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Ty France Elects Free Agency

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The Reds announced a series of roster moves Friday, most notably revealing that first baseman Ty France cleared waivers and elected free agency. He would’ve been arbitration-eligible and was projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $8.6MM in his final season of club control. Today’s outright and subsequent free agency election is effectively an early non-tender.

Cincinnati also passed catcher Austin Wynns, righty Tejay Antone and outfielder Nick Martini through waivers unclaimed. Like France, Wynns and Martini opted for free agency. Antone accepted an outright assignment and will remain with the club and continue mending from the third elbow surgery of his career.

France, 30, was an offensive force for his first three years with the Mariners from 2020-22, hitting a combined .285/.355/.443 with 42 homers, 68 doubles and three triples in 1418 plate appearances. He rarely struck out (16.7%), hit plenty of line drives and, after spending much of his minor league career playing other positions, worked his way into becoming an above-average defender at first base.

The 2023 season was a step back in all regards. France’s batting line slipped to .250/.337/.366 — still respectable but nowhere near his prior levels, particularly in the power department. His production dwindled further this year, and the Mariners designated him for assignment after he mustered only a .223/.312/.350 line in 88 games. The Reds swung a trade to acquire France in hope that a change of scenery would improve his output. France’s rate stats modestly improved, but not to the extent that one might hope when going from the league’s most pitcher-friendly stadium in Seattle to its most homer-happy park in Cincinnati. He finished the year at .234/.305/.365 between the two clubs.

France will now head to the free-agent market for the first time but do so coming off a sub-optimal platform spanning two years of struggles. He’ll likely be limited to one-year offers and guarantees well shy of the $8.6MM he’d been projected to earn in arbitration.

Wynns, 33, is the consummate journeyman backup catcher. He’s a career .230/.277/.332 hitter in 673 plate appearances split among five big league teams. He’s been with six different organization since the Orioles selected him in the tenth round of the 2013 draft. Wynns is regarded as a sound defender but has never provided much from an offensive standpoint.

Martini, 34, cracked the Reds’ Opening Day roster and belted a pair of homers in their first game of the season. It was downhill from there, however. He hit just .204/.266/.324 over his next 159 plate appearances before suffering a sprained thumb that ended his season in early July. Martini is a career .294/.399/.454 hitter in parts of eight Triple-A seasons and a .252/.336/.400 hitter in 575 big league plate appearances.

Braves Claim Royber Salinas

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The Braves announced that they have claimed right-hander Royber Salinas off waivers from the Athletics. The A’s evidently tried to clear a roster spot by passing him through waivers but Atlanta swooped in to grab him.

Salinas, 24 in April, now returns to his original organization. An international signing of Atlanta out of Venezuela, he posted some intriguing results in the lower levels of the club’s system before getting flipped to the A’s as part of the December 2022 trade that sent catcher Sean Murphy to Atlanta.

At the time of that deal, Salinas had just wrapped up a 2022 season that he finished with 109 minor league innings between Single-A and High-A, allowing 3.55 earned runs per nine. His 37.6% strikeout rate was quite strong but he also gave out walks at a high rate of 13.5%.

In 2023, he threw 71 2/3 innings on the farm with a 5.40 ERA. His walk rate improved to 10.2% but his strikeout rate fell to 30.2%. There was surely a bit of bad luck in there, as his 59.7% strand rate was on the unfortunate side and his 4.19 FIP was far better than his ERA.

He was added to the 40-man roster a year ago to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. He made ten starts this year between Double-A and Triple-A with a 4.60 ERA and 25.3% strikeout rate but a big walk rate of 17.2%.

His last start of the year was at the end of May. In July, Martín Gallegos of MLB.com relayed on X that Salinas had undergone season-ending shoulder surgery.

It’s unclear how long it will take the righty to get healthy in the wake of that procedure but Atlanta gets to reunite with a prospect they once signed and are plenty familiar with. Whenever he gets back on the mound, he’ll give the club some optionable rotation depth.

For the A’s, the Murphy trade continues to look like a big whiff for them. Of the five players they received in return, they have already parted ways with Salinas, Freddy Tarnok and Manny Piña. They still have Kyle Muller and Esteury Ruiz but neither inspires much confidence at the moment. Muller is out of options and has a 5.90 ERA while Ruiz is a threat on the bases but has subpar offense thus far.

