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Archives for 2018

Cubs, Cardinals Pursuing Daniel Descalso

By Jeff Todd | December 14, 2018 at 2:23pm CDT

The Cubs are “in strong pursuit” of Daniel Descalso, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter link). They’ll have interesting company in the bidding, though, as the division-rival Cardinals are also involved on their former infielder, as previously rumored and as Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports tweets.

Descalso, 32, was a mainstay with the Cards for several years, but has spent the past four seasons out west with the Rockies and D-Backs. In that time, the veteran has not only spread his wings a bit defensively but heated up a bit with his left-handed bat.

Known primarily as a utility infielder, Descalso has now spent a fair amount of time in the corner outfield. It’s likely that these and other clubs will mostly value him for his ability to field any position on the dirt, but it surely doesn’t hurt that he’s now familiar with left field.

At the plate, Descalso has earned a rather expansive role in Arizona by producing sturdy on-base numbers. He’s still a clearly below-average hitter over the course of his career, but Descalso has also perhaps shown some newfound abilities at the plate as an acolyte of the flyball revolution.

Last year, Descalso popped a career-high 13 long balls and turned in a healthy .198 ISO — well north of anything he had shown previously. An aggressive new approach also resulted in quite a few more strikeouts (26.0%) than usual, but Descalso more than made up for that by setting new career marks (by a wide margin) with a 15.1% walk rate and 43.1% hard-contact rate. The results — a .238/.353/.436 slash — were impressive.

Given those changes, and Descalso’s preexisting reputation as a reliable veteran and generally solid defender, it’s not hard to see why these two contending clubs have interest. Presumably, others do as well, though the infield market is still quite overloaded with possibilities.

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Tigers Sign Jordy Mercer

By Mark Polishuk | December 14, 2018 at 1:35pm CDT

The Tigers on Friday announced the signing of longtime Pirates shortstop Jordy Mercer to a one-year contract. The Scott Boras client will reportedly receive a $5.25MM guarantee as well as another $250K of available incentives. Today’s signing gives the Detroit organization a full 40-man roster.

Jordy Mercer | Philip G. Pavely-USA TODAY Sports

“One of our priorities this offseason was to sign a shortstop, and Jordy is a solid addition to our ball club,” said GM Al Avila in a statement announcing the move. “He was one of the players we targeted heading into the offseason, and we’re really drawn to his consistency, both on the field at a premium position and in the clubhouse as a player that is a true veteran leader.”

The 32-year-old Mercer will be switching teams for the first time, as he has spent his entire professional career in the Pirates organization since Pittsburgh selected him in the third round of the 2008 draft. Mercer developed into an unspectacular but steady regular for the Bucs at shortstop, generating 7.6 fWAR and hitting .257/.317/.383 with 54 homers over 2928 plate appearances since the start of the 2013 season. Defensively, Mercer’s glovework has dipped below the average threshold over the past three seasons, as per Defensive Runs Saved (-19) and UZR/150 metrics.

Mercer represents just the type of veteran stopgap at shortstop at the Tigers were looking for this winter, as Jose Iglesias was heading into free agency. Youngsters Dawel Lugo, Willi Castro, and Isaac Paredes are all waiting in the wings as Detroit’s potential infielders of the future, so it could be a one-year relationship at most for Mercer and the Tigers. The club could even explore dealing Mercer at the trade deadline depending on how things play out. He’ll likely bring a bit more offense to the table than his predecessor, though it’s unlikely that he’ll match Iglesias’ sterling glovework.

Fancred Sports’ Jon Heyman reported the agreement between the two sides and Mercer’s salary (Twitter links). MLB.com’s Jon Morosi initially reported the talks between the two sides as well as the one-year term of the contract (Twitter links).

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Latest On Andrew Miller

By Steve Adams | December 14, 2018 at 1:12pm CDT

The Phillies are “strongly” in on free-agent lefty Andrew Miller, tweets Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia. Salisbury had previously reported the team to be in pursuit of both Miller and Zach Britton. Meanwhile, Fancred’s Jon Heyman suggests that Miller “is going to insist on a no-trade clause” after surprisingly being dealt a year and a half into his four-year pact with the Yankees. Heyman further reports that the White Sox were talking to Miller but now “seem to have pulled back.”

