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Padres Showing Interest In Luke Voit

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The Padres have cast a wide net searching for upgrades this offseason, coming up empty on a number of free agents and eyeing several who remain on the market. In his latest column, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic adds Yankees first baseman Luke Voit to the list of targets San Diego is considering. The Yankees are speaking with a number of clubs about Voit, though the identities of other teams and the odds of a deal coming together remain unknown.

Voit represents a unique trade chip for the Yankees, as he has batted a strong .271/.363/.520 (132 OPS+) since joining the club in 2018. Even last year Voit was able to produce at a .239/.328/.437 (109 OPS+) clip despite battling with knee problems and uneven playing time. A run of solid offensive production and three years of team control remaining (via arbitration) doesn’t change the impression that Voit appears to be a man without a home on a loaded Yankees roster, however.

Following their re-signing of first baseman Anthony Rizzo, the Yankees have an abundance of infielders, all of whom can lay claim to being more defensively valuable than Voit and his career -22 Outs Above Average mark. The 31-year old Voit also saw his strikeout rate spike to an untenable 30.7% mark last season that’s more than double apparent-replacement Rizzo’s 15.1% mark.

For New York, they may not have a specific aversion to Voit so much as they are looking to put more balls in play and back up their pitchers with more reliability. This is a team after all that had the sixth worst strikeout percentage, eighth worst batting average, and eighth worst team defense (per FanGraphs) in all of baseball last season. As a team with World Series aspirations it’s a defensible move to relocate a player that was a drain on all three team categories last season.

Enter the Padres. San Diego no doubt has the same World Series aspirations the Yankees do, but they also have a clearer path to playing time for an under-utilized Bronx bomber. Whereas New York has Giancarlo Stanton and a number of other slugging veterans filling their DH spot, the Padres are largely unequipped to fill theirs. Despite outscoring the Yankees last season, the Friars are in an optimal position to borrow some offense from the Yankees, with the added bonus of keeping their team defense intact.

A hypothetical Voit acquisition would strengthen a lineup that is thin on middle-of-the-order firepower after Fernando Tatis Jr.’s most recent injury. Projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $5.4MM in arbitration, Voit would also prove eminently affordable for a Padres club that’s about $10MM of payroll shy of incurring luxury tax-related penalties. That projected arbitration figure likely appeals to a handful of clubs, but for a San Diego team saddled with pricy contracts and limited free agent options, a displaced Voit may prove to be their best bet at improving team offense without emptying the farm or wallets.

Braves, Padres In Talks With Jorge Soler

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The Braves and Padres are “in talks” with free agent outfielder Jorge Soler, reports David O’Brien of The Athletic. These teams join the Rockies and Marlins as clubs who have had reported interest in Soler the past few days.

Atlanta doesn’t have a glaring need in its outfield after re-signing postseason hero and left fielder Eddie Rosario to a two-year contract yesterday. The birth of the universal DH however gives the team some wiggle room to reunite with another face from last year’s miraculous World Series run. Currently, non-roster invitee Alex Dickerson projects to be the team’s starting DH (per Jason Martinez of RosterResource), which shouldn’t prove too much of a roadblock for an earnest pursuit of Soler.

Complicating matters though may be the presence of recovering slugger Ronald Acuña Jr.. Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulus told Jim Bowden of The Athletic today that the plan was for Acuña to work primarily as the team’s DH until garnering some outfield reps in late May. Given that the Braves outfield is currently full with Eddie Rosario, Adam Duvall, and Marcell Ozuna, an Acuña-occupied DH spot may prevent talks with Soler from getting too far.

The Padres on the other hand have plenty of room for Soler on their roster. While their primary vacancy in the outfield is in left field, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to slide incumbent right fielder Wil Myers over to left and allow Soler to play in right field. More likely, however, is a plan in which Soler is plugged into the team’s DH position. In that event, non-roster invitee Nomar Mazara or the versatile Jurickson Profar could be in line for work in left field, barring further additions.

