NL Central Notes: Helsley, Reds, Stephenson
Ahead of their victory over Ryan Helsley in an arbitration hearing, the Cardinals reportedly discussed a multi-year deal with the right-hander, according to The Athletic’s Katie Woo. Woo notes that the sides were far apart, with the biggest issue being Helsley’s durability. As Woo notes, the Cardinals were concerned with Helsley’s rarely pitching on back-to-back days last year, while Helsley’s camp pointed out that he frequently went multiple innings during appearances as an explanation for that.
Helsley pitched on back-to-back days eight times in 2022, with eighteen of his 54 appearances lasting longer than 1.0 IP, though just nine of his appearances involved pitch counts greater than 25. Whatever one makes of his durability, however, Helsley certainly turned in a dominant 2022 season as he pitched to a sterling 1.25 ERA good for a 306 ERA+, meaning he was more than three times more effective than the league average pitcher in 2022. That performance was backed by a strong 2.34 FIP thanks to Helsley’s fantastic 39.3% strikeout rate and solid 8.4% walk rate. His K-BB% of 31 ranked fourth best in the majors last year among those with at least 60 innings of work.
For his part, Helsley told reporters that there were “no hard feelings” between himself and the organization, though he noted that the arbitration process was a tough one and that he and other players “wish it was a little different.”
Elsewhere in the NL Central…
- Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson will likely see more time off from his duties behind the plate this year, manager David Bell tells reporters, including Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Bell plans for Stephenson to catch around 65 games this season, with about 80 games split between the DH slot and first base, allowing him to play around 140-50 games this season. Stephenson was limited to just 50 games and 183 plate appearances in 2022 due to injuries, but he hit well in those appearances, slashing .319/.372/.484, good for a wRC+ of 134. That overall line was likely helped by an inflated .409 BABIP, but as a career 119 wRC+ hitter, Stephenson still figures to be a key cog in the Reds lineup in 2023 as long as he can stay healthy. The Reds are no doubt hoping that less time behind the plate will help Stephenson stay on the field this year, while still allowing him to primarily be a catcher. The Reds expect to roster three catchers headed into Opening Day, with Curt Casali and Luke Maile both signed to big league deals.
- Sticking with the Reds, Bell tells reporters, including Mark Sheldon of MLB.com, that his hope is to have more than one left-handed reliever in his bullpen this year. Reiver Sanmartin is the only lefty currently expected to be part of Cincinnati’s Opening Day bullpen, coming off a difficult season where he posted a 6.32 ERA (71 ERA+) in 57 innings with the big league club. Two potential options to join Sanmartin in the bullpen this year are Daniel Norris and Alex Young, both of whom are in camp on non-roster invitations. Norris struggled in 2022, posting a 5.22 ERA (76 ERA+) in 58 2/3 innings split between the Cubs and the Tigers last year. Young, however, found success in 2022 pitching for the Guardians and Giants. The lefty posted a 2.36 ERA (175 ERA+) with a 2.89 FIP in 26 2/3 innings, almost all of which came in San Francisco.
MLB Creates Economic Reform Committee
One year after a tense period of CBA negotiations between MLB and it players that resulted in a lockout and a delay to the start of the 2022 season, it appears the league is already preparing for the next round of negotiations. According to Evan Drellich of The Athletic, the commissioner’s office has formed what they’re calling an economic reform committee chaired by Dodgers chairman Mark Walter. Drellich reports that Tigers chairman Chris Ilitch, Red Sox principle owner John Henry, and Rockies chairman Dick Monfort are among other members of the committee of franchise owners. The current CBA is set to expire following the 2026 season.
As Drellich notes, the impending bankruptcy of Diamond Sports Group, owner of the Bally Sports networks that hold the TV distribution rights of 14 MLB teams, appears to be a catalyst for the creation of this committee. Should that bankruptcy indeed come to pass, it would open the door for MLB to begin work on a league-wide streaming service free from blackouts. But according to Manfred, discussions of such a path have brought about concerns about disparity between the revenues of clubs:
“We have businesses that are literally not similar in terms of the overall revenue that they’re generating.” Manfred tells Drellich, “And to the extent that you could find a new distribution model that actually helped on that disparity side, that would be the daily double. So people are having conversations that haven’t been had in baseball, and it’s really been owners talking to owners, which is a good thing.”
