MLB Hot Stove 2023-2024

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The Los Angeles Angels have signed OF Aaron Hicks to a one-year deal. In order to open a roster spot for Hicks, the Angels have designated LHP Kolton Ingram for assignment.

Hicks had previously signed a contract extension with the Yankees in 2019 that runs through 2025. The Yankees released Hicks during the 2023 season and are still responsible for the remainder of his contract, meaning that the Angels will only owe the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the Angels' roster, with that amount subtracted from what the Yankees owe Hicks.

The Yankees released Hicks in May 2023, despite the contract having two full guaranteed years to run. He was picked up by the Orioles and he hit seven homeruns in 65 games, and put together a .275/.381/.425 slash line, good enough for a 129 wRC+. He stole six bases and played in all three outfield positions for the Orioles. However, Baltimore decided not to bring him back and he ended up on the market once more, until the Angels came calling. Hicks is set to earn $9.5 million in 2024 and 2025, and there is a $1 million buyout on a 2026 club option, with the Yankees responsible for the majority of the salary.

 

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The St Louis Cardinals announced overnight that they have claimed 1B/OF Alfonso Rivas off waivers from the Angels, and in a corresponding move, designated OF Moises Gomez for assignment. Rivas has played in the majors in each of the last three seasons, between the Cubs, Padres and Pirates. Like many part-time players, he hasn't seen much success at the plate in the majors, hitting .233/.316/.342 across 410 plate appearances in the last two years, but has a minor league option remaining and has had success at Triple-A at the plate.

Gomez is yet to make his MLB debut and his numbers have steadily declined over the past couple of seasons at the minor league level. In 2022, Gomez split the season between Double-A and Triple-A, hitting 39 homeruns with a .294/.371/.624 slash line, but struck out at a 34.7% rate. In 2023, he hit 30 homeruns but only hit .232/.293/.457 and still struck out at a rate north of 30%.

 

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The Seattle Mariners and Minnesota Twins are in agreement on a trade that sends 2B Jorge Polanco to the Mariners in exchange for RHP Justin Topa, RHP Anthony DeSclafani and prospects Gabriel Gonzalez and Darren Bowen, together with cash consideratioins. The specific amount being sent to the Twins is not currently known with precision but reportedly is larger than the $6 million the Mariners would owe DeSclafani.

Polanco, a switch hitter, seems to be a good fit for the Mariners, since he has hit .267/.337/.458 in almost 2,400 plate appearances since 2019. Knee and hamstring issues curbed his productivity early in the 2023 season, but once healthy, he was still a productive hitter for the Twins, batting .255/.335/.454 in 343 plate appearances and hitting 14 homeruns in 80 games. The Twins exercised a $10.5 million club option on his contract for 2024, but even after his option was exercised, it was still expected that the Twins would look to trade Polanco in order to open up playing time for younger players on the Twins' roster, including Edouard Julien and Royce Lewis.

This is the first time Polanco will play for a team other than the Twins since he signed with Minnesota as a 16 year old back in 2009. He hit the big leagues before he turned 21 and was an every day player by 2016. Polanco earned an All-Star nomination and some MVP votes in 2019.

However, the Twins needed to strengthen their rotation and bullpen, with the Twins seeing Sonny Gray, Kenta Maeda and Tyler Mahle all leave in free agency.

The Mariners expect to use Polanco as their primary second baseman, which will likely bump Jose Rojas and Luis Urias to platoon at third base in place of the now-traded Eugenio Suarez. The Mariners will take on Polanco's $10.5 million salary for 2024 and hold a club option worth $12.5 million in 2025 (with a $750,000 buyout).

The Mariners gave up Justin Topa, whom they acquired from Milwaukee last off-season. He pitched 75 times for the Mariners in 2023, working to a 2.61 ERA across 69 innings. Pairing a 95mph sinker with a cutter and a slider, Topa induced groundballs at a 56.7% rate, and earned the trust of Mariners' skipper Scott Servais by picking up 23 holds and three saves. Topa and the Mariners agreed to a $1.25 million salary earlier in the offseason to avoid arbitration for 2024. He does not reach free agency until after the 2026 season ends. Topa comes with a couple of minor league options so can be demoted to Triple-A if he struggles to adapt to his new surrounds at Target Field.

The Mariners acquired DeSclafani less than a month ago from the Giants as part of the Mitch Haniger-Robbie Ray trade and he finds himself on the move again without having thrown a pitch for Seattle. DeSclafani is set to make $12 million in the final year of his contract he signed with the Giants three years ago. The Giants contributed $6 million to the Mariners to cover half of his salary in 2023. Seattle will retain the rest of the money, essentially making DeSclafani a league minimum acquisition for the Twins.

