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Red Sox Sign Enrique Hernandez

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TODAY: The Red Sox officially announced the two-year contract. Hernandez has a $6MM salary in 2021 and an $8MM salary in 2022, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman, although the contract carries some heavy deferrals despite its affordable nature. Heyman indicates that $1.5MM of that 2021 salary will be paid in $250K installments from 2027-32, while $1MM of the 2022 salary will be paid in $250K installments from 2033-36.

JANUARY 22, 9:43pm: The contract includes deferrals, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets.

7:24pm: It’s a two-year, $14MM pact for Hernandez, Feinsand reports. As Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com points out, this is the biggest free-agent deal chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom has given out since he took over Boston’s front office last offseason.

7:00pm: Boston has agreed to a multiyear deal with Hernandez, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. Hernandez is a Wasserman client.

3:5opm: The Red Sox and free-agent utilityman Enrique Hernandez have made progress toward a contract and could have an agreement by the end of the weekend, according to Jon Morosi of MLB.com.

A Boston-Hernandez agreement wouldn’t come as any surprise, as the two sides have been linked in rumors for at least the past few weeks. Plus, as Morosi notes, Red Sox manager Alex Cora was Team Puerto Rico’s GM in the 2017 World Baseball Classic when Hernandez was part of the club.

The 29-year-old Hernandez was a sixth-round pick of the Astros in 2009, but he has since been part of trades that have sent him to the Marlins and Dodgers. He found a home in Los Angeles from 2014-20, where he proved to be a useful cog as someone capable of playing all over the diamond (primarily second baseman and the outfield). He also recorded roughly league-average offensive production as a member of the Dodgers, with whom he batted .240/.312/.425 (98 wRC+) with 68 home runs 1,874 plate appearances. However, Hernandez’s numbers tailed off from 2019-20, so he shouldn’t come at an especially high price this offseason.

If he does join the Red Sox, Hernandez would be an obvious candidate to get significant reps at second base, where the club finished 25th in fWAR (minus-0.2) last season. Michael Chavis and Christian Arroyo are the only healthy second basemen on Boston’s 40-man roster at the moment. Of course, they also some have questions with Jackie Bradley Jr. a free agent and Andrew Benintendi a trade candidate, so Hernandez could also be a factor in the grass.

Phillies Sign Hector Rondon, David Paulino To Minors Deals

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12:25PM: Rondon will earn $1.5MM if he makes Philadelphia’s Major League roster, according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link).  The righty can also earn up to $1MM in additional bonus incentives.

11:25AM: The Phillies announced that right-handers Hector Rondon and David Paulino have been signed to minor league contracts.  Both pitchers will receive invites to the team’s big league Spring Training camp.

Rondon hit the open market in October when the Diamondbacks bought out his $4MM 2021 club option for $500K.  It wasn’t an unexpected decision considering how Rondon struggled in his only season with Arizona, posting a 7.65 ERA over 20 innings with below-average 23.7% strikeout percentage and 12.4K-BB%.  Rondon also allowed six homers over his 20 frames of work.  This performance was a stark departure from the solid work Rondon delivered over his previous six seasons with the Cubs and Astros, so Philadelphia is surely hoping it has added some much-needed bullpen help at the lowered cost of a minor league contract.

Rondon posted a 3.06 ERA over 361 1/3 innings from 2014-19 with a 25.3K%, 18.7K-BB%, and 48.8% grounder rate, formerly serving as the Cubs’ closer and contributing to Chicago’s 2016 world championship team.  A consistent hard thrower over his career, Rondon’s fastball velocity dipped slightly to a 95.6mph average in 2020, though like all his stats, that could be attributed to the odd nature of the most recent season rather than a potential sign of decline heading into his age-33 season.

