EccentricATLFan
@eccentricatlfan.bsky.social
Musings about baseball, usually about the Braves, but also about other guys I find interesting.
A bit surprised they were able to get him, but makes sense. He works as a short-term backup, and if he were reduced to minors offers, at least he gets guaranteed money for the season.
February 10, 2026 at 3:58 PM
A bit surprised they were able to get him, but makes sense. He works as a short-term backup, and if he were reduced to minors offers, at least he gets guaranteed money for the season.
Doesn’t quite fit the “availability” criteria, but if it includes guys who were DFA’d this offseason, worth adding in Eric Wagaman for consideration. Underlying measures actually weren’t that bad on the whole, and while he was clearly stretched, the one thing he did well last year was whack lefties.
January 29, 2026 at 2:37 PM
Doesn’t quite fit the “availability” criteria, but if it includes guys who were DFA’d this offseason, worth adding in Eric Wagaman for consideration. Underlying measures actually weren’t that bad on the whole, and while he was clearly stretched, the one thing he did well last year was whack lefties.
Changeup’s even better than you might initially think. Not only is it excellent at catching hitters out front (well above average in attack direction), it’s also above average in the distance hitters miss making contact by when they do swing, which of course pairs well with his whiff rate.
January 28, 2026 at 6:29 PM
Changeup’s even better than you might initially think. Not only is it excellent at catching hitters out front (well above average in attack direction), it’s also above average in the distance hitters miss making contact by when they do swing, which of course pairs well with his whiff rate.
Also better pitch sequencing likely improves his K%, given how strong he is at getting whiffs. Plus, Rockies generally seem to be pretty bad as an org at converting whiffs into strikeouts, though Chivilli is easily an outlier even for them.
January 28, 2026 at 5:21 PM
Also better pitch sequencing likely improves his K%, given how strong he is at getting whiffs. Plus, Rockies generally seem to be pretty bad as an org at converting whiffs into strikeouts, though Chivilli is easily an outlier even for them.
Huge upside play for the Yankees. Just getting him out of the Rockies org should help, but he’s got an ENORMOUS Whiff%/K% mismatch that should improve with good sequencing, in addition to excellent measures on his changeup.
Potentially one of the bargain deals of the offseason.
Potentially one of the bargain deals of the offseason.
January 28, 2026 at 4:58 PM
Huge upside play for the Yankees. Just getting him out of the Rockies org should help, but he’s got an ENORMOUS Whiff%/K% mismatch that should improve with good sequencing, in addition to excellent measures on his changeup.
Potentially one of the bargain deals of the offseason.
Potentially one of the bargain deals of the offseason.
Nice job overall!
Just out of curiosity, how do you feel about the Mets’ Jonathan Santucci? Obviously some outlets aren’t the biggest on him, but seemed to have a very solid year in performance and stuff. Probably on the aggressive side, but any consideration for this list, even on the fringe side?
Just out of curiosity, how do you feel about the Mets’ Jonathan Santucci? Obviously some outlets aren’t the biggest on him, but seemed to have a very solid year in performance and stuff. Probably on the aggressive side, but any consideration for this list, even on the fringe side?
January 28, 2026 at 3:42 PM
Nice job overall!
Just out of curiosity, how do you feel about the Mets’ Jonathan Santucci? Obviously some outlets aren’t the biggest on him, but seemed to have a very solid year in performance and stuff. Probably on the aggressive side, but any consideration for this list, even on the fringe side?
Just out of curiosity, how do you feel about the Mets’ Jonathan Santucci? Obviously some outlets aren’t the biggest on him, but seemed to have a very solid year in performance and stuff. Probably on the aggressive side, but any consideration for this list, even on the fringe side?
It’ll be interesting see if they try to improve Gasper behind the plate. He’s not great there to begin with, but the bar to clear with the Nats is practically underground, and if he can improve to be tolerable behind the plate he’s likely a backup at worst.
Certainly worth a gamble, at least.
Certainly worth a gamble, at least.
January 20, 2026 at 9:18 PM
It’ll be interesting see if they try to improve Gasper behind the plate. He’s not great there to begin with, but the bar to clear with the Nats is practically underground, and if he can improve to be tolerable behind the plate he’s likely a backup at worst.
Certainly worth a gamble, at least.
Certainly worth a gamble, at least.
Okay, now that’s just being mean.
At least they have a modicum of talent in something unlike Weiss. (Unless you count how fast she’s ruined the reputation of CBS as a talent.)
At least they have a modicum of talent in something unlike Weiss. (Unless you count how fast she’s ruined the reputation of CBS as a talent.)
January 19, 2026 at 6:40 PM
Okay, now that’s just being mean.
At least they have a modicum of talent in something unlike Weiss. (Unless you count how fast she’s ruined the reputation of CBS as a talent.)
At least they have a modicum of talent in something unlike Weiss. (Unless you count how fast she’s ruined the reputation of CBS as a talent.)
That being said, key part will be how much do they utilize him as a pinch runner. If they’re more aggressive on that front than they were under Snit, that’ll be where they get the most value from him.
