Travis Shaw

Brewers To Promote Keston Hiura, Option Travis Shaw To Triple-A

By Mark Polishuk | June 27, 2019 at 6:48pm CDT

The Brewers are bringing top prospect Keston Hiura back to the majors, The Athletic’s Robert Murray reports (Twitter link). In a corresponding move, the struggling Travis Shaw will head down to Triple-A.

This will be Hiura’s second stint in the major leagues, as he made his debut in a 17-game cameo for Milwaukee earlier this season while Shaw was on the IL with a wrist injury. During that brief time with the Brewers, Hiura lived up to his status as one of baseball’s consensus top prospects, hitting .281/.333/.531 with five homers over 69 plate appearances. While Hiura struck out in 23 of those trips to the plate and benefited from a .361 BABIP, he was also doing damage when he did make strong contact, with a .369 xwOBA that exactly matched his .369 wOBA.

Given his tendency to strike out and the fact that Hiura doesn’t turn 23 until August, it may be a bit much to expect the youngster to continue being an above-average offensive producer for the remainder of the season (or as long as he’s still on the 25-man roster). Yet it was clear that some type of upgrade was needed for Shaw, who has become a weak link on a Brewers team with postseason aspirations. His wrist problem, which cost him three weeks on the injured list, certainly could be a factor, though there isn’t much to like about what Shaw has done at the plate this season.

After hitting .258/.347/.497 with 63 homers over his first two seasons in Milwaukee, Shaw has managed only a .166/.278/.293 slash line and six home runs through 209 plate appearances this year. His power numbers and contact rates have cratered while his strikeouts have gone through the roof, as Shaw’s 33% strikeout rate and 13.4% swinging strike rate are far and away his career highs.

Shaw still had two option years remaining, and was earning $4.675MM this season in his first of three arbitration-eligible years. While it isn’t a stretch to consider if Shaw could be a non-tender candidate this winter, there’s still lots of time for him to get on track against Triple-A pitching and again contribute to the Brewers this season. While Hiura is certainly the Brew Crew’s second baseman of the future and potentially the present, Shaw could again be an option at third base since Mike Moustakas is only signed through this season, as he and the Brewers share an $11MM mutual option for 2020. Moustakas has been lacking in free agent suitors in each of the last two seasons, though one would think he’ll decline his side of that option to again seek a multi-year commitment, given that the Moose is enjoying his finest season at the plate.

Looking even longer-term, even if Hiura spends the rest of the season on the Brewers’ big league roster, he won’t amass enough Major League service time to himself qualify for future Super Two status.

Hiura has played exclusively as a second baseman during his young career, so his addition to the roster will almost mean that Moustakas will again be spending much of his time at the hot corner. Playing second base for the first time in his MLB career this season, Moustakas ended up acquitting himself decently well at the keystone (+1 Defensive Runs Saved, -1.6 UZR/150), and obviously the position switch had no impact on Moustakas’ ability to hit.

Brewers Option Keston Hiura, Activate Travis Shaw

By Jeff Todd | June 3, 2019 at 3:17pm CDT

The Brewers have optioned second baseman Keston Hiura, the club announced today. He’ll leave the active roster to make way for the activation of Travis Shaw, who had been rehabbing a wrist injury.

Hiura, 22, certainly hasn’t shown himself in capable of keeping up at the game’s highest level. To the contrary, he’s slashing a hefty .281/.333/.531 with five home runs in 69 plate appearances. While there’s much to be desired in his combination of 23 strikeouts and three walks, Hiura has largely confirmed that the Brewers and prospect watchers were right to expect big things right out of the gates.

It’s tough to see that batting line leave the active roster, particularly given Shaw’s struggles to open the year. He’ll presumably return to his customary duties at the hot corner, with Mike Moustakas going back to second base. The defensive alignment is suboptimal, but passable; it’s the hitting department where this decision will likely be judged.