Mariners Decline Option On Jorge Polanco; Luis Urias Elects Free Agency

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The Mariners on Friday declined their $12MM club option on second baseman Jorge Polanco, per a team announcement. He’ll be paid a $750K buyout and become a free agent. The M’s also announced that infielder Luis Urias went unclaimed on outright waivers and elected free agency. Their 40-man roster is currently at 36 players.

Seattle acquired the switch-hitting Polanco from the Twins last offseason in a trade sending reliever Justin Topa, veteran righty Anthony DeSclafani, prospects Gabriel Gonzalez and Darren Bowen, and cash back to Minnesota. The hope at the time was that the steady Polanco  would solidify what had been a revolving door at second base for two seasons in Seattle. Instead, Polanco became the latest notable veteran to arrive in Seattle and see his offensive production unexpectedly decline in swift fashion.

Polanco hit .270/.338/.455 in nearly 2700 plate appearances with the Twins from 2018-23, only once posting below-average offense in a season (2020). He’d incurred some injury troubles in the two years immediately preceding the swap but was entering his age-30 season. There was little reason to expect a steep decline at the plate, but that’s exactly what played out. Polanco, a 2019 All-Star, got out to an awful .197/.285/.298 slash through the first three months of the season. He picked up the pace considerably in July, but by that point there was little salvaging his season. He wound up with career-lows in batting average (.213) and on-base percentage (.298). His .355 slugging percentage was exactly one point higher than his career-worst .354 from that shortened 2020 season.

The career-worst showing at the plate for Polanco was at least in part due to knee troubles. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported a couple weeks back that Polanco was slated to undergo surgery to repair the patellar tendon in his left knee. That’s the same knee that landed Polanco on the injured list for the final month of the 2022 season and for the first three weeks of the 2023 campaign. Depending on the extent to which the injury has been nagging him, it’s certainly possible that a healthier Polanco could return to form in short order next season. It’s not yet clear exactly how long he’ll need to recover, but if Polanco is expected back on time for Opening Day 2025, he ought to command a one-year deal with incentives this offseason.

As for Urias, this is the second time the Mariners passed him through waivers. He accepted an outright assignment last time around, as electing free agency following his midseason outright would’ve required forfeiting the remainder of his salary. He’s no longer on a guaranteed deal, however, and was arbitration-eligible — with a projected $5MM salary (via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz). The M’s were never likely to pay that price a second time, leaving Urias as one of the more clear-cut non-tender candidates in the league. Today’s outright is tantamount to non-tendering him a couple weeks ahead of the deadline to do so.

Urias, 27, was one of the top prospects in baseball during his minor league days with the Padres. He had a pair of solid seasons following a trade to the Brewers, hitting a combined .244/.340/.426 in 2021-22. However, Urias’ production tanked with a .194/.337/.299 slash in 2023, and he wasn’t able to get back on track in 2024, hitting only .191/.303/.394. He’s capable of playing multiple infield spots but is better suited at second and third base than at shortstop. A team seeking a right-handed utility infielder could look to Urias on a minor league deal or perhaps a low-cost one-year pact with some incentives baked in.

White Sox Decline Option On Max Stassi

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The White Sox announced Friday that they’ve declined their $7.5MM club option on catcher Max Stassi. He’ll receive a $500K buyout and become a free agent. Chicago also formally announced that infielder Yoan Moncada’s $25MM club option was declined in favor of a $5MM buyout, as was reported yesterday. Both decisions were obvious long before the season ended.

Stassi, 33, never played a game for the White Sox and hasn’t appeared in the majors since 2022. He was acquired last offseason as part of a convoluted series of trades made by the Braves in their pursuit of effectively purchasing Jarred Kelenic from the Mariners. Atlanta acquired Kelenic, Evan White and Marco Gonzales from the Mariners, then flipped White’s contract to the Angels in exchange for Stassi and David Fletcher. Gonzales was traded to Pittsburgh, with the Braves footing most of the bill. Stassi was subsequently traded to Chicago for cash or a player to be named later, with Atlanta taking on nearly all of Stassi’s salary as well.

The ChiSox hoped Stassi would come to camp and pair with free-agent pickup Martin Maldonado, but he landed on the injured list during spring training due to inflammation in his hip. It was the second season in which Stassi had dealt with an injury in his left hip, and this time around it required season-ending surgery.

