Right-hander John Axford has elected free agency after refusing an outright assignment from the Rockies following last week’s DFA, the club announced. Also electing free agency today from last Friday’s wave of DFAs were outfielder Daniel Nava and right-hander Brandon Gomes, both of whom were designated for assignment by the Rays.
Axford, 32, was perhaps the most surprising of the bunch to be designated for assignment. The right-hander spent much of the season as Colorado’s closer and worked to generally successful results. Axford admittedly struggled through a dreadful stretch that lasted nearly two months and saw him yield 19 runs in 17 2/3 innings, but he was dominant outside of that spell (seven earned runs in 38 innings).
All told, the veteran righty finished with a 4.20 ERA, 3.57 FIP, 10.0 K/9, 5.2 BB/9 and a career-best 56.1 percent ground-ball rate. Axford did carry a hefty $6.5MM arbitration projection (courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz), but his production, when considering his home park, was 11 percent better than the league-average (by measure of ERA+). Fangraphs’ FIP- pegged him at 15 percent better than league average. Axford may not land a guarantee as large as his arbitration projection, but he does figure to draw some Major League offers this winter.
Nava, 33 in February, suffered through the worst season of his career but has been a regular or semi-regular contributor in each season dating back to 2010 (primarily with Boston). The switch-hitter batted only .194/.315/.245 in 166 plate appearances between the Red Sox and Rays this year but is a career .265/.358/.383 hitter overall and sports an even more impressive .281/.377/.409 batting line against right-handed pitching. Nava’s track record against righties and history of above-average defense in the outfield corners should at least generate interest in him as a platoon option. He had been projected to earn $1.9MM.
As for Gomes, the 31-year-old has been a frequent contributor to the Tampa Bay bullpen over the past five seasons, amassing a career 4.20 ERA in 167 innings — 59 of which came in 2015 (a career high). Gomes has averaged 7.8 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 with a 32.7 percent ground-ball rate and a 91 mph average fastball as a big leaguer. His lack of ground-balls and susceptibility to home runs makes him a better fit for a team in a large park (and certainly one away from the AL East’s collection of relatively small stadiums), but Gomes has a useful track record and should at the very least lock down an invitation to big league Spring Training with a real chance to crack the bullpen somewhere this winter. He’d been projected at $900K for the 2016 season.
Jays should look in on Nava to come off the bench, most of their outfielders hit from the left side..he would provide some much needed depth..Axford is canadian maybe they can find him a job selling hot dogs in the upper decks
Nava has historically been a better left handed than right handed hitter. Not a great fit for a team looking for a right handed bat.
The Red Sox need a 4th OF… a switch hitter can spell both Bradley and/or Castillo… a player who can play in Boston… #SuperNava
Axford is perfect fit for Padres.
Why? Padres pen is pretty stacked still, even after some trades, and they’re trying to free up money for hitters, not spend it on more pitching.
would he really cost all that much? should be a place for him in the SD pen
8th, 9th inning guys that can get outs especially strikeouts are nice to have. Reunite him with Trever Hoffman kinda + pitching half of his appearances in Petco instead of Colorado – go get him Preller
In an off-season with a half dozen closers changing teams; big miss on Bridich for not getting anything in return for Axford
“Half a dozen closers changing teams” is precisly why the Rockies couldn’t get something for Ax. They’re all better than him (he’s not really a closer, more of a $6.5m set-up man, which is pricey for nearly everyone).
He will end up with a closing opportunity, and no reason he couldn’t have been dealt as late as August.
The braves could use axford. Good veteran presence in a young inexperienced bullpen
Nava though a key contributor in 13 he really struggled in 14-15 thus being dfa’d so I don’t see a reunion happening with him . I’d guess Rajai Davis who has ties with both DD and Farrell will be the guy I’d expect to see as a 4th outfielder
I have a couple of procedural questions about outrighting. If a player accepts an outright assignment (or lacks the seniority to reject it), how is his salary set next season? An arbitration-eligible player wouldn’t still be eligible? And, there is no barrier to a team resigning a player that rejects an outlight assignment even in the offiseason, right? I’m just thinking that outrighting seems like a better way to remove a player from the 40-man roster after the season than releasing the player, where the team cannot re-sign him until May, or waiting until the tender deadline in December and not gaining the roster spot before the Rule 5 draft