Cubs, Vinny Nittoli Agree To Minor League Deal
The Cubs and free agent right-hander Vinny Nittoli are in agreement on a minor league deal with an invite to big league Spring Training, tweets USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. The Gaeta Sports Management client would earn a $775K salary in the big leagues. The Phillies designated Nittoli for assignment last week and released him a couple days ago, but he’ll only have a brief stay on the free-agent market.
The 32-year-old Nittoli made his big league debut in 2021 when he tossed an inning for the Mariners, capping off an eight-year grind to the big leagues. The former 25th-rounder spent the 2022 season with three different organizations, logging time with the Triple-A affiliates for the Yankees, Blue Jays and Phillies. He reached the Majors with Philadelphia in September, tossing a pair of scoreless innings out of their bullpen in the season’s final month.
In 52 innings between those three Triple-A clubs, Nittoli turned in a 3.81 ERA with a stout 30.8% strikeout rate and a similarly impressive 6.7% walk rate. He’s not a flamethrower, as his average 93 mph heater in the big leagues has been about a half mile per hour slower than the leaguewide average. That said, Nittoli still has plus strikeout and walk rates throughout his minor league career, including parts of three Triple-A seasons. He also has a minor league option year remaining, so if the Cubs select him to the 40-man roster at any point, he can be shuttled between Iowa and Chicago in 2023 without needing to first clear waivers.
The Cubs have had a quiet offseason on the bullpen front, which is line with recent trends for them. The front office has generally eschewed large-scale, costly additions since the ill-fated signing of Craig Kimbrel. Thus far, Chicago’s lone big league addition has been a one-year, $2.8MM deal for veteran Brad Boxberger. Nittoli, meanwhile, will join a growing list of non-roster invitees hoping to win a spot in a generally inexperienced Cubs ‘pen; Chicago has also added right-hander Nick Neidert and southpaws Ryan Borucki, Roenis Elias and Eric Stout on non-roster deals this winter.
Rangers, Sandy Leon Agree To Minor League Deal
The Rangers and veteran catcher Sandy Leon have agreed to a minor league contract, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter link). Leon, a client of the MAS+ Agency, will be in Major League camp this spring.
Leon, 33, split the 2022 season between the Guardians and Twins, batting a combined .169/.298/.211 in 86 plate appearances. It’s a small sample of playing time, but that’s generally representative of the level of offense the switch-hitter has provided over the course of his career. Outside of an anomalous 2016 season that saw Leon post a brilliant .310/.369/.476 batting line (124 wRC+) in 283 plate appearances, he’s generally been a well below-average hitter. Since the conclusion of that career-best 2016 campaign, he’s turned in a .190/.260/.292 line (48 wRC+) in 1167 trips to the plate.
Offense, clearly, isn’t the reason Leon continually draws interest from big league clubs. He’s regarded as an excellent defender and game-caller, generally posting above-average to plus framing marks while doing a good job controlling the running game. Leon has thrown out 30.3% of runners who’ve attempted to steal against him in his big league career, piling up 34 Defensive Runs Saved along the way and regularly stealing a healthy share of extra strikes for his pitchers.
The Rangers don’t have a dire need for catching help — far from it, in fact. On the big league roster, it’s likely that Jonah Heim and Mitch Garver will split the lion’s share of catching duties, and Texas has former top prospect Sam Huff as another alternative on the 40-man roster. Huff hasn’t yet carved out an everyday role for himself, but he’s just 24 years old and carries a .263/.321/.447 line in 165 big league plate appearances. Heim’s defensive prowess, Garver’s power and Huff’s penchant for strikeouts might all combine to push Huff to Triple-A to begin the season, but Garver is a free agent next winter, so Huff could play a more prominent role before long. If Leon heads to Triple-A Round Rock to serve as a backup catcher, he’ll provide a nice veteran mentor to work with Huff throughout the minor league season.
