Astros Continue To Seek Left-Handed Outfielder In Paredes Talks
Astros pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training tomorrow. The team’s roster remains jumbled as camp is soon to get underway. They’re still heavily right-handed and have an arguable surplus of infielders with an unimposing outfield mix.
Trading an infielder, especially Isaac Paredes, has been the most speculated avenue to balancing the roster. General manager Dana Brown has repeatedly said the Astros aren’t motivated to do so. Brown has pointed to the impact that Paredes had on Houston’s lineup before he suffered a significant hamstring strain midway through his first season with the club. The Astros are only a year removed from acquiring him as an instrumental piece in their return for Kyle Tucker, feeling that his pull-heavy approach from the right side would play well with the short left field at Houston’s Daikin Park. That proved to be the case, as Paredes hit 20 homers with a .254/.352/.458 slash in 102 games.
Even as team personnel have struck a public tone that they’re happy with their infield depth, it seems they’ve been more on board with the trade route behind the scenes. Chandler Rome of The Athletic reported last week that the Astros were discussing Paredes with upwards of five teams, including the Pirates and Red Sox. Rome wrote in a column at The Athletic this morning that they’ve intensified efforts to find a match on the trade front. Houston continues to pursue a left-handed hitting outfielder as part of any potential return, Rome adds.
A handful of recent moves could make that less likely. They reportedly kicked around a three-team framework that would have involved acquiring Brendan Donovan from St. Louis. That didn’t come to fruition and he’s now a Mariner. The Red Sox have signed Isiah Kiner-Falefa and traded for Caleb Durbin from the Brewers, which seemingly fills out their infield. Pittsburgh signed Marcell Ozuna to a $12MM free agent contract to add a right-handed power bat. They’re still looking to upgrade over Jared Triolo at third base, but it’s unclear if they’re interested in accommodating Paredes’ $9.35MM salary.
Speculatively, the Brewers may be the best on-paper fit after the Durbin trade. Milwaukee isn’t likely to part with Sal Frelick, but center fielder Garrett Mitchell or corner bat Tyler Black are left-handed hitters who could play the outfield in Houston. The Twins have an uncertain corner infield mix and some expendable lefty outfield bats (e.g. Matt Wallner, Trevor Larnach). The Guardians have a heavily left-handed first base and outfield mix and desperately need a right-handed power bat. They could offer someone like George Valera if they’re willing to reinvest any of the money they saved by restructuring José Ramírez’s contract into the 2026 payroll.
The Padres are looking for another corner infielder and could certainly use Paredes at first base, though they don’t have any lefty-hitting outfielders of significance to offer. (Jackson Merrill obviously isn’t getting traded.) That’d also be a drawback in talks with Pittsburgh even if they’re willing to take on the money. The Astros aren’t taking the Bryan Reynolds contract. Pittsburgh probably wouldn’t view Paredes as enough of an upgrade over Spencer Horwitz to relinquish five years of control on Horwitz even if the Astros felt he could play a reasonable left field. There’s always the possibility of looping in a third team to try to balance value, but the direct trade scenarios involving Paredes are tougher to align than they were a week or two ago.
Trading Paredes would create some payroll flexibility for a Houston team that is right up against a $244MM luxury tax line that ownership seemingly doesn’t want to cross. If they don’t find a trade partner (or anyone willing to pick up a notable portion of the Christian Walker contract in a salary dump), he’d project as a multi-positional infielder behind Walker, Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa. Yordan Alvarez will get the majority of the at-bats at designated hitter.
Tigers, Austin Slater Agree To Minor League Deal
The Tigers are in agreement with outfielder Austin Slater on a minor league contract that includes an invite to MLB Spring Training. The Ballengee Group client would reportedly earn a $2MM base salary if he makes the team and could collect another $500K in performance bonuses.
Slater is a right-handed bat who’ll compete for a fourth outfield role. The 33-year-old is coming off a rough season in which he hit .216/.270/.372 over 65 games between the White Sox and Yankees. The numbers were probably weighed down by injury, as he suffered an early-season meniscus tear in his right knee and missed a month after the trade deadline because of a left hamstring strain.
