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Dodgers Sign Miguel Rojas To Contract Extension

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The Dodgers and infielder Miguel Rojas have agreed to a contract extension that will keep Rojas in Los Angeles through at least the 2024 season, according to Daniel Alvarez-Montes of El Extrabase (Twitter link and link to the Spanish-langugage full story).  Rojas was already set to earn $5MM in 2023, but this new deal reworks that money into a $3.5MM salary and a $1.5MM signing bonus.  Rojas will then earn another $5MM in 2024, and the Dodgers hold a $5MM club option on Rojas for 2025, with a $1MM buyout.

All told, it adds up to another $6MM in guaranteed money for the Beverly Hills Sports Council client.  Rojas had previously been playing on a two-year, $10MM deal signed when he was a member of the Marlins, and that extension covered the 2022 and 2023 seasons.

Breaking into the majors with the Dodgers in 2014, Rojas was dealt to the Marlins during the 2014-15 offseason and then established himself as a leader on and off the field in Miami.  Rojas moved from a utility role to regular duty as the Marlins’ shortstop, and his consistently strong defense provided value to club even if his offense was generally below average.  Rojas had a 91 wRC+ from 2015-21, but he dropped to a 73 wRC+ in 2022 on the heels of a .236/.283/.323 slash line over 507 plate appearances.

Wrist problems may have contributed to Rojas’ underwhelming season, as he underwent surgery on his wrist back in October.  Reports circulated last month that Rojas was also going to undergo another procedure, and the infielder told reporters (including the Orange County Register’s Bill Plunkett) today that he had a loose piece of bone removed from his right hand three weeks ago.  The surgeries won’t appear to have set Rojas back, as he is already hitting off a tee and has expressed interest in playing for his native Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic if healthy.

Despite the injuries and the 2022 numbers, the Dodgers still traded for Rojas in January, as L.A. dealt Jacob Amaya (a strong-fielding prospect with some questions about his bat) to Miami in the straight-up swap.  With Trea Turner now a Phillie and Gavin Lux slated to take over as the everyday shortstop, adding Rojas gives the Dodgers a capable veteran who can perhaps fill in at short if Lux has any trouble adjusting, and otherwise serve as depth around the infield.

The extension is a nice early birthday present for Rojas (who turns 34 later this month) and it also underscores the Dodgers’ belief that the veteran can be a key contributor to the roster.  Shorter-term extensions have been a favored tactic for president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman as of late, as Los Angeles also inked such players as Max Muncy, Blake Treinen, Daniel Hudson, and Austin Barnes to deals that give the Dodgers up to two years of extra control.  In the first three of those instances, the Dodgers made an early guarantee on a 2023 club option, and added another club option year to the back end of the contract.

Rojas’ deal is a little different since he was already under contract for 2023.  From a luxury tax perspective, the extension slightly raises Rojas’ tax number from $5MM to $5.5MM, which is the new average annual value of what is technically a two-year deal (since his 2023 salary was reworked) for accounting purposes.  While Los Angeles had soared over the Competitive Balance Tax threshold in each of the last two seasons, there was some thought that the club might look to duck under the line and reset its tax penalty status, with an eye towards going back into CBT territory next winter.  But, with the Dodgers now projected to be slightly over the $233MM threshold, Friedman said this week that the Dodgers were “doing all we can to win a championship this year,” rather than keep an eye on the tax bill by trading players.

Red Sox Sign Jake Faria To Minor League Contract

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The Red Sox have signed right-hander Jake Faria to a minor league deal, according to MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo (Twitter links).  The contract includes an invitation to Boston’s big league Spring Training camp, and a guaranteed $735K salary if Faria makes the active roster.

Since the start of the 2019 season, Faria has pitched only 51 1/3 MLB innings — 32 2/3 frames with the Diamondbacks in 2021, and 18 2/3 innings split between the Rays and Brewers in 2019.  In between those stints in the majors, Faria also pitched at the Triple-A level with the Angels in 2021 and with the Twins last season, with a cumulative 6.64 ERA over 80 innings over the last two years.

It has been a tough ride for Faria in recent years, after he came up through Tampa Bay’s farm system with a lot of promise, and had a quick start to his MLB career with a solid 3.43 ERA over 86 2/3 innings in his 2017 rookie season.  Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom was working in the Rays’ front office during Faria’s tenure in Tampa, so the minor league deal will give Bloom a chance to see first-hand if Faria can recapture any of that old form.