Before he hit the shelf, the 29-year-old Shaw managed only a .163/.266/.281 slash in 154 plate appearances. That’s far shy of the output he delivered in his first two seasons in Milwaukee, during which he launched 63 home runs and batted a cumulative .258/.347/.497.

GM David Stearns explained to reporters that the club made this move to “preserv[e] organizational depth.” (Via Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel; links to Twitter.) Of course, Shaw could have been optioned down instead of Hiura, but Stearns says the veteran has earned the right to step back into the MLB lineup. That doesn’t mean he’s guaranteed to stay there. The pressure will be on Shaw and struggling first baseman Jesus Aguilar, who is out of options.

Stearns rejected the notion that service time played a role in the decision. Whether or not that was a motivating factor, there are implications for both players. Hiura’s initial promotion occurred on May 14th, meaning he could have run up 139 days of service by remaining in the majors all year long. That would have set him up for potential future Super Two qualification. Unless he comes back rather quickly, that’ll no longer be the case. On Shaw’s side, he’ll get the opportunity to reestablish his stock and boost his arbitration earning power by returning to the MLB roster. He has a strong starting point with this year’s $4.675MM salary, though that also means he’ll need to improve in order to be tendered by the Brewers (or command good money in free agency if he isn’t).

Travis Shaw Nearing Rehab Assignment

By Connor Byrne | May 19, 2019 at 6:55pm CDT

Injured Brewers third baseman Travis Shaw is slated to begin a rehab assignment Wednesday, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports. Shaw has been on the injured list since May 14 because of a wrist issue.

Shaw’s injury led to the promotion of highly touted second base prospect Keston Hiura, who hasn’t gotten off to a dazzling start but did post a two-hit game with his first career home run in a win over the Braves on Sunday. Hiura’s already just three homers short of Shaw, a key Brewers contributor from 2017-18 who has come out of the gates slowly this year. So far, Shaw’s slashing a paltry .163/.266/.281 with four HRs in 154 plate appearances. After combining for 7.1 fWAR over the previous two seasons, Shaw has recorded minus-0.8 in that category to rank second to last among position players in 2019. He’s also second from the bottom in wRC+ (46), which is a far cry from the 119 mark he registered from 2017-18.

While Shaw’s batting average on balls in play is an ultra-low .222, poor fortune’s certainly not the sole reason for his horrid numbers. Looking under the hood, alarming trends abound. Shaw’s running a career-worst strikeout rate (32.5 percent, up from 18.4 last season), a .119 ISO that comes up 120 points shy of the figure he recorded during the past two seasons, a skyrocketing swinging-strike rate (14.4 percent, compared to 8.2 in 2018) and a plummeting contact rate (67.7 percent, down from a personal-best 81.4 percent last season).

Although the 29-year-old Shaw was a vital cog in Milwaukee during his first two seasons in the organization, the Brew Crew could relegate him to the bench if he doesn’t rebound upon returning from the IL. Veteran third baseman Mike Moustakas opened the season at second base to accommodate Shaw, whom he has easily outproduced, and now the presence of Hiura has sent Moustakas back to the hot corner.

Brewers To Designate Cory Spangenberg; Travis Shaw Likely Headed To IL

By Jeff Todd | May 14, 2019 at 11:01am CDT

The Brewers appear to have lined up roster moves to accommodate the promotion of second baseman Keston Hiura. Milwaukee will designate utilityman Cory Spangenberg for assignment, per an announcement from the club’s San Antonio affiliate. And it appears likely that third baseman Travis Shaw will head to the IL with a wrist injury, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter).

Spangenberg had been stationed at San Antonio to open the year after signing onto the MLB roster (albeit on a split contract) over the offseason. The former first-round draft pick struggled to a .212/.305/.317 batting line in his 118 plate appearances, tallying forty strikeouts along the way.

It hasn’t been a pleasant start to the season for Shaw, either. The 29-year-old is carrying only a .163/.266/.281 batting line with four home runs and fifty strikeouts. That’s well shy of the strong offensive output he has provided the Brew Crew over the past two campaigns. Shaw played last night without evident issue; the severity of his wrist issue isn’t yet known.

