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Archives for January 2019

Reds Re-Sign Mason Williams To Minor League Deal

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The Reds announced a slew of minor league signings today (Twitter link), including the re-signing of outfielder Mason Williams to a minor league contract with an invite to Spring Training. Cincinnati also confirmed its previously reported minor league deals/invites to MLB camp for infielder Christian Colon and righty Anthony Bass. Furthermore, Bobby Nightengale Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets that the Reds agreed to a minor league pact and an invite to Spring Training with former Twins right-hander Felix Jorge, though the organization has yet to announce that addition.

Williams, 27, is a former Yankees top prospect who didn’t pan out in the Bronx but fared reasonably well with Cincinnati last season. The Reds gave Williams his largest slate of MLB work to date, as the 2010 fourth-rounder appeared in 51 games and hit .293/.331/.398 with a pair of homers, five doubles and a triple in 132 plate appearances during that time.

Williams’ return to the organization is all the more notable given Cincinnati’s decision to non-tender Billy Hamilton. While Williams assuredly won’t be viewed as a concrete solution in center, he’ll join the competition for an outfield job with the Reds this spring and could stand a decent chance at eventually cracking the roster if the team doesn’t bring in a more established option via free agency or trade. Williams does, after all, have more than 5000 professional innings in center field under his belt between the Majors and the minors.

As for Jorge, he’s a slight-of-frame righty listed at 6’2″ and 170 pounds but long rated as one of the more polished arms in the Twins’ system. He never drew Top 100 prospect billing throughout the league but did make a pair of starts for the Twins in 2017 and has a solid track record up through the Double-A level. Now 25 years old, Jorge missed much of the 2018 season due to injury and has only a handful of innings in Triple-A, but he owns a career 3.75 ERA with 5.6 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9 in 209 innings at the Double-A level. He’s never been one to miss many bats, but Jorge has typically demonstrated pinpoint control throughout his minor league tenure and has kept the ball on the ground at better than a 50 percent clip in recent seasons.

Cincinnati also indicated that it’ll bring right-hander Alex Powers back to the organization as a non-roster invite to MLB camp after a trio of solid seasons. The former White Sox farmhand has been with the Reds since 2016 and delivered his most encouraging season yet in 2018, pitching to a 2.34 ERA with 11.7 K/9, 2.3 BB/9, 0.64 HR/0 and a 42.5 percent grounder rate in 42 1/3 innings of relief. Powers will turn 27 next month, meaning those fairly gaudy numbers came against much younger and less-experienced competition, but the bottom-line results were enough for the Reds to want to take a look this spring.

Giants Showing Interest In DJ LeMahieu, Exploring Joe Panik Trades

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The Giants are discussing trade scenarios involving Joe Panik with multiple clubs, tweets ESPN’s Jeff Passan, who notes that the infield market is beginning to pick up some steam (as evidenced by this morning’s agreement between Brian Dozier and the Nationals). In a related report, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets that the Giants are among the teams showing interest in free-agent second baseman DJ LeMahieu.

It stands to reason that if the Giants have serious interest in bringing LeMahieu on board, they’d first need to move Panik. Both are pure second basemen at this juncture of their respective careers, and even if the Giants had interest in slotting LeMahieu or Panik in at a different position on the infield, third base and shortstop are locked up by Evan Longoria and Brandon Crawford — neither of whom is particularly movable on the trade market (Longoria primarily for financial reasons and Crawford due largely to a full no-trade clause).

Panik, 28, already avoided arbitration earlier this offseason by agreeing to a one-year, $3.8MM contract. He’s coming off the worst offensive season of his career, having batted .254/.307/.332 with just four home runs in 392 plate appearances — production that rated 23 to 25 percent worse than that of a league-average hitter, based on park-neutral metrics (77 OPS+, 75 wRC+). Panik was a Gold Glover in 2016 and was generally regarded as a plus defender at second base, but his defensive ratings have also slipped in recent seasons.  He’s only a year removed from a productive season at the plate, however, as he hit .288/.347/.421 with 10 long balls in 2017 before thumb and groin injuries hindered his playing time last season.

As for LeMahieu, he’s perennially among the game’s premier defensive second baseman and has consistently hit for average, though his overall production has wavered somewhat on a year-over-year basis. LeMahieu won a surprise National League batting title when he hit .348/.416/.495 in a career year back in 2016, but while he followed that up with a high-quality .310 average in 2017, his power fell off, as he slugged just .409 that season and posted a .099 ISO (slugging minus batting average). This past season, most of his pop returned, but his overall output checked in at .276/.321/.428 — rather pedestrian production when considering his hitter-friendly home setting (86 wRC+).

