Abraham Almonte Elects Free Agency
The Red Sox announced that outfielder Abraham Almonte (who was designated for assignment earlier this week) cleared waivers and was outrighted off the 40-man roster. Because Almonte has previously been outrighted in his career, he had the right to reject this assignment and become a free agent, and Almonte has indeed opted to hit the open market.
Almonte signed a minor league deal with the Brewers last winter, but didn’t get any time in the big leagues until the Red Sox acquired him in a late-July trade. Almonte ended up playing 15 games with Boston in September and October, hitting .257/.297/.400 over his small sample of 37 plate appearances.
It marked the 10th consecutive season of MLB action for Almonte, who has spent his 455 career games with seven different teams, and also spent time (without any Major League action) in the Brewers and Yankees farm systems. Rarely more than a bench option at any of his stops, Almonte has carved out a niche as a solid defensive outfielder capable of playing any of the three positions. He provided some helpful depth for the Braves in 2021, filling in in the outfield in the wake of Ronald Acuna Jr.‘s ACL tear and eventually earning the first World Series ring of his career.
Designating and outrighting Almonte essentially serves as an early non-tender for the Red Sox, as Almonte was eligible for arbitration and projected to earn $900K. The 33-year-old will now get an early jump in free agency and look to catch on with yet another club on another minors contract.
19 Players Elect Free Agency
Players hit minor league free agency on a daily basis during the postseason, as opposed to major league free agents who hit free agency following the World Series when their contracts expire. On Thursday, MLBTR covered 15 players who elected minor league free agency, and we will continue to provide occasional updates as players continue to hit the open market, as noted on the MiLB.com transactions log.
If a player is not on their organization’s 40-man roster at the end of the season, he will hit minor league free agency as long as he has at least 3 years of MLB service time, been assigned outright more than once in his career, and/or has played in the minor leagues for parts of seven or more seasons. Everyone on today’s list is part of that group of players, and most will search for another minor league deal this offseason, though a few may manage to latch onto a major league club and secure a bench or bullpen spot entering the 2023 season.
Infielders:
- JT Riddle (Mets)
Outfielders:
- Willie Calhoun (Giants)
- Monte Harrison (Angels)
- Magneuris Sierra (Angels)
- Dillon Thomas (Angels)
- Marcus Wilson (Mariners)
Pitchers:
- Kyle Barraclough (Angels)
- Drew Carlton (Tigers)
- Jesus Cruz (Braves)
- Julian Fernandez (Rockies)
- Carson Fulmer (Dodgers)
- Kevin Herget (Rays)
- Jake Jewell (Twins)
- Michael Kelly (Phillies)
- Matt Koch (Mariners)
- Adam Kolarek (A’s)
- Denyi Reyes (Orioles)
- Locke St. John (Mets)
- Tanner Tully (Guardians)
Reds Outright Three Players
The Reds announced yesterday that right-handers Ryan Hendrix, Raynel Espinal, and catcher Chuckie Robinson have cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A Louisville. All three will become minor league free agents after the World Series unless added back to the 40-man roster.
Hendrix, 27, has spent the past two seasons shuttled between Triple-A and Cincinnati’s major league bullpen. He’s struggled mightily during that time, failing to post an ERA below 5.00 at either level during either season. Hendrix will search for a minor league deal this offseason and, having spent his entire professional career in the Reds organization, may benefit from a change of scenery.
Espinal, 31, played for three organizations in 2022. He opened the season pitching for the Giants at their Triple-A affiliate in Sacramento, before being traded to the Cubs in exchange for minor league shortstop Dixon Machado at the trade deadline. After just 2 games with Chicago’s Triple-A affiliate in Iowa, he was released, and later signed a minor league deal with the Reds, for whom he served as an up-and-down pitcher during September, posting a 7.71 ERA in just 4 2/3 innings of work. After a similarly short stint with weak results in the Red Sox bullpen last year (9.00 ERA in 2 innings), Espinal will look for a minor league opportunity with yet another club this offseason.
Robinson, 27, struggled at the plate in 25 games with the Reds this year (60 PA), slashing just .136/.136/.271 in that time. Robinson fared better during his time in the minors this season, however, slashing a more respectable .266/.320/.399 in 58 games (219 PA) split fairly evenly between the Double-A and Triple-A levels. Given the desirability of upper-minors catching depth, Robinson will likely find a minor league deal this offseason, whether with the Reds or another club.
