Finally, baseball time is here. The season’s first spring training games are in a few days. The top remaining free agents, Blake Snell, Cody Bellinger, Jordan Montgomery, and Matt Chapman, are still at a standstill and are looking for new opportunities.
Teams are still filling out their rosters for spring training. The Red Sox and Brewers, meanwhile, started planning for the future.
The Phillies sign Whit Merrifield.
Whit Merrifield signed a one-year, $8 million deal with the Phillies, which included a 2025 club option. Merrifield’s salary of such magnitude could indicate that he is a super-utility player who can start at corner outfield and second base in addition to being a reliable backup.
The 35-year-old combatant struck. With the Blue Jays last season, he hit 272/.318/.382 with 11 home runs, 66 runs scored, 67 RBI, and 26 steals in 592 plate appearances.
Merrifield, who set a career best with 19 home runs in 2017, has never been much of a slugger, but his respectable batting average allows him to be a reliable contributor to stolen bases.
The issue is that power is no longer so scarce that having power is more detrimental than having power. If he can continue to get regular at-bats, he can still be useful for speed-starved fantasy teams.
The best opportunity may come from the outfield, with Bryson Stott firmly positioned at second base. After having surgery on his left knee, Brandon Marsh should be ready for Opening Day.
If something were to happen to him, Merrifield might step in at left field. Johan Rojas now has the inside track, but he isn’t a lock to land the starting center field position.
Merrifield might take left field, while Marsh could move to center if he fails this spring.
Brandon Woodruff is back with the Brewers.
According to Jon Heyman of The New York Post, Woodruff signed a two-year contract with the Brewers on Monday.
Milwaukee declined to tender the 31-year-old right-hander in November. He returns to the team that knows him the best after experimenting with the free-agent market.
Considering that Woodruff will miss the 2024 season while recovering from surgery on his right shoulder in preparation for a 2025 return, this is perhaps the smartest course of action. He has struggled with injuries throughout his career, but when he is on the field, he is amazing, with a 3.10 ERA and a 28.9 percent strikeout rate over 680 1/3 innings since 2017.
Last season, in 67 innings pitched, Woodruff recorded a 2.28 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, and a 74/15 K/BB ratio for the Brewers. After recording a 2.56 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, and a 211/43 K/BB ratio over a career-high 179 1/3 frames in 2021, he had his greatest season to date.
One of the worst problems a starting pitcher may have in the long run is a shoulder injury. Despite missing the entire season due to injury, Woodruff might be a good late pick in 2025 selections.
Sign Liam Hendriks with the Red Sox
Like the Brewers, the Red Sox signed Hendriks to a two-year, $10 million contract with a mutual option for 2026, taking a proactive approach to 2025.
Performance-related bonuses are another feature of the agreement that might raise its value by an extra $10 million. After undergoing Tommy John surgery in August, the 35-year-old right-hander is expected to miss the majority of the 2024 season; a late-summer comeback is conceivable.
Despite his remarkable recovery from Stage 4 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma last season, Hendriks was limited to just five games before being shut down.
When healthy, he’s been one of the most dominant closers in the game, and he had a fantastic run from 2019 to 2022. During that time, he converted 114 saves and recorded a 2.26 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, and an exceptional 38.8% strikeout rate over 239 innings.
In 2025, Hendriks might be able to save games in Boston because Kenley Jansen is nearing the conclusion of his deal.
Red Sox trade John Schreiber to the Royals
The Red Sox transferred right-handed starting pitching prospect David Sandlin to the Royals in exchange for reliever John Schreiber in another bullpen move.
For the past few seasons, Schreiber has been a reliable reliever for the Red Sox. Over 46 2/3 innings last season, the 29-year-old right-hander recorded a 3.86 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, and a 53/25 K/BB ratio. Should the organization decide to part ways with Jansen, he was one of the dark horse candidates to save opportunities in Boston.
The Red Sox are rumored to be shopping their senior relievers, notably Chris Martin and Jansen, who will both be free agents at the end of this season.
Garrett Whitlock and Josh Winckowski might possibly be included in the final mix. Will Smith and James McArthur are the Royals’ two best save candidates.
They have another right-handed pitcher with great leverage in Schreiber. In 2022, he made eight saves while in Boston. The Red Sox acquired a 22-year-old prospect in Sandlin who pitched in Single-A for the majority of the season, recording a 3.38 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, and a 79/13 K/BB ratio in 58 2/3 innings. The 11th-round pick from 2022 will probably start the season in Portland, Double-A.
