Red Sox To Look For Setup Man, Designated Hitter
Last offseason, the Red Sox made big moves to acquire Craig Kimbrel and David Price. This year, Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski says the team doesn’t necessarily expect those sorts of blockbusters, Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald reports. Dombrowski does, however, have some positions in mind that the team will target.
“Last year, I thought all along that we really needed two big moves, which was a No. 1 starting pitcher and a closer,” says Dombrowski. “Those are two, I guess, what you’d consider headline moves. This winter I wouldn’t say that you put the same thought process on it. But again, you start talking to clubs, you never could tell what happens. But I would say philosophically, that’s probably the case.”
The Red Sox will have a big hole to fill at DH, given David Ortiz‘s retirement, and they’ve been widely connected to Edwin Encarnacion. But Dombrowski says he remains open to the possibility that the Sox could fill the position with talent already in the organization.
“[W]e’ll just kind of wait to see what happens in David’s situation as far as filling that is concerned. Can deal with that internally, externally (too) I think,” Dombrowski says.
Signing someone like Encarnacion would be costly, of course. Red Sox president Sam Kennedy, meanwhile, says he doesn’t know what the team’s 2017 payroll will be, Drellich reports. Kennedy adds that the Red Sox will have to be “prepared” to adjust after Ortiz’s departure.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen with payroll, truthfully,” says Kennedy. “I think the consistent theme of the John Henry, Tom Werner ownership group, going all the way back to 2002, has been to not sort of set a hard and fast payroll each and every year.”
Dombrowski does say the Red Sox will look for a setup man. WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford writes that the team is planning to attend former Royals closer Greg Holland‘s upcoming showcase. He would potentially fit the bill, although it appears there will be considerable interest from other teams as well. Bradford also suggests re-signing 41-year-old free agent Koji Uehara could be a possibility.
Yoenis Cespedes To Opt Out Of Contract With Mets
NOVEMBER 5: Cespedes has officially opted out of his contract, ESPN’s Adam Rubin writes. The Mets will extend him a qualifying offer on Monday.
OCTOBER 26: Outfielder Yoenis Cespedes plans to opt out of the two remaining years on his contract with the Mets, according to Jon Heyman of Fan Rag. His deal gave him a choice between returning to the free agent market and taking $47.5MM for two more years in New York.
The decision to opt out has been expected for quite some time — if not from the dramatic moment the contract was signed in late January, then since Cespedes completed a mostly healthy and entirely productive campaign. Certainly, it has been apparent to the team that Cespedes would test the market, of course, so his decision won’t come as a surprise when it’s made official after the World Series.
Giving Cespedes an opt-out opportunity was a critical element of the Mets’ pitch to him last winter, when he took a smaller total contract (three years, $75MM) than some other teams offered. While the desire to return to New York certainly seemed to play a role, there was plenty of financial sense in the move as well.
Taking the Mets’ offer gave Cespedes the chance to take home $27.5MM for 2016 and then re-enter the market — which, it seems, is exactly what he’ll do. Alternative arrangements would have reportedly promised him as much as $110MM, but would’ve included deferrals, covered five years, and come without an opt-out opportunity.
That gambit seems likely to pay off, as the 31-year-old posted another huge season and now looks to be the biggest free agent target in a much weaker overall group of talent than was available last year. Cespedes followed up on his monster second half run with the Mets in 2015 with a .280/.354/.530 slash and 31 home runs over 543 plate appearances.
Best of all, perhaps, Cespedes showed increased plate discipline — he posted a career-high 9.4% walk rate — without letting the selectivity sap his power. While he didn’t repeat his stellar defensive metrics, that was due in part to the fact that Cespedes was pressed into duty in center (where he has never rated well) and perhaps also to a nagging quad injury.
Importantly, New York will still be able to slap a qualifying offer on Cespedes. He’ll obviously turn that one-year, $17.2MM contract down, but in doing so will enable the Mets to pick up a draft pick if he signs with another team. A second reunion certainly can’t be ruled out after the team surprised with the first, but it seems the Mets will either need to promise more than they’d probably like to or (perhaps more likely) sit back and wait to see whether Cespedes again fails to find a suitable payday from another organization.
Offseason Outlook: St. Louis Cardinals
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The Cardinals remain in a strong position despite missing the playoffs in 2016, and they’ll enter the offseason hoping to add an outfielder and to sort through their starting pitching depth.