Mariners land former All-Star infielder Jorge Polanco in trade with Twins

The Mariners have finalized a trade with the Twins to acquire former All-Star infielder Jorge Polanco for a package of four players that includes reliever Justin Topa and prospect Gabriel Gonzalez.

www.seattletimes.com

 

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The Texas Rangers announced overnight that shortstop Corey Seager underwent sports hernia surgery. He apparently suffered the injury during the Rangers' run to the World Series, but he has not recovered from the injury with the layoff, prompting the surgery. The Rangers told reporters that they are hopeful that Seager will be ready for Opening Day 2024.

 

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The Seattle Mariners announced that they have acquired utility player Samad Taylor from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for cash considerations or a player to be named later. The deal opens a roster spot for the Royals, who signed Adam Frazier to a one-year contract with a mutual option for 2025. Frazier will reportedly be guaranteed $4.5 million in the form of a $2 million base salary for 2024 and a $2.5 million buyout on the 2025 option, which is worth $8.5 million.

Frazier hit .240/.300/.396 over 445 plate appearances with the Orioles in 2023 after signing a one-year, $8 million contract with Baltimore in December 2022. Frazier mostly played at second base during the 2023 season, splitting time with firstly Ramon Urias and then Jordan Westburg. With Westburg set to take on more playing time and star prospect Jackson Holliday on the verge of making the jump to the majors, the Orioles decided to part ways with Frazier after his contract expired.

Frazier will take on a very similar role with the Royals, though the fit isn't quite as clean as it was with the Orioles because his expected platoon partner at second base, Michael Massey, is also a left handed hitter. Massey, also, has struggled somewhat against MLB pitching, hitting .233/.284/.379 over 655 career plate appearances in the majors.

Taylor made his MLB debut for the Royals in 2023, after being traded to Kansas City by the Blue Jays as part of the Whit Merrifield deal. Taylor had 69 plate appearances in 31 games, striking out at 31.9% of the time and walking 10.1% of the time. He finished the season with a .200/.279/.267 batting line. Although he didn't offer much at the plate, he played at second base, third base, left field and centre field for the Royals. He brings a couple of minor league options with him to the Mariners.

 

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Last week, the Arizona Diamondbacks added DH/OF Joc Pederson to the team on a one-year, $12.5 million contract, with a $9.5 million base salary and a $3 million buyout on a 2025 mutual option valued at $14 million.

Pederson has slugged homers wherever he has played during his MLB career, hitting 186 homeruns since 2014, while playing for the Dodgers, Cubs, Braves and Giants. Pederson spent the last two seasons with San Francisco, after signing a one-year, $6 million contract heading into 2022. He repaid the Giants by hitting 23 homeruns and slashing .274/.353/.521 (for a wRC+ of 146). His defence was not great, but he more than made up for it with his slugging. The Giants extended Pederson a qualifying offer worth $19.65 million to Pederson after the 2022 season, which Pederson accepted. The results for him in 2023 were not quite so good, as he hit only 15 homeruns and his batting line dropped to .235/.348/.416, for a wRC+ of 111.

Career-wise, Pederson is much stronger against right handed pitchers, with a career average of .242/.344/.490 against RHP compared to a line of .209/.293/.329 against left handed pitching. Pederson is likely to be the designated hitter for the Diamondbacks in the 2024 season, though he could (badly) play the outfield or first base, if required. Pederson made only 23 starts in the outfield in 2023 for the Giants, putting up 204 innings across the season.

Arizona Diamondbacks agree to deal with slugger Joc Pederson, source says

The Arizona Diamondbacks are getting close to landing slugger Joc Pederson, who would fill their need at designated hitter.

www.azcentral.com

To open a spot on their roster for Pederson, the Diamondbacks announced that they have designated RHP Collin Snider for assignment. Snider joined the Diamondbacks as a waiver claim in December 2023, having previously spent his career with the Royals after being drafted by Kansas City in 2017. Snider has 62 career MLB appearances under his belt, with 54 2/3 innings pitched for a 5.93 ERA. The Diamondbacks have a week to trade or pass him through waivers.

 

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The New York Yankees have signed OF Greg Allen to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training as a non-roster invitee. Allen will make salary at the rate of $1.1 million if selected to the big league roster, with up to $400,000 available in incentives (taking the form of a $50,000 bonus for every 50th plate appearance beginning at 150 plate appearances and topping out at 500 plate appearances). Allen has not reached 150 MLB plate appearances since 2019, and has never gone beyond 291 plate appearances in any one season.

