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MLBTR Poll: Grading The Starling Marte Trade

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They’re throwing a Marte party in the desert. The Diamondbacks on Monday acquired center fielder Starling Marte from the Pirates in a blockbuster trade that saw shortstop prospect Liover Peguero, young righty Brennan Malone and $250K in international money go to Pittsburgh in return. Arizona now happens to have the top two Martes in the majors in Starling and Ketel Marte, the Diamondbacks’ primary center fielder from 2019 who broke out as a star and will now occupy second base most of the time.

For the Diamondbacks, an 85-win team from last year that’s trying to give the Dodgers a better fight in the NL West, the addition of Starling Marte is the latest win-now move in an offseason packed with them. The D-backs’ previous pickups came via the open market, where they signed left-hander Madison Bumgarner, right fielder Kole Calhoun, relievers Hector Rondon and Junior Guerra, and catcher Stephen Vogt.

There are concerns with Marte’s game, including iffy defensive metrics, a past PED suspension and a career-long aversion to drawing walks. Still, he’s unquestionably one of the most valuable center fielders in the sport. The 31-year-old has accounted for at least 3.0 fWAR in each of his six full seasons, and is coming off his second straight 20-20 effort. Marte posted a .295/.342/.503 line with 23 home runs and 25 stolen bases across in 586 trips to the plate.

Of course, we’d be remiss not to mention that Marte’s contract only makes him more appealing from Arizona’s standpoint. He’ll earn a fairly economical $11.5MM this year and could make $12.5MM next season if the Diamondbacks exercise his club option in lieu of a $1MM buyout. Assuming Marte continues his steady production in 2020, picking up that option will be a no-brainer for the team.

In Pittsburgh’s case, Marte’s age, waning control and the Pirates’ rebuilding status all combined to send him out of the Steel City after months of trade rumors. It was an understandable decision on new Pirates general manager Ben Cherington’s part to cash in the Marte chip, though there’s dissatisfaction in Pittsburgh that the team’s ultra-low payroll shrunk even more as a result of the deal. The Pirates could put at least some money back into their roster by finding a Marte replacement before the season, which is Cherington’s plan, but they’re unlikely to find a player of his caliber.

Regardless of how the Pirates’ payroll looks in the wake of Marte’s exit, the club did land a couple promising farmhands in Peguero and Malone. Both 19-year-olds are a ways away from major league opportunities, having not gotten past the low-A level yet, but they were seen as two of Arizona’s most intriguing prospects. Two months ago, FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen and Kiley McDaniel ranked Peguero fifth in the Diamondbacks’ system, comparing him to former D-back Jean Segura. The flamethrowing Malone checked in at No. 10 on the list, meanwhile, with Longenhagen and McDaniel writing that the 33rd overall pick from last year’s draft has “a mid-rotation starter look.”

Thanks to the youth of Peguero and Malone, we’ll have to wait for a while to see how this trade pans out. At first glance, though, how do you like it for both teams? Weigh in below …

(Arizona poll link for app users)

(Pittsburgh poll link for app users)

Royals Could Add Starting Pitching

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Even though the Royals had one of the majors’ least effective rotations in 2019, the rebuilding club has done little to nothing to upgrade that area of its roster. That could change before the season, though. Royals general manager Dayton Moore revealed over the weekend that the team’s still considering free-agent starters, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com writes.

Moore indicated he’s optimistic about the roster as a whole, but he admitted, “I’m not completely comfortable with our starting pitching depth,” in part because the Royals don’t want to rush some of their young arms to the majors. That said, Flanagan points to a few Royals starting prospects – Brady Singer, Daniel Lynch and Jackson Kowar – who could push for a spot in the team’s rotation during camp.

As things stand, the No. 5 role is the lone opening in KC’s starting staff. The Royals are otherwise committed to Brad Keller, Danny Duffy, Jakob Junis and Mike Montgomery from one through four. Keller’s a successful Rule 5er who has enjoyed a pair of respectable seasons since the Royals dug him up. Duffy was once a high-quality starter in his own right, but while Keller has ascended, he has declined of late, hurting his trade value in the process. Junis struggled to keep runs off the board last year (5.24 ERA), but he did manage his second straight season with at least 175 innings. Montgomery didn’t have an especially productive season between the Royals and Cubs, meanwhile, but he was at least somewhat better in Kansas City than Chicago.

