Ohtani! and other moves

Ohtani!!?!?!?

This is where I’ll address the biggest signing in pro sports history. I was going to write an entire post about this but I found myself not being able to come up with enough words to talk about Ohtani because what is there to say. He’s the best hitter on the planet and I’m certain he’ll come back and be one of the best pitchers. His contract is really interesting though. The fact that he’ll be getting paid only $2 million a year for the next 10 years gives the Dodgers so much wiggle room. I know they’ll still be paying around $45 million in luxury tax for the contract every season but that’s still smaller than what it was rumored he would get. One thing that came from this signing is the thought that the Dodgers are a “super team” that will certainly win the World Series. I think people aren’t looking at their current roster. The Dodgers have major questions on their roster starting with their rotation. Without Ohtani this season their left with Glasnow as their #1 who has only made 20 starts in a season once in the last 5 seasons. Their #2 Bobby Miller is coming into only his second season in the big leagues. They have Walker Buehler likely being ready by opening day after missing most of 2022 and all of 2023. Their final two spots will be fought over by Emmett Sheehan and Gavin Stone who are coming into their first full season or Ryan Yarbrough who has made 9 starts each of the last 2 seasons. That’s a lot of question marks with Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May being out for the season, Clayton Kershaw still being a free agent, and Julio Urias likely never making another MLB pitch after his legal troubles. I’m sure the Dodgers will weld this rotation together through everything just like they did last season but to sell them to me they would have to bring back Kershaw and bring in a guy like Yamamoto or Corbin Burnes to be a front of the line starter. That does even go into the lineup question. Gavin Lux is coming back from a torn ACL in spring training as well as Chris Taylor being an average player the past few seasons. Just because they got Ohtani does not mean they are a powerhouse.

Marlins get a catcher

One of the biggest problems for the Marlins front office the past few seasons has been trying to find a competent catcher. They’ve gone through Jorge Alfaro, Sandy Leon, Jacob Stallings, and Nick Fortes all since 2020 and none of them have been positive hitters. They’re now bringing in Christian Bethancourt to compete with Nick Fortes for the starting spot. Bethancourt isn’t anything special on offense but has a great pop time and throws a lot of runners out. He doesn’t walk and strikeout way too much but hits the ball hard at an average rate and is a solid 10-15 homer guy a year. Not saying he tips the scale for the Marlins in any way but he hits the same as Fortes and throws more runners out. 

Kelly goes back to LA

The Dodgers brought back their #17 Joe Kelly who will now change his number for Ohtani. As I talked about before, the Dodgers need innings. The only reason the Dodgers were able to get through their injury riddled 2023 was their bullpen. They bring back Kelly who was a big contributor to that. They got him for 1 year, $8 million a steal for one of the best relievers in baseball. Still at the age of 35 he throws 99 mph, has a strikeout rate of 35.7%, and gets ground balls at a 58% rate. This adds to an already great bullpen that has around 12 pitchers who could be in any other team's bullpen vying for a spot in the Dodgers.

Washington adds two pieces

This hasn’t been the most eventful offseason for a rebuilding Nationals team. After showing signs of progression they have mostly decided to stick with their young guys and continue their rebuild next season. On the same day they brought in utility player Nick Senzel and reliever Dylan Floro. Senzel, a former top prospect, hasn't really panned out since being called up by the Reds in 2019. Last season though he broke out against left handed pitching where he hit .347 compared to hitting against righties at .164. He’ll likely platoon with Carter Kieboom at third base as well as getting in wherever he can in the infield and outfield. Senzel has always shown some promise but has dealt with injuries year after year, Washington might be able to unlock his potential and turn him into a positive player and for only 1 year for $2 million it’s a good gamble. The other player Washington signed was Dylan Floro. His base stats last season weren’t great having a 4.76 ERA but he had a 2.96 FIP. Floro’s stats were inflated, having 8 blowup outings throughout the year where he allowed 2 or more runs. He had 49 outings where he gave up 0 earned runs which weren’t enough to even out his ERA. He gives up weak contact on the ground and rarely walks anyone. He’s a great reliever especially for only $2.25 this season and will fit in as a 3rd or 4th option out of their bullpen in close games.

Tigers bring in two pitchers

Detroit brought in both a reliever and a starter in Andrew Chafin and Jack Flaherty. Chafin spent all of 2022 with the Tigers and was great but last season for Chafin wasn’t up to his usual standards. He struggled with control which led to a 12.5% walk rate. He is still one of the premier lefty relievers. His slider is one of the best strikeout pitches in baseball but last season he lost control of fastball and his sinker was hit harder than it ever was. He adds to an underrated bullpen becoming the second lefty with Tyler Holten who had an amazing season last year. Chafin will come in with less expectations than he had last season, hopefully getting him back to what he did last time in Detroit. The bigger signing was adding Jack Flaherty to the rotation. After already Kenta Maeda to a solid rotation Detroit decided to take a shot on a bounce back season for Flaherty who has dealt with injuries ever since his 4th place Cy Young voting season in 2019. His injuries made him lose some velocity and control. His fastball went from one of the best in the league to being left over the heart of the plate way too many times last season. His slider went from getting more than 40-50% whiff rate the past couple seasons to only 26.5% last season. HIs curveball was his only positive pitch last season and became what his slider used to be. The Tigers are bringing him in for $14 million next season expecting him to stay healthy and turn back into an at least average pitcher but I don’t see it unless he can get his fastball back under control. At least the Tigers will have Casey Mize ready coming back from injury in the bullpen or AAA when he’s needed. 

