MLBTR is conducting team-specific chats in conjunction with our Offseason Outlook series. Darragh McDonald chatted about the Angels’ offseason and you can read the transcript here!
Offseason Outlook: Los Angeles Angels
Despite the continued excellence of Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout, the Angels had another disappointing season in 2022. With Ohtani one year from free agency and the team for sale, will 2023 be the last hurrah before a huge turning point for the organization?
Guaranteed Contracts
- Mike Trout, OF: $283MM through 2030
- Anthony Rendon, 3B: $152MM through 2026
- Shohei Ohtani, RHP/DH: $30MM through 2023
- David Fletcher, IF: $20MM through 2025 (including $1.5MM buyout of 2026 club option)
- Max Stassi, C: $14.5MM through 2024 (including $500K buyout of 2025 club option)
- Aaron Loup, LHP: $9.5MM through 2023 (including $2MM buyout of 2024 club option)
- Ryan Tepera, RHP: $7MM through 2023
Total 2023 commitments: $130.95MM
Total future commitments: $516MM
Option Decisions
- None
Arbitration-Eligible Players (projected 2023 salaries via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)
- Griffin Canning (3.075): $1.1MM
- Luis Rengifo (3.043): $2.4MM
- Jaime Barria (3.035): $1.2MM
- Chad Wallach (3.030): $800K
- Jared Walsh (3.010): $2.7MM
- Taylor Ward (2.164): $2.9MM
- Patrick Sandoval (2.149): $2.8MM
- Non-tender candidates: Wallach, Barria
Free Agents
- Michael Lorenzen, Archie Bradley, Kurt Suzuki (retiring), Matt Duffy
There was a period in 2022 when things were looking up for the Angels. The season actually began fairly well, with the club sporting a record of 27-17 through May 24. That was good enough for them to sit just a single game behind the Astros in the AL West, nine games ahead of the Mariners and firmly in the top AL Wild Card spot. Unfortunately, it’s essentially been a steep downward slide since that date. On May 25, the Angels started a losing streak that would eventually stretch to 14 games, with manager Joe Maddon getting fired during that period. Third base coach Phil Nevin took over on an interim basis. The managerial shakeup couldn’t change their trajectory, as they continued sliding and finished with a 73-89 record, missing the postseason for the eighth consecutive season and finishing below .500 seven straight. (Nevin has since been given a one-year deal to manage the team for 2023.)
On their way to that disappointing finish, it was reported in August that owner Arte Moreno was exploring selling the team, which has the potential to cast a pall over the near-term future of the franchise. Perhaps a new owner will emerge and inject some optimism into the club, like we’ve seen with Steve Cohen and the Mets. But it’s also possible that the uncertainty around the team’s future makes it difficult to make deals with players. Juan Soto seemed to be the most untouchable player on the Nationals, even though the club was trading away it’s veterans for prospects for most of 2021 and 2022. But the Nats are also exploring a sale and Soto was reportedly unwilling to consider an extension until the ownership question was settled, which quickly led to Soto being traded to the Padres, something that seemed unthinkable just a few weeks prior.
As this has been going on, many in the baseball world have begun salivating at the prospect of their favorite club acquiring two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani, assuming he will follow a similar path to Soto. There are some reasons to think an Ohtani trade could actually come to fruition, given that he’s now only a year away from reaching the open market. Extension talks have apparently not gained much traction and the Angels even toyed with the idea of trading him at this year’s deadline, though Moreno reportedly refused to approve any deal.
Until there’s more clarity with regards to the ownership situation, the rest of the club’s offseason plans figure to be shrouded in mystery as well. Is Ohtani available in trades or not? Will Moreno be aggressive in what could be last chance to put together a winner, or avoid cluttering the books with more lengthy commitments in order to appeal to potential buyers? If a new owner emerges in the coming months, will they be an all-in Steve Cohen-type or decide to tear it all down immediately like when Bruce Sherman and Derek Jeter took over the Marlins? General manager Perry Minasian figures to have lots on his to-do list, regardless of who he’s reporting to.
The Angels have often struggled to put together a solid starting rotation, at least in part due to an unwillingness to pay for starters. The last time they signed a free agent starting pitcher to a deal longer than one year was the two-year deal given to Joe Blanton in December of 2012. Despite that, and despite everything that went wrong in 2022, the rotation might have turned a corner. MLBTR’s Steve Adams wrote back in September about the encouraging signs shown by Reid Detmers, Patrick Sandoval and Jose Suarez. Those three, alongside Ohtani, give the Angels a decent front four going into the offseason. The Angels have been using a six-man rotation to accommodate Ohtani in recent years, but have at least considered going with a five-man group next year. There are a few in-house options to take a fifth or a sixth rotation spot, such as Touki Toussaint, Tucker Davidson, Chase Silseth and Janson Junk, though no one in that group has done enough to guarantee a spot at this point. There’s also Griffin Canning, who has shown promise in the past but been limited so much by injuries that it’s hard to rely on him going forward.
It’s an impressive amount of depth compared to recent years, but there should still be room for at least one outside addition. However, if the Angels stick to their one-year limit on starting pitching, it will make things challenging. They’d likely be looking at options like Drew Smyly, Wade Miley or re-signing Michael Lorenzen. If they are willing to make a deeper dive, they could be in play for names like Chris Bassitt, Kodai Senga or Mike Clevinger, though it seems unlikely the Angels would jump to the top of the market and try for Jacob deGrom, Justin Verlander or Carlos Rodon.