NL Central Notes: Ozuna, Shaw, Hader, Maddon

By Steve Adams | April 3, 2019 at 10:57pm CDT

Cardinals left fielder Marcell Ozuna was scratched from Wednesday’s lineup after experiencing pain in his torso, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. Goold further tweets that Ozuna is headed for an MRI tomorrow, and manager Mike Shildt expressed some concern about a potential intercostal strain. It’s a frustrating development for both team and player, as Ozuna was hoping to bounce back from an injury-marred 2018 season in which ongoing shoulder issues hampered his swing. The Cardinals, meanwhile, were hoping that a healthier Ozuna could pair with offseason acquisition Paul Goldschmidt to bolster the middle of the batting order. If Ozuna needs to miss time, Tyler O’Neill could step into a larger role with the club, and Jose Martinez (who started in place of Ozuna today) could get some additional at-bats as well.

Mike Moustakas Could Play Second Base For Brewers

By Steve Adams and Jeff Todd | February 18, 2019 at 4:31pm CDT

When word of Mike Moustakas’ impending return to the Brewers broke, the assumption among many was that the Milwaukee organization would utilize the same defensive alignment as in 2019: Travis Shaw shifting over to second base and Moustakas handling third base. However, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel tweets that the Brewers will use Spring Training to determine if Moustakas is able to handle second base. If the team is satisfied with what it sees, Moustakas will be the primary second baseman, with Shaw remaining at third base.

While the arrangement likely isn’t one that many would anticipate, it does have the potential to be the best of their options. Shaw, after all, has turned in quite strong defensive marks at the hot corner since coming to Milwaukee, recording 22 Defensive Runs Saved and a +3.5 Ultimate Zone Rating across the past few seasons. Moustakas, meanwhile, has been average or slightly better for most of the past four seasons (with his return year from surgery to repair an ACL tear standing out as an understandable exception).

If Moustakas is able to play even competently at second base, the Brewers could enjoy the benefit of retaining a plus defender at the hot corner. Of course, if the experiment doesn’t yield dividends, there’ll be a fair bit of second-guessing as to why the Brewers didn’t simply acquire a truer option at second base. The market certainly had — and still has — alternatives. Marwin Gonzalez, Josh Harrison and Logan Forsythe are among the currently available players, and it’s worth pointing out that the Brewers were seemingly willing to pay more to play Moustakas out of position than they’d have needed to pay to simply sign Brian Dozier, who went to the Nationals for one year and $9MM.

Of course, the 30-year-old Moustakas is coming off of his fourth-straight season of above-average offensive work, with his consistent power making up for less-than-certain on-base numbers. And the Brewers know well what they are getting, having seen Moustakas up close down the stretch in 2018. In any event, it’ll be fascinating to see how the experiment pans out.

NL Central Notes: Taillon, Brewers, Shaw, Perez, Reds

By Connor Byrne | February 16, 2019 at 7:09pm CDT

Contract extensions, including deals for right-handers Aaron Nola (Phillies) and Luis Severino (Yankees), have been a dominant story across Major League Baseball this week. Sooner than later, the Pirates should follow the Phillies and Yankees in inking their own excellent young righty, Jameson Taillon, for the long haul, Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh-Tribune Review opines. Unlike Philly and New York, both of which secured their aces to four-year guarantees worth $40MM or more, Pittsburgh’s not a big spender, perhaps making it all the more important for the Bucs to lock up Taillon at an affordable price in the near future. However, Taillon – who still has four years of control remaining, including three arbitration-eligible seasons – revealed this week that he and the club “haven’t talked about anything” yet. Barring an unexpected change, the 27-year-old will pitch this season for a relative pittance after logging a 3.20 ERA/3.46 FIP with 8.43 K/9 and 2.17 BB/9 over 191 innings in 2018.

