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J.P. Feyereisen RP | LAD
Rays' J.P. Feyereisen: Requires shoulder surgery
Feyereisen underwent surgery on his right shoulder Wednesday to clean up his rotator cuff and labrum, and he's expected to be sidelined from throwing for four months, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Feyereisen was sidelined the final four months of last season due to a pinched nerve in his shoulder, and he'll now miss the start of the 2023 campaign while rehabbing from the surgery. The right-hander delivered 24.1 scoreless frames prior to the injury in 2022 and figures to fill a high-leverage role once healthy, but he's unlikely to be built up enough to pitch in the majors until at least June.
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Kenley Jansen RP | DET
Red Sox's Kenley Jansen: Catches on with Boston
Jansen and the Red Sox agreed Wednesday on a two-year, $32 million contract, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.
Even though the 35-year-old Jansen is on the downslope of his career, he remained a solid closer in 2022 with Atlanta, converting 41 of 48 save chances while posting a 3.38 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 85:22 K:BB in 64 innings. He'll now add some stability to the back end of the Boston bullpen, after the Red Sox had mostly taken a committee approach to the ninth inning last season. Jansen's contract and ample experience as a closer -- he'll enter 2023 with 391 career saves -- means he should have a decent amount of leash as Boston's ninth-inning man even if he endures some early struggles.
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Paul Sewald RP | TOR
Mariners' Paul Sewald: Requires elbow, heel surgeries
The Mariners announced Tuesday that Sewald recently underwent procedures on his elbow and heel, and he's expected to be healthy for the start of spring training, Corey Brock of The Athletic reports.
The elbow surgery was a clean-up procedure, so there shouldn't be any concern regarding Sewald's availability to open 2023. The right-hander led Seattle's closer committee with 20 saves last season and had a 2.67 ERA, 0.77 WHIP and 72:17 K:BB across 64 innings.
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Chad Smith RP | NYM
Athletics' Chad Smith: Traded to Oakland
Smith was traded to the Athletics from the Rockies in exchange for Jeff Criswell on Tuesday.
Smith received his first taste of major-league action in 2022, recording a 7.50 ERA and 1.72 WHIP over 18 innings out of the bullpen. Smith has always been able to strike out batters at an exceptional rate, though he's often struggled to limit walks.
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Tommy Kahnle RP | BOS
Yankees' Tommy Kahnle: Back in Bronx on two-year deal
Kahnle signed a two-year, $11.5 million deal with the Yankees on Tuesday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.
Kahnle owns a 3.78 career ERA across 290.1 major-league innings, but just 13.2 of those innings have come in the last three seasons, as he's dealt with Tommy John surgery and other arm troubles. The 33-year-old righty finds himself back in a spot where he's had success in the past, as he spent parts of four seasons as a Yankee, notably producing a 3.67 ERA and 35.5 percent strikeout rate in 2019. Kahnle has only five career saves and probably won't add too many to that total this season, but he could feature regularly in the seventh and eighth innings if he pitches well.
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Carlos Estevez RP | KC
Angels' Carlos Estevez: Signs with Angels
Estevez agreed to a free-agent deal with the Angels on Monday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.
Estevez will receive $13.5 million across the next two seasons, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The hard-throwing righty logged a 3.47 ERA and 1.18 WHIP in 57 innings for the Rockies in 2022. Estevez struck out less than a batter an inning and isn't a master of control, as he walked 23. Despite tallying just 13 saves between the last two seasons, he could be a top candidate to close games for Los Angeles.
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Cesar Valdez RP | LAA
Angels' Cesar Valdez: Lands with Angels
Valdez signed a minor-league deal with the Angels on Saturday, Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes reports.
Valdez spent the 2022 season with the Angels and pitched almost exclusively at Triple-A Salt Lake. He had success, posting a 3.94 ERA and 1.10 WHIP across 146.1 frames. Valdez will likely remain organizational depth for much of 2023, but he could get some spot starts with the big-league club.
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Chris Martin RP | TEX
Red Sox's Chris Martin: Signs with Red Sox
Martin signed a two-year, $17.5 million deal with the Red Sox on Friday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.
Coming off a nice 2022 campaign that saw Martin record a 3.05 ERA and 0.98 WHIP through 56 frames, the 36-year-old reliever will provide a nice boost to a Boston bullpen that turned in the fifth-worst ERA (4.59) in the league last season. Martin will more than likely be turned to often in high-leverage situations, so long as his age doesn't begin to catch up with him.
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Seth Johnson RP | ATH
Orioles' Seth Johnson: Eyeing late-season return
Johnson (elbow) said Tuesday that he will start his throwing program in mid-January with the goal of pitching in rehab games in the minors in August, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports. "Pretty much I can do everything except for actually throwing a baseball or throwing medicine balls. As far as upper-body lifts, I'm pretty much cleared for all that stuff," Johnson said. "I'm hoping to be able to pitch by next August, maybe in some Complex League games."
The Orioles acquired Johnson in a three-way trade-deadline deal with the Rays and Astros on Aug. 1, even though Baltimore had the knowledge that the right-hander was scheduled to undergo Tommy John surgery just two days later. Baltimore might have seen the impending procedure as an advantageous time to buy low on the 24-year-old, who impressed with a 3.00 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 41:11 K:BB in 27 innings over his seven starts at High-A Bowling Green in Tampa Bay's organization this past season before injuring his elbow. Johnson, who was added to the Orioles' 40-man roster earlier this month, appears to have thus far responded well to surgery, but he'll still spend most of the 2023 campaign in rehab mode. Even a small setback during his throwing program would likely prompt the Orioles to shut him down for the 2023 season with the hope of having him at 100 percent for spring training in 2024.
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Chris Devenski RP | PIT
Angels' Chris Devenski: Inks deal with Angels
Devenski signed a minor-league contract with the Angels on Monday, Sam Blum of The Athletic reports.
Devenski will receive another chance to get back on track after struggling to see consistent big-league action during his last three seasons. He's allowed 27 earned runs to go along with a 22:6 K:BB across 25.2 frames over his last three years in the big leagues, spending time in Houston, Arizona and Philadelphia. Per Jon Morosi of MLB Network, Devenski is set to compete for a spot on the Opening Day roster during spring training.