The club’s bullpen was middle of the pack in 2022, with their 3.97 ERA coming in 18th among the 30 MLB teams. Most of that group can be retained, with only Archie Bradley heading for free agency. Injuries limited him to 18 2/3 innings and kept him from being a key contributor in 2022. They also dealt closer Raisel Iglesias at the deadline, but they may have found an in-house replacement. Jimmy Herget, known as “The Human Glitch” because of his funky mechanics, threw 69 innings this year with a 2.48 ERA, 23.7% strikeout rate, 5.6% walk rate and 40.1% ground ball rate. He shimmied his way up the depth chart and eventually earned nine saves and seven holds, most of those coming after the Iglesias trade. Whether the Angels believe in Herget is their next closer or not, there’s plenty of room for improvement in the bullpen and they should be looking to make outside additions.
Behind the plate, the club faces an interesting question. Max Stassi had a pair of solid seasons in 2020 and 2021, but 2022 was a step backwards. He hit .180/.267/.303 for a wRC+ of 63 this year, a big drop from his .250/.333/.452 batting line over the previous two campaigns, which led to a wRC+ of 113. He still has a couple years left on his extension and will likely get some time to readjust, but the club might want to have a backup plan. It’s possible that they already have one in place, as they acquired Logan O’Hoppe from the Phillies at the deadline in the Brandon Marsh trade. He was mashing in Double-A and the club gave him an MLB audition down the stretch. It would be risky to go into the season relying on a catcher with five MLB games under his belt, though he did hit .283/.416/.544 in the minors this year for a wRC+ of 159. Perhaps the Angels will let him and Stassi battle for playing time and hope that at least one of them works out. If they want a bit of insurance, they could sign a respected veteran like Roberto Perez, Austin Hedges or Tucker Barnhart.
Similar to Stassi, Jared Walsh disappointed at first base on the heels of a couple of strong seasons. He hit 38 home runs over 2020 and 2021, slashing .280/.338/.531 for a wRC+ of 130. In 2022, his batting line was .215/.269/.374 for a wRC+ of just 78. It’s possible that health was the culprit here, as Walsh underwent surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome in September. He’ll likely get a chance to show that 2022 was just a fluke due to injury, but he’ll be a great unknown going into next season. If it emerges during the offseason that Walsh won’t be ready for Spring and they look for a stopgap, someone like Donovan Solano could make sense, as he could slide to another position once Walsh returns.
At third base, the Angels will be looking for a bounceback from Anthony Rendon. Given the years and dollars remaining on his contract, he’s not going anywhere. It doesn’t really make sense to give up on him, anyway. He’s had two straight injury-marred seasons, but was excellent for four straight campaigns prior to that. From 2017 to 2020, he hit .307/.399/.550 for a wRC+ of 146 and also provided above-average defense, leading to a tally of 21.1 fWAR over that period. He’s going into his age-33 campaign and perhaps shouldn’t be expected to be as good as his peak, though the Angels can do little but hope for him to stay healthy and get back into good form.
The middle infield is perhaps the area of the club in greatest need of an overhaul. In 2022, the Angels used a rotating hodgepodge of role players and utility types, which included Matt Duffy, Andrew Velazquez, Tyler Wade and many others. If one were to try to project their lineup for next year with only in-house options, it would probably result in David Fletcher at shortstop and Luis Rengifo at second base. Fletcher missed most of 2022 with injuries, only getting into 61 games and not hitting very well in that time. His .255/.288/.333 batting line resulted in a 75 wRC+. Outside of a tremendous showing in the shortened 2020 season, Fletcher’s time in the big leagues has resulted in four below-average offensive seasons. He does post strong defensive numbers wherever he plays, but he is perhaps better suited to a utility role than an everyday shortstop job.
As for Rengifo, he had a nice season at the plate, despite walking in only 3.3% of his plate appearances. He hit 17 home runs in 127 games, leading to a batting line of .264/.294/.429, 103 wRC+. The Angels probably would like to give Rengifo a chance to see if he can carry that production into his age-26 season, though he’s capable of playing many positions and doesn’t necessarily need to be guarantee a specific spot. As a switch-hitter, it would be theoretically possible for he and the right-handed-hitting Fletcher to form a platoon, though both have hit better against lefties in their careers, making it an imperfect fit.
From a baseball perspective, the Angels make sense as a landing spot for one of the big four shortstops this winter. Trea Turner and Dansby Swanson are free agents, with Carlos Correa and Xander Bogaerts widely expected to join them by opting out of their respective contracts. Any of those four would give some more pop to the Angel lineup and also help out a defense that was lacking in 2022. The Angels collectively posted a Defensive Runs Saved of eight, which placed them 17th in the majors. Outs Above Average gave them a 1 for 18th place while Ultimate Zone Rating had them in 20th place at -8.0.
From a business perspective, the fit might not be so smooth. As mentioned earlier, it’s unknown if the Angels want to make significant commitments to the long-term payroll. Each of those four shortstops are likely to command deals of seven years or longer. Even if the Angels were willing to add another contract like that to the books, would the player want to come to a team with so much uncertainty hovering over it?
