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Looking Ahead To Upcoming Club Options: NL West

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We’re roughly a third of the way through the 2023 season. Players have had a couple months to build something of a performance track record that’ll play a role in their future contracts. With that in mind, MLBTR will take a look over the coming days at players whose contracts contain team or mutual options to gauge the early trajectory for those upcoming decisions.

We’ll go division by division and open things in the National League West:

Arizona Diamondbacks

Chafin lingered in free agency over the winter after opting out of his deal with the Tigers. The seeming lack of market interest was perplexing given the lefty reliever’s consistent effectiveness over the past few seasons. He’s carried that over into his second stint in the desert. Through 20 1/3 innings, Chafin owns a 3.10 ERA. He’s punched out 36% of opposing hitters on a huge 16.2% swinging strike percentage, both of which would be career-high marks. He’s not a prototypical fireballing reliever but he’s demonstrated he’s capable of missing bats and thriving in high-leverage situations for the past few years. The $6.5MM net decision on next year’s option looks more than reasonable if he keeps this up.

  • Zach Davies: $5.5MM mutual option ($300K buyout, rises to $500K with 16+ starts)

Davies has been limited to three starts by a left oblique strain. He has allowed eight runs with a modest 10:8 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 12 2/3 innings. There’s not much to go on yet in terms of 2023 performance but Davies looked like a borderline fifth starter the previous two years. The Diamondbacks have enough young pitching they seem likelier to buy him out unless the soft-tossing righty rediscovers his 2019-20 form for the stretch run.

  • Miguel Castro: $5MM option vests with 60+ appearances; would become $6MM player option with 40+ games finished (no buyout)

Castro has already pitched 26 times since signing with Arizona over the winter. He’s on pace to easily surpass the 60-appearance threshold needed to vest next year’s $5MM option if he can avoid the injured list. It could be a closer call as to whether he can turn that guaranteed $5MM salary into a $6MM player option; Castro has finished 12 games thus far, putting him just off the 40-game pace he’d need to do so. (He’s on pace for 36 games finished). Castro has been effective — a 2.22 ERA with roughly average strikeout, walk and swinging strike numbers through 24 1/3 innings — so vesting the player option and retesting the market isn’t out of the question.

Melancon struggled to a 4.66 ERA in 56 innings during his first season in Arizona. He hasn’t pitched this year on account of a Spring Training shoulder strain. Melancon might return in the second half but this is trending towards the team buying him out.

Colorado Rockies

Márquez underwent Tommy John surgery earlier this month. He’ll miss the majority of next season as he rehabs. A healthy Márquez would’ve made this an easy call for the Rockies to exercise but the procedure means they’ll buy him out. It wouldn’t be a surprise if the Rox try to bring him back on a lesser salary or a multi-year deal with an eye towards 2025.

Hand’s peripherals had fallen back between 2021-22 from his All-Star peak. He’s continued to keep runs off the board and seen a notable bounceback in his strikeout rate since a Spring Training deal with Colorado. Hand owns a 3.20 ERA through 19 2/3 frames while striking out 33.7% of batters faced on a decent 11.6% swinging strike percentage. The veteran southpaw has dominated left-handed hitters and is yet to allow a home run this season. If he maintains this form, he’ll be one of the top reliever trade candidates this summer. If Colorado hangs onto him, they could be faced with an interesting decision as to whether to keep him around for an extra $6.5MM next winter.

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers signed Muncy to a $13.5MM deal last summer even as he was amidst his worst season since landing in L.A. They’ve been rewarded with a massive bounceback showing. Muncy is tied for second in the majors with 17 home runs. He’s only hitting .208 but carrying a strong .340 on-base percentage thanks to an elite 15.8% walk rate. The $10MM price point would be an easy decision for the Dodgers if Muncy keeps up anything approaching this pace.

