MLB Hot Stove 2023-2024

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Unsurprisingly, veteran utility player Josh Harrison has opted out of his minor league deal with the Cincinnati Reds that he signed earlier in February. Harrison had an opt-out provision in his contract that permitted him to opt out if he was not selected to the active roster by 21 March. The Reds informed Harrison that he would not make the team out of Spring Training, so he has triggered his opt-out. While the Reds will be without the suspended Noelvi Marte for the first 80 games of the season, and TJ Friedl will miss a significant amount of the season after fracturing his wrist during Spring Training, the Reds have plenty of depth to cover both absences and Harrison couldn't vault the other players in front of him to make the roster. Harrison hit just .204/.263/.291 for the Phillies in 2023 and was released by Philadelphia in August. He signed a minor league contract with the Rangers, hitting .222/.323/.370 in seven games before opting out of that contract. Harrison is hoping to catch on with another team, relying on his versatility on the field to hopefully find another team. Harrison has played one career inning at first base, three innings in the past two years at shortstop and 10 innings in his career at centre field, but he has plenty of experience at second base, third base and the outfield corners.

 

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The Seattle Mariners have granted utility player Cole Tucker his release. Tucker had been in the Mariners' Spring Training camp on a non-roster deal but is now a free agent. Tucker received 14 plate appearances during Spring Training and went 2-for-10 with two singles and four walks. Tucker had been competing for a bench spot with Seattle but the Mariners feel like their bench is pretty much settled and won't be requiring Tucker's services. Tucker has bounced around the league during his career, after being drafted 24th overall in 2014 by the Pirates. He has never exceeded 159 plate appearances in any one season and is a career .216/.266/.318 batter in 459 plate appearances at the top level. Tucker came into the league as a shortstop but has played across all three outfield spots, at second base and at first and third base during his career.

 

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As noted earlier this week, the Oakland Athletics signed J.D. Davis to a one-year contract after the Giants released him following their signing of 3B Matt Chapman. According to reports, Davis has a base salary of $2.5 million for 2024 with the Athletics, and can earn $750,000 should he have 500 plate appearances, plus another $250,000 if he reaches 550 plate appearances.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/giants/article/j-d-davis-opens-giants-exit-bothers-future-19123271.php

 

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The ongoing saga of Blake Snell's next team appears to have been resolved with reports suggesting that he is preparing to sign a contract with the San Francisco Giants, pending the completion of a physical. Snell is set to sign a two-year, $62 million contract that would allow him to opt out after the 2024 season. Snell will reportedly receive a $15 million salary in 2024 and a $17 million signing bonus that is deferred until January 2026. Snell will receive the bonus even if he opts out of the contract at the end of the season, so that decision essentially amounts to a $30 million player option for the 2025 season.

By signing Snell, the Giants add the reigning NL Cy Young winner to a rotation that features the runner-up in the same award in 2023, RHP Logan Webb. Snell probably didn't envisage having to settle for a two-year contract when free agency opened at the start of the off-season, especially after he put up a miniscule 1.78 ERA through 27 starts and 157 innings for the Padres after April 2023. Snell struck out batters at a 31.5% rate, third in the league behind Spencer Strider and Tyler Glasnow with 100+ innings pitched. Snell collected 28 first place votes in the NL Cy Young race (out of 30 cast) and became the fourth active pitcher with multiple Cy Young awards after he won the AL Cy Young with the Rays back in 2018. The other multiple Cy Young winners active in the league are RHP Max Scherzer, LHP Clayton Kershaw, RHP Justin Verlander and RHP Jacob deGrom.

Reports came out in January that the Yankees had put a six-year, $150 million offer to Snell, which Snell rejected. The Yankees reportedly withdrew their offer in February and declined to reengage with Snell's representatives after it became clear that he was edging closer to signing with the Giants.

Snell is the third of the so-called "Boras four" to sign a short-term contract, joining Cody Bellinger (Cubs) and Matt Chapman (Giants) as being forced to settle for the short term contracts rather than a longer-term arrangement. The last remaining "Boras four" is LHP Jordan Montgomery, who reportedly is still holding out for a long-term deal.

Snell joins OF Jung Hoo Lee, DH Jorge Soler and 3B Matt Chapman as the new high profile faces in the Bay Area signed in free agency, while the Giants also acquired LHP Robbie Ray via trade earlier in the off-season and, depending on his rehabilitation, is expected to join the team around the All-Star Break.

