Cubs Hire Dixon Machado As Minor League Manager
The Cubs announced they’ve hired Dixon Machado to manage their Arizona Complex League affiliate. That seemingly brings an end to his playing career after 17 seasons in pro ball.
Machado spent the majority of that time in the minors. He played nearly 1300 minor league games, more than half of which came at the Triple-A level. The Venezuelan-born infielder had a four-year MLB run with the Tigers between 2015-18. He spent the ’19 campaign in the Cubs’ system before moving to Korea as a member of the Lotte Giants for two seasons. Machado came back to affiliated ball in 2022 and made a brief return to the big leagues that year, playing in five games as a member of the San Francisco Giants.
That would be Machado’s final MLB work, at least as a player. He has spent the last three years in Triple-A on minor league contracts with the Astros and Cubs. He appeared in 84 games for Chicago’s top affiliate in Iowa last season, hitting .221 with four home runs. Rather than continuing seeking minor league contracts, he’ll move into coaching as he nears his 34th birthday.
Machado appeared in 177 major league contests. He batted .226/.285/.292 with a pair of home runs and 107 hits. Machado was a .256 hitter in a little over 3000 Triple-A plate appearances and batted .279/.357/.392 over his two years in the KBO. The Cubs evidently valued him as an organizational mentor, as they signed him to a trio of minor league contracts despite never calling him up. They’ll keep him around in his first coaching opportunity, where he’ll manage a rookie ball team that’ll comprise mostly teenagers whom they’ve signed out of Latin America. Congratulations to Machado on a lengthy playing career and all the best in the next chapter of his career.
Yankees Infield Notes: McMahon, Volpe
The Yankees intend to get Ryan McMahon some work as a shortstop this spring, manager Aaron Boone tells Greg Joyce of The New York Post and other reporters. They’ll evaluate whether they feel comfortable using him as a potential backup option during the early part of the regular season. Anthony Volpe is beginning the season on the injured list after undergoing postseason labrum surgery. That draws utilityman José Caballero into the lineup at shortstop and leaves them without a clear backup at the position.
Amed Rosario has easily the most shortstop experience of any of their depth infielders. He was an everyday shortstop in Cleveland earlier in his career but struggled defensively and has mostly been pushed off the position. Rosario started 11 games there in 2024 and played all of two innings at the position last year. He’s more of a second/third baseman at this stage of his career, though his biggest appeal off the bench is his ability to hit left-handed pitching. Max Schuemann and Oswaldo Cabrera can cover shortstop but fit better at second or third base, while the out-of-options Jorbit Vivas has never started a professional game at short.
McMahon’s professional experience at shortstop consists of three innings for the 2020 Rockies. He didn’t play there at all in the minor leagues. Listed at 6’2″, 217 pounds and a below-average runner, he’s clearly better suited for third base work. McMahon is an excellent defender at the hot corner, ranking second at the position in Defensive Runs Saved (after Ke’Bryan Hayes) and third in Outs Above Average (behind Hayes and Maikel Garcia) over the last three seasons. His range would be stretched at shortstop, but he should have the hands and arm strength to make the routine plays.
That might be all the Yankees would need to consider him for a temporary backup role. He’d still see the vast majority of his time at third base. If they feel McMahon’s a better fill-in at shortstop than Rosario, they could lift Caballero for a pinch-hitter in key spots and would be better protected in the event of an injury.
That’d also help the roster flexibility. Cabrera and Schuemann still have options remaining. They have three bench jobs committed between Rosario, Paul Goldschmidt and a backup catcher (probably J.C. Escarra). Not needing to carry another shortstop would mean they could have Vivas break camp or consider keeping Jasson Domínguez up as a fourth outfielder. If they want a true shortstop off the bench, they’d probably need to select a non-roster invitee like Braden Shewmake, Zack Short or Paul DeJong onto the 40-man roster.
Ideally, that’ll all be a short-term arrangement. Volpe could return early in the season, pushing Caballero back to the super utility role for which he’s tailor-made. The 24-year-old discussed his rehab with Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, noting that he has begun a hitting progression but isn’t at a point where he can risk diving for ground-balls. Volpe indicated he’s not closing the door on making his season debut before April is out, though Hoch adds that GM Brian Cashman suggested a return in May is likelier.
