Beede, 32 in May, was selected in the first round of the MLB draft twice: first out of High School by the Blue Jays in 2011, then by the Giants out of Vanderbilt. He made his big league debut with San Francisco back in 2018 with a two-game cup of coffee before getting his first significant look with the club in 2019. Things did not go especially well for Beede that year, as he struggled to a 5.08 ERA (82 ERA+) with a nearly identical 5.03 FIP in 117 innings of work split between 22 starts and a pair of bullpen outings.

Tommy John surgery wiped out Beede’s 2020 season and the majority of his 2021 campaign as well, leaving him to record just one inning of work in the majors that year. Once he properly returned to the big leagues in 2022, Beede made just six appearances with the Giants before he was designated for assignment by the club. The right-hander eventually landed in Pittsburgh as a long reliever and swingman, though he struggled to a 5.23 ERA and 4.89 FIP in 51 2/3 innings of work for the club. That performance wasn’t enough to earn him a spot on the 2023 Pirates, but he did receive some overseas interest and wound up signing with the Yomiuri Giants in Nippon Professional Baseball for the 2023 season.

Beede looked solid in Japan with a 3.99 ERA in 49 2/3 innings of work, albeit while striking out just 16.4% of opponents. That solid performance overseas was enough to earn him another shot stateside, and he signed on with the Guardians on a minor league deal in January of last year. Beede was impressive enough to make the club’s Opening Day roster last year, but he struggled out of the gate and posted an ugly 8.36 ERA in 14 innings of work. While his 26.5% strikeout rate in that time was a strong one, lackluster control held him back as he walked 13.2% of his opponents.

It seems unlikely that a club would offer Beede more than a minor league deal given his previous struggles at the big league level, but the former first-round pick’s previous success in Japan and solid strikeout rate with the Guardians last year are both potentially interesting data points for clubs to consider. Given the constant need for pitching depth in the modern game, it would hardly be a surprise if a club took a chance on a player like Beede who’s comfortable pitching both in the rotation and in multi-inning relief as needed. Given that the Astros figure to start the season with four starting pitchers on the injured list, a depth addition like Beede who could help hold down the fort while the club’s other arms get healthy could make some sense in Houston, while Beede would likely join a number of potential starting and long relief options fighting for a roster spot in Kansas City this spring.

Electing free agency is the anticipated outcome for these players. There’ll surely be more to test the market in the coming weeks. We’ll offer periodic updates at MLBTR. These transactions are all reflected on the MiLB.com or MLB.com logs.

Catchers

• Joe Hudson (Mets)

Infielders

• Eddy Alvarez (Mets)
• Pablo Reyes (Mets)

Outfielders

• Estevan Florial (Guardians)

Pitchers

• Tyler Beede (Guardians)
• Carlos Carrasco (Guardians)

Beede, 31 this month, made it back to the big leagues after spending 2023 in Japan. He signed a minor league deal with the Guardians and cracked the Opening Day roster by throwing 13 innings in Spring Training with a 4.15 earned run average.

Unfortunately, the regular season results weren’t there for him, despite a strong 26.5% strikeout rate. He allowed 13 earned runs in 14 innings, leading to an ERA of 8.36. There was a bit of bad luck in there, as he wouldn’t sustain a .389 batting average on balls in play nor a 55.6% strand rate over a larger sample. But he also didn’t do himself any favors with a 13.2% walk rate. His 5.00 FIP was better than his ERA but still not great, though his 3.78 SIERA was quite optimistic.

Once a top prospect with the Giants, Beede struggled to cement himself in the big leagues from 2018 to 2022, exhausting his option years in the process. That means he is now out of options and can’t be easily sent down to the minors. He was bumped off the Guardians’ 40-man recently and the other 29 clubs all passed on the chance to grab him off waivers.

All players with at least three years of service time or a previous career outright have the right to reject outright assignments, electing free agency instead. Beede qualifies on both counts and could head to the open market if he so chooses.

The 30-year-old Beede (31 later this month) signed a minor league deal over the winter and won a spot in Cleveland’s Opening Day bullpen with a nice spring showing. He’s been hit hard through his first 14 regular-season innings, however, yielding 13 runs on 16 hits, nine walks and three hit batters. He’s fanned 18 opponents, giving him a nice 26.5% strikeout rate, but a poor 13.2% walk rate and a lofty 44.7% hard-hit rate have overshadowed his ability to miss bats.

