Reds Rumors

Reds Sign Austin Romine, Alan Busenitz To Minor League Deals

By Anthony Franco | December 27, 2022 at 4:05pm CDT

The Reds announced this afternoon they’ve brought in catcher Austin Romine and reliever Alan Busenitz on minor league contracts. Both players will be in major league camp as non-roster invitees.

Romine, 34, returns to Cincinnati, where he spent the stretch run in 2022. Acquired in a deadline day trade with the Cardinals, the veteran played out the year in a depth role. He suited up 37 times for the Reds, hitting .147/.173/.263 across 99 trips to the plate. Cincinnati was one of three teams for Romine in 2022, as he also spent brief time with the Angels and St. Louis.

Between the trio of teams, the righty-hitting backstop posted a .155/.187/.248 line through 136 plate appearances. That was his most robust MLB workload since 2019, though he’s now appeared in the majors in 11 of the past 12 seasons overall. A longtime backup with the Yankees, Romine has played for five clubs since reaching free agency in advance of the 2020 season. He’s a .230/.268/.348 hitter in over 1400 career plate appearances.

Romine brings plenty of experience and some familiarity with the pitching staff to Reds camp. Cincinnati has already signed Curt Casali and Luke Maile to MLB deals this winter, bringing in a pair of depth options behind highly-regarded young backstop Tyler Stephenson. Barring injury, it’s hard to envision Romine cracking the Opening Day roster. He’s likely to start the season at Triple-A Louisville and remain on hand if the organization needs to call upon a veteran depth option.

Busenitz, 32, came out of the Twins bullpen 51 times between 2017-18. He worked to a 4.58 ERA through 57 innings. After the second campaign, Minnesota granted him his release to sign with the Rakuten Golden Eagles of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball.

The right-hander has spent the past four seasons in Japan, where he carved out a career as a solid late-game option. Busenitz pitched to a 2.83 ERA through 155 2/3 NPB innings. His 18.8% strikeout percentage was fairly modest, though his 8.6% walk rate is manageable. The Kennesaw State product returns stateside on the heels of a 2022 campaign that saw him toss 31 2/3 frames of 2.27 ERA ball with a 20% strikeout rate at Japan’s top level.

Reds Designate Mike Moustakas, Sign Curt Casali

By Darragh McDonald | December 22, 2022 at 10:59pm CDT

The Reds announced that they have signed catcher Curt Casali to a one-year deal with a mutual option for 2024. In a corresponding move, infielder Mike Moustakas was designated for assignment. Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports that Casali will be guaranteed $3.25MM, which takes the form of a $2.5MM salary and a $750K buyout on the option. There’s also a $250K assignment bonus to be paid to him in the event he’s traded. Casali is represented by the Beverly Hills Sports Council.

Moustakas, 34, signed a four-year, $64MM deal with the Reds going into the 2020 season. At the time, he was coming off a five-year stretch with the Royals and Brewers where he hit 130 home runs and produced a batting line of .264/.325/.491. That amounted to a 111 wRC+, indicating he was 11% better than league average in that time. He had also diversified his defensive abilities, playing 47 games at second base with the Brewers in 2019 after being a primary third baseman prior to that.

The first season of the deal went fine enough, as Moustakas hit .230/.331/.468 for a wRC+ of 105. However, the past two seasons have been disappointing, with Moustakas battling various injuries, including a heel contusion and a calf strain, and struggling to produce when on the field. He played just 62 games in 2021 and 78 in 2022, hitting .211/.289/.356 for a wRC+ of 73.

Though Moustakas has one year remaining on his deal, it seems the Reds weren’t interested in letting him play it out. Over the past few years, they’ve seen Jonathan India take over the second base job and prospect Spencer Steer seems ready for an extended audition at third. Moustakas has also played a bit of first base, but the Reds have Joey Votto there and also added Wil Myers into the mix by signing him today. Catcher Tyler Stephenson could also factor in with the club now having three backstops. More on that below.