NL Notes: Brewers, Moustakas, Shaw, Marlins, Anderson

By Ty Bradley | February 9, 2019 at 3:58pm CDT

A return to Milwaukee for Mike Moustakas “seems inevitable,” writes The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, who also suspects the Crew aren’t willing to extend a multi-year offer to the 30-year-old third baseman. Moustakas, who yet again has garnered little interest in his repeat foray into the free-agent market, would figure to reprise his role as the team’s primary third baseman, shifting Travis Shaw across the diamond to second. Moose’s 105 wRC+ output was slightly down from the previous three seasons, though his hard-hit rate jumped to a career-best 41.2%. His ZiPS projection, released yesterday on FanGraphs, shines brightly, perhaps as a result: the system forecasts a 116 OPS+/3.2 WAR output for the longtime Royal, seeing him as an easily above-average big-league third baseman. MLB teams, it seems, are hardly in accord.

Here’s more from around the NL . . .

Milwaukee, who’s yet to tire of yo-yoing Shaw back and forth from second to third, also hasn’t begun extension talks with the now-versatile 28-year-old, reports Rosenthal. Fresh off his third 118 or better wRC+ season in four years, the former ninth-round selection of the Red Sox has found a home in Wisconsin, turning in consecutive 3.5+ fWAR campaigns in his first two seasons with the team. Peripherals paint an even better picture: Shaw upped his walk rate by nearly four percent, to 13.3, and dropped his strikeout rate to a career-low 18.4%, his first MLB season under 20 in the category. Though the minor-league track record was mostly stellar, save for two stints in AAA, the son of longtime MLB closer Jeff Shaw was never a highly-touted prospect, even in the hyped-up Boston system, and it’s certainly possible that the Brewers would like to see more before offering him a hefty chunk of change. Still, another season like the last two, and it may not be Milwaukee on the next deal’s bottom line.
The quartet of prospects sent from Milwaukee to Miami in the Christian Yelich deal, headlined by the trio of Lewis Brinson, Monte Harrison, and Isan Diaz, top 100 guys all, have yet to look the part. Still, Miami doesn’t view the return as a “lost cause,” writes Rosenthal, who notes that the Fish are still particularly high on minor-league strikeout king Harrison. Diaz, too, has flashed an intriguing power/plate-discipline combo in the upper minors, and appears poised to get his second-base shot in the upcoming campaign. Brinson, to be sure, suffered through a rookie campaign that almost could not have gone worse, but figures to get all the ship-righting opportunities he needs in the seasons to come.
Third baseman-turned-right fielder Brian Anderson will move back to the hot corner for 2019, tweets the Miami Herald’s Clark Spencer. Anderson handled the shift with aplomb last season, posting 4 DRS and a +5 UZR on the way to an impressive 3.4 fWAR rookie campaign. Still, a young, well-rounded third baseman is a tougher find, and the Fish will surely like to test their young outfielders in the months to come. One-time incumbent Martin Prado may be on his last leg, and it seems the Marlins will again to look to the 35-year-old to fill his early-career super-utility role in 2019.

Players Avoiding Arbitration: National League

By Steve Adams,Jeff Todd and TC Zencka | January 12, 2019 at 12:15pm CDT

The deadline for players and teams to exchange arbitration figures passed yesterday at 1pm ET, and there has been a landslide of settlements on one-year deals to avoid an arbitration hearing. We’ll track those settlements from the National League in this post. Once all of the day’s settlements have filtered in, I’ll organize them by division to make them a bit easier to parse.

It’s worth mentioning that the vast majority of teams have adopted a “file and trial” approach to arbitration, meaning that once arbitration figures are exchanged with a player, negotiations on a one-year deal will cease. The two parties may still discuss a multi-year deal after that point, but the majority of players who exchange figures with their team today will head to an arbitration hearing.

