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Archives for January 2016

Angels Acquire Jefry Marte, Designate Ronald Torreyes

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The Angels have announced a trade to acquire corner infielder Jefry Marte from the Tigers in exchange for second baseman Kody Eaves. Marte had been designated for assignment to clear roster space for the signing of Justin Upton.

To create a 40-man spot, Los Angeles designated infielder Ronald Torreyes for assignment, MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez tweets. The 23-year-old had only just been claimed off waivers. He’s bounced around quite a bit of late and could be destined for another team unless he clears this time.

Marte, 24, debuted last year for Detroit, slashing .213/.284/.413 with four home runs in 90 plate appearances. Marte cracked the Baseball Prospectus top 100 prospects list before the 2009 season, but his development took some time. After a middling 2014 campaign at Double-A, he put up strong results in 2015 at the Triple-A level. In 399 plate appearances there, he carried a .275/.341/.487 batting line and swatted 25 long balls.

Meanwhile, the 22-year-old Eaves reached the High-A level last year, putting up a .248/.308/.387 slash in his 575 plate appearances. He also stole 21 bases on the year. Eaves was a 16th round pick in the 2012 draft.

Quick Hits: PEDs, Computer Breach, Tanking, Extensions

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Major league baseball will work with the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) in its investigation of PED allegations arising from a recent Al Jazeera report, ESPN.com’s T.J. Quinn reports. Several players were implicated in that report, including Ryan Zimmerman of the Nationals and Ryan Howard of the Phillies. “We’ve had discussions with USADA and are hopeful that together we can make progress in this investigation,” said the league’s chief legal officer, Dan Halem. As Quinn explains, it’s an unprecedented level of interaction between the league and the agency. The NFL, on the other hand, won’t be participating in the arrangement.

Here are some more notes of general interest from around the game:

  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports argues that commissioner Rob Manfred must not show any favoritism towards the Cardinals and owner Bill DeWitt in assessing whether and how to issue penalties arising from the improper accessing of the Astros’ computer systems by former Cards scouting director Chris Correa. (For the latest information on that, read here and here.) Manfred and DeWitt enjoy a good relationship, as the commissioner himself made clear in comments to Rosenthal. But the top league official also left no room for interpretation as to his intentions, telling FOX Sports: “I think what the owners expect me to do — regardless of what my relationship [with an owner] may or may not be personally — is do the right thing by the institution. That’s what I intend to do when I have all the facts about the Houston-St. Louis thing.”
  • There’s been some debate recently about the subject of “tanking,” and both Dave Cameron of Fangraphs and Buster Olney of ESPN.com weighed in on it yesterday. Cameron argues that there aren’t strong enough incentives for MLB teams to lose on purpose in pursuit of better positions for amateur talent. Olney counters that some talent evaluators in the game see a real and growing problem. Manfred’s own recent take on the matter is well worth consideration as well.
  • ESPN.com’s Jim Bowden takes a crack (Insider link) at valuing some possible extensions of top young players around the game. He has Bryce Harper at just over $400MM, which is also the rough price range that MLBTR’s Steve Adams and MLBTR’s readers have previously landed at. It’s an interesting thought experiment, and is well worth a read. I would take some issue, however, with the spread between his $100MM+ valuations on players like Carlos Correa and Francisco Lindor and his approximately seven-year, $70MM estimates for the two Red Sox players on the list, Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts.
  • Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper offers an interesting and sometimes sobering look at some of the very best prospects that never made it to the major leagues.

Orioles Were In On Cespedes, Made Five-Year Offer

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The Orioles were a third team in on outfielder Yoenis Cespedes late last week, joining the Nationals and Mets, Jon Heyman reports on Twitter. Baltimore had a five-year offer on the table, says Heyman, but it was obviously turned down.

It appears, then, that Cespedes rejected two separate five-year concepts to go back to the Mets for three years and $75, with an opt-out after the first season. But it hasn’t been reported what kind of guarantee and payout structure was involved in the O’s offer. And it’s important to bear in mind that recent reporting suggests the Nationals’ five-year deal had extensive deferrals that put a huge dent in its real value.