Stassi last appeared in a big league game in October 2022 with the Angels. He missed all of the 2023 season due to that hip injury and, far more importantly, to tend to a dire family matter. Stassi was absent from the Angels due to what was at the time an unknown personal matter and later shared that his son, Jackson, had been born more than three months premature. He understandably took the entire season to be with his wife and son, spending the bulk of the time in the NICU with his wife, Gaby. The couple opened up about their harrowing experience earlier this year in an interview with The Athletic’s Sam Blum. Thankfully, Jackson defied the odds and was eventually able to head home with his family after more than six months in the hospital.

Stassi’s story is one that puts any baseball angle into proper perspective. The game is a distant second to such a traumatizing family ordeal, but Stassi did speak optimistically to Blum about the possibility of his son someday seeing him take the field at a big league game. He reported to spring training with the White Sox this past season intent on playing before his hip injury intervened. There’s no indication he’s planning anything other than a return to his playing career, though any such opportunity will likely come on a minor league deal.

Such a pact should be there for Stassi, health permitting. He’s still just 33 years old, and from 2020-21 he gave the Halos 118 games and 424 plate appearances with a .250/.333/.452 batting line. Stassi ripped 20 homers in that time and provided standout defense behind the plate, as has long been his calling card. Teams in need of a veteran backup or a depth option to push a younger, inexperienced backstop could give him a look this winter.

Rhys Hoskins Exercises Player Option With Brewers

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First baseman/designated hitter Rhys Hoskins has triggered his player option for 2025. He’ll return to the Brewers next year on an $18MM salary instead of taking the $4MM buyout. The deal also has an $18MM mutual option for 2026 with another $4MM buyout. Adam McCalvy of MLB.com was among those to relay the news on X.

Hoskins, 32 in March, signed a two-year deal that guaranteed him $34MM last offseason. That contract, which came in the wake of a season lost to a torn ACL, allowed him to opt out after year one. The hope at the time, for all parties, was that Hoskins would return to form following that season-ending injury, giving the Brewers one year of middle-of-the-order production before marketing himself ahead of a more lucrative long-term deal. It didn’t play out that way, however, and Hoskins will now head back to Milwaukee in hopes of bolstering his output at the plate.

The 2024 season wasn’t necessarily a “bad” one for Hoskins, who still swatted 26 round-trippers and knocked in 82 runs. But Hoskins’ .214/.303/.419 slash was a far cry from the .242/.353/.492 slash he posted from 2017-22 with the Phillies. By measure of wRC+, Hoskins was 26% better than average at the plate during his time with the Phils. In Milwaukee, his offense clocked in two percent shy of average. For a defensively limited first baseman whose value is derived primarily from his bat, that understandably wasn’t a strong enough platform for Hoskins and agent Scott Boras to again test the market.

Hoskins’ season wasn’t without its positives. He actually got out to a nice start and hit quite well in the month of September as well. The interim three months, however, were engulfed by a prodigious slump. As of May 31, Hoskins was touting a .239/.342/.471 batting line that was generally in line with his career norms (129 wRC+). He hit .234/.355/.469 in his final 77 plate appearances in September as well. Those solid months bookended a disastrous summer that saw the longtime Phillies masher flail away at a a .198/.270/.383 pace, however.

If Hoskins is able to more consistently produce at his April/May/September levels in 2025, there’s still hope of landing another notable contract for him in free agency next offseason. While his strikeout rate spiked to a career-worst 28.8%, there were other encouraging signs in 2024. His 10.3% walk rate was lower than his excellent early-career levels but was right in line with his 2021-22 marks. His 41.9% hard-hit rate was a near-mirror image of his 42% career mark, and last year’s 12.7% barrel rate was higher than the 11.7% rate he carried into the year. He’ll aim to build upon those trends while cutting back on his mounting strikeout rate in the middle of Milwaukee’s lineup.

For the Brewers, this should come as no surprise. Hoskins wasn’t likely to top the net $14MM from which he’d be walking away on the open market. It’s still not an ideal allocation of their limited resources, however, so it’s at least feasible that Milwaukee looks for a trade partner over the winter. More likely, however, are trades of other veterans on notable salaries — Devin Williams (a free agent next winter) chief among them. As it stands, the Brewers’ projected 2025 payroll (including arbitration projections and the obvious decisions to exercise options on Freddy Peralta and Colin Rea) will already clock in higher than their 2024 payroll. There’ll be some wheeling-and-dealing by the Milwaukee front office, as is the case every offseason.

