Brewers’ Jason Alexander Out Until May Due To Shoulder Injury
Brewers righty Jason Alexander is expected to miss more than a month to begin the season, reports Adam McCalvy of MLB.com (Twitter link). The 29-year-old righty experienced discomfort in his shoulder when he was ramping up for spring training last month, and he’s likely to be sidelined into the second half of May. Alexander becomes the second Brewers pitcher who’ll miss substantial time due to shoulder trouble; left-hander Aaron Ashby will miss at least two months due to shoulder trouble of his own.
Alexander made his big league debut in Milwaukee last season, tossing 71 2/3 innings for the Brewers over the course of 11 starts and another seven relief appearances. He posted a strong 3.21 ERA over his first five starts before beginning to falter, ultimately finishing out his rookie campaign with a 5.40 ERA and a lowly 14.7% strikeout rate. Alexander’s 8.7% walk rate was generally solid, however, and he induced grounders at a strong 50.6% clip. The lack of punchouts and a susceptibility to home runs (1.51 HR/9) worked against him, but the righty had posted a 2.84 ERA in 63 1/3 Triple-A frames before being called to the big leagues.
Neither Alexander nor Ashby was guaranteed a rotation spot heading into 2023, but their absences will thin out Milwaukee’s depth a fair bit. It’s not clear whether the Brewers knew the full extent of either player’s shoulder issues when signing Wade Miley to a one-year deal last month, but what was once at least a somewhat surprising deal for a pitching-rich club could now prove pivotal. Regardless of whether Miley’s addition was made with the knowledge that Ashby and Alexander were ailing or whether it’s mere serendipity, the Brewers are surely glad to have the veteran southpaw on the staff.
The Brewers’ rotation heading into 2023 will feature Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff, Freddy Peralta, Eric Lauer and the aforementioned Miley. Righty Adrian Houser, a rotation staple the past couple seasons, is still on hand as a sixth option, but both Ashby and Alexander would’ve also been starting candidates in the event of injuries elsewhere on the staff. Trade acquisition Janson Junk, prospect Ethan Small and DFA reclamation Bryse Wilson give Milwaukee further depth, though Wilson is out of minor league options and isn’t necessarily a lock to make the Opening Day roster.
Pirates Win Arbitration Hearing Against Ji-Man Choi
The Pirates won their arbitration hearing against first baseman Ji-Man Choi, reports Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Twitter link). He’ll earn the $4.65MM salary submitted by the team, as opposed to the $5.4MM salary his camp submitted on exchange day last month.
Acquired in a November trade that sent minor league pitcher Jack Hartman back to the Rays, Choi is heading into his final season of control before he’ll reach the free-agent market. The 31-year-old turned in a .233/.341/.488 batting line with Tampa Bay in 2022, swatting 11 home runs and 22 doubles while operating primarily as a platoon bat at first base and designated hitter. That’s a role with which Choi is familiar; just 16% of his career plate appearances have come against lefties (278 of 1724), and he’s a lifetime .203/.288/.301 hitter against them. Conversely, he’s hit righties at a .247/.356/.454 pace in 1446 plate appearances.
With the Pirates, Choi will pair with fellow offseason acquisition Carlos Santana to split time between first base and designated hitter. He’ll add some thump to a Pirates lineup that mustered only a .224/.296/.362 batting line against righties in 2022 — resulting in an ugly 86 wRC+ that ranked 26th among all MLB clubs.
Choi underwent elbow surgery shortly after the trade, but the Pirates were aware of the injury and confident that he’d be ready to go for spring training. By all accounts, that’s still the expectation. Mackey notes that Choi arrived at Pirates camp this morning but has yet to speak with the media.
With Choi’s salary now set, the Pirates’ payroll is finalized, barring any late additions via the free-agent or trade markets (or any possible extensions this spring). As it stands, they’ll head into the year with just north of $75MM committed to their roster. Small as that number may be, it represents a leap of nearly $20MM over last year’s Opening Day mark of $55.7MM, which ranked 28th among baseball’s 30 teams.
