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Phillies, Jose Alvarado Avoid Arbitration

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9:19am: Alvarado and the Phillies settled at $3.45MM, tweets Daniel Alvarez Montes of El Extra Base.

8:55am: The Phillies and left-hander Jose Alvarado have agreed to a one-year contract, per a team announcement. That avoids an arbitration hearing that had been scheduled for later today. Alvarado, a client of the OL Baseball Group, had filed for a $3.7MM figure, while the Phillies submitted a $3.2MM sum.

The 27-year-old Alvarado (28 in May) originally came to the Phils from the Rays in a three-team deal that saw Philadelphia send lefty Garrett Cleavinger to the Dodgers. It was one of the first swaps president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski made upon being hired in Philadelphia and has proven to be a key pickup, as Alvarado has emerged as one of the team’s best relievers.

Over the past two seasons, the flamethrowing Alvarado has averaged 99.6 mph on his sinker and fanned 32% of his opponents while working to a 3.71 ERA. That mark is weighed down a bit by a 2021 season in which Alvarado walked an alarming 18.7% of his opponents, but he pared that number down to 11.2% in 2022 while also upping his strikeout rate to a mammoth 37.9%. This past season’s 3.18 ERA is sharp to begin with, but metrics like FIP (1.92) and SIERA (2.37) feel he’s been even better.

Alvarado has saved seven games for the Phillies and piled up another 38 holds over the past two seasons, cementing himself as one of the organization’s most trusted options in high-leverage settings. He’ll join a high-octane group of relievers in the late innings under manager Rob Thomson, including righty Seranthony Dominguez and offseason acquisitions Gregory Soto and Craig Kimbrel.

The 2022 season will be a crucial one for Alvarado, who’ll be entering his final season of club control. Given his age, elite velocity, strikeout prowess and outstanding ability to miss bats (16.7% swinging-strike rate; 37.3% opponents’ chase rate), Alvarado could position himself as one of the top relievers on the market next offseason with another year like his 2022 campaign.

Walks have long been an issue for the left-hander, but Alvarado had the seventh-highest strikeout rate, fifth-best average velocity on his primary fastball (sinker) and 13th-best swinging-strike rate of the 347 pitchers who pitched at least 50 innings in 2022 (starters included). He also induced grounders on a huge 56.1% of the batted balls against him and yielded just 0.35 homers per nine innings. Command issues notwithstanding, Alvarado has the arsenal to become one of the game’s top relievers.

Each MLB Team’s Players On WBC Rosters

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The World Baseball Classic is returning this year, the first time since 2017. The quadrennial event was supposed to take place in 2021 but was scuttled by the pandemic, now returning after a six-year absence. Rosters for the tournament were announced today and those can be found at this link. Here is a breakdown of which players from each MLB team are set to take participate. Quick caveat that this list is fluid and might be changed as more information becomes available.

Without further ado…

Angels

Astros

Athletics

Blue Jays

Braves

Brewers

Cardinals

Cubs

Diamondbacks

Dodgers

Giants

Guardians

Marlins

Mariners

Mets

Nationals

Orioles

Padres

Phillies

Pirates

Rangers

Rays

Red Sox

Reds

Rockies

Royals

Tigers

Twins

White Sox

Yankees

The Phillies’ Fifth Starter Possibilities

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The Phillies had a bit of shuffling in the middle of their rotation this offseason. Each of Zach Eflin, Noah Syndergaard and Kyle Gibson went elsewhere in free agency. Philadelphia partially backfilled the starting staff by bringing Taijuan Walker aboard, but they focused the rest of their offseason attention on installing Trea Turner atop the lineup and stockpiling bullpen help.

Philadelphia has one of baseball’s best one-two punch atop the rotation in Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler. Walker steps into the third or fourth role, pairing with southpaw Ranger Suárez in the middle. Losing Eflin and Gibson thins out the depth at the back end, leaving the Phils to rely on someone without much starting experience at the big league level in the #5 role.