Angels Acquire Scott Kingery From Phillies

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The Angels have acquired infielder Scott Kingery from the Phillies in exchange for cash considerations, according to announcements from both clubs. Kingery wasn’t on Philadelphia’s 40-man roster and won’t need to take a spot with the Angels.

Kingery, 31 in April, was once a highly-touted prospect. The Phils had enough confidence in his future that they signed him to a long-term extension before he had even made his major league debut. In March of 2018, the Phils gave Kingery a $24MM guarantee covering the 2018-2023 seasons, with three club options as well.

Unfortunately, Kingery wasn’t able to live up to his prospect billing or that contract. He can steal a few bases and and play defense all over the diamond but he simply hasn’t hit enough to be a useful big leaguer. He currently has a batting line of just .229/.280/.387 in 1,127 plate appearances in the majors.

The Phils outrighted him off their roster in both 2021 and 2022, with no club willing to grab the remainder of the contract off waivers. He had surpassed three years of service time and had the right to elect free agency instead of accepting those outright assignments. However, since he was under the five-year service mark, walking away would have involved leaving the remainder of his contract on the table. Naturally, he reported to the minors and continued playing out the rest of his deal. The Phils turned down his ’24 club option but he stayed in the organization at that point as well.

Though the contract was a bust, Kingery just wrapped up a solid season in the minors. He took 505 plate appearances for the IronPigs and hit 25 home runs. The offensive environment in the International League was quite strong this year, so his robust line of .268/.316/.488 was only marginally above league average, translating to a wRC+ of 104.

Kingery stole 25 bases and continued bouncing around the diamond this year, playing second base, shortstop and center field. He has past experience at third base and in the outfield corners.

With those traits, he could perhaps be a useful player even with some semi-competent offense. He hasn’t been able to do that in his major league career so far but it’s a low-risk move for the Angels as Kingery isn’t even taking up a roster spot for now.

The Angels have a few question marks in their position player mix. Luis Rengifo projects as the top second base option but his 2024 was ended by wrist surgery. Even if he comes back healthy, he might need to bounce to other positions. Third baseman Anthony Rendon has been extremely injury-prone in recent years and Rengifo has often had to cover the hot corner. Mike Trout has also missed significant time in center field recently and might get moved to a corner or into the designated hitter spot with more frequency going forward.

Kingery can give them some extra minor league depth all over the diamond. He will try to earn a roster spot and the opportunity for a post-hype breakout.

Angels Claim Ryan Noda

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The Angels announced Friday that they’ve claimed first baseman Ryan Noda off waivers from the Athletics.

Noda, 28, was a Rule 5 pick out of the Dodgers organization back in 2022 and spent the entire 2023 campaign on the A’s roster. At the time, it looked like a savvy pick. Noda was an on-base machine with the Athletics, hitting .229/.364/.406 and drawing a walk in a whopping 15.6% of his plate appearances. He struck out far, far too often (34.3%) but popped 16 home runs in that rookie showing.

In 2024, Noda was unable to replicate that production in a smaller sample of 111 plate appearances, however. He posted a grisly .137/.255/.211 slash with a diminished (albeit still excellent) 12.6% walk rate and a strikeout in one-third of his plate appearances. Noda’s Triple-A production was reminiscent of his 2023 output, as he hit .224/.391/.486 with 22 homers and an eye-popping 19.9% walk rate.

Noda is the embodiment of the three-true-outcomes skill set, with a particular focus on walks and strikeouts. He’s shown above-average but not elite power to go along with below-average speed (41st percentile, per Statcast). Both Statcast and Defensive Runs Saved feel the 6’1″, 217-pounder is a sound defender at first base. He’s dabbled in the outfield corners as well, but his limited mobility plays better at his primary position.

Noda will enter the 2025 season with minor league options remaining, so the Halos needn’t carry him on the Opening Day roster. He can give them some depth behind Nolan Schanuel — a similarly OBP-focused first baseman whose skill set is in many ways the inverse of Noda. Schanuel has below-average power but rarely strikes out. Both players are left-handed bats who walk at plus clips and have limited defensive utility.

