Mining the News (2/19/25)

American League

Angels

• The owner mentioned Christian Moore as someone who could contribute this year.

“I’m really happy with the way it’s going,” Moreno said. “Perry has done a good job, Wash is really focused. I like the coaches. Just sit and watch these young guys throw bullpens and where they came from and what programs they came through. And we have a second baseman [No. 68 overall prospect Christian Moore] who just won a championship in college. You have to continue to put up good building blocks. And then the reality is being able to supplement everything.”

Astros

• In the last Mining the News, I pointed out some possible platoons if Jose Altuve moves to the outfield. Instead, the move is more defensive in mind. Altuve could move to the outfield if a groundball pitcher is starting.

Altuve’s decline with the glove is particularly problematic when the Astros send Framber Valdez and Hunter Brown to the mound. Valdez’s 60.6% ground-ball rate was the highest in MLB among all qualified starters. Brown isn’t quite so pronounced, but once he incorporated a sinker into his repertoire in mid-May, he posted a 50% grounder rate the rest of the way. Speculatively speaking, if the Astros want to get Altuve some occasional work in the outfield, doing so on days when Brown and especially Valdez take the bump would be prudent. That’s made all the more true by the presence of Mauricio Dubon on the bench. The Astros’ utilityman is a quality defender at multiple spots, but none more so than second base; in 1154 innings there, he’s been credited with 12 DRS and 8 OAA.

Mariners

• Bryce Miller has been refining his cutter.

Specifically, Miller spent much of his offseason throwing program refining a cutter that was admittedly a work in progress last year, regularly confiding in Blank via texts — some that came so regularly that Blank joked back at Miller by responding in the wee hours of the morning.

Rangers

• Evan Carter “believes” his back issue is fixed and he is trying to regain his old swing.

Now, Carter believes the back issues are behind him for the time being, though he declined to share many details of the diagnosis of his back injury.

“We know what [the issue] is,” Carter said ahead of the Rangers’ first full-squad workout on Monday. “I’m good now. I feel like it’s one of those things that I kind of want to keep it personal, I guess. We don’t feel like it’s the best for everybody to really put it out there and know exactly what’s going on. It’s kind of personal to me, and we’re just going to keep it that way. I can’t change it. It is what it is. It’s part of me now, but we’ve got a plan.”
…
“My whole offseason was about getting my swing back to the way it was in ’23,” he said. “That’s what I feel like I’m at right now. That’s the way I feel like I’m best. … The majority of the season that I got to play last year was just me and [the hitting coaches] every single day in the cage, saying, ‘Here’s video from ’23, why can’t we do this?’ My body just couldn’t do that. It was the most frustrating thing.

Tigers

• Trey Sweeney made a swing change to hit more fastballs.

By comparison, he hit .310 off tracked four-seam fastballs at the Triple-A level with a 24 percent whiff rate, and .302 off sinkers with a 15.2 percent whiff rate.

That prompted some work for him this offseason.

“Just some minor swing changes, trying to be more on time for the big-league fastball and being ready to hit that,” Sweeney said. “That was one thing I struggled with when I got called up last year. I hit some of the offspeed well, but struggled on some of the heaters.”

• Javier Báez still can’t run at full strength.

Báez is taking full batting practice and fielding drills. He isn’t running at full speed yet, but he’s making progress and could run the bases soon. He’s expected to play in games this Spring Training, at which point we’ll see what a healthy Báez looks like, and what kind of impact he can make. His role as a Tiger likely depends on how that looks.

Twins

• Ty France will be the team’s regular first baseman.

The Twins made their recent signing of Ty France to a big league deal official earlier today, and manager Rocco Baldelli made it clear to reporters (including Bobby Nightengale of the Star Tribune) today that their new addition is taking over as the club’s regular first baseman.

“He’s going to play a lot,” Baldelli said, as relayed by Nightengale. “That’s really the best way of saying it. The kind of hitter that he is, this isn’t a platoon situation. I think he’s going to play.”

• After Ty France reworked his swing last offseason, he went back to his old ways this offseason.

As he looked back on the worst season of his career, France, an All-Star in 2022, thinks he got too wrapped up in focusing on swing mechanics in response to his middling offensive production the year before. France’s numbers slipped even more in 2024, as he batted .234/.305/.365 with 13 home runs and 51 RBIs in 535 plate appearances.