Volpe has been a below-average hitter in each of his first three seasons in the big leagues. He has shown 20-20 potential but with a subpar batting average and on-base percentage. He was out to a better start last year before suffering the shoulder injury in early May. Even if the offensive regression may have been coming regardless, the injury seemed to take a toll on the other side of the ball. The 2023 Gold Glove winner had a surprisingly poor season defensively. Caballero was the better player down the stretch, but the Yankees are hoping Volpe will more forcefully reclaim the starting job once he’s healthy.
Dodgers Notes: Second Base, Edman, Hernández
One camp battle opened for the Dodgers this week. Manager Dave Roberts confirmed that Tommy Edman would begin the season on the injured list as he works back from right ankle surgery. That leaves the season-opening second base job up for grabs among a handful of players.
As Jack Harris of The California Post writes, that could be most meaningful for Hyeseong Kim and Alex Freeland. Kim played in 71 games as an MLB rookie, hitting .280/.314/.385 but striking out in more than 30% of his plate appearances. He had an overaggressive approach and rarely hit the ball hard. Kim’s profile in the KBO was built around his speed and middle infield defense, and his early MLB results align with that.
The 24-year-old Freeland is one of the organization’s better position player prospects. He struggled in a 29-game debut, batting .190 while punching out 35 times across 97 trips to the plate. Freeland had a strong year with Triple-A Oklahoma City, though, hitting .263/.384/.451 with 16 home runs and 18 stolen bases. He walked at a huge 16.3% clip while striking out 22% of the time in the minors.
Kim is a left-handed bat, while Freeland is a switch-hitter who was much better from the left side last season. Either could work in a second base platoon with righty-swinging Miguel Rojas, who projects as their top utility infielder. Kim has the leg up from a versatility perspective, as his plus speed also allows him to back up Andy Pages in center field. Freeland can move around the infield but isn’t a burner and has no professional outfield experience. Both players have minor league options remaining and could be sent to OKC without going on waivers. That’d be more plausible if a non-roster invitee like Santiago Espinal or Ryan Fitzgerald plays their way into a bench job with a strong spring.
Edman’s injury also subtracts from the early-season outfield depth. He’d have been in line for a decent amount of center field work if he were at full strength. Kim could play that role instead, particularly late in games for defensive purposes. That’d occasionally allow Pages to slide to left field, where Teoscar Hernández will pick up the majority of the playing time. Hernández is changing corners after the Kyle Tucker signing.
It wasn’t a lock that the two-time All-Star would remain on the roster all winter. Hernández came up in some trade rumors, with the Royals among the teams known to have interest. President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman acknowledged that the front office took calls on his availability but downplayed their desire to trade him at any point (link via Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic).
“Teams call and ask about different guys all the time,” Friedman said. “Some that get out there, some that don’t. But we very much value clubhouse chemistry. It’s not something that we would be willy-nilly about. I don’t blame teams for asking. … But obviously it’s not lost on us the importance he has, not just on the field but in the clubhouse as well.”
There’s no indication that any talks have carried into Spring Training. Hernández remains a potent power threat coming off a 25-homer season, but the rest of his production dropped. He hit .247 with a career-worst .284 on-base percentage across 546 plate appearances. Hernández also had a second straight tough year defensively. The 33-year-old said today that he never felt at full strength after a mid-May left groin strain.
That only required a two-week injured list stint but certainly could have impacted his mobility after he returned. That said, Hernández has never been a great defender and is unlikely to improve much in his mid-30s. He’s not an ideal roster fit on a team that can’t offer playing time at designated hitter, but he’s signed for another two years and $33MM (including an option buyout for 2028). Even with the majority of those salaries deferred, that’s more than he would have landed as a free agent this offseason. The Dodgers have no need to force a salary dump and were unlikely to get much of value in a trade return.
