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Rockies, Daniel Bard Avoid Arbitration

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The Rockies and right-handed reliever Daniel Bard have avoided arbitration with a $2.925MM agreement for 2021, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports. Bard had been projected to earn anywhere from $1.2MM to $2.2MM in arbitration.

This is a nice payday for the 35-year-old Bard and one few would have expected he’d end up receiving when he signed a minor league contract with the Rox in February. At the time, Bard was coming off a long layoff from Major League Baseball, owing to struggles with injuries and performance. Bard began his career with a flourish in Boston from 2009-11, during which he looked as if he would be a long-term answer at the back of its bullpen. However, Bard severely tailed off after that three-year run, and he was out of the league within a couple of years.

Although he hadn’t pitched in the majors since 2013, Bard earned a spot on the Rockies’ roster and proceeded to enjoy a career renaissance last season. Across 24 2/3 innings, Bard recorded a 3.65 ERA/3.64 FIP with 9.85 K/9, 3.65 BB/9 and a 48.5 percent groundball rate, even recovering the 97 mph fastball velocity that abandoned him during his final two seasons with Boston. Thanks to his perseverance and solid production, Bard earned National League Comeback Player of the Year honors.

Mike Rizzo Discusses Nationals’ Lineup, Rotation

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While the Nationals don’t appear to be pursuing Cubs third baseman/outfielder Kris Bryant in a trade, general manager Mike Rizzo does have interest in landing a big bat before the 2021 season begins.

Speaking Tuesday with Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com and other reporters, Rizzo said the Nationals will “make offensive production a little more of a priority this offseason,” and ownership won’t stand in his way to spend on help. Rizzo left the door open for the team to address multiple positions, though he “downplayed” third base and catcher as glaring holes, Zuckerman writes. That could rule out high-profile free agents such as Justin Turner and J.T. Realmuto.

Where could the Nationals look instead? According to Rizzo: “I think we’re versatile in that it doesn’t have to be strictly a right fielder or strictly a left fielder. But a corner outfielder that complements the lineup, or a first baseman, would be the smoothest transition, because those are positions of need. With that said, you can get creative and get a bat in all sorts of ways. And with a little maneuvering, we’d feel comfortable doing it in all sorts of different creative ways.”

The Nationals do have two-thirds of their starting outfield set with superstar Juan Soto and Victor Robles, but it’s unclear who will replace the departed Adam Eaton in the other spot. George Springer, Marcell Ozuna, Michael Brantley and Joc Pederson appear to be the most desirable outfield free agents. It’s unknown whether the Nationals have shown interest in them, but they do have the recently non-tendered Kyle Schwarber on their radar. Schwarber’s production took a huge dip in 2020, but he was a well-above-average hitter in the two prior seasons.

Meanwhile, the stable of free-agent first basemen doesn’t look particularly exciting. Washington did make an effort to sign Carlos Santana, though he wound up with the Royals. Versatile infielder DJ LeMahieu may be able to play the position on a regular basis if given the chance, but the Nats reportedly aren’t going after him. Longtime Nat Ryan Zimmerman (who opted out of last season), C.J. Cron, Mitch Moreland, Tommy La Stella, Jake Lamb and Justin Smoak are some other available names. There certainly aren’t any stars in that group. Nevertheless, it shouldn’t be too tall of a task to upgrade over the Nats’ first basemen from last season, as each of Eric Thames, Asdrubal Cabrera and Howie Kendrick managed below-average production.

On the pitching side, the Nationals’ rotation went from one of the league’s best during their 2019 World Series-winning season to a disappointment during a disastrous ’20 for the team. Of course, it didn’t help that Washington had to go without right-hander Stephen Strasburg, who dealt with carpal tunnel syndrome and totaled just five innings for the season. Strasburg underwent surgery in September, but Rizzo expects him to be “full-go for spring training” (via Byron Kerr of MASNsports.com).

Strasburg still has six years left on his contract, while co-ace Max Scherzer is entering the last season of the seven-year, $210MM deal he inked in 2015. That has been among the most successful big-money signings ever, though another agreement doesn’t appear imminent. Rizzo revealed that there haven’t been “any substantive conversations about an extension for Max to my knowledge,” but he added that it “could be on the ownership level” and noted that extensions often come together during the spring.

