6:14pm: FanRag’s Jon Heyman tweets that Hatcher receives a $1.25MM salary next season (Twitter link).
4:25pm: SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets that Van Slyke and the Dodgers agreed to a $1.325MM salary for 2017.
4:14pm: The Dodgers announced today that they’ve signed outfielder Scott Van Slyke and right-hander Chris Hatcher to one-year deals, thus avoiding arbitration with both players. Van Slyke is represented by agent James Kuzmich, while Hatcher is a client of Turner Gary Sports.
Van Slyke, 30, was limited to 52 games this past season due to back and wrist injuries. When healthy, he batted a disappointing .225/.292/.314 in 113 plate appearances. Van Slyke, however, has a nice track record as a complementary outfielder, having slashed .261/.349/.455 with 24 homers in 651 plate appearances from 2013-15. Most of the damage he’s done in his career has come against left-handed pitching, as he holds a career .845 OPS against southpaws as compared to a .678 OPS against right-handed pitching. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz had projected Van Slyke for a $1.3MM salary in 2017.
Hatcher, 32 in January, was limited to 40 2/3 innings by an oblique injury in 2016 but struggled to a 5.53 ERA even when healthy enough to take the field. Hatcher’s velocity remained strong, though, as his fastball averaged just under 96 mph. He also averaged 9.5 K/9 with a solid 44.3 percent ground-ball rate. His walk rate spiked from 3.0 BB/9 in 2015 to 4.6 BB/9 in 2016, however, and he was exceptionally homer-prone (1.8 HR/9, 18.2 percent HR/FB ratio). In 95 innings from 2014-15, Hatcher logged a 3.51 ERA and posted a 105-to-25 K/BB ratio. Swartz projected him at $1.4MM.
Two non guaranteed roster holders. Although SVS is a natural platoon partner with Ethier so that part makes sense. Hatchet has no options hard to see him making it out of ST.
If ever there was a non-tender candidate it was Hatcher.
I mean, I guess the non tender is more seeable for the expensive type players. I essentially saw all being tendered. So many moving parts to this offseason that I’m guessing such moves are just for depth. And since they are non guaranteed contracts I don’t see parting ways until clearer picture. But with Coleman, Hatcher, Ravin all being out of options it’s honestly just a wait and see if Garcia and Lib are actually healthy.
I get your point but somebody as awful as Hatcher doesn’t add any depth that you’d ever want to see used over any warm body they could find already in the minors or sign to a minor league contract.
Oh I’m not disagreeing with you at all. I just think in the end it doesn’t really matter.
Maybe I’m drinking the kool aid, but I think that Hatcher is a better pitcher than we’ve seen. His walk rate and HR went up above what his norms are for his career. The projections seem to think he’ll have a better year next year. And for 1.25, you get a guy that throws 96 regularly, and can strike out more than 9 per 9. They saw something in him with the Gordon trade, and I really doubt they’d give up on him for 40 ’16 innings, that he may or may not have been hurt through.
Velocity is a tool, not a weapon. In 2015 Hatcher had an awful first half followed by decent second, and came up at the end looking modestly effective overall. Yet he was never steady enough for a setup role even then. In 2016 his work was consistently awful, then bang, a mystery injury sidelines him for the duration. Pretty much only two possibilities here. Either they used the DL to hide him on the roster because they didn’t want to have to either play or have to release him. That’s the charitable scenario. The other is he was playing hurt all season but didn’t tell anyone. All I can say is if he steps on the mound in 2017 millions of Dodger fans will be burying their heads in their hands every time.
I get that. He has some really weird splits. Look what he did against lefties in an albeit small sample. They were extreme last year, but not too far off what he has done in his career. I haven’t (and it seems the Dodgers haven’t)given up on him yet, and hopefully they get somebody better. I just don’t see a problem with 1.25 going to a relief pitcher. It’s pennies in baseball. Depth is what got the Dodgers through 28 players on the DL last season. Hatcher is depth.
