While the vast majority of these players seem likely to sign minor league pacts this winter — they did, after all, go unclaimed by 29 other teams on waivers — a number of them are still intriguing with recent success in their past and/or multiple years of arbitration eligibility remaining. Eddy’s rundown also contains a number of re-signed minor leaguers and released minor leaguers without big league experience as well as Arizona Fall League assignments on a per-team basis, so it’s well worth a full look.

We’ve updated our list of 2017-18 MLB free agents accordingly, and here are some of the new names now checking in on the list…

Depth options in the rotation

Josh Collmenter, Asher Wojciechowski, Drew Hutchison, Jeff Locke, Kyle Kendrick, Mike Bolsinger, Christian Bergman, David Holmberg

Collmenter is just two seasons removed from being the D-backs Opening Day starter but hasn’t had much success of late. Hutchison had solid Triple-A numbers and once looked like a long-term rotation piece in Toronto before Tommy John surgery. He can be controlled for another three seasons in arbitration. Locke was injured for most of an ugly first (and likely only) season in Miami, and Kendrick made just two starts for the Red Sox.

Wojciechowski (6.50 ERA in 62 1/3 innings with the Reds), Bolsinger (6.31 ERA in 41 1/3 innings with the Jays), Bergman (5.00 ERA in 54 innings with the Mariners) and Holmberg (4.68 ERA in 57 2/3 innings with the White Sox) all soaked up innings for injury-plagued pitching staffs. Bolsinger has had the most MLB experience of the bunch.

Corner Bats

Scott Van Slyke, Tyler Moore, Cody Asche, Conor Gillaspie, Jaff Decker

Van Slyke has long been a solid bat against left-handed pitching but appeared in just 29 games with the Dodgers and didn’t hit well with their Triple-A affiliate or with the Reds’ Triple-A affiliate. (He was included in the Tony Cingrani trade to balance out the financial side of the deal.) Moore, also a right-handed bat, showed power but struggled to get on base.

Once one of the Phillies’ top prospects, Asche hit well in Triple-A Charlotte but flopped in a brief stint with the ChiSox. Gillaspie was unable to replicate his 2016 rebound with the Giants, while Decker showed some on-base skills in the Majors and minors but didn’t hit much overall. (He can play center but hasn’t graded well there in the Majors.)

Utility Infielders

Ruben Tejada, Phil Gosselin, Dusty Coleman, Chase d’Arnaud

Each of the four can play all over the diamond, but none provided offensive value in 2017. Tejada has the most big league experience but hasn’t received much playing time since 2015 (and hasn’t performed well when he has gotten opportunities). Gosselin has a solid defensive reputation but a light bat through 551 MLB PAs. Coleman hit four homers in 71 PAs in his MLB debut this year but logged a .268 OBP. d’Arnaud saw his fair share of 2016 action with the Braves but has never produced much at the plate.

Bullpen options

Kevin Siegrist (L), Josh Edgin (L), Seth Maness, Kevin Quackenbush

Siegrist and Edgin are intriguing names for clubs in need of left-handed bullpen help. Both have recent success on their track records, though Edgin wasn’t as sharp in 2017 as he was prior to 2015 Tommy John surgery. Siegrist’s control eroded in 2017 as he missed time due to a back/spinal injury and tendinitis in his left forearm, but he was one of the Cardinals’ top setup options in both 2015 and 2016. Both lefties are controllable through 2019.

Maness drew headlines for returning from a torn UCL in roughly seven months thanks to an experimental new “primary repair” procedure, but while he stayed healthy in 2017, the results weren’t great in the Majors and especially not in Triple-A (6.13 ERA in 47 innings). Quackenbush was excellent as a rookie in 2014 and solid in 2015-16 before imploding in 2017 (7.86 ERA in 26 1/3 innings). He was better but not great in Triple-A (3.90 ERA, 7.8 K/9, 2.9 BB/9). Maness could be controlled through 2019, while Quackenbush would have three more years of control.