Paulino last appeared in the majors in 2018, pitching with the Blue Jays’ Triple-A club in 2019 after posting a 5.48 ERA over 42 2/3 career MLB innings with Houston and Toronto from 2016-18.  Once a top-100 prospect, Paulino has battled injuries and was issued an 80-game PED suspension in 2017.  Only a few days shy of his 27th birthday, Paulino could still be something of a late bloomer, so there’s no risk for the Phillies in bringing him to camp and seeing if some further potential can be unclocked.

GM Jeff Bridich: Trevor Story Expected To Begin Season With Rockies

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With Nolan Arenado now officially on his way to the Cardinals, questions have inevitably turned to the future of another star Rockies infielder in Trevor Story.  The shortstop is entering the final year of his contract, but the team expects that Story will begin 2021 in a Colorado uniform, as GM Jeff Bridich told MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (Twitter links) and other reporters today.

Bridich stopped short of saying that Story wouldn’t be traded whatsoever, as “it’s very difficult to predict what the coming months will look like.”  Beyond just Story, however, Bridich more firmly stated that the Arenado trade wasn’t the first of many for his team.  “This certainly is not a total tear-down and rebuild….If that was the case, certain players already would have been traded,” the general manager said.

That comment could be a more pointed reference to Story, considering how Story can be a free agent next winter.  The shortstop has been cited as a logical trade candidate for months, though while reports in December suggested the Rox were at least considering the possibility, there hasn’t been much in the way of concrete news about specific teams pursuing Story.  That said, it’s probably safe to assume that every team in need of a shortstop this offseason at least placed a call to Bridich to check in on Story’s availability.

While that list of possible suitors has narrowed as several notable shortstops have come off the board in free agency and in the trade market, there would certainly still be plenty of interest in Story if the Rockies changed course and shopped him now, or even in midseason as a pure trade deadline rental.  A case could certainly be made that Colorado is better off moving him now in order to maximize Story’s trade return, since waiting until closer to the trade deadline creates added risk of an injury, or Story struggling, or teams being less willing to give up multiple prospects since they’d only have Story for a portion of a season rather than all of 2021.

However, the Rockies seem intent on not throwing in the towel on the coming season.  At today’s press conference, owner Dick Monfort told The Denver Post’s Patrick Saunders and other media that “I truly believe this is a very talented team that underperformed the last two years.”  Monfort has been notably over-optimistic about his team in the past (most notably his prediction almost exactly one year ago that the 2020 Rockies would win 94 games), and even if the Rockies were better than their 2019-20 records indicate, that certainly isn’t a promise of future success.  Colorado has done little this offseason besides trade Arenado, while the Dodgers and Padres now seem prepared to dominate the NL West for years to come.

Free Agent Rumors: Bradley, Tigers, Encarnacion, Wong

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With the Red Sox now just a few million dollars shy of the luxury-tax threshold after their deals to bring in Garrett Richards, Enrique Hernandez, Martin Perez and Adam Ottavino, a reunion with Jackie Bradley Jr. appears unlikely, ESPN’s Buster Olney wrote Sunday. That’s not especially surprising on its own, of course, but Olney notes more interestingly that Bradley “could wind up with a three-year deal elsewhere.” That’d be a strong outcome for Bradley, who’ll turn 31 in April, given the difficulty mid-tier free agents have had in securing lucrative deals this winter.

Bradley has been connected most frequently to the Mets in recent weeks, although he’s also reportedly drawn interest from the Blue Jays, the Cubs, the Phillies and the Astros at various points this winter. The Red Sox’ likely departure from any bidding for his services won’t help Bradley’s market, but most indications still seem to suggest that he has a case for a multi-year pact wherever he ultimately lands.

