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Diamondbacks Announce Several Roster Moves

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The Diamondbacks announced several roster moves in advance of tonight’s Rule 5 protection deadline. One of them was the previously reported acquisition of reliever Carlos Vargas from the Guardians. They also added infielder Blaze Alexander, outfielders Jorge Barrosa and Dominic Fletcher, as well as righty Justin Martinez to the 40-man roster. In corresponding moves, they designated four players for assignment: infielder Sergio Alcántara, left-hander Caleb Smith and outfielders Stone Garrett and Jordan Luplow.

Alcántara had two separate stints on the Arizona roster this past season, with a brief stay in San Diego intervening. He bounced around the waiver wire on the strength of his glove at shortstop. He didn’t provide much offensively, however, putting up a .220/.261/.356 line in 224 trips to the plate. That’s fairly similar to the .205/.303/.327 showing he had in 2021 as a member of the Cubs.

Garrett and Luplow each played similar roles in the desert, serving as right-handed complements to a primarily left-handed outfield. Garrett had more success, posting a .276/.309/.539 showing with four home runs and eight doubles in his first 27 MLB games. That came with a 3:27 walk-to-strikeout ratio, and Arizona’s front office clearly wasn’t bullish on his chances of replicating that kind of success. Garrett joined the organization on a minor league deal but had a decent season at Triple-A Reno and could find some interest on the waiver wire.

The Snakes acquired Luplow in a trade with the Rays last offseason. They’d hoped he could replicate his career track record of success against left-handed pitching, but the veteran outfielder didn’t meet those expectations. Through 234 plate appearances, he posted a .176/.274/.361 line, although he did connect on 11 round-trippers. That wasn’t enough to convince Arizona to keep him around on a projected $2MM arbitration salary, making today’s DFA something of an early non-tender.

That’s also true of Smith, who’d been projected for a $2.7MM salary for his final year of club control. The 31-year-old southpaw pitched 44 times and soaked up 70 innings out of the bullpen this year, posting a 4.11 ERA. He was diagnosed with a ligament tear in his throwing elbow after the season but is electing to rehab without surgery. A former starter with the Yankees and Marlins, Smith had spent the past two and a half years in Arizona.

Taking their places on the roster are Vargas, Alexander, Barrosa, Fletcher and Martinez. Alexander may be the most notable of the group. An 11th-round selection out of a Florida academy in 2018, he had an excellent season for Double-A Amarillo. In 363 plate appearances, the right-handed hitting infielder posted a .306/.388/.539 line with 17 home runs, earning a late-season bump to Reno. He’s played all throughout the infield and has an excellent arm. Baseball America considers him the #15 prospect in the Arizona system.

Fletcher went 75th overall out of the University of Arkansas in the 2019 draft. A lefty-hitting outfielder, he split the year between the D-Backs’ top two affiliates. Fletcher, the younger brother of Angels infielder David Fletcher, combined for a .312/.378/.486 showing with 35 doubles over 591 plate appearances. He can cover all three outfield spots and is the #14 prospect in the system according to BA.

Barrosa checks in 22nd on that list. He’s a switch-hitter who only struck out in 15.7% of his plate appearances with Amarillo this year. The 21-year-old from Venezuela stole 22 bases and hit .276/.374/.438 while playing primarily center field for the Sod Poodles. Martinez, a native of the Dominican Republic, returned from injury to work as a reliever this year. He traversed three minor league levels, topping out at Triple-A.

Diamondbacks Acquire Carlos Vargas From Guardians

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The D-Backs have acquired reliever Carlos Vargas from the Guardians, tweets Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. Minor league pitcher Ross Carver has been dealt to Cleveland in return. Cleveland has since formally announced the move.

Vargas, 23, missed the first three-plus months of the season finishing off his rehab from a Tommy John procedure he underwent in April 2021. He’s yet to make his big league debut, and the Guards optioned him to Double-A Akron upon reinstating him from the 60-day IL this summer. The hard-throwing righty struggled through 24 1/3 innings there, pitching to a 4.81 ERA with an unsightly 21-to-12 K/BB ratio.

