Los Angeles Angels Agree to One-Year, $5 Million Contract with Yoan Moncada

Posted on February 6, 2025 by Tom Castaneda

Yoan Moncada has landed an angelic deal…

The Los Angeles Angels have agreed to a one-year, $5 million contract with the 29-year-old Cuban professional baseball third baseman and free agent, per ESPN.

The move, first reported by The New York Post, probably rounds out the Angels’ lineup for the 2025 season.

Moncada notably plays the position previously occupied by Anthony Rendon, who has been a disappointment since signing a seven-year, $245 million contract in December 2019.

Angels general manager Perry Minasian indicated throughout the offseason that, moving forward, the organization can’t necessarily count on Rendon, who played in less than a third of the Angels’ games and produced only a .666 OPS over the past four seasons.

By adding Moncada, who has played strictly third base over the past seven seasons, Rendon no longer has a clear pathway for playing time. He can spell Moncada at third base on occasion and perhaps replace the left-handed-hitting Nolan Schanuel at first when the Angels face a tough lefty. If he is healthy and productive, the Angels will undoubtedly find a consistent place for him in the lineup, with the designated-hitter slot also an option. But with two years left on his contract, Rendon’s future is cloudier than ever.

Moncada, a switch-hitter, also has something to prove.

Once the jewel of the Boston Red Sox farm system, Moncada broke out in 2019 and turned in a solid season with the Chicago White Sox in 2021. But he has slashed just .236/.291/.387 while playing in only 208 games over the past three seasons.

Last year, for a White Sox team that lost a record 121 games, Moncada played in only 12, sitting out five months because of an adductor strain. He returned Sept. 18, taking one at-bat, then sat out the rest of the season.

The White Sox declined Moncada’s $25 million option, sending him into free agency.

Now, he represents the latest addition in an Angels offseason headlined by the trade for corner outfielder Jorge Soler and the signing of starting pitcher Yusei Kikuchi.

Notably, Moncada also represents some necessary insurance for Rendon, who’s heading into his age-35 season and has been beset by injuries to his oblique, lower back, hamstring, shin, wrist, groin, hip and knee since 2021.

Carlos Estévez Reportedly Agrees to Two-Year, $22.2 Million Contract with Kansas City Royals

Posted on January 29, 2025 by Tom Castaneda

Carlos Estévez has reportedly agreed to a royal(s) deal…

The 32-year-old Dominican professional baseball pitcher and the Kansas City Royals have agreed to a two-year, $22.2 million contract with a club option, per ESPN sources.

Estevez’s potential hiring adds a veteran reliever to a Royals team hoping to continue its run of success after a surprise postseason appearance last year.

The deal will pay Estévez $10.1 million in each of the first two years, with the club option worth $13 million and a $2 million buyout.

Estévez has spent the past two seasons as a closer — first for the Los Angeles Angels and then, following a July trade, the Philadelphia Phillies — with a high-octane fastball and a swing-and-miss slider and changeup.

While his strikeout rate dipped last year, his walks came down significantly as well and unleashed the best version of him.

With a weak bullpen in the first half of last season, Kansas City upgraded at the trade deadline by acquiring right-hander Lucas Erceg — who became a dominant closer down the stretch — and right-hander Hunter Harvey, who missed the postseason with injuries. Estévez’s presence alongside Erceg gives Kansas City a potent one-two punch in the late innings to complement one of the American League’s best rotations.

Coming off a 106-loss season, the Royals improved by 30 games and beat the Baltimore Orioles in the wild-card round before losing to the eventual American League champion New York Yankees.

Kansas City re-signed starter Michael Wacha and traded for second baseman Jonathan India early in the winter, then re-signed right-hander Michael Lorenzen.

Estévez enriches a bullpen that includes right-handers Erceg, Harvey and John Schreiber and a panoply of left-handers: Angel Zerpa, Sam Long, Daniel Lynch and potentially Kris Bubic, who is expected to compete with Lorenzen and right-hander Kyle Wright for Kansas City’s fifth starter job.

After spending six seasons in Colorado, Estévez signed a two-year, $13.5 million deal with the Angels and ascended into the closer role. Since signing with Los Angeles, he has saved 57 games and struck out 128 while walking 43 in 117⅓ innings with a 3.22 ERA.

Patrick Sandoval Agrees to Two-Year, $18.25 Million Contract with Boston Red Sox

Posted on December 20, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Patrick Sandoval is seeing red (sox)…

The 28-year-old Mexican American professional baseball player, a left-handed pitcher, has agreed to a two-year, $18.25 million contract with the Boston Red Sox, per ESPN sources.