For most of his career, Slater has been a solid complementary piece who does his best work as a short-side platoon bat. He had four straight seasons of above-average offense on a rate basis as a member of the Giants between 2020-23. That’s in large part because San Francisco was aggressive in playing matchups and got Slater so many looks versus lefty pitching. He’s a career .267/.357/.430 hitter in more than 1000 plate appearances against southpaws. His .227/.311/.329 slash in 836 trips to the dish without the platoon advantage is a lot less imposing.
Detroit is also one of the more platoon-heavy teams in MLB under A.J. Hinch. The top of their outfield/designated hitter mix skews left-handed. Kerry Carpenter will get the majority of the DH work with some time in right field. Riley Greene is the left fielder, while Parker Meadows projects as the primary center fielder.
Slater is no more than an emergency option in center but should be a capable defender in the corners if called upon. Jahmai Jones, Matt Vierling and the switch-hitting Wenceel Pérez — who has been better from the right side of the plate — are all platoon possibilities off the bench. Vierling was banged up for most of last season, while Pérez had a terrible September that marked a sour finish to what had been shaping up as a potential breakout.
As a player with six years of service time who finished last season on New York’s major league roster, Slater hit the market as an Article XX(b) free agent. That means this deal comes with a trio of automatic opt-out dates under the collective bargaining agreement. He can trigger an out clause on any of March 21, May 1, or June 1. If he does, the Tigers would have two days to either promote him or grant him his release.
Jon Heyman of The New York Post first reported the Tigers had an agreement with Slater. Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reported it was an NRI. Robert Murray of FanSided had the financials.
Cardinals, Nationals Swap George Soriano, Andre Granillo
The Nationals and Cardinals announced a one-for-one swap of righty relievers. St. Louis acquires George Soriano while Washington picks up Andre Granillo. Washington placed starter Trevor Williams on the 60-day injured list in a corresponding move. The Nationals had designated Soriano for assignment last week when they claimed lefty Ken Waldichuk off waivers, so they needed to open a 40-man spot for Granillo.
Soriano will hopefully find some certainty after a hectic offseason. This is the fourth time he has changed organizations since November. The 26-year-old had spent his entire career with the Marlins until they placed him on waivers at the beginning of the offseason. He landed with Baltimore, Atlanta and Washington via successive waiver claims and designations.
A veteran of parts of three seasons, Soriano has an earned run average just under 6.00 over 118 big league innings. He has a league average 22% strikeout rate against a moderately concerning 10.3% walk percentage. The biggest issue is that he has been very homer-prone, surrendering 1.75 longballs per nine innings. Soriano works in the 95-96 mph range with his sinker and four-seam fastball while using a slider and changeup fairly frequently. He’s out of minor league options and either needs to break camp or be sent back into DFA limbo.
It’s a good sign for Soriano’s chances of sticking on a roster that St. Louis parted with an MLB reliever to jump the waiver order. Granillo, 25, is a former 14th-round draft choice who was called up for the first time last June. He was up and down from Triple-A Memphis for the rest of the season. Granillo got into 14 MLB games, posting a 4.71 ERA through his first 21 innings. He has posted high strikeout and walk rates throughout his minor league career but had more of a pitch-to-contact approach in his limited big league work.
Granillo leans most heavily on his slider while sitting 94-95 with the fastball. He sporadically mixes a changeup but is mostly a two-pitch reliever. He’s coming off an excellent season at Triple-A Memphis, where he turned in a 1.29 ERA with a 36% strikeout rate and a career-low 8.7% walk percentage across 42 innings. He still has a pair of minor league options remaining.
It’s surprising that the Cardinals parted with Granillo for a pitcher who was waived three times in an offseason. They’re evidently not bullish on Granillo’s chances of translating his Triple-A production into success at the highest level. It’s also worth noting that they never had an opportunity to grab Soriano off waivers. Offseason waiver priority is in inverse order of last season’s record, and St. Louis had a higher win percentage than each of Baltimore, Atlanta, or Washington did. The Cardinals and Nats each have plenty of opportunities in a wide open bullpen.
Williams’ IL move is a formality. He underwent an internal brace surgery to repair the UCL in his elbow last July. That’s a year-long recovery process. He’ll aim for a return sometime after the All-Star Break.
Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported the trade shortly before the announcements.
Red Sox Sign Isiah Kiner-Falefa
Feb. 10: The Red Sox formally announced the signing of Kiner-Falefa to a one-year deal this morning. Righty Tanner Houck was transferred to the 60-day injured list to open a spot on the 40-man roster. Houck is recovering from August Tommy John surgery and is expected to miss the majority, if not the entirety of the 2026 season.
Feb. 4: The Red Sox reportedly have an agreement with infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa on a one-year contract that guarantees $6MM, pending a physical. There are an additional $500K in incentives available for the ALIGND Sports Agency client. Boston’s 40-man roster will be at capacity after the signing, so no corresponding move is required.
Kiner-Falefa will apparently be the Sox’s answer at second base after they lost Alex Bregman to free agency. Boston kicked around much bigger possibilities on the trade and free agent markets (e.g. Ketel Marte, Brendan Donovan, Isaac Paredes, Bo Bichette) but couldn’t find a deal to their liking. They reportedly prefer to keep Marcelo Mayer at third base and were looking for a quality defensive player whom they could plug in at the keystone.
A former Gold Glove winner, Kiner-Falefa qualifies on that front. He took home the defensive honor at third base as a member of the Rangers in 2020. He’s a plus defender at any of second base, third base or shortstop. He has more experience on the left side of the infield but carries strong marks from Defensive Runs Saved (+12) and Statcast (+2 Outs Above Average) in nearly 600 career innings as a second baseman.
The flip side is that Kiner-Falefa isn’t going to provide much at the plate. He puts the ball in play but has some of the lowest exit velocities in the sport. He has never reached double digits in home runs in a season, nor has he turned in a .700 OPS in any of his eight years in the majors. Kiner-Falefa is coming off a .262/.297/.334 showing across 459 plate appearances between the Pirates and Blue Jays. He’s a .262/.311/.349 hitter in more than 3300 trips to the dish over his career. He’s a solid baserunner despite average speed, stealing double digit bases in each of the past five years.
Second base was a weak point for the Red Sox last year. Kristian Campbell faded after a monster April and was back in Triple-A by the end of June. He posted disastrous defensive grades and no longer seems to be an option at the position. Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has suggested a few times they view Campbell primarily as an outfielder. He’s a good enough athlete to have some promise as a defender on the grass, but Boston’s crowded outfield isn’t going to afford him many opportunities until someone suffers an injury.
The Sox used Romy Gonzalez, Ceddanne Rafaela, David Hamilton and Nick Sogard there in the second half and got just a .242/.292/.333 showing down the stretch. Rafaela is an elite defensive outfielder whom the Red Sox prefer to play in center field. Gonzalez hits lefties well but profiles as a short side platoon bat. Hamilton and Sogard are utility players on a team that expects to contend. Kiner-Falefa probably should be as well, yet there weren’t any clear regulars available in free agency at this stage of the offseason.
Kiner-Falefa is a right-handed hitter whose offensive profile doesn’t change regardless of the pitcher’s handedness. Gonzalez should still take the majority of at-bats against lefty pitching. Kiner-Falefa could slide to third on those days if the Sox want to shield Mayer from same-handed opposition. They might also prioritize having him on the field behind ground-ball pitchers like Brayan Bello and Ranger Suárez while plugging Gonzalez in for a little more offense on days when Garrett Crochet or Sonny Gray take the mound.
It appears the Sox had pushed close to their financial comfort zone after signing Suárez and trading for Gray and Willson Contreras. According to RosterResource, this pushes Boston to roughly $263MM in luxury tax commitments. They’re a few days removed from giving up a mid-tier starting pitching prospect, David Sandlin, to dump $16MM of the $24MM remaining on the Jordan Hicks contract on the White Sox. (Boston also picked up minor league pitcher Gage Ziehl in that trade.) If the cash considerations are evenly distributed, they saved $8MM on the 2026 payroll, some of which they’re now reallocating to Kiner-Falefa.
