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Jackson Stephens Elects Free Agency

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March 27: Stephens rejected the outright assignment in favor of free agency, tweets Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

March 26: The Braves have sent right-hander Jackson Stephens outright to Triple-A Gwinnett, with Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution among those to relay the news. Both Toscano and Mark Bowman of MLB.com suggest that the opened roster spot will go to right-hander Jesse Chavez.

Stephens, 30 in May, has been on and off Atlanta’s roster over the past two years. Since he’s out of options, he can’t be easily sent down to the minors, which has resulted in him being frequently getting bumped off the roster but always coming back.

He was signed by Atlanta to a minor league deal prior to the 2022 season and had his contract selected that year. He was non-tendered after that campaign but was re-signed in December, only to be outrighted in March. He had his contract selected in September of last year but was outrighted again in November. He signed another major league deal a week later and has lasted on the club’s roster until now.

Amid all of those transactions, he has tossed 65 2/3 innings for Atlanta over the past two years with a 3.56 earned run average. His 20.2% strikeout rate and 9.8% walk rate are both a bit worse than league average, but he has kept 45.4% of batted balls on the ground while also doing a good job of limiting hard contact and missing barrels. In 2022, when he pitched a far larger sample of innings compared to last year, he was in at least the 82nd percentile in terms of average exit velocity, hard hit rate and barrel rate.

Despite that generally solid performance, he continues to pass through waivers unclaimed. A player with a previous career outright has the right to reject another outright assignment and elect free agency, though it seems Stephens is comfortable with Atlanta and might either accept his assignment or quickly re-sign a new deal of some kind.

The club doesn’t need 40-man roster spots, as they are now down to just 36 guys in that department, but they do need an active roster spot if they want to add Chavez. The only guy in their projected bullpen who can be optioned is Dylan Lee, but it seems Atlanta preferred to keep him up with the big league club and remove Stephens from the 40-man. Lee has a 2.95 ERA in his career and keeping him in the majors gives them an even four-four split of righties and lefties.

Chavez, 40, has bounced around the league in recent years but always seems to end up back in Atlanta. Last year, he made 36 appearances for the club with a 1.56 ERA, 27.1% strikeout rate, 8.3% walk rate and 51.7% ground ball rate. He signed a minor league deal with the White Sox but posted an 11.57 ERA in a small sample of seven innings. He didn’t make that club’s Opening Day roster and was released, either because he triggered an opt-out or because the club proactively let him loose to pursue other opportunities.

That led to him returning to Atlanta on a minor league deal yesterday and he now seems poised to be on the club’s Opening Day roster.

Braves Sign Jesse Chavez To Minor League Deal

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Jesse Chavez is headed back to the Braves. Again. Atlanta announced this morning that the veteran right-hander has been signed to a minor league contract. He’ll head to big league camp for the final few days of spring training. Chavez spent the majority of spring training with the White Sox but was cut loose over the weekend. The Apex Baseball client will now head back to the Braves organization for what’ll be a fourth straight season (and a fifth overall).

Chavez, 40, has been excellent with the Braves in each of the past three seasons but struggled through shorter stints with the Angels and Cubs. Even accounting for rough showings in Anaheim and Chicago, however, he’s notched a tidy 2.81 earned run average in 137 2/3 innings over the past three seasons. Along the way, he’s fanned 26.2% of his opponents, issued walks at a strong 7.6% clip and kept the ball on the ground at a roughly average 42.3% clip (including a 51.7% mark last year). Metrics like FIP (2.97) and SIERA (3.33) generally agree that Chavez has been a highly effective reliever — one who’s often worked in multi-inning roles.

It was a rough spring for Chavez with the ChiSox. He tossed seven official innings and was tagged for ten runs (nine earned) on a dozen hits and two walks with eight strikeouts. That comes out to an 11.57 ERA, albeit in a tiny sample of work. Chavez also posted quality strikeout, walk and ground-ball rates (22.2%, 5.6%, 56%, respectively) and only allowed one homer while serving up a .458 BABIP, so take the spring ERA — as always — with a grain of salt.

The Atlanta bullpen is quite full at the moment, with only one reliever — left-hander Dylan Lee — who can even be optioned to Triple-A. The Braves are set to roll out a heavily veteran ’pen including Raisel Iglesias, A.J. Minter, Joe Jimenez, Pierce Johnson, Tyler Matzek and Aaron Bummer. Right-hander Jackson Stephens is out of minor league options and thus stands as a favorite to win the final bullpen spot.

