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Guardians, Emmanuel Clase Discussing Contract Extension

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4:55PM: There isn’t an agreement in place, Clase’s agent tells Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain Dealer, though the two sides have been discussing an extension.  Like most players, Clase has set Opening Day as a deadline for talks, so he can focus on baseball once the season begins.

4:17PM: The Guardians have agreed to a contract extension with right-hander Emmanuel Clase, El Extra Base’s Daniel Alvarez-Montes reports (Twitter link).  Clase is represented by Nova Sports Agency.

The Cleveland organization has long made a strategy of trying to lock up promising young players early in their careers, and the Clase deal represents another such move.  Clase was already under team control through the 2026 season, and wasn’t scheduled for arbitration eligibility until the 2023-24 offseason.  It can be assumed that the extension will give the Guardians some control over at least one of Clase’s free agent years, while also giving the team some cost certainty rather than face an escalating price tag through Clase’s arb-eligible seasons.

Considering how save totals often lead to big arbitration raises for closers, the Guardians could be making a canny move in extending Clase now, as the 24-year-old looks like one of the sport’s most promising young relievers.  Pitching in his first full season in 2021, Clase dominated batters to the tune of a 1.29 ERA, 67.6% grounder rate, 26.5% strikeout rate, and 5.7% walk rate over 69 2/3 innings.  Clase finished in the upper echelon of basically every Statcast metric in the book, while also averaging 100.3 mph on his fastball.  If that wasn’t enough, Clase complemented that great fastball with a devastating slider.

The result was a fifth-place finish in AL Rookie Of The Year voting, and a nice bounce-back for Clase following a lost 2020 season.  Clase and Delino DeShields were acquired from the Rangers for Corey Kluber in December 2019, with Clase seen as the cornerstone of the deal from Cleveland’s perspective and possibly a closer of the future.  However, Clase didn’t pitch at all in 2020 due to a teres major muscle strain and then an 80-game PED suspension.

Those twin issues both sidelined Clase and cost him a year of service time, extending the Guardians’ control through 2026.  It is possible that contributed to Clase’s decision to take the extension and lock in some guaranteed money now, giving Clase his first big professional payday.

Clase moved into the full-time closer role last season as James Karinchak began to struggle after a hot start, and Karinchak’s recent injury concerns (also with a teres major issue) removed any doubt about Clase continuing as the Guardians’ top choice for the ninth inning.  Clase with now headline a bullpen that features veteran Bryan Shaw and converted outfielder Anthony Gose as the top set-up options until Karinchak is ready.

The extension also makes Clase the only long-term commitment on the Guards’ books, as not a single other player is guaranteed money beyond the 2022 season.  While a lack of spending this winter has led to a lot of consternation amongst Cleveland fans, the Guardians have also been exploring an even bigger extension with star Jose Ramirez.

Minor MLB Transactions: 10/1/20

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Checking in on the game’s latest minor moves…

  • The Indians have reinstated right-hander Emmanuel Clase from the restricted list, the team announced. Clase missed the entire season after suffering a teres major strain and receiving an 80-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs. Before that, he was the headlining part of the return the Indians received for righty Corey Kluber in an offseason trade with the Rangers. The flamethrowing Clase thrived in his major league debut in 2019 with a 2.31 ERA/3.43 FIP, 8.1 K/9, 2.31 BB/9 and a 60.6 percent groundball in 23 1/3 innings. Based on that, Clase should be an important part of the Indians’ bullpen next year.
  • Rays left-hander Sean Gilmartin has accepted an outright assignment, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. The club previously designated Gilmartin on Tuesday. Gilmartin, whom the Rays have shuffled on and off their roster throughout the year, threw 4 1/3 regular-season innings and yielded four earned runs on seven hits and four walks (five strikeouts).

Emmanuel Clase Receives PED Suspension

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Indians reliever Emmanuel Clase has received an 80-game suspension, per a league announcement. He tested positive for banned PED boldenone.

Clase, acquired in the trade that sent Corey Kluber to the Rangers, had been rehabbing a teres major strain this spring. Precisely when the positive test was recorded isn’t known, though it certainly may have taken place prior to the shutdown of play. Clase would have had an opportunity to appeal the suspension before it was announced.