The Sox are above the $244MM first tax threshold. They’re second-time payors who pay a 30% tax on their first $20MM in overages, so they’re currently set for a minimal tax bill. That was also the case last year, as they paid a $1.5MM fee for going nearly $8MM above the line. The tax rate climbs to 42% for spending between $264MM and $284MM. There are no draft penalties associated with going into the second penalization tier, so that’d largely be an arbitrary stopping point if that’s where ownership sets the budget. The Kiner-Falefa signing comes with a $1.8MM tax hit.
Chris Cotillo of MassLive first reported the Red Sox and Kiner-Falefa were nearing a one-year deal. ESPN’s Jeff Passan confirmed an agreement was in place. Cotillo reported the $6MM guarantee and $500K in bonuses.
Image courtesy of Stephen Brashear, Imagn Images.
Phillies Seeking Rotation Depth With Wheeler Doubtful For Opening Day
Zack Wheeler is maybe the biggest wild card as the Phillies try to claim a third straight NL East title. The ace is working back from the thoracic outlet surgery that ended his 2025 season. The procedure came with a six to eight month recovery timeline from the end of September, calling his availability for the start of ’26 into question.
As camp gets underway, manager Rob Thomson provided a vague timetable for Wheeler’s return. “I don’t think he’ll be ready for Opening Day but it’s not going to be too far beyond that,” Thomson told reporters (link via Paul Casella of MLB.com). The 35-year-old righty is throwing from flat ground and “doing well” in the manager’s words, yet the Phils are obviously going to be cautious with the three-time All-Star. He has not progressed to mound work.
Between Wheeler’s injury and the free agent departure of Ranger Suárez, it’s a thinner starting staff than usual. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told reporters (including Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer) they’ll look to deepen that group throughout the spring. “When our scouts go out there, that’ll be one of our focuses. And we may develop that internally, too; there’s some guys that we do like. But that’ll be a focus of ours, is starting pitching depth,” Dombrowski said.
That’s not to say the Phillies are likely to add Zac Gallen, Lucas Giolito or Chris Bassitt. It’s generally expected that their three-year deal to bring back J.T. Realmuto was the final big move of an offseason built around re-signing Kyle Schwarber that also saw them sign right fielder Adolis García and reliever Brad Keller.
There are some potential swing options available in free agency (e.g. Jose Quintana, Aaron Civale), though Dombrowski suggested there might be opportunities on the trade front. He noted that the relatively slow-moving free agent market for starting pitching could make some fringe arms on those signing teams available via trade — though that could certainly be counteracted as teams start losing pitchers to injury, as happens every year during Spring Training. A trade would also provide the Phillies with some extra roster flexibility if they can add someone who still has options remaining. Most free agents have the five-plus years of service time that gives them the right to refuse a minor league assignment.
Assuming Wheeler begins the season on the injured list, Cy Young runner-up Cristopher Sánchez should get his first Opening Day start. He’ll be followed in the rotation by Jesús Luzardo and Aaron Nola. Taijuan Walker worked in a swing role last year but seems more or less assured of a season-opening rotation spot.
That’d leave the fifth spot available in a camp battle. Top prospect Andrew Painter has a legitimate chance to win the job. Philly needed to add him to the 40-man roster this offseason because he’d reached Rule 5 eligibility. His stock has dipped a little from the time that he was widely viewed as the #1 pitching prospect in the sport. An elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery cost him the 2023-24 seasons.
Painter’s numbers at Triple-A Lehigh Valley last year weren’t as impressive. He surrendered a 5.40 ERA with a good but not elite 23.4% strikeout rate over 22 starts. He proved more susceptible to the home run than the Phillies would have liked, though his raw stuff remained very impressive. Painter averaged nearly 97 mph on his four-seam fastball while mixing in three breaking pitches (cutter, slider, curveball) and a changeup. He got whiffs on a strong 13% of his offerings. He remains one of the better pitching prospects in MLB and one of Philly’s top three minor league talents alongside shortstop Aidan Miller and outfielder Justin Crawford.
