A.J. Ramos

Players Avoiding Arbitration: National League

By Steve Adams | January 13, 2017 at 10:55pm CDT

Quite frankly, there were too many arbitration agreements today to reasonably stuff into one post. So here’s a rundown of the National League players that have avoided arbitration on smaller deals (American League deals here). You can see all of the arbitration “action” thus far in a sortable, filterable format by checking out MLBTR’s 2017 Arbitration Tracker. All projections referenced in this post are courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz:

Wily Peralta and Carlos Torres have agreed to one-year deals, according to the team’s Twitter account. Peralta will earn $4.275MM (compared to $4.4MM projection), per Heyman. Torres was projected to make $2MM, but will get slightly more at $2.175MM, per Chris Cotillo of SB Nation (via Twitter).
Reliever George Kontos gets $1.75MM from the Giants, Heyman tweets. He had projected at $1.7MM.
The Diamondbacks also reached agreement with lefty Patrick Corbin, righty Randall Delgado, and catcher Chris Herrmann, per Jack Magruder of Fan Rag (links to Twitter). Delgado gets $1.775MM and Herrmann receives $937,500. As for Corbin, he’ll take home $3.95MM, per Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (via Twitter), which falls a bit shy of his $4.2MM projection.
Infielder Eduardo Nunez will receive $4.2MM from the Giants, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter). San Francisco has also reached agreement with lefty Will Smith, per Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter). He’ll receive $2.5MM, just over his $2.3MM projection, Heyman tweets.
The Phillies settled at $4.2MM with righty Jeanmar Gomez, per Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter). He falls just a big shy of his $4.6MM projection.
The Cardinals have announced arb deals with Trevor Rosenthal and Kevin Siegrist. Rosenthal receives $6.4MM, per Heyman (via Twitter), which is just $100K over his projection. Siegrist projected at $1.9MM, but his salary has yet to be reported.
Matt Harvey and Jacob deGrom have each avoided arbitration with the Mets. Harvey gets $5.125MM in his second arb year, per James Wagner of the New York Times (via Twitter). Meanwhile, deGrom will receive $4.05MM in his first trip through the arb process, per ESPNNewYork.com’s Adam Rubin (via Twitter). New York has also agreed with lefty Josh Edgin, Rubin tweets, though terms remain unreported.