After failed pursuits of Freddie Freeman, Nelson Cruz, Seiya Suzuki, and the recent injury to Fernando Tatis Jr. the Padres are running out of ways to improve upon last year’s middling offense. With a luxury tax number near $219MM (per Roster Resource), San Diego may be hesitant to fork over a contract necessary to sign Soler however. Crossing the new luxury tax threshold of $230MM would incur additional penalties for a Padres team that crossed the threshold last season. MLB Trade Rumors pegged Soler for a three-year $36MM deal at the start of the offseason, a contract that would nudge the Padres right into penalty territory.

Turning to Soler, the right-handed hitter posted a middling .223/.316/.432 (97 OPS+) in 149 games between the Royals and Braves last season. Of course, the 30-year-old’s season turned around following his midseason trade to Atlanta, reminding many of his 48-homer campaign in 2019. In 242 plate appearances as a Brave, Soler posted a much sturdier .269/.358/.524 (128 OPS+), cranking that production up to .242/.342/.606 in 11 postseason games.

Soler’s superlatives largely begin and end with his bat, as his right field work continued to draw poor marks last season. Despite that, the dawn of league-wide designated hitting figures to land the reigning World Series MVP a solid contract from one of his suitors in the coming weeks.

Angels Sign César Valdez To Minor League Deal

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The Angels have announced their signing of right-handed pitcher César Valdez to a minor league contract. The deal includes an invitation to Major League Spring Training camp.

Valdez heads to camp looking to land a job with a growingly deep Angels bullpen. This comes on the heels of back-to-back seasons in Baltimore, where he served as a force in 14 plus innings during the 2020 season. That year’s sharp 1.26 ERA came with an unsustainable zero home runs allowed however, and the right-hander’s ERA ballooned up to 5.87 in 46 innings (39 appearances) last season after serving up eight home runs. Valdez’s home run prevention abilities always figured to take a step back, particularly when he’s equipped with a fastball that averages just 85mph.

Valdez, who turns 37-years-old today, was designated for assignment by the Orioles at the end of last season and ultimately elected free agency. It makes sense that LA is taking a flier on the well-traveled Valdez, however. Despite last season’s rough bottom-line numbers, Valdez’s changeup ranked as one of the best in the game. Throwing his signature changeup 75% of the time, Valdez was a pro at getting opposing batters to swing at pitches outside of the zone, ranking in the 99th percentile of the league. Further, an uncharacteristically high .380 batting average on balls in play is likely to blame for some of the pitcher’s struggles. A 3.73 SIERA is the simplest metric to suggest that Valdez has plenty left in the tank.

The Angels are surely hoping for better batted ball luck this season, as Valdez can provide some extra innings in a bullpen that’s tasked with backing up one of the more fragile rotations in the league. Injury concerns and the delicate handling of reigning-MVP Shohei Ohtani should allow Valdez to soak up plenty of innings if he’s able to make the team’s Opening Day roster. Incredibly, Valdez has just north of two years of service time, meaning he can be controlled by the Angels for about as long as they’d like if they wind up catching lightning in a bottle with today’s pact.

Cedric Mullins, Austin Hays Drawing Trade Interest

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In his latest notes column, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic indicates that rival teams are “asking the Orioles about” outfielders Cedric Mullins and Austin Hays. The veteran reporter cautions that a trade coming to fruition is unlikely, since Baltimore would like to “get a clearer picture of how their rebuilding plan is progressing before considering trades of their better players.”

It’s not surprising that the retooling Orioles are taking a wait-and-see approach with two of their more promising position players. Both Mullins and Hays come with four more years of team control and at ages 27 and 26, respectively, are likely to be in their primes when the Orioles turn a corner competitively.

