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Archives for January 2014

Royals Avoid Arbitration With Luke Hochevar

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The Royals have avoided arbitration with right-hander Luke Hochevar by agreeing to a one-year, $5.21MM contract, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Hochevar can earn an additional $400K based on incentives for games started or games finished.

Hochevar was eligible for arbitration for the final time this offseason and will be a free agent at season's end. He broke out as a setup man for the Royals in 2013, so while his contract has incentives for games started, his best path to future success could be in the bullpen. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz had projected the former No. 1 overall draft pick to earn $5MM.

Cubs, Nate Schierholtz Avoid Arbitration

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The Cubs and outfielder Nate Schierholtz have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year pact worth $5MM, according to ESPN's Jerry Crasnick (on Twitter). Schierholtz is represented by Damon Lapa and Scott Leventhal of All Bases Covered Sports Management.

Chicago picked Schierholtz up on an affordable one-year, $2.25MM contract last offseason after he was non-tendered by the Phillies (Philadelphia had acquired him in the Hunter Pence trade with San Francisco). The 29-year-old Schierholtz slashed .251/.301/.470 with career-bests in home runs (21), RBIs (68), runs (56) and plate appearances (503). As usual, most of his damage came against right-handed pitching, as can be seen in his .262/.300/.499 slash line against them. He received just 66 PAs against left-handers, clearly indicating his role as a platoon player.

Padres, Chase Headley Avoid Arbitration

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The Padres have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year deal with third baseman Chase Headley, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The Excel Sports Management client will earn a $10.525MM salary in his final season prior to free agency, Sherman reports.

Consistently considered to be a trade candidate due to his looming free agency, the Padres' tight budget and the Padres' sub-.500 finishes in each of the past two seasons, the 29-year-old Headley has seen his name circulate on the rumor mill more than nearly any player in the past 18 to 24 months. However, San Diego GM Josh Byrnes told me back in November that the team was comfortable doing a one-year deal with Headley and entering 2014 with him as the third baseman, even without an extension.

The Padres reportedly wanted to offer Headley an extension that would make him the highest-paid player in franchise history early in the 2013 campaign. The news caught Headley off guard, as he'd informed the team that he did not want extension talks to spill beyond Opening Day.

Headley turned in a solid season in 2013, batting .250/.347/.400 with 13 homers, eight steals and excellent third-base defense, but that production was a far cry from his 2012 season. In 2012, Headley broke out with a .286/.376/.498 batting line, 31 homers and a career-best 17 steals to go along with his great glove-work. Headley likely didn't want to sign an extension after seeing his stock tumble, especially when a fractured thumb and a balky knee that required offseason surgery likely contributed to his 2013 decline.

Headley's $10.525MM salary is $525K higher than MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz had projected. With Headley taken care of, San Diego has only Andrew Cashner remaining as an unsettled arb case, as shown in our Arbitration Tracker.

Blue Jays, Colby Rasmus Avoid Arbitration

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The Blue Jays have avoided arbitration with center fielder Colby Rasmus by agreeing to a one-year deal worth $7MM, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (Twitter link). This is Rasmus' final year of arbitration eligibility, as he'll be a free agent in the offseason.

Rasmus, 27, is represented by Excel Sports Management. The left-handed swinger batted .276/.338/.501 with 22 homers for the Blue Jays in 2013 and played strong defense in center field according to UZR/150 (+15.2) and The Fielding Bible's Defensive Runs saved metric (+11). Rasmus will be one of the most appealing free agents on next year's market, though he could stand to cut down on this past season's 29.5 percent strikeout rate. His $7MM guarantee tops the projection of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz by $500K.

The Blue Jays originally acquired Rasmus from the Cardinals in a three-team trade that sent Edwin Jackson, Octavio Dotel, Marc Rzepczynski and Corey Patterson to St. Louis. Toronto has successfully avoided arbitration with all three of its arbitration eligible players (the others being Brett Cecil and Esmil Rogers), meaning GM Alex Anthopoulos can boast that he's never had to go to an arbitration hearing for at least another year.

Nationals, Jordan Zimmermann Agree To Two-Year Deal

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The Nationals and right-hander Jordan Zimmermann have agreed to a two-year, $24MM deal to avoid arbitration, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (on Twitter). Zimmermann, a client of Relativity Baseball (formerly known as SFX), will earn $7.5MM in 2014 and $16.5MM in 2015, Sherman adds. The contract buys out Zimmermann's final two years of arbitration but no free agent years.

Zimmermann, 27, has emerged as perhaps the most consistent pitcher in the Nationals' rotation. The former second-round pick has pitched to a 3.12 ERA with 6.9 K/9, 1.8 BB/9 and a 43.8 percent ground-ball rate in 570 1/3 innings since his return from Tommy John surgery in 2011. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz had projected Zimmermann to earn $10.5MM in 2014, so he likely took a hit on his 2014 salary in exchange for the security of locking in a significant payday in 2015.

