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Pirates To Sign Tim Mayza

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7:26pm: It’s a one-year, $1.15MM deal, Stumpf reports.

6:23pm: The Pirates are in agreement with lefty reliever Tim Mayza on a major league contract, reports Alex Stumpf of MLB.com. The signing is pending a physical for the Ballengee Group client. Pittsburgh has a full 40-man roster and will need to make a corresponding move when the deal is finalized.

Mayza, who turned 33 a few weeks ago, was a 12th round pick of the Blue Jays in 2013. He spent over a decade in the Toronto organization. The southpaw got to the big leagues in 2017 and pitched in parts of seven seasons. He had a quietly strong run between 2021-23, combining for a 2.67 earned run average while striking out nearly a quarter of opposing hitters through 155 innings. Mayza limited same-handed batters to a .203/.238/.273 slash in 270 plate appearances over that stretch. He kept the ball on the ground at a huge 58-59% clip in all three seasons.

His fortunes turned sharply last year. Mayza took the ball for the Jays 35 times. Opponents blitzed him for more than eight earned runs per nine innings. His strikeout rate plummeted to 13.2%, while the ground-balls fell to a modest 39.1% rate. There weren’t many signs of encouragement in either the results nor the underlying profile. Toronto designated him for assignment in late June, a disappointing end to his tenure.

Mayza cleared waivers and was granted his release. He signed a minor league deal with the Yankees not long thereafter. He fired 8 1/3 innings of two-run ball in Triple-A to earn a call up in the middle of August. The Yanks gave him 15 appearances, mostly in low-leverage situations, for the final six weeks of the regular season.

The results were dramatically improved from his early-season work but not back to his 2021-23 heights. He allowed 10 runs (eight earned) through 18 frames. He struck out a modest 16.4% of batters faced. Mayza added 2 1/3 scoreless frames in mop-up situations during New York’s pennant run — including a scoreless inning to wrap up their Game 4 win in the World Series. The Yankees non-tendered him in lieu of a projected $4MM salary for his final year of arbitration.

Mayza, like many situational lefties, relies on a sinker-slider combination. His sinker sat in the 93-94 MPH range during his best seasons in Toronto. The velocity was down about two ticks early last season. Mayza rediscovered it during his time in the Bronx, sitting around 93.5 MPH during his final two months. That didn’t result in a dramatic uptick in whiffs, though Mayza recaptured much of his prior ground-ball acumen. He kept the ball on the ground at a strong 55.4% clip during his time with the Yankees.

While not quite a return to form, Mayza showed enough late in the season for the Pirates to give him a roster spot. He has over five years of service time and cannot be sent to the minors without his consent. The major league deal indicates he’s very likely to be in Derek Shelton’s season-opening bullpen. He joins fellow free agent signee Caleb Ferguson (another former Yankee) in that regard. The only other lefty reliever on the 40-man roster is long man Joey Wentz. He’s out of options, so he’ll also need to stick on the MLB roster or be made available to other teams via trade or waivers.

Financial terms have not been revealed. It’ll be a modest investment, very likely less than the $4MM arbitration projection. RosterResource calculates the Bucs’ payroll around $79MM. They ended last season in the $87MM range.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Reds, Aaron Wilkerson Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Reds are in agreement with right-hander Aaron Wilkerson on a minor league contract, reports Jon Morosi of the MLB Network. Wilkerson returns to the affiliated ranks after spending a season and a half in Korea.

A former Red Sox minor leaguer, Wilkerson reached the majors with the Brewers in 2017. He pitched parts of three seasons with Milwaukee, allowing a 6.88 ERA across 35 1/3 innings. After the Brewers outrighted him from their 40-man roster, Wilkerson moved to the foreign ranks. He spent a season with the Hanshin Tigers in Japan. He returned stateside on a minor league contract with the Athletics in 2023. The A’s granted him his release after 14 Triple-A appearances so he could sign on with the Lotte Giants in the Korea Baseball Organization.

