Brown said Smith will split time at third base, first base and right field. He is prone to moving prospects quickly through Houston’s system — and promised to repeat the process with Smith, provided his offense continues to progress. “Whichever position he’s playing the best, we’ll put him in that position as he moves up,” Brown said.
Wesneski, 27, bounced between the Cubs’ rotation and bullpen the past three years, but the Astros told him he would be a starter. He’ll join a rotation that includes Framber Valdez, Hunter Brown, Ronel Blanco and Spencer Arrighetti, another Houston-area product.
“We’re going to give him every opportunity to start,” Astros general manager Dana Brown said. “We also know he can go to the bullpen and be really good. We made this trade projecting he would be a starter. So we have him as a starter.”
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Brown said the club has identified things Wesneski can adjust to help take his performance to another level. The Astros have been adept at changing arm slots, pitch usage or pitch angles to get the most out of their arms. The list of pitchers who have taken off in Houston includes Collin McHugh, Charlie Morton, Gerrit Cole and Yusei Kikuchi. Even Justin Verlander found another gear after coming to Houston in 2017, adding two Cy Young Awards to the one he earned with Detroit.
Dana Brown said right now Chas McCormick projects to play right field, Jake Meyers to play center and the Astros have an "opening" in left field, with the potential to platoon.
Forst on the starting rotation outlook following the signing of Luis Severino
“[JP Sears] is the only guy who has gone out and done it 30-plus times a couple of years in a row. I think you assume he’s in there with Luis. After that, I think we have a good group to choose from. I would say [Osvaldo Bido] performed really well. He’s certainly at the top of that next group. Between [Mitch Spence], [Joey Estes], [J.T. Ginn], those guys all showed they’re capable. It’s just a matter of being consistent. But it’s nice to have that group from a depth standpoint. Then, not far behind, you’re talking about [Mason Barnett] and [Jack Perkins] as kind of the next group.
Forst on the health of A’s No. 8 prospect Max Muncy, who could be in the mix for the club’s open third-base job
“He’s actually down at the complex this week and next week just doing some baseball activity. His hand is feeling really good. … I think it’s obvious, Jacob has shortstop for now. I think Max will get time at both second base and third base in big league camp.”
Springs had a solid 2022 season with Tampa Bay, highlighted by a 2.46 ERA over 135 1/3 innings, that earned him a four-year, $31 million contract extension with the Rays in January 2023. He looked to be on his way to even greater heights in ‘23 as he allowed one earned run and struck out 24 batters over 16 innings before his season was cut short due to the elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery to repair his UCL.
“He obviously has not had much of a workload the last two seasons,” Forst said. “I don’t see any reason he couldn’t throw 160-plus innings this year. We’ll keep an eye on him as the season goes along, but it’s not a situation where we go into the year having to worry about it.”
Speaking Tuesday, general manager Ross Atkins sounded comfortable with Green closing games again for the Blue Jays, and Garcia has some experience there, too, but this entire group would look much stronger if an established closer was added to it.
Giménez said that he’s been trying to make mechanical adjustments this winter as well as work on his approach since last year. He swung at too many pitches outside of the zone, he said. Meanwhile, last week, during the Winter Meetings in Dallas, Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said the team is optimistic they can help Giménez return to the offensive production he had a few years ago.
The league average o-swing% is 28.6% while Giménez was at 36.6% last season and 37.8% for his career.
The Guardians, according to sources briefed on their thinking, feared a third straight subpar offensive season by Giménez would leave them unable to trade him. Facing their usual payroll limitations, they badly wanted to avoid the downside risk.
Club officials are confident Juan Brito, the Guardians’ No. 8 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, can handle second short-term. And the path is clear for Travis Bazzana, the No. 1 pick in last year’s draft, to take over the position, perhaps even later this season.
Even with the Orioles having only O’Neill and Daz Cameron on the 40-man roster as right-handed hitting outfielders, they’re reluctant to try Mayo in the outfield.
“It’s something we talked about here and there,” Elias said. “I think with his lack of experience out there, with how big and tall he is and with his infield skills and with our outfield, it’s not something we made any plans to advance.”