Hanshin Tigers To Post Shintaro Fujinami
The Hanshin Tigers of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball are going to make right-hander Shintaro Fujinami available to MLB clubs this offseason via the posting system, according to a report from Kyodo News. Back in September, reports from Japan (Japanese link from Sponichi Annex and English link from The Japan Times) relayed his desire to attempt the move to North America. It now seems that the club will grant him his wish.
Fujinami, who will turn 29 in April, figures to be an interesting addition to this winter’s free agent market, though a very difficult one to predict. Going back to his high school days, Fujinami was a highly-touted young arm that was often compared to Shohei Ohtani when they were in the same draft class. Fujinami was first mentioned on MLBTR back in 2012, showcasing the hype that has followed him around for some time.
He lived up to that hype in his first few seasons but subsequently spent a long time battling control issues. (This eight-minute video from Yakyu Cosmopolitan is recommended for those who want a rundown of Fujinami’s whole career, though it was made before the 2022 season.) In 2013, Fujinami was thrown directly into the Tigers’ rotation in his age-19 campaign. He responded to that bold assignment by throwing 137 2/3 innings with a 2.75 ERA, 126 strikeouts, 44 walks and a couple of hit batters. He followed that up with two more excellent seasons, throwing 163 innings in 2014 with a 3.53 ERA and then 199 frames in 2015 with a 2.40 ERA.
In 2016, he was still fairly effective, but took a step back from that 2015 peak. His ERA went up to 3.25 and he walked 70 batters in 169 innings. The control issues would only grow from there, as he issued 45 walks in just 59 innings in 2017, eventually getting sent down to the minors. He’s been up-and-down between the minors and the Tigers in each season since then, struggling to earn enough trust to maintain a more permanent spot in Hanshin.
That was still the case here in 2022, as Fujinami made nine appearances down on the farm and 16 with the Tigers. In those 16 appearances for Hanshin, he logged 66 2/3 innings with a 3.38 ERA, striking out 65 while walking 21 batters. He faced a total of 276 batters, meaning his walk rate was 7.6%, which is actually respectable. For reference, this year’s MLB average was 8.2%. That’s a huge improvement over 2021, where he walked 40 out of 238 batters face for a rate of 16.8%.
All of this seems to make Fujinami a high-risk, high-reward possibility for teams in free agency. On the one hand, he has hit 126 km/h (1o1 mph) with his fastball and has been elite in the past. Despite his decade-long track record, he’ll be just 29 years old next season. On the other hand, he has struggled so badly in recent years that the Tigers haven’t let him be anything more than a depth arm since 2016. There is likely to be a wide variance in how he is viewed by MLB clubs, with some completely uninterested and others willing to take a chance on his arsenal with the aim of helping him harness his tools.
Once he is formally posted, there will be a 30-day window where MLB clubs can negotiate with his representatives. If a deal is reached, the signing team will also owe money to the Tigers, with that amount being relative to the size of the contract given to Fujinami. Any big league team that signs him would owe the Tigers a fee equal to 20% of the contract’s first $25MM, 17.5% of the next $25MM and 15% of any dollars thereafter. If he does not reach an agreement with an MLB team, he will return to the Tigers for 2023.
Qualifying Offer Set At $19.65MM For 2022-23 Offseason
This year’s qualifying offer will be set at $19.65MM, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. This will set a new record for the QO, which generally trends upward from year to year. The previous high was $18.9MM heading int0 the 2020-21 offseason, and the QO then dropped last winter down to $18.4MM.
The qualifying offer changes on an annual basis because it is an average of the salaries of the 125 highest-paid players in baseball. Naturally, as salaries increase with inflation and increased revenue in the game, the qualifying offer also goes up. Last year’s decline was likely a reflection of the pandemic (i.e. canceled games and diminished attendance led to a decrease in expenditures from some clubs) bu it seems that the spending environment has broadly rebounded. A look at the QO totals since its creation….
- 2012-13: $13.3MM
- 2013-14: $14.4MM
- 2014-15: $15.3MM
- 2015-16: $15.8MM
- 2016-17: $17.2MM
- 2017-18: $17.4MM
- 2018-19: $17.9MM
- 2019-20: $17.8MM
- 2020-21: $18.9MM
- 2021-22: $18.4MM
- 2022-23: $19.65MM
It wasn’t clear whether or not the qualifying offer system would remain in place this winter, as the league offered to scrap the QO if the MLB Players Association agreed to replace the current international signing system with a draft for international players. This issue lingered even beyond the settlement of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement back in March, but when the two sides couldn’t reach an agreement on an int’l draft in July, that ensured the qualifying offer will continue through at least the length of the CBA (through the 2026 season).
