Should Adams indeed cash in on those bonuses, it should bring his salary fairly close to the $1.7MM that MLBTR projected as his arbitration salary in 2025, though the Athletics outrighted him at season’s end in what was essentially an early non-tender.  Though $1.7MM isn’t a big sum even for the A’s, Adams’ 12% walk rate was on the high side, even though he had a 3.92 ERA and 27.7% strikeout rate over 41 1/3 innings out of the Athletics’ bullpen.

These numbers are pretty close to a match to the 4.10 ERA, 31.6% strikeout rate, and 13.9% walk rate Adams has posted in his 155 2/3 innings in the Show.  His control problems also manifested themselves in a league-leading 24 batters hit by pitches in 2021.

Adams has appeared in each of the last eight Major League seasons, ranging from cups of coffee (two appearances in each of the 2018 and 2022) to larger workloads, like this past season in Oakland or his career high of 52 2/3 innings with the 2021 Padres.  Adams has seen action with five different teams at the big league level, including a three-year stint in San Diego from 2020-22 that was shortened by a flexor tendon surgery that cost him almost all of the 2022 campaign.

The Sox will become the latest team to see if they can fix the 33-year-old’s control and get his slider-heavy arsenal to deliver more consistent results at the big league level.  Adams’ strikeout potential is clearly evident, and even beyond the hidden-gem potential, he can bring some value to Boston’s bullpen even if he only replicates his overall decent 2024 results.  At the cost of just a minor league contract, there’s no risk for the Red Sox in letting Adams compete for a job in spring camp.

Gray, 28, was only on the Athletics’ roster for a couple of months, as they claimed him from the Marlins at the end of August. Between those two clubs and the Rays, he has a tiny amount of major league experience, having stepped to the plate 36 times in 17 games. He has a dismal line of .152/.222/.273 though it’s obviously a tiny sample size.

The Bucs are undoubtedly more interested in Gray’s prospect pedigree and minor league numbers. It was actually Pittsburgh that drafted him, selecting him with a 13th-round pick in 2017. His initial stint with the Bucs was short-lived, as he was traded to the Rays in the February 2018 trade that brought Corey Dickerson to Pittsburgh.

He was with the Rays through 2023 but reached free agency after that season and secured a minor league deal with the Marlins. To this point, between his various organizations, he has hit .238/.311/.454 in his minor league career for a 104 wRC+. He is capable of playing all four infield positions.

Gray’s previous tenure in the Pirates’ system predated Ben Cherington being hired as the general manager, but the appeal of grabbing him now is understandable. Gray’s minor league offense has been passable and he can provide the club with depth all around the infield. He is still optionable and doesn’t need to be guaranteed a spot on the active roster.

The Pirates have uncertainty at essentially every infield position. Shortstop Oneil Cruz was recently moved to center field. Third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes has ongoing back problems. First baseman Rowdy Tellez was released late in the 2024 season. Second base was a revolving door this year.

For Adams, this move is effectively an early non-tender. He could have been retained for 2025 via arbitration, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting him for a salary of $1.7MM. This move suggests the A’s weren’t keen at bringing him back at that price.

Adams has regularly posted strong strikeout numbers but often with poor control. He throws his frisbee slider the majority of the time, often missing bats but also missing the strike zone and hitting batters.

He tossed 41 1/3 innings for the A’s this year, allowing 3.92 earned runs per nine. He struck out 27.7% of batters faced but also gave out 23 walks for a 12% clip and hit 13 batters.

Players with at least three years of service time or a previous career outright have the right to elect free agency rather than accept another outright assignment. Adams qualifies on both counts and will likely be officially a free agent soon.

Alvarez, 30, just made his major league debut this year. He was selected by the A’s in June and hit .243/.282/.270 in 39 plate appearances.

His minor league numbers have been better in recent years, as he hit .301/.369/.551 over the 2022-24 seasons for a 127 wRC+. But as a 30-year-old journeyman who just made his MLB debut, the A’s likely didn’t view him as a key building block and bumped him off the roster.

Alvarez doesn’t have three years of service or a previous career outright, but he does have seven years in the minors, so he’ll soon be able to elect minor league free agency.

Abreu, 37, struggled through a down season at the plate last year in his first season with the Astros but began to heat up somewhat late in the season, providing optimism for his second year with the club. Unfortunately, the hot stretch didn’t carry over and the veteran posted a disastrous .099/.156/.113 slash line in 22 games before agreeing to be optioned to the minors in an attempt to overcome the deep struggles that had been plaguing him. Since then, Abreu has appeared in six games in the minor leagues and slashed a respectable .280/.357/.480 in 28 trips to the plate.

If Abreu can show anything close the offensive performance he offered during his time with the White Sox, for whom he never posted a wRC+ less than 14% better than league average, it would provide a huge boost to an Astros club that has scuffled in the early going and currently sits 3.5 games out of first place in the AL West with a 23-29 record that puts them behind both the Mariners and Rangers. Jon Singleton has performed admirably at first base in Abreu’s absence with a 110 wRC+ in 38 games this year, but that includes a paltry .206/.290/.324 slash line against left-handed pitching this year. Abreu, by contrast, produced well against southpaws even last season, when he hit a decent .235/.296/.444 against them in 179 trips to the plate.

