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Diamondbacks Designate Rey Fuentes For Assignment

By Steve Adams | January 31, 2018 at 5:29pm CDT

The D-backs announced that outfielder Rey Fuentes has been designated for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for catcher Alex Avila, whose previously reported two-year contract with Arizona is now official.

Fuentes, 27 next month, logged a career-high 145 plate appearances with Arizona last season and batted .235/.278/.338 with three homers and four stolen bases while spending time at all three outfield spots. The former first-rounder has, at times, been considered among the best prospects in both the Red Sox and Padres organizations and was one of four players sent from Boston to San Diego in the 2010 Adrian Gonzalez blockbuster.

Through 225 plate appearances in the Majors, Fuentes has just a .595 OPS, but hit at a .300/.361/.397 clip in 1154 plate appearances in parts of five seasons at the Triple-A level.

Diamondbacks Sign Alex Avila

By Connor Byrne | January 31, 2018 at 5:25pm CDT

5:25pm: The D-backs have now announced the signing.

3:45pm: Rosenthal tweets that Avila has already passed his physical, making the deal official. The D-backs have yet to announce the signing, though, which will require a corresponding 40-man roster move.

Jan. 31, 1:19pm: Avila will receive a two-year contract worth $8.25MM, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports (via Twitter). Another $250K per season will be available to Avila in incentives, according to Heyman.

Jan. 30, 6:44pm: The two sides have a deal, pending a physical, Jon Heyman of FanRag tweets.

6:36pm: The Diamondbacks are nearing an agreement with free agent catcher Alex Avila, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports on Twitter. Terms are unknown, but MLBTR predicted a two-year, $16MM contract for Avila at the outset of free agency.

The 31-year-old Avila will add an offensively capable backstop to an Arizona club whose catchers batted a paltry .219/.306/.404 last season. That was with a very good performance from Chris Iannetta, who joined the NL West rival Rockies in free agency, leaving the Diamondbacks with Jeff Mathis and Chris Herrmann as their top options. Mathis, the team’s likely starter prior to the Avila agreement, is known for his defensive prowess. However, his bat has never come close to keeping up with his work behind the plate.

Unlike Mathis, defense is not Avila’s calling card – in fact, he was among the game’s worst pitch framers in 2017, according to both Baseball Prospectus and StatCorner. But the lefty-swinger did his best to make up for it at the plate, where he slashed an outstanding .264/.387/.447 with 14 home runs and a .183 ISO in 376 plate appearances divided between the Tigers and Cubs. Avila’s numbers dropped off after the Cubs acquired him prior to the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline (.274/.394/.475 versus .239/.369/.380), though he still offered the North Siders above-average offensive production relative to his position.

While Avila managed a hard-to-sustain .382 batting average on balls in play last season and struck out in 31.9 percent of PAs, he helped his cause significantly with scorching contact. Among those with at least 300 PAs, Avila ranked second in the majors in hard-hit rate (48.7 percent, compared to a career mark of 36.6). And out of 387 hitters who put at least 100 balls in play, he finished tied for 18th in average exit velocity (90.4 mph) and tied for 21st in barrels per PA (7.4). Consequently, he posted a tremendous xwOBA (.395) that easily outpaced his still-high wOBA (.368).

Last year’s offensive outburst was Avila’s most impressive showing since 2011, when the then-Tiger earned his lone All-Star nod, but success with the bat isn’t anything new for the lifetime .243/.351/.401 hitter. He comes with notable platoon splits, though, having held his own against right-handed pitching (.250/.362/.426) while failing to present a threat versus southpaws (.212/.306/.305) since debuting in 2009. He also brings durability concerns, having gone on the disabled list several times in his career, including twice during a 57-game season with the White Sox in 2016.