Regardless of whether Washington extends the 36-year-old Scherzer, he’ll front its rotation with Strasburg and Patrick Corbin next year. The rest of their starting five is up in the air, but Rizzo hinted he will prioritize adding a veteran No. 4 starter after he addresses the team’s lineup, according to Kerr. As for the No. 5 role, manager Dave Martinez named Joe Ross, Austin Voth and Erick Fedde as in-house possibilities. He’s especially high on Ross, saying, “I want Joe to be in the rotation.” Ross opted out of last season over health concerns, but the 27-year-old plans to return in 2021.

Mets Sign Jerad Eickhoff

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The Mets have signed right-hander Jerad Eickhoff to a minor league contract, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today. Eickhoff will earn a $1.25MM salary if he makes the majors, and he could pull in another $700K in incentives.

This deal means Eickhoff could get another crack at the National League East, where he has pitched his entire major league career so far. As a member of the Phillies from 2015-19, Eickhoff combined for 440 innings of respectable 4.15 ERA/4.39 FIP ball with 8.1 K/9 and 2.58 BB/9. During his best full season, 2016, Eickhoff put together a 3.65 ERA/4.19 FIP and 7.62 K/9 against 1.62 BB/9 over a career-high 197 1/3 frames.

Unfortunately, injuries – including carpal tunnel syndrome – have hampered what once looked like a promising big league tenure. Eickhoff threw just 5 1/3 innings in 2018 and followed that with 58 1/3 frames in his most recent season, in which he struggled to a 5.71 ERA/6.51 FIP. The 30-year-old spent some time last year with the Padres and Rangers (who drafted him in 2011), but he didn’t return to the majors with either club.

Rangers Sign David Dahl

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TODAY: The Rangers have announced the signing. Dahl will earn $2.7MM in guaranteed money, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets, with another $300K available in salary incentives.

DECEMBER 11: The Rangers and free-agent outfielder David Dahl have agreed to a one-year deal worth approximately $3MM, Jeff Passan of ESPN reports.

Texas will be the second major league franchise for the 26-year-old Dahl, who spent the first several seasons of his professional career as a member of the Colorado organization. Dahl is a former No. 10 overall pick and top 100 prospect who was a successful hitter with the Rockies for most of his time there (which spanned from 2016-20), but after he recorded woeful production last season, the Rockies moved on at the non-tender deadline a week ago. Instead of paying Dahl a projected $2.5MM to $2.7MM for 2021, Colorado cut him loose.

Dahl was just a .183/.222/.247 hitter without a single home run in 99 plate appearances last year, though he entered the campaign with a far more respectable .297/.346/.521 line with 38 HRs over 921 PA. Dahl even earned an All-Star nod in 2019. Of course, there were plenty of health issues that helped stop Dahl from making an even greater impact in Colorado. Rib, foot, ankle and back injuries have limited Dahl to a mere 264 games to this point, including just 24 in 2020, and he has only appeared in at least 100 contests in one season.

While Dahl does come with question marks, this still looks like an interesting buy-low signing on the part of the Rangers. If it works out, they’ll be able to control Dahl via arbitration through 2023. In 2021, Dahl – who has experience at all three outfield positions – should get ample chances to revive his career. Aside from Joey Gallo and Willie Calhoun, who endured their own significant drop-offs in 2020, the Rangers’ 40-man roster is sorely lacking outfielders who have experienced any real major league success.

The Dahl addition makes for the third noteworthy move the Rangers have made since they hired Chris Young as their new general manager on Dec. 4. Young and president of baseball operations Jon Daniels traded right-hander Lance Lynn to the White Sox and acquired first baseman Nate Lowe from the Rays earlier this week.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Trade/FA Notes: Yankees, Pirates, Mets, JTR, A’s, Tigers

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It was reported last week that the Yankees and Pirates have discussed Bucs right-hander Jameson Taillon and first baseman Josh Bell. It turns out the Yankees initiated those talks in an “intelligence gathering” effort, according to Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic. Even though he’s still recovering from August 2019 Tommy John surgery, it seems Taillon would be the more difficult player for the Yankees or any other team to pry from Pittsburgh. The club “would have to be blown away to deal” the 29-year-old, writes Biertempfel, who notes that Taillon is on a cheap salary ($2.25MM) and under control through 2022.