A few more notes on the free-agent market…

  • Olney also writes that the Tigers could look further at the third tier of free-agent outfielders, listing names like Adam Duvall, Jay Bruce, Kevin Pillar, Tyler Naquin and Matt Joyce as potential fits. Detroit already inked Robbie Grossman to a two-year pact and will likely hand him the keys to an everyday gig in left field, but their outfield mix still isn’t quite settled. JaCoby Jones has shown flashes of high-quality play in center field but lacked consistency while battling injuries. Victor Reyes has had a nice run at the plate over the past couple of seasons but has yet to ever tally 300 MLB plate appearances in a given campaign. The Tigers have plenty of younger options in the form of Travis Demeritte, Daz Cameron, Derek Hill, Christin Stewart and Rule 5 pick Akil Baddoo, but the first four all have minor league options remaining and Baddoo is no lock to make the club.
  • Agent Paul Kinzer tells MLB.com’s Jon Morosi that his client, Edwin Encarnacion, hopes to play another two seasons at the MLB level and still has aspirations of reaching 500 home runs in his career (Twitter link). It feels like a stretch that Encarnacion could get to that mark in two years, given that he’s still 76 long balls shy of that illustrious milestone, however. The 38-year-old slugger has four seasons of 38 or more homers under his belt, but he’d need to land somewhere with an opportunity for everyday at-bats (presumably as a designated hitter) to even have a chance. Coming off a .157/.250/.377 showing in 2020, such an arrangement could be tough to find. That said, if Encarnacion rebounds in 2021 and is open to playing beyond the 2022 season, it’s conceivable that he could yet reach that mark.
  • There’s “little interest” in bringing second baseman Kolten Wong back for the Cardinals at this point, Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote in his latest Q&A with readers. A new home for Wong has felt likeliest since the Cards bought out his $12.5MM option for the 2021 season, although some Cards fans have held out hope for a new deal as the two sides have reportedly stayed in touch throughout free agency. The infield market has picked up steam recently, but that hasn’t translated to a deal for Wong — arguably the game’s best defender at his position.

Cardinals Acquire Nolan Arenado

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After a few days of waiting for their complicated trade to be finalized, the Cardinals and Rockies have completed their deal centering on third baseman Nolan Arenado, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports. The league and the union have signed off on the swap. The Rockies will receive left-hander Austin Gomber, third baseman Mateo Gil, infielder Elehuris Montero and right-handers Tony Locey and Jake Sommers in exchange for Arenado, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch previously reported Gomber’s spot in the deal, while Ken Rosenthal and Nick Groke of The Athletic tweeted that Gil would be in it.

Nolan Arenado | Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The two teams agreed to this trade in principle last Friday, but it was held up over the weekend as they worked out finances and which players would be involved. St. Louis is now getting one of the game’s premier infielders, and the team will reportedly add another year and $15MM to Arenado’s contract. As such, he’ll be signed through 2027 at $214MM. The Rockies will absorb $51MM, including some in deferrals, according to Feinsand. The Rockies will pay all of Arenado’s $35MM salary in 2021, Jon Morosi of MLB.com relays.

Along with the added value to his deal, Arenado will be able to opt out of his pact after either of the next two seasons (the Cardinals added the second opt-out as part of the trade; most of the money the Rox owe will be after the opt-outs, Feinsand adds).

Considering the concessions the Cardinals are making, it’s no surprise Arenado waived his no-trade clause to become part of the club. Of course, it helps that the Cardinals look much better equipped to compete for a playoff spot than the Rockies, who saw their relationship with Arenado deteriorate over the past year-plus. The Rockies, whom Arenado played for from 2013-20, earned playoff berths in 2017 and ’18, but they’ve since fallen apart. Arenado, dissatisfied with the team’s inactivity in free agency, was part of trade rumors last offseason and even accused general manager Jeff Bridich of treating him with disrespect.

The Bridich-led Rockies are now wiping most of Arenado’s contract off the books, but they’re also losing a face-of-the-franchise type who won eight straight Gold Gloves and picked up five All-Star nods in their uniform. The 29-year-old Arenado annually blended well-above-average offense with superb defense as a Rockie, though his production at the plate did fall off during the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign. Across 201 plate appearances, Arenado batted a career-worst .253/.303/.434 – down from a lifetime .293/.343/.541. Arenado did walk (15) nearly as much as he struck out (20), and a .241 batting average on balls in play hurt his cause, yet his Statcast numbers also plummeted.

