Luke Writings

The Philadelphia Phillies are in agreement with outfielder Bryan De La Cruz on a minor league contract with an invite to Spring Training, according to Mike Rodriguez.

The 28-year-old Dominican will provide depth for a team that is now extremely thin in the outfield with Kyle Schwarber, Harrison Bader, and Max Kepler all currently free agents and Nick Castellanos expected to be traded this offseason. Brandon Marsh, Johan Rojas and Castellanos are the only outfielders on the 40-man roster as of now though former first-round draft pick and the team’s third-ranked prospect Justin Crawford is likely to debut in 2026.

De La Cruz’s performance has taken a significant downturn since his debut in 2021 with the Marlins following a trade from Houston. He was one of their best players in the second half for a team that went 67-95, with the highest batting average (.296), on-base percentage (.353), and WAR (0.8) on the team following the trade deadline. Following seasons saw a decline into below replacement-level value.

He was dealt to the Pirates at the 2024 deadline but struggled at the plate as Pittsburgh fell from Wild Card contention to last place in the NL Central after the trade. The team non-tendered him after the season. He was able to latch on with the Braves but only appeared in 16 games while they dealt with Jurickson Profar’s suspension and Ronald Acuña Jr.’s injury. The Yankees claimed him off waivers in May and he spent the rest of the season at Triple-A before electing free agency last month.

He has always been a free-swinger with his strikeout and walk rates both well below league average while consistently sporting an elite hard hit rate. He has also seemingly altered his approach as reflected in his ground-ball percentage declining each year since his debut and his fly-ball percentage increasing each year in the same time frame. For someone with that skillset, De La Cruz does not hit as many home runs as you’d expect. He only hit 15 in the minor leagues this past season.

It is almost playoff time in the Dominican Winter League as the Liga de Béisbol Profesional de la República Dominicana (better known as LIDOM) is in its final week of the regular season. The period between Christmas and New Year’s is always a little dry in baseball, so it seems like a good time to look back and review some of the most impressive players of the LIDOM season. This list will include former, current, and non-big leaguers. It can also be a fun reminder of some players you may have forgotten.

Leury García, INF/OF - Gigantes del Cibao

The 33-year-old utilityman is probably best known for signing a three-year, $16.5 million contract in the 2021-22 offseason with the White Sox but only playing one lackluster season of the deal and getting released in March 2023. He's back in the winter league for a second consecutive season after spending this past year in the Braves organization, but played in 27 minor league games before landing on the restricted list in May for the rest of the season. García has cooled down from a hot start with Los Gigantes but is still hitting .288 and leading the team in hits. He's also tied for the team lead in runs batted in, which is impressive considering he's been used in the leadoff spot recently.  

According to StripersReport on Twitter in July, García planned on playing one final season but got hurt and decided to call it quits, which explains his placement on the restricted list. While García has not officially confirmed anything, it makes sense that he's done after ten major league seasons totaling 4.2 WAR with the Rangers and White Sox.

Nabil Crismatt, RHP - Gigantes del Cibao

Crismatt just signed a minor league deal with the Phillies, who must have been watching his standout season with the Gigantes. Through 10 starts, he has a 2.34 ERA and 44 strikeouts, along with excellent control, which he has been known for throughout his lengthy professional career. Crismatt has always been a long reliever in the majors, but this performance may inspire the Phillies to stretch him out. Their rotation was solidified by the acquisition of Jesús Luzardo from the Marlins earlier this week, but he has dealt with injuries in recent seasons. The more realistic situation is that Crismatt will help round out the Triple-A rotation with the potential to be called upon if someone in the bullpen goes down with injury or is ineffective.

Anderson Pilar, RHP - Gigantes del Cibao

Pilar has been outstanding out of the bullpen for the Gigantes, adding to a strong season in the Miami Marlins' minor league system. The Braves recently selected him in the Rule 5 draft, meaning they must carry him on the active roster for the entire 2025 season, or he will be offered back to the Marlins. Pilar's strikeout stuff has been on display, as he's struck out 27 while walking just two batters in 21 innings. 

He has had a rather interesting minor-league career in terms of his usage. He spent the first six seasons of his professional life in the Rockies organization, where he was strictly used as a reliever, which makes sense considering his electric 100 mph fastball. However, in 2023, they tried him out as a starter for a few games, and his command and strikeouts remained the same. One game in particular, where he threw seven hitless innings in a combined no-hitter where he struck out 13 batters, stands out. The Marlins, too, began to try him out as a starter towards the end of this past season, to similar solid results. 

