MLB Hot Stove 2023-2024

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Cardinals utility player Tommy Edman underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right wrist in October, according to St Louis Cardinals and they expect that he will be ready for Spring Training. Edman missed time during the 2023 season thanks to inflammation in the wrist.

Edman hopeful for start of spring after offseason wrist surgery

This story was excerpted from John Denton's Cardinals Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

www.mlb.com

 

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The New York Mets announced that they have claimed infielder Diego Castillo off waivers from the Arizona Diamondbacks. Castillo was designated for assignment by the Diamondbacks two weeks ago when they re-signed Lourdes Gurriel Jr.

 

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The White Sox finally officially announced their signing of catcher Martin Maldonado, which was reported in December. The White Sox designated utility player Zach Remillard for assignment to clear a spot on the 40-man roster. Chicago drafted Remillard in the tenth round of the 2016 draft. He has played seven-plus seasons in the minors, including a three-year apprenticeship in Triple-A, before being called up to the majors in June 2023. He played in 54 MLB games for the White Sox, hitting .252/.295/.320 with one home run over his first 160 plate appearances.

 

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The Seattle Mariners traded LHP Robbie Ray to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for OF Mitch Haniger, RHP Anthony DeSclafani and cash considerations from the Giants. According to reports, the Giants are sending approximately $6 million in cash to the Mariners.

The Mariners signed Ray as a free agent back in the off-season of 2021-2022 after Ray won a Cy Young award with Toronto in the 2021 season. He agreed to a five-year, $115 million deal with the Mariners, with an opt out after three seasons. Ray continued his fine form in his first year in Seattle, making 32 starts with a 3.71 ERA, striking out 27.4% of batters faced while limiting walks to just 8% of the time. However, Ray was notable for serving up a meatball to Houston's Yordan Alvarez in the 2022 AL Division Series that allowed the Astros to walk off the Mariners in game 1 of the series. The Astros went on to sweep the Mariners in the ALDS, including in an 18 inning epic that saw records set for the longest post-season game that was eventially decided by a Jeremy Pena solo shot in the top of the 18th inning off Penn Murfee. The Astros went on to win the World Series over the Phillies in 2022.

Ray's 2023 season never got going, as he made just one appearance for the Mariners before being shut down and eventually undergoing elbow surgery to repair his flexor tendon and to reconstruct his UCL. Ray is expected to be able to pitch by mid-season and will be slotted into the Giants' rotation behind Logan Webb and Alex Cobb when he returns to full fitness.

Haniger previously played for the Mariners between 2017 and 2022, although he missed the entire 2020 season. When available, Haniger was a productive player at the plate, hitting 107 home runs for the Mariners in 530 games, as well as a combined .263/.337/.480 for a wRC+ of 124 (wRC+ of 100 is league average). He signed with the Giants during free agency after the 2022 season, on a three-year, $43.5 million deal, with an opt-out after the second season (2024). Haniger was limited by injury in his first season in San Francisco, playing just 61 games and hitting .209/.266/.365 when playing.

 

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The Mariners have also executed a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays, swapping infielder Jose Caballero to the Rays in exchange for outfielder Luke Raley.

 

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The St Louis Cardinals have traded outfielder Richie Palacios to the Rays in exchange for RHP Andrew Kittredge.

 

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The Milwaukee Brewers have signed catcher Austin Nola to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training. Nola was previously with the Padres but was optioned to Triple-A in mid-July 2023 after having an awful time of it at the plate, hitting just .146/.260/.192 in 154 plate appearances in the first half of the season. Nola revealed in September that he had been diagnosed with oculomotor dysfunction, which impacts the capacity of the brain to coordinate eye movement and comes with symptoms including fogginess and headaches. He was non-tendered by the Padres in November, putting him on the open market.

Prior to the 2023 season, Nola had played some good baseball, hitting .263/.336/.395 across his career, and was league average in terms of his defence as a catcher. Nola has previously played for Seattle and the Padres and will look to revive his career as a backup catcher to William Contreras though he is competing with Eric Haase for that job.

 

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The Altanta Braves announced that they have signed free agent infielder Luis Guillorme to a one year, $1.1 million contract. Atlanta also re-signed RHP Huascar Ynoa to a one year, $825,000 contract, avoiding arbitration. Guillomre has less than five years of MLB service time under his belt, so he is controllable by the Braves for the 2025 season via arbitration. Guillorme has previously played entirely for the New York Mets and was non-tendered by the Mets in November after his form at the plate fell off a cliff in 2023.