Considering the Royals’ present options, there’s no doubt room for improvement. Whether they’ll make an earnest attempt to get better via free agency remains to be seen, but there does appear to be some interesting buy-low candidates on an ever-shrinking open market. Taijuan Walker, Danny Salazar, Matt Harvey and Aaron Sanchez may be the most intriguing choices left, owing to their relative youth (only Harvey’s older than 30) and past success.

Carlos Gonzalez Intends To Play This Year

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Outfielder Carlos Gonzalez is among the stragglers remaining on the free-agent market as spring training nears, and the former star is holding out hope someone will give him an opportunity to re-establish himself. Gonzalez intends to play this season, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.

Gonzalez hasn’t logged a professional at-bat since last June 27, which brought an end to a fleeting stint with the Cubs. They signed Gonzalez to a minor league contract, only to part with him less than a month later. The Cubs were the second team to jettison Gonzalez last season, joining the Indians – another club that took a flier on him on a minor league deal.

Gonzalez didn’t catch on anywhere during the final couple months of the 2019 campaign, no doubt thanks to the dismal numbers he posted between Chicago and Cleveland. The onetime NL batting champion was only able to muster a .200/.289/.283 with three home runs and a paltry .083 ISO in 166 plate appearances.

Now, if anybody does sign the 34-year-old Gonzalez this season, he’ll surely have to settle for a third consecutive minors pact. While CarGo’s a three-time All-Star who slashed .290/.349/.516 with 227 homers and 118 steals as a member of the Rockies from 2009-18, he hasn’t recorded especially valuable production in any season since a 2.6-fWAR showing in 2016.

Minor MLB Transactions: 1/27/20

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The latest minor moves from around baseball…

  • First baseman Kennys Vargas has agreed to a minor league contract with the Tigers, Jason Beck of MLB.com tweets. The deal does not include an invitation to major league spring training. The hulking Vargas will now join his second AL Central organization, having appeared in the majors with the Twins from 2014-17. He played for Ron Gardenhire, then the Twins’ manager and now the Tigers’ skipper, as a rookie. Vargas posted respectable offensive production at times in Minnesota, including in his first and third seasons, but owns a mediocre overall line of .252/.311/.437 with 35 home runs in 859 lifetime MLB plate appearances. The 29-year-old also hasn’t been great at the Triple-A level, where he has hit .244/.352/.436 and totaled 51 HRs over 1,297 PA, and he’s now coming off a rough 2019 campaign spent in Japan. As a member of the Chiba Lotte Marines, Vargas stumbled to a .179/.324/.274/ mark and managed just one homer in 102 trips to the plate.

What’s Next For The Pirates?

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Hours after trading Starling Marte to the Diamondbacks, Pirates general manager Ben Cherington told reporters at PNC Park that he’s hopeful of adding a new center fielder prior to Opening Day (Twitter link via Adam Berry of MLB.com). Doing so would enable the team to continue utilizing Bryan Reynolds in left field and allow Guillermo Heredia to occupy the backup role they had in mind upon signing him.

It’ll surely be frustrating for many Pirates fans to hear of their team voicing a need for center field help immediately after trading away a high-quality center fielder. But Marte has long stood out as a logical trade candidate due to his remaining two years of club control, his age and the general lack of talent surrounding him. Cherington and his staff could’ve tried to add pieces around Marte, to be sure, but contending in 2020 was always going to be a long shot for the Pirates given the payroll constraints put on the front office by owner Bob Nutting and given the questionable state of the big league roster.

Viewed through that lens, one could argue that the Pirates should further tear down. Players such as Josh Bell, Adam Frazier, Keone Kela and Chris Archer could draw interest on the trade market, and none of that bunch is signed long-term. However, Cherington indicated that he doesn’t expect further subtractions from the big league roster for the time being. That doesn’t rule out some summer dealing — particularly if Archer enjoys a strong first few months — but it sounds as if the Marte swap will be the team’s big offseason deal, barring an unforeseen offer the Bucs simply can’t refuse.