The Indians were disappointed to see Clase go down in camp. But it seemed he’d have a chance to accomplish much of his rehab work while the season was on pause. That’ll still be the case, but he’ll now be sidelined regardless when the 2020 campaign gets underway. The suspension will begin once the season gets underway, even if Clase is still rehabbing.

It obviously hasn’t been the smoothest start to Clase’s tenure with the Cleveland organization. The club pinned big hopes to the 22-year-old hurler, who was the chief asset brought back in a deal for one of the team’s best-known players.

Clase wasn’t a widely known player entering the 2019 season. But he zipped up the Texas farm system ladder and opened eyes with his MLB debut at just 21 years of age. Featuring a triple-digit heater, Clase turned in a 2.31 ERA with 8.1 K/9, 2.3 BB/9, and a hefty 60.6% groundball rate over 23 1/3 innings.

There is quite a silver lining here for the Indians — and a big dent to Clase’s long-term earnings outlook. He had only accrued 59 days of service in 2019 and will not be able to add enough days in 2020 to reach a full season of MLB service (172 days). Though he could ultimately qualify for arbitration in 2023 as a Super Two player, his anticipated free agent clock will end up moving back a year.

Indians Provide Updates On 5 Injured Players

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Prior to the leaguewide shutdown, the Indians faced questions about a number of key players, including Mike Clevinger (knee surgery), Carlos Carrasco (elbow inflammation), Emmanuel Clase (teres major strain), Oscar Mercado (wrist sprain) and Tyler Naquin (2018 ACL repair surgery). At this point, nearly all of them are up to speed, manager Terry Francona told reporters Thursday (link via Mandy Bell of MLB.com).

Clase, Francona explained, is a bit harder to track than the others because he lives in a fairly remote area of the Dominican Republic. The club is likely to send someone from its Dominican academy down to get a first-hand look in the near future. Clase has been throwing off flat ground — Indians Prospective tweeted some video footage — as he works back from an injury that was initially projected to sideline him for eight to 12 weeks. It’s been exactly seven weeks since that diagnosis, so it seems there’s a good chance that whenever play is able to resume, Clase will either be recovered or close to it.

Updates on the others were more generic but widely positive. Carrasco has been throwing regular bullpen sessions, recording them and sending video footage to Indians officials. Clevinger, Naquin and Mercado are all doing “great” or “fine.” That’s particularly encouraging with regard to Naquin, whose September surgery was projected to keep him out seven to nine months (into mid-April or mid-June). It seems that his recovery is on track for the shorter end of that timeline.

Carrasco, Clevinger and Mercado, in particular, will be vital pieces for Cleveland as they look to rise back to the top of the ranks in the AL Central. With Corey Kluber traded to Texas (in the deal that netted Clase), Carrasco and Clevinger will team with Shane Bieber atop a rotation that will otherwise rely on some intriguing but generally inexperienced young arms in the final two spots (e.g. Aaron Civale, Zach Plesac, Logan Allen, Scott Moss, Jefry Rodriguez).

Mercado, meanwhile, is perhaps the one constant in an Indians outfield mix that looks decidedly unsettled. He should play center on a regular basis, with some combination of Domingo Santana, Jordan Luplow, Franmil Reyes, Greg Allen, Delino DeShields Jr. (also acquired in the Kluber swap), Jake Bauers, Bradley Zimmer and Naquin filling in at the corners. Luplow’s dominance of left-handed pitchers should assure him at least the short side of a platoon, and Reyes might factor in more as a DH than a prominent piece of the outfield rotation. But it’s clear that opportunities for playing time in the corners will be relatively wide open.

Clase, presumably, is being treated as a potential high-end setup piece for Brad Hand. The right-hander made his MLB debut with Texas in 2019 and compiled a 2.31 ERA with a 21-to-6 K/BB ratio and a superlative 60.6 percent ground-ball rate in 23 1/3 innings while averaging 99.3 mph on his heater. Clase skipped Triple-A entirely, but the success he found in last year’s 21 MLB games provides little to no reason to send him back down.

Indians’ Emmanuel Clase Out 8-12 Weeks With Teres Major Strain

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The Indians received another injury blow Thursday, as an MRI revealed a moderate strain of the teres major muscle in hard-throwing young reliever Emmanuel Clase’s back (Twitter link via Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon-Journal). Clase, the main player Cleveland received in the trade that sent Corey Kluber to the Rangers, is expected to miss eight to 12 weeks of game activity.