• The Braves announced that righty Josh Collmenter was outrighted to Triple-A. He had been designated for assignment after a dreadful recent outing. On the year, the soft-tossing 31-year-old has allowed 17 earned runs in as many innings, due in large part to permitting way too many home runs (22.6% HR/FB, 3.71 HR/9). On the positive side, he is averaging 9.5 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9. The seven-year MLB veteran is playing on a $1.2MM contract this year, which he can keep in full even if he rejects the assignment since he has more than five years of MLB service to his credit.

The 31-year-old Collmenter turned in a solid April for the Braves but has been shelled in the month of May, allowing runs in six of his seven appearances this month. That culminated in a seven-run shellacking at the hands of the Pirates last night — an outing that lasted just two-thirds of an inning and included three Pittsburgh home runs.

Collmenter proved to be a useful pickup for Atlanta late in the 2016 campaign, tossing 19 innings and allowing just five earned runs on 15 hits and five walks with 16 strikeouts. That performance proved to be enough for the Braves to retain the former D-backs Opening Day starter via arbitration this winter, as Collmenter agreed to a $1.2MM salary for the 2017 season. Because Collmenter has more than five years of big league service time, he’ll earn the entirety of that sum even if he elects free agency upon being outrighted (or if he is released).

In parts of seven Major League seasons (695 1/3 innings), Collmenter has a 3.64 ERA with 6.4 K/9, 2.2 BB/9 and a 36 percent ground-ball rate. He’s worked as both a starter and a reliever and has actually never finished a season in the big leagues with an ERA north of 3.79. However, he’s also never been a hard-thrower, and his velocity in 2016-17 has hovered in the 84-85 mph range, which doesn’t lend much optimism moving forward.

6:18pm: The Braves have agreed to a one-year deal to avoid arbitration with right-hander Josh Collmenter, reports David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (via Twitter). Atlanta acquired Collmenter in a rare September trade, and the longtime D-backs hurler spent enough time in the minor leagues this year to delay his path to free agency by a season. He’ll remain under control with the Braves into 2017 now and can serve as either a rotation piece or a swingman should the Braves add multiple arms to their rotation mix this winter, as general manager John Coppolella has stated as a goal. Details of Collmenter’s contract aren’t yet known, but MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected a $2.2MM salary for the Sparta Group client.

[Related: Atlanta Braves Depth Chart]

The 30-year-old Collmenter (31 in February) found himself released by the D-backs earlier this summer after recording a 4.84 ERA in 22 1/3 innings. Arizona’s 2015 Opening Day starter latched on with the Cubs on a minors pact and pitched well in four Triple-A starts for Chicago before Atlanta picked him up in a trade that didn’t grab many headlines but could yield benefits in the season to come. Collmenter went on to three starts for Atlanta in the season’s final weeks, posting a 2.37 ERA with 7.6 K/9, 2.4 BB/9 and a 42.3 percent ground-ball rate in 19 innings. In his career, Collmenter has a 3.50 earned run average, 6.3 K/9, 2.2 BB/9 and a 36.1 percent grounder rate in 678 1/3 innings — all coming with Arizona and Atlanta.

As it stands, the Braves are set to enter the 2017 campaign with Julio Teheran atop their rotation, but the outlook behind him is decidedly less certain. Mike Foltynewicz has likely pitched his way into a spot, and former top prospect Matt Wisler logged 156 1/3 innings despite a lackluster 5.00 ERA. Fellow top prospect Aaron Blair also struggled in the Majors, so he’s probably not guaranteed anything heading into Spring Training next year. Other internal options for the Braves include John Gant, Tyrell Jenkins, Williams Perez and Rob Whalen, but as noted above, Coppolella appears set on deepening his team’s rotation picture with the addition of at least two starters (either via trade or free agency).

Collmenter entered the season with exactly five years of service time and won’t reach the requisite 172 days to move up to six years of MLB service time, so he can be controlled through the 2017 season via arbitration if the Braves wish.

