Anyone see the
Masslive article on Non-Tenders? The two that caught my eye are:
- Richard Lovelady: The Royals non-tendered the 26-year-old lefty who had a 3.48 ERA, 3.85 FIP, 1.06 WHIP, 23 strikeouts and six walks in 20 relief outings (20 ⅔ innings). His fastball spin ranked in the 90th percentile, and
- Colin Moran: The Pirates designated the 29-year-old first baseman at the non-tender deadline. He was the sixth overall pick in 2013 out of UNC, slashed .258/.334/.390/.724 with 10 homers, 12 doubles and 50 RBIs in 99 games (359 plate appearances) for Pittsburgh in 2021. The left-handed hitter has a .747 OPS and 45 homers in 460 major league games. (with .288/.352/.432/.784 splits with 106 career wRC+ vs RH per RotoWire)
And the introduction from the bullpen "Ladies and gentlemen, now coming in, Dick Love-lady!" to the sounds of "Hooked on a Feeling" by Blue Swede is comedic gold (to me).
The Royals have re-signed Lovelady to a minor-league contract. Lovelady is expected to miss the 2022 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in September.
Not mentioned in the MassLive article but at least as deserving of attention are:
LHP Matt Strahm (Padres): Formerly the Royals’ top prospect, Strahm was traded to the Padres in a 2017 deadline deal for Ryan Buchter and Trevor Cahill. A starter in his last two full minor-league seasons in the Kansas City organization, Strahm found sustained success in relief for San Diego, posting a 3.36 FIP in 2018 and pitching 114.2 innings across 46 appearances (16 starts) in 2019. Despite a 2.61 ERA in 2020, his strikeouts declined precipitously that season as Strahm was inhibited by a patellar tendon injury to his right knee that required October surgery. Rehabilitation and subsequent September inflammation limited Strahm to six August appearances in 2021 but, during that small sample, he again demonstrated an ability to limit walks (7.4% for his career and no higher than 4.8% in each of the past three seasons) and induced groundballs at a career-high 48.3% rate that was consistent with his minor-league track record.
LHP Jose Castillo (Padres): Traded with Ryan Hanigan from the Rays to the Padres in the December, 2014 Cecil B. De Mille casting call that is now best known as the three-way deal that eventually sent Trea Turner to the Nationals, Castillo dominated during a 2018 San Diego debut, posting a 2.25 xERA and a 2.64 FIP in his first 37 major-league appearances. Subsequent seasons have been largely curtailed by sprains (2019 index finger), strains (2020 left lat), and orthomobiles (March, 2021 Tommy John surgery). With Graveman, Iglesias, Knebel, and Yates having agreed to contracts in recent days, few— if any— remaining free-agent relievers can match the upside of a healthy Castillo, who does not turn 26 years old until next month.
RHP Jason Adam (Cubs): Overland Park native Adam was drafted by his hometown Royals and steadily progressed through the Kansas City organization, taking fewer than four seasons to reach Triple-A at the age of 22. Adam finished that fourth professional season with the Minnesota organization after the Twins acquired him in an August trade for Schwarberian prototype Josh Willingham. Adam missed all of 2015 and 2016 and most of 2017 with injuries but returned to the Kansas City organization in 2018 and made his major-league debut with the Royals that year. Subsequent seasons with the Blue Jays and Cubs have seen Adam regularly shuttle between parent clubs and their Triple-A affiliates. Despite impressive FIP and gaudy strikeout totals at the minor leagues’ highest level, he has accrued frequent flyer miles more readily than major league service time. Chicago’s 2021 fire sale should have afforded Adam a better bite at the apple but a grisly ankle injury suffered in May threatened to end his season. Adam was able to return to the Cubs for the final week of the campaign and— in the scouting parlance favored by SOSH national crosschecker John T. Bone— straight-up mowed pricks down, striking out six of the 10 batters that he faced while allowing only one baserunner. In isolation, those three appearances certainly are a sample size small enough to make Michael Wacha’s agent blush but Adam struck out 38% of opposing batters in 12 MLB appearances last season and has now struck out 28% of opposing batters in 79 career MLB appearances. While he does not offer the potential length of Strahm nor the possible upside of Castillo, Adam may offer something almost as important to the Red Sox— flexibility. He may be more agreeable to a minor-league contract, preserving dwindling 40-man roster space and reducing the risk of having to expose holdovers Pottsie and Ralph Malph to waivers.
C Yohel Pozo (Rangers): Pozo’s Scrabble scores are more impressive than his scouting grades. He does not walk, cannot run, and any paeans to his proficiency behind the plate are more likely to be penned by Josh Bard than Shakespeare. However, Pozo has consistently hit and— after entering 2021 with just 107 games in High-A and none in Double-A— not only hit in Triple-A but hit for power, with 23 home runs in 324 plate appearances. While a portion of his power surge surely is attributable to the introduction of Super Happy Fun Ball to Triple-A, Pozo’s ability to maintain a 13% strikeout rate in his 21-game major-league debut is a positive indicator for future success. Pozo, like fellow Venezuelan reserve receiver Willians Astudillo, is a Tortuga of a different color. In a free-agent catcher market that has been reduced to Crying, Waiting, and Hoping, though, a 24-year-old that could provide immediate depth merits more attention.