That could ticket Chavez for early-season work in Triple-A Gwinnett, where he’d presumably be one of the first men up in the event of an injury. It’s at least possible he’ll overtake Stephens for that final bullpen spot, as Stephens has a limited big league track record and has walked seven hitters in 7 1/3 frames this spring.

White Sox Release Jesse Chavez

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The White Sox announced that veteran reliever Jesse Chavez has been released.  Chavez inked a minor league deal last month, but as per his status as an XX(B) free agent, the White Sox had until yesterday to add Chavez to the Opening Day roster or else the right-hander could opt out.

Kevin Pillar and Mike Moustakas were in similar situations prior to being released yesterday, and as with Chavez, it isn’t clear if any of these players actually triggered their opt-outs or if the White Sox simply released them since none were slated for the 26-man roster.  The result is effectively the same, as Chavez now re-enters the free agent market as he looks to extend his career into a 17th Major League season.

Chavez is still pitching well beyond his 40th birthday, as he posted a 1.56 ERA over 34 2/3 innings with the Braves in 2023.  The righty’s 51.7% grounder rate combined with some good batted-ball luck (.273 BABIP) to help deliver that outstanding ERA, yet Chavez’s 27.1% strikeout rate and 33.3% hard-hit ball rate were also above average.  It wasn’t all positive for Chavez, however, as he spent over three months on the injured list after he was hit in the leg with a comebacker.

Chavez said in an interview last month that 2024 is “probably” going to be his last season as a player, as he will then look to stay in the game in a coaching capacity.  Given how well Chavez has pitched in each of the last three seasons, it seems almost a lock that another team will sign him to another minor league deal, and another return to the Braves would certainly seem like a possibility.  Chavez has already had four separate stints with Atlanta, including three in the last three years alone and a World Series ring as part of the Braves’ 2021 championship team.

31 Veterans With Opt-Out Opportunities Looming This Week

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One of the provisions in that 2022-26 collective bargaining agreement is uniform opt-out opportunities for Article XX(B) free agents on minor league deals. An Article XX(B) free agent is one with at least six years of service time who finished the previous season on a major league roster or injured list. Any such player who signs a minor league deal more than ten days prior to Opening Day can opt out of that deal at three points if they haven’t been added to the 40-man roster: five days before Opening Day, May 1 and June 1.

The first uniform opt-out date on this year’s calendar falls Friday at 1pm CT. Any player can trigger his out clause at that point, and the team will subsequently be given a 48-hour window to either add him to the roster or release him. With many clubs around the league dealing with spring injuries, some of these players should be able to find opportunities elsewhere if they can’t find it with their current organization. Their current clubs can prevent them from opting out by giving them a roster spot, but that may involve cutting someone else.

Angels: OF Jake Marisnick, LHP Drew Pomeranz

Marisnick, 33 this month, is a right-handed-hitting fourth outfielder with a plus glove and questionable bat. He can hold his own against right-handed pitching (career .237/.293/.417, 93 wRC+) but is typically overmatched by righties (.223/.274/.365, 74 wRC+). He’s having a huge spring, but the Angels already have Taylor Ward, Mike Trout, Mickey Moniak, Aaron Hicks and Jo Adell on the 40-man roster.

The 35-year-old Pomeranz was a good starter from 2016-17 and a dominant reliever from 2019-21, but he didn’t pitch in 2022-23 due to arm injuries. He’s pitched 6 2/3 innings with the Angels this spring with middling results.

Blue Jays: 3B/2B Eduardo Escobar, 1B Joey Votto

A poor season between the Mets and Angels last year set the stage for the 35-year-old Escobar to take a minor league deal. He’s long been a productive MLB hitter and even topped 30 homers back in 2019, but Escobar’s now in his mid-30s and struggling through an ugly spring while trying to win a spot in a crowded infield mix also featuring Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Santiago Espinal, Cavan Biggio, Ernie Clement and Davis Schneider.

Votto, 40, has been connected the Blue Jays seemingly forever due to his Canadian roots. He finally suited up for the Jays after agreeing to a minor league deal and homered in his first at-bat of camp. He’s had a lackluster showing at the plate in each of the past two MLB seasons, however.

