• Niko Goodrum expects to have a major league contract.

Niko Goodrum is one of the many free agents still waiting to land his next contract, though the utilityman told The Detroit News’ Chris McCosky that he had plenty of interest prior to the lockout. The Tigers outrighted Goodrum off their 40-man roster in mid-November and he chose to test the open market, saying “we had been in contact with 10 teams….Seven of them were looking to offer big-league deals.”

For those fantasy managers in draft-and-hold leagues, he might be worth a late flier.

American League

Guardians

• There is a chance that Amed Rosario could pick up second base eligibility this season.

Andrés Giménez and Gabriel Arias are expected to vie for Opening Day infield consideration, and both are regarded as superior defensive shortstops. Could Rosario quickly learn second base?

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• Some younger developing talent on the 40-man rosters (e.g. Alec Bohm) won’t get instruction while the prospects not on the 40-man can continue to work with the team.

The Phils hired a new hitting coach (Kevin Long) and infield coach (Bobby Dickerson) in part with the hope that the pair could help Bohm recapture his 2020 form. Bohm was able to meet with Long to discuss his approach at the plate multiple times prior to the lockout, but his access has since been cut off, forcing him to work out on his own.

It’s not a problem that’s unique to the Phillies, of course. Every team has young talent that would benefit from meeting with coaches and player development staff, to say nothing of utilizing team facilities for offseason training.

The non-linear prospect growth will get all messed with some players getting help and others not.

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• It seems like Seiya Suzuki will wait out the labor dispute and sign with a major league team.

The labor impasse almost assuredly will continue past Feb. 1, when Hiroshima opens its spring camp in Okinawa. But the Carp are expected to be without their former franchise star, who left little doubt that he’s committed to coming to America despite the current stalemate between MLB and the union.

“I’m just going to wait until both sides agree,” said Suzuki, who arrived in Okinawa last week to conduct workouts on his own. “There’s no date I set on myself. In Japan, you don’t experience a lockout so it’s a first for me. At first, I was a little worried about it. But when you think about it, it’s going to end sometime soon. Just having that positive mindset that it will end sometime has allowed me to keep my head up.”

Since the first of the month, he has an NFBC ADP of 209 and that should shoot up once he signs.

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• Dan Straily 스트레일리 is looking to join a major league club after pitching in Korea.

After two very strong seasons in the KBO Pitcher Dan Straily declined the Lotte Giants offer for 2022 last week with the intention of returning to MLB. Straily is now a free agent and is eligible to sign with a team when the lockout ends.

— Craig Mish (@CraigMish) December 24, 2021

Here is a brief history of his recent results.

The righty posted a 3.22 ERA and 24.75% strikeout rate over 360 1/3 innings with the Busan-based Giants, and perhaps the most intriguing statistic is the fact that Straily allowed a modest 22 homers in the hitter-friendly KBO.
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Straily also allowed 22 home runs during his time with the Orioles, except that total came over only 47 2/3 innings, resulting in an ugly 9.82 ERA in 2019. A move to the bullpen didn’t help Straily get on track, and while the Phillies acquired Straily at that year’s trade deadline, he didn’t see any big league action in Philadelphia. Injuries contributed to that down year, as Straily mentioned in the reader chat that he only discovered after the season that he had been pitching with a torn meniscus.
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Straily said in his chat that “we changed something on almost all of my pitches to make them better,” using such familiar pitching analysis “toys” as “Rapsodo, Driveline, and Edgertronic cameras” to both improve his changeup and add velocity to his fastball.

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American League

Angels

• Michael Lorenzen has a guaranteed rotation spot.

If and when spring training begins in 2022, Lorenzen will not come in needing to earn a rotation spot. He confirmed his spot is “locked in.”
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Lorenzen disagrees with the perception he’s a “failed starter” because he believes his arsenal has evolved significantly. Throw that rookie year out the window, he argued, because he’s a totally different pitcher.
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“I don’t think people understood how rudimentary my skills were when it came to being in the rotation my rookie year,” Lorenzen said. “I had no idea what I was doing. … I’m surviving with no skill.”