 

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The Pittsburgh Pirates have designated RHP Max Kranick for assignment to open a roster spot on the 40-man roster for LHP Martin Perez, whose reported one-year deal was finalised over the weekend. Kranick made 11 MLB appearances for the Pirates (nine starts) between 2021-2022. He has a 5.56 ERA with a 17.9% strikeout rate and a 10.9% walk rate in 43 2/3 innings. Kranick underwent Tommy John surgery in June 2022, which kept him out of baseball for the remainder of the 2022 season and for most of the 2023 season. He was reactivated from the IL on 1 September and optioned to Triple-A and he spent the remainder of the year with Indianapolis, allowing five runs over 16 1/3 innings, with 12 strikeouts and six walks.

 

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The Colorado Rockies made two signings over the weekend, adding RHP Dakota Hudson and catcher Jacob Stallings on one-year deals. The Rockies put catcher Brian Serven on waivers (and he was claimed by the Cubs) and assigned infielder Alan Trejo outright to Triple-A to create the roster space for Hudson and Stallings.

Hudson was a first-round draft selection by the Cardinals in the 2016 draft and made his MLB debut with St Louis back in 2018. He managed an ERA of 3.17 in 241 innings between his debut and the end of the 2020 season. He missed almost all of the 2021 season with Tommy John surgery and when he returned to the mound after rehabbing the surgery performed poorly, putting up an ERA of 4.45 in 139 2/3 innings across 27 appearances (26 starts) in 2022. His career turned for the worse last season, as he spent most of the season in the minor leagues and struggled to a 4.98 ERA in 81 1/3 innings. He was promoted to the major leagues after the Cardinals traded away Jack Flaherty and Jordan Montgomery and struggled even worse, posting a 5.23 ERA and 5.45 FIP in 62 innings across 11 starts for the Cardinals. He was non-tendered by the Cardinals in November.

However, Hudson's proficiency at inducing ground balls may help him out at Coors Field, as the groundball pitchers tend to pitch reasonably well in Colorado. He is likely to be on the opening day roster for the Rockies together with Kyle Freeland, Austin Gomber and Cal Quantrill.

Stallings was non-tendered by the Marlins in November 2023. He was a seventh-round draft pick for the Pirates in the 2012 draft, and made his MLB debut in 2016. He earned a regular role as the Pirates' back-up catcher in 2019, hitting .262/.325/.382 in 210 plate appearances in 2019. He took over as the primary catcher for the Pirates in 2020-2021, hitting .246/.333/.371 in 154 games behind the plate. The Pirates traded Stallings to Miami in the 2021-2022 offseason and Stallings' form deserted him, hitting just .210/.287/.290 in 660 plate appearances while with the Marlins.

 

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Wander Franco was granted bail during his hearing over the weekend in the Dominican Republic, according to multiple reports. He paid a bond of 2 million pesos, equivalent to approximately US$34,000. Franco is permitted to leave the country but must report monthly to speak with officials as they continue to investigate allegations of sexual abuse and money laundering.

The Washington Post obtained documents that indicate that prosecutors claim that Franco had had sexual relations with a 14-year-old girl over a span of four months, with the age of consent in the Dominican Republic set at 18 years of age. It is also alleged that Franco paid the girl's mother the equivalent of thousands of dollars to remain silent about the abuse. The alleged victim's mother was detained and assigned to house arrest by the judge.

The Rays have not commented about Franco since putting him on the restricted list on 14 August when the abuse allegations first emerged.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2024/01/05/wander-franco-accusations/

Judge orders Franco release as inquiry continues

A judge in the Dominican Republic ordered Rays shortstop Wander Franco's conditional release after he appeared in court to face allegations he had a relationship with a minor.

www.espn.com

 

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The Detroit Tigers announced that catcher Donny Sands has cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A Toledo. He remains part of the Tigers without taking up a spot on the 40-man roster. Sands was acquired by the Tigers together with Nick Maton and Matt Vierling in last year's trade that sent Gregory Soto and Kody Clemens to Philadelphia.

