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Rays To Sign Collin McHugh

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FEB. 12: The Rays have finalized a $1.8MM deal with McHugh, pending a physical, Topkin reports.

FEB. 11, 9:55pm: If finalized, it will be a one-year major league pact, Topkin writes.

9:15pm: The Rays and right-hander Collin McHugh are closing in on an agreement, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. There’s “work to be done” on both sides prior to the deal becoming official, though, Topkin adds.

McHugh was largely successful with the Astros as a starter and reliever from 2014-19, but elbow issues negatively affected him in the last of those years and continued to do so in 2020. McHugh signed with the Red Sox before last season, but he was ultimately not healthy enough to pitch for the club. The 33-year-old has recovered since then, though, according to Topkin, and his history indicates he could be a useful pickup for the Rays if he is indeed back from his arm problems.

McHugh, also a former Met and Rockie, would bring a lifetime 3.95 ERA with almost a strikeout per inning and fewer than three walks per nine across a lifetime 800 2/3 frames to the Rays. Considering McHugh established himself in Houston as someone capable of filling long- and short-inning roles, it seems he would fit in well on a Tampa Bay team known for its flexibility with its pitching staff.

Rays Agree To Deal With Rich Hill

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9:22pm: Hill will earn $2.5MM on a one-year deal, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

8:32pm: The two sides have a deal, pending a physical, Robert Murray of Fansided tweets.

8:22pm: The Rays are progressing toward a deal with free-agent left-hander Rich Hill, according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.

Hill will turn 41 in March, and though he was hardly outstanding during the first decade of his career, he has only gotten better with age. Dating back to his stunning renaissance in 2015, Hill – despite possessing 90 mph velocity – has logged a 2.93 ERA/3.57 SIERA with a quality strikeout percentage of 28.6 and and a better-than-average walk rate of 7.9 percent in 503 innings as a member of the Red Sox, Athletics, Dodgers and Twins. The only concern has been Hill’s durability, as various injuries have limited him and he hasn’t hit the 136-inning mark in a season since he revived his career. He threw 38 2/3 frames as a Twin during the truncated 2020 campaign, averaging fewer than five innings out of his eight starts.

Of course, if there’s any team unconcerned about a hurler going deep into games, it’s the Rays. They’re known to rely heavily on their bullpen, evidenced in part by their opener strategy, so Hill could be an ideal fit for the club. The Rays lost 2020 starters Blake Snell (trade) and Charlie Morton (free agency) earlier in the offseason after an AL-winning year, but the small-budget team is trying to put together a low-priced rotation with Hill, fellow offseason additions Chris Archer and Michael Wacha (and potentially Collin McHugh), as well as holdovers Tyler Glasnow and Ryan Yarbrough.

Indians Sign Billy Hamilton

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FEB. 12: Hamilton will make a $1MM salary and up to $950K in incentives if he gets to the majors, per Heyman.

FEB. 11: The Indians are nearing a contract with free-agent outfielder Billy Hamilton, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. Daniel Alvarez Montes of El ExtraBase first reported the news, noting it’s a minor league contract.

It’s back to the state of Ohio for Hamilton, who played with the Reds from 2013-18. Although he has never been any kind of offensive threat, Hamilton had his best seasons in Cincinnati on the strength of a superlative combination of defense and base running. Hamilton hit a meager .245/.293/.333 in 2,736 plate appearances as a Red, but he succeeded on 277 of 340 stolen base tries (81 percent) and ranked in the top 10 of big league outfielders in Defensive Runs Saved (65) and Ultimate Zone Rating (45.5).

The 30-year-old played the previous two seasons with four different teams (Royals, Braves, Cubs and Mets), but his offensive numbers got even worse. Hamilton batted an ugly .210/.278/.270 with 28 steals over 389 PA, though he’ll nevertheless get an opportunity to earn a spot in a Cleveland outfield that finished last in the AL in fWAR (minus-0.9) in 2020. Hamilton joins Ben Gamel as the second minor league outfield addition of Thursday for the Indians.