The Reds will now have a week to work out a trade or pass Moustakas through waivers but it’s unlikely they will find a deal. Moustakas is still owed $22MM in the form of an $18MM salary and a $4MM buyout on a club option for 2024. Given that he’s been injured and/or underperforming for a couple of years now, no team will want to take that on. The Reds could theoretically offer a prospect in a trade to sweeten the deal, but it wouldn’t make much sense to do that as it would merely subtract young talent from the rebuilding club. The most likely scenario is that Moustakas is released and becomes a free agent. Any team could then be able to sign him and pay him the prorated league minimum for any time spent on their active roster, with that amount being subtracted from what the Reds pay.

As for Casali, 34, he’s a perfectly serviceable big league catcher, though he’s never really been a club’s primary option. Though he has 462 career games played, he’s never tallied more than 84 in any individual season. He’s generally been a strong defender behind the plate, having tallied 16 Defensive Runs Saved in his career and a slightly above-average mark in terms of framing. He’s not a liability at the plate either, with a career batting line of .223/.316/.392. That amounts to a wRC+ of 92, which is 8% below league average overall but roughly average for a catcher. His 27.8% strikeout rate is definitely on the high side but he also has drawn walks at a strong 10.7% rate. He’s also drawn interest from the Giants and Cubs this winter but will instead go to Cincinnati, where he spent the 2018-2020 seasons.

Casali is the second catcher signed by the Reds this offseason, as they’ve also added Luke Maile earlier. Those two will join Tyler Stephenson to give the club a three-headed catching corps. Stephenson seemed to emerge as the club’s catcher of the future with a 2021 breakout that saw him hit .286/.366/.431 for a wRC+ of 110 along with solid defensive numbers. However, he was limited to just 50 games in 2022 due to a concussion, a broken thumb and a broken clavicle. He’s also seen some time at first base and could theoretically do that more this year, yielding some of the catching time to Casali and Maile while keeping his bat in the lineup.

The club’s payroll is now up to $81MM, per the calculations of Roster Resource. That’s still well shy of their $114MM figure from Opening Day 2022, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts, though the rebuilding club might not add much more. C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic relays word from general manager Nick Krall, who says they’d “have to great creative” to add more money.

Images courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Reds Sign Wil Myers To One-Year Deal

By Darragh McDonald | December 22, 2022 at 12:40pm CDT

The Reds announced they have signed first baseman/outfielder Wil Myers to a one-year contract with a mutual option for 2024. Myers will be guaranteed $7.5MM on the deal, which comes in the form of a $6MM salary in 2023 along with a $1.5MM buyout on the option. He can earn a further $1.5MM of incentives based on playing time and will receive an extra $500K if he’s traded, potentially earning $9.5MM by season’s end. Myers is represented by CAA Sports.

Myers, 32, was originally drafted by the Royals but was traded to the Rays before he made it to the majors. He was considered one of the best prospects in the league at that time, with Baseball America ranking him fourth overall going into the 2013 season. Myers would go on to make his MLB debut with Tampa that year, posting a batting line of .293/.354/.478. That production was 29% above average, by measure of wRC+. He was worth 2.3 wins above replacement in the eyes of FanGraphs and won the American League Rookie of the Year award.

Despite his prospect status and exciting debut, Myers has since settled in as more of a decent regular than a true star. He endured a sophomore slump in 2014, hitting just .222/.294/.320 for a wRC+ of 76. After that season, Myers was traded to the Padres and bounced back. Injuries limited him to just 60 games in 2015, but his 2016 was excellent. He hit 28 home runs and stole 28 bases, finishing the year with a batting line of .259/.336/.461 and a wRC+ of 114. That resulted in a 3.4 fWAR tally and encouraged the Padres to give Myers a six-year, $83MM extension.

