Kodai Senga is unlike any other MLB free-agent pitcher

Not every player who comes over from Japan’s NPB arrives with a parade of hype. Senga isn’t a once-in-a-lifetime Shohei Ohtani-type talent or even on the level of Yu Darvish when he arrived a decade ago, but there’s still a ton of reason to be excited. He’s coming off another excellent season — posting a 1.94 ERA with 156 strikeouts across 144 innings for the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks in NPB, the top league in Japan. Turning 30 in January, Senga is younger than every other starting pitcher available besides Zach Eflin, adding to his appeal for teams reluctant to commit big dollars to pitchers already nearing their mid-30’s. Though NPB is not MLB, his decade-long track record of excellence in what is widely considered the world’s second-best ...

Miguel Cabrera confirms plans to retire after 2023 season, but wants to stay in baseball

Miguel Cabrera, who joined the 3,000 hit club during the 2022 season, confirmed on Monday that his playing career will likely conclude sometime next year. “It feels a little weird to say that,” he told MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola. “I thought I’m not going to say never, but I think it’s time to say goodbye to baseball.”

Cabrera, 39, added that he would like to remain a member of the Detroit Tigers organization, with whom he’d like to assist younger players.

Cabrera’s announcement should come as no surprise. If anything, it was a predictable outcome given that the guaranteed portion of his contract runs through next season. (He’ll make $32 million in 2023 before being owed an $8 million buyout on a pair of club options.) Cabrera’s ...

Astros near deal with veteran 1B José Abreu

The Astros are finalizing a deal that would bring veteran first baseman José Abreu to Houston, according to multiple reports. Bob Nightengale was first to report the news, which has not been confirmed by the Astros. When completed, the deal is expected to be for three years, according to Nightengale.

Abreu, who turns 36 on Jan. 29, played his first nine Major League seasons with the White Sox and consistently has been one of the top middle-of-the-order run producers in the game. His 2022 campaign featured a drop in power to 15 home runs and 75 RBIs, marking just the second time Abreu finished below 25 and 100 in these particular categories in a full-schedule season.

Why MLB needs to fix its interminable slog of an offseason

Here’s how the offseason should work: Free agents are wooed in November amid rampant speculation. Some sign. Some hold out for more. It all comes to a head in early December at the winter meetings, which become a bona fide event as the race to build rosters reaches a frenzy.

When the winter meetings end, the offseason ends. Phillies president Dave Dombrowski has advocated a signing deadline for years, in part because front offices need a break, but also because let’s get on with it already.

“Only our sport is like this,” he said during his Red Sox tenure.

Roberto Osuna To Re-Sign With NPB’s Chiba Lotte Marines

Reliever Roberto Osuna is close to agreeing to a one-year contract with Japan’s Chiba Lotte Marines for the 2023 season, per Enrique Rojas of ESPN. Osuna is represented by Vayner Sports.

Osuna began the 2022 season playing in the Mexican League for the Diablos Rojos del México, tossing 13 1/3 innings of three-run ball while striking out 15 batters and earning six saves, before joining the Marines for the second half of the season. Once in Japan, he threw 32 2/3 innings of 1.37 ERA ball, posting a 37:3 strikeout-to-walk ratio, earning sixteen saves, and allowing only a single home run.

Osuna, who will be 28-years-old during the 2023 season, hasn’t appeared in a major league game since 2020, when he was outrighted off the Astros’ ...

Each club’s most intriguing unprotected Rule 5 Draft option

Padres: Korry Howell, UTIL (No. 9)
The pickoff limits coming to MLB in 2023 could lead to an uptick in stolen bases, similar to the one we’ve seen in the Minors. That’ll make it even more valuable to have a plus-plus speedster available off the bench. Enter Howell. The 24-year-old also has some versatility with experience at all three outfield spots, as well as second base and short in 2022. His bat hasn’t been tested above Double-A, but the overall skills could get him a role as a Rule 5 pick.

White Sox bolster rotation with Clevinger

The White Sox needed a fifth starter to complete an already solid starting rotation, and in adding right-hander Mike Clevinger, they brought in a talent with a chance to make this front five elite.

Clevinger and the White Sox agreed to a free-agent deal, a source confirmed to MLB.com on Sunday. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic was the first to report the signing, which is pending a physical. The White Sox have not commented on the potential deal.

MLB Network’s Jon Paul Morosi reports the deal is for one guaranteed year at more than $8 million. Clevinger joins Dylan Cease, Lance Lynn, Lucas Giolito and Michael Kopech, with Clevinger taking the rotation spot of Johnny Cueto, who became a free agent after showing himself as one of the American ...

Dave Hillman, the oldest living Met, dead at 95

Dave Hillman, who pitched in 13 games for the 1962 Mets, died Sunday at 95. The right-hander, who was the oldest living Met, passed away from natural causes, the Bristol Herald Courier reported.