In the short-term, the Angels should have some money to spend, assuming they’re willing to at least match recent payroll levels. Cot’s Baseball Contracts lists their Opening Day payroll for 2022 as $189MM, a slight bump over 2021. Their outlay for 2023 is currently at $133MM, in the estimation of Roster Resource. Arbitration-eligible players will add about $12MM or so that, bringing the total to the vicinity of $145MM. If they’re willing to spend at a similar level to the past couple of seasons, they will have around $40MM to play with. If they can’t convince one of the top shortstops to make a deal, they would make sense for other middle infielders like Elvis Andrus, Jose Iglesias or Jean Segura.
Turning to the outfield, two spots should be spoken for already, with Trout obviously entrenched in center. Taylor Ward got his first real stretch of MLB playing time, despite some minor injuries, and responded by hitting 23 home runs and slashing .281/.360/.473 for a wRC+ of 137. He should have the right field job.
The big question is left field, with Brandon Marsh having been traded to the Phillies at the deadline. Mickey Moniak came over from the Phils in a separate deal, the Noah Syndergaard one. Despite being a former first overall selection, he hasn’t been able to do much to establish himself at the big league level. In 167 plate appearances over three seasons, he’s hit just .157/.218/.268, wRC+ of 32. There’s also Jo Adell, who got 285 plate appearances this year but hit just .224/.264/.373 for a wRC+ of 77. He also struck out in an untenable 37.5% of those appearances. Neither should be relied upon as an Opening Day outfielder for the club, meaning they should look to outside acquisitions. A run at Aaron Judge seems unlikely given all the question marks around the team, though there are plenty other serviceable options. Mitch Haniger is risky given his health, but that also means he might have to settle for a one-year deal. Perhaps the Angels are the team to offer Michael Conforto the everyday spot for him to showcase his health. However it’s done, this is an area that should be addressed.
The Angels are going into the offseason in a position that is in some ways very familiar but also fraught with uncertainty. Each recent season has finished with disappointment, but still with enough talent on the roster to keep the hope flowing down the road. This year is similar in that regard. They were below .500 in 2022 but they still have Trout, Ohtani, Rendon, Ward, a rotation that looks to be in okay shape, and some other nice pieces. However, they also have obvious holes and will face significant challenges in trying to fill them. How willing is Moreno to spend on a team he’s trying to sell? If a new owner steps up, do they want to spend or save? Which players are willing to join a franchise with such a murky future? The answers to those questions will shape not just this offseason, but the future of the franchise.
In conjunction with this post, Darragh McDonald held an Angels-centric chat on 10-25-22. Click here to read the transcript!
Previewing The 2022-23 Free Agent Class: Designated Hitter
MLBTR has gone around the diamond with a position-by-position look at the upcoming free agent class in recent weeks. We’ll wrap up the positional player side of things today by checking in on the crop of designated hitters.
Obviously, any hitter is capable of serving as a DH. Many of the players we’ve mentioned at other positions in this series will see sporadic time at DH next year, typically as a way to get them off their feet defensively for a game without pulling their bat completely from the lineup. For simplicity’s sake, we’ll draw the line here at players who either started 40+ games at designated hitter or played more games at DH than at any other position this year. It’s an admittedly arbitrary cutoff but filters out most players who spent a significant portion of their time in the field (and were thus covered in one of our earlier positional previews).
Everyday Players
- J.D. Martinez (35 years old next season)
Aside from the abbreviated 2020 campaign, Martinez has been a well above-average hitter every year since breaking out with the Tigers in 2014. That was again the case in 2022, although this year’s .274/.341/.448 line was his lightest offensive output since his breakout. The dip was tied almost entirely to a drop in his home run power, as his 16 longballs marked his lowest full-season total since 2013. Martinez saw a corresponding drop in his average exit velocity and hard hit percentage, all somewhat worrying signs for a player who’s now 35.
Even as his batted ball metrics and power dropped, however, Martinez was an eminently productive part of the Boston lineup. He didn’t hit as many homers, but he cranked out a career-high 43 doubles. His exit velocities weren’t elite as they’d been in prior seasons, but they were still above-average. Martinez continued to display a knack for roping line drives all around the ballpark, and his batting average and on-base percentage each remained roughly 30 points higher than the respective league marks. In short, Martinez is still a good hitter, even if he no longer looks like the elite masher he was at his peak.
Martinez has some prior experience in the corner outfield, but he didn’t log a single defensive inning this past season. Any team that signs him is doing so for his bat. His age, lack of defensive value and dip in power will all limit the length of his next deal, but there’ll no doubt be plenty of interest from teams on shorter-term arrangements. The Red Sox seem unlikely to tag Martinez with a $19.65MM qualifying offer, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if he lands a two-year deal that tops that overall guarantee (albeit with a lesser annual salary).
- Matt Carpenter (37)
It’s difficult to imagine a more unpredictable 2022 season than Carpenter’s. The three-time All-Star hit just .203/.325/.346 between 2019-21, leaving him to take a minor league deal with the Rangers last offseason. He overhauled his swing mechanics and while he performed well in Triple-A, Texas didn’t give him a big league look. After being granted his release from his Rangers deal, Carpenter signed a big league contract with the Yankees to work primarily as a left-handed bench bat.
