After a few months in limbo, Jordan Lyles’ one-year contract with the Orioles finally became official today. The righty reached an agreement with the O’s just hours before the lockout halted all offseason business, and thus Lyles wasn’t able to get a physical and fully finalize his new contract. Lyles will receive $7MM in guaranteed money, which breaks down as a $500K signing bonus and a $5.5MM salary for 2022, as per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (Twitter link). This would also mean that there is a $1MM buyout of Baltimore’s club option on Lyles for 2023, and Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports that the Orioles’ option is worth $11MM.
More from around baseball….
- Top Rangers prospect Josh Jung could miss the entire season due to shoulder surgery, and the Rangers traded Isiah Kiner-Falefa to the Twins earlier today. Despite these two losses, Rangers president of operations Jon Daniels told reporters (including Jeff Wilson) that the club wasn’t intending to make a big investment at third base going forward. This would mean that Texas is going to roll with internal options like Yonny Hernandez, Andy Ibanez, Nick Solak or possibly some minor league infielders that could make their MLB debuts at some point in the season. Or, given how aggressive the Rangers have been in revamping their roster this winter, it could be that Daniels was just engaging in some gamesmanship, and is on the lookout for some more established third base help.
- The Dodgers had interest in Chris Bassitt before the lockout, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. It isn’t known whether Los Angeles got in touch with the A’s about Bassitt again once the transactions freeze was lifted, but it’s now a moot point, as the A’s dealt Bassitt to the Mets earlier today. With Bassitt off the table, starting pitching continues to be a target for the Dodgers, even after re-signing Clayton Kershaw on Friday and adding Andrew Heaney back in November.
- Pitching has also been the Blue Jays’ primary offseason focus to date, with the Jays signing Kevin Gausman and Yusei Kikuchi, and also locking up Jose Berrios to a contract extension. However, Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith writes that Toronto will likely still explore infielders in trades and signings. It has been assume that the Jays will target a second or third baseman this winter, with some combination of Cavan Biggio and Santiago Espinal handling whichever infield spot isn’t covered by a new arrival.
- Free agent hurlers Anibal Sanchez, Julio Teheran, and Erasmo Ramirez all threw during a showcase for scouts today in Miami, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (Twitter links). One unknown team was impressed enough by Sanchez’s performance that they made a contract offer to the veteran right-hander almost immediately after he left the mound. The Nationals (as per Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post) and Tigers (as per MLB.com’s Jason Beck) were among the teams who had evaluators at the showcase, though it isn’t known if this was just due diligence or because of a specific interest in any of the three pitchers. Sanchez is both a former National and a former Tiger, while both Teheran and Ramirez pitched for Detroit just last season.