Most professional baseball players were fans of the sport before it became their job. Much like the rest of us, they grew up following their favorite teams and players, watching them on TV and, to varying degrees, reading about them in print or online. Then things changed. With few exceptions, primarily due to new routines and responsibilities, the way they follow the game is now different — in many cases, drastically so. No longer fans, these players have found themselves consuming baseball in a whole new way.
So how does then compare to now? I put that question to 10 players. Here is what they had to say.
———
Grayson Rodriguez, Baltimore Orioles pitcher: “As a kid growing up, I would just watch my favorite teams. I watched a lot of Astros and Rangers; I wouldn’t really watch a lot of other teams unless it was the playoffs or the World Series. Being in the game now, I try to watch everybody. I try to watch different pitchers. I watch their starts. Read the rest of this entry »
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the A’s Las Vegas ballpark renderings, Brayan Bello’s extension with the Red Sox, and MLB’s Spring Breakout games, provide an update on EW listeners’ MLB ballpark meetup events, then preview the 2024 Baltimore Orioles (28:59) with The Baltimore Banner’s Danielle Allentuck, and the 2024 San Francisco Giants (1:04:38) with The Athletic’s Grant Brisbee.
I’m not the first member of the Cole Ragans fan club – that’d be Nick Pollack. I’m not an early member – hi Eno and Esteban. The cat is out of the bag: A scout called Ragans “left-handed deGrom” in a recent Jeff Passan roundup. The Royals’ left-hander looks like an absolute terror on the mound.
So I’m not going to try to convince you that Ragans is good. Those other articles have surely done a good enough job of doing that. I’m also not going to try to convince you that he’s a left-handed version of the best inning-for-inning pitcher of the 21st century. But I do want to take a quick look at how he’s continuing to change his arsenal, and how some of his old skills could help him keep his tremendous run of form going in 2024.
The reason Ragans has drawn such flashy comparisons likely starts with his fastball. As Passan noted, he averaged 99.2 mph in his first start of spring. Statcast didn’t track it, but I was able to capture some of it by watching the broadcast. There was no radar gun, but the announcers frequently mentioned his velocity and never said a number lower than 98. It certainly looked pretty sharp when he blew it past Mike Trout:
Below is an analysis of the prospects in the farm system of the Milwaukee Brewers. Scouting reports were compiled with information provided by industry sources as well as my own observations. This is the fourth year we’re delineating between two anticipated relief roles, the abbreviations for which you’ll see in the “position” column below: MIRP for multi-inning relief pitchers, and SIRP for single-inning relief pitchers. The ETAs listed generally correspond to the year a player has to be added to the 40-man roster to avoid being made eligible for the Rule 5 draft. Manual adjustments are made where they seem appropriate, but we use that as a rule of thumb.
A quick overview of what FV (Future Value) means can be found here. A much deeper overview can be found here.
All of the ranked prospects below also appear on The Board, a resource the site offers featuring sortable scouting information for every organization. It has more details (and updated TrackMan data from various sources) than this article and integrates every team’s list so readers can compare prospects across farm systems. It can be found here. Read the rest of this entry »
When free agent Matt Chapman signed with the Giants this past weekend, most of my analysis focused upon the ups and downs of his 2023 season and the nature of his contract, which looks comparatively team friendly. One thing I underplayed in the analysis was the extent to which San Francisco’s winter stands out relative to the competition. Even before the addition of Chapman, the Giants had spent more money on free agents than any other team besides the Dodgers, and likewise project to receive more WAR from those additions than any team besides their longtime rivals.
Based on the data in our Free Agent Tracker, the Giants have now committed $261.25 million in guaranteed salaries: $113 million to center fielder Jung Hoo Lee, $44 million to righty Jordan Hicks, $42 million to DH/outfielder Jorge Soler, and $8.25 million to catcher Tom Murphy; this accounting does not include the major league salaries that shortstop Nick Ahmed or lefty reliever Amir Garrett will get if they make the big league roster; last month, they each signed minor league deals as non-roster invitees. San Francisco’s additions may not be as eye-catching as signing either Carlos Correa or Aaron Judge would have been last offseason, and the team still projects for a middle-of-the-pack 82 wins after going 79-83 last year, but the Giants may not be done spending some of the money that was burning a hole in their pockets. They remain interested in Blake Snell, especially in the wake of injuries within their rotation.
