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Mets Claim Diego Castillo From Diamondbacks

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The Mets announced that they have claimed infielder Diego Castillo off waivers from the Diamondbacks. The latter club had designated him assignment two weeks ago when they made their signing of Lourdes Gurriel Jr. official. DFA limbo normally only lasts a week but the clock is paused for the week from Christmas to New Year’s. The Mets’ 40-man roster is up to 39, but it will be full once their deal with Harrison Bader is announced.

Not to be confused with the 29-year-old reliever of the same name who recently signed with the Rangers, this Castillo is a 26-year-old infielder. He was once a Yankees prospect, though that club flipped him to Pittsburgh in the Clay Holmes trade. The Pirates designated him for assignment just over a year ago and traded him to the Diamondbacks.

Between the Bucs and D’Backs, he has 284 major league plate appearances but has hit just .205/.250/.380 in those. He’s fared much better in the minors, including last year. In 556 plate appearances for Arizona’s Triple-A club in 2023, Castillo walked more than he struck out, a 17.4% walk rate compared to a 14.2% strikeout rate. He only hit three home runs but slashed .313/.431/.410 for a wRC+ of 117. He also stole 13 bases and suited up at the three infield positions to the left of first base, as well as left field.

The Mets have been focused on depth this winter, claiming Penn Murfee, Zack Short, Tyler Heineman, Cooper Hummel and now Castillo off waivers in order to bolster their depth in various places. They’ve also given out one-year deals to Bader, Luis Severino, Joey Wendle, Jorge López, Austin Adams and Michael Tonkin.

Castillo still has an option and won’t need to be guaranteed an active roster spot. He can give the club extra depth around the infield, where the Mets will have Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil and Francisco Lindor in regular roles. The third base job is likely up for grabs, with Brett Baty, Mark Vientos and Wendle in the mix for playing time there. Castillo and Short figure to be in depth roles who can fill in at various spots throughout the year as injuries dictate.

Diamondbacks Sign Logan Allen To Minor League Contract

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The D-Backs signed lefty Logan Allen to a minor league contract yesterday, according to an announcement from their Triple-A team in Reno. He’ll be in big league camp as a non-roster Spring Training invitee.

Allen, 26, is the older of the two Logan Allens with MLB experience. As with the current Guardians starter of the same name,  he was once a fairly well-regarded prospect in the Cleveland farm system. The 26-year-old Allen has yet to find much MLB success, however. Over three seasons in Cleveland, he pitched to a 5.45 ERA in 69 1/3 innings. The Guardians waived him in May 2022, where he was nabbed by the Orioles.

He made three relief appearances before Baltimore outrighted him from the 40-man roster. Those are Allen’s most recent MLB outings. He has spent the past year and a half in Triple-A. After finishing the 2022 campaign with the O’s, he split last year with the top affiliates of the Rockies and Mariners.

Allen struggled mightily with Colorado’s highest minor league team, allowing a 7.20 ERA through 45 frames. He found slightly better results after signing with Seattle around the All-Star Break. Over 14 appearances (10 starts) in the Mariner organization, he allowed 4.66 earned runs per nine innings. His 19.1% strikeout rate and 10.9% walk percentage over that stretch were still worse than average, however. That has generally been the case over parts of five Triple-A seasons, where Allen has a 6.04 ERA.

While he hasn’t found extended success in either the majors or Triple-A, Allen’s results up through Double-A were excellent. Evaluators credited him with an above-average to plus changeup during his time as a prospect. He’s a non-roster depth option who could start or work in long relief with the Aces to open the 2024 campaign.

Diamondbacks To Sign Kevin Newman To Minor League Deal

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10:10am: It’s a minor league deal with a Spring Training invite, per Steve Gilbert of MLB.com.

8:59am: The Diamondbacks and infielder Kevin Newman are in agreement on a deal, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The specifics of the deal are not yet known.

Newman, 30, was a first-round pick by the Pirates in the 2015 draft and made his debut in Pittsburgh back in 2018 after being called up in late August. Newman appeared in 31 games for the club down the stretch but struggled badly in 97 trips to the plate, slashing just .209/.247/.231 during that time. Fortunately, Newman’s second taste of big league action went much better as the infielder posted the best season of his career in 2019. While acting as Pittsburgh’s regular shortstop, Newman slashed a solid .308/.353/.446 (109 wRC+) in 531 trips to the plate while striking out at a clip of just 11.7%.

