Rosenthal: Interest in free-agent Brandon Woodruff, plus Braves likely planning another move

In retrospect, the Milwaukee Brewers had little chance of trading right-hander Brandon Woodruff.

Teams were interested, according to major-league sources briefed on the Brewers’ discussions. But with Woodruff recovering from shoulder surgery, those clubs made negligible offers, figuring the Brewers would non-tender the pitcher and make him a free agent.

Advertisement

Which is exactly what happened Friday night.

Rather then accept the proverbial “bag of balls” or send Woodruff to a team he might not care to join, the Brewers declined to offer him a contract, enabling him to hit the open market. Their decision was perfectly understandable. Woodruff, 30, might not throw a single pitch next season, but his salary in arbitration likely would have exceeded $11 million.

Dr. Keith Meister performed surgery on Woodruff on Oct. 13, repairing the anterior capsule in his right shoulder. Depending upon whom you talk to, the range of Woodruff’s recovery will be anywhere from six to 18 months. But now that he is a free agent, he almost certainly will receive two-year offers.

MLB non-tender deadline: 10 most interesting players added to baseball’s free-agent pool ⤵️ https://t.co/RIs8JO90yb

— The Athletic MLB (@TheAthleticMLB) November 18, 2023

Woodruff’s agent, Bo McKinnis, attended a college football game Saturday, only to repeatedly see his cell phone light up with text messages from club executives. Even while injured, Woodruff is good enough to command that kind of attention. His 3.10 career ERA is the lowest in Brewers history, minimum 500 innings. And at some point, he figures to be healthy again.

“The outlook on him is outstanding,” McKinnis said. “From everything that Dr. Meister told us, he’s expecting a full recovery.”

Rehabilitations from shoulder operations, though, often are more challenging than those from elbow surgeries. The Brewers or any team that acquired and tendered Woodruff could have made him a qualifying offer at the end of next season and received a draft pick if he signed elsewhere. But Woodruff also could have taken that QO, obligating a team to pay him $20 million-plus in 2025 on top of his $11 million-plus in ‘24, without knowing when he will pitch again or how effective he will be.

Advertisement

One rival executive, speaking on condition of anonymity because the collective-bargaining agreement prohibits club officials from commenting on free agents, said, “$30 million plus for the unknown of ‘25 was crazy.” A team trading for Woodruff could have tried to sign him to a two-year deal before Friday’s deadline. But the chances of striking such an agreement, particularly as the deadline drew closer, would have been slim.

One way or another, then, a non-tender seemed almost inevitable. Coming off shoulder surgery, Woodruff might get less in free agency than Rays righty Tyler Glasnow did in his contract extension coming off a hybrid Tommy John/internal brace elbow procedure – two years, $30.35 million. But for a low-revenue team such as the Brewers, the price still might be prohibitive. Thus, Woodruff’s likely destination is a high-revenue team willing to entertain greater risk.

Something cooking in Atlanta?

A prominent agent often says, “There are no coincidences in baseball.” That phrase came to mind as the Braves conducted a stunning purge in recent days, trading seven players and non-tendering seven others.

A roster clean-up was necessary before Friday’s non-tender deadline. None of the players the Braves lost figured to make a major contribution to their club in 2024. But here’s the thing: The team saved nearly $14 million combined in projected arbitration salaries, according to MLB Trade Rumors, while creating 10 openings on their 40-man roster.

This likely means one thing: Incoming!

“These moves are calculated and for purpose,” said another agent, who spoke on condition of anonymity in order to share his candid thoughts. “One hundred percent.”

The Braves are motivated to acquire at least one front-line starter as they face the potential departures of lefty Max Fried and righty Charlie Morton after the 2024 season. I’ve written about how free-agent righty Aaron Nola is a potential fit. Righty Sonny Gray is, too. And the trade market includes the Brewers’ Corbin Burnes, Rays’ Tyler Glasnow, White Sox’s Dylan Cease and Guardians’ Shane Bieber.