Hillman pitched in the majors from 1955-1962 with the Cubs, Red Sox, Reds and Mets. He was with the Mets from April to June, mainly as a reliever though he made one start for Casey Stengel’s historic team which would lose an MLB record 120 games.

“It was a joke – the ballplayers they had assembled,” Hillman told the Bristol Herald Courier in 2008. “It was all old players who were over the hill. There were one or two young pitchers that were good, but with the ballclub, they couldn’t get them a run.”

Pittsburgh Pirates, 1B Carlos Santana agree on 1-year, $6.7M deal

First baseman Carlos Santana and the Pittsburgh Pirates are in agreement on a one-year, $6.7 million contract, pending the results of a physical, sources familiar with the deal told ESPN.

Santana, 36, finished with a league-average OPS last year, hitting .202/.316/.376 between stints with the Seattle Mariners and Kansas City Royals. But his expected numbers, based on how hard he hit the ball (an 81st-percentile exit velocity) and his elite walk rate (97th percentile), projected far better results, something that drove his market.

Further, nobody was shifted a higher percentage last year than Santana, who saw altered defense in 356 of his 362 left-handed batting appearances. With the ban of the shift coming in 2023, the switch-hitting ...

Rangers hire Mike Maddux (pitching coach), Dayton Moore (adviser)

The Texas Rangers hired Mike Maddux as their new pitching coach Wednesday, and added former Kansas City Royals general manager Dayton Moore as a senior adviser in their baseball operations department.

Maddux is returning to Texas to be on new manager Bruce Bochy’s staff. Maddux was first the pitching coach for the Rangers from 2009 to ‘15, a span in which they made their only two World Series appearances. He spent the past five seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, and has been part of 11 playoffs teams over his past 15 seasons as a pitching coach.

Moore spent the past 16 years with the Royals, where he was named GM in May 2006 and also served as president of baseball operations before getting fired in September. The Royals had three ...

Phillies’ Bryce Harper undergoes Tommy John surgery, mid-May return possible, per report - CBSSports.com

Phillies superstar Bryce Harper played through a torn UCL in his right elbow for the overwhelming majority of the 2022 MLB season. That’s why he was their designated hitter for all but eight games with the most recent appearance in right field coming April 16. The Phillies made it known earlier this month that Harper would have surgery to repair the UCL. He underwent Tommy John surgery on Wednesday, per Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia.

Salisbury notes that mid-May is a potential return for the reigning NLCS MVP.

Early 2022-23 winter league prospect roundup

Ronny Mauricio, SS, Tigres Del Licey (D.R.)
NYM No. 6

The star of the winter league campaign thus far—at least from a prospect standpoint—has far and away been Mauricio, the switch-hitting Mets shortstop. After a fast start for Licey last winter that quickly dissipated, Mauricio has kept up the consistency this year with a .317/.356/.492 line in 30 games. That slugging percentage, as well as his .848 OPS and 25 RBIs, leads the LIDOM. Mauricio’s electrifying style of play has also helped the Tigres to a league-best 21-9 record.

Cardinals’ Albert Pujols and Astros’ Justin Verlander named MLB Comeback Players of the Year for 2022

Major League Baseball on Tuesday night announced the two winners of the Comeback Player of the Year award for 2022: Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League and Justin Verlander of the Houston Astros for the American League.

The award goes annually to the player in each league who enjoys success during the season in question despite being confronted with obstacles of some kind. In Verlander’s case, he missed the entire 2021 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Coming off the major procedure and at the age of 39, Verlander went 18-4 for the eventual World Series champs with an MLB-best ERA of 1.75 and a K/BB ratio of 6.38. Days prior to winning Comeback Player of the Year for 2022, Verlander won the AL Cy ...

The Argument Against Oneil Cruz | RotoGraphs Fantasy Baseball

He’s too risky to draft early but he’s a high-reward player later in the draft.

Mets, Yankees cleared in Aaron Judge collusion inquiry

Well, if MLB says there is no collusion, there can’t be any collusion. Right? RIGHT?

Aaron Judge, the biggest free agent on the market this winter, isn’t considered a victim of collusion between the Mets and Yankees — from MLB’s perspective — following an inquiry by the Commissioner’s Office into the matter.

MLB has notified the MLBPA that the Mets and Yankees didn’t suppress the market for Judge, sources confirmed Tuesday, following an SNY report this month that indicated the Mets wouldn’t pursue the All-Star outfielder out of deference to their crosstown rival. Time.com first reported MLB’s decision.

If the players’ association believes Judge has been wronged it can still file a grievance that would be heard by an ...

Do The Royals Have A Problem Behind The Plate? - MLB Trade Rumors

The Royals should start transitioning Melendez into their #1 catcher. A 60/40 split of Salvy and Melendez this year would be a good start, with Salvy picking up a lot of DH time.