If the injury sounds familiar to Indians fans, that’s because it’s the same muscle strain that sidelined right-hander Mike Clevinger for more than two months early in the 2019 season. Clevinger landed on the IL on April 9 and was able to make it back on the shorter end of that timetable — returning to action in just under 10 weeks’ time, on June 17.

The loss of Clase is tough for the Indians not only because it leaves them with only Delino DeShields Jr. as an immediate return for Kluber but also because Clase had been expected to be a key late-inning weapon for manager Terry Francona. Clase made his big league debut at just 21 years old last year, showing off a triple-digit sinker that helped him pitch to a 2.31 ERA with a 21-to-6 K/BB ratio and a whopping 60.6 percent ground-ball rate in 23 1/3 innings of work.

Clase has been heralded as a potential closer of the future in the Indians organization, although for the time being (once healthy), he’s likely to serve as a setup piece for All-Star closer Brad Hand. With Clase sidelined, the Indians will likely look to right-hander Nick Wittgren as the primary setup option for Hand. Other options in the ’pen include veteran lefty Oliver Perez, as well as right-handers Adam Cimber and Hunter Wood. There’s a fair bit of competition for the final few bullpen spots to begin the season — particularly now that Clase will begin the season on the 15-day injured list. (Remember: Major League Baseball upped the minimum IL stay for pitchers from 10 to 15 days, effective in 2020.)

While it’s a disheartening start to the beginning of Clase’s Indians tenure, he’ll have plenty of time to make an impact with his new club. Clase has yet to accrue a full year of MLB service time, though he’ll likely cross that threshold at some point in 2020. He’s under team control through at least the 2025 season and won’t even be eligible for arbitration until the completion of the 2022 season.

Health Notes: Clase, Nimmo, May, Stock

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The Indians are awaiting the results of an MRI on flamethrowing relief prospect Emmanuel Clase, the team told reporters Wednesday (link via Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer). The 21-year-old righty has been feeling discomfort in his latissimus dorsi recently, including during yesterday’s throwing session, per GM Mike Chernoff. Clase, armed with a triple-digit sinker, was the centerpiece of the trade that sent Corey Kluber to Texas over the winter. Cleveland received the young righty and backup outfielder Delino DeShields Jr. in that swap, so any notable injury for Clase would leave the team with a part-time outfielder (and, of course, salary relief) as the immediate return for Kluber. If healthy, Clase should factor prominently into the Cleveland ’pen in 2020. He made his MLB debut in 2019, pitching to a 2.31 ERA with a 21-to-6 K/BB ratio in 23 1/3 innings of relief for the Rangers.

Some more injury situations worth monitoring…

  • Brandon Nimmo gave Mets fans something of a scare today, though details surrounding his status are still somewhat sparse. Nimmo was scratched from today’s game after the team’s cardiologist recommended that he undergo additional cardiac testing, the club told reporters (Twitter link via Anthony DiComo of MLB.com). Manager Luis Rojas eventually labeled the extra tests as “precautionary” and downplayed the severity of the issue, but it’s certainly out of the ordinary to see players go through multiple waves of cardiac examinations. The 26-year-old Nimmo missed a good chunk of the 2019 season due to neck issues and hit .221/.375/.407 through 254 plate appearances when healthy. Nimmo has been an on-base machine in his career, as evidenced by a lifetime .254/.387/.440 slash, but the 2018 season remains the only year in which he’s even played 70 games at the MLB level.
  • Prized Dodgers pitching prospect Dustin May is still being slowed by muscle pain in his side and hasn’t thrown off a mound since the first day of camp, tweets MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick. May impressed in his MLB debut in 2019, pitching to a 3.63 ERA with 32 strikeouts and just five walks in 34 2/3 innings of work despite the fact that he just turned 22 this past September. He ranks within the game’s top 25 overall prospects at Baseball America, FanGraphs, MLB.com, Baseball Prospectus and The Athletic. However, between the acquisition of David Price, the return of Alex Wood and May’s early discomfort, it’s not clear whether the touted young righty will factor into the Opening Day mix for the Dodgers. He should play a significant role on their pitching staff in 2020 regardless, but he’s a ways behind the rest of the club’s pitchers in camp at this point.
  • Perhaps no team has seen more bullpen injuries than the Phillies over the past year, and it seems that trend is continuing. Manager Joe Girardi tells Matt Gelb of The Athletic that right-hander Robert Stock is dealing with forearm tightness — possibly a flexor tendon issue. That’s an ominous outlook for any pitcher, though at this point there’s no timetable or definitive diagnosis, as he’s still undergoing testing. Stock, 30, is far from a household name but is on the Phillies’ 40-man roster, so a notable absence would likely lead to some additional moves. He spent the past two seasons with the Padres, struggling through 10 2/3 innings in 2019 but posting a sharp 2.50 ERA with just under a strikeout per inning in 39 2/3 frames back in 2018.