“I panicked a little because I wasn’t used to that kind of production,” France said of his reaction to a 101 OPS+ in 2023. “I tried to tap into (the mechanical side) that I shouldn’t tap into. I should just worry about being a baseball player and hitting the ball. But yeah, just kind of got lost a little bit. I’d be in the box worrying about, ‘Is my hip coiling? Am I separating?’ (I was) getting lost in the mechanical aspect instead of just going out and competing. So this spring and this season is going to be a lot of just getting back to the basics and just hitting the ball again.”

…

France’s production dropped off in 2023, as he finished with a .703 OPS, which was a tick above league average. In response to his struggles, France thinks he got too analytical by taking a deep dive into swing mechanics, a decision that led to distracting thoughts.

Now, where could have France gone to worry so much about his swing …

Welcoming Seattle Mariners 1st Baseman Ty France to the facility for his assessment, looking forward to a great off-season 🤝 pic.twitter.com/0jxxW7Kvwm

— Driveline Baseball (@DrivelineBB) November 28, 2023

Yankees

• Ben Rice has been working with the catchers after not catching in the majors last season.

Ben Rice is working out with the catching group during this camp and is in the backup catcher mix, Aaron Boone said. They also want to keep his first base flexibility in play.

— Bryan Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) February 12, 2025

National League

Brewers

• Brandon Woodroof’s fastball touched 92 mph after sitting at 95.6 mph in 2023.

RHP Brandon Woodruff
Injury: Right shoulder
Expected return: Potentially May
Status: Woodruff underwent a major shoulder repair in October 2023 and then spent all of ’24 rehabbing. He touched 92 mph while facing hitters — William Contreras and Jake Bauers — on Feb. 14 for the first time in 16 months and deemed the session a significant step forward. Woodruff is scheduled for more live BP on Feb. 21, and he will aim to shorten the gap between outings as he progresses.

• Jackson Chourio might have a goal to go 30-30.

“I have some goals,” he said. “I’m not going to say. It’s too early right now. But I have some [goals] I’m working hard to get to. I have some stats that I want to chase, but it’s too early to say.”

Does that mean he will identify them eventually?

“I’m going to be quiet for the entire season,” he said.

As he answered, Chourio cracked a smile. When a reporter mentioned 30-30, that smile grew.

Cardinals

• The team plans on giving Nolan Gorman 550 to 600 PA.

The Cardinals’ inability to trade 10-time Gold Glove winner Nolan Arenado complicates things a bit for Gorman — he will likely split his time between second base and DH instead of playing third — but the club is still hopeful of getting him 550-600 at-bats this season. Already, the Cards are excited with the early changes they have seen.

• Miles Mikolas is working on a “big slider”.

To aid his quest for more chases outside the zone, Mikolas has been developing what he calls his “Big Slider.”

He’s only been throwing the pitch for a couple years, but likes the way it now complements his curve and cutter.

“It’s something I’ve kind of been working on in the winter and working on this spring,” Mikolas said. “It’s another pitch to have.”

Just don’t label the pitch a “sweeper.”

“It’s a slider,” Mikolas said. “I mean, guys have been throwing this sweeper pitch for 20 years, and it’s just, they just called it a slider — or a slurve, even. But someone called it a sweeper, and now everyone calls it that. I’m just calling it a slider.”

He threw it some last season but it got lumped in with his other slider (circled on the movement graph).

The new slider had a 12% SwStr% and just a 7% SwStr% on the old one.

One thing I noticed while examining his pitches is the three-foot horizontal and one-foot vertical difference in his release point over the season.

Dodgers

• Hyeseong Kim 김혜성 is adjusting his bat path.

At the plate, Kim is known for his bat-to-ball skills. The Dodgers are high on his underlying skill set, which they believe will translate to the higher velocity in the Major Leagues in due time.

Kim is currently working on making adjustments to his bat path, and hitting coach Aaron Bates has been impressed by his progress.

“He has the ingredients to be great,” Bates said. “It’s just kind of fine-tuning things. Obviously, he was a great player in Korea and has all the components, so it’s just making some tweaks here and there. All the while, letting him play and play free, mentally.”

• Shohei Ohtani is still feeling the effects of his shoulder surgery.

Making sure Ohtani, who is also coming off a labrum repair in his left (non-throwing) shoulder, remains effective at the plate without suffering the pitfalls of other recent two-time Tommy John recipients appears on the surface to be an impossible needle to thread. Ohtani admitted this week that he still feels some limitations at the plate with his range of motion in that shoulder.

Giants

• After a suggestion from Justin Verlander, Hayden Birdsong changed his position on the pitching rubber.