Tigers Claim Tyler Holton, Place Casey Mize On 60-Day Injured List
The Tigers announced Friday that they’ve claimed lefty Tyler Holton off waivers from the Diamondbacks, who’d designated him for assignment earlier in the week. In order to open a spot on the 40-man roster, Detroit transferred right-hander Casey Mize to the 60-day injured list. Mize underwent Tommy John surgery and back surgery last year and wasn’t expected to be ready within the season’s first two months anyhow, so his eventual placement on the 60-day IL was a foregone conclusion.
The 26-year-old Holton made his MLB debut in 2022, pitching nine innings and allowing three runs on right hits and a pair of walks with six strikeouts during that brief cup of coffee. The rest of his season was spent in Triple-A Reno, where he logged a 4.43 ERA in 44 2/3 innings, fanning 23.5% of his opponents against a 9.3% walk rate.
It was a rebound effort for Holton, who’d previously limped to a 6.72 ERA between Double-A and Triple-A in 2021. Even amid those struggles, he notched a strong 26.5% strikeout rate, however, and his 6.5% walk rate was similarly encouraging. Solid strikeout, walk and ground-ball rates have been the norm for Holton since being selected in the ninth round of the 2018 draft. He doesn’t throw hard and has never ranked among the D-backs’ best prospects, but his track record of performance, MLB readiness and pair of remaining minor league option years all surely held appeal to the Tigers.
Prior to claiming Holton, the only left-handed bullpen option on the 40-man roster had been Tyler Alexander (assuming the club wants to keep Joey Wentz in a starting role). Non-roster veterans Chasen Shreve, Jace Fry and Miguel Del Pozo will all be in camp competing for a job as well. Holton will have a chance to land an Opening Day roster spot, though the Tigers can freely option him to Triple-A Toledo if one of the non-roster options outperforms him (or, if the team simply opts to carry one left-hander to begin the season). Wherever he starts the year, Holton figures to log some action in the big league bullpen in 2023, given the lack of certainty that permeates the Detroit bullpen following offseason trades of Gregory Soto and Joe Jimenez.
As for Mize, he underwent Tommy John surgery last June, so he’s unlikely to be an option until the season’s second half. The Tigers only recently revealed that Mize also underwent back surgery around that same time, however. Mize told reporters about the procedure earlier this week, explaining that his back issues have been slowly escalating over the past several years. Knowing he’d be off the mound for a year-plus anyhow, he opted for surgery aimed at alleviating the issue so he could truly be at full strength once he returns to the mound later this year.
Rangers Have Had Talks With Robbie Grossman
The Rangers have had discussions with free-agent outfielder Robbie Grossman about a potential contract, reports ESPN’s Buster Olney (Twitter link). The 33-year-old would give them another option to jump into their currently unsettled left field mix.
Pitching has been the overwhelming focus for the Rangers throughout the 2022-23 offseason, as they’ve signed Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi and Andrew Heaney while also acquiring Jake Odorizzi in a trade with the Braves. Two of the three spots in the team’s outfield seem generally spoken for, with slugger Adolis Garcia likely ticketed for everyday work in right field and defensive standout Leody Taveras slated for regular work in center field.
Left field is another story entirely. The position has gone unaddressed this winter even though Rangers left fielders were the least-productive unit of all 30 MLB clubs in 2022, when they ranked dead-last in the Majors in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. Texas left fielders combined to post an almost unfathomably feeble .186/.253/.255 batting line. That translated to a 47 wRC+, or roughly 53% worse than league-average production after weighting for home park and the league run-scoring environment. Rangers left fielders also struck out at a 29.6% clip (28th in MLB), hit 11 home runs (27th), and managed only five doubles (last in the Majors) and no triples.
There’s no clear, MLB-ready top prospect looming, either. The Rangers’ hope, to this point, has seemingly been that some combination of former top prospect Josh Smith, veteran utilityman Brad Miller, former first-round pick Bubba Thompson, infielder/outfielder Mark Mathias and a slate of minor league signees (e.g. Clint Frazier, Travis Jankowski, Elier Hernandez) can patch the position together.