The QO has always been an interesting subplot of the free agency, if not necessarily a popular one for players and agents who feel the qualifying offer can act as a limitation on a player’s market. The qualifying offer is a one-year, contract that any team can issue to any free agent who hasn’t already received a QO in the past. If the player accepts, he returns to his team on that $19.65 payday — if he rejects, the team will receive draft pick compensation if the player signs elsewhere, and the player’s new club will also have to give up at least one pick as a penalty for the signing.
Top free agents typically reject the qualifying offer, since they are likelier to land long-term contracts and their suitors usually aren’t bothered too much at the idea of paying an extra QO penalty to sign these stars. However, some players have accepted the QO, opting to take the one-year contract as something of a pillow contract if the player is coming off a bit of a down year production-wise, or perhaps an injury-shortened season. Teams also must make a strategic call about whether or not to issue a QO to some free agents, as clubs may not want to be on the hook for $19.65MM to a particular player (free agents who accept a QO cannot be traded until June), but clubs are also keen to add extra draft picks whenever possible.
NL East Notes: Stallings, Hassell, Chernoff, Mets
As the Phillies take a 2-1 lead over the Braves in the NLDS, let’s check out some other news from around the NL East…
- Jacob Stallings‘ offense declined in his first season with the Marlins, and public defensive metrics from Statcast and Fangraphs indicate that his framing and overall defense also dropped off in 2022. However, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch hears that the Marlins didn’t have any interest in moving Stallings earlier this season, though there is a possibility Miami’s feelings may have changed since Goold’s last inquiry. Nick Fortes played well in part-time action last season, and could be viewed as a candidate for a larger role if the Marlins did indeed move Stallings.
- Nationals outfield prospect Robert Hassell III underwent surgery to fix a broken hamate bone in his right hand, MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo reports. The Talk Nats blog reported last week that Hassell seemed to suffer the injury on a swing in Arizona Fall League play. Since hamate surgeries typically take roughly 6-8 weeks of recovery time, the Nats expect Hassell to be ready for the start of Spring Training. Hassell was one of the key pieces of the six-player package Washington received in the Juan Soto/Josh Bell trade with the Padres, as the outfielder entered the season as a consensus top-40 prospect in baseball. While he struggled after the trade and the move to the Nats farm system, the 21-year-old is expected to begin the 2023 season at Double-A ball.
- Guardians GM Mike Chernoff was on the Mets‘ radar when they were looking for a new front office leader following the 2020 season, but Chernoff rejected an interview request and still doesn’t seem interested in a move away from Cleveland, as he told the New York Post’s Jon Heyman. Both Chernoff and Guards president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti reiterated how much they like their current positions, and Antonetti has also frequent turned down other interview requests from rival teams over the years. With current Mets GM Billy Eppler building a 101-game winner, it would seem a little unusual if the Mets hired another baseball-focused executive as their next team president, and the club might just hire a business-focused executive and leave Eppler in charge of baseball ops. However, the Mets have been linked to so many notable front office names over the last two years that it can’t be ruled out that owner Steve Cohen might finally land a big target.
Yankees Notes: Judge, deGrom, Montas, LeMahieu, Marinaccio, Benintendi
The ALDS is tied 1-1, as today’s Game 2 saw the Yankees suffer a tough 4-2 loss to the Guardians in 10 innings. Giancarlo Stanton‘s two-run homer gave New York a 2-0 lead after the first inning, but the Yankees managed only four more hits and zero additional runs in the next nine innings against Guards pitching. The series now shifts to Cleveland for the next two games, with Luis Severino slated to face Triston McKenzie in tomorrow’s Game 3.
More from the Bronx…
- According to four agents and a non-Yankees executive polled by the New York Post’s Jon Heyman, Aaron Judge‘s next contract is going to be worth at least $300MM, with some speculation that he might approach the $350MM or even $400MM thresholds. It would be a gigantic and possibly record-setting deal for the slugger, yet Judge’s huge 62-homer campaign has made a strong argument for such a contract. With other teams surely interested and possibly driving the price up, it remains to be seen if the Yankees will retain Judge, though GM Brian Cashman said this week that “we’d love to keep him if we can.”
- It also seems like you can rule out any chance of a crosstown swap of free agents, as Heyman doesn’t believe the Mets will make a true run at Judge, nor is it likely that Judge would leave the Yankees for New York’s other team. A league source also flatly told Heyman that “the Yankees aren’t going after [Jacob] deGrom,” as there has been speculation that deGrom might be looking to leave New York for a team closer to his home in Florida.