All in all, LeMahieu generally rates as an average or better overall hitter with premium defensive skills. He’s batted a combined .309/.369/.429 across the past four seasons and been one of the toughest strikeouts in the league over that span, punching out in just 14.2 percent of his plate appearances. LeMahieu would provide the Giants with better defense than they expected from Panik even at his peak, and he’d bring a more reliable bat to the table as well — albeit at a considerably higher price point. His past production makes LeMahieu an easy candidate for a solid multi-year deal in free agency, though he won’t cost the Giants anything in terms of draft-pick compensation, as the Rockies did not issue him a qualifying offer at season’s end.

Mariners To Sign Tim Beckham

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The Mariners have agreed to a one-year contract with free-agent infielder Tim Beckham, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today. The Wasserman client will earn a $1.75MM base salary and can take home another $250K worth of incentives as part of the deal.

Tim Beckham | Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports

Beckham, non-tendered by the Orioles earlier this winter, fits the mold described by Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto recently when he said he expected to sign a “middle-of-the-infield stabilizer” to provide some protection for trade acquisition J.P. Crawford.

Crawford, acquired in the trade that sent Jean Segura to the Phillies, still figures to get the opportunity to prove that he can be the Mariners’ long-term answer at shortstop, but by adding Beckham, the Mariners are bringing in an experienced player to hold down the position in the event that Crawford struggles early and requires additional minor league time to get up to speed. It’s worth noting that Crawford has just over a full year of Major League service (one year, 20 days), so if the Mariners don’t give him 152 days of Major League service in 2019, he won’t reach a full second year of service and will thus be controlled for a full extra season. There’s no indication that Seattle plans to deliberately operate in that manner, but it’ll be an interesting scenario to watch unfold.

Beckham, 29 later this month, was the No. 1 overall pick by the Rays back in the 2008 draft. He’s obviously been unable to live up to that lofty billing to this point in his career, but he did post a quality .269/.320/.449 batting line with 27 home runs, 30 doubles and 10 triples in 790 plate appearances between the Rays and Orioles from 2016-17. Strikeouts were an ongoing issue for Beckham during that time, though, as he punched out in more than 30 percent of his plate appearances in that time.

Beckham managed to curtail those strikeout woes substantially in 2018, dropping his strikeout rate to 24.9 percent. However, his overall production at the plate dissipated as well; he batted just .230/.287/.374 in Baltimore last season and saw his hard-hit rate fell by roughly five percent, per Statcast. Even if Beckham can’t replicate his 2016-17 production (and/or Crawford quickly takes to the everyday shortstop role), his right-handed bat could pair nicely with the left-handed-hitting Kyle Seager at third base.

Because he has four years, 134 days of Major League service time, Beckham wouldn’t qualify as a free agent next winter even if he spends the entire season on the Mariners’ roster. He’d remain arbitration-eligible for one final season, thus making him a potential multi-year option in Seattle, even if he ultimately settles into a platoon or utility role.

Rangers Sign Shelby Miller

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Jan. 10: Miller can earn $1.25MM worth of bonuses based on days spent on the active roster and another $1.75MM worth of bonuses based on innings pitched, tweets Fancred’s Jon Heyman. The innings incentives kick in once he reaches 60 innings and cap out at 180 innings.

Jan. 9, 5:00pm: The Rangers have announced the signing. Texas also formally announced its previously reported minor league signings of right-hander Jeanmar Gomez and infielder/outfielder Danny Santana. Both Gomez and Santana will be in Spring Training as non-roster invitees.

4:20pm: Miller will receive a $2MM guarantee, tweets Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. ESPN’s Jeff Passan adds that incentives in the deal provide Miller with the opportunity to earn an additional $3MM. Rosenthal tweets that Miller has already passed his physical, meaning the deal is complete. Presumably, a formal announcement from the Rangers will follow in the near future.

4:08pm: The Rangers are in agreement on a one-year, Major League contract with right-hander Shelby Miller, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets.

Shelby Miller | Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Miller, a client of Roc Nation Sports, will be the latest addition for a Texas club that has worked to dramatically overhaul its starting rotation on the heels of a disastrous 2018 season. Texas added left-hander Drew Smyly in a trade at the outset of the offseason and has since signed Lance Lynn on a three-year contract and selected the contract of veteran righty Edinson Volquez, who was signed last offseason to a two-year minor league contract in the wake of Aug. 2017 Tommy John surgery. That quartet, presumably, will team up with lefty Mike Minor to comprise the Rangers’ rotation early in the 2019 campaign (health permitting).