The deal unites the veteran who was non-tendered in November with a team looking to shore up its pitching depth this year and beyond.

Sandoval underwent Tommy John surgery in June and is not expected to pitch until the second half of 2025.

Boston nevertheless paid a well-over-market rate to get Sandoval, cognizant of the heavy price of free agent starting pitchers this winter and hopeful that Sandoval can be a solid mid-rotation starter upon his return.

Sandoval’s estimated arbitration salary for 2025 was around $5.5 million, and rather than trade him, the Los Angeles Angels non-tendered him. Had Sandoval been offered a contract, his arbitration number for 2026 likely would have been a minimal raise because of the lack of volume due to the injury.

His free agency, however, led to significant interest among teams — and a big raise in 2026. Sandoval will make $5.5 million in 2025 and $12.75 million in 2026, sources said.

Sandoval illustrated his ceiling in 2022, when he posted a 2.91 ERA over 27 starts, throwing 148⅔ innings, striking out 151 and walking 60. He followed with 28 starts and a 4.11 ERA in 2023 but struggled last season with a 5.08 ERA in 16 starts before needing the surgery for elbow ligament replacement.

Boston, seeking starting pitching help this winter, swung a trade for ace Garrett Crochet with the Chicago White Sox. Like Sandoval, he will hit free agency again after 2026. Others in the Red Sox’s rotation mix next season include right-handers Tanner Houck, Lucas Giolito, Brayan Bello and Kutter Crawford.

Also invited to spring training are catcher Seby Zavala, infielder/outfielder Nate Eaton and righties Isaiah Campbell, Bryan Mata and Wyatt Mills. Mata was Boston’s top pitching prospect before missing most of 2023 with an injury.

Los Angeles Dodgers to Honor Fernando Valenzuela with Special Patch During World Series

Posted on October 24, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

The Los Angeles Dodgers are set to honor franchise great Fernando Valenzuela.

The team will honor the late Mexican-American professional baseball pitcher with a jersey patch in the World Series and during the 2025 season.

The Dodgers unveiled the patch on Thursday — a circular design with a black background, his name in white and a large No. 34 in Dodger Blue.

Valenzuela, who sparked a fan phenomenon known as “Fernandomania” as a rookie and became a Dodgers legend, died Tuesday evening at age 63.

No cause of death was given.

Valenzuela pitched for the Dodgers from 1980 to 1990, then had stints with the Los Angeles Angels (1991), Baltimore Orioles (1993), Philadelphia Phillies (1994), San Diego Padres (1995-97) and St. Louis Cardinals (1997).

He finished with a 173-153 record, a 3.54 ERA and 2,074 strikeouts in 2,930 innings over 453 games (424 starts).

He riveted Southern California in 1981, when as a 20-year-old from Mexico he went 13-7 with a 2.48 ERA in 25 starts, throwing 11 complete games — eight of them shutouts — to win both Rookie of the Year and the National League Cy Young Award.

The Dodgers won the World Series against the New York Yankees that season — their opponent in this year’s World Series — and Valenzuela was 3-1 with a 2.21 ERA in five starts in that postseason.

After pitching in the majors for 17 seasons, Valenzuela served as a Spanish-language broadcaster for the Dodgers, starting in 2003. He had stepped away from his broadcasting duties before the start of these playoffs to “focus on his health,” the team said.

Luis Garcia Traded to Boston Red Sox

Posted on July 30, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Luis Garcia is seeing Red (Sox)…

The 27-year-old Venezuelan professional baseball right-handed pitcher has been traded to the Boston Red Sox from the Los Angeles Angels at the trade deadline on Tuesday.

Garcia’s trade came immediately after the team acquired right-hander Lucas Sims from the Cincinnati Reds.

The Red Sox sent minor league right-hander Ovis Portes to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for Sims and sent four minor league players to the Angels in exchange for Garcia: infielder/outfielder Matthew Lugo, first baseman Niko Kavadas and right-handed pitchers Ryan Zeferjahn and Yeferson Vargas.

Garcia was 5-1 with a 3.71 ERA in 45 relief appearances in his first season with the Angels after signing a one-year, $4.25 million deal in December.

He is 26-28 with a 4.02 ERA in 530 career appearances (four starts) in 12 seasons for five teams.

Lugo, 23, was Boston’s No. 17 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, drafted in the second round in 2019. The nephew of nine-time MLB All-Star Carlos Beltran, Lugo was batting .285 with 16 home runs and 54 RBIs in 78 games in Double-A Portland and Triple-A Worcester this season.