5:23pm: The Braves announced that they’ve acquired right-hander Josh Collmenter from the Cubs in exchange for cash. The longtime D-backs hurler joins fellow righty Joe Wieland as the second pitcher picked up by the Braves today in exchange for cash.

The 30-year-old Collmenter was the Diamondbacks’ Opening Day starter as recently as 2015 but lost his rotation spot after a poor start to that season. Collmenter thrived in a bullpen role for his final 52 innings in 2015 and remained in the ’pen to open the 2016 campaign. (The offseason additions of Zack Greinke and Shelby Miller and the return of Patrick Corbin from the disabled list all but closed the door on a return to the rotation.) In 22 1/3 innings of relief work this season, however, Collmenter labored to a 4.84 ERA and was ultimately released by the D-backs. He went on to ink a minor league pact with the Cubs and posted a 2.25 ERA across 16 Triple-A innings with his new organization, though his 9-to-8 K/BB ratio wasn’t especially encouraging.

Collmenter, like Wieland, will give Atlanta some pitching depth as the team’s Triple-A affiliate continues on in the playoffs. But, like Wieland, he’ll also be able to elect free agency at season’s end if he’s not added to the 40-man roster, so his time with the Braves organization could potentially be quite brief in nature.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

After serving as Arizona’s Opening Day starter in 2015, the 30-year-old Collmenter spent the first six weeks of the season on the disabled list due to shoulder tightness and returned in the bullpen, where he struggled in limited action. In 22 1/3 innings, he posted a 4.84 ERA with a 17-to-11 K/BB ratio and a 47.7 percent ground-ball rate. Prior to the 2016 season, though, Collmenter was a durable and versatile piece of the Diamondbacks’ pitching staff. From 2011-15, he made 75 starts and 110 relief appearances with Arizona, working to a 3.49 ERA with 6.3 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9.

Chicago obviously has a tremendous rotation, featuring Jake Arrieta, Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks, John Lackey and Jason Hammel, so it seems likelier that Collmenter will be looked at as a bullpen option than a rotation cog. Once his deal is finalized, Collmenter will have a bit of work to do to get back up to game speed, as his last appearance on a big league mound was just over two weeks ago (July 25).

Collmenter picked up 200 appearances and 75 starts with Arizona, which selected him in the 15th round of the 2007 draft, and compiled a terrific ERA (3.54) to go with 6.28 K/9 against 2.14 BB/9 in 659 1/3 innings. He has also logged two seasons, 2011 and 2014, with at least 154 1/3 innings and a sub-3.50 ERA. Collmenter began 2015 as the Diamondbacks’ Opening Day starter before eventually shifting to a bullpen role, and he posted a solid 3.79 ERA across 121 frames and somewhat offset a below-average K/9 (4.69) with a 1.79 BB/9. The 30-year-old hasn’t been nearly as successful at preventing runs (4.84 ERA) or limiting walks (4.43 BB/9) in 22 1/3 innings this season, though he has generated ground balls at a 47.7 percent rate – a marked increase over his career 36 percent average.

Collmenter, who was on a $1.85MM club option with Arizona this year, could catch on with a different team for a prorated portion of the league minimum.

The DFA of Collmenter, who was Arizona’s Opening Day starter in 2015, is at least somewhat surprising. While the right-hander has had mixed results after assuming a bullpen role this season, he’s pitched to a 4.84 ERA with 17 strikeouts against 11 walks to go along with a 47.7 percent ground-ball rate this season. Collmenter has made 15 appearances and, as the Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro points out (via Twitter), delivered a scoreless outing in 12 of those games. However, he’s been torched in his other three appearances, allowing four runs in each of them, resulting in his lackluster earned run average.

Collmenter is earning just $1.85MM this season, and his track record — 3.49 ERA in 637 MLB innings prior to this season — makes that a reasonable enough price to expect that the D-backs could get some trade interest in him. At the very least, Collmenter’s salary is reasonable enough that a contending club in need of arms could place a claim if he’s placed on waivers.