Turning to those possibilities:

Some MLB Rotation Work

Bailey Falter

Falter, a 25-year-old lefty, made 16 starts out of 20 outings for the Phils last year. That came on the heels of a rookie campaign in which he was used almost exclusively out of the bullpen and posted a 5.61 ERA. Falter had a better run prevention mark last season, allowing just 3.86 earned runs per nine innings. Falter struck out a roughly average 21.2% of opponents and kept his walks to a sparkling 4.9% clip last season. His ground-ball percentage dropped from 36.1% as a rookie to 31.7%, though, and he surrendered home runs at a higher than average rate (1.71 per nine innings).

The former fifth-round pick has shown excellent control throughout his time in the minor leagues. He missed bats on a decent 11% of his MLB offerings last season. His strikeout and walk profile fits fine at the back of a contending rotation, though his fly-ball oriented approach could give him trouble in a very hitter-friendly home park. Falter doesn’t throw hard and gives up a fair amount of hard contact. That’s been a particular issue with right-handed hitters, who have a .266/.313/.486 line against him in his MLB career.

Cristopher Sánchez

Sánchez, 26, only has four big league starts to his name. He’s come out of the bullpen 18 times at the MLB level and has logged 52 2/3 innings over the last two seasons. He owns a 5.47 ERA with worse than average strikeout and walk marks (20.3% and 10.2%, respectively). On the plus side, he’s racked up grounders on a massive 56.4% of batted balls.

The 6’1″ hurler has spent the bulk of the last two years starting games for Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He struggled with walks en route to a 4.68 ERA there in 2021 but had a much more productive showing last season. Over 57 1/3 innings spanning 15 appearances, the Dominican-born southpaw posted a 3.14 ERA with a 24.4% strikeout percentage, 8.4% walk rate and eye-opening 62% grounder percentage. While Sánchez hasn’t had much MLB success to date, he’s in the back of the rotation and/or long relief mix thanks to his quality Triple-A showing.

Top Prospects

Andrew Painter

Arguably the top pitching prospect in the game, Painter ranks among the sport’s top 15 minor league talents at Baseball America, ESPN and The Athletic. Armed with an upper-90s fastball, the 6’7″ righty also draws praise from evaluators for a pair of impressive breaking pitches in his slider and curveball. His changeup is viewed as a little behind the rest of his power arsenal but a promising fourth pitch in its own right.

The 13th overall pick in the 2021 draft out of a Florida high school, he traversed three minor league levels last season. In a year split between Low-A, High-A and Double-A, he threw 103 2/3 innings of 1.56 ERA ball, striking out a laughable 38.7% of opponents with just a 6.2% walk rate.

It’s hard to draw up a better first full pro season. Still, Painter won’t turn 20 until April, and he has just five late-season starts in Double-A and zero experience at the top minor league level. Carrying him on the MLB roster from day one would be a risk, though president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has said on a few occasions this offseason that it’s not out of the question (link via Andy Jasner of Sports Illustrated).

Mick Abel

Abel was Philadelphia’s first-round selection the year before Painter. Also a high school righty, he’s likewise developed into one of the sport’s more talented young arms. Abel split last season between High-A and Double-A, also making just five starts at the latter level. He combined for a 3.90 ERA across 108 1/3 frames with a 27.6% strikeout rate but a 10.6% walk percentage. He’s a consensus top-100 talent but below Painter in the prospect hierarchy, with a little less velocity and a greater need to refine his control. Abel’s a very good prospect and could potentially put himself in the MLB mix midseason, but right now it doesn’t seem like he’ll get immediate consideration for an Opening Day rotation role. Of course, a standout spring performance could potentially change that.

Griff McGarry

McGarry, a Virginia product, was a fifth-round draftee in 2021. As a college player, he’s older than Painter and Abel. He spent most of the 2022 season as a starter at High-A and Double-A as well but got eight late-season relief outings at Lehigh Valley. McGarry combined for 87 1/3 innings of 3.71 ERA ball in his first full professional season. He punched out an enormous 35.7% of opponents but walked batters at a 14.6% clip. McGarry has had high-octane stuff but inconsistent control dating back to his time in college. He’s a well-regarded prospect in his own right and looks like a great find for the Phils in the fifth round, though he’d need a dramatic improvement in his strike-throwing to factor into the MLB rotation this year. A midseason bullpen debut might be more likely.

