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Anthony Bass

Pitching Notes: Paxton, Jays, Thor, McGee, Bass

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The Blue Jays were among the teams in on southpaw James Paxton before he agreed to a contract with the Mariners over the weekend. However, Toronto never made a pitch to Paxton (via Gregory Balloch of Sportsnet 650). “They showed a lot of interest, and I had interest too, but they never came forward with an offer,” Paxton said. Paxton was a first-round pick of the Jays in the 2009 draft, but after the two sides couldn’t reach an agreement, he joined the M’s as a fourth-rounder in 2010. The now-32-year-old, who’s known as the Big Maple because of his Canadian roots, will earn a guaranteed $8.5MM in his return to Seattle in 2021.

  • Mets right-hander Noah Syndergaard remains on track in his recovery from March 2020 Tommy John surgery, per Tim Healey of Newsday. Barring any setbacks, Thor should rejoin the Mets’ rotation sometime in June or July. Without Syndergaard, they’re slated to open 2021 with Jacob deGrom, Carlos Carrasco, Marcus Stroman and David Peterson as the top four in their starting staff. There isn’t a set fifth member of the group yet, but the team does have interest in free-agent righty Taijuan Walker.
  • Lefty Jake McGee could close games for the Giants this year, manager Gabe Kapler told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle and other reporters Wednesday. The 34-year-old McGee, whom the Giants signed to a two-year, $7MM contract last week, has saved 45 games since his career started in 2010, though the former Ray, Rockie and Dodger hasn’t picked up a save since 2018. The Giants went to a closer-by-committee approach last season with five hurlers totaling at least one save, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see McGee join others in finishing games for the team this year.
  • Righty Anthony Bass is the favorite to close for the Marlins, Craig Mish of SportsGrid suggests. Bass signed a two-year, $5MM guarantee with the Marlins last month after a productive season in Toronto, where he notched a 3.51 ERA/4.09 SIERA with a 62.3 percent groundball rate in 25 2/3 innings. He could now be in line to succeed Brandon Kintzler, who closed for the Marlins in 2020 but signed with the division-rival Phillies last week.

Marlins Sign Anthony Bass

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The Marlins have added another arm to their bullpen, announcing on Thursday that they’ve signed free-agent right-hander Anthony Bass to a two-year contract with a club option for a third season. Bass, a client of the Beverly Hills Sports Council, will reportedly be guaranteed $5MM over that two-year term.

Anthony Bass | Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

Miami has been known to be in the market for affordable bullpen upgrades for some time now, and the 33-year-old Bass fits the bill. The righty had an unspectacular five-year run with the Padres, Astros and Rangers from 2011-15 before heading to Japan for two seasons, where he took his game to new heights.

The Marlins will be the fourth team in four seasons for Bass, but over the past three years he’s emerged as a solid late-inning arm. In that time, he’s pitched to a combined 3.44 ERA with a 3.89 SIERA, a slightly below-league-average strikeout rate (22.2 percent) and a slightly better-than-average walk rate (8.2 percent). He tallied five saves and six holds with the Mariners in 2019 before saving seven games and notching three holds in Toronto last year. He hasn’t had a full season as a set-in-stone closer or go-to setup man, but he could be afforded just that type of opportunity with the Marlins in 2021.

Like the Marlins’ 2020 closer, Brandon Kintzler, Bass is a ground-ball specialist whose primary offering is a power sinker in the 95 mph range. He induced grounders at a career-best 62.3 percent in 2020 — a mark that ranked fourth-highest among the 323 pitchers to throw at least 20 big league innings.

Bass also matched a career-high with an 11.5 percent swinging-strike rate, and he graded out quite well in most key Statcast metrics; the right-hander ranked in the 95th percentile or better in terms of opponents’ barrel rate, expected batting average against, expected slugging percentage, expected ERA and expected wOBA. His sinker sat in just the eighth percentile in terms of spin rate, which is actually a good trait for sinkers, where low spin is preferable (as opposed to high spin on a four-seamer).

The Marlins’ bullpen, as it stands, is a relatively inexperienced group, though Bass and fellow offseason signing Ross Detwiler add a pair of veteran arms to the mix. They, along with right-hander Yimi Garcia and lefty Richard Bleier, are the only Miami relievers with at least 150 big league innings under their belts.

