Tag Archives: Philadelphia Phillies

Max Castillo Claimed by Philadelphia Phillies Off Waivers from Boston Red Sox

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Max Castillo is Philadelphia bound.

The 24-year-old Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher has been claimed by the Philadelphia Phillies off waivers from the Boston Red Sox.

Max CastilloIn a corresponding move, the Phillies designated outfielder Simon Muzziotti, 25, for assignment on Wednesday.

Castillo, 24, was 0-1 with a 4.43 ERA in 20 1/3 innings over seven relief appearances with the Kansas City Royals last season.

The Venezuela native made his major league debut in June 2022 with the Toronto Blue Jays before a trade to the Royals in August 2022.

For his career, Castillo is 0-3 with a 5.43 ERA, 47 strikeouts and 24 walks in 59 2/3 innings over 21 games (six starts).

Boston had claimed him off waivers from Kansas City on January 2 then designated him for assignment on February 2 when catcher Tyler Heineman was acquired from the New York Mets.

Hector Neris Signs One-Year, $9 Million Contract with Chicago Cubs

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Hector Neris is headed to the Windy City.

The 34-year-old Dominican professional baseball pitcher, a right-handed reliever, has agreed to a one-year, $9 million contract with the Chicago Cubs that includes an option, according to ESPN.

Hector Neris The move helps bolster the back end of Chicago’s bullpen with the top reliever remaining in free agency.

Neris was third among all pitchers in baseball last year with a 1.71 ERA over 68⅓ innings, the best season of his 10-year career.

A $9 million option for 2025 belongs to the team unless Neris reaches 60 games — he has done so six of his past seven full seasons — at which point it turns into a player option. With more than $2.5 million per year available in incentives, the deal can max out at $23.25 million for two years.

The Cubs have slow-played the winter, waiting until mid-January to sign their first free agent — Japanese left-hander Shota Imanaga — and now striking with Neris, whose deal is pending a physical. Coming off an 83-79 season, Chicago is chasing National League Central winner the Milwaukee Brewers, which earlier this week signed first baseman Rhys Hoskins to a two-year, $34 million deal.

Chicago had a middle-of-the-pack bullpen in 2023, and Adbert Alzolay emerged as a reliable closer in his first full season with the team as a reliever. Waiver claim Julian Merryweather and Mark Leiter Jr. proved useful as well, and Neris will factor heavily into the Cubs’ late-inning mix.

Relying almost exclusively on a fastball and splitter, Neris has grown into a rare sort: the reliable late-inning reliever. Over those past seven seasons, he has averaged 68⅓ innings per season with a 3.14 ERA pitching for the Philadelphia Phillies and Houston Astros. He is an elite strikeout pitcher, averaging 11.2 per nine innings throughout his career, and has racked up 89 saves.

The Cubs remain in the market for a free agent bat and could potentially reunite with center fielder Cody Bellinger, who thrived in Chicago last year, hitting .307/.356/.525 with 26 home runs, 97 RBIs and 20 stolen bases.

Raul Ibanez Named Vice President of Baseball Development & Special Projects for Los Angeles Dodgers

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Raul Ibanez is getting a special promotion…

The Los Angeles Dodgers have rehired the 51-year-old Cuban American former professional baseball player, an MLB All-Star in 2009, as their new vice president of baseball development and special projects.

Raul IbanezIbanez spent the past two years working with Major League Baseball as a senior vice president of on-field operations, reporting directly to executive vice president Morgan Sword — who helped spearhead last year’s rule changes — while working on issues related to rules, equipment and on-field technology.

Prior to that, Ibanez spent six years as a special assistant within the Dodgers’ baseball operations department.

Ibanez’s current Dodgers role is full-time, which means he will relinquish his duties with MLB.

Ibanez spent 19 years in the big leagues, accumulating 2,034 hits and 305 home runs while playing for the Seattle Mariners, Philadelphia Phillies, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels and New York Yankees from 1996 to 2014.

Ibanez’s most productive years were spent in Seattle, but he made his only All-Star team as a member of the Phillies in 2009 and later starred for them in the postseason.

With the Yankees, he had perhaps the most memorable moment of his career, hitting the tying, pinch-hit home run in the ninth inning of Game 3 of the 2012 American League Division Series then the walk-off homer in the 12th.

