Nationals To Sign Chad Pinder To Minor League Deal
The Nationals are signing utility man Chad Pinder to a minor league deal, reports Robert Murray of FanSided.
Pinder, who turns 31 on Wednesday, had been in camp with the Reds on a minor league deal until recently. However, as an Article XX(B) free agent, he had the ability to opt-out of that deal this past weekend and return to free agency. But the Reds released him on Friday, allowing him to get an early start on that return to the open market, which has already resulted in a new deal.
Up until these minor league deals, Pinder had spent his entire career with the Athletics, serving as a super utility player. For his career, he’s hit .242/.294/.417 for a wRC+ of 96, indicating he’s been just a bit below league average in that time. But he paired that tepid offense with the ability to help the A’s out all over the diamond, playing every position except catcher.
Given that flexibility, it’s understandable that rebuilding clubs like the Reds and Nationals would be interested in him. Both clubs have many positions on their respective rosters where they are trying out unproven younger players to see who will be a part of the next competitive club, or perhaps become a trade chip. Pinder can give the Nats a bit of cover all over the diamond should any player struggle, get injured or get traded.
JT Brubaker Likely To Begin Season On IL With Elbow/Forearm Discomfort
Pirates right-hander JT Brubaker is dealing with discomfort in his right elbow/forearm, manager Derek Shelton tells Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Brubaker is likely headed for the injured list to start the season.
Brubaker, 29, has been part of the club’s rotation for the past three seasons. Last year, he made 28 starts with a 4.69 ERA that might not look too impressive at first glance. However, it’s possible that figure masks his true talent, something that MLBTR’s Anthony Franco recently explored. His 22.8% strikeout rate, 8.4% walk rate and 44% ground ball rate were all pretty close to league average last year. Some bad luck may have been in play, as his .334 batting average on balls in play and 68.8% strand rate were both on the unfortunate side of average. His 3.92 FIP and 3.97 SIERA suggest that better results could have been possible going forward.
The Bucs would have loved to have seen that materialize here in 2023 but it will have to wait. It’s unknown exactly how long Brubaker will be on the shelf but an injury to a pitcher’s throwing elbow or forearm is always concerning. The club will surely do some further testing and figure out the next steps forward.
In the meantime, the Pirates will have to proceed with one less starter in their rotation. The four other spots figure to be occupied by Mitch Keller, Rich Hill, Vince Velasquez and Roansy Contreras. While Brubaker is out, it’s possible that Johan Oviedo steps up and takes a few starts, though the club also has Luis Ortiz and Mike Burrows on the 40-man roster. “I think there’s a good chance it could be Oviedo,” Shelton tells Mackey. “We’re still working through things as we finalize our roster. With the fact that he’s been lengthened out, he’s the most likely one out of the group. I think there’s a good chance we could see that.”
Oviedo, 25, came over to the club in the trade that sent José Quintana to the Cardinals. Though the Cards had moved him to a relief role, the Pirates gave him another chance to start. He took the ball seven times after the trade and posted a 3.23 ERA. He may now get a chance to build on that at the start of the 2023 campaign.
Orioles Not Planning To Carry Grayson Rodriguez On Opening Day Roster
Orioles right-hander Grayson Rodriguez isn’t going to be on the club’s Opening Day roster, reports Andy Kostka of The Baltimore Banner. Rodriguez will start the season in Triple-A instead.
Rodriguez, 23, is a former first round draft pick, having been selected by the Orioles 11th overall in 2018. As he’s moved up the minor league ladder, he’s also climbed prospect lists. Baseball America has considered him one of the ten best prospects in the league, regardless of position, in each of the past two years.
He seemed on track to make his MLB debut last year, as he began the season in Triple-A. However, he suffered a lat strain in June that kept him out of action until September. He still finished the season with a strong 2.62 ERA over 75 2/3 innings, striking out an incredible 36.6% of batters faced.
He was added to the club’s 40-man roster in November to protect him from being selected in the Rule 5 draft and the club seemed to be quite open to Rodriguez making his debut at the start of the 2023 season, with general manager Mike Elias stating as much in January. However, the youngster hasn’t exactly forced the club’s hand here in spring, as he’s posted a 7.04 ERA in five starts, allowing 17 hits and seven walks in 15 1/3 innings. He did strike out 19 batters in that time, but it seems his overall performance wasn’t enough to nab him a spot on the roster out of the gate.
