11:42am: Graveman’s deal comes with a $1.25MM base salary and another $2.5MM worth of incentives, per USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (Twitter link). That will give him the opportunity to earn a bit more than the $3.5MM he’d have taken home had the Mariners picked up his option.
11:35am: That was quick. Just one day after declining their $3.5MM club option on Kendall Graveman, the Mariners announced that they’ve re-signed the right-hander to a new one-year, Major League contract for the 2021 season. It’s surely at a lesser rate than that $3.5MM price point, but the Sports One Management client looks as though he’ll be locked in as a member of the team’s bullpen again next season.
Graveman, 29, returned to the Majors in 2020 after missing most of 2018 and all of 2019 due to Tommy John surgery. The initial hope was that he’d be a member of the team’s six-man rotation, but Graveman spent much of the year on the injured list due to a neck injury and returned to the club in September as a reliever.
The results upon his return were encouraging, however, as Graveman averaged a career-best 96.4 mph on his sinker and held opponents to four runs on six hits and three walks with five strikeouts in 10 innings. Three of those runs came in one particularly rough outing, but Graveman allowed just one run in the rest of his bullpen outings combined. He also sported a hefty 55.4 percent ground-ball rate in that time, giving further cause for optimism about his potential as a reliever over the course of a full season.
For Seattle, re-signing Graveman is its first noteworthy order of business in what should be an active winter for its relief corps. After the Mariners’ bullpen finished 2020 last in the AL in ERA and fWAR, general manager Jerry Dipoto declared the M’s would try to add three to four relievers in the offseason.
good move. Dude was throwing 97 with nasty movement out of the pen. Now just move Justin Dunn to the pen as well.
I think the Mariners should run with a 6 man rotation for 2021. Gonzales, Sheffield, Kikuchi, Dunn, Newsome and Margevicius. 2022 should be a different story when Gilbert, Williamson, and possibly Hancock should up for most of the season at least.
I think they could go six man again but it’s harder without larger rosters. I think Dunn ultimately is a bullpen guy myself but I’m okay with him starting again this year. I fully expect Gilbert to be in the majors early next year. I think Kirby is ahead and far more likely to be part of the rotation than Williamson who is likely 2023 best case. Hancock could be 2022 at some point though
I forgot about Kirby. Good call.
I mean this well… It’s one extra player. People will go on and off the injury list throughout the season. It should work out.
I think Newsome and maybe Margevicius should start in AAA. 6 man is fine but should probably be adding to the rotation with veterans that could give them innings and flip when Gilbert comes up. Newsome and Marg waiting in AAA to come up when someone hits IL but haven’t seen enough of them (or at least Newsome) to be going into the season thinking they get a rotation spot. I highly doubt there is any chance Williamson or Hancock come up this year as Williamson has pitched a total of 15 innings in short season A ball at the professional level and Hancock hasn’t pitched a professional inning.
@slund24. Newsome should start the year in AAA. Margevicius should be a spot starter, long relief. Dipoto said that they will be looking for an experienced starter in the rotation.
Throwinched10- it’s good to have options in life! The M’s certainly have some options at SP to play around with. I’ve read from more than one source that Logan Gilbert has a good chance to win a starting job out of ST next yr. He already has a better skill set than the last 3 pitchers on your list. What he lacks in experience he makes up for with more (4) plus pitches to offer. If he doesn’t make it out of ST I’d expect him the 3rd week in April. If Taijuan or Paxton is interested in coming back I can see the M’s offering one of them an (incentive laden) 2yr contract. 1)Gonzales 2)Taijuan/Paxton/similar 3)Sheffield 4) Kikuchi 5)Logan G 6) J Dunn/ Margev/Newsome.
Walker/Paxton/FA SP will hold a spot for one or two of Kirby/Williamson/Hancock. It’s rare that all of your top SP prospects escape any type of injury. So I doubt Gilbert and the 3 listed will be on the team at the same time.
I hope Margevicious and Newsome are middle RP’s. Gilbert and Walker are better SP’s than both. Logan has SP2 potential imo as does Hancock and Kirby. Who knows, maybe one of them takes away the OD starter role from Marco….
They will have a 6-man rotation. Dipoto has already stated that that is their intention.
But they’ll try to bring in another starter and use Newsome and Margevicius as reserves. My money’s on another Taijuan Walker reunion, perhaps on a 3-year deal.
I’d be a little surprised if we saw any of the starter prospects debut apart from Gilbert. Kirby wasn’t consistent in the player pool and Then, Williamson, and Hancock are further out.
This reminds me, Then and Williamson are the sleepers. Then was hitting 99. He put on weight (muscle) and it’s translating. Same goes for a number of Mariner prospects.
Hancock won’t be ready but Kirby will be.
There are no guarantees in baseball and that most certainly applies to pitchers with minimal professional experience.
Kirby never pitched above short-season (A-) and the player pool had him facing more experienced and advanced bats, which helps explain the trouble he had.
Don’t get me wrong, I like Kirby. But he’s not as close as you seem to think and there’s no reason for Seattle to rush his development.
I’m also hoping they keep him in the pen. Hopefully the tumor or whatever it is gets removed and he has no further issues with it
As I understand it, he won’t have surgery. The hope is that he can manage things (pain) better in a relief role.
