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Rangers, Hyeon-Jong Yang Reportedly Nearing Deal

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The Rangers are nearing a deal with left-hander Hyeon-Jong Yang, according to multiple reports out of South Korea (hat tip: Jee-ho Yoo of the Yonhap News Agency, on Twitter). Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports that an announcement of a minor league agreement could come from the Rangers today. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Jeff Wilson tweets that the deal would contain an invite to Spring Training and pay Yang $1.3MM should he make the roster.

Yang, 32, has long had his sights set on eventually testing his abilities against Major League opponents. His original club, the Kia Tigers, posted him for MLB clubs seven years ago. However, the Tigers were unsatisfied with the top bid — a bid which came from the Rangers — and opted to instead hang onto him. The Tigers controlled Yang for multiple seasons beyond that point, and he opted to re-sign on a series of lucrative contracts that made him one of the KBO’s highest-paid players.

Now on the verge of his 33rd birthday and with ample career earnings in the KBO, however, Yang has appeared dead set on pursuing MLB opportunities this winter. He recently cut off negotiations to return to the Tigers for what would’ve been his 15th season, indicating he’d instead exhaust his opportunities at securing a Major League job. It seems that no club was willing to make Yang a guaranteed offer — he struggled through a down season in 2020 — so he’ll now look to earn a spot on the Rangers’ staff.

Yang’s 2020 season — which featured 172 1/3 innings of 4.70 ERA ball, a 20 percent strikeout rate and 8.6 percent walk rate — surely hampered his market this winter, but he still has several points working in his favor as he looks to realize his MLB dream.

First and foremost, he has a lengthy track record as one of the KBO’s most successful arms. Yang is a former KBO MVP who, from 2013-19, worked to a combined 3.35 ERA in more than 1200 innings. He’s also been a durable workhorse, starting at least 29 games in each of the past seven seasons. Thirdly and perhaps most importantly, Yang tossed 172 1/3 innings over the life of 31 starts last season. While no MLB pitcher reached even 85 innings in 2020, Yang tossed more than double that workload. As teams look to navigate the season and monitor the workloads of their rotations, Yang would be one of the few pitchers in MLB who could at least theoretically be entrusted with a typical workload of 180-plus innings and 33-34 starts.

That won’t matter, of course, if he proves ineffective against big league hitters. But a player with his track record, recent workload and modest price tag is a perfectly reasonable flier for any team — particularly a rebuilding club like the Rangers.

Rangers, Brock Holt Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Rangers are in agreement on a minor league contract with free-agent infielder/outfielder Brock Holt, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter link). The contract would pay the Lagardere Sports client $1.75MM if he makes the roster. He’ll be in Major League Spring Training.

Holt, 32, had a strong run with the 2018-19 with the Red Sox, hitting at a combined .286/.366/.407 while playing above-average defense at each of second base, third base and the outfield corners. Holt, who also has time at shortstop, still found something of a tepid market last winter and settled for a one-year deal with the Brewers. Things didn’t pan out in Milwaukee, however, as Holt hit just .100/.222/.100 before being cut loose. He bounced back after latching on with the Nationals, however, hitting at a .262/.314/.354 clip in 70 trips to the plate.

With the Rangers, Holt joins fellow non-roster invitee Charlie Culberson as a veteran bench option for manager Chris Woodward. With Isiah Kiner-Falefa now ticketed for everyday work at shortstop and Nick Solak likely getting the lion’s share of time at second base, Holt and Culberson will battle Rougned Odor for playing time at the hot corner as the Rangers organization awaits the eventual arrival of top prospect and former first-rounder Josh Jung.

Blue Jays, Joe Panik Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Blue Jays have agreed to a minor league contract with free-agent infielder Joe Panik, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN (Twitter link). The Jet Sports client will be invited to Major League Spring Training and would earn $1.85MM with another $400K available via incentives if he makes the roster.

It’s the second straight minor league pact with Toronto for Panik, who ultimately did crack the 2020 roster and appear in 41 games for the Jays. The longtime Giants infielder tallied 141 trips to the plate with Toronto, batting at a .225/.340/.300 clip with a homer, six doubles and a gaudy 14.2 percent walk rate.