Since Rodriguez is on the 40-man roster, he could very easily be recalled to join the big league club early in the campaign, especially if an injury creates a need. Teams never go through an entire season using just five pitchers and Rodriguez will likely get a shot to make his debut at some point. How much time he eventually spends in the minors could have service time implications, as it could prevent him from earning a full year. A baseball season is typically 186 days but a player needs to spend only 172 of them in the bigs to earn a full “year” of service. Even if they come up short of that, they can get bumped up to the one-year mark if they meet certain conditions. Any player with less than 60 days of MLB service coming into the season who placed on at least two preseason Top 100 prospect lists at Baseball America, ESPN or MLB Pipeline now receives a full year of service time if they finish in the top two in Rookie of the Year balloting, per the latest collective bargaining agreement. This already happened last year, with Adley Rutschman being awarded a full year despite missing the first few weeks of the season. Rodriguez is on all three of those aforementioned prospect lists and could potentially follow the same path as Rutschman.
For the Orioles, their rotation without Rodriguez figures to consist of Kyle Gibson, Cole Irvin, Kyle Bradish, Dean Kremer and Tyler Wells. Rodriguez will be in Norfolk, looking to be the next man up, though he’ll be competing with DL Hall, who was recently optioned and will be building up to a starter’s workload.
Fantasy Baseball Chat Transcript With Brad Johnson
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Mets To Select Tim Locastro, Designate Darin Ruf For Assignment
9:15am: The Mets announced they have selected right-hander Tommy Hunter to the roster, a move that had been previously reported as upcoming. Ruf was designated for assignment as the corresponding move. The corresponding move for Locastro was the placement of Edwin Diaz on the 60-day injured list.
7:38am: The Mets are finalizing their bench ahead of Opening Day, as Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that the club has designated first baseman and outfielder Darin Ruf for assignment. That paves the way for non-roster invitee Tim Locastro to make the Opening Day roster.
Ruf, 37 in July, was acquired by the Mets in a deadline trade with the Giants last summer that sent JD Davis and three prospects to San Francisco. Following a stint in South Korea’s KBO, Ruf had spent the past three seasons hitting well for the Giants while bouncing between first base, the outfield corners, and the DH slot. Over that time, Ruf slashed .248/.358/.455 with 32 home runs and 28 doubles in 726 plate appearances, good for a wRC+ of 125. Upon acquiring Ruf, the Mets envisioned his career .891 OPS against left-handed pitching as the perfect complement to the lefty-swinging Daniel Vogelbach in a DH platoon.
Unfortunately for both Ruf and the Mets, however, that did not pan out down the stretch in 2022, as Ruf struggled mightily in 28 games as a Met, slashing a disastrous .152/.216/.197 (24 wRC+). With a guaranteed $3MM salary in 2023 and a $3.5MM club option for 2024 that came with a $500K buyout, the Mets kept Ruf on the 40-man roster throughout the 2022-2023 offseason in hopes he would be able to rebound this season. However, Sherman notes that Ruf received a cortisone injection in his wrist last month before struggling badly during camp, posting a .498 OPS in 35 spring plate appearances.
That was enough for the Mets to cut bait on Ruf, it seems, and they now have seven days to try and arrange a trade to reduce the amount of Ruf’s $3.5MM guaranteed money they’re on the hook for. Should no trade take place and Ruf pass through waivers successfully, Ruf can sign with any club for the prorated big league minimum, with Mets paying the remainder of the $3.5MM figure.
In Ruf’s place, outfielder Tim Locastro is set to make the Opening Day roster. The 30 year-old Locastro has a career wRC+ of just 82, 18% below that of the league average hitter, but is a capable defender at all three outfield spots, sports a solid career on-base percentage of .325, and most importantly, is one of the premiere baserunners in the sport. With 39 career steals in 43 attempts as a part-time player, Locastro’s 88% success rate on the basepaths is excellent, and his sprint speed has consistently topped the Statcast leaderboards through his career, ranging from 30.8 ft/s in 2019 to last year’s 30.1 ft/s figure.