More from around the AL West…

• Sticking with the Astros, right-hander Jose Urquidy suffered a tough setback today after exiting a rehab start due to what manager Joe Espada termed “right forearm discomfort,” as relayed by Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle. Urquidy is undergoing evaluation to determine the severity of the issue, but even a brief setback would be an unfortunate turn of events for Houston. Urquidy had been expected to return to the club at some point within the next week, and in doing so would have offered the Astros some much-needed pitching depth amid deep struggles in the rotation. The club is currently utilizing a six-man rotation of Justin Verlander, Framber Valdez, Cristian Javier, Hunter Brown, Spencer Arrighetti, and Ronel Blanco, but only Blanco and Verlander have been above average by measure of ERA+ and no one in that group has posted a FIP below 4.00 this season.
• Angels superstar Mike Trout spoke to reporters (including MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger) prior to today’s game against the Guardians earlier today and offered an optimistic update regarding his rehab from meniscus surgery earlier this month. While Trout didn’t provide a timetable for his return, he noted that he’s “feeling good” as he regains strength in his leg while resuming weight room activity, and added that he’s “pretty close” to beginning to run again. The star center fielder was off to another great start this year prior to the injury, slashing .220/.325/.541 despite a shockingly low .194 BABIP thanks in part to a whopping 10 homers in 29 games. Reporting at the time of his surgery suggested a four-to-six week recovery period was the best case scenario for Trout’s return, although the Angels have since indicated that they’re going to take Trout’s rehab slowly in order to minimize the odds of re-injury.
• The Athletics had a bit of a scare regarding right-hander Austin Adams earlier today in their game against Houston when he was removed from the game due to a bout of left neck tightness. Fortunately, manager Mark Kotsay told reporters (including Martin Gallegos of MLB.com) after the game this evening that Adams is day-to-day and probably could have pitched through the issue if necessary, though the club preferred not to risk it. One of several journeymen making the most of their time in Oakland, Adams has been excellent for the A’s this season as he’s pitched to a 2.65 ERA with a 3.01 FIP across 23 appearances with a whopping 32.9% strikeout rate. Adams has acted as the primary set-up man to star closer Mason Miller this season, and the 33-year-old is controlled through the end of next season, a fact that could make him a particularly attractive target at the trade deadline this summer if he can stay healthy and effective.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic recently took an interesting look at the struggles of several young players, including Holliday, but also Colt Keith, Kyle Manzardo, Henry Davis, Jackson Chourio and Wyatt Langford. Several people in the game seem to agree that the gap in quality between Triple-A and the majors is widening.

There are various theories for why that might be happening. J.D. Martinez suggests that the new rules about smaller rosters in the minor leagues are squeezing out some veteran pitchers, reducing the overall quality of arms on the farm. Guardians manager Stephen Vogt views it similarly. Orioles general manager Mike Elias suggests that the scouting in the majors is so advanced that players will have their weaknesses attacked to a much larger degree than in the minors. Rays manager Kevin Cash told the Baseball Isn’t Boring podcast (video on X) that minor league pitchers might be more worried about developing their skills as opposed to results, whereas MLB pitchers will be the inverse.

The reality may be a combination of those factors and more. But whatever the cause or causes, there seems to be a growing consensus among people in the game that the jump to the big leagues is bigger than ever before. For a team like the Orioles that is in a battle in the American League East, this puts them in a tough position. Do you let a player like Holliday learn on the job, improving your team in the long run, even if there’s short-term pain? Or do you construct your roster for the best chance of success today?

For a rebuilding club, the choice is much easier. With a low chance of short-term success, the long-term play is the obvious one. This is one silver lining of not being a competitive club: there’s plenty of playing time for both prospects and former prospects.

This is perhaps something that will become even more important in the current era of baseball. With the recent introduction of the lottery system, rebuilding teams have less access to the top of the draft. For instance, the White Sox have the fifth pick in this summer’s draft. That means they can’t pick higher than tenth next year, even though they are one of the worst teams in baseball right now.

Which brings me around, finally, to the Athletics. Apologies to any inverted pyramid traditionalists who have been pulling their hair out to this point, but I thought all that preamble was interesting framing.

The A’s have been trading away all their best players in recent years and now are naturally giving a lot of playing time to their prospects, either the homegrown variety or the ones they traded for. But they’ve also given some playing time to several former prospects that have bounced around and struggled in other uniforms but are now finding success in green and gold. If these players can keep it up, they could be a part of the next good Athletics’ club or perhaps be traded for yet more prospects, good for the club either way. Let’s take a look at them…

Brent Rooker

Now 29 years old, Rooker was drafted by the Twins in 2017 and made his major league debut with that club in 2020. In April of 2022, he was traded to the Padres alongside Taylor Rogers in a deal sending Chris Paddack and Emilio Pagán the other way. The Friars mostly kept him on optional assignment and then flipped him to the Royals at the deadline for Cam Gallagher. The Royals also gave him more playing time at Triple-A than in the majors before putting him on waivers in November.

Rooker had continued hitting well at Triple-A but not in the majors. He had received 270 major league plate appearances through the moment he was put on waivers, scattered over three seasons and for three different teams, with a batting line of .200/.289/.379. But in 632 Triple-A plate appearances over 2021 and 2022, he hit 48 homers and walked at a 13.3% clip, leading to a .271/.383/.614 line and 149 wRC+.