Kavadas, 25, hit .281 with 17 home runs and 63 RBIs in 83 games this season at Worcester.

Zeferjahn, 26, was 1-3 with a 3.52 ERA in 25 games (one start) with Portland and Worcester this year.

Vargas, a 19-year-old from the Dominican Republic, was 4-2 with a 3.03 ERA in 11 games (4 starts) with the Red Sox farm teams in the Florida Complex League and Single-A Salem.

Sims, 30, went 1-4 with a 3.57 ERA and one save in 43 appearances out of the Cincinnati bullpen this season. The right-hander struck out 40 batters and walked 20 in 35⅓ innings.

Sims owns a career record of 22-17 with a 4.41 ERA and 12 saves in 230 games (14 starts) with the Atlanta Braves (2017-18) and Reds.

Portes, 19, was in his second season with the Boston organization. He went 2-1 with a 2.12 ERA and two saves in 11 games (five starts) between Class-A Salem and the Florida Complex League.

The Red Sox designated left-hander Brandon Walter, 27, for assignment to make room for Sims on the 40-man roster.

Philadelphia Phillies Acquire Carlos Estevez from Los Angeles Angels

Posted on July 27, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Carlos Estevez is headed to The City of Brotherly Love.

The Philadelphia Phillies acquired the 31-year-old Dominican professional baseball pitcher from the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, paying a hefty price in two top pitching prospects but adding a dynamic arm to an already strong bullpen.

The deal for Estevez, who is a free agent this winter, will send right-hander George Klassen and left-hander Samuel Aldegheri to the Angels.

“I’m glad if I’m going to another place, it’s a place I can get a shot to win a ring,” Estevez said. “It feels amazing. I’m excited.”

In Estevez, the Phillies add an established late-inning reliever to a bullpen rich with pedigree.

In addition to MLB All-Stars Jeff Hoffman and Matt Strahm, the Phillies have 23-year-old Orion Kerkering as well as left-handers Jose Alvarado and Gregory Soto, both of whom have closing experience.

Estevez has displayed immaculate control this season, with only three unintentional walks in 34 innings. He has struck out 32 and limited hitters to a .169/.202/.288 slash line while posting a 2.38 ERA with 20 saves.

“He’s one of the best relievers in baseball this past year,” Phillies team president Dave Dombrowski said. “He’s a guy that can pitch the ninth inning. How [manager Rob Thomson] determines how he’s going to use him, we’ll see. It wouldn’t surprise me if he gets a lot of ninth innings.”

At 64-39, the Phillies have the best record in baseball and are widely regarded as the World Series favorite. Dealing prospects the quality of Klassen and Aldegheri for an impending free agent reliever is a heavy price but one that reflects the team’s urgency after back-to-back losses in the World Series and National League Championship Series.

“We are trying to win,” Dombrowski said. “We think he’s a guy that can be a real significant piece of that.”

Klassen, 22, is the prize of the deal. A sixth-round pick last year out of Minnesota, he struggled to throw strikes in college but has turned into a revelation with the Phillies. Featuring a 100 mph-plus fastball, he made nine starts in Low-A and posted a 0.71 ERA with 57 strikeouts and 12 walks in 38 innings. Since his promotion to High-A, Klassen has a 4.22 ERA but has maintained his high strikeout rate and kept walks under control.

He could move fast in a depleted Angels farm system, though Aldegheri is closer to the big leagues. The 22-year-old, born and raised in Verona, Italy, recently was promoted to Double-A after carving through High-A with 95 strikeouts, 28 walks and only three home runs allowed in 68 innings.

“We didn’t want to give them up,” Dombrowski said, “but it’s sort of the price of acquisitions at this time.”

Seattle Mariners Acquire Yimi García from Toronto Blue Jays

Posted on July 26, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Yimi García is headed to the Emerald City.

The Seattle Mariners have acquired the 33-year-old Dominican professional baseball pitcher from the Toronto Blue Jays, the team announced on Friday.

The announcement comes less than 24 hours after landing Randy Arozarena.

Outfield prospect Jonatan Clase and minor league catcher Jacob Sharp were sent to Toronto in the trade.

García was one of the top relievers available before Tuesday’s trade deadline.

The right-hander has a 2.70 ERA and 2.64 FIP in 29 appearances this season. He’s held opponents to a .152 batting average, the eighth-lowest mark among relievers who have thrown at least 30 innings this season. Hitters have compiled a .526 OPS. His 36.5% strikeout rate ranks seventh.

Mariners manager Scott Servais didn’t define a role for García as the Mariners view the back end of their bullpen as interchangeable, but he’ll certainly be asked to pitch in high leverage moments.