However, Texas general manager Chris Young said last week that he’s still open to the possibility of adding an outfielder from outside the organization. Grossman obviously fits that bill, and while he might not be ticketed for everyday work himself, the veteran switch-hitter could at the very least occupy the short half of a potential platoon arrangement.
Grossman was an above-average bat in five of six seasons from 2016-21, with 2019 being the lone exception. He slipped to a .209/.310/.311 output in 477 plate appearances this past season between the Tigers and Braves, but he maintained his long track record of production against left-handed pitching. He mashed southpaws at a .320/.436/.443 pace in 2022 and is a career .279/.377/.413 hitter against lefties.
Grossman has had productive stretches against righties, too, though he’s been inconsistent in that regard. He’s batted .232/.335/.363 in his career against righties and walked at a hefty 12.7% clip, but over the past two seasons, Grossman has looked overmatched when batting from the left side of the dish: .196/.308/.331 (82 wRC+) in 793 plate appearances. Among the Rangers’ in-house options in left field, both Miller and Smith bat from the left side of the dish, making Grossman a somewhat natural platoon partner for either.
While Grossman was a defensive liability early in his career, he’s improved his glovework over time. Over the past four seasons, he’s tallied 2422 innings in left field and been a scratch defender per Defensive Runs Saved (0), while Ultimate Zone Rating (6.2) and Statcast’s Outs Above Average (2) feel he’s been a bit better.
Rays Void Prior Selection Of Trevor Kelley’s Contract
Feb. 17: The Rays have voided yesterday’s transaction selecting Kelley to the 40-man roster and transferring Kittredge to the 60-day injured list, tweets Neil Solondz of Rays Radio. Voiding the transaction is largely a technicality; the league flagged the transaction, citing a rule that non-roster invitees are ineligible to be selected to the 40-man roster until March 15. The move can still formally be processed at that time. It’s surely discouraging for Kelley, however, as he’ll now be exposed to some injury or performance-based risk over the next month that wouldn’t have been the case had he been immediately added to the 40-man roster.
Feb. 16: The Rays announced Thursday that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Trevor Kelley, who’d been in camp on a minor league deal. Fellow righty Andrew Kittredge, who’s recovering from Tommy John surgery, was transferred to the 60-day injured list in order to open a spot on the 40-man roster. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times suggested earlier that Kelley could be selected to the 40-man roster sooner than later.
Kelley, 30, has seen Major League time with the Red Sox, Phillies and Brewers but has yet to find much big league success. He tallied a career-high 23 2/3 innings with Milwaukee last season but also was knocked around to the tune of a 6.08 ERA. The sidearmer posted a below-average 21.5% strikeout rate but a solid 8.4% walk rate. Home runs have been a major issue for Kelley, however, evidenced by a whopping 11 round-trippers surrendered in just 35 1/3 MLB frames (2.8 HR/9).
Those big league struggles notwithstanding, Kelley possesses an exceptional 1.81 ERA in a much larger sample of 164 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level. He’s also punched out 25.7% of his opponents there against an 8.7% walk rate. Kelley has a minor league option remaining as well, so he’ll give the Rays some flexibility with their bullpen. He’s not yet up to a year of MLB service, so if the Rays can coax some of that Triple-A performance out at the Major League level, the Rays can control him for as many as six seasons.
As for Kittredge, he was one of the Rays’ top relievers, pitching to a 2.17 ERA in 99 2/3 innings dating back to 2020. However, the 32-year-old Kittredge was limited to just 20 innings this past season, as a June IL placement due to discomfort in his right elbow ultimately proved a precursor to Tommy John surgery. It’s possible he’ll make it back to the big leagues at some point in the season’s second half, but there’s no way Kittredge was going to be ready within the season’s first couple months, so moving him to the 60-day IL amounts to little more than a formality. If the Rays need another 40-man roster spot, they can do the same with right-hander Shane Baz, who’s also on the mend from Tommy John surgery.