The A’s put in a claim and have given Rooker plenty of playing time in the past year-plus. He has been making the most of it, to put it mildly. In 663 plate appearances since the start of last year, he has punched out at a 32.4% clip but also launched 40 home runs. His batting line of .253/.336/.509 translates to a 137 wRC+. He isn’t considered a strong defender, even in an outfield corner, but the A’s surely don’t mind as long as he keeps mashing like this. He plays designated hitter most of the time and has produced 3.5 wins above replacement since coming to Oakland, per FanGraphs.

He came into this year with a service time count of two years and 59 days. He will qualify for arbitration for the first time this winter, and the A’s can control him through 2027, their planned final year in Sacramento. They could keep him around and in the lineup for that time or they could trade him whenever they get an enticing offer, depending on how their view the timeline on their return to contention.

Abraham Toro

Toro, now 27, was drafted by the Astros back in 2017 and was up in the majors with them by 2019. The trilingual Québécois infielder got limited playing time in Houston and was traded to the Mariners in 2021 alongside Joe Smith, with Kendall Graveman and Rafael Montero going the other way. He got regular playing time with Seattle in 2022 but struggled. Prior to 2023, the M’s flipped him to the Brewers with Jesse Winker, acquiring Kolten Wong and cash in return. The Brewers mostly kept Toro in the minors, only putting him into nine major league games last season. He was traded to the A’s in November of last year.

At the time of the deal, Toro had strong results in the minor leagues, slashing .294/.387/.480 on the farm from 2021 to 2023 for a 119 wRC+. But he had produced a line of just .211/.282/.354 in 934 major league plate appearances.

However, in 165 trips to the plate for Oakland this year, he’s hit four home runs while slashing .288/.339/.444 for a wRC+ of 130. He’s also stolen a couple of bases while bouncing between the three non-shortstop infield positions. He already has 1.0 fWAR on the year. He qualified for arbitration this past winter, making $1.275MM this year, and has two more passes before he’s slated for free agency after 2026.

Tyler Nevin

Nevin is just a couple weeks away from his 27th birthday. He was drafted by the Rockies in 2015 but never made it to the majors in Colorado. In 2020, the Rox acquired Mychal Givens from the Orioles, sending Nevin, Terrin Vavra and a player to be named later to Baltimore. He got bits of playing time with the O’s in 2021 and 2022 but didn’t do much.

He was designated for assignment by Baltimore and flipped to the Tigers for cash, just before the calendar flipped over to 2023. He didn’t hit much in the majors for the Tigers and spent most of the year on optional assignment, exhausting his final option year in the process. That left him out of options going into 2024, which caused him to ride the transactions carousel for a bit. He was designated for assignment by the Tigers in January of this year and flipped back to the Orioles for cash. He didn’t make Baltimore’s Opening Day roster, which put him into DFA limbo again, this time getting claimed by the A’s.

Nevin’s output this year hasn’t been quite as strong as that of Rooker or Toro, but it’s a similar step forward from a guy who has always hit in the minors and is now improving in the majors. From 2022-23, Nevin hit 22 home runs in 576 Triple-A plate appearances, also drawing walks at a 10.2% clip. That created a combined batting line of .315/.394/.522 and a 134 wRC+. But his major league work over those same two years resulted in a line of just .198/.302/.282.

Oakland has given him 130 plate appearances so far this year, and he’s launched four home runs. His 8.5% walk rate is just a hair below this year’s 8.6% league average. His .235/.315/.365 batting line leads to a 103 wRC+, indicating his offensive output has been 3% above league average overall. As mentioned, it’s not as emphatic as the jump from Rooker or Toro, but it’s still miles ahead of what Nevin did in the last two years. He’s also provided the club with some flexibility, having lined up at all four corner spots, allowing them to rotate their prospects into the lineup with ease. Nevin came into 2024 with just over a year of service time, meaning he still won’t be arbitration-eligible after this year and can potentially be retained through 2028.

Austin Adams

The A’s have also needed plenty of innings covered on the pitching side, and there are interesting developments there as well. The 33-year-old Adams has been bouncing around the big leagues for years. He debuted with the Nationals back in 2017 and has since pitched for the Mariners, Padres and Diamondbacks. Apart from his 2021 season in San Diego, he’s never topped 32 innings in the majors.

That’s partly due to injuries but also due to a significant lack of command. He finished 2023 with 114 1/3 major league innings under his belt with a 4.17 earned run average. He had always been able to punch guys out, carrying a 33.1% strikeout rate into the season — but also a 14.6% walk rate. Additionally, he’d plunked 31 batters, garnering attention in 2021 when he somehow hit 24 batters, leading the league despite throwing far fewer innings than dozens of starting pitchers.

Adams was outrighted by the Diamondbacks at the end of last year and elected free agency. He initially landed with the Mets on a split deal, holding a roster spot for a few months before they outrighted him. Since he had less than five years of service time then, rejecting the outright assignment would have meant forfeiting the remainder of the money on his contract, so he stayed. The Oakland bullpen took a hit when Trevor Gott required Tommy John surgery, so they sent cash to the Mets for Adams just a few days before the season started.