Cleveland still bumped Vargas to Triple-A for the final few weeks of the season, and the results were night-and-day. Vargas carved up Triple-A opposition to the tune of a 0.90 ERA in 10 innings. After fanning just 19.3% of his opponents in Double-A, he punched out a ridiculous 39% (16 of 41) of the opponents he faced in Triple-A. Scouting reports on Vargas will praise an upper-90s heater that can reach triple digits and an inconsistent slider that has the potential to be a plus offering if all breaks right.

Carver, also 23, split his time between High-A and Double-A in 2022, faring quite well in the former (3.10 ERA, 81 1/3 innings) but getting absolutely tattooed with the latter (9.50 ERA, 38 innings). The former 20th-round pick gives Cleveland a recent draftee (2021, 20th round) with a starter’s repertoire they can hope to develop through through one of the game’s top pitching development factories.

Broadly speaking, however, the move was primarily about opening a 40-man roster spot the Guardians, while the D-backs — in more need of bullpen help than Cleveland — will roll the dice on a power arm with spotty command and some recent injury troubles.

NL West Notes: Bellinger, Longoria, Diamondbacks, Johnson

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With former MVP Cody Bellinger projected to earn $18.1MM in his last year of arbitration eligibility, there has been plenty of speculation that the 27-year-old might not be tendered a contract.  Los Angeles president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman was non-committal about Belllinger’s situation, telling reporters (including Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register) that the Dodgers “still very much believe in Belli’s ability,” and that the club has “time to work through what everything looks like” prior to Friday’s deadline.

Unsurprisingly, Bellinger’s agent Scott Boras was quick to downplay the idea of a non-tender, as Boras highlighted his client’s excellent defense, throwing arm, baserunning ability, and age (27).  “You just don’t find talents like this….It’s really about getting his strength back so he can repeat his skill level,” Boras said, noting the injuries that may have caused Bellinger’s huge dropoff at the plate over the last two seasons.  Bellinger has hit only .193/.256/.355 in 900 plate appearances since the start of the 2021 campaign.  However, both Boras and Friedman pointed to the idea that a normal and healthy offseason could help Bellinger get on track, as Bellinger’s regular work with the Dodgers’ hitting coaches and conditioning staff was interrupted last winter by the lockout.

Other notes from around the NL West…

  • Evan Longoria said last month that the Giants, Rays, and Diamondbacks were his preferred destinations for his final season, with the D’Backs listed alongside Longoria’s two former teams because the veteran third baseman has a home in Arizona.  As such, Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reports that the Diamondbacks are indeed expected to check in on Longoria in free agency.  The 37-year-old has hit a solid .252/.333/.466 with 27 homers since the start of the 2021 season, but injuries have limited Longoria to 589 PA and 170 games.  Josh Rojas’ versatility would allow for Longoria to get some time at third base and at DH, and the D’Backs are looking for right-handed hitting in general.  As Piecoro notes, Longoria has some extra appeal as a veteran leader on a young team.
  • Also from Piecoro’s post, Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen told reporters that “we have had half the league, at least, talk about our outfielders.”  With so many left-handed hitting young outfielders on the roster, it isn’t surprising that teams are eager to discuss trades about Arizona’s surplus.  However, Hazen quieted rumblings that a trade would occur soon, saying “we’re just starting to get a handle on what type of offers we could make and what makes sense for us to help our major league team.”
  • It doesn’t appear as though Pierce Johnson will re-sign with the Padres, a source tells Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune.  Elbow tendinitis cost Johnson most of the 2022 campaign, as he pitched only 14 1/3 innings over 15 appearances in the regular season and then 4 1/3 more frames during the playoffs.  The 31-year-old Johnson had strong (3.09 ERA, 32.1% strikeout rate) numbers over 78 2/3 innings in 2020-21, albeit with a high 11.1% walk rate.  Since San Diego seems to be moving on, Johnson and his excellent curveball could be an intriguing bounce-back target for the many teams looking for bullpen help in free agency.

