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Archives for January 2018

Jay Bruce Nearing Agreement With Unreported Team

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Free-agent outfielder Jay Bruce is closing in on an agreement with a yet-unreported team, per ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick (Twitter link). The deal “should be completed tonight,” however, according to Crasnick, so it may not be long before some additional light is shed on the matter. Bruce is represented by Sosnick, Cobbe & Karon.

Notably, Mike Puma of the New York Post tweeted earlier today that the Mets have been in recent touch with Bruce’s camp. While Puma didn’t imply that anything was close to fruition between the two sides, he did note that Bruce is still “very much a possibility” for the Mets. Bruce has also been prominently linked to the Giants in recent weeks.

Agent Jason Wood Fired From Agency, Suspended By MLBPA

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6:48pm: Evan Drellich of NBC Sports Boston reports that Benintendi is not involved in the allegations against Wood. To this point, law enforcement is not involved in the matter, either. Drellich notes that a source “confirmed the nature of the allegation” to him.

6:12pm: Wood reached out to Passan to issue a staunch denial of the reported allegations against him (Twitter link):

“The allegations that have surfaced today are absurd and untrue. Over the past 13 years I have worked tirelessly to build a successful agency through integrity and hard work. I am disappointed that there are those who have chosen to spread such irresponsible and harmful rumors.”

3:27pm: Certified player agent Jason Wood has been fired from his post as head of the baseball division of the Career Sports Entertainment agency and suspended by the MLB Player’s Association, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports on Twitter. As Passan notes, and Robert Murray of Fan Rag Sports reports in more detail, Wood stands accused of using a hidden camera on his own clients.

Clearly, it’s premature to jump to any conclusions in this odd and troublesome story. Murray, though, says that seven sources tell him that Wood is under investigation by the union for “allegedly filming numerous clients while they were using his shower” — including one that found a camera and confronted the alleged perpetrator.

CSE has issued a statement from president Danny Martoe, which Passan conveyed on Twitter. It reads as follows:

“For over 32 years, CSE Talent has prided itself on our moral and ethical standards and have built a solid reputation within the industry. We take pride in working with people who represent these values. It’s unfortunate that CSE Talent aligned itself with someone who didn’t uphold these same standards and therefore we chose to terminate with cause Wood’s employment.”

Identities of the apparent victims of Wood are not known at this time. It’s also not clear whether there is any criminal investigation, though the situation certainly could warrant such treatment.

MLBTR’s agency database shows many of Wood’s client relationships. He had operated an entity known as Arland Sports, which is still reflected in the database but has since been purchased by the CSE agency. Just which of those players was still represented by Wood at the time the allegations arose is not known (agency switches often go unreported), though Andrew Benintendi was a known client, and Wood has also repped other notable MLB players such as Jake Odorizzi and David Phelps, as well as prospects Riley Pint, Joey Wentz, and Mitch Keller, among others.

Many of the players that had been represented by Wood are now said to be seeking alternative agencies. Keller has already terminated his relationship with CSE and hired Excel Sports Management, Murray tweets.

Arbitration Breakdown: Marcell Ozuna and Jose Abreu

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Recently, I have been discussing some of the higher-profile upcoming arbitration cases as part of MLBTR’s Arbitration Breakdown series. I rely partly on my arbitration model developed exclusively for MLB Trade Rumors, but will also break out some interesting comparables and determine where the model might be wrong. Full arbitration projections for 2018 are also available, for those interested.

Marcell Ozuna | Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

Before Marcell Ozuna reports for his first Spring Training as a Cardinal, he will have to start the potentially uncomfortable process of salary arbitration with them. Ozuna has quite a resume to boast, which is part of what made him so attractive to the Cardinals in the first place. He hit .312 with 37 home runs and 124 RBIs last year, giving him few comparables among second-time arbitration-eligible players.

My model projects a substantial raise for him of $7.4MM — all the way to a $10.9MM salary. This may be high, given the lack of exact historical comparables and the potential for an arbitration process to discount some of the home runs hit in a very high league home run environment (2017 set a record). That said, it still suggests that Ozuna is going to get a large raise anyway.

Jose Abreu | Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports

Jose Abreu had a comparable season, and his projection is accordingly similar. He hit .304 with 33 homers and 102 RBIs, making the primary difference in their cases the lower RBI total for Abreu. The White Sox slugger is projected for a $7.1MM raise instead of Ozuna’s $7.4MM, but he starts from a higher base salary and is therefore projected to land at $17.9MM.

No other players in the past five years have entered arbitration with the elusive .300/30/100 slash line. However, several players did so in the prior five years, including Jacoby Ellsbury in 2012 (.321/32/105), Josh Hamilton in 2011 (.359/32/100), Matt Holliday in 2008 (.340/36/137) and Miguel Cabrera in 2008 (.320/34/119). Those players got raises between $5.65MM (Ellsbury) and $3.9MM (Cabrera), although both Hamilton and Holliday got raises above $5MM, thus making Cabrera the exception.