Certainly, it’s a group with plenty of potential, although it’s also one that comes with an extreme degree of uncertainty. Miller is perhaps the greatest wild card of the bunch, as the righty underwent Tommy John surgery early in the 2017 season and missed the bulk of the 2018 campaign due to a separate set of elbow issues. In all, Miller has been limited to just 38 innings across the past two seasons.

Of course, it wasn’t that long ago that the now-28-year-old Miller looked to be one off the game’s most promising young pitchers. As a prospect, Miller was ranked within the game’s top 10 overall prospects by Baseball America heading into both the 2012 and 2013 seasons, and he did little to dispel the notion that he was a rising star with his early career work. Miller posted a 3.33 ERA over the life of 370 innings in his first two-plus seasons with the Cardinals from 2012-14 before being flipped to the Braves as part of a deal that sent then-star outfielder Jason Heyward from Atlanta to St. Louis.

Miller’s lone season with the Braves looked nothing short of spectacular on paper, as he notched a career-best 3.02 ERA over the course of a career-high 205 1/3 innings. It was a strong year all around for Miller, but one in which he enjoyed a torrid two-month start to the season before delivering roughly league-average levels of output over the final four months. Even with some regression to be expected, however, he looked every bit the part of a quality big league starter, though the D-backs were widely criticized for surrendering a package of Ender Inciarte, Dansby Swanson and Aaron Blair in order to acquire him in the 2015-16 offseason.

Lopsided as the trade appeared, no one could have foreseen the catastrophic collapse Miller experienced with Arizona in his first season there. The right-hander limped to a ghastly 6.15 ERA as he averaged a career-low K/9 (6.24) and a career-high BB/9 (3.74) and HR/9 (1.25). Miller was even demoted to Triple-A that season amid the most pronounced struggles of his career, and while he looked more promising in four starts early in the 2017 season, he then required the aforementioned Tommy John surgery that wiped out much of the 2017-18 seasons.

For Texas, Miller represents a pure upside play at a minimal cost. While the homer-friendly Globe Life Park is hardly an ideal setting for Miller to attempt to rebuild his career, the Rangers can surely offer him a guaranteed rotation spot and were willing to commit a spot on the 40-man roster — a pair of enticements that many contending clubs may not have been willing to offer. If he’s able to round into form, he’ll be a highly appealing trade asset this summer, given the modest financial commitment at stake in this contract.

As for the rest of the Rangers’ staff, Lynn will be looking to bounce back from an awful season split between the Twins and the Yankees — though he at the very least demonstrated some highly intriguing K/BB numbers after being traded from Minnesota to New York. The three-year term for Lynn was a surprise to most, but as a non-contending club in a hitter-friendly park, the Rangers likely had to top other suitors in convincing fashion. Meanwhile, neither Smyly nor Volquez has thrown a pitch since undergoing their own pair of Tommy John surgeries. Smyly missed all of the 2017 and 2018 seasons, while Volquez hasn’t thrown since late in the 2017 campaign. In the case of Volquez, this was his second career Tommy John procedure.

Market Chatter: Realmuto, Keuchel, Indians, Castellanos, Ross

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The on-again, off-again chatter surrounding the Braves and Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto has left an uncertain situation. While the Atlanta organization already seems to have a palatable situation behind the dish, with Brian McCann rejoining the org to pair with Tyler Flowers, it’s also one that is susceptible of improvement. In any event, the stalemate seemingly continues, though Craig Mish of MLB Network does tweet that the teams have been in contact of late regarding Realmuto. It’s far from clear that any progress has been made, though, as he says the Braves “appear to be waiting [the] Marlins out.” The Rays also “remain a possibility,” says Mish, though at this point it’s really anyone’s guess how things will turn out with regard to Realmuto, who’s a valuable enough asset that any number of other teams could conceivably still enter the picture or circle back if other offseason pursuits don’t pan out.