After his lone campaign with the ChiSox, Avila returned to the Tigers last winter for a $2MM guarantee. Avila’s sure to do better this time around, but it’ll be interesting to see how much the Diamondbacks will guarantee him. With an estimated $122MM-plus in commitments at the moment, the D-backs are known to have limited payroll flexibility, which is seemingly standing in the way of a reunion with free agent slugger J.D. Martinez – Avila’s former teammate in Detroit – and may lead to cost-cutting trades (they could deal $7.5MM left-hander Patrick Corbin, for instance). The club has only opened a season beyond the $100MM mark twice, including when it spent a franchise-record $112MM-plus in 2014.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Brandon Moss Weighs In On Offseason Pace, CBA

By Steve Adams | January 31, 2018 at 4:55pm CDT

Newly reacquired Athletics slugger Brandon Moss appeared on MLB Network’s Hot Stove with Harold Reynolds, Matt Vasgersian and Ken Rosenthal earlier today and discussed not only his return to the A’s but also his candid views on the slow free-agent market (video link, CBA/free agency talk beginning around the 6:20 mark). Acknowledging that it might not be a popular opinion, Moss said that the players have no one but themselves to blame.

“Everything that happens in the game of baseball, as far as how things are done financially, is bargained into a collective bargaining agreement,” says Moss. “The way free agency runs, the way draft money is allotted, the way international signing bonus is allotted. Everything is bargained.”

The link between free agency and draft picks is hardly new to the current CBA, of course, as the previous iteration of the CBA actually had stricter penalization for teams that signed qualified free agents; prior to that, the old Elias Ranking System of Type A/Type B free agents also caused teams to forfeit draft picks, even allowing the team losing the player to effectively acquire a forfeited pick in the case of Type A free agents.

But, the CBA has also increasingly limited the avenues in which teams can acquire amateur talent, and the newest iteration ties that to free agency arguably more than ever before. The fact that signing qualified free agents can now force teams to forfeit international bonus allotments, plus the hard cap on international spending are new to the 2017-21 CBA.

Additionally, exceeding the luxury tax by a wide enough margin will eventually cause teams to see their top pick pushed back 10 slots. The new CBA also added surcharges of 12 percent and 42.5 percent for exceeding the CBT by $20MM and $40MM, respectively. Those trends, Moss continues, are troublesome more so for future generations of players than the current crop:

“My career’s almost finished, so I don’t have to deal with this much longer, but the worry is there for me for players in the future that enough attention is not being paid to the way we allow our system to be run. I feel like we put more things that are of less value at the forefront. I feel like we’re starting to have to walk a little bit of a tightrope that we’ve created for ourselves. I think that we have given the owners and we have given the people who are very, very business savvy the opportunity to take advantage of a system that we created for ourselves.”

The increases of penalization, relative to the shrinking means of amateur talent acquisition — hard slotting system in the draft, hard cap on international spending — has tipped the scales decidedly in favor of the owners, Moss suggests. Whereas teams once felt the need to meet or even exceed previously established market values in free agency, the more recent iterations of the CBA have done the opposite — pushing teams away from spending at previous market standards.

“…[W]e have the right to bargain and set our price, just like the owners have the right to meet that price,” Moss says. “But what we’ve done is we have incentivized owners, we have incentivized teams to say ’We don’t want to meet that price. It costs us too much to meet that price. It costs us draft picks. It costs us international signing money. … We’re going to have to pay a tax if we go over a certain threshold’ that we (the players) set ourselves. … And the only reason those things are there is because we bargained them in. If I’m an owner, my goal is to have the bottom line be in black — to put a winner on the field and the bottom line to be in black. The more opportunity you give me to do those things, the better off I’m going to be.”

Moss is eminently cognizant of the manner in which he has benefited from the previous efforts of the MLBPA, citing prior labor stoppages and hard-line negotiation tactics from the union that paved the way for today’s generation of players to be compensated at such a lofty level. The gratitude he feels for those efforts is almost as palpable in his comments as the concern he feels for future generations.

“I feel like, as players, we have to watch out for our own interest,” he continues. “If you run too good of a deal out there in a bargaining agreement, then of course the owners are going to jump on it. You have to be willing to dig your heels in a little bit — fight for the things the guys in the past have fought for. … I just hate to see players like me taking advantage of a system that was set up for me, by other players, and not passing it along to the next generation of players. Everybody wants to look up and scream collusion … sooner or later, you have to take responsibility for a system you created for yourself. It’s our fault.”