Not counting those 2017 numbers, Faria otherwise has a 5.65 ERA and underwhelming strikeout and walk rates over 116 1/3 innings as a Major League pitcher.  Home runs have been an issue, as Faria has allowed 19 homers in that limited 116 1/3 inning sample size.  While Faria has still regularly worked as a starter at Triple-A, he has mostly been utilized as a reliever in the majors since 2018, so the Red Sox likely view him as a multi-inning reliever at best if he can win a job in their bullpen.

Giants Sign Roberto Perez

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TODAY: The Giants officially announced Perez’s deal, which is a minor league contract.  Perez can earn a $2.5MM guaranteed salary if he makes the big league roster, with another $1.5MM available in incentives.

JANUARY 29: The Giants have reached a deal with catcher Roberto Perez, according to MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo (Twitter links).  It seems as though the Red Sox were the other finalist for Perez’s services, as Boston “made an aggressive bid” for the veteran backstop.

The Pirates (Perez’s former team) and Cubs were also reportedly interested in Perez this winter, but the 34-year-old will instead head to the Bay Area to join a catching mix led by Joey Bart.  While Bart has yet to hit much over parts of three seasons and 408 career plate appearances, the Giants still have faith in the former top prospect, to the point that president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said a few weeks ago that the Giants would likely stick to minor league signings for any future catching depth.

Perez joins Austin Wynns as the top competitors for the backup catching job, plus the presence of Rule 5 Draft pick Blake Sabol is another notable factor.  As per the regulations of the R5 Draft, Sabol has to remain on the Giants’ active roster for the entire season, or else the Giants have to offer him back to the Pirates.  (The Reds actually selected Sabol in the Rule 5 Draft but the Giants traded for Sabol’s rights.)  Wynns was recently outrighted off the Giants’ 40-man roster, and Sabol can also play the outfield, adding more wrinkles to the team’s possible plans behind the plate.

On paper, Perez adds some certainly to the mix due to his strong defense.  Long known for his glovework, game-calling, and his ability to work with pitchers, Perez is a two-time Gold Glover and Fielding Bible Award winner.  This defensive play kept Perez in at least a part-time role as Cleveland’s catcher from 2015-21, even if he has only a wRC+ of 77 over 1752 career plate appearances.  Perez did surprisingly break out for a 24-homer season in 2019, though that performance seems like an outlier due to the livelier baseball used by the league that year.

Injuries have been Perez’s biggest issue over the last few seasons, as he has played in only 65 games since the start of the 2021 season.  (He also played only 32 games out of 60 in the shortened 2020 season.)  A fractured finger, shoulder problems, and hamstring surgery have all combined to limit Perez’s playing time, with his hamstring injury ending his Pirates tenure after only 21 games last year.

The presence of Wynns and Sabol gives San Francisco some insurance if the injury bug bites Perez again, but naturally the Giants’ biggest hope is that Bart takes a step forward as a reliable MLB starter, so the other backstops are relegated to pure backup roles.  With Perez now on board, the Giants are probably done shopping for catchers, perhaps unless an injury situation emerges in Spring Training.

Nationals Sign Chad Kuhl To Minor League Deal

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The Nationals announced that right-hander Chad Kuhl has been signed to a minor league deal, and invited to Washington’s big league Spring Training camp.

Kuhl had a 5.72 ERA and well below-average strikeout (17.8%) and walk (9.4%) rates over 137 innings with the Rockies last season, and he also missed most of August due to a hip strain.  The righty was again placed on the injured list right at the very end of the season with a triceps strain, and it isn’t known how that injury might’ve impacted Kuhl’s shaky performance in September, or how it affected his free agent market.

Over six MLB seasons, Kuhl has a 4.74 ERA over 576 2/3 frames with the Rockies and Pirates.  2017 was Kuhl’s best year, but that 2.2 fWAR performance over 157 1/3 innings with Pittsburgh is the clear high mark of an inconsistent career.  Since that borderline breakout season, Kuhl has thrown only 348 2/3 total innings — he missed 2019 recovering from Tommy John surgery — and amassed 1.0 fWAR.

Even despite these lackluster numbers, Kuhl has shown some flashes of being able to pitch at a higher level, and he has been frequently mentioned as a trade candidate during his career (though, pitching for non-contenders has also played a role in that status).  The contract with Washington represents another new chapter in his career, and while the Nats also seem on pace for a losing season, Kuhl can at least work in a more normalized pitching environment than the thin air of Coors Field, or even the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League at the Triple-A level.