Earlier Updates

Gerrit Cole and the Pirates have settled at $3.75MM, according to Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. After a disappointing 2016 season, the 26-year-old will make nearly $500K less than his $4.2MM projection. He’s under team control through 2019.
The Nationals and Anthony Rendon are in agreement on a one-year, $5.8MM deal (compared to $6.4MM projection), according to Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post. The 26-year-old third baseman is under team control through 2019.
Chris Owings and the Diamondbacks have settled at $2.3MM (compared to $2.1MM projection), per Heyman. The 25-year-old, who posted a .731 OPS in 2016 while logging 466 plate appearances between shortstop, center field and second base, is under team control through 2019.
The Marlins have come to terms with all remaining arbitration-eligible players aside from David Phelps, according to MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro. Tom Koehler will make $5.75MM (compared to $6.2MM projection), per Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald. Adeiny Hechavarria has agreed to a $4.35MM deal (compared to $3.7MM projection) for 2017, according to Heyman. Meanwhile, Derek Dietrich gets $1.7MM ($1.8MM projection) and Marcell Ozuna receives $3.5MM ($4.5MM projection), per Spencer (via Twitter). The Marlins have also avoided arbitration with closer A.J. Ramos, who will earn $6.55MM, per Spencer (via Twitter).
The Braves have come to terms with Arodys Vizcaino ($1.6MM projection) and Ian Krol ($1MM projection), per David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Terms have not yet been reported. The team has now agreed to deals with all six arbitration-eligible players.
Juan Nicasio and the Pirates have settled at $3.65MM, according to Matt Gajtka of DKPittsburghSports.com. That is nearly $1MM less than his $4.6MM projection after posting a 4.50 ERA with a career-high 10.5 K/9 in 118 innings. He can become a free agent next offseason.
The Dodgers agreed to one-year deals with their four remaining arbitration-eligible players, per MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick. Yasmani Grandal will make $5.5MM (compared to $5.3MM projection) after a season in which he posted an .816 OPS with 27 homers. He’ll be eligible for arbitration one last time before he can become a free agent after the 2018 season. Luis Avilan ($1.5MM) and Alex Wood ($2.8MM) were eligible for the first time, while Josh Fields will earn $1.05MM in his second year of eligibility. That trio will remain under team control through 2019.
Brandon Maurer and the Padres have settled at $1.9MM (compared to $1.7MM projection), per Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Maurer, who posted a 3.09 ERA with 13 saves after taking over as the team’s closer in early July, is under control through 2019.
The Reds and Billy Hamilton settled at $2.625MM for the upcoming season, tweets FanRag’s Jon Heyman. Hamilton had a breakout second half and finished the year with a .260/.321/.343 batting line, plus three homers and a whopping 58 steals (in 66 tries). He cleared his $2.3MM projection by a fair amount and is controllable through 2019 via arbitration.
Zack Cozart and Tony Cingrani agreed to one-year deals with the Reds, per MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon (Twitter links), as did right-hander Blake Wood, tweets Heyman. Cozart, a free agent next winter, handily topped his $4.7MM projection after hitting .252/.308/.425 with 16 homers and premium defense at short. Cingrani gets $1.825MM, per Heyman, which is just a hair shy of his $1.9MM projection. Wood had a solid season out of the Cincinnati bullpen, with a 3.99 ERA in 76 2/3 innings after signing as a minor league free agent. He can be controlled through 2018.
Derek Norris and Tanner Roark both agreed to one-year deals with the Nationals, per Heyman (Twitter links). Norris will get $4.2MM (compared to a $4MM projection), while Roark earns $4.315MM (compared to what looks to have been an overly aggressive $6.1MM projection).
Hector Rondon and the Cubs avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year deal worth $5.8MM, per Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times (on Twitter). He clears his $5.7MM projection by a small margin of $100K on the heels of a season that saw him post a 3.53 ERA, 18 saves, 10.2 K/9 and 1.4 BB/9 in 51 innings of relief. He’s controlled through 2018. Heyman tweets that the Cubs also dodged arb with Justin Grimm on a $1.825MM deal that is a near-mirror image of his $1.8MM projection. He’s a free agent after the 2019 season.
Jordy Mercer and the Pirates agreed to a one-year, $4.325MM deal, reports Matt Gajtka of DKPittsburghSports.com. He comes in $325K north of his $4MM projection on the heels of a season in which he batted .256/.328/.374 with 11 homers. Mercer has one more winter of arbitration eligibility and will be a free agent after the 2018 season.
The Mets and Travis d’Arnaud are in agreement on a one-year, $1.875MM deal, Heyman tweets. That’s $175K above the $1.7MM for the first-year arbitration catcher. Now 28 years old, d’Arnaud has yet to prove he can remain healthy and productive over the life of a full big league season. He’ll get another crack at doing so in 2017, it seems. He batted .247/.307/.323 with four homers in 276 PAs last year. The Mets also avoided arb with Addison Reed, Jeurys Familia and Lucas Duda, who are broken off into a separate post.
The Marlins and closer A.J. Ramos have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year deal worth $6.55MM, tweets Heyman. The 30-year-old Ramos was Miami’s primary closer last season and turned in a 2.81 ERA (his third straight sub-3.00 mark) and 40 saves to go along with 10.3 K/9 against 4.9 BB/9 in 64 innings. Ramos comes in $250K shy of his $6.8MM projection but still earns a very healthy raise over last year’s $3.4MM salary.

Marlins Rumors: Ramos, Ozuna, Fister, Phelps, Gee

By Steve Adams | November 29, 2016 at 4:36pm CDT

The Marlins have “signaled that they might be willing to trade” closer A.J. Ramos, reports ESPN’s Jayson Stark (via Twitter). On the one hand, the news isn’t all that surprising, as Ramos projects to earn a relatively hefty $6.8MM in 2017 and is only controllable for another two seasons, so Miami could market him as it looks to add more stability to its rotation. On the other hand, there have been reports that the Marlins are weighing a run at right-hander Kenley Jansen to beef up the bullpen and shorten the game for their starters due to the lack of available rotation help. Moving Ramos would go against the stated goal of deepening the relief corps with high-end talent, although perhaps the team could look to add some rotation help by moving Ramos and replace him with a free-agent arm. Ramos, 30, posted a terrific 2.81 ERA with 10.3 K/9 but also averaged 4.9 BB/9 and posted a career-worst 36.4 percent ground-ball rate in 64 innings with Miami last year.