Freeman, 28, made his big league debut in Arizona this season and went hitless in 11 plate appearances. He’s a career .315/.376/.421 hitter in Triple-A and has significant experience at second base and all three outfield positions.

• The Astros have declined the option of right-hander Chad Qualls, the club announced. He’ll receive a $250K buyout rather than the $3.5MM option price. Qualls,  37, worked to a 4.38 ERA over 49 1/3 innings last year in Houston, with 8.4 K/9 against 1.9 BB/9 and a 59.9% groundball rate. That earned run mark was unlucky, if you believe metrics like FIP (3.52), xFIP (2.99), and SIERA (2.60). There ought to be no shortage of clubs interested in the veteran, who functioned as Houston’s closer at times in 2014. His peripherals give some cause for optimism, though he did lose a tick on his fastball and allowed a 17.1% HR/FB rate.
• Also announcing some option decisions were the Yankees, who say that infielder Brendan Ryan has exercised his $1MM player option. The 33-year-old has not been terribly productive since coming to New York, taking just 289 plate appearances  and compiling a poor .201/.244/.271 batting line over his three years with the team. Ryan is valued most for his glove, of course. He could find himself lacking a roster spot at some point, depending upon how the team proceeds in filling its second base and reserve infield roles.
• Meanwhile, the Yankees declined their $2MM option on righty Andrew Bailey. He had returned to the club after it declined a 2015 option, and his new deal also apparently contained such a provision. While Bailey did make it back to the big leagues for the first time since 2013, he struggled with his command, though that was in a sample size of less than ten innings. The righty was able to put up rather dominant numbers in the minors during his rehab stint. As Chad Jennings of LoHud.com notes on Twitter, the club can still control Bailey through arbitration. MLBTR projects him to take home a $900K salary through that process, if he’s tendered.
• The Diamondbacks have officially exercised their option on righty Brad Ziegler. The 36-year-old was even better than usual last year. He spun 68 innings of 1.85 ERA ball, even as his strikeout rate dropped to just 4.8 K/9. Metrics like FIP and xFIP were less impressed, but that’s always been the case with Ziegler, whose sidearmed sinker/curve/change mix produced a ridiculous 72.8% groundball rate this year. Long a quality set-up man, Ziegler moved seamlessly into the closer’s role when Addison Reed faltered. He’ll earn $5.5MM next year in his final season of control, which is quite an attractive price given his track record.
• Likewise, the Diamondbacks picked up their option on Josh Collmenter. His drop in strikeouts is arguably more concerning, particularly as it came in a year in which he spent a lot of time working from the bullpen (in addition to making 12 starts). The 29-year-old threw 121 total innings, posting a solid 3.79 ERA. But with his K rate dipping below five-per-nine and a groundball rate that typically lands in the mid-thirty-percent range, there’s concern going forward. Collmenter will take home $1.825MM, which is affordable enough that the team can roll the dice on a rebound. He is also controllable for 2017 via mutual option.

Here are some more notes from the National League:

• The Diamondbacks face several contract questions regarding pitchers even before considering outside additions, as Zach Buchanan of AZCentral Sports writes. Whether to tender Jeremy Hellickson and Jhoulys Chacin, exercise a club option over Josh Collmenter, and pursue a reunion with free agent-to-be David Hernandez are among the matters that Arizona will need to address. Chief baseball officer Tony La Russa discussed all four pitchers with Buchanan. Most interestingly, perhaps, is the situation regarding Chacin. La Russa says that he has “seen enough from Chacin” to know that he’d be “in the competition” for the club next year. The 27-year-old looked good at Triple-A this year and has put together three nice outings for Arizona. Because of his limited MLB time this year, he is arb-eligible. Chacin had agreed to a $5.5MM deal with the Rockies before he was released in the spring before signing successive minor league deals with the Indians and D’Backs. My guess would be that the club will look to work something out with him before the tender deadline.
• Padres closer Craig Kimbrel says it’s been a frustrating first season in San Diego, as Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. Kimbrel says that he expects the club to improve next year, citing the assembly of new faces as one factor that may have slowed down the Pads this year. Of course, as Lin writes, it’s certainly plausible to imagine a scenario where Kimbrel is dealt elsewhere to address other areas of needs or re-build the farm system.
• Former Dodgers GM Ned Colletti, who now works with the organization as an adviser, is “right in the middle of everything, but nowhere near anything,” Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times writes. But as Plaschke points out, Colletti — who says it’s been “a different kind of year” — was responsible for bringing in many of the team’s key pieces. That includes not only players like Clayton Kershaw and Zach Grienke, but youngsters such as Joc Pederson and Corey Seager. All said, the piece suggests, Colletti’s nine-year tenure as the head of the organization’s baseball operations department was probably more successful than many have acknowledged.

