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Christian Friedrich

Players Avoiding Arbitration: Saturday

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The filing deadline was yesterday, but deals to avoid arbitration continue to trickle in. Here are the latest contracts from around the league.

  • The Padres have agreed to deals with lefties Christian Friedrich for $1.79MM and Brad Hand for $1.375MM, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune tweets. Both pitchers have three-plus years of service and are going through the arbitration process for the first time. The 29-year-old Friedrich joined the Padres on a minor-league deal prior to the 2016 season and posted a 4.80 ERA, 7.0 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 over 129 1/3 innings. Despite those somewhat unimpressive numbers, the Padres elected to tender him a contract, perhaps thinking of the lack of depth in their 2017 rotation. MLBTR projected he would receive $2MM through the arbitration process this season. The 26-year-old Hand arrived in San Diego in April via a waiver claim and was very useful out of the bullpen, with a 2.92 ERA, 11.2 K/9, 3.6 BB/9 in a league-leading 82 appearances. MLBTR projected he would make $1.4MM in 2017, landing very close to his actual salary.

Padres To Sign Christian Friedrich

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The Padres have brought in southpaw Christian Friedrich on a minor league deal, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune tweets. It appears that he’ll join the major league side of camp.

Friedrich will presumably join a lively bullpen battle in San Diego. Indeed, he’s not even the only southpaw to enter the fray today, as the club also reportedly reached terms with veteran Matt Thornton.

The 28-year-old Friedrich, a former first-round draft pick, had spent his entire previous career in the Rockies organization. He was designated for assignment and claimed by the Angels just a few weeks back, but that claim was reversed when an issue arose in his medicals.

Friedrich first reached the majors as a starter back in 2012, but didn’t stick at the time. He spent all of last year in the Colorado pen, making for his first full MLB campaign, but was only able to manage a 5.25 ERA with 6.9 K/9, 3.9 BB/9 to go with a 47.4 percent ground-ball rate over his 58 1/3 frames of action.

Angels’ Waiver Claim Of Christian Friedrich Reversed

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The Angels announced (Twitter link) that their waiver claim of left-hander Christian Friedrich has been reversed and he has been returned to the Rockies based on “medical evaluation.” The Rockies announced that Friedrich, who had been designated for assignment prior to being claimed by the Rockies, has subsequently been released. The Angels’ announcement includes the following statement:

“Based on Friedrich’s initial medical evaluation, the Angels raised a concern with the Commissioner’s Office about Friedrich’s ability to play at his accustomed level. Upon evaluation of the circumstances by the Commissioner’s Office, it was determined that Friedrich would be returned to the Rockies.”

Friedrich, 28, was selected 25th overall out of Eastern Kentucky University back in 2008, but he’s struggled for much of his pro career, amassing an ERA north of 5.00 at both the Triple-A level and in the Major Leagues. This past season, Friedrich posted a 5.25 ERA with 6.9 K/9, 3.9 BB/9 and a 47.4 percent ground-ball rate in 58 1/3 innings of work. He’s typically performed considerably better away from Coors Field, however, and has also posted stronger numbers against lefties than against right-handed hitters.

While the Friedrich situation is rather uncommon, it’s not unprecedented and has even happened somewhat recently, when the Rangers returned left-hander Edgar Olmos to the Mariners after claiming him last spring — just under one year ago.

The entire situation stings for the Angels, who claimed Friedrich and designated infielder Taylor Featherston for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Friedrich’s arrival. Featherston was subsequently traded to the Phillies — Philadelphia GM Matt Klentak, a former assistant GM with the Halos, clearly seems to be a fan — and they’ll now effectively lose Featherston for nothing, as he was traded for cash considerations or a player to be named later. Considering the fact that the Halos carried Featherston, a Rule 5 Draft pick prior to the 2015 season, on their roster the entire year but used him incredibly sparingly in a season where they missed the postseason by a single game, the entire process will probably leave a bad taste in the mouths of fans.

Angels Claim Christian Friedrich, Designate Taylor Featherston

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The Angels have claimed left-hander Christian Friedrich off waivers from the Rockies and designated infielder Taylor Featherston for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster, per Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register (on Twitter).