Beede spent the 2023 season with the Yomiuri Giants of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, for whom he posted a 3.99 ERA in 49 2/3 innings out of the bullpen. A former first-round pick by the Giants back in 2014, the Vanderbilt product was a top prospect but has seen his career stall out — in part due to injuries (most notably, Tommy John surgery). He’s pitched 201 innings in the majors and been dinged for a 5.55 ERA with worse-than-average strikeout and walk rates of 19.6% and 10%, respectively.

Between MLB stints, Beede has rather dramatically overhauled his pitching repertoire. His initial MLB run saw him use primarily a four-seamer, changeup and curveball, but the 2024 version of Beede is brandishing a four-seamer, splitter and sinker in addition to his breaking ball (which FanGraphs classifies as a slider but Statcast considers a curveball). Beede didn’t throw a single splitter from 2018-22, but it’s been his most heavily used pitch in 2024. It’s been hit hard when put into play, but Beede has also missed tons of bats with the pitch (16.8% swinging-strike rate).

The Guardians will have a week to trade Beede, attempt to pass him through outright waivers, or release him. He’d be able to reject an outright assignment to Columbus even if he ends up clearing waivers.

Both Carrasco and Beede will need to be formally selected to the 40-man roster before Opening Day. The Guards will need to make a pair of corresponding moves to clear space. One can be opened by placing Trevor Stephan, who’s set to undergo Tommy John surgery, on the 60-day IL, but they’ll need a second spot. The other spot could depend on the status of outfielder Myles Straw, who has been placed on waivers.

The Guards came into camp with a rotation consisting of Shane Bieber, Triston McKenzie and last year’s rookies Tanner Bibee, Logan Allen and Gavin Williams. But it was reported last week that Williams will open the season on the injured list due to some right elbow discomfort, which opened a spot at the back end.

That spot will go to Carrasco, who Cleveland fans will be plenty familiar with. He pitched for the club from 2009 through 2020, before going to the Mets as part of the Francisco Lindor deal. He tossed 1,242 1/3 innings during his previous stint in Cleveland with a 3.77 earned run average.

His time in Queens has been a bit rockier. He has a 4.78 ERA over the past three years, including a mark of 6.80 last year. He had stints on the IL last year due to right elbow inflammation and a right pinky finger fracture, limiting him to 90 innings with uninspiring results. His previous Cleveland tenure resulted in a 25.5% strikeout rate and 6.3% walk rate but those numbers were at 15.8% and 9.1% with the Mets last year.

It’s a bit of a belated birthday present for Carrasco, who turned 37 yesterday. He and the Guardians will be hoping that a return to Cleveland can get him back to his old form.

Beede, 31 in May, was once a highly-touted youngster. He was selected 14th overall by the Giants back in 2014 and was considered to be a top 100 prospect as he climbed the minor league ladder. Unfortunately, he struggled in his first tastes of the majors and then required Tommy John surgery in 2020, wiping out that year and much of the next. He had a 5.14 ERA in 2022 and headed to Japan last year.

The move overseas seems to have got him back on track. He posted a 3.99 ERA for the Yomiuri Giants in 49 2/3 relief innings. That got him a minor league deal with the Guardians and he’s looked well in spring so far, with 10 2/3 innings pitched with a 1.69 ERA. That will get him back onto a big league roster via the Cleveland bullpen, though he is now out of options and will need to stick in the majors or else be made available to other clubs, either via waivers or a trade.

As for the middle infielders, Mandy Bell of MLB.com tweets that Rocchio is expected to get the bulk of shortstop reps with Arias in a utility role. The Guardians have a huge number of shortstop options, something that MLBTR’s Anthony Franco looked at last month. It’s likely a fluid situation that will evolve over time but Rocchio will get a crack at taking the job for now.

He made his major league debut last year and hit just .247/.279/.321, though in a small sample of 86 plate appearances. His Triple-A batting line was a much nicer .280/.367/.421 last year and he’ll hope to bring some of that production up to the big leagues this season.

11:11AM: The Guardians announced that right-hander Tyler Beede has been signed to a minor league deal containing an invitation to big league Spring Training.  Beede is making his return to North American baseball after pitching with NPB’s Yomiuri Giants in 2023.