Los Angeles brought Hudson back last summer on the heels of a season-ending ACL tear. The veteran reliever hasn’t recovered as quickly from that procedure as he’d hoped. Hudson hasn’t pitched yet this season. He told reporters last night he’ll throw a bullpen session this week but is without a timeline for a return to game action (via Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times). It remains to be seen how he’ll look when he takes the mound.

  • Alex Reyes: $3MM team option with escalators ($100K buyout)

The Dodgers took a $1.1MM flier on Reyes after he lost the 2022 season to shoulder surgery. He’s on the 60-day injured list and not expected to be a factor until around the All-Star Break. This one remains to be determined based on his post-rehab form.

  • Blake Treinen (option value between $1-7MM dependent on time spent on IL)

Treinen underwent surgery to repair the rotator cuff and labrum in his throwing shoulder last November. He won’t pitch much, if at all, this season. Treinen’s contract contains an option with a floating value between $1MM and $7MM depending on how much time he spends on the injured list and the issue that puts him on the shelf. Its precise value is yet to be determined, but MLBTR has confirmed it’ll land towards the lower end of that range given Treinen’s surgery.

San Diego Padres

  • Nick Martinez: team has two-year, $32MM option; if declined, Martinez has two-year, $16MM player option

Martinez has taken on a similar swing role as he served during his first year in San Diego. The right-hander started his first four outings and pitched reasonably well. He was nevertheless bumped back into relief thereafter. For the second consecutive season, Martinez has proven a key multi-inning arm out of the bullpen. He’s posted a 1.35 ERA with a quality 20:4 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 20 relief innings, holding opponents to a pitiful .240/.278/.267 batting line.

There’s little question of Martinez’s effectiveness in a relief role, though a $16MM average annual value could be pricy if the organization isn’t planning on giving him another look out of the rotation. Perhaps Martinez’s production over the final four months makes this a clearer decision for San Diego by season’s end. As of now, it looks like a borderline call — not too dissimilar from Martinez’s question of whether to opt out of three years and $18MM last winter. The Padres liked him enough to subsequently re-sign him to a $26MM guarantee with the complex option structure.

  • Michael Wacha: team has two-year, $32MM option; if declined, Wacha has $6.5MM player option (with successive player options for 2025-26)

Wacha lingered in free agency last winter. Clubs seemed reluctant to buy into his solid results for the Red Sox, a reflection of middling strikeout and ground-ball numbers. Since landing in San Diego, he’s basically repeating last year’s script. The run prevention is excellent; he’s allowed a 3.45 ERA through 57 1/3 innings over ten starts. Wacha is again throwing strikes and keeping runs off the board despite roughly average strikeout and swinging strike rates.

Maintaining a mid-3.00s ERA for a second straight season might build confidence in his ability to outperform ERA estimators that suggest he’s more of a solid #4 starter than a mid-rotation arm. That said, Wacha doesn’t look all that different now than he did three months ago, when he signed a four-year guarantee with a $6.5MM average annual value. A jump to the $16MM per-year range could be a tougher sell for San Diego, although there’s little doubt Wacha would opt out of the final three years and $18.5MM on his contract if he keeps pitching like this and the Padres decline their end.

San Francisco Giants

Cobb has pitched well since signing a two-year deal with San Francisco over the 2021-22 offseason. He carries a 3.05 ERA through his first 11 starts this year. Cobb’s 60.6% ground-ball rate is stellar and he’s posted average strikeout and walk numbers (21.3% and 6.7%, respectively). An $8MM net decision would be an easy call for the Giants to exercise if Cobb maintains this pace. He’s dealt with injuries in the past but managed 149 2/3 innings over 28 starts last year and has avoided the IL in 2023.

All stats through play Monday.

Padres Claim Gary Sanchez Off Waivers From Mets

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The Padres have acquired catcher Gary Sanchez, according to reporter Miriam Luz (Twitter link).  Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune adds that Sanchez was picked up on a waiver claim, after the backstop was designated for assignment by the Mets last week.