From an outsider's perspective, teams are not fully allowing his skills to bloom to their potential. The Braves have Ian Anderson listed as their fifth starter, but he hasn't thrown a major league pitch since 2022. The team struck gold this past season with Grant Holmes, who was signed as a minor league free agent the prior offseason and had been a reliever in the minors. The Braves moved him to the rotation, and he became essential when Reynaldo López was sidelined with right forearm inflammation in late July. It'll be interesting to see if the Braves found something similar with Pilar.

Fernando Abad, LHP - Toros del Este

The lefty reliever has pitched for 15 years with the Toros del Este. To visualize that, he's pitched through five separate U.S. presidential campaigns. He's 39 now and remains kicking with 27 strikeouts in 23 1/3 innings and a 1.16 ERA as the Toros closer. Abad has a rather interesting streak dating back to 2017, where he has pitched in the majors in only odd-numbered years. With 2025 approaching, it's all coming together, and he's doing his best to continue that trend. This performance ought to attract some suitors.

Jonathan Guzmán, INF - Leones del Escogido

Guzmán is a completely different man from his 2024 season in the Marlins system. He hit .182 across Double-A and Triple-A and was released in August. That must have been his evil twin, and now we're watching the True Jonathan because he's hitting .367 in 33 games for Escogido. This stat should be taken with a huge grain of salt because he only has 63 plate appearances, but 22 hits in that span is still quite impressive. He's a 25-year-old middle infielder, and some team should take a flyer on him in the hope that Evil Jonathan doesn't wake up.

Trevor Kelley, RHP - Leones del Escogido

A sidearming righty, Kelley spent 2024 in the Mariners organization but never got a call-up despite an excellent season at Triple-A. He's continued that into his first season in winter ball, and through 11 games out of the bullpen, he's struck out 15 and walked only two. 

Kelley was a 36th-round pick in 2015 by the Red Sox and is one of just two players drafted in that round who have played in the majors, pitcher James Marvel being the other. The 36th round of the draft no longer exists, which makes Kelley's performance even more impressive. Another team will likely come calling, offering a minor league deal, and Trevor will continue the uphill climb that he has become so accustomed to.

Aderlin Rodríguez, 1B/DH - Aguilas Cibaenas

Like the previous entry, Rodríguez is a career minor leaguer who has been on the doorstep of the majors plenty of times but never was let in. He's 33 now, but the light-tower power remains for the hulking slugger. He's hitting .348 in 29 games with 8 home runs, which leads the league by a decent margin. Rodríguez has spent the past few seasons traversing the Asian and North American continents in various leagues. There's a chance another major league organization comes knocking, and if he finds the right situation, he could finally crack the big leagues — something he's tried for years but never could attain.

Luis Gonzalez, LHP - Aguilas Cibaenas

No, not that Luis Gonzalez, silly! He's never hit a walk-off against Mariano Rivera in Game 7 of the World Series. No, not that Luis Gonzalez, either. This guy isn't a slap-hitting outfielder, although they were once in the same organization a few years ago. And, no again! Not that Luis Gonzalez, as well. This guy isn't a middle infielder who played for the Rockies in the mid-2000s. We could be here for a while differentiating who this guy is, considering there have been 35 people named Luis Gonzalez who have played professional baseball. But cutting to the chase, this Luis Gonzalez is a 32-year-old left-handed reliever who has been in pro ball for 16 years without a major league appearance to his name. 

Just two years ago, he was pitching for Bologna of the Italian Serie A, playing in a stadium that seats a maximum capacity of 3,000 people. On an aside, there was another guy named Luis Gonzalez on Bologna. That team went an incredible 40-4 while scoring 331 runs and allowing 71. The other Luis Gonzalez led the team in home runs. Back to the Luis Gonzalez, we're talking about, his circuitous path has led him to the Baltimore Orioles, where, for the first time in his career, he was added to the 40-man roster in November. For the Aguilas, he has a sparkling 0.77 ERA in 14 games and an 18-to-2 strikeout-to-walk ratio. 

The guy who in 2022, looked destined to be just another Luis Gonzalez, is now set to finally reach the majors in 2025.

Enny Romero, LHP - Aguilas Cibaenas

Romero was recently featured in an article about his signing with the San Francisco Giants, so there isn't much different information to report. He has a very impressive 1.10 ERA in 41 innings for a team fighting for a playoff spot in the second round of the LIDOM tournament. Romero is shooting for the league's triple crown, where a pitcher leads the league in wins, ERA, and strikeouts. He's missing the strikeouts portion, with 38 to the previously mentioned Nabil Crismatt's 44. He's also chasing the league's ERA record held by Cesar Valdez in 2021-22 and looks poised to set that with his 1.24 ERA.

