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East Notes & Rumors: Trumbo, O’s, Familia, Nats, Yanks

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Contract talks between the Orioles and free agent outfielder/first baseman Mark Trumbo have stalled, reports Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. The two sides previously agreed to a four-year framework, but Baltimore’s offer is now off the table, per Kubatko, who notes that a deal could still come together (Twitter link). In 2016, his first (and perhaps only) season as an Oriole, Trumbo hit .256/.316/.533 with a major league-high 47 home runs. Along with the O’s, the Rockies, Indians, Mariners and Rangers are among the clubs that have shown interest in the soon-to-be 31-year-old this offseason.

More from the majors’ two East divisions:

  • Domestic violence charges against Mets closer Jeurys Familia were dropped Thursday, but he’ll still face at least a 30-game suspension next season, per Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News. A 30-game ban would be identical to the punishment Major League Baseball levied on Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman last year. Like Familia, Chapman didn’t face any legal ramifications for his domestic violence incident. Rob Manfred regarded Chapman’s case as serious enough to warrant an unpaid month off, though, and the commissioner is currently investigating Familia. Bianca Rivas, Familia’s wife, said he didn’t hurt her Oct. 31, but the police who responded to her 911 call noticed a bruise on her cheek and scratches on her chest. The scratches came from the couple’s 1-year-old son, according to Rivas.
  • After trading away infielder Danny Espinosa last week, the Nationals are searching for outside bench help, writes Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com. The Nats have expressed interest in re-signing free agent infielder Stephen Drew, who joined the team last year on a one-year, $3MM deal and hit .266/.339/.524 in 165 plate appearances. However, Drew might end up finding a more prominent role elsewhere. “He’s been offered some,” Drew’s agent, Scott Boras, said at the winter meetings. “So he’s just kind of evaluating the options of carrying out a multiple-position role and probably playing more than he did last year, or pursuing something more along the lines (of what he was for the Nationals this year).” If Washington doesn’t acquire an Espinosa replacement from elsewhere, the club does have 24-year-old Wilmer Difo on hand as a potential solution. He has just 77 big league PAs to his name, though.
  • Given that they haven’t added anyone to their rotation this winter, the Yankees are positioning themselves to rely heavily on unproven starters in 2017, observes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Masahiro Tanaka, C.C. Sabathia and Michael Pineda are locks for the starting five; behind them, Luis Severino, Chad Green Luis Cessa, Bryan Mitchell and Adam Warren will vie for roles. The most intriguing member of the group is Severino, who endured a miserable 2016 with an 8.50 ERA in 47 2/3 major league innings as a starter. That was only Severino’s age-22 season, though, and the former big-time prospect isn’t far removed from a highly promising 2015 debut in which he recorded a 2.89 ERA, 8.09 K/9 and 50.3 percent ground-ball rate in 62 1/3 frames. “My emphasis at the end of the year with him was locate your fastball better, repeat your delivery and make sure your breaking ball morphs back into a harder breaking ball,” pitching coach Larry Rothschild told Sherman. “I certainly look at him as a starter. But to be a starter, improvements need to be made. If the improvements are made, he will be really good.”

5 Key Stories: 12/10/16-12/16/16

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Here’s a look at the biggest stories from the past week here at MLBTR:

Dodgers agree to re-sign two premier free agents: Los Angeles was in danger of losing two of its top players – closer Kenley Jansen and third baseman Justin Turner – to free agency, but the team came to terms with the pair this week. Jansen, who drew serious interest from the Marlins and Nationals before re-upping with the Dodgers, agreed to a five-year, $80MM contract with an opt-out after the third season. His accord is the second-richest pact ever awarded to a reliever, trailing only recent Yankees signing Aroldis Chapman. Turner, meanwhile, will earn $64MM over four years. No one would have expected that outcome after the Mets non-tendered Turner in 2013, but he has broken out as a Dodger with a .296/.364/.492 line and 12.8 fWAR in 1,383 plate appearances since 2014.

Phillies extend Odubel Herrera: Speaking of unexpected breakouts, Herrera has gone from a 2014 Rule 5 pick to a key contributor for the Phillies, who inked the center fielder to a five-year extension Thursday. Herrera will earn a guaranteed $30.5MM on a deal that also includes club options totaling $24MM for the 2022 and ’23 seasons. Without an extension, the soon-to-be 25-year-old would have hit free agency after the 2020 campaign. In his two years as a Phillie, Herrera has slashed .291/.353/.419 with 41 steals, 23 home runs and 7.8 fWAR in 1,193 PAs.

