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Red Sox Could Consider Michael Fulmer For Starting Rotation

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The Red Sox are exploring all avenues when it comes to strengthening their rotation. After trading for White Sox ace Garrett Crochet, Boston is still looking into both the trade and free markets for starting pitching. Not only that, but it sounds like they might be considering at least one creative internal option, too.

Speaking to reporters at the Winter Meetings, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow suggested Michael Fulmer could potentially start for the Red Sox in 2025 (per Chris Cotillo of MassLive). Why is that surprising? The veteran right-hander, who is recovering from UCL surgery, has not pitched since 2023. More to the point, he has not been a regular starter since the 2020 season. He has not thrown more than five innings in an outing since September 2018.

Fulmer, 32 in March, was a sturdy starting pitcher over his first three MLB seasons. He won AL Rookie of the Year honors with the Tigers in 2016 and earned an All-Star selection the following year. Overall, from 2016-18, he made 75 starts, tossing 456 innings with a 3.81 ERA and 4.32 SIERA. Unfortunately, a history of elbow issues came to a head in 2019, when Tommy John surgery forced him to miss the entire season. When he returned in 2020, he was utterly disastrous. His velocity was down, and he pitched to an 8.78 ERA and 5.58 SIERA over 10 starts. It was hardly surprising when Detroit moved him to the bullpen in 2021.

On the bright side, Fulmer was an effective, if not especially dominant, reliever from 2021-23. Over 172 appearances out of the bullpen with the Tigers, Twins, and Cubs, he pitched to a 3.43 ERA and 3.71 SIERA, racking up 19 saves and 45 holds. Never a big strikeout arm during his years as a starter, he struck out more than a quarter of the batters he faced in relief. That said, his most important skill was his ability to limit hard contact and home runs.

At the end of the 2023 season, his elbow trouble reared its ugly head once more. Fulmer underwent UCL revision surgery in October that would keep him on the shelf for at least a year. He then signed a two-year minor league contract with the Red Sox and spent the 2024 season rehabbing with the organization. Until recently, there had been very little news regarding his progress. In October, he told WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford (X link) that he was trending toward a return for spring training. Then, earlier this week, Breslow provided a similarly positive update, “There’s certainly a pretty clear path to [Fulmler] being ready for Opening Day.”

If Fulmer is healthy and ready to pitch this spring, the Red Sox will try to stretch him out. That could mean building him up for a role in the rotation. However, if that proves to be too ambitious, he could be a multi-inning arm out of the bullpen instead. Interestingly, that’s a role he has never really played before. As a former starter, he presumably has the skills for long relief. Yet, when he was a regular reliever from 2021-23, Fulmer threw 175 2/3 frames over 172 appearances. That’s an average of just over one inning per game. Even so, the Red Sox have faith in Fulmer to take on some sort of bulk role. Breslow suggested that’s why they targetted him in the first place, saying “He’s a guy we actually signed with an eye on — once he’s completely healthy — building him out, whether that’s as a starting pitcher or someone who can handle bulk, leverage innings.”

Cotillo notes that Fulmer will earn $1.5MM if he is on Boston’s roster in 2025. He can also earn another $500K in incentives.

As things stand, the Red Sox have four seeming locks for their Opening Day rotation: Crochet, Tanner Houck, Brayan Bello, and Kutter Crawford. Barring a setback in his recovery from internal brace surgery, Lucas Giolito will also join the rotation at some point in the year. However, it’s not yet clear if he’ll be ready by the beginning of the year. Behind those five on the depth chart are Richard Fitts, who has just four MLB starts under his belt, and Cooper Criswell, who was solid but not especially impressive over 99 1/3 innings in 2024. Thus, it’s not hard to see why the Red Sox remain active in their pursuit of pitching, whether it be a more significant addition or a depth move. Transitioning Fulmer to the rotation falls into the latter category. He is unlikely to be a particularly impactful arm – that would explain why no other team selected him in the Rule 5 draft– but there’s no such thing as too much pitching depth.

Red Sox Notes: Coaching Staff, Front Office, Fulmer

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While free agency won’t open for a few more weeks at this point, the Red Sox already have plenty of work on their offseason to-do list. Earlier this month it was reported that several changes were coming to the club’s coaching staff, and Sean McAdam of MassLive.com recently floated a possible name for the job of assistant hitting coach: Dillon Lawson, who has spent the past year as chief baseball office Craig Breslow’s minor league hitting coordinator.

Prior to joining the Red Sox last winter, Lawson had worked as a hitting coach in the minor leagues for the Astros and Royals until he joined the Yankees in 2018. Lawson started out as the club’s minor league hitting coordinator, the same role he has now with Boston, before being promoted to the role of hitting coach prior to the 2022 season. Lawson lasted just a season and a half in the role before being fired mid-way through the 2023 season, the first time the Yankees fired a coach midseason since 1998.

Despite that unfortunate piece of trivia, however, it’s fair to note that it’s unclear how much blame Lawson really deserved to shoulder for the club’s offensive woes in 2023. After all, the club’s wRC+ after firing Lawson (90) was actually slightly worse than it was under Lawson’s guidance (93), suggesting that the club’s struggles may have been due to lackluster performances from individual veterans such as Kyle Higashioka, Giancarlo Stanton, and DJ LeMahieu. Regardless of who is to blame for New York’s struggles on offense last year, the Red Sox were clearly pleased by Lawson’s work with the club’s young players in the upper minors this year if they’re considering him for a role with the big league coaching staff.