Drafted 14th overall by the (San Francisco) Giants in 2014, Beede drew some top-100 attention heading into the 2017 minor league season, yet he struggled in his first taste of Triple-A action.  The struggles continued into 2018 through Beede made his big league debut with two appearances for San Francisco, but some quality Triple-A work in 2019 didn’t translate to success in a longer look at a MLB level.  Beede then underwent a Tommy John surgery in 2020 that cost him the entirety of that season and a big chunk of 2021, and returning to good health didn’t help his results, as Beede had a 5.14 ERA over 61 1/3 innings for the Giants and Pirates in 2022.

With a 5.34 ERA to show for his 187 career innings in the majors, Beede headed to Japan for a fresh start, and posted a 3.99 ERA over 49 2/3 innings for the Tokyo-based Giants.  Working mostly as a reliever, Beede had a modest 16.36% strikeout rate over his 30 total appearances.

It was enough to get Cleveland’s attention for a minors deal, and the 30-year-old Beede will now get a chance to win a roster spot at the Guards’ spring camp.  There’s no risk to such a deal from the Guardians’ perspective, and the team’s longstanding track record of pitching development could perhaps unlock something to help Beede finally get on track as a consistent Major League pitcher.  Beede also has a personal connection with Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt, as the two were teammates in San Francisco in 2019.

If all goes well, Beede could provide depth for either the bullpen or rotation.  In the latter category, the Guardians have parted ways with both Cal Quantrill and Zach Plesac this winter, so some type of additional starting pitching would help Cleveland withstand injuries or any downturns from their young rotation core.

Now 29 years old, Beede was actually a two-time first-round pick, declining to sign out of high school in 2011 after the Blue Jays selected him with the No. 21 pick and then ultimately signing with San Francisco, who selected him out of Vanderbilt with the 14th pick three years later.

Beede ranked among the game’s top 100 prospects after a strong 2016 showing in Double-A, and he made his big league debut in 2018, tossing 7 2/3 innings but yielding seven runs in that small sample. He received a lengthier look in 2019 but was uncharacteristically homer-prone (1.69 HR/9) — a common trend among pitchers that season due to changes to the composition of the baseball. Beede logged 117 innings with the Giants in 2019 but yielded a 5.08 ERA.

A flexor strain and UCL strain early in spring training 2020 served as a portent for eventual Tommy John surgery, and Beede was limited to just 49 1/3 innings in 2021 (just one in the Majors) while finishing off his rehab from that procedure. After a rocky start to his 2022 season — five runs on 14 hits and six walks with four strikeouts in 9 2/3 frames — the Giants designated the now-out-of-options Beede for assignment and lost him to the Pirates on a waiver claim.

Things didn’t go much better for Beede in Pittsburgh, where he stumbled to a 5.23 ERA in 51 2/3 innings, fanning just 14.8% of his opponents against a higher-than-average 9.7% walk rate. The Pirates designated Beede for assignment themselves in September and this time successfully passed him through waivers. The right-hander became a minor league free agent at season’s end, and he’ll now look to turn his fortunes around in Japan.

Though Beede doesn’t have much in the way of big league success, he was a clearly touted arm dating back to his days as an amateur and throughout the early portion of his professional career. He carries an unsightly 5.40 career ERA in parts of five Triple-A seasons, with particularly rough showings in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League in both 2018 and 2021. Beede won’t be 30 until May, so he’s still young enough to parlay some NPB success into a big league return, as we’ve seen plenty of pitchers do in recent years.

Beede, 29, was drafted 14th overall by the Giants back in 2014, but never managed to live up to the first round pedigree over four years in the big leagues. Across 187 innings between the Giants and Pirates, Beede pitched to a 5.34 ERA, averaging a 19.1% strikeout rate and a 9.7% walk rate. Most of those innings were logged in the 2019 season, when Beede pitched 117 innings of 5.08 ERA ball largely out of the Giants’ rotation.

Tommy John surgery ruled him out of the shortened 2020 season, and a significant chunk of the 2021 campaign as well. The Giants cut ties with him after a handful of relief appearances this year, and he was picked up by the rebuilding Pirates. The change of scenery didn’t bring about a change of results though, as Beede worked to a 5.23 ERA in 51 2/3 innings. He also saw his strikeout rate drop to 14.8% while putting up a 9.7% walk rate.