Minor League Depth

Michael Plassmeyer

Acquired in a minor league trade that sent catcher Austin Wynns to the Giants last summer, Plassmeyer cracked the 40-man roster in August. He’d been hit hard in Triple-A with San Francisco but seemed to turn the corner in the Philadelphia organization. Over 16 starts for Lehigh Valley, the former fourth-round draftee posted a 2.41 ERA across 82 innings. He had some strand rate and BABIP help but also struck out 24.8% of opponents against a 7% walk rate. That’s enough to get Plassmeyer on the MLB radar, but he’d struggled significantly with walks and home runs on the road to a 7.38 ERA over 11 appearances with the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate prior to the trade.

James McArthur

McArthur made 13 starts for Double-A Reading last season before suffering a stress reaction in his throwing elbow. He struck out a quarter of opponents at that level but issued walks at a higher than average 10% clip. Over 57 innings, he managed a 5.05 ERA in a hitter-friendly home environment. McArthur’s 26 and has still yet to reach Triple-A. That he’s still holding a 40-man roster spot suggests the Phils still like his upside, though he’d presumably need to earn an MLB look with a strong showing in Lehigh Valley and might fit better in the bullpen regardless.

———————–

The Phillies figure to bring a few more arms to camp as non-roster Spring Training invitees. Philadelphia added Kyle Hart on a minor league deal this afternoon, while Hans Crouse remains in the organization after clearing outright waivers last November. It’s possible the front office looks for another starter with some MLB experience who’s willing to accept an NRI.

Unless the Phils surprisingly add Michael Wacha or pivot to the trade market, however, it’s unlikely anyone they bring in at this point would get an immediate MLB rotation job. The organization looks prepared to put a lot of faith in their highly-touted prospects, especially Painter. Whether that’ll be the case from day one is to be determined, with Falter and Sánchez in position to vie for key roles if the Phils determine more minor league time is necessary for their vaunted young arms.

Players That Could Move To The 60-Day IL Once Spring Training Begins

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Just about every baseball team has a full 40-man roster now, with the Astros the only team with an open spot at the moment. That means that just about every transaction, be it a free agent signing or a waiver claim, requires a corresponding move.

However, that could soon change as the injured list is coming back soon. There’s no IL from the end of a season until pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training for the next campaign, which they will do next week. That means some clubs could potentially gain a bit of extra roster flexibility at that time, since players on the 60-day IL don’t count against a team’s roster total. However, it’s worth pointing out that the “60 days” don’t start until Opening Day, which is March 30 this year. That means, though a team can transfer a player to the 60-day IL next week, they will likely only do so if they aren’t expecting the player back until end of May or later.

With some notable free agents still unsigned like Jurickson Profar, Andrew Chafin, Michael Wacha, Elvis Andrus and many others, it’s possible that teams interested in their services might try to hold off on getting a deal done until next week. Or perhaps clubs that have players they would like to sneak through waivers will try to do so now, before rival clubs gain that extra roster flexibility with the IL opening up. Then again, some clubs will need to keep in mind non-roster players they are planning to promote by Opening Day and might hold off on making a move until that time.

Here are some players who are expected to miss some significant time and could find themselves transferred soon, sorted by division.

AL East

Hyun Jin Ryu/Chad Green

The Blue Jays have a pair of pitchers on their 40-man roster who are returning from Tommy John surgery. They should be on a similar timeline, as they each underwent the procedure in June of last year, though Green will most likely return first since relievers generally require less time to build up arm strength compared to starters. Regardless, the recovery time period for TJS is about 12-18 months, meaning neither pitcher is likely to return until midseason at the earliest. Ryu recently said he was targeting a July return.

