MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com

Pirates, Todd Frazier Agree To Minor League Deal

By Steve Adams and Connor Byrne | February 20, 2021 at 9:30am CDT

FEB 20: The Pirates have formally announced the signing of Frazier. He has received an invite to spring training.

FEB 19: The Pirates and veteran corner infielder Todd Frazier are in agreement on a minor league contract, longtime New York Post scribe Kevin Kernan reports (via Twitter). Kevin Williams of the Shore Sports Network writes that Frazier himself confirmed the agreement to him. Frazier, a CAA Baseball client, will head to Major League camp with the Pirates as a non-roster invitee. Frazier will earn a $1.5MM salary if he makes the club, Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic tweets. The deal is pending a physical.

Frazier, who turned 35 last Friday, is a 10-year veteran who has appeared with the Reds, White Sox, Yankees, Mets and Rangers since his 2011 debut. He has consistently been an above-average producer at the plate, having slashed .242/.319/.448 (108 wRC+) with 218 home runs and 73 stolen bases in 4,909 trips. Frazier has also twice hit at least 35 homers in an individual season, earned a pair of All-Star nods and been a plus defender at third, where he has put up 20 Defensive Runs Saved and a 24.6 Ultimate Zone Rating across almost 9,100 innings at the position.

While Frazier has enjoyed an impressive career thus far, he had to settle for a minors deal with the bottom-feeding Pirates because of subpar production between the Mets and Rangers in 2020. Frazier hit a mere .236/.302/.382 (89 wRC+) with four HRs and a career-worst .146 ISO in 172 PA. Frazier also notched rather ugly Statcast numbers, evidenced in part by a .295 expected weighted on-base average that ranked in the league’s 15th percentile and barely outpaced his real wOBA of .281.

Although his production fell off last year, there’s no harm in taking a low-risk chance on Frazier from the Pirates’ perspective. Frazier could at least be a bench option for the team behind the projected third-first tandem of Ke’Bryan Hayes and Colin Moran if he earns a roster spot. If Frazier performs well in that role, the Pirates may be able to flip him elsewhere prior to the trade deadline.

Tigers Sign Ben Taylor To Minor League Deal

By Connor Byrne | February 20, 2021 at 9:00am CDT

The Tigers have signed right-hander Ben Taylor to a minor league contract, per a team announcement. The club also signed righty Cale Coshow, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press tweets. Additionally, MLBTR has learned that yet another righty, Ricardo Pinto, is joining the organization.

Taylor threw 23 1/3 major league innings as a member of the Red Sox and Indians from 2017-18, in which he logged an ugly 5.40 ERA. But Taylor recorded a much more encouraging 3.94 SIERA and an above-average 24.8 percent strikeout rate during that time. The 28-year-old owns a 3.91 ERA in 126 2/3 Triple-A frames, but he struggled at that level with the Diamondbacks in 2019 and didn’t pitch professionally last season.

Coshow, also 28, is a former Yankees draft pick (13th round, 2013) who hasn’t gotten to the majors yet. He appeared in Triple-A in each season from 2017-19 and combined for a 4.89 ERA across 77 1/3 innings.

Pinto has a bit of experience in the bigs with the Phillies and Rays, with whom he posted a horrid 8.44 ERA with similarly woeful strikeout and walk percentages (15.8 and 11.9, respectively) in parts of two seasons and over 32 innings. The 27-year-old spent last season as a member of SK Wyverns in the Korea Baseball Organization, but he also had trouble keeping runs off the board there. While Pinto did amass 30 starts and 162 innings, opposing offenses lit him up for a 6.17 ERA.

Cubs Re-Sign Cameron Maybin

By Connor Byrne | February 19, 2021 at 9:47pm CDT

The Cubs have re-signed free-agent outfielder Cameron Maybin, according to Jon Morosi of MLB.com. It’s a minor league contract with an invitation to major league spring training, Morosi adds.

Maybin ended last year with the Cubs, who acquired him from the Tigers at the Aug. 31 trade deadline. The 33-year-old didn’t post great numbers as a Cub (.669 OPS in 56 plate appearances), but he was fairly productive in Detroit. Maybin ended the season with a .247/.307/.387 line with one home run and three stolen bases across 101 PA. Defensively, Maybin saw action at all three outfield positions, though most of his work came as a right fielder. He concluded 2020 with minus-2 Defensive Runs Saved and a plus-0.7 Ultimate Zone Rating in 209 1/3 innings.

