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Drew Pomeranz

Red Sox, Drew Pomeranz Avoid Arbitration

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The Red Sox and Drew Pomeranz have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year deal worth $4.45MM, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link). The two sides had the largest gulf between their filing figures (as shown in MLBTR’s 2017 Arbitration Tracker), with Pomeranz filing at $5.7MM and the Sox filing at $3.6MM.

Ultimately, player and team largely met in the middle. They’ll settle a bit south of the $4.65MM midpoint between those two sums. Pomeranz had been projected by MLBTR and contributor Matt Swartz to earn $4.7MM after taking home $1.35MM in 2016.

Pomeranz broke out during the first half of last year, racking up 102 innings of 2.47 ERA ball for the Padres, who eventually shipped him to the Red Sox for top pitching prospect Anderson Espinoza. A dispute over the medical information made available did not end up impacting the trade, but did lead to a suspension of San Diego GM A.J. Preller.

Though he made 13 starts for Boston, Pomeranz managed only a 4.59 ERA over 68 2/3 innings. Though he largely maintained his K/BB numbers, finishing with 9.8 K/9 against 3.4 BB/9 on the year, he coughed up 14 home runs with Boston. Though it had no real impact on his arb salary, it’s worth noting too that Pomeranz ended up dealing with some arm issues late in the year.

Quick Hits: Romo, Pomeranz, Farm Systems, Saltalamacchia

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The latest from around baseball…

  • The Brewers had some interest in Sergio Romo prior to their signing of Neftali Feliz, Andrew Baggarly of the Bay Area News Group.  Milwaukee was known to be looking for relief pitching and landed both Feliz on a big league deal and Joba Chamberlain on a minors contract this week.  The Brewers also made an offer to Romo’s former Giants teammate Santiago Casilla before they signed Feliz.  Romo was known to have received interest from at least two non-Giants teams this offseason, though there hasn’t been much buzz overall about the veteran right-hander’s market.
  • Drew Pomeranz told reporters (including Tim Britton of the Providence Journal) that he received a stem-cell injection in his left elbow after last season concluded.  The southpaw said he felt some “minor elbow discomfort” last year but is now feeling healthy as he enters his pre-Spring Training preparations.  Pomeranz’s health was a major source of controversy last season, as Padres GM A.J. Preller was issued a 30-day suspension for failing to disclose medical information about Pomeranz to the Red Sox before Boston acquired the lefty for top pitching prospect Anderson Espinoza.
  • Speaking of Pomeranz, Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told the Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham (Twitter link) and other reporters that the two sides are getting close to a deal to avoid an arbitration hearing.  Pomeranz filed for a $5.7MM salary while the Sox countered with a $3.6MM offer.
  • The Braves have the top farm system in baseball, ESPN’s Keith Law opines, as he ranks the minor league systems of all 30 teams in a three-part series for ESPN.com subscribers.  The Yankees (#2 on Law’s list) and Padres (#3) also have strong cases for the top spot, though Law gives Atlanta the edge due to the Braves’ sheer volume of talented pitching prospects and position players in the middle of the field.  Coming in at the bottom of the ranking are the Diamondbacks, who Law feels are “several drafts away from getting back into the middle of the pack” thanks to ill-advised trades, draft picks and international signings under the regime of former GM Dave Stewart.
  • Catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia is now being represented by ACES, Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link).  Jim Munsey, Saltalamacchia’s former agent, is leaving the business, so we could soon be hearing more about further representation switches from other Munsey Sports Management clients like Sean Burnett or Rafael Lopez.  Check out MLBTR’s Agency Database for an extensive listing of representation information for more than 2,500 Major League and Minor League players. If you see any errors or omissions, please let us know via email: mlbtrdatabase@gmail.com.

2017 Arbitration Filing Numbers

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MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker is the place to go to see the arbitration contracts agreed upon thus far, as well as the figures exchanged between teams and players that were not able to reach agreement before today’s deadline to swap salary positions. Matt Swartz’s arbitration projections are available here.