- The Yankees are missing several notable players on their ALDS roster, but manager Aaron Boone told reporters (including MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch and The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner) that four injured players could perhaps be available if the Yankees advanced to the ALCS. In preparation, Andrew Benintendi, Frankie Montas, and Ron Marinaccio are all heading to Tampa to work out in a live game setting. As Montas recovers from shoulder inflammation, Boone said that Montas would be used as a bulk pitcher (behind an opener) or as a multi-inning reliever, rather than in his usual starting role. DJ LeMahieu is still traveling with the team as he recuperates from his foot injury, with the Yankees specifying that LeMahieu is suffering from a ligament issue with the second toe of his right foot.
GM Ben Cherington Discusses Pirates’ Offseason
Pirates general manager Ben Cherington held his season-ending press conference today, broadly discussing several offseason topics with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Jason Mackey and other reporters. While the Bucs went 62-100 to post their seventh consecutive losing season, Cherington felt some progress was made among the team’s young player, both on the field and in the clubhouse.
This young core is key to the Pirates’ rebuilding strategy, but some veteran help may be added at specific positions. Cherington noted that first base, the starting rotation, and catcher are all areas of need to some degree, though in case of the catcher spot, the GM said “we feel increasingly good about that position, organizationally, certainly. At the major league level, really like the job that Jason Delay and Tyler Heineman did.”
This might count out a new deal with Roberto Perez, though Cherington said the Pirates “are keeping the door open” on Perez’s status. Signed to a one-year, $5MM contract last winter as some veteran reinforcement behind the plate, Perez played in only 21 games before undergoing a hamstring surgery that cost him the rest of the season. This makes it two straight injury-marred seasons for the veteran backstop, and while Perez is a two-time Gold Glover with a strong defensive track record, his checkered recent health situation will certainly lower his free agent price tag, if he lands a guaranteed deal at all.
A lower price, of course, helps the chances of Perez remaining in Pittsburgh, as the payroll is once again a key factor in the Bucs’ offseason decisions. Cherington again reiterated that “I really believe that we have the resources to win and that once we start winning, we’ll be able to sustain that,” and yet until that corner is turned, there doesn’t seem to be any expectation that the Pirates will make any significant expenditures.
Pittsburgh fans have long been critical of the Pirates’ lack of spending, as ownership didn’t much stretch the budget during the Bucs’ last stretch of winning baseball (three straight postseason appearances from 2013-15). The promise of increased spending down the road isn’t exactly welcome to a fanbase impatient for success, but Cherington said his front office is concentrating on the present realities of its rebuild process.
“I don’t believe focusing on payroll is the right thing to focus on in a town like Pittsburgh, in a place where a winning team is not going to be built in a way that is in other places,” Cherington said. “I understand where the question comes from, but the way we wake up every day and do our work, it’s just not the thing that we think about.”
As such, the Pirates won’t be breaking the bank to address their offseason needs, though first base has traditionally been a position where some solid production can be found at a lower price. The same could be true of the rotation, and the Bucs had success in this area last offseason with Jose Quintana‘s bounce-back year after signing a one-year, $2MM free agent deal. In terms of a general wishlist, Cherington is hoping to add more strikeouts to the pitching staff, and more runners on base for the lineup as a whole, not just at the first base spot.
Cherington said in August that Derek Shelton would be returning as Pittsburgh’s manager, and on Friday, Cherington added that the coaching staff would also be retained, apart from “considering someone getting an opportunity somewhere else or something like that.” If anything, Cherington hinted that the Bucs might add more personnel to what is already a deep coaching staff.
Rangers GM Chris Young Meets With Bruce Bochy
Bruce Bochy has been frequently mentioned as a possible candidate to be the Rangers’ next manager, and some possible progress in that direction may have taken place yesterday, as The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link) reports that Bochy met with Rangers GM Chris Young. The meeting took place in Bochy’s hometown of Nashville, as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports that Young was seen on a flight to Nashville on Wednesday.
It is perhaps incorrect to consider the meeting as a proper interview, in the sense of how most managerial candidates are usually conducted. “It is not clear if Bochy is interested in officially interviewing for the job with the Rangers’ search committee,” Grant writes, but it’s safe to assume Bochy and Young discussed the possibility of the World Series-winning skipper taking over in the dugout. In fact, such a meeting might be indicative of Bochy’s standing, with Grant noting that Bochy “is widely considered the frontrunner for the job.”