Today’s waiver claim continues a whirlwind of movement for Sanchez, who went through the entire offseason without landing a free agent deal but will now be joining his third different organization in less than two months.  Sanchez inked a minor league contract with the Giants just after Opening Day, but then exercised his opt-out clause in early May when San Francisco didn’t add him to its active roster.  Sanchez quickly landed with the Mets on another minors deal that ended up locking in a prorated $1.5MM guarantee for the catcher when the Amazins selected him to their 26-man roster just before his next opt-out date on May 19.

However, Sanchez’s time in Queens was brief, as he appeared in only three games before the Mets DFA’ed him.  As per the waiver claim, San Diego is now responsible for the roughly $1.1MM owed to Sanchez in remaining salary, and it was a price the Padres felt was worthwhile given the team’s catching woes.

Heading into today’s action, the Padres ranked 26th of 30 teams in catcher bWAR, as San Diego’s backstop had combined for a sub-replacement level -0.2 total.  Austin Nola suffered a fractured nose late in Spring Training, which may have contributed to his dismal .131/.252/.182 slash line over 118 plate appearances this season.  Luis Campusano only made 22 trips to the plate before hitting the injured list with a thumb injury that required surgery, so he won’t be a factor until around the middle of July.  Rookie Brett Sullivan hasn’t hit much in his first 21 MLB games.

The Padres inked Kevin Plawecki to a minor league deal nine days ago, and now they’ve further bolstered their catching depth with Sanchez.  Considering how little the Padres have gotten from the catcher position, it can be argued that Sanchez almost has to be some level of upgrade, as even the subpar .205/.282/.377 slash line he posted over 471 PA with the Twins in 2022 would be a step up for San Diego.  It would seem like Sanchez will get at least six weeks to show the Padres what he can do, as the team might again re-evaluate its catching position when Campusano gets back, and San Diego also figures to check out more catching options prior to the trade deadline.

Once perhaps baseball’s best-hitting catcher in his prime years with the Yankees, Sanchez has hit only .195/.287/.392 in 1096 PA since the start of the 2020 season, translating to an 89 wRC+.  His oft-criticized defensive issues (not to mention the hitting dropoff) led to an increasing lack of playing time with the Yankees, and ultimately led to New York moving him to the Twins as part of their five-player blockbuster trade in March 2022.  While Sanchez’s glovework seemed to improve a bit in Minnesota, the Twins still let him walk in free agency, and the uncertainty surrounding Sanchez led to his long winter in free agency.  The Brewers and Angels were two of the teams linked to his market before the Giants finally made the signing.

Padres Place Luis Garcia On 15-Day IL

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The Padres placed Luis Garcia on the 15-day injured list today, as the left-hander is suffering from a left oblique strain.  Righty Domingo Tapia was called up from Triple-A to take Garcia’s spot on the active roster.  Garcia has a somewhat misleading 4.66 ERA this season, as nine of his 10 earned runs allowed came in two disastrous appearances (totaling two-thirds of an inning) against the Diamondbacks.  Against every other team in baseball, Garcia has allowed just one earned run in 18 2/3 frames.

Despite a few shaky moments, the Padres’ bullpen has largely gotten on track, as San Diego’s relievers have combined for the sixth-best (3.31) bullpen ERA in baseball heading into Saturday’s action.  Losing a generally reliable veteran like Garcia won’t help matters, and the team has yet to comment on the severity of the left-hander’s oblique strain, or how long Garcia might be sidelined.

Xander Bogaerts Out Of The Lineup With Wrist Discomfort

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  • Padres shortstop Xander Bogaerts is out of the lineup today while the 30-year-old star deals with discomfort in his wrist. As noted by Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune, the issue is in the same wrist that required a cortisone shot during spring training. Acee notes that it’s still too soon for Bogaerts to receive another shot, so the shortstop has opted to instead play through the discomfort on and off throughout the season. The discomfort could help to explain Bogaerts’s struggles this past month, as he has slashed just .195/.290/.268 in 21 games so far in May. Acee notes that the hope is that Bogaerts will be able to return to the lineup tomorrow, but the situation appears to be day-to-day.