It seems quite likely that Ellsbury, with 39 stolen bases to Ozuna’s one stolen base, would have a better case. However, the fact that Ellsbury’s case is six years old could put them closer together and could even put Ozuna and Abreu ahead. One thing that is important to note is that only Ellsbury got a one-year deal. The other raises mentioned above are part of multi-year deals, which are usually not very applicable in arbitration cases (although they could be in this scenario with few comparables).

If we look for a player more recent, we might consider Manny Machado last year at .294/37/96. He got a $6.5MM raise and clearly looks like a relevant player. The home run environment difference in just one year is pretty limited as well.

The record raise for a second-time eligible hitter belongs to Chris Davis, who got a $7.05MM raise after his .286/53/138 campaign in 2014. That would probably compare favorably to Ozuna’s numbers because of the home run difference, but the four years’ lag could render that number stale and push Ozuna and Abreu above him after all, as the model predicts. However, I think it may serve as a ceiling, leaving Ozuna and Abreu south of theor projections and slightly south of Davis.

Charlie Blackmon hit .324/29/104 last season, but did so in Coors Field, so he might be seen as less impressive than Ozuna and Abreu. His $3.8MM raise is probably a floor, and perhaps not that close of one.

I think it may be more likely that Ozuna and Abreu both get raises somewhere around $6MM. The triad of players with .300/30/100 slash lines and raises over $5MM back in 2008-12 are probably floors, whereas Davis’ raise seems like a ceiling. If that proves true, Ozuna might end up around $10MM instead of closer to $11MM, and Abreu might end up closer to $17MM than $18MM.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Athletics, Khris Davis Avoid Arbitration

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The A’s announced on Wednesday that they’ve agreed to a one-year deal with outfielder/designated hitter Khris Davis, thus avoiding arbitration. Terms of the contract weren’t announced, but FanRag’s Jon Heyman reports that Davis, an Octagon client, agreed to a $10.5MM salary for the 2018 season (Twitter link). The slugger had a projected arbitration salary of $11.1MM, per MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz.

The 30-year-old Davis just wrapped up his second consecutive season of 40-plus homers, belting 43 round-trippers and hitting .247/.326/.528 with 91 runs scored and 110 RBIs on the season overall. Those gaudy counting stats should position him nicely for a pay raise in what will be his second trip through the arbitration process. Davis will be arb-eligible once more next offseason before reaching free agency upon completion of the 2019 season.

Oakland has now avoided arbitration with both Davis and Jake Smolinski, leaving them with six unresolved cases, as can be seen in MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker. Marcus Semien, Kendall Graveman, Chris Hatcher, Liam Hendriks, Josh Phegley and Blake Treinen are all still eligible for arbitration. The deadline to exchange figures looms this Friday evening.

Braves Release Adonis Garcia To Pursue KBO Opportunity

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The Braves have announced that third baseman Adonis Garcia was released to allow him to pursue an opportunity in the Korea Baseball Organization. Previous reports indicated that Garcia, who is represented by Don Nomura, had agreed to join Korea’s LG Twins.

Garcia, 32, had carved out a significant role in Atlanta, though he missed significant time due to a finger injury and struggled at the plate in 2017. In the prior season, though, he saw near-regular time, turning in 563 plate appearances of .273/.311/.406 hitting.

With the move, the Braves have parted with one possible option at third base. Just how they’ll fill it remains to be seen. At this point, youngster Johan Camargo — who emerged with an intriguing 2017 season — is perhaps the odds-on favorite to see most of the time. That said, the club may yet pursue alternatives on the open market or via trade.

Luhnow Refutes Report That Astros Have Deal For Gerrit Cole

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2:44pm: The Astros are still engaged with the Pirates on Cole but are also still looking at alternatives, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter).

11:15am: Recent chatter of a possible trade that would send right-hander Gerrit Cole from the Pirates to the Astros intensified early today, with multiple reports indicating the sides were gaining momentum. And Jon Morosi of MLB Network (via Twitter) reported that a deal was in place between the organizations that would send Cole to Houston.

Ensuing reports, though, cast doubt and then fully refuted that agreement had been reached. Astros GM Jeff Luhnow said that there was “nothing imminent” in any of the team’s trade talks, per Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). And Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reported (Twitter links) first that the deal had not yet fully been completed and ultimately that the apparent news of an accord was simply a “false rumor.”

All told, it seems there’s no reason at this time to believe a deal is particularly close to coming to fruition, beyond the fact that the sides have evidently engaged in serious discussion. Passan says a trade “is not happening” right now, while noting “talks could pick back up quickly.” And Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter) suggests a trade “isn’t necessarily close.” Indeed, he also hears of another suitor being involved beyond the Yankees (the organization that once seemed likely to land Cole before those talks fizzled). With the necessary proviso that the situation can always change, then, it appears we’re mostly back to the status quo ante on Cole’s trade status.