Some more notes on the trade and free-agent markets…

  • The Bryce Harper and Manny Machado sagas are holding up the markets for many remaining free agents, even left-hander Dallas Keuchel, per MLB Network’s Ken Rosenthal (video link). Rosenthal suggested on MLBN’s Hot Stove this morning that Keuchel is waiting to see where the market’s top two free agents land, presumably knowing that a suitor who misses out on Harper or Machado will have money to spend elsewhere. The Phillies, for instance, have been connected to all three players, so it’s not all that difficult to see them making a more serious run at Keuchel should their top two targets sign elsewhere.
  • Another would-be blockbuster situation that may now be fizzling is the Indians’ oft-discussed negotiations on top starters Corey Kluber and Trevor Bauer. Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer discusses the situation, suggesting it may be time for the Cleveland organization to ask for final offers and otherwise move on from the marketing process. Of course, it’s far from clear that the team is taking that stance. And as Hoynes goes on to discuss, it’s also still not apparent how (or even if) the Indians will go about improving a roster that looks quite a bit different than it did just a few months ago. It’s still possible that Cleveland could add an outfielder from the free-agent market, but there’s no indication that they’re in line to make a significant splash on that front.
  • Meanwhile, talks between the Braves and the Tigers regarding outfielder Nicholas Castellanos have gone nowhere since the two sides talked at last month’s Winter Meetings, Morosi tweets. The Braves are, of course, still looking far and wide for a corner outfielder and are “active” in their pursuit of that key need. With many options seemingly still on the table, though, the club appears to be content not to push hard for any particular player, which might increase the acquisition cost.
  • Veteran southpaw Robbie Ross is preparing to throw for scouts in mid-January as he looks for a new opportunity, MLBTR has learned. Ross spent time with the White Sox organization in 2018, but struggled with his command as he worked back to health following back surgery in August of 2017. He’s now said to be at full strength, though he’ll certainly need to show that to the talent evaluators who take a look. The 29-year-old has generally been quite effective as a big-league reliever, with a 3.52 ERA in 270 2/3 career innings in that capacity.

Harper & Machado Rumors: 1/9/19

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The free agent market as a whole is moving at a plodding rate. Somewhat surprisingly, perhaps, there also hasn’t been a ton of action surrounding superstar free agents Bryce Harper and Manny Machado. Of course, with so much money at stake, perhaps it shouldn’t come as a shock that both players are taking some time to work out new deals.

The latest …

  • Heyman now indicates that Machado’s camp is looking not only for a $300MM+ offer but is still seeking a total guarantee that tops Giancarlo Stanton’s $325MM record (Twitter links). Furthermore, he adds that while there’s been no indication from the Yankees that they’re formally out of the running for Machado, New York has not yet made an offer and isn’t willing to go anywhere all that close to $300MM in order to sign Machado. Obviously, all of that can change quickly with one decision from ownership, but it’s not an encouraging update for Yankees fans hoping to see Machado in the Bronx in 2019 and beyond.

Earlier Updates

  • Machado is still looking for an offer in excess of $300MM, according to Jon Heyman of Fancred (Twitter link). The White Sox and Phillies are the only two teams known to have made formal proposals, neither of which have reached that value. Of course, the Philadelphia organization is reportedly set to put in another offer, the details of which remain unknown. The Yankees have also still yet to officially put anything on the table for Machado, Heyman adds.
  • Will there be significant movement? If so, when and by what mechanism? MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand hears that the markets for Machado and Harper are “heating up.” As his sources have it, the Phillies are “turning up” their efforts for the former, while the Nationals have “momentum building” to bring back the latter. Bruce Levine of 670theScore.com also cites a sense of market movement, but he hears it’s the White Sox who are gaining “momentum” on Machado. Levine also mentions a fourth, unknown potential suitor for Machado, though Heyman claims there’s “still no word” of a shadowy pursuer.
  • Generally, there’s still a dearth of hard information on the various teams’ stances regarding these players. It’s still easy to imagine the negotiations evolving in any number of different ways. Still, it’s striking that so few teams appear to be involved. The entire situation is a “disgrace,” Jim Bowden of The Athletic argues (subscription link). He ticks through a variety of ballclubs that should be able to fit $30MM+ salaries and have cause to be involved, decrying a market situation in which “essentially just four teams [are] legitimately bidding for the game’s two best free agents.” On the same note, Jonah Keri of CBS Sports provides some anonymous opinions on the matter from well-placed league executives. There seems to be at least something of a consensus that teams are less interested than ever in exceedingly lengthy contracts, even for players of such relative youth, with a variety of other theories batted around regarding this duo in particular. The story also delves into broader market topics and is well worth a read.

Jaime Garcia To Retire

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Veteran left-hander Jaime Garcia is set to formally announce his retirement after spending parts of 10 seasons in the Majors, tweets Jon Morosi of MLB.com. Alex Carrion Velo of El Heraldo de Chihuahua in Mexico first tweeted that Garcia was “expected” to announce his retirement today.