Health Notes: Suarez, Piscotty, Archer, Clase/Civale

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Fortunately, there hasn’t been much in the way of negative health news to this point of Spring Training. Let’s check in on a few issues that have arisen …

  • Reds third baseman Eugenio Suarez is feeling both excitement and some trepidation as he nears readiness to test his recently tweaked shoulder, as Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. Indication remains that Suarez could conceivably be ready to roll on Opening Day. He says he’s getting his timing down even as he avoids throwing or swinging full-bore. But there are also some nerves as he prepares to ramp up. “Just a little bit because I know I have something there,” Suarez said when asked whether he’s nervous. “I don’t want to get hurt again. I have to be careful. We’ll see what happens.”
  • After a disappointing 2019 season, the last thing Athletics outfielder Stephen Piscotty wants to deal with is another injury issue. Right now, the hope is that his oblique/rib cage problem isn’t going to represent a major limitation, as Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. But Piscotty might be down for another week and it’s beginning to look like Opening Day readiness could be in doubt. That’d be a disappointment, of course, but it’s surely better than rushing back and ending up with a bigger problem.
  • Neck tightness kept Pirates righty Chris Archer from making a scheduled outing today, as Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic was among those to report on Twitter. There hasn’t been a substantial update just yet, but there’s no reason to believe that this is more than a minor blip.
  • It’s a similar situation in Indians’ camp, where righties Emmanuel Clase and Aaron Civale have been limited. As MLB.com’s Mandy Bell tweets, the former is dealing with lat discomfort and the latter a sore groin. While Clase is going to slow his build-up to let things calm down, Civale is preparing to throw a sim game.

The Corey Kluber Trade: Reaction & Analysis

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Over a year of trade rumors surrounding Corey Kluber came to an end this afternoon, as the Indians dealt their longtime ace to the Rangers in exchange for outfielder Delino DeShields and right-hander Emmanuel Clase (plus $500K, in a split of the $1MM assignment bonus Kluber received in the event of a trade).  Here are some of the early takes on the trade, plus some of the potential aftershocks that might yet be forthcoming…