So far, the move to Oakland is working out brilliantly. Adams has a tidy 1.23 ERA through 19 appearances, striking out 32.8% of opponents. More importantly, his 8.2% walk rate is a bit lower than average and much better than his previous career work. He’s also getting ground balls on 51.6% of balls in play. He won’t be able to strand 84.2% of baserunners forever, but his 2.23 FIP and 2.31 SIERA suggest he would have been posting good results even with neutral favor from the baseball gods. With Mason Miller locking down the closer’s role, Adams has become a key setup arm, with 11 holds already this year.

Adams is making just $800K this season, per the Associated Press, which is barely above the $740K league minimum. He came into this year with four years and 150 days of service, meaning he’s slated to finish the season at 5.150, just shy of the six-year mark required for automatic free agency. That means he can be retained for 2025 via arbitration, which could increase the attraction for a club looking for bullpen upgrades at the deadline.

Lucas Erceg

It might be a stretch to call Erceg a “journeyman” in the common use of the word, since he only played for one other club before coming to the A’s. He was drafted by the Brewers in 2016 and was with them until May of 2023. But he has nonetheless taken a circuitous route to where he is today.

He was initially drafted as a third baseman but didn’t hit much in the minors and transitioned to pitching. His first official action on the mound was in 2021, pitching in Double-A. He threw 47 2/3 innings with a 5.29 ERA. As one would expect for someone new to pitching at a relatively high minor league level, control was an issue. Erceg walked 16.4% of batters faced that year, but his 21.1% strikeout rate was reasonable and he also induced grounders at a strong 56.8% rate.

In 2022, he tossed 61 1/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A with a 4.55 ERA. His 13.1% walk rate and 24.4% strikeout rate were both gradual improvements over the prior season’s marks. He started 2023 back at Triple-A and was posting similar numbers when the A’s traded for him in May, sending cash to the Brewers. Oakland added him to the roster just a couple days later, and he stayed up with the big league club the rest of the season. Erceg logged 55 big league innings with a 4.75 ERA, 27.1% strikeout rate and 14.3% walk rate in 2023.

He seems to have taken a big step forward so far in 2024, with a 3.18 ERA through 17 appearances. His 11.4% walk rate is still high but better than what he showed last year. He’s also punched out 34.3% of batters faced, a huge jump, while keeping 44.4% of balls in play on the ground. He’s earned a couple of saves and seven holds already this year. His fastball has been averaging 98.5 miles per hour, and he’s also thrown a changeup, sinker and slider.

What to do with Erceg will be an interesting decision for the A’s. On the one hand, he came into this season with less than a year of service time. That means he’s still nowhere near arbitration and can be retained through 2029. He also has a full slate of options.

They could hold onto him to be a part of their next competitive window and part of the team that debuts in Las Vegas. On the other hand, his unusual path means that he’s now 29 years old, with an uncertain future on account of his strange circumstances. Given the volatile nature of relievers and the fact that Erceg has essentially just been a windfall for them, they might be tempted to make him available in trades and try to secure players with more stable paths forward.

Michael Kelly

Kelly, 31, was drafted by the Padres way back in 2011. Since then, he has bounced to the Orioles, Astros, Phillies and Guardians, mostly in the minor leagues. He was also in indie ball in 2019 and missed the 2020 pandemic year, before resurfacing in affiliated ball in 2021.

He was a starter for most of the early parts of his minor league career but transitioned to the bullpen more recently. In the Astros’ system in 2021, he tossed 50 innings between Double-A and Triple-A with a 2.70 ERA. He struck out 29.5% of batters while walking 8.6%.

Kelly was with the Phillies in 2022 and had a 5.29 ERA in 51 Triple-A innings, but he still struck out 29.1% of batters faced along with a 10.6% walk rate. He got to make a brief major league debut with Philly that year, tossing four innings in June and July before being outrighted off the roster.

He signed a minor league deal with Cleveland last year and ended up having a fine season: 16 2/3 innings of major league work resulted in a 3.78 ERA, 22.5% strikeout rate and 12.7% walk rate. Those walks were obviously on the high side, but Kelly didn’t allow a home run in that time. He also threw 39 2/3 innings in the minors with a 3.40 ERA.

Nevertheless, Kelly was designated for assignment in November and claimed by the A’s. He’s tossed 24 innings for Oakland so far this year with an ERA of exactly 3.00. His 16.2% strikeout rate is well below average, but he’s limited walks to a 7.1% rate and kept 42.3% of balls in play on the ground. He also seems to be doing a good job of limiting damage done by opponents. Per Statcast, his average exit velocity, barrel rate and hard hit rate are all in the 92nd percentile or better. He’s thrown his sweeper more than 50% of the time both this year and last year. It’s not leading to huge strikeout numbers, but hitters seem to be struggling to square it up.

Kelly came into this season with less than a year of service, meaning he can be retained well into the future. He still has a couple of minor league options as well, meaning he can be easily sent down to the minors if his results take a turn. The A’s could potentially just hang onto him for years to come but would also likely be open to trades, given Kelly’s age and that he was just a waiver claim.

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Small-sample caveats need to apply to all of this, as we’re still quite early in the season. But for the rebuilding A’s, it would be a nice victory if even a few of the names in this group could maintain their strong starts. The club traded away Matt Olson, Matt Chapman, Chris Bassitt, Sean Manaea, Sean Murphy and others in recent years, with most of the players coming back in those deals having been fairly unimpressive thus far. If they hit the jackpot on a couple of guys in this group from waiver claims and small trades, that would soften the blow of whiffing on those bigger deals. As previously mentioned, rebuilding is mostly painful — but giving shots to journeymen like this is one silver lining, and the A’s have seen some positive results there so far.