Unfortunately for the Padres, that 2016 campaign now stands out as Myers’ best. He’s still been a valuable player, but hasn’t topped 2.0 fWAR in any subsequent season. Despite still being a decent contributor, his contract eventually came to be seen as an albatross due to its back-loaded nature. Myers got a $15MM signing bonus but then modest salaries of $2MM in 2017 and 2018, followed by $3MM in 2019, but then jumping to $20MM for each of the last three years of the deal. The club reportedly made many attempts to trade Myers in the latter half of the deal but never succeeded.

Over the six years of that contract, Myers hit 98 home runs and stole 61 bases. He struck out in 29.2% of his plate appearances but also walked at a healthy 9.8% rate. In the end, he produced a combined batting line of .252/.327/.451 for a wRC+ of 109, indicating he was 9% better than the league average hitter in that timeframe. He should be able to provide the Reds with a solid veteran bat that might also play up in their hitter-friendly ballpark.

Defensively, Myers played exclusively at first base in 2017 but has spent most of his time in the outfield in the five seasons since. Advanced metrics are split on his work, though he generally grades out as being about average as a corner outfielder and a bit subpar at first base. Myers’ flexibility in that regard is likely appealing to a Reds’ team that has uncertainty in those areas. Joey Votto has been the club’s first baseman for well over a decade now, but he’s now 39 years old, turning 40 in September. He also underwent season-ending rotator cuff surgery in August, which comes with an estimated six-month recovery time. That should allow him to return before Opening Day, but Myers gives them an experienced fallback plan if there’s any kind of setback or if the club wants to reduce Votto’s playing time.

In the outfield, they have a number of in-house options but no one really cemented in place. Nick Senzel, Nick Solak, Jake Fraley and TJ Friedl are some of the candidates who could be vying for outfield roles in 2023, but none of them have proven themselves enough that they should be guaranteed anything. Myers can step in wherever he fits best based on how those others are doing and can also take some time as the designated hitter if those others are all doing well. Mike Moustakas is also in line for some DH duty but he’s coming off two-straight disappointing and injury-marred campaigns. If Myers is performing well or the Reds simply want to make room for their younger players, Myers could become a trade candidate as the deadline approaches.

Financially, the rebuilding Reds haven’t thrown much money around this winter. This is just their second major league signing of the offseason alongside a modest deal for backup catcher Luke Maile. Roster Resource calculates this signing as bumping their payroll up to $78MM. That’s still well shy of their $114MM figure from Opening Day 2022, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts. If they are willing to spend up to similar levels, they could still have some more cash for further moves, though they also might stay on the low side after aggressively trading away significant salaries in recent years.

Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported the $7.5MM guarantee and the ability for Myers to reach $9.5MM. Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer first had the specifics of the $500K bonus for a trade plus $1.5MM in incentives. Mark Sheldon of MLB.com first broke down the $6MM salary in 2023 with the $1.5MM buyout on the option.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Tom Browning Passes Away

By Darragh McDonald | December 19, 2022 at 3:31pm CDT

Former major league pitcher Tom Browning has passed away, per an announcement from the Sheriff’s Office in Boone County, Kentucky. Browning was 62 years old.

The left-handed pitcher was drafted by the Reds in 1982 and wound up spending the vast majority of his career with that organization. He made his major league debut in 1984 and spent parts of 11 seasons with the club, sticking with Cincy through the 1994 campaign.

He was a mainstay of the rotation from 1985 through 1991. In each of those seven seasons, he made at least 31 starts and tossed at least 183 innings. In six out of the seven, he made at least 35 starts and logged at least 227 frames. His ERA was 4.18 or lower in all but one of those seven seasons.

Included in that stretch were a few notable highlights. Browning threw a perfect game against the Dodgers in 1988, just the 12th perfect game in history at that time, though the list has since grown to 23. Two years later, he made three postseason starts for the Reds, posting a 3.71 ERA and helping them win the 1990 World Series. He was selected to the All-Star team in the subsequent season as well.