His changeup now, he says, is 10 mph slower than his fastball. His two-seamer is different from his four-seamer. And his curveball is refined and he’s excited to use it as a starter. It wasn’t often called upon when he was a reliever.

He needed to sell himself on these changes because he’s been horrible as a starter (4.95 ERA, 4.68 xFIP, 1.50 WHIP). The biggest issue while starting was the walks (4.3 BB/9) and those didn’t go away last season in the bullpen (also 4.3 BB/9). He’s fine as a late-round flier, but I don’t expect some major step forward. Read the rest of this entry »

Free agents

• Masahiro Tanaka will not be coming back to the MLB to play.

Right-hander Masahiro Tanaka’s two-year contract with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles contained an opt-out clause this winter, but the team announced that Tanaka will return to the club in 2022 (hat tip to Yahoo Japan). Tanaka’s comeback season in NPB went well, as he posted a 3.01 ERA with a 20.19% strikeout rate and a 4.65% walk rate over 155 2/3 innings with the Eagles.

American League

Astros

• Lance McCullers Jr. is still about a month away from throwing and may not be ready by the start of Spring Training.

The right-hander said that he is “about a month” away from beginning to throw, which represents a longer rest timeline than the six-to-eight weeks McCullers projected in late October.

Still, it would seem like McCullers is still tentatively on pace to proceed relatively normally during Spring Training, and then be ready for Opening Day

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General

• Charlie Morton talks about how rehabbing players won’t have access to team training facilities if a lockout happens.

Yeah, I don’t think many people have given much thought to how a lockout could affect things like injury rehab. Folks think mostly in terms of starting spring training and the season on time. But yeah, for guys rehabbing, it could be a pretty significant thing for them.

Yeah, because their life as a professional doesn’t stop. I mean, you go from working out at the team facility — I mean, Acuña and Soroka, those guys are working out at the stadium and rehabbing with our PTs — and then you’re on your own. Which I’m sure is probably pretty unsettling, especially if you have, like, franchise-caliber players involved.

It’s tough to know if this situation should move back any player return timelines, but it’s something to consider going forward. Read the rest of this entry »

Free Agents

• Justin Verlander touched 95-96 mph in his latest tryout.

Free agent Justin Verlander has reached 95-96 mph in recent bullpen sessions, as Harold Reynolds said this morning on @MLBNetwork. Verlander, who turns 39 before next season, has said he wants to pitch until age 45. @MLB

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) November 8, 2021

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American League

Mariners

• Even if healthy, Evan White might start the season the minors.

1B Evan White (signed through 2025, club options for ’26, ’27, ‘28)

White’s recovery from left hip surgery in July will be one of the biggest storylines entering Spring Training, especially given that Dipoto wasn’t sure if the 25-year-old would be 100 percent healthy by then. Given his $24 million contract, Seattle is invested in his future. But his spot at first isn’t necessarily written in ink like it was after he first signed that deal — and the Mariners won’t have any hesitation playing him at Triple-A Tacoma if his bat needs more work.

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Free Agents

• Seiya Suzuki of Japan’s Hiroshima Carp might get posted this winter.

The Hiroshima Carp of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball could make top outfielder Seiya Suzuki available to Major League teams via the posting system this winter, according to a report from Yahoo Japan. The Carp have begun taking some of the necessary steps, per the report, conducting a recent MRI for updated medical records and beginning to put together the requisite paperwork.
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Hernandez quotes a big league scout calling Suzuki a “five-tool guy” and “the best player in Japan the last few years.” Sung Min Kim 김민, who’s written for both FanGraphs and The Athletic, tweets that several MLB Pacific Rim scouts have considered Suzuki the top NPB or KBO player with a realistic chance of being posted in recent years.

Suzuki is an interesting add for leagues where every player is rostered. I looked around for some projections or MLE’s and no one has any yet. Once they become available, I’ll post them here. Read the rest of this entry »