Shifting focus towards the front office, McAdam also notes that there’s an apparent top candidate for the as-of-yet-unfilled GM role directly below Breslow in the club’s baseball operations hierarchy. Per McAdam, there’s “little doubt” that the top internal candidate for the role is assistant GM Paul Toboni, who was promoted to his current position back in January after previously acting as the club’s VP of amateur scouting and player development to become one of four assistant GMs below Breslow, joining Raquel Ferreira, Eddie Romero and Mike Groopman.

McAdam adds that an executive with another club suggested that Toboni could be highly sought-after by rival organizations if the club were to settle on another candidate for the GM role. An internal candidate to replace Chaim Bloom as chief baseball officer before the club settled upon hiring Breslow, it’s possible that Toboni could receive interest from another club such as the Giants (who are in the midst of their own GM search) or Twins (who recently parted ways with GM Thad Levine) in the event that Breslow ultimately settles on an external candidate to act as his second-in-command with the Red Sox.

Turning back towards the players on the field, McAdam also notes that the Rule 5 protection deadline next month will come with a number of decisions for the Red Sox. It’s hardly uncommon for a club to face tough calls about whether to add a prospect to their 40-man roster or risk leaving them exposed to that winter’s Rule 5 draft, but Boston has one particularly unusual candidate for protection: veteran right-hander Michael Fulmer. Fulmer signed with the Red Sox on a two-year minor league deal last winter after undergoing surgery on his UCL and appears to be on track to be ready for Spring Training in February.

The 31-year-old’s unique situation as an experienced big leaguer with a solid 3.55 ERA since moving to the bullpen back in 2021 would make him a very attractive addition to the majority of clubs’ bullpen mix, as he could be added without the uncertainty that surrounds typical Rule 5 picks that are plucked out of the minors without any big league experience under their belts. Given Fulmer’s big league experience and the fact that he has more than enough service time to reject an optional assignment to the minors anyway, opposing clubs would shoulder relatively minimal risk if they decided to select Fulmer, meaning the Red Sox will likely have to add him to their 40-man roster next month if they hope to retain him for 2025.

AL East Notes: Cortes, Rizzo, Fulmer, Morel

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Nestor Cortes was set to throw what he described as a hybrid bullpen session today, telling the New York Post’s Greg Joyce (X link) and other reporters that the session would consist of 10-15 pitches each in a normal bullpen and then 10-15 pitches to hitters.  It is Cortes’ latest step in his recovery from a flexor strain that has kept him out of action since September 18, and therefore kept him from participating in the Yankees’ playoff run.  With no setbacks to date, Cortes aims to face live batters again this weekend, and is looking to be well enough to be activated for the World Series roster should New York advance to the Fall Classic.

Cortes can hope that his potential return goes as smoothly as Anthony Rizzo’s activation from the injured list, as Rizzo is thus far 3-for-7 with a walk over the first two games of the ALCS.  Rizzo suffered two fractured fingers on his right hand after he was hit by a Ryan Borucki pitch on September 28, and he missed the last couple of regular-season games as well as the Yankees’ ALDS matchup with the Royals.  Manager Aaron Boone told Joyce and company that Rizzo is still receiving near-constant treatment from the club’s medical staff in order to stay on the field.

More from around the AL East…

  • It was almost exactly one year ago that Michael Fulmer underwent a UCL revision surgery, which ended the right-hander’s 2024 season before it even began.  After a year of rehab, however, Fulmer told WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford (X link) that he is back to throwing off a mound and “is trending well for” the start of Spring Training.  Despite the injury, Fulmer still landed a contract last offseason, as the Red Sox signed him to a two-year minor league contract with the knowledge that the 2024 campaign would be a wash.  Fulmer’s turn towards relief pitching in 2021 yielded pretty positive results over the 2021-23 seasons, and if he finally get healthy during what has been an injury-plagued career, Fulmer is an intriguing no-risk flier for the Sox heading into next season.
  • Christopher Morel had long been a Rays trade target before the club finally landed him in the four-player deadline deal that sent Isaac Paredes to the Cubs.  However, Morel’s first two months in a Tampa uniform were a struggle, as he hit only .191/.258/.289 over 190 plate appearances.  “There were signs underneath he was really unlucky in terms of the balls hit in play,” Rays president of baseball ops Erik Neander told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, in a nod to Morel’s .233 BABIP for the season.  Neander is still bullish on Morel’s potential for 2025 and beyond, and felt that the Rays’ decision to move him to second base and left field (after he’d played third base with the Cubs all season) maybe also “took a toll on him offensively.”  Even the trade itself might’ve been a factor, as Neader noted “that new environment, that first taste of it, if you don’t get off to a great start or hold it, it can be difficult.  It’s a hard thing to recover.  Sometimes it takes that first offseason to come in and be familiar with that environment, to really be yourself again.”  There is plenty of time for the Rays to figure out a player who is under team control through the 2028 season, and who has shown flashes of his power potential over his three MLB seasons to date.
  • In other AL East news from earlier today….Topkin had a big update on the state of Tropicana Field in the wake of Hurricane Milton, Masataka Yoshida underwent shoulder surgery, and MLBTR’s Offseason Outlook series delivered entries on the Blue Jays and Orioles.

Seven Veterans With Opt-Out Opportunities This Weekend

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As part of the 2022 collective bargaining agreement, MLB and the Players Association agreed to a few automatic opt-out dates for some veteran players on minor league contracts. Article XX(B) free agents — generally, players with over six years of MLB service who finished the preceding season on a big league roster — who sign minor league contracts more than ten days before Opening Day receive three uniform chances to retest free agency if they’re not promoted.

The first comes five days before the start of the season. For players who pass on that initial opt-out, they have additional windows to explore the open market on both May 1 and June 1 if they’ve yet to secure a spot on the 40-man roster. There were 31 players who initially had that option in Spring Training.