Pittsburgh designated Beede for assignment towards the end of the season and he became a free agent in October.

The report also adds that Yomiuri are looking to sign former Royals and Blue Jays pitcher Foster Griffin as well as Beede. Griffin was also drafted in the first round in 2014 (28th by the Royals) has made just a handful of appearances across two years in the big leagues, tossing eight innings of 6.75 ERA ball for the Royals and Blue Jays. The left-hander was much better at Triple-A, where he worked to a 2.10 ERA across 51 1/3 innings of relief work.

None of these are a surprise, to be clear. Any player who is not on his team’s 40-man roster at season’s end but has three-plus years of Major League service time, multiple career outright assignments and/or seven-plus seasons in the minors has the right to elect free agency. Everyone in today’s group of players falls under that umbrella. The majority of the group will likely find minor league deals over the winter, although a few of the players in question could potentially find a big league deal as a bench piece or middle-inning reliever.

There will be several more waves of players of this ilk, and we’ll make note of them in bunches over the coming weeks as we await the launch of Major League free agency, when all unsigned players with at least six years of Major League service time will reach the open market. For now, here’s the first of what will likely be several waves of newly minted minor league free agents:

Catchers

• Taylor Davis (Pirates)
• Dustin Garneau (Tigers)
• Andrew Knapp (Giants)
• Pedro Severino (Brewers)

Infielders

• Willians Astudillo (Marlins)
• Johan Camargo (Phillies)
• Michael Chavis (Pirates)
• Matt Davidson (Athletics)
• Dixon Machado (Giants)
• Richie Martin (Orioles)
• Josh VanMeter (Pirates)
• Tyler Wade (Yankees)

Outfielders

• Greg Allen (Pirates)
• Lewis Brinson (Giants)
• Jaylin Davis (Red Sox)
• Jonathan Davis (Brewers)
• Jackson Frazier (Cubs)
• Brett Phillips (Orioles)

Pitchers

• Tyler Beede (Pirates)
• Austin Brice (Pirates)
• Miguel Del Pozo (Tigers)
• Jerad Eickhoff (Pirates)
• Luke Farrell (Reds)
• Paul Fry (Diamondbacks)
• Eric Hanhold (Pirates)
• Travis Lakins Sr. (Orioles)
• Mike Mayers (Angels)
• Daniel Mengden (Royals)
• Juan Minaya (Nationals)
• Sean Newcomb (Cubs)
• Dillon Peters (Pirates)
• Dereck Rodriguez (Twins)
• Cesar Valdez (Angels)
• Aneurys Zabala (Marlins)

A first-round selection of the Giants in 2014, Beede spent the next few years as one of the most talented prospects in the San Francisco system. He debuted late in the 2018 season and started 22 of 24 outings the following year, pitching to a 5.07 ERA across 117 innings. While he didn’t prevent many runs, Beede averaged north of 94 MPH on his fastball and generated swinging strikes at an 11.2% clip that hinted at a possible long-term future in the San Francisco rotation.

Beede was forced to undergo Tommy John surgery the following March, and he missed the entire 2020 campaign. He spent most of last year on the injured list as well, first recovering from the TJ procedure and then suffering a lower back strain. While he returned to health in 2022, the Giants deployed him just six times out of the bullpen before designating him for assignment. The Pirates nabbed him off waivers and have used him as a multi-inning reliever, but he posted a 5.23 ERA with a below-average 14.8% strikeout rate across 51 2/3 frames.

As a player with more than three years of MLB service, Beede has the right to refuse the outright assignment in favor of free agency. The Pirates didn’t announce whether he’d do so at this point, although it’s likely he’ll hit the open market in the near future either way. Even if Beede accepts this outright assignment, he’d qualify for minor league free agency at the end of the season unless the Pirates add him back to the 40-man roster.

Beede spent four months in Pittsburgh, working primarily as a multi-inning reliever. Since being claimed off waivers from the Giants in mid-May, he’s worked 51 2/3 innings across 25 appearances (including five starts). It was Beede’s longest stretch of MLB action since 2019, but the 29-year-old generally struggled. He posted a 5.23 ERA with the Bucs, only striking out 14.8% of batters faced on a modest 9.1% swinging strike percentage. Beede has induced a fair number of ground-balls, but the lack of swing-and-miss eventually squeezed him off the roster.