 

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The Boston Red Sox have received trade interest in LF Masataka Yoshida and RHP Kenley Jansen according to reports. The Red Sox are not actively shopping Yoshida but it has also been reported that the Red Sox are potentially looking at trading an outfielder. Yoshida was signed by the Red Sox to a five year, $90 million contract and the Red Sox paid his former NPB team, the Orix Buffaloes, $15.375 million. He hit .289/.338/.445 over 580 plate appearances but only hit 15 homeruns and walked just 6% of the time. Listed at 5'8", 175 pounds he is not a prototypical MLB slugger but he also earned below average reviews for his work as an outfielder and he is stuck either as a left fielder or as a designated hitter. With the Red Sox reshaping the front office around new GM Craig Breslow in the off-season, it is possible that the Red Sox have soured on Yoshida and are looking to get out from under his contract.

In the meantime, Kenley Jansen is tied to Boston for another season, with a contract worth $16 million for 2024 and he is a free agent after the 2024 season is over. He had a decent first season in Boston, pitching to a 3.63 ERA over 44 2/3 innings. He struck out 27.7% of opponents, which was a career-low strikeout rate for Jansen. He picked up 29 saves (out of 33 opportunities).

Teoscar Hernández in? Masataka Yoshida traded? Red Sox weighing moves

The Red Sox are considering options that would shake up their current outfield mix.

theathletic.com

Red Sox still in search of starting pitching and a power bat - The Boston Globe

Multiple sources identified Teoscar Hernández as a top target, while the Athletic reported the Red Sox are listening to offers on left fielder Masataka Yoshida, who just completed the first season of a five-year, $90 million deal.

www.bostonglobe.com

 

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The Chicago White Sox signed RHP Chad Kuhl to a minor league contract last week. Kuhl most recently pitched for the Nationals, pitching 38 1/3 innings for Washington and posting an 8.45 ERA. His wife was diagnosed with breast cancer during the season and he announced that he was stepping away from baseball after being designated for assignment in June 2023 by the Nationals to spend the remainder of the season with his family.

Chad Kuhl Stats, Age, Position, Height, Weight, Fantasy & News

Chad Kuhl Stats, Age, Position, Height, Weight, Fantasy & News

www.mlb.com

 

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The San Francisco Giants re-signed infielder Donovan Walton to a minor league contract a couple of weeks ago. He was acquired by the Giants in a trade with Seattle in May 2022 and has limited experience in the majors.

 

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The Los Angeles Angels have signed RHP Zach Plesac to a major league deal, comprising a one year contract worth $1 million in guaranteed money.

 

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The New York Yankees have signed infielder Kevin Smith to a minor league contract. Smith has spent the last two seasons with the Oakland Athletics after being part of the trade of Matt Chapman to Toronto. Between the Blue Jays and Oakland, Smith has had 333 plate appearances in the last three years, and has hit .173/.215/.301 (great work by the Oakland front office in including Smith as part of the trade return for Chapman, btw). He exhausted his final option year in 2023. The A's non-tendered Smith at the end of the season even though he was still two years away from qualifying for arbitration.

Smith has played third base and shortstop at the major league level, and also has some experience at second base in the minor leagues.

 

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The St Louis Cardinals have employed former Red Sox GM Chaim Bloom as an advisor to the president of baseball operations John Mozeliak. Mozeliak has described Bloom's role as "more of a part-time role, an advisory role". Bloom will not relocate to St Louis but will attend Spring Training and will join the team for home and road games.

 

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LHP Shota Imanaga has only a couple of days to reach agreement on a contract with an MLB team, with his posting window closing Friday (Australian time). He has been most strongly linked to the Angels and the Giants, though the Cubs and Red Sox are also in the hunt. It is expected that Imanaga will exceed the five-year, $75 million contract the Mets gave to Kodai Senga last off-season.

【ＭＬＢ】今永昇太の最終候補はジャイアンツ＆エンゼルスの２球団　１４５億円超争奪戦は最終局面に

ＤｅＮＡからポスティングシステムで米大リーグ移籍を目指す今永昇太投手（３０）の移籍先として、ジャイアンツとエンゼルスが有力候補になっていることが６日、球界関係者…

www.sanspo.com

Imanaga signing coming soon, and 'it's all pointing' to this team

The baseball world is waiting for the next big free-agent domino to fall as notable names such as Blake Snell, Josh Hader, Cody Bellinger and Matt Chapman remain available. It remains to be seen whether any of those players will sign this week, but another prominent free agent will almost

www.mlb.com

 

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The Miami Marlins have re-signed outfielder Jonathan Davis to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training, per the player himself. Davis spent the majority of the 2023 season with the Marlins after being traded to Miami by the Tigers in May. He played 34 MLB games for Miami during the season, taking 104 plate appearances and hitting .244/.308/.378 with two homeruns, four doubles, a triple and a steal. Across six big league seasons, Davis is a career .198/.295/.276 hitter, but walks 11% of the time.

