Archives for January 2017

Athletics Sign Trevor Plouffe

By Steve Adams | January 18, 2017 at 11:11am CDT

JANUARY 18: The A’s have announced the deal. Plouffe gets a $5.25MM guarantee, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (Twitter link). He can also earn $150K upon reaching 350 plate appearances, another $300K if he gets to 450, and then $300K more if he reaches 525 trips to the plate, per Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). There’s also a one-time, $250K trade bonus.

JANUARY 11: Plouffe is expected to receive around $5MM of guaranteed money in the deal, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter). There are also incentives, though details remain unknown.

JANUARY 10: The Athletics have an agreement in place with free agent infielder Trevor Plouffe, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). The deal, which is pending a physical, will be a one-year agreement, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter links). She adds that Plouffe is likely to see the bulk of the playing time at third base for the A’s next season, with Ryon Healy shifting to designated hitter and first base. Plouffe is represented by CAA Baseball.

[Related: Updated Oakland Athletics Depth Chart]

Prior to this new deal with the A’s, the 30-year-old Plouffe had spent his entire career in the Twins organization. A first-round pick by Minnesota back in 2004, Plouffe took quite some time to blossom into an everyday Major Leaguer but cemented himself as the Twins’ everyday third baseman beginning in 2012. That season saw Plouffe belt 24 homers in 119 games, and while that mark still stands as a career-best, Plouffe has consistently shown solid pop from the right side of the plate over the life of his big league career. In his first four seasons as a regular, he proved to be a roughly league-average bat, hitting .248/.312/.426 and averaging 23 homers per 162 games played. A right-handed hitter, Plouffe has been significantly more productive against lefties (career .268/.344/.465) than righties (.239/.294/.403).

This past year, Plouffe hit .260/.303/.420 with 12 homers in an injury-ravaged season that included three trips to the disabled list for an intercostal strain, a fractured rib and an oblique strain. Those three maladies combined to limit Plouffe to just 84 games and 344 plate appearances — both his lowest marks since establishing himself as a regular with the Twins. The three trips to the DL, Plouffe’s projected $8.2MM price tag in arbitration (courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz) and a stacked corner infield/DH scene in Minnesota prompted the new Twins front office to part ways with Plouffe following the season rather than tender him a contract in arbitration.

Despite possessing fairly notable platoon splits, it seems that Plouffe will be in line for near-everyday at-bats, as was the case during his tenure with the Twins. Plouffe never rated as an exceptional defender at the hot corner, but the converted shortstop went from dreadful Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating marks to above-average grades over the course of his time in Minnesota as he grew more accustomed to his new position. (His 2016 defensive metrics were poor, though certainly one can imagine his persistent injuries impacting his mobility on the field.)

From 2014-15, Plouffe posted a +5 DRS and +8.4 UZR, so with better health there’s reason to believe he can return to form with the glove. That would be an improvement over the younger Healy, who was below average per DRS (-2) and UZR (-9.4). Though Healy may not see many reps at third base in 2017, it seems logical to expect that the A’s will want to keep his bat in the lineup as much as possible. The 25-year-old compiled a .305/.337/.524 slash with 13 homers through 72 games as a rookie, suggesting that he could be a 20-homer bat for the A’s even if his .352 BABIP is bound to regress to some extent.

Plouffe also reportedly drew interest from the Red Sox, Braves and Royals, and he was speculatively linked to the Marlins as well. Instead, he’ll opt for a homecoming of sorts, returning to his home state (albeit a few hundred miles north of his Los Angeles area roots) and a presumably larger role as he takes aim at a healthier season in 2017.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Indians Sign Brandon Guyer To Two-Year Deal

By Steve Adams | January 18, 2017 at 10:41am CDT

10:41am: The deal also allows Guyer to earn up to $400K in plate-appearance-based bonuses in both 2018 and 2019, Bastian tweets. And the option value can rise to as much as $3.75MM with escalators.