Of course, the Dodgers blow the field away when it comes to spending, even if we stick to the adjusted salaries once deferred money is factored in, with a total of $853.2 million: $437.83 million to Shohei Ohtani (down from a sticker price of $700 million), $325 million to Yoshinobu Yamamoto, $20.434 million to outfielder Teoscar Hernández (down from $25 million), $10 million to Clayton Kershaw (with incentives that can increase the value significantly for both 2024 and ’25), $9 million apiece to Ryan Brasier and Jason Heyward, $8 million to Joe Kelly, $7 million to James Paxton, and $4 million to Enrique Hernández.
Here’s a look at the 30 teams’ free agent spending. Note that, as above, these figures factor in the applicable deferrals but not incentives, escalator clauses, or split-contract salaries from minor league deals:
Free Agent Spending, 2023-24 Offseason
Team
Free Agents
Major
Minor
$ (Millions)*
Dodgers
12
9
3
$853.2
Giants
7
5
2
$261.3
Phillies
6
4
2
$183.0
Cubs
8
3
5
$142.0
Diamondbacks
7
4
3
$136.5
Reds
10
8
2
$112.7
Royals
10
8
2
$110.5
Cardinals
6
6
0
$107.6
Astros
2
2
0
$107.0
Brewers
9
8
1
$77.3
Braves
6
4
2
$71.4
Blue Jays
6
4
2
$70.5
Mets
16
10
6
$69.2
Angels
15
8
7
$52.3
Padres
4
4
0
$50.0
Red Sox
6
2
4
$48.5
Tigers
6
5
1
$47.5
Rangers
12
5
7
$40.6
Yankees
4
3
1
$40.5
White Sox
16
6
10
$30.1
Pirates
7
5
2
$29.2
Mariners
3
1
2
$24.0
Rockies
5
3
2
$16.5
Orioles
4
1
3
$13.0
A’s
3
3
0
$12.3
Nationals
8
3
5
$9.3
Rays
5
3
2
$9.1
Twins
4
3
1
$7.7
Marlins
5
1
4
$5.0
Guardians
3
1
2
$4.0
SOURCE: RosterResource
* = Total salares adjusted for deferred money, but not including incentives or split-contract salaries for players on minor league contracts.
As you can see, five teams committed less than $10 million each this winter, and of the bottom seven teams, four (the Orioles, Rays, Twins, and Marlins) made the playoffs last year. Free agency isn’t the only route to improve a team, but particularly with regards to the Orioles, one can empathize with fans who are disappointed that last year’s success hasn’t translated into a shopping spree to improve their odds of getting back to the postseason.
The 30 teams have committed a total of $2.74 billion to free agents so far, and even though that figure will increase once Snell and Jordan Montgomery sign, overall spending will still be lower this offseason than in recent ones. Based on the data at RosterResource, teams spent $4 billion last offseason ($2.22 billion on the top 12 free agents alone) and $3.22 billion in the lockout-interrupted offseason of 2021–22. For this winter, spending works out to an average of $91.38 million per team, but that figure is skewed by the top teams to such an extent that the median is just $49.25 million; only nine teams exceeded the mean.
Beyond the dollars, I thought it would be worth revisiting some free agent accounting we’ve done in the past, regarding WAR added and lost in free agency. This isn’t quite as straightforward as it sounds, as we’ll soon see.