Newman’s success did not last, however, as his offense cratered during the shortened 2020 season and his struggles at the plate continued into the 2021 season. While the Pirates stuck with Newman as their regular shortstop, he hit just .226/.268/.302 in a combined 726 trips to the plate across those two seasons. That production was good for a wRC+ of 52 that was 48% worse than league average and represents the worst slash line in the majors during that time among all regulars (min. 700 plate appearances). That weak production and a groin injury left Newman supplanted at shortstop by Oneil Cruz early in the 2022 season. Upon returning from injury in July and moving to second base, Newman provided the Pirates with decent production in the second half, slashing .279/.318/.371 (91 wRC+) in 257 trips to the plate from July 8 onward. Still, that improved production didn’t stop the Pirates from dealing Newman to Cincinnati last November in exchange for right-hander Dauri Moreta.

Joining the Reds ahead of the 2023 campaign left Newman to move into a part-time role as the club’s wave of young infielders including Matt McLain, Spencer Steer, and Elly De La Cruz took on regular roles throughout the season. Newman performed decently in his new role as a utility player, spending time at all four infield positions while slashing .253/.311/.364 (78 wRC+) in 253 trips to the plate, though his season was eventually cut short in mid-August by an oblique strain. The Reds then released Newman in late September, at which point he hit the open market.

The addition of Newman offers Arizona a high-contact bat capable of playing anywhere on the infield dirt. While his overall offensive profile leaves something to be desired, Newman’s ability to avoid strikeouts gives him value as a pinch-hitting option off the bench. Just 19 players with at least 200 plate appearances last season posted a strikeout rate lower than Newman’s 13.4% figure, and his career strikeout rate of 12% ranks sixth among active players with at least 1500 plate appearances since the start of 2018 season. That places him in rarefied air alongside the likes of Jeff McNeil, David Fletcher, and Yuli Gurriel.

Newman figures to continue in a utility role with the club. Though the details of his contract with the reigning NL champions are not yet available, Newman appears likely to battle with fellow utilityman Jace Peterson and infielder Emmanuel Rivera for a spot on the club’s bench this spring. Newman is the only member of that trio capable of playing shortstop, a fact that could give him a leg up even in spite of his relatively meager offensive production as he would likely serve as the club’s primary back-up to Gerlado Perdomo in the event that top prospect Jordan Lawler begins the season at Triple-A.

D-Backs, Tucker Barnhart Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Diamondbacks are in agreement with catcher Tucker Barnhart on a minor league contract, reports Robert Murray of FanSided (X link). He’ll be in camp as a non-roster invitee.

Arizona adds a defense-first catcher to their Spring Training group. Barnhart won a pair of Gold Gloves during his eight-year run with the Reds. Statcast has still graded him as a slightly above-average pitch framer over the past two seasons, but those numbers are down from his 2019-21 peak. It’s a similar story from a throwing perspective. Barnhart threw out a middling seven of 37 basestealers in 312 2/3 innings with the Cubs.

With nearly a decade of MLB experience, the 32-year-old has a strong reputation for his work with a pitching staff. That has always been his selling point. Barnhart has never provided league average production at the dish. His offensive numbers have been particularly poor over the past two years. In 431 plate appearances since the start of 2022, the left-handed hitter owns a .215/.286/.264 line.

Last winter, the Cubs signed Barnhart to a two-year, $6.5MM guarantee. He appeared in only 47 games before being released. Chicago turned to 24-year-old Miguel Amaya to pair with veteran Yan Gomes in August. Barnhart caught on with the Dodgers on a non-roster deal for the stretch run. He appeared in seven Triple-A games and never received a big league call.

Chicago is still responsible for Barnhart’s $3.25MM salary for the 2024 season. If he cracks Arizona’s roster, the Snakes would only owe him the prorated portion of the $740K league minimum for whatever time he spends in the majors. He’d be an inexpensive veteran option to back up Gabriel Moreno, who has clearly established himself as the organization’s #1 catcher.