Trevor Story

The Red Sox shortstop recently underwent an internal brace procedure on his throwing elbow, a similar operation to Tommy John. Though he’s confident he’ll return at some point, he’s slated to miss most of the upcoming season and is certainly headed for the injured list.

John Means

The Orioles lefty underwent Tommy John surgery in late of April of 2022. With the 12-18 month recovery window for TJS, he could theoretically return in the first couple of months of the season, so the O’s may not want to transfer him to the injured list until they have some clarity about his timeline.

Scott Effross/Luis Gil/Frankie Montas

Effross is a lock for the Yankees’ injured list as he underwent Tommy John in October and will likely miss the entire 2023 campaign. Gil had the same surgery but in May, which means he’ll likely be out until midseason. The situation with Montas is a bit less clear, as he’s dealing with shoulder inflammation that is expected to keep him out for the first month of the season. Unless he suffers some sort of setback, he probably won’t be placed on the 60-day IL right away.

Shane Baz/Andrew Kittredge

The Rays have a couple of hurlers bound for the IL as Baz underwent Tommy John in September while Kittredge had the same surgery in June. They’re both going to miss the first half of the year, with Baz potentially missing the entire season.

AL Central

Casey Mize/Tarik Skubal

Mize underwent Tommy John surgery in June and should be placed on the Tigers’ IL at some point. Skubal’s case is a bit less certain after he underwent flexor tendon surgery in August. The club hasn’t provided a timeline for his recovery but some recent comparables can give us some idea. Danny Duffy underwent the procedure in October of 2021 and was hoping to return by June of 2022, though a setback prevented him from pitching at all on the year. Matthew Boyd went under the knife for flexor tendon surgery in September of 2021 and didn’t return to a big league mound until September of 2022.

Garrett Crochet/Liam Hendriks

Crochet of the White Sox underwent Tommy John surgery in April of last year but was already stretched out to throwing from 120 feet in November. Whether he’s able to return in the early parts of 2023 or not will depend on his continued progression in that recovery process. In a less conventional situation, Liam Hendriks announced last month that he’s beginning treatment for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. It’s unknown how long his treatment will take but general manager Rick Hahn said they don’t expect updates “prior to Opening Day at the very earliest.”

Chris Paddack/Royce Lewis

Paddack was recently extended by the Twins though he underwent Tommy John in May of last year and likely won’t be ready to return until the middle of the upcoming campaign. Lewis tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in June of last year, the second year in a row that he suffered that unfortunate injury. At the time, his recovery timeline was estimated at 12 months, which likely puts him on the shelf until midseason as well.

AL West

Brett Martin

It was reported last month that the Rangers lefty will require shoulder surgery. It was said that the timeline will become more clear in the aftermath of the procedure but he’s likely to miss the entirety of the upcoming season.

NL East

Bryce Harper

The Phillies superstar underwent Tommy John surgery in November and the club has announced they expect him to be out of action until around the All-Star break in July.

Huascar Ynoa/Tyler Matzek

Both these Braves pitchers underwent Tommy John last year, with Ynoa going under the knife in September and Matzek in October. That makes them both long shots for appearing at all this year, but especially not in the first half.

Max Meyer/Anthony Bender/Sixto Sanchez

The Marlins have a couple of arms that will certainly miss time this year and one more that’s a wild card. Meyer and Bender both underwent Tommy John in August and will miss most of the upcoming campaign. Sanchez underwent arthroscopic shoulder surgery in October with the club announcing at that time they expected him back by spring. It was reported last month that Sanchez is already throwing bullpens, which perhaps points against an IL stint. However, after the shoulder issues completely wiped out his 2021 and 2022 seasons, it’s hard to know how much to rely on his health going forward.

Danny Mendick

The Mets signed Mendick after he was non-tendered by the White Sox. The infielder/outfielder tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in June of last year and missed the second half of the season. There haven’t been any updates on his status recently, but further clarity will likely come when camp gets rolling.