Eleven of them — Carlos Carrasco, Garrett Cooper, Chase Anderson, Dominic Leone, Eddie Rosario, Jesse Winker, Kevin Pillar, Jesse Chavez, Brad Keller, Curt Casali and José Ureña — are currently on MLB rosters. Joely Rodríguez, Tyler Duffey, Matt Barnes and Drew Pomeranz made it to the big leagues but were subsequently removed from the 40-man roster; Barnes and Pomeranz are free agents.

Bryan Shaw, Matt Duffy and Carl Edwards Jr. are on new minor league deals after opting out in Spring Training. Six others — Elvis Andrus, Eduardo Escobar, Mike Moustakas, C.J. Cron, Jake Odorizzi and Kolten Wong — are free agents after being released.

That left seven players with opt-out chances on May 1. While none of them took that immediately, David Peralta opted out of his deal with the Cubs on May 13. He inked a minor league contract with the Padres a few days later and was added to the MLB roster on May 22. Let’s check in on the six remaining players who can retest free agency tomorrow — plus one player whose deal contains a contractual opt-out provision.

Marisnick has had a tough time staying healthy in 2024. The glove-first outfielder has only played in 12 games with the Angels’ top affiliate in Salt Lake. He hasn’t hit in a limited sample, going 5-32 with 14 strikeouts and one walk. Marinsick was out of action between mid-April and the second week of May. He appeared in seven contests before going back on the injured list on May 25. He’s probably best served staying with the Halos, who are without Mike Trout and leaning on Mickey Moniak as their primary center fielder. Moniak is hitting .175/.214/.250 over 126 plate appearances.

Votto’s homecoming has been held up by a Spring Training ankle injury. The former MVP has yet to play in a minor league game. There’s no reason to expect the Toronto native will opt out. Neither Justin Turner nor Daniel Vogelbach is hitting well for the Jays, so there could be an opportunity for Votto once he’s healthy. Vogelbach, as a left-handed hitting DH, is the most direct competition. He has a .167/.273/.292 slash and has only started 13 of the team’s 55 games.

Choi, a lefty-hitting first baseman, was on the injured list for his prior opt-out chance. He’s healthy now, returning to Triple-A Syracuse on May 14. Choi hasn’t gotten into any kind of rhythm offensively, though. The 33-year-old had a .189/.319/.378 slash before hitting the IL. He owns a .171/.268/.286 mark in the 10 games since his return. Choi isn’t hitting well enough to merit a major league opportunity, though he could look for a different minor league contract with Pete Alonso, J.D. Martinez and Mark Vientos firmly above him on the first base/DH depth chart.

Greene pitched in six games for Triple-A Round Rock in April. He allowed 15 runs in eight innings and was placed on the injured list. The Express transferred the veteran righty to the full-season IL two weeks ago, ruling him out for the year.

Neither Fulmer nor Pérez has played this season. Fulmer will miss the entire year after undergoing elbow surgery last fall. His contract is a two-year deal; he almost certainly won’t opt out.

Pérez missed most of 2023 after undergoing a rotator cuff repair on his right shoulder. He played in seven games this spring but has spent the regular season on the minor league IL with an undisclosed injury. The Sox have gotten strong play from their catching tandem of Connor Wong and Reese McGuire. Perhaps Pérez feels there’s a better path to playing time if he signs a minor league deal with another team, but it seems likelier he’ll stick in the organization.

Kemp is not one of the aforementioned Article XX(b) players. He’s playing on a minor league deal that he signed in mid-April with the Twins. Darren Wolfson of SKOR North reported (on X) earliest this month that Kemp’s contract contains a June 1 opt-out date. The left-handed hitting second baseman/left fielder has struggled for Triple-A St. Paul, batting .193/.316/.325 with three homers across 98 plate appearances.

That’s mostly attributable to poor ball in play results. Kemp has shown his typically strong plate discipline, walking 13 times against 17 strikeouts. He has been plagued by a .206 average on balls in play. Kemp was briefly on the Orioles’ big league roster in April and has appeared in parts of nine MLB seasons overall. He hit .209/.303/.404 in 124 games with the A’s a season ago.

Seven Veterans With Opt-Out Opportunities Tomorrow

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As part of the 2022 collective bargaining agreement, MLB and the Players Association agreed to a few automatic opt-out dates for some veteran players on minor league contracts. Article XX(B) free agents — generally, players with over six years of MLB service who finished the preceding season on a big league roster — who sign minor league contracts more than ten days before Opening Day receive three uniform chances to retest free agency if they’re not promoted.

The first comes five days before the start of the season. For players who pass on that initial opt-out, they have additional windows to explore the open market on both May 1 and June 1 if they’ve yet to secure a spot on the 40-man roster. There were 31 players who initially had that option in Spring Training.

Eleven of them — Carlos Carrasco, Garrett Cooper, Chase Anderson, Tyler Duffey, Dominic Leone, Matt Barnes, Eddie Rosario, Jesse Winker, Jesse Chavez, Brad Keller and José Ureña — are now on major league rosters. Kevin Pillar, Bryan Shaw and Joely Rodríguez also landed MLB jobs but were subsequently designated for assignment. Rodríguez remains in DFA limbo with the Red Sox. Shaw cleared waivers and signed a minor league deal with the Angels. Pillar elected free agency over the weekend.