Sure but depth can create problems of its own when it has to be played instead of someone better. Assuming he makes it onto the roster, Hatcher can’t be sent down without designating him for assignment. This puts pressure on the FO to keep him on the active roster even if he’s doing a poor job. Even if the Dodgers re-sign Jansen, the pen will need more dependable arms than what they’ve had for the past few seasons. Hatcher isn’t it. Neither are Baez, Coleman, Fien, and the rest of the parade of nobodies they tried out last year.
If he’s doing a poor job, he gets DFA’d. They’d have no problems eating a 1.25 mill contract, and with the depth that they have, his leash will be short. The Dodgers bullpen was one of the best in baseball last year, and arguably the best in the NL. The pen was pretty reliable, it’s just that the starters not named Kershaw couldn’t go past 5. I think they’ll address the closers spot, none of the big three have signed yet. I really like what the FO has been able to do from within though. I really like the nobody named Josh Ravin. Dude has a big arm. Grant Dayton is another nobody that should have a big role next year too.
The bullpen was very good overall, but that was based on excellent work from three pitchers, two of whom were gassed out by the time the postseason rolled around. After that it was a minefield that blew up too many games. Dayton has promise and maybe Ravin too. What concerns me about the FO approach is they tend to stick with relievers who aren’t doing good work. Throwing a lot of bodies at the pen might not be a bad strategy during the regular season, but in the postseason the needs change.
Yeah, they didn’t have squat in the post season. I’ll totally agree there.
Lets hope we get a roster of real MLB players to fill our gaps. The idea that they can let kenley walk and not sign chapman or melacon is comical. did they not see what happened to the giants last year
Apparently you missed where the Dodgers have to reduce payroll. No way they sign Chapman or Melancon. Maybe they trade for AJ Ramos or Alex Colome.
Yeah they have to reduce from the 260M range. That’s not to hard to do lol. Look for the to be right under the extreme threshold. But at 45 mill coming off next year they’ll be right at the threshold next year.
Plus it wasn’t payroll that necessarily has to be reduced it’s the debt %. So them not spending 100M again on inter prospects and 200M on stadium renovations unskews the rev to debt % which is around 8%-10%
Apparently you missed the part where the national medio made this an overblown story. Dodgers blogs are in zero panic mode.
Was Culberson a “super two” arbitration eligible? Baseball Reference has him as arbitration eligible in 2018.
I really don’t like Hatcher but I don’t mind these moves. Wouldn’t be surprised if Hatcher get traded at some point. Dodgers need to make some real moves already.
I’d say, if Hatcher is staying in LA, he’s got a very short leash. There has to be very little patience for him now.
I could not agree with you any more. Maybe they hope he comes back strong. I doubt it though but if they do keep him he should be on on a short leash. I know Blanton melted down in the playoffs and I think he cost us going to the World Series from his two epic meltdowns but I still like what he did all season and he’d be worth bringing back.
I hope they are gambling on him showing some improvement in spring training so they can pawn him off on another team before the start of the season. Just about every one of his appearances are cringeworthy. Would be hard to take another season of even the possibility of him coming out of the pen in a close game.
Moves? How about the “Full Monty”, “Cowabunga”, or the Gangnam (whatever)??? Finally, getting the “Hatchee” jokes out of my system!
Culberson’s walk-off was the final *home* broadcast for Scully, not his final game.
So did Culberson avoid Arb or not?
Culbertson isn’t arbitration eligible until 2018. Not sure how the rumor got out that he’d been though arbitration. Probably he was simply tendered a pre-arbitration contract (most likely at the MLB minimum) and it was misinterpreted by some sources as an arbitrated contract. Perhaps MLBTR deleted the reference to Culbertson in the story when they figured that out. Normally they don’t cover pre-arb player contracts.
Hooray Steve Adams, you’re up for a “Pulitzer” for writing ONE WHOLE paragraph (and being nice, though slightly ‘bloated’ with STATS) on the infamous “Hatchee”!!!