Platypus- I agree, good move. You must have missed a couple games. Graveman was throwing 99 in his relief role! Like you say, good move considering he also apparently has been a good mentor for a lot of our young hurlers
Since the day Dunn has came to this organization, I feel like he’s destined to be the closer of the future. Doesn’t really have secondary stuff at all
Good for him, glad he got a contract quickly
It’s clear that they had a deal already worked out with Graveman.. The Mariners declined the option and he gets his payout. Then he signs a deal that gives him less guaranteed than the option, but that has incentives that allow him to actually make more then the option.
Seems like a win for both sides. Graveman is smart to stick with the known quantity rather than risk free agency in this crazy upcoming offseason, and the Mariners are smart to keep a guy with stuff like his in the fold.
Or just maybe….the player knows he’s washed up and took what ever money was offered verses betting on his ability and the health of his arm. He’s made $4MM the last three years or about $100k per inning.
Msqboxer- yep I’m sure the uptick in velo, hitting 99mph when he converted to a RP role is a glaring sign he’s washed up. A sure sign that he will soon spiral downwards into anonymity. I bet he’s getting his commercial real estate license as we speak.
Good idea. They can share 100 loses equally. 16 each.
Not nice. Might happen but still.
Says the Angels’ fan whose team spent tens of millions more last season and still finished below Seattle.
Hahaha touché
I love the Graveman as a closer idea. Ticks up his velo with his same movement, it’s great. It reminds me of Neftali Feliz in the pen vs Feliz as a starter.
Put me in the “Grave” “Man”! Pun intended
I fully anticipated an incentive-laden deal that would put him inline for 3.5m if he maxed out, so the surprise here is that Seattle was willing to pay more for the insurance. He got the 500k buyout, so he has the potential to end up with 4.25 million by the end of the season.
I like it, regardless. It’s still a small price to pay if he’s healthy and produces like he did this season in relief.
The M’s should pick up Hand. They can trade him or Graveman at the deadline if they’re not in contention.
mlbfan- I cant believe he was put on waivers! Of course, I also find it hard to believe that CLE is almost certainly going to trade their badass All-Star SS Frankie Lindor. I hope Jerry gets both players!
Oh wow Brad Hand and Kendall Graveman in the 8th and 9th!?
It’s hard to believe Hand will fall to the M’s though since waiver priority puts 10 or so teams ahead of us. Although many of those teams will be rebuilding I could see the Angels, Mets and maybe the Nats putting in claims. Fingers crossed! Finally an off-season where we can speculate and wish for decent players!
Hand would be interesting, but I wonder if Seattle might be more interested in someone like Rosenthal for closing duties. He missed 2018 of course, struggled through 2019, looked good, but not great with KC, then seemed to be back on track in a small sample with SD.
Dipoto isn’t scared of post-TJS players. The smaller sample of success since 2017 might make for a non-ridiculous two or three year deal. He’s 30, which isn’t old, so he could potentially lead Seattle’s bullpen into the postseason as the cream of the farm integrates.
Tbh Stevil after the dross that’s been in our pen the last 2 years I’d be ecstatic with either of those RP’s on our roster but I’m curious- do you feel Seattle would be more keen to sign Rosenthal just because he will cost less than Brad Hand? Or do you like Rosenthal’s stuff better? His added (98) velocity and mostly 3 pitch mix (4seam, SL, Circle Ch,) vs Brad Hands predominantly 2 pitch mix (FB, SL) at 92-93mph?
Both RP’s would be definite upgrades who at their age could also be in a position to help with the integration of the younger RP’s coming through the system. As you suggest, the ($10) million dollar question is: which strategy better suits the FO? Do we take on a little risk by spending less money on TR? Or do we spend more on BH because the market says he’s a safer investment? I love that Mariner fans are even having this discussion!!
I think Rosenthal’s the better pitcher. The likeliness that he would be cheaper (AAV) is the bonus, and at age 30, it’s not like he couldn’t stick around for a while and help lead Seattle to a WS. Hand would more likely be gone after ’21.
I’m interested in Trevor May and Sean Doolittle as well. I’d like Seattle to have plenty of veterans that can mentor the younger arms, such as Gerber, Ramirez, Delaplane, Mills, etc.
Give me two from among Hendriks, May, Hand, Doolittle and Rosenthal and I’ll be a happy Mariners fan. Adding two of them to Yohan Ramirez, Misiewicz, Gerber, Graveman + more of the youngsters like Mills, Delaplane… it could end up being a pretty good bullpen next season! I am glad Graveman will be back!
@ayrbhoyayrbhoy, I mentioned Rosenthal on the Dipoto: Mariners Hope To Add “Three Or Four” Relievers thread. Either one would be fine. He hasn’t established the control of a closer, but he could be a good setup pitcher. Hand or Rosenthal would be there to impart knowledge to the younger arms.
I can see more.contracts like this. Protects the team in case the season is shortened. The base is lower, and incentives are harder to reach in fewer games.
It has nothing to do with a potentially shortened season. Incentives are likely going to be based on prorated numbers and appearances like they were for most players this year.
His incentives are almost certainly going to be based on IL stints and innings pitched or appearances. Probably won’t be hard to reach as long as he’s healthy.