One of my goals for MLBTR for 2021 is to update our agency database and improve its functionality. Once the database is revamped, it will feature anyone who played in the Majors in the last three seasons as well as Baseball America’s most recent top 100 prospects, and we’ll work hard to keep it up-to-date. As it stands, our database has a fair number of inaccuracies as well as missing agencies for certain players. I’ve created a Google spreadsheet here with our current info. If you work for an agency and have corrections or additions, please drop me a line at mlbtrdatabase@gmail.com. I also welcome corrections if they come from a recent credible article, which you can link to in the comments of this post. We appreciate the help.
Archives for January 2021
Orioles Sign Freddy Galvis, Designate Chris Shaw
Another shortstop comes off the board. The Baltimore Orioles have signed shortstop Freddy Galvis to a one-year contract, the team announced. The Rep 1 Baseball client will receive $1.5MM with a $250K bonus if he is traded, per Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). There is not an option for a second year. First baseman/outfielder Chris Shaw was designated for assignment in order to open a roster spot for Shaw, per the club.
Galvis takes over at short for the recently-traded Jose Iglesias, another veteran whom the Orioles signed in free agency. Galvis has long been a starting shortstop in MLB, from his early days with the Phillies to last season with the Cincinnati Reds. He also played for the Blue Jays and Padres in his nine-year career. Durability has been a strength for Galvis. He achieved the rare-for-this-era achievement of appearing in all 162 games in back-to-back seasons with the Phillies in 2017 and Padres in 2018.
Last season with the Reds, Galvis slashed .220/.308/.404 with seven home runs, 8.2 percent walk rate, 18.9 percent strikeout rate and 90 wRC+. The switch-hitting Galvis is largely considered a solid defensive option up the middle. By measure of Statcast’s outs above average, however, Galvis may wield an elite glove. Though he registered -3 OAA in the shortened 2020 season, he finished 8th among shortstops in 2019 with 11 OAA and tied for third with Andrelton Simmons and Francisco Lindor in 2018 with 12 OAA.
Galvis won’t help the Orioles a ton with his bat. He routinely logs below-average hard hit rates, barrel rates, and walk rates. He does a pretty good job of putting the ball in play, however, and his power has jumped a notch with .178 ISO and .184 ISO the past two seasons. He’s also not a burner, finishing in the 28th percentile by sprint speed in 2020. For the Orioles, however, they’ll hope Galvis provides defensive support to their young pitching staff and leadership in the clubhouse. Should he prove productive, he could also serve as a trade chip at the deadline, a possibility for which both player and team are clearly aware, given the trade clause in his contract.
Shaw’s time with the O’s, meanwhile, will apparently prove quite brief. Baltimore claimed him off waivers from the Giants back in late November, and he’ll now very possibly be exposed to waivers a second time. The 27-year-old was once the 31st overall draft pick by the prior San Francisco front-office regime, and he has a solid-looking .280/.328/.538 slash line in about 1000 plate appearances of Triple-A ball. Shaw, though, also has a 30 percent strikeout rate in Triple-A and hasn’t hit well at all in 82 big league plate appearances. The O’s have a week to trade him, release him or attempt to pass him through waivers themselves.
No Players Elected To Hall Of Fame
There were no players who received the 75 percent vote threshold necessary for election into the Hall of Fame. Curt Schilling, Barry Bonds, and Roger Clemens came closest to achieving the necessary vote total, but they ultimately fell short. Schilling came the closest with 71.1% of the vote (16 votes shy), while Scott Rolen saw the biggest year-over-year jump. There were 14 blank ballots. With less than five percent of the vote, Aramis Ramirez, LaTroy Hawkins, Barry Zito, A.J. Burnett, Michael Cuddyer, Dan Haren, Nick Swisher, and Shane Victorino will fall off the ballot. The full results are here.