While Moss, clearly, hasn’t had to wait out this winter’s abnormally slow market, it’s worth reminding that he’s hardly unfamiliar with the process. The slugger was a free agent last offseason and was part of a class of first basemen/corner outfielders/designated hitters that developed never fully developed. He did manage to eventually secure a two-year deal that guaranteed him $12MM (on the heels of a .225/.300/.484 season and 28 homers with the Cardinals), though he waited until Feb. 1 for that contract to be finalized.

Although wholesale changes to free agency and draft/international compensation likely won’t be implemented any time in the near future — the CBA runs through the 2021 season — the unrest among free agents and their representatives this offseason figures to be a definitive talking point in that next wave of negotiations, even if this doesn’t prove to be an ongoing trend in the future.

That, of course, is something that can’t be determined for several years; it’s possible that this winter is somewhat anomalous in nature given the facts that a large number of teams are in rebuild mode, several typical big spenders (Yankees, Dodgers, Giants, Rangers) are looking to cut back on spending and some teams are holding out for a top-heavy crop of stars next winter.

Could the large number of rebuilding teams lead to an uptick in the number of contending clubs looking to spend in free agency in two years? Will the return of the Yankees, Giants, Dodgers and possibly the Rangers to their big-spending ways next offseason have a trickle-down effect on open-market spending? Or, will a large number of free agents settle for one-year deals in the coming weeks, setting the stage for an even more saturated class of solid-but-not-elite free agents next winter, thus creating an even larger logjam?

Given the lack of data at present and all of those variables, we may not have a true ability to contextualize the changing pace of free agency until the 2019-20 offseason. Regardless, it’s difficult to imagine that the concerns voiced by Moss aren’t being felt by other players and won’t priorities for the union next time around. Those interested in the matter are encouraged to watch the full interview with Moss, whose candid and insightful comments bring a new perspective to what has been the largest story of the 2017-18 offseason.

Minor MLB Transactions: 1/31/18

By Mark Polishuk | January 31, 2018 at 2:45pm CDT

Here are the latest minor moves from around the game, with the newest transactions at the top of the post…

The Yankees have signed right-hander David Hale to a minor league contract, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo reports (Twitter link). Hale posted a 3.30 ERA over 87 1/3 IP for the Braves as a reliever and occasional starter in 2014, but his performance suffered after a trade to Colorado that offseason. The ground-ball specialist struggled to a 6.09 ERA over 78 1/3 IP (mostly as a starter) that year and then tossed only two MLB innings in 2016. Hale has since pitched in the Orioles’ and Dodgers’ farm systems.

Pirates Acquire Josh Smoker

By Mark Polishuk | January 31, 2018 at 12:57pm CDT

The Pirates have acquired southpaw Josh Smoker from the Mets in exchange for left-hander Daniel Zamora and cash, the two teams announced. Smoker was designated for assignment by the Mets earlier this week to clear roster space for the re-signed Jose Reyes.

The hard-throwing Smoker has a 5.02 ERA, 11.7 K/9, and 2.58 K/BB rate over 71 2/3 relief innings in the big leagues, all with New York in 2016-17. Despite that big strikeout total, Smoker had issues keeping the ball in the park, with 14 homers allowed in his brief career. He also posted a 5.1 BB/9 rate last season and struggled with control at times over his nine minor league seasons. Smoker isn’t exactly a young hurler (he turned 29 in November) but he still clearly has some upside in his arm given his big strikeout potential.

He’ll have an opportunity to continue in the big leagues given the lack of left-handed options in the Pirates’ bullpen. Closer Felipe Rivero, starter Steven Brault, and Jack Leathersich are the only other southpaws on Pittsburgh’s 40-man roster, though Brault could end up in the pen if he doesn’t make the starting rotation.

Zamora was a 40th-round pick for the Pirates in the 2015 draft. He has posted impressive numbers (2.96 ERA, 10.3 K/9, and 3.50 K/BB rate) over his first 115 2/3 pro innings, all as a reliever. He briefly cracked the Double-A level last season, tossing three innings for Altoona.