 

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The Toronto Blue Jays announced that they have signed RHP Mike Mayers to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training. Mayers signed a minor league contract with the Royals in 2023 and was called up to their active roster to pitch as a swingman between the starting rotation and bullpen. However, he was torched by opposing hitters, putting up an ERA of 6.15 in 26 1/3 innings over six appearances. The Royals outrighted him off the roster in June and was later traded to the White Sox. In 2022, while with the Angels, Mayers pitched 50 2/3 innings for 5.68 ERA, giving up homeruns on 20.8% of the fly balls he permitted. This was a decided reversal of fortunes for Mayers, who had pitched 101 times for the Angels between 2020-2021, for 105 innings and a 3.34 ERA. Notably, Mayers' fastball velocity dropped after the 2021 season, going from an average of in excess of 94 mph in 2020-2021 to 93.5 mph in 2022 and 92.9 mph in 2023. He has worked with Driveline Baseball on his throwing and it seems to have caught the attention of the Blue Jays.

The Blue Jays have reason to sign Mayers to a minor league contract with relievers Jordan Romano and Erik Swanson dealing with arm issues, although their recent MRIs suggest that there are no structural issues causing the right elbow inflammation for Romano and forearm tightness for Swanson.

 

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The Cincinnati Reds have released utility player Tony Kemp from his contract. Kemp had signed a minor league contract with the Reds after being a long-time player for the Oakland Athletics. Kemp's contract included an opt-out if he was not selected on the major league roster by 23 March. The Reds announced yesterday that they had assigned Kemp to their minor league camp. Kemp never had much pop at the plate for Oakland, but his discipline allowed him to keep his strikeout rate to 11.7% while he walked 10.5% of the plate appearances he had. His contact-oriented approach allowed him to hit .240/.330/.345 for a 97 wRC+ over his four seasons in Oakland. However, his batting nosedived in 2023, as he hit just .209/.303/.304 in 2023 for a 77 wRC+. The A's used Kemp at second base (until they called up Zack Gelof) and at left field.

 

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The slow burn of free agency has reportedly caused some discontent in the Players Association, with reports suggesting that during a call between union reps and union leadership earlier this week, players pushed executive director Tony Clark to replace deputy director Bruce Meyer with Harry Marino. Marino was the former head of Advocates for Minor Leaguers who temporarily joined the Players Association to assist in negotiations on the minor league collective bargaining agreement, which was finalised in 2023 when the minor leaguers unionised and were formally adopted by the Players Association. According to reports, Marino and Meyer have a "strained" relationship.

Meyer joined the Players Association in August 2018 after the union was criticised for its handling of the MLB collective bargaining agreement that applied between 2016 and 2021, with most suggesting that the MLB winning the negotiations.

It appears that the matter has come to a head over the Giants' decision to release J.D. Davis after they signed Matt Chapman to play third base. Davis had won his arbitration decision against the Giants and was awarded $6.9 million. However, thanks to a rule in the CBA, once the Giants decided to release Davis, they were obliged to pay him 30 days termination pay, which equated to $1.1 million. Davis ended up signing a one-year contract with the Athletics for a base salary of $2.5 million with an additional $1 million in incentives. Even if Davis hits the incentives (tied to plate appearances) he still would be down $3.4 million on the salary he was awarded through the arbitration process.

Unrest in the MLBPA: Players move to oust union's No. 2

Player representatives moved to replace the MLBPA's second-in-command, Bruce Meyer, Monday night.

theathletic.com

 

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Bad news for LHP Chris Murphy of the Boston Red Sox, with reports suggesting that he has torn his UCL in his pitching elbow. Although it is yet to be confirmed, it appears that Tommy John surgery for Murphy is inevitable. Murphy made his MLB debut for Boston in 2023, pitching 47 2/3 innings for a 4.91 ERA but a 23.1% strikeout rate against an 8% walk rate and a groundball rate of 44.7%.

Boston was set to open the campaign with Brayan Bello, Nick Pivetta, Tanner Houck, Garrett Whitlock and Kutter Crawford as their starting pitchers, but Murphy, Brandon Walter and Cooper Criswell were in line to act as depth options for the Red Sox.

 

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Imagine having a cushy job where you’re around one of the worlds biggest superstar sports person and around other superstar athletes, getting paid well to begin with and you stuff it up like this.

 

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The Arizona Diamondbacks are in agreement with LHP Jordan Montgomery on a one-year deal that guarantees the World champion $25 million. The deal reportedly also includes a $20 million vesting player option for 2025, with Montgomery earning the ability to opt out of his contract if he starts at least 10 games in 2024. Montgomery's option vests at $20 million if he makes 10 starts, with an additional $2.5 million upon reaching 18 starts and then 23 starts during the 2024 season. Montgomery joins the team that he helped to defeat in the 2023 World Series.