Red Sox Interested In Diamondbacks Outfielders

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The Red Sox are the latest club to show interest in Pirates outfielder Bryan Reynolds, The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier writes.  Reynolds is one of a few names on the trade radar for the Sox early in the offseason, as Speier reports that the Red Sox have looked into the Diamondbacks’ group of left-handed hitting outfielders, and Boston is also expected to again check in with the Athletics about catcher Sean Murphy.

Speaking of untouchable players, the Red Sox also inquired about Zac Gallen, but the Diamondbacks have told clubs that Gallen isn’t available.  Pitching is another need on Boston’s winter shopping list, and Speier figures the Sox to be among the many suitors for Kodai Senga since they “were among many teams to scout him heavily” in Japan.  The Mariners, Rangers, Blue Jays, Dodgers, Padres, Cubs, and Angels have already been linked to Senga’s market, with MLB Network’s Jon Morosi tweeting earlier today about the Angels’ interest.  Senga is free of his NPB commitments, so an interested Major League team can negotiate with him like any free agent, without the obstacle of the posting system.

Diamondbacks Outright Humberto Castellanos, Tyler Zuber, Buddy Kennedy

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November 11: The Diamondbacks announced that they have outrighted Castellanos and Zuber, as well as infielder Buddy Kennedy.

November 10: The Diamondbacks announced a batch of roster moves today, reinstating five players from the 60-day injured list. They are infielders Nick Ahmed and Emmanuel Rivera, left-hander Tyler Gilbert, along with right-handers Humberto Castellanos and Tyler Zuber. Those latter two names have also been designated for assignment. That leaves the club’s 40-man roster at exactly 40.

Starting today and until Spring Training, there is no injured list. That means that most teams around the league are facing roster crunches as players on the 60-day IL have to retake their roster spots. The D-Backs reinstated these five but also had to designate a couple of them in order to get their roster down to an even 40.

Zuber, 28 in June, was just claimed off waivers from the Royals a couple of weeks ago. The fact that Arizona has quickly put him back into DFA limbo perhaps suggests that their plan in claiming him has been to pass him through waivers and hang onto his rights. He missed all of 2022 due to a shoulder impingement but recently began throwing again. When he was last healthy in 2021, he had poor results in the majors but put up a 2.83 ERA in Triple-A with a 37.1% strikeout rate, though an unfortunate 13.8% walk rate. If he clears waivers, the D-Backs can try to help him with his control but without Zuber taking up a roster spot.

As for Castellanos, 25 in April, he made 11 appearances for the Snakes in 2022, including nine starts. Unfortunately, he required Tommy John surgery in August and is likely to miss the entire 2023 season.

Hazen: Diamondbacks Have Flexibility For At Least Slight Payroll Bump

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The Diamondbacks head into the offseason looking to bolster a roster that showed some promise in the second half. General manager Mike Hazen indicated last month the team was prioritizing adding swing-and-miss to the bullpen and was looking for another right-handed bat, and he suggested this week the front office should have financial breathing room for some additions.

“I think we’re going to have some room to move,” Hazen told reporters at the GM Meetings (link via Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic). “When we’ve felt like the team has gotten better, (owner Ken Kendrick) has usually given us leeway to maneuver. I think that’s going to be the case to some degree. I don’t know that we’re going to get to levels where we’ve been in the recent past, but I think we’re going to have some flexibility to do some things. I think the talent on our team warrants some additional good players.”

That’s not the resounding promise for a payroll spike for which the fanbase was probably hoping, although it does suggest they’ll be able to dip into free agency for help. Arizona signed only three free agents — Mark Melancon, Ian Kennedy and Zach Davies — to big league contracts last winter, tacking on a modest $12MM on the open market. The Snakes entered the 2022 campaign with a player payroll just under $91MM, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts, their second straight year between $90MM and $96MM.