Jair Camargo, Tigres del Licey

The teapot-shaped catcher is showing why the Minnesota Twins like him so much for his hitting abilities with a team-leading .323 average and three jonrones over 26 games for Licey. He hasn't had much chance to play in the majors because the tandem of Ryan Jeffers and Christian Vazquez is holding down the catcher's spot for the time being. Neither player will be a free agent for at least two more seasons, so it'll be interesting to see what happens to Camargo if he can keep up this winter ball performance into the major league season.

Eguy Rosario, INF - Estrellas Orientales

Rosario hasn't gotten much chance to play every day at the major league level because the Padres have so much depth in the infield, but it's gone swimmingly when he has. The diminutive Rosario has a lot of power, which is surprising when initially seeing the 5-7 150-pound infielder. He hit 21 home runs at Triple-A El Paso in 2024 and three more in the 30 games when he could play with the big league club. With Estrellas, he has sacrificed some power for batting average as he's hitting .336 in 32 games to go along with four homers. An underrated skill of his is his eye and ability to avoid strikeouts. He's refined it significantly as he's gotten older and walked 51 times to 88 strikeouts in 95 minor league games this past season.

For the first time in his career, Rosario has a chance to be a regular in the San Diego lineup. The likely departure of Ha-Seong Kim in free agency opens up shortstop and shuffles Xander Bogaerts over from second to short, Jake Cronenworth from first to second base, and Luis Arráez from designated hitter to first base. That leaves DH open for Rosario, where he's currently penciled in. If given the opportunity, it sure looks like Rosario is ready to fill that spot admirably.

Geronimo Franzua, LHP - Estrellas Orientales

Franzua (pronounced the same as François) has a fascinating career arc. The lefty was initially signed by the Astros in 2010 but flunked out and was released after three disappointing seasons where he couldn't make it out of the Dominican Summer League. Going into 2014, he made the uncommon move of signing with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of the NPB as a 20-year-old. He spent four seasons in their minor league system before reappearing in 2018 wearing the number 143. A decent five-season stretch intrigued the Pirates, and he returned to affiliated ball in 2023.

In the Dominican Winter League, though, his name pops off the page for his performance this year for the Estrellas. In 16 games (15 1/3 innings), he's struck out 13 hitters and walked just one while maintaining a 0.59 ERA. After electing minor league free agency after the season, Franzua should be a name many teams flock to. 

He's coming off two unspectacular seasons in the Pirates organization, but this performance in LIDOM could indicate some untapped potential. At age 31, he could be a nice low-risk/high-reward signing for any team.

Robinson Pina, Estrellas Orientales

Earlier, we discussed Anderson Pilar, who may transition to a starting role. Pina has already done so, and the fruits of the exercise are deliciously sweet. A 26-year-old 6-5 right-hander from the Dominican Republic, Pina came up through the Angels' system but didn't make much noise as your run-of-the-mill reliever. In 2024, the Phillies signed him to a minor league deal, and he was outstanding at Double-A and Triple-A across 25 starts. He had far-and-away the most wins of any pitcher in the team's minor leagues with 13 but didn't receive much recognition because of his status as a non-prospect and minor league free agent.

Pina has continued his stellar minor league season into the winter league as through seven games (six starts), he has a 1.65 ERA and exhibited fabulous command, which can be seen by a 27-to-3 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Upon electing minor league free agency in November, he was promptly scooped up by the Miami Marlins on a minor league deal, and they might have a diamond in the rough on their hands. Pina had dealt with some difficulties with locating the strike zone through his earlier minor league years. But that problem is a thing of the past as he has been able to better locate his pitches in 2024, both in the minors and winter ball. 

Catching up on some minor league moves in the past few weeks…

The Washington Nationals signed right-hander Patrick Weigel to a minor league deal. A towering 6-6 reliever, Weigel has just four games of major league experience with the Braves and Brewers, but since his last game in ’21, he’s become something of a vagabond, exploring the North American continent. Since that season, he’s spent time with the Mariners’ AAA team, the Kansas City Monarchs of the American Association, the Mexican League, and the Reds’ organization, where he pitched in the second half of last year. However, his performance in the Dominican Winter League likely impressed the Nationals. Over 18 games with the Estrellas Orientales, he has a 22-to-5 K/BB ratio and a dominating 0.95 ERA. Those walk numbers are especially notable because he’s had a rough time with command throughout his minor league career, so he looks to have figured those troubles out. It is not known if he will receive an invite to Spring Training.