9:51am: It’s a two-year, $5MM contract for Guyer, tweets MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian. He’ll receive $2MM in 2017 (just shy of the $2.1MM midpoint between the two sides’ arbitration numbers) and $2.75MM in 2018. Guyer’s contract contains a $3MM club option for the 2019 season, which comes with a $250K buyout.

9:35am: The Indians announced on Wednesday that they’ve signed outfielder Brandon Guyer to a two-year deal with a club option for the 2019 season. The 30-year-old Guyer (31 next week) was arbitration-eligible and had filed for a $2.3MM, which the Indians countered with a $1.9MM offer (as shown in MLBTR’s 2017 Arbitration Tracker). Rather than hammer out a one-year pact, Guyer will instead agree to lock in both of his remaining arbitration salaries in exchange for a club option over what would’ve been his first free-agent year.

Guyer, a longtime member of the Rays, was a deadline pickup for the Indians, who traded minor league outfielder Nathan Lukes and minor league righty Jhonleider Salinas to the Rays to acquire the remaining two and a half years of control on Guyer’s contract. Guyer has long been a thorn in the side of left-handed pitching, and Cleveland benefited substantially from that trait, as Guyer slashed .333/.438/.469 in a limited role (91 plate appearances) over the remainder of the regular season following the trade. He also chipped in a .333/.500/.389 batting line in 24 postseason plate appearances.

Beyond his strong career performance against left-handed pitching (.289/.391/.470), Guyer thrives in one perhaps underappreciated element of the game: getting hit by pitches. Shortly after the trade, August Fagerstrom examined Guyer’s uncanny penchant for being hit by pitches over at Fangraphs, observing that Guyer is not only the active leader in total HBPs over the past couple of seasons, but the leader in HBPs on a percentage basis (min. 500 PAs) dating all the way back to 1921.

A ridiculous 6.1 percent of Guyer’s plate appearances have resulted in him being plunked by a pitch, which compensates for a below-average walk rate and has allowed him to consistently post strong OBPs in the Majors. As Fagerstrom breaks down in the aforementioned Fangraphs column, Guyer’s HBP magic isn’t as much from crowding the plate (though he does that, too) as it is from a striding toward the plate and the inside edge of the batter’s box as he loads for a swing. While some might raise an eyebrow at calling that a “skill,” Guyer’s propensity for reaching base the hard way has undoubtedly benefited his teams over the years, and no one in the game seems as adept at doing so.

Turning to Guyer’s glovework, he has experience at all three outfield positions but has spent the majority of his time in left field, where he grades out as an above-average defender. With Cleveland, however, he’s likely to spend the bulk of his time in right field, where he’ll serve as a platoon partner for the left-handed-hitting Lonnie Chisenhall (who has struggled considerably against southpaw pitchers in his career). Guyer, of course, can move all over the outfield for manager Terry Francona, if needed. Guyer and Chisenhall will be part of a mix that includes a hopefully healthy Michael Brantley in left field, Tyler Naquin in center (who could also potentially benefit from some platooning) and presumptive reserve outfielder Abraham Almonte.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NL Central Notes: Molina, Wainwright, Thames, Cervelli

By Steve Adams | January 18, 2017 at 8:41am CDT

The Cardinals are readying to face some potentially tricky decisions with regard to franchise stalwarts Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright, as Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. While the organization is hoping for both to finish out their careers in St. Louis, a sentiment the players share, such arrangements are sometimes easier said than done. Extension talks are planned at some point this year with Molina, who remains a highly valuable workhorse behind the dish. The guaranteed portion of his contract ends after the season, with a mutual option looming. As Goold explains, it’s hardly a straightforward matter to reach a new deal; the question of how great a commitment the team wants to make will have to account for not only the valuation of an aging catcher, but also the rise of prospect Carson Kelly. As for Wainwright, who tells Goold he’ll only be interested in single-season contracts when his deal is up (after the 2018 season), there’s more time to see how things progress and less pressure given his position.