So where might the Pirates be able to find a center fielder? Kevin Pillar is probably the top name on the market at this point, but he has a career .296 OBP and posted a .287 mark in 2019. The former defensive sensation can still handle center field but doesn’t grade out nearly as well as he did in his peak now that he’s 31 years old (seven years’ worth of gravity-defying dives and outfield wall collisions under his belt). Jarrod Dyson remains a premium source of speed and center-field glovework despite turning 35 this past August, and he’d form a natural platoon with the aforementioned Heredia.

On the trade market, there’s no shortage of options. The Pirates surely won’t be in the market for high-profile and/or high-salary players, so Red Sox fans can cross them off as a Jackie Bradley Jr. destination. But other organizations with less costly, more controllable options could be fits. Could the Padres, for instance, be ready to move on from Manuel Margot and part with the former top prospect? Michael A. Taylor doesn’t have a path to everyday at-bats in D.C., and Cherington’s former Blue Jays have plenty of center-field options, including Teoscar Hernandez. And the Pirates make sense as a change of scenery destination for any number of former top prospects (e.g. Lewis Brinson, Brett Phillips), should their organizations be amenable to a swap.

Nationals Sign Kevin Quackenbush

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The Nationals have signed right-handed reliever Kevin Quackenbush to a minor league contract, Dan Kolko of MASN tweets. The deal includes an invitation to major league spring training.

Now 31 years old, Quackenbush was a valuable late-game option with the Padres at the outset of his career. Quackenbush amassed 172 1/3 innings of 3.50 ERA/3.63 FIP ball with 8.15 K/9 and 3.13 BB/9 from 2014-16, but it’s been all downhill since then. With the Padres and Reds from 2017-18, Quackenbush combined for an ugly 7.86 ERA/5.82 FIP with 7.86 K/9 and 5.47 BB/9 over 26 1/3 frames.

Quackenbush didn’t pitch in the majors at all last season, instead working at the Triple-A level with the Dodgers’ top affiliate. He also had his fair share of trouble preventing runs there, evidenced by a bloated 5.06 ERA in 58 2/3 innings. To his credit, though, Quackenbush did strike out 13 batters per nine while walking just 2.5.

Reds Designate Jose Siri For Assignment

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The Reds announced Monday that they’ve designated outfielder Jose Siri for assignment. His spot on the 40-man roster goes to fellow outfielder Nicholas Castellanos, whose previously reported four-year, $64MM contract has now been formally announced.

Siri, 24, was considered to be among Cincinnati’s best farmhands just two years ago. FanGraphs, in fact, ranked him near the back end of the game’s 100 best prospects (No. 93 overall) heading into the 2018 campaign. At that point, he was a 22-year-old who was fresh off an impressive .293/.341/.530 slash with 24 homers and 46 steals in the Class-A Midwest League.

Since that time, however, Siri has turned in a pair of disappointing seasons, logging a combined on-base percentage south of .300 in 2018-19 between Class-A Advanced, Double-A and Triple-A. This past season, Siri mustered a lackluster .237/.300/.357 showing through 517 plate appearances in the minors, and he’s struggled even more heavily in the Dominican Winter League (.196/.264/.411 in 125 plate appearances).

Siri has a minor league option remaining and is a plus runner who has been touted as a potentially plus defensive player, making him a reasonable bounceback target for a club that’s lacking outfield depth. The Reds will have a week to trade him, place him on outright waivers or release him.

Reds Sign Nick Castellanos

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5:10pm: The Reds have officially announced the deal and confirmed the terms. Castellanos is guaranteed $64MM over a four-year term. That sum will be paid out in the form of a $16MM salary in 2020, $14MM in 2021 and $16MM salaries in 2022-23. There’s also a $20MM mutual option for a fifth season that comes with a $2MM buyout. Castellanos can opt out of the contract after the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

Also of note: Castellanos has made it known that he will once again go by “Nick” as opposed to “Nicholas.”

9:05am: The Reds have reportedly struck a four-year, $64MM pact with free agent outfielder Nicholas Castellanos. The Scott Boras client also obtains opt-out opportunities after the 2020 and 2021 campaigns.

