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Blue Jays Acquire Juan Graterol From Angels

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The Blue Jays have acquired catcher Juan Graterol from the Angels for cash considerations, according to an announcement from Los Angeles. Graterol will report to the Blue Jays’ alternate site, Scott Mitchell of TSN tweets.

The 32-year-old Graterol has appeared in the majors with three teams – the Angels, Twins and Reds – dating back to 2016. He has batted .218/.227/.266 without a home run in 129 plate appearances along the way, though he has thrown out an above-average 32 percent of would-be base stealers as a defender.

Graterol hasn’t reached the majors since 2019, and Toronto is likely hoping it won’t have to turn to him this year. But he’ll give the team some veteran depth behind the younger quartet of Danny Jansen, Alejandro Kirk, Reese McGuire and Riley Adams – who are all on the Jays’ 40-man roster. McGuire’s spot in that group doesn’t look secure, though, as Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet tweeted Wednesday that the club could designate him for assignment.

George Springer, Robbie Ray To Begin Season On Injured List

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Two of the Blue Jays’ key offseason signings – center fielder George Springer and left-hander Robbie Ray – will miss the start of the season, manager Charlie Montoyo announced to Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet and other reporters (Twitter links). Springer has been dealing with a Grade 2 oblique strain since last week, while Ray has a bruised elbow.

Indications before Wednesday were that Springer wouldn’t be ready for the season opener, but this is nonetheless a disappointing way for the former Astro’s Toronto tenure to begin. The three-time All-Star signed the richest free-agent guarantee in the sport this past offseason – a six-year, $150MM contract – but will miss at least the first six games of 2021 for the Blue Jays. However, the playoff hopefuls still have a capable outfield trio with Randal Grichuk set to fill in for Springer alongside Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Teoscar Hernandez in the corners.

Ray wasn’t nearly as expensive as Springer in free agency, but it did cost the Jays $8MM on a one-year pact to re-sign him. Ray has typically been a capable mid-rotation starter, though he slumped to a 6.62 ERA/5.49 SIERA with a similarly woeful 17.9 percent walk rate in 51 2/3 innings between Arizona and Toronto last season. The Jays are betting on a rebound, but that will have to wait for now, leaving Ross Stripling, Tanner Roark, Steven Matz, T.J. Zeuch and Anthony Kay as options behind ace Hyun Jin Ryu heading into the season.

Kyle Isbel Makes Royals’ Roster

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Outfielder Kyle Isbel has made the Royals’ Opening Day roster, manager Mike Matheny announced Wednesday (via Anne Rogers of MLB.com). The Royals already have a full 40-man roster, so they’ll have to make room before officially adding Isbel to it.

Isbel, who turned 24 earlier this month, has been a Royal since they used a third-round pick on him in 2018. He hit well at the rookie and Single-A levels during his first two years in the organization, though Isbel batted just .216/.282/.361 (86 wRC+) with five home runs and eight stolen bases in 214 plate appearances during his High-A debut in 2019. Nevertheless, he remains a well-regarded farmhand for Kansas City, as Baseball America ranks Isbel the team’s sixth-best prospect and writes that he could be a high-average, 15- to 20-HR hitter who offers “plus speed” and quality defense in the majors.

There was no minor league season in 2020, but Isbel turned heads at the Royals’ alternate site and then came back strong this spring with a .333/.420/.548 line and five extra-base hits (three doubles, two homers) in 42 at-bats. Along with Isbel, Andrew Benintendi, Michael A. Taylor and Jarrod Dyson figure to be the Royals’ top choices in the outfield at the start of the season.

Latest On Talks Between Mets, Michael Conforto

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The chances of the Mets extending shortstop Francisco Lindor before his deadline on Thursday appear slim. In further unwelcome news for the Mets, it also doesn’t look as if they’ll prevent outfielder Michael Conforto from reaching free agency next winter.

While Conforto hasn’t set a season-opening deadline for negotiations, the Boras Corporation client and the Mets never came close to reaching an extension during spring training, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports. As a result, “there is a much better chance” that Conforto will test free agency than not after the season, according to Puma.

As things stand, Conforto looks as if he’ll reach the open market as one of the premier hitters available. Conforto, who just turned 28 on March 1, has been a consistently above-average offensive player and sometimes a force since he debuted in 2015. The former 10th overall pick owns a lifetime line of .259/.358/.484 (127 wRC+) with 118 home runs across 2,501 plate appearances. Last year, albeit just a 60-game campaign, was the best yet on a per-PA basis for Conforto, who took 233 trips to the plate and slashed .322/.412/.515 with nine homers. He benefited from an unsustainable .412 batting average on balls in play – up 107 points from his career .305 mark – but still posted an elite .401 expected weighted on-base average and finished 13th in the majors in wRC+ (157).