Here are a few more notes from the NL Central…

Eric Thames will be the latest data point as teams try to project how star-level performance in the Korea Baseball Organization carries over to Major League Baseball, and Fangraphs’ David Laurila spoke to Brewers GM David Stearns about the factors that went into signing Thames. Stearns explained that improved plate discipline despite a vast increase in the number of breaking balls Thames saw in Korea played into the decision, as did a number of analytics processes and statistical projections. “As more players play in the KBO, or any other foreign league, and then come back to the States, projection systems are going to continue to improve,” said the Milwaukee GM. “Clearly, the translation of KBO stats to (MLB) stats isn’t as straightforward as translating a Triple-A environment to a Major League environment, but it still played a role in our evaluation.”
MLB.com’s Adam Berry breaks down the value that Pirates catcher Francisco Cervelli brings to the team with his ability to frame pitches. While Cervelli’s lack of pop might make his three-year, $31MM deal look questionable to some, Berry points out that per MLB’s Statcast data, Cervelli rated third in the Majors in total strikes “stolen” for his pitchers in 2015 and, in an injury-shortened 2016 campaign, ranked third once again on a per-pitch basis in that same category. The skill is hardly lost on the Pirates’ young pitchers, several of whom lauded Cervelli’s receiving abilities when speaking to Berry. “He makes every pitch look really good, even your bad pitches,” said Jameson Taillon. “”That’s a big confidence-builder.”

White Sox, Cory Luebke Agree To Minor League Deal

By Steve Adams | January 17, 2017 at 9:35pm CDT

The White Sox have agreed to a minor league contract with left-hander Cory Luebke, reports Matt Eddy of Baseball America (on Twitter). Eddy also notes that the Sox have a minors deal with catcher Carson Blair and have re-signed fleet-footed outfielder Jason Bourgeois.

The 31-year-old Luebke has undergone two Tommy John surgeries in the past half-decade but made his first big league appearance since 2012 this past season. Luebke broke camp with the Pirates after signing a minor league deal with Pittsburgh last winter, though he didn’t fare well in his return to a Major League mound. Luebke tossed just 8 2/3 innings with Pittsburgh and yielded nine runs on 15 hits and 11 walks with nine strikeouts. He did fare better in 24 1/3 minor league innings, tallying a 1.85 ERA and a 35-to-3 K/BB ratio between the Pirates and Marlins organizations.

Luebke once looked like a potential long-term cog in the Padres’ rotation, debuting with the team in 2010 and seemingly blossoming a year later. The southpaw turned in 139 2/3 innings of 3.29 ERA ball with 9.9 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9 in 2011, which earned him a four-year, $12MM extension. While many such deals are panned when they’re signed, Luebke’s decision to accept that then-modest sum now appears wise in light of his arm troubles.

A return to a starting role doesn’t appear likely for Luebke following a pair of Tommy John operations, but he could get an opportunity to compete for a bullpen gig with the rebuilding ChiSox in 2017. Dan Jennings currently stands as the top lefty option in new manager Rick Renteria’s bullpen, with less-proven southpaw Giovanni Soto (not to be confused with the catcher of the same, albeit differently spelled name) also in line to get a look this spring.

As for Blair, the 27-year-old is a longtime Red Sox farmhand that made his big league debut with the A’s in 2015 after signing a minor league deal there. Blair received just 35 plate appearances and didn’t hit well, but he’s coming off a more productive .250/.339/.372 batting line split between the A’s and Rangers organizations in 2016 (all in the minor leagues). He’s not likely to factor into the Sox’ plans out of Spring Training but could head the minors and serve as a depth piece in either Double-A or Triple-A.

Bourgeois, 35, made his Major League debut with the 2008 White Sox (though he played in just six games) and would go on to appear for five teams over the next seven seasons. He’s a career .253/.300/.326 hitter in the Majors and delivered a solid .292/.333/.385 batting line in 122 Triple-A contests with the Sox and D-backs last year.

NL East Notes: Volquez, Bruce, Braves, Nola

By Steve Adams | January 17, 2017 at 8:11pm CDT

We at MLBTR would like to extend our most heartfelt condolences to Marlins right-hander Edinson Volquez, whose 25-year-old brother, Brandy, was stabbed and killed earlier today in Volquez’s native Dominican Republic, per a report from Emmanuel Rosario of QuisqueyanoSports.com and this one from ESPN. A suspect is reportedly in custody. It’s been a rough couple of years for Volquez and his family, as Volquez’s father passed away just prior to his son’s start for the Royals in Game 1 of the 2015 World Series.

