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Astros Non-Tender Chris Herrmann

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The Astros have non-tendered catcher/outfielder Chris Herrmann, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle tweets. He was acquired only recently but never seemed like a certain part of the club’s plans.

Clearly, the ’Stros were unwilling to commit even to paying a portion of his projected $1.5MM salary, though perhaps they’ll try to bring him back on another arrangement in free agency. Herrmann burst onto the scene with a solid (but brief) offensive showing in 2016, but ended up signing a minors deal last winter after a dreadful 2017. He went on to impress in limited MLB action last year, and drew the attention of the ’Stros on the waiver wire, so perhaps some team will see fit to offer him a 40-man spot.

Astros Among Teams Pursuing Nathan Eovaldi

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The Astros are among the teams showing “continued interest” in righty Nathan Eovaldi, tweets MLB.com’s Jon Morosi. Eovaldi has already been connected to a slew of interested parties, including the Phillies, Yankees, Brewers, Braves, Angels, White Sox, Blue Jays, Giants and Padres.

The match between the two sides is obvious, and Houston’s interest was widely expected. The Astros lost Lance McCullers Jr. for the 2019 season due to Tommy John surgery and could also lose both Dallas Keuchel and Charlie Morton to free agency. Though the ’Stros have a number of rotation alternatives already in the organization — Collin McHugh, Brad Peacock and top prospect Forrest Whitley among them — there’s little doubt that president of baseball operations Jeff Luhnow and his staff will add some options from outside the organization. Eovaldi, a Houston-area native, is among the top starters in free agency.

At present, Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole are slated to front the Houston rotation in 2019, though both right-handers will be free agents next offseason. The proximity of those contracts’ endpoints only furthers the Astros’ needs to add some rotation help that can be controlled beyond the 2019 campaign.

Eovaldi, who won’t turn 29 until February, returned from his second Tommy John surgery in 2018 and turned in 111 innings of 3.81 ERA ball with 8.2 K/9 against 1.6 BB/9 in 22 appearances between the Rays and Red Sox. Eovaldi also thrived under the bright lights of the 2018 postseason, when he allowed four runs on 15 hits and three walks with 16 strikeouts in 22 1/3 innings –good for a 1.61 ERA in the first playoff action of his career.

Olney’s Latest: Goldy, Yanks, Astros, Pollock, Brantley, Cutch, Mariners

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It’s unclear whether the Diamondbacks will trade their franchise player, first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, though Buster Olney of ESPN (subscription required) hears from rival evaluators that they are “intent” on dealing the 31-year-old. While Goldschmidt has consistently been one of the majors’ best players during his career, it’s unlikely the Diamondbacks would receive a significant haul in exchange for his final year of team control, observes Olney, who notes that most contenders aren’t seeking a first baseman. But St. Louis and Houston continue to show a good amount of interest in Goldschmidt, per Olney, which jibes with a previous report from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Olney adds that rival clubs believe the Astros have seemingly tried to move young right-hander J.B. Bukauskas, their eighth-ranked prospect at MLB.com, in trade talks. Similarly, the Yankees were “pushing”  left-handed pitching prospect Justus Sheffield in Goldschmidt discussions, Olney reports. Sheffield’s no longer in the picture for New York, though, as it traded him to Seattle this week in a deal for lefty James Paxton.

  • Back to Houston, which has been shopping near the top of the market for free-agent outfielders, according to Olney, who lists A.J. Pollock, Andrew McCutchen and Michael Brantley among their targets. Unless the Astros deem soon-to-be 22-year-old prospect Kyle Tucker ready for a full-time role, they have an opening in the outfield, where George Springer and Josh Reddick are their only obvious starters. Signing Pollock, a center fielder, would enable them to move Springer back to a corner after he spent the majority of 2017-18 in center. Pollock’s likely to rake in the biggest payday of the trio, though; further, given that Pollock comes with a qualifying offer attached, adding him would also cost the Astros their second-highest draft pick in 2019 and $500K in international pool space.
  • The Mariners have been the most active team on the trade market this offseason, having already dealt Paxton and catcher Mike Zunino. With aggressive general manager Jerry Dipoto at the helm and the M’s desire to take a step back in 2019, more trades involving their veterans are likely on the way. However, it continues to look as though the Mariners will keep their two top players, outfielder Mitch Haniger and closer Edwin Diaz. It would take overwhelming offers for the Mariners to seriously consider moving either Haniger or Diaz, Olney tweets. Both stars are controllable for the next four years, including another pre-arbitration season apiece.