Controversy surrounded this year’s ballot in particular because it was considered a weaker overall class of first-time nominees. That meant that the holdovers took center stage, a group largely comprised of players with character issues and controversy at the heart of their Hall of Fame cases, namely Schilling, Bonds, Clemens, and Omar Vizquel. For Schilling’s part, in a letter that he wrote to the Hall of Fame (and later shared on Facebook), he has requested that his name be removed from the ballot next season. Ken Rosenthal of MLB Network reports that he does not have the ability to simply remove his name from the list, nor does the Hall of Fame – though the Hall of Fame committee responded to say they would consider Schilling’s request.
The induction ceremony will still take place on July 25, 2021. Last year’s induction ceremony was postponed because of the pandemic, so last year’s class of Derek Jeter, Larry Walker, Ted Simmons and the late Marvin Miller will hopefully be inducted during that July ceremony, though much still hangs in the balance as far as the pandemic is concerned.
Latest On The Issue Of A Delayed Spring Training
Members of the Cactus League penned a letter to MLB and commissioner Rob Manfred yesterday requesting the delay of Spring Training due to a rising number of coronavirus cases in Maricopa County. The MLBPA responded swiftly, reinforcing their position that they have no plans to delay the season. MLB cannot delay the start of spring training without approval from the MLBPA.
After news of the letter broke yesterday, Joel Sherman of the New York Post wrote, “Both MLB and the players association put out bland statements. The key behind the scenes is to know the union sees the Cactus League officials as tools of MLB.”
Today, Alex Coffey of the Athletic reports that a representative from MLB “encouraged members of the Cactus League to write a letter to to commissioner Rob Manfred voicing a desire to delay the start of spring training…” Truthfully, this revelation doesn’t likely change much, as those involved clearly already had a sense for the politics at play here, and the MLBPA seemed wholly unmoved by the letter.
Meanwhile, Cactus League executive director Bridget Binsbacher denies that there was any pressure from the league to write the letter. Coffey provides a quote from a source that seems to put this public squabble in perspective: “I do think two things can be true. City leaders feel like they are doing right on health policy. The owners and league staff are using that to their advantage, perhaps without the cities having any sense about it.”
Certainly, though it’s easy to demonize MLB for politicizing the pandemic and using public opinion to coerce the MLBPA into a weaker negotiating position so that they might achieve their financial goals, the MLBPA can be cast in an equally harsh light if we assume a delay really is the safest course of action. Negotiating through the public square usually creates particularly antagonistic optics, but the reality here is that the two sides are going to keep negotiating on these points until they find an acceptable common ground.
In the meantime, the beat goes on. The Arizona Diamondbacks released a statement detailing the progress that continues to be made in preparation for the season. From the release: “The U.S. Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) joined the Cactus League, its teams and spring training facilities, and state and local partners Tuesday for a virtual tabletop exercise to review pre-incident preparedness measures and response plans at stadiums during spring training. While several of the teams and stadiums regularly review plans and conduct drills, for the second year in a row, a leaguewide exercise was held to allow everyone to share best practices and discuss coordination should an incident affect more than one venue. The exercise scenario included an information and intelligence sharing piece among public and private sectors, and an active threat at a ballpark. Tuesday’s exercise was held virtually due to COVID-19 restrictions and was not in a response to any specific threat.”
Twins GM Thad Levine Discusses Offseason
Twins general manager Thad Levine provided some general updates on his team’s winter plans during a podcast interview with SKOR North’s Darren Wolfson (audio link). With J.A. Happ signed to the rotation earlier this week, more additions could still be in the offing, since Levine feels “we’re starting to see things really de-congest” in the free agent market.
“We’re not done. We still have some flexibility, we’re still having ongoing conversations, we still see many ways we can improve this team both from a qualitative standpoint and from a depth standpoint,” Levine said.
As you might expect, Levine declined to get into detail about many names, but did note that the Twins are “staying in touch” with reliever Tyler Clippard and “are in constant conversation” with Nelson Cruz’s representatives. Interestingly, Wolfson opened the pre-interview portion of the podcast by noting that talks have been “pretty dead” between Cruz and the Twins, and it has been some time since the club presented Cruz with an offer. As Wolfson puts it, however, “all it takes is one new call” to reignite talks, as both sides are pretty familiar with each other’s positions. As has been the case all offseason, Cruz’s situation might not be resolved until there is firmer clarity on whether or not the National League will use the DH in 2021.
