American League

Athletics

• The A’s are loaded at first base with the addition of Jesús Aguilar

For a rebuilding A’s club, Aguilar could, at the very least, provide value as a reliable stopgap at first base until No. 1 prospect Tyler Soderstrom, whose quick ascension through the system saw him finish last season with Triple-A Las Vegas, receives his promotion to Oakland, which could come as early as this season. Seth Brown, Dermis Garcia and Ryan Noda are others expected to be in the mix at first base for the A’s.

Seth Brown was already in danger of losing playing time because of his splits (career .791 OPS vs RHP, .527 OPS vs LHP) but this might cement Brown around 450 PA. Read the rest of this entry »

American League

Angels

• There is a chance that Logan O’Hoppe might start in the minors.

The real competition appears to be between Thaiss and O’Hoppe. And the Angels have to be careful about rushing a young catcher like O’Hoppe with a very bright future.

• A lineup guess of Anthony Rendon, Luis Rengifo, and Brandon Drury being full-time bats with Gio Urshela and Jared Walsh in a platoon.

The Angels have a lot of guys that can play first, second and third. Not a lot of true shortstops. And the offseason acquisitions have most likely forced defensive whiz Andrew Velazquez off the active roster. The Angels will rotate their infield quite a bit depending on matchups. The best guess for a starting infield against a righty pitcher: Rendon (3B), Renfigo (SS), Drury (2B), Walsh (1B). And against a lefty pitcher: Rendon (3B), Rengifo (SS), Urshela (2B), Drury (1B).

It’s also possible that Angels manager Phil Nevin would value Fletcher’s defense and find a way to get him a consistent starting role, especially if his bat proves to be valuable.

Read the rest of this entry »

American League

Tigers

• Matt Vierling and Nick Maton will play all over the field according to manager A.J. Hinch.

Hinch on Thursday said new additions Matt Vierling and Nick Maton — part of the trade involving Gregory Soto and Kody Clemens going to the Phillies — will be the Tigers’ two “most active” players in spring training. That’s because both players are capable of playing both infield and outfield. Hinch will want to see both players at a variety of positions when camp begins next month.

“We’re gonna let it play out and see where the at-bats take them,” Hinch said. “I can see Vierling fitting in at a variety of positions. Maton, I’m gonna move him around, second, short, third, maybe even a little bit of outfield in the spring.”

Perhaps related: The Tigers do not currently have any player who profiles as an everyday third baseman. Maton could be the early favorite to win the job.

Read the rest of this entry »

American League

Angels

• Jo Adell and Mickey Moniak are likely to start the season in the minors even though they’ve both been working hard.

“Those jobs are solidified,” Minasian said, implying that Adell and Moniak are likely to begin the season in the minors. “Those are obviously young players who are very talented that haven’t necessarily turned the corner yet that have been putting in a significant amount of work this offseason to do that,” Minasian said. “They’re both young. I think we forget about how young these two players are.”

• Griffin Canning and Chris Rodriguez should be healthy to start the season.

Minasian also provided some health updates on some other Angels, including Griffin Canning and Chris Rodriguez. Both of those pitchers missed the 2022 season entirely, with Rodriguez rehabbing from November 2021 shoulder surgery and Canning fighting lingering back issues. Both players have now begun throwing off a mound. “If both those guys are healthy entering spring training, they’ll be exciting to watch,” Minasian said. “Right now they are on schedule to be with us in spring training and we’ll see where they’re at.”

Don’t lose track of this pair. Both threw hard (maybe not now) and struck out a decent number of strikeouts (~9 K/9) while progressing through the minors. Canning will get a few more strikeouts with an elite slider (19% SwStr%) while Rodriguez will try to keep the ground balls coming (55% GB%).

Both should start in the minors but if they get promoted, prepare to roster them. Read the rest of this entry »

American League

Orioles

• James McCann and Adley Rutschman could see some time at first base.

McCann, who was traded from the Mets to the O’s on Dec. 21, recently shared that in his initial call with the team, he was told that both he and Rutschman could get time at first and/or DH. That may still be a possibility in some lineup combinations even if Díaz or Cordero makes the team.

Just looking over the roster, I think the first base job is Mountcastle’s as long as he’s healthy. He’s started 144 and 145 games the past two seasons, so the catching pair would just need to give him a combined 20 days off during the season. Read the rest of this entry »

American League

Athletics

• James Kaprielian’s status is unknown and A.J. Puk will be stretched out as a starter.

James Kaprielian’s status for Spring Training is unknown after he underwent shoulder surgery this offseason, and A.J. Puk is going to be stretched out to a starter’s workload this spring.

Puk’s 66 IP last season was the most he’s thrown since his 125 IP back in 2017. I’m guessing 120 IP max for him.

As for pitches, Puk was mainly four-seamer (10% SwStr%, 41% GB%) and slider (19% SwStr%, 33% GB%) last season. He’s thrown other pitch types in the past and will need to revive one in order to navigate a lineup a third time. Read the rest of this entry »

American League

Angels

• Jared Walsh is expected to be ready by Spring Training.

Walsh had surgery to alleviate thoracic outlet syndrome, but he is also expected to be ready for Spring Training.

Astros

• Michael Brantley should be ready by Spring Training and be the team’s primary DH.

Brantley won’t be able to swing until mid-January, but the Astros believe he’ll be ready when Spring Training begins one month later.

As for his role, the Astros would like to allocate more left-field playing time to Yordan Alvarez, which would shift Brantley into a more prominent DH role. There’d still be a split, but Alvarez is likely slated for more time with his glove. With Brantley back, Jake Meyers and Chas McCormick should split time in center.

While I will have a share or two of Yordan Alvarez, I don’t like the idea of his knees playing a bunch in the outfield. Read the rest of this entry »

American League

Astros

• It seems like Yainer Diaz has the upper hand on Korey Lee as the team’s second catcher.

There are those in the organization who like Diaz more than Lee because of his bat. Diaz can also play first base in addition to catcher. He was acquired from the Guardians in July 2021 and slashed .306/.356/.542 between Double-A Corpus Christi and Triple-A Sugar Land last season. Lee has a tremendous arm, but he is behind Diaz offensively after slashing .238/.307/.483 with 25 homers and 76 RBIs last season at Triple-A.

Steamer projects Diaz with a .754 OPS and Lee with .652 OPS. Read the rest of this entry »

• Michael Brantley is just starting baseball drills after his shoulder surgery.

The Astros still are interested in bringing back free-agent Michael Brantley for a fifth season in Houston, but it’s going to depend on his health. Brantley, 35, just started to do baseball drills after undergoing an arthroscopic labral repair on his right shoulder in August.

Brantley is in a ton of rumors but it’ll be tough for a team to sign him without knowing if he’s healthy. Read the rest of this entry »

• Masataka Yoshida is expected to be posted soon.

The Buffaloes are going to allow Masataka Yoshida to move to MLB via the posting system. https://t.co/zKibIhgc81

— Jason Coskrey (@JCoskrey) November 16, 2022

Last year in Japan, he hit .336/.449/.559 with 21 HR and 4 SB. In 2021, he hit .336/.426/.557 with 21 HR and 0 SB. Read the rest of this entry »