Roles in the Miami ’pen will surely be defined this spring, but given the multi-year deal promised to Bass, he should join Garcia as one of the favorites to hold down ninth-inning duties. Further additions could yet lend some clarity to the ninth-inning picture in Miami, and Mish tweets that he expects Miami to continue adding to the ’pen.

SportsGrid’s Craig Mish first reported the agreement (via Twitter), and MLB.com’s Jon Morosi reported the length of the deal. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reported the financials.

Players Avoiding Arbitration: 12/3/19

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In the course of yesterday’s arbitration whirlwind, we covered quite a few players who reached agreements in advance of the non-tender deadline. But several others also struck deals last night (all projected salaries from MLBTR & contributor Matt Swartz) …

  • Righty Anthony Bass has agreed with the Blue Jays at $1.5MM, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). Recently plucked from the waiver wire, Bass had projected to earn $1.7MM. The 32-year-old is coming off a season in which he threw 48 innings of 3.56 ERA ball with 8.1 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9. It was his most extensive MLB action since 2015.
  • Ben Gamel’s deal with the Brewers includes a $1.4MM salary as well as a $2.55MM club option for the 2021 season, also per Nightengale (Twitter link). The option functions as an earning ceiling for the outfielder. Gamel had projected at $1.6MM, so he’ll come in under that amount while giving up some upside in the event of a breakout. But the priority is surely to gain another opportunity at playing time. Gamel has hovered in range of league-average with the bat over the past several years but slipped to a .248/.337/.373 slash in 356 plate appearances last year in Milwaukee.
  • The Twins have agreed to a deal with righty Matt Wisler, the club announced. The salary isn’t yet known, but it’ll be guaranteed. Given that Wisler is out of options, he’s now rather clearly in line to take a spot in the Minnesota bullpen. The recent waiver claimee projected at $1.0MM. Anything in that range could be a bargain rate for a player that carried a sparkling 63:16 K/BB ratio in 51 1/3 relief innings last year. Of course, Wisler was also tagged for 32 earned runs and ten homers, so he’ll have to figure out how to avoid the long ball.
  • Infielder Donovan Solano has a $1.375MM deal with the Giants, per Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter). That tops his $1.2MM projection, so obviously the club felt there was some risk that he’d be able to command a greater salary in the course of the arb process. Soon to turn 32 years of age, Solano produced one of the game’s least-expected breakouts in 2019. Long a light-hitting utilityman who struggled to establish himself fully in the bigs, Solano turned in 228 plate appearances of .330/.360/.456 hitting last year in San Francisco.

Blue Jays Claim Anthony Bass, Designate Ryan Dull

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The Blue Jays announced Tuesday that they’ve claimed right-hander Anthony Bass off waivers from the Mariners. In a corresponding roster move, Toronto designated fellow right-hander Ryan Dull for assignment.

Swapping out Dull for Bass on the 40-man roster is an upgrade for the Blue Jays, who pick up a 31-year-old veteran fresh off a 3.56 ERA through 48 innings of relief with this move. Bass has been inconsistent at the MLB level but has been sharp across the past two seasons with the Cubs and Mariners and is the owner of a career 4.38 ERA in 347 1/3 MLB innings. This past season marked his largest workload in the Majors since a 2015 run with Texas. In addition to his solid ERA, Bass averaged 8.1 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 and 0.94 HR/9 to go along with a quality 51.6 percent ground-ball rate. His 11.1 percent swinging-strike rate was the second-best of his career, and his 31.1 percent opponents’ chase rate on out-of-zone pitches was a career-high.

Dull, who turned 30 earlier this month, has bounced all over the league (and the continent, for that matter) since the beginning of August. He’d spent his entire eight-year career in the Athletics organization until being designated for assignment on Aug. 3. Since then, he’s bounced to the Giants, to the Yankees and to the Blue Jays via a series of waiver claims. Toronto actually passed him through waivers unclaimed in September but quickly selected his contract again when needing some ’pen depth late in September. Players who have more than three years of service or have been previously outrighted can elect free agency in lieu of accepting an outright assignment; Dull meets both criteria and will surely elect free agency if another club doesn’t claim him.

Dull was one of Oakland’s best relievers back in 2016 but has battled injuries over the ensuing three years and wasn’t particularly effective in 2019. He surrendered 18 runs in just 12 2/3 Major League innings this season and was also tagged for an ERA north of 5.00 in Triple-A. That said, he entered the 2019 campaign with a career 3.63 ERA and 155-to-44 K/BB ratio in 158 2/3 MLB innings and only just turned 30, so a return to form isn’t out of the question. He’ll just likely need to prove himself to a new club in the form of a minor league pact (again — if he clears waivers).