As Drellich points out, the financials of most MLB clubs are not public and the new committee has no plans to produce a league-wide financial report, making it impossible to verify most claims related to revenue. But Drellich reports that concerns about revenue disparity have been exacerbated by the willingness of Mets owner Steve Cohen to put up record payrolls that dwarf those of other clubs. Per RosterResource, the Mets 2023 payroll for luxury tax purposes currently sits at almost $374 million, and that’s even after the club’s bid to land Carlos Correa on a 12-year, $315 million contract fell through due to concerns about Correa’s physical.
Drellich quotes an industry source as saying that “[Small market clubs] demand everything’s got to change… The whole idea is to basically come up with a system that gets to a salary cap.”
For his part, Manfred claims that the league has not “even begun to think about where we’re going to be the next go-around” of collective bargaining negotiations, but Drellich notes that other quotes from the commissioner indicate the proposal of a hard-cap could be on the horizon:
“When I talk about a more national product, sort of the thought there is that a more national product produces more centrally shared revenue… which, in turn, we hope, would reduce payroll disparities. At various times, we have talked and proposed, including in the last round, about direct payroll regulation, in addition to that, having a minimum payroll… We remain open to those sorts of solutions. Obviously, we’re a long way from the next round of bargaining, but there are ways to get at it.”
Even if the league has interest in pursuing a salary cap in future CBA negotiations, plenty of obstacles remain. The MLBPA, which Drellich reports declined to comment on the league’s new committee, has of course staunchly stood against a salary cap for decades. Drellich also notes that teams likely disagree as to where a hypothetical cap and floor would be set. Still, this committee serves as a reminder that, even with the lockout in the past and a new agreement in place that should keep labor peace for at least the next four seasons, more difficult negotiations remain on the horizon, both between owners themselves and between the league and its players.
Latest On Padres, Manny Machado
12:29pm: A source tells MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes that the report of Machado seeking a 10-year, $400 million extension is incorrect. It is not known specifically what Machado is seeking, or whether his camp made a counteroffer to the Padres’ offer to add five years and $105MM to his existing contract.
With Machado’s February 16 deadline having passed, it seems his impending return to the free agent market will be a storyline throughout this highly anticipated Padres season.
10:19am: Padres and third baseman Manny Machado had some extension talks recently, to try to prevent him from opting out of his contract at the end of this season. Reports yesterday indicated the club was willing to tack an extra five years and $105MM to his current deal, but Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that was $145MM short of his asking price.
Machado originally signed a ten-year, $300MM deal with the Padres that affords him the opportunity to opt out midway through, after the fifth season. He will have five years and $150MM remaining when that opportunity rolls around this fall. Given that he’s played at MVP-caliber levels, especially last year, he could certainly find a guarantee larger than that on the open market. It’s long seemed like he would lean towards triggering that opt-out and recently admitted that he does indeed plan to do so. With the extra five years and $105MM, the club was effectively offering him a ten-year, $255MM deal starting with 2024. Nightengale reports that Machado’s camp was seeking $400MM over that same ten-year stretch, or an extra $250MM on top of his current deal.
Given that massive gap between the two sides, it’s not surprising that a deal didn’t come together. Aaron Judge was coming off one of the best seasons in recent history and earned himself a $360MM contract this offseason, one of the largest deals ever. That Machado and his reps are setting their sights above that range is quite ambitious, but also understandable. The player has the security of knowing that he has that $150MM secured, even if he should suffer some kind of worst-case scenario such as a career-altering injury this year. That gives him the leverage to set a really high asking price since driving a hard bargain right now doesn’t create any risk of coming up empty-handed.
For the Padres, it’s not surprising that they balked at such an ask. They’ve been quite aggressive in recent years, including their previous deal with Machado, their $340MM extension for Fernando Tatis Jr., $280MM deal with Xander Bogaerts and others. However, the kind of deal that Machado was seeking would have been on another level.
In addition to the straightforward cash dealings to consider, they also have the luxury tax to think about. It was recently reported that the club’s competitive balance tax calculation places them narrowly below the third tier of $273MM, with recent deals for players like Michael Wacha and Yu Darvish intentionally structured in ways that lower their respective tax hits. Going over that line would lead to increased taxation as well as their top pick in the 2024 draft being dropped by ten slots.