Jackson Chourio Signs Eight-Year, $82 Million Contract with Milwaukee Brewers

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Things are brewing for Jackson Chourio…

The 19-year-old Venezuelan center fielder and the Milwaukee Brewers have agreed to an eight-year, $82 million contract with two club options and escalators that can take the total value of the deal to $142.5 million, according to ESPN.

Jackson ChourioThe deal guarantees Chourio more money than any player before his Major League Baseball debut.

Chourio, a Venezuela native who signed with the Brewers in 2021 as a 16-year-old, spent most of 2023 at the Double-A level, where he hit .280/.336/.467 with 22 home runs and ascended to the No. 3 prospect in baseball in ESPN’s rankings.

Pre-debut long-term deals are rare, and all five of the previous players to sign one — Eloy Jimenez with the Chicago White Sox, Scott Kingery with the Philadelphia Phillies, Luis Robert with the White Sox, Jon Singleton with the Houston Astros and Evan White with the Seattle Mariners — were either 22 or 23 years old.

If both options are exercised, Chourio would hit free agency at 29.

The deal significantly increases the likelihood of Chourio breaking camp with the Brewers. A small-market team whose payroll last finished in the upper half of Major League Baseball in 2012, Milwaukee would have been incentivized to keep Chourio at Triple-A — where he played his final six games this season — to delay his eventual free agency by a year.

Even if he began the season in the minor leagues, Chourio could have won a full year of service finishing first or second in Rookie of the Year voting.

Amed Rosario Acquired by the Los Angeles Dodgers

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Amed Rosario is heading to Los Angeles…

The Los Angeles Dodgers have acquired the 27-year-old Dominican professional baseball shortstop in a trade on Wednesday that saw them send right-hander Noah Syndergaard to the Cleveland Guardians.

Amed RosarioRosario joins a Dodgers team whose .629 OPS at shortstop is the fifth worst in baseball and that just a day ago traded for super-utilityman Enrique Hernández, who had been the Boston Red Sox‘s shortstop.

Syndergaard, 30, will join the Guardians in Chicago on Thursday for the opener of a four-game series, but it’s not clear when he’ll make his debut, according to Chris Antonetti, Cleveland’s president of baseball operations.

He is rehabbing at Triple-A after hitting the injured list in early June because of a blister on his right index finger.

After signing a one-year, $13 million contract with the Dodgers in the offseason, Syndergaard posted a 7.16 ERA over a dozen starts, and the Dodgers no longer envisioned a long-term place for him within what remains a needy rotation.

The Dodgers’ hope is for Rosario, who is hitting .265/.306/.369 with three home runs this season, to capture some of his previous offensive and defensive magic. Last year, he registered more than four wins above replacement, and he discussed a long-term contract extension with the Guardians before agreeing to a $7.8 million salary in arbitration.

Rosario is due to hit free agency this winter and will be among the youngest players in the class. He made his debut with the New York Mets at age 21 and was traded to Cleveland in 2021 as part of the four-player package for shortstop Francisco Lindor and starter Carlos Carrasco.

Cleveland could replace Rosario with young infielders Tyler Freeman and Gabriel Arias, and also could turn to 22-year-old Brayan Rocchio, who made his major league debut earlier this season and is currently hitting .295/.385/.419 at Triple-A.

“We felt that this made sense for us, and now is the right time to give Gabby and Tyler some more opportunities,” Antonetti said. “We also wanted to be respectful to Amed. We recognize his place on our team and as a veteran leader and his expectations of himself and transitioning him to a lesser role would had an impact on him and the team and we were very mindful about doing that.”

Cleveland’s beleaguered rotation could get a boost from Syndergaard, the one-time MLB All-Star who will join his fourth team in two seasons after getting dealt from the Los Angeles Angels to the Philadelphia Phillies at the trade deadline last year.

Three of the Guardians’ top starters — ace Shane Bieber and right-handers Triston McKenzie and Cal Quantrill — are on the injured list, and the team currently has three rookies (Gavin Williams, Tanner Bibee and Logan Allen) starting alongside veteran Aaron Civale.

The Guardians’ pitching nonetheless has been among the team’s strengths, with a 4.07 starters ERA that ranks 10th in the major leagues. Cleveland could continue to pursue a bat to enhance an offense whose 420 runs are 25th in the major leagues.

Sandy Alcantara Among Eight Former Cy Young Award Winners Set to Start on MLB Opening Day

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Sandy Alcantara is preparing for Major League Baseball’s Opening Day…

The 27-year-old Dominican professional baseball pitcher, who plays for the Miami Marlins, is among eight former Cy Young Award winners scheduled to start Opening Day next Thursday.