Jose Iglesias Opts Out Of Padres Deal

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Veteran infielder Jose Iglesias has opted out of his minors deal with the Padres, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand.

A veteran of 11 MLB seasons, the 33-year-old Iglesias has been a quality glove-first middle infield option for big league clubs ever since his major league debut with the Red Sox in 2011. With more than 1,000 games in the majors under his belt, Iglesias owns a career slash line of .279/.319/.382, good for a wRC+ of 87 with a career strikeout rate of just 12.4%. Most recently, Iglesias played 118 games for the Rockies in 2022, with a .292/.328/.380 slash line (85 wRC+) and 12% strikeout rate that was largely in line with his career norms.

The majority of Iglesias’s value throughout his career has come from his glove, however, as Iglesias has ranked as one of the top defensive shortstops in the league since his debut in 2011 according to both UZR and OAA, with the fourth-most UZR and ninth-most OAA, minimum 1,000 innings at the position. That being said, metrics have soured on Iglesias’s glovework in recent years, with Statcast considering him a roughly league average defender over the past two seasons while Defensive Runs Saved considers him a whopping 26 runs below average over that same timeframe.

Still, as a veteran capable of solid defense up the middle with a decent bat, Iglesias could make a solid bench contributor for teams in need of infield help. That’s allowed him to secure minor league pacts with both the Marlins and the Padres since the end of the 2022 campaign, though neither club ultimately made the decision to promote him to their big league roster. Now back on the open market, Iglesias will look for a third organization to offer him a role, presumably on another minor league deal.

As for the Padres, Iglesias’s decision represents another blow to the club’s infield depth after Manny Machado hit the injured list with a fracture in his hand earlier this month and Ha-Seong Kim left yesterday’s game after taking a pitch off his knee. That being said, the club still sports Roughned Odor, Brandon Dixon, and Jake Cronenworth among their capable infield options alongside Xander Bogaerts, to say nothing of Fernando Tatis Jr. who converted to outfield work this season following the acquisition of Bogaerts.

X-Rays Negative On Ha-Seong's Left Knee After Foul Ball

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X-rays were negative on Ha-Seong Kim’s left knee, Padres manager Bob Melvin told reporters (including Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune) after Kim had to be helped off the field during today’s game.  In the second inning of the Padres’ 8-6 win over the Nationals, Kim fouled a pitch off his knee, knocking him to the ground in obvious pain.  Despite the relatively good news from the imaging, Kim isn’t expected to play on Friday and might end up on the 10-day injured list unless the swelling and discomfort subsides quickly.

Now in his third season with the Padres, Kim is hitting a modest .237/.316/.382 over 172 plate appearances, which works out to a 97 wRC+.  Even this slightly below-average number might be generous considering that Kim’s 22.3% hard-hit ball rate is among the lowest in the league, though he has provided a lot of defensive value to San Diego as a second baseman and, more recently, as a third baseman in place of the injured Manny Machado.  The Padres’ depth would take another hit if both Machado and Kim are out, and Rougned Odor (whose bat has been on fire as of late) would be the likeliest candidate for regular time at third base.  Odor and Brandon Dixon could split time between second and third, Jake Cronenworth could also play second base, and Matt Carpenter could see more time as a first baseman.

Brewers Sign Julio Teheran To Major League Deal

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May 25: The Brewers have officially announced the signing. Teheran will start tonight’s game against the Giants. Jon Heyman of The New York Post reports the specifics on Twitter. Teheran will make $1.5MM plus $1MM in incentives.

May 23: The Brewers have agreed to a Major League contract with free-agent righty Julio Teheran, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post (Twitter link). Teheran, a client of Mato Sports Management, opted out of a minor league deal with the Padres yesterday.

