The Twins bolstered their starting rotation on Sunday afternoon, acquiring right-hander Sonny Gray from the Reds in exchange for right-handed pitching prospect Chase Petty. After missing the postseason entirely, and finishing dead-last in the AL Central last year, Minnesota’s roster-building strategy coming out of the lockout has emphasized aggressive, short-term upgrades to their existing nucleus with the clear goal of getting the franchise back into playoff contention during the upcoming 2022 season.
The 32-year-old veteran right-hander is coming off a turbulent 2021 campaign where he struggled to stay healthy, missing nearly two months due to early-season back, groin and rib issues, but managed to finish with a serviceable 4.19 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 155/50 K/BB ratio across 153 1/3 innings (26 starts). It’s unclear whether lingering physical issues impacted his on-field performance, but he wound up surrendering a career-high 19 round-trippers and also watched his strikeout rate dip from his two previous seasons in Cincinnati.
Gray’s departure from hitter-friendly Great American Ballpark into the spacious, homer-suppressing dimensions of Minnesota’s Target Field should result in some overdue regression in the home run department. He should also benefit tremendously from swapping out Cincinnati’s defensive unit, which graded out as the fifth-worst outfit from a defensive runs saved standpoint last season, for a vastly superior overall group of fielders. The trade won’t dramatically boost Gray’s fantasy stock for the upcoming 2022 season, but he certainly finds himself in a much more favorable environment moving forward.
With their future looking extremely uncertain, the Twins elected to roll the dice and improve around the margins for a potential playoff push. Meanwhile, the Reds have seemingly gone in the other direction over the last few months. The decision to jettison Gray, who was owed $10 million for the 2022 season and also has a $12 million club option for the 2023 campaign, results in some immediate savings for the Reds and also enabled them to net an extremely promising pitching prospect in Petty, who was the Twins’ first-round selection in the 2021 MLB Draft. The 18-year-old righty possesses a triple-digit fastball and wipeout slider, but remains several hyperspace jumps from the majors. He’s a long-term project for the Reds pitching development machine.
Zack Wheeler ‘Behind Schedule’ For Opening Day
Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told reporters Sunday that right-hander Zack Wheeler is “behind schedule” this spring and unlikely to be ready for next month’s Opening Day. The 31-year-old righty experienced shoulder soreness in December during his offseason throwing program, but appears to have avoided any potential injury. Among the most durable workhorses in the game, Wheeler finished second in last year’s National League Cy Young balloting after posting a sparkling 2.78 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, and 247/46 K/BB ratio across a big league-leading 213 1/3 innings (32 starts). It’s not the type of development fantasy managers want to hear, but it sounds like Wheeler won’t end up missing more than a turn or two through the Phillies’ rotation at the outset of the regular season. He’s currently being selected as the sixth starting pitcher off the board (24th overall), on average, in fantasy drafts this spring.
MLB Instituting 15-Day Injured List For Pitchers
Major League Baseball has elected to institute a 15-day injured list for pitchers during the upcoming 2022 regular season, while keeping the previous 10-day injured list intact for position players. The revelation surfaced Sunday when Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski mentioned the newly-implemented rule while speaking to reporters. It was later confirmed through reporting by Lindsey Adler of The Athletic. The universal 10-day injured list was implemented during the last Collective Bargaining Agreement (2017-2021), but will now revert to a 15-day injured list for pitchers, most likely in an effort to prevent organizations from taking advantage of the shorter timeline to cycle pitchers on and off the active roster. It’s a minor rule change, but it certainly will have an impact for fantasy managers this upcoming season.
The App is Back! Don’t forget to download the NBC Sports EDGE app to receive real-time player news, mobile alerts and track your favorite players. Plus, now you can check out articles and player cards. Get it here!
American League Quick Hits: Yankees acquired SS Isiah Kiner-Falefa, 3B Josh Donaldson and C Ben Rorvedt from the Twins for C Gary Sanchez and INF Gio Urshela. ... Mark Berman of FOX 26 reports that the Astros have re-engaged in discussions to re-sign free agent shortstop Carlos Correa. … Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters Sunday that Tanner Houck and Garrett Whitlock are being stretched out to help gobble up innings early in the 2022 season, but wouldn’t commit to either being included in the team’s starting rotation. … Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters on Sunday that Gio Urshela is the team’s starting shortstop for the moment. … Angels manager Joe Maddon told reporters Sunday that he’s considering moving Mike Trout to a corner outfield spot to open up center field for Brandon Marsh. … Tigers manager AJ Hinch suggested Sunday that Tyler Alexander may be the internal favorite to win the team’s fifth spot in the starting rotation. … Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports that the Red Sox are signing free agent left-hander Jake Diekman to a multi-year contract. … Robert Murray of FanSided reports that the Red Sox have agreed to a one-year contract with free-agent left-hander Matt Strahm. … Yankees signed OF Tim Locastro to a one-year contract and INF/OF Ronald Guzman to a minor league contract with an invite to spring training. … According to Robert Murray of FanSided, the White Sox and free agent right-hander Vince Velasquez have agreed to terms on a major league contract. … Athletics claimed LHP Sam Selman off waivers from the Angels. … Blue Jays signed C Tyler Heineman to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training. … Mariners signed OF Steven Souza Jr. to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training. … Rangers signed LHP Matt Moore to a minor league contract. … Athletics signed RHP Austin Pruitt to a minor league contract.
National League Quick Hits: According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Nationals are signing free agent designated hitter Nelson Cruz to a one-year, $13 million contract. ... Clayton Kershaw (elbow) told reporters on Sunday, shortly after finalizing a one-year, $17 million contract to return to the Dodgers, that he believes he’ll be ready for Opening Day. … According to Marly Rivera of ESPN, Ronald Acuna Jr. (knee) is hopeful to make his 2022 season debut in May. … Willson Contreras told reporters Sunday that he hasn’t had any discussions with the Cubs regarding a long-term contract extension … Phillies manager Joe Girardi told reporters Sunday that Corey Knebel will be the team’s closer “for now”. … Girardi also added that Didi Gregorius and Bryson Stott will compete for the team’s starting shortstop position. … Brewers manager Craig Counsell told reporters on Sunday that Keston Hiura will begin seeing time in the outfield during spring training. … Joe Ross will be sidelined for 6-to-8 weeks after undergoing surgery to remove a bone spur in his right elbow. … Jeff Passan of ESPN reports that the Brewers are re-signing free agent right-hander Brad Boxberger to a one-year, $2.5 million contract. … Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that the Mets and free agent right-hander Adam Ottavino have agreed to a one-year, $4 million contract. … Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports that the Cubs are signing free agent right-hander Jesse Chavez. … According to Robert Murray of FanSided, the Dodgers have agreed to a one-year contract with free agent infielder Hanser Alberto. … According to Jon Heyman of the MLB Network, the Nationals are signing free agent right-hander Anibal Sanchez to a minor league contract. … Cardinals signed RHP Nick Wittgren to a one-year, $1.2 million contract. … Ehire Adrianza has agreed to a one-year contract with the Nationals. … Marlins signed C/INF Willians Astudillo and RHP Shawn Armstrong to minor league contracts with invitations to spring training. … Dodgers signed RHP’s Reyes Moronta and Yency Almonte to minor league contracts with invitations to spring training. … Cubs signed INF Robel Garcia to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training. … Giants claimed C Jose Godoy off of waivers from the Mariners. … Pirates claimed LHP Aaron Fletcher off of waivers from the Mariners. … Nationals signed RHP Erasmo Ramirez to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training.