Miller, 34 in May, had a down season in 2018 as he missed brief stints due to hamstring and shoulder issues while also spending a more substantial period on the 60-day disabled list owing to a right knee injury. The result was a 4.24 ERA with somewhat diminished K/BB numbers in just 34 innings of work.

Of course, in the four preceding seasons, Miller was very arguably the game’s best reliever. Once a prized starting pitching prospect, he instead broke out following a move to the bullpen after several years of struggling in the rotation. From 2014-17, Miller pitched to a ridiculous 1.72 ERA with averages of 14.5 strikeouts and 2.3 walks per nine innings pitched. With the exception of the 2017 season, he’s posted at least average ground-ball tendencies on an annual basis, and dating back to the 2013 season, the only pitchers in all of baseball with a better swinging-strike rate than Miller’s 15.7 percent are Aroldis Chapman, Craig Kimbrel and Kenley Jansen.

Given his age and the fact that he missed time due to three separate injuries last season, there’s some undeniable risk when it comes to Miller. But, if the Phillies are convinced of Miller’s health, they likely view him as a potentially wipeout reliever whose 2018 struggles may have dropped his earning power a bit. He’d give the Phils a formidable one-two punch at the back of the ’pen, alongside dominant rookie Seranthony Dominguez. Veteran setup options Tommy Hunter and Pat Neshek, too, will be back in 2019, with other names such as Jose Alvarez, Juan Nicasio, Hector Neris and Adam Morgan among the options to round out Gabe Kapler’s relief corps.

Should the ChiSox rekindle their pursuit, Miller would join right-handers Alex Colome and Nate Jones as the most established options at the back of what is currently an inexperienced group of relievers.

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White Sox To Sign James McCann

By Steve Adams | December 14, 2018 at 1:05pm CDT

1:05pm: McCann will receive $2.5MM on a one-year deal, per Fancred’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link).

12:51pm: The White Sox have agreed to terms with free-agent catcher James McCann, pending a physical, reports Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). The 28-year-old, who was non-tendered by the Tigers earlier this month, will remain in the AL Central after spending the entirety of his career in the Detroit organization to this point. He’s represented by the Ballengee Group.

As recently as the 2017 season, McCann served as the Tigers’ primary catcher and hit .253/.318/.415 with a career-high 13 home runs. However, his offense cratered in 2018 (.220/.267/.314, eight home runs in 457 plate appearances), and his once-excellent numbers against left-handed pitching were particularly concerning. In 109 PAs against southpaws last year, McCann hit just .176/.229/.284.

On the defensive side of the coin, McCann has continually been sensational in terms of controlling the running game. He’s registered at least a 30 percent caught-stealing rate in each of his four full big league seasons, including a 36 percent mark in 2018 and an overall rate of 37 percent. He’s been well below-average in terms of pitch framing across the past two seasons, though, and has struggled similarly in terms of blocking balls in the dirt.

Presumably, he’ll give the White Sox an option to step into the void created by the trade of Omar Narvaez to the Mariners (in exchange for Alex Colome). Veteran Welington Castillo is still atop Chicago’s depth chart behind the plate, making McCann the favorite to serve as his backup. Certainly, further offseason maneuvering can change that fact, and it’s of course worth noting that it’s not yet clear whether McCann received a guaranteed one-year deal or is headed to Spring Training as a non-roster invitee.

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Nationals “Leery” Of Asking Price On Dallas Keuchel

By Steve Adams | December 14, 2018 at 12:19pm CDT

The Nationals’ trade of right-hander Tanner Roark again puts Joe Ross and Erick Fedde atop the team’s list of options in the fourth and fifth spots in the rotation, meaning they’ll once again be on the hunt for starters. To that end, Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com reports that the Nats have interest in top lefty Dallas Keuchel but are “leery of giving him the five- or six-year deal he seeks.”