Guaranteed Contracts
- Mike Leake, SP: $68MM through 2020 (includes $5MM buyout on 2021 mutual option)
- Matt Carpenter, IF: $39.75MM through 2019 (includes $2MM buyout on 2020 team option)
- Adam Wainwright, SP: $39.5MM through 2018
- Jedd Gyorko, IF: $29MM through 2019 (includes $1M buyout on 2020 team option; the Padres are paying a portion of the deal)
- Kolten Wong, IF: $24.25MM through 2020 (includes $1M buyout on 2021 team option)
- Yadier Molina, C: $16MM through 2017 (includes $2MM buyout on 2018 mutual option)
- Jhonny Peralta, IF: $10MM through 2017
- Lance Lynn, SP: $7.5MM through 2017
- Zach Duke, RP: $5.5MM through 2017
- Jonathan Broxton, RP: $3.75MM through 2017
- Brayan Pena, C: $2.5MM through 2017
- Aledmys Diaz, SS: $2MM through 2017
Arbitration-Eligible Players (service time in parentheses; link to MLBTR projections)
- Trevor Rosenthal (4.058) – $6.3MM
- Matt Adams (4.033) – $2.8MM
- Seth Maness (3.154) – $1.6MM
- Kevin Siegrist (3.116) – $1.9MM
- Carlos Martinez (3.073) – $5.3MM
- Michael Wacha (3.062) – $3.2MM
- Non-tender candidates: None
Club Options
- Matt Holliday, OF: $17MM or a $1M buyout (the Cardinals are expected to decline the option)
- Jaime Garcia, SP: $12MM or a $500K buyout (the Cardinals have exercised the option)
- Jordan Walden, RP: $5.25MM or $250K buyout (the Cardinals have declined the option)
- Seung-hwan Oh, RP: $2.75MM (option already vested because Oh finished more than 30 games in 2016)
Free Agents
Cardinals Depth Chart; Cardinals Payroll Information
In 2016, the Cardinals missed the playoffs for the first time since 2010, winning only (or “only”) 86 games. The team said goodbye to Matt Holliday after the season, beginning what’s likely to be an organizational transition from a core of Holliday, Adam Wainwright, Yadier Molina, Jhonny Peralta and Matt Carpenter to one that’s much younger.
Of course, this seems to be a common refrain for the Cardinals, who have had winning seasons in 16 of the last 17 years, transitioning from their previous core of Albert Pujols, Chris Carpenter, Jim Edmonds and Scott Rolen without a hitch. Among the Cardinals’ younger players, there were positive signs in 2016, as Aledmys Diaz, Stephen Piscotty, Carlos Martinez, Alex Reyes and Randal Grichuk all contributed solid value. The Cardinals will therefore keep trying to do what they always do, replacing good players with more good ones while making perhaps one big acquisition each winter. They’ll face an uphill battle as the divisional rival of a brilliant Cubs team, but they have way too much talent not to strive for the postseason.
With Molina and Brayan Pena (who returned from the DL in September after missing much of the season to knee issues) under contract for next season, the catcher position is mostly set. It wouldn’t hurt the Cardinals to find a solid third backstop in case of another DL stint for Molina or Pena, however, since both have significant injury histories and aren’t getting any younger. (22-year-old Carson Kelly is currently the Cardinals’ next man up, and he could benefit from a bit more seasoning at Triple-A.) A lucrative minor league deal (along the lines of the one the Red Sox gave Sandy Leon last offseason) to lure a solid third option might be a good move.
Likewise, the Cardinals won’t need much infield help. Jedd Gyorko — who swatted 30 home runs after being acquired in what amounted to a salary dump by the Padres — was a revelation for the Cards last season, and with Carpenter, Diaz and Peralta flanking him and other capable situational options at various positions (including Matt Adams, Kolten Wong and Greg Garcia), the Cards have significant depth.
If the Cardinals are going to make a big move to add offense, they’ll probably grab an outfielder. The loss of former top prospect Oscar Taveras in a tragic offseason accident two years back still looms large for the franchise. Piscotty can be counted on for everyday at-bats, and Grichuk has probably shown enough to warrant everyday play as well, even though his on-base percentages will likely continue to underwhelm. Tommy Pham has proven as least modestly useful as well. With both Holliday and Brandon Moss coming off the payroll, though, the Cardinals are probably short a big bat, and the outfield is the only obvious place to put one.
