Trade Rumors: Nats' Thompson Headed to Tommy John Surgery
From the desk of Cliff Corcoran/MLB Trade Rumors
MLBTRivia: Three years ago, in February 2021, 2B/OF Jahmai Jones, whom the Yankees claimed off waivers from the Brewers on Wednesday, was traded from the Angels to the Orioles straight-up for a 2023 All-Star. Who did the Angels get in return for the then-23-year-old Jones?
The Answer: Alex Cobb
Nationals RHP Mason Thompson to Have Tommy John Surgery
Nationals righty Mason Thompson will have Tommy John surgery Friday, according to multiple reports. Thompson will miss the entire 2024 season and part of 2025. The reliever will be 27 when he returns to action next season. A third-round pick by the Padres in 2016, the 6-foot-6 Thompson made his major-league debut in late June of 2021, then went to the Nationals at that year’s deadline as part of the two-player return for veteran reliever Daniel Hudson. In parts of three seasons with Washington, Thompson has posted a 92 ERA+ and 1.78 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 102 relief appearances, exactly half of those coming last year.
Guardians RHP Trevor Stephan Shut Down with Bone Bruise
The Guardians are shutting down righty set-up man Trevor Stephan for the next three weeks due to a deep bone bruise in his pitching elbow, manager Stephen Vogt told reporters on Wednesday. That makes it extremely likely that Stephan will open the season on the injured list, as he will only have about a week remaining to prepare for the regular season when and if he is ready to return to action at the end of those three weeks. However, the team is not concerned about the 28-year-old Stephan’s elbow, structurally, so it seems that a return in April is also likely. A former third-round pick by the Yankees, Stephan was selected in the 2020 Rule 5 draft by Cleveland and has since posted a 110 ERA+ and 3.09 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 180 relief appearances over the last three seasons.
Roster Moves
Yankees claimed 2B/OF Jahmai Jones off waivers from the Brewers, designated IF Jordan Groshans for assignment to make room for Jones on the 40-man roster.
Minor-League Transactions
Orioles signed 2B Kolten Wong to a minor-league contract with an invitation to major-league Spring Training.
Padres have come to terms with OF Tim Locastro on a minor-league contract with an invitation to major-league Spring Training, per Jon Morosi of the MLB Network.
From Trade Rumors Front Office
Anthony Franco: The Rangers’ Injury Risk Tolerance
MLBTR’s Anthony Franco looks at the Rangers’ projected starting rotation and associated depth and wonders why the team hasn’t “thrown a few million dollars at a depth arm,” a major-league veteran who could serve as a sixth (or fifth) starter. With Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer, and Tyler Mahle all projected to return from injury in the second half of the season, here’s how Anthony sees the Rangers’ rotation depth heading into the season:
If the Rangers incur a starting pitching injury or two in the first couple months, they could find themselves in an early-season hole. They’re projected to open with a starting five of Nathan Eovaldi, Jon Gray, Andrew Heaney, Dane Dunning, and Cody Bradford. That group has talent but again comes with some alarming injury histories.
Eovaldi battled back and shoulder issues in 2022, a big reason why Texas was able to land him on a bargain $34MM guarantee last winter. Gray landed on the injured list three times in 2022 and had some forearm tightness late last season. Heaney stayed healthy last year, but he’s had shoulder and elbow issues in the past.
Dunning and Bradford have been more durable. While the former underwent Tommy John surgery as a prospect, he has topped 150 innings in each of the last two seasons. He’s a solid #4 option. Bradford’s bigger question is probably about his performance. He started eight of 20 MLB contests as a rookie and allowed a 5.30 ERA over 56 innings. His fastball sits around 90 MPH. Is the stuff good enough to hold a rotation spot for a few months?
Texas has José Ureña, Adrian Sampson and retained Danny Duffy as non-roster depth. Prospects Zak Kent, Owen White, and Cole Winn are on the 40-man roster. None of that trio has proven himself against MLB hitters. Only Kent is coming off a particularly impressive Triple-A showing. Former #2 overall pick Jack Leiter still hasn’t shown he can throw enough strikes in the minors.
