Brett Gardner

Quick Hits: Bowling Green, Maddon, Roberts, Gardner, Cards

By Connor Byrne | May 25, 2020 at 10:52pm CDT

Current Diamondbacks special assistant, ex-major league right-hander and former MLBTR contributor Burke Badenhop is among those leading a spirited effort to save baseball at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. BGSU dropped its baseball program in a cost-cutting measure May 15, which sparked some of its ex-players – Badenhop and Indians Triple-A manager Andy Tracy, to name a couple – to begin raising funds to revive it, as Jack Carle of the Sentinel-Tribune and Jordan Strack of WTOL have covered. In the past few days alone, 120-plus people have contributed a total of $1.2MM over a five-year commitment, Badenhop informed MLBTR. The goal is to come up with at least $3.5MM, Strack reports. “There’s a lot of people that played Bowling Green baseball,” Badenhop told Strack. “While we’re not LSU, and we’re not a top program in the country, there’s a lot of people that have gone through and played at Stellar Field that Bowling Green baseball means a lot to them.” We at MLBTR wish Badenhop, Tracy & Co. the best in what’s certainly a worthwhile endeavor.

Now to check in on a few MLB teams…

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people over the age of 65 and cancer survivors are among those who are at the highest risk of contracting the coronavirus. With that in mind, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times wonders if it will be safe for the Angels’ Joe Maddon (66) or the Dodgers’ Dave Roberts (Hodgkin’s lymphoma survivor) to manage during a pandemic-shortened season. Maddon, who has lost 15 pounds via diet and exercise, explained to DiGiovanna he’s “on a mission” to get healthier. Roberts, meanwhile, received the go-ahead from one of the Dodgers’ team physicians, Dr. John Plosay, to continue in his current position. “I asked [the doctor] if I were to go back, does that put me in any different [risk] category, and he said absolutely not,” Roberts told DiGiovanna. “He didn’t really give me any details, and I didn’t really ask.”
Yankees mainstay Brett Gardner could become a free agent next winter, at which point he’ll be 37, so could this be the outfielder’s last season (if there is one)? Not likely, especially if the season’s canceled, George A. King III of the New York Post writes. For his part, Gardner doesn’t sound like someone who’s nearing the finish line. “In a perfect world for me, I stay healthy and have a good season, and they pick that option up and I come back and do it all over again,” Gardner said of his $10MM option for 2021 during spring training. New York can either exercise that option or buy Gardner out for $2.5MM, but the $10MM price tag doesn’t look unreasonable when considering what he brings to the table. The longest-tenured Yankee put up 3.6 fWAR last season and hit .251/.325/.503 (115 wRC+) with a personal-high 28 home runs in 550 plate appearances.
With catcher Yadier Molina potentially months from free agency, the Cardinals may soon have to find a long-term replacement for the franchise icon. That could one day be prospect Ivan Herrera, whom Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch profiles. Set to turn 20 on June 1, Herrera – the Cardinals’ fourth-ranked prospect at MLB.com – spent the majority of last season in High-A and batted .286/.361/.423 with eight home runs in 291 plate appearances. Although he’s not as advanced as a defender, there’s optimism he’ll keep improving that aspect of his game, as Goold writes. “We hear he has the aptitude to go along with the game plan behind the plate,” manager Mike Shildt told Goold.

Yankees Announce Brett Gardner Signing, DFA Stephen Tarpley

By TC Zencka | January 11, 2020 at 11:59am CDT

The Yankees officially announced the signing of Brett Gardner to a one-year contract with a club option for 2021. Left-handed pitcher Stephen Tarpley was designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster.

Gardner unofficially returned to the Yankees in mid-December when news broke of the one-year, $12.5MM deal. As reported at the time, Gardner receives a $2MM signing bonus, $8MM salary for 2020 and a buyout for a club option in 2020 valued at $2.5MM to make up the total $12.5MM guarantee. Should the Yankees pick up their 2020 option, he will earn $20MM over two years.

Gardner is one of only five players drafted by the Yankees to collect 1,000 hits in pinstripes, joining Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Thurman Munson and Don Mattingly. He is also one of only 10 players in the current MLB to play for the same team for the last 12 seasons (Ryan Braun, Miguel Cabrera, Alex Gordon, Felix Hernandez, Clayton Kershaw, Yadier Molina, Dustin Pedroia, Joey Votto and Ryan Zimmerman). A couple players could move from this list in 2019, while Molina holds the crown for longest-tenured player in the majors having made his debut with the Cardinals in 2004.