D-Backs Notes: Del Castillo, Thomas, Rotation
The Diamondbacks are expected to begin the year without catcher/first baseman Adrian Del Castillo. Manager Torey Lovullo said Monday that the 26-year-old is dealing with a left calf injury that’ll keep him out of game action for the bulk of Spring Training (link via Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports). He’ll be reassessed closer to Opening Day but it seems unlikely he’ll get enough exhibition reps to avoid a season-opening injured list stay.
Del Castillo is third on the catching depth chart after Gabriel Moreno and James McCann. He nevertheless had a strong chance to win a bench job if healthy. Tyler Locklear will begin the season on the IL as he rehabs elbow and shoulder surgeries. The lefty-hitting Del Castillo has a fair bit of first base and designated hitter experience. Arizona doesn’t have a ton of position player depth on the 40-man roster, leaving a couple bench jobs up for grabs.
After an encouraging 25-game debut two years ago, Del Castillo struggled last season. He struck out 47 times in 131 plate appearances (a near-36% rate) while hitting .242/.290/.392 over 44 games. The Miami product has posted strong numbers throughout his minor league career, but they’ve always come with a concerning level of swing-and-miss. He’s a below-average defensive catcher, putting more pressure on the bat if most of his work comes in the first base/DH mix.
Pavin Smith and Carlos Santana are projected for a first base platoon. They’ll also get a decent number of DH reps, while Lovullo said Ketel Marte will log some time there in addition to his primary second base work. The D-Backs are reportedly poking around the trade market for a utility piece after they dealt Blaze Alexander to Baltimore for reliever Kade Strowd and a pair of minor leaguers. They’ll ideally find someone with more offensive punch than Tim Tawa and non-roster invitees Ildemaro Vargas and Jacob Amaya to play that role.
The bottom half of the lineup would be an even bigger concern if Corbin Carroll opens the season on the IL. Arizona’s star right fielder will miss most of Spring Training following last week’s hamate surgery. The hope is for Carroll to make it back by the beginning of the regular season. Fellow outfielder Alek Thomas tells Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic that he’s working mostly between left and center field with the expectation that Carroll will be in his typical position on Opening Day.
Thomas has played all three outfield positions in the minor leagues. He has played exclusively center field as a big leaguer, logging more than 3000 innings up the middle. Thomas is a quality defender who shouldn’t have any issue adjusting to a corner if the D-Backs need him to move around. Arizona is trying to get Jordan Lawlar acclimated to playing center field.
Lawlar has a higher offensive ceiling than Thomas has shown over 420 MLB contests, so the latter would be best suited for a fourth outfield role if everyone’s healthy. They’ll probably need both players in the starting lineup to begin the season, as Lourdes Gurriel Jr. will also open the year on the injured list after last summer’s ACL injury. Thomas could be a stopgap left fielder until Gurriel returns and/or prospect Ryan Waldschmidt plays his way to the big leagues.
There’s a fair bit of opportunity in one of the more top-heavy lineups in MLB. Carroll, Marte, Moreno and Geraldo Perdomo make for an excellent top half of a batting order. Nolan Arenado is on the downside of his career but should still be a solid everyday third baseman. The bottom third of the lineup and most of the bench is a lot less established.
It’s not quite as extreme on the pitching side, but there are some parallels. Free agent returnees Merrill Kelly and Zac Gallen are locked into the rotation; Lovullo has already named Kelly his Opening Day starter. Ryne Nelson figures to have a mid-rotation spot secure, but the Diamondbacks aren’t making any firm commitments beyond that.
“I can’t even really make comments about any projections or what the starting rotation is going to look like,” Lovullo told reporters (including Steve Gilbert of MLB.com). Right now, it looks as if Eduardo Rodriguez, Brandon Pfaadt and Michael Soroka are battling for two spots. Rodriguez and Soroka will be on the MLB roster, but Pfaadt has a pair of minor league options and could open the season in Triple-A. Soroka has the most experience of that group in a swing role and would be the most familiar with pitching in long relief if the D-Backs want all six pitchers on the active roster with a five-man rotation. One injury might take the decision out of Lovullo’s hands, but it’s another camp battle that Arizona fans will want to follow during exhibition play.