Aside from the historical interest, this news is chiefly relevant because of what it says about the Orioles’ willingness and capacity to keep spending. Expectations were that the club would not be involved on Cespedes — at least, not to that level — after promising $161MM (with major deferrals) to slugger Chris Davis. In all likelihood, the Cuban star would have followed Davis in topping the team’s prior record for largest guarantee.

Looking ahead, Baltimore still has good reason to pursue another outfielder and at least one additional starter. It seems that the club will have at least the possibility of deploying some rather significant resources to fill those needs. There are options on hand, of course, and it could be that Cespedes was a somewhat unique target. But the news suggests that the O’s have the means to participate in the markets for top remaining players such as Dexter Fowler, Austin Jackson, and Yovani Gallardo.

There are also some trade possibilities that could be opened up by the presence of salary space. Hypothetical trade targets like Carlos Gonzalez, Andre Ethier, Jay Bruce, or even Ryan Braun could, in theory, be made to fit from a payroll perspective. Likewise, pricier arms — say, Tyson Ross or C.J. Wilson — could be considered under various scenarios. (The point here is not to say any of these particular players are being or should be pursued, but rather to provide examples of the range of conceivable options.)

Longer-term payroll developments are an interesting element of the story, too. Baltimore not only added Davis, but also took on a significant obligations this winter to backstop Matt Wieters (via the qualifying offer) and reliever Darren O’Day. The club’s estimated Opening Day spending already tops last year’s ~$118MM mark, and that’s before accounting for the still-undetermined salaries of Zach Britton and Brian Matusz, which figures to cost another $10MM and change. Needless to say, whatever the offer, adding Cespedes would have pushed the payroll well outside the team’s prior spending bounds.

As noted, it’s entirely unclear whether Baltimore will pursue other ways of re-deploying the funds that might have gone to Cespedes. Indeed, it’s not impossible to think that adding him might have required the team to shed some other salary. Regardless, the possibility of significant additional payroll space is intriguing to consider moving forward.

Angels Avoid Arbitration With Kole Calhoun

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While the majority of the 156 players that filed for salary arbitration last week have agreed to terms with their teams, either on a one-year deal for 2016 or on an extension, the cases of more than 20 players remain unresolved. You can track the status of each case using MLBTR’s 2016 Arbitration Tracker, and we’ll keep track of all of today’s smaller deals to avoid arbitration in this post (all referenced projections via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)…

  • The Angels and right fielder Kole Calhoun have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year contract worth $3.4MM, tweets SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo. Calhoun, whom Swartz projected to earn $3.6MM, had filed for a $3.9MM salary, while the team had countered with a considerably lower $2.35MM sum. His eventual salary comes in a good bit north of the $3.125MM midpoint between those two sums. The 28-year-old Calhoun qualified for arbitration as a Super Two player by the narrowest of margins this offseason, as he finished the year with two years, 130 days of service time, meaning he landed precisely on the cutoff. As such, this will mark the first seven-figure salary of his young career. However, if the quietly solid outfielder continues at his current trajectory, there will be plenty more to come. Over the past two seasons, Calhoun has batted .263/.316/.435 with 43 home runs and high-quality defense in right field, resulting in his first Gold Glove Award in 2015. With Calhoun’s case now resolved, the Halos have avoided arbitration with all of their eligible players.

Nationals Sign Bronson Arroyo To Minor League Deal

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9:41pm: Sheldon tweets that Arroyo will receive a $2MM base salary if he makes the Major League roster. Arroyo’s contract is heavily incentive-laden, as one would expect, and he can earn $6MM worth of incentives (topping out at 32 starts made), bringing the maximum potential value of the contract to $8MM.

9:34pm: The Nationals announced that they have signed Bronson Arroyo to a minor league contract with an invitation to Major League Spring Training. Yesterday, MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon reported that the veteran right-hander had received a minor league contract offer from the Nats but was drawing interest from four other teams, including the Reds. The soon-to-be 39-year-old is represented by Turn 2 Sports Management.

