North Shore Tavern Mound Visit: 10 minor-league free agents worth signing

The offseason is in full swing and will ramp up next week during the Winter Meetings, where dozens of trades and free agent deals will be announced or completed.

But as we all know, there’s plenty of offseason to go, and not every move is high profile, or even major league.

Today, we’re going to be taking a look at the players who are available via free agency not because they accumulated enough service time, were designated for assignment or were non-tendered. They are the minor-league free agents. Some have major-league experience, and some are trying to get their first call up to the show.

I found 10 players who could contribute to a major-league team and put a Pirate spin on it on how they could help the 2023 team. 

Yusniel Díaz, OF

Díaz, 26, once ranked as one of the Dodgers’ top prospects and commanded a $15.5 million signing bonus coming out of Cuba. One of the main players in the trade that sent Manny Machado from the Orioles to the Dodgers in 2018, Díaz started strong with his new club but had an absolutely abysmal 2021 season, posting a .476 OPS over 54 games in Class AAA. He improved in 2022, but still had a below-average 93 wRC+ at the highest level of the minors.

There’s things to iron out with his load and swing, but a change of scenery can sometimes bring about those changes. He has a plus arm and could provide right-handed extra-base power. Given the Pirates’ collection of left-handed hitting corner outfielders, he could at least provide some variety.

Brent Honeywell, RHP

If you ever wondered whatever happened to screwball pitchers, look at what happened to Brent Honeywell.

Once ranked as the No. 14 prospect in the game by Baseball America in 2018, Honeywell underwent four arm surgeries before he made his major-league debut in 2021. That turned out to be just a three game cameo, and Honeywell has battled injuries while posting middling results each of the last two years with the Rays and Athletics.

With that said, he was still touching 95 with the Athletics during a rehab assignment late this season and still has that screwball in reserve:

I don’t blame anyone for being skeptical of a pitcher that hasn’t accumulated 100 professional innings since the start of the 2018 season, but he was once one of the top pitching prospects in the game and he’s finally getting back on the mound. He’s not worth guaranteeing a roster spot, but a minor-league gig? That’s the low-risk deal that could keep him in the league.

Alec Mills, RHP

Every other pitcher on this list is a reliever at best. Mills is a depth starter, a swingman or a hybrid pitcher, if the Pirates revive that experiment in 2023.

Mills turns 31 later this month, so what you see is more or less what you get. He’s a soft-tossing right-hander who barely cracks 90 mph on a good day, and while the slider gets good spin and can miss bats, he is hardly a strikeout pitcher. He relies on ground balls and good command, which is how he threw a no-hitter back in 2020. A back injury limited him to seven major-league appearances this past year and ultimately required surgery.

Just about every team needs to turn to a Jerad Eickhoff at some point or another. Mills’ stuff at least offers a little overlap between some of the starters-turned relievers who clicked with the Pirates, like Chase De Jong and WIl Crowe.

Sean Newcomb, LHP

Former first round picks and former top 100 prospects get extra chances. Pitchers with a ton of spin get extra chances. Left-handers especially get extra chances. Newcomb checks all of these boxes.

Newcomb never panned out as a starter, but posted a respectable 3.68 ERA or 4.01 FIP in 85 ⅔ innings out of the Braves’ bullpen in 2019 and 2021. That came along with a solid strikeout rate (26.3%) and an ugly walk rate (12.3%), which ultimately led the Braves to moving on from him.

This past year with the Cubs was a disaster, where he posted an 8.78 ERA over 20 appearances. We’ve seen him shift away from his curveball to his cutter last year, and while it doesn’t look like he knew where the curve was going, it still has plus spin when he has a feel for it. Mix in 94 mph heat and he’s a potential reclamation lefty out of the bullpen.

José Peraza, INF

I’m putting Peraza on this list less because of his potential upside and more practicality with the Pirates’ roster. Ben Cherington has said he is open to adding another middle infielder after trading away Kevin Newman. Here’s a middle infielder with a good chunk of major-league experience.

Peraza did once have a 3 WAR season with the Reds in 2018 whenever he posted average offensive results, 23 stolen bases and eight Outs Above Average at the shortstop position. He hasn’t come close to matching a season like that, and actually failed to crack the majors with the Yankees or Red Sox this past season.

Still, he is 28, he has played every position besides first base and catcher in the majors and he has shown at times that he can be a competent major-league hitter. Acquiring middle infield depth without having to sacrifice a roster spot now is a decent low-risk investment.