As we keep Volquez and his family in our thoughts, here are a few more notes from the NL East…

Recent agreements by the Blue Jays (Jose Bautista) and Phillies (Michael Saunders) have caused the Mets’ potential trade options for right fielder Jay Bruce to dwindle, writes Mike Puma of the New York Post. (I’d also note the Orioles’ acquisition of Seth Smith in that list of deterrents to a Bruce swap.) The Giants and Rangers could be the only two remaining plausible landing spots for Bruce, Puma continues, noting that each team has had previous interest in Bruce. However, according to Puma, Mets general manager Sandy Alderson has not yet shown a willingness to absorb any of Bruce’s $13MM salary in a trade, which only further exacerbates the difficulty of trading him in a market flooded with cheaper corner options. Puma speculates that the Mets may be forced to open the season with Bruce on the roster and look to move him early in the regular season, as they did with Ike Davis back in 2014.
Braves general manager John Coppolella spoke to David Laurila of Fangraphs about his slew of trades this offseason, discussing topics such as longstanding interest in the prospects acquired by Atlanta, moving Alex Jackson back to catcher, and negotiating trades with Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto. Coppolella says that the Braves had a folder on left-hander Thomas Burrows, acquired in last week’s Mallex Smith trade, on their table on draft day before he was selected by the Mariners in the fourth round. “…[W]e literally had our pockets picked by Seattle,” Coppolella said. He also acknowledged interest in lefty Luiz Gohara dating back to his amateur days in 2012 before Gohara agreed to sign in Seattle. Of Dipoto, Coppolella offered high praise. “It’s worth noting that Jerry is extremely professional about returning calls and texts, open to ideas, and not afraid to make moves, particularly in terms of trading prospects,” he said. “It’s amazing how many conversations get shot down almost immediately, but Jerry will listen and engage.” I’d highly recommend a full read-through not just for Braves and Mariners fans but for any fans that want a bit of a behind-the-scenes look on the player movement.
Right-hander Aaron Nola tells MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki that he’s healthy and ready to go for Spring Training. The Phillies aren’t placing any restrictions on the former No. 7 overall pick, Zolecki adds, which is certainly good news for Phils fans after Nola’s season ended prematurely due to a “low grade” UCL and flexor strain. Nola, 23, was in the midst of an excellent year before his performance rapidly declined in early June. Through June 5, Nola had turned in a 2.65 ERA with 9.8 K/9, 1.7 BB/9 and a 53.9 percent ground-ball rate in 78 innings (12 starts). Over his next (and final) eight starts, though, Nola logged a ghastly 9.82 ERA in just 33 innings. His walk rate more than doubled over those eight starts (3.8 BB/9), and Nola also hit five batters in that short time frame as well. If healthy in 2017, he figures to be a critical component to a Phillies rotation that’ll also feature Jerad Eickhoff, Vince Velasquez, the returning Jeremy Hellickson and the newly acquired Clay Buchholz.

Diamondbacks, Gregor Blanco Agree To Minors Deal

By Steve Adams | January 17, 2017 at 6:44pm CDT

Longtime Giants outfielder Gregor Blanco has agreed to a minor league contract with an invitation to Major League Spring Training, Blanco’s agent, Wil Polidor, tells Manolo Hernandez of BeisbolPorGotas.com (Twitter link). SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets that Blanco would receive a $1MM base salary upon making the Major League roster. He adds that the deal contains $2.7MM worth of incentives and an April 1 opt-out date.

Just this afternoon, Blanco had been linked to the Tigers, but it instead appears that he’ll remain in the NL West and compete for a backup job with the D-backs. Arizona is slated to deploy David Peralta, A.J. Pollock and Yasmany Tomas in the outfield. Jeremy Hazelbaker and Socrates Brito are among the fellow outfielders against whom Blanco will compete for a reserve job under new manager Torey Lovullo. While each is already on the 40-man roster, the veteran Blanco could certainly give him a run for that roster spot in Spring Training.