Mookie Betts Wins Arbitration Case Over Red Sox

By Mark Polishuk | January 31, 2018 at 12:21pm CDT

Mookie Betts has won his arbitration case over the Red Sox and will earn $10.5MM in 2018, FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link). The Sox had countered Betts’ figure with an offer of $7.5MM in Betts’ first year of arbitration eligibility. The hearing between the two sides took place yesterday, as reported by Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. Betts is represented by the Legacy Agency.

Betts’ $10.5MM is the second-highest salary ever given to a player in his first year of arbitration eligibility, behind the $10.85MM deal the Cubs reached with Kris Bryant earlier this month to avoid the arb process altogether. The number considerably surpassed the $8.2MM that MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected Betts would earn this winter. In an Arbitration Breakdown piece, Swartz actually felt that his projection model placed Betts too high, with the caveat that Betts’ blend of power and speed made him a rather difficult player to judge overall.

Needless to say, the arbitration panel’s decision is a huge victory for Betts and a win for players in general given its potential as a long-term precedent. Ryan Howard’s $10MM stood for years as the record for a first-year arb-eligible player, and now both Bryant and Betts have surpassed that number in a matter of weeks — future superstar-level players could now go into their arbitration years with a solid argument for earning an eight-figure salary.

Betts has been nothing short of outstanding since debuting in 2014, hitting .292/.351/.488 over his 2309 career plate appearances. With 78 homers, 80 steals (out of 96 chances), and an outstanding right field glove, Betts is one of the game’s best all-around talents. After finishing second in MVP voting in 2016, Betts’ performance took a minor step back last year (.264/.344/.459) due in part to a thumb injury that bothered him for much of the season.

The $10.5MM now puts Betts in line to receive even more in his remaining two seasons of arbitration eligibility before hitting the free agent market after the 2020 season. There hasn’t been much talk of an extension between Betts and the Red Sox, with Betts interestingly noting last winter that he would prefer to take a year-to-year approach. Betts is already making good money from endorsement deals and now has this $10.5MM payday guaranteed, so his stance on a long-term contract might not change, though of course that would depend on what the Sox would be willing to bring to the table to lock up the young star.

As per the MLB Trade Rumors ArbTracker, 24 players still have unsettled contracts that could go to arbitration hearings unless an agreement is reached beforehand. It seems likely that this offseason will surpass last winter’s total of 15 arbitration hearings, especially given how many teams have adopted a “file-or-trial” policy that precludes any further negotiation after the filing deadline.

Quick Hits: Gamble, Anderson, Blue Jays, Lopes, Free Agents

By Mark Polishuk | January 31, 2018 at 11:28am CDT

We at MLB Trade Rumors extend our condolences to the friends and family of Oscar Gamble, as the former outfielder passed away earlier today at age 68. Gamble played for seven teams over a career that stretched from 1969 to 1985, hitting .265/.356/.454 with an even 200 home runs over 5197 plate appearances. Beyond just his impact at the plate, Gamble is also remembered as one of the most photogenic players of all time thanks to his legendary afro, which made him a favorite amongst fans and baseball card collectors for years after his playing days concluded.

Some items from around the baseball world…

The Blue Jays and Brett Anderson have “some mutual interest” in a reunion, Sportsnet.ca’s Ben Nicholson-Smith reports, though Toronto is still considering other starting pitching options ahead of the veteran southpaw. Anderson signed a minor league pact with the Jays last summer after he was let go by the Cubs, and ended up tossing 33 1/3 innings for Toronto over seven starts, posting a 5.13 ERA, 5.9 K/9 and 2.44 K/BB rate. Nicholson-Smith’s piece contains several other available pitchers that could be fits for the Jays as they look for rotation depth.
In another piece from Nicholson-Smith, he writes that the Blue Jays are still looking for catching help, most likely a veteran on a minor league deal that can compete with Luke Maile for the backup job behind Russell Martin. Further help could come from within the organization, however, as some evaluators feel prospects Danny Jansen and Reese McGuire could be ready for big league promotions by midseason.
Longtime player, manager, and coach Davey Lopes is retiring, he announced to MLB.com’s Bill Ladson on Ladson’s “Newsmakers” podcast. Lopes, 72, worked as the Nationals’ first base coach for the last two seasons, his latest stop in a 23-year coaching career that also included stints with the Orioles, Padres, Phillies, and Dodgers. Lopes managed the Brewers from 2000-02, and of course he enjoyed an outstanding 17-year playing career from 1972-87, most notably appearing in four All-Star Games for the Dodgers.
There have been whispers that the stalled free agent market would lead to a union-sponsored training camp for players who remain unsigned as Spring Training begins, though The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link) hears otherwise. Since most players already have their own training regimens in place during the offseason, there is less need for a stand-alone camp.