The Cardinals no doubt regard Arenado’s 2020 decline as a small sample blip. He’ll now take over at the hot corner for the club in place of Matt Carpenter and Tommy Edman, the Cardinals’ main third base choices last year. Both Carpenter and Edman also have second base experience, so they could divvy up the keystone next season if Kolten Wong exits in free agency. However, it’s possible the Cardinals would rather find a way to jettison Carpenter, a former standout whose output was weak from 2019-20. That may not be doable, though, considering the 35-year-old’s sudden drop-off, the $20.5MM he’s due through 2021 (including a $2MM buyout for ’22) and his no-trade protection.

In order to bolster their situation at third, the Cardinals are parting with a few of their top 30 farmhands, though it doesn’t appear the Rockies are getting any blue-chip talent back. Baseball America ranked Montero 14th, Locey 26th and Gil 28th in the Cardinals’ system prior to the trade.

Montero, who topped out as BA’s 81st-ranked prospect in the sport in 2019, made his pro debut in 2015 and reached the Double-A level in 2019. While he struggled there, the 22-year-old has typically produced above-average numbers in the minors, BA wrote last season that Montero is “a physical, strong hitter with excellent hand-eye coordination, bat speed and plus raw power.” Defensively, Montero’s future could be at first base.

Locey, a third-round pick in 2019, divided his draft year between the rookie and Single-A levels. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen ranked Locey 16th in the Cardinals’ system a year ago and wrote that he could be a reliever, as his velocity mixes well with short stints.

Gil, son of former major leaguer Benji Gil, has mostly played rookie ball going back to his first taste of pro action in 2018. Longenhagen wrote in 2020 that the 20-year-old has “low-end regular upside.”

Sommers, 23, is the only prospect the Rox are getting back who was not in BA’s top 30 for the Cardinals at the time of the deal. He’s a 10th-round pick from 2019 who threw 51 2/3 innings of 4.18 ERA ball and struck out more than a batter per inning at the rookie level during his draft year.

The 27-year-old Gomber is the lone player with big league experience on his way to Colorado in this trade. Gomber, a fourth-rounder in 2014, reached the majors for the first time in 2018 and has since been effective over 104 innings for the Cardinals. He sports a lifetime 3.72 ERA, though he was even better than that last year with 29 frames of 1.86 ERA ball (mostly in relief). While Gomber did end the season with below-average figures in strikeout percentage (22.7), walk percentage (12.6) and SIERA (4.82), he should earn a role as part of Colorado’s pitching staff in 2021. He’s not on track to become eligible for arbitration until after 2022 and isn’t scheduled for free agency until the conclusion of the 2025 season.

All said, when considering Arenado’s superstar status and his massive contract, this is one of the most notable trades in recent baseball history. It’s also indicative of two teams going in opposite directions. The Cardinals, who went to the playoffs for the second straight year in 2020, are clearly going for it in a wide-open National League Central. On the other side, the Rockies seem to realize they have little chance to compete in the near term as part of an NL West led by serious contenders in the reigning World Series champion Dodgers and the up-and-coming Padres.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

MLBPA Rejects MLB’s 154-Game Proposal

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10:09pm: The league would have been willing to push back the season without expanded playoffs and the universal DH had the MLBPA made a counterproposal, Heyman tweets. The union declined to do so, as Heyman notes the players would rather start the season on time because of concerns over injuries.

8:48pm: Major League Baseball proposed a 154-game regular season for 2021 to the MLBPA over the weekend, but the union announced that it has rejected the offer. MLB’s offer would have meant delaying the start of spring training and the season by about a month because of COVID-19 concerns, though the players would have received full pay.

In explaining why it turned down MLB’s plan, the union said, “Although Player salaries would not be initially prorated to a 154-game regular season, MLB’s proposal offers no salary or service time protections in the event of further delays, interruptions, or cancellation of the season.”