Arroyo figures to serve as a depth option for the Nationals, who currently project to have a top three of Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Gio Gonzalez in their rotation. Behind that strong trio is young right-hander Joe Ross, who looked impressive in his Major League debut in 2015, and right-hander Tanner Roark, who had an outstanding 2014 campaign before losing his rotation slot when the Nats made a surprising play for Scherzer last winter. Arroyo could allow the team to either give Ross some additional time at Triple-A — though he didn’t look like a pitcher who needed considerably more development time — or to keep Roark in the bullpen, if it’s decided that relief work is his best role. However, the Nats may very well elect to use Yusmeiro Petit in Roark’s previously occupied swingman role.

Suffice it to say, it is not immediately clear how Arroyo fits into the picture, but there are many options in the event that he makes the team out of Spring Training. By agreeing to terms with the Nationals, Arroyo will be reunited with Dusty Baker, who served as the Reds’ manager for six of Arroyo’s eight seasons in Cincinnati.

With the Reds, Arroyo established himself as one of baseball’s most durable workhorses, averaging 211 innings per season from 2006-13 and posting a 4.05 ERA with 5.9 K/9, 2.3 BB/9 and a 40. percent ground-ball rate. Arroyo cleared 200 innings in every season with the Reds with the exception of 2011, when he finished with 199 frames pitched on the year. However, all of the innings eventually caught up to the right-hander, who signed a two-year, $23.5MM contract with the Diamondbacks in the 2013-14 offseason but suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament just 86 innings into that deal. Arroyo underwent Tommy John surgery in July 2014 and missed the entirety of the 2015 season as he recovered. Along the way, his contract was traded to the Braves and eventually the Dodgers, though Arroyo never suited up for either club. It’s unclear what type of mileage can be expected out of his arm in 2016, though he’ll open the year more than 21 months removed from his surgery, giving him more recovery time than the traditional Tommy John patient.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported an agreement was in place (via Twitter).

Mets Re-Sign Yoenis Cespedes

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While he might have originally been acquired as a rental piece at the non-waiver trade deadline, Yoenis Cespedes is staying with the Mets, who announced a three-year deal with the slugging outfielder on Tuesday evening. Cespedes will reportedly be guaranteed $75MM, though he can also opt out after the first season, at which point he’ll have earned $27.5MM on the front-loaded contract. He’ll reportedly earn $23.75MM in both 2017 and 2018 if he does not opt out, and the new deal is also said to include a full no-trade clause.

October 8, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; New York Mets center fielder <a rel=While a return to the Mets has always seemed plausible, it’s also appeared at times to be a long shot. That’s due in large part to the fact that Cespedes seemed destined to land a much greater, longer-term commitment than Sandy Alderson and co. were willing and able to make.

With Michael Conforto and Curtis Granderson at the corners, and Juan Lagares and recent addition Alejandro De Aza available up the middle, there wasn’t a need, strictly speaking. But Michael Cuddyer’s retirement opened a roster spot and some capital, and the Mets stayed in position as the winter progressed. The team’s payroll will approach the $140MM mark with Cespedes in tow, but the somewhat surprising World Series run last year and an impressive crop of young pitchers certainly justified such an advance.

It remains to be seen what New York will do in crafting an outfield alignment. A trade of Lagares makes some sense at first glance, though it isn’t clear what they’d be looking for in return, and selling low isn’t appealing either. Then there’s the fact that the gifted fielder might be of importance not only down the line, but also in 2016. Granderson could surely stand to avoid left-handed pitching, while Conforto is still somewhat unproven despite an impressive debut. And, Cespedes did not look terribly comfortable in center field last year, so some late-game shifting could be in order at times.

Any way you cut it, the signing looks to represent a major coup for the Mets, who’ll look to defend their NL East title with the man who helped lead them there in the first place. Cespedes, 30, put up a huge .287/.337/.604 slash down the stretch after coming to New York in a deadline deal that sent minor league right-handers Michael Fulmer and Luis Cessa back to the Tigers. Although Cespedes dealt with some injuries and wasn’t a major force in the postseason, there’s no question of the impact he made on the Mets last year.