Of course, pitching for the Rockies isn’t the sole reason Kuhl’s 2022 season was such a struggle.  As per Statcast, his sinker was the single least-effective pitch thrown in the majors last season, with a -26 Run Value.  Kuhl threw his sinker 42.2% of the time, the most of any of his offerings.  Compounding the problem, Kuhl’s average fastball velocity was 92.8 mph, a significant drop from his 94.8 mph career average in his previous five seasons.

The Nationals’ coaching staff will have plenty of fixes to make as they take a look at Kuhl in camp, though the minor league deal represents a pretty risk-free move for the team.  If Kuhl can get on track, he provides a good veteran depth arm for a rotation that will lean heavily on younger pitchers.  The District is hoping that at least one of Josiah Gray, MacKenzie Gore, or Cade Cavalli can take a step forward and become a reliable MLB-level pitcher in 2023.  As for more seasoned hurlers, the Nationals simply don’t know what to expect from Patrick Corbin after three mediocre seasons, or whether or not Stephen Strasburg can finally get healthy and be a regular contributor.

To this end, the Nats signed Trevor Williams to a two-year deal earlier this winter, adding some veteran experience to the rotation mix.  Swingman Erasmo Ramirez was also re-signed, and Wily Peralta (who has worked as a starter in the past) was signed on a minor league deal as further depth for the rotation or bullpen.  While the Nationals’ priority is on getting a look at their younger starters, the rotation is enough of an open book that there’s plenty of opportunity for Kuhl or other pitchers to make a mark in Spring Training.

Mets Prospect Matt Allan Undergoes UCL Revision Surgery

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Matt Allan’s wretched run of injuries has continued, with the Mets announcing their pitching prospect underwent UCL revision surgery last month. The recovery typically has a similar timeframe to Tommy John surgery, which Allan was just recovering from, meaning he’ll likely miss the entire 2023 campaign and possibly some of the 2024 season as well.

It’s been a brutal run for Allan, 22 in April, since being drafted out of high school in the third round of the 2019 draft. The 10 1/3 innings he pitched in 2019 mark the only innings he’s thrown as a pro, meaning he’s now set to go four straight seasons without throwing a pitch in a game.

First, the 2020 minor league season was cancelled due to the pandemic, then Allan underwent Tommy John surgery at the start of the 2021 season – a year in which he featured on a number of publication’s top-100 prospect lists. That sat him out for the remainder of the season and most of 2022, and while he was recovering well from Tommy John surgery, he underwent ulnar nerve transposition surgery in January of 2022 to further setback his recovery.

He did indeed miss the entire 2022 season, and now will miss the entire 2023 season as well. Baseball America still had him as their tenth-ranked prospect in the Mets system this winter, and their third-ranked pitcher.

Quick Hits: Narvaez, Gallo, Monfort, Tatis Jr., Mets

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Omar Narvaez signed a one-year, $8MM deal (with a $7MM player option for 2024) with the Mets just before Christmas, and Will Sammon of The Athletic shed a little more light on the market for the veteran backstop before he eventually wound up in New York. Sammon notes that the Giants strongly considered a move for Narvaez while the Twins, Tigers and Reds all had varying levels of interest.

The Giants have since inked Roberto Perez, the Reds are set with the trio of Tyler Stephenson, Curt Casali and Luke Maile while the Twins signed Christian Vazquez to the position. The Tigers are an interesting one though, as they’ve only added Triple-A backstop Donny Sands in a trade with the Phillies. They’re set to use some combination of Eric Haase, Jake Rogers and Sands in 2023 but it’s interesting to hear they were at least interested in a higher profile addition there this winter. If they do still look to add an external catcher, Gary Sanchez, Robinson Chirinos and Kevin Plawecki are the remaining notable catchers on the market.