Five of these players — Matt Duffy, Kolten Wong, Carl Edwards Jr., Drew Pomeranz and Curt Casali — triggered their first opt-out and have since signed new minor league contracts, either with their previous organization or a different club. They presumably secured some kind of opt-out provision in their new deals, but they no longer have an automatic May 1 out date. Five others — Elvis Andrus, Eduardo Escobar, Mike Moustakas, C.J. Cron and Jake Odorizzi — were let go and have yet to sign elsewhere.

The other seven players have the option to retest free agency tomorrow. None of the group has played well enough to likely leverage their opt-out right into an immediate MLB job, but two or three could decide to hit the market and look for a better minor league opportunity elsewhere.

Angels: OF Jake Marisnick

Marisnick has spent most of his career as a glove-first outfielder off the bench. He’s a right-handed hitter with some pop against lefty pitching but subpar on-base skills. Marisnick had appeared in 46 MLB games between three teams a season ago, but he hasn’t been on the field much in 2024. He made just five appearances for the Halos’ top affiliate in Salt Lake before going on the minor league injured list on April 17.

Blue Jays: 1B Joey Votto

Votto inked a minor league deal with his hometown team early in Spring Training. The former MVP indicated at the time he was prepared to open the season in Triple-A. Votto suffered an ankle injury during his first exhibition game and has spent the entire season on the minor league IL. Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith tweeted last week that Votto was running but had yet to resume hitting live pitching. It feels safe to assume he’ll pass on this opt-out chance and continue working back to health with the Jays. Daniel Vogelbach, who is on the MLB roster as a lefty bench bat, hasn’t produced (.111/.304/.167) over his first 23 plate appearances. That could open a path for Votto to get to Rogers Centre once he’s healthy.

Cubs: OF David Peralta

Peralta opened the season on the injured list with Triple-A Iowa. He was reinstated on April 10 and has appeared in 13 contests. The left-handed hitter has drawn nine walks with only seven strikeouts through his first 55 plate appearances, but he hasn’t done any kind of damage on contact. Peralta has just two extra-base hits (both doubles) and an overall .214/.364/.262 line through the season’s first month. The former Gold Glove left fielder played in 133 games for the Dodgers a year ago, hitting .259/.294/.381 over 422 plate appearances. He underwent surgery to repair a flexor tear in his throwing arm last October but has been able to play the outfield this season.

Mets: 1B Jiman Choi

Choi lost a camp battle with DJ Stewart this spring. He reported to Triple-A Syracuse but hasn’t made much of an impact. The left-handed hitter is out to a .191/.333/.340 start with a near-27% strikeout rate over 60 plate appearances. The Mets probably wouldn’t add him to the MLB roster, but Choi could take the opportunity to look for another minor league deal with a team that has a clearer path to first base/DH time. Pete Alonso and J.D. Martinez have those spots secured in Queens, while Stewart and Mark Vientos are above him on the depth chart as bench bats. Choi struggled with injuries in 2023 but was an above-average offensive performer with the Rays between 2019-22.

Rangers: Shane Greene

Greene has made three MLB appearances in each of the last two seasons. The right-hander was excellent in a limited look in Triple-A with the Cubs last year but has had a terrible start to 2024. Greene has walked 14 of the first 49 batters he’s faced for Round Rock, allowing 15 runs in eight innings. The Express placed him on the IL last week. Texas certainly can’t give him a spot in the MLB bullpen at this point. There’s a good chance Greene elects to stay in Round Rock as he tries to get healthy and find his command.

Red Sox: Michael Fulmer, Roberto Pérez

Neither Fulmer nor Pérez has played this season. Fulmer will miss the entire year after undergoing elbow surgery last fall. His contract is a two-year deal; he almost certainly won’t be exercising any of his three opt-out chances.

Pérez missed most of 2023 after undergoing a rotator cuff repair on his right shoulder. He played in seven games this spring but has spent the regular season on the minor league IL with an undisclosed injury. The Sox have gotten excellent play from their catching tandem of Connor Wong and Reese McGuire in the season’s first month. Perhaps Pérez feels there’s a better path to playing time if he signs a minor league deal with another team, but it seems likelier he’ll stick in the organization.

31 Veterans With Opt-Out Opportunities Looming This Week

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One of the provisions in that 2022-26 collective bargaining agreement is uniform opt-out opportunities for Article XX(B) free agents on minor league deals. An Article XX(B) free agent is one with at least six years of service time who finished the previous season on a major league roster or injured list. Any such player who signs a minor league deal more than ten days prior to Opening Day can opt out of that deal at three points if they haven’t been added to the 40-man roster: five days before Opening Day, May 1 and June 1.

The first uniform opt-out date on this year’s calendar falls Friday at 1pm CT. Any player can trigger his out clause at that point, and the team will subsequently be given a 48-hour window to either add him to the roster or release him. With many clubs around the league dealing with spring injuries, some of these players should be able to find opportunities elsewhere if they can’t find it with their current organization. Their current clubs can prevent them from opting out by giving them a roster spot, but that may involve cutting someone else.

Angels: OF Jake Marisnick, LHP Drew Pomeranz

Marisnick, 33 this month, is a right-handed-hitting fourth outfielder with a plus glove and questionable bat. He can hold his own against right-handed pitching (career .237/.293/.417, 93 wRC+) but is typically overmatched by righties (.223/.274/.365, 74 wRC+). He’s having a huge spring, but the Angels already have Taylor Ward, Mike Trout, Mickey Moniak, Aaron Hicks and Jo Adell on the 40-man roster.

The 35-year-old Pomeranz was a good starter from 2016-17 and a dominant reliever from 2019-21, but he didn’t pitch in 2022-23 due to arm injuries. He’s pitched 6 2/3 innings with the Angels this spring with middling results.