While the O’s have been willing to listen to offers for Mullins (and presumably Hays) dating back to before the MLB lockout, it has long seemed that the team’s asking price would prove too prohibitive for inquiring clubs. That’s not to say a team in dire need of a center fielder or outfield thump in general won’t step up, but beyond the club control afforded by both players, each of Hays and Mullins is coming off a career year.

In 2021, the lefty-swinging Mullins made a name for himself with a .291/.360/.518 (135 OPS+) slash en route to a 9th-place MVP finish and Silver Slugger Award. Even that 9th-place finish may undercut how good Mullins was last season, as he remarkably played 159 games and served as MLB’s only 30-30 club member. Defensive metrics varied on the breakout player, but most agree he was at least an average defender in center field.

Hays had the quieter season but still supplied above-average production in the form of a .256/.308/.461 (106 OPS+) slash through 131 games. The right-handed hitter also swatted a career-high 22 home runs and 26 doubles that kept his slash line serviceable despite a below-average walk rate. A good deal of Hays’ value last season came from his glove. A center field-capable player, Hays spent most of his time in the outfield corners to generally positive reviews. As an arguably overqualified corner outfielder, Hays racked up 14 Defensive Runs Saved and a 3.1 bWAR in 2021.

Short of an offer that bowls them over, the Orioles are likely to hang onto two outfielders who thus far have the makings of core players. The team could see either player regress in the coming season, which is a very possible outcome given the limited track record of both players. Still, after five very losing seasons and a new collective bargaining agreement that included some anti-tanking measures, the Orioles may look to piece together a winning roster sooner rather than later.

Top prospect Adley Rutschman’s setback notwithstanding, the future in Baltimore looks to be brighter than it’s been for some time. Baseball America tabbed their farm system as the fourth best in the game in their latest farm rankings, calling attention to their five top-100 prospects— none of whom figure to be redundant on a roster with the aforementioned Hays and Mullins. The four-headed AL East monster above the Orioles in the standings may tempt the team to further bide their time and accumulate prospect capital. For the time being however, Baltimore appears set to hold off from doing anything too drastic.

Rangers Sign Brad Miller To Two-Year Deal

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March 17: Miller has been signed to a two-year contract, the Rangers announced Thursday. It’s a $10MM guarantee for Miller that’ll pay him $6MM in 2022 and $4MM in 2023, tweets Chris Halicke of Sports Illustrated.

March 15: The Rangers have reached an agreement with free agent infielder Brad Miller tweets MLB Drops. The financial terms of this deal have not yet been reported.

The 32-year-old Miller is coming off a decent season with the Phillies, as he batted .227/.321/.453 (107 OPS+) with 20 home runs  in 337 plate appearances in 2021. Additionally, Miller lined up at both outfield corners and every infield position besides shortstop last season. Defensive metrics have been bearish on his performance at most of those positions, though there’s little denying the utility of a bat-first player who can play five positions in a pinch.

<a rel=While Miller is coming off his third straight above average offensive campaign, his limitations are reflected in that modest plate appearances total. After seeing fuller playing time earlier in his career, the left-handed Miller has been platooned with greater frequency in recent years. The results bear that decision out, as the former-Phillie has a lifetime .610 OPS against left-handed pitchers but a solid .780 OPS when holding the platoon advantage. Last year’s splits were even more drastic, as those OPS numbers dipped and climbed to .538 and .842, respectively.

The signing makes ample sense for a Texas squad that has playing time up for grabs at third base and in the outfield. After losing top third base prospect Josh Jung for most of the season to shoulder surgery and parting with Isiah Kiner-Falefa in the deal that netted them Mitch Garver, the Rangers very quickly found themselves without a slam dunk starter at third base. That may well continue to be the case after this signing, as Miller has just 49 big league games at the position to his name.

Texas now seems primed to platoon Miller with some combination of its incumbent third base options, Andy Ibanez and Nick Solak, who have each shown demonstrably better against left-handed pitchers in their brief careers. Because of all three players’ ability to bounce around the field, manager Chris Woodward should have no trouble finding at-bats for the trio, barring future additions.