Trade/Free Agent Rumors: Segura, Diaz, Greinke, Happ

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The Phillies are expected to be one of the offseason’s busiest teams, and thus it’s no surprise they’re heavily featured in this latest roundup of hot stove news from MLB.com’s Jon Paul Morosi.  Some highlights…

  • The Phillies have interest in Mariners shortstop Jean Segura and closer Edwin Diaz.  We’ve already heard Segura’s name linked to the Padres and Yankees in rumors, and Philadelphia could also make sense as a landing spot given their lack of production from the shortstop position (a sub-replacement -1.8 bWAR in 2018).  Trading for Segura also wouldn’t necessarily close the door on the possibility of signing Manny Machado, as the Phils could use Machado at third base.  Then again, the four years and $58MM remaining on Segura’s contract makes him a cheaper alternative to Machado, though Segura also has some control over his future in the form of a full no-trade clause.  It isn’t yet clear if the M’s would consider dealing Diaz since, with four years of control remaining over the star closer, the team would be theoretically reloaded and ready to contend while Diaz is still on the roster.  The Braves are another team with interest in Diaz, Morosi reports.
  • The Diamondbacks “are confident” they’ll be able to trade Zack Greinke without having to absorb any of the $95.5MM still owed on the right-hander’s contract over the next three seasons., a source tells Morosi.  It’s a very short list of teams with the available payroll space and willingness to make such a big move, which is why Morosi feels the Phillies “are the most logical suitors.”  While the Phillies are also checking into a plethora of other pitching options (including Patrick Corbin and J.A. Happ), Greinke would cost the team less than Corbin would in a long-term commitment.  Acquiring Greinke would also come at a player cost, of course, though it’s possible Arizona would take only a relatively middling prospect return just for the sake of getting Greinke entirely off the books.
  • Speaking of Happ, the veteran left-hander is generating a lot of buzz in free agency.  In addition to the Phillies, the Angels, Astros, and Brewers are new teams who Morosi adds to the already-lengthy list of clubs (the Blue Jays, Reds, Twins, White Sox, and Yankees) who have previously been rumored to have some level of interest in Happ’s services.  Of the newly-cited teams, Milwaukee and Houston offer Happ the best chance of competing for a World Series in 2019, while the Angels and Phillies are a few steps behind at this point of the offseason, though obviously L.A. and Philadelphia each have designs on significant roster upgrades this winter.

Agency Changes: Grandal, Liriano, Drury, James

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Here’s the latest agency news from around the majors:

  • Free-agent catcher Yasmani Grandal has hired Adam Katz of the Wasserman Media Group, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets. Long one of the majors’ most well-rounded catchers, the 30-year-old Grandal now stands as the premier backstop on the open market, where MLBTR predicts he’ll land a four-year, $64MM guarantee. The switch-hitter spent the previous four seasons as a member of the Dodgers, with whom he slashed .241/.349/.466 over 518 plate appearances in 2018, posting a 125 wRC+ and at least 20 home runs (24) for the third straight year. Additionally, Grandal was the game’s top-ranked defensive catcher last season, per Baseball Prospectus.
  • One of Grandal’s fellow free agents, left-hander Francisco Liriano, is also heading to Wasserman, Robert Murray of The Athletic relays. While Liriano was formerly a high-end starter, the 35-year-old’s effectiveness has waned over the past few seasons. He spent 2018 with the Tigers and logged a subpar 4.58 ERA/5.11 FIP with 7.41 K/9 and 4.92 BB/9 over 133 2/3 innings, and saw his velocity tumble as the season progressed.  On the positive side, Liriano induced an above-average number of of ground balls (48.3 percent) and held same-handed hitters to a woeful .171/.255/.261 line. Perhaps he’ll be on teams’ radars as a lefty relief option – a role he took on late in 2017 with Houston.
  • The Blue Jays’ Brandon Drury is yet another new Wasserman client, according to Jerry Crasnick, who adds that the infielder has tabbed Nick Chanock as his agent. The Yankees acquired Drury from the Diamondbacks in a noteworthy trade last February, and New York’s hope was he’d serve as its starting third baseman. Drury did win the job in spring training, but he landed on the shelf early in the season with blurred vision and migraines, which opened the door for rookie Miguel Andujar to emerge as the Yankees’ top third baseman. The breakout seasons Andujar and fellow rookie Gleyber Torres, a second baseman, enjoyed in 2018 helped influence the Yankees to trade Drury to the Blue Jays as part of a July deal for lefty J.A. Happ. Under two weeks after Toronto acquired him, Drury suffered a fractured left hand, ending a Murphy’s Law season for the 26-year-old. Drury ultimately slashed a horrid .169/.256/.260 and showed almost no power (one homer, .091 ISO) across 86 major league PAs. He’s projected to earn $1.4MM in 2019, his first of three potential arbitration years.
  • Astros righty Josh James has hired CAA Sports, Jon Heyman of Fancred reports. After performing brilliantly in 114 1/3 minor league innings in 2018, the flamethrowing James continued to wow during a 23-frame debut with Houston late in the season. The 25-year-old notched a 2.35 ERA/3.51 FIP with 11.35 K/9 and 2.74 BB/9 in six appearances (three starts), perhaps giving him the inside track on a rotation job for 2019. James currently ranks as MLB.com’s 95th-best prospect.

These changes will be reflected in MLBTR’s Agency Database, which contains representation info on more than 2,500 Major League and Minor League players. Agents, if you see any notable errors or omissions within the database, please let us know via email: mlbtrdatabase@gmail.com.

Astros Announce Coaching Staff

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The Astros announced their new-look coaching staff for the 2019 season Wednesday — including a series of hires necessitated by the loss of three coaches being hired away by other organizations. Last season’s first base coach, Alex Cintron, will shift to the role of hitting coach — a role he’ll share with Troy Snitker (the son of Braves manager Brian Snitker). Houston also announced the hiring of Don Kelly as the new first base coach and Josh Miller as the team’s bullpen coach.

Cintron, 40 next month, is entering his third season as a coach at the Major League level — each of which has come with the Astros. A veteran of nine Major League seasons as a player, he’s previously worked as the team’s first base coach and as a Spanish translator/advance scout/assistant coach on A.J. Hinch’s 2016 staff. He’ll pair with Snitker to comprise a duo of hitting coaches. Snitker, somewhat remarkably, is just 29 years of age and is moving up from Double-A Corpus Christi, where he served as the Hooks’ hitting coach.

Kelly, too, should be a familiar name for baseball fans, having spent nine seasons in the Majors himself. From 2007-16, the now 38-year-old Kelly played every position on the diamond (including pitcher) while serving as a super-utility player — primarily for the Tigers. His playing career ended quite recently, but he’s already spent two seasons on the Tigers’ pro scouting staff prior to taking this role — his first as a coach.

The 39-year-old Miller was Houston’s minor league pitching coordinator in 2018 — his third season in that role. He’s also worked as a scout for the club and as a minor league pitching coach.

Houston’s coaching staff took a hit this offseason, as three of their coaches took a promotion to join a new organization. Former assistant hitting coach Jeff Albert was hired by the Cardinals as their hitting coach, while bullpen coach Doug White was hired as the new pitching coach for the division-rival Angels. Hitting coach Dave Hudgens, meanwhile, was hired by the Blue Jays as the bench coach under newly minted manager Charlie Montoyo.

Players Added To The 40-Man Roster

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Tonight marks the deadline for players to be added to their respective organizations’ 40-man rosters. Over the nine hours, there’ll be a flurry of moves, ranging from minor trades (like the one the Indians and Rays made yesterday), waiver claims and players being designated for assignment or outrighted. Each will be made to clear room for players who need protection from this year’s Rule 5 Draft. As a reminder, players who signed at 18 years of age or younger and have five professional seasons are eligible, as are players who signed at 19 or older and have four professional seasons under their belts.