Before the pandemic-shortened season, Arizona pushed spending north of $120MM in both 2018-19. Hazen’s comments downplay the possibility of getting back to those heights in 2023, but it doesn’t seem out of the question the team could push above $100MM in Opening Day payroll for the first time since 2020.

A relief corps that had the majors lowest strikeout rate figures to be a key priority. Arizona already bought low on a reliever with decent swing-and-miss ability, claiming Cole Sulser off waivers from the Marlins this week. That’s just one of what should be multiple additions, although an already-thin free agent relief market has seen arguably its top two players (Edwin Díaz and Robert Suarez) agree to re-sign with their previous teams. That leaves Taylor Rogers, Rafael Montero, Carlos Estévez, Seth Lugo, Andrew Chafin, Kenley Jansen and Chris Martin among the top arms available, although the D-Backs are sure to look into trades and/or waivers for additional options.

One other key offseason storyline for the D-Backs is whether they’d deal from their stable of upper level outfielders. Arizona has seen Daulton Varsho and Corbin Carroll emerge as key pieces of the future, while Jake McCarthy had a strong 2022 campaign to earn everyday reps. Alek Thomas didn’t hit the ground running at the big league level, but he’s a high-contact center fielder who entered the year as a top prospect. The Snakes could certainly hang onto that depth, but Hazen has spoken on a number of occasions about a willingness to entertain trade offers on members of that group.

The GM reiterated this week that dealing an outfielder is a possibility, but he emphasized he’d only do so in a move that brought back immediate MLB talent. “I’m not trading them for prospects. The prospect trade is out,” Hazen said (via Piecoro). “You can take that off the table. It’ll have to be (an established or major league ready player) and at a caliber for us that we felt like we were equally maintaining (value).”

Hazen pointed out the outfield would have a trickle-down effect on how the team approaches the designated hitter position. He suggested the current outfield depth was likely to spill over to rotating players through the DH spot but acknowledged pursuing a full-fledged DH could be more realistic with a trade that ships away an outfielder. Hazen, a former Red Sox executive, pointed to David Ortiz in suggesting he’s not opposed to having an everyday DH in the right circumstances. The D-Backs certainly aren’t going to find a hitter on the level of the Hall of Fame slugger, but old friend J.D. Martinez is an impact free agent righty bat. Nelson Cruz is coming off a terrible year but could find a big league opportunity, while players like Justin Turner and Evan Longoria could fit as hybrids between a questionable third base position and DH in the desert.

Certainly, Arizona could look to the trade market for their desired right-handed bat as well — perhaps in a deal that sends out one of their lefty-swinging young outfielders. What’s clear is the Diamondbacks aren’t approaching the offseason as a rebuilder or traditional “seller,” however. To that end, Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic reported this week Arizona has no plans to trade Zac Gallen or Merrill Kelly this offseason. Dealing away either of their top two starters — each of whom is controllable through 2025 — never seemed especially  likely after Arizona’s somewhat promising end to the season, particularly with the club having a number of unproven options at the back end. Rosenthal suggests the D-Backs would unsurprisingly be open to shedding some of the two years and $37MM remaining on Madison Bumgarner’s contract, although finding another team willing to take a notable chunk of that money probably isn’t happening unless Arizona shoulders an undesirable contract in return.

Diamondbacks Claim Cole Sulser From Marlins

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The Diamondbacks announced they’ve claimed reliever Cole Sulser off waivers from the Marlins. Arizona’s 40-man roster tally jumps to 37, while Miami’s drops to 40.

Sulser spent one season in South Florida. The Fish acquired the right-hander alongside hard-throwing Tanner Scott in a package deal with the Orioles going into the 2022 season. Sulser was coming off an excellent 2.70 ERA over 63 1/3 innings in Baltimore, looking like a late-blooming high-leverage bullpen piece. He didn’t replicate that success during his year in Miami, however, scuffling to a 5.29 ERA over 34 frames.