The Mariners have signed converted reliever Sauryn Lao and catcher Jacob Nottingham to minor-league contracts. Lao was signed by the Dodgers in 2016 out of the Dominican Republic as a corner infielder, but after six seasons where he didn’t make it above High-A, the Dodgers converted him to a pitcher in 2023. He took off from there, with a fabulous 57-to-7 KK/B ratio over 42 1/3 innings with Rancho Cucamonga two years ago. In 2024, he made it to AAA where he struggled, but was much better at AA in 20 games. Seattle will further try to develop the right-hander, who is still just 24. Nottingham is no stranger to the Mariners, as this is now his fourth stint with the organization. He’s best known for flipping from the Brewers to the Mariners to the Brewers and back to the Mariners in rapid succession on waivers in 2021. This resulted in an added clause in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement that prevented a team from claiming the same player twice in the same season and became known as the Jacob Nottingham Rule. He spent the past three seasons in the minor leagues of four major league teams and 2024 in the Mexican League. Nottingham is a below-average hitter, but he knows the organization, and the Mariners don’t have much-catching depth behind Cal Raleigh and de facto designated hitter Mitch Garver, and top prospect Harry Ford is expected to begin the season in the minor leagues.

Right-handed reliever Enyel De Los Santos has signed a minor league contract with the Atlanta Braves, according to his MiLB player page. EDLS is just two years removed from being a massive part of the Guardians’ bullpen in 2023. However, last season was a complete 180 following a trade to the Padres in November. His first half left something to be desired, and San Diego decided to trade him to the Yankees. That trade proved ill-fated as he put together a disastrous 14.21 ERA in just five games, capped off by a seven-run blowup against the White Sox, where he was left out to save the bullpen. That performance led to an unsurprising DFA, but the team who battered him around decided to show sympathy and claimed him off waivers. His time in Chicago went better, but the team still non-tendered him last month. The most significant change for the soon-to-be-26-year-old was his drastic increase in home runs allowed. He gave up the most home runs among all full-time relievers with 17, nearly doubling his career total (21) until this season. He’d had previously a slightly below-average groundball rate coming into 2024, but his 35.7% rate was a precipitous drop, with the league average being 44.4%. This startling decrease could be attributed to a slight pitch usage change between ’23 and ’24. In his sparkling 2023, he used a four-seamer 60.5% of the time and a slider 30.4% but altered that to utilizing the four-seamer just 49.4% of the time and bumping up the slider to 42.9%. This change negatively impacted both pitches and their run value and could explain the homer troubles he experienced. The Braves will try to get De Los Santos to return to his pre-2024 form, and if able, he can be an extremely important contributor to the back end of the bullpen.

The Phillies signed a trio of players — catcher Payton Henry and two Colombian right-handed pitchers, Nabil Crismatt and Guillo Zuñiga to minor league contracts. Henry, the 27-year-old, has just 20 games of major league experience with the Marlins between 2021 and 2022. He spent last season in the Blue Jays organization but had his season derailed in late May by a scary injury where he was struck in the head during a game by a backswing and was stretchered off the field, effectively ending his year. Henry is a decent hitter and a solid defender who should get a shot to challenge Garrett Stubbs for the backup catcher spot, but most likely will be used as depth at Triple-A. Crismatt is a veteran who’s seen action in each of the past five seasons. Between ’21 and ’22, he was an essential piece to the Padres bullpen as a multi-inning reliever, but since then, he’s bounced around from team to team, with occasional major league action. He’s been impressive in 10 starts for the Gigantes del Cibao of the Dominican Winter League to the tune of a 2.34 ERA in 50 innings. The Phillies have their rotation mostly set, but the last spot could be up for grabs after Taijuan Walker’s disappointing 2024. Zuñiga, 26, is a hard thrower who was once involved in the Atlanta Braves international signings scandal of 2017, where the team’s general manager and international scouting director resigned, and twelve players were released from their contracts. He will fortify the Phillies’ relief depth and try to reel in his homer-prone tendency that has plagued him in his limited major league action.

The Athletics signed left-hander Ben Bowden to a minor league deal. The 30-year-old’s major league experience is limited to 39 games out of the bullpen in 2021 with Colorado. Unsurprisingly, he struggled pitching at high elevations and was designated for assignment the following April. Since then, he’s had stints in the Rays, Giants, Phillies, and Braves organizations without big-league action. In 2024, he pitched in 27 games with Gwinnett, Atlanta’s Triple-A team, to a 4.03 ERA and solid strikeout results. He will join a team that does not have much stability in its bullpen outside of shutdown closer Mason Miller. Additionally, he has some history pitching at the A’s new stadium in West Sacramento. He spent time pitching for the River Cats in the second half of 2022.

The Rangers signed lefty Michael Plassmeyer to a minor league contract. The Missouri native also received an invite to Spring Training. In 2024, he pitched to a 7.93 ERA in 28 games with the Pirates Triple-A affiliate. He’s been a starter for almost all of his minor league career, but this past season was the first time he began pitching out of the bullpen. Command is the foremost part of the veteran’s game. He walked just 13 in 70 1/3 innings last year. Plassmeyer has seen major league action for just three games between 2022 and 2023. He’ll look to change that in 2025 with a solid exhibition performance.