Several free agent relievers find new homes: Jansen wasn’t the only late-game option who agreed to a new contract earlier this week. After the Marlins finished as a runner-up for Jansen’s services, they landed former Red Sox relievers Brad Ziegler (two years, $16MM) and Junichi Tazawa (two years, $12MM) to further bolster a bullpen that also features A.J. Ramos, Kyle Barraclough and David Phelps. The Marlins did lose their top left-handed reliever, though, as Mike Dunn reached a three-year, $19MM agreement with the Rockies. And, like former teammates Ziegler and Tazawa, Koji Uehara departed Boston. He’ll play 2017, his age-42 season, on a $6MM deal with the reigning World Series champion Cubs.

White Sox replace Chris Sale with another left-handed starter: Unfortunately for Chicago, Derek Holland is no Sale. The longtime Ranger has experienced success in the past, however, and the White Sox’s hope is that Holland will bounce back under well-regarded pitching coach Don Cooper on a one-year, $6MM contract. A revival from Holland, 30, could make him an interesting trade chip around the summer deadline for the Sox, who are unlikely to push for a playoff spot next year after trading Sale and outfielder Adam Eaton for prospect hauls.

Angels get their second baseman: There was a report last Saturday that Danny Espinosa was unhappy with the idea of serving in a bench role with the Nationals. Shortly after, the Nats traded the middle infielder to the second baseman-needy Angels for two minor league right-handers. The defensively gifted Espinosa should form an excellent double-play tandem with Halos shortstop Andrelton Simmons, arguably the majors’ best fielder.

Top 10 Remaining Free Agents

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With a number of this offseason’s top free agent market — Yoenis Cespedes, Aroldis Chapman, Kenley Jansen — already off the board, here’s a look at what’s left as we head toward the holiday season. Here are the top 10 remaining players, with rankings via MLBTR’s top 50 list from early November.

2. Edwin Encarnacion. While closers have flown off the board in the last few weeks, the market for sluggers has been slower to develop. A variety of AL teams — including the Indians, Athletics, Rangers and Blue Jays — have been connected to Encarnacion, as have the Rockies and Cardinals in the NL. Thus far, there’s been little reported movement toward a deal, with many of Encarnacion’s potential suitors’ reported interest looking tepid at best.

8. Mark Trumbo. At this point, the Orioles likely have extended the best offer to their former slugger, with the Cardinals and Rockies also looming as possibilities. Trumbo is on the long list of sluggers the Indians have reportedly contacted, and the Mariners appear to be a possibility as well.

10. Ivan Nova. There’s been surprisingly little chatter about Nova even as free agent pitchers like Rich Hill and Jeremy Hellickson have disapppeared from the already poorly stocked starting pitching shelves. Of course, just because there’s little reported movement on a player doesn’t mean there isn’t interest, only that not all the interest has been reported. Pirates GM Neal Huntington says his team has been in touch with its former trade deadline acqusition, although it would be a small upset if the Pirates did sign Nova, due to their apparent budgetary issues. The Astros have been connected to a variety of hurlers, but at last check, they reportedly weren’t in on Nova.

12. Jose Bautista. As with Encarnacion, there doesn’t seem to be much good news for Bautista at the moment, who has been connected to a variety of teams that, for various reasons, aren’t likely to give him the sort of contract he might seek. The potential loss of a draft pick for signing Bautista appears likely to be problematic for some potential suitors as well. A return to the Blue Jays could make the most sense, as MLB.com’s Jon Morosi recently argued.

15. Jason Hammel. At last check, Hammel’s camp said there were ten teams pursuing its client. At present, there’s no telling who those teams might be. The Yankees and Marlins have been connected to Hammel, although it’s unclear how much interest the Marlins might still have after adding Edinson Volquez and Jeff Locke.

16. Matt Wieters. Wieters’ agent, Scott Boras, recently said his client might not sign until late in the offseason, since the market for catchers had been slow. Since then, the Orioles’ signing of Welington Castillo perhaps made it less likely Wieters would return to Baltimore. Fan Rag’s Jon Heyman tweeted today, though, that the Orioles could conceivably still sign Wieters — they like him, and they’ve benefited in the past from late-breaking deals like their 2014 signing of Nelson Cruz. The Braves (who were also connected to Castillo) and Rockies could still make sense as well.