A few more notes on the Fish…

There’s been “little to no dialogue” between the Marlins and other teams about outfielder Marcell Ozuna, reports MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro. Many clubs are taking a patient approach to see how the pitching market develops before they determine whether they can part with an arm in a trade to address the outfield, Frisaro writes, and there isn’t much internal traction regarding the idea of dealing Ozuna. With Edinson Volquez on board, the Marlins may look further to the free-agent market rather than seeking trades to bolster the staff.
Also from Frisaro, the Marlins have had internal discussions regarding Doug Fister, C.J. Wilson and Jon Niese. Previous reports have linked Miami to the latter two names, but this appears to be the first definitive link between the Marlins and Fister, who posted a 4.64 ERA with 5.7 K/9, 3.1 BB/9 and a 45.3 percent ground-ball rate in 180 1/3 innings for the Astros last season. That marked a second consecutive weak showing for Fister, who was previously one of the more underrated starters in baseball while pitching for the Tigers. Fister’s strikeout rate has plummeted in recent years, though, and while he’s never thrown hard, his once 89-90 mph fastball is now more in the 86-87 mph range. David Phelps is also a candidate to step into the rotation, but the Marlins prefer that he remains at the back of the bullpen, Frisaro adds.
Also of note from Frisaro’s piece on the team’s free-agent hunt, he lists Jansen and Aroldis Chapman as assets that are probably too expensive for the Marlins but lists right-handers Mark Melancon and Daniel Hudson as more affordable options that could be realistic targets.
Meanwhile, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports that the Marlins have reached out to the representatives for right-hander Dillon Gee, who became a free agent when he was cut loose by the Royals after the season. Gee is no stranger to the NL East, having spent the bulk of his career with the Mets, and he delivered 125 innings with a 4.68 ERA, 6.4 K/9, 2.7 BB/9 and a 41 percent ground-ball rate for Kansas City last year. However, Gee’s season came to an end when he required surgery to alleviate thoracic outlet syndrome. He’s expected to be ready for Spring Training, though, and would give the Marlins a veteran arm who could function in a swingman capacity, making some starts as needed but also providing a relief arm capable of throwing multiple innings.

Marlins Activate A.J. Ramos From DL

By Connor Byrne | August 21, 2016 at 10:41am CDT

The Marlins have activated closer A.J. Ramos from the 15-day disabled list and optioned right-hander Brian Ellington to Triple-A New Orleans, tweets Joe Frisaro of MLB.com. Ramos landed on the DL Aug. 9 (retroactive to Aug. 6) with a finger injury, meaning he ended up staying on the shelf for the minimum amount of time.

Ramos, 29, is amid his fourth consecutive season as a quality option out of the Marlins’ bullpen. This season, his second as Miami’s closer, Ramos has converted 32 of 34 save opportunities and posted a 3.05 ERA and 11.37 K/9 in 44 1/3 innings. On the negative side, control has been an issue at times during Ramos’ major league career – including this year. Ramos currently has a lofty 5.28 BB/9, which isn’t that far above the 4.77 figure he has recorded in 268 innings as a Marlin.

With Ramos back, midseason acquisition Fernando Rodney should head back to a setup role for 64-59 Miami, which is just 1 1/2 games behind St. Louis for the National League’s second wild-card spot. Since Aug. 5 – Ramos’ latest appearance – Rodney has allowed a mere one earned run and five hits in eight innings, though he has walked five against seven strikeouts. In all, the 39-year-old has compiled a 2.25 ERA, 10.4 K/9, 4.5 BB/9 and 56.6 percent ground-ball rate across 52 frames with the Marlins and Padres this season. With him, Ramos and Kyle Barraclough, Miami has an enviable trio of late-game righties.

Marlins Designate Cody Ege For Assignment

By charliewilmoth | August 9, 2016 at 2:28pm CDT

The Marlins have announced that they’ve designated lefty Cody Ege for assignment. They also announced a variety of other moves — they’ve placed closer A.J. Ramos on the 15-day DL, as anticipated, with a finger fracture, and optioned lefty Hunter Cervenka to Triple-A New Orleans. They’ve also recalled righty Austin Brice from New Orleans and selected the contract of lefty Chris Narveson. Brice and Narveson should help ease the burden on the Marlins’ bullpen after the team’s 14-inning game yesterday.