The Opener: Twins, Rojas, O’Hearn
With just about a month left before Spring Training, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today as the offseason enters its final stretch:
1. What does Correa’s return mean for the rest of Minnesota’s lineup?
In signing Carlos Correa to a six-year, $200MM deal, the Twins have successfully retained their top offseason target and transformed their lineup. They’ve also created something of a roster crunch. Correa, Jorge Polanco, Luis Arraez, and Jose Miranda will get regular infield work, with versatile infielder Kyle Farmer and infielder/outfielder Nick Gordon serving as utility options. That entire group is under team control through at least the 2024 season, and by then, Royce Lewis will likely have returned from injury while prospects Brooks Lee and Austin Martin, both already at Double-A, could be knocking on the door of the big leagues.
It’s a similar look in the outfield, where Byron Buxton, Joey Gallo and Max Kepler are currently penciled in as the starters, with Gordon, Gilberto Celestino, Alex Kirilloff, Trevor Larnach and Matt Wallner as possible alternatives. With their current glut of position players, it would make sense if the Twins more explored offers on the trade market. Kepler, in particular, has been viewed as a trade candidate — even more so in the wake of Minnesota’s signing of Gallo.
2. Does the Rojas swap portend more moves?
Longtime Marlins shortstop Miguel Rojas was traded last night to the Dodgers in exchange for Jacob Amaya, filling a hole in L.A.’s roster left by Trea Turner‘s departure. Could this deal spur both clubs into more action? For the Dodgers, Rojas’ $5MM salary puts the club on track to pay into the luxury tax, when they had previously seemed to be trying to avoid. Could Los Angeles look to shed salary through trade? Or is it possible that the club gives up on staying under the luxury tax and participates more aggressively in the trade market going forward to improve the club in 2023?
Meanwhile, Miami gave themselves a lot more flexibility by moving Rojas. Amaya could be a serviceable infielder for them in 2023 (perhaps in a platoon with Joey Wendle) alongside Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Jean Segura. On the other hand, without surefire starters at every infield position anymore, it’s possible that this deal allows the club to widen their scope when looking for partners in a trade for one of their starting pitchers. Previously, it seemed reasonable to assume they would focus on improving the outfield, but without Rojas, but perhaps there’s some extra consideration now given to MLB-ready infielders.
3. O’Hearn DFA Conclusion Coming
Last week, the Orioles designated first baseman Ryan O’Hearn for assignment. The outcome of that DFA is due today. O’Hearn’s four years of service time surpasses the minimum three years required to reject an outright assignment, although rejecting an outright would mean forgoing the $1.4MM deal he agreed to earlier in the offseason. O’Hearn debuted in 2018, slashing .262/.353/.597 (153 wRC+) in 170 plate appearances with the Royals that season, but he’s struggled to a .211/.282/.351 (68 wRC+) slash in 901 MLB plate appearances since the start of the 2019 season. The O’s designated O’Hearn just days after acquiring him in a trade — seemingly part of their ongoing effort to stash some lefty-swinging first base depth in Triple-A.
Mets Among Teams With Interest In Andrew McCutchen
The Mets have shown interest in veteran outfielder Andrew McCutchen, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post (Twitter link). New York joins the Rays and Dodgers as teams known to have checked in regarding the former MVP this offseason.
McCutchen is one of the better right-handed hitting outfielders remaining in free agency. At age 36, he’s no longer the dynamic superstar he was at his peak. Yet the five-time All-Star still has a patient plate approach and decent power. McCutchen connected on 17 home runs while drawing walks in 9.8% of his 580 plate appearances with the Brewers last season. He made hard contact on 40% of his batted balls, around four points higher than the league average.
Overall, his .237/.316/.384 line was right around league average. McCutchen has posted approximately average offensive numbers three years running, although the shape of his production was different last year than in previous seasons. From 2020-21 as a member of the Phillies, he stumbled to a .204/.297/.364 line against right-handed pitching but tattooed southpaws at a .290/.402/.603 clip. His splits were fairly even in 2022. McCutchen improved to .237/.316/.384 against same-handed arms but dropped back to .221/.303/.434 when holding the platoon advantage.