Wilkerson spent a season and a half with the Giants. He posted a 2.26 ERA over 13 starts during the second half of the ’23 season. That earned him a new deal for the 2024 campaign. Wilkerson took the ball 32 times and put up a 3.84 ERA through 196 2/3 innings. He struck out 20.5% of opposing hitters against a 3.3% walk percentage.

The Giants added Tucker Davidson and re-signed Charlie Barnes to serve as their foreign-born pitchers for the upcoming season. That made it apparent that Wilkerson would not return to the team. (KBO clubs are limited to two foreign pitchers and three non-Korean players overall.) Wilkerson is likely to open the season as rotation or long relief depth for the Reds at Triple-A Louisville.

Tristan Gray Elects Free Agency

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4:21pm: Gray has indeed opted free agency. He can now sign with any club.

2:04pm: Pirates infielder Tristan Gray cleared waivers following last week’s DFA, MLBTR has learned. As a player with a prior outright assignment, he’ll have the option of rejecting a second outright in favor of free agency, if he chooses to do so. If he accepts an outright assignment, he’d likely be assigned to Triple-A Indianapolis and be in major league camp as a non-roster invitee.

Gray, 29 in March, landed with the Bucs back on Halloween when they claimed him off waivers from the A’s. Over the past calendar year, Gray has signed as a minor league free agent with the Marlins, been selected to the majors, and claimed off waivers by the A’s and Pirates.

The Pirates were Gray’s original organization, selecting him in the 13th round back in 2017. He was traded to the Rays less than a year later as part of the deal bringing outfielder Corey Dickerson to Pittsburgh. He went on to spend parts of six seasons the Rays organization, briefly making his MLB debut with Tampa Bay in 2023. He only appeared in two games and tallied five plate appearances, but Gray made the most of that tiny look when he popped his first big league homer off righty Jorge Lopez. Gray totaled 31 plate appearances between the Marlins and A’s in 2024 and went 3-for-28 with a double.

While he hasn’t hit much in a tiny big league sample, Gray has shown plenty of pop in the upper minors. He swatted 33 homers with Tampa Bay’s Triple-A club in 2022 and connected on another 30 in 2023. He’s played in parts of four seasons in Triple-A and posted a combined .238/.306/.472 batting line.

Gray has played all four infield positions in his professional career, though shortstop has been the most frequent, with 2477 innings there. The Marlins and A’s played him at the corners exclusively in 2024, however. Overall, Gray has 1439 professional innings at third base, 1312 at second base and 911 at first base. He’s a versatile left-handed bat with some platoon issues and strikeout concerns but plenty of pop and a better-than-average walk rate in each of the past two Triple-A campaigns.

MLBTR originally reported that Gray had already been assigned outright to Triple-A, which is not accurate. We regret the error.

Rangers Sign Jesse Chavez, Cody Thomas To Minor League Deals

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The Rangers announced that they have signed right-hander Jesse Chavez and outfielder Cody Thomas to minor league deals. They also announces previously-reported pacts for righty David Buchanan and catcher Chad Wallach. Chavez is represented by Apex Baseball and Thomas by Octagon. Both of them will be in big league camp as non-roster invitees.

Chavez, 41, has already written a lengthy baseball story. He debuted in the big leagues back in 2008 and has appeared in each season since then, suiting up for nine different clubs, having multiple stints with many of them.

That includes the Rangers. Chavez was drafted by Texas way back in 2002, but was traded to the Pirates prior to making it to the majors. He eventually found his way back to the Rangers, signing with them going into 2018, though he was traded to the Cubs that summer. Going into 2019, he came back to Texas yet again, signing a two-year deal at that time.

Despite his age, he has proven himself still capable of getting major league hitters out. He spent 2024 with Atlanta and tossed 63 1/3 innings over 46 appearances. He allowed 3.13 earned runs per nine frames, though there may have been a bit of luck there. His 20.8% strikeout rate was subpar but his .279 batting average on balls in play and 80.3% strand rate were both on the fortunate side, which is why his 4.43 FIP and 3.81 SIERA were higher than his ERA.

