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Mets, Pete Alonso Avoid Arbitration

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The Mets and first baseman Pete Alonso have agreed to a $7.4MM salary to avoid arbitration, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN (Twitter link). That wraps up the first of three arb years for Alonso, who remains controllable through 2024.

Alonso’s salary is right in line with the $7.3MM figure projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz entering the offseason. It marks the first significant payday of his career, as he’d played the past few seasons on deals a bit above the league minimum. In both 2019 and 2021, Alonso earned more for winning the Home Run Derby ($1MM in each season) than he did in salary from the Mets.

That he’s a two-time defending Home Run Derby champ (the 2020 event was canceled due to the pandemic) speaks to the massive power he’s shown throughout his career. Alonso has hit 53 and 37 homers, respectively, in his two full seasons. He popped 16 more in the shortened 2020 season, a mark that tied for third in the National League. Altogether, he’s a .256/.347/.542 hitter as a big leaguer; he’s coming off a .262/.344/.519 showing last year.

The Mets recent run of arb agreements has brought their estimated 2022 commitments to a little under $277MM, in the estimation of Jason Martinez of Roster Resource. They have a competitive balance tax number in the $286MM range, just shy of the newly-instituted $290MM tier that triggers the highest level of penalization in the CBA. The Mets will pay a 20% tax on their first $20MM in overages, a 32% tax on their next $20MM and a 62.5% fee on any money spent between $270MM and $290MM. If they exceed $290MM, they’d be taxed at an 80% rate on any expenditures thereafter.

Red Sox, Rafael Devers Avoid Arbitration

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The Red Sox and star third baseman Rafael Devers have settled on an $11.2MM salary to avoid arbitration, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (on Twitter). Barring an extension, the 25-year-old will go through the process once more before hitting free agency over the 2023-24 offseason.

The figure lines up almost perfectly with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz’s $11.1MM projection for Devers entering the offseason. It marks a rather notable jump over last season’s $4.575MM salary, as Devers earned a raise with another excellent showing. He played in 156 games and tallied 664 plate appearances in 2021, hitting .279/.352/.538 with 38 home runs.

Along the way, Devers picked up his first All-Star selection and Silver Slugger Award. He also finished 11th in AL MVP balloting — his second career season garnering down-ballot support in that regard — helping the Red Sox to a 92-win campaign and an eventual berth in the AL Championship Series.

The Red Sox’s slate of arbitration agreements have brought the payroll up to around $220MM, in the estimation of Jason Martinez of Roster Resource. Their luxury tax ledger now sits around $236MM, setting the club up to narrowly exceed the base CBT threshold of $230MM. The Red Sox didn’t pay the tax last season, so they’d be subject to the first-time payor rate of 20% on every dollar spent between $230MM and $250MM.

Phillies Designate Luke Williams For Assignment

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The Phillies announced this afternoon they’ve designated utilityman Luke Williams for assignment. The move opens space on the 40-man roster for Nick Castellanos, whose five-year deal has been made official.

Philadelphia selected Williams in the third round of the 2015 draft. The right-handed hitter methodically climbed the minor league ladder, never posting overwhelming numbers but making plus rates of contact throughout his pro career. He opened the 2021 campaign with Triple-A Lehigh Valley and earned his first big league call in June.

Williams tallied 108 MLB plate appearances last year, hitting .245/.315/.316 with one home run and a pair of stolen bases. He made contact on 85% of his swings — around nine points above the league average — but he only managed five extra-base hits. It was a similar story in Lehigh Valley, where he hit .270/.329/.341 without a homer in 143 trips to the dish.

To his credit, Williams suited up all over the diamond for manager Joe Girardi. He started games at each of second base, third base, shortstop, left field and center field last year. Baseball America named him the #17 prospect in the Phillies system this offseason, writing that his combination of defensive aptitude and bat-to-ball skills could make him a decent option off the bench even if his lack of power probably prevents him from emerging as a regular.