Catcher Sebastián Rivero has signed a minor league deal with the Angels. The Venezuelan is a glove-first backstop who joins an organization that needs catching depth. Behind Logan O’Hoppe and Travis d’Arnaud are limited options aside from Rivero and recent waiver claim Chuckie Robinson. He will look to return to the major leagues in 2025 for the first time since 2022 with the Royals.

The Padres signed mashing outfielder Moisés Gómez to a minor league contract. He has yet to make his major league debut. Still, the right-handed hitter is known for leading the minor leagues in 2022 with 39 home runs between Double-A and Triple-A in the Cardinals’ organization and then hitting 30 dingers the following season. Surprisingly, in 2024, he hit just three home runs in 41 games before being released in July. This power outage may have been unrelated to an unknown injury that required Gomez to miss a month in the middle of May. The Cardinals decided to move on from the slug-less slugger, and he signed with the Kansas City Monarchs of the American Association for the final month of their season. But during the Venezuelan Winter League season, his power has returned to its normal state for the Bravos de Margarita as he has 14 homers in 43 games. This performance interested the Padres, who have been notoriously thin in the outfield and currently have Tirso Ornelas, Trenton Brooks, and Brandon Lockridge, who have a combined 41 big-league plate appearances among them, as their projected options outside of Jackson Merrill and Fernando Tatis Jr. Gómez could undoubtedly be a candidate for one of the last bench spots with a continuation of his strong winter league performance into Spring Training.

The Yankees have signed a left-handed hitting 26 year-old outfielder, unfortunately not named Juan Soto, but instead Ismael Munguia, to a minor league contract. The 5-7 Nicaraguan became a minor league free agent at the end of the season after eight years in the Giants’ organization and now lands on a new team. Munguia is a career .294 hitter with 80-grade contact skills and impressive speed, becoming very popular among fans. In Spring Training 2024, he hit .410 but didn’t make the team despite winning the Barney Nugent Award, given to the stand-out player in their first Spring Training with the Giants. It’s unknown if Munguia will receive an invite to camp, but it will provide solid outfield depth for a team plagued by injuries in recent years.

Junior Fernández and the Kansas City Royals are in agreement on a minor league contract with an invite to big league camp, according to the team. The righty was once a high-level relief prospect coming up through the Cardinals’ system but never panned out due to injuries and ineffectiveness. He signed with the Chiba Lotte Marines of the NPB in December 2023 but only pitched in two games before undergoing shoulder surgery and getting released in July. Evidently, he’s healthy now and will try to crack the Royals’ bullpen that was a liability in 2024.

Former Phillies’ first baseman Darick Hall has signed a minor league contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates, according to the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs on social media and reflected in his Instagram bio.The Iron Pigs franchise leader in home runs and RBIs moves onto a new organization after nine seasons with the Phillies. Hall, 29, is a mashing lefty with a solid eye for a power hitter whose major league career has been marked by unfortunate timing of injuries. In 2023, following Rhys Hoskins suffering a torn ACL, Hall went down with an injury of his own just six games into the season that required surgery and a two-month rehab. By the time he was back to full strength, Bryce Harper had taken over as the team’s first baseman, and Hall was sent to the minors, where he would spend nearly the rest of the season and all of 2024. The Pirates are looking for a replacement at first base for Rowdy Tellez, who disappointed the team to the point that his own fans booed him and ultimately was released before the end of the season. The candidates at the cold corner behind projected starter and recent trade acquisition Spencer Horwitz are pretty unproven. On the 40-man roster, only Jared Triolo (9 games) and Billy Cook (5 games) have any experience playing first.

With the offseason underway, let’s take a look at some notes from around the major leagues…

Players with six or more years of minor league service time could elect minor league free agency beginning on Monday. Baseball America has unveiled the list of all 513 players who did so. Luis Curvelo, a Venezuelan right-handed reliever, has been generating some buzz as an under-the-radar possible signing, according to Jon Morosi. He's spent the past six seasons in the Mariners' organization, making it as high as Double-A in 2024. The 24-year-old has had fantastic command — especially unusual at low levels — as exhibited by a 78:18 K/BB ratio this past season. Over 49 games and 66 2/3 innings in 2024, he allowed just 39 hits and a 2.57 ERA. He's mostly a two-pitch pitcher, throwing a fastball and an elite slider. Minor league free agents are seldom given a major league contract, but Curvelo's peripherals may make him a good candidate.