If Painter scuffles during Spring Training, the Phils can option him back to Lehigh Valley. They’re currently without many real alternatives to hold the fort until Wheeler’s season debut, however. Their other starters on the 40-man roster (e.g. Jean Cabrera, Yoniel Curet, Alan Rangel) also have little to no MLB experience. Non-roster invitees Tucker Davidson and Bryse Wilson don’t inspire a ton of confidence. Keller has starting experience but was signed to be a high-leverage reliever.
It’s understandable the Phillies want to leave the door open for Painter to win the job, especially if they anticipate Wheeler coming back within the first few weeks of the regular season. At the same time, even one more injury would leave the rotation looking precarious. Nola is coming off a bad season and Walker’s tenure in Philly has been a mixed bag. Wheeler is no guarantee to look the same as he did before the surgery. Adding some kind of swing depth is a must.
Phillies Looking To Move Nick Castellanos This Week
Phillies position players are scheduled for their first official workout next Monday. It’d make for an awkward situation if Nick Castellanos is still on the team. Matt Gelb of The Athletic reported at the end of last season that the Phils would trade or release the outfielder. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has all but confirmed as much on the record, pointing to the need for a change of scenery.
Keeping Castellanos on the 40-man roster into Spring Training would be a needless distraction. It comes as little surprise that the Phils are motivated to get something done within the next week. “We’re doing everything we can to make a move by (Monday),” Dombrowski told reporters (link via Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer). “I’ll leave it at that right now.”
Dombrowski noted that they’re “(continuing) to talk to clubs” in trying to line up a trade. Whether that’s gamesmanship should soon be apparent. Castellanos isn’t going to net the Phillies any notable prospects. They’re trying to offload a fraction of the $20MM salary he’s owed in the final season of a five-year deal.
A release would leave the Phils on the hook for all but the $780K league minimum, assuming he signs a major league deal with another team. The hope is to find a team willing to eat a couple million dollars of that salary rather than waiting until the Phillies release him. If Castellanos becomes a free agent, he’d obviously have a choice of where to sign. He doesn’t have that freedom if a team lines up a trade that saves the Phillies a little bit of money.
The outfielder’s relationship with Philly manager Rob Thomson seemingly became untenable. Castellanos was benched for a game midway through last season after he made what the manager called “an inappropriate comment” after being removed from a game for defensive purposes. As his playing time decreased down the stretch, Castellanos took a shot at Thomson’s communication skills. Philadelphia signed the veteran skipper to an extension this offseason and added Adolis García on a $10MM free agent deal to replace Castellanos as the everyday right fielder.
Castellanos is entering his age-34 season. He’s coming off a .250/.294/.400 showing with 17 home runs over 589 plate appearances. He has been durable and has twice topped 20 home runs during his time in Philadelphia, but his rate statistics (.260/.306/.426) are exactly league average. That’s not what the Phillies had in mind considering Castellanos is arguably the game’s worst defensive outfielder. He should be a full-time designated hitter but obviously doesn’t have that luxury on a team with Kyle Schwarber.
FanGraphs and Baseball Reference each had Castellanos below replacement level last year. That said, a team that can offer him DH at-bats should view him as a capable complementary bat from the right side. The acquisition cost will be minimal, and a 20-homer season with strong numbers against lefty pitching doesn’t seem out of the question.
The Padres are looking for another bat in the DH/bench mix and made an unsuccessful run at signing Paul Goldschmidt away from the Yankees. The Guardians could use a right-handed complement to lefty swingers Kyle Manzardo, George Valera and C.J. Kayfus between first base, right field and designated hitter. No team had fewer home runs or a lower slugging percentage from their right-handed bats than Cleveland. The Marlins ranked 25th in slugging among righties and don’t have a clear answer at first base, and Castellanos is a Miami native. His old team in Detroit doesn’t have much in the way of right-handed power aside from Spencer Torkelson and could use him in a short-side platoon role at DH alongside Kerry Carpenter.
Dodgers Sign Seby Zavala, Jordan Weems To Minor League Deals
The Dodgers announced their full slate of 32 non-roster invitees to Spring Training. The majority of the group are from the farm system or playing on minor league contracts that had already been reported, but the team revealed a couple unknown names who evidently signed minor league deals. Catcher Seby Zavala and reliever Jordan Weems are among those in camp, according to the team.