• The Red Sox have contacted every contending team in each league and told them that Jon Lester is available for a two- to three-prospect package fronted by at least one upper-echelon prospect. One executive, however, tells Stark that the Sox simply can’t get as much as the Rays would get if they moved David Price, which isn’t surprising, given Lester’s impending free agency and the remaining year of control that Price has.
• Lester isn’t the only player being shopped — Boston has firmly planted a “for sale” sign in the ground, and they’re willing to move any impending free agents with the exception of Koji Uehara, whom they hope to re-sign. They’re peddling Andrew Miller, Burke Badenhop, Stephen Drew, Jonny Gomes and Craig Breslow. The price for Miller is also exorbitant at this time, however, as officials from two interested clubs tell Stark that Boston has asked for one of the top prospects plus a lesser prospect.
• The Giants have asked the Phillies about Marlon Byrd, but their main priority is second base. The Reds are reassessing their stance after losing eight of nine games, and the Royals have backed off of Byrd. The Mariners appears to be the most logical option, but Byrd still wants his $8MM 2016 vesting option guaranteed to approve a trade there.
• Byrd tells Stark that he’d have to think long and hard if GM Ruben Amaro Jr. came to him and asked him to approve a trade to a team on his no-trade clause. While his hope was to retire a Phillie, he  appreciates how aggressive Amaro was in signing him. “[Ruben] made it easy for me this offseason,” he said. Still, given the odds that he’d want some form of perk to approve a trade, it’s no longer certain that he gets dealt.
• While the Red Sox and Mariners have been connected to Matt Kemp, officials from other clubs tell Stark they feel an offseason trade is much more likely than an in-season deal.
• The White Sox have had scouts watching the Yankees’ surplus of minor league catchers in recent weeks, fueling speculation that the Yanks would like to acquire John Danks.
• Some officials believe the Yankees would like to find a right-handed hitting platoon partner to pair with Ichiro in Suzuki in right field. New York wants an option that doesn’t have commitments beyond 2014, making names like Justin Ruggiano of the Cubs and Chris Denorfia of the Padres as possible targets. Earlier today it was reported that Denorfia could be moved soon.
• The Royals have decided that Alex Rios isn’t a good fit for their right field need. Because the team is unable to take on much additional salary (if any), they could wait until August to add a bat.
• While Troy Tulowitzki’s name has had a lot of buzz around it, club officials from interested teams tell Stark there’s no indication he is available. Rather, the Rockies are open to moving bullpen arms Adam Ottavino, Rex Brothers, LaTroy Hawkins and Matt Belisle. However, the team would only move Hawkins if they’re overwhelmed. That seems a bit odd, given his age, but Hawkins does have a cheap club option and has drawn praise in Denver for his mentoring of younger talent.
• The D’Backs are telling clubs that they’d move Addison Reed, but they don’t want to move Brad Ziegler. Arizona is also willing to move Aaron Hill and Oliver Perez. They’ll listen on Martin Prado and Josh Collmenter, although they’re more hesitant to deal them.
• The chances of Cliff Lee being traded before August are almost nonexistent. Scouts who have seen him don’t think he looks close to healthy, and the money he’s owed is of course problematic.