The league did offer to remove language that could have allowed commissioner Rob Manfred to cancel or postpone the campaign, Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports reports. An expanded postseason “presumably” was on the table, too, per Brown, though Jon Heyman of MLB Network reported earlier Monday that the players have not been in favor of that. This may also eliminate the possibility of a universal designated hitter in 2021, which would greatly affect such free agents as Nelson Cruz and Marcell Ozuna, who have been awaiting clarity on whether the National League will keep the position for a second straight year.

“In light of the MLBPA’s rejection of our proposal, and their refusal to counter our revised offer this afternoon, we are moving forward and instructing our Clubs to report for an on-time start to Spring Training and the Championship Season, subject to reaching an agreement on health and safety protocols,” the league said in its own statement.

As of now, camp’s scheduled to begin Feb. 17 and the season is slated to start April 1. A full season would be a welcome development for baseball fans after the league’s teams played just 60 regular-season games apiece in 2020, though it’s alarming that MLB and the MLBPA continue to fight over key issues. The two sides have had a contentious relationship over the past couple of years, and with the current collective bargaining agreement set to expire in December, an eventual work stoppage looks all the more realistic.

Latest On Potential Nolan Arenado Trade

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8:24pm: Third baseman Mateo Gil will also be part of the Rockies’ return, Ken Rosenthal and Nick Groke of The Athletic tweet.

8:15pm: Left-hander Austin Gomber is one of the players who will go to Colorado, Goold tweets. Nightengale reported Friday that Gomber was likely going to be in the trade.

6:51pm: Colorado and St. Louis seem to be on the verge of a major trade centering on star Colorado third baseman Nolan Arenado, but it’s not yet clear whether the deal will go through as early as Monday night. The swap still hasn’t been submitted for approval to the union and the league office, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, who adds that “it will take at least another day, if not longer” to become official. On the other hand, though, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post tweets that all parties could sign off on it sometime tonight.

Regardless of whether this trade takes place Monday, it does appear it’s going to happen. According to Jim Bowden of The Athletic, the Rockies and Cardinals had “intense moments” during negotiations this past weekend, but the blockbuster is still likely to go through by Tuesday. Furthermore, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch notes that the Cardinals are optimistic the transaction will occur.

Because of the complicated financial hoops the teams have to jump through to complete this trade (Colorado is set to absorb $50MM of Arenado’s remaining money, some of which will be in deferrals), it remains unclear whom the Rockies will receive in return for the longtime face of their franchise. But Arenado – who has a no-trade clause – seems eager to head to St. Louis, as he has given his written consent for a trade to the Cardinals, Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports reports. Arenado is in line to receive an extra year and another $15MM tacked on to the six seasons and $199MM on his Colorado contract if the Cards do acquire him.

Latest On Twins’ Rotation Targets

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Even after signing left-hander J.A. Happ to a one-year, $8MM contract late last month, the Twins may not be done addressing their rotation. They remain in touch with one of their own free agents, right-hander Jake Odorizzi, and were in attendance for righty Jake Arrieta’s throwing session last Friday, La Velle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune reports. The Twins will stay in touch with Arrieta, according to Neal.

Odorizzi spent the previous three seasons with the Twins and combined for a 4.11 ERA/4.34 SIERA in 337 innings. In his best season, 2019, Odorizzi earned an All-Star nod and pitched to a 3.51 ERA/4.14 SIERA with a a career-best 27.1 percent strikeout rate and an 8.1 percent walk rate over 159 frames. The Twins then handed Odorizzi a $17.8MM qualifying offer, and he accepted it instead of trying his luck in free agency.