He very quickly played himself into a more significant role with a staggering offensive explosion. Carpenter popped 15 home runs in just 154 plate appearances, posting a .305/.412/.727 line. He worked primarily at DH but logged some action around the diamond as a bat-first utility type, playing the corner outfield, first base and getting a brief look at third base. That was all a way to get Carpenter’s scorching bat into the lineup, but his incredible season was cut short in August when he fouled a ball off his left foot and suffered a fracture. He missed the rest of the regular season, and while he returned in a limited capacity for the postseason, the effects of the layoff showed. He went 1-12 with nine strikeouts in six playoff games.
Carpenter’s regular season performance was incredible, though. He posted a 217 wRC+, indicating he was 117 percentage points more productive than the average hitter. Barry Bonds is the only other player since 2000 to have a wRC+ north of 210 in a season in which he tallied 150+ plate appearances (Bonds got there every year from 2001-04). Even in a relatively small sample size, it’s exceedingly difficult to do what Carpenter achieved. He certainly won’t replicate that kind of production over a full season, but teams will have to weigh this year’s incredible two months against what looked to be a rapid decline over the preceding few years.
- Nelson Cruz (42)
The seemingly ageless Cruz remained one of the game’s prolific sluggers well past his 40th birthday. He was still tearing the cover off the ball for the Twins early in the 2021 season, but his production dipped in the second half following a trade to the Rays. The rebuilding Nationals signed him to a $15MM guarantee last offseason in hopes he’d be a coveted midseason trade candidate. That didn’t happen.
Cruz played 124 games for the Nats, but he hit just .234/.313/.337 with 10 homers across 507 plate appearances. It was his first below-average offensive season since 2007. His plate discipline didn’t change much, but he saw a notable drop in his hard contact rate and posted his lowest average exit velocity since Statcast began tracking in 2015. Even that personal-low 90.9 MPH exit velocity is a few ticks above average, but Cruz muted his power impact by driving the ball into the ground. More than half his batted balls were hit on the ground, an alarming sign for a lumbering slugger.
He underwent left eye surgery after the season to clear some inflammation that had impacted his vision, offering a possible explanation for his rapid drop in performance. It was an alarming season that’ll surely result in a notable paycut this winter, although he still seems likely to find a big league opportunity. Cruz is generally revered for his clubhouse leadership, and his pre-2022 track record is strong enough another team figures to take a shot on him as at least a part-time player.
Corner Outfield/DH Hybrids
- Michael Brantley (36)
Brantley has been the prototypical “professional hitter” for the past decade. That continued early this season, as he was off to an excellent .288/.370/.416 start across 277 plate appearances. He only managed five home runs, but he picked up 14 doubles and walked more often than he struck out. It was the kind of high average, high-OBP skill set to which we’ve become accustomed from Brantley. Houston gave him 35 games at DH and 29 games in left field, rotating him and Yordan Alvarez between the two positions in an effort to keep both fresh.
While Brantley continued to produce, his season was cut short by a right shoulder injury. He first landed on the injured list in late June, and after six weeks of rehab, he underwent season-ending surgery. Brantley plans to continue playing and is expected to be ready for Spring Training, but he’ll turn 36 next May. The surgery was on his non-throwing shoulder, so he’ll probably continue to see some left field work, but it stands to reason a signing team will use him heavily as a DH to manage his reps at this stage of his career.
- Trey Mancini (31)
Mancini split his time rather evenly between DH and the field, although he bounced between first base and both corner outfield positions. He’s not a great fit in the outfield but plays a solid first base. Mancini has been a slightly above-average hitter for two consecutive seasons since successfully returning from his battle with colon cancer in 2020. Since the start of the 2021 campaign, he owns a .247/.323/.412 line in a bit more than 1200 plate appearances.
While he lacks a standout tool, Mancini brings a well-rounded skillset to the table. He makes a fair amount of contact, draws walks and has decent power, although his 35-homer season from 2019 looks increasingly like an outlier. Pair that solid overall on-field package with a strong clubhouse reputation, and Mancini should be able to find a multi-year deal this offseason.
- Andrew McCutchen (36)
McCutchen signed an $8.5MM pact with the Brewers last offseason to split his time between DH and the corner outfield. He spent the bulk of his days at designated hitter, appearing in 82 games there compared to 53 contests in the outfield. McCutchen stayed healthy and tallied 580 plate appearances, but he had the least productive offensive showing of his big league career. He hit .237/.316/.384, roughly league average offense. He was fine but unexceptional against left and right-handed pitchers alike, a somewhat disappointing turn after he’d mashed southpaws over a three-year stint with the Phillies.
It’s likely McCutchen will be looking at a lower salary next season, and he may not find quite as much playing time as he did this year. Still, he’s a strong veteran presence who works plenty of walks and has decent power. In a more limited platoon setup, he could potentially recapture some of his earlier success against left-handed pitching.