 

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The Tampa Bay Rays announced yesterday that they have signed veteran catcher Rob Brantly to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training. Brantly has played in parts of eight big league seasons but has never had more than 243 plate appearances in a single season. He has not appeared in more than six MLB games since 2017 and did not play a MLB game in 2023, spending the season in Triple-A Buffalo as part of the Blue Jays' organisation.

 

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The Los Angeles Dodgers added another free agent to their roster, signing outfielder Teoscar Hernandez to a one-year, $23.5 million contract, albeit that $8.5 million of the salary will be deferred and will be paid out to Hernandez in instalments between 2030-2039. The contract will become official once Hernandez passes a physical. Hernandez has hit 147 home runs over 3002 plate appearances since the start of the 2018 season, having previously played with the Blue Jays and the Mariners.

 

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The New York Mets have signed OF Harrison Bader to a one-year contract worth approximately $10 million. Bader turns 30 in June and is an elite defensive outfielder who has had mixed results as a hitter and has also struggled to stay consistently healthy. Since making his MLB debut in 2017, Bader has accumulated 52 Defensive Runs Saved, 68 Outs Above Average and a grade of 46.6 from Ultimate Zone Rating. All three metrics put him in the top ten for all outfielders during that time period. Bader has also stolen 77 bases in 95 attempts.

Bader has hit .243/.310/.396 across his career, for a wRC+ of 92 (indicating that he is 8% below league average). He has had some seasons where he has been an above average hitter, including in 2018 and in 2021. He was acquired by the Yankees at the 2022 trade deadline from the Cardinals in exchange for Jordan Montgomery and ended up being put on waivers by the Yankees in the back end of the 2023 season as the Yankees looked to cut payroll from an underperforming team.

 

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The New York Mets are in agreement with LHP Sean Manaea on a two-year contract worth $28 million guaranteed. The deal comes with an opt-out after the 2024 season. Manaea was a first-round draft selection for Kansas City back in 2013 and was traded to Oakland in the 2015 deal that brought Ben Zobrist to the Royals. Manaea prospered in the pitcher-friendly environments of the Coliseum and did not have an ERA over 4.00 in any one season with the Athletics. However, the A's decided that they could not afford to re-sign Manaea and traded him to the Padres in 2022 in a four-player deal, with the A's receiving a pair of prospects in exchange for Manaea.

Manaea struggled in Petco Park, with his ERA jumping to 4.96 and his strikeout rate dropping from 24.8% between 2019-2021 to 23.2% in 2022 with the Padres. He signed with the Giants last off-season which included the right to return to the free agent market this offseason. Manaea was removed from the Giants' rotation in early May and by mid-June had a 5.84 ERA in 49 1/3 innings. However, Manaea added a sweeper to his repertoire and found significant success with it, restricting opposing batters to a .140/.161/.163 slash line against the pitch. Manaea had a 3.78 ERA in the last 81 innings of the season he pitched and lowered that to 2.25 ERA in his last four starts with the Giants.

Manaea declined his $12.5 million player option with the Giants and returned to the open market. He's improved on this with the contract with the Mets with an AAV of $14 million and the ability to return to opt out once again next offseason should he choose to do so.

 

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The New York Yankees have signed infielder Kevin Smith to a minor league contract. Smith has spent the last two seasons with the Oakland Athletics after being part of the trade of Matt Chapman to Toronto. Between the Blue Jays and Oakland, Smith has had 333 plate appearances in the last three years, and has hit .173/.215/.301 (great work by the Oakland front office in including Smith as part of the trade return for Chapman, btw). He exhausted his final option year in 2023. The A's non-tendered Smith at the end of the season even though he was still two years away from qualifying for arbitration.

The A's received 4 prospects for Matt Chapman. Zach Logue is gone after showing nothing, Kirby Snead is gone after showing nothing, now Kevin Smith is gone. Only pitcher Gunnar Hoglund remains but injuries have hampered him. Fair to say the A's lost that trade!