Minor League Free Agency Updates
Catching up on 2021 OKC players who have found new teams and those who have joined the Dodgers organization this offseason
Although Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association have been engaged in a labor dispute, minor league free agency has been able to proceed throughout this offseason. Players who are not currently on a Major League 40-man roster — and thus not currently part of the MLBPA — have been able to sign minor league contracts even while the lockout has been going on.
Let’s take a look at where some familiar names from the 2021 OKC Dodgers are headed for the 2022 season, as well as some new additions to the organization. A few things to note before we start:
- This only covers players who qualified for minor league free agency following the 2021 season. Players who are not on the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 40-man roster but are still on the their first Uniform Player Contract (UPC) remain in the Dodgers organization (e.g. pitcher Ryan Pepiot, outfielder Drew Avans, infielder Omar Estévez). This also will not cover players who left the organization as part of a Major League transaction (e.g. outfielder Zach Reks acquired by the Texas Rangers).
- All of the signings have appeared on MLB’s official transactions page or have been reported by Baseball America.
- Just because one of the players listed here has signed a minor league contract with the Dodgers does not guarantee he will play for Oklahoma City this season. Free agents tend to be veteran players who obviously are hoping to make the Major League team, but they could also be assigned to another Minor League affiliate. Ultimately the likelihood is high these will players suit up for OKC in 2022.
- Minor league free agency is a year-round process and will continue throughout the remainder of the offseason as well as even during season.
Departures
Anthony Bemboom — Baltimore Orioles
Bemboom was claimed off waivers from the Angels in early August when the Dodgers were looking for catching depth following the trade of Keibert Ruiz. The 32-year-old struggled at the plate during his time with OKC, but he has a longstanding reputation for his skills behind the plate.
Matt Davidson — Arizona Diamondbacks
Davidson led OKC with 28 homers and 84 RBI despite playing in only 84 of the team’s 129 games. He was also among the league leaders in SLG (.629) and OPS (.994). Once he recovered from an early-season injury, Davidson was unquestionably one of Triple-A West’s best hitters over the final three months of the season. He has now signed with the organization that originally signed him and selected him with the 35th overall pick of the 2009 MLB Draft. If he does not make the roster of a rebuilding Diamondbacks team, he could put up monster numbers in the hitter’s heaven known as Reno.
Cristian Santana — Cincinnati Reds
Santana batted .311 over 91 games and led OKC with 103 hits. After spending his entire pro career in the Dodgers organization since signing out of the Dominican Republic in 2014, the corner infielder now heads to the Reds.
Markus Solbach — Detroit Tigers
The German-born and -developed Solbach has signed with the team that helped him fall in love with the game of baseball. Click here to read more about Solbach’s journey.
Nick Tropeano — Texas Rangers
Tropeano played for three organizations last season, making appearances in the Majors with two of them (Giants and Mets). His spent the final two months of the season in OKC after signing with the Dodgers in early August, marking his second career stint in Bricktown (2014).
Aaron Wilkerson — Hanshin Tigers (NPB)
Wilkerson had an outstanding 2021 season, leading the league in ERA (3.86), strikeouts (125), WHIP (1.09) and opponent batting average (.235). Yet, he didn’t win league pitcher of the year because ballots had to be submitted over two weeks before the end of the season…but that’s a whole other topic for discussion.
The big season earned him a contract with the Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professional Baseball — the highest pro league in Japan.
Tim Federowicz — Tacoma Rainers (Manager)
This isn’t a player signing, but a noteworthy update. After spending part of last season with OKC and Team USA during the Olympic Games and Olympic qualifying tournament, Federowicz decided to retire following a 14-year playing career.
He was quickly hired by the Seattle Mariners and named as their Triple-A manager with Tacoma. The Dodgers and Rainiers are set to play each other July 12–17 in Tacoma and Sept. 6–11 in Oklahoma City.