The St. Louis Cardinals have a Paul Goldschmidt-shaped hole at first base for the upcoming season and they’re apparently going to take an unconventional approach to filling it. According to Jesse Rogers of ESPN, Willson Contreras is shifting to first base from his previous catcher position. Ahead of the 2023 season, he signed a five-year $87.5 million contract with the Cardinals after six years with the rival Cubs, as a replacement for St. Louis legend Yadier Molina. But Contreras’ time in the Gateway to the West began to go south in 2024 due to a fractured left forearm suffered in May and a fractured middle finger in August and he ultimately ended up playing in just 84 games. On top of that, just one month into his Cardinals’ tenure in May 2023, it was announced that he would no longer be playing catcher because starting pitchers didn’t like pitching to him. That plan remained in place for only one week before he returned to his normal spot, though. Currently, the team has rookie Pedro Pagés and youngster Iván Herrera as the candidates to take over behind the plate after splitting time there while Contreras was injured. As for former first-round pick Jordan Walker, who at 6’6”, 250 lbs has the size to play first base, it seems that the team either feels comfortable with him playing right field, or are hesitant to commit to him after another disappointing season with the bat. Contreras has only played 11 major league games at first base, with his last time coming in 2019. It remains to be seen how the Cardinals will approach the free agent market that has natural first basemen Rowdy Tellez, Pete Alonso, Josh Bell, Christian Walker, and Carlos Santana among others on it.

Catching up on some minor league releases recently. It seems that some of these releases were related to contract opt-outs, considering that many transactions involved veterans…

Two Cubs minor leaguers, infielder Kevin Padlo and outfielder Gilberto Celestino, were released over the weekend. Celestino has had a very rough go of it recently. He was traded from the Pirates to the Cubs on July 25 and began playing at Triple-A Iowa. Just a week later, on August 2, he was struck in the face by a pitch from Zebby Matthews of the St. Paul Saints and suffered multiple facial fractures. He understandably had been on the injured list since then and now is on the open market. At the time of the injury, he was hitting .316 in five games for the I-Cubs and .275 over the entire season. We hope that he’s resting up and will return soon. As for Padlo, he’s been with three different organizations in 2024 — the Dodgers, Royals, and Cubs — without any major league playing time. He was traded on August 2 from the Royals to the Cubs but is now a free agent. Padlo has struggled mightily this season, hitting .184 in 71 games. He has limited experience in the majors across the past three seasons, playing a handful of games for each of the Rays, Mariners, Giants, Pirates, and Angels.

The Angels have cut veteran left-handers Amir Garrett and Adam Kolarek. Since 2021, Garrett had a tough time with command and limiting baserunners to a 5.06 ERA, resulting in four teams dropping him from their roster. The reliever was getting ahold of his command this season. In 26 games at Triple-A Salt Lake, he’d only walked 16 and struck out 43 in 33 2/3 innings. He had a brief showing in the majors in May, appearing in six games for the Angels before being DFA’d and returning to the minors. Kolarek is no stranger to the open market, as this is now the seventh time in his career that he’s been let go. The funky lefty has an impressive 3.62 ERA in seven major league seasons but oddly has a much worse 4.20 ERA in eight seasons at Triple-A, including a 6.97 ERA this year. He’s yet to appear in any major league games this season. Considering the stats, both pitchers will likely have to settle for minor league deals as their next contracts.

The Yankees have released utilityman Josh VanMeter, who had been playing at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The 29-year-old former Red, Diamondback, and Pirate was hitting a less-than-sterling .177 in 59 games upon his dismissal. He will look for his next opportunity but hopes that teams overlook that he had the seventh-worst batting average among hitters with at least 100 at-bats in the International League.

The Phillies have released right-handers Max Castillo and Ricardo Pinto. Castillo was DFA’d four days ago to clear space on the 40-man roster for two minor league call-ups and was outrighted on Sunday but was quickly released. The robust righty struggled to a 7.62 ERA in 52 innings in the minors in 2024. He and Samad Taylor were once the return when Whit Merrifield was traded from the Royals to the Blue Jays two years ago. He’s bounced from Kansas City to the Red Sox and the Phils in the past year, with only seven games last season to show for in major league work. He’ll look for work elsewhere. Pinto, 30 and nicknamed Pinto Bean, went five years since his last major league action until he returned to the big leagues in April with six games for the Phillies, to stomach-turning results. The veteran Venezuelan has lots of experience playing internationally in Korea, Taiwan, and Mexico, so a return to one of those leagues could be on the horizon.

2:25pm: In addition to the others, the Dodgers receive 17-year-old right-hander Oliver Gonzalez from the Cardinals. The Cardinals will get a player to be named later or cash from the Dodgers and cash from the White Sox. Chicago will get a player to be named later or cash from the Dodgers on top of the prospects.

11:26am: Russell Dorsey of Yahoo Sports confirms that the final trade is Fedde and Pham to St. Louis, Edman and Kopech to the Dodgers, and Vargas, Perez, and Albertus to Chicago.