The Phils will have a week to trade Williams or place him on waivers. The 25-year-old still has all three minor league option years remaining, so he’d be a flexible multi-positional depth piece for any acquiring team.

Mariners Sign Sal Romano To Minor League Contract

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The Mariners announced this afternoon they’ve signed reliever Sal Romano to a minor league deal with an invitation to big league Spring Training. Seattle will be the right-hander’s fourth different organization in the past twelve months, as he bounced around the league fairly frequently last season.

Romano began the year with the Reds but found himself outrighted off the roster in mid-May after a rough start to the year. He signed a minor league deal with the Yankees and was selected onto their big league roster in July, but he found himself designated for assignment within two weeks. This time, the Brewers claimed him off waivers, but they outrighted him themselves after he made just one appearance. Upon electing free agency, Romano returned to the Yankees, where he remained until being released in September.

Between the three clubs, the former 23rd-round pick tallied 25 innings over 19 appearances. The bulk of that work came during his first month and a half in Cincinnati, and he finished the season with a 6.12 ERA. Romano’s 14.4% strikeout percentage and 5% swinging strike rate were each among the lower marks in the league for relievers.

The past few seasons have been a struggle for Romano. After breaking into the majors with a 4.45 ERA over 16 starts for the Reds in 2017, he owns a 5.59 mark in 188 1/3 MLB frames over the past four years. Romano has moved to relief in that time, and while he’s yet to find much success in the role at the highest level, he did post a 3.56 ERA over 30 1/3 innings with the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre last season. Romano also averaged nearly 95 MPH on his heater during his big league time, so he’d add a live arm to the middle innings mix for skipper Scott Servais if he can crack the big league club.

Red Sox Claim Kyle Tyler, Designate Hudson Potts

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The Red Sox announced Tuesday that they’ve claimed right-hander Kyle Tyler off waivers from the Angels and, in a corresponding move, designated outfielder infielder Hudson Potts for assignment.

Tyler, 25, was the Halos’ 20th-round draft selection back in 2018 and made his big league debut in 2021 when he tossed 12 1/3 innings out of the bullpen. The Oklahoma product held opponents to four runs (2.92 ERA) on eight hits and six walks with six strikeouts. Tyler’s strikeout/walk rates in the big leagues obviously weren’t much to write home about, and he sat at just 91.1 mph with his fastball during that limited time.

That said, Tyler also enjoyed a solid season in the minors, logging a 3.66 ERA with a 25.3% strikeout rate and 6.8% walk rate in 86 frames between Double-A and Triple-A — mostly working as a starting pitcher. The right-hander has all three minor league option years remaining, so he gives the Sox some additional pitching depth at a time when big names like Chris Sale and James Paxton are on the injured list.

Potts, 23, is a former first-round pick and well-regarded prospect whose development simply hasn’t progressed as hoped. Selected by the Padres with the No. 24 overall pick in 2016 and traded to Boston in 2020’s Mitch Moreland swap, Potts spent the 2021 season with Boston’s Double-A affiliate. It was his second stint at the Double-A level, but Potts still managed only a .217/.264/.399 batting line with a sky-high 32.8% strikeout rate.

Potts has previously drawn praise for his substantial raw power, but he hasn’t made contact enough to take advantage of that pop since a solid 2018 showing in A-ball. The Red Sox will have a week to trade Potts or place him on outright waivers, at which point any of the other 29 clubs could place a claim.

Giants, Darin Ruf Agree To Two-Year Deal

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The Giants have agreed to a two-year, $6.25MM deal with first baseman/outfielder Darin Ruf, tweets ESPN’s Jeff Passan. The contract contains a club option for a third season, which would be Ruf’s first potential free-agent year.

Ruf, represented by Vanguard Sports, was projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $2.6MM via arbitration. He’d have been due another raise via arbitration in 2023 before reaching free agency in the 2023-24 offseason. Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that Ruf will earn $3MM this season and next, adding that the 2024 option is valued at $3.5MM and comes with a $250K buyout.