Brewers make some moves

In the past week the Brewers have made a signing and two trades. First they acquired reliever Taylor Clarke from the Royals for two minor leaguers. The Brewers likely see Clarke as a fun project who fits what they like to get. For years they’ve been known for finding random cheap relievers and turning them into studs. Just last year they turned Joel Payamps from an up and down reliever who was on 4 teams in 3 years to one of the best setup men in the league. Clarke has 4 pitches that have a ton of spin including a sweeper he added last season. His only positive pitch was his slider but he has great movement on his sweeper, fastball, and changeup that the Brewers will play around with to make him a good reliever. The two prospects they gave up were pitcher Ryan Brady and shortstop Cam Devanney. Brady had his first full professional season last year moving up to AA after going undrafted in 2022 out of BYU. As a reliever he has a great slider that gets a good amount of whiffs and doesn’t walk much. He had a 2.90 FIP last season in AA in 18 games so a good upside arm that could move up quickly for the Royals. Devanney can play all throughout the infield and played all of last season in AAA. He struggled early, especially with strikeouts but found his groove in 2022 at AA. He walks at a decent rate and had good power in AA but that dropped when he got up to AAA last season. Next season he’ll already be 27 and doesn’t seem ready for the big leagues but a good get by the Royals for a player they were already going to DFA.

The next move by the Brewers was to sign catcher Eric Haase for just next year for $740,000. A cheap deal looking for Haase not to repeat his season last year after having a dreadful year at the plate with a 42 wRC+ and getting DFA’d by the Tigers. He strikes out too much and walks very little but has shown power in 2021 and 2022 but last season that dropped off with only a .080 ISO. He has been decent in the past at throwing runners out but last season regressed in that area too. He also was bad in left field, just an all around terrible season. With Conteras likely playing almost everyday for the Brewers, this should take pressure off Haase and I expect at least his power to come back better than last season.

The last move the Brewers made was trading starter Adrian Houser and outfielder Tyrone Taylor to the Mets for pitching prospect Coleman Crow. Former Brewers executive David Stearns left for the Mets GM job this offseason and with the Brewers shedding payroll they made a move for much needed major league players. Houser has made 20 starts and pitched 100 innings each of the last 3 years. He usually pitches to contact getting a lot of ground balls but he gives up a lot of hard hits. He throws 5 different pitches with his sinker being his best pitch. He isn’t the best pitcher but is very average and will likely come into the Mets as their #3. For only about $5 million this season it’s not a massive contract the Mets have to worry about. The Mets also acquired outfielder Tyrone Taylor. He’s a great defensive left fielder and has great speed. He has shown power in the past but struggled last season and only had a 3.3% walk rate. Taylor currently looks like the starting left fielder for the Mets next season which wouldn’t be great. With them likely not contending this season he could be a bridge to the next big signing for the Mets. They gave up pitching prospect Coleman Crow who they acquired last season in a trade with the Angels. Crow is currently recovering from Tommy John Surgery but his curveball was a top pitch in the minors with a 40% whiff rate and insane movement. He’s already 22 though and likely missing this season as well as most of last season could stunt his development on his fastball and slider which aren’t as good as the curveball. In the Brewers pitching development he will be an intriguing prospect that could move up the minors fast once he comes back. I think this trade is both teams taking a shot with the Brewers wanting to get rid of two expensive players as they continue their purge of their old roster and will continue for the next year.

White Sox bring in a player from overseas

After being a top prospect and making his debut Erick Fedde didn’t look good in his 4 seasons with the Nationals. In those 4 seasons he only had 1 with an under 5 FIP and still that season he had a 5.47 ERA in 2021. In his last season his offspeed pitches especially his curveball weren’t located and left over the middle of the plate way too many times. His main appeal was being able to get ground balls and sometimes weak contact but in his last season in 2022 he went from a 51% rate to a 42.8% rate. Because of this he needed to go across the world and play in the Korean league. In 30 starts his strikeout rate jumped up to 29.5% and he found his ground ball ability again getting a 70% rate. He ended with a 2.38 FIP and totally saved his career. The only question is will Fedde revert back to his MLB level or does he continue his dominance. I think it’s a mix of both in Korea he changed his pitch mix adding a sweeper that turned into his strikeout pitch and fixing the problems he had controlling his changeup. For the rebuilding White Sox taking a chance on Fedde for only 2 years for $15 million. This team needs innings and Fedde will likely become the teams #3 starters which should get him into a groove and give him confidence.

Pirates making moves

After a quiet start to the offseason the Pirates brought in first baseman Rowdy Tellez. After his worst Major League season last year with the Brewers Tellez got non tendered this offseason. Just two years ago in 2022 he was a premier power hitter with 35 homers with a good walk rate but last season he was injured only playing 106 games as a result his slugging dropped by almost 100 points. The Pirates also signed a first baseman coming off a down season in Carlos Santana and ended up trading him for prospects after a good 1st half. They could look to do the same thing with Tellez after he likely bounces back with around 15-20 homers next season.

The Pirates also brought back franchise legend Andrew McCutchen. Of course he should retire as a Pirate as he’s one of their best players in franchise history but he’s coming off a major injury with a partially torn achilles. Cutch still has an elite eye walking 15.9% last season and having one of the best chase rates in baseball. He’s lost a lot of his power but is still a great hitter in the middle of any team's order with a 115 wRC+. For only $5 million next season McCutchen is a great signing.