The Nationals have made no secret about the fact that they'd prefer to keep Zimmermann around well beyond his final two years of arbitration, and I'd imagine that they'll continue to discuss a longer contract extension between now and Opening Day.

Brewers Sign Mark Reynolds

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9:38am: Reynolds will receive a $2MM base salary and can also earn $500K worth of incentives if he makes the team, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Like Haudricourt, Heyman notes that Reynolds is a "near lock" to make the team.

9:27am: The Brewers have officially signed Mark Reynolds to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training, according to Brewers director of media relations Mike Vassallo (on Twitter). The two sides were said to be nearing a deal last night. Reynolds is represented by the Beverly Hills Sports Council.

Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel noted last night that while Reynolds was likely to sign a minor league deal, the Brewers had told him he would almost certainly make the club out of Spring Training and will be in the mix for at-bats at first base.

Reynolds, who is entering his age-30 season, was outstanding for the Indians in the first quarter of the 2013 season, as he slashed a robust .268/.354/.580 with 12 homers in 40 games (39 starts). From May 19 through Aug. 4, however, Reynolds slumped to just a .178/.274/.228 line with three homers in 59 games. That cold stretch led to his release in Cleveland. He eventually latched on with the Yankees and batted .236/.300/.455 in 120 PAs with the Bombers.

Reynolds offers the Brewers a potential everyday option at first base if he can rediscover some consistency at the plate, and he can also serve as a platoon partner for the lefty-swinging Juan Francisco at the very least. A career .233/.329/.464 hitter with 202 homers in 3947 PAs, Reynolds has long been an "all-or-nothing" type of hitter. He averaged 38 homers per season from 2009-11 with the Diamondbacks and Orioles but has also led his league in strikeouts on four separate occasions and still holds the single-season record for strikeouts by a hitter with 223.

East Notes: Braves, Price, Lester, Machado, Cishek

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The Braves' front office has a busy day on its hands, notes David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (on Twitter). Atlanta has seven arbitration eligible players they'll hope to take care of today: Craig Kimbrel, Jason Heyward, Freddie Freeman, Mike Minor, Kris Medlen, Chris Johnson and Jordan Schafer. He also tweets that a multi-year deal is unlikely to be reached with any of the seven. As MLBTR's Tim Dierkes tweeted earlier today, the Braves are one of several "file and trial" teams that either settle before exchanging figures or say they will head to a trial, which means GM Frank Wren and his staff will have their hands full today. Here's more out of baseball's Eastern divisions…

  • Rays ace David Price knows there's still a chance that he will be traded even after agreeing to a one-year, $14MM contract to avoid arbitration, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. However, Price wants to remain with the Rays and says that the closer Spring Training gets, the more confident he is that he will stay. Price said that he can't imagine being traded once camp opens, and he thinks making it to February would be a good indicator that he won't be dealt: "Probably Feb. 1 would be a time period that I think would kind of let me know that I would be here."
  • Clayton Kershaw's record extension will impact future deals for starters, but its impact on Red Sox lefty Jon Lester is minimal, writes Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald. Lauber writes that there are no other players in Kershaw's stratosphere, noting that Lester compares more favorably to Cole Hamels. Boston will likely approach Lester about an extension during Spring Training, he adds.
  • The Orioles and Manny Machado received good news yesterday following Machado's visit with Dr. Neal ElAttrache, as one source told the Baltimore Sun's Dan Connolly that Machado is six to eight weeks ahead of schedule. That would place Machado ready to contribute on Opening Day, Connolly notes (Twitter links).
  • Signing closer Steve Cishek to a multi-year deal has not been considered as a serious option by the Marlins, MLB.com's Joe Frisaro reports in his latest Marlins Inbox piece.

Royals To Sign Brad Penny

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THURSDAY: Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that Penny will earn $1MM if he makes the Major League roster, and his deal has an additional $1.5MM of games started/innings pitched incentives included (Twitter link). Penny can opt out of the deal on April 2 if he is not on the Major League roster.

WEDNESDAY: The Royals have reached agreement with pitcher Brad Penny on a minor league deal that includes a Spring Training invite, reports Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com (Twitter links). He will go to camp as a starter, according to Cotillo.

Penny, 35, is represented by the Legacy Agency. After sitting out the 2013 campaign, he had reportedly been impressive in workouts over the winter. As Cotillo reported in late November, Penny said he felt refreshed after taking a season off. 