There’s no real harm in the Rangers bringing aboard an old friend via a minor league deal. The club has been trying to remake its bullpen while dealing with some notable financial restraints. Kirby Yates, David Robertson, José Leclerc and Andrew Chafin all hit free agency after last year, but the club has been a bit frugal in replacing them since it seems they want to stay under the competitive balance tax.

They acquired Robert Garcia, who has not yet qualified for arbitration, in the Nathaniel Lowe trade. They’ve also given one-year pacts to Chris Martin, Jacob Webb, Shawn Armstrong, and Hoby Milner, with no one in that group getting more than $5.5MM. It’s unclear what kind of salary Chavez would make if selected to the big league roster, but it’s likely not huge, so he provides the club with yet another modestly-priced addition to the relief group.

Thomas, 30, got into 29 games with the Athletics over the 2022 and 2023 seasons. He hit .250/.308/.333 in those but was outrighted off the roster and became a free agent going into 2024. He headed to Asia last year to play for the Orix Buffaloes of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. He went hitless in 18 at-bats and was mostly kept on the farm by the Buffaloes, slashing .263/.335/.324 in 79 games in the minors.

Orioles Sign Dylan Carlson, Designate Jacob Amaya For Assignment

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The Orioles announced that they have signed outfielder Dylan Carlson to a one-year deal. The ALIGND Sports Agency client will reportedly make $975K with a $25K bonus for getting to 200 plate appearances. Infielder Jacob Amaya has been designated for assignment in a corresponding move.

Carlson, 26, has seen his stock slide in recent years. That includes a very rough showing in 2024. Between the Cardinals and Rays last year, he stepped to the plate 265 times but struck out in 28.3% of those appearances and hit just .209/.287/.277 for a wRC+ of 67. The Rays could have retained him via arbitration, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting a $2.7MM salary, but they non-tendered him instead.

It’s been a steep drop from a few years ago. Carlson was selected by the Cardinals with the 33rd overall pick in 2016 and he performed well in his first professional games. Baseball America ranked him as one of the ten best prospects in the entire league in both 2020 and 2021.

In the latter of those two years, he seemed to be on his way to delivering on that prospect hype. He got into 149 games for the Cards in 2021, hitting 18 home runs and slashing .266/.343/.437 for a 111 wRC+. He also got some decent marks for his glovework, leading FanGraphs to credit him with 2.4 wins above replacement on the year. Since he was only 22 years old at the time, it would have been fair to consider that just the beginning.

Unfortunately, his production has trended down since then, perhaps due to a lack of health. A left hamstring strain sent him to the injured list, followed by a later stint for a left thumb sprain. He played 128 games with a .236/.316/.380 line and 98 wRC+. In 2023, left ankle issues were the culprit, sending him to the IL multiple times and eventually requiring surgery. He hit .219/.318/.333 for a wRC+ of 84, getting into just 76 games. In 2024, a left AC joint sprain put him on the IL to start the year. As mentioned earlier, he went on to have a poor season and got sent to free agency.

For the O’s, they probably aren’t expecting much out of Carlson except to fill a fourth outfielder role. They have Cedric Mullins, Tyler O’Neill and Colton Cowser likely to be their regular trio on the grass. Even if someone in that group gets hurt, they have Heston Kjerstad as an option to step up. He still has options remaining and could perhaps be ticketed for everyday at-bats in Triple-A until he’s needed in the majors. The designated hitter slot will probably be shared by first basemen Ryan Mountcastle and Ryan O’Hearn.

That will likely leave Carlson and Daz Cameron in bench/depth roles. Carlson has played all three outfield spots in his career, with mixed reviews. Defensive Runs Saved considers him to have been slightly above average on the whole, though Outs Above Average has him a bit below par.

Based on his past prospect pedigree, there’s theoretically some upside there since Carlson is still young, though he will need to stay healthy and find a path to some regular playing time. If that comes to pass, Carlson can be retained for 2026 via arbitration. He also has a full slate of options, so it’s possible the O’s send him to the minors to try and get him back on track that way. His service time is at four years and 104 days, putting him 68 days of the five-year mark. Once he gets to that line, he can’t be optioned without his consent.