Net 2023 WAR Added and Lost in Free Agency
Team
Out FA
Out WAR
In FA
In WAR
Net WAR
Reds
12
-1.0
10
8.7
9.7
Cardinals
5
-0.5
6
8.6
9.1
Royals
8
-0.1
10
8.0
8.1
Dodgers
16
9.0
12 (1)
17.1
8.1
Diamondbacks
9
2.6
7
7.7
5.1
Giants
11
3.5
7 (1)
6.9
3.4
Yankees
11
0.4
4
3.6
3.2
Astros
4
0.2
2
2.8
2.6
Nationals
6
-0.6
8
1.8
2.3
A’s
5
-0.4
3
1.9
2.3
Guardians
8
-1.6
3
-0.2
1.3
Tigers
7
3.5
6
4.7
1.3
Brewers
14
2.6
9
3.4
0.8
Pirates
3
1.9
7
2.7
0.8
Mariners
6
2.4
3
2.7
0.4
Phillies
6
4.4
6
4.4
0.0
Rays
6
1.5
5 (1)
1.0
-0.5
Mets
12
0.7
16
-0.1
-0.8
Marlins
11
-0.7
5
-1.7
-1.0
Cubs
10
6.7
8 (1)
5.5
-1.2
Braves
11
3.3
6
2.0
-1.3
Rockies
6
2.6
5
0.5
-2.1
Red Sox
7
4.0
6
0.8
-3.2
Orioles
7
4.2
4
0.8
-3.4
Angels
12
5.9
15
2.1
-3.8
White Sox
11
2.6
16 (1)
-2.3
-5.0
Rangers
14
6.2
12
1.2
-5.0
Blue Jays
8
9.2
6 (1)
2.8
-6.5
Twins
11
12.6
4
1.9
-10.7
Padres
20
10.8
4 (2)
-2.5
-13.2
Outgoing and incoming counts include players on minor league contracts. WAR figures cover only players who were in MLB in 2023; numbers in parentheses represent players signed from NPB and KBO
This is the most basic accounting, lumping together players signed to major league deals and those who had to settle for minor league ones; the latter inflates the counts of some of these teams well into double digits. It’s worth noting that where players spent time with multiple teams in 2023, I’ve only counted their WAR with their last team on the outgoing side, but their full-season WAR on the incoming side. Consider the case of Jeimer Candelario, who produced 3.1 WAR for the Nationals and then 0.2 WAR for the Cubs. To these eyes, crediting the Reds as adding a 3.3-WAR player properly conveys the impact of a substantial addition. The question is whether to count the Cubs as losing 3.3 WAR (via a player they acquired without intending to retain) or 0.2 WAR (reflecting the transient nature of a late-season addition). I went with the latter option.
The total number of outgoing free agents shown above (277) doesn’t include 11 additional players from the KBO and NPB, eight of whom have signed (all but Trevor Bauer, Adam Plutko, and Yasiel Puig), meaning that from among that total, 73 — about 25% — are unsigned. Most of the unsigned are fairly low impact players, in that just 13 produced at least 1.0 WAR last year, with Montgomery (4.3), Snell (4.1), Brandon Belt (2.3), Mike Clevinger (2.2) and J.D. Martinez (2.2) the only ones above 2.0. Meanwhile, 35 of them produced zero or negative WAR, though to be fair, that was often in limited opportunity.
While the eight foreign players who have signed are counted in the total number of signed free agents above, they didn’t produce any WAR within MLB. Thus, the fact that three teams outrank the Dodgers in terms of net free agent WAR comes with the caveat that the Los Angeles total doesn’t include Yamamoto.
I’ll come back to that issue, but first let’s note the teams at the extremes. Ahead of the Dodgers are three teams who had a bunch of players hit the open market, but who were at best minimally productive in 2023, and who all went out and made at least a few solid moves. Of the dozen Reds to test free agency, including the still-unsigned Joey Votto, only Harrison Bader produced even 1.0 WAR in 2023, and he nonetheless was 0.2 wins below replacement after being acquired from the Yankees. On the other side, in addition to Candelario, the team shored up its pitching by adding starters Nick Martinez and Frankie Montas, relievers Brent Suter and Emilio Pagán, and more — not big moves, but enough to put them at the top. The Cardinals shed five players, most notably Dakota Hudson, and overhauled their rotation by adding Sonny Gray, whose 5.3 WAR as a Twin tied Kevin Gausman for the AL lead, as well as Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn; they also added Keynan Middleton to the bullpen and staffed their bench with Brandon Crawford and Matt Carpenter. Of the eight Royals who became free agents, only Zack Greinke produced 1.0 WAR, but they beefed up their pitching, with starters Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha; their lineup, with Hunter Renfroe; and their bench, with Adam Frazier and Garrett Hampson to their bench. These moves won’t win them the division, but they’re at least proof of life.