The Cardinals are reportedly most interested in acquiring a center fielder, and might prefer to do so on the trade market. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch identifies Charlie Blackmon, A.J. Pollock and Adam Eaton as possibilities (although, as our own Steve Adams notes, the White Sox probably won’t be inclined to trade Eaton). Of the other two, Pollock is the only righty, and from my perspective, a right-handed hitter might be a slightly better fit. The Cards’ lineup is fairly balanced, but they already have plenty of left-handed hitting in Carpenter, Adams, Wong and Garcia, and their team OPS was 35 points better against righties than lefties last season. Pollock is the better fit from a fielding perspective, too — advanced statistics suggest Grichuk is a better defensive center fielder than Blackmon, and it’s unclear whether the alignment of Blackmon in center and Grichuk in a corner would provide enough of a defensive upgrade to justify the Cardinals’ reported focus on center fielders rather than corner outfielders.
Of course, there have yet been no meaningful indications that the Diamondbacks are interested in trading Pollock, and they might prefer to wait to deal him until he recovers value after an injury-marred 2016 campaign. Other names could come into play as well, and perhaps the Cardinals could also turn to a relatively robust outfield free agent market, which features the likes of Ian Desmond and Carlos Gomez, both of whom are relatively young and play quality center field defense. 30-year-old Dexter Fowler, too, will be available as an even higher-value target.
The Cardinals could also circle back and re-sign Moss, although Goold notes that Moss seems to be down their list of priorities right now. They didn’t extend him a qualifying offer, which makes sense — he hit 28 home runs last season, but with a low batting average (.225) and on-base percentage (.300). Re-signing Moss would certainly not be the worst idea, although it’s easy to understand the organization’s reasons for wanting to look elsewhere first, given the variety of potential alternatives.
The Cardinals appear set to welcome Wainwright, Carlos Martinez, Mike Leake and perhaps Michael Wacha (who the Cards say they still view as a starter despite a 2016 season marred by health concerns) back to their rotation next year, with talented newcomer Alex Reyes also likely set to receive significant playing time. They can also probably count on getting something from Lance Lynn, who missed the entire 2016 season after having Tommy John surgery but was pitching in Triple-A by the end of the year. There are other options as well, like Luke Weaver, Mike Mayers, Tyler Lyons, Marco Gonzales and Tim Cooney. (The last three of those pitchers are returning from injury, and Gonzales and probably Cooney are better bets to contribute later in the season rather than earlier.)
That depth left the Cardinals with a decision regarding 30-year-old Jaime Garcia, whose $12MM option they recently exercised. Given Garcia’s relative youth, his experience as a starter, and his outstanding ground-ball rate (56.5% for his career), he’s worth that kind of scratch, so the Cards’ call wasn’t a surprise. They could still try to deal him, though, and given the weak free agent market for starting pitching, Garcia would probably command at least a decent return.
Garcia alone wouldn’t be enough to acquire the sort of outfield talent the Cardinals are likely to seek, however. Perhaps an alternate route would be for the Cardinals to keep Garcia and trade another starting pitcher for a good outfielder. There is no indication the Cards are considering such a possibility, but it’s worth keeping in mind, since keeping a competent starter in Garcia and dangling a young, controllable arm like Wacha could be a way to get trade talks going. There’s precedent for such a trade, too, in the form of the November 2014 deal that sent Shelby Miller and Tyrell Jenkins to Atlanta for Jason Heyward and Jordan Walden. Dealing Peralta could be another option, since the Cardinals have infield depth and Peralta only has one year left on his contract.
In the bullpen, Korean closer Seung-hwan Oh will be back after a brilliant first season in the US, and Kevin Siegrist, 2015 Rule 5 pick Matthew Bowman and ground-ball specialist Seth Maness (who had UCL surgery in August but could be ready in time for Spring Training if all goes well) are all likely to return after 2016 seasons that were generally effective. Jonathan Broxton, too, had a passable first season in St. Louis and should be back in 2017.