After a busy day of dealmaking, 152 players (at last check) have reached agreement on arbitration salaries for the coming season. But 36 other tendered players have yet to reach reported agreements with their clubs. Of course, those players can still settle before their hearings (which will take place in early to mid-February). If the case goes to a hearing, the arbitrator must choose one side’s figures, rather than settling on a midpoint.

We’ve gathered the highest-stakes arbitration situations remaining — those where the player files for at least $4.5MM — in this post, but you can find them all in the tracker. We’ll update this list as the figures are reported:

East Notes: Red Sox, Nationals, Yankees, Braves

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At least one team has shown interest in left-hander Drew Pomeranz this offseason, but the Red Sox haven’t made him available, reports Rob Bradford of WEEI (Twitter link). Boston subtracted from its starting depth by trading Clay Buchholz to the Phillies on Tuesday, though it still has six quality options in Chris Sale, David Price, AL Cy Young winner Rick Porcello, Pomeranz, Eduardo Rodriguez and Steven Wright. It’s unclear which member of the Pomeranz-Rodriguez-Wright trio will be the odd man out of the rotation to begin next season. While Pomeranz has plenty of relief experience, he was also among the majors’ top starters as a member of the Padres during the first half of 2016. That led the Red Sox to send highly regarded pitching prospect Anderson Espinoza to San Diego in July, but the deal hasn’t yet gone as planned for Boston. Pomeranz wasn’t healthy down the stretch, which caused plenty of controversy, and logged a 4.59 ERA despite a 9.36 K/9 and 3.15 BB/9 in 68 2/3 innings with the Sox.

More from the majors’ East divisions:

  • Free agent right-hander Aaron Barrett is drawing interest, including from the Nationals, per Chris Cotillo of SB Nation (Twitter link). The 28-year-old reliever has thus far spent his entire career with Washington, which chose him in the ninth round of the 2009 draft, and has posted a 3.47 ERA, 10.8 K/9 and 3.47 BB/9 in 70 major league innings. Injuries have derailed Barrett of late, unfortunately, as he missed all of last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in September 2015. He then fractured his elbow last July and needed a second surgery.
  • Yankees right-hander Michael Pineda’s numbers were “mind-boggling” last season, manager Joe Girardi told Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. Although he finished seventh among starters in K-BB percentage (20.4), Pineda recorded the majors’ seventh-worst ERA (4.82) across a career-high 175 2/3 innings. Along with the sport’s fourth-highest home run-to-fly ball ratio (17 percent), Pineda surrendered a .339 batting average on balls in play and a bloated .406 mark with two outs. “The average of batted balls in play off of him with two outs [.406] — it just doesn’t make sense,” said Girardi. “You look for reasons. Believe me, we’ll look; I’m sure we’ll look a long time this winter.” Pineda’s issues in 2016 weren’t a first-time occurrence – despite a 20.2 K-BB percentage, he also underwhelmed in run prevention (4.37 ERA), BABIP (.332) and homers (14.7 percent HR/FB ratio) in 2015. He’s now entering a contract year and, along with Masahiro Tanaka and C.C. Sabathia, is one of just three Yankees with significant major league experience from the rotation.
  • With outfielders Ender Inciarte, Matt Kemp and Nick Markakis in possession of starting spots, the Braves are leaning toward having Mallex Smith begin 2017 with Triple-A Gwinnett, writes Mark Bowman of MLB.com. “[Smith] is a talented player, but he still needs more development,” president of baseball operations John Hart said. “At the same point, Mallex is interesting because he can do a lot of things for you. He can [play] all three outfield positions and he can run. But the question we are asking ourselves is, ’Are we doing him a disservice and ultimately ourselves a disservice by making him a role or bench player?'” The 23-year-old Smith factored heavily into Atlanta’s lineup during the first half of last season, but he fractured his left thumb in June and didn’t return until September. All told, the speedy Smith hit .238/.316/.365 with three home runs and 16 steals in 215 plate appearances as a rookie. The Orioles reportedly asked for Smith in exchange for reliever Brad Brach earlier this month, but the Braves turned them down.