Panik hasn’t hit for much average since his first two years in the Majors, but he’s settled in as a quality defender with a solid walk rate and one of the game’s lower strikeout rates. Dating back to the 2016 season, Panik carries a .255/.324/.366 slash in addition to a 2016 Gold Glove Award for his work at second base. He’s played second base almost exclusively in his MLB career, but Panik was a college shortstop who also saw time at third base with the Blue Jays in 2020.

If he’s able to make their roster a second time, Panik could bounce around the infield as a utility piece. Santiago Espinal is his primary competition on the 40-man roster for that role, though the Jays will also have Richard Urena in camp as a non-roster invitee.

Rays Add Four Pitchers On Minor League Deals

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The Rays are reported to be nearing a big league deal with veteran righty Collin McHugh, but they’ve also been active in minor league free agency this week. Tampa Bay has agreed to non-roster invitations with lefty Brian Moran and right-handers Joey Krehbiel and Louis Head, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. They’ve also signed righty Stetson Allie to a minor league deal and Spring Training invite, as announced by agent Gavin Kahn on Twitter.

Each of Moran and Krehbiel have some big league experience under their belts. Moran, the older brother of Pirates first baseman Colin Moran, has pitched 11 innings between the Marlins and Blue Jays over the past two seasons. He’s surrendered eight runs in that time and displayed some problematic control (14.5 percent walk rate, three hit batters, three wild pitches), but Moran has also whiffed 31 percent of opponents. The 32-year-old has pitched in parts of five Triple-A seasons with a 3.67 ERA and 30.2 percent strikeout rate.

The 28-year-old Krehbiel tossed three scoreless frames for the 2018 D-backs but hasn’t made it back to the Majors since that time. Like Moran, Krehbiel has some bat-missing ability (25 percent strikeout rate in Triple-A) but problematic control that has held him back (12.5 percent walk rate in Triple-A).

Allie may be a familiar name to some due to his status as a once-touted pitching prospect. The 2010 second-rounder was considered one of the top high school arms in the draft and landed on a few Top 100 lists before injuries stalled his career. Allie pivoted and tried to make it as a first baseman/outfielder for several years before returning to the mound on a full-time basis in 2018. He’s spent time with the Pirates, who drafted him, and the Dodgers. He’s yet to make it to the big leagues, but the Rays will hope to coax another level out of the now-29-year-old righty, whose fastball has in the past reached triple digits.

Head, a longtime Indians farmhand who spent 2019 with the Dodgers organization as well, is a career reliever who posted strong numbers through Double-A but hasn’t yet matched that success in Triple-A. He has a 5.46 ERA in 90 2/3 frames of Triple-A ball while striking out just shy of a quarter of opponents against an 11.5 percent walk rate he’ll need to reduce.

Phillies, Brad Miller Closing In On Deal

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8:30am: The Phillies and Miller are working toward a deal that would come with a guarantee in the $3MM to $3.5MM range, Morosi tweets.

7:45am: The Phillies are in talks with veteran utilityman Brad Miller about a contract for the 2021 season, MLB.com’s Jon Morosi reports (via Twitter). If completed, it’d mark Miller’s second stint with the Phillies after spending half the season with them in 2019.

A Miller reunion would be an affordable and sensible upgrade for the Phillies’ bench. Manager Joe Girardi said this week that with Didi Gregorius now officially back in the fold, it’s likely that Jean Segura is penciled in for the starting role at second base (Twitter link via Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer). Scott Kingery will again bounce around the diamond and see time at multiple positions. Kingery has average or better defensive grades at each of second base, third base, shortstop and in center field but will be looking for a rebound at the plate after slumping through 124 plate appearances in 2020 following a bout with Covid-19.

On days when Kingery is tasked with roaming the outfield, the current iteration of the Phils lacks much in the way of infield depth. The Phillies acquired infield prospect C.J. Chatham — a former Dave Dombrowski draftee — from the Red Sox earlier this winter but have little on the 40-man roster behind him. Ronald Torreyes will be in Spring Training as a non-roster invitee, but at the moment, a couple of injuries would leave the Phillies reliant on a thin farm system that lacks MLB-ready infield talent.

Miller, 31, would give them another versatile player to add to the mix. He’s not the defender that Kingery is, but he’s been a much better hitter of late and has a longer track record at the MLB level. In 171 plate appearances with the Cardinals in 2020, Miller slashed .232/.357/.451, and over the past three years combined he’s a .247/.329/.468 batter with 27 homers, 27 doubles and four triples. He’s strikeout-prone (29.1 percent in that time), which limits his batting average, but Miller draws plenty of walks (10.4 percent) and makes frequent hard contact.