“Very good competitor. He’s got good stuff,” Servais said.

“We don’t really have an eighth-inning or seventh-inning guy. Wherever we can find the right pocket for him. He can take on a number of different roles.”

Unlike Seattle’s anemic offense, which has been the main culprit in the club’s recent descent, the relief corps has been largely effective this season. The Mariners’ bullpen, which has logged the fewest innings in baseball thanks to one of the sport’s best starting rotations, ranks 11th in the majors in ERA, 13th in FIP and fourth in strikeout rate.

But a need for a back end reliever might have surfaced Wednesday, when right-hander Gregory Santos exited his outing against the Los Angeles Angels with a knee injury.

Santos, acquired in February from the Chicago White Sox, made his season debut on July 9 after starting the year on the injured list with a lat strain.

Santos’ setback arose after the Mariners placed star center fielder Julio Rodriguez (ankle) and shortstop J.P. Crawford (fractured hand) on the injured list earlier in a dismal 1-5 homestand that concluded Wednesday with a 2-1 loss to the Angels.

Clase, who made his major league debut in April, had two stints with the Mariners this season, batting .195 with a .452 OPS in 19 games. The 22-year-old Dominican slashed .274/.373/.483 with 10 home runs in 59 games for Triple-A Tacoma.

Sharp, 22, hit .255 with a .773 OPS in 44 games in Single-A this season, his first full season as a pro. The 5-foot-7 catcher was taken in the 17th round out of UNLV last year.

For the Blue Jays, one of baseball’s biggest disappointments this season, the trade is the first of what is expected to be multiple moves to shed veterans for young talent before Tuesday’s deadline. Seattle, meanwhile, is attempting to stop a free fall before it’s too late.

The Mariners sat atop the American League West standings with a 10-game lead on June 18. That cushion evaporated in just over a month; they have since gone 10-20 and entered Friday’s series opener against the White Sox one game behind the blistering Houston Astros.

The front office, as a result, chose to act. Late Thursday night, it addressed an offense with the third-lowest OPS in baseball by adding Arozarena, perhaps the best hitter who will be traded before the deadline. On Friday, they bolstered the bullpen with one of the market’s most coveted relievers. Time will tell if the moves make a difference.

Baltimore Orioles Acquire Thyago Vieira From Milwaukee Brewers

Posted on May 25, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Thyago Vieira is headed to Maryland.

The Baltimore Orioles have acquired the 31-year-old Brazilian professional baseball pitcher and reliever in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Baltimore got Vieira and minor league pitcher Aneuris Rodriguez from Milwaukee for minor league right-hander Garrett Stallings.

Vieira had no record and a 5.64 ERA in 16 appearances with Milwaukee this season before he was designated for assignment Monday.

The right-hander is 2-2 with two saves and a 6.18 ERA in 41 career big league appearances, also playing for the Seattle Mariners and the Chicago White Sox.

Stallings was a fifth-round pick by the Los Angeles Angels in the 2019 amateur draft. He went 0-1 with a 5.67 ERA in 11 games, four starts, for Triple-A Norfolk this season.

Atlanta Braves to Open Season with Reynaldo Lopez as Team’s Fifth Starter

Posted on March 18, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a Braves new season for Reynaldo Lopez…

The Atlanta Braves will open the season with the 30-year-old Dominican professional baseball pitcher as their fifth starter.

López, who signed a $30 million, three-year deal with the Braves in November, earned the rotation spot by allowing just four earned runs over 16 ⅔ innings in five spring appearances.

He surrendered 10 hits, walked six and struck out 13.

This marks a return to a starting role for Lopez after he was used exclusively as a reliever the past two seasons by the Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Angels and Cleveland Guardians. He thrived out of the bullpen, posting a 3.02 ERA with 146 strikeouts in 131⅓ innings over 129 appearances.

But the Braves signed López early in free agency with an eye toward using the hard-throwing right-hander as a starter again. He made a total of 65 starts for the White Sox over the 2018 and ’19 seasons, going 17-22 with a 4.64 ERA.

López joins a rotation that also includes MLB All-Star Spencer Strider, Max Fried, Charlie Morton and another newcomer, Chris Sale.

It also makes sense for the Braves to use López as a starter early in the season, even if he winds up returning to the bullpen. If he began as a reliever, it would have been difficult to stretch out his arm later in the year for a starting role.

Atlanta, which has won six straight NL East titles, opens the season March 28 at Philadelphia.

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

Posted on January 14, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

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.

Ibanez 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.

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