He would appear in four more seasons but injuries limited him to just only about 250 combined innings over that stretch, which included two appearances for the Royals in 1995. Those would be his only MLB games not as a member of the Cincinnati Reds. He finished his career with 1,921 innings pitched over 302 MLB games. He has a 123-90 win-loss record, 31 complete games, 12 shutouts and exactly 1,000 strikeouts. He was an All-Star, won a World Series and is one of only 23 players in history to pitch a perfect game. MLBTR sends our condolences to his family, friends, loved ones, former teammates and all those mourning him today.

Reds Have Shown Interest In Johnny Cueto Reunion

By Steve Adams | December 15, 2022 at 10:30am CDT

The Reds have reached out to free-agent right-hander Johnny Cueto about a potential reunion for the 2023 season, tweets MLB.com’s Jon Morosi. Cueto was also linked to the Blue Jays earlier this week.

Cueto, 37 in February, enjoyed a resurgent 2022 season with the White Sox, making his highest number of starts (24) since 2017 and logging the most innings he’s thrown in a season (158 1/3) since 2016. Signed to a minor league deal just prior to Opening Day 2022, Cueto began the season ramping up in Triple-A and ultimately totaled 174 innings between that minor league tune-up and a successful run with the ChiSox that saw him log a 3.35 ERA.

Granted, Cueto’s 15.7% strikeout rate was one of the lowest in MLB, ranking 130th among the 140 pitchers who tossed at least 100 inning. However, Cueto’s 5.1% walk rate ranked 22nd in that same set of pitchers, and he was also comfortably in the top half of the league in terms of limiting hard contact; Statcast ranked his average exit velocity in the 69th percentile of MLB pitchers and his hard-hit rate in the 67th percentile. Despite pitching his home games at the hitter-friendly Guaranteed Rate Field, Cueto averaged just 0.85 homers per nine frames. It’s true that he posted better results and allowed fewer homers on the road (2.84 ERA, 0.59 HR/9) than at home (3.83 ERA, 1.09 HR/9), but Cueto was a generally effective pitcher in both settings.

That ability to limit home runs, if the Reds feel he can sustain it moving forward, ought to hold appeal to Cincinnati brass. Great American Ball Park, the Reds’ home stadium, has been far and away the most homer-friendly stadium in all of MLB over the past three seasons, per Statcast’s park factors, producing long balls at 50% greater than a league-average rate. Guaranteed Rate Field, Cueto’s aforementioned home environs as a member of the White Sox, ranks a distant second.

Whether Cueto or another veteran innings eater, the Reds could quite clearly use some stability in a rotation that’ll be composed entirely of unproven MLB starters. Prospects Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo and Graham Ashcraft all made their big league debuts in 2022 and appear ticketed for rotation jobs in 2023, and all three held their own.

Greene, a former No. 2 overall draft pick and one of the game’s consensus top prospects heading into the season, logged a 4.44 ERA in 125 2/3 frames while fanning 30.9% of opponents against a 9% walk rate. Home runs were an issue (1.72 HR/9), but he’s a clearly exciting arm around which to build. Similar things can be said about Lodolo, another top-tier prospect who tossed 103 1/3 innings of 3.66 ERA ball with a 29.7% strikeout rate and 8.8% walk rate. He missed nearly three months with a back injury but was impressive when healthy. Ashcraft didn’t carry the same fanfare on national prospect rankings but was regarded as one of the organization’s better arms and managed 105 innings of 4.89 ERA ball, relying more heavily on plus ground-ball (54.5%) and walk (6.5%) rates than on missing bats (15.3% strikeout rate).

Beyond that solid young trio, options are sparse. Longtime Yankees reliever Luis Cessa appears ticketed for a starting gig with the Reds, who acquired him at the 2021 trade deadline. Cessa moved from the bullpen to the rotation late in 2022 and pitched to a 3.77 ERA with a 18.8% strikeout rate, 7.5% walk rate, 43% grounder rate and 1.67 HR/9 in 43 innings in that role.