Diamondbacks Sign Asdrubal Cabrera

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The Diamondbacks have signed infielder Asdrubal Cabrera to a one-year, $1.75MM contract with $1.05MM in incentives, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets.

Cabrera has played for six teams since his career began with Cleveland in 2007, and he spent parts of the previous two years with the Nationals. While he performed quite well with the Nats during their World Series-winning campaign in 2019, hitting .323/.404/.565 in 146 plate appearances, Cabrera put together a less imposing line of .242/.305/.447 over 213 PA last season. That isn’t far from the switch-hitting 35-year-old’s lifetime offensive output, though, as he has batted .268/.330/.426 across 7,046 trips to the plate.

Cabrera has divided the majority of his career among the middle infield and third base, though he didn’t play any shortstop between 2019-20. Unless that changes, he’ll be a fallback option behind Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte and third baseman Eduardo Escobar.

Yankees Release Ben Heller

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FEB. 12: The Yankees announced that they have released Heller.

FEB. 10: The Yankees have designated right-handed reliever Ben Heller for assignment, according to a club announcement. The move clears roster space for right-hander Darren O’Day, whose previously reported deal with the Yankees has now been officially announced.

Originally acquired from the Indians alongside Clint Frazier and Justus Sheffield in the Andrew Miller blockbuster, the now-29-year-old Heller has seen sparing action with the Yankees in four seasons. Injuries have persistently dogged Heller, dealt with bone spurs early in 2018 before eventually learning he’d require Tommy John surgery. Those injuries knocked out his entire ’18 campaign and most of his ’19 season as well. He returned in 2020, but a nerve issue in his right biceps limited him to just six innings this past season.

Heller has pitched in parts of four seasons with the Yankees — 2016-17 and 2019-20 — but has totaled just 31 1/3 innings at the MLB level because of that broad array of arm troubles. Despite his minimal workload, he’s somewhat remarkably accrued more than three years of MLB service, albeit with most of that time coming on the 60-day injured list.

It has to be pointed out that Heller has been quietly effective in those 31 1/3 frames, working to a 2.59 ERA. However, his 21.7 percent strikeout rate and 10.9 percent walk rate are both worse than the league average, which has contributed to a less-bullish 4.20 SIERA mark.

Heller, who owns a 2.45 ERA and 32.5 percent strikeout rate in 99 Triple-A innings, still has a minor league option remaining, which could make him attractive to other clubs in need of bullpen depth. The Yankees will have a week to trade Heller, place him on outright waivers or release him.

Red Sox Designate Chris Mazza

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The Red Sox have designated right-hander Chris Mazza for assignment, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. They did so in order to make room for the re-signing of lefty Martin Perez.

Mazza joined the Red Sox in late 2019 as a waiver claim from the Mets, and he became a regular in Boston’s staff last season. The 31-year-old finished fifth among Red Sox pitchers in innings (30), though he was unable to establish himself during that time. Mazza posted a 4.80 ERA/4.97 SIERA with subpar strikeout (21.3) and walk (11.0) percentages. He does, however, have another option left and a good track record in the minors, where he has pitched to a 3.21 ERA in 507 2/3 frames.

Tigers Designate John Schreiber For Assignment

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The Tigers announced that they have designated right-hander John Schreiber for assignment to make room for newly signed outfielder Nomar Mazara.

Schreiber, a Michigan native whom the Tigers chose in the 15th round of the 2016 draft, came out of their bullpen in each of the previous two seasons. The 26-year-old has totaled 28 2/3 innings in the majors thus far and recorded a 6.28 ERA, though some of his other numbers are far more encouraging. For instance, Schreiber has logged a 3.65 SIERA with strikeout and walk percentages that check in far above average (25.6 and 6.2 percent, respectively).

