitcher might still part ways via trade.

Trading long-term rotation staples like Gallen and Kelly might be a tougher decision for the D’Backs, yet moving a veteran arm might be preferable than moving one of the controllable younger pitchers. Arizona could deal away a younger arm as part of an all-in approach to 2025 while their established stars are still around, though that clashes with the more measured style of GM Mike Hazen. Pfaadt, Nelson, and Diaz could be counted on for larger roles if any of the impending free agents sign elsewhere next winter, and more boldly moving a pitcher like Gallen now would give the D’Backs a big return.

In terms of the needs the Diamondbacks have to address, Sammon and Mooney note that the team is looking for a high-leverage reliever who can perhaps step into a closing role. Arizona’s bullpen was also a weak link last year, and figures to be more of a focus than a rotation that (on paper) could be fine if everyone is healthy. Some offensive help also seems necessary with Christian Walker, Joc Pederson, and Randal Grichuk all currently on the free agent market.

Tigers Sign Bligh Madris To Minors Contract

By Mark Polishuk | November 9, 2024 at 11:22am CDT

The Tigers signed first baseman/outfielder Bligh Madris to a new minor league contract, according to Madris’ MLB.com profile page. Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports that the deal includes an invitation to the Tigers’ big league Spring Training camp, and Madris will earn $800K in guaranteed salary if he makes Detroit’s active roster at any point next season.

Madris returns for his second consecutive season in the Tigers organization, and third stint overall in Motown. Initially claimed off the Astros’ waiver wire in November 2022, Madris was traded back to Houston a couple of months later. He spent the 2023 season with Triple-A Round Rock and made 12 big-league appearances with the Astros before rejoining the Tigers on another minors deal almost exactly a year ago.

His first proper stay in Detroit saw Madris appear in 21 games at the MLB level, hitting .269/.324/.358 over 75 plate appearances. This playing time came while Spencer Torkelson was figuring things out in Triple-A, as Madris ended up playing almost every day at first base after Gio Urshela and Mark Canha were both traded at the deadline, and before Torkelson was recalled in mid-August.

Madris has a .204/.273/.286 slash line over his 228 career PA in the majors, compiled with the Pirates, Astros, and Tigers over the last three seasons. His Triple-A numbers (.254/.346/.447 in 1603 PA) are much more solid, and the Tigers obviously seem to value Madris as a depth piece within their farm system. Madris has a minor league option remaining so he might again be spending most of 2025 in Toledo, and anything more than spot duty on the active roster could be difficult to achieve, since Detroit is if anything overloaded with left-handed hitters.

Cardinals Expected To Gauge Trade Interest In Nolan Arenado

By Steve Adams | November 8, 2024 at 11:57pm CDT

The Cardinals’ reset isn’t likely to feature trades of Willson Contreras or Sonny Gray — both have no-trade clauses and reportedly prefer to remain in St. Louis — but they’ll still have some big names on the market. Among them could be third baseman Nolan Arenado. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that the Cards will spend the next couple weeks gauging which teams have interest in Arenado and getting a feel for what might be available in a trade. If there’s anything compelling that comes from those early talks, they’ll approach Arenado about his openness to waiving his no-trade clause for a trade to the location(s) in question.

Arenado, 34 in April, is signed for another three seasons and owed a total of $74MM in that time. The Rockies are on the hook for $10MM of that sum ($5MM in 2025 and $5MM in 2026), which helps to make the contract a bit more enticing. The 10-time Gold Glove winner and six-time Platinum Glove recipient remains a premium defender at the hot corner, but while Arenado was an MVP finalist in 2022, his past two seasons at the plate have been far less impressive. He’s still been an above-average hitter, but not by a wide margin. Since Opening Day 2023, Arenado carries a .269/.320/.426 batting line (104 wRC+).

Once a perennial threat for 30 to 40 home runs, Arenado has seen his power diminish considerably over the past two years. This past season’s .123 ISO (slugging percentage minus batting average) was a career-low mark. The 16 home runs he tallied in 635 plate appearances and 152 games are his fewest since he hit only 10 long balls as a rookie in 2013 (albeit in a smaller sample of 133 games/514 plate appearances).

Arenado’s contact skills remain excellent, but even the 15.5% strikeout rate he’s posted since 2023 is up from the 13.2% rate he posted in the four preceding seasons. He’s never been one to walk at an especially high clip, but Arenado drew a free pass in 9.1% of his plate appearances from 2016-22 — compared to just 6.8% in 2023-24. This past season’s average exit velocity (86.3 mph), barrel rate (3.2%) and hard-hit rate (31.2%) were all well shy of league-average and easily career-low numbers.

The downturn in offensive output, combined with a relatively weighty salary and Arenado’s no-trade rights, all complicate the paths to a potential deal being brokered. The extent to which that no-trade provision will come into play is an open question, but there’s reason to think it might not be the hurdle such clauses often are. Arenado’s exit in Colorado was prompted in part by his frustration over the team’s inability to field a competitive roster. He passed on an opt-out opportunity in contract after a third-place NL MVP finish in 2022 partly because he prioritized playing for a contending club and expected the Cardinals to be just that.