The CBT is calculated by the average annual value of a deal, not a player’s salary in a given season. Machado’s current deal comes with a $30MM hit but the extension he sought would effectively turn the contract into a $550 deal over 15 years for tax purposes, combining the $400MM he sought for the future and the $150MM that he will have earned at the end of 2023. That would increase his tax hit to $36.67MM, adding to the club’s tax hit and surely bumping them over that threshold.
Since Machado’s camp reportedly set a deadline of February 16 for contract talks, it seems that a deal won’t be coming together at this time. It’s always possible that the Padres come back with an offer strong enough to make him reconsider that position, but given their tax situation, it seems that things are aligned for Machado to play out the season and hit the open market again. He would be one of the top free agents in the class alongside players like Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Nola. The Padres could always re-sign him at that point, but they will surely have competition from other clubs around the league.
Machado’s tenure with the club has been largely successful. After not qualifying for the postseason since 2006, they’ve been there twice in the past three years. Machado launched 32 home runs last year and hit .298/.366/.531 for a wRC+ of 152. He produced 7.4 wins above replacement in the eyes of FanGraphs and came in second in the National League Most Valuable Player voting, trailing only Paul Goldschmidt. They have been aggressive this winter in adding free agents and seem poised for another strong season in 2023, but whether they can keep their star third baseman around beyond that remains to be seen.
Reds Sign Chase Anderson To Minor League Deal
The Reds are signing a minor league deal with right-hander Chase Anderson, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. Anderson will not receive an invitation to major league camp.
Anderson, 35, spent most of last year in Triple-A, signing minor league deals with the Tigers, Rays and then Reds. He made 16 starts and 11 relief appearances at that level, posting a 4.50 ERA over 80 innings. He struck out 20.9% of batters faced and walked 8.4% of them.
The Reds selected him to their major league roster in August and he tossed 24 innings over nine appearances for them down the stretch. His 6.38 ERA in that time certainly wasn’t pretty, but it’s possible he deserved better than that, as he struck out 22.3% of batters faced and got grounders at a strong 51.6% clip. His 14.6% walk rate was on the high side but his 55.2% strand rate likely played a role in adding some earned runs to his ledger, as his 5.07 FIP and 4.77 SIERA suggest.
Anderson spent many years as an effective starter for the Brewers but things went sideways for him in 2020 when with the Blue Jays. He posted a 7.22 ERA that year and then a 6.75 with the Phillies in 2021. He’ll look to get back on track with a Reds team that doesn’t have much certainty in its pitching staff. The rotation looks to be fronted by three guys who made their debuts last year in Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo and Graham Ashcraft. They should be followed by Luke Weaver and Luis Cessa, who have been around a bit longer but Cessa’s had more success as a reliever and Weaver is a few years removed from his last stint as an effective starter. Other options on the roster include Connor Overton, Justin Dunn and Brandon Williamson. The bullpen is headlined by Alexis Díaz, Lucas Sims, Reiver Sanmartin and Buck Farmer but there’s not much certainty beyond that group.
Injury Notes: Marquez, Kopech, White
German Marquez suffered a left hamstring injury during conditioning drills, though Rockies manager Bud Black told The Denver Post’s Patrick Saunders and other reporters that Marquez was able to do some light running on Friday and play catch. The injury seems minor enough that Marquez expressed hope that he could still pitch for his native Venezuela during the second round of the World Baseball Classic, though Marquez will be sidelined for the first round of WBC play.
The right-hander is looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2022 campaign that saw him post a 4.95 ERA over 181 2/3 innings and some of the worst hard-contact numbers of any pitcher in baseball. Any kind of delay in his spring work won’t help in Marquez’s rebound efforts, and a pitching-thin team like Colorado certainly can’t afford seeing its ace miss any time. However, the injury may have taken place early enough that Marquez’s Opening Day status may not be in question — as Black put it, “we’re fortunate in a lot of ways, and German realizes this, that it’s the middle of February and not the middle of March.”