Given Locastro’s already premiere baserunning abilities, he figures to benefit considerably from this season’s rule changes. In addition to larger bases in 2023, pickoff attempts have been limited. After two pickoff attempts, a third attempt must end in an out being recorded or else the runner will automatically advance one base. With Locastro likely to serve as a pinch runner and late-inning defensive replacement for the most part, the DH at-bats that would have gone to Ruf seem likely to instead go to Tommy Pham, who struggled to an 89 wRC+ in 144 games last season but sports a career .843 OPS against left-handed pitching.
Reds To Select Derek Law
Right-hander Derek Law has been told that he’s made the Reds’ Opening Day roster, reports Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Law was in camp on a minor league deal and will need to be added to the club’s 40-man roster.
Law, 32, has pitched in each of the past six full MLB seasons, suiting up for the Giants, Blue Jays, Twins, Tigers and Reds in that time. He’s made 193 appearances in that time, posting a 4.21 ERA with a 21.9% strikeout rate, 9.8% walk rate and 46.3% ground ball rate.
Last year, Law signed a minors deal with Detroit and got selected to the big league roster in June, but he was designated for assignment after just two appearances. The Reds scooped him up by signing him to another minor league deal and added him to the roster shortly thereafter. He made 15 appearances for them down the stretch and finished the year with a 4.12 ERA. The Reds could have retained Law via arbitration but non-tendered him instead, though they re-signed him on another minors deal in January.
The righty has earned his way back onto the roster for this season’s opener with an excellent spring. Through 7 1/3 innings, he has a 1.23 ERA, striking out 10 opponents while walking just one. Manager David Bell says that Law is in line for high leverage work, alongside Buck Farmer, Ian Gibaut and Fernando Cruz, with Alexis Díaz in the closing role.
Since Law is not yet on the 40-man roster, the club will need to open a spot for him between now and Opening Day. They could do so by placing a player on the 60-day injured list, with right-hander Justin Dunn perhaps the most likely since he’s been shut down for a few months due to a shoulder injury.
The Opener: Phillies, Orioles, Rule 5
With just three days remaining until Opening Day, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:
1. Phillies to announce Opening Day roster
As clubs all around baseball are making their final roster decisions ahead of Opening Day, Phillies manager Rob Thomson told reporters, including Alex Coffey of the Philadelphia Inquirer, that the club plans to announce the Opening Day roster at some point today. With Matt Strahm starting the fifth game of the season in place of Ranger Suarez, much of the intrigue today seems likely to come down to which players will make the Phillies Opening Day bench. With Darick Hall assured a spot on the roster following Rhys Hoskins‘s injury, there are two roster spots available for four players: Kody Clemens, Dalton Guthrie, Scott Kingery, and Jake Cave. The Phillies are also known to be interested in adding a right-handed hitting outfielder, which could boost the chances of Kingery or Guthrie should they not find an external solution.
2. Orioles making final rotation decisions
At the beginning of Spring Training, Orioles brass made clear that top pitching prospect Grayson Rodriguez could play his way into the Opening Day rotation this season. Now, with Opening Day on the horizon, Rodriguez appears to be one of three finalists for two rotation sots alongside Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells, as noted by The Athletic’s Dan Connolly, who notes that the decision will likely come by the end of the day today. All three have struggled this spring, with ERAs well over 5.00, though Rodriguez’s 7.04 figure is the worst of the bunch. Rodriguez has struck out 26.7% of batters faced this spring while walking 9.9%. While that strikeout rate stands slightly ahead of either of his competitors, Bradish (6.0%) and especially Wells (3.0%) both outshine Rodriguez’s walk rate.
3. Will more Rule 5 picks be returned in the coming days?
Yesterday, two picks in December’s Rule 5 draft were returned to their original clubs: the Mariners returned right-hander Chris Clarke to the Cubs, while the Padres returned left-hander Jose Lopez to the Rays. The Mets returned right-hander Zach Greene to the Yankees earlier this spring, but there are still 12 players who were selected in the major league phase of the draft who could be returned to their original clubs. One of those players, Nick Avila, is not expected to break camp with the White Sox, though the club could still look to make a trade with the Giants in order to keep Avila in the organization.