[Related: Miami Marlins Depth Chart]

The Marlins acquired the 25-year-old Ege last season when they sent Sam Dyson to Texas. Ege has spent most of the season in bullpen with New Orleans, where he’s posted a 4.50 ERA with 7.2 K/9 and 5.5 BB/9 in 44 innings. He also appeared in five games with the Marlins, the first of his big-league career. The Marlins selected his contract in April. The 2013 15th-round pick has a career 2.63 ERA, 10.5 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in parts of four minor league seasons.

Marlins To Place A.J. Ramos On DL

By charliewilmoth | August 9, 2016 at 10:53am CDT

The Marlins will place closer A.J. Ramos on the 15-day DL, Andy Slater of 940-AM WINZ tweets. Slater adds that the team will send lefty Hunter Cervenka, who it recently acquired from the Braves, to the minors. Corresponding moves have yet to be announced, although the Marlins used eight relievers (including Cervenka and starter Andrew Cashner) in a 14-inning loss to the Giants yesterday, so bullpen reinforcements would appear to be in order.

There’s no specific word on the reason for Ramos’ DL placement, although he recently has been unavailable due to a jammed finger. It’s unclear how long he’ll be out, but if the finger turns out to be the only problem, the Marlins’ initial reluctance to place him on the DL might suggest they believe the injury won’t turn out to be serious. Fernando Rodney collected a save this weekend in Ramos’ absence and appears likely to continue to close until Ramos returns.

The 29-year-old Ramos has had a solid second season as the Marlins’ closer, collecting 32 saves while posting a 3.05 ERA and compensating for a high 5.3 BB/9 with an excellent 11.4 K/9. He’s now pitched parts of five seasons with the Marlins, with a career 2.69 ERA, 10.6 K/9 and 4.8 BB/9.

Players Avoiding Arbitration: Friday

By Steve Adams | January 15, 2016 at 7:30pm CDT

The deadline for teams to exchange arbitration figures with eligible players is 1pm ET today. Dozens of arb agreements figure to flow in over the next few hours, and we’ll keep track of the smaller arb agreements in this post. All projections referenced are courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz and can be viewed on the full list of 156 players that filed for arbitration this year. Remember also that you can keep track of everyone that has avoided arbitration by checking out MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker.