Looking further down the list, righties Justin Dunn and Connor Overton are potential rotation options, while prospects Brandon Williamson and Levi Stoudt could get a look in next year’s rotation. Each of Dunn, Williamson and Stoudt were acquired in trades with the Mariners — the former two in exchange for Eugenio Suarez and Jesse Winker, the latter as part of the Luis Castillo swap. Dunn missed most of 2022 with a shoulder injury and posted a 6.10 ERA when healthy, however, while Williamson walked 13.9% of his opponents and pitched to a 4.11 ERA between Double-A and Triple-A. Stoudt only reached Triple-A for his final 19 innings but posted a combined 4.70 ERA in 111 minor league frames.

The Reds currently project for a payroll of just $73MM, with much of that money earmarked for veterans Joey Votto and Mike Moustakas in the final seasons of their respective multi-year contracts. There ought to be ample space to add a veteran in the Cueto mold, but Cincinnati hasn’t spent more than $7.5MM on any free agent since signing Nick Castellanos in Jan. 2020 and it remains to be seen just how much they’ll be willing to commit to free agents this winter. Thus far, catcher Luke Maile’s $1.175MM deal is the Reds’ lone free-agent addition.

Reds Acquire Jake Wong From Giants

By Anthony Franco | December 13, 2022 at 6:50pm CDT

The Reds announced they’ve acquired minor league pitcher Jake Wong from the Giants. The deal completes a swap the teams orchestrated in the hours after the Rule 5 draft, when Cincinnati sent outfielder Blake Sabol to San Francisco.

Wong was a third-round pick of San Francisco out of Grand Canyon in 2018. His progression up the minor league ladder was delayed after the 2019 season, as the canceled minor league season wiped out his 2020. The Arizona native spent the following year on the minor league injured list, returning in 2022. He played this year at High-A Eugene, starting 17 of 25 appearances. In 97 2/3 innings, the righty pitched to a 4.52 ERA with a solid 25.3% strikeout rate and a slightly elevated 10.3% walk percentage.

Now 26 years old, Wong has still yet to reach the high minors. Given that lack of upper level experience, it’s not surprising he was left unprotected for and went unselected in this month’s Rule 5 draft. The Reds liked him enough to take a shot on him now that they need not dedicate him an active or 40-man roster spot. He’ll presumably start next year in Double-A or Triple-A and add some rotation depth to the organization.

Sabol has a much better chance of breaking camp in the big leagues. Cincinnati nabbed him out of the Pirates organization with the fourth pick in the Rule 5 draft. They presumably had worked out an understanding with the Giants — who didn’t select until 16th — that they’d flip him to San Francisco before making the pick, since the selections themselves cannot be traded. San Francisco will have to carry Sabol on the MLB roster or injured list all season or place him on waivers and, if he goes unclaimed, offer him back to Pittsburgh without requiring a 40-man spot.

Reds Looking To Trade Shortstop Prospects For Outfield Prospects

By Mark Polishuk | December 11, 2022 at 10:21pm CDT

Reds general manager Nick Krall has said that his team has at least looked into some trades that would involve the Reds and another club swapping young, controllable players. Providing further detail to Krall’s comments, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal hears from a rival executive that Cincinnati is looking to acquire a young outfielder in exchange for a younger shortstop prospect, and that the Reds “are aggressively pursuing” such deals.

Over the last year, the Reds turned into rebuild mode by trading multiple veteran players (i.e. Luis Castillo, Eugenio Suarez, Jesse Winker, Tyler Mahle, Wade Miley) in order to reduce payroll and restock the system with minor league talent. On paper, the early steps of this plan have worked quite nicely — back in August, Baseball America placed the Reds fifth in their rankings of each organization’s minor league talent depth. Both BA and MLB Pipeline have five Cincinnati prospects listed in their current top-100 rankings, with shortstop Elly De La Cruz sitting at the top of the pile. Pipeline has De La Cruz as the 14th-best prospect in the sport, with Baseball America placing De La Cruz 20th.