NL Notes: Strahm, Mendick, Hamels, Panik
With Ranger Suarez unlikely to be ready for the first turn through the rotation this season, Phillies manager Rob Thomson announced to reporters, including Alex Coffey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, that left-hander Matt Strahm would start the fifth game of the season for Philadelphia, joining Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, Taijuan Walker and Bailey Falter in the rotation while Suarez is on the shelf.
Strahm signed with the Phillies as a reliever this offseason but has 25 career starts in the big leagues under his belt as well. That being said, his 5.08 career ERA in 108 innings of work as a starter pales in comparison to his 3.11 ERA in 196 2/3 relief innings. That said, Strahm nonetheless represents a serviceable option to fill in for Suarez in the short-term, particularly seeing as Thomson notes he will likely be limited to between 65 and 70 pitches in his first start, as he is not fully stretched out yet. That low pitch count could help him avoid facing batters for a third time, a challenge he has only faced in 75 plate appearances in his career to this point.
More from around the NL…
- The Mets optioned infielder Danny Mendick to Triple-A today, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post. Mendick, who has experience at every position except for catcher and first base, suffered a torn ACL early last season, leading to his non-tender by the White Sox in November of last year. Mendick, who slashed a solid .289/.343/.443 in 106 plate appearances prior to his injury in 2022, eventually landed with the Mets on a one-year, $1MM contract. While he was in the mix for an Opening Day roster spot, he ultimately will serve as depth in Syracuse while the final spot on the bench goes to either Darin Ruf or Tim Locastro.
- The Padres believe that veteran left-hander Cole Hamels will be able to contribute to the big league club sometime this summer, according to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Hamels, 39, signed with the Padres on a minor league deal after years of battling injuries, with just 3 1/3 innings of work under his belt since the end of the 2019 season. Still, with a career 3.43 ERA in 2,698 innings of work during his fifteen year major league career, it’s easy to see why the Padres decided to take a chance on the possibility he could return healthy and effective.
- The Giants have hired longtime second baseman Joe Panik as a special assistant, according to Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports. Panik, who won the World Series with the Giants in 2014, was an All Star in 2015, and won a Gold Glove award in 2016, last played in the majors in 2021 for the Blue Jays and the Marlins. He ended his career with a .700 OPS in 818 games, slashing .264/.328/.372. According to Pavlovic, Panik recently spent time working with some of San Francisco’s young infielders in minor league camp. Panik is happy in his new role, telling Pavlovic that “You kind of want to give back because there are a lot of coaches, a lot of people that helped me get to where I was. For me to be on the other side, it’s a little weird, a little different, but I’m enjoying that part of it.”
Padres Return Rule 5 Pick Jose Lopez To Rays; Option Brandon Dixon; Reassign Julio Teheran, and Tim Lopes
As the Padres begin to make some of their final roster cuts ahead of Opening Day, MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell reports that San Diego has returned Rule 5 draft pick Jose Lopez to the Rays, optioned utilityman Brandon Dixon, and reassigned right-hander Julio Teheran and utilityman Tim Lopes to minor league camp.
Lopez became the 12th player picked in this year’s Rule 5 draft when the Padres selected him with the 21st pick. A left-handed pitcher Lopez was dominant at Double-A with the Rays last year, striking out a whopping 38.7% of batters faced at the level en route to a 2.60 ERA in 55 1/3 innings. That dominance was enough for the Padres to take a chance on the 24 year-old Lopez, but after a difficult spring where he walked five batters in six innings of work, Lopez is being returned to the Rays, who will pay San Diego back half of the $100k fee the Padres paid to select Lopez in order to reclaim him.
Teheran, meanwhile, was a potential option to act as the sixth starter in San Diego while Joe Musgrove is on the shelf with a fractured toe. An 11-year MLB veteran, the 32 year old Teheran has a career 3.80 ERA in 1396 1/3 innings of work that came primarily as a member of the Braves rotation from 2013 to 2019. Over that period of time, Teheran showed himself to be a reliable, innings-eating back-end starter with an ERA+ of 111. Teheran struggled mightily in the shortened 2020 season with the Angels, however, and has only pitched five big league innings since then. Cassavell notes that due to the assignment clause in Teheran’s contract, he can depart the Padres organization if he receives a big league offer elsewhere. For now, though, Teheran seems poised to remain with San Diego, serving as depth in Triple-A.