That’s the first word on the asking price for Keuchel, and it’s a fairly steep one, as most would expect. Of course, early asking prices are always going to be high — typically higher than the eventual landing point. If agent Scott Boras and Keuchel are ultimately seeking four to five years, for instance, it’s only natural to see them set out asking for five to six years. MLBTR estimated a four-year, $82MM deal for Keuchel at the outset of free agency, and a recent reader poll saw only about 15 percent of respondents believe a five-year pact was within reach.

Keuchel, 31 on New Year’s Day, is the top remaining starter in free agency but is one of several available pitchers to whom the Nationals have been linked since trading Roark. In the 48 hours since that swap, Washington has been tied to Yusei Kikuchi, Anibal Sanchez and Wade Miley. Keuchel would give the Nationals a virtually unparalleled top four alongside Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin but would also quite likely give the Nats an unheard of four starting pitchers with annual salaries in excess of $20MM. Like Corbin before him, Keuchel would cost the Nationals a pick in next year’s draft by virtue of the fact that he rejected a $17.9MM qualifying offer.

As for those wondering about the wisdom behind trading Roark only to immediately search for a replacement, it’s possible that the organization simply felt Roark’s rising arbitration price — MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz pegged him at $9.8MM — outpaced reasonable expectations for his performance in 2019. Roark’s strikeout, swinging-strike, home-run and ground-ball rates all went in the wrong direction in 2018, as did his velocity.

In the meantime, the Nats added a 100-mph arm, Tanner Rainey, in exchange for Roark’s final season of team control. While Rainey’s MLB cameo in 2018 was unequivocally brutal (19 runs on 13 hits and 12 walks with seven strikeouts in just seven innings), he also notched a 2.95 ERA with 13.5 K/9 across the past two minor league seasons. Walks were still an issue in the minors, though, as he averaged 5.4 free passes per nine innings pitched.

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Washington Nationals Dallas Keuchel

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Minor MLB Transactions: 12/14/18

By Steve Adams | December 14, 2018 at 11:19am CDT

Here are Friday’s minor moves from around the game…

  • The Yankees announced today that they’ve acquired outfielder Tyler Hill from the Tigers in exchange for cash. Detroit had selected Hill out of the Red Sox organization in the Triple-A phase of yesterday’s Rule 5 Draft. Set to turn 23 in March, Hill spent last season with Boston’s Class-A Advanced affiliate in Salem, where he hit .254/.348/.312 through 498 plate appearances. Hill has just 14 homers in 351 professional games, but he’s swiped 93 bases in that time — highlighted by a 42-steal campaign in 2017.
  • In another trade involving the minor league phase of yesterday’s Rule 5 Draft, the Pirates acquired righty Cristofer Melendez from the Padres, who had selected him out of the White Sox organization. The 21-year-old Melendez spun a terrific 1.54 ERA through 70 1/3 innings last season, though he did so as a 20-year-old pitching against vastly younger and less-experienced competition in the Dominican Summer League. He averaged 11.9 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 to go along with a 50.3 percent grounder rate.
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Post-Winter Meetings Rumors On Manny Machado, Bryce Harper

By Steve Adams | December 14, 2018 at 9:13am CDT

Manny Machado will head to Philadelphia for an in-person visit with the Phillies next week, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today, and George A. King III of the New York Post suggests that a similar visit to Yankee Stadium could be lined up for next week as well. The Yankees and Phillies are two of the reported four teams set to be aligning visits with the polarizing Machado, along with the White Sox and the ever-popular “mystery team.” For the Phillies, the acquisition of Jean Segura makes Machado a likelier fit at third base despite the infielder’s clear preference to play shortstop. Machado’s former third base coach in Baltimore, Bobby Dickerson, tells Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer that he believes Machado would move to third base if an offer to do so was the clear best offer he received in free agency. Perhaps more interestingly, Dickerson talks with Lauber about Machado’s personality, his preternatural defensive aptitude at third base and, in reference to Machado’s October villainy, his belief that Machado “is fine with being the bad boy.”