As always, all salary projections referenced within this post are courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz, and we’ll also be updating our 2019 Arbitration Tracker throughout the day…

Today’s Updates

Rounding out contract numbers for the St. Louis Cardinals, Dominic Leone will take home $1.26MM, Chasen Shreve will make $900K, and outfielder Marcell Ozuna will earn $12.25MM in his last season before free agency, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter). Ozuna has the most high-impact potential as he looks to rebound from a still-productive season in 2018 that saw his power output hindered at times by a balky shoulder. He still managed 23 home runs and a .280/.325/.433 slash line while playing just about every day outside of a 10-day DL stint late in August.
The Diamondbacks came to terms with a slew of players, per Feinsand (via Twitter), including Matt Andriese for $920K, Steven Souza Jr. for $4.125MM, shortstop Nick Ahmed for $3.6625MM, and potential closer Archie Bradley for $1.83MM.
The Rockies and starting pitcher Jon Gray have come to an agreement on a $2.935MM deal, per Feinsand (via Twitter). Gray had an up-and-down 2018 that is generally considered to be more promising than the optics of his 5.12 ERA make it seem.
The Pirates have come to terms on one-year deals with both of their arbitration eligible players, per Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Left fielder Corey Dickerson signs for $8.5MM, and reliever Keone Kela takes home $3.175MM. It’s a small arb class for the Pirates, whose list will grow next season as players like Josh Bell, Jameson Taillon, and Joe Musgrove, among others, reach their first season of eligibility.
The Dodgers signed a couple of their remaining arbitration-eligible players yesterday, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (Twitter links). Utility man Chris Taylor has a $3.5MM deal, while outfield Joc Pederson settled at $5MM.

Earlier Updates

Outfielder David Peralta has a $7MM deal with the Diamondbacks, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter).
Trevor Story has settled for $5MM with the Rockies, per Jeff Passan of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
The Dodgers have lined up deals with all of their arbitration-eligible players, J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group reports (Twitter links). Shortstop Corey Seager is slated to receive $4MM as a first-time arb eligible player. Seager had only a $2.6MM projection, but was clearly rewarded for the excellent output he turned in before missing all of the 2018 season due to Tommy John surgery. Reliever Josh Fields went for $2.85MM, Hoornstra adds on Twitter.
Yasiel Puig has struck a $9.7MM deal with his new team, the Reds, per MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon (via Twitter).
The Mets have inked three notable players. Righty Zack Wheeler shook hands at $5.975MM, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman tweets. Likewise, outfielder Michael Conforto ($4.025MM) and lefty Steven Matz ($2.625MM) have agreed to terms, per Mike Puma of the New York Post (Twitter links).
Staying in the division, the Braves also have a trio of new deals today. Starter Kevin Gausman agreed at $9.35MM, righty Dan Winkler at $1.61MM, and lefty Sam Freeman at $1.375MM, per David O’Brien of The Athletic (Twitter link).
The Phillies have agreements in place with all of their arb-eligible players except for star righty Aaron Nola, the club announced. Per MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki, the salaries came in at $1.35MM for Aaron Altherr, $1.925MM for Jose Alvarez, $5.2MM for Maikel Franco, $7.75MM for Cesar Hernandez, $1.1MM for Adam Morgan, and $2.249MM for Vince Velasquez.
Brewers third baseman Travis Shaw has agreed to a $4.675MM salary, while righty Zach Davies settled at $2.6MM, per MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy (via Twitter).
Cubs righty Carl Edwards Jr. secured a $1.5MM salary, per Patrick Mooney of The Athletic (via Twitter).
Southpaw Adam Conley will earn $1.125MM with the Marlins, Murray tweets.
The Marlins and J.T. Realmuto reached a $5.9MM agreement for the upcoming season, tweets Jon Heyman of Fancred. As perhaps the premier trade chip in baseball, Realmuto’s salary is of particular note for interested teams. He’d been projected at $6.1MM and can be controlled for another two seasons. Meanwhile, infielder Miguel Rojas will earn $3.155MM, per Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald (on Twitter). He’s controllable through 2020 and was projected to earn $2.6MM, so he quite nicely topped our projection.