Originally signed by the Giants on the heels of a strong run in the Korea Baseball Organization, Ruf has emerged as a key weapon against left-handed pitching. The former Phillies slugger has decimated southpaws, hitting at a .275/.390/.579 clip with 13 home runs, 11 doubles and a triple in 205 plate appearances. The resulting 157 wRC+, which indicates that Ruf has been 57% better than a league-average hitter against southpaws, ranks 12th among 168 qualified hitters.

That’s not to say Ruf has had a difficult time with right-handers or needs to be deployed strictly as a platoon player, to be clear. He’s no slouch against same-handed opponents either, as evidenced by a robust .270/.372/.461 slash in 207 plate appearances against them. It’s not the same level of dominance he’s had over southpaws, but Ruf’s production has been strong enough that manager Gabe Kapler ought to feel good plugging him into the lineup on just about any given day. And, with the advent of the National League designated hitter, Ruf figures to get more opportunities than in the past.

It’s a highly affordable deal for the Giants — one reflective of Ruf’s atypical career arc. Ruf didn’t see his first prolonged MLB action until his age-26 season, back in 2013, and he didn’t even reach arbitration eligibility until last year — his age-34 campaign. Ruf is already 35 and will turn 36 by late July, meaning he wouldn’t have accrued the necessary six years of service time to reach free agency until after he’d already turned 37. He earned a few million overseas while slashing .313/.404/.564 across three seasons with the Samsung Lions, but given the late-blooming nature of his breakout, it’s not a surprise to see him giving up a free-agent year at a relatively modest rate. This new two-year deal effectively doubles Ruf’s career earnings, which surely makes it a particularly satisfying deal to sign at 35 years of age.

Blue Jays, Matt Chapman Agree To Two-Year Deal

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The Blue Jays and newly acquired third baseman Matt Chapman avoided arbitration by agreeing to a two-year, $25MM contract, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports. The deal will buy out Chapman’s final two arbitration seasons but does not extend Toronto’s club control over the two-time Platinum Glover. Chapman, a client of the Boras Corporation, will receive a $1MM signing bonus and consecutive salaries of $12MM on the deal, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman.

MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz had projected Chapman to earn $9.5MM this coming season, and he would’ve earned one more raise in 2023 before reaching free agency in the 2023-24 offseason. Taking into account that $9.5MM projection, Chapman’s $25MM guarantee effectively puts a $14.5MM price on that third-time arbitration salary, which seems well within the realm of plausible outcomes.

The new contract doesn’t change much in terms of Chapman’s outlook, though it gives him some financial security in the event of a major injury or further downturn at the plate. The Jays, meanwhile, get some payroll certainty not only for this season but also in 2023 — and they also avoid a need to dedicate any time or resources to arbitration talks with Chapman next winter.

Acquired last week in a trade that sent prospects Gunnar Hoglund, Kevin Smith, Zach Logue and Kirby Snead to Oakland, Chapman heads to Toronto in search of a return to his 2018-19 MVP-caliber form at the plate. A hip injury in 2020 cut the season short for Chapman and ultimately required surgery. He returned to play a mostly full slate of 151 games in 2021, but while Chapman belted 27 home runs and played his usual brand of premium defense at the hot corner, his overall production at the plate dropped as his strikeout rate rose. It’s certainly possible that the 2019 All-Star simply wasn’t at 100% last season, and he’ll now set out to prove that was the case without needing to spend much time dwelling on his contractual status.

Chapman’s new $12MM salary bumps the Blue Jays’ projected payroll up to about $170MM, per Roster Resource’s Jason Martinez, and it gives them about $190MM worth of luxury-tax obligations. That’ll establish a new franchise-record mark in terms of actual payroll, though the Jays are still about $40MM shy of the new $230MM luxury-tax threshold.

Dodgers Sign Kevin Pillar To Minor League Deal

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The Dodgers have signed veteran outfielder Kevin Pillar to a minor league contract, per a club announcement. Pillar, a client of All Bases Covered Sports Management, will head to Major League Spring Training and vie for a roster spot. He’d earn a $2.5MM base salary upon making the club, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman.