Defensive Runs Saved has placed Perez at -5 in 2021 and -4 in 2022. Baseball Prospectus’ Catcher Defensive Adjustment gave him a -14.8 last year, which was last in the majors, and -14.1 this year, which was third-last. Though Perez has had success throwing out baserunners in his career, his pop time was ranked by Statcast as 50th out of 83 catchers this year.

In terms of framing, the problem appears to be more chronic. FanGraphs has only given him a positive grade in that department once, which was the shortened 2020 season. He posted a -19.6 and -12.6 over the ...

Mike Maddux emerges as lead candidate for Rangers pitching coach

The Rangers may be about to land their first significant pitching free agent of the winter.

According to multiple voices around the organization, veteran pitching coach Mike Maddux has emerged as the leading candidate for a significant role with the organization. He likely would function as pitching coach, but GM Chris Young recently said he hoped to build out a more well-rounded pitching department in which roles could be defined more non-traditionally.

Minor League Baseball names 2022 Rawlings Gold Glove Award® winners

Schmitt is an intriguing prospect.

Giants third baseman Casey Schmitt played in 83 games at the hot corner between High-A Eugene (50 games), Double-A Richmond (29 games) and Triple-A Sacramento (four games) and handled 169 total chances with 100 assists. Schmitt, 23, was selected by the Giants in the second round of the 2020 MLB Draft out of San Diego State University.

Pirates infield evolution: Why GM Ben Cherington’s job is only halfway done - The Athletic

The Athletic is running a special of $1 a month for 12 months. You won’t get a better baseball return on your money. I highly recommend The Athletic, especially at this price. (I’m not getting anything for the recommendation.) Hopefully, however, The New York Times purchase won’t destroy the site.

Angels acquire Hunter Renfroe, send 3 pitchers to Brewers

The Los Angeles Angels continued their busy start to the offseason Tuesday night, swinging a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers for veteran outfielder Hunter Renfroe.

In return, Milwaukee received three pitchers back: right-handers Janson Junk and Elvis Peguero and lefty Adam Seminaris.

This marks the second straight offseason Renfroe has been traded. The Brewers acquired him last December as part of the Jackie Bradley Jr. deal with the Boston Red Sox.

Renfroe, 30, went on to hit 29 home runs for Milwaukee to go with a .255 average and 72 RBIs. The previous season in Boston, he slugged 31 home runs.

Blue Jays’ Alek Manoah calls Yankees ace ‘worst cheater’ in MLB history

The Toronto Blue Jays ace joined NBA star Serge Ibaka on the latest episode of Sportsnet’s “How Hungry Are You?” mini-feature and spilled the tea on a few baseball-related questions with the former Raptor.

Before the pair enjoyed cricket tea and dish consisting of fish sperm, Ibaka asked Manoah who he thinks the worst cheater is baseball. The 24-year-old quickly answered with Cole, the New York Yankees star hurler, who has been heavily scrutinized for his alleged use of spider tack in previous seasons.

“Gerrit Cole,” Manoah uttered. “He used a lot of sticky stuff to make his pitches better, and he kinda got called out on it.”

Brown freshman is first woman to make Division I baseball roster

Olivia Pichardo is making history as the first female baseball player to be on an active NCAA Division I roster.

Pichardo was added to the Brown baseball team for the 2023 season on Monday.

The 18-year-old freshman made the Bears’ roster as a utility player after trying out for the team this fall. Pichardo worked out as a middle infielder, outfielder and pitcher and made the varsity team as a walk-on.

“I’m just really glad that we’re having more and more female baseball players at the collegiate level, and no matter what division, it’s just really good to see this progression,” Pichardo said in a Brown University press release. “It’s really paving the way for other girls in the next generation to also have these goals that they want to ...

Ten Arizona Fall League prospects scouts liked most, plus 5 who left mixed impressions The Athletic

The weather has begun to cool, families will soon gather over turkey and stuffing and the latest season of the Arizona Fall League is in the books. For six weeks, some of the game’s best prospects exhibited their talent in front of a smattering of fans. But now those players have scattered back to the four corners of the country and to points beyond.

So, too, have the scouts. Sixty percent of fall league attendance is made up of evaluators — this is only a slight exaggeration — but before these scouts tied a bow on their final reports, several of them spoke to The Athletic. Here, the result of conversations with several scouts with several big-league organizations, is a rundown of the top 10 they liked … as well as five on whom ...

MLB bans infield shifts: How baseball will change - Sports Illustrated

Good stuff from Tom Verducci.

We have so much data on how shifts changed baseball that it is not difficult to make an educated guess as to what will happen next year without them. My top conclusions:

1. The MLB batting average should increase from .243 last season (the fifth-worst ever, and the worst in 54 years) to .255 (equaling the highest since 2011).