Onto the agreements…

Shortstop Zack Cozart is in agreement with the Reds for an undisclosed sum, per a team announcement. He projected at $2.9MM in his second year of eligibility after a promising start to the 2015 season was cut short by a serious knee injury.
The Diamondbacks announced that they have avoided arbitration with righty Rubby De La Rosa for an undisclosed sum. He was projected at $3.2MM but, per Jack Magruder of Fanragsports.com (on Twitter), will earn only $2.35MM.
Reliever Fernando Rodriguez settled with the Athletics for $1.05MM — beneath his projected $1.3MM — per the Associated Press.
Dodgers infielder Justin Turner will earn $5.1MM next season, Jon Heyman reports on Twitter. That’s just a shade under his $5.3MM projection.
The Braves settled with reliever Arodys Vizcaino for $897,500, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman tweets. He had a $1.1MM projection entering the fall.
Both Zach Putnam will earn a $975K salary next year after agreeing with the White Sox, per a club announcement. That’s $175K over the projected arb value of the Super Two.
The Cardinals settled with first baseman Matt Adams for $1.65MM, Heyman tweets. That’s a small bump over his $1.5MM projections. The team is also in agreement with right-hander Seth Maness, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Super Two reliever projected at $1.2MM but will receive $1.4MM, per MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch (via Twitter).
Righty Tom Koehler receives a $3.5MM payday from the Marlins, per Jon Heyman (via Twitter). The team gets a break on the $3.9MM that had been projected. The team also has an agreement with righties David Phelps and Carter Capps, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro tweets. Heyman adds (via Twitter) that Phelps will earn exactly his projected amount of $2.5MM. Capps was predicted to earn $800K, but his salary is yet to be reported.
The Diamondbacks agreed to a $4.35MM rate with first-year-eligible starter Shelby Miller, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports on Twitter. He had projected at $4.9MM. Notably, Miller comes in just ahead of fellow 3+ service-class pitcher Harvey (who is covered below). Fellow Arizona hurler Patrick Corbin will earn $2.525MM next year, Passan also tweets.
The Nationals have agreed with infielder Danny Espinosa for $2.875MM, Jon Heyman tweets. He gets a slight bump over his $2.7MM projection in his second season of arb eligibility.
Nolan Arenado will receive a $5MM salary from the Rockies in his first season of eligibility, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports tweets. That’s exactly what fellow star young third baseman Manny Machado settled for as well, though Arenado was a Super Two. As Swartz explained recently, those two players’ cases may well have been tied together despite some important distinctions. He also explained why Arenado might not reach his sky-high $6.6MM projection in actuality.
The Orioles have agreed with starter Miguel Gonzalez for $5.1MM, Eduardo Rodriguez of the Baltimore Sun reports on Twitter. Gonzalez projected for $4.9MM.
Outfielder Chris Coghlan agreed at $4.8MM with the Cubs, MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat tweets. That’s quite a nice increase over his projected $3.9MM. Also agreeing with Chicago was reliever Pedro Strop, who gets $4.4MM, per Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times (via Twitter). He had been projected at $4.7MM.
Both righty Michael Pineda (for $4.3MM) and infielder/outfielder Dustin Ackley ($3.2MM), according to Passan (via Twitter) and Jon Heyman (Twitter link). Those numbers largely track the projected amounts of $4.6MM and $3.1MM, respectively.
Danny Duffy will play at $4.225MM next year after reaching terms with the Royals, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports (Twitter links). Catcher Drew Butera, meanwhile, will get $1,162,500 from Kansas City. Both represented small bumps over their projected values of $4MM and $1.1MM.
Marlins closer A.J. Ramos will get $3.4MM in 2016, Heyman reports (Twitter links). Teammate Adeiny Hechavarria, meanwhile, will take down $2.625MM. Both first-year-eligible players went over their projections ($2.8MM and $2.3MM, respectively).
The Mets will pay $4.325MM to Matt Harvey and $3MM to shortstop Ruben Tejada for 2016, ESPNNewYork.com’s Adam Rubin reports (Twitter links). Harvey approaches, but doesn’t quite reach, his $4.7MM projection. Though he’s still recovering from an unfortunate leg injury suffered during the post-season, Tejada will take home a cool half-million more than had been projected.
Righty Joe Kelly has agreed with the Red Sox at $2.6MM, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports. He falls a fair sight shy of the $3.2MM that MLBTR projected. Though he reached ten wins on the year, Kelly scuffled to a 4.82 ERA over his 134 1/3 innings.
Righty Drew Hutchison agreed with the Blue Jays for $2.2MM, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports on Twitter. He falls short of a $2.6MM projection after a tough 2015 campaign.
The Tigers have reached terms with shortstop Jose Iglesias for $2.1MM, per another Heyman tweet. The deal also includes some incentives, per the report. That’s a healthy jump up over the $1.5MM projection for the slick-fielding infielder, who did have a strong 2015 season.
The Mariners announced that they reached agreement with lefty Charlie Furbush and righty Evan Scribner. Furbush will receive $1.7MM, while Scribner will get $807.5K, Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune reports.
Both shortstop Jean Segura and righty Wily Peralta are under contract with the Brewers, per a team announcement. Segura gets $2.6MM after being projected at $3.2MM, per Heyman (Twitter link). Matt Swartz’s system pegged Peralta at $2.8MM, and that’s exactly what he’ll earn, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (via Twitter).

There are plenty more after the jump:

Earlier Updates

Marlins ace Jose Fernandez has agreed to a $2.8MM salary that can reach $3MM via his incentives, tweets Yahoo’s Jeff Passan. That deal puts Fernandez comfortably north of his $2.2MM projection. He’ll hope for a full healthy season at the front of Miami’s rotation.
Passan also tweets that Cubs closer Hector Rondon will land a $4.2MM salary, which clears his $3.6MM projection. Rondon racked up 30 saves with a sparkling 1.67 ERA this season and is in line to close in Chicago once again next year.
The Cubs have also agreed to terms with lefty Travis Wood and right-hander Justin Grimm, per Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times (on Twitter). Wood will earn a $6.175MM salary that is within $225K of his $6.4MM projection, and Grimm will take home $1.275MM, exceeding his $1MM projection. Both will play key roles for the Cubs next year, with Wood potentially occupying a swingman role but also facing lefties late in games and Grimm hoping to replicate his 1.99 ERA from 2015.
Sticking with the Cubs, Adam Warren will avoid arb with a $1.7MM deal in his first season with Chicago after a strong 3.29 ERA last season with the Yankees, according to Baseball America’s Josh Norris (on Twitter). That figure is a bit north of Warren’s $1.5MM projection.
Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports (links to Twitter) that the Twins have avoided arbitration with infielders Eduardo Nunez and Eduardo Escobar. Nunez will receive $1.475MM and Escobar will take him $2.15MM, per Berardino. That puts Nunez right in line with his $1.5MM projection and Escobar $350K ahead of his $1.8MM estimate. Escobar is in line to be Minnesota’s starting shortstop. Berardino also reports that right-hander Casey Fien settled at $2.275MM — a slight bump on top of his $2.2MM projection (Twitter link). He’ll see action in middle relief next year.
The Blue Jays and lefty Aaron Loup have agreed to a $1.05MM salary for the 2016 season, per Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi (on Twitter). Loup registered a 4.46 ERA but flashed excellent strikeout-to-walk numbers in 42 1/3 innings (46 strikeouts, seven walks). He was projected to earn $900K.
The Rays and catcher Rene Rivera settled at $1.7MM, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. That’s $100K more than his $1.6MM projection. Rivera didn’t provide any value with the bat last season but is an excellent pitch-framer and draws strong reviews for his overall defensive prowess. Topkin also tweets that Logan Morrison ($4.2MM), Erasmo Ramirez ($2.375MM) and Hank Conger ($1.5MM) have avoided arbitration. Morrison’s deal is right in line with his projection of $4.1MM, while Ramirez is a bit shy of his $2.8MM figure and the same holds true of Conger and his $1.8MM projection.
Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle tweets that Marwin Gonzalez and the Astros agreed to a $2MM salary — $100K more than his $1.9MM projection. Gonzalez will fill in around the infield as needed next season after a solid all-around year in 2015, when he hit .279/.317/.442.
MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian has news on the Indians’ remaining arb-eligibles: Lonnie Chisenhall gets $2.725MM, Jeff Manship gets $765K and Josh Tomlin earns $2.25MM (links to Twitter). They had been respectively projected at $3MM, $700K and $3.1MM. Tomlin falls a ways shy of his projection, though Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet tweets that his salary is fully guaranteed, which is a nice perk, as that’s not the norm for arb contracts.
Jon Heyman tweets that Yasmani Grandal and the Dodgers settled at $2.8MM for the 2016 season. That’s $100K more than the $2.7MM projected for Grandal after a strong first year in L.A., wherein he batted .234/.353/.403 with 16 home runs.
The Rangers and Tanner Scheppers agreed to a $900K salary, tweets Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The right-hander had been projected to earn $800K and will look to earn a job in the bullpen next year.
Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith reports that the Blue Jays have avoided arbitration with left-hander Brett Cecil, agreeing to a $3.8MM deal (Twitter link). Cecil’s deal tops his projection by $400K. The southpaw lost the closer’s gig in Toronto last season but rebounded to post strong overall numbers: a 2.48 ERA with 11.6 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9 in 54 1/3 innings.
Nicholson-Smith also tweets that the Pirates and righty Jared Hughes have agreed to a $2.175MM salary for next season. That falls right in line with his $2.2MM projection. Hughes, 30, logged a 2.28 ERA with 4.8 K/9, 2.6 BB/9 and a huge 63.7 percent ground-ball rate in 67 innings last year.
Sticking with the Pirates, Yahoo’s Jeff Passan reports (via Twitter) that Francisco Cervelli will secure a $3.5MM salary for 2016 in lieu of arbitration. He also reports that lefty Tony Watson will take home $3.45MM. Cervelli’s deal clears his projection by $1MM, while Watson’s falls about the same sum shy. Cervelli had a career-year in 2015, batting .295/.370/.401 with seven home runs. He’s now one year from free agency. Watson, meanwhile, recorded a stellar 1.91 ERA in 75 1/3 innings. He has two years to go before free agency.
Passan also tweets that Indians closer Cody Allen has landed a hefty $4.15MM payday in his first trip through arb, with his saves totals leading him to clear his $3.5MM projection by a fairly sizable margin. Allen was again dominant in 2015, leading the AL with 58 games finished and recording a 2.99 ERA with 12.9 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 and 34 saves.