Blanco, who turned 32 last month, has spent the past five season in San Francisco. Though he struggled to a .224/.309/.311 batting line last season, he’s been a largely productive reserve outfielder with the Giants. From 2012-15, Blanco slashed .264/.343/.367 with 18 homers and 69 stolen bases across 1780 plate appearances while spending time at all three outfield spots. The bulk of his outfield work in the Majors has come in center field, where he’s graded out as a roughly average defender, but Blanco has more than 2000 innings in left field and another 900+ in right field as well.

Padres Extend Wil Myers

By Jeff Todd | January 17, 2017 at 4:43pm CDT

It’s been an eventful two years for Padres fans, and while the organization is in the midst of a rebuilding phase, San Diego locked up its most important player on Tuesday, announcing a six-year extension for first baseman Wil Myers. The new contract is the largest in Padres history and will reportedly guarantee Myers a total of $83MM. The Padres will also pick up an option for the 2023 season, giving them a potential seven years of control over Myers, who is represented by CAA Baseball.

Myers, 26, will reportedly receive a hefty $15MM signing bonus and will earn a $2MM salary in each of the next two seasons. He’ll then earn $3MM in 2019 and $20MM from 2020-22. The club option for the 2023 season is valued at $20MM and comes with a $1MM buyout.

[Related: Updated San Diego Padres Payroll Outlook]

The new contract covers Myers’ remaining three years of arbitration eligibility and locks in three would-be free agent years (while also providing an option for a fourth). Entering his first trip through the arb process, Myers was projected to earn $4.7MM by MLBTR and contributor Matt Swartz. Instead, he’ll take home a much heftier stack of cash in exchange to contractual rights through his age-32 season.

The total package falls well shy of the top recent comparable: Freddie Freeman’s eight-year, $135MM deal with the Braves. Both players were in the three-plus service bracket and were projected for similar first-year arb salaries at the times of their deals. Of course, Freeman’s deal also covered two additional free-agent-eligible campaigns, so Myers figures to have an earlier chance to test the open market.

In total guarantee, this contract would fall closer to the recent agreement between the Giants and Brandon Belt. That deal promised Belt — a four-plus service-class player who signed his new deal right at the start of the 2016 season — $72.8MM over five years. If you include his 2016 arb salary in the total, it worked out to a six-year, $79MM package.

Myers, long considered one of the top prospects in all of baseball, put it all together in 2016 for the Padres, who gave up Trea Turner and Joe Ross to acquire him in a three-team blockbuster before the prior campaign. After two injury-shortened seasons, Myers compiled 676 plate appearances and batted a healthy .259/.336/.461 while providing 28 home runs and 28 stolen bases. That garnered the former Rookie of the Year his first All-Star nod. With quality glovework and outstanding overall baserunning mixed in, Myers was worth 3.8 fWAR and 3.2 rWAR on the year.

From a payroll standpoint, the Padres can more than afford to lock Myers into a long-term deal of this magnitude. The only other player on the current roster with a guaranteed contract that extends beyond the upcoming 2017 season is infielder Yangervis Solarte, who also recently inked a new contract with the Friars (two years, $7.5MM plus a pair of club options). The remainder of San Diego’s guaranteed deals are all one-year contracts, which should position the Padres to explore long-term extensions with other key young contributors as they emerge. Beyond that, the Padres will be well-positioned to take advantage of improved free-agent crops both next winter and especially following the 2018 campaign.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported that a deal was close and floated a roughly $80MM figure (via Twitter). Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports tweeted that there was a “basic agreement” that would guarantee Myers $83MM. Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union Tribune reported the annual breakdown as well as Myers’ assignment bonus in the event of a trade (Twitter links).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Rockies Sign Alexi Amarista

By Mark Polishuk and Steve Adams | January 17, 2017 at 4:05pm CDT

Several weeks after the agreement was first reported, the Rockies have formally announced the signing of veteran infielder Alexi Amarista to a one-year contract. The versatile Martin Arburua client will reportedly receive a $1.25MM guarantee, which includes a $1.1MM base salary as well as a $150K buyout of a $2.5MM option for the 2018 season.