January 19, 2026 at 5:20 PM
That being said, key part will be how much do they utilize him as a pinch runner. If they’re more aggressive on that front than they were under Snit, that’ll be where they get the most value from him.
Not surprised that he didn’t get a $5 million guarantee like last year, but even with injuries I wouldn’t have guessed he’d have to settle for a minors deal. (Sure, FIP was high, but he got screwed by Yankee Stadium on a few homers.)
January 13, 2026 at 8:50 PM
Not surprised that he didn’t get a $5 million guarantee like last year, but even with injuries I wouldn’t have guessed he’d have to settle for a minors deal. (Sure, FIP was high, but he got screwed by Yankee Stadium on a few homers.)
Also improves the bench situation if Shaw moves there, because while the lineup has its strengths, the bench hasn’t exactly looked pretty this offseason. Hell, up until this move, Roster Resource had Scott Kingery projected to the majors bench because they weren’t exactly flush with options.
January 11, 2026 at 2:29 PM
Also improves the bench situation if Shaw moves there, because while the lineup has its strengths, the bench hasn’t exactly looked pretty this offseason. Hell, up until this move, Roster Resource had Scott Kingery projected to the majors bench because they weren’t exactly flush with options.
Plus, at a $4.25 million guarantee even with the buyout factored in, definitely a fine price to handle even if everything goes wrong with him.
January 10, 2026 at 9:33 PM
Plus, at a $4.25 million guarantee even with the buyout factored in, definitely a fine price to handle even if everything goes wrong with him.
Probably okay-ish as a guy to cycle through given his multi-inning ability and, more importantly, how his slider was a whiff machine in AAA last year.
That being said, probably ends up passing through waivers successfully at some point before Opening Day.
That being said, probably ends up passing through waivers successfully at some point before Opening Day.
January 9, 2026 at 9:00 PM
Probably okay-ish as a guy to cycle through given his multi-inning ability and, more importantly, how his slider was a whiff machine in AAA last year.
That being said, probably ends up passing through waivers successfully at some point before Opening Day.
That being said, probably ends up passing through waivers successfully at some point before Opening Day.
Well, looks like they’ll have to wait a bit longer to add to that history…
January 3, 2026 at 6:43 PM
Well, looks like they’ll have to wait a bit longer to add to that history…
Whacks lefties just fine, and his Savant page actually is okay-ish given his overall production. Probably nothing comes of it, but definitely worth a shot.
January 2, 2026 at 8:07 PM
Whacks lefties just fine, and his Savant page actually is okay-ish given his overall production. Probably nothing comes of it, but definitely worth a shot.
Fair point re: Robert, though it’s worth pointing out they’ve been better at trading players outside of him in the past couple years. Plus, the “good trade chip” part was with the qualifier of him generally panning out to begin with.
December 21, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Fair point re: Robert, though it’s worth pointing out they’ve been better at trading players outside of him in the past couple years. Plus, the “good trade chip” part was with the qualifier of him generally panning out to begin with.
2/34. Makes him a good extension candidate if he pans out, a good trade chip if he works but can’t agree on an extension, and White Sox books are still basically clear post-2027 if he bombs.
December 21, 2025 at 3:41 PM
2/34. Makes him a good extension candidate if he pans out, a good trade chip if he works but can’t agree on an extension, and White Sox books are still basically clear post-2027 if he bombs.
Plus, even if he completely bombs, the contract being a two-year deal means they still have zero guaranteed money on the books after 2027.
Personally wary about how he’ll do with the whiffs, but between the contract terms and roster fit, hard to really find fault with this deal. Worthwhile gamble.
Personally wary about how he’ll do with the whiffs, but between the contract terms and roster fit, hard to really find fault with this deal. Worthwhile gamble.
December 21, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Plus, even if he completely bombs, the contract being a two-year deal means they still have zero guaranteed money on the books after 2027.
Personally wary about how he’ll do with the whiffs, but between the contract terms and roster fit, hard to really find fault with this deal. Worthwhile gamble.
Personally wary about how he’ll do with the whiffs, but between the contract terms and roster fit, hard to really find fault with this deal. Worthwhile gamble.
Sure, why not? Worst case, they cut him without too much cost, and if he pans out then it bolsters the pen’s depth. Makes sense especially given their focus over the years on high-whiff breakers.
December 20, 2025 at 10:18 AM
Sure, why not? Worst case, they cut him without too much cost, and if he pans out then it bolsters the pen’s depth. Makes sense especially given their focus over the years on high-whiff breakers.
As someone on the very optimistic side of him, what I like is combo of how the pitches looks out of hand and the drastically different areas that his 4S/SI/SL combo work in. (Plus, worth pointing out both PitchingBot and Stuff+ also like the locations of the sinker and slider.)
December 19, 2025 at 5:32 PM
As someone on the very optimistic side of him, what I like is combo of how the pitches looks out of hand and the drastically different areas that his 4S/SI/SL combo work in. (Plus, worth pointing out both PitchingBot and Stuff+ also like the locations of the sinker and slider.)