  • Kluber’s struggles and drop in velocity at the start of the 2019 season are a concern, ESPN’s Keith Law writes in a subscriber-only piece, while Clase is a very intriguing young reliever.  That said, Cleveland’s overall trade return is “so light compared to what Kluber was as recently as 2018 that it feels like this was a move to dump salary rather than a way to rebuild with younger players.”  Kluber is owed $17.5MM in 2020 and is controlled via an $18MM club option for 2021 (with a $1MM buyout).
  • What the Tribe will do with this newfound payroll space is on the minds of Marc Carig and Jason Lloyd as part of The Athletic’s writers roundtable of opinions on the trade (subscription required).  The club could be content to just pocket the savings as part of a more thorough rebuild that could include a Francisco Lindor trade this winter.  But, with the Indians still in position to contend within a weak AL Central, dealing Kluber could create enough payroll relief to make the team even less likely to move Lindor in the short term, and spend the money saved on Kluber to address other needs.  “Given the number of teams that were involved in the Kluber rumors, it’s hard to dispute that this was the best return they [the Indians] could fetch,” Lloyd writes, with Ken Rosenthal also noting that Cleveland might have been concerned that Kluber’s value could further decline prior to the 2020 trade deadline.
  • Indians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti discussed the deal with reporters (including The Athletic’s Zack Meisel and MLB.com’s Mandy Bell) and addressed the “variety of different packages” offered by “a lot of teams that had interest in Corey.”  One of the factors that helped sway the talks in the Rangers’ direction was that Clase and DeShields are “two players that could come back and help us in 2020 and help us try to sustain the level of competitiveness we’ve had over the last seven years.”  Even in the short amount of time since the trade was announced, Antonetti revealed that some teams had already called to ask if Clase was available in a follow-up deal.
  • The Angels were one of the teams known to have interest in Kluber, though Jeff Fletcher of the Southern California News Group (Twitter link) reports that the Indians wanted highly-touted outfield prospect Brandon Marsh and another top-10 prospect from the Halos’ farm system.  It was a significant ask, given how Marsh is widely considered to be the Angels’ second-best prospect (after Jo Adell) and is ranked by Fangraphs as the 74th-best prospect in all of baseball.  If Cleveland was seeking for such a return for Kluber from the various teams in the hunt, Fletcher notes that it could be a sign that “they have a much higher opinion of Clase than most of baseball.”
  • While DeShields’ lack of hitting kept him from being an everyday player in Arlington, his departure creates more questions within an already uncertain Rangers outfield mix.  Texas GM Jon Daniels told MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan and other reporters that the Rangers will look for an experienced center field through either a trade or a signing, though for now, utilityman Danny Santana is penciled in as the club’s center fielder.  Over his career, Santana has posted subpar fielding numbers (-7.2 UZR/150, -10 Defensive Runs Saved) over 1108 innings as a center fielder, and he has more overall value to Texas a player who can be shifted around the diamond rather than locked into an ill-fitting position.
  • Daniels said his front office first discussed Kluber with the Indians earlier in the offseason, and only circled back after the Winter Meetings, and after the Rangers came up short in their attempts to sign Anthony Rendon.  Negotiations became more serious once Texas agreed to move Clase as part of the deal, speaking again to how highly Cleveland values Clase’s ability.

Rangers Acquire Corey Kluber For Emmanuel Clase, Delino DeShields

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2:10pm: Both teams have announced the deal, which is now official. The Indians have designated infielder Mike Freeman for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.

11:07 am: The Rangers have acquired right-hander Corey Kluber from the Indians, reports Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic (via Twitter). The deal is agreed to, pending physicals of the players involved, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter). In return, Indians will receive right-handed reliever Emmanuel Clase and outfielder Delino DeShields, Jr. (Twitter links via Rosenthal and Levi Weaver of The Athletic). Texas will assume the entirety of Kluber’s $17.5MM obligation, according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (via Twitter), though the Rangers will also receive $500K in cash considerations to cover half of the $1MM assignment bonus owed to Kluber.

A fractured forearm and an oblique strain combined to limit Kluber to just seven underwhelming starts in 2019, but he was one of the sport’s true aces over the preceding half-decade. From 2014-18, Kluber averaged over 200 innings per season with a 2.85 ERA and a nearly-identical 2.84 FIP. Among qualified starters, only Clayton Kershaw, Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer bested that ERA, while only Chris Sale, Kershaw and Scherzer topped Kluber’s combination of strikeouts (28.5%) and walks (5.2%). Kluber was twice rewarded for his dominance with the AL Cy Young Award in 2014 and 2017.

Of course, it’s anyone’s guess whether the 33-year-old Kluber will recapture that level of dominance. Kluber’s initial injury was certainly fluky, as he was struck by a 102 MPH line drive off the bat of Miami’s Brian Anderson. Prior to the injury, though, he hadn’t quite resembled his previous self. Kluber’s strikeout rate was down to just 22.6% in 2019, while his walk rate spiked to 8.9%. His fastball velocity, per Brooks Baseball, sat at a career-low 92.43 MPH, although pitchers tend to pick up velocity as they distance themselves from spring training, a luxury Kluber was never afforded. Kluber’s velocity has trended down consistently in recent years, though, and he now sits about two ticks slower than he did at his 2014 peak.

Kluber will make $17.5MM next season, and he is under control through 2021 via an $18MM team option (or a $1MM buyout). As Rosenthal notes (via Twitter), Kluber will receive a $1MM assignment bonus once the trade is finalized.

This move continues an offseason trend for the Rangers, who have strengthened their starting rotation considerably. Kluber joins Kyle Gibson and Jordan Lyles (both of whom were brought in via free agency) to complement the strong duo of Lance Lynn and Mike Minor. Having missed out on their top free agent target, Anthony Rendon, the Rangers were reportedly pivoting to the trade market to address gaps on the roster.