Jaime Garcia | Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Still just 32 years of age, Garcia struggled in 2018 after turning a solid 2017 effort between the Braves, Twins and Yankees. In 82 innings between the Blue Jays and Cubs in 2018, Garcia logged an unsightly 5.82 ERA with a 73-to-44 K/BB ratio in 33 appearances (14 starts).

From 2010-17, however, the left-hander was a quality midrotation piece, primarily for the Cardinals, for whom he played a significant role in a 2011 World Series Championship. Garcia’s 2011 campaign included 194 2/3 innings of 3.56 ERA ball, and he gave the Cardinals a pair of strong starts in the World Series, where he totaled 10 innings and yielded just two earned runs against the Rangers. Despite a long run as a useful big league starter, Garcia never made an All-Star team, though the 2011 World Series ring assuredly more than compensates for that in his eyes.

Overall, the lefty will walk away from the game with a lifetime 70-62 record, a 3.85 ERA in 1135 regular-season innings, 925 strikeouts (7.3 K/9) against 369 walks (2.9 BB/9) and an additional 32 1/3 innings of 3.62 ERA ball from parts of four separate postseason appearances. He earned more than $60MM in player salaries over the course of his time in the big leagues and will long be remembered by Cardinals fans for the eight years and nearly 900 innings of quality production he gave to the St. Louis organization.

Mariners, Dustin Ackley Agree To Minor League Deal

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Veteran infielder/outfielder Dustin Ackley is headed back to his original organization, as he’s agreed to a minor league contract with the Mariners, according to multiple reports (including Fancred’s Jon Heyman, on Twitter).

Ackley, now 30 years of age, hasn’t appeared in the Majors since a brief 2016 run with the Yankees, where he hit .148/.243/.148 in a small sample of 70 plate appearances. He’s spent the past two seasons with the Angels’ Triple-A affiliate, where he’s gotten on base at a solid clip but struggled to hit for power despite playing in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. In 284 plate appearances last season, Ackley hit .286/.378/.398 with four homers, 13 doubles and a triple.

Selected by the Mariners out of North Carolina with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2009 draft, Ackley was viewed as an advanced college bat who could quickly move through the system. That proved to be the case, as he was in the Majors two years later and hit .273/.348/.417 — good for a 120 OPS+ at the age of 23. However, Ackley’s bat cratered in his sophomore season with the M’s, and he’s batted only .235/.296/.358 over the life of 1971 plate appearances in parts of five big league seasons since that time. Ackley’s addition is a depth move for the Mariners, as he’ll likely open the season in Triple-A Tacoma as he looks to work his way back to the big leagues for the first time in nearly three full years.

Padres, Robbie Erlin Avoid Arbitration

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The Padres have avoided arbitration with southpaw Robbie Erlin by agreeing to a one-year deal worth $1.45MM, tweets ESPN’s Jeff Passan. That marks an $800K raise from last season’s $650K salary and checks in a fair bit north of Erlin’s projected $1.1MM salary (per MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz). Erlin is repped by Sosnick, Cobbe & Karon.

The 28-year-old Erlin was arbitration-eligible for a second time this winter and will go through the process once more next winter before becoming a free agent upon completion of the 2020 season. Erlin missed most of the 2016 season and the entire 2017 season due to Tommy John surgery (hence the modest $650K salary in his first trip through the arb process), but he rebounded with a solid effort on the mound in 2018. The left-hander tossed 109 innings for the Friars and logged a 4.21 ERA, though his sterling 88-to-12 K/BB ratio and solid 46.7 percent ground-ball rate led fielding-independent metrics to view his work much more favorably (3.31 FIP, 3.41 xFIP, 3.52 SIERA).

Erlin made 27 relief appearances and a dozen starts for the Padres last season, including a run of 10 starts to finish out his season. The Padres were cautious with those starts, never allowing him to reach 100 pitches and only allowing him to top five innings on one occasion, but he’ll likely open the season in the San Diego rotation with fewer restrictions now that he’s further removed from surgery.

The Padres have now avoided arbitration with Erlin, righty Bryan Mitchell and infielder Greg Garcia, leaving right-hander Kirby Yates, outfielder Travis Jankowski and catcher Austin Hedges as their three remaining cases to be resolved. With the deadline to exchange arbitration figures looming on Friday, there figures to be a veritable avalanche of settlements on Friday (in addition to a few early deals today and tomorrow). Readers can keep up with all of the filings and settlements using MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker.

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