The Dodgers’ figures on both sides of the ledger are inflated by their keeping Brasier, Enrique Hernández, Heyward, Kelly, and Kershaw, but they did shed the still-unsigned J.D. Martinez and Julio Urías, replacing them with the market’s two most expensive players. The Diamondbacks re-signed Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and didn’t lose anybody who produced at least 1.0 WAR for the team, while the only departing Giant to meet that threshold was Sean Manaea.
At the other end of the spectrum, it’s striking that the bottom five teams include three AL postseason participants plus one NL team that barely missed it. Whether they won it all or fell short, their offseasons have resulted in some downsizing of payrolls and perhaps expectations.
In the wake of last year’s $255 million flop, the uncertainty regarding their local broadcast deal, and the death of chairman Peter Seidler, the Padres gutted their pitching staff, with Snell, Lugo, Martinez, Wacha, and closer Josh Hader among those departing, along with catcher Gary Sánchez, whom they plucked off the scrapheap and who had his best season since 2019. Most of the money they’ve spent this offseason was on their bullpen, with Wandy Peralta, Japanese lefty Yuki Matsui and Korean righty Woo-Suk Go joining the fold. The Twins shed Gray, Kenta Maeda, and Tyler Mahle from their rotation, and both Donovan Solano and Michael A. Taylor remain unsigned but unlikely to return; meanwhile their most impactful addition is first baseman Carlos Santana. The Blue Jays let Chapman depart, along with Belt, Hicks and Whit Merrifield; they cobbled together a lower-cost third base solution, which includes the incoming Justin Turner and Isiah Kiner-Falefa, retained center fielderKevin Kiermaier, and took a flier on Cuban righty Yariel Rodriguez, who spent three seasons in NPB. The Rangers may still re-sign Montgomery, but for now he counts only on the outbound side, and they also shed relievers Aroldis Chapman, Chris Stratton, and Will Smith, plus catcher/DH Mitch Garver. Their rotation is full of question marks as they bank on Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer, and Mahle having strong returns from surgery. Veteran righty David Robertson should bolster the bullpen, and Garver’s departure is mitigated by the eventual arrival of top prospect Wyatt Langford.
Since the impact of the foreign free agents isn’t reflected in the table above, I took one more look at the landscape using projected WAR on the incoming side. Instead of taking it straight from our Free Agent Tracker — that uses Steamer, which is available in time for the opening bell of the offseason, but not ZiPS, which takes longer to prepare — I took the more labor-intensive route by swapping in our Depth Charts projections, which takes an average the two systems:
Net WAR Added and Lost in Free Agency (Projection Version)
Team
Out FA
OutWAR
In FA
In WAR Proj
Net WAR Proj
Royals
8
-0.1
10
9.6
9.7
Cardinals
5
-0.5
6
8.0
8.5
Reds
12
-1.0
10
6.6
7.6
Giants
11
3.5
7 (1)
10.1
6.6
Dodgers
16
9.0
12 (1)
15.2
6.2
Mets
12
0.7
16
6.4
5.7
Brewers
14
2.6
9
7.4
4.8
Diamondbacks
9
2.6
7
6.3
3.6
Guardians
8
-1.6
3
1.4
2.9
Pirates
3
1.9
7
4.4
2.5
A’s
5
-0.4
3
1.9
2.3
Nationals
6
-0.6
8
1.8
2.3
Astros
4
0.2
2
2.4
2.2
Marlins
11
-0.7
5
1.4
2.1
Yankees
11
0.4
4
2.2
1.9
Phillies
6
4.4
6
5.7
1.3
Tigers
7
3.5
6
4.6
1.1
Rays
6
1.5
5 (1)
1.2
-0.3
Cubs
10
6.7
8 (1)
6.2
-0.6
White Sox
11
2.6
16 (1)
2.0
-0.6
Mariners
6
2.4
3
1.7
-0.7
Braves
11
3.3
6
2.4
-0.8
Rockies
6
2.6
5