Passan also has the scoop on a trio of Mets (Twitter link): Addison Reed ($5.3MM) Carlos Torres ($1.05MM) and Josh Edgin ($625K). Each figures to see significant time in the ’pen next season, with Reed taking on a prime setup role. Reed will fall $400K shy of his projection, while Torres clears his $800K projection and Edgin lands just slightly north of his $600K projection. Edgin missed the year with Tommy John surgery, while Reed put up a 3.38 ERA in 56 innings and Torres worked to a 4.68 ERA in 57 2/3 frames.
Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle tweets that right-hander Josh Fields will get $900K from the Astros in place of an arb hearing. That’s $100K higher than his projection. Fields had an under-the-radar season, posting a 3.55 ERA with 11.9 K/9 against 3.4 BB/9 in 50 2/3 innings for the ’Stros.
The Rangers announced that they’ve avoided arb with catcher Robinson Chirinos, and Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets that he’ll earn $1.55MM next year. That’s nearly identical to his $1.4MM projection and represents a raise on the heels of a .232/.325/.438 season in which he blasted 10 home runs.
The Astros and infielder Luis Valbuena have agreed to terms on a $6.125MM salary for the upcoming season, thereby avoiding arbitration, according to Jon Heyman (Twitter link). That figure surpasses Swartz’s projection by about 5.5 percent, rewarding Valbuena for a season in which he slugged a career-best 25 home runs. Overall, Valbuena batted .224/.310/.438, splitting his time between third base and first base.
The Nationals announced that they’ve avoided arbitration with Anthony Rendon. He’ll earn $2.8MM, tweets ESPN’s Jerry Crascnick, which is $300K greater than the sum projected by Swartz. Rendon was injured for much of the 2015 campaign and batted .264/.344/.363 when healthy. He’ll hope to get back to his .287/.351/.473 form from 2014 in the season to come.
Yahoo’s Jeff Passan reports that the Brewers and left-handed setup man Will Smith have avoided arb with a one-year, $1.475MM agreement (Twitter link). Smith, 26, quietly had an outstanding season in Milwaukee, pitching to a 2.70 ERA with 12.9 K/9 against 3.4 BB/9 in 63 1/3 innings. He’ll be one of Milwaukee’s top late-inning relief arms this season and had been projected at $1.2MM and exceeded that number by $200K.
The Diamondbacks and right-hander Randall Delgado have agreed to a $1.275MM sum for the 2016 season, tweets Heyman. Delgado, who had been projected at $1MM, posted a 3.25 ERA in 72 innings of relief for Arizona last season. Arizona is also in agreement with right-hander Daniel Hudson, tweets Passan, putting him a strong $700K above Swartz’s projection. Hudson returned from a pair of Tommy John surgeries to establish himself as a strong setup option with the D-backs, pitching in the upper 90s with his fastball and recording a 3.86 ERA with 9.4 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9 in 67 2/3 innings.
Heyman also tweets that the Pirates and Jordy Mercer are in agreement on a one-year, $2.075MM deal, clearing his $1.8MM projection. Mercer had a down season in 2015 that included a six-week absence due to a knee injury, but he’ll look to rebound in regular duty at shortstop this year. He batted .244/.293/.320 in 430 PAs last season.
Also via Heyman (links to Twitter), the Blue Jays have avoided arbitration with right-hander Steve Delabar ($835K) and outfielder Michael Saunders ($2.9MM). Delabar, who will compete for a bullpen spot in 2016, struggled to a 5.22 ERA in 29 1/3 innings with the Jays this past season. Meanwhile, Saunders scarcely saw the field due to a knee injury that sidelined him for most of the season. Delabar cleared his $700K projection, while Saunders’ $2.9MM projection was an exact match.
The Dodgers and left-hander Luis Avilan have agreed to a $1.39MM salary for the 2016 season, tweets Heyman. He tops his $1.1MM projection on the heels of a 4.05 ERA with 8.3 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9 in 53 1/3 innings split between L.A. and Atlanta.
The White Sox and right fielder Avisail Garcia have avoided arbitration with a one-year, $2.1MM agreement, reports Crasnick (via Twitter). That sum comes up $200K short of the $2.3MM projection from Swartz. Garcia, 24, struggled in his first full season at the Major League level last year, hitting .257/.309/.365 with sub-par contributions in the outfield. He’s still young enough that the Sox can hope for him to tap into his potential, though they’ve also been linked to outfield upgrades.
The Royals have reached one-year agreements with outfielder Jarrod Dyson ($1.725MM), right-hander Louis Coleman ($725K) and catcher Tony Cruz ($975K), reports Heyman (all links to Twitter). Dyson’s figure is just $25K more than his $1.7MM projection, though Coleman fell a ways shy of his $1MM projection. Dyson, who batted .250/.311/.380 with 26 stolen bases in 225 plate appearances last season, could see the lion’s share of playing time in right field for Kansas City this season. Coleman, 30 in April, will compete for a bullpen spot after tossing just three big league innings last year but working to a 1.69 ERA in 64 Triple-A innings. The 29-year-old Cruz will compete for a backup job in KC after hitting .204/.235/.310 as a backup in St. Louis last season. His salary will nearly match his $1MM projection.
Catcher Welington Castillo and the D-backs are in agreement on a one-year deal worth $3.7MM, according to Heyman (Twitter link). After being bounced from the Cubs and Mariners with little fanfare in trades last season, Castillo had a huge finish with Arizona, batting .255/.317/.496 with 17 homers in 80 games. Overall, he batted .237/.296/.453 with 19 homers in 378 PAs. Castillo’s $3.7MM salary will clear his $3.6MM by a narrow margin of $100K.