The Cardinals used Miller as a designated hitter more often than anything else in 2020, although he played 15 games at third base and also appeared at shortstop and second base. He lined up most frequently in left field and at third base with the Phillies in 2019, but Miller has more than 3000 MLB innings at shortstop, more than 1200 at second base and more than 600 at first base as well.

The Phillies, by all indications, are angling to stay beneath the $210MM luxury tax threshold, but signing Miller wouldn’t jeopardize that goal. They’re currently at $198.7MM worth of luxury obligations, per Jason Martinez of Roster Resource, and Miller’s price ought to only push that upward by a few million dollars.

Latest On Mets’ Interest In Kris Bryant

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Though the Mets and Cubs tabled their talks for Kris Bryant at some point last month, SNY’s Andy Martino reports that the two sides have re-engaged to some extent more recently.

As outlined here in the past, any trade involving Bryant would be complicated for myriad reasons. The former NL Rookie of the Year and MVP is coming off his worst season, though that came in a truncated 2020 schedule, making it more difficult to evaluate his ability to rebound. He’s also controlled for only one more season and owed a hefty $19.5MM at a time when most clubs throughout the league are wary of taking on more money. There’s also little hope of Bryant, a Scott Boras client, signing an extension — be it with the Cubs or with a new team that acquires him in a trade.

Martino indicates that the Mets have been looking for takers to offload relievers Dellin Betances and/or Jeurys Familia, both of whom are signed through 2021 at rather inflated amounts. Betances exercised a player option valued at $6.8MM for the coming season, while Familia is owed $11MM this coming season ($1MM of which is deferred until 2022). His contract also contains a $1MM assignment bonus in the event of a trade. Speculatively speaking, the Mets could try to push either reliever on the Cubs as something of a financial counterweight.

Of course, the Mets already have a third baseman who’s been a productive hitter for them: 27-year-old J.D. Davis. New York controls Davis all the way through the 2024 season, and while his ceiling isn’t as high as Bryant’s, Davis has been every bit as productive as Bryant over the past couple seasons (.288/.370/.483 to Bryant’s .267/.365/.488). Davis, however, is owed just $2.1MM this year and eligible for three more raises in arbitration between now and the 2024-25 offseason.

Martino adds that the Cubs have at times expressed interest in acquiring Davis themselves, which isn’t a shock given his affordable price tag and recent level of production. However, getting the Mets to part with Davis in return for Bryant alone seems decidedly unlikely. Even attaching Familia’s final year to Davis would still mean the Mets were taking on more than $6MM in new salary and parting with four years of Davis in exchange for one year of a hopeful Bryant rebound.

It’s easy to conjure up more elaborate scenarios in which the Cubs send Bryant and an established pitcher to the Mets, who could use an upgrade in the rotation to push Joey Lucchesi into more of a depth role. The Mets just missed on Trevor Bauer in free agency, and they’ve recently been linked to free-agent starters. The Cubs adding any MLB pitching help to a potential deal would likely necessitate adding more pieces on the Mets’ side, however, further illustrating the difficult nature of actually coming to an agreement on such a layered discussion.

Red Sox To Sign Marwin Gonzalez

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The Red Sox have reached an agreement with free-agent utilityman Marwin Gonzalez, according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. It’s a one-year, $3MM pact, Feinsand tweets. MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo tweets that Gonzalez can tack on an additional $1.1MM via bonuses based on plate appearances.

This deal will reunite Gonzalez with Red Sox manager Alex Cora, who was Houston’s bench coach during Gonzalez’s best season in 2017. Gonzalez played with the Astros from 2012-18, and though it took a couple years for his offense to come around, he became a solid producer at the plate for the club during those last years. The switch-hitter amassed 2,265 plate appearances as an Astro from 2014-18 and batted .271/.328/.438 (111 wRC+) with 70 home runs. He also lined up at every position but pitcher and catcher while with the Astros.

Gonzalez parlayed his all-around success with the Astros into a two-year, $21MM contract with the Twins entering 2019. He continued to provide impressive defensive flexibility in Minnesota, taking the field at all of his previous spots except center field, but his offense faded. The 31-year-old concluded his Twins tenure with a subpar line of .248/.311/.387 (85 wRC+) and 20 homers in 662 trips to the plate.