Mariners Designate Ryan Garton For Assignment

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The Mariners announced Tuesday that they’ve designated right-hander Ryan Garton for assignment. His spot on the 40-man roster will go to right-hander Anthony Bass, whose previously reported Major League deal with the team has now been formally announced.

Garton, 29, joined the club just last week and has appeared in only two games since that promotion, during which time he’s allowed four runs on four hits and a walk with one strikeout in three innings of work. He’s been with the Mariners before, back in 2017, when he logged a 1.54 ERA in 11 2/3 frames. Garton has a 4.90 ERA with 7.0 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9 in 64 1/3 innings of work and owns a career 3.09 ERA and 10.6 K/9 in 145 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level. The Mariners will have a week to trade Garton or pass him through outright waivers. He’s been outrighted in the past, so he’d have the option of declining an outright assignment in favor of free agency.

Mariners Expected To Sign Anthony Bass

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The Mariners are “expected” to secure a deal with righty Anthony Bass, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The 31-year-old had been pitching in the Reds organization but is said to have triggered an opt-out clause.

Bass has seen sporadic MLB action in parts of seven seasons, compiling a 4.51 ERA in 299 1/3 total frames. He performed well last year in a 16-appearance stint with the Cubs but settled for a minors deal with the Reds.

After failing to win a MLB job in camp, Bass ended up at Triple-A Louisville to open the current campaign. Through 20 1/3 innings, he owns a 2.21 ERA with 19 strikeouts against six walks and 13 hits.

Whether the Mariners will bring Bass onto the MLB roster as part of the arrangement isn’t yet clear. Regardless, he seems well positioned to get a shot with a bullpen that has already hosted quite a few different hurlers at this early stage of the season.

Roster Notes: Rox, Brewers, Phils, Nats, Reds, Marlins

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The latest on several teams’ rosters…

  • First baseman Mark Reynolds will make the Rockies’ roster, Nick Groke of The Athletic tweets. A Rockie from 2016-17, Reynolds rejoined the club on a minor league deal this past January after spending last season with the Nationals. In his return to Colorado, the 35-year-old Reynolds will back up the team’s headlining offseason acquisition, Daniel Murphy.
  • More from Groke, who reports catcher Brett Nicholas has requested and received his release from the Rockies. However, it’s possible the Rockies will try to keep Nicholas, Groke adds. An ex-Ranger, with whom he totaled 110 plate appearances from 2016-17, Nicholas signed a minors pact with the Rox in November. He has always faced an uphill battle to make the team, though, considering it has Chris Iannetta, Tony Wolters and Tom Murphy on its 40-man roster.
  • Catcher Erik Kratz won’t crack the Brewers’ roster, leaving him to await his trade/waiver fate, per Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. This had been the expected outcome for Kratz, who’s stuck behind Yasmani Grandal and Manny Pina on Milwaukee’s depth chart.
  • Infielder Philip Gosselin won’t make the Phillies, Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia relays. It seems the 30-year-old will remain on hand as minor league depth, however. The journeyman has accrued 579 major league PAs, though he didn’t play much at the MLB level from 2017-18, and batted .263/.314/.361.
  • The Nationals have informed left-hander Vidal Nuno he won’t make their roster, per Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post. Nuno now has six days to decide whether to opt out of the minor league deal he signed in January. The 31-year-old has logged solid results this spring, having allowed two earned runs in 5 2/3 innings while recording six strikeouts against one walk. Nuno was similarly effective across 33 innings with Tampa Bay last year, when he put up a 1.64 ERA (with a much less impressive 4.46 FIP) and 7.91 K/9 against 2.73 BB/9.
  • The Reds have sent right-hander Anthony Bass to minor league camp, according to Mark Sheldon of MLB.com. Bass had been competing for a bullpen spot with the Reds after they signed him to a minors deal in December. He owns a 4.51 ERA/4.20 FIP with 6.07 K/9 and 3.31 BB/9 and a 47.9 percent groundball rate in a combined 299 1/3 innings with the Padres, Astros, Rangers and Cubs.
  • The Marlins are “expected” to retain Rule 5 pick Riley Ferrell, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports. The club took the right-hander fourth overall from the Astros in December, and he has since pitched well over 6 2/3 spring innings (two earned runs allowed on five hits and five walks, with 10 strikeouts). Eric Longenhagen and Kiley McDaniel of FanGraphs regard the 25-year-old Ferrell as “at least a big league-ready middle reliever with a chance to be a set-up man.”