Tanner Rainey/Stephen Strasburg

The Nationals have one fairly straightforward case in Tanner Rainey, who underwent Tommy John in August and will likely miss most of the upcoming season. What’s less clear is the situation surrounding Strasburg, who’s hardly pitched at all over the past three years due to thoracic outlet syndrome and various issues seemingly related to that. He made one appearance in the big leagues last year, pitching 4 2/3 in one start in June but went on the IL right after and never returned. He spoke about the issue in September, saying he hadn’t thrown in months and that he is “not really sure what the future holds.”

NL Central

Ethan Roberts/Codi Heuer/Kyle Hendricks

Roberts underwent Tommy John in June and likely won’t be available for the Cubs until midseason. Heuer had TJS in March but the latest reporting suggests he won’t return until June or July. The status of Hendricks is less clear, with the righty trying to recover from a capsular tear in his shoulder. The club is hoping to have him back by Opening Day but also said they won’t rush him. He recently said that he’s expecting to be on a mound by March 1.

Vladimir Gutierrez/Tejay Antone

Gutierrez, a Reds righty, underwent Tommy John in July and should miss the first few months of the upcoming season at least. Antone was rehabbing from a Tommy John of his own when he suffered a flexor strain in his forearm. He announced today he’s received a platelet-rich plasma injection to treat the issue and suggested he might miss the first half of the season.

Max Kranick

The Pirates right-hander required Tommy John in June and will miss the first half of the upcoming campaign.

NL West

Antonio Senzatela/Tyler Kinley

The Rockies have a couple of murky situations on their hands with these hurlers. Senzatela tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee last year and required surgery in August. The timeline at that point was given at 6-8 months, which would place his return somewhere in the February-April window. Whether he’ll require a lengthy IL stint will depend on if his recovery is still on that track. Kinley was diagnosed with an elbow strain and a flexor tear in his forearm in June of last year. He underwent surgery in July with the club announcing they expected him to miss one calendar year, which should prevent him from pitching early in the campaign.

Walker Buehler/Blake Treinen/J.P. Feyereisen

The Dodgers have a trio of pitchers that are likely to miss most or perhaps all of the upcoming season. Buehler required Tommy John in August and could potentially return very late in the year. Treinen underwent shoulder surgery in November with an estimated recovery time of 10 months. Feyereisen underwent shoulder surgery in December and won’t be able to begin throwing until four months after that procedure, or around April. His eventual return to game shape will depend on how long it takes him to progress from simply throwing to getting up to full game speed.

Luke Jackson

The Giants signed the right-hander in free agency, despite Jackson undergoing Tommy John in April. President of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi told reporters last month that there was a chance Jackson begins the year on the 60-day IL, though that doesn’t seem to indicate any kind of setback. “He’s doing great in his rehab, so we’re going to wait and see how he’s doing in spring training,” Zaidi said.

Phillies To Sign Kyle Hart To Minor League Deal

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The Phillies are in agreement with left-hander Kyle Hart on a minor league deal, reports Chris Cotillo of MassLive. The southpaw will presumably receive an invitation to major league Spring Training.

Hart, 30, will join just his second organization, as he was drafted by the Red Sox and has spent his entire career with them up until this point. Working primarily as a starter in the minors, he had a solid showing in 2019, splitting his time between Double-A and Triple-A. He made 24 starts and three relief appearances that year between those two levels, tossing 156 innings with a 3.52 ERA, 22% strikeout rate and 8.3% walk rate.

That season was strong enough that the Sox added him to their 40-man roster to protect him from being selected in the Rule 5 draft. In 2020, Hart made his major league debut but registered a 15.55 ERA in 11 innings. He was outrighted off the club’s roster in November of that year and has continued pitching in the minors, but not quite reaching that form he showed in 2019. In 2021, he had a 4.22 ERA in 106 2/3 Triple-A innings. Last year, he posted a 5.25 ERA in 82 1/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A.