Interim manager Tony Beasley is the only candidate known to have interviewed thus far, and while any number of popular coaches or ex-managers could yet emerge in the search, hiring a manager with the 67-year-old Bochy’s track record might be a preferred direction for a Rangers organization that is eager to start winning. Last offseason’s spending splurge promised at least some improvement, yet as Texas struggled to a 68-94 record this season, longtime president of baseball operations Jon Daniels and former manager Chris Woodward were both fired in August. Daniels’ departure put Young in charge of baseball operations, and faced his first managerial hire, it makes sense that Young might turn to a familiar face — Bochy managed Young when the former right-hander pitched for the Padres in 2006.
Over 25 seasons as manager of the Padres and Giants, Bochy had his share of lean years, as evidenced by a 2003-2029 career record that dips under the .500 mark. However, the peaks were as high as could be, as Bochy led San Francisco to World Series titles in 2010, 2012, and 2014, making Bochy one of only 10 managers in history with at least three Series championships.
Bochy semi-retired following the 2019 season, as while he has consistently remained open to the idea of a potential return, Bochy wanted to take at least the 2020 season off before deciding his next move. That retirement has now lasted for three seasons, though he has also acted as a special adviser to the Giants during that time.
Orioles Designate Louis Head, Beau Sulser; Claim Aramis Garcia, Mark Kolozsvary
The Orioles have added to their catching depth with a pair of waiver claims from the Reds, acquiring backstops Aramis Garcia and Mark Kolozsvary. To create roster space, Baltimore has designated right-handers Louis Head and Beau Sulser for assignment.
Both Sulser and Head were themselves acquired via the waiver wire in 2022, with the former obtained from the Pirates in May and the latter from Miami in July. Neither saw much action in an Orioles uniform, with Sulser pitching 12 2/3 MLB innings for the O’s and Head only five frames. Those 12 2/3 innings for Sulser marked his Major League debut, as he pitched in four games with Pittsburgh before moving onto six more appearances with Baltimore.
The younger brother of former Orioles hurler Cole Sulser, Beau worked his way up to the big leagues after being a 10-round pick for the Pirates in the 2017 draft. Though the Pirates gave the righty a long look at a starter at Triple-A in 2021, Sulser has pitched only as a reliever in his brief MLB career. Sulser has a 4.12 ERA over 373 1/3 career innings in the minors, with an improved strikeout rate in 2022 as he made the move back to mostly relief pitching.
Head made his Major League debut in 2021, posting a 2.31 ERA over 35 innings out of the Rays’ bullpen. Seemingly the latest product of Tampa Bay’s nonstop pitching pipeline, Head spent an unusual amount of time moving up and down that pipeline, as the Rays sent the right-hander up and down from Triple-A on 12 different occasions. Acquired by the Marlins in an offseason trade, Head struggled to a 7.23 ERA over his 23 2/3 innings with Florida’s other team, though he seemed to right the ship with an 1.80 ERA in his brief time with the O’s.
The additions of Garcia and Kolozsvary give the Orioles six catchers on their 40-man roster — an unusually high number even for a team that didn’t have a surefire starter in Adley Rutschman. However, Robinson Chirinos is a free agent and Cam Gallagher is a non-tender candidate, so bringing more backstops into the fold gives the O’s some flexibility in deciding who will ultimately work as Rutschman’s backup in 2023. (Anthony Bemboom is the other catcher on the 40-man.)
A second-round pick for the Giants in the 2014 draft, Garcia spent much of his career in San Francisco’s organization before being claimed by the Rangers in November 2020. That move sparked a whirlwind of movement for the catcher, as the Oriole are now Garcia’s fifth different team within the last 23 months. Garcia has seen MLB action in four of the last five seasons, totaling 320 plate appearances over 116 games with the Giants (2018-19), Athletics (2021) and Reds (2022).
Other than an .800 OPS in his first 65 PA with San Francisco, Garcia hasn’t shown much at the bat, hitting .216/.253/.332 for his career against big league pitching. Injuries have played a significant role in Garcia’s career, as he missed all of 2020 recovering from hip surgery, and a finger sprain sent him to Cincinnati’s 60-day injured list last season. Garcia is projected to earn $800K in his first offseason for arbitration eligibility, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Orioles non-tendered him prior to the deadline, depending on the team’s other plans for its catchers or its 40-man roster space.
Kolozsvary was a seventh-round pick for the Reds in 2017, and today’s waiver claim marks the first organization change of his pro career. After hitting .215/.326/.343 in an even 1100 PA in the minors, Kolozsvary topped off his Reds tenure by making his Major League debut in 2022, appearing in 10 games.