Teheran, 32, figures to step into an injury-depleted Brewers rotation that just saw lefty Eric Lauer join fellow southpaw Wade Miley and right-hander Brandon Woodruff on the injured list. Beyond that trio, depth options like Aaron Ashby and Jason Alexander are also on the 60-day IL, leaving the Brewers with a current rotation of Corbin Burnes, Freddy Peralta, Adrian Houser and Colin Rea.

Once one of baseball’s top pitching prospects, Teheran began his career with a terrific four-year stretch (2013-16) in Atlanta that saw him post a 3.33 ERA over 795 2/3 innings. Along the way, he made a pair of All-Star teams and finished fifth in 2013 NL Rookie of the Year voting. He remained a solid starter from 2017-19, but his command began to worse in that time and his velocity started to slip as well.

Upon departing the Braves after the 2019 season, Teheran inked a one-year deal with the Angels but was limited to just 31 1/3 innings — during which he posted a ghastly ERA north of 10.00. He allowed one run in five frames for the 2021 Tigers but hasn’t appeared in the Majors since. Teheran split the 2022 campaign between the independent Atlantic League and the Mexican League before agreeing to a minor league pact with San Diego this past offseason.

While Teheran’s bottom-line numbers with the Padres’ Triple-A club in El Paso this season are unsightly — 40 innings, 5.63 ERA — there’s also some cause for optimism. His 24.3% strikeout rate and 8.6% walk rate are both solid marks, and he’s pitched well over his past four turns: 21 1/3 innings, 3.74 ERA, 23-to-8 K/BB ratio. In fact, outside of one meltdown against the Mariners’ top affiliate on April 21, Teheran has generally been solid in El Paso. Subtract those eight runs and three innings, and his ERA would drop all the way to 4.14. Any pitcher looks better if you look past his worst start, of course, but Teheran has been good for five to six innings and three or fewer runs in six of his eight starts this year.

The notion of signing Teheran isn’t as exciting as it might’ve been a half decade ago, but the Brewers have been decimated by injury and he’ll give them a stretched-out, ready-made rotation option who’s had some big league success. The Brewers have had their own share of successes in terms of rehabilitating veteran pitchers who’ve fallen on hard times, as evidenced by Miley, Gio Gonzalez, Brad Boxberger and others. For now, they’ll hope that Teheran can step onto the staff and help shore things up while their injured trio of veterans is on the mend.

Padres Release Adam Engel

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The Padres have released outfielder Adam Engel, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He had been designated for assignment on the weekend.

Engel, 31, was signed this winter to a major league deal with a $1MM guarantee, just a bit above the $720K minimum for this season. Unfortunately, he suffered a hamstring strain during Spring Training and began the season on the injured list. He returned in early May and wasn’t really given any playing time, getting six plate appearances in five games before being designated for assignment recently.

The club had some uncertainty in the outfield coming into the season, as Fernando Tatis Jr. still had 20 games remaining on his suspension from last season. However, he was back in the lineup by the time Engel came off the injured list, joining Juan Soto and Trent Grisham in the outfield. It seems the club prefers to roll with José Azocar as its fourth outfielder and will let Engel walk.

Prior to joining the Padres, Engel had spent his entire career with the White Sox, largely serving as a glove-first outfielder. His career batting line of .224/.279/.349 translates to a 71 wRC+, indicating he’s been 29% worse than league average overall. However, he’s stolen 47 bases and received positive reviews from advanced defensive metrics. In 3715 2/3 innings over 528 career games, he’s accrued 53 Outs Above Average, 20 Defensive Runs Saved and a score of 2.3 from Ultimate Zone Rating. Statcast put his sprint speed in the 92nd percentile last year.

Even if the Padres had tried to pass Engel through outright waivers, he has more than five years of major league service time, giving him the right to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency. Now that Engel has been released, they will remain on the hook for his salary while allowing another club to sign him for the protated league minimum for any time spent on the active roster, with that amount subtracted from what the Friars pay. He’ll now head to the open market in search of a team in need of a fleet-footed outfielder for its bench.