Aside from Moreno, José Herrera stands as the only catcher on the 40-man roster. Herrera is a .198/.272/.231 hitter in 88 MLB games over the past two seasons. That gives Barnhart a solid chance to make the club out of camp. Former Rays and Red Sox prospect Ronaldo Hernández will also be in Spring Training as a non-roster invitee.

Hazen: Diamondbacks Looking To Add Another Bat

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The Diamondbacks have had a fairly busy offseason in the aftermath of their surprising playoff run that saw them reach the Fall Classic for the first time since the club’s lone championship in 2001. The club made a big addition to its rotation via free agency by landing left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez on a four-year pact and just recently brought back outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. on a three-year deal. On the trade market, meanwhile, Arizona landed third baseman Eugenio Suarez in a deal with the Mariners, adding a power bat to the club’s infield mix. The additions of Gurriel and Suarez both add some balance to Arizona’s lineup, which is largely dominated by lefty and switch-hitters outside of first baseman Christian Walker.

Even after those major acquisitions, Arizona does not appear ready to call it an offseason just yet. As noted by Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic, GM Mike Hazen indicated during Gurriel’s introductory press conference yesterday that the heavy lifting of the club’s offseason is not yet done.

“I feel like we’ve certainly added to our team. I think our team on paper, starting out next season, is going to be in a very similar, if not slightly better, position than we started out 2023 with,” Hazen said, “That’s a decent starting point. I think the competitiveness within our division is going to require us to continue to upgrade the roster any way we can.”

Hazen went on to add that the club is looking to add another position player to the lineup, though he’s “not so sure” that the addition will have to hit from the right-hand side after the club’s acquisitions of Gurriel and Suarez. Hazen went on to suggest that the club is looking at more of an offensively oriented addition— hardly a surprise given the club’s lack of a clear starting option at DH.

The club’s willingness to consider left-handed hitters is a sensible change in tone given the additions of Gurriel and Suarez to the lineup. While Arizona’s 97 wRC+ (18th in the majors) as a team last year was held back by the team’s 92 wRC+ (23rd) against southpaws, the club’s 99 wRC+ against right-handers (17th) was still below league average. Gurriel and Suarez sport career wRC+ marks of 117 and 126 respectively figure to help the club get up to par against lefties, but their lesser marks of 111 and 106 against right-handed pitching will be less impactful. Given that, a left-handed hitter or at least a right-handed hitter who fares well against same-handed pitching could be a wise addition to the club’s hitting corps.

Of course, even if Hazen is open to adding a lefty bat to the club it’s worth noting that the club has largely been attached to right-handed bats to this point. J.D. Martinez, Jorge Soler, and Justin Turner all fit the club’s reported preference for a bat-first hitter. As such, it’s no surprise that each has been connected to Arizona even as they hit from the right side. A reunion with Tommy Pham or a deal with Rhys Hoskins could also make sense for the club in terms of righty bats. In terms of left-handed hitters, Brandon Belt, Joc Pederson, Michael Brantley, and Joey Gallo are among the options available on the open market.

Diamondbacks Designate Diego Castillo For Assignment

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The Diamondbacks announced Friday that they’ve designated infielder Diego Castillo for assignment. His spot on the 40-man roster will go to outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr., whose previously reported three-year deal has now been formally announced by the club.

Castillo, 26, was traded from the Pirates to the D-backs 364 days ago, with Arizona sending minor league righty Scott Randall the other way in the deal. He appeared in just one game with the Snakes this season and went hitless in his lone plate appearance. He tallied 283 plate appearances in Pittsburgh a year prior but struggled to a .206/.251/.382 batting line in that MLB debut.

The bulk of Castillo’s 2023 season came in Triple-A Reno, where he played second base, shortstop, third base and left field over the course of 124 games. In 556 plate appearances, Castillo turned in an excellent .313/.431/.410 slash while walking more often than he struck out (17.4% versus 14.2%). In 177 career games at the Triple-A level, Castillo is a .296/.410/.407 hitter with nearly as many walks (124) as strikeouts (125).

Given his versatility, keen eye at the plate and excellent bat-to-ball skills, there’s a good chance that Castillo will draw interest from another club — if not in a trade (which seems quite plausible) then at least via waiver claim. He was never an elite prospect, but reports on the Venezuelan-born infielder have long touted his plus hit tool, even if that’s generally seen as his only above-average tool. Castillo has never swiped more than 13 bases and only has two seasons where he’s reached double-digit home runs; he hit just three long balls in 2023 despite spending the year in an immensely hitter-friendly setting.