A former first-round pick, Beede had spent his entire professional career with the Giants before this year. He made 22 starts in 24 appearances with San Francisco three years ago, pitching to a 5.08 ERA but working in the mid-90s with nearly average peripherals. It was enough to offer some hope that Beede might be a back-of-the-rotation option for a few seasons, but his 2020-21 campaigns were mostly wiped out by injury. He underwent Tommy John surgery in March 2020, keeping him out of action until last July. After a month primarily spent working his way back into game shape, he suffered a lower back strain that ended his 2021 campaign after a lone big league outing.

Beede is out of minor league option years, so the Giants had to carry him on the big league roster or make him available to other teams this season. He spent the first month in the Bay Area, coming out of the bullpen six times. After walking more batters than he struck out, he was designated for assignment and placed on waivers. Pittsburgh used their relatively high priority on the waiver wire to bring him aboard, but he didn’t manage to sustain some early success. Beede carried a 2.64 ERA as a Pirate through the end of July, but he’s been tagged for an even 9.00 ERA in 21 frames since then.

The Bucs will now place him on waivers themselves. He’s averaged 95.6 MPH on his sinker this season, with the still-intact arm strength perhaps intriguing enough another team will roll the dice on a claim. Beede is slated to be arbitration-eligible for the first time this offseason and would be controllable through 2025 if another team is willing to give him a roster spot.

Peters, meanwhile, was first acquired from the Angels in July 2021. The 30-year-old picked up six starts down the stretch last season, but he’s worked primarily as a long reliever this year. Peters has started just four of his 22 outings in 2022, tossing 39 1/3 innings. He owns a 4.58 ERA and has fanned 15.8% of batters faced while walking opponents at an elevated 10.3% clip. He landed on the 15-day injured list in early August with inflammation in his throwing elbow, but he’s apparently ready for reinstatement after a pair of rehab outings at Double-A Altoona.

Like Beede, Peters is out of minor league options. The Bucs would’ve had to reinstall him onto the MLB pitching staff now that he’s healthy, but they’ll instead take him off the 40-man roster. He’ll land on waivers in the next few days. Peters is a virtual lock to qualify for early arbitration as a Super Two player this winter if another team were to claim him and keep him in the big leagues. He’s controllable through 2026.

Beede, who turns 29 later this month, is a former first-round pick and highly-regarded prospect. The Vanderbilt product reached the big leagues in 2018 and got his first extended look in the rotation the following year. Beede allowed a 5.08 ERA over 24 appearances (including 22 starts) in 2019, posting roughly league average strikeout, walk and ground-ball numbers but struggling with the longball. The Giants no doubt hoped he’d cement himself as a long-term starting pitcher in 2020 and beyond, but that didn’t wind up being the case.

Unfortunately, Beede required Tommy John surgery in March 2020. That cost him the entire season and kept him out until the following July. Beede spent the bulk of last season with Triple-A Sacramento, struggling to a 6.66 ERA with a massive 18.4% walk rate at the minors’ top level. Much of that came while he was still rehabbing from the Tommy John procedure, and his season ended in mid-August when he landed back on the IL because of a lower back strain.

Beede exhausted his final minor league option last year, meaning the Giants had to keep him on the active roster or expose him to waivers this season. They’d transitioned him to relief but he struggled over six outings. Beede allowed five runs in 9 2/3 innings, walking six batters while striking out just four. Devoting an active roster spot to a pitcher still battling control woes proved too much for a win-now Giants team, but that’s an easier dice roll for a rebuilding Pittsburgh club. Beede is averaging nearly 96 MPH on his heater this year and won’t reach arbitration eligibility until after the season, so there’s a chance he sticks around long-term if the Bucs can help him regain his control of the strike zone.

Sulser, 28, got his first MLB call last month. He made four appearances, allowing nine runs (albeit just four earned) in 9 2/3 innings out of the bullpen. The right-hander had an excellent three-start run with Triple-A Indianapolis to earn his first call-up and still has all three minor league options remaining. It’s possible another club takes a shot on him via small trade or waivers within the next week.