Both Dixon and Lopes were in the mix to be part of the Padres bench. Dixon, 31, has a career 74 wRC+ in 201 games at the big league level but provides versatility, with experience at first, second, and third base and all three outfield spots during his major league career. However, with versatile players such as Jake Cronenworth and Ha-Seong Kim already on the roster, the Padres will instead opt to send Dixon to Triple-A as depth. Lopes, meanwhile, has primarily been a corner outfielder in the big leagues but also has experience in center field, at second base, third base, and shortstop. The 29 year-old Lopes has just 94 games of big league experience to this point in his career, and hit well this spring with an .890 OPS in 55 plate appearances. Despite that solid showing, Lopes will join Dixon as depth in Triple-A.
After this round of cuts, it would appear that outfielder David Dahl and infielder Rougned Odor are in line to make the Opening Day roster in San Diego, while the sixth starter spot could go to left-hander Jay Groome or right-hander Brent Honeywell Jr. Dahl had some early success with the Rockies in his career, but has battled injuries throughout his career and has struggled to just a .538 OPS in 87 games since the start of the 2021 season. Odor, meanwhile, spent seven seasons as the regular second baseman for the Rangers, posting an 86 wRC+ during that time, before spending 2021 with the Yankees and 2022 with the Royals. Despite the meager offense numbers for both players in recent years, each can provide the Padres with a left-handed swing off the bench while providing depth in the outfield and infield, respectively.
As for the sixth starter battle, Groome, whom the Padres acquired in the Eric Hosmer deal with the Red Sox last summer, has dazzled in 14 innings of work this spring with a 1.29 ERA, though he has struggled with his control, walking 10 batters while striking out 13. Honeywell, meanwhile, signed a major league deal with the Padres this offseason after the former top prospect was non-tendered by the Rays after years of injury woes. Honeywell got hit hard this spring, posting a 6.88 ERA in 17 innings, but with 22 strikeouts and just six walks in those innings, there’s reason to believe the quality arm he seemed destined to become as a prospect could still surface.
Romy Gonzalez, Gregory Santos To Break Camp With White Sox
The White Sox Opening Day roster continues to come into focus as Daryl Van Schouwen of the Sun Times reports that both utilityman Romy Gonzalez and right-hander Gregory Santos are expected to make the team out of camp this spring. The pair join outfielder Oscar Colas and infielder Hanser Alberto, who were previously reported to be making the Opening Day roster as well.
Gonzalez has mostly played second base during his 42 games in the big leagues so far, but has also appeared at shortstop, third base, and in both outfielder corners, making him a versatile bench piece for manager Pedro Grifol to utilize as needed. A career .241/.261/.350 hitter in the majors, Gonzalez doesn’t bring much to the table with his bat, but a .795 OPS in 286 minor league games and an .808 OPS this spring both indicate the 26 year-old Gonzalez could take a step forward with more exposure to big league pitching, though he will surely have to cut down on his concerning 35.2% career strikeout rate in order to do so. Gonzalez’s spot on the Opening Day roster likely comes at the expense of third baseman Jake Burger, who has posted an above average 114 wRC+ in 66 career big league games but is largely limited to the infield corners in terms of versatility. Gonzalez will join a bench that appears poised to include Alberto, Gavin Sheets, and Seby Zavala.
Santos seemed to be a potential favorite for a roster spot after Bryan Shaw and Nick Avila were told they would not make the roster earlier today. Chicago acquired Santos in December from the Giants, who Santos had pitched just 5 2/3 innings for at the big league level, allowing seven earned runs in the process. Santos has a 19.3% strikeout rate and 10% walk rate for his career across the major and minor leagues, and tends to keep the ball on the ground, with groundball rates between 50 and 60% in the minor leagues. Santos seems likely to join Jose Ruiz and Jake Diekman in middle relief for the White Sox this year, with Kendall Graveman, Aaron Bummer, Joe Kelly, and Reynaldo Lopez figuring to get more late-inning work to begin the season.