The Opener: Arbitration, Lefty Relief, Rays
With all pitchers and catchers for all 30 clubs set to report for Spring Training by the end of today, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day:
1. Arbitration Hearings End Today
Arbitration hearings are set to come to a close today. Yesterday, Ji-Man Choi went to a hearing against the Pirates, according to the Associated Press. Choi’s hearing comes on the heels of decisions in favor of Luis Rengifo and Harold Ramirez, but against Ryan Helsley and Josh Rojas. Choi filed for a salary in 2023 of $5.4MM while Pittsburgh countered with $4.65MM. Choi is a free agent after the 2023 season, so the coming decision won’t have much impact on his future earnings beyond 2023. Choi joins four other players in waiting for a decision on their 2023 salary, while two final hearings are set to take place today for Cardinals lefty Genesis Cabrera and Mariners outfield Teoscar Hernandez.
2. What’s next for the lefty relief market?
Yesterday Matt Moore landed with the Angels on a one-year deal, just a few days after Andrew Chafin signed with the Diamondbacks. Even with the top two lefty relief free agents now off the board, though, there’s plenty of interesting options remaining for clubs seeking lefty relief help. Both Will Smith and Brad Hand have faced some struggles in recent years, though each still touts years of late-inning experience and encouraging recent performance. Hand enjoyed a bounce-back season with the Phillies last year following a difficult 2021 season, while Smith improved considerably down the stretch in 2022 following a trade to the Astros.
Zack Britton is another name of particular interest, given his legacy as one of the longest-standing best relievers in baseball, but injuries have held him back in recent years. Since Opening Day 2021, Britton has thrown just 19 innings with an ERA of 6.16 (72 ERA+). Britton held a January showcase for interested teams and then worked out for six specific clubs earlier this week. The teams in attendance were the Angels, Cubs, Dodgers, Giants, Mets, and Rangers, though with the Angels landing Moore, it’s possible their interest has waned.
3. Rays FanFest Tomorrow
The Rays are hosting Rays FanFest at Tropicana Field tomorrow. The free fan event is set to run from 11am to 3pm local time, with Rays players in attendance, games, and a stage show. The FanFest comes at the end of what was a somewhat quiet offseason for the Rays, with Zach Eflin standing as their lone major addition. Meanwhile, longtime center fielder Kevin Kiermaier departed for the division rival Blue Jays, Choi was traded to the Pirates, and Ryan Yarbrough was non-tendered. Despite minimal roster turnover, the Rays did add a bright spot to their offseason in recent weeks by agreeing to extensions with Yandy Diaz, Jeffrey Springs, and Pete Fairbanks.
Phillies Extend Jose Alvarado
The Phillies have signed lefty reliever Jose Alvarado to a three year contract, per a team announcement. The deal keeps Alvarado in Philadelphia through at least the 2025 season, and includes a club option for 2026. Alvarado is represented by OL Baseball Group.
According to Daniel Alvarez-Montes of El Extrabase, Alvarado will earn $9MM in each of the 2024 and 2025 seasons, with a $50K signing bonus. The 2026 club option is for $9MM, with a $500k buyout. Alvarado and the club already agreed to a $3.45MM salary for 2023 to avoid arbitration, effectively making this three-year, $22MM contract a two-year, $18.55MM extension. Still, it’s a three-year contract for luxury tax purposes, meaning the Phillies will be taxed on a $7.33MM AAV for 2023, as opposed to the previous $3.45MM figure. On the other hand, this also lowers the tax figure for 2024 and 2025 seasons compared to the $9.275MM figure it would have been if structured as a two year deal.
Alvarado, 28 in May, is coming off a phenomenal 2022 season that saw him post a 3.18 ERA across 51 innings of work. While that figure is good for a solidly above-average ERA+ of 129, digging a little deeper reveals that Alvarado posted a dazzling 1.92 FIP last season, the fourth best in baseball, minimum 50 innings pitched. The discrepancy between Alvarado’s run prevention and his underlying metrics likely comes from an inflated .340 BABIP that stands well above his career .302 mark. The rare lefty who can touch triple digits with his fastball, Alvarado’s success came in large part from a 37.9% strikeout rate, which stood as 7th in baseball among those with at least 50 IP.