The addition of Brad Miller to a Rangers team coming off a 60-win season is the continuation of a busy winter for the front office braintrust of Jon Daniels and Chris Young. After a season in which the Rangers did very little competing, the young talent from last season’s team will now have to vie against their new veteran teammates for maximum reps. Given the pace of their offseason so far and the amount of players jockeying for a large role on an improved 2022 team, the Rangers’ truncated spring training camp figures to be one of the league’s most hotly contested sites in the coming weeks.

Cubs To Sign Daniel Norris

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The Cubs are set to sign left-handed pitcher Daniel Norris to a Major League contract reports Jesse Rogers of ESPN.

The 28-year-old is fresh off a season divided between the Detroit and Milwaukee organizations. His work out of the Tigers’ bullpen didn’t match the success he found there in 2020, but a fluky .354 batting average on balls in play and other ERA estimators figured his 5.89 ERA with Detroit last season was more bloated than it should have been. The Brewers figured as much as well, and acquired the left-hander in a deadline deal last July.

Unfortunately for the Brewers, Norris’s run prevention skills only worsened. In 20 plus innings Norris gave up 15 runs and walks apiece, along with five home runs, all of which contributed to a 6.64 ERA with his new team. Despite a .231 batting average on balls in play after the trade, his reduced groundball, strikeout, and home run suppression abilities all resulted in a cumulative 6.16 ERA on the year that easily stands as his worst.

Even though things seldom clicked all at once for Norris in his platform year, there are still green flags in his profile. Chief among those flags are Norris’s ability to stymie left-handed batters. In 2021 opposing lefties struck out at an unappealing 29.5% rate and posted a weak .635 OPS when facing the pitcher. Furthermore, a 4.32 SIERA and other ERA estimators largely paint Norris’s end-of-season numbers as unlucky, and point to improvement should he keep his same skillset intact next season.

While no longer the high-end starter prospect who headlined the trade that sent David Price to Toronto back in 2015, the Cubs figure to have plenty of use for the modern day reliever version of Norris. Currently the only left-handed relievers projected by Jason Martinez of RosterResource to be in Chicago’s bullpen are Brad Wieck and Justin Steele. While Wieck had a 0.00 ERA through 17 innings on the year, and Steele debuted to a respectable 4.26 ERA in 57 innings (2.03 ERA in 13+ innings as a reliever), neither has a long enough track record to bank on repeated bullpen dominance.

With yet another Major League addition today it’s become increasingly clear that the Cubs are eyeing a spot in the recently expanded postseason field.

A’s Sign Billy McKinney To Minor League Deal

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The Athletics announced their signing of outfielder Billy McKinney to a minor league pact. The deal includes an invitation to Major League Spring Training. It’s the third type of signing for Oakland today, after a waiver claim of Sheldon Neuse and a blockbuster trade with the Blue Jays.

Now 27-years-old, McKinney had a dizzying 2021 season in which he suited up for three different teams. Between the Brewers, Mets, and the Dodgers, the left-handed hitter slashed .192/.280/.358. Only his 39-game stint with the Mets yielded positive offensive results (110 OPS+), but McKinney still provided plus defensive value at both outfield corners and first base for his 2021 employers.

McKinney netted one more employer in 2021, as an offseason deal between LA and Texas saw the Dodgers deal McKinney and fellow outfielder Zach Reks for cash. The Rangers held onto Reks but non-tendered McKinney a week later, pushing the latter into free agency and teeing him up for today’s reunion with the team that selected him 24th overall in the 2013 amateur draft.

Now that Oakland is in full fire sale mode, McKinney stands a reasonable chance at claiming a spot on the team’s bench, with a chance for more given the in-flux state of the roster. While he’s yet to find much consistency at the major league level, McKinney’s age, pedigree, and Triple-A success suggest there’s still upside to be had for both player and club.