With De La Cruz as the crown jewel, the Reds already had a good amount of infield prospect depth even before their moves at this past summer’s trade deadline. Cincy landed Noelvi Marte and Edwin Arroyo from the Mariners in the Castillo trade, and Spencer Steer and Christian Encarnacion-Strand were then acquired from the Twins as part of the Mahle deal. Marte and Arroyo both sit firmly within the top 100 rankings (Pipeline has Marte 17th, not far behind De La Cruz), while Steer already made his MLB last season and is likely headed for more regular playing time in 2023.

Steer is more of a second baseman or third baseman than a shortstop, and Encarnacion-Strand is more firmly a corner infielder. It also remains to be seen if Marte will necessarily remain at shortstop, or if De La Cruz might even be moved to a outfield role — as Rosenthal notes, the Reds have been experimenting with several of their young infielders at various positions around the diamond and on the grass to try and find playing time for everyone.

That said, while some of these prospects may eventually wind up in the outfield in the future, the Reds seem interested in simplifying the matter and dealing from their infield surplus to find some true outfielders. Adding to the intrigue is that many of Cincinnati’s prospects are knocking on the door for their MLB debuts, as De La Cruz, Encarnacion-Strand, and 2021 first-rounder Matt McLain could all get their first cup of coffee in the Show in 2023.

With high-caliber prospects to offer, the Reds can explore plenty of possible trade options around the league. In regards to their focus on outfielders, the Diamondbacks seem like a logical trade partner, and Cincinnati is naturally one of the many clubs interested in the group of Daulton Varsho, Jake McCarthy, Alek Thomas, Pavin Smith, and Dominic Fletcher. All of these players except Fletcher have already debuted in the majors, and since the D’Backs are prioritizing players who can help them immediately, Arizona might prefer a more established player rather than another up-and-comer from Cincy’s farm system.

It is probably safe to assume that whatever trades the Reds consider, their blue chip prospects are less likely to be on the move, and a burgeoning star like De La Cruz is virtually untouchable. A month away from his 21st birthday, De La Cruz has quickly gone from being an anonymous international signing to one of baseball’s top prospects over the last two seasons, and even a possible five-tool talent. Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer recently spoke with minor league players, coaches, broadcasters and scouts about De La Cruz, and the shortstop garnered rave reviews across the board. According to one AL scout, “He’s the most athletic player I’ve ever seen. I could throw out some legendary names of athletes, but I’d rather not because I don’t want to put extra pressure on a kid. But I’ve never seen anybody even close with his athleticism to be quite honest.”

Quick Hits: Kiermaier, Dodgers, Red Sox, Marlins, Bellinger, Bell, Rays, Diaz, Reds

By Mark Polishuk | December 10, 2022 at 9:08pm CDT

Kevin Kiermaier is off the market after agreeing to a deal with the Blue Jays earlier today, and the former Gold Glover was drawing interest elsewhere on the market. The Dodgers “were in the running down to the end” on Kiermaier, according to Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link), as Kiermaier was presumably being eyed as the left-handed hitting, center field replacement for Cody Bellinger. Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman is no stranger to Kiermaier, as Friedman was the Rays’ general manager when Kiermaier began his career in Tampa Bay.

Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom is also a former member of Tampa’s front office, but Kiermaier and the Sox had only “periphery discussions” about a possible contract, MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo tweets. Adding Kiermaier would’ve helped the Sox address their needs in the outfield, but the newly-signed Masataka Yoshida is Boston’s biggest swing in the outfield market to date. For now, the first-choice Red Sox starting outfield looks like Yoshida in left field, Enrique Hernandez in center, and Alex Verdugo in right.