Clase was among a handful of Rangers generating interest league-wide. The 21-year-old made his MLB debut in 2019 and turned in 23.1 innings of 2.31 ERA ball. A fastball-slider reliever, Clase averaged an astounding 99.44 MPH on his heater, topping out at 102.02 MPH. He didn’t generate as many strikeouts in his brief MLB time (22.3%) as one may expect given that velocity, but he did induce ground balls on upwards of 60% of balls in play against him. He’s also thrown a high volume of strikes the past few seasons, culminating in a 6.4% walk rate at the highest level. He comes with six seasons of team control and figures to profile as a long-term bullpen asset for manager Terry Francona.

DeShields, meanwhile, may be the more recognizable name in the return, even if he’s likely the secondary piece from Cleveland’s perspective. The 27-year-old got the lion’s share of playing time in center field for Texas last season, although longstanding offensive woes continued to plague him. Over 408 plate appearances, he slashed just .249/.325/.347 (72 wRC+). That is right in line with his career output at the dish across five seasons in Arlington.

To DeShields’ credit, he has been one of the game’s best baserunners since making his MLB debut. The former Rule V pick has also drastically improved defensively. After getting off to a shaky start in 2016, the speedster has rated as a quality center fielder over the past three seasons. Per Statcast, DeShields has combined to be worth 29 outs above average since the start of 2017. His 12 outs above average last season placed him in the 95th percentile of MLB outfielders.

DeShields comes with two additional seasons of arbitration control. He’s projected for an eminently-affordable $2.4MM this offseason, of no small import to a Cleveland organization that has bandied about its most expensive players in trade. Indeed, today’s deal was certainly motivated by some desire on the Indians’ part to clear money from their books. Cleveland now projects for just under $91MM in 2020 payroll, per Roster Resource.

It will be fascinating to see if this move serves as a precursor to further sell-offs in Cleveland. Francisco Lindor has already been bounced around in trade rumors. He would no doubt be a prize of a rival’s offseason if they were able to pry him away. On the other hand, subtracting Kluber’s salary could alleviate any pressure the Indians feel to move Lindor and his projected $16.7MM arbitration salary. Today’s move to bring in two MLB-ready pieces at least suggests Cleveland hopes to make another run at a winnable AL Central in 2020.

Rangers Notes: Globe Life Field, Rendon, Rodriguez

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We’ll check in on some news coming out Arlington over the past 24 hours.

  • Globe Life Field, the new ballpark slated to open in 2020, caught fire yesterday afternoon (reported with video by Anthony Andro). Fortunately, no one was injured, relays Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, who notes that the blaze was quickly contained by the Arlington Fire Department. A team spokesperson confirmed to Wilson that work will continue on the facility while an investigation into the fire’s cause is underway. Globe Life Field is slated to host its first exhibition game March 23. Texas’ regular-season home opener is March 31. Whether the incident will delay completion of the facility is not yet clear.
  • Texas put forth a six-year, $192MM offer to Anthony Rendon, which fell well shy of the seven-year, $245MM bid that wooed him to Anaheim. That figure, though, may not have been as high as Texas was willing to go for the superstar third baseman. The club viewed their $192MM proposal as a “starting point,” per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News, but Rendon’s camp seemingly never reengaged with them before he signed with the Angels. Whether and to what extent the Rangers would have gone further is unclear.
  • Having missed out on Rendon and seemingly not in play for Josh Donaldson, the Rangers may now pivot to the trade market to address holes on the roster, Grant further reports. Among those drawing interest from other teams are catching prospect Sam Huff and reliever Emmanuel Clase, in addition to the previously-reported José LeClerc.
  • Rendon pursuit notwithstanding, the Rangers didn’t come away from San Diego empty-handed. One executive tells the Athletic’s Peter Gammons (via Twitter) that Texas’ signing of left-handed reliever Joely Rodríguez to a two-year, $5MM deal was “the most underrated move of the Winter Meetings.” Rodríguez hasn’t had much success in affiliated ball, but he thrived in Japan, working to a 1.85 ERA with a 103:28 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 87.2 innings in NPB. Interestingly, Gammons notes that Rodríguez is now reportedly sporting a 97-99 MPH fastball. In his most recent MLB action, he averaged just 94.07 MPH on his four-seamer, per Brooks Baseball.
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