The 32-year-old surrendered six home runs over that stretch, and his strikeout rate dipped from 28.4% with Baltimore to 25.5% this past season. Sulser’s average fastball speed also dropped from 93.3 MPH to 91.9 MPH, and he lost a couple months midseason with a lat strain.

That down year explains why the Marlins were willing to part with Sulser not long after acquiring him, but it’s easy enough to see the appeal for the Diamondbacks in giving him a shot. Even with his diminished velocity, he got swinging strikes on an above-average 13.3% of his pitches this year. Arizona general manager Mike Hazen has spoken about prioritizing swing-and-miss in adding to a bullpen that ranked last in the big leagues with a 19.7% strikeout rate.

Sulser has between three and four years of major league service, so he’ll be eligible for arbitration through the 2025 campaign. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects him to receive a modest $1MM salary if tendered a contract, and he could be a multi-year bullpen piece for the Snakes if he can right the ship.

Diamondbacks Decline Ian Kennedy’s Mutual Option

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The Diamondbacks have declined their end of a mutual option for reliever Ian Kennedy’s 2023 services, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. The D-Backs will pay him the $250K buyout instead of a $4MM salary.

There wasn’t much intrigue with this decision. Signed to a one-year, $4.75MM guarantee last offseason, Kennedy had a rough go in his second stint in the desert. Manager Torey Lovullo called the right-hander out of his bullpen on 57 occasions, but he only mustered a 5.36 ERA through 50 1/3 innings. Kennedy posted a below-average 19% strikeout rate and was extremely fly ball prone, contributing to his allowing nearly two home runs per nine innings.

Now headed into his age-38 season, Kennedy could be looking at minor league offers this winter. He’s had some prior success both as a starter and as a full-time reliever late in his career, including a 3.20 ERA between the Rangers and Phillies in 2021. However, on the heels of a uniformly disappointing campaign, the 16-year MLB veteran may need to work his way back to the highest level.

Arizona figures to dip into the free agent and/or trade markets for bullpen help this offseason. Protecting leads late in games has been a problem for the Snakes for a while, and general manager Mike Hazen has already spoken of a desire to some add some power arms to the unit.

Zach Davies Declines Mutual Option With Diamondbacks

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Diamondbacks right-hander Zach Davies declined his end of a mutual option for the 2023 season, reports Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. The right-hander receives a $250K buyout, and (as per the MLB Players Association) has officially become a free agent.

Davies inked a one-year guarantee with the D’Backs in March, and posted a 4.09 ERA over 134 1/3 frames in 2022.  It ended up being quite a solid return for Arizona on its $1.75MM investment ($1.5MM salary, plus the buyout) on the 29-year-old, and since Davies had some extra bonus money tied to his number of starts, his 27 trips to the mound likely earned him some additional dollars.

The value of the mutual option wasn’t known, though mutual options are almost never exercised by both parties.  Davies had strikeout (17.9%) and walk (9.1%) rates that were well below the league average, as well as his typically low fastball velocity and chase rates, though he did do a good job of avoiding hard contact.  A .257 BABIP undoubtedly helped Davies, as his 4.71 SIERA is perhaps a more accurate reflection of his 2022 performance.

It’s possible the Diamondbacks might pursue a reunion with Davies, but with these stats in mind, the D’Backs might choose to pursue another fairly inexpensive veteran arm rather than look to re-sign Davies himself.  Arizona has Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, and Madison Bumgarner atop their projected rotation, with such younger hurlers as Drey Jameson, Tommy Henry, and Ryne Nelson set to compete for the final two spots in the starting five.  The D’Backs could prefer to let those youngsters compete for just a lone rotation job, and acquire a veteran to fill the fourth starter’s role.  Theoretically, that fourth starter could perhaps be flipped at the deadline, thus opening up more time for another prospect to get more innings.

Davies might well have been traded himself last summer, had it not been for a shoulder injury that sidelined him for all of July.  The right-hander will now hit the market once again, and could be joining his fifth different team in as many seasons.  Davies was a part of prominent trades in both the 2019-20 and 2020-21 offseasons, moving from the Brewers to the Padres and then to the Cubs before signing with the D’Backs last winter.