Trevor Rosenthal, though, walked a way-too-high 6.5 batters per nine, suffering through a shoulder injury and ultimately losing his closer job to Oh. Rosenthal is set to be paid a hefty $6.3MM this season, but the Cardinals would seem to have no choice but to tender him, since he’s only 26, throws in the high 90s and still struck out 12.5 batters per nine innings even in what was otherwise a terrible season. Zach Duke, meanwhile, had Tommy John surgery in mid-October, and the Cardinals declined Walden’s option after two injury-riddled years. It’s likely the Cardinals can get some relief mileage out of some of their less established arms (including Sam Tuivailala and Miguel Socolovich) and starting depth. Someone like Lyons or Gonzales could ultimately replace the left-handed Duke. It wouldn’t be surprising, though, if the Cardinals sought out a veteran bullpen arm (either left-handed or right-handed).
The Cardinals’ offseason, then, could follow a variety of possible paths. The organization could potentially be punished for former scouting director Chris Correa’s hacking of the Astros’ database, and it’s unclear whether that punishment could affect the team’s drafting or something else. For now, though, the Cardinals will proceed as if they’ll have no restrictions. While there’s potential for the Cards to pull off a blockbuster, given the team’s pitching depth and outfield needs, the franchise seems unlikely to veer off its current path, and they’ll enter 2017 hoping to field yet another competitive club.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Blue Jays Exercise Jason Grilli’s Option
The Blue Jays have announced that they’ve exercised righty Jason Grilli‘s 2017 option. (SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo was first to tweet the news.) That means they’ll pay Grilli a $3MM salary for next season, rather than a $250K buyout.
Jays GM Ross Atkins recently described exercising Grilli’s option as “as near to a no-brainer” as there exists in baseball, so the team’s decision comes as no surprise. Grilli turns 40 this week, but he was very effective with Toronto in 2016, posting a 3.64 ERA with 4.1 BB/9 and an outstanding 12.4 K/9 over 42 innings following a trade from Atlanta. His option was part of a two-year, $7MM deal he signed with the Braves following the 2014 season.
Grilli, the fourth overall pick in the 1997 draft, struggled for his first several seasons in the big leagues, but he emerged as a quality late-inning reliever and then a closer with the Pirates several years ago. In addition to the Bucs, Braves, and Blue Jays, he’s played for the Marlins, White Sox, Tigers, Rockies, Rangers and Angels over the course of a 14-year career in the Majors.
Indians Interested In Retaining Rajai Davis
The Indians are interested in keeping outfielder and would-be Game 7 hero Rajai Davis, notes MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian. President of baseball operations Chris Antonetti reiterates that the team would also like to retain slugger Mike Napoli.
“[B]oth for Raj and Mike, we expressed our desire to potentially have them back,” Antonetti says. “And we recognize they both have alternatives, based on the years that they had, but we’re certainly open to exploring different ways where both of them could be back here.”
Davis batted a modest .249/.306/.388 in the regular season after signing a one-year, $5.25MM deal last December, but he still managed to produce good value, thanks in part to his AL-leading 43 stolen bases (and only six caught stealings). He also, of course, had that memorable Game 7 homer.
“This is the best season I’ve ever had in my Major League career,” says Davis. “That would be great if we could get us both back, especially with this group of guys.”
Davis would undoubtedly still be a good complementary piece for Cleveland, particularly given his baserunning value. It will be interesting to see whether they keep him, though, given their outfield depth. Tyler Naquin, Lonnie Chisenhall and Brandon Guyer all performed well for the Indians this year and are controllable for 2017, and Guyer could potentially play center against left-handed pitching (although Cleveland used him exclusively at the corners down the stretch). The Indians also hope to have Michael Brantley healthy for next season, although his shoulder was a problem throughout the 2017 season.
Minor MLB Transactions: 11/4/16
Here are the day’s minor moves from around the league…
- The Orioles declined the team’s previously unknown option over righty Logan Ondrusek, as BaltimoreBaseball.com’s Dan Connolly was among those to tweet. Ondrusek had signed with the Orioles out of Japan in the middle of the 2016 season, but was outrighted in late August after a brief stint. It was essentially a formality at this point for the team to decline the option (which was for an unknown amount). Baltimore had hoped that adding Ondrusek would represent a creative way to bolster their relief corps in the middle of the season, and brought him back stateside after he continued to produce good results for the NPB’s Yakult Swallows.