While a trade of Arenado is far, far from a sure thing, there are plenty of teams who’ll be in the mix for third base help. The Yankees, Mariners, Astros (if Alex Bregman leaves), Blue Jays, Tigers and Royals all have reasonably straightforward vacancies at the position. If Pete Alonso signs elsewhere in free agency, the Mets could move Mark Vientos to first base and enter the third base market. The Dodgers don’t need a third baseman but have been linked to Arenado frequently over the years.

If the Cardinals do move on from Arenado, it’ll gel with their offseason goal of opening more playing time for young talent. They’ve already committed to moving Contreras to first base in order to create at-bats for 24-year-old Ivan Herrera behind the dish. Dealing Arenado could open reps for Jordan Walker at his natural position — his attempted move from third base to the outfield hasn’t played out particularly well — or for Nolan Gorman. It’d also trim a notable amount of money off the books in each of the next three years, perhaps allowing the Cards to spend a bit more freely when they eventually look to emerge from the current retooling effort.

Giants Expected To Scale Back Payroll

By Anthony Franco | November 8, 2024 at 10:53pm CDT

The Giants expect to reduce player payroll relative to this past season, writes Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic. The extent of the pullback isn’t clear, though the club’s 2024 spending was roughly $20MM higher than it had been in ’23.

That’s mostly a reflection of the late-offseason free agent pickups of Jorge Soler, Matt Chapman and Blake Snell. Cot’s Baseball Contracts calculated San Francisco’s Opening Day payroll this year in the $208MM range. They started the ’23 season with roughly $188MM in spending, Cot’s measured.

The Giants’ competitive balance tax number jumped north of the $237MM base threshold. They’ll pay the luxury tax for the first time in six years. The payment itself should be modest. Cot’s estimates the Giants went around $14MM over the threshold. They’re taxed at a 20% rate on the overage, so they should pay around $2.8MM. (MLB hasn’t released the official CBT calculations to this point.)

While a sub-$3MM tax bill is a drop in the bucket for a team that spent over $200MM on salaries, it comes with ancillary penalties. The Giants would be taxed at a higher rate if they surpass the CBT next season — starting at 30% for the first $20MM in overages with higher penalties beyond that. Luxury tax payors are also subject to bigger penalties for signing a free agent who had declined a qualifying offer from another team. The Giants would surrender $1MM from their international amateur bonus pool and their second- and fifth-highest picks in next year’s draft to add a qualified free agent.

That’s relevant in a winter when the Giants are expected to play for some marquee players. They’re long shots compared to the New York teams in the Juan Soto bidding, but they’re among the best on-paper fits for Willy Adames and Pete Alonso. President of baseball operations Buster Posey is on record about wanting to add a shortstop. Adames is easily the top option at the position. First base isn’t as clear-cut a weakness — especially with top prospect Bryce Eldridge moving quickly through the minors — but Alonso would bring a lot more power than LaMonte Wade Jr. A run at a top-end starting pitcher like Corbin Burnes or Max Fried also isn’t out of the question.

At least one top-of-the-market pursuit should be doable even if ownership wants a notable payroll cut. Some of the spending reduction has already happened. The Giants shed Soler’s salaries at the deadline. Snell and Michael Conforto hit free agency (though they still owe Snell a $17MM signing bonus that’ll be paid in January 2026).

San Francisco has $109.5MM in guaranteed contracts for eight players: Chapman, Robbie Ray, Jung Hoo Lee, Taylor Rogers, Jordan Hicks, Logan Webb, Tom Murphy and Wilmer Flores. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects their four-man arbitration class of Mike Yastrzemski, LaMonte Wade, Tyler Rogers and Camilo Doval to account for roughly $25MM. Rounding out the roster with players on league minimum salaries would push them into the $146MM range. That’d leave them a little more than $60MM shy of last year’s Opening Day payroll and roughly $40MM below their ’23 spending level.

Posey will surely want to reshape the roster after taking over baseball operations once the team fired Farhan Zaidi. All four of the Giants’ arb-eligible players are realistic trade candidates, though they’d be selling low on Doval. A straight non-tender of Yastrzemski isn’t out of the question. San Francisco could welcome a chance to get out from under a portion of Taylor Rogers’ $12MM salary. (They unsuccessfully tried to dump Rogers’ entire contract via waivers in August.) Posey and his staff should have a fair amount of leeway even if they’re not going to run another $200MM+ payroll.

That doesn’t negate the heightened QO penalties. Reluctance about surrendering multiple draft choices for Adames is a potential reason that the Giants are among the early suitors for Ha-Seong Kim, the next-best shortstop available. Snell, Jack Flaherty, Yusei Kikuchi, Jurickson Profar, Nathan Eovaldi, Tyler O’Neill and Gleyber Torres are among the top free agents who did not receive qualifying offers. Soto, Burnes, Fried, Adames, Alonso and Christian Walker are among this year’s 13 QO recipients.

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