11:22am: Jeff Passan tweets that Noah Miller is not in the trade.

11:15am: The Dodgers, Cardinals, and White Sox are working to finalize a trade involving Erick Fedde, who will go to St. Louis, Tommy Edman, who will go to Los Angeles, and a prospect package, which will go to Chicago.

According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, a three-team deal was close this morning. Bob Nightengale further reported that reliever Michael Kopech is going from the White Sox to L.A. and that outfielder Tommy Pham is moving from Chicago to St. Louis. Pham played the first four and a half seasons with the Cardinals. The prospects from the Dodgers going to Chicago are a group of infielders — Miguel Vargas, Jeral Perez, Noah Miller, and Alexander Albertus.

Fedde has been outstanding this season after playing last year in Korea, pitching to a 3.11 ERA in 121 2/3 innings over 21 starts. He signed a two-year, $15 million contract with the White Sox in December, so he will remain under club control for another season. The 31-year-old right-hander began his career with the Nationals, debuting in 2017 and spending six seasons with the team. He generally struggled as a back-of-the-rotation arm and decided to take his talents across the Pacific Ocean for the 2023 season, playing with the NC Dinos. The gamble paid off as he went 20-6 with a 2.00 ERA and 209 strikeouts in 30 starts and was awarded the Choi Dong-won Award, the equivalent to the Cy Young Award for the best pitcher in the KBO, and the KBO MVP award.

The addition of Fedde for the Cardinals signifies a likely return to the bullpen for Andre Pallante. The current rotation consists of Sonny Gray, Miles Mikolas, Pallante, Lance Lynn, and Kyle Gibson, but they rank in the bottom half of major league teams with a 4.09 team starting pitching ERA. Fedde will be a welcome addition to the oldest rotation in the majors.

Bringing in Pham is a full-circle moment for the 36-year-old outfielder and the Cardinals. He was a 16th-round pick of the 2006 draft by St. Louis and didn't debut until 2014. He didn't play an entire season until 2017, when he burst onto the scene with 23 home runs, a .306/.411/.520 slash line and received down-ballot MVP votes. He would be traded at the deadline the next year to Tampa Bay and became an excellent player for them, with a 135 OPS+ as the everyday left fielder for the Rays in the second half of '18 and all of 2019. This outstanding stretch made him a key face on the market, and he ultimately made his way to San Diego in another trade as part of a package with Jake Cronenworth before the 2020 season. While that season was underwhelming for him at the plate, the offseason was another horror story as in October of 2020, he was stabbed outside of a San Diego strip club in his lower back. He would receive 200 stitches in surgery but made it back onto the field, and impressively, he could still be on the field for the entire 2021 season. Another down season with the bat and the lockout of the 2021-22 offseason led to him not signing with a team until late March, when he agreed to a one-year deal with the Reds. The most notable event of the 2022 season for Pham would be him slapping Joc Pederson of the Giants in May during batting practice over a meme sent in a group text regarding a fantasy football league that Pederson and Pham had been in seven months prior. He would be suspended three games and eventually was traded at that year's trade deadline to the Red Sox, where he continued to struggle. The past two seasons have seen Pham play with the Mets and Diamondbacks in 2023, the White Sox, and now the Cardinals in 2024.

Pham will not be an everyday player for the Cardinals, but he looks to platoon as the weak side with Michael Siani in center field. For his career, Pham is much better against left-handed pitching, and 2024 is no exception. He's slashing .255/.377/.471 against them in 61 plate appearances.

The 27-81 White Sox have long been named a seller at this year's deadline, and the deal of Fedde and Kopech looks to be the beginning of a mass exodus of players from the current roster. Vargas, Perez, and Albertus will help solidify a weak minor-league system.

Kopech is amidst a solid first season as a full-time reliever. He has dealt with various injuries that have dampened the excitement of him once being the second-ranked prospect in the White Sox organization and the prime return in the 2016 Chris Sale trade with the Red Sox. Kopech will provide the Dodgers with some back-end bullpen depth that has been missed, with Brusdar Graterol and Ryan Brasier injured nearly the entire season thus far. In 43 games out of the bullpen in 2024, he's amassed 59 strikeouts in 43 2/3 innings, along with nine saves. An ERA of 4.74 is not the most shiny, but a top ten percent K% and fastball velocity in the majors stand out.