20. Michael Saunders. The Indians reportedly offered Saunders a one-year deal, and the Orioles and Blue Jays have been connected to him as well. At least from the outside, though, Saunders’ market has been quiet.

21. Mike Napoli. Napoli joins a glut of offense-minded corner/DH types on this list, also including Encarnacion, Trumbo, Bautista and Saunders. (The presence of interesting secondary players like Brandon Moss, Chris Carter and Adam Lind also probably hasn’t helped get the market moving.) The Indians have been most strongly connected to Napoli recently.

23. Greg Holland. Unlike many players on this list, Holland could join any number of teams and not cause roster headaches. Bullpens are highly malleable. For that reason, there’s a long list of teams that could gamble on Holland’s upside as he returns from Tommy John surgery. As MLBTR’s Mark Polishuk noted last week, that list includes the Cubs, Dodgers, Yankees, Giants, Red Sox, Indians, Rays, Mariners, Nationals, Padres, Twins, Mets, Phillies, Tigers, Blue Jays, Royals and Brewers, all of whom have shown at least some degree of interest.

24. Travis Wood. We’ve heard nothing about Wood since the Winter Meetings, when it emerged that the Cubs had been in touch with Wood about the possibility of re-signing. Wood reportedly wants another chance to start after a season in which he posted a 2.95 ERA, albeit with a modest 6.9 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9. One factor that could work in his favor in that quest is his hitting ability, which is well above average for a pitcher; for that reason, it wouldn’t be surprising if he wound up with an NL team.

Diamondbacks Sign Keyvius Sampson To Minor League Deal

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The Diamondbacks have signed righty Keyvius Sampson to a minor league deal, and he’s expected to compete for a bullpen role this spring, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic tweets. Sampson is a client of Reynolds Sports Management.

The Reds non-tendered Sampson earlier this month after he posted a 4.35 ERA with 9.6 K/9 but also 6.2 BB/9 in 39 1/3 innings in 2016. The 25-year-old Sampson did have success at Triple-A Louisville, though, posting a 1.88 ERA, 9.0 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 62 1/3 innings while both starting and pitching in relief.

Sampson has yet to latch on in two seasons with the Reds and didn’t attract a waiver claim either time he was designated for assignment this year. He is, however, young for a minor league signee with big league experience, and he has never gotten an extended chance, either in the Majors or the minors, to blossom as a reliever rather than as a starter. His fastball has also averaged about 93 MPH in the big leagues.

Minor MLB Transactions: 12/17/16

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Here are today’s minor transactions from around the league:

  • The White Sox have re-signed righty Blake Smith to a minor league deal, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag tweets. (Heyman had previously reported it was the Padres who had signed Smith, but that seems to have been incorrect.) Chicago non-tendered Smith two weeks ago. The 29-year-old made his big-league debut in 2016, pitching 4 1/3 innings for the White Sox, but he’s perhaps a little more interesting than that pedigree suggests — he played his first several pro seasons as an outfielder before moving to the mound in 2013 as a 25-year-old, and he’s since made good progress getting through the minors, posting a 3.53 ERA, 9.5 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 71 1/3 innings for Triple-A Charlotte in 2016 while throwing his fastball in the 93-MPH range in his big-league stint. The Padres selected Smith in the second round of the Rule 5 Draft in 2015 but ultimately returned him to the White Sox.
  • The Marlins have signed righty Javy Guerra to a minor league deal, tweets MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro. The 31-year-old Guerra pitched briefly for the Angels in 2016 but spent most of the year with Triple-A Salt Lake, where he posted a 4.35 ERA, 9.9 K/9 and 5.4 BB/9 in 51 2/3 innings. As that line suggests, Guerra has struggled with his control, and his 4.3 career MLB BB/9 has probably been his biggest impediment to sustained success (although he’s also had injury issues, and he missed 50 games in 2015 due to a drug suspension). Nonetheless, he has had strong seasons with the Dodgers and White Sox in parts of six years in the big leagues, and his experience could be valuable to the Marlins as they continue to address their bullpen.

Phillies To Sign Bryan Holaday To Minor League Deal

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The Phillies have agreed to terms with catcher Bryan Holaday on a minor league deal, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick tweets. Holaday is represented by Lagardere Sports.