Cole, now 27, remains a top trade candidate. He was the first overall pick in the 2011 draft. He ascended quickly to become Pittsburgh’s top pitcher, though he has not exactly been at his peak of late. In 2017, he worked to a 4.26 ERA in 203 frames. While that represented a promising return to full health after some limitations in 2016, it also was hardly the output that had come to be expected.

In 2015, after all, Cole had fully emerged as a staff ace, turning in 208 frames of 2.60 ERA ball with 8.7 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9. While his velocity and key peripherals have largely held steady, Cole was tagged for 1.37 home runs per nine — over twice the rate he had maintained previously. As Travis Sawchik of Fangraphs explains, Cole’s heater surrendered quite a bit of added pop in 2017, but there’s reason to believe he can refine his offerings to regain his standing. Cole will cost a projected $7.5MM in 2018 with one more season of arbitration control thereafter.

For the ’Stros, we’ve seen clear indication of late that the organization wishes to boost an already-strong rotation unit that was already boosted late last year with the addition of Justin Verlander. With Dallas Keuchel, youngster Lance McCullers, and the increasingly interesting Charlie Morton already on hand, along with breakout righty Brad Peacock, it seems Houston’s interest in starters is a want moreso than a need.

On the Bucs’ side, it’s still hard to know how things will play out this winter. Even if the team deals away Cole and other veteran trade candidates (most notably Andrew McCutchen), it may still have some designs on competing in ’18. But parting with Cole would unquestionably mean delivering a major blow to the team’s expectations for the coming season.

More broadly, questions persist about just when and how the player market will get moving in earnest. A deal involving Cole might have given some clarity to the outlook for free agent starters, while perhaps leaving the Astros free to dedicate financial resources to other needs (most notably, the bullpen). But with this prospective swap not occurring — at least at this time — we’re left with the same overall market landscape.

White Sox Acquire Jose Rondon

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The White Sox have acquired infielder Jose Rondon from the Padres, per a club announcement. Cash considerations are headed to San Diego in return.

Rondon was designated recently by the Pads. Now, he’ll head to another rebuilding organization where he could challenge Tyler Saladino for a spot on the team as a utility piece or perhaps head to Triple-A for further development. Of course, it’s also possible the Sox will ultimately seek to sneak him through waivers.

While the Padres have not been settled at short for some time, the team has quite a few young players filtering up at the position and elected to acquire Freddy Galvis to hold things down for the coming season. That left Rondon — who was originally acquired in the Huston Street trade — without much of an opportunity and ultimately without a roster spot.

The 23-year-old reached the majors briefly in 2016 but has mostly played of late in the upper minors. Last year, he spent most of his time at Double-A and turned in a solid overall .293/.347/.442 output with seven home runs in 347 total minor-league plate appearances. With a high-average bat and good defensive profile, it’s certainly conceivable that Rondon could turn into a useful MLB asset, though he has yet to develop much in the way of power and hasn’t drawn many walks in the upper minors.

Brewers Release Taylor Jungmann To Pursue Opportunity In Japan

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The Brewers announced today that righty Taylor Jungmann has been released in order to allow him to pursue an opportunity in Japan. The 40-man space was needed to accommodate the addition of Boone Logan, whose previously reported signing was also made official.

It is not known what organization Jungmann will be joining, but it rates as something of a surprise that he’s heading out of affiliated ball. He was the 12th overall selection in the 2011 draft and showed rather well in his debut season of 2015. More recently, though, Jungmann had struggled to gain opportunities at the game’s highest level.

After receiving 21 MLB starts in 2015, Jungmann was pummeled in his 26 2/3 MLB frames in the ensuing season and did not fare much better at Triple-A. In 2017, though, he worked to a 3.06 ERA in 123 1/3 innings split between Double-A and Triple-A, averaging 8.2 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9. That still was only enough to earn him a single appearance in the majors.

Brewers Sign J.J. Hoover

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The Brewers have announced the signing of righty J.J. Hoover to a minor-league deal. It includes an invitation to participate in MLB Spring Training as a non-roster invitee. He can earn $1.1MM in the majors with another $1.65MM available through incentives, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter).

Hoover, 30, spent the 2017 season with the Diamondbacks. Over 41 1/3 innings, he racked up a solid 11.8 K/9 on a 12.0% swinging-strike rate, though he also surrendered 5.7 walks and 1.52 home runs per regulation affair. Hoover ended up with a 3.92 ERA on the year, representing a nice bounce back after a disappointing 2016 season.

For Milwaukee, Hoover will join a camp competition to build out the bullpen. The club has already pursued cost efficiency in its early winter relief moves, including striking a multi-year deal with Jeremy Jeffress and bringing in Boone Logan via free agency.

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