Minnesota was no doubt expecting another quality showing from Odorizzi when it gave him the QO, but it wasn’t to be in 2020. Injuries, including to his back, chest and right middle finger, limited him to 13 2/3 innings of 10-run ball. Odorizzi doesn’t seem to be a free agent at the ideal time, then, but considering his positive track record with the Royals, Rays and Twins, he could still land a solid multiyear payday this offseason. Other than the Twins, Jon Morosi of MLB.com lists the Angels, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Giants and perhaps the Mets as teams vying for the soon-to-be 31-year-old.

Either Odorizzi or Arrieta would fill out a Twins rotation that currently has Happ, Kenta Maeda, Jose Berrios, Michael Pineda and Randy Dobnak comprising its top five. Of course, unlike Odorizzi, Arrieta probably isn’t in line for better than a one-year contract. While Arrieta is a former NL Cy Young winner (2015) with the Cubs, he’s now on the market after a pair of disappointing seasons with the Phillies. Arrieta, 35 in March, put up his worst ERA since 2012 last year (5.08) in 44 1/3 innings. He also logged a meager 16.8 percent strikeout percentage – one of the worst of his career – though he did record an above-average walk rate of 8.4 percent and a 51.8 percent groundball rate.

White Sox Designate Emilio Vargas

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The White Sox have designated right-hander Emilio Vargas for assignment, James Fegan of The Athletic tweets. His 40-man roster spot will go to lefty Carlos Rodon, who has officially re-signed.

It wasn’t a long stay on Chicago’s 40-man for Vargas, whom the White Sox claimed off waivers from the Diamondbacks in the second half of November. Vargas joined the White Sox as someone without any major league experience or a high-end prospect pedigree. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen wrote before 2020 that “Vargas is a Triple-A depth arm with a 40 fastball based on velo and a 45 fastball based on how it plays at the top of the zone.”

Vargas, who turned 24 in August, has so far topped out at Double-A ball in the minors. He has done a decent job keeping runs off the board there with 121 1/3 innings of 3.86 ERA ball and 100 strikeouts against 31 walks.

MLB Issues 154-Game Proposal To Players

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FEB. 1: The union “doesn’t like expanded playoffs” in the league’s proposal, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. It’s no sure thing the union will even put forth a counterproposal, per Heyman.

JAN. 31, 8:56PM: According to multiple reports, one of the MLBPA’s other concerns about the league’s offer is that the players believe commissioner Rob Manfred would have too much extra power to modify the schedule (or cancel games outright).  The players are under no obligation to negotiate any sort of altered procedures for the start or length of the 2021 season, and thus without a new deal in place to modify the terms of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, the players would proceed as usual towards the scheduled starts of Spring Training and the April 1st Opening Day.

1:32PM: MLB and the Players’ Union continue to haggle over conditions and rules for the upcoming season. On Friday, MLB made another attempt to find an acceptable solution, submitting a proposal to the MLBPA for a 154-game season without prorating player pay, per Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). The proposal also includes delaying the season by a month and expanding playoffs. Joel Sherman of the New York Post adds that the universal designated hitter is also included in this offer. The MLBPA leadership are mulling the offer this weekend.

As it sounds, this deal has everything both sides want: full season pay for the players, expanded playoffs for the owners, and a delayed start for the health and safety of everyone involved. These are the basic conditions that we’ve been heading for all along, or so it has seemed. After all, while MLB has never been in favor of pushing the playoffs deep into November, this year there is a particular benefit to pushing the season in that direction. It would almost certainly mean a greater number of participants – and fans – having been vaccinated against COVID-19. November baseball may be colder, but it’s almost certain to be safer as well.

And yet, for the players, there are still some long-term implications that could prevent them from simply signing on the dotted line. As noted by the Athletic’s Eno Sarris (via Twitter), caving on expanded postseason gives the players very little leverage to carry with them into the CBA negotiations at the end of the 2021 season. Besides, the MLBPA represents a large body of players, most of whom have made preparations for a season to start on time, as notes MLB Player Agent Rafa Nieves (via Twitter). All told, the expectations are the MLBPA will reject this newest proposal, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

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