Depth Types
- Carlos Santana (37)
Santana saw a fair bit of action at both first base and DH this past season, although the Mariners increasingly relied upon him as a bat-only player late in the year. He tallied 506 plate appearances between the Royals and Seattle, hitting at a roughly league average level with both clubs en route to a cumulative .202/.316/.376 line. Santana is among the game’s best at drawing walks and he’s tough to strike out, but he consistently posts very low batting averages on balls in play and hasn’t hit above .214 in any of the past three seasons.
- Jesús Aguilar (32)
Aguilar was the primary first baseman for the Brewers and Marlins for a while, a run that included a 35-homer season with Milwaukee. His time in Miami came to an end when he was released in August after hitting .236/.286/.388 across 456 plate appearances. He latched on with the Orioles for the season’s final month but didn’t do much over 16 games. He could be looking at minor league offers this winter.
- Jake Lamb (32)
An everyday third baseman with the Diamondbacks early in his career, Lamb has functioned as a bat-first depth option for a handful of teams in recent years. He’s played for six different clubs since the start of 2020, including a ’22 campaign split between the Dodgers and Mariners. Lamb hit .239/.338/.433 in 25 games with L.A. but stumbled to a .167/.265/.300 line over 16 contests in Seattle before being released. He’s capable of playing all four corner spots in addition to working as a designated hitter and should get some minor league offers after a big showing in Triple-A.
- Justin Upton (35)
A four-time All-Star and three-time Silver Slugger award winner, Upton has had an accomplished 16-year big league career. He’s struggled significantly going back to the start of the 2019 season, however, and the Angels released him on the eve of Opening Day despite owing him a $28MM salary. Upton went on to sign with the Mariners and got into 17 games for Seattle, but he managed just a .125/.263/.208 line over 57 plate appearances. He declined a minor league assignment in favor of free agency in July and sat out the rest of the season. There’d presumably be a Spring Training invitation out there for Upton if he wanted to give it another go, but having banked upwards of $173MM in career earnings, he certainly won’t feel any financial pressure to keep playing.
- Jed Lowrie (39)
Another player who’s potentially at the end of what has been an impressive career, Lowrie has played 14 seasons and earned an All-Star nod. He was a decent hitter for the A’s as recently as 2021, but a return to Oakland this past season didn’t pan out. The switch-hitter posted a .180/.245/.263 line through 50 games, seeing essentially all of his time at DH. The A’s released him in August.
- Yermín Mercedes (30)
A longtime minor leaguer, Mercedes briefly vaulted himself into the national spotlight in April 2021 with an incredible first month for the White Sox. He tailed off midway through the season, though, finishing that year with a roughly average .271/.328/.404 overall line and spending the second half of the season in Triple-A. Chicago lost him on waivers to the Giants in mid-June, and Mercedes went on to appear in 31 games with San Francisco. He hit .233/.325/.342 while playing almost exclusively DH or the corner outfield. His days as a catcher look mostly behind him, leaving him as a bat-first depth player without a real defensive home. San Francisco outrighted him off the roster in September after he went unclaimed on waivers, and he elected minor league free agency at the end of the year.
- Alex Dickerson (32)
Dickerson received a big league deal with the Braves, signing for $1MM in Spring Training. He posted a .121/.194/.212 line in 13 April games before being designated for assignment and going unclaimed on waivers. Dickerson spent the rest of the year in Triple-A, putting up a slightly bel0w-average .239/.305/.425 mark across 357 plate appearances. He elected free agency at the end of the season and could get another minor league opportunity as a corner outfield/DH depth player.
Players With Club Options
- Justin Turner (38), Dodgers hold $16MM option with $2MM buyout
Turner got off to a slow start this year, seemingly raising questions about how much he had left in the tank at age 37. He went on a tear in the second half and put those doubts to rest, concluding the season with a quality .278/.350/.438 line over 532 plate appearances. The Dodgers are as willing as any team to pay a lofty one-year salary for a productive player, and it now looks likely they’ll keep Turner around for a tenth season in L.A. He split his time almost evenly between third base and DH this past season and could assume a similar role next year.
Note: Charlie Blackmon is excluded from this list after going on record with his intention to exercise a $15MM player option.
Previous installments: Catcher, First Base, Second Base, Third Base, Shortstop, Corner outfields, Center Field
Latest On Royals’ Managerial Search
The Royals are already known to have interviewed Phillies third base coach Dusty Wathan and Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro as they look for a replacement for manager Mike Matheny, who was dismissed at season’s end, and Anne Rogers of MLB.com adds (via Twitter) that they’ve also interviewed a trio of in-house candidates. Bench coach Pedro Grifol, third base coach Vance Wilson and Triple-A skipper Scott Thorman have each interviewed for the post as well, per Rogers.
That Grifol would interview for the now-vacant Royals position is hardly a surprise. He’s been a popular managerial candidate both in the past — interviewing with the Tigers in 2020, the Giants in 2019, the Orioles in 2018 — and in the early stages of the 2022-23 offseason. In addition to interviewing with his current organization, Grifol has also interviewed with the Marlins and been connected to the division-rival White Sox.
Grifol, 53, has been with the Royals since the 2013 season. In addition to his time as the Royals’ bench coach, he’s also served as the catching coach and a quality control coach. A former minor league catcher himself, Grifol has also worked for the Mariners organization, where he was the team’s director of minor league operations.