More on other injury situations around the sport…
- Both Michael Kopech and White Sox manager Pedro Grifol think the right-hander is going to be ready for Opening Day, as they updated reporters (including the Associated Press) about Kopech’s status following an injury-marred end to his season. Kopech spent time on the injured list due to shoulder inflammation and a left knee strain, and his season came to an early end when he underwent surgery to fix a tear in his right meniscus. After an offseason of rehab work, Kopech is now “at a point where the knee’s feeling better, the shoulder’s feeling better. But it’s just kind of smoothing things out and getting back to 100 percent.” With Kopech tossing only 119 1/3 innings in 2022, his first full season as a starting pitcher ended up being somewhat limited, though he overcame some very shaky metrics to post a 3.54 ERA.
- Mitch White told MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson that he had a slight shoulder impingement in January that somewhat delayed his usual offseason routine, but the Blue Jays righty is now feeling “great.” White is close to starting to throw side sessions, and that might provide a clearer picture of whether or not White is fully ready as camp opens. Entering his first full season with Toronto, White struggled to a 7.74 ERA over 43 innings with the Blue Jays after being traded from the Dodgers, but White still enters camp in competition for the Jays’ fifth starter role.
Craig Counsell, Brewers “Have Had Conversations” On Future
TODAY: Counsell and Brewers GM Matt Arnold addressed the topic with Rosiak and other reporters today, hinting that serious talks likely wouldn’t take place until closer to the end of the season. Arnold said that extension negotations are “definitely on our agenda” and that the Brewers “hope [Counsell is] here a long time.”
FEBRUARY 11: As manager Craig Counsell enters the final year of his contract with the Brewers, he’s revealed to Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he and owner Mark Attanasio “have had conversations” about his future with the team.
“I’m in a great place. I love doing what I’m doing. The ‘why’ is still intact – like, why I originally wanted to do this. It’s still front and center for me, and why I love the job. I’m happy. Mark [Attanasio] and I have had conversations and I’m sure those will continue. And meanwhile, I’ve got my feet in 2023 and I’m ready to go,” Counsell said.
Counsell took over as Brewers manager in 2015, replacing Ron Roenicke midway through that season. Since then, he’s gone on to become Milwaukee’s winningest manager, amassing a 615-555 record. During that time, they’ve generally been competitive in the NL Central, winning the division twice and going to the playoffs in four straight seasons between 2018-21, highlighted by a seven-game battle with the Dodgers in the 2018 NLCS. For a team that’s typically worked with smaller than average payrolls, that record is no easy feat, and the Brewers look well positioned to compete for a playoff spot again in 2023.
After rounding out his playing career with five seasons at the Brewers, Counsell, 52, immediately began working with the team in a front office position as a special assistant to then-general manager Doug Melvin from 2012, before being given the managerial title three years later.
AL West Notes: Maldonado, deGrom, Bleday
Martin Maldonado played through a sports hernia and a broken hand for the latter part of the 2022 season, toughing it out to remain on the field and help the Astros win a championship. As a result, Maldonado admitted that he “felt a little sad” that the Astros looked at Willson Contreras and other available catchers this offseason. “We just won the World Series and I felt like I sacrificed my whole body playing through injuries for the team….But I understand the business,” Maldonado told The Houston Chronicle’s Chandler Rome and other reporters. “I know as an owner, as a front office, they’re going to try to always get the best position players available and help the team get better. Willson was the best free-agent catcher out there.”
Maldonado has rarely hit much over his 12 MLB seasons, but he is beloved within the Astros clubhouse for his defense and ability to work with pitchers. A new addition doesn’t appear to be coming for now, leaving Maldonado atop Houston’s depth chart and youngsters Korey Lee and Yainer Diaz competing for the backup catching job. Maldonado’s health situation certainly spurred the Astros’ acquisition of Christian Vazquez at the trade deadline, but if Houston has any lingering feelings that an upgrade is necessary behind the plate, they’re certainly still a team to watch on the trade market throughout the season.
More from around the AL West…
- Given Jacob deGrom‘s injury history, a seemingly minor four-day shutdown due to side pain was cause for concern amongst Rangers fans, but the newly-signed ace is now “feeling really good,” as Texas GM Chris Young told Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News and other reporters. “He’s made a lot of improvement….And he was throwing before he got here, so I think he will catch back up quickly. He was sort of ahead of schedule to where he’s been in the past.” DeGrom is expected to throw off a mound on Monday or Tuesday, and is slated to play catch and take part in fielding drills in the interim.
