MLB

The deal was first reported by The Athletic’s Jim Bowden last week, but the Dodgers had to clear room on their 40-man roster before they could officially sign Kelly. With this morning’s trade that sent Victor Gonzalez and Jorbit Vivas to the Yankees, the Dodgers now have that space. Kelly had an up-and-down 2023 season, with a 4.12 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, and 60/18 K/BB ratio in 39 1/3 innings slit between the Dodgers and White Sox, but he thrived when he was back in Los Angeles, finishing the season with a 1.74 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, and a 19/6 K/BB ratio over 10 1/3 innings in 11 appearances with the Dodgers. He figures to remain a key set-up man for them in 2024.

The deal was reported yesterday by Jeff Passan as a one-year, $5 million contract and is now official with the Royals designating Collin Snider for assignment to clear space on the 40-man roster. Smith started the year strong in 2023, pitching to a 3.06 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, and 35/8 K/BB ratio in 32 1/3 innings in the first half of the season. He also earned the closer’s job in Texas during that time and registered 14 saves prior to July 1st. However, in 25 second-half innings, Smith had a 6.12 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, and 20/9 K/BB ratio and was a non-factor in the Rangers’ postseason run, pitching just 3 1/3 innings with a 10.80 ERA. The Royals will hope that the 34-year-old can recapture some of that early season magic and will likely give him a chance to earn save opportunities as well.

The move clears space on the 40-man roster for newly signed reliever Will Smith. The 28-year-old Snider had a 4.87 ERA, 1.82 WHIP, and 11/13 K/BB ratio in 20 1/3 innings for the Royals in 2023. He has a career 5.93 MLB ERA in 54 2/3 innings, but has a high-90s fastball that averaged 95.9 mph, so there’s a chance he finds a minor league opportunity somewhere or even comes back to the Royals and rejoins their farm system.

It had previously been reported that Mets owner Steve Cohen had met with Yamamoto in Japan and that the Yankees were meeting with him on Monday, so this is now just the third confirmed meeting for Yamamoto as he begins what should be an eventful few weeks. The 25-year-old free agent figures to be the top remaining free agent now that Shohei Ohtani has signed with some reporters speculating that he will sign a contract upwards of $300 million. Most contending teams are said to be “in on” Yamamoto, so we should hear plenty of reports about other meetings in the future.

The Royals have been linked to a handful of veteran right-handed starters like Wacha, Lucas Giolito, Marcus Stroman, and Jack Flaherty. Wacha would seem to be a more reasonable target as the 32-year-old doesn’t seem likely to command a large contract despite a strong season in 2023 that saw him register a 14-4 with a 3.22 ERA and 1.16 WHIP over 24 starts. That’s after a strong 2022 season where he went 11-2 with a 3.32 ERA and 1.12 WHIP with the Red Sox. Wacha has leaned more heavily on his change-up over that span, which has fueled a mini career rebound. He figures to be a solid rotation piece for whichever teams signs him this off-season.

The Dodgers needed to clear two spots on the 40-man roster for Joe Kelly and Shohei Ohtani, so they dealt two players on the 40-man roster - González and Vivas - for one who isn’t. Sweeney was the 8th-ranked prospect in the Yankees system, according to MLB Pipeline. The 23-year-old shortstop was the 20th overall pick in the 2021 draft, and he hit .252/.367/.411 in Double-A last year with 13 home runs and 20 steals. While Vivas is the more advanced hitter at the moment, Sweeney has plus raw tools and the potential to grow into more power which will make him a solid starting infielder at the big league level. Given that the Dodgers don’t have room in their current MLB lineup and are loaded with INF prospects like Michael Busch, it could be a couple years before we see Sweeney crack the Dodgers’ MLB roster.

Vivas is a high contact rate hitter with an 81 percent contact rate and a career 15.4 percent minor league strikeout rate. In 612 plate appearances between Double-A and Triple-A in 2023, Vivas posted a .269/.381/.407 triple slash with 13 home runs and 25 stolen bases. He likely won’t be more than a 10 home run hitter at the major league level, but Vivas is a solid defender at both second base and third base and profiles as a high floor utility infielder who has more real-life value than fantasy value.

Both González and Vivas were on the 40-man roster, and the Dodgers needed to clear two roster spots for Shohei Ohtani and Joe Kelly. González is a 28-year-old reliever who pitched to a 4.01 ERA and 1.10 WHIP in 33 2/3 innings last year with a 30/10 K/BB ratio. Victor González had a 2.70 ERA during the Dodger’s 2020 playoff run that ended in a World Series win. He has an elite 58.1 percent career ground ball rate and induces a lot of to weak contact while holding lefties to a .209 batting average and .282 slugging percentage in his career. He has three years of team control with one MiLB option left and is projected to make $1M in 2023.

Tinoco, 28, had a 2.18 ERA in 20 2/3 innings for the Rangers in 2022 before spending last year in Japan and posting a 2.83 ERA in 35 innings for the Seibu Lions. That wasn’t enough to get him a major league deal as a free agent, but one imagines he’ll get a long look in the bullpen competition next spring.

The 28-year-old Ryan made his major league debut with the Mariners last season, throwing a scoreless inning in his lone appearance. A sinker-slider guy who works in the 92-96 mph range, he should be in the mix for a bullpen spot. He had a 3.76 ERA and a 56/22 K/BB ratio for Triple-A Tacoma in 2023.