Amaya, 26, was just claimed off waivers earlier this month. The O’s have a penchant for grabbing guys off the wire and then trying to pass them through at a later date, so it’s not especially surprising to see that happen here.

The young infielder is considered to be stronger as a fielder than as a hitter. He has plenty of experience with the middle infield positions, as well as some time at third base, generally impressing prospect evaluators. He has hit .182/.222/.195 in 81 major league plate appearances. That’s a tiny sample size but his minor league work has also been subpar. Over the past two years, he stepped to the plate 868 times on the farm and hit .241/.332/.379 for a wRC+ of 80.

He exhausted his final option in 2024. As his out-of-options status was nearing, he started to bounce around the league. He was designated for assignment by the Marlins in March and traded to the Astros. Houston put him on waivers in August, which led the White Sox to make a claim, though they subsequently lost him to the O’s this month.

Amaya heads back to DFA limbo and will know his fate within a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so any possibility of a trade would need to be explored in the next five days. Based on his past few DFAs, he’s probably headed for the waiver wire again in the coming days. If he clears this time, the O’s will retain him as some infield depth but without him taking up a roster spot.

Jon Heyman of The New York Post had the financial terms.

Marlins Sign Albert Almora Jr. To Minor League Deal

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The Marlins announced a slate of non-roster invitees to major league spring training Monday morning, and in doing so revealed that they’ve inked outfielder Albert Almora Jr. to a minor league contract.

Now 30 years old, Almora was once one of the top prospects in the game during his rise through the Cubs’ system. The No. 6 overall pick back in 2012, Almora spent the better part of a half decade dotting top-100 lists around the industry due to his combination of standout tools in high school and excellent grades for makeup, leadership and other intangible elements of the game. He tore through the lower minors and reached the big leagues as a 22-year-old for a 2016 Cubs team that went on to win the World Series. Almora was a bench player during that postseason run and didn’t collect a hit, but he still got into nine games as a late-inning defensive replacement thanks to his prowess in the outfield.

In 2016-17, Almora indeed looked ticketed for a prominent role in the Cubs’ future. He didn’t immediately break out as a star but posted a better-than-average .292/.330/.448 slash in the majors over 440 plate appearances between those two seasons — his age-22 and age-23 campaigns. Even in 2018, when his offense (namely, his power output) took a step back, Almora hit .286/.323/.378 and drew flat-out elite defensive grades in center field (12 Defensive Runs Saved and 12 Outs Above Average alike). His bat tanked in 2019, however, and he hasn’t returned to even a semi-regular MLB role since.

Almora hit just .236/.271/.381 during 2019, which is even more anemic when considering that was the year of a clearly juiced MLB ball. By measure of wRC+, he was 38% worse than an average hitter that season. From 2019-22, Almora has posted a .219/.265/.344 slash in 686 trips to the plate at the MLB level.

Almora didn’t play at all during the 2023 season but spent the 2024 campaign with the Diamondbacks’ Triple-A affiliate, slashing .292/.349/.438 (97 wRC+) with nine homers and 20 steals in 576 plate appearances. His 7.3% walk rate was below average, but his 14.1% strikeout rate demonstrated that his consistently excellent contact skills remain intact.

Miami has next to no certainty in its outfield mix, where Jesus Sanchez, Kyle Stowers, Derek Hill, Griffin Conine, Dane Myers and Victor Mesa Jr. are the only outfielders on the 40-man roster. Sanchez is the only one who’s established himself at all in the majors, but he’s a corner bat with roughly average offense. Almora will have to play his way into a roster spot, but given the dearth of center field options on the 40-man roster, he’ll garner some consideration if he shows well in spring or in Jacksonville early in the season.