Along with his defensive versatility, Maybin has typically provided OK offense, having hit .256/.324/.376 with 72 homers and 186 steals in 4,218 PA since he debuted in 2007. While Maybin never developed into the star many thought he would turn into when he was a prospect, he has at least been a useful reserve outfielder. However, Maybin could have his work cut out in earning a spot on a Cubs team that already has Ian Happ, Joc Pederson, Jason Heyward, Jake Marisnick and Phil Ervin among the outfielders on its 40-man roster.

Pitching Notes: Lamet, Claudio, Robertson, E. Cabrera, Oberg

By Connor Byrne | February 19, 2021 at 8:31pm CDT

The Padres had to go without breakout star Dinelson Lamet in the playoffs last year because of arm issues, but the right-hander told AJ Cassavell of MLB.com and other reporters that he’s healthy heading into the upcoming season. “I’m coming off that rest period, I did everything I needed to do, I feel well-prepared,” said Lamet. “I feel like I’m 100 percent myself.” That’s another excellent development in an offseason full of them for the burgeoning Padres, as Lamet was a 2020 Cy Young contender who pitched to a 2.09 ERA/3.16 SIERA in 69 innings and struck out more than 12 batters per nine. If healthy, he’ll open the season near the top of a San Diego rotation that added Yu Darvish, Blake Snell and Joe Musgrove in the offseason, and also has Chris Paddack in the fold as a holdover.

Angels lefty reliever Alex Claudio is battling a hip infection that could delay his camp debut by at least one to two weeks, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com tweets. That’s unwelcome news for Claudio and the Angels’ bullpen, as the team’s counting on him to fill a regular role after it signed him to a $1.125MM guarantee in free agency. The 29-year-old spent last season with the Brewers and registered a 4.26 ERA/4.43 SIERA in 19 innings.
Free-agent reliever David Robertson held his second showcase of the month on Friday, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. A dozen-plus teams were in attendance to watch Robertson, according to Feinsand, who writes that the right-hander “was said to look good.” Robertson’s fastball regularly checked in between 90-91 mph and hit 92 mph multiple times. The 35-year-old has averaged 92 mph on his fastball since his career started in 2008.
Marlins righty prospect Edward Cabrera has an inflamed nerve in his biceps, and there’s no timetable on when he’ll be able to throw, according to Christina De Nicola of MLB.com. The Marlins will obviously be careful with the 22-year-old Cabrera, whom MLB.com ranks as the 68th overall prospect in the game. Cabrera didn’t pitch last year because of the lack of a minor league season, but he put up 38 2/3 innings of 2.56 ERA ball at the Double-A level in 2019.
Rockies reliever Scott Oberg hasn’t suffered any setbacks since he underwent thoracic outlet syndrome surgery in September, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post writes. The hope is that the procedure will help Oberg get over blood clots that have dogged him in the past. Oberg hasn’t taken a major league mound since Aug. 16, 2019, but the righty was highly effective out of the Rockies’ bullpen that season and in the prior campaign.

Tigers To Sign Julio Teheran

By Connor Byrne | February 19, 2021 at 6:35pm CDT

The Tigers have agreed to a contract with free-agent right-hander Julio Teheran, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network. It’s a non-guaranteed deal, though Teheran will earn a $3MM base salary if he makes the Tigers’ roster. He could rake in another $1MM in incentives if he starts 20 games for the team.

The 30-year-old Teheran signed a $9MM guarantee with the Angels last winter, but the union proved to be disastrous for both sides. Teheran threw 31 1/3 innings with the Halos and ranked last among all pitchers who totaled at least 30 frames in ERA (10.05). He was also second from the bottom in K-BB percentage (2.7). Teheran did post a far better SIERA (5.59) than ERA, but that also checked in toward the bottom of the league. Likewise, Teheran’s career-worst 89.0 mph fastball velocity – down from his lifetime 90.7 – wound up in the basement of the majors.