- The Reds announced that utilityman Ivan De Jesus has been outrighted off of the 40-man roster. He has been a fairly significant part of the major league team over the last two years, playing in 180 total games. But his batting output dwindled in 2016: despite a slightly higher batting average and identical .311 OBP in comparison to his 2015 line, De Jesus slugged only .312 in his 243 plate appearances.
- Two recently outrighted Mariners — lefty Charlie Furbush and catcher Steve Clevenger — have both elected free agency rather than accepting a minor league assignment, per MLB.com’s Greg Johns. The team is still waiting to learn what righty Ryan Cook will do; he, too, was recently cut from the 40-man.
- Lefty Ricky Romero will remain with the Giants on a minor league deal, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (via Twitter). Soon to tun 32, Romero is now well removed from his days as an effective major league starter. He only appeared in two games in 2016, both at the Triple-A level, and has thrown just 53 2/3 total innings professionally since 2013 — the last season in which he reached the big leagues.
- The Yankees selected the contracts of catcher Kyle Higashioka and right-hander Domingo German, adding them to thee 40-man roster in advance of the Rule 5 draft. Though he’s already 26, and has been Rule 5-eligible before, Higashioka is coming off of his most promising season as a professional. Over 416 plate appearances at Double-A and Triple-A, he slashed .276/.337/.511 with 21 home runs. Meanwhile, the 24-year-old German pitched last year at the Class A and High-A level after missing all of 2015 due to Tommy John surgery. He ended up starting ten games and posting a 3.81 ERA over 49 2/3 innings, with 6.9 K/9 against 2.0 BB/9, but will look to get fully back on his promising track next year.
Earlier Updates
- The Tigers announced that they have selected the contracts of right-hander Myles Jaye and left-hander Chad Bell from Triple-A Toledo. The 24-year-old Jaye split the 2016 season between Detroit’s Double-A and Triple-A affiliates, working to a combined 3.95 ERA with 7.5 K/9, 2.3 BB/9 and a 53.3 percent ground-ball rate in 161 2/3 innings (28 starts). MLB.com ranks Jaye as Detroit’s No. 26 prospect, writing that he has a 91-93 mph and a solid three-pitch mix but also noting that he lacks an out pitch. Their report pegs his ceiling as a fourth or fifth starter and says he’s not far from Major League readiness. Meanwhile, the 27-year-old Bell posted a 3.29 ERA with 8.1 K/9, 3.9 BB/9 and a 52 percent ground-ball rate in 98 1/3 innings at Triple-A between the Rangers and Tigers organizations. Detroit picked him up from Texas in the May trade that sent catcher Bobby Wilson to the Rangers. Bell worked more as a reliever than a starter and held opposing lefties to a .605 OPS, including a .286 slugging percentage. He’ll join Kyle Ryan, Blaine Hardy and Joe Mantiply as options to serve as a second lefty behind Justin Wilson in Detroit’s bullpen next year.
Royals Open Extension Talks With Danny Duffy
The Royals have opened extension talks with lefty Danny Duffy, MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan reports. At this point, it seems that discussions have not moved beyond the preliminary stage, but there is said to be mutual interest in a deal.
While there doesn’t appear to be any particular momentum toward a pact — Flanagan says the sides have yet to exchange “firm details or proposals” — it’s notable that the talks are taking place. Duffy is entering his final season of arbitration eligibility, making him one of several notable Kansas City players who’ll qualify for free agency after the year. While the club is already locked in for longer commitments on several key regulars, there appear to be some payroll pressures and there is plenty of uncertainty as to how things will play out with so many fixtures set to depart.
Contract talks were inevitable, of course; if nothing else, there’s the matter of Duffy’s final arb payday to be sorted out. MLBTR projects him to earn $8.2MM after a strong year in which he racked up 179 2/3 innings despite making 16 relief appearances to go with his 26 starts. He ended the year with a 3.51 ERA and 9.4 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9, while also showing improved fastball velocity, filling up the strike zone more than ever, and registering a career-high 12.4% swinging-strike rate.
GM Dayton Moore declined to comment, noting only that the club hopes to secure its best homegrown players when it’s able. And Duffy said he wasn’t aware of the talks, though he left no doubt that he is hoping for a long-term deal with the team. “I want to stay with the Royals long term,” he said. “One hundred percent. For sure.”