Cubs: 1B/OF Garrett Cooper, RHP Carl Edwards Jr., OF David Peralta

An underrated hitter for years in Miami, Cooper slashed .274/.350/.444 in nearly 1300 plate appearances from 2019-22 before a poorly timed down showing in 2023’s walk year. He’s hitting quite well in spring training, and the Cubs don’t have a proven option at first base — though they’re understandably high on 26-year-old trade acquisition Michael Busch.

Edwards had a nice 2022 season with the Nats and posted a solid ERA in 2023 but did so with dismal K-BB numbers. He’s competing for a spot in an uncharacteristically crowded Cubs bullpen and could be squeezed out. The 32-year-old pitched for the Cubs from 2015-19, so Chicago brass knows him well. From 2022-23 in D.C., he posted a 3.07 ERA but a middling 20% strikeout rate against a 10.5% walk rate.

Peralta, 36, has a trio of hits and a walk in ten plate appearances this spring. He was an above-average hitter with the D-backs every season from 2017-20 but has been less consistent of late. He’s a left-handed hitter who’s long had glaring platoon splits and is limited to the outfield corners.

Diamondbacks: SS Elvis Andrus

Andrus is 35 but can still pick it at shortstop or second base. His once above-average speed has faded to the 30th percentile of MLB players, per Statcast, but his range at short remains excellent. Andrus hit .251/.304/.358 (81 wRC+) for the White Sox in 2023 and only has one year of above-average offense (2022) in the past six seasons.

Guardians: RHP Carlos Carrasco

Old friend Cookie Carrasco is fighting for the fifth spot in the Guardians’ rotation, and news of Gavin Williams’ season-opening stint on the injured list could further open the door for the 36-year-old (37 on Thursday) to make the team. Carrasco was torched for a 6.80 ERA with the 2023 Mets. He allowed 1.80 homers per nine frames through 90 innings, with alarming batted-ball metrics (91.5 mph average exit velocity, 48.2% hard-hit rate, 10.7% barrel rate). He was a solid mid-rotation arm as recently as 2022, when he tossed 152 innings of 3.97 ERA ball with sharp strikeout and walk rates.

Marlins: C Curt Casali

The veteran Casali has batted .201/.311/.315 over the past three big league seasons — a 78 wRC+ in 503 plate appearances. The 35-year-old is off to a rough start in camp and is a long shot to unseat defensive-minded Nick Fortes or Christian Bethancourt, both of whom are already on the 40-man roster.

Mets: 1B/DH Ji Man Choi

From 2017-22, Choi hit .254/.363/.465 (130 wRC+) against right-handed pitching. He walked at a 14.4% clip when holding the platoon advantage and fanned at a higher-than-average but still-manageable 24.1% rate. Lefties have always had Choi’s number, however, and his overall production cratered in 2023 while he dealt with Achilles and ribcage injuries. He’s fighting for a bench spot in New York alongside DJ Stewart and others.

Nationals: RHP Matt Barnes, OF Eddie Rosario, OF Jesse Winker

Barnes was an All-Star closer with the Red Sox in 2021 and briefly one of the game’s most dominant relievers, fanning more than 40% of his opponents for the bulk of that season. He wore down beginning in August and hasn’t been the same since a hip injury. Barnes’ velocity and strikeouts were way down in 2023 before he underwent season-ending surgery. He should have a good chance to win a spot in a Nationals bullpen that has little established talent.

Rosario and Winker are both left-handed-hitting outfielders who are best deployed in left field — with Winker having a particularly shaky defensive reputation. Winker is the younger of the two at 30 years old (to Rosario’s 32). Winker was quietly one of the most productive hitters in baseball against right-handed pitching for much of his time in Cincinnati, but knee and neck surgery in October 2022 look to have taken their toll on him. Rosario was the far more productive hitter in 2023. There may not be room for both veterans on the Washington roster. Winker has been in camp longer and been more productive in their small samples.

Orioles: 2B Kolten Wong

The Orioles seem to bring in a veteran infielder coming off a down season almost every year. It’s Wong’s turn in 2023. The 33-year-old was one of the game’s worst hitters in ’23, slashing just .183/.256/.263 in 250 plate appearances between the Mariners and Dodgers. That was beyond out of character for Wong, who’d been an average or better hitter in five of the past six seasons. If the O’s don’t want to rush Jackson Holliday or Coby Mayo, Wong could win a spot on the roster — but he hasn’t hit that well in camp so far.