Junior Caminero Open To Extension Talks With Rays
If the Rays are to compete for an AL East crown this year, it’ll probably be behind another huge year from Junior Caminero. The 22-year-old cemented himself as the face of the franchise with a 45-homer season in which he hit .264/.311/.535 across 653 plate appearances. FanGraphs and Baseball Reference each valued him between four and five wins above replacement, the highest on the team.
That was Caminero’s first full season at the MLB level. He debuted at the tail end of 2023 but was optioned to Triple-A for the first few months of the ’24 season. He’s two years away from arbitration and under club control through 2030. Caminero tells Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times he’d be interested in exploring a long-term extension, though it doesn’t appear the team has opened those conversations yet.
“I’d like to (discuss it), but this is not my decision,” the young star said. “I feel this is my city, Tampa. I love Tampa, but this is not my decision. I’ll control what I control — just go play, have fun.” Caminero’s agent, Rafa Nieves of Republik Sports, said last August that the team hadn’t broached an extension. Nieves noted that the organization probably wasn’t in position to make the kind of commitment it would entail. They were midway through an ownership sale and had seen their long-term stadium plans fall through. “Honestly, by the time they’re out of those question marks, it might be too late,” Nieves said at the time.
The Rays have completed their ownership transfer in the intervening months. The Patrick Zalupski group officially purchased the franchise in late September. The stadium situation is an ongoing question, however. The team is targeting the Hillsborough College campus as the site for a mixed-use development project that would reportedly come with an estimated $2.3 billion price.
The team hasn’t announced anything publicly, but recent reporting from The Tampa Bay Times indicated they’re hoping for public funding to cover roughly half that amount. They’re still very early in the process and have no guarantees on the public funding front, which naturally raises questions about whether they want to make a significant long-term investment.
(They also still haven’t gotten an official ruling on whether they’ll be able to void the remaining $164MM in guarantees on the Wander Franco contract. Franco is not being paid while he’s on the restricted list pending resolution of a second trial after he was convicted of sexual abuse of a minor in the Dominican Republic last June.)
Nieves suggested last summer that he could look for a guarantee in the $150-200MM range if they worked on an extension. That’d be a little above the $130-135MM area in which Jackson Merrill and Roman Anthony have landed. Caminero is a year closer to free agency than Anthony was. He put up bigger power numbers than Merrill did but was similarly valuable overall in their respective first seasons. Merrill acknowledged at the time he signed his deal that he was likely leaving some money on the table to stay in San Diego.
The track record for top position player prospects who are this productive in their early 20s is excellent. There’s a strong chance that Caminero is a franchise cornerstone. If the Rays have any reservations about valuing him at that level, it’d probably be related to his home/road splits. Caminero was dramatically more productive at their temporary home of George M. Steinbrenner Field (.313/.358/.595) than he was on the road (.218/.266/.477). In all likelihood, that’s a product of an unsustainably low .197 BABIP in road games rather than an indication that he was a huge beneficiary of the minor league home park. The Rays are moving back to Tropicana Field for the 2026-28 seasons.
Padres, Walker Buehler Agree To Minor League Deal
February 17th: According to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune, Buehler will make $1.5MM if added to the roster and could also access performance bonuses worth $2.5MM on the deal.
February 16th: The Padres are adding Walker Buehler on a minor league contract, reports Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune. The Excel Sports Management client will aim to win a rotation job during Spring Training.
San Diego continues to stockpile potential back-end starters. The Padres agreed to big league deals with Griffin Canning and Germán Márquez over the weekend. Buehler settles for a non-roster invitation, which seemingly puts him behind the other two veteran righties as camp gets underway. Canning is coming back from a June Achilles tear. He might begin the season on the injured list but should be in the rotation once he’s healthy.