Note: The original version of this post indicated the Diamondbacks had declined their end of the mutual option. It was subsequently reported that Davies declined his end of the option. MLBTR regrets the error.

The Opener: Astros, Options, Diamondbacks

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Welcome to The Opener, our new weekday morning series here at MLBTR! Nick Deeds will take you through three things to watch around MLB, with our typical hot stove leaning.

With the final game of the 2022 MLB season coming as soon as tomorrow night, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world:

1. Astros Facing Decisions On Baker, Click

After a hard-fought Game 5 that afforded Justin Verlander his first pitcher win in the World Series, the Astros will look to clinch back home in Houston tomorrow night. As soon as they do, however, they’ll have to face the personnel decisions that their postseason run has put on hold to this point. Both manager Dusty Baker and GM James Click are on expiring contracts, and Astros owner Jim Crane will have to decide their futures with the franchise. The Astros are expected to ask Baker to return in 2023, and Baker has indicated that he would like to continue managing regardless of the outcome of this postseason run. The future is murkier for Click, however, as speculation has run rampant throughout the postseason that he may not be asked to return to Houston in 2023, with Jon Heyman of the New York Post mentioning the uncertainty surrounding Click’s future as recently as last night. While it’s surprising to see so much uncertainty around a GM who has captured back-to-back AL pennants and might add a World Series championship to his resume as soon as tomorrow night, reports of a personality clash between Crane and Click abound. Heyman suggests that the Astros may be interested in David Stearns, who served as their assistant GM prior to running Milwaukee’s front office. While Stearns has stepped down as president of baseball operations for the Brewers, he’s not likely to run the Astros or any other team during the 2023 season, for which he is still under contract in Milwaukee. Even if the Astros are indeed interested in Stearns as their long-term head of baseball operations, the question of who will be at the helm in Houston next season remains unanswered.

2. Option Decisions Loom

A number of players and teams are facing option decisions, and with the World Series set to end this weekend, those decisions will have to be made sometime next week. While some decisions, such as that of Nolan Arenado, have already been made, most are still up in the air. Anthony Rizzo, Jurickson Profar, and Jake Odorizzi are among the players with tougher decisions facing them on whether or not to test free agency. As for club options, the Dodgers have one of the tougher calls on Justin Turner’s $16MM option, as do the Brewers on Kolten Wong’s $10MM option. Additionally, many of the biggest names on the free agent market this season, such as Verlander, Jacob deGrom, Carlos Correa, and Xander Bogaerts, are technically not set to be free agents until they opt-out of their current contracts, though for decisions as clear as these this is little more than a formality.

3. Arizona Faces Outfield Logjam

Despite finishing the regular season with an unimpressive 74-88 record, the Diamondbacks are by no means a team without talent. Unfortunately for Arizona, however, a great deal of that talent overlaps heavily, as the team is flush with young, controllable, lefty-hitting outfielders. Corbin Carroll and Alek Thomas highlight the bunch in terms of prospect pedigree, but Jake McCarthy had a breakout season in 2022, Daulton Varsho turned in a quality season as an everyday player spending most of his time in the outfield, Pavin Smith won’t be eligible for arbitration until after next season, and Dominic Fletcher is knocking on the door in Triple-A. Between the DH and some positional versatility — Varsho caught 175 innings in 2022, while Smith played a bit of first base — Arizona could find at-bats for most, or perhaps even all, of these players. A better solution for the Diamondbacks, though, would be to explore trades for one or two of these young players in order to shore up their pitching staff or address other holes in the lineup. Carroll and Varsho would likely be off-limits, but perhaps a team looking to get more left-handed bats into the lineup, such as either Chicago team or the Marlins, could be interested in acquiring McCarthy, Smith, or Fletcher. While it’s not inconceivable Thomas could be moved, after a rough start to his major league career in 2022, Arizona would likely be selling low on him in any deal.

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