Poll: Who Will Sign Jonathan Lucroy?

By Mark Polishuk | January 31, 2018 at 9:37am CDT

Jonathan Lucroy went into the offseason as the most prominent free agent catcher available, though with February just a day away, Lucroy is still looking for his next team. Yesterday’s news of an agreement between Alex Avila and the Diamondbacks took yet another potential landing spot off the board for Lucroy, leaving him with a rapidly narrowing list of options as Spring Training approaches.

While Lucroy is far from the only notable player whose market has stalled in this unprecedentedly-slow free agent season, his case is a particularly interesting one given the traditional lack of catching depth around baseball. There was certainly reason for teams to have concern about Lucroy heading into the winter, most notably his decline in power and framing ability and his massive slump in the first half of the 2017 season, yet you’d think that a player with Lucroy’s track record would’ve found some type of acceptable contract given how often teams require an upgrade behind the plate. It was just in 2016, remember, that Lucroy hit .292/.355/.500 with 24 homers over 544 plate appearances.

As it happened, however, Lucroy seems to have run into something of a perfect storm of circumstances. Beyond just his down 2017 season and the overall free agent deep freeze, the catching market was further crowded by the presence of J.T. Realmuto and Yasmani Grandal as trade candidates. Lucroy also happened to hit free agency in a winter when most of the contending teams were pretty set behind the plate. The D’Backs and Rockies both had holes at catcher, though Arizona went with Avila while Colorado signed Chris Iannetta despite some known interest in bringing Lucroy back to Coors Field.

Beyond just the contenders, a larger-than-usual number of teams in various stages of rebuilding phases haven’t had interest in spending significant dollars on a catcher (or, Lucroy may not have interest in finding himself traded at the deadline for the third consecutive year, which would be a distinct possibility if he joined a losing team on a pillow contract). The White Sox gave Welington Castillo a two-year deal, while other catchers have inked one-year Major League pacts or minor league contracts to serve in backup roles.

MLB Trade Rumors ranked Lucroy 20th on our Top 50 Free Agents list, projecting him for a two-year, $24MM deal. Finding even that modest contract seems unlikely at this point, though that could open the door for more teams to some looking at Lucroy as a potential bargain. Here are some of the candidates…

Mets: Lucroy reportedly drew some interest from the Amazins earlier this month, and they certainly fit the description of a team that could turn to Lucroy if (or now that) his price tag can fit into their limited budget. Steve Phillips of MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (Twitter link) outlined some of the reasons for a Mets/Lucroy connection this morning, calling him “a perfect fit” given Travis d’Arnaud’s defensive limitations and the fact that d’Arnaud could either be retained as a non-costly backup or perhaps shopped himself in trade talks.

Astros: Aside from the Mets and Rockies, there has been very little buzz about Lucroy on the rumor mill this winter, to the point that this item from Jon Heyman back in November about Houston’s interest in Lucroy represents the only other team linked to the catcher this offseason. In the two and a half months since Heyman’s report, the Astros agreed to a $6.7MM arbitration-avoiding deal with Evan Gattis and plan to use him as their primary DH, and also signed Tim Federowicz as minor league depth to battle with Max Stassi for the backup job. A catcher/DH timeshare between Lucroy and starter Brian McCann would’ve been creative, though it doesn’t seem like the Astros still seem like plausible suitors.

Nationals: Unwilling to deal their very best prospects to Miami for Realmuto, the Nats could pivot away from a trade and instead sign Lucroy to supplant Matt Wieters as the everyday catcher. Lucroy could potentially be a open to a discount to play for a World Series contender like Washington, and even a two-year deal would make a him a nice bridge to Pedro Severino if the Nationals still see the youngster as their catcher of the future. One obstacle: after getting burned on the Wieters contract, could the Nats be wary about signing another veteran catcher showing signs of decline?