In terms of specific needs, the Twins are always interested in more arms (“If in doubt, add more pitching,” Levine said), particularly as pitchers re-adjust to throwing more innings in the wake of the abbreviated 2020 season. Beyond pitchers, Levine is open to all possibilities on the position-player front, due to Minnesota’s versatile roster.
“When we look at the free agent market, we do not feel limited in terms of bats that we can go recruit….We do have such amazing flexibility within our team [that] you could almost recruit a player at about any position on the field and still make it work,” the GM said.
The Twins are also exploring options on the trade market, and Levine said that technically, there aren’t any so-called untouchable players on the roster — as a general principle, the organization has to be open to anything should an opportunity arise, but obviously the Twins are “less inclined” to shop or discuss certain top-tier players and prospects. Levine also added that the Twins had received trade interest in “over 30 distinct players” within the organization over the last year, which the general manager considered a positive endorsement of Minnesota’s talent depth at both the Major League and minor league levels.
Brewers Among Teams Showing Interest In Justin Turner
Yesterday we learned that free agent Justin Turner had a final four teams he was considering for 2021. The Dodgers and Blue Jays have long been known as interested parties, but now we can add the Brewers as the third team looking to woo Turner, per Jon Heyman of the MLB Network. Turner wants a four-year deal, but that seems unlikely for the 36-year-old. The Dodgers hope to bring him back for two, but if another team is willing to go to three years for the GEM Agency client, that could be enough to pry Turner from LA. Whether the Blue Jays, Brewers, or the final mystery team are willing to make that kind of commitment to Turner is TBD.
The Brewers are an interesting entrant into the Turner sweepstakes. They have about $25MM before hitting their luxury tax payroll from 2020, so there’s room for a splashy addition if the Brewers are going to maintain their payroll. That’s a big “if,” however. The Brewers have been largely inactive thus far, however, with their only Major League contract going to infielder Daniel Robertson, who figures to play a reserve role for Milwaukee.
The Brewers have a host of young, promising, but unproven infield contributors who could move around the diamond to accommodate Turner. Keston Hiura demands a lineup spot, and he’ll probably play the keystone, while Luis Urias and Orlando Arcia are their other likely starters. Arcia has had more than enough time to establish himself, and outside of some postseason and big-game heroics, he hasn’t done enough to guarantee his starting spot. A career slash line of .244/.295/.366, with a roughly-average 20.1 percent strikeout rate, and below-average 6.6 percent walk rate definitely leaves room for improvement. Turner’s 130 wRC+, for instance, would give the Brewers’ lineup quite the boost from Arcia’s 71 wRC+ career mark.
Tigers To Sign Derek Holland
JAN 26: If Holland makes the Major League team, he will make $925K with the potential for another $150K in incentives, per Petzold (via Twitter). He will also have opportunities to opt out of the contract should he not make the Major League team, though the exact conditions of those opt-outs are unclear.
JAN 23: Derek Holland is a Detroit Tiger, he announced via his Twitter bio. The veteran lefty will join the Tigers on a minor league deal, per Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press (via Twitter). The Tigers will invite Holland to Major League camp with the intention of utilizing him out of the bullpen, notes Jon Morosi of the MLB Network (via Twitter). The deal has not been announced by the club.
The well-traveled southpaw spent 2020 with the Pirates after previous stops on the Cubs, Giants, White Sox and Rangers. He’s best known for his eight-year stay with the Rangers from 2009 to 2016. He spent much of that time in the Rangers’ rotation, including one start in the 2011 World Series. Holland went 8 1/3 innings giving up just two hits and two walks while striking out seven to beat the Cardinals 4-0. Though that series didn’t end as planned for the Rangers, Holland’s performance in that game four win certainly marked a highlight for the then-25-year-old. Holland was a bit of a breakout star on that 2011 pennant-winning team, throwing 198 innings with a 3.95 ERA/3.94 FIP and 3.1 fWAR.