Along with his offensive prowess, Conforto has shown himself to be a competent defender in the bigs. While he has been out of place in center field (minus-15 Defensive Runs Saved, minus-4.3 Ultimate Zone Rating), it has been a much different story in the corners. Between left and right, Conforto has notched 17 DRS and a 9.6 UZR in just over 3,700 innings of work.

Considering Conforto’s well-rounded game, not to mention his relative youth, he should do rather well on his next deal. A deal worth $100MM or more may be within reach if he continues to produce this year, but it remains to be seen if it will be New York or another club that ponies up for him.

White Sox To Select Andrew Vaughn

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Prized White Sox prospect Andrew Vaughn has made the team’s Opening Day roster. He isn’t on Chicago’s 40-man, so the team will need to select him.

The White Sox could have gained an extra year of service time by keeping Vaughn down for the first few weeks of the season, but executive vice president Ken Williams said last week that wouldn’t be a motivating factor in their decision. The team was true to its word. If Vaughn doesn’t return to the minors, he’ll be controllable through 2026 and eligible for arbitration after 2023, though the White Sox could certainly extend him before then, as they’ve done on multiple occasions in recent years with offensive building blocks such as Yoan Moncada, Tim Anderson, Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert.

General manager Rick Hahn stated Tuesday (via James Fegan of The Athletic), “Having Andrew around will be a positive for this offense.” The White Sox expect Vaughn to factor in at designated hitter, first base and left field, according to Hahn.

It became easier to envision Vaughn making Chicago’s season-opening roster when the club received the devastating news of Jimenez’s ruptured pectoral tendon last week. Jimenez underwent surgery Tuesday and remains likely to miss at least five to six months, Hahn said. The hope is that Vaughn will help fill Jimenez’s enormous offensive void.

Now 22 years old, Vaughn is a former University of California standout whom the White Sox drafted third overall in 2019 and then signed to a $7.2MM-plus bonus. Vaughn hasn’t gotten above High-A ball since then, but he has held his own in the minors, having slashed .278/.384/.449 in 245 plate appearances. He has also looked ready for prime time this spring with a .279/.375/.459 line and six extra-base hits (three doubles, two home runs and a triple) in 61 at-bats.

Along with Vaughn’s addition, the White Sox made a handful of other roster moves Tuesday. They optioned infielder Danny Mendick to their alternate site and reassigned fellow infielders Tim Beckham, Zach Remillard and Matt Reynolds, outfielder Nick Williams, and right-hander Ryan Burr. The club also made the previously reported release of catcher Jonathan Lucroy official.

Astros Notes: Odorizzi, Valdez, Baez, Scrubb, James

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Astros’ brass met with reporters (including Brian McTaggart of MLB.com and Jake Kaplan of the Athletic) in recent days and provided updates on a host of sidelined pitchers. Righty Jake Odorizzi will make his regular-season debut sometime during the team’s initial homestand, which runs from April 8-14. The Astros inked Odorizzi to a two-year, $23MM guarantee in free agency, but he’s behind the 8-ball after sitting on the open market until earlier this month.

The Odorizzi signing came on the heels of Framber Valdez’s fractured finger early in Spring Training. At the time, there had been fear the left-hander would require surgery and miss the entire season. Valdez is attempting to rehab the injury without going under the knife, and it seems the early returns are positive. Pitching coach Brent Strom called the latest reports on Valdez’s health “very, very exciting and very good,” although the Astros have yet to provide word on a potential target date for his return.

Houston is also without a few key relievers due to health situations. Righty Pedro Báez – like Odorizzi, one of Houston’s offseason additions – won’t be ready for major league action for at least the first couple weeks of the season. The team hopes he’ll be back on the mound in late April. Báez, whom the Astros signed to a two-year, $12.5MM guarantee, has been on the COVID-19 injured list for three weeks. Fellow right-hander Andre Scrubb is looking at a mid-April return after leaving a recent Cactus League game with shoulder soreness.

Another righty, Josh James, is targeting late May or early June for a return of his own. The 28-year-old underwent surgery to repair a labral tear in his left hip at the end of last October.  The procedure initially came with a six-to-eight month recovery timetable, so it seems James is right on schedule.

Adrian Gonzalez Signs In Mexican League

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Five-time All-Star first baseman Adrian Gonzalez hasn’t played in the majors since 2018, but his professional career isn’t over yet. Gonzalez has signed with the expansion Guadalajara Mariachis of the Mexican League, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times relays. The soon-to-be 39-year-old did so in order to tune up for this summer’s Tokyo Olympic Games, in which he’s hoping to play for Mexico. The team has already qualified for the tournament.

As Shaikin notes, Gonzalez previously represented Mexico in youth ball, the Caribbean World Series and the World Baseball Classic. Gonzalez said adding the Olympics to that trio would be “like the grand slam of representing Mexico. That is the only reason I have not retired yet.”