Anthony DeSclafani agreed to a $2.125MM salary with the Reds, tweets Murray, which tops his $2.1MM projection by a narrow sum of $25K. The oft-injured righty will be expected to play a key role in an improving Cincinnati rotation this season and can be controlled through 2020.
The D-backs and third baseman Jake Lamb are in agreement on a $4.825MM salary for next season, Murray tweets. That closely resembles the $4.7MM projection for Lamb, who’ll look to bounce back from shoulder troubles and reestablish himself before reaching free agency after the 2020 season.
The Diamondbacks and Taijuan Walker settled at $5.025MM, tweets Murray. Walker, who’ll miss a portion of the 2019 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery last April, had been projected to earn the same $4.825MM he made last season, which is common for players who miss an entire season. However, he’ll get a small raise after making three starts. Walker is controlled through 2020.
Junior Guerra and the Brewers agreed at $2.225MM, Murray tweets, which checks in a bit south of Guerra’s $2.7MM projection. The late-blooming righty is controlled through the 2022 season. Murray adds that catcher Manny Pina will earn $1.6MM next year after being projected at $1.8MM. He’s controllable through 2021.
Padres right-hander Kirby Yates agreed to a $3.0625MM deal that falls nicely in line with his $3MM projection, Murray tweets. Controlled for another two seasons, Yates has established himself as a high-quality reliever in recent years and figures to be among the game’s more prominent trade chips this summer.
Reds second baseman Scooter Gennett has agreed to a $9.775MM salary for his final season of club control prior to free agency, tweets Nightengale Jr. He falls a bit shy of his $10.7MM projection, though a near-$10MM payday for Gennett is nonetheless indicative of how much he’s elevated his status since being claimed by the Reds two years ago.
Righty Michael Wacha and the Cardinals are in agreement on a $6.35MM salary that is within striking distance of his $6.6MM projection (Twitter link via Nightengale). Wacha will be a free agent next winter.
The Mets agreed to a $6MM salary with right-hander Noah Syndergaard, tweets Nightengale. That comes in $100K north of the $5.9MM projection for “Thor,” who is still controllable for another three seasons.
Thomas Harding of MLB.com tweets that the Rockies agreed to a $960K salary for the 2019 season with catcher Tony Wolters. A rough season at the plate didn’t help Wolters’ earning power, and he’ll come in a bit shy of his $1.1MM projection. Murray tweets that the Rox are also in agreement with southpaw Tyler Anderson on a $2.625MM salary. He’d been projected for $2.9MM. Wolters is controllable for another four years as a Super Two player, while Anderson can be controlled for three.
Newly acquired Brewers left-hander Alex Claudio agreed to a $1.275MM salary for the 2019 season, Murray tweets. Claudio, who can be controlled by Milwaukee for three seasons, was projected to earn $1.3MM.
Trea Turner and the Nationals avoided a hearing by settling on a one-year deal worth $3.725MM, tweets Murray. That figures to represent one of the more significant misses from MLBTR’s arbitration algorithm this season, as Turner had been projected at $5.3MM as a first-time-eligible Super Two player. The star-caliber shortstop will nonetheless be poised for enormous earnings in arbitration, as he’ll be eligible three more times before reaching free agency after the 2022 season.
Cubs lefty Mike Montgomery avoided arbitration with a one-year, $2.44MM contract, tweets Wittenmyer. Montgomery, eligible for arbitration for the first time and controllable for another three years, was projected to earn $3MM.
The Rockies and right-hander Chad Bettis settled on a $3.35MM salary for 2019, tweets Nightengale. He’d been projected at $3.2MM and is controlled through the 2020 season.
Giants reliever Will Smith has agreed to a $4.225MM salary for his final season of team control, Nightengale tweets. Smith’s outstanding 2018 season will push his arbitration salary a bit north of his $4.1MM projection as he gears up for his final season before reaching free agency.
Diamondbacks southpaw Robbie Ray is set to earn $6.05MM next season after agreeing to a one-year deal, per Nightengale. That lands with in $50K of Ray’s $6.1MM projection. The left-hander is controlled through the 2020 season.