Weems, 33, is a righty who has pitched in MLB in six consecutive seasons. He was limited to four appearances with the Astros last year, allowing seven runs across 4 1/3 innings. That brought his career earned run average to 5.51 over 160 frames. Weems spent the majority of the season between the Triple-A clubs of the Astros and Braves, pitching to a 4.44 ERA in 46 2/3 innings. He struck out a solid 24% of batters faced with an elevated 11.2% walk rate.
Zavala is a right-handed hitting catcher who joins Chuckie Robinson as non-roster backstops who have MLB experience. The 32-year-old is a glove-only depth type who owns a .205/.271/.342 line in 194 career games. Zavala spent last season in Triple-A with the Red Sox, limping to a .164/.273/.333 line while striking out 36% of the time.
The Dodgers recently re-claimed Ben Rortvedt from Cincinnati. He’s out of options and trying to win the backup job behind Will Smith, though second-year player Dalton Rushing enters camp as the favorite for that spot. There’s a decent chance the Dodgers lose Rortvedt again if he doesn’t break camp and needs to go on waivers, which would leave Zavala and Robinson as their most experienced third catching options.
Also receiving non-roster invites are relievers Wyatt Mills, Carlos Duran and Antoine Kelly. Mills, who posted a 6.21 ERA in 38 appearances with the Mariners and Royals between 2021-22, signed a minor league deal last August but was assigned to the complex and did not pitch in an affiliated game. He remains in the organization, as does former #2 overall pick Nick Senzel. The infielder signed a minor league contract last May and hit .252/.341/.408 at Triple-A Oklahoma City. It seems that was a two-year minor league deal, as Senzel did not elect free agency at season’s end and will be in camp.
Duran and Kelly were early offseason signees. They’re power arms who’ll serve as bullpen depth. Duran spent the majority of his career in the L.A. system but was traded to the A’s last April for Esteury Ruiz. He made his MLB debut with the A’s last May but gave up three runs to the Angels while recording one out. The 6’7″ righty walked almost 19% of Triple-A opponents last year. Kelly is a 6’5″ lefty with a 96-97 MPH heater but untenable command. He walked 14% of batters faced while posting a 5.63 ERA in 34 games for the Rockies’ top affiliate a year ago.
A’s Hire Mark McGwire As Special Assistant
The Athletics hired Mark McGwire as a special assistant in their player development department on Friday (link via The Associated Press). He returns to the organization that inducted him into their team Hall of Fame in 2019.
McGwire, now 62, played the first 12 years of his career with the A’s. He won the Rookie of the Year award in 1987 and made nine of his 12 All-Star appearances with the club. He twice led the majors in home runs while wearing an A’s uniform and was an instrumental part of the teams that won three consecutive pennants and one World Series between 1988-90. He remains the franchise’s home run leader with 363, while his 941 runs batted in ranks fourth in club history.
Those on-field accomplishments and his overall legacy are complicated by his use of performance-enhancing drugs. He admitted in 2010 that he had used steroids for the majority of his career, including during his record home run chases as a member of the Cardinals in the late 1990s. The PED ties kept him out of the National Baseball Hall of Fame despite a statistical résumé that would have made him a first-ballot inductee had he achieved it without using steroids.
That said, McGwire obviously has an extensive knowledge of hitting that he can bring to his new role. He had a nine-year run on MLB staffs between 2010-18. McGwire was the hitting coach for the Cardinals when they won the 2011 World Series. He also worked as the Dodgers’ hitting coach and a bench coach in San Diego through the 2018 season. He stepped down during the 2018-19 offseason to spend more time with family. A special assistant role will allow him to be around the A’s organization without requiring the commitment of a full-time coaching position.
Padres Had Interest In Goldschmidt, Valdez
Paul Goldschmidt is headed back to the Bronx after agreeing to a one-year deal with the Yankees. The Diamondbacks had been his only other known suitor for much of the offseason, but it may have ultimately come down to New York and San Diego.