Pirates: RHP Chase Anderson

It’s been five years since Anderson’s last solid season in a big league rotation, but the well-liked veteran continues to get work each season. From 2020-23, he’s pitched to a 6.19 ERA in 192 MLB frames — including a 5.42 mark in 86 1/3 innings last year (mostly with the Rockies). Anderson doesn’t miss many bats, but he has good command and is having a nice spring with the Pirates. He’s competing with Luis Ortiz, Jared Jones, Roansy Contreras, Domingo German and others for one of two generally open rotation spots in Pittsburgh.

Rangers: INF Matt Duffy, RHP Shane Greene, RHP Jose Urena

A contact-oriented hitter who can play all over the infield, the 33-year-old Duffy faces an uphill battle with Josh Smith, Ezequiel Duran and Justin Foscue all on the 40-man roster ahead of him. Nathaniel Lowe will open the season on the injured list, but that’ll likely work to Jared Walsh’s benefit more than Duffy.

Greene, 35, is a former All-Star closer/setup man who peaked with the Tigers and Braves from 2017-20. He’s thrown just three innings in each of the past two MLB seasons but also turned in strong numbers with the Cubs in Triple-A last year.

The 32-year-old Urena made five dismal starts for the Rockies early in the 2023 season and five solid ones for the White Sox late in the season. He also pitched well for Chicago’s Triple-A affiliate. A solid arm for the Marlins in 2017-18, Urena has a 5.50 ERA in 350 1/3 MLB frames dating back to 2019. He’s had a nice spring and could be a depth piece for an injury-plagued Rangers rotation.

Rays: RHP Jake Odorizzi

Odorizzi signed last week and will look to get back on track after a shoulder injury cost him the 2023 season. With the exception of an injury-wrecked 2020 season, he’s been a dependable five-inning starter dating back to 2014 (3.98 ERA in 1216 innings). The Rays’ pitching staff is dealing with plenty of injuries, and Odorizzi should be an option for the Rays early in the season.

Red Sox: 1B C.J. Cron, RHP Michael Fulmer, C Roberto Perez, LHP Joely Rodriguez

Cron has four seasons of 25-plus homers under his belt and was consistently an above-average hitter from 2014-22. Injuries tanked his 2023 season, but he has a strong track record of hitting for power — with largely even platoon splits. He’d make a nice right-handed complement to Triston Casas and/or Masataka Yoshida at first base and designated hitter, providing some insurance against an injury to either.

Perez is an all-glove backup who’s never hit much outside the juiced ball season in 2019, when he popped 24 of his 55 career homers. The Sox figure to go with Reese McGuire and Connor Wong behind the plate, making him a long shot to land a roster spot.

Rodriguez signed a big league deal with the Red Sox prior to the 2023 season but only pitched 11 innings due to injury. He’s having a decent spring training — two runs on nine hits and three walks with nine strikeouts in seven innings — and has a good chance to win a spot in a patchwork Red Sox bullpen. If not, his ability to miss bats and pile up grounders would likely draw interest elsewhere.

Fulmer won’t pitch in 2024 after undergoing surgery last summer. His minor league deal is a two-year contract that stretches into 2025. The two sides knew this going into the arrangement and there’s no reason to expect he’ll opt out.

Royals: RHP Tyler Duffey

Duffey was a mainstay in the division-rival Twins’ bullpen and was a high-end setup option at his peak in 2019-21, posting a 2.89 ERA across 144 frames while fanning 29.8% of his opponents. His results slipped in 2022 as he lost some life on his fastball, and he pitched just two MLB frames with the Cubs in 2023. Duffey recently had a procedure to remove a cancerous mole from his shoulder that understandably halted his baseball activity for a bit. He’s hopeful he’ll pitch again this spring, and while the larger takeaway is relief that the melanoma was discovered and quickly treated, his track record could also give him a shot to crack the Royals’ bullpen early in the season.

White Sox: RHP Jesse Chavez, RHP Brad Keller, RHP Dominic Leone, 3B/1B Mike Moustakas, OF Kevin Pillar, RHP Bryan Shaw

Chavez, 40, has been excellent with the Braves in each of the past three seasons but struggled in stints with the Cubs and Angels. He’s having a tough spring with the White Sox but carries a 2.81 ERA in his past 137 2/3 MLB frames, spanning the 2021-23 seasons.