McCutchen is essentially limited to the corner outfield or designated hitter at this stage of his career. He started a pair of games in center last season but that marked his first action up the middle since 2019. He’s played primarily left field of late. Public metrics weren’t especially found of his glovework in Philadelphia, but Defensive Runs Saved credited him as five runs better than the average left fielder over 268 1/3 innings there last season. Milwaukee gave him more run at designated hitter but he’s capable of logging at least part-time corner outfield work.
It’s that role for which the Mets are ostensibly eyeing him. New York has a quality starting trio of Mark Canha, Brandon Nimmo and Starling Marte. Nimmo has had a number of injured list stints throughout his career, while both Canha and Marte are into their mid-30’s. Khalil Lee, coming off a .211/.326/.366 showing in Triple-A, is the only other natural outfielder on the 40-man roster. Darin Ruf can also factor into the corner outfield but had a tough second half after being acquired from the Giants. There’s appeal for New York in adding a quality player to the bench. A center field-capable player might be preferable, but Marte at least gives New York some cover as insurance behind Nimmo if the Mets were to add a corner-only bat.
Miguel Rojas Expected To Undergo Additional Wrist Procedure
After eight seasons with the Marlins, Miguel Rojas changed organizations this evening. Miami traded the infielder to the Dodgers in a one-for-one deal that sent infield prospect Jacob Amaya to South Florida.
Rojas is coming off a tough season in which he hit .237/.282/.324 through 504 trips to the plate. A right wrist issue seemed to play a role in that subpar offensive output, as the veteran underwent surgery in October to repair a torn triangular fibrocartilage complex (TFCC). Craig Mish of SportsGrid reported this evening that Rojas had another minor issue arise recently and is expected to undergo another procedure to address the matter (Twitter link).
There’s no indication this latest issue will affect Rojas’ readiness for Spring Training, much less the start of the regular season. It’s clearly not of much concern to the Dodgers, who were no doubt made aware of it during trade discussions. Rojas acknowledged this evening there’s “still a couple things I need to figure out with the wrist” but added he’d “be ready for Spring Training if everything goes well” (via Matthew Moreno of Dodger Blue).
Rojas, 34 next month, adds a glove-first utility option to the mix in L.A. Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times writes the club plans to bounce the nine-year MLB veteran around the infield in a multi-positional capacity. That leaves open the possibility of Gavin Lux taking the primary shortstop job, with Max Muncy and Chris Taylor on hand to see time at second and third base (and for Taylor to continue logging plenty of outfield action). Top prospect Miguel Vargas is expected to get a chance at the hot corner as well.
As for Miami, they’ve subtracted some certainty from the short-term infield mix. Mish tweets that Joey Wendle is likely to serve as the club’s primary shortstop at the start of the season. He’d pair in the middle infield with young star Jazz Chisholm Jr., while offseason signee Jean Segura is ticketed for third base duty. Mish and Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald wrote last week that Chisholm was interested in getting a chance to move back to shortstop at some point. It doesn’t seem that’ll be under consideration for now, though.
Amaya, a glove-first infielder, is already on the 40-man roster. He’s coming off a .259/.368/.381 showing in Triple-A and figures to get a chance for his big league debut at some point in 2023. Fellow rookies Jordan Groshans and Xavier Edwards are also on the 40-man, as is speedy utility player Jon Berti.
Marlins Outright Charles Leblanc
Infielder Charles Leblanc has been passed through waivers by the Marlins and outrighted to Triple-A Jacksonville, reports Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald. Leblanc was designated for assignment last week when the club signed Jean Segura.
Leblanc, 27 in June, was drafted by the Rangers in 2016 but was never added to their roster. In November of 2021, he was selected by the Marlins in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft. He played well enough in Jacksonville to get selected to the big league roster in July. In 87 games for the Jumbo Shrimp, he hit .302/.381/.503 for a wRC+ of 134.