His best overall season would come two years later. During that 4.5 fWAR 2013 campaign, Holland logged 213 innings with a 3.42 ERA/3.44 FIP, 40.8 percent groundball rate, 21.1 percent strikeout rate, and 7.2 percent walk rate. Unfortunately, Holland’s career took a turn the following season when left knee surgery cut his season to just 37 innings. Shoulder problems limited his 2016 season to 10 starts and 58 2/3 innings as his run prevention numbers rose to a 4.91 ERA/5.30 FIP.
Holland has since settled in as a swingman, primarily working out of the bullpen the past two seasons. He made five starts and seven bullpen appearances for the Pirates in 2020, finishing with a 6.86 ERA/6.14 FIP. Though those numbers don’t offer much promise, and batted ball metrics show he’s been hit hard the past two years, he did log a solid 25.1 percent strikeout rate and 8.4 percent walk rate.
Phillies Sign Ivan Nova To Minors Contract
The Phillies have signed right-hander Ivan Nova to a minor league deal, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports (via Twitter). Nova will earn $1.5MM if he cracks Philadelphia’s active roster.
The signing reunites Nova with Joe Girardi, who managed the righty over Nova’s seven seasons with the Yankees. Nova delivered some solid results in New York’s rotation (albeit missing large parts of the 2014-15 seasons due to Tommy John surgery) before being dealt to the Pirates at the 2016 trade deadline. Nova pitched for the Bucs through the 2018 campaign, before moving on to the White Sox in 2019 and the Tigers in 2020.
Never a hard thrower or a big strikeout pitcher (career 16.7 K%), Nova has relied on durability and a lot of ground balls as his calling card over 11 Major League seasons. However, Nova’s performance took a drastic dropoff last season, with an 8.53 ERA over the admittedly small sample size of 19 innings in Detroit’s rotation. Nova did allow four home runs in that brief stint, and issued as many walks (nine) as strikeouts.
Nova averaged 174 innings per season from 2016-19, returning from his TJ surgery with seemingly no loss of his former durability. If the 34-year-old has anything left in the tank, the Phillies could use Nova as an innings-eater at the back of their rotation, or as the first line of defense if any of their projected five starters suffers an injury or needs to be rested to rebuild arm strength. The Phils also signed Bryan Mitchell to a minor league deal earlier today, a former Nova teammate under Girardi in the Bronx.
Braves Sign Ehire Adrianza To Minors Contract
The Braves have signed utilityman Ehire Adrianza to a minor league deal, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (via Twitter). The contract will pay Adrianza $1.5MM if he makes Atlanta’s Major League roster, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (Twitter link). Adrianza recently posted a goodbye to Twins fans on his Instagram page, seemingly indicating that a deal with a non-Minnesota team was in the works.
The 31-year-old has split his eight MLB seasons between the Giants (2013-16) and the Twins (2017-20), appearing in 465 big league games and hitting .244/.310/.360 over 1220 plate appearances. While Adrianza doesn’t have much of an offensive profile, he has been a useful bench piece due to his switch-hitting and his ability to play pretty much anywhere on the diamond. The bulk of Adrianza’s MLB time has come as a shortstop, third baseman, or second baseman, though he has seen action at first base and both corner outfield slots, plus even a couple of mop-up relief innings as a pitcher.
Atlanta also added Pablo Sandoval and Jack Mayfield this offseason, so between those two and incumbent Johan Camargo, there will be plenty of competition for Adrianza as he vies for a bench job. Third base could be the best opportunity for playing time for Adrianza and company, should youngster Austin Riley struggle or if the Braves opt to again use Riley in left field rather than at the hot corner.
MLBTR Chat Transcript
Click here to read a transcript of Tuesday’s chat with MLBTR’s Steve Adams.