Keller has spent his entire big league career with the Royals but saw his time in Kansas City come to a rough ending. After a three-year run as a solid starter, Keller struggled in three subsequent seasons, culminating in an IL stint for symptoms indicative of thoracic outlet syndrome. He hasn’t pitched in an official spring game for the White Sox.

Leone struggled late in the 2023 season but has a cumulative 3.38 ERA in 157 innings over the past three seasons. He’s having a solid spring training, has late-inning experience, and seems like a decent bet to win a spot in a White Sox bullpen that’s been completely torn down since last summer.

Moustakas has turned in three straight below-average seasons at the plate and is struggling again with the White Sox in camp (.167/.268/.278 in 41 plate appearances). The Sox have Yoan Moncada and Andrew Vaughn at the corners, plus Gavin Sheets as a lefty-swinging first base option (and corner outfielder) off the bench. Moose seems like a long shot to make the club.

Pillar would give the Sox a right-handed complement to lefty-hitting corner outfielders Andrew Benintendi and Dominic Fletcher. He’s 35 and no longer the plus-plus defensive center fielder he once was but could give them some insurance for Luis Robert Jr. in center as well. He hit .228/.248/.416 with nine homers in 206 plate appearances for the Braves last year.

Shaw pitched 45 2/3 innings for the Sox last year and delivered a respectable 4.14 ERA in that time. His production has tailed off substantially since his days as a consistent setup presence in the Cleveland bullpen — evidenced by a 5.07 ERA over his past six seasons. He’s been tagged for a dozen earned runs in 7 1/3 spring frames but does have 10 strikeouts.

White Sox Sign Jesse Chavez, Danny Mendick To Minor League Deals

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The White Sox released a list of non-roster invitees to big league Spring Training, which included many names on previously-reported deals as well as Danny Mendick. The infielder is a client of CAA Sports. Right-hander Jesse Chavez has also signed a minor league deal and been added to that NRI list, per Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times. The righty is repped by Apex Baseball.

Chavez, 40, has appeared in 16 different MLB seasons and will be looking to add a 17th here in 2024. He has continued to be very effective as he has aged, posting a 1.56 earned run average with Atlanta last year. That surely makes him look more dominant than he actually was, as his .273 batting average on balls in play and 81.2% strand rate were both on the lucky side. But his 27.1% strikeout rate, 8.3% walk rate, 51.7% ground ball rate, 3.05 FIP and 3.35 SIERA all suggest he was still quite an effective pitcher.

The righty recently stated that he will “probably” retire after the upcoming campaign. Much of his recent success has come with Atlanta, but it’s possible he viewed Chicago as a greater chance to carve out a sizeable role this year. There are many talented arms in the Atlanta bullpen whereas the White Sox have subtracted many of their best relievers.

Gregory Santos, Kendall Graveman, Reynaldo López, Aaron Bummer, Keynan Middleton and Joe Kelly have all been traded since last summer. Liam Hendriks had his 2024 option declined as he’s recovering from Tommy John surgery. The club is reportedly planning to stretch out Garrett Crochet as a starter to see how that goes. The Sox have added Tim Hill and John Brebbia via free agency, while Rule 5 pick Shane Drohan could earn a spot, but there should be plenty of room for a veteran like Chavez.

Mendick, 30, was drafted by the White Sox and appeared in the big leagues with them in the 2019-2022 seasons. In the first three years of that stretch, he hit just .239/.298/.342. He got out to a great start in 2022, hitting .289/.343/.443 through his first 31 games. Unfortunately, he suffered a torn ACL in June and missed the rest of the year.

He was non-tendered at the end of that season and signed with the Mets for 2023. He was frequently optioned to the minors and hit just .185/.232/.277 when in the big leagues last year. But his .282/.369/.424 line in his Triple-A action was much more palatable. He was placed on waivers at the end of the year and passed through unclaimed before electing free agency.

He has played every position except catcher in his professional career and can give the Sox some depth all over. He’s played more middle infield than other spot and that happens to be a part of the club’s position player mix that is fairly unsettled. Paul DeJong is slated to be their everyday shortstop despite the fact that he’s been pretty awful at the plate in recent years. Nicky Lopez is also a glove-first infielder and he’s likely to be the regular at second base. At third, Yoán Moncada has had lengthy stints on the injured list in each of the last two years.