Nicholas Castellanos | Zach Gardner/MLBTR

This is a fascinating agreement for a variety of reasons. It represents a finishing flourish from Boras, who orchestrated a masterful winter of signings. MLBTR had predicted a four-year, $58MM deal for Castellanos. The young slugger had been the last major free agent left unsigned; attention now will turn to an uncertain but highly interesting trade market. And the Cincinnati organization has now poached a top performer from a division rival — and not for the first time this winter. (This deal matches the guarantee the team used earlier in the winter to lure Mike Moustakas.)

Most of all, it’s a deal that may portend more action to come. The Reds outfield picture is so fully loaded that one or more current players will surely end up out of the frame — perhaps with another organization entirely.

When the Reds added Shogo Akiyama, we noted the resulting roster crunch and wondered whether the club might spin off a younger talent via trade. Thus far, the Reds have only shed Nick Martini. But with Castellanos on board the case for a blockbuster is arguably all the more compelling.

Akiyama and Castellanos figure to command fairly regular playing time. Jesse Winker could take the larger side of a platoon situation. Perhaps Nick Senzel will be included in that group to form a strong four-man primary unit. But that’d mean optioning Aristides Aquino … and figuring out what to do with players like Scott Schebler, Travis Jankowski,  Phil Ervin, Jose Siri, and Rule 5er Mark Payton.

Both Senzel and Aquino are potentially intriguing trade candidates, depending upon the Reds’ plans. In the wake of the Castellanos news, it has emerged already that the former is being dangled on the market to some degree.

While we wait to see whether there’s any broader fallout from this move, there’s one takeaway that we can make straight-away: the Reds’ lineup is now rather loaded. Castellanos will presumably slot into the middle of a unit that now features Akiyama and Moustakas along with preexisting stars Joey Votto and Eugenio Suarez.

Castellanos has had some ups and downs but the numbers have been there at the end of each of the past several seasons. He has produced at about 20% north of the league-average rate since the start of the 2016 season. And Castellanos ended 2019 on a tear, mashing out a .321/.356/.646 run in 225 plate appearances with the Cubs.

Could there be more in the tank? A voluminous accumulator of doubles, Castellanos began to find his long ball stroke late last year and could be a breakout candidate in the homer-friendly environs of Great American Ballpark. And he won’t even reach his 28th birthday until March.

On the other hand, there’s some downside that must be considered here as well. Castellanos runs rather well (73rd percentile sprint speed) but has rarely translated that into contributions on the basepaths (-9.8 career BsR) or in the field (-100 career DRS). While the DRS and UZR grading systems both saw some improvement in Castellanos’s glovework in 2019, neither graded him as even an average performer. And Statcast’s outs above average measure placed him in just the 4th percentile leaguewide.

C. Trent Rosecrans and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported the deal (Twitter link). Contract details were reported by Jon Heyman of MLB Network (links to Twitter), Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer (on Twitter), MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon (via Twitter), and ESPN.com’s Jeff Passan (via Twitter).

Brewers Sign Shelby Miller To Minor League Deal

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The Brewers announced that they’ve signed right-hander Shelby Miller to a minor league contract. The Roc Nation Sports client will be in Major League camp as a non-roster invitee this spring.

It wasn’t long ago that the 29-year-old Miller was considered to be among the game’s rising young pitchers, but he fell on hard times following a 2015 trade to the Diamondbacks. An All-Star who posted a 3.02 ERA in 205 1/3 innings back in 2015, Miller posted an unexpectedly poor 6.15 ERA in 101 frames in his first season with the D-backs. A year later, he underwent Tommy John surgery that sidelined him for more than a year. He wasn’t able to regain his form upon returning and ultimately was non-tendered in the 2018-19 offseason.

Following that disappointing run in Arizona, Miller inked a one-year, $2MM deal with the Rangers but saw his struggles persist. In 44 innings with Texas last year, he allowed nearly a run per frame before being cut loose. Miller latched on with the Brewers on a minor league deal over the summer but didn’t make it to the big leagues. He’ll now return as a no-risk flier, giving the Milwaukee organization a free look in Spring Training.

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