Before he signed with the Angels, Teheran put together a solid run as a Brave from 2011-19. He looked like a potential front-end starter with the club early on before settling in as a mid-rotation type, and he soaked up plenty of innings for the club. In a stretch from 2013-19, Teheran threw no fewer than 174 2/3 innings in any individual season, and he combined for a 3.64 ERA/4.26 SIERA during that span.

Teheran could now get a shot to rebound in Detroit, which is known to have been looking for another veteran starter leading up to the season. They’ve shown interest in one of their former hurlers, free agent Rick Porcello, but the Teheran addition will “likely” rule out a reunion, Jason Beck of MLB.com tweets. That could leave Teheran to join Matthew Boyd, Spencer Turnbull, Michael Fulmer and Jose Urena in the Tigers’ season-opening starting staff, though prospects such as Casey Mize, Tarik Skubal and Matt Manning could also factor in this year.

White Sox Notes: Vaughn, Fry, Crochet, Kopech, Roster

By Steve Adams | February 19, 2021 at 6:18pm CDT

White Sox general manager Rick Hahn met with reporters yesterday as pitchers and catchers reported to camp, touching on a number of topics pertaining to a bolstered 2021 roster. Perhaps most notably, Hahn indicated that top prospect Andrew Vaughn, the No. 3 overall pick from the 2019 draft, is “very much in the mix” to make the Opening Day roster (Twitter link via Daryl Van-Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times). Chicago was at times connected to potential DH candidates throughout the winter, but part of the reason the Sox opted not to bring in a dedicated DH was due to their belief that Vaughn could emerge as early as this season.

While the 22-year-old still has just 55 professional games under his belt thanks to the absence of minor league play in 2020, Vaughn fared well in that time, slashing a combined .278/.384/.449 with six homers, 17 doubles and nearly as many walks (30) as strikeouts (36). Vaughn’s numbers at Cal teetered on absurd, as he batted .374/.495/.668 with 50 long balls in 745 plate appearances. He’s universally ranked among the game’s Top 30 or so prospects, and once he makes the roster he could split time with Jose Abreu between first base and designated hitter.

Rangers Sign Tyson Ross

By Steve Adams | February 19, 2021 at 2:24pm CDT

The Rangers have signed right-hander Tyson Ross to a minor league contract, per a club announcement. The Wasserman client won’t be in Major League camp and will instead report to Spring Training with the minor league rehab group, per the announcement.

Ross, 33, opted out of the 2020 season and hasn’t pitched at the big league level since an ugly 2019 run with the Tigers (35 1/3 innings, 6.11 ERA). He’s battled shoulder and elbow troubles throughout his career, including a thoracic outlet procedure back in 2016. This’ll be the second Rangers stint for Ross, who was with the club in 2017 as well.

While injuries have derailed much of Ross’ career, there was a point where he was one of the better young starters in the National League. From 2013-15, Ross tallied 516 2/3 innings with the Padres and turned in a tidy 3.07 ERA with a 24.6 percent strikeout rate. That mark was more impressive at that point, as the league-average strikeout rate for hitters in that three-year span was 20.2 percent — a good bit lower than today’s average 23.4 percent.

Ross hasn’t had much success since that first Padres run, thanks primarily to injuries, but he did mix in a solid 2018 showing amid a series of injury-marred seasons. He returned to the Padres as a free agent in the 2017-18 offseason and gave them 22 starts of 4.45 ERA ball before being traded to the Cardinals and pitching well out of their bullpen. All in all, that 2018 season resulted in 149 2/3 innings of 4.15 ERA output — a far cry from his 2013-15 peak but still plenty useful for both clubs whose uniform he donned.

It’s anyone’s guess whether Ross can shake off the rust and the persistent injuries and return to form in a second go-around in Arlington. That he won’t report to big league camp indicates that he’ll be more of a mid-season option than a candidate to crack the Opening Day roster, but Ross is a no-risk veteran depth stash with a fair bit of MLB success under his belt. There’s no harm in seeing what he can bring to the table at this point, and if he does regain his form, he’s a versatile pitcher familiar with multiple roles who can help the Rangers navigate a 162-game slate that will prove challenging after last year’s 60-game schedule.