1.4
-1.2
Red Sox
7
4.0
6
1.2
-2.8
Angels
12
5.9
15
2.2
-3.6
Orioles
7
4.2
4
0.5
-3.7
Blue Jays
8
9.2
6 (1)
4.4
-4.8
Rangers
14
6.2
12
1.2
-5.0
Padres
20
10.8
4 (2)
1.8
-9.0
Twins
11
12.6
4
1.0
-11.6
Outgoing and incoming counts include players on minor league contracts. WAR figures cover only players who were in MLB in 2023; numbers in parentheses represent players signed from NPB and KBO
Despite accounting for Yamamoto, the Dodgers actually fall in the rankings due to known injuries (Ohtani won’t pitch in 2024, while Kershaw could be out until August) and regression (Brasier and Heyward, particularly), while the Giants surpass them with the addition of Lee. Also notable on the upper end are the Mets, mainly due to anticipated rebounds from Manaea, Bader, and Luis Severino. On the other side, the Orioles stand out more than in the previous table, mainly because the only free agent they signed to a major league deal, Craig Kimbrel, is projected to regress. Given that both Kyle Bradish and John Means have been sidelined with elbow injuries to start the season, it seems possible the O’s could add a low-cost starter who might boost their standing here a bit.
Thanks to our tools at FanGraphs, free agency is easy to track, even if I’ve made it more labor-intensive for this exercise. It’s hardly the only route by which teams improve, however. For example, the Orioles traded for Corbin Burnes, who may outproduce any of the starters who were signed. But in the big picture, the patterns I’ve illustrated offer us plenty of hints about what to expect from the upcoming season.
The Miami Marlins made a surprising run to the postseason in 2023, but it’ll be hard to repeat. First of all, the Marlins punched above their weight last year, which is saying something, because an adult marlin can weigh the better part of a ton. Also, they don’t have arms, or hands, or fists, which makes punching anything above anything quite a challenge.
More to the point, Miami went 84-78, which is tied for the fourth-fewest wins ever for a playoff team in a 162-game season. The Marlins also had a Pythagorean record of just 75-87; they finished 20th in the league in wRC+ and 16th in ERA-. Getting back to the playoffs in 2024 is a realistic goal, but in order to achieve it the Marlins will probably have to be better this year than they were last.
Where will that improvement come from? Not external acquisitions, which have amounted mostly to trading for Jonah Bride and Nick Gordon, hoping to extract whatever juice is left in Trey Mancini’s bat, and signing Tim Anderson — a move that looks suspiciously like a repeat of the Jean Segura experiment from a year ago. Read the rest of this entry »
Spring training is a reliably terrible time for injury news. After a whole winter of not playing (though still training, of course), ramping back up to game speed inevitably creates new injuries or aggravates old ones. This process is always worse for pitchers, because their job is inherently more injury prone. I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know in this introduction.
Here’s something you might not have known, and certainly didn’t know before this week: The Boston Red Sox look to be hit hardest by this yearly attrition. As Jeff Passan reported, Lucas Giolito is probably going to miss the entire season with an elbow injury. He has both a partially torn UCL and a flexor strain, a double whammy that almost always leads to surgery. That’s a tough injury for a team that absolutely couldn’t afford it.