Ángel Perdomo, LHP

A classic example of a pitcher with really good minor-league numbers and some intriguing stuff, but someone who has not put it together in his major-league cameos. Perdomo, 28, recorded a 1.97 ERA and 53 strikeouts over 32 innings for the Brewers and Rays’ Class AAA affiliates in 2022, never cracking the majors. In 2021 with the Brewers, he flashed a fastball that averaged 94 mph and nearly 2,500 RPM, as well as a high-spin slider (2,659 RPM average). He was incredibly wild (16 walks and two hit batters in 17 innings pitched) and the command will probably always be sub-par, but there’s some stuff here.

The Pirates don’t have a lefty on their 40 man roster, so someone like Perdomo (or Newcomb) could at least give them an option in spring training. 

Hudson Potts, 3B/1B

A former first-round pick in 2016, Potts was once one of the better prospects in a crowded Padres farm system, but he hit a major bump in the road when trying to make the jump to Class AA. After getting a brief call up to that level in 2018, he spent all of 2019 there, posting middling results. When minor-league baseball resumed in 2021, he was still in AA, and then returned there for almost all of 2022. This past year, he struck out in over 30% of his plate appearances, had a sub-.300 OBP and a downright average 101 wRC+.

So why is he on this list? Well, he’s still just 24. He was really young in those first turns in AA, and he still possesses incredible raw power:

Perhaps a change in scenery can help. If nothing else, the Pirates could use a right-handed first baseman in the mix if they lose Malcom Nunez to the Rule 5 draft. Even if Nunez stays, Potts offers some competition and depth at a position that’s been an area of focus this winter.

Franmil Reyes, OF

By far the most accomplished player on this list, I hesitated to include Reyes since it seems plausible that he could get a major-league deal this winter. Still, he is a free agent via minor-league free agency, so I hereby dub him a minor-league free agent.

Reyes, 27, is a one-trick pony: He’s got pop. He hit 37 homers in 2019 and 30 homers with a .522 slugging percentage over 115 games for Cleveland in 2021. That power does come with a middling on-base percentage and 30% strikeout rate, but for years, that was a trade worth making. That was until 2022, when he slashed just .221/.273/.365 with 14 home runs over 473 plate appearances for the Guardians and Cubs. He did mash lefties with the Cubs down the homestretch, but it’s way too small a sample size to take too seriously.

If Reyes’ market never heats up and he concedes he needs to take a minor-league deal, then I’d imagine he’d be a very popular minor-league free agent. The Pirates desperately need some right-handed power, and if he rebounds, he could be an incredible steal. They did pass on him when he was on waivers in August, but plans can change in a couple months. If Reyes hits, he’ll be under team control for another year. If he doesn’t, it was a very low-risk move. Personally, I would be willing to give him a major-league deal.

Julio E. Rodriguez, C

Every team needs to bring in at least one or two catchers on minor-league deals for spring training alone. Pitchers need to get loose and they need bodies. Rodriguez is 25, so he should be looking for more than a spring gig and a spot in AAA. The Pirates have a pair of excellent catcher prospects who are in line to make their major-league debuts next year (Endy Rodriguez and Henry Davis), but their opening day catching situation looks grim. Maybe they could offer a real chance at the majors.

Rodriguez has yet to hit AAA, but he posted a strong 116 wRC+ for the Cardinals’ Class AA affiliate this past season. He was listed in the back half of Baseball America’s top 30 Cardinals prospects each of the last three years and he has a strong arm behind the plate, throwing out 22 of 50 potential base stealers his last two years in AA.

Rodriguez and Davis are the future of Pirates catching, but having another good glove in the mix can only be a plus.

Aneurys Zabala, RHP

Zabala has triple-digit heat and a curveball with over 2,600 RPM of spin. He also had a 9.51 ERA and 10.7 BB/9 over 23 ⅔ innings for the Marlins’ Class AAA affiliate last year. You can see why he didn’t the majors.

You have to go all the way back to 2018 for the last time he posted an ERA under 5.50 in a season, so yes, he is wild and gets hit hard. Triple digits heat and high spin breaking balls aren’t quite as rare as they once were, but it should still turn heads. These are just my observations, but it looks like his arm is dragging behind in his motion and he doesn’t take a good step towards home. Maybe some mechanical tweaks can help his command

Stashing him in the minors and seeing if he can clean some things up and cut his ERA to a third of what it was last year might be worth the look.