NPB’s Yokohama DeNA BayStars To Sign Trevor Bauer

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The Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Nippon Professonal Baseball have agreed to a deal with right-hander Trevor Bauer, according to multiple reports out of Japan (including from Nikkan Sports).  The BayStars are expected to soon officially announce the signing.

It will mark Bauer’s second season in NPB and second with the BayStars, after posting a 2.76 ERA over 130 2/3 innings with Yokohama in 2023.  In between his two stints in Japan, Bauer pitched with Diablos Rojos del Mexico in 2024, delivering a 2.48 ERA over 83 1/3 frames.  He signed with the Mexican League club after first exploring the possibility of a return to the majors, as his representatives spoke with some unnamed MLB teams in November 2023.

Bauer pitched in parts of 10 Major League seasons from 2012-21 with the Diamondbacks, Cleveland, Reds, and Dodgers, averaging 181 innings per season from 2014-19.  In the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Bauer won the NL Cy Young Award after posting a 1.73 ERA over 73 innings with Cincinnati.  Bauer then signed a three-year, $102MM free agent contract with the Dodgers during the 2020-21 offseason, but this tenure in Los Angeles ended after three months and 107 2/3 innings when he was placed on administrative leave pending a league investigation.

That summer, a woman accused Bauer of sexual assault and filed a restraining order against him in California.  Two other women in Ohio later came forward with similar accusations.  In August 2021, a California judge denied the restraining order request, and the Los Angeles district attorney’s office later declined to pursue criminal charges.  As per a statement from the DA’s office, “after a thorough review of the available evidence, including the civil restraining order proceedings, witness statements and the physical evidence, the People are unable to prove the relevant charges beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Because the MLB/MLBPA Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy doesn’t require criminal charges for the league to take action, Bauer was issued a 324-game suspension (the equivalent of two full seasons) in April 2022.  This record-long suspension was later reduced to 192 games in December 2022 after Bauer appealed the ruling, and the Dodgers released him the next month and ate the $22.5MM remaining on his contract.  Also in 2023, Bauer and his first accuser settled their mutual lawsuits out of court, and another woman reportedly filed a civil action against Bauer accusing him of a sexual assault that took place in Arizona in 2020.

White Sox Sign James Karinchak To Minor League Contract

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The White Sox announced that right-hander James Karinchak was signed to a minor league deal.  Karinchak’s contract contains an invitation to Chicago’s big league Spring Training camp.

Shoulder problems kept Karinchak on the shelf for almost the entire 2024 season, as his only game action came in the form of seven appearances and 6 2/3 innings with the Guardians’ Triple-A affiliate.  It broke a string of five straight seasons of big league work for Karinchak, who has a 3.10 ERA and a huge 36.3% strikeout rate over his 165 2/3 career innings in the Show, all with Cleveland from 2019-23.

Despite those impressive numbers, Karinchak’s ability to miss bats came with the cost of missing the strike zone, as he also has a 14.1% career walk rate.  While it initially seemed as though Karinchak was going to be the latest success story for Cleveland’s pitching factory, his propensity for walks made him unreliable, and the Guardians sent to Triple-A on a few occasions to see if he could sort out his control.  Karinchak also started to get a bit homer-prone in 2021, and he missed half of the 2022 season while recovering from a teres major strain.

The Guardians outrighted Karinchak off their roster after the season and then allowed him to enter free agency, which was essentially an early non-tender (Karinchak was projected for a $1.9MM arbitration salary).  Karinchak is arbitration-eligible through the 2026 season, so the White Sox have two years of control over his services.  It’s not a bad flier to take on a pitcher who, despite his struggles and the caveat of his .248 BABIP, has still enjoyed quite a bit of bottom-line success at the MLB level.

As a division opponent of the Guardians, the White Sox saw plenty of Karinchak as an opponent, and the team will now get a first-hand look at him in camp to see what he can offer heading into his age-29 season.  Karinchak’s 174 big league games make him one of the more experienced players within an overall young pitching staff, and there’s naturally plenty of opportunity for Karinchek to win a bullpen job on such an unsettled roster.  While Karinchak’s top priority is naturally to show that he’s healthy and can still be effective against big league hitters, he might project as a trade deadline candidate for the rebuilding Sox if everything goes well.