Here’s a rundown of players who’ve been added to their respective 40-man rosters (which will be updated throughout the day)…

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Trade Chatter: Segura, Goldschmidt, Astros, Gomes

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After last winter’s deep freeze, many in the game are surely wondering when the action will truly get underway this time around. We’re still awaiting a monster free agent pact, but the first blockbuster trade is now in the books. For the Mariners, sending James Paxton out for a package featuring two near-MLB pitchers was designed to open a new contention window in one or two years, GM Jerry Dipoto acknowledged today in an interview on 710 ESPN. (H/t TJ Cotterill of the Tacoma News Tribune, via Twitter.) That largely fits the prior indications that Dipoto has given, perhaps helping set the stage for the club’s remaining offseason work. Certainly, there could be quite a few more deals for the ever-active Dipoto to explore with that goal in mind. As we recently covered in breaking down the club’s offseason situation, the M’s have several other assets that could make sense as trade chips.

Now that the ice has been broken, here’s the latest trade chatter from around the game:

  • In an interesting side note following tonight’s major swap, Jon Morosi of MLB Network tweets that the Yankees also sought to discuss Jean Segura in their talks with the Mariners. Segura has now established himself as a quality regular at short and is playing on a reasonably priced contract extension. He’d obviously help the Yanks fill in for the injured Didi Gregorius — which would presumably all but take the club out of the running for free agent star Manny Machado. Obviously, the Segura side of the talks did not progress. Whether the possibility of a deal could be revisited is not clear, but it wouldn’t be terribly surprising to see the clubs circle back.
  • While the Astros had interest in Paxton, they weren’t willing to budge on including top pitching prospect Forrest Whitley to get a deal done, Morosi adds on Twitter. It’s rather unsurprising to hear that the Houston organization drew a hard line there, as the 21-year-old has one of the loftiest ceilings of any pre-MLB hurler in baseball and perhaps isn’t far from cracking the majors. Presumably the ’Stros had a different package on offer that was simply deemed inferior to the one that got the deal done. Houston GM Jeff Luhnow will no doubt move on to a series of other potential targets, as rotation improvement remains a clear need.
  • Trade talks involving Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, meanwhile have seemingly yet to get going in earnest. To this point, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets, the Astros and Cardinals “have had the most meaningful discussions” of any organizations in baseball. But that’s just relative to their peers, not an indication that either club is particularly likely (let alone close) to striking a deal for one of the game’s best and steadiest offensive performers. Of course, it’s also still entirely unclear just what the D-Backs will look to do with such a key player. An extension still does not appear to be out of the question, though there have been no hints that one is in the works. Even in a trade scenario, the team will have to decide whether to try to use Goldschmidt as a vehicle to shed salary (by attaching another contract) or recoup talent.
  • As they seek to make some tweaks to an increasingly expensive roster, the Indians are receiving “significant trade interest” in backstop Yan Gomes, Rosenthal tweets. It’ll be interesting to see how the market ends up valuing Gomes, who’s due $7MM in 2019 and then another $2MM in buyouts on successive options (if they aren’t exercised). That seemed a bargain when he was turning in big offensive numbers back in 2013 and 2014, but his multi-year lull left the contract seemingly turned the back end of the contract sour. Now, though, the 31-year-old is coming off of his best showing with the bat in years. In 2018, he slashed .266/.313/.449 and swatted 16 home runs in 435 plate appearances. That said, it’s far from clear whether the bump in productivity was the result of a sustainable improvement. Gomes walked at an anemic 4.8% clip and rode a .336 batting average on balls in play — though he did produce a greater hard-hit rate (38.7%) and average exit velocity (88.9%) than he ever had previously. He also set new personal high-water marks in launch angle and line-drive rate, accomplishing the latter by significantly paring down on the number of balls he put on the ground. Given his strong reputation as a defender, Gomes would seem to be quite an appealing target as a league-average hitter, so teams that find cause to believe in the bat will surely have interest.

Astros Reportedly Make Offer To Charlie Morton

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The Astros have made an initial offer to bring right-hander Charlie Morton back to Houston, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). The dollar amount of the reported offer is yet unclear, though Nightengale does specify that it’s a one-year contract with an option for a second year.