Adams, 32, was an eighth-round pick in the 2012 draft by the Angels but didn’t make his MLB debut until the 2017 season when he was a member of the Nationals. He entered the 2023 season with 108 big league games under his belt between his time in Washington, Seattle, and San Diego, having pitched to a 3.90 ERA with a 3.81 FIP and a 34.2% strikeout rate during that time. Despite those solid numbers, forearm and shoulder issues had limited his ability to stay on the field and capture a regular role with any of the clubs he had pitched for, leading him to sign a minor league deal with the Diamondbacks prior to the 2023 season.

His performance in Arizona was something of a mixed bag. While the right-hander yielded an unsightly 5.71 ERA in 17 1/3 innings of work with the club prior to a season-ending ankle injury last August, Adams’s peripheral numbers suggest he may have pitched better than those results would indicate. After all, the 32-year-old hurler struck out a solid 27.2% of batters faced while walking 9.9%. That left Adams with a 3.55 xERA and a 3.72 FIP, both far more palatable numbers that are more in line with his career marks. The discrepancy can be explained by both an unusually low 61.6% strand rate and an elevated .333 BABIP, leaving Adams with both far more traffic on the basepaths than expected and those runners scoring more often than usual.

Those positive peripheral signs may have played a role in the Mets decided to sign Adams to a major league deal back in November, after he elected free agency in response to being removed from Arizona’s 40-man roster. That seemingly left Adams in position to be a key piece of the bullpen mix in Queens this season, but the club scuttled those plans by signing more proven relievers such as Adam Ottavino and Jorge Lopez later that winter. That left Adams to be outrighted off the club’s roster just before Spring Training began, though he remained in camp with the club as a non-roster invitee.

Now, Adams once again appears poised to get an Opening Day job after being dealt to Oakland. With the A’s, he figures to slot into the middle of a bullpen that heavily features young arms such as Mason Miller, Kyle Muller, and Mitch Spence. If Adams pitches well early in the season, it wouldn’t be a shock to see him take on late inning duties alongside the likes of Miller and Lucas Erceg in the Oakland bullpen.

FEBRUARY 6: Right-hander Austin Adams was designated for assignment by the Mets, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. That move opens a roster spot for Jake Diekman, whose previously-reported signing has now been officially announced by the club.

Adams, 33 in May, just signed with the Mets at the end of November. His contract is a non-guaranteed split deal, meaning he will earn different salaries depending on whether he’s in the majors or the minors. The exact figures of Adams’ contract haven’t been reported, but deals of this nature often feature a modest major league salary but the minor league salary is significantly larger than what the average minor leaguer would make.

While it might seem strange to sign a player and then cut him from the roster a few months later, the club is usually hoping for the player to pass through waivers unclaimed and then remain in the organization as non-roster depth. Adams has more than three years of service time, meaning he would have the right to reject an outright assignment and return to free agency. But since he has less than five years of service time, exercising that right would mean walking away from the money remaining on his deal.

For an example of this recently playing out, Austin Wynns signed a split deal with the Reds in December which will pay him $950K in the majors and $300K in the minors. A couple of weeks later, Wynns was designated for assignment and then outrighted after going unclaimed on waivers. Per the minor league CBA that was agreed to by MLB and MLBPA last April, the minimum salary of a Triple-A player is just under $36K, meaning Wynns will be making almost 10 times that even if he never gets his roster spot back. There’s been no reporting of him electing free agency since he was outrighted over a month ago, so he has presumably decided to accept and keep that $300K salary locked in as a floor for himself.

The Mets will be hoping the same happens with Adams, though there’s also a risk that some other club would claim him off waivers. That happened to the Orioles last year when they signed Jake Cave to a split deal, tried to get him off the roster but saw the Phillies swoop in with a waiver claim. If any club is particularly intrigued by the current deal Adams is on, they will have an opportunity to get him. The Mets will have one week to work out a trade or pass him through waivers.

Adams has 114 1/3 innings of major league experience to this point in his career, having allowed 4.17 earned runs per nine. His career strikeout rate of 33.1% is quite strong, but he’s paired that with notable control issues. His 14.6% walk rate is on the high side and he also amazingly plunked 24 hitters while with the Padres in 2021. That was the most of any pitcher in any season dating back to 1910, even though Adams only threw 52 2/3 innings of relief.

That doesn’t seem to have deterred the Mets, who appear to be taking a gamble this offseason in buying low on pitchers with control issues. Diekman has a 13.3% walk rate in his career while Shintaro Fujinami, also signed to a one-year deal, walked 12.6% of batters faced in his first MLB season. Yohan Ramírez, acquired in a small trade, also has big walk numbers. The same applies to guys who signed minor league deals like Cole Sulser, Yacksel Ríos, Chad Smith and Andre Scrubb. Adams may soon join that latter group as non-roster depth pitchers whom the Mets will be hoping to help harness their stuff.

Adams, 33 in May, started the 2023 season with the Diamondbacks on a minor league deal. He had his contract selected in May and made 24 appearances for the club with an earned run average of 5.71. He likely deserved better than that, as he struck out 27.2% of batter faced while walking 9.9%. His .333 batting average on balls in play and 61.6% strand rate were both on the unlucky side of league average, leading to a 3.72 FIP and 3.72 SIERA.