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Cavan Biggio Elects Free Agency

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Braves infielder/outfielder Cavan Biggio elected free agency this morning, per David O’Brien of The Athletic (X link). He’d been on Atlanta’s 40-man roster, so presumably Biggio cleared waivers before rejecting an outright assignment. He’ll now head to the open market in search of a new opportunity.

This was always the expected outcome for Biggio, whom Atlanta acquired in a September swap to help patch over an injury-plagued infield mix. He would’ve been arbitration-eligible with Atlanta and was projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for a $4.3MM salary. The Braves were never going to put forth that type of commitment to someone acquired in a late-season cash swap after he’d previously been with three different organizations.

Biggio spent his entire career with the Blue Jays prior to this past June, when he was designated for assignment and traded to the Dodgers. He appeared in 30 games for the Dodgers but fared no better in L.A. than he did in Toronto prior to being cut loose. He was designated for assignment a second time and released in early August. The Giants quickly added him on a minor league contract and then shipped him to Atlanta for cash — a post-deadline deal that was permissible because Biggio was on a minor league deal (and not a major league contract that had been outrighted off the roster) in San Francisco.

Overall, Biggio’s 2024 season resulted in a dreary .197/.314/.303 batting line. He still walked at a strong clip, drawing a free pass in 10.7% of his trips to the plate, but Biggio’s typically patient approach has become almost passive in the box. Among the 365 hitters who drew at least 200 plate appearances this season, Biggio’s 55% swing rate on pitches in the strike zone (per Statcast) ranked as the game’s 12th-lowest. He took more called strikes than he has at any point in his career, and this season’s 32.1% strikeout rate was unsurprisingly a career-worst.

Biggio debuted to considerable fanfare in 2019 and, for his first two seasons, looked like a building block alongside fellow second-generation Jays signees Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. From 2019-20, Biggio turned in a .240/.368/.430 batting line with 24 homers and 20 steals through his first 159 big league games. He walked at a ridiculous 16.1% clip, which helped offset a higher-than-average 26.5% strikeout rate.

It’s been a downward trajectory since that impressive showing, however. Biggio did manage a roughly league-average batting line in 111 games in 2023, but his overall body of work since that strong two-year start to his career is decidedly lackluster. In 1159 plate appearances dating back to Opening Day 2021, Biggio is a .216/.325/.349 hitter. He’s played all over the diamond, with 500-plus innings at each of second base, first base, third base and right field. Biggio draws solid grades for his glovework at second and in right field but isn’t a plus defender at either spot.

Any player who’s designated for assignment and released multiple times over the course of a given season appears likely to land a minor league deal in free agency the following offseason. That’s true of Biggio as well. It’s possible a team will give him a guaranteed roster spot on an incentive-laden deal, but a non-guaranteed pact and an invitation to spring training in 2025 feels far likelier. Given his age (30 in April), pedigree, plate discipline and early success in the majors, he ought to have several clubs interested in such an arrangement.

Rangers To Hire Justin Viele As Hitting Coach

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The Rangers plan to hire Giants co-hitting coach Justin Viele as their new hitting coach, reports Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic first reported that Viele “appeared headed” to the Rangers even though he had a year remaining on his contract and had been invited back for the 2025 season.

Viele, 34 later this month, will step in for veteran hitting coach Tim Hyers, who was recently hired away by the Braves. He’s been on the Giants’ coaching staff since the 2020 season and spent several years as a college coach and a minor league coach with the Orioles and Dodgers organizations prior to his time in San Francisco. Viele and Rangers bench coach/offensive coordinator Donnie Eckers were both on the Giants’ coaching staff in 2020-21. A former infielder at Santa Clara University, Viele had a brief two-year minor league career after being drafted by the Orioles back in 2013.

There will be other changes coming to the coaching staffs both in Texas and San Francisco. The Rangers recently bid farewell to associate manager Will Venable, who was hired by the White Sox as their new skipper just yesterday. They’ll need to replace him.

Meanwhile, Baggarly added that Giants assistant hitting coach Pedro Guerrero has interviewed for a position with the Marlins, who recently gutted their entire staff. There’s no indication yet that he’ll be hired, but he’s not yet been eliminated from consideration, either. The Giants enlisted three hitting coaches this past season: Viele, Guerrero and former big league slugger Pat Burrell. With Viele departing and Guerrero potentially following, it stands to reason that San Francisco will look to bring in at least one new hitting coach to help shoulder the workload.

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