Tarpley saw 21 games of action with the big league club in 2019 after 10 games the year prior. In total, the soon-to-be 27-year-old owns a 5.88 ERA/4.77 FIP across 33 2/3 innings with 12.6 K.9 to a troubling 5.6 BB/9. Tarpley’s DFA comes as a bit of a surprise after back-to-back stellar seasons in the minors from 2017 to 2018 as a multi-inning reliever. Even given his troubles at the big league level in 2019, Tarpley figured to get a chance somewhere to start the season in a big league bullpen.

Yankees To Re-Sign Brett Gardner

By Jeff Todd | December 12, 2019 at 10:10am CDT

The Yankees have struck a deal with outfielder Brett Gardner, per George A. King III of the New York Post (via Twitter). It’ll pay him a guaranteed $12.5MM. There’s a $2MM signing bonus and $8MM 2020 salary, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter). The Yanks also have a $10MM club option in 2021, per MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch (Twitter link), with the alternative of a $2.5MM buyout (via King, on Twitter).

There was never much doubt that Gardner would end up returning to New York. The 36-year-old has already been with the club for a dozen seasons and has been rumored all offseason to be in talks for another. Gardner reportedly drew multi-year interest from other organizations but evidently didn’t have much appetite for change at this point in his career.

It is easy to overlook just how big a role Gardner has played over the years for the Yanks. Excepting his injury-ravaged 2012 campaign, he has appeared in at least 140 games for the team in every season for the past decade. Gardner is one game and five plate appearances shy of tallying 1500 games-played and six thousand PAs with the Bronxn Bombers.

The formula remains much the same now as ever. Gardner is an outstanding defender and baserunner who has consistently delivered league-average offensive production. He has grown into power over the years, though it remains to be seen whether he can repeat last year’s career-high 28 long balls and .503 slugging percentage. (Those stood out even in a year of leaguewide power enhancement.)

The Yankees will certainly need Gardner quite a bit out of the gates with Aaron Hicks slated to miss time. Just how roles will be sorted once Hicks is back will remain to be seen. The health and performance statuses of quite a few other players — including sluggers Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton — will surely factor heavily. Having the dependable Gardner, along with 2019 breakout performer Mike Tauchman, will leave the Yanks plenty of options for filling in or mixing and matching if and when the roster is at full strength.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

AL News & Rumors: Yanks, Gardner, Tigers, Chirinos, ChiSox, Rangers

By Connor Byrne | December 11, 2019 at 11:58pm CDT

Optimism continues to build regarding a potential agreement between the Yankees and free-agent outfielder Brett Gardner. The Yankees are “hopeful” they’ll finalize a contract soon, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets, and Joel Sherman of the New York Post adds that the two sides are “far down the line” in negotiations. With center fielder Aaron Hicks set to miss a large portion of next season after undergoing Tommy John surgery and the Yankees having no established in-house replacements, the need for Gardner – the most accomplished CF option in free agency – is obvious. Although he’ll turn 37 years old in 2020, Gardner remains a valuable all-around contributor and a revered clubhouse presence.

Here’s more on New York and a few other AL clubs:

The Yankees agreed to sign ace Gerrit Cole on Tuesday. Now they’re interested in free-agent catcher Martin Maldonado, who caught Cole 10 times last season in Houston, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports. If he goes to the Yankees, Maldonado would presumably replace Austin Romine – who’s a free agent – and serve as a defensively gifted backup to slugging catcher Gary Sanchez.
Fellow catcher Robinson Chirinos, who was teammates with Maldonado in Houston, has drawn widespread interest on the open market. The Rockies were already just put on the board along with the Rangers, Astros, Tigers, Rays, and Pirates. You can add the Tigers to the still-growing list of teams eyeing Chirinos, MLB.com’s Jon Morosi tweets. It’s no surprise Detroit’s in on Chirinos, as he may be the top catcher left and general manager Al Avila has made it known the team’s serious about finding an upgrade behind the plate.
Any catcher the Tigers sign will be managed by Ron Gardenhire next season, but his future’s murkier thereafter. Gardenhire doesn’t have a contract for 2021, and it doesn’t sound as if he’ll be signing an extension this winter. The 62-year-old said Wednesday that he won’t discuss a new deal with Avila until after next season, per Jason Beck of MLB.com. It’s possible, though, that the Tigers will choose to go in another direction by then.
Several teams have shown interest in free-agent outfielder Kole Calhoun, who hit the market when the Angels declined his pricey 2020 option after the season. It turns out the White Sox had been involved in the race, but they’re now out after acquiring fellow outfielder Nomar Mazara from Texas on Wednesday, according to Bruce Levine of 670 The Score. Between Mazara and Eloy Jimenez, Chicago no longer has a need for a starting-caliber corner OFer.
The Rangers acquired outfield prospect Steele Walker from Chicago in exchange for Mazara. One day into his tenure with the Rangers organization, Walker has garnered almost as many calls from interested teams as Mazara generated, according to general manager Jon Daniels (via Levi Weaver of The Athletic). However, Daniels added the Rangers do not intend to flip the 23-year-old Walker elsewhere.