Blue Jays: 3B/2B Eduardo Escobar, 1B Joey Votto

A poor season between the Mets and Angels last year set the stage for the 35-year-old Escobar to take a minor league deal. He’s long been a productive MLB hitter and even topped 30 homers back in 2019, but Escobar’s now in his mid-30s and struggling through an ugly spring while trying to win a spot in a crowded infield mix also featuring Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Santiago Espinal, Cavan Biggio, Ernie Clement and Davis Schneider.

Votto, 40, has been connected the Blue Jays seemingly forever due to his Canadian roots. He finally suited up for the Jays after agreeing to a minor league deal and homered in his first at-bat of camp. He’s had a lackluster showing at the plate in each of the past two MLB seasons, however.

Cubs: 1B/OF Garrett Cooper, RHP Carl Edwards Jr., OF David Peralta

An underrated hitter for years in Miami, Cooper slashed .274/.350/.444 in nearly 1300 plate appearances from 2019-22 before a poorly timed down showing in 2023’s walk year. He’s hitting quite well in spring training, and the Cubs don’t have a proven option at first base — though they’re understandably high on 26-year-old trade acquisition Michael Busch.

Edwards had a nice 2022 season with the Nats and posted a solid ERA in 2023 but did so with dismal K-BB numbers. He’s competing for a spot in an uncharacteristically crowded Cubs bullpen and could be squeezed out. The 32-year-old pitched for the Cubs from 2015-19, so Chicago brass knows him well. From 2022-23 in D.C., he posted a 3.07 ERA but a middling 20% strikeout rate against a 10.5% walk rate.

Peralta, 36, has a trio of hits and a walk in ten plate appearances this spring. He was an above-average hitter with the D-backs every season from 2017-20 but has been less consistent of late. He’s a left-handed hitter who’s long had glaring platoon splits and is limited to the outfield corners.

Diamondbacks: SS Elvis Andrus

Andrus is 35 but can still pick it at shortstop or second base. His once above-average speed has faded to the 30th percentile of MLB players, per Statcast, but his range at short remains excellent. Andrus hit .251/.304/.358 (81 wRC+) for the White Sox in 2023 and only has one year of above-average offense (2022) in the past six seasons.

Guardians: RHP Carlos Carrasco

Old friend Cookie Carrasco is fighting for the fifth spot in the Guardians’ rotation, and news of Gavin Williams’ season-opening stint on the injured list could further open the door for the 36-year-old (37 on Thursday) to make the team. Carrasco was torched for a 6.80 ERA with the 2023 Mets. He allowed 1.80 homers per nine frames through 90 innings, with alarming batted-ball metrics (91.5 mph average exit velocity, 48.2% hard-hit rate, 10.7% barrel rate). He was a solid mid-rotation arm as recently as 2022, when he tossed 152 innings of 3.97 ERA ball with sharp strikeout and walk rates.

Marlins: C Curt Casali

The veteran Casali has batted .201/.311/.315 over the past three big league seasons — a 78 wRC+ in 503 plate appearances. The 35-year-old is off to a rough start in camp and is a long shot to unseat defensive-minded Nick Fortes or Christian Bethancourt, both of whom are already on the 40-man roster.

Mets: 1B/DH Ji Man Choi

From 2017-22, Choi hit .254/.363/.465 (130 wRC+) against right-handed pitching. He walked at a 14.4% clip when holding the platoon advantage and fanned at a higher-than-average but still-manageable 24.1% rate. Lefties have always had Choi’s number, however, and his overall production cratered in 2023 while he dealt with Achilles and ribcage injuries. He’s fighting for a bench spot in New York alongside DJ Stewart and others.

Nationals: RHP Matt Barnes, OF Eddie Rosario, OF Jesse Winker

Barnes was an All-Star closer with the Red Sox in 2021 and briefly one of the game’s most dominant relievers, fanning more than 40% of his opponents for the bulk of that season. He wore down beginning in August and hasn’t been the same since a hip injury. Barnes’ velocity and strikeouts were way down in 2023 before he underwent season-ending surgery. He should have a good chance to win a spot in a Nationals bullpen that has little established talent.

Rosario and Winker are both left-handed-hitting outfielders who are best deployed in left field — with Winker having a particularly shaky defensive reputation. Winker is the younger of the two at 30 years old (to Rosario’s 32). Winker was quietly one of the most productive hitters in baseball against right-handed pitching for much of his time in Cincinnati, but knee and neck surgery in October 2022 look to have taken their toll on him. Rosario was the far more productive hitter in 2023. There may not be room for both veterans on the Washington roster. Winker has been in camp longer and been more productive in their small samples.

Orioles: 2B Kolten Wong

The Orioles seem to bring in a veteran infielder coming off a down season almost every year. It’s Wong’s turn in 2023. The 33-year-old was one of the game’s worst hitters in ’23, slashing just .183/.256/.263 in 250 plate appearances between the Mariners and Dodgers. That was beyond out of character for Wong, who’d been an average or better hitter in five of the past six seasons. If the O’s don’t want to rush Jackson Holliday or Coby Mayo, Wong could win a spot on the roster — but he hasn’t hit that well in camp so far.

Pirates: RHP Chase Anderson

It’s been five years since Anderson’s last solid season in a big league rotation, but the well-liked veteran continues to get work each season. From 2020-23, he’s pitched to a 6.19 ERA in 192 MLB frames — including a 5.42 mark in 86 1/3 innings last year (mostly with the Rockies). Anderson doesn’t miss many bats, but he has good command and is having a nice spring with the Pirates. He’s competing with Luis Ortiz, Jared Jones, Roansy Contreras, Domingo German and others for one of two generally open rotation spots in Pittsburgh.