Even if he’s “only” a contact-oriented utilityman, there’s still value to be had with Castillo. The fact that he’s being designated for assignment to make way for Gurriel’s return speaks to the manner in which the Arizona roster has deepened in a short time. The 2021 D-backs lost 110 games, but in just two years they’ve climbed to the World Series runners-up and are jettisoning a player who’d have been a veritable lock for playing time there just a couple seasons ago.

The Diamondbacks will have a week to trade Castillo or attempt to pass him through outright waivers.

Diamondbacks Re-Sign Lourdes Gurriel Jr.

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Dec. 22: The D-backs have now formally announced the signing.

Dec. 17: The Diamondbacks have agreed to a reunion with free agent outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. on a three-year, $42MM contract. The deal (which becomes official once Gurriel passes a physical) contains a opt-out clause after the 2025 season, as well as a $14MM club option for the Diamondbacks for the 2027 campaign. Gurriel is represented by Magnus Sports.

The 30-year-old Gurriel played in Arizona in 2023 after he and catcher Gabriel Moreno were acquired from the Blue Jays in the trade that sent Daulton Varsho to Toronto. Gurriel got off to a hot start in his new locale, making his first career All-Star appearance thanks in large part to a blistering month of May (.352/.416/.714 in 101 plate appearances). That production proved to be something of an outlier for the outfielder, however, as he posted a sub-.700 OPS in each of April, June, and July that left him with an overall slash line of just .246/.294/.445 in 388 trips to the plate entering the month of August.

Gurriel managed to turn things back around down the stretch, however, finishing with a .261/.309/.463 slash line to show for 592 PA over the entire regular season. He also performed decently (93 wRC+) in 70 trips to the plate during Arizona’s postseason run, including a .333/.350/.500 slash line against the Rangers during the World Series.

Despite Gurriel’s uneven performance in 2023, he’s been a pretty solid bat throughout his career with an above-average wRC+ every year since he debuted in the majors back in 2018. Since becoming an everyday player during the shortened 2020 season, Gurriel has slashed .279/.326/.456 with a 112 wRC+. He also receives strong marks for his defense in left field, including a +14 Defensive Runs Saves with Arizona last season. While Gurriel managed just five homers in 121 games with the Blue Jays in 2022, he rediscovered his power stroke with the Diamondbacks last year, clubbing 24 home runs to go along with 35 doubles, both career-best figures.

If he can maintain that power output while bouncing back from a career-worst .282 BABIP last season, it’s possible Gurriel can unlock another level of offensive potential as he enters his thirties. The opt-out clause reflects this ceiling, as Gurriel could now re-enter the market heading into his age-32 season after what he hopes are a pair of very productive seasons in the desert.

Given the dearth of consistent offensive options available on the free agent market this offseason, it’s not a shock that Gurriel was able to land a healthy guarantee. The total guarantee of $42MM clocked in below the four-year, $54MM contract MLBTR projected for Gurriel when placing him 14th on our annual Top 50 MLB free agents list, though it’s worth noting that the average annual value of the deal is, by contrast, higher than we projected. While Gurriel is largely limited to left field defensively and has not yet posted truly impactful offensive numbers over a full season as an everyday player, his consistency and potential upside make him a worthwhile investment for an Arizona club that was looking to add to its outfield mix this offseason.

Looking ahead to 2024, Gurriel profiles as the club’s everyday left fielder where he’ll likely patrol the outfield alongside Alek Thomas and Corbin Carroll, with the likes of Jake McCarthy and Dominic Fletcher as depth options behind the starting trio. Gurriel is the only right-handed bat in that outfield mix and could help the club’s outfield produce against left-handers. Arizona struggled badly against left-handed pitching in 2023, though Gurriel slashed an impressive .301/.363/.452 against southpaws. Retaining Gurriel and adding another righty bat in third baseman Eugenio Suarez should help shore up the team’s performance against left-handers.