AL East Notes: Yankees, Gardner, Red Sox, Luxury Tax, Rays, Relocation

By TC Zencka | December 11, 2019 at 5:39am CDT

Now that the ink on Gerrit Cole’s contract is dry, Brett Gardner may be next on the docket, per the SNY Network’s Andy Martino. Though there’s no explicit mention of the Yankees, it’s easy to presume Gardner will return to the Bronx for a thirteenth season. At 35-years-old, Gardner had perhaps the best season of his career in 2019, and he did so while capably manning centerfield for much of it. The slap-hitting Gardner put forth an uncharacteristic power display, smashing 28 home runs with a .503 SLG – just the fourth time he’s ever slugged over .400 and the first time he’s ever eclipsed the .430 SLG mark. Before we get sucked into Yankee-mania again, let’s take a look at what’s happening elsewhere in the AL East…

The incentives for the Boston Red Sox to slip under the luxury tax line in 2020 are manyfold, per Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. Because of higher penalties for repeat offenders, Boston could save themselves close to $100MM in tax penalties over the course of the next three seasons. Of course, to do so, they’ll need to get under the $208MM tax line. Another benefit takes into account a worst case scenario. Should Mookie Betts sign elsewhere as a free agent next year, the Red Sox could improve their compensation from a pick after the fourth round to a pick after the second round. They could also miss out on a potentially hefty revenue sharing rebate that will come from the phase out of Oakland’s revenue-sharing subsidies. Oakland’s market size has been superseded by lack of revenue, thus placing them among the revenue-sharing recipients, but their free ride is coming to an end. That money will be dispersed among the large-market, revenue-sharing contributors, perhaps proportionately so. That would be a boon for the Red Sox, but they risk forfeiture of the reward if they continue to spend over the tax. Hence, the David Price auction rolls ever onward.
The once far-fetched idea of splitting time between Florida and Montreal now may be the only way the Rays maintain a presence in Tampa Bay, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The timeshare agreement won’t likely take effect until 2028. If an agreement can’t be put in place, principal owner Stuart Sternberg is more likely to find a new location for the Rays or sell the team to someone else who will. A full-time move to Montreal is not in the cards, should Sternberg keep the team, as he thinks there are better full-time markets available. Which markets, exactly, is not yet clear. If this timeshare agreement doesn’t come together, however, the Rays may start the search for a new home in earnest. There are many potential snags to the timeshare plan, one of which is that new stadiums would likely have to be built in both markets. It’s hard to imagine how building two stadiums roughly 1,500 miles apart is the best solution, but that’s the plan for now.

AL Rumors: Yanks, Gardner, Dellin, Rays, A’s, Hill, Shaw, Jays, BoSox

By Connor Byrne and Jeff Todd | December 9, 2019 at 4:36pm CDT

Multiple teams are showing interest in free-agent outfielder Brett Gardner on a multiyear contract, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports. However, Gardner continues to prefer re-signing with the Yankees, according to Heyman, who adds that the two sides are “still talking.” Indeed, as of a few days, Gardner and the Yankees were continuing to negotiate a new contract. Should they reach an agreement, the 36-year-old Gardner would continue as the longest-tenured player on the Yankees’ roster. Until then, he’ll remain as arguably the most appealing center field-capable player on a market which is weak in that regard.