Mariners Notes: Pomeranz, Smith, Smyly, Bautista

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Some Mariners rumblings, in two separate pieces from Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune…

  • Red Sox left-hander Drew Pomeranz is believed to be on the Mariners’ list of rotation trade targets.  This presumes, of course, that Boston is actually willing to deal Pomeranz, as Dutton notes that the Sox “sent mixed messages” about the southpaw’s availability during the Winter Meetings.  Pomeranz posted a 3.32 ERA, 9.8 K/9 and 2.86 K/BB rate over 170 2/3 innings with the Padres and Red Sox last season, though the bulk of his best work came in San Diego.  This is just my speculation, but as Jon Heyman reported that the M’s were apparently quite close to dealing Seth Smith to Boston, perhaps Pomeranz was also a part of that proposed trade.  (If that was the case, the two teams will have to go back the drawing board, as Boston has since signed Mitch Moreland to address their need for a left-handed bat.)
  • Speaking of Smith, Dutton hears from a source that the Rays have shown interest in Smith in the past.  The Mariners and Rays have been linked in trade talks this winter, with Seattle reportedly looking at Tampa’s available starting pitchers.  Dutton suggests that Drew Smyly could be the likelier fit for the M’s, as the Rays would require a lesser return for Smyly than for Chris Archer or Jake Odorizzi.  The Mariners and Rays are no strangers to each other, as Dutton notes that the two clubs have made two multi-player deals in the 15 months since Jerry Dipoto became Seattle’s general manager.
  • There has been virtually no indication that the Mariners have any interest in signing Jose Bautista, Dutton reports.  Bautista’s age, the draft pick compensation tied to his services via the qualifying offer, his injury-plagued 2016 season and subsequent drop in production have combined to create a rather unclear market for the veteran slugger.  If Smith was traded for a pitcher, Dutton opines, a veteran bat like Bautista could become more of a possibility for the Mariners.  Right now, the M’s are planning to use several inexperienced players (i.e. Ben Gamel, Dan Vogelbach, Mitch Haniger) in regular outfield or first base roles.

Cafardo’s Latest: Ortiz, Buchholz, Pomeranz, Papelbon, Haren, Preller

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Here’s the latest from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe:

  • The Red Sox are in reasonable position to welcome David Ortiz back to the fold if he chooses to delay retirement. Cafardo points out that there could be many factors getting in the way of an Ortiz return, like the fact that Ortiz retired in the first place, or that his return would have luxury tax ramifications for the club. But the team has avoided substantial commitments to players who might get in his way, and even Mitch Moreland, recently added on a one-year deal, might be more of a replacement for Travis Shaw’s work at first base than Ortiz’s at DH. And Ortiz, of course, recently penned a provocative Instgram post expressing excitement at the Red Sox’ acquisition of Chris Sale.
  • The Red Sox would prefer to trade Clay Buchholz, but they would generate more interest from other teams if they were to make Drew Pomeranz available instead, Cafardo writes. Buchholz is set to make $13.5MM next year, while Pomeranz will make about $4.7MM, as MLBTR projected. (I’d add that Pomeranz is also controllable through 2018, while Buchholz is not.) The medicals on both pitchers “probably aren’t that great,” a rival executive says. Buchholz missed time in 2015 with an elbow injury, and Pomeranz had a forearm issue last year.
  • It doesn’t sound like Jonathan Papelbon will pick a new team anytime soon. According to his agent, Seth Levinson, Papelbon is dealing with a family matter, and wants to be dedicated to that issue until it’s resolved. “We hope that people can respect his privacy during this time,” Levinson says.
  • The Diamondbacks recently added retired righty Dan Haren as a “pitching strategist,” but D’backs manager Torey Lovullo says not to expect Haren to be in the public eye. “I think he’s going to be somebody behind the scenes, and that’s by his choice,” Lovullo says. “He wants to just remain behind the scenes and help our pitchers be successful. I think he has an attachment to Arizona. … So I think there’s a good starting point for him to come in and come up with a game plan as to how to reach some of these guys and how to help them as quickly as possible.”
  • Rival front offices have been careful in making trades with Padres GM A.J. Preller, who recently served a 30-day suspension over a failure to disclose medical information. “I think it’s just human nature to keep your eyes open when dealing with him at least for a while,” says one executive.