Alvarado’s success came from more than just strikeouts, however. As a sinkerballer, Alvarado also managed to keep the ball on the ground at and impressive 56.1% clip. Only Jhoan Duran of the Twins had a higher groundball rate while striking out at least 30% of batters faced, while no pitcher who struck out batters at a higher clip than Alvarado induced grounders at a rate of even 50%. That mix of strikeouts and groundballs is a strong recipe for success, and by signing Alvarado long term, the Phillies are indicating confidence in his ability to continue his success past his 30th birthday.
Early in the offseason, the top end of the free agent market exploded, with Robert Suarez and Rafael Montero signing early for surprising guarantees in re-signing with their previous clubs. Suarez secured $46MM from the Padres, while Montero received $34.5MM from the Astros. Taylor Rogers, meanwhile, landed a $33MM guarantee in San Francisco. Those figures all outstrip Alvarado’s guarantee by a considerable amount, but the $18.55MM in new money surpasses the guarantees of free agent lefties who signed later this offseason such as Matt Strahm ($15MM), Andrew Chafin ($6.25MM), and Matt Moore, ($7.55MM). Given how Alvarado’s deal stacks up well against fellow relievers in his service bracket like Ryan Pressly, Huston Street, and Daniel Bard, taking this deal is an understandable decision for him. While there’s risk he continues to dominate as he did in 2022, the Phillies are risking that his struggles with injuries and command resurface from earlier in his career and limit his abilities going forward.
This is the second extension at the back of the Phillies’ bullpen in as many days, as the club agreed to a deal Seranthony Dominguez yesterday that could keep Dominguez in Philadelphia through the 2025 season. With these deals, the Phillies have locked up a pair of exciting, high-octane arms who can be penciled in for late inning duties alongside Strahm and Gregory Soto for the next few seasons. Having also also added Craig Kimbrel to their late inning mix for the 2023 season last month, the Phillies appear to have turned a bullpen that has long been considered an area of weakness for the club into a strength as they attempt to return to the World Series after last year’s surprise postseason run.
Phillies Extend Seranthony Dominguez
The Phillies and right-handed reliever Seranthony Dominguez are in agreement on a two-year contract to avoid arbitration, according to a team announcement. The deal includes a club option for the 2025 season, which extends Philadelphia’s window of club control on Dominguez by one year. The deal guarantees him $7.25MM, MLBTR has learned. He’ll be paid $2.5MM in 2023, $4.25MM in 2024 and has a $500K buyout on an $8MM club option for the 2025 season. Dominguez is represented by Epitome Sports Management.
The 28-year-old Dominguez and the Phillies had faced a relatively wide gap in the arbitration figures they exchanged, with the team submitting a $2.1MM figure to Dominguez’s $2.9MM submission. He’ll now have his salaries for the next two seasons locked in, gaining some financial security in exchange for control over what would’ve been his first arbitration season.
It’s an understandable trade to make in Dominguez’s case, given the electric right-hander’s lengthy injury history. Dominguez’s sheer talent has never been in doubt. He debuted as a 23-year-old back in 2018 and immediately thrust himself into the mix for leverage innings with the Phillies, pitching to a 2.95 ERA with a huge 32% strikeout rate against a 9.5% walk rate in 58 innings. Brandishing a four-seamer that averaged a whopping 97.8 mph (and a sinker that sat 98.3 mph), Dominguez dominated opposing lineups, yielding a woefully anemic .157/.251/.250 batting line during his rookie campaign.
However, an elbow strain in June of 2019 shelved Dominguez, eventually leading to the discovery of damage in his right elbow’s ulnar collateral ligament. After a visit to Dr. James Andrews, Dominguez followed the recommended treatment of a platelet-rich plasma injection and rehab. After all, given that his UCL injury occurred in the summer, he’d likely have missed the entire 2020 campaign (or close to it) whether he underwent surgery immediately or whether he first attempted to rehab.
The treatment appeared to work at first. Dominguez reported to camp in 2020 and was expected to be ready early in the season, if not by Opening Day. He suffered a setback early in camp, though, at which point a Tommy John procedure was recommended. Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic delayed the timing of the procedure, pushing the surgery back into late July. He returned to throw just one inning late in the 2021 season.