Penny produced mediocre results in his last two MLB seasons. In 2011, his last run as a starter, Penny put up a 5.30 ERA in 181 2/3 innings. Transitioning to the bullpen in 2012, Penny struggled to a 6.11 ERA in 28 innings for the Giants. He mustered only 3.2 K/9, nearly half his career figure, against a 2.9 BB/9 rate that matches exactly his cumulative mark. In his best season as a pro, 2007, Penny put up a stellar 208-inning, 3.03 ERA campaign for the Dodgers in which he was worth 5.9 rWAR.

Padres Avoid Arbitration With Kennedy, Cabrera, Ross

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10:11pm: The Padres have also avoided arbitration with Everth Cabrera, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Cabrera, also a Boras client, will receive a $2.45MM salary in 2014.

Cabrera, 27, came within nine steals of leading the National League despite playing just 95 games due to a PED-related suspension. The switch-hitter batted .283/.355/.381 in 435 plate appearances. Over the past two seasons, only Mike Trout and Rajai Davis have stolen more bases than the 81 tallied by Cabrera. He topped Swartz's projection by $250K.

In more Padres-related arb news, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that Tyson Ross has avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $1.98MM salary (Twitter link). Ross broke out with the Padres in 2013, posting a 3.17 ERA in a career-high 125 innings. The 26-year-old saw his fastball velocity jump nearly two miles per hour, as he averaged 94.2 mph on his heater. That helped him up his K/9 rate to a career-high 8.6, and he posted career-bests in BB/9 rate (3.2) and ground-ball rate (54.9 percent) as well. Ross' agents at the Wasserman Media Group did well to secure a $1.9MM payday. Swartz had projected a $1.3MM salary.

9:53pm: The Padres and right-hander Ian Kennedy have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $6.1MM contract for the 2014 season, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (Twitter link). Kennedy is a client of the Boras Corporation. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz had pegged Kennedy to earn $5.8MM.

The 29-year-old Kennedy was acquired from the Diamondbacks in a rare intra-division trade this past July. San Diego sent lefty Joe Thatcher, relief prospect Matt Stites and a 2014 competitve balance draft pick to Arizona in order to land the 2011 Cy Young candidate. Since finishing fourth in that Cy Young voting, however, Kennedy has seen his results tumble, leading to the D-Backs' decision that he was no longer vital to the organization's success.

Over the past two seasons, Kennedy has posted a 4.43 ERA with 8.1 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9. He's also posted a fly-ball rate of just 37.7 percent, indicating that the move to the spacious Petco Park from the cozy Chase Field should be beneficial to him. That wasn't the case in 2013, as Kennedy's HR/9 rate actually increased with the Padres, but that trend doesn't seem likely to continue once the sample size is expanded beyond 57 1/3 innings.

Kennedy will join a crowded rotation mix that also figures to include Josh Johnson, Andrew Cashner, Eric Stults and Tyson Ross with rehabbing starters Cory Luebke and Joe Wieland also in the mix in addition to youngsters Robbie Erlin and Burch Smith.

With the cases of Cabrera, Ross and Kennedy now resolved, Padres GM Josh Byrnes will turn his attention to Cashner, Chase Headley and Kyle Blanks, as can be seen in MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker.

Players Avoiding Arbitration: Detwiler, Young, Snider

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Click here for background on the upcoming arbitration schedule and how MLBTR is covering it. You can also check in on our Arbitration Tracker and look at MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz's arbitration projections. We'll use this post to keep tabs on players avoiding arbitration today:

  • The Nationals announced on Twitter that they have avoided arbitration with lefty Ross Detwiler. The New York Post's Joel Sherman reports (also on Twitter) that Detwiler received a $3MM salary and can earn an additional $50K for reaching 180 innings.
  • Sherman reports that the Mets and Eric Young Jr. have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year deal worth $1.85MM (Twitter link). Young batted .251/.318/.329 in 418 plate appearances for the Mets in 2013 after he was acquired from the Rockies. He also swiped 38 bases in 45 tries, showing off his blazing speed.
  • Sherman tweets that the Pirates have avoided arbitration with Travis Snider by agreeing to a one-year, $1.2MM contract. The former Top 10 overall prospect batted just .215/.281/.333 in 285 plate appearances in 2013, though he's a solid defender and is still entering just his age-26 season.
  • Sherman also reports that Tim Collins agreed to a one-year, $1.3625MM contract with the Royals, thereby avoiding arbitration (Twitter link). Collins has a strong 3.51 ERA in 190 career innings with 9.7 K/9 in his first three seasons, but he's struggled with command, as evidenced by his 5.2 BB/9 in that time. His control has improved a bit over the past two seasons.
  • The Yankees and Francisco Cervelli have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year deal worth $700K, per Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (on Twitter). Cervelli, who turns 28 in March, is a career .271/.343/.367 hitter in 623 plate appearances.

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