Oh, sure, other teams have suffered unfortunate injuries to top starting pitchers. Justin Verlander will begin the season on the IL with shoulder soreness. Sonny Gray tweaked his hamstring and might miss Opening Day as a result. Kevin Gausman is dealing with shoulder fatigue and his timeline for returning is murky. The list goes on and on. But Giolito’s injury looks more severe and will likely require a much longer recovery time that the other ones will, and that puts Boston in a particular bind. Read the rest of this entry »
Description:
The Oakland Athletics are currently seeking a seasonal Cape Cod Intern for the Amateur Scouting department. This position will be responsible for the Oakland Athletics’ scouting coverage of the Cape Cod Baseball League during the summer of 2024.
Responsibilities:
Evaluate amateur baseball players and create scouting reports on their current skills and projection of potential future skills.
Produce, curate, and analyze video and other relevant data for targeted baseball prospects.
Establish relationships with coaches within the Cape Cod Baseball League to acquire pertinent information regarding player health and scheduling.
Effectively communicate player updates to internal stakeholders.
Develop and maintain a detailed schedule to ensure appropriate coverage of players and teams across the Cape Cod Baseball League.
Qualifications/Requirements:
High degree of baseball acumen and understanding of evaluating baseball skills.
Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to communicate effectively with a wide variety of audiences.
Strong organizational skills, time management, and attention to detail.
Experience working with video equipment.
Flexibility to work extensive hours including nights, weekends, and holidays, as necessary to follow the Cape Cod Baseball League games.
Must have access to reliable transportation and housing accommodations in the region.
The Oakland A’s diversity statement:
Diversity Statement Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are in our organizational DNA. Our commitment to these values is unwavering – on and off the field. Together, we continue to build an inclusive, innovative, and dynamic culture that encourages, supports, and celebrates belonging and amplifies diverse voices. Combining a collaborative and innovative work environment with talented and diverse team members, we’ve created a workforce in which every team member has the tools to reach their full potential.
Equal Opportunity Consideration:
We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, gender identity, marital or veteran status, or any other protected class.
AJ Smith-Shawver started on Monday, and it went rather well: 10 batters faced, 48 pitches, 32 strikes, 2 2/3 innings pitched, five strikeouts, one hit, one walk, no runs allowed. The Braves lost, but the damage came after Smith-Shawver left the game, and at any rate, spring training results have less of an impact on regular season success than what sign the GM was born under. Justin Toscano, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s beat writer, tweeted after the start that Smith-Shawver was “in a better place, physically and mentally, for whatever comes this season. You can see the improvement.”
That’s exciting news. The 21-year-old poked his head into the majors for the first time in mid-2023; he threw 25 1/3 regular-season innings with the big club, plus 2 2/3 more of mopup work in the NLDS. Still rookie-eligible, he made our Top 100 list as the top-rated prospect in Atlanta’s system.
Tarik Skubal is slated to take the mound for the Detroit Tigers on Opening Day when the season begins three weeks from Thursday. Four years into his big league career, the 27-year-old southpaw is emerging as one of the top left-handed starters in baseball. After missing the first three months of last season recovering from flexor tendon surgery, he was one of the best pitchers in baseball upon making his season debut, on July 4. Skubal fashioned a 2.80 ERA, a 2.00 FIP, and a 32.9% strikeout rate — as well as a stingy 4.5% walk rate and a .199 BAA — in 15 starts comprising 80 1/3 innings. His 3.3 WAR from July through the end of the season led all pitchers in that span. And there is reason to believe that he is still getting better, as he adds fastball velocity — he’s hit 99 mph this spring, up from his average of 95.8 mph last season — and fine tunes his five-pitch arsenal.
Skubal sat down to talk pitching at the Tigers’ spring training facility in Lakeland, Florida last week.
———
David Laurila: Looking at your numbers, I saw that your ground ball rate (51.6% last year) keeps getting higher and higher, and your walk rate keeps getting lower and lower. How have you made those things happen?
Tarik Skubal: “I think it all kind of just stems from confidence and the complete arsenal. When you can throw five pitches over the plate, in the zone, and just go right after guys, you tend to get more uncomfortable at-bats. If you can throw different pitches in different counts, hitters have to be a little bit defensive and aren’t getting their A swings off as often. That’s kind of my approach, and I think it impacts the results I’m getting.”
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