Reds Sign Silvino Bracho To Minor League Deal

By Anthony Franco | December 8, 2022 at 5:45pm CDT

The Reds announced this evening they’ve inked reliever Silvino Bracho to a minor league contract with an invitation to big league Spring Training. The 30-year-old was available after being non-tendered by the Braves.

Bracho has appeared in parts of six big league campaigns. He debuted back in 2015, when he allowed only two runs with a 17:4 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 12 2/3 innings for the Diamondbacks. Bracho couldn’t sustain that early success over a full season, with home run issues leading to an ERA north of 5.00 in each of the next two years. He rebounded to post a 3.19 ERA with a solid 26.4% strikeout rate across 31 innings in 2018, but his career was then thrown off track by injury. He required Tommy John surgery that limited him to one combined appearance between 2019-20, leading the Snakes to cut him loose.

The Venezuela native didn’t appear in the majors in 2021, but he earned his way back briefly this year. Signed to a minor league deal with the Red Sox over the offseason, he tossed 31 1/3 frames of 3.16 ERA ball in Triple-A. Boston promoted him to the majors but designated him for assignment without getting him into a game. He was dealt to the Braves for cash and spent most of the season with their top affiliate in Gwinnett, but he made three MLB appearances with Atlanta. Bracho allowed three runs in 4 1/3 innings in what marked his most extensive major league action since 2018.

Despite the lack of recent big league work, Bracho makes for a decent depth signee. He’s coming off an excellent 2.67 ERA across 57 1/3 innings between the Red Sox’s and Braves’ top affiliates. Bracho punched out an excellent 30.4% of batters faced in Triple-A with only a 4.3% walk percentage.

Cincinnati has a fair bit of opportunity available in the middle innings. The Reds finished 28th in the majors with a 4.72 bullpen ERA in 2022. Alexis Díaz, Lucas Sims, Tejay Antone and Buck Farmer look to have jobs secured. The middle relief corps is less settled, with out-of-options Ian Gibaut competing with pitchers like Tony Santillan, Fernando Cruz and Joel Kuhnel for roles.

D-Backs’ Outfielders Drawing Widespread Trade Interest

By Anthony Franco | December 8, 2022 at 4:58pm CDT

The Diamondbacks have an interesting stockpile of upper level outfielders from which they’re largely expected to deal. General manager Mike Hazen and his staff have long signaled a willingness to field offers to upgrade other areas of the roster and they’re unsurprisingly drawing attention from a host of teams.

Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports roughly 10 clubs have been in touch with Hazen and company regarding at least one of the team’s outfielders. Piecoro lists the Yankees, Brewers, Blue Jays, A’s, Marlins, White Sox and Reds as clubs with interest, while both Piecoro and Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle report the Astros are in the mix.

Arizona has a number of players that could draw interest, and it stands to reason different teams have varied preferences on the group. Corbin Carroll is arguably the top prospect in baseball, and both Piecoro and Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic have suggested recently he’s off the table in trade discussions. Carroll’s presence gives the Snakes a potential franchise center fielder, though, freeing them up to listen to offers on their other outfielders.

Daulton Varsho is the most established of the group, and he’d be the toughest to pry from the desert. The 26-year-old got off to a slow start offensively in the majors, but he broke through in his third season. Varsho connected on 27 home runs with a .235/.302/.443 line across 592 plate appearances in 2022. That’s slightly better than average production at the plate, and he offers immense value in other areas. Varsho stole 16 bases (albeit with six failed attempts as well), and he has emerged as one of the game’s best defensive outfielders.

Also an intermittent catcher at times in his career, he’s acclimated to outfield work incredibly well. Varsho’s an above-average runner, and Statcast credits him with elite reads off the bat. By its Outs Above Average metric, Varsho made an estimated 18 more plays than expected in his 920 1/3 innings between center and right field this year. Defensive Runs Saved pegged him a combined 19 runs above par, with both metrics grading him highly in both center and the corner outfield. Varsho doesn’t have a great throwing arm — part of the reason he’s increasingly moved off catcher in the first place — but he’s an athletic, rangy defender who can cover anywhere in the outfield and occasionally factor in at catcher if needed.