Pillar, 33, is a veteran of nine big league seasons who’ll hope to work his way into the outfield mix in Los Angeles. He spent the 2021 season with the Mets, batting .231/.277/.415 with 15 home runs, 11 doubles, a pair of triples and four stolen bases (in seven tries) through 347 trips to the plate. That was the fifth team in the past three seasons for Pillar, who’s begun to bounce around the league a bit after a lengthier run in Toronto to begin his career.

A former 32nd-round pick of the Blue Jays (2011), Pillar debuted just two years after being drafted. He saw sparing action in 2013-14 before settling in as a fixture in center field with the Jays from 2015-18. Pillar was Toronto’s primary center fielder for that span of four years, batting a combined .263/.301/.401 while regularly showing off his penchant for highlight-reel diving grabs.

For the bulk of his career, Pillar had the power, speed and certainly the defensive chops to offset a perennially low walk rate that tamped down his on-base percentage each year. From 2015-17, in particular, Pillar was a defensive juggernaut, racking up a ridiculous 52 Defensive Runs Saved with a 24.3 Ultimate Zone Rating. Pillar was snubbed in Gold Glove voting more than once in that stretch, and by 2018, the reckless abandon with which he played the outfield perhaps began to take its toll. His defensive metrics in center quickly went south in 2018, and by 2019 the Jays had designated him for assignment.

Pillar has since spent time in San Francisco, Colorado, Boston and Queens. Over the past three seasons, he’s batted .256/.293/.433 (90 wRC+) with 42 home runs and 23 steals. He’s been better against left-handed pitching in that time, as one would expect for a right-handed hitter, posting a .279/307/.499 batting line. Pillar’s average sprint speed has dipped a bit in recent years, though, and Statcast suggests that his initial jump on fly-balls has also slowed as he’s progressed into his 30s. He’s still posted solid defensive marks in the corners, however.

On the whole, Pillar isn’t the dynamic highlight-reel machine that he was during his peak with the Jays, but he’s a decent bat against left-handed pitching who has some pop against righties and can play all three outfield spots (even if he’s below average in center at this point). That’s a nice bench player for a contending club, but the Dodgers have a crowded outfield mix as it it. Beyond the starting trio of Mookie Betts, Cody Bellinger and AJ Pollock, L.A. also has versatile superutility man Chris Taylor and infielder/outfielder Matt Beaty as outfield options. Top infield prospect Gavin Lux has begun to see time in the outfield as well, and the Dodgers also invited outfielders Stefen Romero and Jason Martin to spring training after signing them to minor league deals.

Twins Designate Ralph Garza Jr. For Assignment

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The Twins announced Tuesday that they’ve designated right-hander Ralph Garza Jr. for  assignment. His spot on the 40-man roster will go to shortstop Carlos Correa, whose three-year, $105.3MM contract with Minnesota has now been formally announced by the team.

Garza, 28 next month, will cede his spot on the 40-man roster to his former Astros teammate. The 6’2″, 220-pound right-hander was drafted by the Astros in the 26th round back in 2015 and made his Major League debut with the ’Stros in 2021 before joining the Twins via an August waiver claim. He tallied 30 1/3 innings between the two clubs and pitched to a solid 3.56 ERA, albeit it with strikeout, walk and ground-ball rates (22.8%, 11% and 37.3%, respectively) that all checked in worse than those of the league-average reliever.

Garza throws both a sinker and a four-seamer and works with a pair of different arm angles that offer some deception to opponents. He sports a career 3.82 ERA in parts of four seasons in Triple-A, where he’s whiffed 25.9% of his opponents against an 11.3% walk rate. A pure reliever, Garza has a pair of minor league option years remaining, so it’s possible another club will be intrigued by his blend of four pitches, his respectable upper-minors track record and the flexibility of those option years. The Twins will have a week to trade him or place him on outright waivers, at which point any of the other 29 clubs could place a claim.

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