Hart reached free agency for the first time after the 2022 campaign wrapped and has used it to find a new opportunity. The Phillies will see if a change of scenery can help Hart get back on track after a few disappointing years. The club’s rotation will consist of Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, Ranger Suárez and Taijuan Walker, with the final spot open for a battle between guys like Bailey Falter, Christopher Sánchez, Andrew Painter and Mick Abel. In the bullpen, the Phils will have a few lefty options in José Alvarado, Gregory Soto, Matt Strahm and Andrew Vasquez. It’s unclear if the Phils view Hart as a starter or reliever exclusively, but he could perhaps provide some depth in either area. If he makes it onto the club’s roster at any point, he still has a couple of option seasons and less than one year of service time.

Mets Claim Sam Coonrod, Designate Khalil Lee

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The Mets announced that they have claimed right-hander Sam Coonrod off waivers from the Phillies. The righty had been designated for assignment by the Phils last week to create room on their roster for infielder Josh Harrison. To create space on the roster for Coonrod, outfielder Khalil Lee has been designated for assignment.

Coonrod, 30, posted a 5.74 ERA with the Giants in 2019 and 2020 but had a nice breakout in 2021 after getting traded to the Phillies. He threw 42 1/3 innings that year with a 4.04 ERA, 25.9% strikeout rate, 8.1% walk rate and 57.1% ground ball rate. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to keep the momentum of that season going into 2022, getting shut down in Spring Training with a shoulder strain. He eventually returned but posted a 7.82 ERA over 12 appearances down the stretch.

For the Mets, they will be taking a shot on a bounceback from the righty, with reasons to believe that’s possible. There was surely some ill fortune at play in his rough results last year, as his 48.5% strand rate was well below the 72.6% league average. ERA estimators like FIP and SIERA had his work graded much lower, coming in at 4.61 and 4.41, respectively. His fastball velocity could also tick up now that he’s further removed from his injury, since it was at 97 mph last year after being between 98 and 99 in the previous two years.

Coonrod has an option and won’t even need to be guaranteed an active roster spot, allowing him to serve as depth in the minors until needed on the big league club. The club’s bullpen chart is topped by Edwin Díaz, Adam Ottavino, David Robertson and Brooks Raley, while Coonrod will be trying to earn a spot further down against guys like Drew Smith, John Curtiss, Stephen Nogosek and others.

Lee, 25 in June, has served as an optionable depth outfielder for the club recently, getting into 13 MLB games in the past two seasons. He spent most of last year at Triple-A, hitting .211/.326/.366 for a wRC+ of 89 in 100 games. Last week, it was reported that he’s under investigation by Major League Baseball under the league’s domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy. His ex-girlfriend filed a federal lawsuit that alleges that Lee assaulted her physically and verbally in May of last year.

Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reported the transactions prior to the official announcements.

Phillies Designate Sam Coonrod For Assignment

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The Phillies announced their signing of infielder Josh Harrison, making that deal official. To create room for him on the 40-man roster, right-hander Sam Coonrod has been designated for assignment.

Coonrod, 30, was a starting pitcher as a prospect in the Giants’ system when he lost most of his 2018 season to Tommy John surgery. Since then, he’s been working primarily as a reliever, with a blistering fastball but mixed results overall. With the Giants in 2019 and 2020, he made 51 appearances with a 5.74 ERA, 18.9% strikeout rate, 11.9% walk rate and 47.5% ground ball rate.

He was traded to the Phillies prior to the 2021 season and seemed to take a step forward that year. He tossed 42 1/3 innings for the Phils with a 4.04 ERA, striking out 25.9% of batters faced while walking just 8.1% and getting grounders at a 57.1% clip. He surely would have liked to build on that performance in 2022 but he was shut down in the spring due to a shoulder strain and wasn’t able to return to the club until mid-August. He made 12 appearances down the stretch but was torched for a 7.82 ERA in that small sample.

The Phillies will now have a week to trade Coonrod or pass him through waivers. Despite some inconsistency, it’s possible he would find interest from other clubs. His fastball has averaged 97-99 mph in the past few seasons, which he has occasionally used to good effect. He also still has one option year remaining, allowing a club to keep him in the minors as depth so long as they are willing to give him a 40-man roster spot.