Rays
• Shane McClanahan is ready to go and throw about 150 IP (2:05).
Thoughts on an evolving pitching mix in advance of upcoming meetings with Boston’s pitching department?
Crochet: I’ve been formulating some thoughts on my own, as far as how I incorporated my sinker later in the year, and feeling like I have five pitches that I could throw at any moment. It will definitely be a fine-tuning game and I’m sure that there’s a lot of ways to skin the cat in that regard. But ultimately, I don’t think that I’ll change the fastball/cutter usage a whole lot. I feel like that’s kind of my bread and butter, and a big reason why I had success last year. But the addition of the sinker, I think, is a conversation worth having.
• Picollo spoke very highly of a pair of pitching prospects on Monday: Zobac and Noah Cameron, the latter of which was added to the 40-man roster in November to be protected from the Rule 5 Draft. The Royals will still look to add one or two pitchers this offseason for depth, but both prospects are considered part of the Royals’ pitching depth in 2025, with Cameron further along in his development than Zobac after ending the season in Triple-A Omaha.
But unless they are able to blow away the presentations of 29 other teams and win Sasaki’s talents, Greenberg indicated the Tigers are likely done adding starters. Instead, the Tigers will hope Jackson Jobe can earn a rotation spot and rely on a core of players who led last season’s “pitching chaos” to round out the rotation and provide ample pitching depth.
For Cobb to prove a savvy signing in 2025, it might take more than just the splitter. Neither Cobb nor Harris has laid out the entire plan, but it will be interesting to observe Cobb’s arsenal in spring training. Last week, Cobb mentioned gaining trust in a four-seam fastball — a pitch he has seldom used in his career and did not throw a single time last season — as one option.
He also spoke of experimenting with different pitch grips. He hopes a clean bill of health and a full offseason can lead to more confidence breaking out new shapes in the heat of competition.
Royce Lewis had offered an uncharacteristic amount of pushback late last summer when the Twins had toyed with the idea of giving him defensive opportunities at second base, but that had less to do with his opposition to the idea as a whole — and more that he didn’t want to be pushed to a new position and have to learn it on the fly with a playoff push on the line.
But this offseason, with time to prepare, his tone has been decidedly different, according to manager Rocco Baldelli.
Baldelli and bench coach Jayce Tingler got lunch with Lewis and Trevor Larnach on Monday in the Dallas-Fort Worth area ahead of the start of the Winter Meetings, where Lewis shared with his manager that he’d been taking ground balls on both sides of second base — which certainly leaves the door open to making the transition to second base, if needed.
Miguel Amaya graded out well in those areas, but the Cubs had to make catcher one of their highest offseason priorities. As manager Craig Counsell said: “Miguel showed at times last year that he should be the guy. And other times, he showed us he needs a break.”
Hoyer made sure to note that, yes, Busch can move around a little bit, and that has some value. But it was clear that Hoyer and the Cubs aren’t viewing Busch as a utility candidate or third base candidate or even second base candidate.
As much as we might like the Cubs to figure out the offense that way, it was already known at the time of the trade to the Cubs that the Dodgers did not see Busch as playable long-term at third base, and if they’d seen him as a long-term second baseman, they may not have traded him in the first place. In a pinch, he can play in those spots, as he did last year, but Michael Busch is the Cubs’ first baseman for 2025, full stop.
When Hoyer was asked about Matt Shaw, he said that the plan was for Shaw to get a “long look” at third base. He would still have to win the job, Hoyer said, but it was clear they would like that opportunity to be there. The team might bring in some veteran competition/support/depth there, but the way Hoyer talked about Shaw and third base made all the more clear that there is no consideration being given to Busch moving across the diamond.
Barring any other surprises, Swanson should be ahead of Hoerner when the Cubs reassemble in Arizona and begin preparations for the Tokyo Series.
“From my understanding, Dansby’s going to have a lot more normal offseason than Nico,” Hoyer said. “Nico’s was a more significant surgery. Dansby’s already doing stuff. I think that one — knock on wood — is not at the same level. Could Nico be delayed? Yeah. But everything’s been good so far.”