There’s a ton of variance with this pitching staff. If things break right, the Rangers could go into October with a potentially lethal combination of deGrom, Scherzer, Eovaldi and Mahle/Gray. It’s also not hard to envision a scenario where Eovaldi or Gray miss time early and Bruce Bochy is trying to patch things together to keep the team in the playoff mix.
Tim Dierkes’ MLB Mailbag: Cubs, Soto, Padres, Rays
In his latest Mailbag, MLBTR founder Tim Dierkes weighs in on the four subjects, as well as others, such as Monday’s Dodgers-Twins trade sequence. I have to confess that I totally blanked on Manuel Margot’s value as center-field depth behind the fragile Byron Buxton in my write-up of that trade on Tuesday, but Tim has me covered there:
Twins-Dodgers trade, subsequent Hernandez signing
The Twins have chosen Manuel Margot as their primary Byron Buxton backup in center. Buxton, 30, didn’t play in the field at all last year and hasn’t topped 509 ⅔ innings in center since 2019. Margot also pairs well with lefty-hitting corner outfielders Max Kepler and Matt Wallner.
Say the Twins need to cover 1,435 defensive innings in center field in total. Given Buxton’s injury history, we can hope he takes 435 and leaves 1,000 for others.
If that happens, you’d be giving 70% of your center field innings to Margot. Margot is a 29-year-old who has averaged about 670 outfield innings in the last two years due to a major knee injury in 2022 and elbow surgery in ‘23. As Steve noted, Margot’s defense appears to have slipped as a result.
The job is more “starting center fielder” in Minnesota than it is fourth outfielder. Michael A. Taylor performed capably in the role last year and I’m not sure the benefit of switching to Margot other than perhaps saving a few bucks. I assume Plan C in center is Willi Castro.
The Dodgers clearly prefer Kiké to Margot, between the former’s status as a fan favorite and his ability to supplement Gavin Lux and Max Muncy in the infield. It’s a cash-neutral deal for them and it’s hard to find fault with it.
MLBTRivia Answer: RHP Alex Cobb, then 33, who made his first All-Star team in 2023 as a Giant
Nationals RHP Mason Thompson to Have Tommy John Surgery
Nationals righty Mason Thompson will have Tommy John surgery tomorrow, according to multiple reports. Thompson will thus miss the entire 2024 season and part of 2025. The reliever will be 27 when he returns to action next season. A third-round pick by the Padres in 2016, the 6-foot-6 Thompson made his major-league debut in late June of 2021, then went to the Nationals at that year’s deadline as part of the two-player return for veteran reliever Daniel Hudson. In parts of three seasons with Washington, Thompson has posted a 92 ERA+ and 1.78 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 102 relief appearances, exactly half of those coming last year.
Guardians RHP Trevor Stephan Shut Down 3 Weeks with Bone Bruise
The Guardians are shutting down righty set-up man Trevor Stephan for the next three weeks due to a deep bone bruise in his pitching elbow, manager Stephen Vogt told reporters on Wednesday. That makes it extremely likely that Stephan will open the season on the injured list, as he will only have about a week remaining to prepare for the regular season when and if he is ready to return to action at the end of those three weeks. However, the team is not concerned about the 28-year-old Stephan’s elbow, structurally, so it seems that a return in April is also likely. A former third-round pick by the Yankees, Stephan was selected in the 2020 Rule 5 draft by Cleveland and has since posted a 110 ERA+ and 3.09 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 180 relief appearances over the last three seasons.
Roster Moves
Yankees claimed 2B/OF Jahmai Jones off waivers from the Brewers, designated IF Jordan Groshans for assignment to make room for Jones on the 40-man roster.
Minor-League Transactions
Orioles signed 2B Kolten Wong to a minor-league contract with an invitation to major-league Spring Training.
Padres have come to terms with OF Tim Locastro on a minor-league contract with an invitation to major-league Spring Training, per Jon Morosi of the MLB Network.