Ian Happ Wins Arbitration Hearing

By Steve Adams | February 19, 2021 at 1:25pm CDT

Ian Happ won his arbitration hearing over the Cubs and will earn the $4.1MM salary for which he and his reps at Excel Sports filed rather than the team’s proposed $3.25MM figure, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reports (via Twitter).

Happ, 26, has played all three outfield spots, second base, third base and a little bit of first base through his first four seasons as a Cub, batting a combined .248/.344/.481 along the way. He’s connected on 62 homers, 54 doubles and seven triples through 1262 plate appearances, adding in 19 steals on the bases (albeit with a questionable success rate, as he’s also been caught 11 times).

Happ succeeded in spite of one of the game’s highest strikeout rates in his first two seasons, but he’s lowered that mark from 33.8 percent in 2017-18 to a more tolerable 26.4 percent in 2019-20. He could certainly still stand to further pare back that punchout rate, but for a player with his well above-average power and walk rates, the strikeouts are a little easier to overlook.

Over the past two seasons, Happ has made some offensive gains at the plate, hitting at a combined .260/.350/.530 through a relatively small sample of 387 plate appearances. That’s good for 30 percent better than the league average overall, by measure of wRC+, and if it’s a sign of things to come then Happ ought to be positioned quite nicely from a financial standpoint. His subsequent raises next winter and in the 2022-23 offseason will now be based upon a higher starting point thanks to today’s ruling. He’ll be a free agent following the 2023 season.

With Happ’s salary now set in stone, the Cubs’ 2021 payroll is set at about $157.8MM, per Roster Resource’s Jason Martinez. It’s possible that they’ll make another late addition or two — the Cubs inked Brandon Workman to a $1MM deal earlier in the week — but substantial changes appear unlikely. President of baseball ops Jed Hoyer stated early in the week that he’s not engaged in any trade talks and generally expects the current core group to remain intact come Opening Day.

Mariners Designate Robert Dugger For Assignment

By Steve Adams | February 19, 2021 at 12:41pm CDT

The Mariners announced that they’ve designated right-hander Robert Dugger for assignment in order to open a spot on the roster for righty Ken Giles, whose two-year contract is now official.

Dugger, 25, was an 18th-round pick of the Mariners back in 2016 who was traded to the Marlins in the deal that brought Dee Strange-Gordon to Seattle. Dugger made his big league debut in Miami but didn’t find much success in parts of two seasons there, posting a 7.40 ERA with a 13.7 percent strikeout rate and 9.4 percent walk rate in 45 innings. Dugger’s struggles have persisted in Triple-A, although he had a solid track record up through the Double-A level, where he owns a 3.60 ERA with solid strikeout and walk numbers through 180 innings of work.

Seattle claimed Dugger back from the Marlins in early December when Miami designated him for assignment, and the Mariners will now have a week to trade him or pass him through outright waivers. If he goes unclaimed, Dugger would remain with the organization (without the 40-man spot) and likely return to big league camp as a non-roster invitee.

The pair of moves leaves Seattle’s 40-man roster at capacity, although since Giles is recovering from Tommy John surgery, he could be placed on the 60-day injured list to open a spot if the Mariners make another late addition.

Dodgers Re-Sign Justin Turner

By TC Zencka and Tim Dierkes | February 19, 2021 at 11:20am CDT

Feb. 19: The Dodgers have formally announced the signing of Turner to a two-year deal that runs through the 2022 season. Lefty Caleb Ferguson, who had Tommy John surgery last September, has been placed on the 60-day IL to open a 40-man roster spot.

Feb. 13: Justin Turner alerted the baseball universe of his return to Los Angeles. Pending a physical, the Vayner Sports client will re-sign with the Dodgers for two years, $34MM with a $14MM team option for a third year. The deal includes an $8MM signing bonus and built-in escalators that could raise the overall value of the deal to $52MM over three years, conditional to MVP voting.

Turner returning to the Dodgers hardly counts as a surprise, though the scuttlebutt of late had pushed the narrative of a possible departure. Whether he actually came close to signing with the Brewers or another club is unclear. What we know is that Turner will return to the franchise where he made his name, became a superstar, fan favorite, and World Champion. The 36-year-old third baseman was an All-Star in 2017 and earned down-ballot MVP votes in each of 2016, 2017, and 2018. For his career, he owns a .292/.369/.469 line with 124 home runs and 29.5 bWAR.