Once up in the big leagues, he got into 48 games and generally carried himself well. He hit .263/.320/.404 for a wRC+ of 107 while playing the three non-shortstop infield positions. Despite those strong points, there were also some concerning elements. His .374 batting average on balls in play was well beyond the .290 league average, suggesting there may have been some good fortune in his results. He also struck out in 31.4% of his trips to the plate, well beyond the 22.4% MLB mean.
It seems those latter points were strong enough to keep any of the 29 other teams from putting in a claim. That allows the Marlins to hang onto him as a depth piece who isn’t taking up a spot on the 40-man.
Blue Jays, Jay Jackson Agree To Minor League Deal
The Blue Jays are signing reliever Jay Jackson to a minor league contract, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post (Twitter link). He’ll be in big league camp as a non-roster invitee.
The 35-year-old has seen some big league action in four seasons, including each of the last couple years. He only pitched twice at the highest level for the Braves last season, working 1 1/3 scoreless frames. He was held out of action for the first couple months by a lat strain and spent the bulk of the year on optional assignment to Triple-A Gwinnett.
Jackson pitched very well for the Stripers, allowing only five runs over 19 2/3 innings. He struck out 25 of the 80 hitters he faced (a 31.3% clip) while walking just four. Despite that quality work, Jackson couldn’t seize a spot in an Atlanta bullpen that was one of the sport’s deepest. The Braves ran him through outright waivers in September and he reached minor league free agency at season’s end.
The veteran hurler logged more extensive MLB action with the Giants during the 2021 campaign. He threw 21 2/3 innings through 23 outings for San Francisco, posting a 3.74 ERA while punching out 31.1% of batters faced. He missed plenty of bats but struggled with wobbly control, doling out free passes to more than 13% of opponents.
Jackson will be in camp and vie for a spot in a Toronto bullpen that could have a few openings in the middle innings. Jordan Romano, Erik Swanson, Anthony Bass, Yimi García and Tim Mayza should have spots secured. Adam Cimber and out-of-options hurlers Trevor Richards and Mitch White could have the inside track at the remaining jobs but don’t seem as firmly penciled in. Jackson has one minor league option year remaining.
Dodgers Acquire Miguel Rojas
The Dodgers bolstered their infield depth Wednesday evening, announcing agreement with the Marlins on a deal that brings in veteran infielder Miguel Rojas. Miami receives infield prospect Jacob Amaya in a one-for-one swap.
Rojas, 34 in February, actually made his MLB debut for the Dodgers in 2014 but was one of the seven players involved in a trade that December that saw him head to Miami. He served in a utility role for a few years but gradually took over the everyday shortstop job for the Marlins.
He hasn’t hit much in the majors, having only gone over the fence 39 times in his nine seasons. However, he has proven tough to strike out, only going down on strikes in 12.6% of his career plate appearances. For reference, the league average last year was 22.4%, so Rojas has been punched out at a rate barely half of that. The overall result is a career batting line of .260/.314/.358 and a wRC+ of 85, indicating he’s been about 15% below league average.
What really makes Rojas appealing is his glove. Last year, he got strong marks from all three of Defensive Runs Saved, Ultimate Zone Rating and Outs Above Average. His 15 DRS was second among shortstops last year with only Jeremy Peña ahead of him. His 4.9 UZR was fourth-best in the league and his 10 OAA had him tied for fifth. He also finished second at the position in the Fielding Bible voting, trailing only Jorge Mateo. His sprint speed is only in the 29th percentile but he was still able to swipe 22 bags over the past two seasons. Despite the subpar batting, he’s been worth 1.2 wins above replacement or higher in each of the past six seasons, according to the calculations of FanGraphs.