Elsewhere in the National League:

• With the possibility Niese may open the season on the disabled list, Jenrry Mejia could join Daisuke Matsuzaka in the Mets' rotation with John Lannan earning a relief role, according to Rubin.
• The Diamondbacks are another team scrambling to fill a void in their starting rotation in the wake of the news from earlier today Patrick Corbin could be facing Tommy John surgery. GM Kevin Towers, however, plans to use in-house options like Randall Delgado, Archie Bradley, and Josh Collmenter rather than seek a trade immediately, tweets Jack Magruder of FOXSportsArizona.com.
• Noah Syndergaard, who remains in the Mets' Major League Spring Training camp, was the key component in last offseason's R.A. Dickey trade, writes Matt Ehalt of the Record. "I think eventually it got to the point where we needed Syndergaard," said J.P. Ricciardi, the Mets' special assistant to the GM. "I think in order to finish it off, we needed a younger, higher prospect to make us say, 'OK, it's worth trading a Cy Young Award winner.'"
• Pirates GM Neal Huntington says the team's bullpen depth is "a chance to move a guy that can go help someone else to add a piece," tweets the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's Travis Sawchik. Huntington also gave a near-guarantee Edinson Volquez will be in the Pirates' starting rotation, Sawchik tweets.
• Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post contradicts a story from this morning the Rockies are in the market for right-handed bullpen help. A source tells Renck the club prefers to give Chad Bettis or Chris Martin a chance before pursuing a trade.
• Being forced to rush their young pitching prospects to the Majors has come back to haunt the Marlins, as Jacob Turner and Brad Hand (22 and 23, respectively) are now out of options, opines MLB.com's Joe Frisaro.
• The Dodgers have selected the contract of Justin Turner and will bring Chone Figgins to Australia, reports Dylan Herndandez of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter links). MLBTR's Tim Dierkes broke the news in February of Turner agreeing to a minor league contract with the Dodgers and now the 29-year-old will make $1MM as a reserve infielder. Figgins, who signed a minor league deal in January and is trying to make the squad as an utilityman, will be one of 30 players the Dodgers are taking on the trip (only 25 will be active on game day).

Collmenter will receive a $2.425MM guarantee. The deal also includes a club option and a mutual option, according to Rosenthal, and could reach $6.5MM in value if both options were to be exercised.

Collmenter, soon to be 28 years of age, is represented by The Sparta Group. He began his time in Arizona as a starter, throwing 154 1/3 innings of 3.38 ERA ball back in 2011. But Collmenter struggled to a 5.11 ERA in eleven starts in the 2012 season, leading to a switch to the pen. He has been solid in his new relief role, and last year racked up 8.3 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9 in 92 innings, supporting a 3.13 ERA. 

• The Padres' contract extension with Cameron Maybin is a good deal for both parties, writes Fangraphs' Mike Axisa.
• Jeff Moorad's purchase of the Padres could be finalized on March 12 when MLB's ownership committee and executive council hold meetings, reports Tim Sullivan of the San Diego Union-Tribune.  Sullivan hears "the Padres have completed the process of responding to baseball’s questions" following a January owners' meeting when Moorad's latest attempt to complete his purchase wasn't addressed due to what Bud Selig referred to as "economic concerns."
• The Diamondbacks renewed the contracts of Josh Collmenter, David Hernandez, Ian Kennedy and Gerardo Parra for 2012, the team announced Saturday.  Between these renewals and agreeing to terms with 15 other players, Arizona now has its entire 40-man roster under contract for the coming season.
• The Dodgers also announced the signings of all their players with less than three years of Major League experience, with Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times specifying that A.J. Ellis will earn $490K in 2012 and Javy Guerra will earn $488K.
• CBS and MSG are each considering investing in one of the groups bidding to buy the Dodgers as a path to obtaining the team's broadcast rights, reports Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.  Both networks would use the Dodgers as the foundation for a regional sports network.  With CBS, MSG, Time Warner and current rights-holders FOX all interested in Dodgers programming, the club looks well-positioned for a multi-billion dollar TV contract, perhaps even topping the Angels' recent 20-year, $3 billion deal with FOX.