From Trade Rumors Front Office:
Anthony Franco: The Rangers’ Injury Risk Tolerance
In his latest exclusive article for Front Office subscribers, MLBTR’s Anthony Franco looks at the Rangers’ projected starting rotation and associated depth and wonders why the team hasn’t “thrown a few million dollars at a depth arm,” a major-league veteran who could serve as a sixth (or fifth) starter. With Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer, and Tyler Mahle all projected to return from injury in the second half of the season, here’s how Anthony sees the Rangers’ rotation depth heading into the season:
If the Rangers incur a starting pitching injury or two in the first couple months, they could find themselves in an early-season hole. They’re projected to open with a starting five of Nathan Eovaldi, Jon Gray, Andrew Heaney, Dane Dunning, and Cody Bradford. That group has talent but again comes with some alarming injury histories.
Eovaldi battled back and shoulder issues in 2022, a big reason why Texas was able to land him on a bargain $34MM guarantee last winter. Gray landed on the injured list three times in 2022 and had some forearm tightness late last season. Heaney stayed healthy last year, but he’s had shoulder and elbow issues in the past.
Dunning and Bradford have been more durable. While the former underwent Tommy John surgery as a prospect, he has topped 150 innings in each of the last two seasons. He’s a solid #4 option. Bradford’s bigger question is probably about his performance. He started eight of 20 MLB contests as a rookie and allowed a 5.30 ERA over 56 innings. His fastball sits around 90 MPH. Is the stuff good enough to hold a rotation spot for a few months?
Texas has José Ureña, Adrian Sampson and retained Danny Duffy as non-roster depth. Prospects Zak Kent, Owen White, and Cole Winn are on the 40-man roster. None of that trio has proven himself against MLB hitters. Only Kent is coming off a particularly impressive Triple-A showing. Former #2 overall pick Jack Leiter still hasn’t shown he can throw enough strikes in the minors.
There’s a ton of variance with this pitching staff. If things break right, the Rangers could go into October with a potentially lethal combination of deGrom, Scherzer, Eovaldi and Mahle/Gray. It’s also not hard to envision a scenario where Eovaldi or Gray miss time early and Bruce Bochy is trying to patch things together to keep the team in the playoff mix.
Tim Dierkes’ MLB Mailbag: Cubs, Soto, Padres, Rays
In his latest Mailbag, MLBTR founder Tim Dierkes weighs in on the four subjects listed above, as well as others, such as Monday’s Dodgers-Twins trade sequence. I have to confess that I totally blanked on Manuel Margot’s value as center-field depth behind the fragile Byron Buxton in my write-up of that trade on Tuesday, but Tim has me covered there:
Thoughts on Twins-Dodgers trade, subsequent Hernandez signing?
Steve Adams had a nice write-up of this trade, which you can check out here.
The Twins have chosen Manuel Margot as their primary Byron Buxton backup in center. Buxton, 30, didn’t play in the field at all last year and hasn’t topped 509 ⅔ innings in center since 2019. Margot also pairs well with lefty-hitting corner outfielders Max Kepler and Matt Wallner.
Say the Twins need to cover 1,435 defensive innings in center field in total. Given Buxton’s injury history, we can hope he takes 435 and leaves 1,000 for others.
If that happens, you’d be giving 70% of your center field innings to Margot. Margot is a 29-year-old who has averaged about 670 outfield innings in the last two years due to a major knee injury in 2022 and elbow surgery in ‘23. As Steve noted, Margot’s defense appears to have slipped as a result.
The job is more “starting center fielder” in Minnesota than it is fourth outfielder. Michael A. Taylor performed capably in the role last year and I’m not sure the benefit of switching to Margot other than perhaps saving a few bucks. I assume Plan C in center is Willi Castro.
The Dodgers clearly prefer Kiké to Margot, between the former’s status as a fan favorite and his ability to supplement Gavin Lux and Max Muncy in the infield. It’s a cash-neutral deal for them and it’s hard to find fault with it.
MLBTRivia Answer: RHP Alex Cobb, then 33, who made his first All-Star team in 2023 as a Giant