Rangers: INF Matt Duffy, RHP Shane Greene, RHP Jose Urena

A contact-oriented hitter who can play all over the infield, the 33-year-old Duffy faces an uphill battle with Josh Smith, Ezequiel Duran and Justin Foscue all on the 40-man roster ahead of him. Nathaniel Lowe will open the season on the injured list, but that’ll likely work to Jared Walsh’s benefit more than Duffy.

Greene, 35, is a former All-Star closer/setup man who peaked with the Tigers and Braves from 2017-20. He’s thrown just three innings in each of the past two MLB seasons but also turned in strong numbers with the Cubs in Triple-A last year.

The 32-year-old Urena made five dismal starts for the Rockies early in the 2023 season and five solid ones for the White Sox late in the season. He also pitched well for Chicago’s Triple-A affiliate. A solid arm for the Marlins in 2017-18, Urena has a 5.50 ERA in 350 1/3 MLB frames dating back to 2019. He’s had a nice spring and could be a depth piece for an injury-plagued Rangers rotation.

Rays: RHP Jake Odorizzi

Odorizzi signed last week and will look to get back on track after a shoulder injury cost him the 2023 season. With the exception of an injury-wrecked 2020 season, he’s been a dependable five-inning starter dating back to 2014 (3.98 ERA in 1216 innings). The Rays’ pitching staff is dealing with plenty of injuries, and Odorizzi should be an option for the Rays early in the season.

Red Sox: 1B C.J. Cron, RHP Michael Fulmer, C Roberto Perez, LHP Joely Rodriguez

Cron has four seasons of 25-plus homers under his belt and was consistently an above-average hitter from 2014-22. Injuries tanked his 2023 season, but he has a strong track record of hitting for power — with largely even platoon splits. He’d make a nice right-handed complement to Triston Casas and/or Masataka Yoshida at first base and designated hitter, providing some insurance against an injury to either.

Perez is an all-glove backup who’s never hit much outside the juiced ball season in 2019, when he popped 24 of his 55 career homers. The Sox figure to go with Reese McGuire and Connor Wong behind the plate, making him a long shot to land a roster spot.

Rodriguez signed a big league deal with the Red Sox prior to the 2023 season but only pitched 11 innings due to injury. He’s having a decent spring training — two runs on nine hits and three walks with nine strikeouts in seven innings — and has a good chance to win a spot in a patchwork Red Sox bullpen. If not, his ability to miss bats and pile up grounders would likely draw interest elsewhere.

Fulmer won’t pitch in 2024 after undergoing surgery last summer. His minor league deal is a two-year contract that stretches into 2025. The two sides knew this going into the arrangement and there’s no reason to expect he’ll opt out.

Royals: RHP Tyler Duffey

Duffey was a mainstay in the division-rival Twins’ bullpen and was a high-end setup option at his peak in 2019-21, posting a 2.89 ERA across 144 frames while fanning 29.8% of his opponents. His results slipped in 2022 as he lost some life on his fastball, and he pitched just two MLB frames with the Cubs in 2023. Duffey recently had a procedure to remove a cancerous mole from his shoulder that understandably halted his baseball activity for a bit. He’s hopeful he’ll pitch again this spring, and while the larger takeaway is relief that the melanoma was discovered and quickly treated, his track record could also give him a shot to crack the Royals’ bullpen early in the season.

White Sox: RHP Jesse Chavez, RHP Brad Keller, RHP Dominic Leone, 3B/1B Mike Moustakas, OF Kevin Pillar, RHP Bryan Shaw

Chavez, 40, has been excellent with the Braves in each of the past three seasons but struggled in stints with the Cubs and Angels. He’s having a tough spring with the White Sox but carries a 2.81 ERA in his past 137 2/3 MLB frames, spanning the 2021-23 seasons.

Keller has spent his entire big league career with the Royals but saw his time in Kansas City come to a rough ending. After a three-year run as a solid starter, Keller struggled in three subsequent seasons, culminating in an IL stint for symptoms indicative of thoracic outlet syndrome. He hasn’t pitched in an official spring game for the White Sox.

Leone struggled late in the 2023 season but has a cumulative 3.38 ERA in 157 innings over the past three seasons. He’s having a solid spring training, has late-inning experience, and seems like a decent bet to win a spot in a White Sox bullpen that’s been completely torn down since last summer.

Moustakas has turned in three straight below-average seasons at the plate and is struggling again with the White Sox in camp (.167/.268/.278 in 41 plate appearances). The Sox have Yoan Moncada and Andrew Vaughn at the corners, plus Gavin Sheets as a lefty-swinging first base option (and corner outfielder) off the bench. Moose seems like a long shot to make the club.

Pillar would give the Sox a right-handed complement to lefty-hitting corner outfielders Andrew Benintendi and Dominic Fletcher. He’s 35 and no longer the plus-plus defensive center fielder he once was but could give them some insurance for Luis Robert Jr. in center as well. He hit .228/.248/.416 with nine homers in 206 plate appearances for the Braves last year.

Shaw pitched 45 2/3 innings for the Sox last year and delivered a respectable 4.14 ERA in that time. His production has tailed off substantially since his days as a consistent setup presence in the Cleveland bullpen — evidenced by a 5.07 ERA over his past six seasons. He’s been tagged for a dozen earned runs in 7 1/3 spring frames but does have 10 strikeouts.