Given that uncertainty, the club may need to rely on some depth options, with José Rodríguez, Lenyn Sosa and Braden Shewmake already on the 40-man roster. If Mendick can get added at any point, he still has one option year remaining. He also has between three and four years of service time, meaning he could be retained beyond 2024 via arbitration if the team were interested in keeping him around.

Jesse Chavez “Probably” Going To Retire After 2024 Season

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Jesse Chavez has pitched in each of the last 16 MLB seasons, appearing in 607 games as a reliever, starter, and swingman with nine different teams.  Chavez is a free agent still looking to land his next contract, but in an interview on the “Loud Outs” show on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM, the 40-year-old revealed that he will likely be retiring after one more season.

“This is probably going to be it.  We all talked about me going out the way I came in — being able to roll out of bed and pick up a baseball and throw it,” Chavez said.  “And that’s how I feel still.  So I feel like that’s kind of unique in a way, where we don’t get that option too many times when we can go home healthy….Like every year, we’ll probably give it all we have, and go into coaching next season.”

Chavez has had his share of injuries over his long career, including an absence of over three months last season after he was hit in the leg by a comebacker.  That lengthy IL stint limited him to 34 1/3 innings and 36 appearances for the Braves, yet Chavez had an impact with a 1.56 ERA.  Even with a 3.35 SIERA that accounts for some strand rate (81.2%) and batted-ball (.273 BABIP) fortune, Chavez still had an above-average strikeout rate, solid hard-contact numbers, and a career-best 51.7% grounder rate.

It continued what has quietly been a bit of a renaissance for Chavez in the twilight of his career, as the right-hander has a 2.81 ERA over 137 2/3 innings since Opening Day 2021.  He struggled in brief stints with the Cubs and Angels in 2022, but has otherwise been excellent in a Braves uniform, including a 2.14 ERA in 33 2/3 innings for Atlanta’s World Series championship club in 2021.

Chavez has had to settle for minor league deals in each of the last three years, though in both 2022 and 2023, the Cubs and Braves quickly selected Chavez’s contract to the Major League roster right at the start of the season.  Considering how Chavez is coming off a significant injury, he might have to sign another minors deal again, though with perhaps an unofficial handshake agreement in place to immediately make him part of the Opening Day roster.

A reunion with the Braves can’t be ruled out, given that Atlanta has acquired and re-acquired Chavez four different times in the last three years.  Chavez and his 90.8mph fastball may not be an exact fit within the bullpen given how Atlanta has prioritized adding high-velocity arms this offseason, yet Chavez has still been able to get results, to say nothing off his off-the-field contributions as a clubhouse leader.  Perhaps already acting as something of a player/coach within the relief corps, it sets Chavez up well for his post-playing ambitions of a coaching career.

The Top Unsigned Right-Handed Relievers

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Pitchers and catchers will be reporting to Spring Training in about two weeks but a slow offseason means there are still plenty of free agents out there. Over the past week, MLBTR has already taken a look at the remaining catchers, first basemen, second basemen, third basemen, shortstops, center fielders, corner outfielders, designated hitters,  starting pitchers and left-handed relievers. We’ll now wrap things up with a look at the right-handed relievers.