It is the third time that Allen has been part of the Yankees. He was traded to the Yankees by the Padres in 2021, playing in 15 games that season. Since then, he been part of the Pirates, the Red Sox, the Yankees (for the second time), the Brewers and now the Yankees for a third time.

Allen spent the majority of the 2023 season in the Yankees organisation but was designated for assignment in August 2023 and elected free agency after going unclaimed on waivers. He had 28 plate appearances for the yankees in 2023 and hit .217/.333/.478 with one homerun and three steals.

 

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The Toronto Blue Jays have signed free agent Justin Turner to a one-year, $13 million contract, with an additional $1.5 million based on both roster bonuses and performance incentives. The deal is not yet official, as it is pending a physical.

Turner turned 39 years old in November but he remained productive with the Red Sox in 2023, hitting .276/.345/.455 with 23 homeruns, 31 doubles, an 8.1% walk rate and a 17.6% strikeout rate in 146 games and 626 plate appearances, which equated to a wRC+ of 114, suggesting that he was 14% better than league average at the plate.

Turner's contract with the Red Sox was a two-year, $22.7 million contract, the second season of which was a player option. He earned $8.3 million in 2023 and received a $6.7 million buyout when he declined his option and returned to free agency. Turner is guaranteed less than what he was paid in 2023, but with incentives he could get close to the $15 million he received for his one year in Boston.

Turner is likely to slot in as the Blue Jays' every day designated hitter, but can also play third base and first base, giving MLB the Show 24 cover athlete Vladimir Guerrero Jr some time off from time to time.

Possibly the only down side for the Blue Jays in terms of roster construction is that it adds another right handed bat to a lineup that already is heavy on right handed hitters. He will replace Brandon Belt, a left handed hitter, who notably remains unsigned. Currently, the Blue Jays are likely only to have three left handed hitters in their lineup on a regular basis - left fielder Daulton Varsho, centre fielder Kevin Kiermaier and infielder Cavan Biggio. None of those three boast power, and all three are best served in a platoon arrangement.

The Blue Jays previously made runs at signing DH/OF/RHP Shohei Ohtani and RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto, but missed out on both to the Dodgers. The Jays were also linked with left handed slugger Joc Pederson, before he signed with the Diamondbacks. The Blue Jays have also been talking to J.D. Martinez, Jorge Soler and Rhys Hoskins (now signed with the Brewers).

 

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Reports are coming out suggesting that the Angelos family are selling the Baltimore Orioles to a group led by two private equity billionaires, David Rubenstein of the Carlyle Group and Mike Arougheti of Ares Management Corp. The deal is reportedly valued at $1.725 billion.



The Orioles Prepare for Private Equity Control (paywalled)

The Angelos family have owned the club since 1993. Reports emerged in June 2022 highlighting infighting between members of the Angelos family about control of the club. The MLB approved John Angelos as the club's "control person" in 2020, but multiple lawsuits between the family members were filed. The reports noted that Georgia Angelos had hired Goldman Sachs to explore a possible sale of the club. The lawsuits were reportedly settled in 2023.

 

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The Baltimore Orioles have confirmed reports that the team has been sold, announcing overnight that a group of investors led by billionaire David Rubenstein of the Carlyle Group private equity firm has purchased a controlling stake in the team from the Angelos family for US$.1725 billion. Former control person John Angelos will remain a "major investor" in the franchise and will serve as a "senior advisor" to Rubenstein in his new role.

The sale of the majority share in the Orioles is still subject to approval from the remaining 29 owners, and it is expected that the sale will be put to the owners for approval next week at the quarterly MLB owners meetings.

Rubenstein fronts a group of investors including Orioles icon Cal Ripken Jr, NBA Hall of Famer Grant Hill and former NY mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Rubenstein is a Baltimore native and has expressed his desire to keep the Orioles in Baltimore for the long term. To that end, the recent 30-year lease extension at Camden Yards will transfer to the new owners.

No, the new owners cannot move the Orioles. But what comes next?

Fans are rejoicing, but it comes with a caveat. The deal is not finalized, and there are multiple steps that need to be taken before it is.

www.thebaltimorebanner.com

 

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The Los Angeles Angels announced that they have traded utility player Trey Cabbage to the Houston Astros, in exchange for minor league RHP Carlos Espinosa. The Astros designated RHP Declan Cronin for assignment to create room on the roster for Cabbage.