Returners (Re-Signed)
Yefry Ramírez
Aside from a one-game cameo with the Los Angeles Dodgers Aug. 1, Ramírez was a staple in OKC’s starting rotation, logging a team-high 22 starts and 113.0 innings. He certainly took a shine to Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, posting 2.92 ERA, .221 BAA and 1.22 WHIP over 16 games (14 starts) in OKC.
Hamlet Marte
Primarily serving as the team’s third catcher, Marte didn’t receive a ton of playing time, appearing in only 38 games. But Marte has an infectious personality and is a hard-working, true team player. Having those traits will keep you employed in professional baseball for a long time.
New Arrivals
Eddy Alvarez
Alvarez has a fascinating background. Although he grew up in the baseball hotbed of south Florida, Alvarez’s first athletic pursuit was speed skating and he even won a silver medal in the 5,000-meter relay during the 2014 Winter Olympics.
Alvarez began his pro baseball career later that year in the White Sox organization and has appeared with the Miami Marlins in each of the last two seasons, totaling 36 games.
He made further history this past summer, winning a silver medal with Team USA in baseball and is now only one of three American athletes ever to medal at both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games. To make his experience in Tokyo even more special, he was chosen as the United States’ flag bearer during the opening ceremonies.
A utility infielder, Alvarez is a career .281/.380/.418 hitter in the Minors.
Beau Burrows
A right-handed pitcher, Burrows was selected with the 22nd overall pick of the 2015 MLB Draft by the Detroit Tigers out high school in Weatherford, Texas. He made his Major League debut with the Tigers in 2020 and split last year between the Tigers and Twins organizations, mostly at Triple-A.
Primarily a starting pitcher, Burrows has a 3.79 ERA and 1.29 WHIP with 498 strikeouts in 535.2 innings during his Minor League career.
Sam Gaviglio
Of the five players highlighted in this section, Gaviglio has arguably the most extensive Major League experience, appearing in 98 games (37 starts) and notching 296.2 innings with the Mariners, Royals and Blue Jays between 2017–19.
Last season, Gaviglio began the year with the Rangers organization at Triple-A Round Rock. But he only made five starts before heading overseas to play in Korea for SSG Landers of the KBO, where he made 15 more starts.
He owns a career 3.98 ERA and 1.24 WHIP during his time in the Minors.
Jason Martin
Like Gaviglio, the OKC Dodgers saw Martin last season with Round Rock. Most of his 2021 was spent with the Rangers as a reserve outfielder, appearing in 58 games with Texas and 39 with Round Rock. Martin’s overall numbers with the Rangers were not tremendous, but he did hit six home runs for Texas and posted an impressive .931 OPS when playing at Triple-A.
Martin has seen time in the Majors in each of the past three seasons with the Pirates and Rangers, totaling 85 games. A 28-year-old originally from Southern California, Martin began his pro career in 2013 after signing with the Astros out of powerhouse Orange Lutheran High School.
Tomás Telis
Telis is a 30-year-old catcher from Venezuela who has spent the last several seasons between Triple-A and the Majors. He made his MLB debut in 2014 with the Rangers, but the bulk of his big league service time was with the Marlins between 2015–18. Telis has 122 career ML games and 252 at-bats to his name.
He comes to the Dodgers after spending the past three years in the Twins organization, but exclusively at Triple-A, or in the case of 2020, the Alternate Training Site. Last season, Telis led St. Paul with 125 hits in 101 games and hit a career-best 12 homers.
TBD
The following 2021 Oklahoma City players are still free agents as of the original publication date (Feb. 3):
Pitchers — Austin Bibens-Dirkx, Mike Kickham, Ryan Meisinger, Vidal Nuño, James Pazos, Kevin Quackenbush, Andrew Schwaab, Bobby Wahl
Infielders — Carlos Asuaje, Elliot Soto
Catcher — Tony Wolters
Do you happen to know of any transactions we missed? If so, please leave them in the comments.