Wilson, like Grifol, Matheny and longtime Royals skipper Ned Yost, is also a former catcher. The now-49-year-old Wilson spent parts of eight seasons catching for the Mets and Tigers from 1999-2006, posting a career .250/.302/.377 batting line in 1054 big league plate appearances and notching a whopping 40% caught-stealing rate behind the dish. Wilson, who has also previously served as the Royals’ bullpen coach, interviewed for the team’s vacancy following Yost’s retirement — before the job ultimately went to Matheny. Of course, that interview was conducted when since-dismissed president of baseball operations Dayton Moore was running point in Kansas City; he’s since been replaced by longtime lieutenant J.J. Picollo.
Thorman, 40, was the Braves’ first-round pick back in 2000 — when Moore was in the Atlanta front office — and appeared in parts of two seasons as a first baseman and outfielder in Atlanta. He’s now spent eight years as a minor league coach and manager in the Royals’ system, with the 2022 campaign being his first managing at the Triple-A level. He’d previously managed the Royals’ Double-A and High-A affiliates. Given his experience in the system, Thorman knows young Royals talents like Bobby Witt Jr., MJ Melendez, Vinnie Pasquantino, Nick Pratto and others quite well.
Tigers Name Rob Metzler Assistant General Manager
The Tigers announced Tuesday that they’ve hired Rays senior director of amateur scouting Rob Metzler as a vice president and assistant general manager. His hiring comes just one day after longtime assistant GM David Chadd and the organization parted ways. Detroit also dismissed former amateur scouting director Scott Pleis earlier this month.
“I hope all Tigers fans will join me in welcoming Rob and his family to our organization,” president of baseball operations Scott Harris said in a statement announcing the move. “I am thrilled to add an executive of Rob’s caliber to lead our Amateur and International Scouting departments. Rob’s track record of success with the Rays speaks for itself, and his innovative approach to talent acquisition will help us achieve one of our main goals: to acquire, develop and retain young talent in Detroit.”
Metzler, who’s spent the past 15 years in the Rays organization, previously oversaw Tampa Bay’s scouting activities in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico in advance of the amateur draft for the past seven of those campaigns. Prior to joining the Rays organization, Metzler was an intern with the Red Sox, with the Cape Cod League’s Brewster White Caps, and with Baseball Info Solutions. He earned a physics degree from Bowdoin College while playing baseball there and a master’s degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
“We’re going to hit the ground running to ensure our processes of amateur scouting at both the domestic and international levels are the best they can possibly be, and search for the most comprehensive information possible to help inform our decision making,” Metzler said in a statement of his own. “I’d also like to thank the Tampa Bay Rays organization for an incredible 15 seasons, and I couldn’t be prouder of what we accomplished. The reason I’m here in Detroit is to bring that same energy, passion and innovative spirit, culminating with winning baseball on the field at Comerica Park for years to come.”
MLBTR Chat Transcript
Click here to read a transcript of Tuesday’s chat with MLBTR’s Steve Adams.
D-backs’ Caleb Smith Diagnosed With Ligament Tear In Elbow
Diamondbacks lefty Caleb Smith has been a diagnosed with a ligament tear in his left elbow, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports. However, after receiving multiple opinions on the injury, he’ll first opt for a rest-and-rehab approach rather than immediately undergoing Tommy John surgery, GM Mike Hazen tells Piecoro. The team has not provided a timetable for Smith’s potential recovery.
As with any tear, the possibility of eventual surgery will linger as Smith works through the rehab process. However, given the timing of the injury — Smith pitched in the D-backs’ final game of the season but departed with a trainer — he’d have been in line to miss the entire 2023 campaign even if he’d undergone surgery right away. If the tear is minimal enough that doctors feel he has a chance for it to heal without surgery, there’s little reason for him not to try the rehab route before going under the knife. That at least leaves the door open for him to pitch in 2023, and if he has surgery in a couple months’ time anyhow, he’d still be on track for an early 2024 return.
Regardless of whether he eventually requires surgery or is successful in rehabbing the tear, it’s quite possible that the ligament issue will bring an end to Smith’s tenure with the Diamondbacks organization. The 31-year-old southpaw is eligible for arbitration for the third and final time this winter, and MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects him to receive a raise from $2MM to $2.7MM. With the specter of major surgery looming in a worst-case scenario and a presumably months-long rehab process on the docket even in a best-case scenario, Smith becomes an even clearer non-tender candidate than he already was.
Smith has had an up-and-down tenure in Arizona, splitting time between the bullpen and rotation with a few promising stretches but a general lack of consistency. He looked like a viable trade candidate for the D-backs early in the summer of 2021, pitching to a 3.08 ERA with a 26.9% strikeout rate (albeit against a bloated 11.6% walk rate) in 64 1/3 innings. Smith, however, was blown up for an ERA north of 12.00 over his next six starts, causing him to lose the rotation spot he’d seized at the beginning of June.
A solid finish out of the bullpen in 2021 (2.70 ERA in 26 2/3 innings) kept Smith in the team’s plans and set the stage for him to occupy a bullpen role full-time in 2022. He gave the Snakes 70 innings of 4.11 ERA ball this past season but did so with the worst full-season strikeout and walk rates of his career (21.5% and 12.9%). Since his Aug. 2021 shift to the bullpen, Smith has a solid 3.72 ERA but lackluster marks in strikeout rate (21.5%), walk rate (12%), ground-ball rate (30.6%), homers per nine innings (1.68), FIP (5.28) and SIERA (4.60).