Heyman’s Latest: Cueto, Giants, Rangers, Alvarez, Puig

By Mark Polishuk | December 5, 2015 at 8:47am CDT

Johnny Cueto tops the list as the key player to watch at the Winter Meetings, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman writes in his latest Inside Baseball piece. Several big-market clubs have already checked in on Cueto and the Dodgers may hold particular interest since they considered trading for Cueto at the deadline last summer but held off out of a desire to keep their top prospects. Heyman’s piece was written before the news of Zack Greinke’s deal with the Diamondbacks broke, so it stands to reason that the Dodgers’ interest could be even greater with Greinke off the board. The Cardinals, Heyman reports, haven’t checked in on Cueto, as the righty “had a rough relationship with Cardinal Nation while starring in Cincinnati.”

Here are some of the hot stove highlights of Heyman’s lengthy news roundup…

The Giants may pursue not one but two pitchers now that they’ve missed out on Greinke. San Francisco is “believed to have big money to spend” and they’ve been connected to such names as Mike Leake and Jeff Samardzija.
The Rangers are receiving a lot of interest in many of their top relievers, including closer Shawn Tolleson, Jake Diekman, Sam Dyson and the newly-acquired Tom Wilhelmsen.
The Rangers’ shopping list includes a right-handed bat for lineup balance and a starting pitcher likely to fill out the back of the rotation. Texas is also looking for a young catcher. Earlier this week, the Rangers were said to be working on a deal to add a catcher but no trade materialized.
Pedro Alvarez has received calls from five teams, including the Indians, since being non-tendered by the Pirates earlier this week.
Another non-tendered Alvarez, former Marlins righty Henderson Alvarez, is also drawing a lot of interest on the open market, with 10 teams checking in. Though 2015 was a lost year for Alvarez due to injuries and he may miss some time in 2016 in the wake of shoulder surgery, it’s no surprise that Alvarez is a hot commodity given his track record.
The Marlins’ desire to trade Marcell Ozuna is well-known, though Heyman notes that one obstacle is Miami’s lack of a ready-made replacement in center field. In a tweet from this morning, Heyman wonders if Dexter Fowler could be pursued since Fowler was formerly tutored by new Miami hitting coach Barry Bonds. There hasn’t yet been any sign that the Marlins are interested in Fowler, however.
Speaking of Marlins trades, closer A.J. Ramos and third baseman Martin Prado have both drawn interest but Heyman figures the team isn’t too likely to part with either player.
A few teams called the Dodgers to ask about Yasiel Puig’s availability but the Dodgers aren’t keen on selling low on the outfielder. The team intends to “try to reach him” and inspire Puig to return to his old form. The Dodgers are more likely to trade Carl Crawford or Andre Ethier if they do decide to move an outfielder, though dealing either could be hard given the crowded outfield market (not to mention both players’ salaries).
Daniel Murphy was connected to the Dodgers this offseason but he “doesn’t appear to be at the forefront” of the team’s plans at the moment.
The Mets seem to be more serious about adding a platoon partner for Juan Lagares in center field rather than sign an everyday center fielder like Fowler or Denard Span.
Brett Gardner’s name has surfaced in trade rumors this winter but “there isn’t currently any traction for a trade” between the Yankees and any other teams.
The Yankees are another team monitoring the free agent pitching market and New York “may be laying in the weeds” to make its move on Samardzija or Wei-Yin Chen.
Blue Jays center fielder Kevin Pillar would be a fit with the Cubs but there is “nothing to that one at the moment.” It’s hard to see Toronto dealing the defensively-spectacular Pillar given how their next best center field option (Dalton Pompey) is still unproven at the Major League level and struggled badly when given the everyday job last April.

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