Cabbage made his MLB debut for the Angels in 2023, making 56 plate appearances in 22 games. He hit just .208/.232/.321 over that span, striking out 46.4% of the time. Cabbage hit 30 homeruns in 107 Triple-A games in 2023, though he did strike out at 30% of the time. He put together a slashline of .306/.379/.596 in Triple-A, and picked up 32 stolen bases in 35 attempts, while playing at first base and at all three outfield spots.

The Astros designated Cronin for assignment only a few weeks after claiming him on waivers from the White Sox. He made his MLB debut for Chicago last year, pitching 11 innings and allowing 11 earned runs. He pitched 51 2/3 innings in Triple-A in 2023, allowing 3.83 ERA, while inducing ground balls at a rate of 54.5%.

Espinosa was signed by the Astros out of Cuba and he has limited experience in US baseball, having only pitched in the Complex League and in Single-A. Between those two competitions, Espinosa has pitched 84 1/3 innings with a 3.74 ERA, 27% strikeout rate and a 9.9% walk rate.

 

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The Boston Red Sox announced that they have claimed utility player Romy Gonzalez off waivers from the White Sox, and have designated RHP Zack Weiss for assignment to create roster space. Gonzalez was designated for assignment last week by Chicago to create roster space for RHP John Brebbia. Over parts of three seasons, Gonzalez hit .222/.239/.361 with five homeruns and seven steals in 239 plate appearances. However, Gonzalez's biggest issue is his discipline, having struck out at 36% rate while walking just 2.1% of the time. He also makes contact at 50.2% of the time at pitches outside the zone, which is tied for 543 among the 593 hitters who have had at least 200 plate appearances over the past three seasons, and only 39 hitters in that same group have chased pitches outside the zone more frequently than Gonzalez.

Weiss was added by the Red Sox during the course of the 2023 season through a waiver claim when he was designated for assignment by the Angels in August. Weiss pitched 8 2/3 innings in the majors for the Red Sox and gave up two earned runs on three hits, with four walks and eight strikeouts. Weiss is a career 4.61 ERA pitcher in 27 1/3 innings since 2018.

 

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The Pittsburgh Pirates made their one-year deal for Aroldis Chapman official, and announced that they have designated OF Canaan Smith-Njigba for assignment to create roster space for Chapman. Smith-Njigba was acquired by the Pirates as part of the trade last year for Jameson Taillon. Smith-Njigba made the Opening Day roster and started in right field, but has not had any success at the plate, hitting .135/.250/.243 in 44 MLB plate appearances. His brother is a wide receiver for the Seattle Seahawks.

 

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Having lost LHP Josh Hader to free agency (with Hader eventually signing a deal with the Astros), the Padres have replaced him with LHP Wandy Peralta on a four-year, $16.5 million contract. The deal contains three opt-out clauses, which means that Peralta has an opportunity at the end of each season to opt back into free agency. The deal is not yet official, as it is pending a physical. Peralta spent the last three seasons with the Yankees, pitching 153 innings with a 2.82 ERA. He struck out batters about 21% of the time, walked them 10.2% of the time and induced groundballs at 56.5% of the time.

However, in 2023, Peralta had issues with his command, as his walk rate climbed from 7.6% to 13.6%, and he also hit six batters - a career high.

 

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The Pittsburgh Pirates are in agreement on a minor league contract with RHP Wily Peralta, with an invitation to Spring Training as a non-roster invitee. Peralta most recently pitched for the Tigers between 2021-2022, pitching 132 innings for a 2.93 ERA. He signed a minor league free agent deal with the Nationals last off season and did not make the majors, as his results in Triple-A were not good (6.32 ERA in 102 2/3 innings).

 

[Constantgin]

Maybe first big move by new owners

 

[Constantgin]

 

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The Washington Nationals are in agreement with LHP Richard Bleier on a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training. Bleier is looking to extend his MLB career to a ninth consecutive season. He has managed to record an ERA of under 3.00 in five of his eight seasons. Bleier does not throw with heat, relying instead on his sinker to induce ground-balls. Bleier worked to a 3.55 ERA with the Marlins in 2022 before being traded to the Red Sox last off season in exchange for RHP Matt Barnes. Bleier had a 5.28 ERA with the Red Sox in 2023, pitching 30 2/3 innings in 27 games.

The Red Sox designated Bleier for assignment in August 2023, and he cleared waivers. He signed a minor league contract with the Cubs, and he pitched five times for Chicago's Triple-A team, giving up six runs over 5 2/3 innings. The Cubs decided not to promote Bleier to the major league roster and he became a free agent at the end of the season.