2. Ground balls will go up, and strikeouts will go down, both slightly.

3. Corey Seager of Texas and Matt Olson of Atlanta will benefit the most from the new rules.

4. The Giants need a second baseman, and the Cardinals will rethink Nolan Gorman at second base.

BBWAA 2023 HALL OF FAME BALLOT FEATURES 28 CANDIDATES

The ballot: Bobby Abreu, Bronson Arroyo, Carlos Beltrán, Mark Buehrle, Matt Cain, R.A. Dickey, Jacoby Ellsbury, Andre Ethier, J.J. Hardy, Todd Helton, Torii Hunter, Andruw Jones, Jeff Kent, John Lackey, Mike Napoli, Jhonny Peralta, Andy Pettitte, Manny Ramírez, Álex Rodríguez, Francisco Rodríguez, Scott Rolen, Jimmy Rollins, Gary Sheffield, Huston Street, Omar Vizquel, Billy Wagner, Jered Weaver, Jayson Werth.

Discuss.

Dodgers have shed millions in payroll. Will they sign a star or try to reset the luxury tax?

Through the opening weeks of free agency, the team has largely shed payroll.

With the expiring contracts of Trea Turner, Craig Kimbrel, David Price and other free agents — not including pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who is expected to finalize a one-year contract next week to return to the team in 2023 — the Dodgers already had about $70 million coming off the books.

After declining Justin Turner’s club option and, on Friday, non-tendering former National League MVP center fielder Cody Bellinger, the team has freed up about another $30 million more for next year’s payroll.

The question now: What will the Dodgers do with their nine figures of financial flexibility? And how aggressive will they be in spending this newfound $100 ...

Dodgers’ Cody Bellinger, Cardinals’ Alex Reyes lead list of non-tenders now on market

Arizona Diamondbacks: RHP Reyes Moronta
Atlanta Braves: RHP Silvino Bracho, OF Guillermo Heredia, RHP Alan Rangel, RHP Jackson Stephens, RHP Brooks Wilson
Baltimore Orioles: None
Boston Red Sox: INF Yu Chang, OF/1B Franchy Cordero
Chicago Cubs: LHP Brailyn Marquez, OF Rafael Ortega, RHP Alexander Vizcaíno
Chicago White Sox: OF Adam Engel, INF Danny Mendick, OF Mark Payton
Cincinnati Reds: OF Aristedes Aquino, OF Allan Cerda, RHP Kyle Dowdy, RHP Daniel Duarte, RHP Jeff Hoffman, RHP Derek Law, RHP Jared Solomon, RHP Art Warren
Cleveland Guardians: LHP Anthony Gose, C Luke Maile
Colorado Rockies: INF/OF Garrett Hampson
Detroit Tigers: 3B Jeimer Candelario, INF Brendan Davis, INF Harold Castro, INF Willi Castro, C Michael Papierski, RHP ...

Angels To Acquire Gio Urshela

The Angels and Twins are in agreement on a trade sending infielder Gio Urshela from Minnesota to Anaheim, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports (via Instagram). The Angels are sending Class-A right-hander Alejandro Hidalgo back to the Twins in the deal.

It’s the second consecutive offseason in which Urshela finds himself on the move. Minnesota landed him alongside Gary Sánchez in the Spring Training blockbuster that sent Josh Donaldson and Isiah Kiner-Falefa to the Yankees. The deal was in large part about offloading the final three years of Donaldson’s contract, but Sánchez and Urshela each played key roles on the 2022 club.

Via what?

Rockies claim LHP Brent Suter off waivers from Brewers

The Colorado Rockies have claimed left-hander Brent Suter off waivers from the Milwaukee Brewers.

The 33-year-old Suter went 5-3 with a 3.78 ERA in 54 appearances last season. He struck out 53 and walked 22 in 66⅔ innings.

Suter had spent his entire big league career with Milwaukee, making his debut in 2016. He was the longest-tenured Brewers player and had served as the team’s union representative.

He owns a 36-19 record and 3.51 ERA in 196 career appearances, including 39 starts. He has 338 strikeouts and 98 walks in 394⅔ innings.

Billy Beane Moves To Advisory Role With Athletics; GM David Forst To Oversee Baseball Operations

The A’s announced Friday that longtime executive vice president of baseball operations Billy Beane is transitioning into a new role — a senior advisor to managing partner John Fisher. He’ll “work closely with Fisher on strategic decisions,” per the press release, and will also “support the work of baseball operations now headed by general manager David Forst.”

“Billy is and will always be an Athletic,” Fisher said in a statement within today’s press release. “He is a trusted advisor to me and I look forward to continuing to work closely with him on strategic initiatives that impact our Club. This position at the ownership level allows Billy to pursue other non-baseball sporting interests while continuing to hold an ...