Vague as the terms may still be, it seems reasonable to expect that the total value of the pact of for less than $17.9MM. Houston surprisingly declined to make a qualifying offer at that rate to Morton, so it’d be curious to see them turn around and offer Morton anything north of that sum.

Morton, who turned 35 last week, at one point voiced uncertainty as to whether he planned to continue his playing career beyond the 2018 campaign, but he recently stated that he planned to continue pitching and would “love” to return to the Astros. However, he’s also made clear that he doesn’t plan to keep playing into his late 30s, citing a desire to spend time with his growing family. To that end, Morton suggested to The Athletic’s Jake Kaplan back in April that proximity to his wife’s family in Delaware could be a factor, were he to consider teams outside of Houston. The Phillies and Nationals would most closely meet that criteria.

Whether Morton wants to pitch another two years isn’t certain, but there’s little doubt that he should be able to find a strong multi-year offer on the open market after rapidly elevating his status upon signing with the Astros. Morton’s two-year, $14MM with Houston proved to be a remarkable bargain, as the righty made 55 starts in 2017-18 and pitched to an excellent 3.36 ERA with 10.4 K/9, 3.3 BB/9, 0.92 HR/9 and a 49.6 percent ground-ball rate. Perhaps, given the uncertainty about how long he wants to continue his career, a one-year pact with a substantial value and some form of vesting or player option would hold appeal to Morton. However, a guaranteed two-year deal should materialize in free agency if he wishes to lock himself into another couple of years.

Quick Hits: Astros, Red Sox, Robertson, Girardi, Reds, Snell

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The Astros are more focused on the trade market than free agency in their search for starting pitching, per Jon Morosi of MLB.com. Houston’s “inquiring on nearly every available starter via trade,” Morosi hears. The Astros are already known to have interest in Mariners left-hander James Paxton, who’s one of several front-end starters who could be on the block this offseason. Other potential movers include the Indians’ Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco and Trevor Bauer, the Diamondbacks’ Zack Greinke, the Mets’ Noah Syndergaard and the Giants’ Madison Bumgarner.

Here’s more from around the majors:

  • Free-agent reliever David Robertson prefers to sign with a team in the Northeast, where he has pitched the majority of his career as a member of the Yankees. The 33-year-old may simply end up re-signing with the Yanks, but Rob Bradford of WEEI observes that Robertson would be a logical fit for the archrival Red Sox. The world champions’ bullpen could suffer a couple blows in the coming weeks if free agents Craig Kimbrel and Joe Kelly cash in elsewhere, which would leave room for a Robertson addition. Moreover, as a Rhode Island resident whose wife is from Medfield, Mass., Robertson has New England ties, as Bradford notes.
  • Joe Girardi was a strong candidate to become the Reds’ manager last month, but he took himself out of contention, paving the way for the team to hire David Bell. Girardi spoke Saturday about his withdrawal from Cincinnati’s search, telling Brendan Kuty of NJ.com: “I just decided that I was going to broadcast another year and spend another year with my family, wait to see what opportunities are presented next year and go from there. Thought I had good interviews but I just decided I’m going to wait.” Girardi was also a candidate in Texas, which, like Cincinnati, has struggled of late and may be in for another lean year in 2019. Considering the success Girardi had with the Yankees from 2008-17, neither Cincy nor Texas looked like an ideal match for him on paper. However, Girardi suggested to Kuty that he’s not opposed to overseeing a rebuilding club. “Whether it’s a team that’s rebuilding or it’s a team that’s in the middle (of a rebuild), it doesn’t matter to me,” the 54-year-old said. “I just felt like it wasn’t the right time.”
  • With Blake Snell fresh off winning American League Cy Young honors, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times revisits the 2011 draft, in which the Rays landed the left-hander. Although the Rays had 10 of the top 60 picks that year, nearly all of their selections have disappointed in various ways, as Topkin details. Snell, whom they nabbed 52nd overall, has been an obvious exception. Notably, Tampa Bay wouldn’t have owned the choice it used on Snell had it not signed veteran outfielder Brad Hawpe in August 2010. Hawpe made little on-field impact as a Ray, but his exit in free agency during the ensuing offseason netted the team the compensatory pick that turned into Snell.
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