Looking forward, the Mets will hope that Cespedes can continue to provide top-notch overall value. Though he’s not much of an on-base threat, he’s made huge contributions with his power stroke and high-quality corner outfield defense. To be sure, Cespedes was more solid than great in the two preceding seasons his elite 2015 campaign. But with the chance to head back to the open market after the season, he’ll surely have all the incentive necessary to fuel a repeat performance, and the downside here is far less worrisome than those found in many player option scenarios. Plus, New York stands to gain a draft pick through the qualifying offer system if Cespedes triggers his opt-out clause.

The concept also makes good sense as a fall-back for the Roc Nation Sports client. It certainly carries a high-end annual salary, with the larger portion due up front, though the term does fall well shy of expectations. MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes had pegged his earning capacity at $140MM over six years entering the winter. It appeared he’d have a good chance of reaching it after Jason Heyward inked a monster, opt-out-laden $184MM deal with the Cubs and Justin Upton went for six years and $132.75MM to the Tigers.

While the overall guarantee pales in comparison to those contracts, Cespedes adds an enormous amount of upside through his own contract. The early opt-out provision means that he’ll have a chance to re-enter the market in just one year’s time in search of yet another big payday. The structure ultimately falls into what we’ve discussed here quite a bit in recent weeks (both in the MLBTR Newsletter and on the MLBTR Podcast), as a supercharged short-term deal that includes a significant guarantee but cabins the team’s risk and leaves plenty of earning potential for the player.

Barring a catastrophe in 2016, it’s hard to imagine that Cespedes won’t hit free agency again next year. There’s an excellent chance he’ll be the top outfielder available next winter in a much less robust market, and he won’t be so old that he won’t be able to cash in.

Cespedes was said to have interest from the White Sox on a three-year deal, though there was no mention of a first-year opt-out in those reports. The Orioles had interest in the five-year, $90MM range before ultimately agreeing to re-sign first baseman Chris Davis. The division-rival Nationals appeared to be the strongest competition in the end, but their reported five-year, $110MM offer (which contained an opt-out provision after the 2017 season) reportedly came with 10 years of heavily deferred payments, thereby reducing the present-day value of the contract to about $77MM.

Ultimately, with what’s been reported thus far, it isn’t surprising that Cespedes chose to take this offer to return to the bright lights of New York. And while there’s plenty of work yet to be done, the Mets will enter the coming season as a popular choice to challenge once again for a trip to the World Series.

Jim Bowden of ESPN.com (via Twitter) first said a deal was close. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (links to Twitter) reported the financial details. Jon Heyman first said a deal was done (Twitter links). Heyman later tweeted the year-to-year breakdown of the deal.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NL East Notes: Fernandez, Cespedes, Braves, Oberholtzer

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Jose Fernandez’s representatives at the Boras Corporation believe that their client can receive upwards of $30MM annually upon reaching the open market following the completion of the 2018 season, writes Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. As such, the Marlins feel “resigned to losing him eventually,” though that doesn’t mean they’ll trade him anytime soon. Fernandez remains affordable and excellent for the time being, and the Marlins could hang onto him until July 2018 and still receive a sizable return in a trade.  If the 2016 is “an unmitigated disaster,” Jackson speculates, the timeline for a possible Fernandez trade could be accelerated, possibly making him available next winter. From my vantage point, it seems clear that the Marlins’ hope is to contend in 2016 and 2017 at the very least, as evidenced by their signing of Wei-Yin Chen and the inclusion of a two-year opt-out in his deal. Of course, if Chen opts out of that contract post-2017 (which is certainly not a guarantee) and the team looks to be facing an uphill battle toward contention, trading Fernandez could serve as a means of quickly accelerating their rebuild. Fernandez is, after all, the type of coveted talent for which teams will pay in the form of MLB-ready talent.