 

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The Miami Marlins have prevailed in their arbitration hearing against OF Jazz Chisholm Jr, who will earn $2.625 million in 2024 rather than the $2.9 million he sought from the club. Chisholm Jr celebrates his 26th birthday today, but probably not in the manner envisaged. Chisholm Jr has appeared in 302 games over the last four seasons for the Marlins, hitting 53 homeruns among a slash line of .245/.304/.452. He also has stolen 59 bases in 77 attempts for the Marlins. Originally coming up to the majors as a second baseman, the Marlins shifted him to centre field in 2023 to accommodate the arrival last off-season of Luis Arraez from the Twins.

Under the rules of arbitration, the arbitrators must pick one of the two numbers filed by club and player and on this occasion, have sided with the Marlins. This has ramifications for Chisholm moving forward, since the current arbitration amount sets the stage for future arbitration raises and will also affect his potential earning power as he hits free agency.

The Marlins have yet to resolve the arbitration outcome with Luis Arraez (who filed at $12 million compared to $10.6 million from the Marlins), while LHP Tanner Scott requested a $5.7 million salary with the team proposing $5.15 million.

 

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The Chicago Cubs have made their signing of RHP Hector Neris official, and have designated RHP Michael Rucker for assignment to create roster space. Rucker has been with the Cubs since the end of July 2021, though he has often bounced between the majors and minors over the last two years. In the past three years, he has appeared in 96 MLB games and pitched 123 1/3 innings, allowing a 4.96 ERA. The Cubs now have a week to trade Rucker or attempt to pass him through waivers. He still has one option year remaining and will not need to be carried on an active roster.

 

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The Los Angeles Angels have signed catcher Caleb Hamilton to a minor league deal. Hamilton has played 26 MLB games during his career, with 22 of them for the Twins in 2022 and the remainder with the Red Sox in 2023.

 

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The Arizona Diamondbacks announced overnight that they have signed LHP Brandon Hughes to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training as a non-roster invitee. Hughes spent the last two seasons with the Cubs, pitching 57 2/3 innings for the Cubs in 2022 for a 3.12 ERA. He unfortunately suffered a left knee injury in June 2023 that forced him to miss the majority of the season. He managed a 7.24 ERA in 13 2/3 innings pitched in 2023.

 

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The New York Mets are reportedly nearing a deal with Jake Diekman. According to reports, the Mets have offered Diekman a one-year deal with a vesting option. Although Diekman has not yet agreed to the deal, there is optimism that it would be done shortly. According to reports, the Mets offered LHP Wandy Peralta a two-year deal worth $8-10million total before Peralta agreed to a four year deal with the Padres, and reportedly the offer to Diekman is of similar value to the Peralta offer.

Mets nearing deal with reliever Jake Diekman

Diekman fits what the Mets were said to be looking for in their bullpen; he’s an affordable lefty veteran who has had success in the majors.

theathletic.com

Mets likely putting finishing touches on offseason work

If and when an agreement with Jake Diekman becomes official -- and there is optimism that it will -- the Mets will have quite possibly completed their offseason work.

sny.tv

 

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Teams have reached out to the Blue Jays about the prospect of acquiring RHP Alek Manoah, and the Blue Jays have indicated that they are not prepared to trade Manoah as they expect him to be part of the 2024 starting rotation for Toronto. Manoah finished third in the AL Cy Young voting in 2022, with a 2.24 ERA in 31 starts. However, 2023 was a disaster for Manoah and he was optioned on multiple occasions to the minor leagues during the season. He finished the 2023 season with a 5.87 ERA in 87 1/3 innings pitched.

 

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The Oakland Athletics have outrighted left-handed reliever Francisco Perez off their 40-man roster, according to the club's transaction log at MLB.com, in order to clear a spot for LHP Alex Wood to be added to the 40-man roster. The Athletics have not announced the signing of Wood officially at this stage.

Perez has pitched in the MLB in each of the last three seasons, for three different clubs, starting with the Guardians in 2021, the Nationals in 2022 and Oakland in 2023. With the Athletics, Perez pitched 16 2/3 innings in 17 games, with 11 earned runs given up. He struck out 14 and walked eight. In 31 MLB games over the last three seasons, Perez has a 5.91 ERA.

Since Perez has previously cleared outright waivers, he has the ability to test free agency. If Perez accepts the minor league assignment, he could get a non-roster invite to the Athletics' Spring Training.

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