Here’s some more bits and pieces from around baseball:

  • Joey Gallo could be set to see a bit of time at first base in 2023. As Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic noted in a recent mailbag, Gallo could well be the back up first baseman to Alex Kirilloff. That’s not to say Gallo will be on the bench, as the former Ranger, Yankee and Dodger will get plenty of reps in the outfield, but if Kirilloff’s struggles extend into 2023 the Twins could utilize Gallo a fair bit at the position. He rates well as a defender in the outfield, and has made just one appearance at first since 2018 but he’s also graded out solidly defensively at first in his time there.
  • Rockies owner Dick Monfort made headlines recently when he boldly stated he thought the Rockies could play .500 ball this season. That’d be a big ask in a competitive NL West, and the Rockies have done little to improve on their 68-94 record in 2022. Whatever record they wind up with this year, Monfort – in an interview with Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post – said they wouldn’t go down the rebuilding path: “I guess the connotation on rebuilding is you just get rid of everybody. You try to draft low, which we’re not [going to do]. We’re not trying to get the first pick. We’re not going to tank. We never have, never will,” Monfort said.
  • With the Padres adding Xander Bogaerts on a long-term deal and still having Manny Machado under contract for at least the next season, the left side of their infield appears set. Of course, that led to an expectation that Fernando Tatis Jr. would head to the outfield moving forward. That still looks to be the case, although the player didn’t commit to a position and said he’s been working out in both the infield and outfield this winter (via Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Tribune-Review). It’s been a challenging few seasons for Tatis, but he also added that he’s feeling “as close to 100%” as he’s been the past few seasons after dealing with wrist and shoulder injuries, and is expecting to be a full participant in spring training.
  • Sammon’s report in The Athletic also includes details on the Mets plans for Tylor Megill and David Peterson. Both players figure to be in and around the team at some stage over the course of the season, but Sammon reports that the team’s ideal scenario would be to have both players go to Triple-A to start the season and work as starters there, rather than starting the season in the big league bullpen. Of course, injuries in the spring could force one or both of them into rotation spots to begin the season anyway, but it seems the Mets are hoping to avoid using them in relief roles to begin the season.

Max Fried Loses Arbitration Hearing Against Atlanta

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Atlanta’s Max Fried lost his arbitration hearing against the team, according to Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The CAA Sports client will be paid $13.5MM for the upcoming season, rather than the $15MM he’d filed for.

Fried’s been a quality starter for a number of years now, but put together his best season yet in 2022, tossing 185 1/3 innings of 2.48 ball. The left-handed Fried walked batters just 4.4% of the time – about half that of the league-average, while striking out batters at a 23.2% clip. That output was worth 5 fWAR, an All Star appearance and a runner-up finish in NL Cy Young voting. Fried also took home a Gold Glove for his defense.

The 29-year-old has been one of the sport’s best starters over the past few seasons. Since 2020, Fried owns a 2.68 ERA over 407 innings (69 starts). However, his brilliant season in 2022 evidently wasn’t enough to sway the case in his favor, and he’ll take home $1.5MM less than he’d argued for in his third season of arbitration eligibility (Fried is a Super Two player). It’s the second straight season Fried and Atlanta have gone to a hearing to determine his salary. Last season he took home a $6.85MM salary after winning his case against Atlanta, who had argued for a salary of $6.6MM – a $250K difference.

At times, the difference in salary can seem rather trivial given the salary being earned, and particularly in this case given Fried’s standing as one of the best pitchers in the game. So it’s worth taking a look at this article from MLBTR from 2015 for a deeper look inside the arbitration process, and why teams haggle over what can sometimes seem like rather insignificant sums of money.

This is Fried’s penultimate year of club control, and barring a long-term extension he’ll go through arbitration once more next winter before hitting free agency after the 2024 season. Of course, given Atlanta’s recent habit of tying up their stars to long-term contracts it certainly wouldn’t surprise to see them make a play at keeping Fried long term, although his output to date and dwindling years of club control would suggest it’d take a significant sum to get a deal done.

Pirates Sign Juan Minaya To Minor League Deal

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The Pirates have added veteran right-hander Juan Minaya on a minor league deal, per John Dreker of Pirates Prospects.

Minaya, 32, appeared in six games for the Twins last season, tossing 9 2/3 innings of 5.59 ERA ball. Just a year prior he had been an effective member of the Twins’ bullpen, working to a 2.48 ERA over 40 innings. That 2021 season did include a sky-high 85.3% strand rate, so sustaining a mid-two ERA was never likely and it’s particularly telling that the Twins non-tendered him at the end of the season, and it wasn’t until March that he re-signed with them on a minor league deal for the 2022 season. That was just a small sample of work in Minnesota last year, and his peripherals didn’t deviate much between 2021-22 as he maintained an above-average strikeout rate and a below-average walk rate, although his fastball did see a slight drop in velocity last season.