Here’s more from the NL East…

  • ESPN’s Mark Simon cautions Mets fans to temper their expectations for Yoenis Cespedes in 2016. While he went on an otherworldly hot streak early with the Mets, a good chunk of that damage was done on the road against weak Rockies and Phillies pitching staffs. Additionally, Cespedes’ career averages prior to 2016 were considerably lesser than his averages this past year, and it’s not reasonable to expect him to maintain his peak-level performance, especially not with the minor injuries he sustained late in the year. Simon notes the projections at Fangraphs boosted the Mets’ win total by two after signing Cespedes. While some will argue that not to be a large enough differentiation, the point Simon seeks to get across is not a specific number of wins which Cespedes will provide but rather that the difference probably won’t be as striking as it was upon his acquisition last July.
  • MLB.com’s Mark Bowman conducted a Q&A with Braves GM John Coppolella, during which Coppolella discussed a number of the moves made in the offseason. Coppolella told Bowman that the biggest surprises of the offseason, to him, were the trades of Andrelton Simmons and Shelby Miller. “We didn’t want to trade either player, but we also felt that the talent we received back in those deals made it too good to pass up those opportunities,” said Coppolella. Additionally, the GM discussed the importance of stockpiling young talent in light of the “hyperinflation” of the free-agent market, noting that this offseason illustrated clearly that most teams cannot simply buy a considerable amount of talent in free agency.
  • Left-hander Brett Oberholtzer, one of five pitchers sent from the Astros to the Phillies in the Ken Giles trade, tells CSNPhilly.com’s Jim Salisbury that the call notifying him of the trade was a “great moment.” Oberholtzer, a Delaware native and lifelong Phillies fan, spoke highly of his time in the Astros and Braves organizations but expressed clear excitement to be joining the team he grew up watching both on TV and in person. In examining Oberholtzer’s place on the roster, Salisbury notes that the lefty is out of minor league options, thus making him a near lock for the 25-man roster. However, with Jeremy Hellickson, Charlie Morton, Aaron Nola and Jerad Eickhoff all set in the rotation, Oberholtzer will compete with former Astros teammate Vincent Velasquez (also a part of the Giles swap) for the final rotation spot. Oberholtzer tells Salisbury that he’s versatile and can pitch in either a relief or starting role, but the rotation is his preference.

Details On The Nationals’ Offer To Yoenis Cespedes

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Prior to the Mets’ re-signing of Yoenis Cespedes to a three-year, $75MM contract with an opt-out clause after the first season, the Nationals were viewed as the primary competitor for his services, offering a reported five-year deal with a value said to be around $100MM and an opt-out after two years. A pair of reports from Jon Heyman (Twitter link) and Peter Gammons of the MLB Network (at GammonsDaily.com) now shed some further light on the matter. According to Heyman, the base value of the contract was $110MM, but the deal contained “significant” deferrals. While that info alone makes it difficult to compare the two offers, Gammons adds further context, stating that the $110MM was to be paid out over a 15-year term, and after factoring in the deferred monies, the present-day value of the proposed contract was roughly $77MM.

If that number is indeed accurate, it’s not surprising to see that Cespedes chose a comparable amount over a shorter contract that contained an earlier opt-out date with a team/city with which he was already familiar. Of course, it should also be noted that the present-day value of any multi-year contract is somewhat less than the face value of the deal; the $47.5MM that Cespedes would earn from the Mets if he does not exercise the opt-out clause will be worth less in 2017-18 than it would be in the present day. Nevertheless, the extent of the deferrals in the contract proposed by the Nationals certainly appears to make the Mets’ offer a stronger option, barring further revelations about the pair of proposals.

As Gammons continues, the Nationals had to offer significant deferrals not only to Cespedes, but also to Jason Heyward and Ben Zobrist in their respective pursuits, due largely to the structuring of the MASN television contract. Because of the deferred money in their offers to Heyward and Zobrist, neither proposed contract was even close to the overall value that the duo got when ultimately signing with the Cubs. In Heyward’s case, the Cardinals’ offer was also significantly stronger than the reported 10-year, $200MM contract proposed by the Nats, after factoring in deferrals, Gammons notes.