Holaday is expected to compete for the backup catcher job in Philadelphia, Crasnick notes. Cameron Rupp currently is slated to start. The Phillies also appear likely to have 2016 Triple-A catcher Andrew Knapp in camp, along with top prospect Jorge Alfaro, with Holaday providing the team with a more veteran option. A.J. Ellis, who finished the 2016 season as the Phillies’ backup, recently signed a one-year deal with the Marlins.

The 29-year-old Holaday began the 2016 season with the Rangers, then headed to the Red Sox on a waiver claim. The Red Sox ultimately non-tendered him rather than paying a projected $900K salary. For the year, he batted .231/.281/.359 over 129 plate appearances, roughly in line with his career .245/.282/.346 marks in parts of five big-league seasons. He caught eight of 21 batters attempting to steal.

Red Sox Notes: Sandoval, Ziegler, Thornburg

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Videos posted to Instragram from Red Sox team facilities in Florida show that Pablo Sandoval appears to have lost a significant amount of weight, notes Jen McCaffrey of MassLive.com (who, unfortunately, does not seem to have been at the scene to report on Sandoval’s mass live). The videos show Sandoval running and lifting, and he appears to be significantly more svelte than he was prior to the 2016 season. The Red Sox are now two mostly wasted years into Sandoval’s five-year, $95MM deal after Sandoval performed poorly in 2015 and then lost most of 2016 to a shoulder injury. Getting a good 2017 campaign from him would provide them with a significant boost, particularly with less certainty at the corner infield spots and DH than they’ve had in years past. Here’s more on the Red Sox.

  • Brad Ziegler is now (or will soon be) a Marlin, but Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski’s trade for him last summer might rank as one of his best so far, WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford writes. Many of Dombrowski’s trades so far have been risky, as the Sox have given up top prospects like Yoan Moncada, Michael Kopech, Manuel Margot and Anderson Espinoza. While the two prospects (Jose Almonte and Luis Alejandro Basabe) with whom the Red Sox parted for Ziegler have potential, the risk was manageable. Also, the Red Sox likely wouldn’t have made the postseason had Ziegler (who posted a 1.52 ERA over 29 2/3 innings with Boston) not stabilized their bullpen, Bradford argues.
  • The Red Sox’ recent trade for Tyler Thornburg looks better than it did in the short time since it was made, due to developments in the free agent market for relief pitching, Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald argues. Not only have top closers like Aroldis Chapman, Kenley Jansen and Mark Melancon cashed in big, but even secondary relief arms like Ziegler and Junichi Tazawa have gotten significant paydays. Thornburg, who’s coming off a brilliant 2.15 ERA, 12.1 K/9, 3.4 BB/9 season in Milwaukee, gives the Red Sox a strong bullpen option who will be controllable for three more seasons. The Red Sox’ only significant miss on the bullpen front was Koji Uehara, who signed with the Cubs for a reasonable price, Mastrodonato writes.

Jose Abreu, White Sox Avoid Arbitration

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The White Sox have announced that they’ve avoided arbitration with slugger Jose Abreu, signing him to a one-year deal for 2017. Abreu will receive $10.825MM, MLB.com’s Phil Rogers tweets. Abreu is a client of ISE Baseball.

MLBTR had projected Abreu would make $12MM next season, with the caveat that Abreu’s situation required us to be somewhat more speculative than usual. Last month, Abreu opted out of the last three years and $34MM remaining on his guaranteed contract, instead letting his next three years of salaries be dictated by the arbitration process. Abreu’s salaries in his first few seasons were already large, unlike almost all players entering their arbitration years, since he arrived in the league as a veteran from Cuba. A player’s arbitration-year salary is typically dictated in large part by what he earned the previous season, and reductions in salary from one year to the next are rare.

MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes argued that the baseline salary from which Abreu’s 2017 figure would be determined was $11.66MM, or Abreu’s $10MM 2016 salary plus a sixth of the $10MM signing bonus on his original contract with the White Sox. Players entering arbitration with statistics similar to Abreu’s, such as Giancarlo Stanton, received significantly less than $11.66MM in their first trips through, though, so the idea was that Abreu would receive only a token raise on that $11.66MM for 2017.