Despite his evident interest, finding a valuation for Duffy that suits the team’s needs will not be an easy task. Duffy will be entering his age-29 season when he qualifies for free agency, so he’ll have prime years to sell, and he showed enough last year to believe he could line up for a rather significant contract with another quality campaign. While his relative youth also enhances his appeal to Kansas City, it means that the team will either need to stretch beyond its typical comfort zone — after doing so already last winter for Ian Kennedy — or try to convince Duffy to take a team-friendly payout.
Mets Outright Justin Ruggiano
The Mets have outrighted outfielder Justin Ruggiano off of the team’s 40-man roster, ESPNNewYork.com’s Adam Rubin reports. Ruggiano elected free agency after clearing waivers.
After a brief stint early in the year with the Rangers, the 34-year-old was added by the Mets in July as the club sought to fill in for a variety of injured players. The hope was that he’d provide a boost from the right side of the plate, but his own maladies kept Ruggiano from playing much of a role (though he did have one rather memorable moment).
Ultimately, Ruggiano ended up taking just 26 plate appearances on the year, breaking a string of five consecutive seasons in which he had topped 100 trips to the plate. He did hit well in that very limited action, though, and also ended the 2015 season on a high note. With a .258/.322/.439 lifetime batting line to support him, Ruggiano figures to have a solid chance to earn a roster spot somewhere next spring.
Diamondbacks Name Torey Lovullo Manager
4:55pm: Arizona has announced the hiring. Lovullo will receive a three-year deal, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (via Twitter).
12:03pm: The Diamondbacks will hire Red Sox bench coach Torey Lovullo as their new manager, reports John Gambodoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM in Phoenix (via Twitter). Lovullo, who obviously has a strong connection with former Red Sox GM and newly minted Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen, has long been rumored to be the favorite for the managerial vacancy that opened when the D-backs fired Chip Hale at season’s end. The D-backs were said as of yesterday to be choosing between Lovullo and their own Triple-A manager, Phil Nevin.
Lovullo has been Boston’s bench coach for the past four seasons and comes with quite a bit of managerial experience, albeit most coming in the minor leagues. Lovullo spent 10 seasons as a minor league skipper between the Indians and Red Sox organizations and also acted as interim manager for the Red Sox while John Farrell underwent treatment for lymphoma late in the 2015 season. Lovullo has long been touted as a managerial prospect and was reportedly one of two finalists for the Twins’ vacancy before the team hired Paul Molitor prior to the 2015 season.
With Lovullo joining the Diamondbacks, the Red Sox have now lost three highly influential organizational figures to Arizona in a span of mere weeks. Hazen left his post as the Red Sox GM to take the same title with the D-backs, and while the move isn’t a promotion in the sense of title, it certainly is in terms of responsibility; Hazen was the clear No. 2 to president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski in Boston but is the top decision-maker in his new role with the Snakes. Additionally, now-former Red Sox vice president of international/amateur scouting Amiel Sawdaye followed Hazen to Arizona, where he’ll serve as a senior vice president and assistant general manager.
Diamondbacks Claim Jeremy Hazelbaker
The Diamondbacks have claimed outfielder Jeremy Hazelbaker off waivers from the Cardinals, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (via Twitter). He represents the first player acquisition for new GM Mike Hazen.
[RELATED: Updated Diamondbacks Depth Chart]
Hazelbaker debuted last year in St. Louis at 28 years of age, breaking onto the scene with an unexpectedly hot start. He ultimately came back down to earth, though, and ended the year with a cumulative .235/.295/.480 slash and 12 home runs over 224 plate appearances. Hazelbaker’s sub-par on-base percentage and 28.6% strikeout rate raise questions about whether he can produce consistently at the big league level — particularly if he isn’t able to maintain a lofty .245 isolated power mark.
While there is cause for pessimism in a player who has never really been seen as much of a prospect and wasn’t able to crack the majors until his age-28 campaign, there are also some reasons for hope. Hazelbaker has abused Triple-A pitching since coming to St. Louis in the middle of the 2015 season, and has shown some pop at times in the past. Plus, the lefty hitter was much better against right-handed pitching, suggesting he could have some platoon function.
It’s not yet clear just what Arizona intends to do with Hazelbaker, but he could certainly share time in a corner outfield spot or play off the bench. David Peralta is the team’s only established, southpaw-swinging outfielder, though youngster Socrates Brito also saw a good bit of major league time last year and players like Zach Borenstein may be ready to challenge for an opportunity.