Sticking with the Yankees, they’ve “engaged” with another of their longtime contributors, free-agent reliever Dellin Betances, Jack Curry of the YES Network tweets. But so have one of their division rivals, the Rays. Wherever Betances ends up, it’s “likely” he’ll sign a one-year contract in an effort to rebuild his value, per Curry. Although the 31-year-old Betances is one of the game’s most successful relievers in recent memory, injuries to the right-hander’s shoulder, lat and Achilles prevented him from making any meaningful contributions in 2019. Nevertheless, MLBTR expects Betances to land a $7MM payday over one year (with the Rays).
The Athletics are showing interest in Royals southpaw Tim Hill, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. This isn’t the first trade chatter we’ve heard on the 29-year-old, who turned in 39 2/3 innings of 3.63 ERA ball last year. Why the interest from AL contenders in a player that most fans have never heard of? Hill didn’t carry overwhelming overall K/BB numbers (39:13), but did generate a healthy 29.2% K rate against righties while delivering an excellent 57.3% groundball rate. That combination of tools is all the more interesting given the soon-to-be-minted three-batter minimum rule.
Free-agent infielder Travis Shaw, on the market since the Brewers let him go at the non-tender deadline a week ago, has garnered interest from the Blue Jays, Jon Morosi of MLB.com relays. Additionally, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com relays that the third baseman/second baseman has expressed a willingness to return to the Red Sox, his first MLB team, though it’s unclear if they’re open to a reunion. Shaw, whom the Red Sox traded to the Brewers in December 2017, had a pair of highly productive years in Milwaukee before his numbers fell off a cliff this past season. That caused the Brewers to move on from Shaw, leaving the 29-year-old as a buy-low candidate this winter.

Yankees, Brett Gardner Still Negotiating Contract

By Jeff Todd | December 6, 2019 at 4:50pm CDT

The Yankees are still working with outfielder Brett Gardner on a new contract, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports on Twitter. It seems the expectation remains that he’ll stay in pinstripes.

The sides have been chatting about a new contract for some time now, but it doesn’t appear as if any doubt has arisen as to their mutual intentions. Per Heyman, the Yanks have put another offer on the table to Gardner and his reps.

It’s unknown what kind of price points are being haggled over. Gardner earned $7.5MM last year and hasn’t taken home a single-season salary of over $13.5MM during his dozen years in New York. It’s tough to imagine a new contract departing from that range.

While Gardner is now 36 years of age, he popped a career-high 28 long balls last year. Though he wasn’t alone amidst a leaguewide power outburst, he was productive as compared to the league mean and his own established track record. Gardner’s 115 wRC+ represented a full-season high-water mark. He remains a highly capable baserunner and outfielder as well.

The Yanks got exceptional value on their money last year and figure to do so again. Whether Gardner is interested in multiple years isn’t known, but it stands to reason he’d be able to command two-year offers from other teams. The steady veteran has appeared in at least 140 games in every season since his washed-out 2012. He graded out as the 32nd player on MLBTR’s Top 50 free agent rankings.

Brian Cashman Discusses Gerrit Cole, Yankees Offseason

By Anthony Franco | November 11, 2019 at 9:45pm CDT

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman addressed a variety of topics this evening at the GM Meetings. Chief among them was the starting pitching market. Cashman confirmed to reporters (including Andy Martino of SNY) that the Yankees will engage with Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg this offseason. Cashman added, though, that the club has a significant amount of money already on the books (via Erik Boland of Newsday) and will also explore the trade and lower-tier free agent markets (reports James Wagner of the New York Times).

Clearly, Cashman and his front office are open to whatever opportunities may present themselves and aren’t locked into any specific means of improving the roster. Nevertheless, it’s still notable that the Yankees will engage with the market’s top arms. Cole, in particular, will come at a hefty cost. MLBTR forecasted an eight-year, $256MM deal for Cole, who stands a good chance of securing the offseason’s largest contract. Unsurprisingly, Cole’s camp figures to come out shooting even higher, with ESPN’s Buster Olney (via Twitter) estimating agent Scott Boras’ initial ask will exceed $300MM. While Cole doesn’t ultimately figure to command a price quite that high, bringing him in will no doubt require a franchise-altering outlay.

Signing Cole would certainly require that the Yankees exceed the $208MM luxury tax threshold, as they did in 2019. Cashman added that ownership hasn’t mandated the payroll remain south of the luxury tax (via Martino), although he stopped short of definitively declaring they would pay the penalties for the second consecutive year. The club’s luxury tax estimate already sits at almost $210MM, per Cot’s Contracts, before accounting for any offseason expenditures.

