The Weekly Rundown: 11/19/23 - 11/25/23
The free-agent market gets moving, 2024 Hall of Fame ballot unveiled, and more.
Good morning and Happy Sunday!
We’ve got plenty to get to from the last week as the free-agent market has finally gotten moving. There are some trade and free-agency rumors where that came from as well.
Before we jump into all that, a reminder to subscribe to the newsletter below if you haven’t already. That’s the best gift anyone could give me this holiday season, and it’s free!
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Now let’s get into the rundown…
Nola Stays In Philly
Aaron Nola, one of the top starting pitchers in this year’s free-agency class, isn’t going anywhere. The veteran right-hander re-signed with the Philadelphia Phillies on a seven-year contract worth $172 million.
Nola, 30, was initially selected by the Phillies with the seventh overall pick of the 2014 MLB Draft. Through nine seasons with Philly, he’s posted a 90-71 record with a 3.72 ERA and 1,582 strikeouts in 235 starts (1,422 innings). He has twice finished in the top five in Cy Young voting.
It’s a no-brainer of a deal for Philadelphia, whose rotation would have had a glaring hole if Nola signed elsewhere. It also shows Nola’s loyalty to the organization as he reportedly had other deals on the table for more money.
With Zack Wheeler and Nola sticking around as their 1-2 punch, the Phillies are positioned to make another deep postseason run in 2024.
Cardinals Add Two Arms
The St. Louis Cardinals were one of the biggest disappointments of the 2023 season, if not the biggest. They finished with a 71-91 record that put them dead last in the unimpressive National League Central.
A lack of quality pitching was a major reason for their demise. They ranked 24th in team ERA (4.79), 27th in WHIP (1.46), and 29th in batting average against (.276).
In an attempt to improve those numbers in 2024, the Cardinals signed Lance Lynn (one year, $11M) and Kyle Gibson (one year, $12M) to bolster their rotation.
Lynn, who began his career in St Louis, is coming off a dismal 2023 campaign in which he posted a 5.73 ERA and 1.39 WHIP with a league-high 44 homers allowed in 32 starts between the White Sox and Dodgers. Gibson was better, though not by a whole lot. He had a 4.73 ERA and 1.32 WHIP in 33 starts with the Orioles.
When Cardinals fans were begging for pitching upgrades, these probably weren’t the additions they had in mind. While Lynn and Gibson have a wealth of experience and are capable of bounce-back campaigns, St. Louis needs legitimate ace talent atop its rotation.
There’s still hope the Cardinals, after these two cheap signings, will be in the mix for someone like Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto or NL Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell. If they don’t land one of the top arms available, we can mark their offseason down as a failure.
Braves Bolster Bullpen
The Atlanta Braves continued to upgrade their bullpen on Monday by signing right-handed reliever Reynaldo Lopez to a three-year, $30 million contract.
Lopez, who turns 30 in January, spent six-plus seasons with the Chicago White Sox before being traded to the Los Angeles Angels ahead of the 2023 trade deadline. He didn’t last long in Anaheim, however, as the Angels waived him to cut payroll. He ended the season with the Cleveland Guardians.
Since transitioning from a starter to a reliever in 2021, Lopez has found success. He’s posted a 3.14 ERA and 1.06 WHIP in that span.
Atlanta acquired Lopez’s longtime Whtie Sox bullpenmate Aaron Bummer earlier in the offseason.
Suarez Shipped To Arizona
The Seattle Mariners sent third baseman Eugenio Suarez to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for reliever Carlos Vargas and catcher Seby Zavala.
It’s a head-scratcher of a deal on paper for Seattle, but one that sheds about $13 million of Suarez’s guaranteed salary off the books. As for the DBacks, they get the power bat they’ve been looking for to take over at the hot corner.
Suarez, 32, is coming off a bit of a down year with the Mariners. The former All-Star slashed .232/.323/.391 with 22 homers and 96 RBIs while playing in all 162 games. He struck out a National League-high 214 times.
When he’s on, however, Suarez is among the league’s premier power hitters. He belted 31 homers with a .791 OPS in 2022 and 49 homers with a .930 OPS in 2019.
Even if Suarez remains in 2023 form, it’ll be a significant offensive upgrade over what Arizona has had at third base. He also impressed defensively last season with 11 Outs Above Average.
The Mariners will likely replace Suarez at third with utility infielder Luis Urias, who they acquired from the Red Sox earlier this offseason.
White Sox Sign DeJong
Veteran shortstop Paul DeJong signed a one-year contract with the White Sox on Tuesday.
DeJong, an All-Star with the Cardinals in 2019, was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays at the 2023 trade deadline. The 30-year-old was released by Toronto shortly thereafter and he ended the season in San Francisco.
The 2023 campaign was one DeJong will want to forget. In 99 games between St. Louis, Toronto, and San Francisco, he slashed just .207/.258/.355. He doesn’t offer much upside at the plate, but he serves as a stopgap as the organization awaits the arrival of top prospect Colson Montgomery. The 21-year-old shortstop is Chicago's No. 1 prospect and the No. 17 overall prospect in baseball, per MLB Pipeline.
2024 Hall of Fame Ballot
The 2024 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot was unveiled. This year’s additions to the ballot are:
Adrián Beltré
Joe Mauer
Chase Utley
David Wright
Bartolo Colon
Matt Holliday
Adrián González
José Bautista
José Reyes
Victor Martinez
James Shields
Brandon Phillips
Check out the ballot below:
I’ll have a post soon on my personal Hall of Fame picks, but this is a really solid group. Spoiler alert: Adrián Beltré has my vote.
Rapid Fire
Two-time All-Star reliever Zack Britton announced his retirement after 12 MLB seasons. He finishes his career with a 3.13 ERA, a 1.26 WHIP, 532 strikeouts, and 154 saves in 442 games (641 innings).
The Padres hired Mike Shildt as their next manager to fill the final managerial vacancy in the league. Shildt managed the Cardinals from 2018-21.
The Red Sox hired former MLB reliever Andrew Bailey as their new pitching coach.
The Yankees hired Brad Ausmus as their new bench coach, replacing new Mets manager Carlos Mendoza.
The Mets have hired former Blue Jays manager John Gibbons as bench coach.
The Rumor Mill
The Tigers are showing “serious interest” in free-agent right-hander Kenta Maeda, per Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press. Maeda spent his last four seasons in Minnesota.
The Yankees and Giants are expected to pursue Japanese outfielder Jung Hoo Lee in free agency once he’s posted by the Kiwoom Heroes, according to MLB Network’s Jon Morosi.
The Braves are “one of the top suitors” for free-agent starter Sonny Gray, per Morosi.
The Blue Jays are open to trading former All-Star starter Alek Manoah this offseason, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. Manoah is coming off a nightmare 2023 season in which he posted a 5.87 ERA over 87 1/3 innings and had multiple minor-league stints, including one in the Florida Complex League.
Thanks for reading! Have a great week and catch you next Sunday.