It has already been a busy offseason for the Diamondbacks, who inked left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez to a four-year deal earlier this month in addition to the aforementioned trade for Suarez. While Roster Resource projects the Gurriel contract to take the club’s 2024 payroll into uncharted territory with a $140MM figure, it appears that the club does not intend on slowing down from here. ESPN’s Jeff Passan suggests the club still plans on adding a power-hitting DH to their lineup before the offseason comes to a close, while USA Today’s Bob Nightengale specifically denotes the club’s interest in right-handed veterans J.D. Martinez and Justin Turner. Jorge Soler is another name the club has been connected to in recent weeks that could fill that role.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic was the first to report the agreement between Gurriel and the Diamondbacks.  ESPN’s Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel had the length of the deal and the financial terms, while MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand had the details on the opt-out clause and the club option.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

MLBTR Podcast: Tyler Glasnow, Jung Hoo Lee, D-Backs’ Signings and the Braves’ Confusing Moves

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, Steve Adams joins to answer your questions, including…

  • What’s going on with Atlanta shuffling all these contracts around? (21:25)
  • Will the Mariners do anything with the payroll they jettisoned? (30:15)

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Diamondbacks, Ronaldo Hernandez Agree To Minor League Contract

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The Diamondbacks are signing catcher Ronaldo Hernandez to a minor league deal, reports Kiley McDaniel of ESPN (X link). He’ll get an invitation to big league Spring Training.

Hernandez, 26, was a top prospect during his early days in the Rays system. Tampa Bay traded him to the Red Sox in a deal that sent left-hander Jeffrey Springs to Tampa Bay going into the 2021 season. While that was a controversial decision for the Rays given Hernandez’s prospect status, it turned out to be a significant win. Springs has been a productive starter, while Hernandez stalled out at the upper levels of the Boston system.

The right-handed hitter has spent the past two seasons at Triple-A Worcester. Hernandez has had decent but unspectacular numbers in both years. He hit 17 homers in each season with middling on-base numbers. The Colombia native owns a .255/.319/.448 batting line over 860 plate appearances at the top minor league level.

Hernandez spent a couple years on Boston’s 40-man roster. He was called to the majors on a pair of occasions but didn’t get into an MLB game. The Sox ran him through outright waivers last offseason. When he wasn’t reselected onto the 40-man roster, he became a minor league free agent last month.

Arizona only has two catchers on the 40-man roster: Gabriel Moreno and Jose Herrera. The former is one of the sport’s top young catching talents and is entrenched as the starter. Herrera is a light-hitting backup with a career .198/.272/.231 slash in 90 big league contests. The Snakes could still look for an experienced catcher on a low-cost deal or via minor league pact. As things stand, there’d be a decent opportunity for Hernandez to get an MLB look at some point in 2024.

Julio Rodríguez Tops 2023 Pre-Arb Bonus Pool

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Mariners center fielder Julio Rodríguez will receive $1,865,349 from the $50MM bonus pool for pre-arbitration players, the highest of the 2023 recipients, per a report from Ronald Blum of the Associated Press. The AP later released a full list of bonus recipients.

A notable new element of the current collective bargaining agreement is that $50MM is to be taken from central revenues annually and distributed to players that have not yet qualified for arbitration. Certain portions of the money are to be based on awards voting:

  • Rookie of the Year: $750K for first place, $500K for second place
  • MVP and Cy Young: $2.5MM for first place, $1.75MM for second place, $1.5MM for third place, $1MM for fourth or fifth place
  • All-MLB: $1MM for being named “First Team,” $500K for being named “Second Team”

As Blum highlights today, a player is eligible to receive the bonus for one of those achievements per year, earning only the highest amount. Rodríguez finished fourth in American League MVP voting, meaning he got $1MM for that, which accounted for the majority of his payout. After the bonuses, the remainder of the pool is divided on a percentage basis among the top 100 players based on the joint MLB/MLBPA-created version of WAR.

Players are still eligible even if they have signed extensions, as long as they would have been pre-arb without signing such a deal. Rodríguez and the Mariners signed a convoluted extension towards the end of his rookie season in 2022 but he’s only at two years of service time now. Since he would have been pre-arb without that extension, he was able to top this year’s pool.

The following 10 players got more than $1MM:

Last year, Dylan Cease got the biggest slice of the 2022 pie, taking home $2,457,426.

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