After those 24 appearances, Adams suffered a fractured right ankle and landed on the 60-day injured list in August. The Diamondbacks outrighted him off the roster in November and Adams elected free agency, which allowed him to sign this deal with the Mets.

Over his big league career, which dates back to 2017, Adams has generally racked up strikeouts but also had serious control problems. He has punched out 33.1% of opponents faced while walking 14.6% of them. In 2021, his control problems reached absurd levels when he hit 24 batters with pitches in just 52 2/3 innings pitched. His 9.9% walk rate in 2023 was actually his career best, even though it was higher than the 9.5% league average for relievers on the year.

Adams is just shy of five years of service time, meaning the Mets can utilize him as part of their bullpen in 2024 and, if they so choose, retain him via arbitration for 2025. After the disappointment of 2023, the club has mostly kept themselves to small additions so far this winter, giving one-year deals to Luis Severino, Joey Wendle and now Adams.

The Mets traded away Dominic Leone and David Robertson from their bullpen during the 2023 season, then Adam Ottavino opted out of his deal. Adams can jump into the relief mix and improve the depth.

Gilbert is best known for throwing a no-hitter in his first career start (fourth appearance overall) back in 2021. The former sixth-round draftee has pitched in each of the last three big league campaigns, totaling 91 2/3 innings. He owns a 4.32 ERA, including a 5.19 mark over 17 1/3 frames out of the bullpen this year. Gilbert struck out a career-high 26.4% of opponents while averaging a personal-best 92.5 MPH on his fastball. That wasn’t enough to hold his spot on Arizona’s roster but should aid him in landing a minor league opportunity elsewhere.

Adams, 32, has 132 MLB games between four clubs. He inked a minor league contract with Arizona last offseason and reached the majors in May. The right-hander came out of the bullpen on 24 occasions for Torey Lovullo. He allowed 12 runs (11 earned) in 17 1/3 innings, walking eight and hitting five batters. Adams punched out 22 behind a decent 12.1% swinging strike rate. While the slider specialist has always flashed the ability to miss bats, below-average control has led to plenty of walks and a staggering number of hits batsmen (including an MLB-leading 24 in just 52 2/3 innings two seasons ago).

The veteran hurler’s time in the desert ended on a sour note. Adams broke his right ankle when he was hit by a Joc Pederson comebacker in early August. That ended his season and made it a virtual lock Arizona would cut him loose rather than retain him on a projected $1.1MM arbitration salary.

Cecconi, a 6’4″ righty, gets his first big league call. Arizona selected him in the supplemental first round (33rd overall) three years ago coming out of the University of Miami. He’s moved one level at a time since beginning his pro career at High-A in 2021. Cecconi posted a 4.37 ERA with a 22.4% strikeout rate in 129 2/3 Double-A frames last season.

He’s had a harder time this year, which is a reflection of the brutal Pacific Coast League setting for pitchers. Hitters have connected on 23 home runs through 103 innings, contributing to an unsightly 6.38 ERA. Cecconi’s 23.1% strikeout percentage and 6.4% walk rate are each solid and in line from his prior marks at the Double-A level.

The 24-year-old is one of the better prospects in a deep Arizona system. Eric Longenhangen of FanGraphs ranked him 9th in the organization in mid-June. He checked in 11th on Baseball America’s recent refresh of the Snakes’ system. Both outlets credit him with solid control and a well-rounded arsenal headlined by an above-average to plus slider. BA writes that Cecconi has had trouble maintaining the quality of his stuff into the middle innings, though it seems he generally has the tools to stick in the back of a rotation.

Cecconi will take the ball tonight in San Francisco, opposing Logan Webb in his MLB debut. Whether he’ll stick in the rotation beyond this evening remains to be seen. Arizona had sought rotation help on the trade market but didn’t pull off an acquisition before the deadline. As a result, they’re left with varying degrees of uncertainty behind Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly.

Adams, a 32-year-old reliever, has made 24 appearances for the Snakes this season. He’s worked 17 1/3 innings, allowing 12 runs despite a quality 22:8 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Adams has previously pitched for the Nationals, Mariners and Padres and carries a 4.17 ERA through 114 1/3 big league innings. He’s struck out nearly a third of opponents but has walked almost 15% of batters faced and led the majors in hit batsmen with San Diego two seasons ago.

It’s possible the unfortunate ankle fracture will end his time as a D-Back. He’ll almost certainly miss the rest of the season. Arizona can control Adams for another year via arbitration but he seems likely to be non-tendered.

Adams tossed two-thirds of an inning and earned a hold in today’s game, marking his first action of the 2023 campaign and making it seven straight MLB seasons with at least one appearance.  Most of Adams’ Major League resume has been pretty sporadic, as he only threw 2 1/3 innings with the Padres in 2022 due to a forearm strain and then flexor tendon surgery.  San Diego outrighted Adams off their roster at the end of the season and he chose to become a free agent, basically acting as an early non-tender.