  • Phil Maton: Acquired from Cleveland in the 2021 Myles Straw trade, Maton has quietly been very effective over the past two years. Since the start of 2022, he has made 135 appearances for the Astros with a 3.42 earned run average. His 26.5% strikeout rate in that time is a few ticks above league average while his 8.8% walk rate is right around par. He’s been excellent at limiting hard contact, as seen on his Statcast page. His 23.5% hard hit rate last year was actually the best in the majors among qualified pitchers, while his average exit velocity was in the top five. In 2022, he was in the top 10 in both those categories as well. He missed the 2022 postseason due to injury but made six scoreless appearances for the Astros in last year’s playoffs. He has received reported interest this offseason from teams like the Phillies, Yankees and Cardinals.
  • Ryne Stanek: Another former Astro, Stanek has made 186 appearances over the past three years with a 2.90 ERA. He has struck out 27% of batters faced but also given out walks at a 12.2% clip. That strikeout rate fell to 23.9% in 2023, but he also cut his walk rate to 9.9%, a career low for him. He has reportedly received interest from the Cubs, Red Sox and Mets this winter.
  • Ryan Brasier: The 2023 season was inconsistent for Brasier, a reflection of his career overall. After a stint in Japan, he returned to North America with the Red Sox in 2018, posting a 1.60 ERA. From there, his season-by-season ERA went to 4.85, 3.96, 1.50, 5.78 and then 3.02 in the most recent campaign. That 2023 ERA involved a 7.29 mark with the Red Sox and then a tiny 0.70 figure with the Dodgers. When combining his time with both of those clubs last year, his peripherals ended up pretty close to his career numbers. He struck out 23.5% of batters faced and gave out walks to 8% of them last year, near his career rates of 24.1% and 7.4%. Since he finished the year on such a strong note, he has received a fair amount of interest this winter, with clubs like the Cardinals, Dodgers, Angels, Cubs, Orioles, Rangers and Yankees connected to him at various points.
  • Jesse Chavez: Though he’s now 40 years old, Chavez doesn’t seem to be slowing down. He made 36 appearances for Atlanta last year with a 1.56 ERA. He surely had a bit of help from the baseball gods there, with a .273 batting average on balls in play and 81.2% strand rate, but the peripherals were still strong. He struck out 27.1% of batters faced, walked 8.3% and kept 51.7% of balls in play on the ground. His 3.05 FIP and 3.35 SIERA were much higher than his ERA but still represent solid work. He missed about three months of last season after being hit in the leg by a comebacker but was back on the mound before the end of the year.
  • Liam Hendriks: If Hendriks were healthy right now, he would be on the top of this list. He cemented himself as one of the best closers in baseball a few years ago and racked up 115 saves over the past five seasons. He has a 2.32 ERA since the start of 2019, having struck out 38.3% of batters faced while walking just 5.1% of them. Unfortunately, 2023 was an incredibly challenging year for the right-hander, as he first had to undergo treatment for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. After winning that battle and returning to the mound, he required Tommy John surgery in early August. Since the rehab for that procedure generally goes beyond one year, it’s questionable whether he will be able to pitch at all in the upcoming campaign, though he has said he’s targeting a return around the trade deadline. He can likely find a two-year deal somewhere, with the signing club understanding that they will have a better shot of getting return on their investment in 2025.

Honorable mentions: Jay Jackson, Brad Boxberger, Shintaro Fujinami, Derek Law, Mark Melancon, Matt Barnes

Braves Reinstate Jesse Chavez, Designate Lucas Luetge For Assignment

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The Braves announced that right-hander Jesse Chavez has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list, with left-hander Lucas Luetge designated for assignment in a corresponding move.

Chavez, who turned 40 while on the IL, has been out of action since mid-June after being hit by a comebacker on his left leg. The club announced at the time that X-rays did not reveal a fracture, but it nonetheless took him over three months to rejoin the team.

The veteran signed a minor league deal with Atlanta in the offseason and cracked the Opening Day roster. He made 31 appearances prior to his injury with an earned run average of 1.55 in that time. He was helped out a bit by an 85.4% strand rate but still had excellent peripherals with a 30.8% strikeout rate, 7.7% walk rate and 48.5% ground ball rate.  If he can get back into that form now that he’s healthy, he will strengthen the club’s bullpen just in time for the playoffs.

Luetge, 36, was acquired from the Yankees in an offseason trade and has bounced on and off the Atlanta roster this year. He was selected just yesterday and was entered into last night’s game with the club down 7-1 to the Phillies. He threw two scoreless innings to finish the contest and has now been quickly cut from the roster for a fresh arm, his third time being designated for assignment this year.

The lefty has more than three years of major league service time, which means he can reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency. But since he has less than five years of service, doing so would mean forfeiting the remainder of his $1.55MM salary. Twice already this year, he has cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment, which could perhaps come to pass again in the coming days. Around those transactions, he’s posted a 7.24 ERA in 13 2/3 innings at the big league level, along with an ERA of 3.91 in 23 Triple-A innings.

Braves Select Daysbel Hernandez

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The Braves announced a series of roster moves this morning as they selected right-hander Daysbel Hernandez to the active roster. In a corresponding move, right-hander Jesse Chavez was transferred to the 60-day injured list. Right-hander Allan Winans was optioned to Triple-A following last night’s game, so there was already space for Hernandez on the active roster.