Friedrich, 28, was selected 25th overall out of Eastern Kentucky University back in 2008, but he’s struggled for much of his pro career, amassing an ERA north of 5.00 at both the Triple-A level and in the Major Leagues. This past season, Friedrich posted a 5.25 ERA with 6.9 K/9, 3.9 BB/9 and a 47.4 percent ground-ball rate in 58 1/3 innings of work. While Friedrich has struggled throughout his career, he’s held left-handed hitters in check fairly well, limiting same-handed opponents to a .257/.314/.364 batting line. He’s also posted considerably better numbers away from Coors, where he has a 4.61 ERA as compared to a 6.96 mark at home. Because he’s out of options, Freidrich will have to make the Halos’ Opening Day roster — presumably in the bullpen — or again be exposed to waivers.

The DFA of Featherston is a somewhat surprising revelation, if only because the Angels carried the 2014 Rule 5 Draft pick on their Major League roster for the entirety of the 2015 season rather than expose him to waivers and offer him back to his original team. Featherston, in fact, received just 169 plate appearances and batted .162/.212/.247. While he’s a gifted defender, the decision to dedicate a roster spot to him over the course of 162 games only to cut him loose in the offseason figures to irk some Angels fans, especially considering the fact that the club missed a Wild Card playoff berth by a lone game in the standings. Then again, with some turnover in the team’s front office, it certainly seems possible that the new faces atop the baseball operations hierarchy simply didn’t few Featherston as highly as their predecessors.

Rockies Designate Christian Friedrich For Assignment

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The Rockies announced that they have designated left-hander and former first-round pick Christian Friedrich for assignment. Because Colorado acquired two 40-man roster players — Jake McGee and German Marquez — in the trade that sent Corey Dickerson and a non-40-man player (Kevin Padlo) to Tampa Bay, the Rockies needed to clear a second spot on what had been a full 40-man roster.

Friedrich, 28, was selected 25th overall out of Eastern Kentucky University back in 2008, but he’s struggled for much of his pro career, amassing an ERA north of 5.00 at both the Triple-A level and in the Major Leagues. This past season, Friedrich posted a 5.25 ERA with 6.9 K/9, 3.9 BB/9 and a 47.4 percent ground-ball rate in 58 1/3 innings of work. While Friedrich has struggled throughout his career, he’s held left-handed hitters in check fairly well, limiting same-handed opponents to a .257/.314/.364 batting line. He’s also posted considerably better numbers away from Coors, where he has a 4.61 ERA as compared to a 6.96 mark at home.

NL Notes: Phillies, Reds, Rockies, Figgins

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As players, coaches, and front office personnel begin to arrive in Florida and Arizona for Spring Training 2013, let's take a look at the news and notes from the National League:

Quick Hits: Nationals, Mets, Wandy, Blue Jays

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On this date 25 years ago, A's rookie Mark McGwire hit his first MLB home run. Another historic slugger, Jim Thome, could be on the move this week. Here are the latest links from around MLB…

  • Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post wants to see Davey Johnson return as the Nationals' skipper in 2012.  Earlier this week, GM Mike Rizzo raved about Johnson's ability to connect with his players.
  • The Mets haven't yet had internal discussions about picking up the 2013 option for manager Terry Collins, but they'll likely discuss the possibility within the next month, according to Andy Martino of the New York Daily News. 
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports hears from someone connected to baseball management who wonders why MLB players don't insist on slotting. Capping bonuses does have potential benefits, but as Rosenthal explains, it's far from an ideal system.
  • The Astros wanted Wilin Rosario or Drew Pomeranz for Wandy Rodriguez, but the Rockies were only offering Jason Hammel, Casey Weathers or Christian Friedrich, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). Talks between the two teams reached a standstill yesterday, after the Rockies claimed Rodriguez earlier in the week.
  • The Blue Jays announced that they signed non-drafted free agent Luke Willson, a left-handed hitter who also plays tight end for the Rice University Owls.

NL West Notes: Rizzo, Towers, Rockies

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Here are a few items of note out of the NL West, where only 7.5 games separated the first- and last-place clubs entering Tuesday's action:

Draft Roundup

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Today’s draft links.

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