With the Winter Meetings now in the rear-view mirror, here’s a bit more on Machado and the market’s other top free agent…

  • White Sox GM Rick Hahn somewhat indirectly acknowledged his interest in both Machado and Bryce Harper on Thursday, as Bruce Levine writes for 670 The Score FM. “We are excited to be discussing impactful moves for the long term,” said Hahn of his team’s reported interest in the market’s top two free agents. “It’s good to have a seat at the table for some long impactful moves. This work does not mean anything is going to come together. … Even if we are able to convert on something big, there is a lot of work to do behind it to get us where we want to be (as an organization).” Levine suggests that an opt-out provision after three or four years would be a “significant draw” for Harper, though that much has been more or less expected for some time. Top free agents have increasingly gravitated toward the inclusion of such contracts, and several recent free-agent signings have included multiple opportunities to re-enter free agency (e.g. Jason Heyward, J.D. Martinez).
  • Also via Nightengale, agent Scott Boras implied in characteristically colorful fashion that he’s not concerned about early indications that some potential suitors (e.g. Yankees, Cardinals) have limited interest or trepidation when it comes to a legitimate pursuit of Harper. “When the nurse walks in the room with the thermometer, the issue is not what the thermometer says that day,” said Boras. “The issue is what’s the health of the patient when they’re ready to leave the hospital.” The Phillies and White Sox both remain in the mix on Harper, per the report, and Nightengale speculatively suggests that the Dodgers, who are reportedly trying to move Matt Kemp and Yasiel Puig, shouldn’t be ruled out. Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM, though, tweets that the Dodgers aren’t interested in pushing talks to 10 years on Harper. Nor, for that matter, are the Angels or Giants, each of whom has been previously mentioned as a potential dark horse.
  • ESPN’s Buster Olney writes that executives from other clubs and agents throughout the industry find it increasingly possible that the Phillies, long the presumptive favorite to sign one of Harper or Machado, could instead come away with neither in hand. Olney, too, suggests that the Dodgers’ efforts to move Kemp, Puig and other notable salaries could eventually result in the capacity to submit a winning offer to Harper. While there’s doubt that the Dodgers would offer the longest-term contract, Olney suggests perhaps a front-loaded deal with a substantial annual value from a team that has appeared in consecutive World Series would prove enticing. Meanwhile, the Yankees still present a viable threat to the Phillies for Machado as they look to close ground on the World Champion Red Sox.
  • There’s no indication that anything has changed for the Cubs, per Patrick Mooney of The Athletic (subscription required), who writes that the team is “close to maxing out” its baseball operations budget for the 2019 season. Rather than acknowledge a need for any sort of augmentation to the roster, manager Joe Maddon suggested that the greater issue for the Cubs is to extract better performance from the talent already in house. Along those same lines, GM Jed Hoyer spoke of the promising signs he’s seen in Kris Bryant as he looks to rehab from 2018 shoulder woes.
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Chicago Cubs Chicago White Sox Los Angeles Dodgers New York Yankees Philadelphia Phillies St. Louis Cardinals Bryce Harper Manny Machado

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Quick Hits: Maxwell, Nats, Marwin, Twins, Herrera, Cubs, DeRosa

By Connor Byrne | December 13, 2018 at 11:32pm CDT

Free-agent catcher Bruce Maxwell hasn’t found a team since the Athletics outrighted him in September, and it doesn’t appear that’s going to change in the near future, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle explains. While Maxwell was arrested on a gun charge in 2017 and later pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct, he’s unemployed for a different reason, a major league executive told Slusser at the Winter Meetings.

“It’s the kneeling thing that might keep him from getting another job, not the arrest. Owners aren’t going to want to deal with that whole anthem issue,” the executive said of Maxwell, who in 2017 became the first and only major leaguer to kneel for the national anthem in protest of racial injustice.