Drew Pomeranz Undergoes Elbow Surgery

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Padres left-hander Drew Pomeranz underwent “a cleanup surgery in his elbow” yesterday, per AJ Cassavell of MLB.com, relaying word from manager Bob Melvin. It’s unknown how long this will keep him out of action but the skipper says they are still hopeful for him to return later in the season.

Although Melvin seems to be trying to downplay the procedure, which might well be minor, it’s notable that the lefty’s health is at the forefront yet again. Pomeranz is creeping up on two years since his last major league appearance, which was in August of 2021. It was at that point that he required surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon in his throwing arm. He was able to begin a rehab assignment one year after that procedure, heading out in August of last year. However, he was shut down due to continued soreness and missed the entire 2022 campaign.

Here in 2023, the club was optimistic about his return but he experienced more inflammation in Spring Training and began the season on the injured list. He began another rehab assignment in the middle of April but was shut down yet again after three appearances and transferred to the 60-day injured list.

It’s surely been a frustrating series of events for both Pomeranz and the team. After spending many years as a starter with mixed results, the southpaw seemed to thrive in a move to full-time relief work. In 2019, he had a 5.68 ERA with the Giants, working primarily out of the rotation. He was traded at the deadline to the Brewers who used him exclusively as a reliever, apart from one three-inning start. He had a 2.39 ERA with Milwaukee, striking out an incredible 45% of batters faced.

He reached free agency and the Padres took a chance on that bullpen breakout, signing Pomeranz to a four-year deal that guaranteed him $34MM. The gamble seemed to be paying off for a while, as he posted a combined 1.62 ERA between his 20 appearances in the shortened 2020 season and another 27 the year after. He walked 11.4% of batters faced in that time but stuck out 33.7% and also got grounders at a 45.8% rate.

Unfortunately, the latter half of the deal has been entirely wasted thus far, with Pomeranz missing the 2022 season and all of 2023 to this point. The Padres aren’t in desperate shape in terms of left-handed relief, as each of Josh Hader, Tim Hill and Tom Cosgrove are posting decent results to varying degrees. Nonetheless, it would surely be a welcome development if this recent procedure was able to help Pomeranz finally get over his ongoing arm troubles and get back into form. He’s making a salary of $8MM this year and is a free agent at season’s end.

Julio Teheran Opts Out Of Deal With Padres

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Right-hander Julio Teheran has opted out of his minor league deal with the Padres, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. The Padres will have to decide whether or not to add the veteran to their 40-man roster or release him back into free agency.

This is the second time this script has played out this month. Teheran, 32, signed a minor league deal with the Friars in the offseason but opted out of that deal in early May. He ended up sticking with the organization as he and the club agreed to a new deal just two days later, though he has now apparently triggered an opt-out clause yet again.

It’s now possible that he and the Padres will again find common ground on a new deal that will keep the relationship going. On the other hand, there are many clubs throughout the league that are facing significant rotation challenges due to injuries while the Padres aren’t quite that desperate. Adrián Morejón and Seth Lugo are on the injured list but the club still has Yu Darvish, Blake Snell, Joe Musgrove, Michael Wacha and Ryan Weathers. There’s also Nick Martinez, who has been in the bullpen of late but could be moved back to the rotation, while Jay Groome and Pedro Avila are on the 40-man and in Triple-A. Perhaps Teheran would be interested in heading to the open market to see if he can find better opportunities with one of the 29 other clubs.

The righty has logged 40 innings in eight Triple-A starts this year, posting a 5.63 ERA in that the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. He’s struck out 24.3% of batters faced while walking 8.6% and getting grounders at a 40.3% clip. He was once a mainstay of the rotation in Atlanta, logging 1,334 innings from 2013 to 2019 with a 3.64 ERA. However, he followed that up with a nightmare season for the Angels in 2020, registering a 10.05 ERA. He made one major league appearance for the Tigers in 2021 before splitting 2022 between the independent Atlantic League and the Mexican League.

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