- Last weekend’s trade that sent JJ Bleday from the Marlins to the Athletics was “a blindside” to the outfielder, Bleday told reporters (including Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle). But, Bleday is now ready for his “exciting opportunity” in Oakland, and how he is planning to establish himself as a big leaguer after an underwhelming rookie season. Bleday hit only .167/.277/.309 over his first 238 plate appearances in the Show, and said “the jump from Triple-A to the big leagues was definitely bigger than I anticipated. There were some things in the big leagues I was doing mechanically that I probably shouldn’t have been. You’re really unaware of it but you have no time to work on that stuff because you’re playing every single day….It’s a relentless league.” After an offseason of prep, Bleday is now looking to keep his hands high at the plate and put an emphasis on hitting fastballs. It wasn’t long ago that Bleday was a consensus top-50 prospect, so a breakout might come in his new environment if Bleday can adjust to MLB fastballs and continue his ability to draw walks.
NL East Notes: Mets, Britton, Rizzo, Nationals, Fried
The Mets are “unlikely” to sign Zack Britton, a source tells MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo, though New York was one of six teams in attendance at Britton’s showcase earlier this week. Brooks Raley is the only left-hander slated for a role in the Mets’ bullpen, so Britton would’ve added some southpaw depth that seems necessary on paper. However, DiComo writes that the Mets like the flexibility offered by having relievers available with minor league options, since it allows the club to shuttle fresh arms back and forth from the minors when necessary.
Britton and the Mets were seen as a logical match for much of the offseason, both due to the Mets’ needs for left-handed relief help and the past history between Britton and manager Buck Showalter from their time with the Orioles. With multiple teams (even beyond the teams who had scouts at his showcase) still showing interest in Britton, the two-time All-Star seems bound to land somewhere in what will essentially be a comeback year after two injury-marred seasons.
More from the NL East…
- Nationals president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo is only under contract through the 2023 season, and there hasn’t been any indication that the two sides have discussed an extension. (Understandably so, given how the organization is mourning the recent passing of owner Ted Lerner.) Even if an extension doesn’t come, Rizzo isn’t worried, as he told Andrew Golden of the Washington Post that “it’s not the first time, won’t be the last time, I’m on a lame-duck contract. It doesn’t affect me….I was an area scout. I worked on 20 one-year contracts in a row, so I’m no stranger to limited security. My work will be my résumé, and we’ll see how it goes on from there.” Rizzo is one of the longer-serving executives in baseball, having led the Nationals’ front office since 2009. Between Lerner’s passing, the seemingly stalled efforts to sell the team, and the Nationals’ ongoing rebuild, Rizzo’s status is only one of many major issues facing the organization.
- “There’s no anger, animosity or anything” for Max Fried in the aftermath of losing his arbitration hearing with the Braves, the ace told reporters (including MLB.com’s Mark Bowman). Fried will now earn $13.5MM in 2023, and he’ll have one more year of arb eligibility remaining before he can become a free agent in the 2024-25 offseason. An extension would naturally change that timeline, and while Fried seemed to imply that a longer-term deal hadn’t yet been broached, “we’ve been able to have some good communication. I really love my time here and I love the team. So if [an extension] is something that comes to the table, it’s something we’ll talk about.” Atlanta’s flurry of recent extension has put a lot of longer-term commitments on the team’s books, though a lot of money might be coming off the books next winter depending on how many (or any) club options the Braves choose to exercise. As Bowman notes, however, Fried’s closer proximity and the high cost of free agent pitching would seemingly require the Braves to offer a contract with a club-record average annual value in order to keep Fried off the market.
Cubs Notes: Thompson, Alzolay, Hendricks, Hoerner
Keegan Thompson and Adbert Alzolay aren’t part of the competition to be the Cubs’ fifth starter, as manager David Ross told reporters (including Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune) that the two right-handers will be working out of the bullpen. Thompson has pitched as a reliever for 38 of his 61 career games in the majors, with significantly more success out of the pen — the righty has a 1.95 ERA over 73 2/3 bullpen innings, as opposed to a 4.94 ERA over 94 2/3 frames as a starter. Alzolay has started 27 of his 45 career games, but worked exclusively as a reliever in his limited action last year, as Alzolay missed most of 2022 recovering from a shoulder strain.
