Braves Acquire Dennis Santana From Rangers
The Rangers announced they’ve traded reliever Dennis Santana to the Braves in exchange for cash considerations. Atlanta designated Jackson Stephens for assignment in a corresponding 40-man roster move.
Santana soaked up plenty 0f middle relief innings in Arlington, pitching 58 2/3 frames across 63 outings. He generally struggled over that stretch, posting a 5.22 ERA with a below-average 21.2% strikeout percentage and an elevated 11% walk rate. The right-hander has posted subpar strikeout and walk marks throughout his parts of five seasons in the majors with the Dodgers and Rangers, contributing to a career 5.12 ERA over 139 innings.
The 26-year-old has flashed some interesting traits that suggest he could yet be a productive MLB bullpen arm. He’s gotten swinging strikes between 11% and 12% of his total offerings the past couple seasons, a solid enough rate. Santana has also induced ground-balls on almost half the batted balls against him the last couple years, and his sinker sat just under 97 MPH this past season. He had some success against left and right-handed hitters alike, but he was victimized by an extremely low strand rate that’s likely to bounce back moving forward.
Santana is out of minor league option years, so he’ll have to break camp on the Atlanta roster or be made available to other teams. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects him to receive a $1.1MM salary if tendered an arbitration contract, and the Braves’ acquisition suggests they could be prepared to do so this week. That’d figure to give him an inside shot at securing a middle relief role out of Spring Training.
Stephens inked a minor league deal with Atlanta over the offseason. He cracked the big league roster a few days into the year and wound up tallying 53 2/3 innings across 39 outings. The 28-year-old had a solid 3.69 ERA with a decent 46.3% grounder percentage but a 20% strikeout rate. Stephens’ swing-and-miss rate also sat at a subpar 9.3%, and the Braves have elected to roll the dice on Santana’s upside in swapping out potential middle innings arms.
Atlanta will have a week to deal Stephens or run him through waivers. If he goes unclaimed, he’d have the right to become a minor league free agent.
Brewers Select Brice Turang and Abner Uribe
The Brewers announced that they have selected a couple of players to their 40-man roster ahead of tonight’s Rule 5 protection deadline. They are infielder Brice Turang and right-hander Abner Uribe.
Turang was the Brewers’ first round pick back in 2018 (21st overall) out of Santiago High School in California. Predominantly a shortstop, Turang has also spent time at second base coming through Milwaukee’s system, while he also logged a handful of games in center field this season. In 131 games at Triple-A this year, Turang hit .286/.360/.412 with 13 home runs and was an impressive 34/36 on stolen base attempts. The 22-year-old (23 next week) doesn’t strike out much (19.6% of the time) and walks a solid amount (10.8% of the time).
MLB.com ranks Turang as the Brewer’s fourth best prospect, and their report on him also notes he projects as an above-average shortstop, citing “improved range and overall playmaking ability”. It’s not a huge surprise to see Turang added to the 40-man in Milwaukee, as his strong showing in Triple-A this past season make him a likely candidate to make his big league debut next summer.
Uribe, 22, is a Dominican born pitcher who’s posted big strikeout numbers in the past few seasons but also struggled with injuries. The Brewers’ 26th prospect according to MLB.com underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus earlier in the year, and missed most of the 2022 campaign. He only tossed three innings at Double-A this year, but in 33 2/3 innings at Single-A last year he struck out 52 batters, although he did walk 25.
While the control is certainly a concern, there’s no doubt Uribe has a lot of raw potential. He’s flashed three digits on the speed gun in the minor leagues, and in the 2021 Arizona Fall League he had 13 of the 14 hardest thrown pitches per Statcast. While Turang looks closer to the majors at this point, if the Brewers can get Uribe fit and hone his control, his ability to miss bats could make him an option for their bullpen in the not-too-distant future.
White Sox Select Bryan Ramos And Jose Rodriguez
The White Sox announced they have added a couple of players to their roster in advance of tonight’s Rule 5 protection deadline. They are infielders Bryan Ramos and Jose Rodriguez.