Dodgers Re-Sign Chris Okey To Minor League Deal

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The Dodgers announced their group of non-roster invitees to big league camp. They revealed in that announcement that they’ve re-signed catcher Chris Okey to a minor league deal. Right-hander Justin Jarvis and outfielder Justin Dean, neither of whom has reached the majors, also receive MLB invites after signing minor league contracts earlier in the offseason.

Okey, who turned 30 last month, has nine games of major league experience. He appeared in seven games for the Reds in 2022 and suited up twice for the Angels two seasons ago. The former second-round pick signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers going into last season. He hit .236/.283/.327 through 45 games for Triple-A Oklahoma City. Okey carries a .242/.306/.363 batting line across 769 Triple-A plate appearances.

Will Smith, Austin Barnes and Hunter Feduccia are all on the 40-man roster. Top prospect Dalton Rushing (who also received an invite to big league camp) is likely headed back to Oklahoma City to start the season. Okey figures to back him up at the top minor league level. Feduccia still has two option years remaining and will probably also be in Triple-A as long as Smith and Barnes are healthy.

Jarvis, 24, is a former fifth-round pick by Milwaukee. The Brewers traded him to the Mets for Mark Canha at the 2023 deadline. Jarvis started 10 of 28 appearances between New York’s top two affiliates last season. He combined for a 4.55 earned run average with decent if unspectacular strikeout (21.9%) and walk (7.8%) marks. Dean is a 28-year-old who spent most of last year with Atlanta’s Double-A team. He hit .244/.332/.321 but stole 47 bases in 92 games. He can play all three outfield positions.

Mets, Adbert Alzolay Agree To Two-Year Minor League Deal

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The Mets and right-hander Adbert Alzolay have agreed to a two-year minor league deal, reports Will Sammon of The Athletic. The righty underwent Tommy John surgery in August and will likely miss the entire 2025 season.

Alzolay, 30 in March, is not too far removed from being the Cubs’ closer. He broke into the majors as a starter and occasionally flashed some promise but also dealt with notable injury concerns. After missing most of the 2022 season due to a shoulder strain, the Cubs started using him in a primary relief role, which yielded very positive results.

In 2023, Alzolay tossed 64 innings across 58 appearances, allowing 2.67 earned runs per nine innings. He struck out 26.5% of batters faced while only giving out walks 5.1% of the time. He took over the ninth inning duties for the Cubs, racking up 22 saves that year.

Unfortunately, the injury bug bit him again last year. He made 18 appearances in the first few weeks of 2024 with diminished results. His ERA was 4.67 and he only struck out 17.3% of opponents. The velocity was down on all of his pitches. He landed on the injured list in May due to a right forearm strain. He attempted a rehab assignment in July but that proved to be ill-fated, as he required Tommy John surgery in August.

The Cubs could have retained Alzolay for his recovery period. He was controllable via arbitration for two more seasons. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected a $2.3MM salary for Alzolay in 2025. Since he’s not going to pitch much this year, he would have been slated for a very similar salary in 2026. That meant that the Cubs could have kept Alzolay through 2026 for less than $5MM but they decided to non-tender him instead.

For the Mets, this is obviously a long play. Alzolay won’t help the team immediately. Given his August surgery and the rough 14-month timeline to return from Tommy John, he could perhaps act as a wild card late in the 2025 season. But even if that doesn’t come to pass, he could factor into the club’s 2026 plans.

Since he is on a minor league deal, his service time clock won’t be moving until he’s added to the roster. He’s currently at four years and 50 days at the moment. Even a late-season return would only allow him to add a few days to that. As such, he’ll finish the 2026 season between five and six years. That means the Mets could then retain him via arbitration for the 2027 season.

Such an outcome would depend on the righty returning to form after his injury absence. His numbers tailed off in the 2024 season but it’s possible that he was already feeling the effects of his injured elbow, even though surgery was still a few months away.

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