Red Sox, Michael Fulmer Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Red Sox have agreed to a minor league contract with veteran right-hander Michael Fulmer, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. Fulmer isn’t expected to pitch in 2024 after undergoing a UCL revision in his right elbow back in October. As such, it’s a two-year minor league pact, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. Presumably, that’ll come with a 2025 spring training invite. The Red Sox didn’t formally announce Fulmer’s deal, but they did make their previously known minor league pact with Dalton Guthrie official, adding that he’s been invited to big league camp this spring. The Sox also announced minor league deals with non-roster invites to camp for infielder Joe Dunand and righty Melvin Adon.

Of the names in question, Fulmer is the most recognizable. Now 30 years old (31 in March), Fulmer was the 2016 AL Rookie of the Year with the Tigers when he pitched 159 innings of 3.06 ERA ball out of the Detroit rotation. A solid followup season in 2017 looked to have entrenched Fulmer on the starting staff in Detroit, but injuries have largely derailed that promising start to his big league tenure.

Since 2018, Fulmer has undergone ulnar nerve transposition surgery, meniscus surgery in his right knee, Tommy John surgery and now a revision of that originally ligament repair in his pitching elbow. That doesn’t include oblique, shoulder and back strains that have also sent him to the injured list for various stints over the past six years. Since pitching 323 2/3 innings of 3.45 ERA ball over his first two MLB seasons combined, Fulmer has pitched a total of just 350 1/3 MLB frames in the past six seasons.

Some of that is due to a 2021 move to the bullpen. Fulmer looked to have found a second act in his career upon making that shift. He saved 14 games for the ’21 Tigers and from ’21-’23 pitched 190 1/3 frames of 3.55 ERA ball between the Tigers, Twins and Cubs. This latest procedure and another year lost to arm troubles again clouds his long-term outlook, although he’ll be just 32 years of age in 2025, so there’s still plenty of time for Fulmer to have a nice long run as a reliever if his arm can hold up. By virtue of this minimal-risk arrangement, the Red Sox will get to take the first look at his chances of doing so.

Turning to the 28-year-old Dunand, he made a brief MLB debut with the Marlins in 2022 (three games) but is best known as the nephew of Alex Rodriguez. Dunand went 3-for-10 with a homer and a double in his brief look with the Fish but has an uneven track record in Triple-A. The former second-round pick struggled greatly with the Marlins’ Triple-A club in 2021-22 before making some notable strides with the Braves organization in 2023. Dunand hit .268/.362/.481 (111 wRC+) with 17 homers in 403 Triple-A plate appearances last season, though his prior Triple-A struggles are reflected in a career .233/.325/.407 output at that level.

Dunand has played both positions on the left side of the infield extensively, though he’s appeared slightly more often at third base (1962 innings) than at shortstop (1810 innings). He’s also logged 506 innings at first base and made brief cameos in left field and at second base. He’s a right-handed bat who’ll give the Sox some depth at a variety of positions.

Adon, 29, has spent his entire professional career in the Giants organization prior to this signing. He ranked 17th or better among San Francisco prospects each year from 2017-19, per Baseball America, but has seen his stock fade due to persistent command troubles and recent injury woes (shoulder surgery, most notably).

Adon’s fastball has previously sat in the upper 90s and climbed as high as 102 mph, and scouting reports have touted a plus slider for him as well. Despite two plus offerings, he’s shown bottom-of-the-scale command in the upper minors, walking 13% of his Double-A opponents and more than 17% of his Triple-A opponents. He’s also plunked 25 hitters and thrown a whopping 67 wild pitches in just 457 professional innings. Adon has above-average strikeout rates in Double-A and Triple-A, but not to the extent one might expect based on the quality of his raw pitches.

Michael Fulmer Expected To Miss 2024 After Undergoing Elbow Surgery

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Right-hander Michael Fulmer underwent UCL revision surgery on his right elbow on Wednesday, the Cubs revealed to reporters (including Patrick Mooney of The Athletic). He is expected to miss the entire 2024 season.

It’s yet another frustrating hurdle for Fulmer, 30, who has a few of them in his career. He was the American League Rookie of the Year in 2016 after posting an earned run average of 3.06 in 26 starts for the Tigers that year. His performance dipped a bit over the next two years and then he required Tommy John surgery in 2019, wiping out that entire season.

He returned to the mound in 2020 but registered an ERA of 8.78 in 10 starts that year, prompting a move to the bullpen. That proved to be a great pivot for him, as he finished 2021 with an ERA of 2.97 and then had a solid mark of 3.39 in 2022, the latter season including a deadline trade to the Twins.

He qualified for free agency and was able to land a one-year, $4MM deal with the Cubs for the 2023 season. Unfortunately, it was a bumpy season for Fulmer, due to both inconsistency and injury. After an appearance on May 27, he was sitting on an ERA of 7.84 through 20 2/3 innings. But he got in a good groove from there, with an ERA of 1.83 over his next 34 1/3 innings. But he then allowed three earned runs against the Tigers on August 21, making one appearance after that before landing on the injured list due to a right forearm strain. He was activated off the IL on September 11 but made just one appearance before landing back on the IL, again due to a right forearm strain.

Fulmer is set to return to free agency after the World Series but his market will obviously be impact by today’s news of his surgery. The revision of the ulnar collateral ligament is a slightly different procedure to Tommy John surgery, but it involves the same ligament and the recovery is still significant enough that Fulmer is likely to miss all of the upcoming campaign.

Free agents in this position can sometimes find two-year deals, allowing them to make some money while rehabbing and giving the signing club control over a post-recovery season. Fulmer could perhaps seek out such a deal on the open market, but teams will naturally have some degree of wariness about the health of his elbow. Fulmer already underwent Tommy John surgery in 2019, as mentioned, and is now set for yet another significant procedure on the UCL in his throwing elbow.