  • The Mets made their choice at catcher with the signing of James McCann, whom they added on a four-year, $40MM contract. Before picking up McCann, though, the team had “great conversations” with the best catcher in the game – free agent J.T. Realmuto – president Sandy Alderson told Tim Healey of Newsday and other reporters Monday. However, with other needs to address, the Mets didn’t want to wait around for Realmuto. Alderson noted (via Steve Gelbs of SNY) that the top of the free-agent market is moving at a glacial place.
  • The Athletics “have been in touch with Tommy La Stella’s representatives,” Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. A’s executive vice president Billy Beane and general manager David Forst have made it clear in the past they’d like La Stella back, but this is the first indication they’re making an effort to re-sign him. The 31-year-old infielder made a good impression on the A’s after they acquired him from the Angels over the summer, wrapping up a very productive two-season run between the teams. La Stella appeared in 55 of 60 regular-season games in 2020 and batted .281/.370/.449 (129 wRC+) with five home runs in 228 plate appearances. And with 27 walks against a mere 12 strikeouts, he ranked first in the majors in K rate and BB/K ratio.
  • Tigers manager AJ Hinch discussed some of the team’s offseasons plans with MLB Network Radio on Monday, per Jason Beck of MLB.com (Twitter links). As you’d expect, one of the Tigers’ priorities is to “enhance” their pitching staff by adding at least one more starter. The Tigers have already been connected to righty Taijuan Walker in the rumor mill, but he’s far from the only affordable starter they could target in free agency. Likewise, the Tigers could choose from any number of free-agent hitters to improve their offense. “The players have to want to come to Detroit,” Hinch said of potential offensive additions. “It has to fit in our budget. We’re being patient, but we’re also being opportunistic when the time comes.”

Minor MLB Transactions: 12/14/20

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Monday’s minor moves from around the game…

  • The Padres have signed right-hander Jacob Rhame to a minor league contract with an invitation to major league spring training, Dennis Lin of The Athletic tweets. While Rhame spent time with the Angels organization last season, he didn’t appear in any of their games. Before joining the Halos, Rhame appeared in the majors as a Met in each season from 2017-19, but he could only manage a 6.23 ERA/6.06 FIP with 7.55 K/9 and 4.53 BB/9 in that 47 2/3-inning span. The 27-year-old has, however, been successful in Triple-A, where he owns a 3.73 ERA with 10.8 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9 over 169 innings.
  • The Tigers announced the addition of lefty reliever Ian Krol on a minors pact that comes with an invitation to big league camp. This will be the second Tigers stint for Krol, whom they first acquired from the Nationals in a 2013 trade centering on Doug Fister. Krol became a part of the Tigers’ bullpen from 2014-15, but he was unable to establish himself as a reliable reliever in Detroit. He had a career year the next season as a member of the Braves, with whom he threw 51 innings of 3.18 ERA/2.91 FIP ball and notched 9.88 K/9 and 2.29 BB/9. Things have since gone downhill for Krol, who had a poor 2017 with the Braves, threw only two MLB frames as an Angel in 2018, and hasn’t resurfaced in the majors. He was hit with a 50-game suspension for a drug of abuse in 2019 and spent last season pitching independent ball.

Yankees Sign Matt Bowman To Minor League Contract

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The Yankees have signed right-handed reliever Matt Bowman to a two-year minor league contract, Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. Bowman will earn a $900K salary if he makes the majors in either of the next two seasons.

Considering Bowman underwent Tommy John surgery in September, it seems like an extreme long shot that he’ll impact the Yankees at all in 2021. More realistically, New York can hope he’ll return to health during the second season of his deal and re-emerge as a viable big league reliever.

The 29-year-old Bowman began his career as an effective workhorse in St. Louis, where he combined for 126 1/3 innings of 3.70 ERA/3.47 FIP pitching from 2016-17. Bowman, who averages 91 mph on his fastball, didn’t rack up many strikeouts in those years (6.98 per nine), but he helped make up for it with an impressive 58.4 percent groundball rate.