Dodgers Expected To Pursue Aaron Judge; Mookie Betts Reportedly Open To Move To Second Base
The Dodgers are annually mentioned as possible suitors for the best players available on the open market, and they’re likely to be in the mix for the upcoming offseason’s No. 1 free agent. MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reports that L.A. could make a run at Aaron Judge, which he suggests could be tied to a willingness to move star right fielder Mookie Betts to second base more regularly to accommodate Judge.
Judge is coming off a historic, likely MVP campaign in 2022 where he set the AL record for home runs and slashed a comical .311/.425/.686 (207 wRC+) after rejecting a seven year, $213.5MM extension offer from the Yankees this spring. The Yankees figure to prioritize retaining Judge this offseason, but if there’s any team that can play in the same financial stratosphere as New York, it’s the Dodgers, who posted a luxury tax payroll just under $290MM in 2022 and will see significant salary come off the books this season thanks to possible impending free agencies of players such as David Price, Trea Turner, Justin Turner (whose contract has a $16MM club option for next season) and Craig Kimbrel.
Per RosterResource, the Dodgers have an estimated luxury tax payroll of around $176MM headed into 2023, though this doesn’t include contracts for their arbitration-eligible players. Still, that should leave them with plenty of space before they even get to the level they hit this year. Looking ahead to 2024 and beyond, the Dodgers have just under $74MM locked up for 2024, a hair above $70MM for 2025, and just over $61MM committed for 2026. This payroll flexibility in the future should give them plenty of room to offer free agents multi-year contracts this offseason.
Judge played quite a bit of center field in 2022, where the Dodgers currently have potential non-tender candidate Cody Bellinger and utilityman Chris Taylor as their primary options. However, Judge is widely not seen as a long-term center fielder and considered a better fit in right field, where he’s spent the majority of his career and rates out as among the best defenders at the position in the sport. The Dodgers, of course, have their own elite right field glove in Betts, a five time Gold Glove award winner at the position.
Betts, however, came up as a second baseman and initially only moved to the outfield to accommodate then-Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia. Betts has continued to play second base sporadically throughout his career following the position change, even logging 46 innings (five starts) at the position in 2022. Both Betts and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts have spoken positively of the possibility of Betts playing more second base in the future, and accommodating a player of Judge’s caliber could be just the reason the Dodgers need to make the switch full time. Feinsand reports that Betts is open to moving to the infield regularly at some point in his career, although it’s not clear whether that’d be conditional on the team signing Judge.
Any pursuit of Judge would surely complicate whatever attempts the Dodgers may make this offseason to retain Trea Turner, another top free agent on the market this offseason. Signing Judge and retaining Turner may be more of a financial commitment than even the Dodgers can stomach, with both likely to seek average annual values well over $30MM on contracts of eight-plus years this offseason. Furthermore, with at least some possibility of Betts moving to the infield more regularly, the Dodgers may be content to simply plug Gavin Lux in at shortstop and use leftover money from a potential Judge signing to focus on other areas, such as fortifying a rotation that will have to retain or replace impending free agents Clayton Kershaw, Andrew Heaney, and Tyler Anderson.
Padres Notes: Martinez, Morejon, Suarez, Drury, Myers
The Padres made it to the NLCS for the first time since 1998, but their season came to a close yesterday when they were knocked off by the Phillies in five games. San Diego now turns its attention to the offseason, where they’ll face a decent amount of possible roster turnover around a star-studded core.
San Diego will see Mike Clevinger, Sean Manaea, midseason trade pickups Josh Bell and Brandon Drury and relievers Pierce Johnson and Craig Stammen all hit free agency. A handful of other players have contractual options that could get them to the open market. Each of Nick Martinez, Robert Suarez and Jurickson Profar has the ability to opt out of their contracts this winter. Wil Myers, meanwhile, has a $20MM team option that is certain to be bought out for $1MM.
Martinez and Suarez were two of San Diego’s higher-leverage relievers down the stretch, raising the possibility of a good portion of the Padres bullpen hitting the open market. As part of a broader look at questions facing the roster (a piece worth a read in full), Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune suggests Martinez is likely to test the open market. The right-hander signed a four-year, $25.5MM guarantee last winter following a three-season run in Japan, with the contract affording him an opt-out chance after each season. He’s due $19.5MM over the next three years but would be due a $1.5MM buyout if he opts out, meaning he’s left to decide whether he can top a three-year, $18MM guarantee on the open market.
MLBTR’s Steve Adams took a detailed look at the situation last month, noting that Martinez’s strong performance out of the bullpen made that an interesting call. Acee indicates Martinez could prioritize finding a rotation opportunity after working in a swing role this year. The 32-year-old started 10 of his first 12 outings but moved to the bullpen full-time in mid-June. At the time of his bullpen transfer, he had a 4.05 ERA with an average 21.9% strikeout rate and a slightly elevated 10.4% walk percentage. Following the move to relief, Martinez worked 46 frames of 2.74 ERA ball. He cut his walk rate to 7.4%, but his strikeout rate dipped a percentage point. Despite lacking power, swing-and-miss stuff, Martinez picked up eight saves and served as a generally versatile bullpen piece for manager Bob Melvin.