Ramos signed with Chicago out of Cuba during the 2018-19 international signing period. A power-hitting third baseman, he’s played his way to Double-A by age 20. The right-handed hitter spent most of the year with High-A Winston-Salem, posting a .275/.350/.471 line with 19 home runs and a strong 16.4% strikeout rate. Baseball America considers him the #3 prospect in a generally weak Chicago farm system.
Rodriguez is a native of the Dominican Republic. Also a member of the 2018-19 international class, he played most of the season as a 21-year-old with Double-A Birmingham. In 484 plate appearances, the right-handed hitter put up a .280/.340/.430 line with 11 home runs and a meager 13.6% strikeout rate. He also swiped 40 bases and played mostly middle infield. BA considers him the #5 prospect in the Sox’s system, suggesting he’s likely to be a utility infielder.
12 Players Reject Qualifying Offers
Twelve of the 14 players who received qualifying offers have rejected those one-year, $19.65MM contracts in favor of testing the open market, tweets Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. Martin Perez and Joc Pederson are the only two who accepted a QO. Each of Aaron Judge, Trea Turner, Xander Bogaerts, Dansby Swanson, Jacob deGrom, Carlos Rodon, Brandon Nimmo, Willson Contreras, Anthony Rizzo, Chris Bassitt, Nathan Eovaldi and Tyler Anderson have rejected the deal. Anderson is already in agreement on a three-year contract with the Angels.
None of the news is all that surprising, aside from perhaps Anderson’s early multi-year strike with the Halos. Perez and Pederson were two of the three most likely candidates to take the QO. That the Giants tagged Pederson at all was a move few saw coming, and most believed he’d indeed take the QO once it was put forth.
None of Judge, Turner, Bogaerts, Swanson, deGrom, Rodon, Nimmo, Bassitt or Contreras likely gave much thought to the possibility. Eovaldi and Rizzo were more borderline candidates, but the latter quickly returns to the Yankees on a multi-year deal that’ll pay him around the QO rate over two guaranteed seasons. Eovaldi has yet to sign, but he’ll presumably continue to search for a longer-term contract after taking advantage of the five days to scour the market.
The clubs that saw a free agent decline a qualifying offer now stand to receive draft compensation if that player signs elsewhere. The value of the compensatory pick depends on a team’s status as a revenue sharing recipient and/or whether they paid the luxury tax in 2022. That’s also true of the draft choices and potentially international signing bonus space a team would have to forfeit to sign a qualified free agent from another team.
MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes broke down the forfeiture each team would have to surrender to sign a qualified free agent earlier this month. MLBTR’s Mark Polishuk looked at the compensation each club would receive if one of these players signed elsewhere.
Nationals To Make Several Roster Moves
3:07pm: In addition to the moves below, the Nats added left-hander Jose Ferrer and right-hander Jake Irvin. To create roster space, they designated right-hander Tommy Romero for assignment while outfielder Yadiel Hernandez, lefty Evan Lee and righty Jackson Tetreault cleared outright waivers and were assigned to Triple-A Rochester. Additionally, the club avoided arbitration with infielder Ildemaro Vargas by agreeing to a one-year deal. Vargas will make $975K, reports Andrew Golden of the Washington Post (Twitter link). That’s a touch below his $1.1MM arbitration projection.
3:00pm: Talk Nats adds that Alu has indeed been added. 26 in April, Alu is an infielder who had a great year at the plate. Between Double-A and Triple-A, he hit .299/.365/.506 for a wRC+ of 132.
11:57am: The deadline for MLB teams to add players to their 40-man roster in order to protect them from selection in the Rule 5 draft is tonight at 5pm Central. The Nationals are set to add at least three players, according to Talk Nats. They are right-hander Jackson Rutledge, left-hander Matt Cronin and outfielder Jeremy De La Rosa. It’s possible more moves are still coming, with Talk Nats identifying Jake Alu and Jose Ferrer as possibilities.