It appears, however, that Abreu will actually receive a bit less than that (although he’ll still receive slightly more than the $10.5MM he would have gotten had he not opted into arbitration). It could be that both parties figured Abreu’s signing bonus would not have been a significant factor for an arbitrator in determining his 2017 salary.

The 29-year-old Abreu had his worst season in the big leagues in 2016, although his offensive marks were still excellent — he batted a fine .293/.353/.468, with his 25 home runs paling only in comparison to his 36-homer total in 2014 and 30-homer mark the following year. His numbers at first base rank as below average, so he has little defensive value, but he remains one of the game’s more capable hitters. His name has lately come up in trade rumors as the White Sox have traded veteran teammates like Chris Sale and Adam Eaton, and the Rockies have reportedly shown interest. Abreu’s 2017 salary was unlikely to be a significant impediment to a trade, but if the White Sox do end up dealing him now, their trade partners will at least know exactly what his salary next season will be.

Twins Sign J.B. Shuck To Minor League Deal

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The Twins have signed outfielder J.B. Shuck to a minor league deal with a Spring Training invite, MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger tweets. SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo first noted that the two sides were in talks.

The 29-year-old Shuck collected 241 plate appearances with the White Sox in 2016 but batted a mere .205/.248/.299. He also graded out poorly on defense and finished the season with -1.7 fWAR, finishing ahead of only three other position players throughout the big leagues.

Shuck does, however, carry a lifetime .300/.375/.386 line in parts of six seasons at Triple-A, and he has logged time at all three outfield positions. He could provide good depth for an organization that currently features a mix of young outfielders that includes Eddie Rosario, Byron Buxton, and Max Kepler along with Danny Santana and Robbie Grossman.

Twins Notes: Carew, Bullpen, Perkins, Hughes, Santana

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Hall Of Famer Rod Carew recently had successful heart and kidney transplant surgery, the Twins have announced. Carew is expected to fully recover. “After a 13-hour procedure that started shortly after midnight Pacific time, Rod is resting in recovery,” the Twins wrote in a statement. “We ask that all of Twins Territory and the entire baseball community keep Rod, his wife Rhonda, and the entire Carew family in your thoughts and prayers as Rod recovers.” We at MLBTR wish Carew and his family the best. Here’s the latest from the Twins organization.

  • The Twins are looking for experienced bullpen help, Phil Miller of the Star Tribune writes. The 2016 Twins didn’t have an especially young bullpen, but they did lean hard on less experienced players, including Taylor Rogers, J.T. Chargois, Michael Tonkin and Buddy Boshers. “It seemed as if the Twins had tremendous arms in the bullpen, but not a lot of experience. A lot of young guys coming out of the bullpen into extremely stressful situations,” said new GM Thad Levine at a fan event Wednesday. “We’ve got a lot of plus arms out there, but if you have veterans for the eighth inning, ninth inning, they can shoulder the load and take the stress off the kids.” The team hopes to improve its veteran leadership in the rotation as well, although they might get some veteran pitching help from players they already have — new chief baseball officer Derek Falvey said on Wednesday that the team was hoping for more help in 2017 from closer Glen Perkins and starter Phil Hughes, each of whom missed much of 2016 to injury. Perkins had surgery to repair a torn labrum in June, and Hughes had surgery in July for thoracic outlet syndrome; Miller says Hughes is the further along of the two.
  • The Twins also have a good veteran starter in Ervin Santana, although if he winds up in the headlines this winter, it might be because he’s headed elsewhere. The Twins have received calls about Santana, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag tweets, noting that the Twins (who won just 59 games last season) don’t deem anyone untouchable. That doesn’t mean Santana (who’s controllable at reasonable salaries through 2019, including a team option in the final year) is a great bet to be traded — just last month, the Twins’ new front office understandably characterized Santana as the sort of player they would like to add to, not to deal. Speculatively, though, it wouldn’t be hard to imagine the Twins dealing Santana for younger talent and then adding one or two cheap veterans to replace him in the rotation. Santana would be a particularly attractive trade piece this winter due to the poor free agent market for starting pitching, and it would be easy to imagine a team like the Astros, who have lately been connected to various starting pitching trade candidates, having interest. Given Santana’s years of control remaining, though, keeping him would also be a reasonable route. Santana’s 2016 performance was one of the Twins’ best — he posted a 3.38 ERA, 7.4 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 in 181 1/3 innings.

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