[Related: Updated Colorado Rockies Depth Chart]

Amarista, 27, has never provided much at the plate over his six MLB seasons with the Angels and Padres, though he adds some versatile depth to the Rockies bench. The majority of Amarista’s 398 career starts have some at shortstop, but he has also seen quite a bit of action as a center fielder and second baseman. Additionally, he’s logged some time at third base and in both corner outfield slots.

The Rockies have a much-publicized glut of outfielders but relatively little infield depth beyond the quartet of first baseman Ian Desmond, second baseman DJ LeMahieu, shortstop Trevor Story and third baseman Nolan Arenado. Amarista can be a backup all across the diamond as well as late-game option off the bench and on the basepaths. New Rockies manager Bud Black knows Amarista quite well, as Black previously managed Amarista in San Diego from 2012-15.

Amarista figures to join likely fourth outfielder Gerardo Parra and backup catcher Tom Murphy to occupy three of the Rockies’ bench spots. Out-of-options infielder Cristhian Adames is a candidate to fill one of the remaining spots, as is veteran outfielder Chris Denorfia, who will be in camp as a non-roster invitee this spring (but would give the Rox a needed right-handed complement to their all-left-handed outfield). Other options for the Rockies bench are corner outfielder/first baseman Jordan Patterson and well-regarded outfield prospect Raimel Tapia, though both hit from the left side as well, which would further add to Colorado’s glut of lefty-swinging outfielders.

The Padres non-tendered Amarista back in early December following a season that saw the 27-year-old hit .257/.295/.271 over 150 plate appearances. Amarista was projected by MLBTR to earn $1.6MM in his third and final year of arbitration.

Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports first reported the agreement and the terms of the deal (Twitter links).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

MLBTR Chat Transcript

By Steve Adams | January 17, 2017 at 2:17pm CDT

Click here to read a transcript of today’s chat with MLBTR’s Steve Adams.

Tigers “In Touch” With Peter Bourjos, Gregor Blanco

By Jeff Todd | January 17, 2017 at 1:47pm CDT

The Tigers have opened a dialogue with free-agent outfielders Peter Bourjos and Gregor Blanco, according to Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter links). There’s no agreement close with either player, but the two are under consideration as the team looks to fill its void in center field.

Detroit opened the offseason by trading incumbent center fielder Cameron Maybin, which seemed at the time to be one of several potential moves to shed veterans. But further deals have not been forthcoming, in part due to larger market forces as well as complications with the contracts of the team’s established players (many of which are significant deals that include no-trade protections).

[RELATED: Tigers Depth Chart]

As things stand, then, the Tigers appear set to host a camp battle featuring some internal options and whatever veterans they add. Current players in the mix include the right-handed-hitting JaCoby Jones and lefties Anthony Gose, Tyler Collins, and Alex Presley.

Clearly, there’s little in the way of established production in that group, so it stands to reason that Detroit would at least seek to build out the group heading into Spring Training. Beyond Bourjos and Blanco, current free agents with substantial experience in center include righty bats like Austin Jackson, Desmond Jennings, and Drew Stubbs as well as southpaw hitters such as Michael Bourn and Sam Fuld. Switch hitter Angel Pagan could conceivably also be an option, though perhaps he’ll cost more than Detroit is inclined to spend.

As for the two names now known to be possibilities, it’s easy to see the potential for a match. Bourjos, 29, has long been known for his speed and glovework, though he’s an uneven performer at the plate. All told, he ended an up-and-down 2016 season with 383 plate appearances of .251/.292/.389 hitting. Bourjos hits from the right side, while the 33-year-old Blanco is a lefty. He had turned in two straight quality campaigns before a downturn in 2016, when he slashed .224/.309/.311 over 274 trips to the plate. After grading as a sturdy defender for much of his career, Blanco hasn’t drawn great reviews for his glove in recent seasons.

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