Coonrod surpassed three years of service time last year and qualified for arbitration for the first time. He and the Phillies agreed to a salary of $775K for the upcoming season, just above the $720K league minimum. If he were to clear waivers, he would have the right to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency but might opt against it. Players with over three years of service time have that right but only players beyond the five-year mark can both reject an outright and retain their salary. If Coonrod were really motivated to try free agency, he’d have to be willing to leave that $775K on the table in order to do so.

Phillies Sign Josh Harrison

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The Phillies have signed utilityman Josh Harrison to a one-year, $2MM deal, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports (Twitter link).  MSM Sports, Harrison’s agency, has also announced the news.

The versatile 35-year-old batted .256/.317/.370 with seven home runs and two stolen bases in 119 games last season for the White Sox while appearing defensively at second base, third base, shortstop, left field, and even a few mop-up relief pitching appearances. The big majority of Harrison’s playing time was at second base, which has been his primary position over 12 Major League seasons. He still drew above-average grades from Defensive Runs Saved and Outs Above Average at the position (and at third base) during his time in Chicago last season.

Harrison has suited up for five different teams over those 12 seasons, though he was formerly a member of the Phillies organization without ever seeing any action on the field.  Philadelphia inked Harrison to a minor league deal during the 2019-20 offseason, but he was released just prior to the start of the COVID-shortened 2020 season.

With a guaranteed MLB deal in hand, Harrison can presumably be plugged onto the Opening Day roster in Philadelphia as an option off the bench, joining Edmundo Sosa and Dalton Guthrie as position-player depth. Bryson Stott is the projected starter at second base for the reigning NL champions and Alec Bohm has stated an impressive case that he can be the long-term answer at third.

Former starting second baseman Jean Segura is gone to the Marlins in free agency, so Harrison represents some veteran infield depth behind Stott and Bohm. Stott is the less-established of the two, and while he played better later in his rookie season and saw starting duties for the Phillies in the playoffs, Stott batted a modest .234/.295/.358 over 446 PA in the regular season.

Harrison’s right-handed bat could complement the left-handed hitting Kyle Schwarber for some left field playing time. Since the Phillies’ lineup won’t truly be whole until Bryce Harper makes his midseason return from Tommy John surgery, Harrison gives the team another experienced bat to utilize in the interim.

Harrison’s $2MM salary is modest by MLB standards, but it’s not without some implications for the Phillies. As a luxury tax payor for the second straight season, the Phils were on the hook for a  30% tax  for the first $20MM by which they exceed the $233MM tax threshold. Harrison actually bumps them into the second tier, per Roster Resource, landing them at $254.85MM. They’d previously been just below the $253MM cutoff point for tier two. Harrison will cost the club about $800K in taxes, and the Phillies will be taxed at a 42% rate for every dollar added to the payroll up until $273MM, at which point the tax hit would jump to 75%.

Phillies, Jesus Cruz Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Phillies recently agreed to minor league deals with reliever Jesús Cruz and corner outfielder Dustin Peterson, according to their transactions log at MLB.com. It’s unclear if either will get a non-roster Spring Training invitation.

Cruz, 27, is a 6’1″ right-hander with eight MLB appearances to his name. Seven of those came last season for the division-rival Braves, as he worked 8 2/3 innings of low-leverage work. He allowed six runs (including a trio of homers) with four walks and six strikeouts before losing his 40-man roster spot at the beginning of August.

Things went better at the Triple-A level, where the Mexico native showed interesting swing-and-miss stuff. Cruz punched out an excellent 32.2% of batters faced in 28 outings with the Braves’ highest affiliate in Gwinnett. That came with a lofty 13.2% walk percentage, the continuation of longstanding control problems he’s shown throughout his career. Cruz has walked 13.4% of opponents in parts of five minor league seasons.