Athletics: In the wake of Bruce Maxwell’s arrest on aggravated assault and disorderly conduct charges, GM David Forst said that the A’s were still counting on Maxwell as their first-choice catcher heading into 2018. With Lucroy still on the market months later, however, the A’s might take advantage of an opportunity to land a potential star catcher at a lower price. As mentioned earlier, however, Lucroy might be hesitant to join a team that could again make him a trade deadline chip.

Orioles: Dan Duquette is no stranger to signing free agents still lingering on the market in February. Top prospect Chance Sisco is slated for regular duty next season, though since 2018 is clearly a go-for-broke season for the O’s with so many big names (Manny Machado, Adam Jones, Zach Britton, Buck Showalter, and Duquette himself) entering the last year of their contracts, the team might want more of a proven veteran presence behind the plate.

The field: You could stretch and make cases for such teams as the Red Sox, Indians, Brewers, Rangers, Cubs, or Angels as potential Lucroy suitors, though these teams range from “probably only in the event of another trade” or “major longshots.” Still, we could be in for a wild February of player movement given how much has yet to be decided within the free agent market. It isn’t out of the question that further trades could open up a spot for Lucroy on an unexpected roster, and an injury in Spring Training could also create a new suitor out of nowhere.

Where do you think Lucroy will be playing come Opening Day? (poll link for Trade Rumors mobile app users)

Who will sign Jonathan Lucroy?

Nationals 29.28% (4,400 votes)

Another team 26.01% (3,908 votes)

Mets 18.57% (2,791 votes)

Athletics 11.11% (1,670 votes)

Orioles 9.12% (1,370 votes)

Astros 5.90% (887 votes)

Total Votes: 15,026

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

NL East Notes: Marlins, Bour, Cabrera, Mets, Joseph, Braves

By Mark Polishuk | January 31, 2018 at 8:00am CDT

It was no secret that Christian Yelich wasn’t happy with the Marlins’ latest fire sale, and the team felt that Yelich could’ve become a clubhouse distraction had he remained on the roster, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports. This is why trading Yelich was more of a priority than dealing catcher J.T. Realmuto, as “the Marlins believe Realmuto will be a good soldier if he isn’t traded.” Of course, Realmuto has reportedly asked for a trade as well, though Miami is reportedly holding out only for a big return if the catcher is to be moved. Jackson also notes that first baseman Justin Bour (a popular target for teams calling the Marlins) hasn’t asked for a trade.

AL Notes: Yanks, Cashman, Rays, Angels, Tribe

By Connor Byrne | January 30, 2018 at 10:33pm CDT

On the latest edition of his podcast, ESPN’s Buster Olney discusses a slew of interesting topics with Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, who looks back on his first 20 years on the job and ahead to his future in the position. Cashman doesn’t seem anywhere close to the end of the line, which isn’t surprising for someone who signed a five-year extension in December. “I’m only 50 years old. I feel that’s young,” he said. The five-time World Series champion added that he believes “there’s more chapters to write,” including potentially winning a title with a third manager (the newly hired Aaron Boone).

Asked whether there has ever been a specific turning point in terms of how he does his job, Cashman indicated that it came when now-Cubs president Theo Epstein was early in his tenure as arch-rival Boston’s GM. Cashman saw the positive impact that Epstein and sabermetrics guru Bill James were having on the Red Sox with the help of analytics, and he noticed that Boston was outdoing New York in key areas such as advanced scouting, drafting, major league signings, minor league signings and waiver claims. Around that time, he realized the Yankees “should have every tool in the toolbox,” and that “no one in baseball should have a better department in any aspect than the New York Yankees.”

After Cashman “saw a deficiency” in the way the Yankees were functioning in comparison to the Red Sox, he “went on a crusade” to improve the organization. Since then, the Yankees have revamped their pro scouting department, created what Cashman believes is an enviable quantitative analysis team, implemented a “second-to-none mental skills program” and tried when possible to copy the performance science methods of European soccer teams and Australian rules football clubs.

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