The Marlins and right-hander Jose Urena settled at a $3.2MM salary for the 2019 campaign, Murray tweets, That figure checks in a bit shy of the $3.6MM projected for Urena, who is arb-eligible for the first time this offseason and remains under club control through the 2021 season. Meanwhile, Nightengale tweets that Dan Straily will earn a $5MM salary in 2019, topping his $4.8MM projection by $200K. Straily can be controlled through 2020.
Kyle Schwarber and the Cubs have avoided arbitration with a one-year deal worth $3.39MM, tweets Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. That checks in slightly north of his $3.1MM projection as a first-time eligible player. Schwarber is controlled for another three seasons.
The Braves and righty Dan Winkler settled at $1.61MM, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (Twitter link). That tops MLBTR’s projection by the slightest of margins, at $10K. Winkler is controllable through the 2020 season.
Right-hander/pinch-hitter extraordinaire Michael Lorenzen and the Reds settled at $1.95MM, tweets Murray. He’d been projected to earn $1.9MM. Lorenzen is a Super Two player who’s eligible for arbitration for the second time this winter. Cincinnati can control him through the 2021 season, and he’ll be arb-eligible twice more. Bobby Nightengale Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer adds that Jose Peraza agreed to a one-year deal worth $2.775MM. The shortstop is a first-time eligible Super Two player who’d been projected at $3.6MM.
The Braves announced that they’ve signed Charlie Culberson to a one-year deal worth $1.395MM, which lines up near perfectly with his $1.4MM projection. It’s his first trip through the arbitration process, and the Braves can control him through the 2021 season. Murray tweets that the Braves also settled at $2.875MM with outfielder Adam Duvall, who’d been projected at $3.1MM.
Corey Knebel and the Brewers settled on a one-year, $5.125MM salary for the upcoming season, tweets Murray. The right-hander is in his second trip through arbitration as a Super Two player and had been projected at $4.9MM. He’s controlled through the 2021 season.
The Cubs and right-hander Kyle Hendricks agreed to a one-year deal worth $7.405MM, tweets Fancred’s Jon Heyman. He’d been projected at $7.6MM and will be arb-eligible once more next winter before reaching free agency.
Right-hander Mike Foltynewicz and the Braves settled at one year and $5.475MM, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today, which lines up very closely with his $5.5MM projection. Folty’s breakout season netted him a substantial raise from last year’s $2.2MM, and he’ll be arb-eligible twice more before reaching free agency after the 2021 season.
Braves closer Arodys Vizcaino has agreed to a one-year deal worth $4.8MM, tweets Robert Murray of The Athletic. That matches his $4.8MM salary projection on the dot. It’s the 28-year-old’s final season of arbitration eligibility, as he’ll be a free agent next winter.
The Diamondbacks avoided arbitration with lefty reliever Andrew Chafin by agreeing to a one-year deal worth $1.945MM, tweets Murray. He’ll top his $1.8MM projection by a slight margin and will be arb-eligible once more next winter before hitting free agency following the 2020 season.

Brewers Notes: Murphy, Moustakas, Kikuchi, Miley

By Mark Polishuk | December 10, 2018 at 8:52pm CDT

The Brewers have interest in signing Daniel Murphy to address their second base hole, while the team has also had talks about re-signing Mike Moustakas for third base, The Athletic’s Robert Murray reports (subscription required). Signing Murphy would perhaps be the cleaner fit, as it would allow Travis Shaw to remain at his ideal third base position. Murphy’s second base glove is below-average, though being paired up the middle with an outstanding fielder like shortstop Orlando Arcia would at least somewhat mitigate that issue, and Murphy’s bat is still potent. Bringing Moustakas back to Milwaukee would require Shaw to return to second base, a position he filled last season after the Moose was brought into the fold. Murray also notes that the Cardinals “also like” Moustakas, though it’s hard to see where he would fit in St. Louis now that Paul Goldschmidt’s presence means that Matt Carpenter will be playing third base.

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