Between injuries and a lack of control, Adams has yet to live up to his potential as he enters his age-32 season.  That said, the idea of Adams working with heralded pitching coach Brent Strom is intriguing, as Adams has a whopping 34.2% strikeout rate over his 97 career innings.  Even his 3.90 ERA is pretty respectable considering that Adams has issued free passes to the tune of a 15.5% walk rate.  Over 12 2/3 innings with Reno, the results have been encouraging, as Adams posted a 2.84 ERA over 12 2/3 innings while striking out 37% of batters and at least slightly decreasing his walks (11.1BB%).

The D’Backs acquired Misiewicz in a trade with the Cardinals at the start of the season, and he has since been shuttled back and forth a couple of times between Triple-A and the big leagues.  His latest stint in the majors will unfortunately be extended in painful fashion, as the left-hander strained his calf while covering first base during Friday’s game.  Misiewicz had a 2.70 ERA over 6 2/3 innings with Arizona this season, but that number rose to 5.63 after he was charged with three earned runs over 1 1/3 IP in Friday’s 13-3 loss to Pittsburgh.

Kelly has yet to play this season after his right forearm was fractured by a pitch late in Spring Training.  A move to the 60-day IL seemed inevitable, since between recovery time, ramp-up time, and a minor league rehab assignment, it doesn’t like Kelly will be back any time before July.

Adams, 31, has spent the past three seasons with the division-rival Padres, at times looking like a potential late-inning weapon. Injuries and command issues, however, have undercut the righty’s enormous strikeout numbers. Adams has appeared in 108 games and tallied 97 innings at the MLB level (mostly with the Padres), working to a solid 3.90 ERA along the way. He’s punched out a massive 34.2% of his opponents in the big leagues, walked 15.5% of them and, remarkably, plunked 6% of his opponents as well.

Troubling as that lack of command is, Adams misses bats at an elite rate, and when opponents do make contact, it’s rarely high-quality contact. He’s held opposing batters to a dismal 86.2 mph average exit velocity in his career, yielded just a 29.7% hard-hit rate and allowed only six home runs in 97 innings (433 batters faced).

Adams has been intriguing enough for the Mariners to trade for him and for the Padres to push for his inclusion alongside Austin Nola in the trade that sent Ty France and Andres Munoz to Seattle. There’s some obvious talent, thanks in no small part to a wipeout slider, but in addition to being his difficulties locating the ball, he’s endured a torn ACL in 2020 and a flexor strain that required surgery in 2022, limiting him to just two innings. Because of that latter procedure, which was performed in August, it’s possible Adams will be delayed to begin his season. If he makes it back to the big leagues, the D-backs will have at least two years of club control over him.

Yardley, 32, has pitched in parts of three big league seasons, spending time with the 2019 Padres and 2020-21 Brewers. He’s notched a tidy 3.52 ERA in that time, although fielding-independent metrics are far more bearish than his ERA — due largely to a tiny 13% strikeout rate and a slightly elevated 9.7% walk rate.

Yardley has offset that lack of punchouts in part with a massive 60.8% ground-ball rate and a solid 1.01 HR/9 mark. The righty’s submarine delivery has helped him to keep the ball on the ground and in the yard, although as is often the case, it’s also given him a notable platoon split; lefties have clobbered Yardley at a .312/.382/.468 clip in his big league career.

As for the 31-year-old Biddle, he’s returning from a one-year stint with the Orix Buffaloes in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, where he pitched to a 4.02 ERA with a 24.4% strikeout rate and 10.9% walk rate out of the bullpen. The former first-round pick (27th overall by the Phillies in 2010) has appeared in parts of four Major League seasons, working to a 5.07 ERA in 103 frames. Biddle has fanned 22.2% of his opponents, issued walks at a bloated 13.1% clip and also recorded a hefty 52.8% ground-ball rate in that time.

Back in 2018, the Braves looked like they might’ve benefited from a shrewd waiver claim of Biddle, who pitched 63 2/3 innings of 3.11 ERA ball for them as a rookie that season. Since that solid debut, however, Biddle has been tagged for an 8.24 ERA in 39 1/3 big league innings.

Both pitchers will have the chance to factor into the Arizona bullpen at some point during the 2023 season. The Snakes have a handful of veterans on guaranteed contracts, including Mark Melancon, Miguel Castro and Scott McGough. They also enjoyed a breakout year from lefty Joe Mantiply and a strong 30-game run from 28-year-old Kevin Ginkel in the season’s second half. There are still multiple spots up for grabs, however, and injuries throughout the year will of course create additional opportunities for veterans of this ilk.

Avila has spent a fair bit of time on the Friars 40-man roster, but he’s barely pitched at the MLB level. He has just four career appearances, although they’ve been spread over three seasons. This year consisted of two MLB relief appearances before the Friars outrighted him to Triple-A El Paso in June. He spent the rest of the year there, starting 24 of 30 outings and working to a 4.58 ERA over 112 innings in a hitter-friendly environment. He punched out an above-average 26.1% of opponents against a slightly elevated 10.3% walk percentage.

The Padres clearly value Avila enough to keep him from departing to kick off the offseason, although it remains to be seen if he’ll hold his roster spot all winter. He still has a minor league option year remaining, so the Pads can shuttle him between San Diego and El Paso as rotation depth if he keeps his 40-man spot.

Adams only made two relief appearances this year before being shut down with a forearm strain. He underwent flexor surgery in August and appears unlikely to be ready for the start of the 2023 campaign. The Padres never looked likely to tender him a projected $1MM arbitration contract as a result. The 31-year-old had a 4.10 ERA with a 31.5% strikeout percentage in 2021 and will be a depth option for teams once he’s healthy.