Conversely, another source contended to Slusser that Maxwell’s not comparable to former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who began kneeling for the national anthem in 2016. Despite a respectable on-field career and a clean off-field record, Kaepernick, 31, has been out of the NFL for two seasons. “This is not a Colin Kaepernick situation,” said the source. “This is if Colin Kaepernick had knelt for the anthem and also been arrested for a gun crime.”

Aside from Maxwell’s arrest, there are concerns over a 2017 incident in an Alabama restaurant, per Slusser, who also notes that the 27-year-old showed up overweight to spring training last season. Both Maxwell’s conditioning issues and a poor spring performance helped ruin his once-decent chance of becoming the A’s starting catcher in 2018. He ended up having a miserable season at the Triple-A level, and has since fired agent Matt Sosnick. As Slusser details, Sosnick reached out to every team multiple times trying to score a minor league deal for Maxwell, but no one bit. Slusser’s piece is worth checking out for Sosnick’s quotes on his ex-client.

More from around the majors…

  • The Nationals have shown reported interest in free-agent infielder Josh Harrison, though they “seem to prefer” Marwin Gonzalez to him, Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post writes. Most (if not all) teams would take Gonzalez over Harrison, which is why the former figures to rake in an especially lucrative payday this offseason. Nevertheless, this is the first connection of the offseason between the Nationals and Gonzalez, who can play up to six positions but could be their solution at second base. He’d also give the Nationals yet another Scott Boras client.
  • The Twins have interest in free-agent reliever Kelvin Herrera, La Velle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune reports. The club knows Herrera well from his days with division-rival Kansas City, where he pitched from 2011 until the Royals traded him to Washington last June. The hard-throwing 28-year-old didn’t perform well with the Nats, though, and then saw his season end in late August on account of a torn Lisfranc ligament in his left foot. However, Herrera’s progressing in his recovery from that injury.
  • With bench coach Brandon Hyde seemingly on his way out of the organization, the Cubs have begun seeking a replacement. It doesn’t appear the job will go to beloved ex-Cub David Ross, who’s content working as both a special assistant to their front office and an ESPN analyst, Bruce Levine of 670 The Score suggests. The team has contacted former major league infielder/outfielder and current MLB Network analyst Mark DeRosa to gauge his interest in the job, according to Levine. If there’s not a match between the Cubs and DeRosa – who declined to interview for the Rangers’ managerial post after the season – Dodgers special advisor Raul Ibanez and two of the Cubs’ minor league skippers (Buddy Bailey and Mark Johnson) could be candidates, Levine posits.
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Minor MLB Transactions: 12/13/18

By Connor Byrne | December 13, 2018 at 10:15pm CDT

Here are Thursday’s minor moves from around baseball:

  • The Yakult Swallows of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball have signed righty Albert Suarez to an undisclosed deal, the Japan Times reports. The 29-year-old Suarez saw big league action with the Giants from 2016-17, a 115 2/3-inning span in which he pitched to a 4.51 ERA with 6.85 K/9, 2.88 BB/9 and a 47.3 percent groundball rate across 40 appearances (12 starts). The Diamondbacks then took Suarez 14th in last year’s Rule 5 draft, only to outright him in late March. Because Suarez had been outrighted in the past, the Diamondbacks didn’t have to offer him back to the Giants. Suarez ended up spending the year with the D-backs’ Triple-A affiliate and struggling to a 4.97 ERA with 7.2 K/9 against 4.7 BB/9 over 63 1/3 innings.

Earlier updates:

  • The Padres have re-signed outfielder Alex Dickerson to a minor league contract, the team announced. The 28-year-old Dickerson accrued 293 plate appearances with the Padres from 2015-16 and hit a solid .257/.331/.448 with 10 home runs and five stolen bases, but injuries have derailed his career since then. He missed all of the 2017 season while dealing with back issues and then sat out last year after undergoing Tommy John surgery on his left (throwing) elbow in March. A third-round pick of the Pirates in 2011, the Padres originally acquired Dickerson for Miles Mikolas and Jaff Decker in November 2011.
  • The Tigers have signed right-handers Chris Smith and Eduardo Paredes to minor league deals, according to Robert Murray of The Athletic and Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press. The 30-year-old Smith has only picked up five big league innings – with the Blue Jays in 2017. He spent last season with the Nationals’ Triple-A club and notched a 3.93 ERA/3.88 FIP with 10.64 K/9 and 3.44 BB/9 in 55 frames. The Angels outrighted the 23-year-old Paredes last month, ending a run with the organization that began in 2012. Paredes saw some major league action with the Halos from 2017-18 and posted a 5.53 ERA/5.08 FIP with 7.08 K/9 and 2.88 BB/9 over 40 2/3 innings. He was more successful the past two years at Triple-A, where he put up a 3.86 ERA with 8.3 K/9 against 4.1 BB/9 in 79 1/3 frames.
  • The Cubs have acquired left-hander Conor Lillis-White from the Angels to complete the teams’ Tommy La Stella trade, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets. Lillis-White, 26, was a a 32nd-round pick of the Angels in 2015 who divided last season between the Double-A and Triple-A levels, combining for a 3.50 ERA with 12.3 K/9 against 4.0 BB/9 in 72 innings.
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AL News & Rumors: Dipoto, Yanks, A. Miller, Sonny, A’s, Lucroy, BoSox

By Connor Byrne | December 13, 2018 at 9:52pm CDT

We checked in on the American League earlier Thursday evening. Here’s even more from the Junior Circuit:

  • Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto pulled off his latest blockbuster trade Thursday, though he did it from a hospital bed. It turns out Dipoto was dealing with “severe chest pains” stemming from blood clots in his lungs, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports. Fortunately, Dipoto was released from a Las Vegas-area hospital Thursday afternoon and cleared to fly back to Seattle. “It was pretty scary and quite painful stuff,” Dipoto told Johns via text. “I’m thankful to know there’s an issue while we can manage it.” MLBTR joins those around the game in wishing the always entertaining Dipoto a speedy recovery.
  • Along with the previously reported Adam Ottavino, the Yankees met with free-agent reliever Andrew Miller’s camp during the Winter Meetings, according to Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News. In his previous trip to free agency, back in 2014, Miller signed with the Yankees on a four-year, $36MM contract. Miller then proceeded to dominate out of New York’s bullpen until the team traded him to Cleveland in July 2016. While Miller continued to post elite production through 2017, he looked like a mere mortal last season during an injury-shortened campaign. Still, MLBTR expects the 33-year-old to pull in another lofty payday this winter. Perhaps he’ll return to his old stomping grounds in the Bronx to get it.
  • The Athletics and free-agent catcher Jonathan Lucroy “appear to be at a salary impasse,” Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle writes. Lucroy spent last season in Oakland after inking a one-year, $6.5MM deal in mid-March, and though the former star drew rave reviews from his teammates, he didn’t acquit himself well statistically. The 32-year-old batted a career-worst .241/.291/.325 (70 wRC+) in 454 plate appearances and, among hitters with at least 450 PAs, recorded the majors’ fifth-lowest ISO (.084). The once-marvelous defender also struggled behind the plate.
  • Turning to the Athletics’ pursuit of rotation help, Slusser hears that they’re “bottom feeders” on the pitching market, though she points out that they’re known for exercising patience and finding diamonds in the rough. The team’s not averse to doling out multiyear deals for free-agent pitchers, per GM David Forst. On the trade front, Slusser casts doubt on a potential Sonny Gray-Athletics reunion, reporting that the Yankees’ asking price for him is currently too lofty for the A’s liking.
  • Reliever Joe Kelly agreed to a three-year, $25MM deal with the Dodgers on Thursday, but his previous employer in Boston didn’t make a particularly competitive offer to retain him, Rob Bradford of WEEI suggests. Not only did the Red Sox only propose a two-year contract, but the average annual value likely didn’t match what the Dodgers will give Kelly, according to Bradford. That jibes with a previous report suggesting the Red Sox are waiting for relievers’ prices to drop before committing to anyone.
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