Giants
• Jordan Hicks will return to the rotation … again.
Asked about the rotation and potential upgrades, Buster Posey talked at length about how much belief he has in the Giants young pitchers. He also said Jordan Hicks will remain in the rotation.
LHP Jesús Luzardo (lumbar stress reaction)
Expected return: Spring Training
Speaking at the Marlins’ Holiday Wishes community event on Dec. 17, Luzardo provided an update on his health: “[I’ve] been able to go through my normal offseason progression: throwing, running, starting to get off the mound. Feeling really good. Elbow, back, whole body, and just really gearing up for Spring Training and eyeing down that Opening Day to be 100% full-go, which for now, everything feels really good, and we are full-go.”
In his transition from the bullpen to the rotation, new Mets pitcher Clay Holmes intends to throw at least 160 innings. Some Mets officials view that as a realistic possibility; last year, Luis Severino, for instance, saw an increased workload after dealing with injuries the previous few seasons. Multiple times in the past, Stearns said he doesn’t believe in going into the season with hard innings limits for pitchers.
Even before last season ended, Holmes began tinkering with a four-seam fastball in games and a changeup in bullpen sessions — two weapons that he plans to use regularly as a starter. Although Holmes still considers his upper-90s sinker his bread-and-butter pitch and intends to lean on it heavily, those extra options could come in handy against left-handed hitters.
One detail that didn't make it into the Francisco Lindor story: he says the back issue that sidelined him in September hasn't been a problem during offseason workouts. It's something Lindor will continue to monitor, but for all intents, he's a completely healthy player.
San Diego will be looking at internal options to follow in the footsteps of relievers-turned-starters Seth Lugo and Michael King next season — including, most notably, 25-year-old left-hander Adrian Morejon. Preller also acknowledged righties Bryan Hoeing and Stephen Kolek as candidates, then indicated there could be others.
Phillies
• In the Blair and Barker podcast, Jordan Romano said he threw a bullpen this offseason, sent the information to teams, and then the Phillies signed him. He mentioned changing his mechanics to cause less stress on his body but no change in repertoire. Mentioned that his 2024 elbow injury started in 2023.
Last year, there was a starting opportunity in the rotation and Jared Jones took advantage of it with a huge Spring Training, earning a spot on the Opening Day team and keeping it. That’s worth keeping in mind when looking at how this 2025 staff could look, especially regarding Bubba Chandler, the No. 15 prospect in baseball, per MLB Pipeline. There’s also Braxton Ashcraft (No. 85) and Thomas Harrington (No. 91) also waiting in the wings at Triple-A Indianapolis. (Ashcraft is already on the 40-man roster as well).
“As far as our dedicated closer just yet, we don’t know,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “I thought Halvorsen did a nice job. There were a couple of slip-ups, but I have the memory of him striking out Max Muncy with the bases loaded in Dodger Stadium for a save. I also have memories of the next night too, but you learn from that. I like the stuff, and I like what our player development people have said about him.
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“Vodnik showed he can pitch late in the game,” [GM Bill] Schmidt said. “Halverson showed it. Agnos has done it in the Minor Leagues and so has Jaden Hill. Those guys right there have a chance to emerge.”
Jeff, one of the authors of the fantasy baseball guide,The Process, writes for RotoGraphs, The Hardball Times, Rotowire, Baseball America, and BaseballHQ. He has been nominated for two SABR Analytics Research Award for Contemporary Analysis and won it in 2013 in tandem with Bill Petti. He has won four FSWA Awards including on for his Mining the News series. He's won Tout Wars three times, LABR twice, and got his first NFBC Main Event win in 2021. Follow him on Twitter @jeffwzimmerman.
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scotth855Member since 2020
3 months ago
Just a little typo but the blurb about Busch says he’ll only play first but the headline you wrote says he’s only playing third.
Just a little typo but the blurb about Busch says he’ll only play first but the headline you wrote says he’s only playing third.