Edman is an exciting piece in the trade, as he has yet to play a game in 2024 after undergoing arthroscopic wrist surgery in October 2023. He was sent on a rehab assignment three weeks ago, so his season debut will be soon. He has ten days remaining to rehab before the Dodgers must activate him. An above-average defender at second, shortstop, third, and each outfield position, Edman will provide Los Angeles with some much-desired depth with Mookie Betts on the injured list after fracturing his hand in mid-June. Chris Taylor and Max Muncy are also on the injured list, so the infield is as bare-bones as possible. Kiké Hernandez at third, Nick Ahmed at shortstop, Gavin Lux at second, and Cavan Biggio at first make up the infield. None were expected to play as significant of roles as they are right now when the season began. Ahmed was just signed last week after being released by the Giants.

The Dodgers will also acquire pitcher Oliver Gonzalez, a 6'4" right-hander who the Cardinals signed out of Panama this past winter. He pitched in seven games at their Dominican Summer League affiliate, so he's as far out from the majors as someone could be. He has a 4.22 ERA in 21 1/3 innings, but his 26-to-7 K/BB ratio is sterling.

Miguel Vargas is the most well-known name heading to Chicago. A one-time top prospect, the 24-year-old Cuban only got a chance for a few factors, namely the Dodgers' exceptional depth and a lack of a defensive position. He mostly played third and some first in the minor leagues but was blocked coming up through the minors. He began to play some left field in 2022 and debuted with the Los Angeles in August of that year for a handful of games. Vargas has already used up the final option of his career, so next season, he will be out of them. This stretch will be an excellent opportunity to show off with a team on the exact opposite of the spectrum, depth-wise, as the Dodgers.

Albertus and Perez are 19-year-old infielders who were top-20 prospects in the Dodgers system. Albertus was signed in 2022 out of Aruba, and Perez the same year out of the Dominican Republic. The former has split the season between the Arizona Complex League and Single-A Rancho Cucamonga with a very impressive .342 average in 32 games in the complex leagues. Albertus can play the third and short, but his bat is his forte. Scouting reports call him a bat-first prospect who could see playing time at multiple infield positions. At such a young age, he is still a long way off from impacting the major league team, but he immediately jumps into a favorable position with an organization that has struggled to make any splashes in developing young players.

Tragic news has emerged regarding a former big league reliever. Reyes Moronta died this evening at just 31 years old in an accident while driving a four-wheeler in his native Dominican Republic, according to reporters Héctor Gomez and Mike Rodriguez on Twitter. He had been pitching in Mexico for the Bravos de León just three days ago before getting released.

Born in Santiago, Dominican Republic, Moronta signed with the San Francisco Giants in September 2010 and debuted in 2017. He would spend the next two years pitching in 125 games out of the back of the Giants’ bullpen before injuries cut out his entire 2020 season and almost all of his 2021 campaign. He last played in the major leagues in 2023, appearing in two games for the Angels.

Nicknamed El Tibu (or The Shark), Moronta pitched very well with the Giants in four big league seasons, with a 2.65 ERA in 136 games and 132 1/3 innings. He was armed with a near-100 mph fastball and a wipeout slider until torn labrum sidelined him in late 2019. Upon his return to the big leagues in 2021, he wasn’t the same and began a bit of a journeyman career. He split the 2022 season with the Dodgers and D-backs organizations. He’d signed in May with the Bravos of the Mexican League but struggled and was released on Thursday.

Catching up on some minor league moves in the past week…

The Diamondbacks have released right-hander Chris Ellis. The 31-year-old has been pitching at Triple-A Reno since he signed a minor league contract in late April. Over three brief major league seasons, Ellis has made eight starts in ten games with the Royals, Rays, and Orioles. His latest major league action came in 2022. Even by the highly offensive Pacific Coast League standards, Ellis struggled, pitching to a 9.09 ERA in 15 starts while walking more than he struck out. He’ll look for a new home and hope that his next employer glosses over this challenging performance.

The Red Sox have cut bait on left-hander Helcris Olivarez. At one point, he was the Rockies’ seventh-ranked prospect as recently as 2021, according to MLB.com, and was added to their 40-man roster in late 2020. However, injuries and ineffectiveness have dropped the Dominican pitcher into minor-league purgatory. He had a strain in his left shoulder and, following surgery, was knocked out the entire 2022 and ’23 seasons. Boston took a flyer on the 23-year-old lefty, but his command was not there while pitching at Double-A. A 3.50 ERA is not bad, but a 47-to-50 K/BB ratio explains his release. At such a young age, Olivarez has years ahead of him and will surely interest a team to try and tap into that potential.

The Angels have released lefty reliever CD Pelham. A 33rd-round pick in the 2015 draft by the Rangers, Pelham debuted with Texas in 2018 for ten games but hasn’t been back to the majors since. His contract was purchased from the Leones de Yucatán of the Mexican League in early June, and he was pitching at Double-A Rocket City before his release. Pelham had pitched very well in Mexico, so that this release may precipitate a return to an international team. Since the brief major action six years ago, he’s played in the minor leagues with the Cubs and Padres.