Unfortunately for Bowman and St. Louis, he wasn’t able to turn in a third straight solid season in 2018. Bowman had multiple stints on the injured list because of blisters, logged a 6.76 ERA/4.73 FIP and recorded a career-worst 48.5 percent grounder mark in 23 innings. That was the end of the line with the Cardinals for Bowman, whom the Reds claimed before the 2019 season. Bowman returned to his previous form that year in Cincinnati, where he put up a 3.66 ERA/3.68 FIP and a 55.1 GB rate, but his elbow injury stopped him from pitching in 2020. The Reds moved on from Bowman in the wake of his surgery.

Nationals Sign Luis Avilan To Minors Deal

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The Nationals have signed left-handed reliever Luis Avilan to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training, as Efrain Zavarce of IVC Networks Venezuela reports and Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post confirms.

The Nationals are the fourth NL East organization for the well-traveled Avilan, who has posted quality numbers in the majors since his career began with the Braves in 2012. The 31-year-old owns a 3.30 ERA/3.47 FIP with 8.12 K/9, 3.53 BB/9, 0.57 HR/9 and a 50.3 percent groundball rate across 349 innings, though his production dipped during the previous two seasons in New York.

Avilan spent 2019 as a member of the Mets, with whom he notched a 5.06 ERA/4.96 FIP in 32 innings. A significant increase in home runs allowed (1.41 per nine) played a key role in those struggles.

Avilan moved on to the Yankees last season and tossed just 8 1/3 frames of four-run ball (with nine strikeouts and five walks), though a large portion of the damage came in his final outing of 2020 on Aug. 20. The Yankees then released Avilan, who was battling shoulder issues at the time. He’ll now move on to the seventh organization of his career.

Rangers Sign Jharel Cotton, Jason Martin To Minor League Deals

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The Rangers announced that they have signed right-hander Jharel Cotton, outfielder Jason Martin and righty Edubray Ramos (previously reported) to minor league contracts. All three deals come with invitations to spring training.

The 28-year-old Cotton was a top 100 prospect during his younger days, and he posted encouraging numbers (2.15 ERA/3.76 FIP) during his 29 1/3-major league debut with the Athletics in 2016. Cotton was then a regular in the A’s rotation the next season, in which he totaled 129 1/3 frames on 24 starts, but he could only muster a 5.58 ERA with a similar 5.68 FIP that year. He hasn’t pitched in the majors since then, owing largely to the Tommy John surgery he underwent in March 2018. Cotton tried to work his way back in 2019, but hamstring injuries helped prevent that from happening. Oakland then sent Cotton to the Cubs in a minor trade, though Chicago released him in September.

Martin entered the pros as a 2013 eighth-round pick of the Astros, who traded him to the Pirates five years later as part of the teams’ Gerrit Cole swap. But Martin didn’t produce much in two Triple-A seasons as a Pirate, and he slumped to a .200/.294/.244 line in the majors over a small sample of plate appearances (51) from 2019-20. The Pirates outrighted the 25-year-old after the season.

Latest On Yankees’ Pursuit Of DJ LeMahieu

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Yankees general manager Brian Cashman suggested last week that the club is intent on re-signing second baseman DJ LeMahieu, who’s their best free agent and one of the few stars on the market. However, it doesn’t appear the two parties are anywhere close to a deal.

Bob Nightengale of USA Today told MLB Network that the Yankees are offering a four-year contract worth $75MM, but he added that LeMahieu is seeking a five-year, $100MM pact. The one-year gap between the two is accurate, but the money is not, a source informed Brendan Kuty of NJ.com. The Yankees and LeMahieu are actually apart by more than $25MM, according to Kuty. Joel Sherman of the New York Post and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic hear the same.

While LeMahieu’s hope is to remain with the Yankees, he isn’t going to limit himself to one team in negotiations, as Rosenthal relays that the 2020 AL batting champion is going to start talking with other clubs. There is widespread interest in the 32-year-old, though some teams are in “why bother” mode with LeMahieu because they expect him to return to the Yankees, per Sherman.

Historically, the Yankees have been able to keep their top free agents when they’ve wanted to, but it could be a different story this winter because of the team’s desire to cut payroll during the pandemic. As Sherman notes, if the Yankees get under the $210MM luxury-tax threshold in 2021, they’d be cutting around $50MM in payroll compared to last season.

Considering his contributions to the Yankees over the previous two years, it’s hard to imagine LeMahieu playing elsewhere in 2021. But it looks quite possible if he and the Yankees can’t reach a reasonable compromise in the coming weeks.

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