Hayden Birdsong, still the youngest pitcher in camp, was surprised to see Verlander standing alongside pitching coach J.P. Martinez while he threw his session on Sunday. Verlander suggested that Birdsong move from the first base side of the rubber to the third base side, explaining that he would have a better attack angle with his fastball and it might allow his slider to induce more chase swings because it’d stay over the plate longer.

• Keaton Winn is touching 95 mph with his fastball after sitting at 95.3 mph last season.

Like Flores, Winn spent the first half of the offseason rehabbing and then began throwing off the mound in December. He’s back to full strength now and reached 95 mph in his latest bullpen session, which should give him a chance to compete with Kyle Harrison, Hayden Birdsong and Landen Roupp for the fifth spot in the Giants’ rotation this spring.

• LaMonte Wade Jr. will play some outfield.

Another interesting tidbit from the manager sessions: LaMonte Wade Jr spend the offseason doing tons of running and could be an option in the OF this year if needed. 👀

— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) February 13, 2025

Wade could be platooning with Heliot Ramos who struggles against right-handed pitching (career .656 OPS vs RHP, .956 vs LHP). The reason might be that Wade will have a spot once Bryce Eldridge is ready for the majors.

However, the larger motivation for getting Wade some renewed comfort in the outfield is surely the looming presence of top prospect Bryce Eldridge.

Marlins

• Max Meyer is working on his changeup and adding a sinker and sweeper.

Since Meyer was predominantly a two-pitch guy (four-seamer and slider with a work-in-progress changeup), Moskos identified grips for a sinker and sweeper that would work well in Meyer’s arsenal based on his arm path and delivery.

So, Meyer tested them out while beginning his throwing progression in January. With access to Trackman, Meyer could remotely work with Moskos on pitch design and shape. He also got rid of fat and added muscle with heavy lifting.

“My slider is going to be more down in depth and my sweeper’s going to come across the plate,” Meyer said. “I feel like with the movement, there’s definitely a big separation between those two. They’re not just looking for that hard [stuff] down when they’ve got to prepare for something else and then worry about a hard fastball, too. So I’m just excited.

“My change is going to be a really good pitch, too, one of my best pitches. I feel like all my pitches are one of my best pitches right now. I just have crazy confidence in them that I haven’t had a lot in the past going through the injury. I just feel strong, feel 100%, feel better than I did in college. So, yeah, I feel good.”

Nationals

• Shinnosuke Ogasawara has an unorthodox delivery (seen in the top video of the linked article).

Before a pitch even crosses the plate, his delivery can stifle batters. Once he raises his right leg, he pauses briefly before completing his throwing motion. Bell noted that Ogasawara’s delivery is unique to a left-hander.

“All of those things that he does, it’s not a comfortable at-bat,” added Ruiz.

The Nationals lauded Ogasawara for his pitching deception when they signed him to a two-year deal in January. What Ogasawara calls his changeup, several batters call a splitter. García described the pitch as “nasty” and said it is difficult to differentiate from a fastball.

He gives some Johnny Cueto/Nestor Cortes vibes. Lineups might struggle against Ogasawara the first few times they see him.

Phillies

• Bryson Stott dealt with a nerve issue in his arm last season.

Stott is not a masochist; no hitter likes to swing-and-miss. But last season, it especially hurt because Stott played through some sort of nerve issue in his right elbow. The pain was greatest whenever he hyperextended that arm on a flailing swing. He suffered the injury in May, continued to play while batting fifth or sixth most of the time, and said he did not realize how compromised he was until the season ended.

The Phillies never disclosed Stott’s injury last season; manager Rob Thomson alluded to it for the first time during the offseason at MLB’s Winter Meetings. Thomson, on Monday, said Stott had assured the club’s medical staff that the nerve issue was not affecting his swing. Maybe it’s a convenient excuse after the fact for why the 27-year-old second baseman regressed at the plate.

“Looking back, I wasn’t healthy,” Stott said. “I was good enough to play and I’m not going to make excuses for that. I want to play. You never want to sit on the bench or anything.”

Pirates

• Paul Skenes has added a two-seamer and cutter.

Improving on a year like 2024 would be a daunting task for many, but Pirates general manager Ben Cherington mentioned early in camp that some of Skenes’ pitches already look intentionally different than last year. There are a couple more offerings on the menu this year, like a tailing two-seam fastball and a cutter, the latter being a variation of his two sliders — one with more bite and another with more sweep.

“Really, [I’m] just trying to create more swing decisions,” Skenes said. “That’s what it boils down to.”

Rockies

• Kris Bryant might play some outfield on the road. Right now he is just Utility-only in most formats.

… Bryant, who’s projected to be designated hitter for home games and play some outfield on the road.