Latest On The Red Sox’ Starting Pitchers

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The Red Sox had a busy Winter Meetings, trading for Chris Sale and Tyler Thornburg and signing Mitch Moreland. Here are a few notes on the Red Sox, specifically focusing on their rotation, as their front office heads home to Boston.

  • With Sale in the fold, the Red Sox have a surplus of starting pitching, leading to a flurry of calls from rival executives. The Red Sox are more interested in trading Clay Buchholz than Drew Pomeranz, WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford writes, noting that according to one source, the Red Sox have shown no interest at all in sending Pomeranz packing. Buchholz could generate some interest due to his strong finish in 2016, although his $13.5MM salary could be an obstacle.
  • The Marlins spoke to the Red Sox about Buchholz but balked at his salary, Bleacher Report’s Scott Miller tweets. The Marlins recently acquired Jeff Locke at significantly less to fill out their rotation; they also signed Edinson Volquez earlier this winter.
  • Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski says the Sox have received calls about their starting pitchers, likely Pomeranz, Buchholz and Steven Wright, Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald writes. Dombrowski adds, however, that he’s in no rush to make a deal. “We had a lot of phone calls on our pitchers today, and different ones,” he says. “But we’re just kind of sitting back at this point and kind of collecting thought processes. I can’t say we’re aggressively looking to doing something.” Mastrodonato notes that if Pomeranz stays, the Red Sox will have four lefties in their rotation, also including Sale, David Price and Eduardo Rodriguez, plus an abundance of lefty depth in Henry Owens, Brian Johnson and Roenis Elias. The Red Sox, though, say they’re not concerned about that. “I have no driving force to make any trades just because four of the guys are lefties,” Dombrowski says.

Dombrowski On Farrell, DH, Sandoval, Pomeranz, Uehara

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Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski announced that manager John Farrell will return in 2017. “John Farrell will be our manager for 2017. He is all set, and his whole staff will be invited back,” declared Dombrowski (via the Associated Press). Farrell, whom Dombrowski called “our leader going forward,” was at the helm of a 93-69 team in 2016 that bounced back from two straight last-place finishes to win the AL East. Entering the year, the Red Sox’s most recent division title came in 2013, when the Farrell-led club also won the World Series. The Red Sox won’t reach that goal this year, of course, as the Indians swept them out of the ALDS on Monday. Nevertheless, having gone 339-309 with two playoff berths and a championship in four years, Farrell has done enough to justify a fifth season in Boston, according to Dombrowski.

Here’s more on Boston, which is now turning its focus to the offseason:

  • The Red Sox aren’t a lock to pursue an outside replacement for retiring designated hitter David Ortiz, as Rob Bradford of WEEI writes. They could instead shift first baseman Hanley Ramirez to DH and use a committee of Travis Shaw, Pablo Sandoval, Yoan Moncada and Sam Travis at the corner infield positions. As Bradford notes, signing the highest-profile DH candidate set to hit the market, the Blue Jays’ Edwin Encarnacion, would enable the Red Sox to split DH and first between him and Ramirez. On Ramirez’s role going forward, Dombrowski said, “I think he’s capable of doing both. Actually, to me, he did a fine job at first base. Personally, I like the availability of the option of doing both, because I think that if you have that flexibility, it probably fits with us better with the personnel that we have going forward. But we also have to have conversations with Hanley, too, before we get to that point.”
  • Dombrowski addressed the status of Sandoval, who missed nearly the entire season after undergoing shoulder surgery in May and was ahead of schedule in his rehab as of late September. “His goal was to be ready, physically, to play in the ALCS. I don’t know that that would’ve happened, because our other people had been there all year, but from a health perspective, he’s really right there, so I think he’ll be healthy next year,” commented Dombrowski (via Ryan Hannable of WEEI). “There’s other guys that I’m sure say they should be the third baseman. It will be interesting to see how it shakes out. But he’s been a proven big league performer. If he’s healthy and ready to go, he has a chance to be a good performer for us.” Sandoval has been a major disappointment since the Red Sox signed him to a five-year, $95MM deal in November 2014, but the organization doesn’t seem down on him. Dombrowski said the ex-Giant “should be proud” of the rehab work he has done since his injury. Notably, Bradford reported last month that Sandoval had lost 22 pounds.
  • Left-hander Drew Pomeranz endured an underwhelming second half after the Red Sox acquired him from the Padres for top pitching prospect Anderson Espinoza in July. Of course, Boston complained last month about the lack of medical information the Padres disclosed prior to the trade, and Major League Baseball also suspended Friars GM A.J. Preller for 30 days without pay. The Red Sox skipped Pomeranz’s final start of the regular season because he was dealing with forearm soreness, and he then pitched out of the bullpen in the playoffs. Going forward, Dombrowski expects Pomeranz to figure into Boston’s rotation, though he cautioned that his medicals will have to check out. “We look forward to him being part of our rotation. We feel for him. I’m hopeful that he’ll be OK going into next year and the doctors will be the ones that advise us on that, but I think he will be,” stated Dombrowski (via Hannable).
  • In order to remain with the Red Sox, soon-to-be free agent reliever Koji Uehara will likely have to take a pay cut from his $9MM salary, per Hannable. Given Uehara’s age (he’ll be 42 next April), that’s not a surprise. Uehara remains a highly effective late-game option, though, as he recorded a 3.45 ERA, 12.06 K/9 and 2.11 BB/9 over 47 innings in 2016. Dombrowski revealed that Uehara “wants to continue pitching,” but the executive isn’t sure if the Red Sox will bring the right-hander back for a fifth year. “I don’t know how you really interpret a guy going forward at that. I don’t have any special formula,” said Dombrowski. “But I will also tell you Koji’s a hard guy to evaluate when he’s younger and healthy. Because he’s a very abnormal type pitcher. I mean how many guys that are throwing 88 mph blow the ball by you on a consistent basis? So he’s a tough evaluation no matter what.”

Rob Manfred On A.J. Preller’s Suspension: “I Know Where A.J. Is”

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Major League Baseball has had to deal with a number of situations recently in which it’s had to punish teams or front offices, rather than players. Those include the Padres’ failure to disclose some medical information in trades, which led to the suspension of GM A.J. Preller; the Red Sox’ manipulation of international signing practices; and hacking of the Astros’ database by a Cardinals front office employee. Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald explores those issues an excellent article that includes new tidbits from commissioner Rob Manfred. (We also highlighted some of Manfred’s other thoughts on the Preller matter yesterday.)

Some throughout the game have wondered whether Preller’s 30-day suspension is enforceable. He would, surely, only need his phone and computer to continue to influence over the Padres’ decision-making. Manfred, though, says that the league has mechanisms in place to ensure Preller stays away.

“I know where A.J. is,” Manfred says. “We’ve also told the Padres that we will be making investigatory undertakings to verify that there has been no contact. They’re very, very explicit rules about what he can and can’t do. I think given the circumstances, I am comfortable we can enforce the penalty.”