Erratic as his strike-throwing is, he’s shown the ability to miss bats at the upper levels of the minors. Cruz averaged just under 95 MPH with his heater and around 87 MPH on his slider during his limited MLB look in Atlanta. He’ll add a reasonably strong arm to the Phils’ bullpen depth chart, likely to open the season at Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He still has a pair of minor league option years remaining, meaning Philadelphia could send him back and forth between MLB and the minors if he secures a 40-man roster spot.

Peterson is a former second-round pick of the Padres who has limited MLB time as a member of the Braves and Tigers. He played in 19 games between the two clubs from 2018-19, collecting 10 hits and two walks in 49 plate appearances. The 28-year-old has spent a decade in the minor leagues, hitting .261/.319/.364 in just under 3700 trips to the plate.

The right-handed hitter opened the 2022 campaign with the Brewers on a minor league pact. After just three games, Milwaukee traded him to Philadelphia. Peterson spent the rest of the season with the IronPigs, posting a .244/.318/.379 line with nine homers across 102 contests. He made a favorable enough impression on the organization to get another minor league opportunity and could play a similar depth role during the upcoming season.

Scott Rolen Elected Into Baseball Hall Of Fame

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The Hall of Fame announced this evening that third baseman Scott Rolen has been elected by the Baseball Writers Association of America. He is the only player inducted by the BBWAA in this year’s election cycle. He will be inducted alongside first baseman Fred McGriff, who was previously elected by the Era Committee.

Rolen received 76.3% of the vote, just above the 75% required for induction. A few players just under that line were Todd Helton at 72.2%, Billy Wagner at 68.1% and Andruw Jones at 58.1%. Here are the full results, per the BBWAA.

A native of Indiana, Rolen was selected by the Phillies in the second round of the 1993 draft. He made his way up to the majors and debuted in 1996 when he was just 21 years old. He hit at a below-average rate in that 37-game debut but he truly broke out the next year. In 1997, he hit 21 home runs and stole 16 bases en route to a batting line of .283/.377/.469. That production was 21% better than the league average hitter that year, as evidenced by his 121 wRC+. He was crowned the National League Rookie of the Year for that campaign.

Rolen would go on to contribute in similar fashion for the Phillies over the next few seasons. He hit between 25 and 34 homers in each season from 1998 to 2004 while also swiping at least eight bases in all but the last season of that stretch. His excellent third base defense started to be recognized during this period as well, as he won a Gold Glove award in 1998. That was the first of eight such awards he would eventually win.

That period included a trade to the Cardinals in 2002, a team for whom he would have some of his best seasons. The standout season of his career was 2004, where Rolen went deep 34 times and produced a batting line of .314/.409/.598. His wRC+ was 159 and his stellar defense led to him racking up 9.0 wins above replacement on the year, per the calculations at FanGraphs. Only Barry Bonds and Adrian Beltre were able to best him in terms of fWAR that year. Bonds took home the National League Most Valuable Player award that year with Rolen in fourth place in the voting, also trailing Beltre and Albert Pujols.

In 2005, he played just 56 games before injuring his shoulder and eventually requiring season-ending surgery. He got back on track in 2006 with another strong season, hitting 22 home runs and producing at an above-average level. The Cards won the National League Central division and eventually went on to win the World Series over the Tigers. Rolen played one more season in St. Louis but was traded to the Blue Jays prior to the 2008 season. He spent a season and a half in Toronto before getting dealt to the Reds, where he played out the remainder of his career. Over 17 MLB seasons, he hit 316 home runs, scored 1,211 runs, drove in 1,287, and stole 118 bases. He made seven All-Star teams, won eight Gold Gloves, a Rookie of the Year award and a World Series.

In 2018, he appeared on the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time. He garnered 10.2% of the vote, well below the 75% threshold for admittance but well above the 5% minimum required to stay on the ballot. His vote share grew to 17.2%, 35.3%, 52.9% and 63.2% in the subsequent years, finally getting over the hump here in 2023. MLBTR congratulates him on his induction.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

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