With that being said, Minaya has a solid track record of relief work over his six seasons in the big leagues. Originally signed by the Astros out of the Dominican Republic back in 2008, Minaya made his debut for the White Sox as a 25-year-old in 2016. He’d turn in four years of service for Chicago, providing them with 128 1/3 innings of 3.93 ERA ball in that time.

While Minaya had a challenging 2022 season, there’s enough there that the veteran hurler could work his way into the Bucs’ bullpen plans with a strong spring training.

AL East Notes: Orioles, DL Hall, Red Sox

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The Orioles took a major step forward last season, and now general manager Mike Elias has declared their rebuild over.

“I believe that our rebuild is behind us. We’ve got an incredible chance now to be a very, very competitive team for years,” Elias told reporters, including Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com.

That team will depend on the performance of it’s young core, led by Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson and soon to include Grayson Rodriguez. Yet while the team is stocked with exciting young talent Orioles fans may have some reason to feel a little disappointed by the team’s modest acquisitions in the off-season thus far.

They’ve so far brought in starters Kyle Gibson and Cole Irvin, added reliever Mychal Givens, infielder Adam Frazier and catcher James McCann. While that group can all help the Orioles it’s not the splashy addition some might have been hoping for as the O’s look to compete in the tough AL East, yet Elias isn’t ruling out further additions by trade or in free agency.

“There are quality free agents remaining. We’re staying in touch in them. We’re still pursuing opportunities. There are some players on the free-agent market that interest us,” Elias said.

Given the dwindling options in free agency, it’s likely any signing would be more of a depth piece rather than an impact player. Baltimore was connected to free agent starter Michael Wacha throughout the off-season, but the addition of Irvin would seemingly make any more rotation additions unlikely. They’ve also been reported to be in the market for a defensive-minded outfielder.

Here’s a couple more notes from the AL East:

  • Sticking with the Orioles to begin with, Elias says there are 12 players in the mix for the starting rotation come Opening Day. Gibson and Irvin are locks, while Elias has already said he expects top pitching prospect Grayson Rodriguez to make the team’s rotation out of camp, so that’d leave nine players competing for the final two spots. One of them will be prospect DL Hall, with Elias saying he’ll have a chance to compete for a rotation spot in the spring. Hall came in at 84th on Keith Law’s recently published top-100 prospect list. He did get a brief cup of coffee in the big leagues last year, but it’s possible the Orioles look to keep him at Triple-A at least to begin the season.
    MLBTR’s Steve Adams took a deeper look at Baltimore’s rotation options recently, but other candidates include Kyle Bradish, Dean Kremer, Tyler Wells, Austin Voth and Spenser Watkins.
  • The Red Sox won’t be aggressive in seeking further upgrades to their roster, but they are at least keeping the door open to making a move, particularly in the middle-infield, per Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said the team likes the group they’ve got, so it seems likely that further moves would be minor league deals or bench pieces. Enrique Hernandez and Adalberto Mondesi are slated to handle the bulk of the middle-infield reps in 2023, with Christian Arroyo the top option off the bench.

Twins Re-Sign Aaron Sanchez To Minor League Deal

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The Twins are bringing back veteran right-hander Aaron Sanchez, re-signing him to a minor league deal, according to his MLB transaction log.

Sanchez joined the Twins in June last year after an unsuccessful stint with the Nationals. He was a solid option in Minnesota, working to a 4.71 ERA over 28 2/3 innings (three starts, five relief appearances). While it was a small sample size, he did lift his strikeout rate back above 20% for the first time since 2016. Prior to that, he’d made seven starts for Washington in 2022, working to an 8.33 ERA with a meager 11.4% punch-out rate.

Sanchez, a first round pick by the Blue Jays in 2010, was once one of the brightest young pitchers in the sport, featuring regularly among baseball’s top-50 prospects prior to his 2014 debut. The hype appeared to be for real when Sanchez delivered a brilliant 2016 campaign, tossing 192 innings of 3.00 ERA ball for the Blue Jays, earning a trip to the All Star game and finishing seventh in AL Cy Young voting.

Unfortunately for him, various injuries have derailed his career and Sanchez has never passed the 150 inning mark since that 2016 season. He’s also seen his performance drop off significantly, working to a 5.29 ERA over 367 2/3 innings between 2017-22 for the Blue Jays, Astros, Giants, Nationals and Twins.

Now 30, Sanchez will presumably compete for long relief role in the Twins bullpen in the spring, or head to Triple-A as a depth starter.

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