The timetable on Adams’ recovery isn’t clear, but it may cost him a chunk of next season as well. Sanders likens the procedure to the one teammate Drew Pomeranz underwent last August. He’s been out for almost a calendar year and just embarked on a minor league rehab assignment a couple weeks ago. One can’t just assume players’ recovery processes will be identical, of course, but it seems as if the 31-year-old Adams could lose the bulk of the 2023 campaign.

The right-hander made just two appearances this season. Adams got into 65 games a year ago, working to a 4.10 ERA with a huge 31.5% strikeout percentage through 52 2/3 innings. He paired that swing-and-miss stuff with extreme wildness, however, walking nearly 15% of opponents and bizarrely plunking 24 batters. Adams led MLB in opponents hit by pitch, six clear of second-place Joe Musgrove, despite being a single-inning reliever.

Control woes notwithstanding, Adams could’ve worked his way into medium or high-leverage innings on the strength of his wipeout slider had he been healthy this season. Unfortunately, he’s instead spent the vast majority of the year on the 60-day injured list. Adams will be paid his $925K salary and collect a full year of service time. He’ll eclipse the four-year service threshold and remains arbitration-eligible through 2024. He wouldn’t be in line for more than a marginal raise next season if the Pads tendered him a contract, but they could elect to non-tender him and reallocate his spot on the 40-man roster over the winter if they anticipate he’ll miss the majority of the 2023 campaign.

Thompson, 31, is a former second-round pick (White Sox, 2009) and the younger brother of Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson. He’s appeared in parts of five big league seasons, most recently logging 15 games and 35 plate appearances with the Cubs in 2021. Thompson impressed in that small sample of work, hitting .250/.400/.714 with four homers and a pair of steals — flashing the tools that once made him a lofty draft pick and a well-regarded prospect.

Of course, those tools haven’t translated into production at the big league level regularly enough. Thompson has tallied 624 plate appearances in the Majors but has just a .208/.283/.405 batting line to show for it. He’s homered 26 times and swiped 11 bags (in 13 tries) as a big leaguer, but Thompson has also been far too prone to strikeouts. He’s whiffed in 28.2% of his plate appearances, and his penchant for punchouts has worsened over the years; after posting a strong rookie season with the ChiSox back in 2015, Thompson has fanned in nearly 31% of his trips to the plate while hitting .184/.260/.370.

That said, it’s hard to argue that he hasn’t earned an opportunity with his early-season work. In his first 16 games and 65 plate appearances with the Chihuahuas, Thompson has batted .316/.385/.860 with a jaw-dropping nine home runs. He’s added four doubles and a stolen base for good measure. Those numbers overwhelmingly outpace Thompson’s career .233/.303/.447 output in parts of seven Triple-A seasons, but there’s no denying the intrigue surrounding that blistering start.

As for Myers, he’ll head to the 10-day IL after opening the season in a .218/.254/.273 funk at the plate. That sloth-like start comes on the heels of a solid 2020-21 run at the plate, and it’s fair to say the thumb injury has contributed to his struggles. Myers originally incurred the injury during an at-bat two weeks ago and has been held out of the lineup on multiple occasions in an effort to let it heal. His placement on the injured list is retroactive to yesterday, so he’ll be eligible to return a week from Saturday.

Adams, meanwhile, is dealing with a forearm strain and was recently shut down from throwing for six weeks. It’s generally unsurprising to see him now transferred to the 60-day IL. That 60-day window begins with the day he was originally placed on the IL, not with today’s transfer, meaning he’s eligible to return in 50 days’ time. The 30-year-old righty has a 3.97 ERA and a very strong 31.8% strikeout rate in 59 innings with San Diego dating back to 2020, but he’s also walked 15% of his opponents in that time.

It’s a worrisome development, since forearm strains can sometimes be a precursor to Tommy John surgery. Adams will try to avoid going under the knife with a PRP treatment and rehab, but he’s looking at an extended absence in either event. Even if he begins throwing six weeks from now, he’ll need time to build back arm strength and head out on a minor league rehab assignment before returning to the big league bullpen. Given that timetable, the Friars seem likely to place Adams on the 60-day injured list whenever the need for a 40-man roster spot arises.

Adams, 31 next month, was acquired from the Mariners at the 2020 trade deadline in the seven-player deal that also saw Austin Nola head from Seattle to San Diego. On the injured list at the time as he recovered from a September 2019 knee surgery, he only made three appearances that season.

The right-hander was called upon in 65 games last year, though, working 52 2/3 innings of 4.10 ERA ball. Adams punched out a very strong 31.5% of batters faced on a 13.3% swinging strike rate, continuing a career-long trend of missing bats in droves. Yet he struggled mightily with his control, walking 14.5% of opponents. He also incredibly hit 24 batters, six more than any other pitcher despite throwing less than a third of the innings of many starters around the game.

After just two appearances this season, Adams landed on the 10-day IL last Thursday. Melvin will rely on offseason acquisitions Taylor Rogers and Luis García, veterans Pierce Johnson and Craig Stammen, and starter-turned-reliever Dinelson Lamet as his top high-leverage options. Rookie Steven Wilson and former NPB closer Robert Suárez are among the right-handed options he can turn to in the middle innings.