Per Gammons, the structuring of the MASN television rights required the Nats to offer significant deferrals in virtually all of their contract offers this winter. Back in November a New York Supreme Court Judge ruled in favor of the Orioles (the majority owners of MASN), thereby voiding a payment of tens of millions of dollars that had been awarded to the Nationals by an arbitration panel in an effort to settle an ongoing dispute over the allocation of the network’s rights fees. (MLBTR’s Jeff Todd examined the dispute at length at the time of the ruling.) As Gammons notes, the difficulties for the Nationals will continue to linger until the two teams can come to some type of resolution on the matter.

Yankees, Carlos Corporan Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Yankees and catcher Carlos Corporan are in agreement on a minor league contract, reports SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (on Twitter). The 32-year-old MDR Sports Management client figures to compete with Gary Sanchez and Austin Romine to serve as the backup to Brian McCann in 2016.

After spending 2011-14 as a member of the Astros, Corporan was traded to the Rangers this past offseason. His first and now seemingly only year in Arlington didn’t go as well as his time with the Astros, as Corporan struggled to a .178/.244/.299 batting line in 121 plate appearances. Those hardships at the plate ultimately led the Rangers to non-tender Corporan in December. However, prior to that down season, Corporan had proven a capable bat for a backup catcher, batting .237/.297/.383 with 17 home runs in 485 plate appearances as an Astro from 2012-14.

From a defensive standpoint, Corporan has been a bit below average in throwing out runners over the course of his career, with a caught-stealing rate of 23 percent. From a framing perspective, Corporan has been anywhere from average to above-average across the past three seasons, according to both Baseball Prospectus and StatCorner.com. If Corporan finishes the season on the Yankees’ roster, the switch-hitter can be controlled through at least the 2017 season, as he currently has four years, 19 days of Major League service time.

Orioles Acquire Efren Navarro, Designate L.J. Hoes For Assignment

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The Orioles have acquired first baseman/outfielder Efren Navarro from the Angels in exchange for cash considerations, the teams announced today. In order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Navarro, Baltimore announced that it has designated outfielder L.J. Hoes for assignment.

Navarro, 29, was designated for assignment last week to clear a roster spot in Anaheim for right-hander Al Alburquerque, who signed as a free agent. Navarro has seen Major League action with the Angels in four of the past five seasons, totaling a .246/.303/.324 batting line in 280 plate appearances. He’s hit just one home run in that time, though he’s shown a bit more pop in the minors, where he is a .316/.378/.449 hitter with 32 home runs in 2344 plate appearances at Triple-A. Navarro hasn’t hit much with the Angels, but he’s posted solid walk and strikeout rates (7.5 percent and 16.1 percent, respectively). He’s also graded out reasonably well in both Ultimate Zone Rating and Defensive Runs Saved at first base and in left field in his small samples of work at each position.

Navarro will, presumably, join the competition for corner outfield playing time in Baltimore. The Orioles currently have Hyun-Soo Kim as one option (in left field — they’re said not to like his arm in right), with Nolan Reimold, Mark Trumbo, Henry Urrutia, Dariel Alvarez and Ryan Flaherty among the other options that could conceivably see some time in right field. Trumbo, of course, is best suited for first base or DH work, but he does have considerable experience in the outfield. As a left-handed bat, Navarro could conceivably pair with Reimold to form a platoon, should not additional outside option be brought in by GM Dan Duquette and his staff. That looks like somewhat of an uninspiring group, on paper, but the Orioles took a piecemeal approach to their corner outfield situation last season, creating some precedent for such measures, and the team has spent heavily in other areas, perhaps limiting its offseason spending capacity.

Hoes has had good success at the upper levels of the minor leagues, including a .299/.388/.399 batting line in parts of four seasons at the Triple-A level. The 25-year-old was originally a third-round pick by Baltimore back in 2008, though the O’s traded him to Houston in the 2013 Bud Norris swap. Hoes was designated for assignment by Houston this offseason, though, and picked up in a trade similar to today’s transaction back in November. In spite of his solid on-base percentage and batting average in Triple-A, Hoes has batted just .237/.289/.329 in 337 Major League plate appearances.

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