Varsho qualified for early arbitration as a Super Two player this winter. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects him for an affordable $2.8MM salary, and he comes with four remaining seasons of club control. Between the all-around production and affordable window of control, the trade appeal with Varsho is immense.

That’s not true to the same extent for the Snakes’ other outfielders, but there’s still a fair amount of appeal. Jake McCarthy is a former supplemental first-round draftee, but most prospect evaluators believed he’d be better suited for fourth outfield duty. While that may wind up being the case, the 25-year-old outperformed that projection in 354 plate appearances this past season. McCarthy hit .283/.342/.427 with eight home runs and stole 23 bases on just 26 tries. His average exit velocity and hard contact percentage are a bit below-average, and the offensive profile was propped up by a .349 batting average on balls in play. The Virginia product is an excellent baserunner who’s athletic enough to cover all three outfield spots, though, and he generally has a solid offensive track record in the minors. McCarthy still hasn’t reached a full year of service time and is controllable through 2028.

Alek Thomas offers a similar profile but is a different story, in that he’s been a top prospect who has yet to find much MLB success. The sport’s #32 prospect heading into 2022 according to Baseball America, Thomas debuted in May. He spent most of the year as their primary center fielder but struggled, hitting .231/.275/.344 through 411 plate appearances. He didn’t draw many walks or drive the ball with much authority, and the tough line led to a demotion back to Triple-A at the end of the season. Thomas won’t turn 23 until next April and is a career .313/.389/.499 hitter in the minor leagues, though. He’s regarded as a potential plus defensive center fielder with strong contact skills. Like McCarthy, he has yet to reach even one year of MLB service.

The trio of Varsho, McCarthy and Thomas is certain to draw the most trade interest, but Arizona also has Pavin Smith and Dominic Fletcher as depth options on the 40-man roster. Smith hasn’t done much at the MLB level but is a former top ten pick. Fletcher is a .296/.358/.467 hitter in the minors and was added to the 40-man at the end of the season to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. A trade involving either player wouldn’t be as significant as a move involving their top trio, but it’s possible the Snakes find some interest in both.

The extended windows of club control for each of McCarthy, Varsho and Thomas could make them of interest to teams at varying levels of the competitive cycle. That’s highlighted in the wide array of clubs that have checked in with Arizona. Milwaukee, Houston, Toronto, the White Sox and the Yankees are all win-now teams known to be looking for ways to plug a gap in center and/or a corner outfield spot. Houston is known to be in search of a left-handed bat, in particular.

Miami is behind that quintet from a competitive perspective. Still, the Fish are hoping to improve their offense to take a step forward in 2023, likely by subtracting from their enviable rotation depth. The Marlins are without an obvious center fielder on their MLB roster at present, with players like Jesús Sánchez, Bryan De La Cruz and JJ Bleday stretched there defensively. Miami and the D-Backs have linked up on a swap of young players before with the Jazz Chisholm/Zac Gallen deal, although that was orchestrated by the previous Marlins front office.

Oakland and Cincinnati are firmly amidst rebuilds, making them somewhat surprising fits at first glance. Yet the opportunity to acquire a pre-arbitration key piece at least opens the door for teams that are more traditionally “sellers” to gauge the market. A’s GM David Forst told reporters this week that acquiring players at or near the majors is “at the top of our to-do list” (via Melissa Lockard of the Athletic). Reds GM Nick Krall similarly indicated at the GM Meetings the team was considering trade possibilities involving prospects or “lower cost, more controllable players in the big leagues” (link via Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer).

There are a number of ways the discussions could go, but it seems clear Arizona would want MLB-ready talent in return. Hazen flatly rejected the notion of trading any of their outfielders solely for prospects last month, and Piecoro writes they could look for infield or catching help in discussions — with particular emphasis on adding some right-handed punch to the lineup.

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