Thompson also missed close to a month last season due to lower back tightness, so health concerns might have also been some factor in the Cubs’ decision. However, the team might simply be more excited by the idea of what Thompson or Alzolay could deliver as relief pitchers, particularly since the rotation has been bolstered by the addition of Jameson Taillon and the re-signing of Drew Smyly. Chicago hasn’t spent much on the bullpen in recent years, preferring to add veterans on one-year deals (i.e. this winter’s signings of Michael Fulmer and Brad Boxberger) and seeing what is available in terms of in-house options. Of course, this doesn’t mean that Thompson or Alzolay couldn’t still get at least some usage as a starter in 2023, or that the door is closed on either righty as a potential starting candidate down the road.
More from Wrigleyville….
- Speaking of the starting rotation, Kyle Hendricks will return to his usual spot in the starting five when he is healthy, as the veteran continues to manage a capsular tear in his throwing shoulder. Hendricks told Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times that he is roughly a month behind in his usual offseason training routine, though he will throw off a mound in a loose bullpen session on Friday. This puts Hendricks slightly ahead of his projected rehab schedule, as Hendricks was initially thinking he wouldn’t have any mound work until March 1.
- Contract extensions haven’t been a big part of the Cubs’ business over the last three seasons, as the team tried to squeeze another title out of its 2016 championship core before pivoting into a rebuild. Now that the Cubs are aiming to contend again in 2023, talks have taken place with Nico Hoerner about a possibly long-term deal, though the second baseman didn’t give reporters (such as The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma or MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian) or other reporters any updates about the status of the negotiations. Hoerner doesn’t have any “hard deadline” on getting a deal complete, and that “we’ll just continue to work things through” while he is primarily focusing on his Spring Training prep. As to his future in Chicago, Hoerner said “I love coming to work here every day. There are so many boxes that are checked being a part of this organization. They’ve done nothing but right by me.” Hoerner has two remaining arbitration-eligible years remaining, and he is eligible for free agency in the 2025-26 offseason.
Dodgers Hire Tyson Ross For Special Assistant Role
The Dodgers have hired Tyson Ross for a special assistant position, The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya reports (Twitter link). Ross will be involved in the team’s player development and player performance departments. The hiring seemingly indicates that Ross has ended his playing career after 10 Major League seasons.
A second-round pick for the Athletics in 2008, Ross began his career with three seasons for his hometown team before he was traded to the Padres during the 2012-13 offseason. The right-hander reached another level with his new club, posting strong numbers as a member of San Diego’s rotation and receiving an All-Star nod in 2014.
Unfortunately for Ross, injuries limited his effectiveness after this promising run. He pitched in only a single game in 2016 due to shoulder problems and eventually a surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome. After two injury-marred seasons, it seemed like Ross was regaining some of his old effectiveness during a solid 2018 year with the Padres and Cardinals, but after signing with the Tigers in December 2018, his time in Detroit was limited to only seven starts due to elbow problems.
Ross’ five innings of work in the Tigers’ 6-0 loss to the Twins on May 10, 2019 ended up being his final Major League appearance. He signed a minor league deal with the Giants prior to the 2020 season but he chose to opt out of the pandemic-shortened season, and another minors deal with the Rangers in the 2020-21 offseason didn’t lead to any game time even in the minors before he was released that May.
Ross turns 36 in April, and he is hanging up his cleats after 203 MLB games (142 of them starts) and 904 2/3 innings. During his time with the A’s, Padres, Rangers, Cardinals, and Tigers, Ross had a 4.04 ERA, relying on a grounder-heavy arsenal rather than blow-away strikeout numbers. Ross had a 53.5% grounder rate to go along with a 21.2% strikeout rate and 10.1% walk rate.
As he embarks on this new role with the Dodgers, Ross now finds himself opposite his younger brother Joe on both sides of the heated Los Angeles/San Francisco rivalry. Joe (who is recovering from Tommy John surgery) signed a minors deal with the Giants last month.
We at MLB Trade Rumors congratulate Tyson on a fine career, and we wish him the best as he moves into his post-playing endeavors in the game.