Rutledge, 24 in April, was the club’s first round selection in 2019, going 17th overall. He got some work in affiliated ball after that draft but then saw the minor leagues get wiped out by the pandemic in 2020. Shoulder tightness and recurring blisters then limited his workload and effectiveness in 2021. He got things back on track somewhat here in 2022 by making 20 starts, but they were in Single-A and he only posted a 4.90 ERA. His peripherals were much stronger though, with a high BABIP and low strand rate likely pushing his ERA higher than deserved, as indicated by his 3.89 FIP and 3.93 xFIP.
He has yet to reach Double-A and is still likely not close to making his major league debut. Still, based on his previous prospect stock and ability to hit triple-digits with his heater, the Nats have decided they don’t want to risk losing him in next month’s draft. With the big league club mired in rebuild mode anyway, there’s little harm in dedicating a roster spot to someone who is unlikely to contribute in 2023 if the club thinks he can provide future value some day. He’s currently ranked the club’s #9 prospect at Baseball America and #10 at FanGraphs.
Cronin, 25, was a fourth round pick in that same 2019 draft. He’s worked exclusively as a reliever since then, working his way up the minor league ladder. In 2022, he split his time between Double-A and Triple-A, throwing 52 combined innings. In that time, he posted a 2.42 ERA with a 26.9% strikeout rate and 10.6% walk rate. He’ll give the club a left-handed relief option that can potentially be optioned between the majors and minors for the next few years. He’s 17th on the BA list and 30th at FanGraphs.
De La Rosa, 21 in January, was signed as an international free agent in 2018. He started 2022 in Single-A and completely mashed, producing a batting line of .315/.394/.505 with 26 steals. A midseason promotion to High-A didn’t produce immediate results, as he hit just .195/.273/.271, though he did swipe another 13 bags. In the field, he played primarily in center field and could have a decent floor with his speed and defense. BA slots him in at #10 on their list while FanGraphs has him at #8.
Joc Pederson Accepts Qualifying Offer
Outfielder Joc Pederson has accepted the $19.65MM qualifying offer he received from the Giants, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.
Pederson was drafted by the Dodgers and spent seven seasons there, largely serving as a productive member of the lineup. He had an ill-timed down year in 2020, just as he was about to reach free agency. That led to him settling for a one-year, $7MM deal to join the Cubs for 2021. He bounced back slightly that year but was still below average at the plate overall, leading to another one-year deal for 2022, this time getting $6MM from the Giants.
He was able to get back on track in a huge way this year, having the best offensive season of his career. His .274/.353/.521 slash line included career highs in both batting average and on-base percentage. The resulting wRC+ of 144 means he was 44% above league average, and that was 16 points beyond anything he’d done previously in his career.
Despite that huge showing with the bat, it was somewhat surprising to see him extended the QO, given his recent struggles and poor defensive metrics. Nonetheless, the Giants felt good enough about his output to make a $19.65MM bet that he could have another strong performance in 2023. They would have received draft pick compensation if Pederson had declined the offer and signed elsewhere, but that’s a moot point now as he’ll return to the Giants next year, earning a salary almost three times as high as his previous best.
For the Giants, it’s possible that this is the first of many moves for them, with rumors swirling that they are going to be very active this winter. For now, Pederson will join an outfield/designated hitter mix that includes Mike Yastrzemski, LaMonte Wade Jr., Luis Gonzalez and Austin Slater, though the club tends to favor players with defensive versatility and have several infielders that could move to the grass.
With Pederson’s $19.65MM added to the ledger, the 2023 payroll is now sitting at $134MM, in the estimation of Roster Resource. They began last year with an Opening Day mark of $155MM and have been above $200MM in the recent past, according to figures from Cot’s Baseball Contracts. If they are willing to get back up to those levels, they should have plenty to work with. Rumors have connected them to the top free agent shortstops as well as Bay Area native Aaron Judge, making for a very interesting offseason ahead. But for now, they’ve brought back a very productive hitter for another season in black and orange.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Rockies Select Five Players To Roster
The Rockies announced they have selected five players to their roster in advance of today’s Rule 5 deadline. They are right-handers Riley Pint and Blair Calvo, infielders Warming Bernabel and Julio Carreras, as well as outfielder Brenton Doyle.