GO DEEPER

The Athletic’s 2023-24 MLB Top 40 Free Agent Big Board: Tracking where they land

A plunge into free agency would appear more likely, considering that Baseball America ranked the Braves’ farm system 28th after the trade deadline and before their recent trades. But the open market, too, presents complications.

Advertisement

The Braves’ luxury-tax payroll currently stands at $232.3 million, according to Fangraphs, within $5 million of the first threshold for 2024. Nola and Gray both rejected qualifying offers. Signing either would put the Braves over the threshold and cost them their second and fifth draft picks, as well as $1 million in their international bonus pool. The Braves, though, would get a pick back after the fourth round in 2025 if Fried rejected a qualifying offer and signed with another club.

One thing seems certain: Alex Anthopoulos, the Braves’ president of baseball operations, is up to something. The question is what.

Manoah Musings

Some rival executives, speaking on condition of anonymity in order to avoid charges of tampering, say the Blue Jays are open to moving right-hander Alek Manoah. How open remains to be seen.

The relationship between Manoah and the Jays appeared to deteriorate last season, when the pitcher regressed from his stellar 2022 campaign. Manoah, 25, twice was sent to the minors and received platelet-rich plasma injections in his right arm to end his season.

Still, Jays general manager Ross Atkins talked boldly about Manoah at the GM meetings, saying he earned “the right to have a strong leg up” in the competition for the fifth starter behind Kevin Gausman, José Berríos, Chris Bassitt and Yusei Kikuchi.

The Jays’ rotation depth is prompting inquiries from other clubs. The team’s need for position players seemingly would make a move possible. Atkins mentioned Bowden Francis, Mitch White and Wes Parsons as alternatives for the rotation, and top prospect Ricky Tiedemann recently was named the Arizona Fall League’s Pitcher of the Year.

The problem with trading Manoah is that the Jays would be selling low, and giving up four remaining years of control. Kikuchi rebounded from a difficult 2022 to produce a 3.86 ERA over 32 starts in ‘23. The best move for the Jays might be betting on Manoah to do the same.

Advertisement

Re-emergence of “the San-chize?”

Is it possible for a catcher to ride the coattails of a Cy Young Award winner in free agency? We might be about to find out.

Entering his May 30 start against the Marlins, Padres left-hander Blake Snell had a 5.04 ERA. Gary Sánchez, newly claimed on waivers from the Mets, caught him that night and for 18 consecutive starts before the Phillies’ Jeff Hoffman fractured Sánchez’s right wrist with a pitch on Sept. 6, ending his season.

In those 18 starts, Snell had a 1.29 ERA in 105 innings, holding opposing hitters to a .508 OPS. On Wednesday night, he received 28 of 30 first-place votes in winning the NL Cy Young Award.

“I’ve always heard about him offensively, but I love him,” Snell said after beating the Cubs on June 5. “He blocked, like, a 97 mph fastball in the dirt. I threw a curveball and it hit the grass and he blocked it. I mean, I don’t see the problem. Even calling the game, we had a game plan, we executed. I even put a lot of trust in him, like, what do you want? Like, you tell me … I trust him on that. He’s smart.”

Sánchez, who turns 31 on Dec. 2, also hit for power with the Padres, producing 19 homers and a .792 OPS in 260 plate appearances despite a .218 batting average. The free-agent class is thin on catchers; Mitch Garver, who was more of a DH for the Rangers the past two seasons, is the only one among Jim Bowden’s top 40 free agents.

Sánchez’s work behind the plate, the subject of intense criticism during his days with the Yankees, should help him fare better than he did last offseason, when he signed a minor-league deal with the Giants just before Opening Day.

(Top photo of Brandon Woodruff: John Fisher / Getty Images)

ncG1vNJzZmismJqutbTLnquim16YvK57lGlubWhiaHxzfJFsZmppX2aGcLnLm2SfqpWaeqKzxKerZq%2BfpLGzwcWfZJuqkauytHnTq5idnaNk