Martinez’s ostensible desire for a rotation spot shouldn’t inherently rule him out in San Diego. While he was squeezed out of the mix midseason, the Friars went on to deal MacKenzie Gore in the Juan Soto trade. Coupled with the aforementioned free agencies of Clevinger and Manaea, there should be a fair bit of opportunity behind Joe Musgrove, Yu Darvish and Blake Snell. Acee indicates the Padres don’t want to abandon the possibility of using Adrián Morejón as a starter, however. The southpaw, once one of the game’s top pitching prospects, worked out of the bullpen 26 times this year after missing almost all of last season due to Tommy John surgery. Morejón isn’t guaranteed a season-opening rotation spot next year, but it seems the Friars are open to stretching him back out after a healthy offseason.
Suarez was a more straightforward power bullpen arm. Also a signee out of NPB last offseason, he went on to make 45 regular season appearances despite a two-month absence with right knee inflammation. He posted a 2.27 ERA across 47 2/3 innings, striking out a whopping 31.9% of opponents. Suarez’s control was erratic, but he brandished an upper-90s fastball and was Melvin’s most trusted bullpen arm by season’s end. It concluded on a sour note, with Suarez surrendering the go-ahead homer to Bryce Harper that brought San Diego’s year to a close, but he pitched out of a number of jams earlier in the postseason. With that kind of velocity and swing-and-miss stuff, he’s a lock to bypass the final $5MM on his deal in favor of a $1MM buyout and test free agency.
Things are a bit more settled on the position player side, but president of baseball operations A.J. Preller and his staff will have to make a few key decisions there as well. First is whether to retain any of the impending free agents. Acee writes that the team is open to bringing back Drury, who hit eight homers in 46 games as a Padre. He only had a .290 on-base percentage during that time, but he’d posted a .274/.335/.520 showing with 20 homers for the Reds over the season’s first few months. Drury can cover any non-shortstop position on the infield and could serve as a corner outfield option with the team potentially losing Profar and Myers.
For his part, Myers indicated that he’s open to a return to San Diego (link via AJ Cassavell of MLB.com). It certainly won’t be on the $20MM option, but Myers will find a big league deal on a lower base salary this offseason. He’s typically provided the Friars with slightly above-average offense, and that was again the case in 2022. Myers hit .261/.315/.398 over 286 plate appearances. He didn’t offer much against right-handed pitching but he popped six homers in 90 plate appearances against southpaws and carries a career .255/.351/.453 line while holding the platoon advantage.
With Bell’s possible departure, the Friars don’t have an obvious in-house first base option, perhaps opening the door for Myers to return at a lower rate. They could certainly dip into the free agent class there, although Acee notes there’s some support in the organization for playing Jake Cronenworth more frequently at first. Cronenworth is an above-average defensive second baseman, making that something of an odd fit, but San Diego has one of the sport’s most talented infields. Ha-Seong Kim proved himself an everyday player filling in for Fernando Tatis Jr. at shortstop, while Manny Machado is an MVP candidate at the hot corner.
Tatis didn’t play in 2022 because of injuries and a performance-enhancing drug suspension, but he’ll be back with the club in late April next year. Tatis still has 20 games remaining on his 80-game suspension — he missed 48 regular season contests and 12 playoff games this year — but will be back in the everyday lineup a few weeks into next year. Penciling him back in at shortstop could require kicking Kim to the other side of the second base bag. That’d form one of the sport’s top defensive infields, of particular value with forthcoming limitations on shifting. San Diego has also explored the possibility of playing Tatis in center field while curtailing Trent Grisham’s playing time on the heels of a .184/.284/.341 line. That could again be under consideration, but Tatis has previously expressed his preference for sticking at shortstop.
Orioles To Add Cody Asche To MLB Coaching Staff
The Orioles are set to add Cody Asche to their major league coaching staff, reports Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. He’ll take on the role of offensive strategy coach. The remainder of Brandon Hyde’s staff is expected to return for 2023, Kubatko adds, meaning the O’s are just adding an extra position.
It’ll be the first big league coaching work for the 32-year-old Asche. A University of Nebraska product, he’s a former fourth-round draftee of the Phillies. Asche reached the majors with the Phils midway through the 2013 campaign and spent the next few seasons in a fairly regular role bouncing between third base and the corner outfield. Asche spent part of the 2017 season with the White Sox, then played the next two years in the upper minors. His playing career wrapped up with the cancelation of the minor league campaign in 2020.
Asche began his post-playing endeavors in 2021, serving as a Low-A hitting coach in the Philadelphia organization. He joined the Orioles this year, spending this past season as a hitting coordinator in Baltimore’s upper minors. He’ll quickly make a jump to the MLB coaching ranks, while Anthony Villa takes over additional responsibilities as the organization’s minor league hitting coordinator, per Kubatko.
Hyde, a potential AL Manager of the Year candidate, will be back for a fifth season at the helm. Fred González returns as bench coach, while the O’s will again deploy co-hitting coaches Ryan Fuller and Matt Borgschulte with Chris Holt as pitching coach.