Rojas had previously been connected to the Red Sox in the offseason but instead returns to Los Angeles. The Dodgers lost their incumbent shortstop when Trea Turner reached free agency and signed with the Phillies earlier this offseason. The club is expected to give Gavin Lux a chance to move from second to short and become the long-term solution there, but having Rojas on hand gives them a veteran fallback who can also potentially impart his veteran wisdom to the younger player.
Despite the attributes of Rojas, the Marlins have moved on. They’ve been known to be looking for more offense for quite some time given their struggles in that department. The team-wide batting line last year was .230/.294/.363 for a wRC+ of 88, placing them ahead of just five other teams in the league in that regard. The Fish tried to add a bit more pop to the lineup recently when they signed Jean Segura. It was speculated by some at that point that they would then move Jazz Chisholm Jr. to shortstop and install Segura at the keystone. Subsequent reports suggest the club actually planned to have Segura at third, while it appears Joey Wendle will get first crack at shortstop.
It’s possible the other player in this deal will be a factor at the shortstop position in Miami before long. Amaya, 24, was drafted by the Dodgers in 2017 and has been considered one of their more interesting prospects since then. Prospect evaluators have generally considered him to be an excellent defender but there are questions about his bat. In 2021, he spent the year in Double-A, getting into 113 games at that level. While he walked in 10.9% of his plate appearances, he hit just .216/.303/.343 for a wRC+ of 75. Despite that tepid showing, he was added to the club’s 40-man roster in November of that year to protect him from selection in the Rule 5 draft.
Last year, seemed to get the hang of Double-A, hitting .264/.370/.500 for a wRC+ of 120 in 49 games. He was sent up to Triple-A but hit another speed bump. He walked in 14.9% of his trips to the plate but his .259/.368/.381 line was only good enough for a 94 wRC+ in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. He still has a couple of option years remaining, which would allow the Marlins to keep him in the minors to continue developing as a hitter. But since he’s already played in 84 games at the Triple-A level, it doesn’t seem like a major league audition should be too far off.
It seems the win-now Dodgers have placed a higher value on the immediate impact of Rojas than the future value of Amaya. The Marlins, meanwhile, have a longer path towards contention and would appear to have a stronger interest in Amaya’s ability to help them for years to come.
The Dodgers are reportedly assuming the entirety of Rojas’ $5MM contract for the 2023 season. They’re tacking on a matching number to their competitive balance tax calculation with Rojas in the final season of his two-year deal. That latter point is more important, since the payroll is well below the club’s spending over the past few years.
There has been some suggestion the Dodgers would like to get under the tax threshold this year in order to reset their status. The CBT features escalating penalties for paying it in consecutive seasons but the Dodgers could theoretically stay under the $233MM line this year and go into 2024 as “first-time” payors. They have been right around that border of late, at least per the unofficial calculations of Roster Resource. They’re now firmly over the line, projected around $237MM. If the club is indeed hoping to duck under the line, they would likely have to subtract another contract from their ledger between now and season’s end.
Fabian Ardaya of the Athletic was first to report the Dodgers were “deep in talks” with Miami about a Rojas deal. Craig Mish of SportsGrid was first to report the Marlins would receive Amaya in return. Jon Heyman of the New York Post confirmed the sides were in agreement. Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase was first to report Los Angeles was taking on Rojas’ entire $5MM salary.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Padres To Re-Sign Craig Stammen To Minor League Deal
The Padres are in agreement with veteran reliever Craig Stammen on a minor league contract, reports Dennis Lin of the Athletic (Twitter link). He’ll be in big league camp as a non-roster invitee. Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that Stammen would lock in a $1.5MM base salary if he cracks the MLB roster, and the deal contains another $2MM in potential incentives.
It’ll be a seventh straight season in the organization for Stammen, who turns 39 before Opening Day. After spending his first seven years as a member of the Nationals, he spent the 2016 campaign in the minors with Cleveland. After that season, Stammen landed with the Padres on a minor league contract. That proved the start of a fruitful relationship, as he’s effectively soaked up a number of innings out of the bullpen over the last six years.