Pint has pitched his way onto the 40-man roster for the first time. That was long the expectation after Colorado selected him fourth overall out of a Kansas high school back in 2016, but he’s traversed an unexpectedly challenging path. Pint struggled significantly with his strike-throwing in the lower levels of the minor leagues, and he decided to step away from the game entirely for a point last year. The 6’5″ hurler returned in 2022, splitting the season between Double-A Hartford and Triple-A Albuquerque.
Now 25, Pint spent the bulk of the season in Hartford, working to a 4.64 ERA in 42 2/3 innings out of the bullpen. He punched out a very strong 29.6% of opponents, although his 15.6% walk percentage remains alarming. The Rockies were nevertheless impressed enough with his form to foreclose any possibility of losing him in the Rule 5 draft. He could factor into the big league bullpen mix next year.
Calvo was a 23rd-round draftee in 2019 out of a Florida junior college. He worked 35 innings through 29 relief appearances in Hartford, pitching to a 3.09 ERA. Calvo struck out an excellent 32.2% of opponents, induced ground-balls at a massive 57.6% clip and only walked 7.5% of opponents. Calvo turns 27 before Opening Day and could join Pint in factoring into the MLB bullpen mix in 2023.
Bernabel, the #13 prospect in the organization according to Baseball America, was an amateur signee out of the Dominican Republic before the 2019 season. A right-handed hitting third baseman, he’s shown excellent bat-to-ball skills in the low minors. The 20-year-old posted a .317/.390/.504 line with 10 home runs and 21 stolen bases in 300 plate appearances with Low-A Fresno. He’s still likely a couple years from big league readiness, having just briefly reached High-A, but his rapidly improving prospect status gets him a 40-man spot early.
Carreras, 23 in January, signed out of the Dominican Republic during the 2018-19 international period. Baseball America considers him the #20 prospect in the system, praising his shortstop defense and power potential. He spent most of the year at High-A Spokane, hitting .289/.352/.473 with 11 homers to earn a late bump to Hartford.
Doyle is the #22 prospect in the system, according to BA. A fourth-round pick in 2019 out of Shepherd University, he spent most of the year in Hartford. He posted a .246/.287/.450 mark, connecting on 23 longballs but striking out at an elevated 31.2% clip. Doyle spent most of the season playing center field and has a very promising combination of power and athleticism, but his subpar bat-to-ball skills raise questions about his ultimate role.
Rays Trade Miles Mastrobuoni To Cubs
2:45pm: The Rays’ return for Mastrobuoni will be 21-year-old righty Alfredo Zarraga, Topkin further reports. The Cubs announced the trade shortly after Topkin’s report.
The 21-year-old Zarraga (22 tomorrow) has pitched just 18 2/3 professional innings with the Cubs organization, all in 2022, when he posted a 1.93 ERA and 29-to-9 K/BB ratio in 18 2/3 innings across two Class-A levels. Topkin tweets that Zarraga suffered a broken right hand in August, which ended his season, though there’s no indication that he won’t be ready for Spring Training.
2:03pm: The Rays and Cubs have agreed to a trade that would send infielder/outfielder Miles Mastrobuoni to Chicago, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. In exchange, the Rays will receive a minor league pitcher whose identity is not yet known.
Mastrobuoni, 27, was a 14th round draft pick of the Rays in 2016. He hasn’t been a highly-touted prospect for much of his time in the minors, but did crack the FanGraphs list of top Tampa farmhands coming into 2022, getting the #37 slot. He then cracked the Baseball America list for the first at the 2022 midseason update at #20.
He climbed his way onto those lists by continuing to hit up the minor league ladder while showcasing a classic Tampa Bay defensive versatility. In 2022, he got into 129 Triple-A games, hitting 16 home runs and stealing 23 bases, producing a batting line of .300/.377/.469 for a wRC+ of 126. He walked in 11% of his plate appearances while striking out in just 16.6% of them. Defensively, he played second base, third base, shortstop and all three outfield spots. That was enough to get him a brief promotion to the big leagues, as he had his contract selected in September but only got into eight games.