Cashman also addressed the status of three of New York’s own free agents. He confirmed reports the club has engaged with representatives for Brett Gardner (via Wagner), and added that New York remains in touch with reps for Didi Gregorius and Dellin Betances. MLBTR forecasted a Gardner reunion while projecting Gregorius and Betances to wind up elsewhere, although it’s plausible they bring one or both of the latter back.

Clearly, the situation remains in flux at these early stages of the offseason. Cashman didn’t commit to pursuing any specific players and expressed a willingness to evaluate all potential areas of player acquisition, as one would expect. The Bombers will cast a wide net as they look to fortify their roster in hopes of defending their AL East crown, including at least monitoring the very top of the market.

Yankees, Brett Gardner Discussing New Contract

By Steve Adams | November 7, 2019 at 11:25am CDT

The Yankees and Brett Gardner have already begun talks about a new contract, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets. A new arrangement between the two sides would bring Gardner back to the Bronx for at least a 13th season.

Gardner, 36, had a career year at the plate in 2019, hitting .251/.325/.503 with 28 home runs, 26 doubles, seven triples and 10 steals (in 12 attempts). The power surge should likely be taken with a grain of salt, thanks to the supercharged ball that led to record-setting home run levels throughout the league, but Gardner still demonstrated that there’s life left in his bat and once again displayed a quality approach at the plate (9.5 percent walk rate, 19.5 percent strikeout rate).

A reunion between the two sides has long looked plausible, but the recent revelation that Aaron Hicks will miss a substantial portion of the 2020 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery only increased the likelihood of a new deal. With Hicks shelved and Jacoby Ellsbury more than two years removed from his last MLB appearance, the Yankees have a clear need in center field. The free-agent market features little in the way of enticing options at the position (beyond Gardner himself), and Gardner was motivated enough to stay in New York last winter that he took what amounted to a $3MM pay cut to return to do so. Given all that context, it’s hardly a surprise to see the two sides proactively begin negotiations.

Gardner isn’t the burner that he once was on the basepaths and in the outfield, but he still remains a quality defender that is capable of handling center field work. He logged 820 innings in center in 2019, plus another 348 in left field, drawing positive marks for his glovework on the whole (+5 Defensive Runs Saved, +3.0 Ultimate Zone Rating, +2 Outs Above Average).

Gardner checked in at No. 32 on MLBTR’s Top 50 free agent rankings this week. As noted within, Gardner’s outstanding season and the thin market for center fielders could seemingly combine to get him a two-year deal elsewhere, but a one-year pact — and a raise on this year’s $7MM salary — to return to the Yankees seems likeliest.

As currently constructed, the Yankees have roughly $158.5MM committed to 10 players for the 2020 season. Add in another $35.9MM of projected arbitration salaries (via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz) for another 10 players plus a handful of pre-arbitration players to round out the roster, and the Yankees are looking at a payroll around $198MM before making any additions. They’re already at or over the luxury line as it is — luxury payroll, unlike actual payroll, is calculated based on contracts’ average annual value and also includes money for player benefits — though that doesn’t seem likely to be a major roadblock with regard to Gardner.

AL Notes: Gerrit Cole, Gardner, Didi

By Dylan A. Chase | October 6, 2019 at 12:56am CDT

Earlier in the week, Astros pitcher Gerrit Cole was the subject of public discussion when owner Jim Crane made comments regarding the team’s projected inability to re-sign the starter this offseason. On Saturday evening, Cole made a statement all his own.

While it would be advantageous for a site with the phrase “trade rumors” in its header to find a transactional tilt to every story, the lead-in to tonight’s closing post is mainly a breathless tribute to the individual performance submitted by Cole in tonight’s 3-1 win over the Rays. As noted by several reporters, the right-hander’s performance in Game 2 of the ALDS was historic on several levels: with 15 strikeouts across 7.2 innings, Cole became just the 7th pitcher to record 15-or-more K’s in a postseason game; Tampa offered 33 swings and misses on Cole offerings–the most in a postseason game in the pitch-tracking era; and in recording multiple career postseason games with more than 12 strikeouts, Cole joined an elite list that includes only himself, Bob Gibson, Jim Palmer, and Tom Seaver.

The 29-year-old former Bruin will enter the offseason as the top starting option on the open market; judging in part from early postseason results, his representatives at Boras Corp should have no trouble this winter in securing Cole a contract guarantee with a healthy amount of zeroes attached to its end.

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