His career famously started slow, however, as he languished through most of his twenties as a contact-first reserve infielder for the Orioles and Mets. As he arrived in Chavez Ravine, he brought with him just a .260/.323/.361 slash line over 926 career plate appearances. Perhaps most notably, he had shown almost no signs of power through his age-28 season with a meager .101 ISO.

The tale turned rapidly in LA as Turner produced a revelatory .340/.404/.493 line and 158 wRC+ in 2014, his first season with the Dodgers. The sudden uptick in potency at the plate was prompted by a swing change that he’d begun work on during his final season with the Mets, but it was only once he headed west that results populated his box scores. Turner has to this point produced 98.0 percent of his career bWAR since donning Dodger blue as a 29-year-old.

The relationship has benefited both sides, of course, as Turner has grown into a centerpiece of a dominant era of Dodger baseball. They have won the National League West every season that Turner’s been stationed at the hot corner and finally broke through to win the World Series last year – their third season as pennant winners together.

In returning, Turner is able not only to help defend their title, but to move together beyond an uncomfortable moment on the national stage that took place, unfortunately, at the crowning moment of the Turner/Dodgers partnership. Turner was pulled late in the clinching game of their World Series win because of a positive coronavirus test. Turner nonetheless returned and (often mask-less) took part in the post-game celebration.

The dilemma put upon Turner, the Dodgers, and the league was no doubt trying considering how unlikely it was that he had made it to that point. He is, after all, not only a gregarious and popular superstar on one of the league’s preeminent franchises, but he is a symbol of perseverance for the game, its young players and its fans. Nevertheless, it was an unfortunate disregard of protocols on the national stage.

Turner will now add another chapter to his Dodgers’ career. In returning to defend their title, Turner joins an arguably even-more-star-studded team than the one that defeated the Rays in six games last fall. With the addition of NL Cy Young winner Trevor Bauer to the rotation, as well as former AL Cy Young David Price, who opted out of 2020, the Dodgers boast one of the more decorated rotations in recent memory. All-time great Clayton Kershaw remains at the top with young phenom Walker Buehler. Julio Urias, who closed out the World Series, rounds out their likely starting five.

According to Cot’s Baseball Contracts, the Dodgers’ CBT payroll now stands around $254.7MM. That means they’ve passed the base tax threshold ($210MM), the first surcharge threshold ($230MM) and the second surcharge threshold ($250MM). MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes calculates the team’s projected tax amount at about $13.8MM, but that’s only if their payroll holds at this level. The second surcharge threshold is especially steep, as any dollar spent beyond $250MM is taxed at 62.5%. Furthermore, finishing the season above $250MM also carries the penalty of the team having its highest available draft pick next year moved back by ten places. It’s plausible the Dodgers will attempt to get back under that line, perhaps by trading Joe Kelly and his $8.33MM CBT hit.

Wherever the Dodgers’ 2021 payroll lands, it’s highly likely they’ll be a tax payor of some sort, landing past that first $210MM line for the first time since 2017. Dodgers president of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman managed to get the team’s payroll south of $210MM in each of the 2018 and ’19 seasons after the club paid the luxury tax from 2013-17. The Dodgers’ actions this winter serve as a reminder that the $210MM threshold is not a salary cap, especially for a team that gets classified as a first-time CBT payor after “resetting” previously. The tax rates are higher for second and third-time payors, which is presumably why the Yankees, Astros, and Cubs seem to be trying to stay below $210MM. Why any other big market team would treat that number as a salary cap is harder to explain.

Turner tweeted news of his return himself tonight, though Jorge Castillo of the LA Times (via Twitter) chipped in with confirmation. Jeff Passan of ESPN (via Twitter) first had the deal in the $30MM range, while MLB Network’s Jon Heyman provided the specific two-years, $34MM number, and the Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal added the club option for 2023 and $8MM signing bonus, as well as later specifics. Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times contributed to dollar value of the team option (via Twitter).

« Previous Page

Load More Posts

Headlines

Navigation

MLBTR INFO

Connect