Minor MLB Transactions: 3/16/22

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Some minor league signings from what’s shaped up to be a very busy Wednesday…

  • The Yankees announced their minor league signing of outfielder Ryan LaMarre, who has received an invitation to Spring Training. The 33-year-old LaMarre is no stranger to the Bronx, having spent last season in the Yankees organization. A strong 60-game showing (.826 OPS) in Triple-A led to a few big league call-ups, in which LaMarre hit two home runs and stole a base across just nine games. The speedy outfielder can cover all three outfield spots in a pinch and should serve as some nice depth behind New York’s top center field options in Aaron Hicks and the recently re-signed Tim Locastro.
  • The Angels have signed infielder Kean Wong to a minor league deal with an invite to MLB Spring Training camp. Primarily a second baseman, Wong has also demonstrated the ability to handle third base and both outfield corners. Despite the cancellation of the 2020 minor league season, the 26-year-old showed no signs of rust in Triple-A last year. In 46 games the left-handed hitter slashed .339/.384/.476 with 10 steals (13 attempts). He didn’t show as much firepower in 66 big league at-bats last season with just a .427 OPS, but there may be time to build on those numbers with a Halos club that has recently found health and production elusive at second and third base.

Orioles Re-Sign Chris Ellis To Minor League Deal

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The Orioles announced that they have re-signed right-handed pitcher Chris Ellis to a minor league pact. It’s the team’s second minor league pitcher signing in three days, after signing right-handed pitcher Conner Greene to a deal on Monday.

The 29-year-old pitched part of last season with the Orioles after a mid-season claim out of the Rays’ DFA purgatory. Ellis started six games down the stretch for a rebuilding Baltimore team, posting a cool 2.49 ERA in 25 plus innings.

As the minor league deal indicates, there was trepidation around the league that Ellis was a pitcher who could be counted on to repeat last season’s performance with the Orioles. After all, the right-hander pitched to a 6.32 ERA at the Triple-A level with the Rays in 2021, a mark that’s only slightly higher than his career 6.09 ERA through 314 plus innings at the level.

A starter with consistently below average strikeout and groundball rates is unlikely to offer much upside moving forward, but if nothing else Ellis can serve as a source of bulk innings for a team with a shaky pitching core. A fastball with above average spin, plus a track record that includes looks from six different organizations suggests though that there may be more talent for Baltimore to tap into yet.

Pirates Sign Austin Brice To Minor League Deal

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The Pirates have signed right-handed pitcher Austin Brice to a minor league contract, according to Alex Stumpf of DK Pittsburgh Sports. It’s a continuation of Pittsburgh’s busy week adding depth to their pitching staff, as they claimed pitcher Adonis Medina earlier today and re-signed Chase De Jong to a minor league accord yesterday.

The 29-year-old Brice is coming off a season split between Boston’s Triple-A and big league teams, his second straight year with the Red Sox. While he made a solid impression in the minors, posting a 3.27 ERA and 34 strikeouts across 33 innings, that wasn’t the case at the Major League level. The out-of-options Brice was shuttled back and forth between Boston’s top two teams throughout the season and was left with a 6.59 ERA in just north of 13 innings for the Red Sox.

While Brice didn’t find a ton of success with Boston, he’s not far removed from a strong 2019 showing out of the Miami bullpen. Through 44 innings that season the Marlins draftee pitched to a solid 3.43 ERA, though several of his peripherals hinted that his ERA figure was a bit lucky. Furthermore, Brice has proven himself plenty adept at getting minor league hitters out, with a career 2.92 ERA at the Triple-A level that looks a lot rosier than his 5.17 ERA across six Major League seasons.

All told, it’s a low risk signing for the Pirates, as is typically the case with minor league pacts. Should Brice and his 80th percentile curveball carry his minor league success over to the big leagues Pittsburgh will have quite the nice pickup on their hands.

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