Reds Sign Anthony Bass

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The Reds have reached a minor-league deal with righty Anthony Bass, the hurler himself announced today. Brandon Warne of Zone Coverage had recently tweeted the connection.

Bass, 31, had a nice showing in brief action last season with the Cubs. Over 15 1/3 innings, he allowed just five earned runs while accumulating 14 strikeouts against three walks. He was similarly effective during his 32 Triple-A frames, over which he carried a 3.38 ERA with 7.0 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9. Bass also drew grounders on more than half the balls put in play against him at both levels.

Of course, Bass’s broader history — including a 4.51 ERA in 299 1/3 total MLB frames — is rather less promising. Still, it seems reasonable to presume that the Reds will give him a reasonable shot in camp at earning a MLB bullpen job. If Bass doesn’t crack the roster, he’ll be a nice depth piece to have on hand. (The opt-out opportunities in his contract, if any, have not been reported.)

Minor MLB Transactions: 8/12/18

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The latest minor moves from around baseball…

  • The Athletics announced that they’ve outrighted reliever Chris Hatcher to Triple-A Nashville after he cleared waivers. The club previously designated Hatcher for assignment on Friday to make room for just-acquired reliever Fernando Rodney. The 33-year-old Hatcher’s stay in the minors won’t be a long one, it seems, as Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle suggests he’ll return to Oakland in either September or sometime later this month. Since the Athletics acquired Hatcher from the Dodgers almost exactly one year ago (on Aug. 15, 2017), the right-hander has recorded 57 innings of 3.95 ERA/4.71 FIP ball with 7.58 K/9, 4.11 BB/9 and a 42.1 percent groundball rate.

Earlier updates:

  • Cubs reliever Anthony Bass has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Iowa, Patrick Mooney of The Athletic was among those to tweet. The move came after the Cubs activated Bass from the 10-day disabled list, where he had been since July 21 on account of a back muscle issue. Because he has been outrighted in the past, Bass has a right to reject the assignment in favor of free agency, but there’s no indication that he’ll head back to the open market. The 30-year-old has been a good find this year for the Cubs, who signed him to a minor league deal last December, having pitched to a 2.93 ERA with 8.22 K/9, 1.76 BB/9 and a 53.3 percent groundball rate in 15 1/3 innings.
  • The Royals have reinstated reliever Blaine Boyer from the 60-day disabled list and transferred outfielder Jorge Soler to the 60-day DL, per a team announcement. But Soler – who hasn’t played since June 15 because of a left toe fracture – could still return as early as Aug. 16. Meanwhile, Boyer has struggled to a horrendous 11.76 ERA with 3.92 K/9 and 5.23 BB/9 in 20 2/3 innings this year with the Royals, who added him on a minor league pact last offseason.

Cubs Place Anthony Bass On DL

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The Cubs have made a host of roster moves today (first announced by Patrick Mooney of The Athletic), chiefly among them the placement of right-hander Anthony Bass on the 10-day disabled list due to a back muscle issue. The move creates room for the recently acquired Jesse Chavez to be activated. The club also promoted righty Dillon Maples, optioned fellow righty James Norwood, and recalled righty Luke Farrell as the 26th man for today’s double-header against the Cardinals.

Bass has been excellent across 16 appearances for the Cubs so far this season, pitching to a 2.93 ERA in 15 1/3 innings. He’s also managed an impressive ground ball rate of 53.3%. Bass spent time on the disabled list earlier this month with what was described as an illness. When he’s been healthy, though, the 30-year-old has enjoyed a career-best performance, certainly an upgrade over his 4.51 career ERA and a career K/BB ratio worse than 2:1.

Chavez, recently acquired from the Rangers, has also been quietly enjoying an excellent season, as MLBTR’s Jeff Todd noted at the time the trade was announced. Chavez will presumably see the same type of work with the Cubs as he did with the Rangers: multi-inning relief appearances. Though Chavez appeared 30 times on the mound with Texas, he managed to toss 56 innings during that time.

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