By the time Dominguez took the mound in 2022, he was more than 18 months removed from surgery and nearly three calendar years removed his original elbow injury. The operation and the time off appeared to do wonders, as the flamethrowing righty looked like his 2018 self, pitching 51 innings of 3.00 ERA ball with a 29.5% strikeout rate and 10.6% walk rate while averaging 97.8 mph on his four-seamer and 98.4 mph on his sinker. Dominguez’s 14% swinging-strike rate wasn’t quite back to its 2018 levels (an outstanding 15.5%), but he induced chases on pitches off the plate more frequently (32.3% in 2022, 29.6% in 2018) and was nearly every bit as stingy when it came to surrendering home runs (0.71 HR/9).
Now a locked-in member of the Philadelphia relief corps for at least the next two seasons, Dominguez will have the peace of mind both of having pitched a full season since undergoing surgery and also having secured the first life-changing guarantee of his career. He’ll be in the mix for saves alongside lefty Jose Alvarado, free-agent signee Craig Kimbrel and trade acquisition Gregory Soto — a quartet that will give Philadelphia one of the hardest-throwing bullpens — if not the hardest-throwing bullpen — in the sport. And, with Alvardo entering his final season of club control and Kimbrel playing the 2023 season on a one-year deal, it’s possible that Dominguez could emerge as the go-to option in the ninth inning by the time 2024 rolls around.
Even if the Phillies pick up their club option on Dominguez, he’ll still reach free agency in advance of his age-31 season. That’d still put him on the market early enough to land a sizable multi-year deal in free agency, and he’d have that opportunity after already banking $14.75MM over the course of this current contract.
Dominguez’s two-year contract will carry a slightly larger luxury-tax hit than he’d have cost the club by just inking a one-year deal. The Phils are already into the second tier of luxury penalization, meaning they’re being taxed at a 45% clip for any dollars spent between the $253MM and $273MM endpoints on the luxury scale. The $3.625MM average annual value on Dominguez’s deal comes with a $1.63MM luxury hit, rather than the $1.125MM hit he’d have cost them had he inked a one-year deal at the $2.5MM midpoint between their exchanged figures. Nevertheless, the Phillies are nowhere close to the $273MM barrier for the third tier of penalization, which is the most onerous of the luxury tiers, as that’s the point at which a team sees its top pick in the following year’s draft dropped by 10 places.
Angels Sign Matt Moore
The Angels added veteran help to their bullpen Thursday, announcing the signing of left-hander Matt Moore to a one-year, $7.55MM contract. Right-hander Davis Daniel, who’s dealing with a shoulder strain, was placed on the 60-day injured list to open a spot on the 40-man roster. Moore is represented by Apex Baseball.
Moore began his career in 2011 as a starting pitcher for the Rays and pitched effectively, even earning an All Star appearance and down-ballot Cy Young award votes in 2013. Unfortunately, Moore missed most of the 2014 season after receiving Tommy John surgery, and struggled to remain effective as a starter following the procedure. In 557 2/3 innings across the 2014-19 seasons, Moore struggled to a 5.08 ERA (83 ERA+) while spending time as a member of the Rays, Giants, Rangers, and Tigers.
These struggles led Moore to Japan, where he pitched well as a reliever during the 2020 season. In 2021, he returned to stateside ball, but struggled once again in a swing role for the Phillies, posting a 6.29 ERA (67 ERA+) in 73 innings. The following offseason, Moore had to settle for a minor league contract with the Rangers, who he had previously pitched for during the 2018 season. That minors deal proved to be a stroke of genius by the Rangers front office, as Moore posted an astonishing 1.95 ERA (203 ERA+) across 74 innings in 2022.
Moore’s extreme success last season wasn’t entirely supported by his peripherals. He allowed a BABIP of just .257, nearly 40 points below his career norms, and his FIP came in more than a full run higher than his ERA. That same FIP is still a strong 2.98, however, and many underlying metrics reveal plenty of reason for optimism about Moore’s future headed into his age-34 season. His fastball gained an average of 1.5 mph in velocity in 2022, which allowed Moore to rack up far more strikeouts than he had previously. In 2021, Moore struck out just 18.9% of batters faced, but 2022 saw that figure climb all the way to 27.3%.