Miami Marlins, Sandy AlcantaraAlcantara, the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner is pitted against three-time CYA honoree Max Scherzer, whose New York Mets travel to face the Marlins.

MLB teams announced their Opening Day starters on Friday as part of an effort by the league to gin up interest in the first game of a transformative season in which the game will include a pitch clock.

The MLB Opening Day slate features several first-class duels — and will include two-time winner Jacob deGrom, whose debut with the Texas Rangers was in doubt after tightness in his left side delayed his first spring training start. Philadelphia Phillies ace Aaron Nola, fresh off a World Series appearance, will get his sixth consecutive Opening Day start — the longest current active streak — and oppose the two-time Cy Young winner in a pairing of longtime NL East foes.

Nine teams had announced their starters before Friday. That list includes the Los Angeles Angels, with Shohei Ohtani coming off his World Baseball Classic MVP award, as well as the New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants, who will pit Gerrit Cole against Logan Webb.

Some of the other best matchups include:

Houston Astros left-hander Framber Valdez spearheading the Astros’ title defense at home against Chicago White Sox right-hander Dylan Cease;

Cleveland‘s Shane Bieber, the 2020 American League Cy Young winner, traveling to Seattle to face Luis Castillo;

Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Julio Urias getting his first Opening Day start against Arizona right-hander Zac Gallen in a battle of the third- and fifth-place finishers, respectively, in last year’s NL Cy Young voting.

Among the other Cy Young winners who will kick off their team’s season:

Milwaukee‘s Corbin Burnes, an MLB All-Star each of the past two seasons and the 2021 NL Cy Young winner, will go against the Chicago Cubs’ Marcus Stroman, who previously started Opening Day twice;

Blake Snell, the 2018 AL honoree, gets the start for San Diego at a packed Petco Park against Colorado’s German Marquez, who will get the ball for the third time on Opening Day;

Two-time winner Corey Kluber, whose Boston Red Sox will host Baltimore‘s Kyle Gibson;

Zack Greinke, who will make his third Opening Day start for Kansas City and fifth overall, will oppose Minnesota Twins right-hander Pablo Lopez, taking the mound for the first time to start a season.

Atlanta‘s Max Fried and Washington‘s Patrick Corbin both will start for the third time on Opening Day as the Nationals host the Braves.

The rest of the matchups feature at least one pitcher commencing the season for the first time:

Detroit‘s Eduardo Rodriguez debuting vs. the Rays’ Shane McClanahan, who got the call for the second straight season;

Toronto‘s Alek Manoah, coming off a third-place AL Cy Young finish, going against St. Louis’ Miles Mikolas, who inherited Opening Day duties for a second time after six-time Opening Day starter Adam Wainwright landed on the injured list Thursday with a groin strain;

Pittsburgh‘s Mitch Keller heading to Cincinnati to face Hunter Greene in the one of three matchups of pitchers who have not previously thrown Opening Day, with the others Urías vs. Gallen and Valdez vs. Cease;

Ohtani against Oakland’s Kyle Muller, the least-tenured of the 30 pitchers with just 11 major league starts and 49 big league innings under his belt. He will go for the Athletics after presumptive Opening Day starter Paul Blackburn suffered a torn nail on his right middle finger.

Manny Machado Finalizing 11-Year, $350 Million Contract Extension with San Diego Padres

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Manny Machado is thisclose to a major (league) deal…

The 30-year-old Dominican American professional baseball player and star third baseman and the San Diego Padres are finalizing an 11-year, $350 million contract extension, according to ESPN.

Manny MachadoMachado said earlier this week he intended to opt out of the final five years (and $150 million) of his current contract with the Padres following the season after preliminary negotiations on an extension broke down.

While Machado had set a February 16 deadline to reach a new deal, conversations continued between Machado’s agent, Dan Lozano of MVP Sports, and Padres general manager A.J. Preller. The deal is expected to be official soon.

The franchise cornerstone of an ascendant franchise, Machado is coming off arguably the best season of his career, hitting .298/.366/.531 with 32 home runs and 102 RBIs. He finished second in National League MVP voting and led the Padres to the National League Championship Series, where they were ousted by the Philadelphia Phillies.

Machado’s arrival in San Diego in 2019 on a 10-year, $300 million deal signaled a new era for the Padres, who have yet to win a World Series in their 54-year history.

Shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. joined the Padres as a rookie during Machado’s first season in San Diego, and while the team struggled to a 70-92 finish, it thrived in the COVID 19-shortened 2020 season, got a significant boost with the acquisition of star outfielder Juan Soto last year and continued to spend this winter with the signing of shortstop Xander Bogaerts to an 11-year, $280 million contract.

The deal is the fourth-largest guarantee in the game’s history, behind those for Aaron Judge, Mike Trout and Mookie Betts.

Cristian Javier Agrees to Five-Year Contract with Houston Astros to Avoid Salary Arbitration

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Cristian Javier isn’t leaving Houston…

The 25-year-old Dominican professional baseball pitcher has signed a five-year contract with the Houston Astros that avoided a salary arbitration hearing, the team announced Friday.

Cristian JavierThe deal — to run through the 2027 season — is for $64 million, and it includes a $2 million signing bonus, payable within 30 days of the deal’s approval by the commissioner’s office, according to ESPN sources.

Javier gets salaries of $3 million this season, $7 million in 2024, $10 million in 2025 and $21 million in each of the following two years, according to the sources.

His salaries in the final two years can increase based on Cy Young Award voting, by up to $6 million in 2026 and $8 million in 2027. He would get a $2 million boost for each first-place finish, $1 million for second and $500,000 for third through fifth.

Javier has the right to block trades to 10 teams without his approval in 2026 and 2027.

A right-hander, Javier went 11-9 with a 2.54 ERA in 25 starts and five relief appearances last year, striking out 198 and walking 52 in 148⅔ innings. He set career bests for wins, ERA, strikeouts and innings.

Javier won both his postseason starts, pitching 11⅓ scoreless innings in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series against the New York Yankees and Game 4 of the World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies.

He started a pair of no-hitters, pitching seven innings at the Yankees on June 25 and six innings in the game at the Phillies — just the second no-hitter in World Series history.

Javier had asked for $3.5 million in arbitration and had been offered $3 million. He made $749,100 last year.

Jose Alvarado Agrees to One-Year, $3.45 Million Deal with Philadelphia Phillies

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Jose Alvarado is philling good…

The 27-year-old Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher, a reliever for the Philadelphia Phillies reliever has avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year deal for $3.45 million.

Jose Alvarado He had filed for $3.7 million and the Phillies’ $3.2 million.

Alvarado went 4-2 with a 3.18 ERA and two saves in 59 relief appearances. He had a 5.56 ERA in 12 postseason appearances for the National League champions, getting the win in the Game 5 pennant clincher against San Diego Padres.

He failed to hold a one-run lead in the sixth inning of Game 6 of the World Series, relieving Zack Wheeler with two on and giving up a three-run homer to Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez.

Tampa Bay Rays reliever Jason Adam became the team’s fourth player to go to a salary arbitration hearing this year, asking a panel for $1,775,000 on Friday while the Rays argued for $1.55 million.

A decision is expected Saturday.

Adam was 2-3 with a career-low 1.56 ERA and a career-best eight saves in 67 relief appearances, striking out 75 and walking 17 in 63⅓ innings. He earned $1.15 million.

Tampa Bay also is awaiting decisions in the cases of relievers Ryan Thompson ($1.2 million vs. $1 million) and Colin Poche ($1.3 million vs. $1,175,000) and outfielder Harold Ramirez ($2.2 million vs. $1.9 million).

Teams have won three of five decisions against players so far. Eleven players remain scheduled for hearings, which run through February 17.

Philadelphia Phillies Acquire Gregory Soto from Detroit Tigers

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Gregory Soto is heading east…

The Philadelphia Phillies have acquired the 27-year-old Dominican hard-throwing professional baseball pitcher and infielder Kody Clemens from the Detroit Tigers, the tam has announced.

Gregory SotoIn return, Detroit received infielder Nick Maton, outfielder Matt Vierling and catcher Donny Sands.

Soto was an MLB All-Star the past two seasons, including 2022, when he went 2-11 for the fourth-place Tigers. Despite that record, he had a respectable 3.28 ERA, although his command has been an issue the past couple of seasons. He walked 34 batters in 60⅓ innings last season while producing a career-high 14.5% walk percentage in 2021.

Soto joins an evolving, formidable bullpen in Philadelphia. The Phillies also added veteran Craig Kimbrel to the mix this offseason, and holdovers Seranthony Dominguez and Jose Alvarado helped the organization to the World Series last year.