Gonzalez struggled with the Dodgers in 2017 and then the Mets the next season, combining for a .240/.292/.363 line with nine home runs in 439 plate appearances. Despite those woes, Gonzalez said he has received and rejected minor league offers from MLB teams since the Mets parted with him in June 2018. The California resident hasn’t gotten interest from West Coast teams and would prefer to spend time there with his family instead of going to Florida for spring training, per Shaikin.

In all likelihood, we have seen the last of Gonzalez in the majors, but there’s no denying he was one of the game’s most imposing sluggers for a long stretch. Also a former Ranger, Padre and Red Sox, Gonzalez batted .287/.358/.485 with 317 home runs – including 30 or more in four seasons – from 2004-18.

Reds Return Rule 5 Selection Kyle Holder To Yankees

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The Reds have returned Rule 5 Draft pick Kyle Holder to the Yankees, according to announcements from both teams. The Yankees subsequently assigned the infielder to their alternate training site.

It was actually the Phillies who used a Rule 5 selection on Holder last December, but they wound up trading him to the Reds for cash considerations in late January. The 26-year-old went on to total 32 at-bats in spring training with the Reds, but despite a solid on-base percentage (.350), he hit for little average (.219) or power (.250 slugging percentage).

Originally a first-round pick of the Yankees, who took him 30th overall in the 2015 amateur draft, Holder hasn’t climbed above the Double-A level yet. He did hit well there in 2019, though, as he slashed .265/.336/.405 with nine home runs, seven stolen bases and a 13.8 percent strikeout rate in 472 plate appearances. But Holder’s at his best in the field, where he has experience at both middle infield spots and third base. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen wrote after the Rule 5 Draft that Holder “can absolutely pick it at shortstop,” adding he could turn into a defense-first utility player in the majors.

Pirates Re-Sign Todd Frazier

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TODAY: Frazier has re-signed with the Pirates on a new minor league deal, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports (via Twitter).  The veteran will report to the team’s alternate training site.

MARCH 26: Corner infielder Todd Frazier has opted out of his minor league contract with the Pirates in favor of free agency, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network.

This is unlikely to be the end for the 35-year-old Frazier, who plans to continue his career, Heyman writes. Frazier has enjoyed plenty of success in the majors, having earned two All-Star nods and batted .242/.319/.448 with 218 home runs (including five seasons with between 21 and 40 HRs) and 24.2 fWAR across 4,909 plate appearances since he debuted with the Reds in 2011.His production has faded over the past couple of years, though, and he batted a subpar .236/.302/.382 with four long balls and a career-low .146 ISO over 172 PA between the Rangers and Mets in 2020.

Despite his declining numbers, Frazier looked as if he had a chance to at least be a backup for rebuilding Pittsburgh, which has a budding star at third base in Ke’Bryan Hayes and left-handed-hitting first baseman Colin Moran. Frazier, a righty, could have platooned with Moran, and he made his case for a roster spot this spring with a .250/.353/.643 line and three dingers in 28 at-bats. Instead, Frazier – who has appeared in the majors with five teams – will try to catch on with another club. Frazier’s exit suggests infielder Phillip Evans will make the Pirates’ Opening Day roster, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tweets.

Angels To Sign Steve Cishek, Tony Watson

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The Angels continue adding to their bullpen: The team announced Monday that it has agreed to deals with right-hander Steve Cishek and left-hander Tony Watson. Both Cishek and Watson will get one-year, $1MM contracts, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reports. The Halos placed injured RHP Luke Bard on the 60-day IL to help make room for these pickups.

Cishek and Watson are among four notable bullpen additions since Sunday for the Angels. They previously brought back old friend Noe Ramirez and then acquired James Hoyt in trade with the Marlins. It’s clearly a late-spring attempt by first-year general manager Perry Minasian to add as much depth as possible to a bullpen which has other newcomers in Raisel Iglesias, Alex Claudio, Junior Guerra and Aaron Slegers.

Cishek and Watson certainly boast the best track records of the quartet of relievers the Angels have brought in over the past couple days. The 34-year-old Cishek had a rough go with the White Sox in 2020, and he didn’t make the Astros’ roster this spring, but he proved himself as a durable option who could keep runs off the board before then. Since his career began in 2010, the former closer has logged a 2.78 ERA, registered an above-average strikeout rate of 25.2 percent and recorded a 48.9 percent groundball rate in 576 innings.

Watson, 35, failed to crack the Phillies’ roster in spring training, but he has also established himself as an effective big league reliever. He owns a 2.80 ERA with a decent strikeout-walk percentage (15.4) across 591 frames. Watson spent last year as a member of the Giants and continued to hold hitters at bay (2.50 ERA), all while limiting hard contact (84.8 mph exit velocity against) and walks (4.1 percent), and inducing grounders at a 50 percent clip in 18 frames.

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