In addition, his began to allow much weaker contact in 2022, with his hard contact rate dropping from 35.5% all the way to 22.5% while his soft contact rate leapt from 14.3% up to 22%. Striking out batters at a clip similar to that of Luis Castillo (27.2% strikeout rate) while generating nearly as much weak contact as Max Scherzer (22.7% soft contact rate) is certainly a recipe for success, so it’s easy to see why the Angels would want to add Moore to their mix at the back of a bullpen that currently features Carlos Estevez, Ryan Tepera, and Aaron Loup among its top options.
With that being said, the Halos are almost certainly hoping they can find a way to help their new reliever limit his walks. Moore’s walk rate of 12.5% was third worst in the majors among all pitchers with at least 70 innings pitched, ahead of just Yusei Kikuchi and Caleb Smith. Moore’s sensational 2022 proves that if you can strike batters out at an elevated clip while limiting hard contact it’s still possible to have success even when you walk too many batters, as does the success of pitchers like Jorge Lopez and Dylan Cease. Nonetheless, Moore’s penchant for allowing free passes puts more pressure on the rest of his skills to hold up at their current top-tier levels if he’s going to remain among the best relievers in the game, as he was in 2022.
Moore’s signing continues what has been a fairly aggressive offseason from the Angels. While the club didn’t sign a marquee free agent or swing a blockbuster trade, they’ve added much-needed depth to a roster that already had plenty of star power and made important upgrades to almost every position on the roster. Moore and fellow free-agent acquisition Estevez strengthen the bullpen, while the signing of Tyler Anderson improves the rotation. Meanwhile, the lineup is bolstered by the additions of Hunter Renfroe, Gio Urshela, and Brandon Drury.
The Halos still have an uphill battle in the AL West this year, as the 2022 World Series champion Astros don’t appear to be slowing down, the Mariners are still on the upswing, and the Rangers had a second straight offseason full of splashy additions. Nonetheless, it’s clear that Moore makes the Angels better, even in spite of his age, walk rate, and lacking track record prior to 2022. If he manages to have a season resembling the one he had last year again, it’s easy to see a world where Angels fans no longer miss old closer Raisel Iglesias, who was sent to Atlanta at last year’s trade deadline.
Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic first reported the Angels and Moore were nearing an agreement. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported it was a one-year contract.
A’s, Greg Deichmann Agree To Minor League Contract
The Athletics have signed corner outfielder Greg Deichmann to a minor league deal, according to his transactions log at MLB.com. He returns to the organization that initially drafted him in the second round back in 2017.
A left-handed hitter, Deichmann played four seasons in the Oakland minor league system. He worked his way to Triple-A Las Vegas by 2021, hitting .300/.433/.452 over 60 games there. As the trade deadline approached, the A’s dealt Deichmann alongside another minor leaguer to the Cubs for Andrew Chafin. Oakland remained firmly in playoff contention that summer, while the Cubs had fallen out of the mix in July and moved a number of players off the MLB roster.
That afforded Deichmann a chance for his initial big league action a couple weeks after the trade. The Cubs promoted him for his MLB debut in early August. He made it into only 14 games, collecting four hits in 30 at-bats. Deichmann spent the remainder of the season on optional assignment to their top affiliate in Iowa. He couldn’t replicate the solid numbers he’d posted during the Triple-A season’s first half, hitting .227/.298/.403 in 34 games.
The LSU product held his spot on Chicago’s 40-man roster last offseason but was designated for assignment shortly after Opening Day. He went unclaimed on waivers and spent the bulk of last year in Iowa after being outrighted. Deichmann limped to a .214/.271/.335 showing over 78 games there. He hit just seven homers while striking out at a huge 32.3% clip. The Cubs released him in August.
It was a season to forget, but Deichmann’s still just 27 years old and has drawn praise for his power potential at times. He’ll return to an environment in which he’s had prior success. He’s likely to open the upcoming season back in Las Vegas, adding upper level outfield depth to the organization. Deichmann owns a .239/.329/.410 line over parts of five minor league seasons.