The Friars have three locks for the Opening Day rotation: Nick Pivetta, Michael King and Joe Musgrove. First-year skipper Craig Stammen implied last week that righty Randy Vásquez has a leg up on the fourth starter role after a solid finish last year. Márquez, Canning (if healthy) and JP Sears are the top options on the 40-man roster for the fifth starter job. Matt Waldron also remains on the 40-man but is out of options and coming off a rough season in Triple-A. Buehler joins Triston McKenzie and Marco Gonzales among the non-roster invitees.
A two-time All-Star, Buehler was a borderline ace for most of his time with the Dodgers. He hasn’t been the same since undergoing the second Tommy John surgery of his career in 2022. The surgery cost him the entire ’23 season, and he returned with a 5.38 ERA across 16 regular season starts the following year. Buehler pitched well in the postseason and wound up closing out the 2024 World Series. The Red Sox bet that was the beginning of a return to form, but his $21.05MM free agent deal with Boston was a disappointment.
Buehler was rocked for a 5.45 ERA across 23 appearances with the Red Sox. They flirted with a move to the bullpen before pulling the plug altogether, releasing him at the end of August. Buehler latched on with the Phillies and made three appearances to close the regular season. While he tossed 13 2/3 innings of one-run ball in Philadelphia, he only struck out eight of 57 batters faced (14%).
Opponents destroyed his four-seam fastball, hitting .277 with a .553 slugging percentage against the pitch. Buehler’s 94 mph average velocity was down a tick from the previous season and almost three miles per hour below where it had been between 2019-20. The spin rates on his four-seam fastball and knuckle-curve have dropped precipitously since his peak. He has had a much more difficult time missing bats, both within and outside the strike zone. Hitters have done a better job laying off stuff outside the zone, leading to a career-high 10.8% walk rate last season.
Although the trend lines aren’t encouraging, Buehler is only 31 and still has league average velocity. The Padres aren’t committed to a roster spot or a guaranteed salary, so there’s no harm in gauging his form during Spring Training. It should be mostly an open competition for at least one rotation spot.
Buehler might not begin the season in Triple-A if he doesn’t win the job. He was an Article XX(b) free agent — a player with six years of service time who finished last season on an MLB roster. Those players who sign minor league deals at least 10 days before Opening Day have a trio of opt-out dates under the collective bargaining agreement: five days before Opening Day, May 1, and June 1. Buehler can trigger an out clause and explore other opportunities during the final week of Spring Training if the Padres don’t commit to carrying him on the active roster.
A’s Could Get Zack Gelof Outfield Reps In Spring Training
The A’s trade pickup of Jeff McNeil solidified second base, where the veteran is expected to play regularly. That pushed Zack Gelof out of the projected starting lineup. The former second-round pick had an impressive half-season as a rookie back in 2023 but has struggled with strikeouts and injuries over the past two years.
Gelof enters camp slightly behind schedule after undergoing surgery to fix a dislocated left shoulder at the end of last season. Gelof is a little delayed in his ramp-up offensively, but Martín Gallegos of MLB.com writes that he can participate fully in defensive drills. He’s not only taking those at second base but in center field to prepare for a potential utility role. Manager Mark Kotsay said that Gelof could see outfield work in games this spring.
The 26-year-old hasn’t played anywhere other than second base in a major league game. Gelof has more than 2000 innings over 237 MLB appearances at the keystone, grading as a slightly above-average defender. The only other position at which he has any significant experience is third base. He played the hot corner at the University of Virginia and during his first year or so in the minor leagues. He didn’t play the outfield at all in college and has nine innings there as a professional — one Double-A game as a center fielder in 2022.
Gelof is a good athlete and an above-average runner. The A’s won’t be able to tell how his instincts and reads will play in the outfield without getting him reps out there. Spring Training is the best time to experiment with different roles. It’d certainly be a big help to Gelof’s chances of making the roster if he’s capable of building defensive versatility. Most teams only carry four position players on the bench to maximize a 13-man pitching staff. Using one of those roster spots on a player who only plays second base isn’t ideal. Gelof has a pair of minor league options and would head back to Triple-A Las Vegas if he doesn’t break camp.