Although he didn’t produce as hoped as a Twin, it isn’t a surprise Gonzalez garnered interest from several teams this free-agency period. The Blue Jays, one of Boston’s division rivals, were also among the teams fighting for him, per Feinsand. Like fellow new Red Sox utilitman Enrique Hernandez, Gonzalez figures to play all over the diamond for the club. That should include the outfield, as the Red Sox traded one of their previous starters – Andrew Benintendi – on Wednesday.

Tigers To Sign Nomar Mazara

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The Tigers are closing in on a deal with free-agent outfielder Nomar Mazara, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports. It’s a major league contract that will pay Mazara $1.75MM plus incentives, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network.

Mazara was a much-ballyhooed prospect in his younger days, as he entered the pro ranks with a whopping $5MM bonus from the Rangers when he signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2011. He topped out as Baseball America’s No. 21 overall prospect in 2016, when he debuted in the majors and played his age-21 season. Mazara got off to a nice start then relative to age, hitting .266/.320/.419 with 20 home runs in 568 plate appearances, but hasn’t progressed much since then.

From 2017-19 as a Ranger, Mazara hit .259/.320/.440 with 59 homers and just 1.2 fWAR across 1,621 trips to the plate. The Rangers decided to part with Mazara after the last of those seasons, sending him to the White Sox for outfield prospect Steele Walker prior to 2020.

Chicago was obviously hoping the proverbial light bulb would go on for Mazara in its uniform, but that didn’t happen. He wound up slashing a disastrous .228/.295/.294 with a single HR and a microscopic .066 isolated power number in 149 PA. The White Sox saw enough and elected to non-tender Mazara in lieu of paying him a projected $5MM-plus in arbitration in 2021.

Mazara is still only 25, so the Tigers will follow the division-rival White Sox in hoping he’ll be able to tap into his potential sometime soon. The left-handed-hitting Mazara has typically had a terrible time against same-handed pitchers, though he has offered league-average offense versus righties. He could at least emerge in Detroit as a platoon partner for fellow corner outfielder Victor Reyes, who has had trouble against righties during his career.

Blue Jays Designate Derek Fisher

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The Blue Jays have designated outfielder Derek Fisher for assignment, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. The move clears space for the signing of right-hander David Phelps.

Fisher was the 37th overall pick of the Astros in 2014 and someone who ranked among their top prospects in the ensuing few years, but he hasn’t panned out in the majors thus far. He debuted in 2017 and has since batted .194/.286/.376 with 17 home runs and 10 stolen bases in 458 plate appearances, including 146 with the Blue Jays. Toronto acquired him from Houston in 2019 in a trade that saw righties Aaron Sanchez and Joe Biagini join the Astros.

Fisher is still just 27 years old, owner of a .289/.379/.520 line with 50 homers in 1,053 Triple-A PA, and not on track to become eligible for free agency until after 2024. All of that suggests another team could take a chance on him in a trade or via waivers. However, Fisher is out of minor league options, meaning he can’t be sent down without going back to the waiver wire.

Mets Designate Brad Brach For Assignment

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The Mets announced that they have designated reliever Brad Brach for assignment. They did so to make room for the signing of infielder Jonathan Villar.

The well-traveled Brach joined the Mets in August 2019, shortly after the Cubs released him, and did well enough in the season’s final weeks for New York to re-sign him entering last year. Brach wasn’t able to follow up on that success, though, as he gave the Mets 12 1/3 innings of eight-earned run ball with just as many walks as strikeouts (14). Also of concern: Brach averaged just over 90 mph on his fastball – far below his lifetime mean of 93.6.

The soon-to-be 35-year-old Brach forewent another trip to free agency this past October when he chose to exercise a $2.075MM player option for 2021. However, Brach could soon head back to the open market if the Mets don’t find a taker for him in a trade, as he has enough service time to reject an outright assignment.

While 2020 was rocky for Brach, he has been durable and adept at preventing runs for most of his career. He has thrown at least 60 innings in six different seasons and has pitched to a 3.39 ERA/3.78 SIERA with an above-average strikeout rate of 25.1 percent over 522 2/3 frames.

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