The Rays have a roster crunch that they have been dealing with in recent days, as they have many Rule 5 eligible players that they have to consider adding to their roster prior to today’s deadline. In the past week, they’ve declined a club option on Kevin Kiermaier, traded Ji-Man Choi and put Nick Anderson, Roman Quinn, Jimmy Yacabonis and Brendan McKay on waivers. Now Mastrobuoni is the latest victim of the squeeze.
For the Cubs, they have been rebuilding and have various positions that could be up for grabs, depending on how their offseason goes. Seiya Suzuki and Nico Hoerner seem likely to have regular roles, though Hoerner could potentially be moved from shortstop to second base. Ian Happ will be in the lineup but he’s also one year away from free agency and frequently mentioned in trade rumors. The rest of the lineup is currently a hodgepodge of unproven young players or veterans unlikely to be long-term building blocks. Mastrobuoni’s versatility should allow the Cubs to bounce him around to wherever they need, depending on what players they acquire during the offseason or how their young players develop going forward. He still has a full slate of options and has yet to reach arbitration, meaning he won’t cost the club much and can be sent to the minors if he doesn’t carve out a role on the big league club.
A’s Select Lawrence Butler, Hogan Harris
The Athletics announced Tuesday that they’ve selected the contracts of outfielder Lawrence Butler and left-hander Hogan Harris. The pair of moves brings their 40-man roster count to 39 players.
Butler, 22, spent the bulk of the season in High-A where he slashed .270/.357/.468 with a 12% walk rate and a 31.5% strikeout rate. Baseball America tabs him 15th among Oakland farmhands, lauding his 70-grade raw power (on the 20-80 scale) and penchant for top-of-the-scale exit velocities. He also boasts plus speed, per their report, but has a tendency to swing and miss even though he’ll also draw plenty of walks. Butler is an outfielder for now but has also garnered some experience at first base.
Harris, 26 next month, isn’t considered among the organization’s top-ranked prospects but put himself on the map with a promising showing across three levels in 2022. The 6’3″, 230-pound southpaw didn’t pitch in 2020 due to the canceled minor league season and missed all of 2021 recovering from Tommy John surgery.
However, he returned with a sub-2.00 ERA and a 35.8% strikeout rate in 43 1/3 innings between High-A and Double-A before getting torched for a 6.35 ERA in 28 1/3 innings late in the season in a very hitter-friendly Triple-A Las Vegas setting. Walks were an issue even at those lower levels, but Harris’ success in Double-A and ability to miss bats from the left side might’ve made him an appealing Rule 5 target even with questions about his ability to consistently locate the ball.
Braves Announce Several Roster Moves
The Braves have announced several roster moves in advance of today’s Rule 5 protection deadline. Infielder Braden Shewmake as well as right-handers Roddery Munoz and Darius Vines have been added to the club’s 40-man roster. In corresponding moves, outfielder Guillermo Heredia as well as right-handers William Woods and Silvino Bracho were designated for assignment.
Heredia’s DFA should come as little surprise, given that he was an obvious non-tender candidate on the heels of a .158/.220/.342 showing in 82 plate appearances with the Braves this season. While the 31-year-old can handle all three outfield spots and has at times looked the part of a solid, short-side platoon player in his seven-year Major League career, he’s never shed the part-time player label and owns just a .231/.310/.346 batting line in 1566 career plate appearances.
Woods, 23, tossed a pair of scoreless innings in his big league debut this season but was torched for a 6.04 ERA in 25 1/3 innings across three minor league levels as well. The former 23rd-rounder also gave up a dozen runs in 12 2/3 innings during this year’s Arizona Fall League.
Bracho was acquired from the Red Sox for cash over the summer and surrendered three runs in 4 1/3 innings for the Braves. The longtime D-backs righty posted a strong 2.67 ERA in 57 1/3 innings between the Triple-A affiliates for Boston and Atlanta, including a particularly impressive 70-to-10 K/BB ratio. The Braves would’ve had to pay him slightly north of the big league minimum as an arb-eligible player, however, and Bracho’s status as a journeyman who’s thrown just 5 1/3 Major League innings since 2018 — in part due to Tommy John surgery — always left him as a likely non-tender candidate.