The A’s have Tyler Soderstrom and Lawrence Butler in the corner outfield. They’re likely to give Denzel Clarke the first opportunity in center field. Clarke is a phenomenal defender but has massive strikeout rates, so the A’s may not want to live with that tradeoff all season. Gelof isn’t likely to push Clarke for everyday playing time in center. He’s only a year removed from leading the American League in strikeouts himself, and he’s almost certainly not going to defend at the same level that Clarke does. There’s an opening for a fourth outfielder, while Gelof’s old third base position is also up for grabs in camp. Waiver claim Andy Ibáñez joins holdovers Max Muncy, Brett Harris and Darell Hernaiz in that mix.
Mike Trout Prefers To Return To Center Field
It appears Mike Trout is set to return to his old position. The future Hall of Famer told reporters this morning that he hopes to be primarily a center fielder this season (links via Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com and Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register). General manager Perry Minasian and skipper Kurt Suzuki are evidently aligned with that plan.
“I talked to (Suzuki). I definitely want to play center,” the three-time MVP said. “I told him I’ll play anywhere but obviously prefer center. It was good communication with him and Perry and they’re on board with it.” Suzuki said that Trout will also continue to see work in the corners during Spring Training but sounded broadly open to giving him significant playing time up the middle. “We’ll keep our options open, but he does prefer center, so we’ll take a look,” the manager told reporters.
It’s not completely out of nowhere, as Minasian said as far back as December that the team wasn’t closing the door on Trout getting some center field action. It seems that’ll be more than just part-time work, though it’s not clear how much of a defensive workload he’ll be able to log in his age-34 season.
That was the impetus for moving Trout off center field a year ago. The Angels felt the position was putting too much physical stress and contributing to his unfortunate series of injuries. Trout didn’t play a single inning up the middle last season. He moved to right field and started 22 games before sustaining a bone bruise in his left knee. He missed most of May and was a full-time designated hitter for the remainder of the season.
Trout disagreed with the premise that right field was any less of a physical burden. “Honestly, I felt like when I was in center, it was less on my body,” he said today. “Right field felt like I was running a lot. It’s just a preference thing. Talking to some other outfielders, they feel the same way sometimes, that center is less on your legs. I just feel more confident in center.” Although Trout didn’t have a huge sample of right field work off which to base that assessment, it’s hardly surprising he feels more comfortable with his reads at a position where he has more than 11,000 innings of experience.
At his age and with a history of lower body injuries, Trout is unlikely to be a plus defensive center fielder. He remains a slightly above-average runner at full speed, so he could probably play close to average defense. That’d be a marked improvement over Jo Adell, who was one of the worst defensive center fielders in MLB and should be a right fielder. Whether Trout can stay healthy is the much bigger question, though it’s perhaps notable that many of his recent injuries have come either as a hitter or while running the bases.
Playing Trout in center would allow the Halos to use Adell and Josh Lowe primarily in the corners. They’d have Jorge Soler mostly in the DH role. Trout will surely still see a fair bit of DH action as semi-rest days. Soler would draw into a corner on those occasions with either Adell or Lowe moving to center in what would be a lackluster defensive group. Bryce Teodosio is the best defensive outfielder on the roster but has hit like a fifth outfielder. Jose Siri is in camp on a minor league deal as an alternative to Teodosio for an all-glove depth role. Prospect Nelson Rada is likely ticketed for Triple-A to begin the season but might be the team’s best all-around center field option by midseason.
Trout has five seasons remaining on his $360MM extension. He’ll make $35.45MM per season between 2026-30.
Pablo López Headed For Imaging With Elbow Soreness
The Twins are sending starter Pablo López for an MRI after he experienced elbow soreness during a live batting practice session this morning (links via Dan Hayes of The Athletic and Matthew Leach of MLB.com). The righty had thrown two innings in a workout before experiencing the discomfort in what would have been his third frame.
To this point, the Twins are framing the situation as precautionary. There’s certainly no reason for López to pitch through any kind of discomfort in the middle of February. It nevertheless comes as a concern any time a pitcher experiences elbow discomfort. That’s particularly true in López’s case, as he’s coming off a season that was cut short by a pair of arm injuries.