Hernandez’s first appearance will be his big league debut. After playing in Cuba as a teenager, the right-hander began his affiliated career in 2018 as a reliever with a 4.50 ERA in 38 innings between Single-A and High-A with the Braves. He then returned to High-A in 2019 and dominated the level to the tune of a 1.71 ERA in 52 2/3 innings of work. In 2021, Hernandez reached the upper-minors with a strong performance at Double-A though he struggled badly in 9 2/3 innings at Triple-A to end the season, posting a 7.45 ERA. He missed the entire 2022 campaign due to injury but returned earlier this season and has posted 16 2/3 scoreless innings between the Double-A and Triple-A levels complete with a whopping 44% strikeout rate.

That phenomenal performance was enough for the club to add the 26-year-old hurler to a bullpen that sports an NL-best 3.53 ERA in 2023. While the club’s relief corps has certainly been impressive to this point, only five NL clubs have leaned on their bullpen more heavily to this point in the season than the Braves, who have gotten 352 innings out of their relievers so far. Between that workload and injuries to key players like Chavez, A.J. Minter, and Nick Anderson, it’s certainly feasible that Hernandez could provide a boost to the club’s bullpen going forward. Given his overpowering stuff and impressive numbers in the minors this year, there’s a chance he’ll factor into the club’s late inning mix alongside the likes of Kirby Yates and Collin McHugh ahead of closer Raisel Iglesias.

Making room for Hernandez on the 40-man roster is Chavez, who now won’t be eligible to return from the IL until mid-August. A veteran in his sixteenth big league season who will celebrate his 40th birthday next month, Chavez has managed to have a late-career renaissance out of the bullpen in recent years, with a 3.46 ERA that’s 33% better than league average by measure of ERA+ in 322 innings of work since the start of the 2018 season. He’s been particularly excellent with Atlanta over the past two seasons, with a sterling 2.30 ERA in 82 innings of work for the club.

As for Winans, the 27-year-old righty had a solid if uneven big league debut for the Braves last night. In 4 1/3 innings of work, Winans allowed two runs on five hits but struck out five while walking just one. Winans could be in the mix for a spot start alongside the likes of Dylan Dodd, Jared Shuster, and AJ Smith-Shawver the next time the club requires one, though with two off-days this week and left-hander Max Fried on a rehab assignment at Triple-A, the club may not need to deep into their rotation depth for some time.

NL East Notes: Chavez, Ridings, Doolittle

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The Braves dodged a bullet yesterday when righty Jesse Chavez was hit in the leg by a comebacker and helped off the field, as initial x-rays did not reveal a fracture. The team originally believed Chavez would be able to avoid an IL stint entirely, that didn’t prove to be the case. Atlanta placed Chavez on the 15-day injured list, per a club announcement, and recalled right-hander Ben Heller from Triple-A Gwinnett in his place. Losing Chavez even just for two weeks or so will sting. The 39-year-old has been outstanding for Atlanta, pitching to a 1.55 ERA with a career-best 30.8% strikeout rate against a 7.7% walk rate. Chavez has already picked up a save and a dozen holds for the Braves, and he was on an 11-inning scoreless streak prior to his injury.

A few more notes from the NL East…

  • The Mets announced Thursday that they’ve reinstated right-hander Stephen Ridings from the 60-day injured list and optioned him to Triple-A Syracuse. The move fills a spot on the team’s 40-man roster, increasing their count from 37 to 38 players. Ridings, 27, has yet to throw a pitch for the Mets, spending the entire season to date on the injured list due to a lat strain. The Mets claimed the right-hander off waivers from the Yankees back in mid-November, just before teams set their rosters in advance of the 2022 Rule 5 Draft. Shoulder troubles derailed Ridings’ 2022 season, but he posted a 1.24 ERA and 42-to-4 K/BB ratio in 29 innings between High-A and Double-A in the Yankees system back in 2021.
  • Veteran lefty Sean Doolittle was transferred from the Nationals’ Double-A affiliate to their Triple-A club Thursday, signaling that he’s completed his rehab work and is now considered fully healthy. The 36-year-old Doolittle, who signed a minor league deal with the Nats over the winter, is being formally reinstated from the injured list and will try to pitch his way back into the Majors with a strong showing in Rochester. Doolittle allowed three runs and posted a 10-to-2 K/BB ratio in seven rehab frames between Class-A and Double-A. The lefty pitched just 5 1/3 frames for the Nats in 2022 before requiring an internal brace procedure in his elbow over the summer.
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