5:10PM: The Giants designated right-hander Tyler Beede for assignment, according to Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area (Twitter link).  Beede is out of minor league options, so a DFA was necessary for the Giants to send him to the minors or outright him from their 40-man roster.

The 14th overall pick of the 2014 draft, Beede has appeared in four of the last five MLB seasons, posting a 5.39 ERA over 135 1/3 innings in a San Francisco uniform.  This season saw Beede record six walks against only four strikeouts in 9 2/3 frames of work out of the Giants bullpen, en route to a 4.66 ERA.

Between Beede’s high draft pedigree out of Vanderbilt and his quality numbers early in his minor league career, Beede appeared on some top-100 prospect lists prior to the 2017 season but then seemed to hit something of a wall.  The right-hander was rarely consistent at the Triple-A level or in his first few tastes of MLB action, and Beede’s career was then further interrupted by Tommy John surgery in 2020.

Returning from the IL last May, Beede’s 2021 season consisted of a single big league inning, a 6.66 ERA over 48 2/3 innings for Triple-A Sacramento, and a lower back strain that required a trip to the 60-day IL.  Those Triple-A numbers were exacerbated by an ugly 18.4% walk rate, as Beede continues to be hampered by the major control issues that began to surface in 2018.

While the Giants might be able to sneak Beede through waivers, today’s move might mark the end of his time in San Francisco.  Another team could possibly make a waiver claim to see if the 28-year-old Beede would benefit from a change of scenery, given the potential he showed early in his career.

Chatwood, 31, was released by the Blue Jays on July 31 and signed with San Francisco on a minor league pact later that week. He’s tossed 5 2/3 shutout frames with the Giant’s Sacramento affiliate since joining the organization.

Signed by the Blue Jays to a one-year, $3MM deal over the winter, Chatwood moved to the bullpen on a full-time basis this season and got out to a brilliant start with the Jays. He missed a couple weeks early on due to some triceps inflammation, but through his first 17 innings out of the bullpen, Chatwood yielded just one run on eight hits and five walks with 24 strikeouts. Things quickly went south, however.

Over his next four appearances, Chatwood pitched just 3 1/3 innings, walked nine batters and served up a whopping 11 runs. That disastrous stretch ballooned his ERA from 0.53 all the way to 5.31. He righted the ship for much of June, lowering his ERA to 4.00 with a string of scoreless outings. But in what would be his final two appearances with the Blue Jays, Chatwood again lost his ability to locate the ball, issuing four walks and yielding a combined five runs in just an inning of work. He was placed on the injured list with a neck strain and, upon returning, was designated for assignment and released.

The Giants will obviously be hoping to get the early version of Chatwood in what has been a Jekyll-and-Hyde season for the veteran righty. Chatwood has only been scored upon in six of his 30 outings this season, but he’s surrendered runs in bunches — including individual appearances in which he’s yielded four and five runs apiece. Command issues aren’t exactly anything new for the longtime Rockies hurler, as evidenced by his 12.1 percent walk rate, but Chatwood’s uptick in his strikeout rates over the past few years surely piqued the interest of not only the Jays but also the Giants.

Beede is in line to make his first major league appearance since 2019. The former first-round pick underwent an ill-timed Tommy John surgery in March 2020. That cost him all of last season and almost the entire first half of 2021. Beede was a regular member of San Francisco’s starting five during his last healthy run. He made 24 appearances (22 starts) in 2019, tossing 117 innings of 5.08 ERA ball with average strikeout and walk rates (21.6% and 8.8%, respectively). There could be room for Beede to step back into the rotation; Logan Webb has been on the IL since last month due to a shoulder strain, and Sammy Long just hit the IL himself due to a low back strain.

Sherfy signed a minor league deal with the Giants over the offseason and earned a spot on the big league roster in early June. The 29-year-old pitched respectably over 10 2/3 innings, allowing five runs on nine hits and four walks with nine strikeouts. Sherfy has pitched in the majors in each of the past four years, combining for 56 innings of 3.21 ERA/3.99 SIERA ball. That solid track record could attract the interest of another club, although any acquiring team would have to keep the out-of-options Sherfy on the active roster or designate him for assignment themselves. The Giants will have a week to trade the right-hander or place him on waivers.