López suffered a Grade 2 teres major strain in his shoulder last June. He missed three months. The veteran was able to get back on the mound in early September, hoping to build positive momentum going into the offseason. That was not to be, as he experienced forearm soreness that shut him down for the year after three September starts. His velocity in those appearances was back to where it had been before the shoulder injury. The forearm soreness could have been a residual effect of the layoff. The Twins didn’t seem especially concerned, announcing in early November that he would not have any restrictions over the offseason.
Minnesota also took López (and essentially all their other veteran players) off the trade market. They’d been very aggressive deadline sellers but are going into the season with expectations to compete for a playoff spot. It remains to be seen if that’s wishful thinking, but new ownership control person Tom Pohlad has said repeatedly over the past few weeks that he believes this roster capable of contending. Any optimism is built largely around the rotation, which could have an excellent one-two punch with López and Joe Ryan. If the former misses any time, an already uphill path to a playoff spot becomes more difficult.
The Twins have a decent amount of upside in the starting staff. Simeon Woods Richardson, Bailey Ober, Taj Bradley, Mick Abel, Zebby Matthews and David Festa are all in the mix for rotation spots. Prospects Kendry Rojas, Connor Prielipp and Andrew Morris probably need more time at Triple-A but are on the 40-man roster. Any of them could factor in at some point this year. There’s reason for optimism with everyone in that group, but all of those pitchers who have logged MLB time have had their share of ups and downs. They’ll also probably need some of these pitchers to factor into a patchwork bullpen if they’re to put together a contending pitching staff.
López has a Tommy John surgery in his history, undergoing the procedure when he was an 18-year-old prospect back in 2014. He’d been very durable for most of his MLB career. A rotator cuff injury cost him a couple months in 2021, but he didn’t miss a start in any of the next three seasons. He was limited to 14 outings last year but was as effective as ever on a rate basis. López turned in a 2.74 ERA with a 23.4% strikeout rate over 75 2/3 innings.
Mets, Mike Tauchman Agree To Minor League Deal
The Mets are in agreement with veteran outfielder Mike Tauchman on a minor league contract, report Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic. The Meister Sports Management client will be in camp as a non-roster invitee once he completes a physical.
It’s a good landing spot for Tauchman, who has a path to breaking camp. The Mets are moving Juan Soto to left field and have Luis Robert Jr. in center. That leaves right field as the biggest question going into the season. New York signed former Royals outfielder MJ Melendez last week. He’s on the 40-man roster but has a minor league option remaining. Melendez signed a split contract that’d pay him at a lower rate for time spent in Triple-A. He’s hardly a lock to make the team.
Tauchman’s biggest competition probably comes from top prospect Carson Benge. The door is open for the 23-year-old, whom most scouts consider the top position player in the system. Benge, a first-round pick in 2024, raked at both the High-A and Double-A levels last year. He didn’t have good numbers in his first 24 Triple-A contests, slashing .188/.272/.311 there to close the year. That’d point toward him beginning this season in the minors. However, Benge’s 18% strikeout rate and 92 mph average exit velocity against Triple-A pitching suggest the results may have simply been bad luck rather than any kind of speed bump.
Benge’s play in Spring Training might be a bigger factor in whether Tauchman makes the team than how well the veteran outfielder performs. The Mets don’t have many bench spots available. Tyrone Taylor is locked into the fourth outfield role, while Mark Vientos will be on the MLB roster barring a surprise trade. Backup catcher Luis Torrens has a third bench spot secure, and they’ll likely want a depth infielder who can play shortstop regardless of whether Francisco Lindor returns from a hamate injury by Opening Day. Vidal Bruján and Ronny Mauricio are the top competitors for that job.
The Mets have a good idea of what to expect from Tauchman if he breaks camp. He’s a high-OBP corner outfielder who has been a little better than average at the plate in three consecutive seasons. The lefty hitter is coming off a .263/.356/.400 showing with nine home runs across 385 plate appearances for the White Sox. Teams have viewed him more as a quality depth piece than a roster fixture, and he has been non-tendered by the Cubs and White Sox over the past two offseasons.