The righty pitched 80 1/3 innings of 3.14 ERA ball for the Friars during his first season. That earned him a two-year deal the following offseason. Stammen posted similar numbers over the course of that contract, throwing 161 combined frames with a 3.02 ERA for a total cost of $4.5MM. San Diego retained him on another two-year pact thereafter, this time with a $9MM guarantee and a $4MM club option covering the 2022 campaign.
Stammen struggled during the abbreviated 2020 season but rebounded with a 3.06 ERA over 88 1/3 innings the next year. San Diego exercised their option and brought the Dayton product back. Stammen ran into some uncharacteristic struggles last year, particularly thanks to the home run ball. He surrendered nearly two homers per nine innings and posted a 4.43 ERA over 40 2/3 frames. He missed a couple months in the second half thanks to inflammation in his throwing shoulder before returning to health in early September.
A ground-ball specialist, Stammen thrives on command and movement rather than overpowering velocity. He leans heavily on a low-90s sinker and upper-80s cutter to keep the ball on the ground. He induced worm-burners a bit more than half the time last year while only walking 5.6% of opponents. His 19.8% strikeout rate was a few points below league average, down more than three percentage points relative to his 2021 mark.
The non-roster pact means Stammen will have to earn his way back for a 14th big league campaign. He’ll get a chance to do so in Spring Training and presumably has a good shot at cracking the roster given his familiarity to the front office and coaching staff.
Red Sox, Greg Allen Agree To Minor League Contract
7:15pm: Allen would receive a $1.4MM base salary if he makes the major league roster, reports Chris Cotillo of MassLive (on Twitter).
6:43pm: The Red Sox and outfielder Greg Allen have agreed to a minor league deal, reports Kiley McDaniel of ESPN (Twitter link). He’ll be in big league camp as a non-roster invitee.
Allen, 30 in March, has appeared in the big leagues in each of the past six seasons. Initially a Cleveland draftee, he spent the 2017-19 campaigns there as a depth outfielder before being dealt to the Padres in the 2020 trade that sent Mike Clevinger to San Diego for a six-player package including Cal Quantrill, Austin Hedges and Josh Naylor. Allen would only appear in one game with the Padres and was designated for assignment the following offseason.
Traded to the Yankees, he spent most of the year in Triple-A after going unclaimed on waivers. The switch-hitter had a big season at the top minor league level to earn a brief MLB look, in which he hit .270/.417/.432 in 15 games. That was enough for the Pirates to take a flier when he hit waivers last offseason and the Bucs gave him his most extended major league run in three years.
Allen couldn’t maintain his 2021 form over a larger sample, hitting .186/.260/.271 with a lofty 31.3% strikeout percentage through 134 trips to the plate. Pittsburgh ran the former 6th-round draftee through waivers late last season. He cleared and elected minor league free agency at year’s end.
In exactly 800 MLB plate appearances, Allen is a .232/.299/.336 hitter. He’s hit 10 home runs with a below-average 5.6% walk rate. The speedster has been very effective on the basepaths, though, swiping 45 bases in 53 career attempts. That’s an excellent 85% success rate, including an 8-10 showing in 46 games with the Bucs last year.
Allen’s speed gives him the ability to cover all three outfield positions. Advanced metrics have been mixed on his work in center field. Defensive Runs Saved has pegged him 12 runs below average in a little less than 1000 innings at the outfield’s most demanding spot. Statcast, on the other hand, has rated him three runs above par in center. He’s drawn unanimously strong marks in the corners, particularly in left field.
Boston doesn’t have much upper level outfield depth, with Allen presumably battling Jarren Duran and potentially a future acquisition or two for a depth role behind Masataka Yoshida, Alex Verdugo and Enrique Hernández (who could also be thrust into a heavier infield workload thanks to the Trevor Story injury). Allen is out of minor league option years, meaning he’d have to stick on the active roster or be offered to other teams if he earns an MLB promotion at any point.