The club also provided health updates on a few other players, with Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune among those to pass on the news. Righty Brad Boxberger, who finished the season on the injured list due to a right forearm strain, is expected to begin a throwing schedule in mid-November. He and the Cubs have a mutual option for 2024 but those are rarely picked up by both sides, meaning he is likely to wind up a free agent as well. In terms of Cubs likely to be back next year, each of right-hander Nick Burdi, lefty Brandon Hughes, righty Ethan Roberts and infielder Nick Madrigal are expected to have normal offseasons.

Cubs Announce Several Roster Moves

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The Cubs announced several roster moves this afternoon. The club selected the contracts of right-handers Shane Greene and Tyler Duffey, while transferring infielder Nick Madrigal and right-hander Michael Fulmer to the 60-day IL to clear space on the 40-man roster for the duo. Right-hander Hayden Wesneski and left-hander Jordan Wicks were optioned to the minors to make room for the duo on the active roster. In a separate pair of moves, second baseman Nico Hoerner was placed on the 10-day IL with a left knee contusion while infielder Jared Young was recalled to replace Hoerner on the active roster.

Greene is in the tenth season of his big league career, having debuted as a member of the Yankees back in 2014. From 2017-2020, Greene was a strong set-up option at the back of the bullpen for the Tigers and Braves, posting a 3.25 ERA and 4.04 FIP in 221 1/3 innings of work, including his lone All Star campaign in 2019. Unfortunately, he’s struggled badly since then with a 6.83 ERA in 27 2/3 innings since the start of the 2021 campaign. Greene was selected to the major league roster by the Cubs earlier this year, but recorded just one scoreless inning before being outrighted off the 40-man roster. Now he’s back for the final game of the season, with the Cubs having been eliminated from postseason contention last night.

Duffey, 31, spent his entire career as a member of the Twins prior to the 2023 campaign. Since his debut in 2015, he’s posted a 4.57 ERA and 3.96 FIP in 475 innings of work with Minnesota. Upon hitting free agency last offseason, Duffey signed on with the Cubs on a minor league deal but is only just cracking the big league roster despite a solid 3.77 ERA in 45 1/3 innings of work at the Triple-A level. That’s in part thanks to a elevated 12.6% walk rate. Still Duffey posted a solid 29% strikeout rate and will now appear in the ninth big league season of his career, should he get into today’s game.

Departing the roster to make room for the pair of veterans are Wesneski and Wicks, a pair of youngsters who each got auditions in the Chicago rotation this season. Wesneski posted a 4.72 ERA and 5.52 FIP across 87 2/3 innings of work with the big league club, while Wicks sported a sterling 3.00 ERA and solid 3.96 FIP through six starts before getting shelled during last night’s game against the Brewers in Milwaukee, which raised his season stats in the majors to a 4.41 ERA and 4.70 FIP. Both youngsters figure to enter Spring Training next season as potential options for the Cubs at the major league level.

Meanwhile, Hoerner heads to the IL after fouling a pitch off his knee during Friday’s game and sitting out on Saturday. With the Cubs having been eliminated from postseason contention last night, clearly the club saw no reason to have Hoerner play through the injury on the last day of the season. It was a strong campaign for Hoerner, who slashed .283/.346/.383 in 688 trips to the plate while going 43-for-50 on the basepaths and playing elite defense at second base. Taking Hoerner’s place on the active roster is Young, a 27-year-old rookie who made his MLB debut with the Cubs last year. Through 65 trips to the plate in the big leagues the past two seasons, Young has slashed .224/.308/.466 while playing first base and right field.

The moves are purely procedural for both Madrigal and Fulmer, who were already on the injured list through the end of the season.

Cubs Place Michael Fulmer On 15-Day Injured List

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The Cubs placed right-hander Michael Fulmer on the 15-day injured list due to a right forearm strain, according to Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times (X link).  Righty Daniel Palencia was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move.

This is the second time in less than a month that a forearm strain has sent Fulmer to the IL, as he only returned earlier this week from a previous stint that sidelined him from August 25 to September 11.  Fulmer tossed two-thirds of an inning last Monday in what amounted to his only appearance in his return from the injured list.

Given the timing and nature of the injury, it would certainly seem like Fulmer’s 2023 season could be over.  Manager David Ross stated that Fulmer had been trying to pitch through some discomfort prior to his first IL trip, and if that forearm discomfort has continued, Fulmer will surely be held out beyond the 15-day minimum for precautionary reasons if nothing else.  With the Cubs in the wild card race, Fulmer might possibly be an option for a postseason roster if Chicago does make it into the playoffs, but that isn’t likely to be known until Fulmer undergoes another set of tests.

Fulmer has previously undergone both a Tommy John surgery and an ulnar nerve transposition surgery in his career, so he is unfortunately no stranger to significant arm problems.  This could give the Cubs and Fulmer even more reason for caution, and these late-season IL stints might certainly hamper Fulmer’s market as a free agent this winter.

The righty has a 4.42 ERA over 57 innings for Chicago this season, with a mediocre 11.8% walk rate standing out as Fulmer’s biggest problem.  This lack of control has undermined some other good numbers for Fulmer, as he has an above-average 27.4% strikeout rate and been among the game’s best at limiting hard contact.

Losing Fulmer is another blow to a Cubs bullpen that already lost closer Adbert Alzolay to a forearm strain earlier this week.  In need of relief help for the playoff push, the Cubs will be using Marcus Stroman out of the bullpen for at least a little while until Stroman fully ramps up after a lengthy stint on the injured list.  While Chicago’s relief corps has been solid overall this season, they’ll face a challenge with this makeshift approach over the regular season’s final weeks.

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