The Red Sox, of course, were victims of Preller’s handling of medical information, having been deprived of relevant records in the Drew Pomeranz / Anderson Espinoza swap. The Sox could have rescinded the deal in either July or August, Drellich reports. When the Red Sox learned that the Padres had withheld information, they informed the league, but took the position that they wanted to keep Pomeranz, even after receiving the results of an MRI that increased their frustration with the situation. (The exact results of the MRI are not publicly known, although Pomeranz is currently struggling with left forearm soreness.)

“For a very, very long time, there has been a rule in baseball that if something happens in terms of lack of complete information or disclosure with respect to the trade that the remedy is to rescind the trade, and you saw that baseball rule operate,” Manfred says, referring to the partially-rescinded trade between the Padres and Marlins involving now-injured Colin Rea. (Rea originally headed from the Padres to the Marlins with Andrew Cashner and Tayron Guerrero for Carter Capps, Jarred Cosart, Josh Naylor and Luis Castillo, then headed back to the Padres for Castillo alone.) “Once that happens the rule in baseball has always been that we do not reconfigure trades. Figuring out exactly what happened when is extraordinarily difficult if not impossible. And even if we can figure that out, we are not institutionally capable of deciding who would have traded what for what.”

Manfred On CBA, Red Sox-Padres Trade, Preller, Ortiz

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Major League Baseball’s collective bargaining agreement is set to expire in December, but commissioner Rob Manfred said Sunday that he expects a new CBA in place by the end of the postseason, according to Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal (Twitter link). “Both parties still have significant issues on the table,” added Manfred, but he doesn’t believe those concerns are enough for either side to rip up the agreement and start negotiations from scratch (via Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith, on Twitter).

Manfred, who’s in Boston on Sunday for Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz’s final regular-season game, also addressed several other important topics:

  • After acquiring left-hander Drew Pomeranz from the Padres for top pitching prospect Anderson Espinoza in July, questions arose in August over whether San Diego was completely honest about Pomeranz’s medical information. It turned out the Padres didn’t reveal that Pomeranz was taking anti-inflammatory medication for his elbow at the time of the deal. Then, when MLB handed Padres general manager A.J. Preller a 30-day suspension in September, Red Sox chairman Tom Werner expressed displeasure with the commissioner’s office, saying, “We felt that some wrong was committed and that it’s important to have a level playing field. The Padres didn’t play on it.” Interestingly, the league gave the Red Sox the opportunity to undo the trade in early August, Manfred revealed, but the non-waiver deadline had already passed by then. Moreover, there was no way for the league to compensate the Red Sox, the commissioner stated. As a result, Boston turned down the offer and kept Pomeranz (Twitter links via MacPherson and Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe). The 27-year-old has scuffled since the trade and is currently dealing with left forearm soreness.
  • Whether the Padres fire Preller for his questionable practices is up to them, not the league, according to Manfred (via Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune). “I felt that that Mr. Preller behaved inappropriately in the situation. He behaved inappropriately to the detriment of two clubs,” said Manfred. “And I thought that a publicly announced suspension of 30 days, which is the longest suspension of a front-office person in 70 years, was a firm statement of our view on how he had behaved or, in this case, misbehaved.” As of Sept. 17, the Padres’ front office was reportedly split on Preller, who, in addition to crossing the Red Sox, didn’t disclose all available medical information in a July trade with the Marlins. As a result, the Preller-led Padres reversed part of what was a large transaction that centered on Andrew Cashner. Ultimately, the Padres re-acquired right-hander Colin Rea from Miami and sent pitching prospect Luis Castillo back to the Marlins. That came after Rea left his sole Marlins start with an elbow injury. Rea is now attempting to stave off Tommy John surgery.
  • Ortiz was among 104 major leaguers who tested positive for performance-enhancing substances in 2003, but Manfred downplayed that. The list didn’t distinguish therapeutic use exemptions from PEDs, per Manfred, who called it “unfair” and “wrong” that the positive test might negatively affect Ortiz’s legacy (Twitter links via MacPherson and Alex Speier of the Boston Globe).
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