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Wes Parsons RP | CLE
Rockies' Wes Parsons: Re-signs with Rockies
Parsons signed a minor-league contract with the Rockies on Saturday, Kyle Newman of The Denver Post reports.
Parsons got his biggest taste of major-league experience in 2019 as he logged 34.2 innings with the Braves and Rockies, but he stumbled to a 5.45 ERA with a 26:29 K:BB. The bulk of his work will likely come at the Triple-A level next season, where he's been more effective over the past two seasons with a 3.11 ERA and 130:46 K:BB. The report doesn't explicitly say so, but it wouldn't be surprising to see the right-hander in major-league camp for spring training as a non-roster invitee.
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Wade Miley SP | CIN
Reds' Wade Miley: Inks deal with Reds
Miley agreed to a two-year, $15 million contract with Cincinnati on Monday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.
He could find himself in the No. 4 spot in the rotation with Luis Castillo, Trevor Bauer and Sonny Gray (elbow) likely filling the first three slots. The Reds have arguably the best rotation in the NL Central, although Miley is the lone southpaw. He enjoyed a 14-6 record in 2019 with the Astros, posting a 3.98 ERA and 1.34 WHIP with a 140:61 K:BB over 167.1 innings. Tyler Mahle probably gets squeezed into a swingman role, barring an injury or a trade.
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Rob Kaminsky RP | STL
Cardinals' Rob Kaminsky: Inks minor-league deal
Kaminsky signed a minor-league contract with the Cardinals on Thursday, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Kaminsky advanced to Triple-A Columbus in 2019, where he recorded a 5.11 ERA with a 1.65 WHIP. While the report doesn't explicitly say so, it wouldn't be surprising to see the 25-year-old get the chance to compete in the Cardinals' big-league camp in spring training. However, the southpaw likely needs to develop more before making his major-league debut.
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Michael Wacha SP | KC
Mets' Michael Wacha: Reaches deal with Mets
Wacha agreed to a one-year, $3 million contract with the Mets on Wednesday, Buster Olney of ESPN reports.
Wacha suffered a right shoulder strain in September that caused him to miss the Cardinals' postseason games, but he will likely perform as a back-end starter in the Mets' bullpen, pending a physical. The 28-year-old posted a 4.76 ERA with a career-worst 1.56 WHIP over 126.2 innings last season, but he has shown to be an effective starter in prior seasons.
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Kevin Gausman SP | CHC
Giants' Kevin Gausman: Signs with San Francisco
Gausman agreed to a one-year, $9 million contract with the Giants on Tuesday.
Gausman can earn a further $1 million in performance bonuses, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports. The righty has alternated between above-average and below-average ERAs in each of his seven seasons in the league, but his 2019 campaign was a particularly poor one in that category, as he slumped to a 5.72 ERA in 102.1 innings for the Braves and Reds. His 25.3 percent strikeout rate, 7.1 percent walk rate and 3.98 FIP were all considerably more encouraging, however, so the Giants have good reason to bet on a bounceback season in Gausman's age-29 campaign.
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Stephen Strasburg SP | WAS
Nationals' Stephen Strasburg: Remaining with Nationals
Strasburg agreed to a deal to return to the Nationals on Monday, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.
Strasburg will make $245 million over the course of seven years, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports. The deal potentially means the 2009 first overall pick will remain in Washington for the entirety of his career. Heading into his age-31 season, Strasburg doesn't look to be slowing down, as he posted a 3.32 ERA in 33 regular-season starts last year and followed that up with a stellar 1.98 ERA over 36.1 postseason innings.
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Chris Flexen RP | CHC
Mets' Chris Flexen: Designated for assignment
Flexen was designated for assignment by the Mets on Friday.
With Brad Brach returning to the club on a one-year deal, Flexen loses his 40-man spot and will now be subjected to waivers. Flexen was always a longshot to survive the winter on the Mets' roster, as he continued to struggle at the big-league level in 2019 despite an uptick in velocity and was not brought back in September when rosters expanded.
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Casey Crosby SP | MIN
Dodgers' Casey Crosby: Signs minor-league contract
Crosby signed a minor-league contract with the Dodgers that includes an invitation to spring training, J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles Daily News reports.
The 31-year-old last played in the minors in 2018, when he amassed a 2.95 ERA with a 25:23 K:BB over 21.1 innings across rookie ball, Double-A and Triple-A. Crosby spent last season playing independent baseball and performed well by posting a 1.74 ERA with a 1.26 WHIP over 46.2 innings. The southpaw will get a chance to develop in spring training, but it would be surprising to see him play a role in the majors in 2020.
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Zack Wheeler SP | PHI
Phillies' Zack Wheeler: Signs with Phillies
Wheeler signed a five year, $118 million deal with the Phillies on Wednesday, Marc Carig of The Athletic reports.
Wheeler will remain in the NL East, where he spent the first five seasons of his big-league career for the Mets. After an injury-filled start to his career, Wheeler has emerged as a solid starter over the last two seasons, averaging 30 starts per season while posting a 3.65 ERA and a 3.37 WHIP. He'll slot in next to Aaron Nola at the top of the Phillies' rotation.
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Cole Hamels SP | SD
Braves' Cole Hamels: Signs one-year deal with Atlanta
Hamels and the Braves agreed to a one-year, $18 million deal Wednesday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.
The veteran lefty will be back in the division where he started his career for his age-36 season. He's not the pitcher he was at his peak, but he's remained a stable option, posting ERAs of 3.78 and 3.81 in the last two seasons while striking out 23.3 percent and 23.2 percent of batters. He'll settle in as a mid-rotation starter in a young Braves rotation.