Schreiber has accrued 59 1/3 innings in Triple-A ball, where he has pitched to an excellent 2.28 ERA and amassed 70 strikeouts against 21 walks. He has three minor league options left, so some other team could take a chance on him in a trade or via waivers in the next week.

Braves Claim Travis Demeritte From Tigers

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The Braves have claimed infielder/outfielder Travis Demeritte off waivers from the Tigers, per announcements from both teams. Atlanta released right-hander Jeremy Walker in a corresponding move.

Demeritte was the 30th overall pick of the Rangers in 2013, but they traded him to the Braves in 2016 for pitchers Lucas Harrell and Dario Alvarez. Demeritte stayed with the Braves until they sent him to the Tigers at the 2019 trade deadline in a deal for reliever Shane Greene. He combined for 219 plate appearances as a Tiger from 2019-20 and batted .217/.264/.323 with three home runs. The Tigers designated the 26-year-old Demeritte for assignment last week. Despite his woes in the bigs, Demeritte’s a .286/.387/.558 hitter in 399 PA in Triple-A with two minor league options remaining, so he could have a legitimate second act with the Braves.

Walker, 25, was a fifth-rounder of the Braves in 2016 who worked his way to the majors in 2019, when he tossed 9 1/3 innings and surrendered just two earned runs on nine hits and four walks (with six strikeouts). Walker impressed at the Double-A and Triple-A levels before then, but he didn’t pitch at all last year because of shoulder problems.

Twins Officially Sign Alex Colome, Designate Ian Hamilton

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The Twins announced that they have officially signed right-handed reliever Alex Colome. To make room for Colome on their 40-man roster, they designated fellow righty Ian Hamilton for assignment.

It was a short stay on the 40-man for Hamilton, whom the Twins claimed from the Phillies via waivers exactly one week ago. Hamilton also spent time with the Mariners earlier in the offseason. He entered the pros as an 11th-round pick of the White Sox in 2016, but they designated him for assignment in September.

Now 25 years of age, Hamilton has thrown 12 innings in the majors and yielded six earned runs on 10 hits with nine strikeouts against seven walks. Hamilton has averaged almost 96 mph on his fastball, though, and has another minor league option remaining. He owns a 4.85 ERA with 48 strikeouts against a meager seven walks in 42 2/3 Triple-A frames.

Marlins To Acquire Dylan Floro

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2:32pm: The Dodgers are also getting righty Kyle Hurt, a fifth-round pick of the Marlins in 2020. Hurt is a California native who pitched at USC. Baseball America wrote before the draft that teams interested in Hurt “see his future as a hard-throwing reliever.”

2:01pm: The Marlins are set to acquire right-handed reliever Dylan Floro from the Dodgers in exchange for lefty Alex Vesia and a prospect, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports (via Twitter). It’s the second bullpen-related trade of the day for the Dodgers, who dealt lefty Adam Kolarek to the A’s in exchange for infielder Sheldon Neuse as part of a four-player trade this morning.

Floro may provide an upgrade to Miami’s bullpen, which was among the worst in the majors a year ago. The 30-year-old, whom the Dodgers acquired in a trade with the Reds in 2018, pitched to a 3.10 ERA/3.68 SIERA with a 22.4 percent strikeout rate and 7.1 percent walk rate in 98 2/3 innings in a Los Angeles uniform. Floro’s 52.7 percent groundball rate during that span was one of the main reasons he was so effective, as he also posted a meager 8.5 percent home run-to-fly ball rate. Floro isn’t eligible for arbitration until after this season, and he’s not due to become a free agent until the end of 2023, so he could be a multiyear piece for Miami.

Vesia, 24, was a 17th-round pick of the Marlins in 2018 who made a 4 1/3-inning major league debut last season and allowed nine earned runs on seven hits and seven walks (with five strikeouts). He does, however, carry a 1.62 ERA with great strikeout and walk rates in 100 innings of work in the minors.

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