Jon Heyman of The New York Post loosely linked the Friars to Goldschmidt last night. Dennis Lin of The Athletic reported this evening they were indeed among the finalists. The Padres are looking to add one more hitter even after agreeing to a $4MM contract with Miguel Andujar on Wednesday. President of baseball operations A.J. Preller said last weekend the front office was trying to add “multiple bats, that first base, DH, anything off the bench” (link via Greg Beacham of WKYC).
Andujar projects as the primary designated hitter. He can spell first baseman Gavin Sheets against left-handed pitching while splitting DH reps with Sung-mun Song. The KBO signee has multi-positional flexibility that’d allow them to accommodate another first base/DH type. The bench was a weakness for the Padres last season and still seems that way. Song and backup catcher Luis Campusano project for two spots. That leaves two openings with only four other position players on the 40-man roster: Bryce Johnson, Will Wagner, Mason McCoy and Tirso Ornelas.
They’re all fringe 40-man types. Johnson is out of options and hit .342 over 84 plate appearances last year, but that was driven by a .442 average on balls in play that isn’t close to sustainable. Ornelas has been a league average hitter in Triple-A over two full seasons and hasn’t gotten a significant MLB look before his 26th birthday. McCoy has been a below-average offensive player in the minors, while Wagner fell out of the mix in Toronto and hit .225/.324/.279 over 55 MLB games last year.
Rhys Hoskins, Wilmer Flores, Justin Turner and old friend Ty France are unsigned righty-hitting first basemen. Marcell Ozuna, Mitch Garver and Andrew McCutchen are available designated hitters. Speculative trade possibilities include Ryan Mountcastle, Lenyn Sosa and Ezequiel Duran.
San Diego probably also has a move coming on the pitching side. Preller said last week they wanted to add another starter. It’s likely that’ll be a cheaper back-end type, but they kicked the tires on what would have been a much bigger acquisition. Heyman reports that the Padres were among the teams involved on Framber Valdez before his three-year, $115MM agreement with the Tigers. The Padres were able to wait out the market to land Nick Pivetta as a February pickup a year ago, but Valdez commanded a much larger contract that was likely never in the budget.
Most of the remaining free agents of note are starting pitchers. Zac Gallen, Max Scherzer, Zack Littell, Justin Verlander, Lucas Giolito and organizational favorite Nick Martinez are unsigned. Walker Buehler, Patrick Corbin, Miles Mikolas, Germán Márquez and Jose Quintana will be limited to modest one-year salaries if they even command major league deals.
Signing anyone from that group could push JP Sears to long relief or to the Triple-A rotation. They’ll open the year with a strong top three of Pivetta, Michael King and Joe Musgrove. The talent level drops markedly after that. Randy Vásquez is out of options and seems ticketed for one of the final two spots. Sears, Kyle Hart and Matt Waldron are the only other starters on the 40-man roster. They’ve added Marco Gonzales and Triston McKenzie on minor league deals with invites to Spring Training.
Angels Release Cody Laweryson
The Angels announced they’ve released reliever Cody Laweryson. He had been designated for assignment earlier in the week when they finalized their one-year deal to bring back Yoán Moncada.
Los Angeles claimed Laweryson off waivers from the Twins early in the offseason. The 6’4″ righty made five appearances with Minnesota as a rookie. He allowed two runs (one earned) across 7 2/3 innings, striking out seven without issuing a walk. Laweryson also pitched well in Triple-A, turning in a 2.86 earned run average while striking out a quarter of opposing hitters. The former 14th-round pick has a solid 3.39 ERA with a 27% strikeout percentage over his minor league career.
Despite the strong production, Laweryson was dropped by a Twins team that has one of the worst bullpens in MLB. His 93.2 mph average fastball isn’t especially imposing. He doesn’t have a power breaking ball either, sitting 85-86 mph with a cutter while mixing in a low-80s changeup. He’ll celebrate his 28th birthday in May.
It’s not clear why the Angels released Laweryson rather than assigning him to Triple-A. Speculatively speaking, it’s possible there’s an undisclosed injury at play, as injured players cannot be outrighted. (He dealt with a forearm strain in the minors midseason but finished the year healthy and on Minnesota’s active roster.) If there is some kind of injury, they’d presumably look to re-sign him to a minor league deal. In any case, Laweryson is now a free agent who can explore other opportunities.